by Tl Reeve
“Open,” he growled against her lips.
Her small gasp gave him the perfect opportunity. His tongue swept past her lips, seeking her tongue. He mimicked the way he fucked her, twining their tongues together. He poured his heart and soul into it, reminding her of his status—her mate.
Her arms wrapped around his neck, fingers dug into the hair at the nape of his neck. He swallowed down her moans of approval as she rubbed her body against his. Fuck...he wished he had more time with her. He could find a secluded spot and like he suggested for Nico and Hayden, fuck his mate.
When he broke the kiss, her pupils were large, making her eyes look black, and she was panting. Lust swirled in those depths, and he could scent her need. He hadn’t been joking about taking her ass tonight. He was going to. The wolf who lurked just below his skin craved it like an addict craved his next fix.
Her back was against the wall, and Royce knew he was crowding her. He didn’t give a shit. When she rubbed her sweet little body against his, he knew she could feel the hard press of his erection. Desire swirled in the pit of his stomach. He clenched his fists at his side, trying to gather the tattered remains of his control.
“Royce.” She smelled of sex and magnolias. Of arousal and fear. A lesser man would have shirked off his duties and given over to the clawing need settling in his balls.
He could push her to her knees and stroke himself off until he came down her throat, marking her once again as his. The fucking temptation to do so had a red haze of lust coating his vision. He needed to step back, breathe. He had three minutes before the door would open and he’d have to leave.
Fuck it. He pushed her to her knees while unzipping his pants. “Fuck. I can’t wait that long. Open.” He snapped the words with a vicious snarl. “Let me control this, Oasis. It’s going to be hard and fast.”
She nodded, doing as he asked. Royce prayed for some control as he laid his tip on her tongue and began to pump the painfully hard length between his legs. The knot twitched, and his balls were drawn up close to his body.
Charisma closed her mouth over him and inched closer, taking half of his dick into her mouth. She licked and sucked him before teasing the slit at the head, coaxing him to give over to whatever demons possessed his body. Royce chanted her name over and over with each pump of his hand. He was so fucking close.
The smell of magnolias perfumed the air. Her soft whimpers drew his attention. Charisma used one of her hands to rub her clit while she continued to bob her head on his shaft. Holy fuck, it was a glorious sight to behold. “That’s it, Oasis. Get off for me. You come, I come.”
His hand quickened its pace. They were running out of time. His ass clenched as a spurt of pre-cum shot from his tip and the knot in his hand started to expand. His eyes closed, and he hissed out a breath. “Now, Oasis, now.”
Her cry of completion was muffled by his cock in her mouth, but the vibrations were enough to rip his orgasm from him. The knot formed in his hand, and he squeezed it. Pulse after pulse of his release slipped from his tip, and she swallowed it down. When the door opened, he pulled back, still hard as hell and still dripping cum.
“Too close.” He winked at her while stuffing his dick in his pants. Royce fisted his hand in her thick, dark hair, as she stood. “I meant what I said earlier, your ass is mine.” He kissed her once more, tasting himself on her tongue. His dick gave a jerk, and he moaned. “Thank fuck I’m wearing black.”
Charisma laughed then covered her mouth. “Sorry, I shouldn’t laugh. I can’t believe we just did that.”
He could. It was hot as fuck and did nothing to ease the raging beast within him. Royce pointed to the open door of Saber’s apartment. “Get your ass back inside and stay there. I’ll be coming for you when this mission is over. Be ready.”
Once she was inside and she’d closed the door, he joined the rest of the task force. He could do his job, knowing he was leaving her behind protected and filled with his cum. He had to focus on what was to come and pull forth the warrior he had been trained to be.
“Be safe, Royce,” she called out after opening the door once more.
He growled and gave her a not-so-pleased look over his shoulder because she’d opened the door once more. Royce stepped into the waiting elevator. By the time the elevator doors closed, Charisma had closed the apartment door once more. It still blew his fuckin’ mind that not only was she carrying his pups, but that she carried twins.
