“Any problems?” Wayne asked.
“I feel very naked,” Lorenzo looked at the females.
Wayne chuckled. “They’ve been by themselves for a while. I suggested bringing some men in at one point but they declined. I guess they know what they are capable of.”
Nikolai whistled softly. “Talk about tearing a guy up.”
Jagger felt the hairs on the back of his neck prickle. “Anyone else feel that?”
The group looked at him with eyebrows raised.
“So that’d be a no?” Jagger asked.
“What is it? What did you feel?” Wayne asked quickly.
“My head is pounding, like someone’s trying to get through,” Jagger bent over, putting his hands on his knees.
“Take Jagger to the house, get him in a bed,” Wayne directed.
“What are you thinking Wayne?” Xander put his arm around his husband.
“Not sure,” Wayne said. “Just get him into a bed and make sure the room’s dark.”
“You’re thinking about your father, aren’t you?” Dakota took Wayne’s hand.
“If Jagger feels pressure, it could be someone trying to get through.”
“Let’s hope so,” Dakota said.
~~ Conner rolled over onto his side on the bed. The room had gotten colder and his eyes felt heavy. He was thirsty and hungry. Sloan hadn’t come back and now he had a headache from hell. The pressure was like a valve, ready to explode. Warmth spread over his body and he suddenly felt like the sun was up in his room. His eyelids fluttered and he cracked one eye open. A bright light was shimmering in the corner, slowly taking shape. The heat in the room rose as the shape became more defined.
Conner sat up and moved up the bed as a man appeared in front of him. Light surrounded him, his hair was a beautiful gold and his eyes were warm brown. The light around his head was like someone had flipped a switch on. Conner blinked, trying to focus.
“Conner…”
The accent was Irish. “Aidan?”
Aidan smiled warmly. “I knew you’d
know. We are the same you and I, that is why I knew I could reach you.” “Do you know where I am?” Conner asked.
Aidan nodded. “Aye, I do. I’ve been trying to get through to the beta, Jagger. He needs to relax or I can’t get through.”
“What about Wayne?” Conner moved down the bed closer to Aidan.
“He’s too worried and scared. I can’t penetrate his fear.”
“She said…I’m not normal,” Conner whispered.
“You and I are cut from the same cloth, Conner. We are not normal, we are extraordinary,” Aidan said, smiling. “I will keep trying to get through. In the meantime, just know that we are all watching over you. It’ll be all right young Conner.”
“How were you able…?”
Aidan palmed Conner’s face. “Like I’ve said we are the same, Conner, and you are very much loved.”
Conner reached out, but Aidan shimmered and disappeared. Footsteps echoed down the hall outside his room as Sloan’s click-clacking reverberated through the mostly empty castle. The door was thrown open and Mitch was thrown into the room. Sloan smiled demonically.
“Have fun, boys!”
The door slammed shut and Conner heard the key turn in the lock. He stumbled off the bed to Mitch’s side. The right side of his face was covered in blood.
“Oh God, what did she do?” Conner grabbed the sheet off the bed, trying to clean Mitch’s face.
“She wants me to…” Mitch averted his eyes. “She…”
“I know,” Conner said, gently pulling Mitch’s face to his own.
“I can’t do it,” Mitch whispered. “I fought her… and she… I don’t know how long I can hold out. I don’t want to hurt you.” Mitch looked into Conner’s eyes. “You’re glowing.”
“I am?”
“Yes, you have… I don’t know, like a light around you? It’s very comforting. Are you an angel?”
Conner found himself chuckling, which was odd, seeing as they were decidedly not in a funny situation. “I don’t think so.”
“I’ll try Conner…just know I wouldn’t hurt you on purpose…”
Conner held Mitch; he had passed out, which was a blessing. If Sloan got her way, Mitch would overpower him and Conner did not want to think about what would happen next. “Please help us,” Conner whispered.
