Ani [Whitedell Pride: 7]

by Catherine Lievens

  “Oh, you know, gossip,” Nysys answered with a flourish of his hand. “The new leader of your tribe contacted other leaders, and while most of them were absolutely against having someone at the council, some did think it would be a god idea.” He bit into the apple he was eating and munched happily.

  Finn’s eyes narrowed. “Why did they choose you? You don’t seem like an obvious choice to me.”

  The change in Nysys’ behavior was so fast that it left Ani shocked. His eyes hardened and his body went stiff, the apple falling as his hands tightened into fists. “What, you think that because I like piercings and pink I wouldn’t be a good leader?”

  “Well, you sure as hell don’t look like you’re serious about this, so I can’t help but wonder if you’re going to help or make everything even worse. It might not be a big deal for the Nix since they live so isolated, but me and my cousin live with shifters, so we need the council.”

  Nysys took a deep breath and relaxed slightly. It was only a bit, but it was better than nothing. Ani had thought for a moment that he would have had to separate the two men, and since he was the shortest of the three and the scrawniest, it wouldn’t have been an easy thing. “Okay, I understand where you’re coming from, so I won’t kick your ass—this time. But if you insinuate once more that I don’t care what happens here, I will do it, shifter mate or not.” There was something in Nysys’ eyes that said that this was important for him, but Ani could only guess at the reason.

  Finn huffed and the way the two were glaring at each other was actually funny. They looked like toddlers fighting over a toy they both wanted, and he couldn’t quite keep in the chuckle that worked his way up his throat. He did manage to cover it with a cough, but he knew he hadn’t fooled the two men, especially when Finn glared at him next and shimmered out of the room without saying anything else. Nysys picked his apple up and checked it carefully before rinsing it under the tap and biting it again.

  “He’s such a drama queen.”

  “Not really. He’s just worried. This is the only home and family we have, so if something happened to anyone here, it would be hard on us.”

  Nysys sighed, the gesture dramatic just like everything else the man did. And he thought Finn was the drama queen. “I understand that, believe me. I really just want to help, although I don’t think the council will actually have the help of the Nix, at least not most of them. They don’t want to mix with shifters, or with anyone else for that matter.”

  Ani knew all too well that it was the truth. “Are you going to tell me who decided to make you a council member?” He was curious. He might not think Nysys’ appearance meant the man was not serious, but he did think the man didn’t look like he would be the first choice for something like this. He got even more curious when he saw the light blush creeping on Nysys’ cheeks.

  “I kind of elected myself.” Nysys was looking everywhere but at Ani.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, while your tribe’s leader did pass Dominic’s message around, no one was really interested in it. I shouldn’t have even read the thing since I’m not a tribe leader, but I stumbled on it and told my friends. We have a tight network of friends around the tribes, and all of them agreed that even if the tribes didn’t officially want to send someone, we had to take this chance, so I decided to come. I don’t have a family, so no one will miss me if you decided to kick me out or, you know, hurt me.”

  It seemed that Nysys’ experience with Nix was as good as Ani’s. “We’re not going to hurt you.” He thought about what he was going to say. “While I know that Dominic would have preferred to have a spokesman that the Nix would have listened to, I knew that it wasn’t going to be possible, not with the way Nix always think they are better than anyone else, even other Nix. It wasn’t possible to find someone that every tribe would have followed, and since you’re saying that you do have some followers...”

  “I’m not sure we can do much, though.”

  “It’s better than nothing. So, if you’re kind of their leader, why don’t you guys just create a new tribe?”

  Nysys’ eyes widened as if he had actually never thought about it, and it was probably the case. “Oh no, no. I wouldn’t be able to be a real leader like that. I’m not really the leader of anything, we’re just friends. We all give our opinion and listen to what everyone has to say.”

