“Never mind, Charlie. You need to start watching more TV and movies. It might help you relax a little,” Sparky wiped a shaky hand across his sweat-soaked brow. “So, why do I feel like the porcelain goddess is going to be my new best friend?
Charlie couldn’t help the slight smile that tugged at his lips. Even sick as a dog, his mate managed to lighten the mood. He wasn’t sure if it was for his benefit or just Sparky’s way of dealing with a crappy situation. But the question was a good one. His mate should be starting to feel better, not worse. He picked up the cup that contained the tea he’d prepared. “You need to drink some more of this, and you’ll get better. Now be a good patient and drink it all down.”
Sparky glared at him. “How about you drink it down. Don’t think I was so out of it to forget how nasty that crap is. What did you do, use old sweat socks to strain the leaves?”
“Actually, it was a jock strap,” Charlie replied calmly.
“Dude, that is so wrong on so many levels,” Sparky grimaced as he took his first sip. He choked slightly but managed to get the potion down in a couple of large gulps. Charlie watched his mate battle to keep the concoction down, but after a few moments, it was clear he was going to lose it. The hybrid-wolf quickly grabbed the bucket that had been placed by the bed and helped his mate while he expelled everything he just drank.
By the time it was over, Sparky just groaned and closed his eyes. “I think I’ll pass on any more cures. It tastes even worse coming back up.”
“Don’t worry, Sparky. We’ll figure out what’s going on. For now, just try to rest,” Charlie replied as he pulled the blanket up. He watched as his mate finally followed his order. If only he’d listen more often but then, it wouldn’t be his Sparky. After waiting a few moments to make sure his mate would remain sleeping, he decided it was time to seek out his brother and the doctor. There had to be more going on here than simple wolfsbane poisoning.
Alpha Grant quickly went to Sandy’s room. He had to let Ricky know that it was safe, at least for now. He couldn’t believe they were dealing with dark elves. While they were few in number, they had managed to create many problems during the Great War. Their invisibility and skill with weapons and combat were legendary. He remembered hearing about how they wiped out a group of over fifty shifters and humans in one night. They had been lucky they hadn’t met the same fate tonight.
He saw the closed door to Sandy’s room and could sense the fear but also resolve from his mate. Ricky had become a worthy warrior in his own right. Already his battle skills had greatly improved. He could see now how foolish he’d been in denying his mate the training needed for him to come into his own power. It was still hard for him to not try to protect his mate. However, he now understood what his mother tried to teach him. An alpha-mate does not stand behind the alpha but beside him or her.
The alpha called out softly using their link as he lightly knocked on the door, “Ricky, it’s me. I’m coming in.” The last thing he needed was for his mate to attack when he opened the door. But he didn’t even get a chance to open it as it sprang open. He found himself holding his trembling mate in his arms.
“I saw the others go down and then I couldn’t hear you. I thought,” Ricky swallowed, “I thought you were hurt.”
“I am sorry, my mate. But when I go into battle, I have to shut down our link. Any distractions could be disastrous for both of us.” Grant grunted as a fist slammed into his shoulder.
“You could have contacted me when you knew it was safe. But no, you kept me in the dark—umph!” Ricky’s rant stopped as Grant pulled him close and captured his mouth with his own. He plundered the soft cavern, tasting the unique flavor that was his mate until they both had to come up for air. He smiled at the blissed-out expression on his mate’s face and the noticeable hardness bumping against his own.
“Ew, gross! Ah, Alpha Grant?” Sandy’s voice broke into the haze that surrounded the two men. “Uhm, can I leave my room now? I was good and hid under my bed like Ricky said, and I stayed so quiet that I bet even Spiderman wouldn’t have been able to find me. I’m a good hider. Sparky told me after the bad man took him, I’d been so good no one could find me. Did you get the bad guy this time? ‘Cause if not I could show you and Ricky how to hide so he can’t find you either.”
Grant laughed softly as he picked his adopted son up and balanced him on his shoulders. “Come on, little one. Let’s go find the cook and see if she has any of those cookies you love so much.”
