Chapter Twenty-Seven
“HE’S BEEN gone for hours,” Aric whined.
Seth laughed. “He’s been gone thirty-eight minutes. I started the stopwatch the moment he left, because I knew you’d build it up in your head to be way longer. And let’s face it, they have a lot to talk about.”
Brick had asked for a meeting with Horvan, which had somehow grown into a Zoom meeting with Aelryn, all of which made Aric nervous.
This isn’t just his future we’re talking about. It’s ours too.
Right then Aric didn’t care where they ended up, as long as they were together. And he couldn’t see Horvan or Aelryn sending Brick off to some far-flung country without his mates. They understood what torture that would be.
Except didn’t Horvan leave Dellan and Rael at home once?
Then he recalled Rael telling him how they’d followed the team anyway.
So I’m not the only disobedient mate after all.
He glanced up when Brick strode into the bedroom, and beamed. “Hey, you. How’d it go?”
Yay. Go me, not showing how nervous I really am.
Brick flopped onto the bed, and in a heartbeat Seth and Aric snuggled against him. Brick kissed them both. “I’ve been looking forward to this for the last hour.”
Seth laughed. “I swear, you two are as bad as each other. You need me around for balance.” He returned Brick’s kiss. “ Now you can tell us how it went.”
“Long. Tiring. Never let anyone tell you Zoom calls are less annoying than an actual physical meeting.” He sighed. “I wouldn’t want to be Aelryn right now.”
“Why? Is something wrong?” Aric’s heartbeat quickened as he imagined the worst. Except after the Fielding and Theron episodes, he couldn’t for the life of him think what could be worse than that .
“He called us three times during my meeting with Horvan, and while he was online, two people I didn’t recognize stopped by to discuss something.
Once he was done with them, he started working on something else, until Horvan coughed to remind him we were still connected.
You should’ve seen Aelryn’s face. I get it, though.
He’s being pulled in a lot of different directions. ”
Jake’s revelations might have provided a bombshell, but the Fridan leaders still had to get the word out about them.
And not everyone is gonna like what we have to tell them.
“How did Horvan and Aelryn react to the news that you’re not quitting after all?” Seth asked.
“I guess it made things a little easier for them. It also gave them a little headache, because they’d been working on plans to move ahead without me.”
“I’m sorry,” Aric blurted. “I shouldn’t have—”
“Hey.” Brick kissed his hair. “This is not on you, okay? It’s on me.” He peered at Aric. “I do need to know, though. Are you sure this is what you want me to do? I mean, they’re talking splitting us up and forming us into smaller strike teams. We’d have to move, for one thing.”
Aric bounced upright. “Move? Where to? Please don’t say the UK. The weather would depress the fuck out of me, and—”
“Will you let me finish?” Brick speared him with a steely gaze, and Aric mimed zipping his lips.
“Okay, Aelryn said they have what is essentially a place where people go to chill out and recenter themselves. He says it wasn’t meant for long-term use but could be modified.
He also said if we want it, we’d be welcome to it.
The place hasn’t been used in a couple of years, so it would need a good cleaning and some patient tending to bring it up to home status. ”
“Okay, but where?” Seth demanded.
“It’s near the Teton forest in Wyoming.”
Aric had grabbed his phone before Brick could take another breath.
“Whoa, there.” Brick placed his hand on Aric’s arm. “The thing is, it’s not really a place for a little kitty. Too many predators, for one thing. And it’s remote, so you and Seth would run the risk of being lonely if I’m out on missions.”
Aric smiled. “Keep us filled with your scent and no one will dare to bother us. I’d love to live anywhere you and Seth are.”
“Anywhere?” Seth arched his eyebrows. “That covers a lot.”
“Can I be honest with you? I don’t like crowds or noises, and this place sounds like a slice of apple pie with ice cream. ”
Seth chuckled. “I might have known you’d make it about food.”
“There’s more to tell you. This new deal? It’s not all about the fighting, according to Horvan. He said it requires diplomacy too.” Brick snickered. “I told him that lets me out. But then he said you two might have a role to play.”
“How?” Aric fought to keep calm, but his heart was racing. “I would love that. I can be diplomatic.”
Seth let out a snort. “Excuse me? That was you who told Crank not to have another cookie because his shirts were looking a little tight around the middle?”
“Hey, he thanked me for that,” Aric remonstrated. “He said it was a reminder to use the gym more.” He turned toward Brick, batting his eyelashes. “And I can take part in missions too. I’ve done it twice now.”
