by Macy Blake
Jedrek followed him like a shadow as Vaughn led Nick toward a large building to the side of the house. His instincts went bananas, as Jedrek had predicted, but Nick forced himself to remain calm. His brothers were in there, and they needed him. Several men stood guard outside the building, and none of them looked happy to see them. Vaughn opened the door and led Nick inside, but only after Sol flashed his eyes at them. They were definitely communicating somehow, and Nick had passed one more test.
“Your brothers are through here,” Vaughn explained. He pushed open a door at the end of the hall and Nick was met with the sound of two swords being drawn. One of the men had curly blond hair, and the other bright blue. But they had one thing the same: they were deadly serious about keeping him away from Sawyer.
His brother was sitting up in bed, leaning against a familiar face.
“Draco,” Nick rumbled.
He was shocked as hell when Draco’s eyes flashed a golden color.
“Nick,” Draco said.
Sword guys lowered their weapons. Nick hurried over, and Sawyer lifted his head wearily.
“What the fuck, Sawyer?” Nick grumbled.
Sawyer grabbed him and held on, his breath coming in a distressed pant. Nick let him go, then grabbed both his baby brother’s cheeks in his hand. “Were you just nuzzling Draco? What did I tell you about that? You might catch grumpyitis or cranky fever.”
Sawyer’s breath steadied and he met Nick’s gaze. His panic faded and he managed a grin after a moment. “You said he was the only one who’d keep me from doing stupid stuff,” Sawyer sniffed. “I figured it was worth the risk.”
“Damn. I did say that. Well, clearly, I was wrong.” Nick waved his hand around. Sawyer smiled at him, which was what Nick was hoping for. He’d been on the edge of a freak out, and Nick had too many questions for him to wait that out. He glanced to the other side of the room at Mikey, who was surrounded by two strange men Nick didn’t know at all. One was curled around Mikey’s form, glaring at Nick, while the other sat on a chair beside the bed, holding his brother’s hand.
“What the hell is going on, Sawyer?”
“Those are Mikey’s mates, Asher and Quillon. You’d know these things if you ever returned a phone call.”
Nick glared. “Don’t blame this on me. I’ve had things and stuff.”
Sawyer smirked. “You and your secrets.”
“Yeah, well, what’s this Chosen One crap? The only thing you’re normally chosen for is the guy who eats the most junk food in a single sitting.”
Sawyer punched his arm, but then grabbed his hand and squeezed tightly. It didn’t escape Nick’s notice that his hands were cold and clammy, or that they shook a bit before he tightened his hold.
“And I will always be chosen for that most sacred duty. No one can down pizza rolls like me, Nick, and don’t you forget it.”
Nick squeezed his hand again, looking around the room once more. No one looked happy he was there, and he couldn’t blame them. There was an underlying fear in the air, with a healthy dose of anger and confusion. “I could never forget it, baby bro.”
“It’s just, now I’m chosen for a few other things, too. Like saving the supernatural world. You know, just your average Tuesday.”
Sawyer’s voice cracked, and Draco made a rumbling sound before tugging Sawyer closer. Nick tried to make sense of what he was seeing. He took a moment to look Sawyer over more carefully, checking for any sign of injury, but other than looking exhausted, Sawyer looked okay. Mikey, on the other hand, was obviously very hurt. He had an oxygen mask over his face, and he hadn’t moved once.
“What happened?”
He glanced back at Sawyer and his control slipped for just a second. He felt, more than heard, movement behind him. Sawyer gasped before breaking out into a blinding grin.
“You’re a shifter? Holy shit, dude! Since when?”
The tension in the room eased and the movement behind him stopped before Nick felt the need to defend himself. He saw movement this time, out of the corner of his eye, and Jedrek appeared on the opposite side of the bed, just within his line of sight. Nick met his gaze and remembered to take a breath. Calm. Control. He nodded to Jedrek before turning his attention back to Sawyer.
“Since always,” Nick said. “Now tell me what happened.”
“No, wait,” Sawyer said. “What kind of shifter are you? Tell me! I gotta know!”
Nick sighed. “Lion.”
“No way!”
Nick glanced at Draco, who was staring adoringly at his brother. “He’s going to ask me to roar, isn’t he?”
“Or sing The Lion Sleeps Tonight. Could go either way.”
Sawyer elbowed Draco in the side. “I’d be mad, but I did convince you to make s’mores for me.”
Nick had no clue. “What?”