When they reached the lobby of the apartments, he stepped out then strode to the glass door. “Let’s roll.” He pushed it open and stepped out into the cold night air.
Once this was over, they were going home to Window Rock. He’d finally found his peace and acceptance. Only thing left for him to do was have a long conversation with his father. Royce had been avoiding it since the other man came back into his life. It’d mean opening up old wounds and dealing with some truths and discomforts. Royce was willing to do it. He wanted to be the best mate and father he could be.
“You good?” Nico joined him as he approached the big, black BearCat the town’s SWAT had allowed them to use.
“Yeah.” He glanced to where his cousin who stood talking to Connors. “You need to watch her. She’s burning through a shit ton of adrenaline.”
“Don’t take this the wrong way, but you worry about your mate, I’ll worry about mine.”
Royce didn’t care if his statement pissed off the younger wolf. Hayden was a female and a Raferty, so she ran hot blooded just like the men in the family, and sometimes, it scared the shit out of Royce.
“Believe it or not, this is normal for her. After the mission, I’ll fuck it out of her. She’ll pass out, sleep twelve hours, and wake up the Hayden you all know and love.”
Royce held up his hand. “Yeah, I don’t want the details. She is going to run your ass off if you don’t pay attention.”
Nico shrugged. “You asked. I told. You don’t want to know, keep your nose out of my business and keep your dick in your pants when you’re in a hallway.” He patted Royce on the shoulder as he passed him.
Royce shook his head. “Asshole.”
Nico chuckled. “Ya think? Takes one to know one, Royce.”
He couldn’t argue with the other wolf’s logic. Hayden approached, her gaze darting between the two of them.
“Ready?” She bounced on the balls of her feet. Her nervous energy whipped around them.
“Yeah, squirt, we are. Let’s go get this done, so we can all get our asses back home to Window Rock.” He gestured to the only remaining vehicle. “Our chariot awaits.”
Royce walked around the hood, making his way to the driver side. He was driving. Saber was already sitting shotgun, while Hayden and Nico got in the back.
“I’d suggest no one get hurt or killed. It’d piss Kalkin off, and none of us want to deal with his arrogant ass or the paperwork he’d make the others fill out,” Royce advised with one of the standard comments they all said before every dangerous mission.
When everyone was settled, he started the vehicle and headed for the zoo. Shooting the shit and rehashing the plan were at an end. They were all business now. Royce followed the other vehicles as they made a lap around the zoo, two blocks over to make sure they were a go.
Lights twinkled from the trees lining the brick pathway leading toward the event venue. Folding signs were placed at the end of the walk, welcoming those to the auction taking place in the zoo. Once they were given the all clear, he pulled into the parking lot and parked up on the sidewalk, still a good distance from the penguin exhibit. He didn’t want to give away their position, nor tip anyone off.
Royce stared out over the expanse of the property. Hiding would be easy if anyone got away. After checking his weapon one last time, he got out. The event started over an hour ago and would be in full swing. Three BearCats, identical to the one he drove, would be situated around the property blocking the road accesses as well.
The remainder of their large team had fanned
out around the zoo to their designated places. “Remember, we’re going in hot and hard. No matter what, don’t let your guard down for a second.”
Hayden popped out of the vehicle first. “Don’t fret. We got this.” She grabbed her bag out of the back of the vehicle then, with Nico in tow, strode across the field to her designated spot.
Saber chuckled. “She has too much piss coursing through her.”
“Tell me about it,” Royce muttered, hoisting his pack out of the back.
“Eh, she’ll be fine. I haven’t seen this much fire out of her since she...well shit, ever.”
Yeah, Royce agreed. She’d always had a wiry sense to her. Hyper and eager to please, but she also carried an undercurrent of worry. Most of the time she feared she’d let someone down. For him, the only person she let down countless times was herself. However, it appeared that unsure part of her psyche finally died a fiery death.
“Let’s get into position. It’s almost time.” Saber patted him on the back before trudging across the grass to their breach spot.
