28. Turkeyson’s Secret Attack
28
TURKEYSON’S SECRET ATTACK
Duke’s heart began to pound. “Nat? Is he being hurt?”
“Fast breathing. No one’s laying a finger on him right now,” Crush said with a frown. “As far as I can tell.”
Duke handed Wanda over to Crush. Wanda began to make soft, protesting sounds.
Crush sighed and shrugged out of his clothes, shifting into a large grey wolf. Wanda stopped protesting; she grabbed handfuls of Crush’s fur and tugged. Crush curled protectively around her.
“I’ll message for backup,” Raptor said.
“Thanks. I’m going in.” Duke dropped his glamour. He had worn it to move through town so he would draw less attention. But now that they had found Turkeyson, he wanted all his energy going into raw power. “Where are they?”
“East side of the warehouse, on the far corner,” Crush said, still in his wolf shape.
Duke nodded. Then he was jogging to the nearest warehouse entrance, straining his ears for any kind of sound.
Nat had not mentioned what species Turkeyson was, or what abilities he had. Duke erred on the side of caution and moved as quietly as he could, slipping through the first unlocked door he could find.
Inside, the warehouse was dim. Dusty crates obstructed the doorways; Duke had to carefully pick his way around them.
After a while, he heard the low growl of a voice. Turkeyson.
His pulse thundered. He edged around corners, his body tensed to attack.
The voice grew louder. Then came a pained yelp, and Duke had to stop himself from plowing through the walls for Nat.
He needed the element of surprise. He couldn’t fuck this up.
He clenched his burning fists through Nat’s whimpering, hurrying as quickly as he could down the hallways.
There was one set of doors left between himself and Nat, Turkeyson snarling behind it.
“Worthless bitch,” Turkeyson snapped, slamming something metallic against concrete. Nat yelped, and yelped again.
Duke’s restraint snapped. He crashed through the double doors to find Nat on the floor, cowering as Turkeyson held a metal chair above him, ready to send its steel legs plunging down into his unprotected body.
Turkeyson whirled around, teeth bared. “Who the fuck are you?”
“Nat’s alpha,” Duke snarled.
He stalked forward, watching from the corner of his eye as Nat scrambled out of Turkeyson’s range. Good boy.
When Turkeyson noticed Nat’s escape, he whirled back.
Duke was on him in a flash, grabbing the alpha by his throat and yanking him away.
Turkeyson spun out of his grasp, raising his fists. “I’m Nat’s alpha, you son of a bitch!”
“You lost your right the moment you hurt him,” Duke snapped. He summoned Hellfire to his fist and slammed it into Turkeyson’s jaw.
Turkeyson’s head snapped to the side. He roared and threw a punch. “I do what I want with him.”
“No.” Duke dodged his attack. “Omegas have a right to feel safe and loved, and you’ve given him none of that.”
The alpha swung several punches at Duke, his fists fueled by rage. But his technique was clumsy, easily dodged. It was clear that he had only hit people who couldn’t fight back.
The more punches Duke dodged, the more incensed Turkeyson grew.
“Nat, are you hurt?” Duke sidestepped a blow, his eyes on the alpha in front of him.
“N-no,” Nat said from behind some crates. “But Wanda—”
“Wanda’s safe,” Duke said.
“I’ll teach you a lesson,” Turkeyson growled, turning to give Nat a scornful look. “I’ll pin you and make you beg for mercy—”
Duke grabbed him by the throat and drove his fist into Turkeyson’s gut. “This is for hurting Nat.” He punched Turkeyson again. “This is for his fingers.” Another punch. “For his scars.”
Turkeyson grunted. Before Duke could land a fourth punch, the alpha shifted, his throat shrinking so he slipped out of Duke’s grasp.
Duke tensed, waiting for something dangerous to shoot out of Turkeyson’s loose clothing.
Something fluttered out of the fabric.
It was a round, giant turkey, with a wrinkled red neck and a fan of tail feathers.
Duke stared incredulously.
The turkey shrieked and turned, lifting his back end.
Strings of noxious white liquid jetted out at Duke. He leaped back in disgust.
“It’s poop,” Nat cried. “He’s full of shit!”
The turkey launched himself at Duke, trying to peck him with his razor beak.
“Duke!” Nat yelled, dashing forward.
“Stay away,” Duke snapped.
Except the turkey lunged at Nat.