~~ Paul entered Greystones pub at ten in the morning. Conner wasn’t at the cottage and he hadn’t been able to reach him by phone. None of his traveling companions were around either. A strange sensation was gnawing his gut. Something was wrong; it wasn’t like Conner to not call. Paul spotted Angus busing one of the tables.
“Angus, you see Conner this morning?” Paul asked.
Angus put a plate in the plastic bin. “Nope, ain’t seen him since last night.”
Paul leaned against the bar. “Something’s wrong, he’s not in the cottage and he hasn’t called.”
“Did ya think to call him?” Angus scowled.
Paul rolled his eyes. “Now why would I do that? Of course I did!”
“Maybe he’s still asleep?”
Paul pulled his phone from his suit jacket pocket and dialed Conner’s number again. A soft melody came from one of the booths in the far corner. “You hear that?” Paul asked.
Angus tilted his head. “Sounds like ‘Danny Boy’.”
“That’s Conner’s phone, I know it.” Paul walked over to the booth. Nestled in between the cushions, was Conner’s phone. “I don’t like this.” Paul grabbed the phone and silenced it. He flipped through the contacts until he found ‘Wayne’. Dialing the number, he waited anxiously for Wayne to pick up.
“Conner!”
Paul’s gut sank at the tone of Wayne’s voice. He was in a panic. “No, this is Paul Greystone, I just found Conner’s phone. I take it by the tone of your voice that you don’t know where he is either.”
“I know who has him, though. It’s the woman he was with.”
“Where are you?” Paul asked.
“Kerry.”
“I’m coming right now.”
Wayne looked at the assembled men surrounding him. Paul Greystone had no idea what he was walking into. “I don’t think that’s a good idea, Mr. Greystone.”
Vince perked up. “Paul Greystone?”
Wayne nodded.
“Give me the phone.” Vince put his hand out and Wayne complied. “Paul, it’s Vince Markov.”
“Vince?”
“Look, we know who has Conner; we are just trying to figure out where he is.”
“Look, I want to help, Vince. Conner’s been my friend forever.”
Vince covered the phone, looking at Wayne. “We might want to bring him in, I know Paul. He’s like a dog with a bone; he won’t stop until he finds Conner. Better to have him in the loop, than have him see wolves running around.”
Wayne sighed, rubbing his face with his hands. “You can vouch for him?”
Vince nodded. “I don’t know him like I know Lorenzo, but he’s good people. He’s good friends with Stefan Santorno.”
“All right, but he’s sworn to secrecy,” Wayne said.
“Yup.” Vince got back on the phone to an already yelling Paul. “Calm down, I’ll send you our coordinates. And Paul?”
“Yeah?”
“Don’t say I didn’t warn ya.”
~~
Jagger breathed in deeply, slow in and out breaths, trying to calm his racing heartbeat. His head felt like it was in a vice. Someone was really trying to get through. “Hurts, babe.”
Xander smoothed Jagger’s hair back, applying the cold wash cloth to his forehead.
“I know. I’m here.” Xander massaged Jagger’s temples. Whoever was trying to push through was hurting his husband. A part of him was getting angry. “Do you need anything?”
“Just you.” Jagger pulled Xander to his lips. Soft lips flowed over his, a teasing tongue slid between his, eliciting a groan from deep inside.
Pulling Xander on top of him, Jagger ground his growing erection into his husband’s hips. His limbs relaxed, as the heat from Xander seeped into his bones.
“Holy shit!” Jagger sat up, almost pushing Xander off the bed. A man stood in the corner - a bright, gold glow surrounded him.
Xander’s eyes went wide and he scrambled up beside his husband.
“Holy shit,” Xander whispered.
Aidan smiled. “Not holy. At least, not that I know of.”
Jagger finally found his voice. “Who are you?”
“Aidan Moore. Conner is in Meath, at Trim Castle. You must hurry.”
