Chapter Thirteen
Dean
The new information Dean had received that morning had moved the meeting up by several hours. Logan hadn’t wanted to get out of bed. It had only been the promise of a pretty treat later that had convinced Logan to allow Dean to drag him downstairs. Although his boy had insisted on changing. He’d been wearing the pink silk pajama bottoms, but Dean had helped him slide on a new pair of sweatpants.
They still had some insecurities to work through.
That would have to wait until after he shared what he found out at the meeting, and they came up with a plan. At least Dean was smart enough not to go rushing off on his own this time. He really should get credit for that instead of the glares he was on the receiving end of from half the men around the counter.
“Who is this guy?” Axel demanded.
“Victim of the coven. I rescued him from being tied up in the basement. I broke him out and he helped Noah distract the three witches.”
“This guy saw you kill and you let him go?” Bo demanded. “What if he’d gone to the authorities?”
Logan gasped as he clung to Dean’s side. “Would he do that?”
“Wait!” Dean ordered. He wrapped an arm around Logan’s shoulder as he held him tight. “I didn’t kill anyone.”
“Yeah!” Noah glared around the room. “Do you really think that we went on some murder rampage? What kind of people do you take us for?”
Dean glanced around the kitchen at everyone gathered. Not every member of Logan’s family was in attendance and that was probably a good thing. Shawn and Trevor had taken the boys into town to get breakfast at the diner.
Currently Axel, Gavin, Bo, Craig, Nate, Drake, Levi, Mason, and Lucifer were standing with him, Logan, and Noah. The warriors of the family. He could understand wanting to protect the boys and had suggested that Logan go with them, but Logan hadn’t wanted to leave his side. Did his mate think that he went around killing people too?
“I’m confused,” Axel admitted.
“I need more coffee.” Dean shook his empty mug.
“I’ll get it,” Logan offered. He took Dean’s mug and crossed the kitchen.
Dean faced the others. “I didn’t kill my former coven members.”
“You said you hunted them down. Took care of them,” Axel argued.
“I did.” Dean rubbed his hand roughly over his face. “I must be careful with my magic. If I had killed my coven, then I would have absorbed what they’d been stealing from others. It would have been too big of a power boost. I might have shorted out my own magic. Plus, I don’t ever dabble in blood magic. That stuff is just nasty.”
“How did you take care of your old coven?” Bo asked.
“I lured them outside. That way the magic could be returned to the land. Ley lines. The moonlight could counter evil attempts. I can only do what I do outside.”
“Okay,” Gavin said. “I know a little about magic. Have seen it used in the old days. That all tracks. So, you just stripped the coven of their magic?”
“That and took away any memories they had of ever being able to use magic. Sent them on a new path in life.” Dean made sure to meet the alpha’s gaze. “I can’t kill anyone.”
It was Bo who assured him. “It’s a good thing that you didn’t. We have resources available. The demons in hell. Hellhounds to drag them there. All neat and tidy so no one has to suffer the consequences for what has to be done.”
“I would have…” Dean had to look at Logan who hovered by his side. It was time for a true confession from him. “I wanted to kill them.”
Logan made a soft sound in the back of his throat before he set Dean’s mug on the counter.
Dean cupped Logan’s face. “They were…are a threat to you. It’s my job to protect you.”
“It’s our job to protect each other,” Logan told him. “Together, with my family, we’ll make sure they can’t hurt us.”
Dean kissed Logan. His boy was right.
“So this…Stryker,” Gavin said.
With regret Dean pulled back but kept Logan against his chest. Right where his boy should always be. “I saved him and he offered me his services. The coven had captured him by using a magical spell on their electronics. He’d taken money from them. They took him in revenge.”
“He’s a thief?” Gavin accused.
Dean shook his head. Stryker was special. He did what he did for reasons of his own and they weren’t Dean’s to share with the others.
“Once I made certain his computer was magically protected, Stryker promised to find the rest of the coven’s money. If we can find their money, then we can make them hurt where it will matter most.”
“That’s a brilliant plan,” Axel praised.
“This Stryker found something?” Gavin questioned.
“He’d followed a trail. It appears that the coven leaders have been using their influence with shifters and hiding out. Draining them dry then moving on to the next pack or family.”