Duke grabbed him by his tail feathers and summoned Hellfire to his fist. Then he punched through Turkeyson’s bones, pushing more and more heat into his knuckles until Turkeyson’s shriek cut off abruptly.
Duke kept his burning fist buried in Turkeyson to make sure he was well and truly dead. Only to stare in disbelief as Turkeyson began to roast from the inside, his feathers falling off in clumps.
The turkey’s skin turned a crisp golden brown.
Nat inched his way forward, covering his nose with his shirt. “I don’t think you’re supposed to roast turkeys when they’re still full of poop.”
Duke’s stomach turned. “Don’t remind me. I don’t think we’re ever eating turkey again.”
“Yeah, no.” Nat shuddered.
They crouched side by side, watching as Turkeyson roasted. Finally, Duke pulled out his fist with a wet squelch, shaking off the drippings. “Are you really okay, sweetheart? Should I take you to the hospital?”
“Nothing broke,” Nat said carefully. “And I got a few scratches, but there’s no lasting damage. I know our baby is still fine.”
“That still means he hurt you.” Duke looked closely, spotting the bruises forming on Nat’s face. When he reached up to touch Nat’s cheek, he remembered that his hand was covered in turkey guts.
He wiped it off on his clothes as best as he could. Then he cradled Nat’s face, leaning in close.
Nat’s breath hitched; his gaze dropped to Duke’s lips.
“I was so worried about you,” Duke whispered. “I thought... I worried that he might have hurt you beyond repair.”
Nat shook his head. “I know how to keep myself safe. I lived with him, remember? I know how to avoid getting hurt. Too badly, anyway.”
“He was going to impale you with a fucking chair, ” Duke hissed. “If I had arrived later, if Crush hadn’t tracked you down...”
Nat cradled Duke’s face with his hands. “Thank you for coming to rescue me,” Nat said earnestly. “I... I knew you would.”
He ducked his head, his cheeks turning pink. His lips curved in a shy smile.
Duke’s heart swelled. He closed the distance between them and brushed their lips together, exhilaration shooting down his nerves. Nat gasped, his body going pliant in Duke’s arms. Why did he look so disbelieving?
“Mine,” Duke growled. He slid their mouths together in several slow kisses. Nat opened easily for him, leaning closer with little whimpers and moans. He tasted sweet and amazing; Duke pressed his tongue into Nat’s soft, velvety mouth, tasting him properly.
Claiming him.
Nat moaned, sucking on Duke’s tongue.
“Fuck.” Duke’s instincts roared. He wanted to bring Nat home, wanted to claim Nat properly in their bed. But this wasn’t the time or place. He hauled Nat closer, just holding him. “Fuck, Nat. You’re so good for me. You’re the most amazing omega I’ve ever known.”
“Surely I can’t be the most amazing. You’re so much older; you’ve met more people,” Nat blurted. Then he looked as though he regretted saying all that.
“Still the best.” Duke hauled Nat onto his lap, running his fingers through Nat’s hair. He dropped several kisses on Nat’s mouth and all over his face, trying to show Nat just how important he was.
“I—I didn’t know that you wanted me this way,” Nat admitted quietly, between kisses.
Duke frowned and pulled back slightly, just enough to look into Nat’s eyes. “Of course I want you, sweetheart. I want you in all the ways. I want you as my mate. ”
Nat sucked in a slow breath. “O-oh. I thought you just wanted me in your family. As your personal assistant.”
Duke’s mouth fell open. “ No. Did you really think that?”
“Yes!” Nat pouted.
“Sweetheart. I’m so sorry.” Duke bumped their foreheads together, kissing Nat again. “I want you to be mine. My omega. My mate. I’m not sure how much more clearly I can say that.”
Nat blushed prettily. Duke had to kiss him again. And again.
“I didn’t think our first kiss would smell like roast turkey and poop,” Nat said suddenly. His eyes grew wide the next moment, and he flinched. “Oh gods! Pretend I never said that!”
Duke snorted. “Nat, that is the smell of victory.”
Nat gaped. Duke gently pushed his mouth shut.
“He’s dead,” Duke murmured. “If it means we have to smell his burnt entrails... Well, there are worse things.”
“I want a shower,” Nat said. He looked extremely relieved, though.
“We’re going straight home and getting you a shower,” Duke promised.
He called Blade again. Then he gathered Nat into his arms, and carried him out of the warehouse.
