Chapter Thirteen #2
“I’m not here to harm you, wolf.” Miles’s tone was laced with the arrogance of a person who thought it was his job to take control of the situation. “The mission of our organization has nothing to do with shapeshifters, only demons.”
Slowly, as if he couldn’t be bothered to expend any energy to deal with this bothersome flea on a dog’s rump, Ronan set his fearsome attention on Miles. “Approach her in this way again, and I will make it my sole purpose in life to see you dead.”
Whoa. This man. It was all I could do not to fan myself.
“Miles threatened me, Ida, and the entire town. As I mentioned before you embarrassed his crew so thoroughly, he thinks I know where Mason is, which is strange since until he called to threaten me, I had no idea the wolf was missing.”
“She doesn’t know where Hartman is,” Ronan said.
Miles swiped a hand down his face and flicked his fingers to rid himself of the wolf’s blood. If he’d been a nice person, I would’ve cast a spell to get rid of the goop, but Miles was a bully and undeserving of the expenditure of magic.
“I have it on good authority that she does.”
“Nope,” I said. “Read me with your truthy vibes or whatever it is you do. I give you permission.”
He seemed annoyed but did as I asked. I knew when he was done, because he cursed under his breath.
“You said Mason has been out of reach for forty-eight hours?” I looked at Ronan. “How long has Rory been missing?”
“They can’t be sure, but probably around twelve hours.”
“Seems coincidental that they both disappeared so close together. Do you think Mason might have a problem with putting a silver bullet into a security guard’s head?”
“Yes,” Miles and Ronan said.
Ronan frowned. Slow-blinked his glowing golden eyes. “You’re in luck, Truthseeker Miles. It appears we have a shared enemy, which gives us an aligned purpose.”
“The wolf alpha. Pallás.” He shook more of the grossness from his clothing. “I warned Hartman that wolf was poison.”
“He was aware,” Ronan said. “How long have you and your organization been assisting Hartman behind the scenes?”
Miles looked like he was considering not answering. Finally, he shrugged. “Since the beginning of our investigation into your demon mate.”
Seemed like everyone had known about my demon side before I had. Thanks, Mom. Sexton. Dad.
Had to admit, that last one felt odd to say. I’d never called anyone Dad before.
Ronan gripped Miles by the front of his shirt and lifted him off the ground like he’d done with the wolf.
Miles didn’t cry out, but it was probably a near thing.
“Refer to Betty as anything but her name again, and I’ll make what I did to your colleague look like a day of frolicking in the waves on a sunny San Diego beach.” His gaze intensified. “Read me. Am I telling the truth?”
“Yes.” Mason did his best to appear in control. He lowered his chin, crossed his arms, and stared down at Ronan from where he hung. “In future, I will refer to her only by her name and the title she prefers.”
Ronan opened his hand. Miles hit the ground in a crouch then stood. He lifted a hand to dust himself off but lowered it again. There was little point. He was going to have to burn those clothes.
“So, we’re all sure Alpha Dickhead is behind Mason’s disappearance now,” I said, “but I’m confused. How could Floyd overpower an alpha wolf as strong as Mason Hartman? I mean, he’s not as strong as you are, Ronan, but he’s no slouch.”
“He’s a diabolical beast,” Miles said, quiet rage suffusing his voice. “My guess is he used silver.”
Miles made himself scarce after the silver comment, though he’d promised I’d be seeing him again in a weird, ominous tone of voice that made Ronan growl.
“Couldn’t help but notice that you took the time to open the door to your apartment before you leapt off the landing, proving that you have the ability to turn a doorknob even when you’re emotional, wolf.
” I glared at his bare backside as we tromped up the stairs.
He’d shifted the rest of the way to human after Miles left.
“Learned my lesson from when I broke down yours. Turns out, doors are expensive.”
We paused at the landing, surveyed the mess in Ronan’s yard. “It would’ve looked less like a murder scene if I’d actually killed the wolf.”
“I’ve got a spell that’ll take care of it,” I said then added, “Thanks for the backup down there.”
“You’re welcome, but you didn’t need it.
You were handling things just fine.” He pushed the door open, and we stepped inside.
“I wouldn’t have butted in except my wolf picked up on the three-against-one wolf ambush and wasn’t having any of it.
Also, he really doesn’t like that Miles guy.
I don’t, either. Something about him gives us the creeps. ”
“Same.” I slid onto one of the stools nestled against the breakfast bar. “So… mate?”
Ronan snatched a pair of sweatpants off a hook by the door and put them on. “Huh?”
“You know what I’m talking about, Williams. You called me your mate out there.”
He ducked his head, probably trying to hide the grin that crept across his mouth. “Well, we have been mating a lot lately. Maybe—”
“I may not know everything about shapeshifters, but you can bet I studied up on a few things once I started lusting after your sexy ass.”
He glanced up, now embracing the grin. “You have a magical way with words, Lennox.”
“Also,” I continued, “I know that accepting a gift from one of you guys can be taken as seriously as a proposal of marriage, that my wearing clothing with your scent on it is a back off warning to other wolves, and that a mate means forever.”
His smile dimmed, but his brilliant gaze held mine. “The wolf says what he says. He’s a simple creature, very all or nothing.”
“And the human?”
“He’s a little more civilized. He only wants you close. No pressure.”
Why was that answer both sweet and slightly disappointing?
I backed away from the subject, setting my attention on more urgent things. “Is Aurora okay? Was your wolf able to track her down?”
All the humor in him drained away. “She’s alive.
He could feel her heartbeat. There’s some kind of barrier between us, something keeping me from feeling her through the pack bonds, but she’s my sister, so our wolves have a bond outside the pack.