Royce grabbed the industrial box with the small drones inside. After the coordination meeting, Nico showed Royce how the little drones worked. It was simple enough. He placed the case on the ground and opened it. Each foam crate inside the box housed one hundred drones. They were the size of a quarter and by using an app Henry and Tate, Rapier’s sons, had made, he could deploy them and set the timer. Because they were so small and easy to make, Jerome made them disposable. When the timer got to zero, they would detonate, not leaving a trace of their existence behind.
Once they were in the air surrounding the zoo, Royce headed out. They might not encounter the same issues as before, but unlike last time, they’d...he’d, be prepared. He still carried some guilt from what happened to Hayden and Nico because they’d been in the dark. If this one time saved all of them from being attacked or worse, he’d take it.
Since they’d left the apartments, they’d been under a mandatory radio silence, but now the chatter picked up. Royce silently thanked Jerome and the boys for their help. With each team getting into position they announced they were set and waiting for instructions. If this scenario went down the way Royce hoped it would, the guards would be on the inside of the exhibit, making the breach easier on them. Nothing like trying to spring an attack on someone who might be lurking in the bushes.
The rest of his team gathered around him then spread out, giving them maximum visibility for the entry point and enough eyes on the surrounding area as backup. When they breached the zoo, another team would cut the power sending them into total darkness. Each member wore thermal night vision tactical helmets, while he and the other shifters used regular ones, giving them the advantage.
Adrenaline coursed through his veins. Instead of his heart pounding in anticipation, it slowed, allowing his wolf and human instincts to meld with each other. His eye sight, though enhanced anyway, sharpened. He could smell each of the humans surrounding him. Some of them were excited. Others were scared.
He didn’t blame them. As a human he would be too. Going into a mission where shifters were readily kept captive and could attack without provocation because they were scared or injured would have made him think twice about coming on board. Thankfully, none of the humans on the team could be turned if they got bit or scratched. None of the mumbo-jumbo crap about shifters “creating” shifters was true. It was all fantasy. Shit that Mark, one of their pack members, aka Orion Davis, would write.
But, even for as much as humans knew about them, they didn’t know enough, so he understood their fears. He was just happy they were with them, helping them take down the final Geithner family member and hopefully ending PBH for good this time.
Static filled the comms. Royce frowned.
“Reception is shit in the tunnels,” one of the SWAT members said. “Keep together.”
“We’re almost to the underground plaza,” another said. “Holy fuck, what’s that smell?”
Two members retched and gagged. “Command, we have dead shifters here and... Shit. We have babies. Three of them. Newborns.”
“Get them to the medic tent. Call ahead to Mass General,” Connors said.
“Roger. We also need someone for two adults. They’re hurt but alive.” The comms went silent a few moments later, and Royce focused on the door.
“Breaching in, five...four...three...two...”
The explosions from several flash bangs echoed off the walls and vibrated through Royce’s body. The electricity was cut at the same moment. The first person near their door opened it while they filed inside in a single line, a hand on each other’s shoulders. They fanned out from there. Patrons from the auctions were caught and detained, while those who were being auctioned off cowered, trying to find a dark corner to hide in.
The smoke from the grenades made it hard to see without the thermal night vision, but they pushed through it, taking down people as they went. This was their job. A sense of rightness filled Royce as one by one people were cuffed and left to lie on the floor until the building and the surrounding area were secure.
Royce’s thoughts circled back to the plaza under the city. He knew first-hand how they were kept. Their cages would be too small. They’d be dirty. If the initial pictures from the anonymous email were any indication, well, he imagined there were probably pregnant shifters down there, besides what they’d already found.
He rounded the corner and came upon a cowering Katie. She shook as she tried to hide. He crept up on her, pulling his gun as he went. “Don’t move.”
Katie screamed. “D-don’t hurt me. Take whatever you want.”
“What I want is for you to lie on your stomach, hands behind your back,” he said, closing the distance between them.
