Chapter 2
CHAPTER TWO
NICO
Riding into a shifter village as a squirrel was like walking into a lion’s den carrying a sign that read “free lunch.” My muscles tensed as we approached the cluster of buildings on the outskirts of what once had been Sammy’s home.
I scanned every shadow, window, and rooftop for signs of danger. Memories of past humiliations and near-death experiences flashed through my mind. How many times in my life had I been tossed around like a toy, chased up trees, or cornered in alleyways before I’d left it all behind?
None of that mattered now. What mattered was keeping Sammy safe.
We’d decided to stop in Blackbriar, a village about thirty minutes away from the castle.
We could have just camped like we had the last two nights of our journey, but we needed to know what had transpired since Reve had returned.
One downside of living the way we did was that we rarely knew what was going on outside our cluster of nomads.
I’d suggested we stay at an inn next to the castle in Kingsmore, but Sammy was worried someone would recognize her. Plus, her purple hair drew lingering glances. Color was for the rich and powerful, but brightly colored hair was rare and was only seen on witches.
Sammy wasn’t a witch.
“Stay close to me,” I murmured, positioning myself slightly in front of her as we dismounted our horses behind the Howler Inn.
She shot me a look that said she wasn’t helpless, but she still moved closer to my side. Smart woman. Beautiful woman. My woman, though I’d never cross that line.
I couldn’t.
I patted the pouch at my hip, feeling the firm outline of the rare nuts we’d collected. Most shifters laughed at my obsession, but they didn’t understand. Specific nuts gave me a physical advantage. No one needed to know that my “quirky hobby” was actually my arsenal.
If any of these assholes tried anything with Sammy, they’d learn exactly why squirrels survived despite being prey. Although who knew how many of us were left at this point.
“Stop glowering at everyone. We’re supposed to be blending in.” Sammy bumped her shoulder against my arm, her purple hair tucked neatly under a dark hood.
I hadn’t even realized I was doing it. “Right. Blending in. My specialty.”
She rolled her eyes, but the corner of her mouth twitched upward. My chest tightened at the sight.
As we walked to the entrance of the inn, the village bustled with shifters of all types moving through the streets, their animal natures obvious to anyone who knew what to look for.
Wolves with their predatory movements. Bears with their heavy steps and watchful eyes.
Foxes nimbly darting in and out of spaces.
And then there was me. A fucking squirrel built like a brick shithouse, covered in tattoos meant to make me more threatening than nature had intended.
I kept my hand near my dagger as we stepped inside the two-story wooden structure that seemed ready to topple over with one good gust of wind.
The inn door creaked as it opened, and the man at the front desk snapped his head up. He looked like he had been snoozing.
“Can I help you?” He raised an eyebrow and swept his gaze down Sammy’s body.
I sniffed the air. A fox. Fucking fantastic. “We need a room.” I put our payment on the counter and stood up taller.
He was smaller than I was by a solid thirty pounds. His eyes landed on me, and his nostrils flared.
I frowned. I knew what was coming.
“Well, I’ll be damned. Nutty McNutterson, how are you doing?” He tilted his head back and let out a hearty laugh.
He was the only one laughing.
There were never many smaller shifters. Squirrels, in particular, struggled to conceive, and when they did, they often died during childbirth.
Those who survived were picked off slowly by the more vicious shifters or suffered merciless taunting.
Despite that, I wouldn’t trade being a squirrel for anything in the world.
Except when faced with a fox. Foxes could go fuck themselves.
“I see you haven’t changed. Can we get a room or not?” I rapped my knuckles on the wooden counter, drawing his attention away from Sammy.
His eyes widened, and he cleared his throat several times. It was like it was the first time he was taking a good look at me.
“You’re with this pretty lady?” He took the money and slipped it into his pocket, not making a move to grab a key. “I’m surprised.”
Sammy sidled closer to me and wrapped her arm around my waist. She put her face against my arm. “Can we have the room key now? We’ve been traveling for so long that we need some privacy. I don’t want any ladies accidentally seeing my man’s big dick if I go down on him in public.”