The laptop that Dean had set up on the counter started to ring. “This is my guy.” Leaning over, Dean hit Accept on the screen.
“Hello, Stryker,” Dean greeted.
“Is that your mate? Did you finally claim him?” Stryker demanded.
In the two days that Dean and Noah had spent with Stryker, the young man had asked a lot of questions about the paranormal world. Before Stryker had been kidnapped, he’d had no idea that the paranormal world was out there. Had known nothing about magic, witches, shifters, anything like that. The young hacker had just been trying to get by. The knowledge that more paranormals existed than the boy could ever imagine helped keep Stryker on their side.
“Why is he wearing a mask?” Gavin demanded.
Under the Call of Duty Ghost Cosplay mask, Stryker’s eyes widened. “Hello there, handsome!”
“He’s a hacker,” Noah provided. “We agreed if there’s anyone other than me and Dean that he could hide his face.” He pushed Gavin out of the way before bouncing in front of the screen and waving.
“Kitty cat!” Stryker laughed. “How are you doing?”
“We’re good!” Noah motioned toward Logan. “And Dean totally claimed his mate! That’s Logan.”
“Hey, Logan,” Stryker said. “Your mate saved my life. If you need anything, Dean or Noah know how to get a hold of me.”
“Appreciate that,” Logan said quietly.
“What have you got for us?” Dean asked after moving Noah from in front of the screen.
“Where’s Mr. Hottie? With the ripped jeans and tattoos?” Stryker demanded.
“Gavin?” Dean looked over to find Gavin leaning against the counter drinking a cup of coffee.
“I like my men bad. Very bad. He looks like he could—”
“Anyway…” Dean glared at the screen. “Intel?”
“Fine.” Stryker huffed. “Ruin all my fun. I’ve been staring at numbers and money for a week now. I just wanted to look at something nice.”
Gavin grunted before he pushed from his position. He stepped up next to Dean before hopping up onto the counter. “Better?” he asked roughly.
“Mm-hmm,” Stryker said. “Just stay right there.”
“Information,” Dean said again.
“That’s fair.” The screen on Dean’s laptop changed. There was a map of the eastern part of the United States. Small red circles along an interstate.
“What’s this?” Dean asked, leaning forward.
“Those are locations where money has been withdrawn or deposited into this bank account.”
The screen changed again.
Dean didn’t even know what he was looking at. He just knew that was more money than he’d ever seen in his life.
“This is the account that fed into the one I hacked into. The witches that you saved me from. I’ve also linked five other accounts but there hasn’t been any movement in several weeks. They might have belonged to the coven that you took out already.”
“What did you do with the money in the accounts that aren’t active?” Gavin asked suddenly.
It was obvious that Stryker was grinning. Even with everything but his eyes hidden from view. It was in his eyes. Dean sighed, already knowing the answer.
“It wasn’t like they needed the money,” Stryker said. “I have a very pretty new bike. Want to see it?”
“A masked biker hacker?” Gavin said. “I think I’ll pass.”
“Ah, don’t be that way, Papi. I take good care of my toys.”
Several of the men made a sound. Logan giggled, Noah frowned, and all Dean could do was shake his head. This was getting out of hand. Dean didn’t know Gavin well, but he couldn’t see the man taking that kind of sass lightly.
“Bad boys get their toys taken away,” Gavin warned. His voice low and gravelly. “It might be best if you remember that. Now back on track. Show us the map again.”
Stryker cleared his throat before the map once again appeared.
“I can get there in a couple of hours. Check it out for any trace of the coven,” Gavin said.
“What are you going to do, Papi? Fly?” Stryker asked with a laugh.
“Yes,” Gavin deadpanned.
“Oh! If they aren’t at the last circle, then I would check for any packs or paranormal families north from there. They’re moving south to north. Never west to east. So keep that in mind.”
“I can get you the location of the packs around there,” Lucifer offered.
“I want to do some research of the area today. I’ll leave early tomorrow morning,” Gavin said.
“By yourself?” Logan exclaimed. “No! It could be dangerous.”
Gavin tore his gaze from the screen over to Logan.
Logan fidgeted. Wringing his hands. “What if you get hurt?”
