My Brother's Keeper

"I remember that she was kind and did not judge us when she thought we put the diaper on Keelan for fetish play." Gavriel added.

"That sounds...wait...what? What about a diaper?" Kendrick demanded.

The men looked around the table, guilty expressions on their faces. Rheia cleared her throat. "The guys had to go to the store to get pull ups for Penny. They didn't know the size, so they used Keelan for comparison."

Everyone was silent. Kendrick gently placed his chopsticks down and looked around the table. He could almost see the tension in the air.

"Did you get any pictures?" he asked grinning.

The men around the table exhaled, and Colton began to laugh. "No, but I never felt worse in my life. What a way to meet your mate for the first time."

"She sounds perfect for my brother. When will you be bringing her here?"

Elizabeth looked at Meryn and Rheia. "What do you think? Right after breakfast? I called the Duck In yesterday. She works the morning shift today, we know where she'll be."

Rheia nodded. "The sooner the better, that way she'll be here for any health-related spells Kendrick explains."

"Wonderful." Kendrick turned to Aiden. "I'll need as many of the necklaces for study as you can get me."

Amelia turned to him, a sad expression on her face.

"I'm sorry, Amelia, but the best thing we can do for those poor souls is to determine how they were trapped. Once we figure that out, we can track down the ones responsible and prevent this from happening to any more people."

Amelia nodded and buried her face against Darian's arm. He gently ran a hand over her hair. Kendrick grudgingly admitted that Darian was a good match for her. He was strong enough to protect her, but gentle enough to understand her kind heart.

"I'll contact the Council and see what I can do about getting the necklaces," Aiden promised. Then a sly smile crossed his face. "After that, we have drills. I'd love to see what you can teach us." He smiled at Kendrick.

"Yes, about drills... I won't be doing those." Kendrick sipped his coffee.

Aiden's mouth dropped. "That's not how this works! Why join Alpha if you won't be part of the unit?" he demanded.

"It's quite simple really; it's because my brother gave up his life so that you all would live. He insisted on saving you, and after having breakfast with you, I can see why. He viewed you as family, and out of love, he kept you safe." Kendrick dropped his smile and let his power come just to the surface. The men reacted, and the predators inside of them tensed. "And I'll be damned to the deepest pit in hell before I let his sacrifice go to waste and stand by while you get yourselves killed." He put his smile back in place. "Now, if you need me, I'll be in Keelan's room setting up a laboratory to study the necklaces you'll be procuring for me." He took one final sip of coffee and stood.

"Can I come see?" Meryn asked, completely unperturbed by his dual nature.

Kendrick nodded. "After I have everything set up. Some of the containment spells aren't safe to be cast around pregnant women."

"Okay Keelan-From-the-Future." Meryn chirped back happily.

Kendrick raised an eyebrow. "If you insist on calling me something other than Kendrick and wish to carry on this time travel facade, you can call me Time Lord." Kendrick hid his smile when her jaw dropped.

He turned to his friend. "Ryuu, a couple sandwiches later would be most appreciated."

Ryuu bowed. "Of course, Heika."

As he walked away, he heard Meryn whisper, "He is fucking awesome!"

CHAPTER THREE

Anne Bennett followed the three women through the house to a closed door. Without knocking, the smaller woman opened it and breezed through the doorway. Anne hesitated before stepping in. When she looked in the room, she recognized the men she had seen with Keelan the night she met him at work. In her many visits with Keelan since then, she'd heard so many wonderful stories about the men he called brothers. She looked around the room. The tall one built like a linebacker was Aiden McKenzie. He was married to the tiny woman named Meryn. She remembered that Keelan called her Menace. Anne thought the small woman was adorable, and from the way the large man melted when Meryn walked over to him, she knew Keelan had been right in calling the man a giant marshmallow.

The woman who had introduced herself as Rheia Bradley sat beside the one she knew to be Colton. He was the fun-loving one who was always playing pranks. It was for their daughter that the men had been in the store that night buying pull ups.

The third woman was Elizabeth Monroe. She was married to Gavriel Ambrosios, the handsome, dark haired man. She, Rheia, Meryn, and Colton, plus an SUV full of men she didn't know had parked outside of her work this morning and turned her world upside down. She had run to her boss, Bart, and begged to leave early. Of course, the older man said yes; he hardly ever told her no. Like Aiden, he was a complete softie. Without a thought for her own safety, she had jumped into their SUV and returned with them to the place almost everyone in town knew existed but never dared to try and find.

Six small words had changed everything.

"Keelan is hurt and needs you."

Anne looked around the room. "Where is he? Where's Keelan? What's happened to him?"

Elizabeth, or as she liked to be called, Beth, pointed to the sofa. "It might be best if you sit down."

Anne looked around the room and saw their grave expressions. She sat down and folded her hands in her lap. "Well?"