I bit my lip to keep from laughing and draped my hand over her shoulder to touch her boob. I gave it a firm squeeze before moving it back to her shoulder.
The fox’s jaw nearly hit the desk. If I weren’t mistaken, a little drool was at the corner of his mouth. He slid the room key across the counter with his finger.
“You two have a nice night.”
I smirked and led Sammy to the stairs.
Once we were at the top, she shoved me away. “Don’t grab my tit like that again unless you plan on doing something about it, Nutters.”
“Don’t call me that.” I unlocked the door and stepped out of the way.
She brushed against my chest as she passed, and I bit back a moan. She hadn’t even done it on purpose, but the effect was the same.
It wasn’t that I didn’t love Sammy, because I did. The problem was that I couldn’t go through another loss like I did with Becca. Becca was my everything and my forever mate. When she and our unborn kit died, I damn near lost it for at least a quarter of a century.
Sammy had been by my side through the whole thing. She was my rock, and I needed her without adding sex into the mix. I’d never recover if something happened to her.
I set my pack on the bed and turned to look at her. She was at the mirror, fixing her braid that had come loose from our travels.
“If you don’t feel up to going to the tavern, I can go alone.” I rubbed my beard a few times as I watched her do some crazy looping to get all the hair to stay at the back of her head. Women were amazing like that. The best I could do was a half-assed bun.
Her eyes met mine in the mirror, and she smiled. “You need a babysitter. I know what these assholes did to you. Can’t have you collecting any more nuts.”
“That’s in the past, Peanut. I won’t pick a fight.” I sat on the bed and waited as she dug in her bag.
She pulled her shirt off to change, and I resisted the urge to palm my dick, which was growing uncomfortable in my pants. My desire for her had gotten bad lately. Maybe I needed to find a woman tonight to get her out of my system.
That’s not what I wanted, though.
We left the room and made our way out of the inn and down the road.
Shifters were a social group, always preferring to spend time with others instead of alone.
They were also loud and had loose lips, and we needed information about the prince’s return before we risked approaching the castle.
If we were going to find out anything, it would be at the tavern.
A wolf shifter bumped into Sammy as we reached the tavern door, his hand lingering too long on her waist as he steadied her. “Sorry about that, sweetheart.”
Before he finished the sentence, I had him pinned against the wall, my forearm pressing against his throat. My voice dropped to a dangerous whisper. “Touch her again, and you’ll be eating through a straw for the next century.”
“Nico.” Sammy’s hand on my shoulder was gentle but held warning.
I was on edge, but I released him, watching as he slunk away with a growl. The few people outside the tavern had gone quiet, staring at us with open mouths and wide eyes.
So much for blending in.
“Feel better?” Sammy’s eyebrow arched, but I saw the appreciation in her eyes, no matter how she tried to hide it.
I shrugged, placing my hand on the small of her back. “I’ll feel better once we’re out of here with what we need.”
She snorted as we walked inside the Lion’s Den. “Shifter sense of humor leaves a lot to be desired.” She walked in front of me as we wove our way through the tables to get to the bar. “Wow. They have no shame looking at me like I’m a piece of meat. Should I be scared?”
We found two empty barstools, and I moved her over next to the rhino instead of the cheetah she had been about to sit next to. Cheetahs were notorious thieves of women’s panties.
“What can I get for you?” The bartender, a lion, put two napkins on the bar. His eyes lingered on Sammy before turning to me.
“Two beers.” I was half-surprised the lion didn’t crack a joke about me being a squirrel.
“Do you have money? We don’t accept acorns as payment here.” A few of the shifters within earshot snickered.
I clenched my fist and reached into my pocket for coins. The taunting was one reason I left village life. There was no respect for the smaller shifters, and it was nauseating.
I slid the payment across the bar and crossed my arms over my chest. Sammy put her hand on my forearm and squeezed it.
The lion returned with our beers and turned his attention back to Sammy. “Haven’t seen you around these parts. That’s some hair you have there. Are you a magic-user?”