“Is he…okay?” Xander looked over the man. His hair was a golden halo surrounding a delicate face. Warm honey brown eyes smiled.
“He is, but you must hurry. I am going back to be with Conner. Tell Rion he must hurry, the witch is growing impatient and she may try to hurt Conner.”
“Hurt him how?” Xander asked.
“She cannot physically hurt him, but she may have others do her bidding. I must go.”
“Wait!” Jagger leapt from the bed, but Aidan had vanished. “Shit, come on, let’s go tell Wayne!”
~~ Nikolai narrowed his eyes as Chance pored through the information he’d pulled up. The guy was reading so fast it was making Nikolai’s head spin. Chance would nod, and then mumble something under his breath.
“You don’t just dabble in witchcraft.” Nikolai crossed his arms over his chest. “You’re one of those…um...”
“Warlock.” Chance looked up at Nikolai Markov. “A male witch.”
“Dude, and a werewolf?” Nikolai shook
his head. “Talk about the one-two punch. How
the fuck did that happen?”
Chance had to smile at Nikolai Markov.
He’d heard the stories about the guy and his father; to say they were vicious was an understatement. They were downright terrifying.
“I was dating a guy a while back.”
Chance sighed sadly. “We fell in love and he told
me what he was. I couldn’t have cared less you
know? I wanted to be with him forever, so he bit
me. It was really hard at first, trying to control
my lupine side. I had a habit of shifting when I
didn’t really want to.”
“That caught some people by surprise I
take it?” Nikolai asked.
“Well, when a huge wolf is wandering
around Brooklyn, people tend to notice. Even in
New York,” Chance chuckled.
“So, the guy?”
Chance sighed loudly. “We were in
Central Park one night when Pierce got a weird
feeling, like we were being watched.” Chance
wrapped his arms around himself. “They came
out of nowhere and attacked us.”
“Who did?” Nikolai asked.
“Rogue wolves,” Chance growled. “They
killed him; I barely made it out of the park alive.
Pierce stayed behind to fight them off. I knew he
was dead by the time I hit the street, half of me
was gone and I felt it in my bones.”
Chance looked up at Nikolai. “I wandered
for a while, not really seeing anything or anyone.
I just happened to be walking by an apartment
building one night and saw smoke. The place
went up like a matchbox in seconds and I heard
people screaming. I don’t know why, but
something snapped inside me and I ran into the
building and started pulling people out. I cast a
few spells to protect the people from the flames
and by the time the fire department showed up,
most of the people were out. That’s when I met
Locke and Logan.”
“I didn’t know rogues existed,” Nikolai
said slowly.
“They do, trust me,” Chance said.
“Locke’s been trying to find them all, which is why he contacted Wayne. He has to know that
they are out there.”
“Why kill their own kind?”
Chance shook his head. “They want to be
at the top, to rule everyone and that includes
humans.”
Nikolai sat back in the chair with a demonic grin. “Seems as if I have a new job.” Chance eyed Nikolai. “Are you, like,
crazy?”
“Nope, just get bored easily,” Nikolai
chuckled.
“So anyway, Locke offered me sanctuary
with him and I took it. I had no one else. My
mom knew all about witchcraft from the minute
she was born and when she married my dad she
passed it on to me. I had no idea what was wrong
with me at first; I’d start fires just by thinking
about them.”
“Damn, I’d love to have that kind of gift,”
Nikolai enthused.
“Sometimes it’s a curse; people look at
you differently once they find out who you are,
not to mention what you are.”
“Hell, I get that all the time and I’m not
even a super wolf. People run screaming from me
most of the time. It’s annoying. Like I’m out to
kill them or something, makes me wonder just
how innocent they are if they think I’m coming
for them.”
“Must be lonely,” Chance said.
Nikolai shrugged. “It is what it is. I’m
used to being alone. I get laid, trust me, more
than you’d believe, but it’s not the same as being
with someone who gets you and loves you completely. My dad finally got that with Keegan.” “The FBI agent,” Chance nodded. “So no
one’s caught your eye?”
