Chapter 25 Bad News
Bad News
ROGUE
The discovery of some weird dimension where an army of fucking people is being trained for who-the-fuck-knows-what that we have to keep secret is making every instinct in my body scream.
I don’t like the guys off flying around to investigate, and I sure as hell don’t like the results.
Angelo wasn’t overly descriptive, but I know by his tone that this was bad.
He’s not easily ruffled, unlike Reb, and the silence from Damon and Javier is nerve-wracking, too.
I’ve never been such a nervous Nelly; usually, I’m pretty collected other than when I lose my temper.
Being mated to multiple dudes is making me squishier than I’m comfortable with, and that irritates the fuck out of me.
I cross my arms over my chest, looking up at the areas where they’re hovering as my mind races through the possibilities.
My foot taps as we wait for Damon to say something, anything, and I huff as the anxiety fills my veins.
This is fucking torture and I’m about to lose my shit if we don’t get news soon.
“Calm down, Wheels,” Archie says as he comes up behind me and wraps his big arms around my waist. His cheek presses against my hair as he nuzzles me, likely comforting his animal with the contact.
“They’re not newbs just because they didn’t have Guardian training.
Ang and D are soldiers in their own mob, and Javier is from a species that has to fight poachers at every turn.
No one is untrained or lacks the ability to defend themselves. ”
I sigh, looking at the ground before I answer.
His statements are accurate, and I know that, but this damn bond is fucking with my head.
“I’m aware, Archie, but…” I rub my chest and frown as I continue.
“I had no idea how much mating was going to affect me. When Reb and I are sent on missions, I don’t feel like a piece of me is going to go missing if he gets injured.
My pulse isn’t racing like this… although, I guess it might in the future. ”
Rebel’s gaze is hot on me; I can feel it.
His jaw is probably clenching, and he’s grinding his teeth like he does when he doesn’t want to say something out loud.
I know my longtime partner well enough to imagine his reaction without even raising my eyes to see it.
He has to know that I’m right and our actual job will be infinitely harder after we bond.
But we’re meant to be partners as well, and we will have to deal with it—that’s how duo Guardians work.
“Sis, you haven’t watched anyone but me handle their shit before. So I get why your bond is rebelling; you don’t know what to expect.” I look up and his light eyes find mine, the truth shining in them. “I know they can handle themselves or I wouldn’t have agreed to stay down here with you two.”
“Hey!”
Grinning, Rebel shrugs at Archie. “I didn’t say you couldn’t, man. They just have advantages you don't have in this arena. You shine one-on-one where your lion can do up close damage. Don’t get twisted.”
The lion rumbles against my back as some of the tension seeps out of me.
I nod, knowing that my stepbrother wouldn’t say shit he doesn’t believe.
He’s honest with damn near everyone but himself, and our dance only lasted as long as it did because of societal hang-ups.
Otherwise, he would have spoken up a lot sooner, I think.
I need to have the faith in him that he has in my mates, and use that to help me get my shit under control.
This isn’t the time to be vulnerable and soft—it’s the time to be harder and sharper, just in case.
I think I’ve got it locked down now, thanks to Reb’s oddly calm reassurance.
Movement from the top sector catches my eye, and I turn in Archie’s hold. “Look. Damon’s making another circle. Do you think he’s striking out or…?”
“I think he’s changing angles,” Reb says as he looks across the open space. “Whatever he was chasing on the top level ran out and now he’s hoping to find something new.”
Archie lets go of me and squints over to the south end of the complex. “Looks like Javi is almost done with his recon. He’s really hard to see when he’s not sparkling like Midas created him, but my cat vision sees the glimmers occasionally.”
I wrinkle my nose, still dissatisfied with being on the ‘stay put’ team, despite our conversation. “This is interminable, by the way. I have no idea how Damon and Javi can be a support team like this. I’m itching like crazy.”
“No surprise there,” Rebel says with a rueful grin. “You’re much more hyper before, during, and after assignments than you realize.”
“Shut up. I am not.” I shoot him a dirty look as I fluff the damn skirt of this dress out to give my hands something to do. “Besides, you’re no better. You can’t even behave when I’m driving a twenty-minute circuit in your car, buddy.”
“It’s my car,” he grinds out as he glares at me. “I work hard on that damn thing and—”
“Guys, shhh!”
We whirl around to look at the blond hockey player and he shrugs. “There’s a lot of people coming out of that main building.”
My eyes widen as I whip my head back to look at the entrance.
Arch is right; there’s a slow trickle of people leaving the building.
As they wait, cars are brought around, and some of them get in.
I’m not sure where they’re going, or even how big this damn dimension is, but I don’t see anyone I recognize… yet.
This just got very interesting, and my men better have themselves hidden, or we’re all screwed.
“They’re coming back now,” Rebel says.
I don’t stop pacing; in fact, I haven’t since we watched Luca and that other demon guy, Lucian, exit the building.
They took the same car, pulling away from the building in the long, sleek limo like Very Important People (TM).