“Something like that.” Sammy took a drink of her beer and wrinkled her nose. “This tastes like—”
“The finest beer in Inferna. Thanks, man.” I shook my head when Sammy raised her eyebrows at me.
The lion shifter returned to serving customers and let us be. The beer was geared toward carnivores, so it had a slight coppery taste. I could barely stand it.
We sipped our drinks in silence, both of us scanning the tavern while pretending not to.
I leaned in closer, keeping my voice low. “How much longer do we need to stay in this shithole?”
Sammy tilted her head toward a group of men at the bar. “Until we hear something useful.”
A few men were talking a few seats over from us. I turned in my seat so my ear pointed in their direction. While my squirrel hearing wasn’t as strong as a predator’s, it had its advantages, especially in a noisy tavern.
“Just got my invitation this evening from a raven. In a few days, there will be a coronation for the half-breed princess. Ridiculous, if you ask me.” The man shook his head in disbelief. “Half demon, half angel. How is that even possible?”
Another man clucked his tongue. “We got an invitation too. I don’t know how we can support this. Angels have done nothing but wrong us. First, they took that piece of land to torture their dead, and now this. What’s next?”
“They’re saying that once the barrier is open, we can come and go to Earth as we please. I’m fine just where I’m at.”
They lowered their voices, but not enough to escape my sensitive hearing. “I think if the rumors are true and Prince Reve is back, he’s going to make his move tomorrow.”
“I heard he’s contacting old friends and organizing them.”
I looked over at Sammy, who was staring at the corner of the room where a group was gathered in a booth. They were focused on something at the head of the table, their gazes tilted up.
She grabbed my arm and squeezed so hard that I nearly yelped. She slid off the barstool and walked quickly to the table.
I couldn’t tell what was said, but when she came back to her seat, she was frowning with tears in her eyes.
“What is it?” I took the last gulp of my beer.
“He was here. He was right here, Nico, but he left before I got to the table,” she whispered as a tear fell.
Her brother was the alpha dream demon, which meant he was someone’s literal worst nightmare; he could invade awake minds and had a phantom form.
There was a reason a dream demon had ruled Inferna forever; no one could kill what they couldn’t touch.
He didn’t just go invisible—it was like he wasn’t even there.
That was until Lilith came along and got to the prince before his abilities had fully developed.
“Let’s go. I think we have all the information we need.” I grabbed her hand, and we headed outside.
We had just stepped onto the road when something hit the back of my head. I stopped abruptly and turned. There was a pack of cackling coyotes, and at my feet was an unshelled walnut.
I really hated shifter villages.
There were three of them, but the odds were good for me. I rushed the group and punched the ringleader in the jaw, his head snapping to the side with force.
Before I got another swing in, Sammy yanked me away. The coyotes were making a ruckus over me punching one of them, but they didn’t come after us.
I shook out my hand as she led me back to the inn. I wasn’t too keen on the tongue-lashing she was going to give me. Sammy was a lover, not a fighter.
She was silent on the walk back, and once we were in the room, she grabbed a wet washcloth from the bathroom and took my hand. I winced as she pressed the cold cloth to my knuckles. They were already bruising.
“I would have punched him if you hadn’t.” Her frown was deep, and sadness was in her eyes. “Is that what you always had to deal with? Hearing you tell stories about it is one thing, but seeing it up close like that...”
“It was worse. I was a scrawny thing too, and I didn’t know how to defend myself.”
She ran her thumb over my sore knuckles, and goosebumps sprang up on my arms. I was losing my resolve to stop us from taking that last step. I knew she wanted to, but I’d always maintained that last bit of distance.
I wanted to get lost in her.
“If Reve can retake the throne and we’re able to get a seat on the council, we need to make sure whoever represents us makes a stand against that shit.”
“You should be on the council.” She snorted at my suggestion, and I took her hand in mine. “You have experience with diplomacy, you’re kindhearted, you know what demons need.”
She shook her head. “I’m a woman. Plus, if they found out about what happened to me...”
They would kill her.