“Hey!” Gavin hopped off the counter. He grabbed Logan’s hand. “Just a little recon. I won’t even be seen. You know that.”
“You have to be careful!” Logan insisted. “Promise me!”
“I promise, Logan. I’ll be home before you know it.”
“Hey!” Stryker’s face appeared back on the screen. “He already has a mate, Papi. If you want to hold someone’s hand—”
Gavin turned. With his eyes on the screen, he brought Logan’s fingers up to his mouth and kissed each one.
“That was mean!” Stryker complained.
“And unnecessary.” Dean pulled Logan away.
“I need a copy of everything you have,” Gavin ordered of Stryker.
“Give me your email,” Stryker responded.
As Gavin rattled off several letters and numbers, Dean settled with his chin on Logan’s shoulder.
“Let’s look at the map one more time,” Lucifer suggested. “I want to see if we can figure where the coven might go next before we send Gavin off.”
The map appeared again.
“Here.” Lucifer tapped the third circle. “That’s the town my boys are from. The magic had been abused for so long we are still trying to fix it. Bel is there. If you need help closer than we are.”
“I can portal to you,” Bo said. “You just have to call.”
“I’ll be fine, guys,” Gavin said.
“You promised,” Logan whispered.
Gavin glanced at Logan. “I did.”
Logan nodded.
“Here.” Lucifer moved his finger up. “Bear shifters.” As he moved his finger up, Lucifer shared which paranormal type lived in the area until he said, “lion pride.”
Logan gasped.
“A pride?” Axel was at Logan’s side immediately as Dean’s boy started to shake. His face going pale.
“No!” Logan cried. “It can’t be them!”
“Do you remember what state you’re from?” Dean questioned.
“No, he doesn’t,” Axel answered for him.
Logan shook his head as well.
“I’ll find out.” Gavin turned to face Logan. “I’ll go there first.”
“Can’t,” Logan said. “You need to find the coven. They’re the threat.”
“I don’t care. It’s your family,” Gavin said.
“Not my family,” Logan said harshly. “They…they threw me away. Find the coven. Don’t worry about the pride.”
“Lo—”
Logan shook his head. “I don’t want to talk about it anymore.”
“Okay, baby.” Dean kissed Logan’s temple as he caught Gavin’s gaze. They would talk about how to handle this later.
“I don’t want to hear any more,” Logan stated suddenly. “I want to go to my tree.”
“Go ahead, boy,” Axel jerked his head toward the back door.
“K.” Logan scurried away without looking at the rest of them.
The back door slammed after him.
“Is he gone?” Stryker was back on screen. His dark eyes showing his worry.
“Yes,” Dean replied.
“I’ll see what I can find out about that area,” Stryker said. “Poke around a little bit. See what I can hack.”
“Send me everything you find on them,” Gavin ordered.
“You got it, Papi.”
Dean tuned out the rest of the conversation around him as he watched through the window while Logan crawled under his tree and rolled to his side.
His poor boy. Logan just couldn’t seem to get away from that horrible family he’d been saddled with.
“He told you about his parents?” Axel whispered.
“Yeah.”
“He’s going to take this hard. Even though they did throw him away, Logan’s heart is too soft to not care what happens to them.”
“I’ll go there,” Dean said. “Gavin can look for the coven. I’ll go to the pride lands and check it out.”
“We’ll go there,” Axel corrected.
“I’m sending some of my demons to check the other locations that the coven went through. If it’s anything like Gage and Cary’s hometown, they’re going to need help,” Lucifer shared.
“I don’t want anyone going to the pride land without me,” Axel stated.
“He’ll want to go,” Dean said. He knew his boy.
“I’m coming too,” Noah said. “He'll need the support.”
“Hell! We’ll make it a family trip.” Axel grunted. “I’ll get it worked out. Go check on your boy.”
Since Gavin and Stryker were still flirt-fighting, Dean didn’t bother to say goodbye to the hacker. He headed for the back door.
Logan didn’t turn when Dean reached him.
“Cupcake?” Dean said quietly. He didn’t think his mate was asleep. The magic was telling him that Logan was hurt and upset.
Logan sniffled.