  Ani shrugged. It seemed to him that while Nysys’ group didn’t have the traditional power structure like their tribes and the shifters had, Nysys was still the one everyone went to. Of course, he couldn’t really know, since he had never met anyone of Nysys’ friends. “Why don’t you just all go and live together?”

  “You think money grows on trees, kid?”

  Ani was a little offended at the harsh tone, but Nysys was right. They couldn’t do anything like that without money and a place to stay. “I’m sure we could figure something out, but you’re going to have to tell Dominic what you just told me.” Nysys face looked worried, so Ani reassured him. “He’s not going to hurt you, don’t worry. I don’t even think he’ll ask you to step down from the council. He just has to know about this.”

  “Fine, fine. I’ll tell him.” Nysys hesitated as if he was about to say something else but decided not to.

  “Come on, spill it.”

  “I know all the council members are staying here for a while.”

  “Yes, until they hire most of the enforcers. It makes sense since you all have to be okay with those men, and that way the council members will get to know each other.” They couldn’t stay that long since most of them were Alphas, so the enforcers’ interviews were scheduled for this week. Dominic had done a lot of work on his own before being elected council member, and Ani couldn’t understand why the man had been so surprised when he had proposed his name. It was so obvious that he would have been the perfect council member. It was his child, his creature.

  “I, well, I was wondering...I didn’t actually asked my tribe leader for the authorization to come here, so I’m pretty sure that they’ve written me down by now, so I don’t have a place to stay after this.” It was weird the way the confident man seemed subdued as he asked for help, but some people were like that. They didn’t want to appear weak or some stupid stuff like that. Ani didn’t think asking for help meant Nysys was weak or not able to take care of himself or of his makeshift tribe. If Ani had had the guts to ask for help years before, he wouldn’t have had to go through what he had lived through under Leold’s hand.

  “I don’t think it’s going to be a problem. Sure, the house is a little crowded, but there’s still plenty of space for you and your friends if you want them to come here. I’ll talk to Dominic about it first, though.”

  Nysys smiled. “With the way you have him wrapped around your little finger, I’m sure he’ll agree on whatever you want. I just don’t want to make you guys do something you don’t want just because you pity me or something.”

  “Nonsense. I know you haven’t met a lot of the people who live in the house, but we have humans, shifters of all kinds, and people we rescued from the labs. I actually like living around so many people, but if you want I’m sure we can find you another place to live in once the situation is stabilized.”

  Nysys looked a little hesitant, but Ani knew he had won when the man slowly nodded. “I’ll leave it to you, then.”

  Ani wasn’t actually sure Dominic was going to be happy about this, but he knew his mate wouldn’t turn down someone who needed help, and as Nysys had pointed out, he knew he could convince him if he needed to.

  * * * *

  Dominic looked at the stack of paper in front of him. Those were all résumés of the people they had contacted and asked if they wanted to be council’s enforcers. They were all good men and women, but he still wanted the other council members to talk to them, just to be sure.

  He had rented a conference room in a nearby hotel, unwilling to have that many people coming and going from
the mansion, not with the kids around. He might have done his research on each and every one of the enforcers-to-be, but one could never be too sure.

  “Okay...next one is Blair Stanley.” Celina’s voice was loud enough to be heard from the back of the room where the enforcers were gathered. A tall man stepped out of the group and started walking toward them, and Dominic used the time to study him.

  He knew Blair was a Komodo dragon, and he was curious. He hadn’t met a lot of reptile shifters in his life, and the ones he had met had all been snakes.

  Blair stopped in front of the long table behind which all the members were sitting, and Dominic let Celina ask the questions. Blair was tall but not bulky, the muscles in his arms long and well developed. His skin was the color of cinnamon and his hair and eyes so dark they looked black.

  “So, what do you have to offer to the council that other well trained men don’t have?” Quincy asked, and Dominic could see he was tense.

  “My bite is venomous.”

  Nysys squeaked from his seat and everyone turned to look at him. The Nix waved at them, his cheeks flushed. “What? He just said that he’s venomous. You’re not worried that he could just jump on the table and start snacking on us?”