Brick coughed. “Can I remind you that first time was you disobeying me?”
Seth laughed. “Strolling into Thurland Castle has given you a taste for it, huh? Aric—spy kitty.”
“Hey, I was good,” Aric protested. “Aelryn said so.”
“Horvan suggested you and Seth could talk to people. You were captives, so you have firsthand knowledge.” Brick smirked.
Aric narrowed his gaze. “What else did Horvan say?”
Brick grinned. “He said I’d need to be okay with it, but it beat you stowing away in my gear. And Seth would be there to keep an eye on you.”
Aric folded his arms. “And what did you say? Because you kept us out of that meeting.”
Brick coughed. “I said a fly shifter wouldn’t have enough eyes to keep on that little bastard.”
He gave a mock gasp. “Little bastard? Were you referring to me ?”
Brick’s grin wouldn’t quit. “Well, what would you call someone who stows away in your pack and barfs on your gear?”
Aric moved to sit astride him. “Take that back.”
“Nope.”
“Now.”
“Nope.” Brick’s eyes twinkled. “Whatcha gonna do about it, kitty cat?”
A heartbeat later Aric shifted and stretched out his claws, holding them above Brick’s chest. Brick flinched.
Seth laughed his ass off. “Now I’ve seen everything. The big bad polar bear is afraid of murder mitts.”
Brick rolled his eyes. “Duh. I’ve seen what damage he can do with them. ”
Aric shifted back, buffing his nails on his chest. Then Brick flipped him onto his back and pinned him to the bed, his arms above his head on the pillow.
“You’ve been a baaad kitty. You need to be punished.”
“What did you have in mind?” Aric replied breathlessly. “And does it involve your dick?”
Judging by the weighty cock rubbing against his own stiff shaft, Aric was about to be fucked through the mattress.
I need to be bad more often.
HORVAN BARGED into the living room and flopped onto the couch. “Ignorant idiots.” His Zoom meeting with one of the Italian leaders had not gone the way he’d hoped. He knew he shouldn’t let himself get so riled up, but honestly, some people ….
“I’m guessing it didn’t go well?” Rael asked from the other end of the couch.
Horvan shrugged. “It could’ve been better, but then again it could’ve been a lot worse.
Remember what Vic told us about his meetings with the Fridan leaders when he tried to gather support?
He said most listened, and many joined the cause, but some flat out refused to hear him.
Well, that’s what I’ve experienced so far.
” He held out his arm. “Get your ass over here. I need to hold you for a while.”
Rael moved closer and cuddled up to him. Horvan inhaled his scent, and as always it calmed his senses. Rael tilted his head and peered up. “What’s really the problem?”
Horvan let out a chuckle. “I love how you can see right through me.” He sighed. “I’m going to be honest with you. I don’t know if what we’re doing is going to help us or hurt us.”
Rael frowned. “Explain.”
“We’ve broken the back of the serpent, but the head and tail are still writhing.
Since we shared what was in those caskets—and basically told shifters they’d been lied to for the last hundred years—a lot of people have called us liars.
They said they were going to join the Gerans and prove the truth to us. ”
“Even if what you told them shows Fridans and Gerans only exist because of a lie? After you showed them the paintings? ”
“Don’t get me wrong. A lot of leaders have seen all the evidence and believed it, especially when we showed them that video of Jake, telling them all about the artifacts and about Ansfrid and Ansger.
But not all of them.” He expelled a long breath.
“The battle is over, but I’m afraid the war may have just begun. ”
Rael was warm against his body. “No one said it would be easy. But we need to do this, to try and siphon off the disgruntled and keep them from reforming under new leadership.”
“That’s what worries me,” Horvan murmured. “What if we can’t? What if this war never ends?”
Rael shifted position to sit in Horvan’s lap, facing him. “And what if it does? What if what they found in those caskets is right, and we’re the ones who’ll lead all shifters into a new era of peace?”
Horvan bit his lip. “You know I’m still having real trouble believing in that prophecy, don’t you? Even with the painting of us. But it’s a nice thought.”
If only it could be true.
Horvan’s phone buzzed, and he removed it from his pocket. When he saw it was Aelryn, he clicked on Answer. “Hey, what’s up?”
“Someone got to Theron. He took poison.”
What the— “Is he dead?”
Aelryn’s voice was glum. “My guards got to him fast enough to save him. Is that the wrong play? Should we have let him die?”