“Oh, my boy.” Dean dropped to his knees beside his mate. He leaned over Logan where the boy’s head was buried in his arms. His body shaking. “Come here.”
Logan turned, wrapping his arms around Dean’s neck as Dean pulled Logan into his lap.
“It’s okay.” Dean rocked his sweet mate. His heart ached with the pain he felt through the magic.
More weight added to his lap.
Noah wrapped around Logan from behind. “We got you, Logan. It’s okay to cry. Or scream. Whatever you need.”
“I shouldn’t,” Logan sobbed. “I shouldn’t care what happened to them.”
“Of course you care,” Noah said. “Unlike those monsters, you have a heart. That's what makes you special.”
“I don’t feel special,” Logan said quietly. “Not when I think of them. How they could just throw me off the pride lands. Threaten me. My father said if I didn’t leave then he would have the pride hunt me down.” More tears fell. “Why did they hate me so much?”
“I don’t know,” Noah hugged him tighter. His hands nearly going purple. “They didn’t deserve you then and they don’t deserve your tears now. Still, we’ll go there tomorrow. All of us. Your new family.”
“We will?” Logan lifted his face to peer at Dean.
Dean had been just fine with Noah comforting his mate but now Logan needed his reassurances. “Yes, we’ll all go. Check them out. See if it is even your old pride.”
“My tummy says it is,” Logan told him. “It hurts when I think about them.”
“We won’t let them hurt you ever again,” Noah said fiercely.
Logan nodded. “I don’t…want to cry about them.”
“Then don’t!” Noah hopped up. “You need food. Breakfast! I’ll be back.”
Noah was off and running before Dean could stop them.
“I love him,” Logan said quietly. “He always makes me feel better.”
“That’s the familiar in him,” Dean told him.
“No.” Logan shook his head. “That’s him. The familiar might make me feel it more but it’s him.”
“That’s true,” Dean agreed.
Logan looked him in the eye. “I love you too.”
Dean smiled. “I’ve been in love with you before you even knew about me. You are so kind to everyone around you. You work hard and make sure that the people on your crews are taken care of. Everyone in town loves you. It didn’t take me more than one meeting to know I’d been blessed.”
Logan turned red.
“I love you, Logan, my boy, my sweet and special cupcake.”
“Daddy,” Logan moaned before kissing him.
This was much better.
Dean’s magic pulsed as Logan went from sad to happy fast. Almost too fast. Logan was pushing thoughts of his family away but Dean could handle that later.
They had just exchanged their first I love yous and they needed to celebrate.
Dean leaned forward to place Logan on his back, hovering over him. “Daddy is going to show his boy just how much I love you.”
“Please,” Logan begged.
“Are you hard for me?” Dean cupped Logan’s erection.
“Yes!” Logan hissed, lifting his hips and pushing into Dean’s palm. “Always.”
“I’m going to take this nice thick cock down on my throat. Are you going to give Daddy his breakfast?”
“What…” Logan panted. “What if someone sees us?”
“I already put a protection spell around us,” Dean told him. “I would never put you in a vulnerable position when I know you’re wearing your pretties for me.”
“Thank…thank you, Daddy!”
“Now lie still and let me have my treat,” Dean ordered.
Logan lay in the thick grass, shaded by the big tree, peering at Dean with big eyes.
Dean tugged Logan’s sweatpants off his hips and to his knees.
“Such a pretty picture.” Logan looked good in pink.
“Push your shirt up, baby. I want to see those pretty pierced nipples.”
Logan hurried to comply.
Dean ran his palms over the silk, under the lace, until he could feel the piercing adorning Logan’s gorgeous cock. His mouth watered, wanting to please his boy.
“I need—” Logan begged.
Dean carefully slid the panties off around Logan’s thick shaft. He didn’t want to stretch the material too much.
Leaning over, Dean took the tip of Logan’s erection in his mouth.
He bobbed down as Logan cried out.
Logan buried his hands in Dean’s hair, pushing his hips up.
Dean choked before adjusting so he could suck Logan hard and fast. With the amount of family that was around, his protection barrier could only do so much. No one could see or hear them but that didn’t mean that someone wouldn’t stumble on what they were doing.
“More!” Logan begged, pumping his hips faster.
Dean was happy to follow that order.