Chapter Fourteen
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WHEN MACKENZIE HEARD a noise outside the cave, he didn’t say anything.
He didn’t even move. He stayed right where he was by the cave wall, his gaze still on Silas, who was poking through his stuff.
Mackenzie wondered if he was looking for a weapon.
He probably didn’t need one to hurt Mackenzie, even in the state he was in.
Mackenzie didn’t understand why Silas had dragged him here. What did he want to do with him? Was he going to use him as a hostage? Or was he just going to kill him because he was human? Right now, anything seemed possible, which Mackenzie didn’t appreciate.
He didn’t get the time to find out. Someone appeared at the entrance of the cave, and Silas moved more quickly than Mackenzie had expected him to be able to. He grabbed Mackenzie and pulled him closer, placing him between himself and the man standing at the entrance of the cave.
“Silas,” Jerome said as he walked in.
Mackenzie almost cried. He didn’t think he’d ever been so happy to see Jerome.
Jerome wasn’t alone. Nico’s father appeared behind him, but thankfully, it didn’t look like Nico was there. Mackenzie had no doubt that he’d wanted to be, but this was for the best. Mackenzie wanted to keep Silas as far away from Nico as possible.
Silas’s wounded arm was hanging by his side, but he was holding Mackenzie close with the other.
Mackenzie wondered if there was anything he could do to get Silas to let him go.
When he glanced at Jerome, though, Jerome shook his head.
He didn’t seem to want Mackenzie to try anything, so Mackenzie wouldn’t, not right away.
He’d give Jerome and Dan the opportunity to take care of this.
They knew Silas much better than Mackenzie did, so hopefully, they could talk him down.
Mackenzie seriously doubted that.
“You allowed this human into your territory,” Silas said, giving Mackenzie a shake. “Why? We don’t want humans here.”
“You don’t want humans here,” Jerome answered, sounding incredibly calm. “Not everyone agrees with you. I’d actually say that most shifters don’t. We’ve had enough of being separated from most of the world. We’ve had enough of being separated from parts of our families.”
Silas snorted. “Humans aren’t your family. They’re humans.”
“Why don’t you let Mackenzie go? We can talk about this.”
“You think I’m stupid? There’s nothing to talk about.
What you and the other alphas are doing to the forest is a mistake, and I’ll rectify it.
I’ll kill every single human living here.
I’ll make sure they can never come into the forest again.
I can start with this one, make an example out of him. ” He gave Mackenzie a shake.
Mackenzie hoped he wouldn’t start with him. He had too much to live for.
“You won’t survive the day,” Dan said as he stepped forward. There was a quiet threat in his voice that made Mackenzie glad he was on Dan’s side. Nico’s father could be scary when he wanted to be, even though he was currently barefoot, which was an odd sight.
Silas squeezed Mackenzie. “What do you think you’ll do? You want to protect your little human way too much to put him in danger. You’re not going to risk him.”
Unfortunately, it looked like he was right.
Jerome and Dan exchanged a glance, but neither of them moved forward.
They didn’t want Mackenzie to be hurt, which meant they couldn’t act until Mackenzie was away from Silas.
Mackenzie wasn’t sure how to make that happen.
Jerome and Dan couldn’t help him with it.
If they came any closer, Mackenzie had no doubt that Silas would take it out on him.
No, he was on his own, and he wasn’t sure what to do.
He looked around the cave, but there was nothing to help him. He wouldn’t get away from Silas quickly enough to find a weapon. It wasn’t like he’d need a weapon, anyway, if he managed to put distance between them. Dan and Jerome would be on Silas before Mackenzie could do anything.
The only way forward was for Mackenzie to get away.
He didn’t have a weapon, but he had his body.
He’d never learned self-defense, but he’d watched enough movies and TV shows to have a vague idea of what he was doing.
Silas was wounded, so maybe if Mackenzie managed to hit him there, he’d be able to get free.
Even if he couldn’t, he’d have the satisfaction of having hurt Silas.
Knowing that would be enough for him to feel satisfied.
Silas was still talking to Dan and Jerome, but Mackenzie didn’t pay attention. Instead, he sucked in a breath, straightened his back, and stomped his foot onto Silas’s naked one.
Silas yelped and reared back. Mackenzie took the opportunity to twirl around. Normally, he would have hit Silas in the stomach, but instead, he aimed for the arm.
Silas’s scream echoed against the walls of the cave. Mackenzie didn’t stick around to check how badly he’d hurt Silas. Silas was clutching his arm, and Mackenzie took the opportunity to turn and run. He threw himself forward, eager to put as much distance as he could between himself and Silas.
He wasn’t the only one moving. Jerome and Dan surged forward. Jerome didn’t even look at Mackenzie. His focus was on Silas. That was fine with Mackenzie. He wanted Silas out of the way permanently.
Mackenzie was all right. He was in one piece, unhurt, and finally away from Silas. He almost couldn’t believe it.
* * * *
WHEN NICO HEARD SOMEONE yell, it took everything in him not to run into that cave.
His heart raced as he wondered if Mackenzie had been hurt.
He wasn’t sure how his heart would survive it if something had happened to his boyfriend.
They were supposed to be together forever, build a life and a family, but Silas might have ruined all of that.
He might have taken Nico’s happiness and future from him.