Horvan thought hard. There was no doubt Theron deserved death after what he’d done, but…
. He sighed. “No. He needs to pay for his crimes, and killing himself—or being helped to do it—isn’t justice.
If we kill him, we make a martyr out of him, and that gives the people who believe in him—in his cause—a reason to fight on.
And if I’m honest, I think a lot of people on both sides will want to see him dead.
So sticking him somewhere deep and dark?
Bringing him out now and then to prove he’s still alive and not some hologram? That’s about the best we can hope for.”
“Then we go ahead with plan A.”
“I think so. Any idea who gave him the stuff?”
There was a slight pause before Aelryn responded. “An inkling of one, but if I’m right, their motives were totally understandable. I’m not going after them—put it that way.”
“And if he’d succeeded in killing himself? ”
Another pause. “I don’t know what I would have done in that case.” Noise in the background told Horvan their conversation had run aground. “I’ll talk to you soon.” Then Aelryn was gone.
Rael let out a low whistle. “I’m not sure whether Theron is lucky or not. But you know what? I don’t want to talk about him. Did I hear right this morning? Saul saying Milo is going to join us? Well, the Fridans at any rate.”
He nodded again. “Milo contacted Aelryn a while back and told him he wanted to be involved. Jana too. They’re gonna be based in Texas.”
Rael smiled. “I’m glad Milo’s going to be on our side. We owe him a lot.”
“Aelryn’s paid part of that debt, apparently. He found them a place to live.” He smirked. “One that’ll be big enough for three.”
“Oh, that’s great.”
“Aelryn also gave me the latest about Victor. He’s recovering well, and he’s going to be part of the team too.” His chest tightened.
Rael kissed him. “I know,” he said in a low voice. “It’s good to know our forces are growing, but at the same time….”
Horvan held him close. “Yeah. Our family is about to go through some changes.”
He smiled. “That’s what families do. Kids grow up, they leave the nest…. But they won’t be far away. And they won’t be gone for good.” He clambered off Horvan’s lap and headed for the door.
“Hey! Where are you going?” Horvan called out after him.
“To see Mrs. Landon. I’ve got an idea.”
EVE DID her best attempt at puppy-dog eyes. “Can I help it if I want rocky road and there’s none in Dellan’s freezer?”
“Fine, but right now?” Roadkill froze. “Hey… you’re not…?”
She rolled her eyes. “No, I’m not, but when I am, you’ll be the first to know. Can’t a defenseless, helpless little girl ask her two big strong mates to go get her some ice cream?”
“Defenseless? Since when?” Hashtag narrowed his gaze. “You’re up to something.” He held up his hands. “But I’ll play along, just to keep the peace. I’m sure we’ll find out eventually.” He grabbed Roadkill’s arm. “Come on. You can drive.”
“Gee, I don’t get to do that too often,” Roadkill quipped. “Although if I want to get back in one piece, it’s probably better if I drive. ”
“Hey!” Hashtag squawked.
Roadkill raised his eyebrows. “Two words. Mexico City.”
“And I’m shutting up now.” They headed out the door.
Eve waited until the car had pulled onto the road before getting her phone out. She speed-dialed Aelryn. “Well? Any news?”
“We’ve found her.”
Eve silently thanked whatever gods watched over shifters. “Where was she?”
“That’s the bad news. She was in a camp in New Mexico. We’d gone there on a mission to dismantle a breeding program.”
Hearing the words was enough to make her stomach turn. “Is she okay?”
“She’s fine. But trust me, you don’t want to know about the conditions in that place.”
Eve’s heart hammered. “They… they weren’t trying to….” She’d heard the reports about Geran experimentation.
“No. As far as I can tell, she was being kept there until she was old enough. So now what?”
“My first suggestion would be to put her on a plane and send her here. Then once she’s arrived safely, I’ll send for her brother.”
There was a pause. “How safe do you think she would be if she traveled with me?”
She blinked. “Aelryn, you don’t have to do that. I know what’s facing you right now. If you can’t spare anyone, I’ll come myself.”
He chuckled. “I only said that because I’m coming to Illinois anyway.”
“You are?”
“Yes, but you can’t tell anyone. It’s something Rael is planning, and it’s supposed to be a surprise.”
“So when do you arrive?”
“In three days. And I’ll have a couple of guests with me.”
She beamed. “Then I look forward to seeing you. And thank you again.” She hung up, her heart light.
She was going to keep her promise.
Then she smiled to herself.
Seems I’m not the only one with secrets.