” He took the stool beside mine. “One we’ve grown in the short time we’ve been in each other’s lives. ”
“Do you have a similar one with Floyd?”
“Unfortunately, yes. But, as with Rory, there’s a barrier between us. Probably from Floyd booting me from the pack. I don’t know.”
“He was able to take down Mason and tamper with cameras. We should probably assume he’s using something or someone paranormal.” I put my hand atop his. “I’ll ask Margaux if she has any ideas what sort of magic he might have access to.”
“What about Bronwyn? Will you ask her?”
“No.”
“We may need her help,” he said. “This is going to get ugly.”
“I know.” Desperate for a subject change, I asked, “How did you make Miles’s wolves your zombies?”
“Zombies? Like the brain-eating monsters in the Romero movies?”
“Probably more like those fast ones in 28 Days Later. They’re wolf shifters, after all.”
He cleared his throat. Stood. Walked around the breakfast bar and grabbed two bottles of beer from the fridge. Set one in front of me and rolled the other between his hands without opening it.
“Honest answer? I don’t know how I do it. It just happens sometimes.”
I picked at the bottle label with my fingernail. “It just happens?”
“Yeah.”
“You chose your lover well,” I said and handed him my beer.
“Why’s that?”
“Let’s face it. I’m probably one of the few people on this earth who can directly relate to you having a power you have no idea how to control.”
He opened my bottle with an absent twist of his hand and handed it back. “I can control the ability most of the time, but when I open myself to the wolf bond, I have to release my hold and, well, things like that tend to happen.”
“Things like that? You’re able to zombify other wolves. That’s no small thing.”
He gave me a half-shrug.
“Is it a small thing? For you, I mean?”
Again with the shrug. “No and yes.”
“Explain.”
“Well, I don’t consider robbing another being of their autonomy for even a few moments something small. It’s serious, and I’m aware of how it could be abused.”
“Okay. That’s the no part answered, but you also said yes.”
“It’s small in effort for me. It’s one of those abilities I don’t have to expend energy to use. The effort is in restraining it.”
“You’re like Ida. Her necromancer power is always on, she just keeps it under control.”
He nodded.
“Ronan, exactly how much of your power are you holding back at any given moment?”
He didn’t shrug again, but I sensed he wanted to. Instead, he brought his gaze to mine and said, “Hard to quantify.”
“We really need to talk about this,” I said. “Resistance to silver, the ability to enthrall wolf shifters—”
“All shifters,” he said, his gaze searching, as if he were trying to gauge my reaction before saying the rest.
“So, are you limited to shifters, or can you use that ability on humans? Or other paranormals?” I asked.
“Worried I might use it on you?”
“Could make for an interesting time in the bedroom now and then. No restraints necessary, Mr. Grey.”
A laugh burst out of him like a sigh of relief. “You’d trust me to take you over like that?”
“Like you haven’t already.” I patted my chest over my heart.
It was a sentimental, mushy gesture, the kind I normally avoided like a disease. A prime example of how this man truly had taken me over, heart and soul. No BDSM equipment or alpha power needed.
He came around the breakfast bar and hugged me close. “How did you suddenly fill every space in my world, Betty? You’re becoming like oxygen to me. Even the thought of existing without you makes it hard to breathe.”
“I could ask you the same question.”
He kissed me, not even making a token effort toward gentleness. His mouth drank mine, lips and tongue and the edge of teeth. My arms tightened around his neck, grasping desperately. We were as close as two fully clothed people could be, but it wasn’t enough. I needed more. He needed more.
And the timing was absolute garbage.
Ronan broke the kiss and rested his forehead against mine. His breath was hot on my face, his body burning me through my clothes. I’d never wanted him more, and I got the feeling he felt the same way.
“We have work to do,” I murmured.
“My godsdamn father.”
“You know, Fennel’s breaking and entering game is solid. Might be a good idea for us to take a little look-see in Floyd’s house. See if he’s even in town. Maybe he left a file with a holographic skull and crossbones sticker and the words my evil plan scrawled across it on his desk.”
“No. And it’s not because I don’t trust you to handle the job, so don’t get your back up.”
He’d called it. My hackles had risen the instant the word no had left his lips. “Then give me a reason. And it needs to be good.”
“Listen.” He wrapped his arms around me when I went to break away. “If something were to happen to you in there, I’d have to go in after you. There’s no other way this goes down.”
“And?”
“If I haven’t challenged Floyd and I enter his house without permission, I’ll be breaking the rules of engagement. The pack will see it as weakness even if it’s for a good cause.”
“But Floyd does all kinds of—”
“Bullshit. Yeah, he does. But he doesn’t have anything to prove. I do. The rules are different for challengers.”
“Well, that’s bullshit,” I said.
“That’s the pack.”
“You sure you want all this?” I lifted one of his hands and weaved my fingers through his. “Seems like a lot of rule-following for my taste.”
He squeezed, bringing our palms flat against each other. “I owe it to my allies to take Floyd down. The unprotected betas, the wolves too cowed to choose a side—they need me.”
I knew it, understood it, hated it.
“Your dad sucks.”
He grinned, nodded. “That’s why I can’t let him be in charge of my friends anymore.”
As if the universe had taken his words as a hint, Ronan’s cell rang. It lay on the coffee table, face down, but we both knew who was calling, because Ronan had given his father a distinct ringtone. A sound effect.
Rattling chains.
He picked up the phone, put it on speaker.
“Yeah?”
Floyd’s gravelly voice filled the room like fast-acting poison. “Pack convocation. Usual day, time, place. Submit to me before the pack or she dies.”