  Quincy snorted. “He said he’s venomous, not a cannibal. He wouldn’t eat you, just kill you very painfully.”

  That didn’t seem to make Nysys relax, and Dominic chuckled as he saw the Nix moved his chair back. He wasn’t the only one finding Nysys funny.

  Blair chuckled. “I’m venomous only in dragon form, don’t worry. Apart from that I’m pretty quick and a good tracker. And I don’t like human flesh.” He winked at Nysys and the Nix seemed uncertain whether to be worried or relieved.

  It was really only a formality, so Blair was quickly offered a job as enforcer. Since he was a reptile, he would be under Celina’s direct orders, but all the council members had the same power over all of them, really. It was just easier to distribute the amount of work that way.

  “Okay, then. Lee McKenzie?”

  The interviews went on and on, and apart from one of the men, all of the people they talked with were asked to work for the council. They would have a debriefing later on to talk about what they expected from them, their salary and other details, but for now Dominic couldn’t wait to finish the seemingly never ending line and go home to his mate.

  Ani had wanted to come, but Dominic had asked him not to. He didn’t really know the people they had asked to come today and he didn’t want to even think about risking his mate.

  “Emery Harper.”

  Now this man was a surprise. While every single person they had talked with had been tall and well-muscled, even the women, Emery was at the most five foot eight and scrawny. Dominic didn’t know anything about him because his name hadn’t been one of those he had asked to come, which meant Emery had found out about the interviews another way. Maybe he was a friend or a relative of someone they had contacted.

  Still, as small as he was, Dominic knew it didn’t mean anything. Quincy was just as small, and he was a mean motherfucker. They couldn’t know how fast and strong he was until they actually asked him to show them.

  Kameron smirked at the young man. “You want to be an enforcer?”

  Emery didn’t seem to mind the somehow teasing smile on Kameron’s lips. “Yup.”

  “You sure? You don’t seem—”

  Kameron didn’t even have the time to finish the sentence as Emery had moved around the table and straddled the wolf’s legs. The man had been so fast that Dominic was sure not a single one of them had managed to track him. He knew he was staring at the small man with his mouth wide open, because in all his nearly hundred years on earth, he had never seen someone move that fast.

  Kameron was speechless while the other council members behind the table were all in various stages of getting up and defending their friend, but when Emery merely licked a path from Kameron’s neck to the corner of his mouth, it became obvious the man wasn’t there to hurt them. That, or he had a weird way to do it.

  Kameron shook himself and chuckled, the sound somehow strained. “Thank you, but I’m already in a relationship.”

  Emery pouted before moving back to his side of the table just as fast as he had moved the first time. “Pity. You were quite tasty.” He made a show of licking his lips before running his gaze over the rest of the council. “I’m sure I can find someone else, though.”

  “I’m sure of that,” Dominic asked. “Mind telling us what you are before trying to seduce us? I’ve never seen any shifter move like that, so I’m guessing you’re something else.”

  “A golden star for you, mister.”

  “Thank you, but I’m already mated.”

  Emery shook his head in dismay. “The good ones are always already taken, that’s the story of my life.” He didn’t seem too sad about that, though, and he flashed a huge smile at Dominic. Dominic had to take a double take at the sight, because yeah, those were fangs gleaming in the conference room’s lights.

  Nysys squeaked again and yelled, “Vampire!” Gosh, it was obvious the man was not a leader, even if Dominic hadn’t known. He had been a little angry after the Nix had told him he had auto elected himself council member, but at least they had a Nix. It was a good start.

  Emery snorted. “Vampire? Please. I’m so much better than those.”

  “So what are you?” Cole asked, leaning forward. He seemed very interested in Emery, and Dominic couldn’t blame him. Fang boy had dark hair that gleamed in the light and his eyes were an extraordinary dark violet. He did the math and came up with the answer, as astounding as it was.

