Chapter 13 #4
Everly spent the next half hour teaching the females about caring for wounds, sewing stitches, splinting fractures, making tourniquets, and administering CPR. After her lesson, she studied the females and lifted her brows. “Now do you see why we stay behind?”
Lola looked away, the fire in her eyes dimming just a little. “I hate that you’re right.” There was no real heat in her voice.
“Get used to it,” Everly said, grinning. “It happens a lot.”
Akira cleared her throat, and for the first time, the tension cracked a little. “I suppose this is as good a time as any to share our feelings?”
Miryam snorted. “Hell, I hope not. I try to leave my emotional baggage in my other suitcases."
Katy perked up, eyes narrowing on the newcomers.
Everly could practically see the female vibrating with questions.
“Actually, this is the part where I push away the emotionally cogent crap a wiser female has said and I get to grill the two of you about this whole mating thing with Raphael and Nico. Because I swear, if you two end up as demon princesses and a shaman queen or whatever and don’t spill the tea, I’m going to dye your hair pink in your sleep. ”
“Umm,” Miryam raised her hand. “What does cogent mean?”
Lola grinned, finally, and elbowed Katy. “It’s about time you started back up with the ‘word of the day’. I was beginning to think all that sex had killed your brain cells. ”
Katy rolled her eyes. “Maybe temporarily, because of lack of oxygen. But I bounce back pretty quick.”
“Based on what I heard earlier, I can attest to that,” Lola laughed.
“Never mind,” Miryam shook her head. “I don’t want to know anything. No words, no sexcapades, or any other personal information that may make it obligatory to share my own life.”
“Too late,” Katy sang. “You’re in the girl click now, simply by showing up here with the succubus eye candy. Spill it.”
Akira lifted a brow. “You want details about what, exactly? The part where I acquire a tattoo that apparently only Nico has? Or the part where before even knowing I was to be his mate, I realized I apparently have a thing for men who look like they’re one psychotic day away from being in a true crime documentary? ”
Miryam rolled her eyes. “You think that’s bad? Try being claimed by a demon who apologizes every time he touches you, as if he’s afraid he’ll catch feelings and spontaneously combust.”
Everly snorted. “You two are going to fit in just fine.”
Katy leaned forward, all sharp interest. “Okay, but, like . . . was there this instant attraction? Did either of them show any interest, or did that only happen after the markings? And is it the whole ‘I’ll kill anyone who looks at you’ vibe? I never thought I’d like that, but it’s sexy as hell.”
Akira and Miryam exchanged a look.
“I think he was attracted right off the bat,” Akira said.
Miryam nodded. “Definitely. He couldn’t take his eyes off you.”
“What about Raphael?” Lola asked.
Miryam looked a little apprehensive. “He’s a little harder to read. But, from what I can gather, what little he has said to me is that he doesn’t think he’s worthy of me.”
Katy groaned. “Ugh, one of those. You’re too good for me. I’ve done all the bad things and therefore if I touch you I’m going to taint you, blah, blah, blah. You’re going to have to screw that right out of him.”
“Katy,” Lola snapped. “What the hell? I thought your brain cells hadn’t died? You sound like someone from the other side of the tracks who has the vocabulary of a street thug.”
“Have you met any street thugs?” Katy challenged. “You shouldn’t judge. For all you know, they’re perfectly nice humans who just don’t have access to a thesaurus or internet. Or maybe they just didn’t learn to read. I’m ashamed of you, Lola. To act so superior.”
“Oh shut up,” Lola waved Katy off. “You’re a judgy heifer. Don’t even pretend you’re not.”
Everly watched the interaction between the two girls with fascination. Shockingly, female shifters talked a lot less. They tended to simply scratch the hell out of each other and then go on about their business. This was much more interesting.
“If you’re mating is anything like a Damarian mating, reading him will become easier, because you’ll feel what he feels.
Intense as hell, but also handy. For instance, with Gage, if he’s angry, I know.
If he’s hungry, I know. If he’s thinking about sex, I definitely know.
” Katy turned back to the other two females. “Okay, what else do you have?”
Miryam coughed. “Well, there’s been too much going on for us to move past the ‘oh hell I’ve got a demon tattoo on me.’”
Lola threw up her hands. “You two are hopeless.”
Akira grinned, a little more at ease. “Better than helpless.”
Everly picked her cup back up and sipped her tea, content as the girls’ banter started to unravel the tension. There would always be fights, always be pain, but there was laughter, too. Strength, stubbornness, and so much love it could heal the world if only the world would let it.
“Alright,” Everly said, gathering their attention once more.
“Back to the things we can deal with right now. After all those things are dealt with, we can revisit Nico and Raphael.” She gave Miryam and Akira a pointed look.