“Great, you get to be the one to get him to sleep. In case you didn’t notice, it’s still dark and time for little superheroes to be in bed.” Ricky tried to look stern, but Grant could see the grin behind the frown. “Never mind, off with the two of you before you wake the twins. I can’t believe they slept through the whole thing. I’m going to take them back to their cribs and check on Sammy.”
Grant liked the sight of his mate with the pups. Maybe once things quieted down, they could discuss a surrogate. “Don’t worry, a little warm milk to wash the cookies down will help him get back to sleep. Won’t it, Sandy?” Grant stated calmly as he turned to head down the stairs. He could feel the young pup nod enthusiastically as they continued their hunt for their midnight snack. After he took care of his son, then he planned to spend the rest of the evening showing his mate how much he appreciated him.
Jake rushed into his sister’s room. He and Shadow had stopped at their room just long enough to wash off the elf’s blood and dress. They passed Ricky in the hall. The human told them he’d put the twins to bed and to let them know if Sammy needed anything. Jake just nodded as he headed toward his sister’s door.
When they entered the room, it was eerily quiet. He nodded briefly at Radar, who was sitting in a chair by the window. He still hadn’t fully recovered from his own injuries and yet he stood guard over his injured sister. “How is she?” He asked quietly, not wanting to wake his injured sibling.
“She hasn’t regained consciousness. The doc says it’s the wolfsbane in her system, but I don’t know,” Radar turned to look at Shadow, “I’ve never seen this kind of reaction before. She seems to be getting worse. Even though she can’t shift, the doc managed to get the bleeding stopped. But other than the bullet lodged near her spine, there were no other vital organs hit.”
Jake noticed the slight tremor in his sister’s limbs along with the sweat that covered her slender frame. He lightly touched her forehead before he sighed, “She’s running a fever. Doc said there was a potion he could give her to help with the wolfsbane. Did she drink any of it?”
Radar nodded. “Yeah, he managed to get her to drink down some of it.”
The worried shifter glanced over to the cribs and noticed his mate was checking on the twins. He smiled softly at the way Shadow bent to pull the blanket up on one of them, softly humming when the pup stirred. His mate would make a wonderful father someday.
He turned back to his sister’s too quiet body. The shifter fought to keep the tears he could feel in his eyes from falling. A strong hand gently squeezed his shoulder as the scent of his mate enveloped him. Things had been going so well until the elves showed up.
“We never seem to get a break do we, Sammy,” Jake said softly, as he pushed aside the sweat-soaked hair from her face. “You hang in for me, though, you hear? The boys need you, and so do I.”
“I’m going to go see if I can find Artemus and the doc. Radar can you stay and keep watch a bit longer?” Shadow asked.
Radar nodded before turning back to gaze out the window. “No worries, I can do this.” Jake glanced at Shadow as he frowned slightly at the man’s tone. He didn’t know Radar that well, but it sounded like he was trying to convince himself rather than reassure them.
He turned back to look at his sibling. It might be selfish, but he couldn’t worry about someone else right now. The shifter could only deal with one problem at a time, and his sister had to be his priority.
Artemus was in the lab Alpha Grant had provided to him. I
t was located in the basement of the large estate and was bigger than the one he previously had with Alpha Clifton. He searched through his supply of herbs and noted that he’d need to go out soon to gather more. He glanced over at the doctor who was helping him grind and prepare the potion they needed to treat wolfsbane sickness.
Eventually, the infected wolves could recover without it, but the potion would lessen the severity of the symptoms and shorten the recovery time. As the magi and the shifter continued to work in silence, there was a knock at the door. “Come in!” Artemus called out. He watched as Charlie entered, followed by Shadow.
“What’s wrong?” Artemus asked as he stepped back from the pot where he was currently boiling the herbs.
“Sparky isn’t getting any better. In fact, it looks like he’s getting worse. He can’t keep the potion down at all now,” Charlie stated with his arms crossed. Artemus shook his head. His brother had the look he’d seen most of his life. His little brother expected him to have the answer.