But as desperately as he wanted to go in, he didn’t.
He’d promised his father that he wouldn’t, and he knew that Mackenzie wouldn’t want him to go.
He’d want him to keep their child safe, and there was no way to know what Silas would do if he found himself in front of Nico.
He had to know who Nico was, and he might decide to hurt him since he’d failed when he’d tried to kill Nico’s father.
Besides, Nico trusted his father. He’d said that he would take care of this, and he would.
There was nowhere for Silas to go, anyway. He was stuck in that cave.
Unfortunately, so was Mackenzie.
There was the sound of a scuffle, then someone screamed.
Nico screwed his eyes shut. He couldn’t do this.
He had to do something, but his feet were rooted to the ground.
Silas was just there, a few feet away, possibly hurting the man Nico loved.
How was Nico supposed to stay away? How was he supposed to keep his promise and wait?
Nico opened his eyes and nodded to himself. He’d made a promise, but it wouldn’t be the first promise that he broke. He was sure his father would understand, and hopefully, so would Mackenzie.
He was barefoot since Jerome hadn’t carried his and his father’s shoes, but that wasn’t a problem.
Nico was used to walking around in the forest barefoot.
He’d done it since he was a child, and even though it was uncomfortable, being away from Mackenzie was more uncomfortable than that.
Besides, if he had to fight Silas, he’d be better at it if he shifted.
In their human forms, Silas was bigger than him, but there was little even he could do against a bobcat’s teeth.
Nico was close to the cave, but he didn’t even have time to get to its opening before someone appeared. He froze, holding his breath, releasing it only when he realized it was his father.
He looked okay. There was blood on his shirt, though, and as soon as Nico realized it, he wanted to throw up. His father didn’t seem to be wounded, but he hadn’t been alone in that cave.
Nico didn’t have to wonder if something had happened to Mackenzie for long.
His boyfriend stepped up behind his father, looking pale and shaky but otherwise unharmed.
Nico watched him, trying to find a source for the blood on his father’s shirt, but there was nothing.
Mackenzie was making his way toward him, steady on his feet and looking strong.
Strong enough to catch Nico when he threw himself at him.
Nico sobbed as he wrapped his arms around Mackenzie’s neck. “I was so fucking scared,” he said.
Mackenzie hugged him tightly. “There’s no reason for you to be. I’m fine.”
Nico leaned back to glare at him. “You nearly weren’t fine. What the hell happened?”
“Silas.”
Nico wanted to hear everything, but first, he needed to check in on his father. He turned to him, looked him up and down, and nodded when he still couldn’t see a source for the blood. “Whose blood is that?” he asked.
“Silas’s,” his father said. “Jerome took care of him.”
Nico didn’t have to ask to know what that meant. Silas was dead, and this time, he wouldn’t come back. “How’s Jerome?”
“There’s not a scratch on him, so you don’t have to worry,” his father said. “Mackenzie and I are also okay. Silas didn’t have the opportunity to hurt your boyfriend. He was in pretty bad shape.”
Nico leaned closer to Mackenzie, who was staring at Nico’s father.
Nico realized this was the first time the two of them had spoken.
He hadn’t even introduced them. “Mackenzie, this is my father, Dan. Dad, this is my boyfriend, Mackenzie.” It felt ridiculous to do this now, after what had just happened in that cave, but the fact that Nico could do it at all amazed him. He’d almost lost his boyfriend.
Hell, he’d almost lost his father because of Silas.
His father had been shot, and while he insisted that he was okay now, Nico could see him struggling some days.
It wouldn’t be enough to keep his father down, but Nico would never forget it.
At least now that Silas wasn’t around anymore, they could all take a breath and hopefully relax a bit.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir,” Mackenzie said. “And thank you for coming after me.”
“I did it for my son,” Nico’s father answered. His expression was severe. “Although I would have done it even if the two of you weren’t together. Silas got what he deserved.”
Mackenzie swallowed loudly enough that Nico heard him. Nico narrowed his eyes at his father, silently telling him to stop being an asshole. He wasn’t sure if his father meant it or if he was just teasing Mackenzie, but it wasn’t funny.
Nico’s father waited for a moment longer before smiling and offering Mackenzie his hand. “You can call me Dan.”
Mackenzie quickly shook his hand. “Thank you, Dan. I know things have been tough recently, but I’d like to get to know you and the rest of your family better.”
“You will.”
It sounded like a threat, but Nico knew that it wasn’t. His father was giving Mackenzie a chance. He wanted Nico to be happy, and he knew that Nico would be happy with Mackenzie.
Silas was gone, and with him, the danger that had hovered over everyone’s head.
It would take time for the people who’d been hurt by what Silas had done to heal, but with him gone, they could finally start.
Through Mackenzie, Nico was now related to Jasper, Silas’s son.
He could only imagine what Jasper had gone through recently—or for his entire life, really.
It couldn’t be easy dealing with someone like Silas, but Jasper had done it, and he’d come out of it victorious.
Things were different in the forest now.
The alphas who’d made life a living hell for so many people were gone or not in a position of power anymore.
Only time would tell how much better the new people in charge would be, but it would be hard for them to be worse.
Nico had faith that with Silas gone, the people in the forest would finally be able to be happy.
Including himself and his family.