“And we will. For now, as I said we don’t just wait.
We support. We plan. We help those who need it, heal.
And when the time comes, we remind these idiots why they can’t live without us. ”
Lola raised her mug. “To the females.”
Katy clinked hers against it. “To the pack.”
Miryam and Akira joined in, their smiles fierce.
“To surviving demons, green haired crazy dudes, dire wolves, whatever those are, and lion shifters,” Miryam said.
Katy nodded. “We totally got this.”
Nico had led war councils before. He’d faced down birds of prey, panthers, and even the occasional bloodthirsty ape with more power than sense. But nothing, nothing, compared to the sheer chaos of a house full of dominant males all trying to agree on a plan.
Nox’s study was a war room: maps spread out, phones buzzing, Raphael stalking the edges like he was hunting something, and Callon and Gage glowering at each other across the table.
Nico cleared his throat. “We need to focus. If we’re going to pull off a stealth extraction of two people whose exact location we don’t know, we’re going to need more than brute force.”
Rafe nodded, arms folded. “We go in quiet. Two teams: one to create a diversion near the south gates, one to go after Roan and Maddie.”
Wyatt was sprawled in a chair, looking almost bored. “And if Silk’s king and queen are in on it?”
Gage growled. “We deal with it then. Roan and Maddie come first.”
Raphael, for once, didn’t argue or have a smartass remark. “Agreed. We can’t risk a confrontation with the entire kingdom unless we have no choice.”
Nox stabbed a finger at the map. “I have contacts in Silk who owe me favors. I’ll reach out, see what information we can get on guard rotations and magical wards.”
Bane, silent but deadly, nodded once. “I’ll take point on the diversion.”
Callon looked at Nico, eyes sharp. “You good with this? Lyric could be caught in the crossfire if we don’t know where she is. I know she’s an ally of yours, even if you do give each other crap once and a while.”
Nico met his gaze. “I don’t like it. But it’s the best shot we have. We get in, get them, get out. No heroics, no bloodbaths—unless absolutely necessary. Then I’ll deal with the other shamans. They will be pissed that we didn’t bring this before them.”
Dyrstan grinned. “Define ‘necessary.’”
Gage rolled his eyes. “If you have to ask, you’re already pushing it.”
A sudden trill shattered the tension—a phone call, Nox’s burner lighting up in his hand.
He frowned at the screen. “Unknown number. Los Angeles area code.”
Nico’s gut twisted. “Put it on speaker.”
Nox did, voice gruff. “Talk.”
A familiar, oily voice slid through the line. “Gentlemen. I hear you’ve discovered some interesting information and that one of my own has been digging. Might I suggest you bring a guest?”
Nico’s blood went cold. “Wolfgang.”
Wolfgang’s chuckle was pure malice. “Shaman,” he purred. “I have to admit, Nico, you surprised me. I honestly thought I had your loyalty.”
“I’ve never trusted you,” Nico admitted, and he didn’t feel an ounce of guilt. “I may be the shaman to the Kingdom of Chaos, and I may care deeply for the members, but make no mistake, you are not the one who held my loyalty.”
“I can forgive you that,” the King of Chaos said. “And that’s not why I called.”
“What do you want?” Nox asked, his patience obviously wearing thin as his claws slipped from his finger nails.
“You need information and I know all the players. And I’m willing to help—if you can guarantee me amnesty.
” He cleared his throat. “As I’m sure Nico so helpfully shared, me and my mate had a temporary lapse in judgment because we wanted mates for our males.
Like other kingdoms, we are growing weak because of the lack of those able to shift.
I am willing to let go of that plan and help you catch some serious traitors if you’re willing to convince the shaman council to overlook our lack of good sense. ”
A dozen reactions exploded at once: growls, curses, the scrape of claws on wood.
Callon’s voice was lethal. “Why the hell would we trust you? As you’ve just pointed out, you don’t exactly have much sense. I have a tendency not to listen to stupid people. And you fall firmly under that category.”
Wolfgang sighed theatrically. “Because you’re running out of time. And because your enemies are more dangerous than you realize. Think about it. I’ll be waiting for your call.”
The line went dead.
Nico stared at the phone, jaw clenched, mind racing.
He knew something was off, had felt it in his bones since he’d received the messages from Lyric.
Now Wolfgang wanted forgiveness? That could only mean one thing: they weren’t just fighting the royals of Silk, or maybe as he thought, it wasn’t Athena and Aurelius at all.
They were fighting something—someone—bigger.
He looked at the others. “We need to make a decision. Now.”
No one argued.
Outside, the night was silent, but Nico felt a storm coming.