“Royce?” She peered up at him between her raised hands. “Y-you got my message—the email, yeah? Y-you saw what is going on?”
“On your stomach, Katie. You’re under arrest.” He inched closer while reaching for his zip-tie cuffs with his free hand.
“N-no, you don’t understand. I was helping you, Royce. Helping your family. I-I knew all along. I-I wanted to help but didn’t think you’d believe me.” She slowly rolled to her stomach, showing her hands the whole time. “I-I plan to cooperate. I promise. I don’t...I don’t want to die.”
Royce made quick work of cuffing her. “Stay right there. Don’t move.”
“Y-you believe me, right, Royce? I-I loved you very much...”
He snorted before standing. “No, Katie. I don’t. Not one bit.”
He caught a flicker of movement behind him. The quick inhalation of breath from his right indicated the direction they moved. Royce spun at the same time as the person lunged at him with a knife of some sort. Without hesitation, he fired off two shots, hitting the suspect center mass.
Brooklyn. A shocked expression filled her features before she stumbled backwards, coughed then fell to the ground. The knife in her hand clattered against the concrete floor, coming to rest somewhere in the dark. Royce glanced at Brooklyn. Her fingers twitched as she lay there, staring up at the ceiling of the room. He growled.
Damn it.
Katie screamed. The scent of her fear clawed at Royce’s skin. She hadn’t been lying when she thought she was helping them. Even while trying to work an angle with him, she was honest. Didn’t mean he’d help her out. The minute she went to Holly was the minute she signed her own death warrant.
“Fuck.” He pressed the button at his throat. “Suspect down.”
“Copy that,” Connors said. “Who?”
“Brooklyn Campbell. Katie Campbell has been cuffed. Moving on.”
“You...you killed her? You killed my sister?” Katie screamed, fighting against the bindings holding her hands together. “Why, Royce? Why did you kill her?”
He didn’t answer her as he inched down the darkened hallway. The chatter of room after room being secured settled him. He stepped into the supply closets and cleared them, then into the small ann
ex spaces to clear them. No one. Royce breathed a sigh of relief. There was one more door to the right. He placed his hand on the knob and turned it. Pushing it open, he came face to face with a small, scared little boy. His brown eyes were wide. His little body trembled. His dirty brown hair hung down to his shoulders, and he wondered if the boy had ever had a haircut. If Royce had to guess his age, he’d say the boy was about five. He was also the small, sickly boy from the photo. He still wore the stained shirt he’d had on as well.
Royce holstered his gun then lifted his hands. “I won’t hurt you. I’m friendly. My name is Royce. What’s yours?”
“Mikey,” the boy’s voice was small and hoarse. “I don’t wanna be hurt no more.” A fat tear rolled down his cheek. “I wanna go home. I don’t feel good.”
“Are your parents here?” He gathered the boy in his arms and picked him up. He wasn’t extremely hot to the touch, but smelled sick and still had a slight fever.
“No.” Mikey’s voice warbled.
“Where are they?” Royce led him out of the room. If Katie had been telling the truth, the boy had psychic abilities. However, she didn’t say whether or not he had parents.
Mine. The wolf snarled.
Yeah, yeah. He remembered, but he couldn’t take the boy if he had parents.
“I dunno.” He sniffed. “I can’t find them.”
He pushed opened the exit door and stepped out into the night air with the little boy. “We’ll figure it out, Mikey.” Around him those who attended the auction scrambled to get away. They looked like rats scurrying away from a sinking ship. Maybe not all of them would face charges, but those who spent money on shifter children and humans with abilities would pay dearly.
He pressed the button on his throat. “I need an agent. I found a boy.” He glanced at Mikey. A part of him tugged. This boy didn’t have anyone. If Royce knew anything, he knew PBH. The boy was taken from his family and, most likely, his parents had been killed.
An agent hurried toward Royce. “I’ll take him.”
“Get him to Children’s Mass General. His name is Mikey.” Royce handed the boy over.