Nikolai grinned. “One guy did, but he
called me a male whore.”
“Are you?” Chance raised a brow. “Maybe,” Nikolai shrugged. “I like sex.
Doesn’t mean I can’t be faithful for the right
guy.”
“And would you be with the guy who
called you a male whore?”
Nikolai brought forth a vision of Colin
Greystone. Dark eyes with equally dark hair, soft,
smooth skin and luscious lips.
“Oh yeah, I could. He intrigues me; he
isn’t even scared of me, which is a plus.” “Sounds like your soul mate,” Chance
grinned.
“Maybe.” Nikolai looked at the computer.
“Click on that link.”
Chance clicked on one of the numerous
links down the paranormal site. “What the fuck?”
Chance drew in a breath.
“Seems as if the rogues are recruiting,”
Nikolai peered at the screen.
“Shit.”
Nikolai rubbed his hands together. “God,
this looks like fun.”
“They weren’t lying about you,” Chance
cocked his head to the side.
“Hey, I was made this way. I was kidnapped when I was young by Yuri Borkosky.
Let’s just say when my dads finally found me, I
got first crack at the guy and I took my time.” “How old were you?” Chance asked. “Ten,”
Chance’s eyes went wide. “Wow, so you
were…”
Nikolai nodded. “I started early, but trust
me, after what Yuri had done to me, he deserved
much worse than what he got back. One of my
dads had killed his father to take power and Yuri
wanted revenge,” Nikolai chuckled. “I got mine
in spades.”
“Remind me never to cross you,” Chance
chuckled.
“You might turn me into
a frog or
something.”
“Ha, I wish. My magical skills are seriously lacking. I have a lot of learning to do. I can
cast some spells, but they are hit and miss.” “Well, this interests me, so maybe I could
help you?”
“Really?” Chance said.
Nikolai shrugged. “Sure, why not?” “I don’t…freak you out?”
Nikolai laughed, clapping Chance on the
back. “Hell, no.”
“Ow,” Chance winced at the pain in his
shoulder.
“Oh, sorry. I’ve been told I don’t know
my own strength.”
“I’ll bet.”
Chapter Six
Jagger ran from the house searching frantically for Wayne. He passed by Vince and Lorenzo and slid to a stop.
“Where’s Wayne?” Jagger asked. Lorenzo motioned to the enclosure. “With the females. They are very scary.”
“No shit,” Vince nodded. “And that’s coming from me.”
Jagger shivered. “Duly noted. Guess I’m going to have to take a walk into the forbidden zone.”
“Cover your penis,” Lorenzo winked.
“You got something, didn’t you?” Vince narrowed his eyes at Jagger.
“Yup, round up the guys. Trim Castle.”
“On it.” Vince dragged Lorenzo with him.
Jagger approached the enclosure slowly. Peeking around the gate, he saw Wayne surrounded by a group of women. He walked slowly, keeping his eyes on the females. A low growl erupted from one of them and Wayne turned to see what the fuss was about.
“Ah, Jagger, come meet the females.”
“Do I have to?” Jagger tried to smile.
“Rion, this is your beta?” One of the women looked Jagger up and down.
“Yes, he is, Samantha, and he’s mated.”
“Shite.” Samantha licked her lips, eyeing Jagger.
“Yeah, back off chickie,” Xander narrowed his eyes.
Jagger turned to find his husband hovering by the gate. “Xander…”
“What?” Xander grinned. “You’re mine, babe, and I will fight for you. Even though I’m pretty sure they could kick my ass…”
Wayne moved to his beta. “What happened?”
“Aidan got through, Conner’s at Trim castle.”
Wayne let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. “He’s all right?”
“Aidan says he is, for now.” Jagger took Wayne’s hand. “He also said she may have others do her bidding when it comes to Conner. Something about how she can’t hurt him directly?”
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