  “You’re a Krsnik.” It wasn’t a question, because Dominic was pretty sure of it.

  Emery seemed delighted at having been found out. “Oooh, another golden star for you!”

  Dominic could see the perplexed gaze of his friends, so he explained, “It’s a very rare species, a mix between vampires and shifters.”

  Emery nodded. “As you can see I drink blood.” He flashed his fangs again. “But I also eat normal food and I shift into a white leopard. I’m faster than shifters, I can go out in sunlight, I love garlic. What else...”

  “Why do you want to be an enforcer?” Dominic asked.

  “I think it’s a great idea. Krsniks are so rare because we fought each other so much, plus the occasional war with other species. There are only a handful of us left, and it wouldn’t have happened if we had had a council or something like that to keep us in check.” Emery shrugged but Dominic could see the pain in his eyes.

  “You can have a seat on the council.”

  “God no! There are not enough of us left to justify me having a seat, and I’m more than happy just to take orders. I guess I can go with the felines ,since I’m a leopard.”

  Dominic was going to ask if Emery knew about any others of his kind who would be willing to join them, but a commotion near the doors stopped him. He looked up and frowned when the doors slammed open and a group of men entered and walked toward them. He didn’t like the way they were sneering.

  “Who are you?” Quincy asked, but the men only looked at Dominic.

  One of them stepped forward. “I don’t know who decided that the fag was going to have the feline’s seat, but I want to challenge him for it. I won’t let one of those lead us.”

  Dominic groaned. He should have known that when everything finally seemed to go well, something would happen to send everything to hell and back.

  * * * *

  Love?

  Ani looked up from his notebook, even though he knew Dominic wasn’t there. Yes?

  Is everything all right at home?

  Yeah, why?

  I’ll tell you as soon as I get there. I’m almost home.

  Ani wanted to insist, but it wasn’t the smartest thing to do if Dominic was driving. Shit, that meant he would worry and start thinking about the worse possible scenarios until his mate final
ly got here.

  He tossed his pen away, unable to concentrate on his book anymore. He had discovered he actually liked to study, but in moments like this he wished he didn’t have to. He wanted to be able to concentrate on his mate, and it was already so hard to find time to just be together, only the two of them. He might think Dominic was perfect as a council member, but it sucked away their alone time.

  He got up and headed downstairs. He would wait not too far away from the door. He didn’t like the worry in his mate’s mental voice and he knew it meant something was up. Maybe one of the men Dominic had interviewed had given him some problems.

  “Hey, Ani,” Delevan said with a grin. The man seemed to always be in the kitchen, eating anything that wasn’t bolted on the floor. Even now he had a big sub in his hands and was biting on it as if the world was about to end. “What’s up?”

  Well, that was what Ani thought Delevan had said, but he couldn’t be sure since the man had his mouth full of food.

  “Don’t be gross! You can’t talk with your mouth full like that!” Why was it that Ani was the youngest between them but Delevan was the one acting like a kid?

  The sound of something heavy on the gravel outside the house drove Ani toward the front door. He opened it, relieved to see his mate getting out of his car, but he didn’t like the look on Dominic face. He was right—something was wrong. He gave a small smile to Quincy. The eagle shifter was talking to Dominic, their voices too low for him to hear at that distance. They separated right away anyway, but it made Ani feel as if he was missing something.

  The feeling disappeared when Dominic neared him and burrowed his face into Ani’s neck. Ani was a little surprised because Dominic wasn’t really comfortable with PDA, but it looked like he might need it right now. He shimmered them both into their bedroom, once again glad that he had the power to do that.

  “I was worried that they had come here.”

  “Who?”

  Dominic sighed and stepped away, raking his hands in his hair. “I was challenged for my seat in the council. Apparently some of the Alphas don’t like the fact that I’m bisexual and that I lead a pride open to gays. They don’t want me to represent the felines.”