Shadow leaned against the door frame, “Sammy is still unconscious, and her fever seems to be worse. Doc have you ever seen wolfsbane poisoning from an elf bolt be this bad before?”
Doc shook his head, “No, in fact, I’m starting to suspect that there has to be something else going on here—” Before the doctor could finish his sentence, the sound of running footsteps could be heard followed by Falcon’s voice.
“I’ve found it! I’m not sure exactly how they’ve done it, but they changed the chemical compound on the arrowheads and bullets.” Falcon strode into the room, holding one of the bullets between his gloved fingers.
“What are you talking about?” Shadow asked.
Falcon appeared to be in awe as he placed the bullet down on the table. “I mean the bastards have coated them with more than just wolfsbane. The bullet provided me with enough residual material to see what was inside the tip. They didn’t coat the bullet because that would cause the material to burn off when fired. So, I pulled the bullet apart and found traces of a liquid inside.”
“Great professor Falcon, but what does that mean for those who have been shot?” Charlie growled.
“Calm down, Charlie,” Artemus ordered. His brother’s impatience had been responsible for him getting into trouble more than once in the past. He glanced at the bullet on the table and went to pick it up but was stopped by a warning shout from Falcon.
“Don’t touch it! I’m not sure, but the poison may be able to be transferred through contact with the liquid.”
“Did you figure out exactly what’s in the liquid?” Doc Houston asked calmly.
The warrior nodded, “Of course, otherwise I wouldn’t be here.” Artemus heard his brother growl again before Falcon continued unfazed. “Do you remember the old wives’ tale about werewolves being repelled by rye?”
Artemus nodded. “Sure, humans believed if you were being chased by a werewolf, you just had to run into a field of rye.” Artemus felt excitement as he connected the dots, “but it wasn’t the rye that was the problem.”
“What are you talking about?” Charlie demanded. “I’ve never heard of such nonsense. If this were true, wouldn’t more of our kind be affected?”
“It’s not the rye, but the mold that sometimes grows in fields of rye,” Artemus continued after glaring at his brother. The hybrid-shifter glared back; his arms still crossed. The magi turned to the doctor and continued his explanation. “We need to prepare a potion to counter ergot as well as the wolfsbane.”
The doctor looked concerned. “If what you say is true, we’re in for a tough battle. The problem is the fungus can cause convulsions, hallucinations, and if not treated or if there is too much ergot in their system; it can cause death.”
Shadow inhaled sharply. “Sammy still has the bullet inside her. Which means…”
“The poison is still leaching into her system,” the doctor confirmed.
There was silence in the room as Sammy’s perilous condition sunk in. Artemus pulled out one of his books and quickly turned to the page he needed. “First things first, we need to modify the potion to also treat the ergot,” he glanced over at Shadow. “We can at least try to help Sammy’s system fight the poison until we can figure out a way to remove the bullet.”
“What about Sebastian?” Charlie asked quietly. “He helped me when I was badly injured.”
Artemus shook his head, “Unfortunately, fixing broken bones and healing open wounds is not the same as removing an object or cleansing the system of poison. In fact, it could make it worse as his powers could cause Sammy’s body to heal around the bullet. She could end up paralyzed for life.”
“At least she’d have a life,” Charlie remarked.
“And she’s not your sister or mate. What would you do if it was Sparky?” Shadow growled as he turned to glare at Charlie. Artemus had to step in before the two came to blows.
“Look, we don’t have time for this crap. Charlie, you can help us make the potions we’ll need to help your mate and the others recover,” he glanced at Shadow and noticed the concern on the man’s face. “Shadow, I think we can at least help her fight the poison for now. We can figure out how to handle the bullet once we stabilize her.”
“There may be someone who can help with the bullet,” Falcon said softly as he gazed into the distance. Artemus noticed the sad smile on the man’s face. “I’m not sure where he is, but maybe when I contact the fae to discuss our other problems, they might be able to direct me to his location.”
“He’s a healer?” Doc Houston asked.