Crush was still in his wolf shape, Wanda sprawled over the back of his head. In fact, she was reaching over his forehead to grab his wolfish lips, pulling them up to reveal his pointed teeth.
Raptor was crouched in front of them, taking several blackmail photos with his phone.
On opposite sides of the trio, Bruiser and Uriel stood with their arms folded, glowering at each other.
Uriel was a muscular mage with broad shoulders and scars littering his body. He was also the smallest alpha Duke had come across.
It was no surprise that Bruiser towered over him; Bruiser was the same size as Duke and their other alpha friends. But because Bruiser couldn’t abandon his duties as a firefighter, he didn’t often help with emergency rescues.
That was why Bruiser hadn’t been there, when Uriel helped to rescue Nat and his friends from the kidnappers.
“Just because you can’t imagine a smaller alpha fighting, doesn’t mean all small alphas can’t fight,” Uriel sniped. “Or for that matter, omegas.”
“I didn’t say that,” Bruiser retorted. “I meant that I hadn’t seen you fight, so I’m not sure I trust you enough to help with the rescue.”
“Stand down and watch, then,” Uriel growled.
“Why should I? You’re the new guy on the block,” Bruiser replied.
Uriel’s eyes flashed. He gestured at Raptor and Crush. “I’ve been on rescues with them. They’ll back me up.”
“You should quit while you’re ahead, Bruiser,” Raptor said dryly. “The way I see it, you keep digging a deeper hole for yourself.”
“I don’t see any hole,” Bruiser muttered.
“With an attitude like that, no one would show you their hole,” Uriel said.
Bruiser flipped him off. “If you must know, I get more than my fair share of holes.”
Uriel rolled his eyes. “But obviously yours is the biggest, because you’re a giant fucking asshole.”
Bruiser pretended to clutch his chest. “For someone who’s so insistent on proving what a big bad alpha you are, you sure fight like an omega.”
Uriel stared at him for a moment too long, his expression unreadable. “I don’t need to prove myself. You’re the one who wanted it. Find someone else to stroke your big alpha ego; it’s growing a little limp.”
“Fuck off,” Bruiser said.
Uriel snorted and turned to Duke. “I was in the area and decided to stop by. No assistance needed?”
Duke shook his head. “None needed, but thank you for coming down. I’m sure there are other things you could be doing.”
Uriel gave a small nod. “How’s the intruder at your restaurant, Raptor?”
Raptor jerked around to look at Uriel so quickly, his joints popped. “How did you know about that? I told no one.”
Uriel smiled mysteriously. “Just a lucky guess.”
He glanced at Nat, smiled again, then walked away.
“What intruder?” Bruiser asked Raptor.
Raptor spun around to face Nat. “What do you know about it?”
Nat shook his head in bewilderment. Raptor frowned.
As Uriel headed down the street, he plucked at his shirt, dislodging the wet spots that had stuck to his nipples. Those spots hadn’t been obvious on the dark grey fabric; it wasn’t a secret that he nursed his child.
Not that any of them could explain how that was possible; Uriel wasn’t a shapeshifter. He couldn’t spontaneously grow omega parts.
Duke rearranged Nat, supporting his weight with one arm so he could trail his knuckles over Nat’s belly.
“Well, I’m leaving,” Bruiser muttered. “I don’t get how you keep taking his side.”
“He did help us, you know,” Crush said dryly. “His spells helped a lot with keeping the omegas safe, when we rescued Nat and his friends.”
“We just kept our mouths shut because Uriel roasts you perfectly all by himself.” Raptor snickered. “Probably more effectively than the rest of us combined.”
Bruiser scowled, stuffed his hands into his pockets, and stalked off.
“I feel a little bad for him,” Nat said.
Bruiser’s shoulders tensed even more.
“He doesn’t want anyone feeling bad for him,” Duke said dryly. “But we appreciate him showing up to help.”
“Yeah.” Nat nodded.
Bruiser relaxed a little at that, so Nat turned to Wanda, who was trying to stuff her fist into Crush’s mouth.
With the tension gone, Duke brought Nat over to Crush and Raptor. Wanda immediately turned to Nat, reaching out for him.
“Aww,” Raptor and Crush both said.
Nat scooped Wanda off Crush’s head, cuddling her against his chest. “Wanda!”
“Wa wa!” Wanda snuggled into him.
“She missed you a lot while you were gone,” Duke said. He hesitated over the other piece of news. “And...”