This entire scene is making my wings itch, and that’s never a good sign. “Yeah, I see, Reb.”
“Now, Wheels.” My feline mate grins a bit, his expression just shy of patronizing. “You can’t lose your shit here and now.”
“I know.”
“Nor can you explode on the guys when they land.” My stepbrother is covering a laugh and I want to throttle him. “They’ll tell us what they heard and saw one at a time. We can’t listen to them talk simultaneously and catch all the info, you know.”
Speak for yourself, Fae boy.
Of course, I know he means that he and Archie can’t, nor can Javier.
I’m pretty sure Damon is as neurodivergent as me, so he might multi-task that way, but…
Okay, stop. I have to calm the hamster in my brain down before I get so worked up that I won’t be able to parse whatever they’re saying, anyway.
“Fine, fine. I’m trying, but… who the fuck are all those people? I mean, guys… there were so many different species that poured out of that door. I saw enough raw power to raze a small village, you know?”
Archie sighs as he comes over and grips my arms loosely. “Rogue.”
When he uses my real name, I know the kitty cat is serious. I stay still, trying to shake off the sparkling energy coursing through me. “I know. I need to calm down and go over the details without overreacting. Yes, this is bad and no, we don’t know the extent.”
“Right. And hey, the whole ‘Mina and the Stuhlls’ thing doesn’t seem like a big deal anymore, right?”
I glare at Rebel, growling softly at his cheek. “Don’t be a jackass. The Mina thing is still a big deal because she and her minions are actively trying to harm me. They’re not as big as this because it feels like the end of the universe shit, but we can’t figure this out if I’m dead, either.”
“I think he was trying to distract you, Wheels,” Archie says as he shakes his head. “Damn fine job, but here come the others. So maybe… breathe a little, and we’ll get through this together, hmm?”
I don’t know when he got so fucking Zen, but I could kiss this lion right now.
Blowing out a slow breath, I let his calm flow over me again.
My eyes track the two demons headed for us, waiting for them to swoop in and land.
I don’t see Javi at all until he damn near appears in front of my eyes in a burst of golden beauty.
Archie bends to grab his clothes, and the shiny bird transforms into a naked hot guy within seconds.
“Thanks, man,” Javier says as he takes the pile from Archie and pulls his pants on. He catches me watching and winks playfully. “Later, Dragonfly. We’ve got serious shit to discuss, eh?”
“We sure as fuck do,” Reb replies as the twins hit the ground and pad over to us. “Especially now that everyone is back.”
Angelo grimaces, folding his wings in until they disappear. He watches Damon do the same and then rakes his hand through his dark hair. “This is a clusterfuck.”
“Second that.” Damon frowns, shaking his head. “That display was practically oozing ancient power. I could feel traces of it from the sky and no one was even trying to intimidate anyone. Those assholes were all just that old and powerful.”
“So who the fuck were they?” I ask impatiently. “I saw Luca and that other dude you hate. I didn’t recognize anyone else from wanted lists or media.”
Rebel nods. “I was running the recent files we’ve gotten at HQ through my head, too, and I didn’t know them, either. But yeah, I could tell they aren’t people to take lightly.”
Damon frowns as he rubs the back of his neck. “That’s just it, guys. I didn’t recognize any of them, either. The blond man and his…guards, I think… went back inside and I’ve never seen him before in my life. His face reminded me of something, but nothing from our parents’ world. I can’t place it.”
“Yeah, that’s the vibe I got from the idiots in the training arena. Something about them seemed familiar, but I couldn’t put my finger on it.” Angelo nods his agreement as he moves to kiss my cheek. “And they’re dangerous as hell, that’s for sure.”
“What I saw was similar,” Javier cuts in.
“A lot of males, some females—many of the males look similar and humanoid, but they don’t move or act like they’re human.
They’re not shifters, I don’t think, because they didn’t give off the primal vibe.
I think there might be some shifters here somewhere—that I can sense and I’m sure Arch can, too. ”
“Not from here,” the lion grumbles. “We’re too far, but I trust you, J-man.”
“The other women and men by the door were various types of supes.” We look at Damon and he shrugs.
“I’m sure of that. I felt nature energy, so maybe magic users, and I definitely saw what I believe was a Fae contingent.
They were hooded, though. You saw them get into the Range Rover and head south, right? ”
“I don’t get why Luca and Lucian headed west like we did, and none of the others went that direction.
The other seven cars went south, including that Rover you mentioned.
” Rebel looks frustrated as he turns in that direction.
“What’s in that direction? Why are all the others going there and how fucking big is this place? ”
“All good questions,” I murmur. “But I don’t think we can answer them today.
We need to get back to the stupid party so we can deal with our current issues, before we can deal with the bigger ‘world domination’ plotters.
” They give me unimpressed looks and I chuckle, shrugging as I let go of things I definitely can’t control right now.
Sometimes, that’s all you can do to keep from going completely over the deep end.