“One of the strongest healers I’ve ever met,” Falcon confirmed before he turned to exit the room. “I better pack. As soon as our meeting is over, I’ll head out. The sooner I can meet up with my contact, the sooner I can find out if he’s even still alive.”
“Who is this healer?” Artemus asked.
Falcon paused and leaned a hand against the wall, his head bowed. “He’s my mate.”
Chapter 22
Shadow had finally managed to get Jake to agree to rest before the meeting. After he told him what he’d learned about Sammy’s condition; he wasn’t surprised Jake didn’t want to leave her side. But after he reminded his mate that he had to take care of himself if he wanted to take care of his sibling, the stubborn shifter finally relented. Radar had agreed to keep watch until the meeting. Shadow had spoken to Ricky, and he agreed to come in and keep watch over the injured she-wolf during the meeting. He had done what he did best; he worked behind the scenes to get things done.
The door to the bathroom opened and steam billowed out before his mate exited. Jake was wrapped in only a towel as he walked slowly toward the bed. Shadow almost swallowed his tongue at the sculpted chocolate god. The golden-brown hair fell about his shoulders and looked like a halo around the man’s head. But it was the liquid brown eyes that drew him in. Just like his sister, the man’s eyes almost glowed when the golden flecks reflected the light.
Jake didn’t say a word as he dropped his towel and climbed in next to Shadow. His mate’s rigid cock brushed against his own naked thigh as the man rolled on top of him. “Need you,” Jake whispered as he leaned forward to lick the mating bite.
Shadow stroked his hand down the man’s back until he reached the firm globes. He pulled Jake tighter against him as he sought his mate’s lips. Jake opened willingly to him, allowing Shadow to gently map out the inside of his mouth. He could feel his mate’s need growing as he continued to explore his body and mouth. After a few moments, he gently reversed their positions.
“Are you sure?” Shadow asked softly. He knew his mate had to be tired. They had only a short time to rest before they had to go to the war room.
“Need you,” Jake responded again. His eyes showed his need as well as his body. Shadow couldn’t stand against the raw feelings he saw in those eyes. He reached under his pillow to retrieve the lube he’d stashed there before their Valentine’s Day run. The toys he’d bought were still in the nightstand drawer but
now wasn’t the time. His mate needed the connection, and he was more than willing to provide it.
“I’ve got you,” Shadow responded simply as he moved down and took Jake’s cock into his mouth. He slowly licked from the root to the tip, gently nibbling on the sensitive nerves there until Jake moaned with pleasure. He swallowed the rigid member, deep throating his mate until Jake thrashed from the sensation.
“Please, fuck me now! Make me forget,” Jake cried out as his cock erupted into Shadow’s mouth.
Shadow smiled as he continued to drink down his mate’s nectar. His fingers already worked on his mate’s opening. He added a third finger as he let his mate’s cock fall from his mouth with a loud pop. It still was fully erect and glistened in the moonlight that came through their bedroom window. Shadow began to stroke Jake’s prostate a few more times, enjoying the moans of pleasure as his mate squirmed beneath him.
“Are you ready, my mate?” Shadow asked softly as he removed his fingers and used the lube left on them to coat his own aching member.
“Get with it, already!” Jake ordered. He pulled his legs up to his chest, baring his glistening hole. There was still a slight flush of embarrassment on his mate’s face, but the heat of passion outweighed the man’s inexperience. Without waiting any longer, Shadow pushed inside his mate with one thrust.
He waited as his mate adjusted to his girth. He hoped he hadn’t hurt Jake, but his own need was now driving him to complete their union. After a moment, Jake began to move his body, trying to fuck himself on Shadow’s cock. Any other time, he would have enjoyed allowing it to continue. However, right now they didn’t have time. The urgency of their bodies wouldn’t be denied any longer.
Shadow began to move slowly at first but soon began to pound into his mate. He made sure to hit his pleasure button with every thrust while relishing in the smooth channel that messaged his cock within its tight grip. He could tell Jake was close and worked to make him come undone. A short time later he felt his mate’s chute clamp down almost painfully on his cock as semen coated both their chests.
Out of the Shadows Page 17