Nat frowned. “What is it? Wait. Kylie was there, wasn’t she? She came by when Giblin kidnapped me...”
Duke winced. “Yeah, she did. She had Wanda for a few minutes—” Nat gasped “—but Xannon and I caught her. She’s dead now.”
Nat exhaled, leaning into Duke’s chest. “Tara from Shipping said there was a package downstairs for you. It’s why I went down in the first place.”
Duke stiffened. “Is she Kylie’s accomplice? I didn’t know about that.”
Nat thought about it. “I don’t think so? Tara’s always liked me. So I suspect she heard a rumor and told me about it. Hell, she might not even have known that Kylie was fired. Maybe Kylie texted her.”
“I’ll put her on probation anyway,” Duke said. “Just in case.”
Nat winced but nodded. Their priority was to keep Wanda safe.
Duke turned to Raptor and Crush, who had shifted back into a human and gotten dressed. “I’ve called Blade about Turkeyson. He’ll be here soon enough.”
“Time to get back to work,” Raptor said, except he looked shifty.
“What kinds of illegal things are you doing in your restaurant?” Crush asked.
“Nothing illegal!” Raptor flipped him off. “Perfectly legal, over-the-table kinds of things.”
“Your expression is really suspicious,” Nat said.
“That’s because Rap’s face is always suspicious,” Crush said, only to have Raptor elbow him hard in the ribs.
Raptor and Crush both turned, suddenly.
When Duke followed their sight lines, he found a small, bedraggled man hurrying along, a bundle clutched in his arms.
The man also had a round belly. Nat frowned deeply.
“Here, let me down,” Nat said. He handed Wanda to Duke, then waved at the omega. “Hey! Hello. Do you need help? You look like you could use some help.”
The man startled and leaped back, his gaze flickering from Nat to Duke, Raptor, and Crush. “What do you want?”
“To help.” Nat said. “What’s your name?”
“Emre.” The man glanced around as though he was being chased. “I just need a place to stay.”
Crush perked up. Just that Emre shook his head rapidly. “I need a place where it’s just me.”
“There are a few safehouses that we own,” Crush began.
“Safehouses...?” Emre shook his head harder. “No! I don’t know you. I can’t shelter in a place that you have the keys to.”
Did his trust issues stem from something bad? Duke winced. Nat looked uneasy and concerned.
“There’s an apartment building nearby,” Raptor said. “My little brother has a tiny place there, but he’s not the landlord. You could rent something there.”
Emre stared suspiciously at them. “I don’t have any money.”
The bundle in his arms wriggled, a tiny snout poking out. Emre hurriedly pulled the blanket back over the snout.
“Here, we’ll spot you some cash,” Duke said, opening up his wallet. “This might get you some shelter for a week.”
Raptor and Crush opened their wallets too.
Together, they piled a bundle of notes in Nat’s hands, while Emre watched in sheer disbelief.
“Get some food too,” Nat said, shoving the money at Emre. “And... Here’s my number if you need a friend.” He accepted a pen and paper from Duke, scribbling down his phone number and email address. “My name is Nat. I have some friends in Cartfalls who would love to be your friends too. We’re all single dads.”
Then Nat paused, and shared a look with Duke. Duke’s heart skipped.
“This is too much,” Emre said, his lower lip wobbling. “I can’t pay you back.”
“Just stay safe,” Duke said. “That’s all we want.”
Nat looked as though he wanted to pull Emre into a hug, but wasn’t sure of its welcome. “We can go with you to the apartment building, if that makes you feel better.”
Emre glanced at Duke and shook his head.
“Okay.” Nat’s shoulders slumped. “You have some cash, and my number. If you need help, we’ll do our best to help.”
“Th-thank you,” Emre said. He sketched a quick bow, stuffed the money into his pocket, and hurried in the direction of the apartment building.
“Do you think he’ll be okay?” Raptor asked.
“We could check on him,” Crush said.
“I’ll ask my brother to keep a lookout,” Raptor said. “Zenith’s moving back in there soon. Deadlines or something.”
“Good,” Duke said. He handed Wanda back to Nat and scooped them both into his arms. “Single dad, huh?”
Nat blushed. “Maybe not so single anymore.”
Duke grinned and held him closer, dropping a kiss on his head. “C’mon. Let’s go home.”
Nat patted his pockets. “If it’s not too much trouble... Could you help me find my phone? I think I lost it on the way.”
“I’ll see if I can sniff it out,” Crush said.