“Dragon,” Draco said. “I lit the marshmallows on fire. It was a thing.”
“You didn’t,” Nick said.
But of course he did. None of them could ever deny Sawyer anything. Apparently not even a… Nick gulped, stunned even in his thoughts… dragon. His brother’s best friend and apparently… boyfriend?… was a dragon. Of course he was.
“Of course he did,” Sawyer said. “And as to what happened… can I have a little more time before I break it all down? I mean, just know that someone tried to kill me but Mikey and my guardians saved me. And then some other stuff happened and I’m still trying to figure out what everything means so I just don’t want to blab on about stuff that—”
“Sawyer, breathe,” Nick demanded.
Sawyer paused and sucked in a breath. His hand tightened on Nick’s and he could sense the underlying fear again.
“What’s wrong with Mikey?” Nick kept his voice low and calm, but he needed answers. He needed to know who to fight for daring to lay a finger on his brothers.
“It’s a magic thing. Remember how he used to see things but Mama Thea gave him that necklace and said it would help? But we always thought it was more of a… holy shit, you had a charm thing, too! I was always so jealous that she never gave me one. But she said I didn’t need it, and oh my goddess.”
“So my charm kept me from shifting, and Mikey’s charm kept him from seeing bad guys.”
“No, it kept him from seeing a shifter’s true form,” the larger man on the bed with his other brother said.
“But the guy who attacked us, well, he was really strong and Mikey’s pendant thing kind of exploded and well…we think he just got overwhelmed with what he saw. Which, you know, makes sense now that I… ugh.” Sawyer leaned back into Draco and tugged one of his arms around him.
Nick had always wondered why Draco put up with Sawyer. He’d been suspicious for a long time, but Draco had never treated Sawyer with anything but respect, no matter how glaringly obvious Sawyer was about his crush. Nick had worried for a while. Now, though, Draco was looking at his brother with the complete adoration of the totally smitten. It was sweet, if a bit disturbing.
“So Mikey has two… mates? Two of ‘em?”
“Yes. I’m Quillon and this is Asher,” the guy sitting beside his brother said. “And we are both mated to Mikey.”
“Quillon’s a manticore and Asher’s a dragon like Draco. Cool, huh?” Sawyer added.
Nick glared at them both. They’d get the shovel talk later. He returned his attention to his little brother.
“And you and Draco are…what? Mates as well?”
Sawyer blushed and looked around the room. “Well, see…Um… I might have more than one mate, too.”
“Are you kidding me?” He heard a snort from the corner and turned his glare to Jedrek, who’d made the offending noise. “What?”
“I think your brother is the master of the understatement.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
The guys with swords from earlier came to stand by his brother’s bedside. “I am Loch, fae and mate to the Chosen One.”
“Andvari, vampire and mate to the Chos
en One.”
“Saeward, hippocamp and mate of the Chosen One.”
“Eduard, griffin and mate of the Chosen One.”
“Uh, Henry, mage and totally mated to Sawyer. Soooo mated to him.”
Nick rolled his eyes at their joke even as the younger guy moved around him and leaned against Draco’s other side.
“Very funny,” Nick said.
“Not joking,” Sawyer said gently. “It’s part of that long story, but know that I do have multiple mates and even with everything else going on, I’m really happy.”
Nick turned his glare onto all the men staring at his brother. “No way.”
“Way.”
He had about a million questions, but Sawyer yawned and leaned against Draco once more.
“You need to rest,” Draco rumbled against Sawyer’s head. He turned to Nick. “Tell him to rest.”
“I need to explain—” Sawyer started, but the fear in Draco’s eyes won Nick over to his side.
“Rest,” Nick demanded.
As much as he wanted to know more about what was going on, the dark circles under Sawyer’s eyes convinced him otherwise. He glanced at Jedrek once more and reminded himself to breathe. Besides, he had another source of information, one who’d been ordered not to leave his side and who seemed to know the game and all the players.
“But—” Sawyer began.
“I need to eat. Is there any place close by where I can grab some food?”
Draco smirked as an extremely well-dressed older guy seemed to appear from the shadows of the room. Nick hadn’t even realized he was there.
“I can get you anything you require, sir.”
“Uh, I can go—”
“Don’t argue,” Sawyer said as he smothered a yawn. “That’s Cecil. He’s awesome.”
“Thank you, young master.”
“Master?” Nick asked.
“Ugh, Cecil! I told you about that.”
The older guy smirked before turning his attention to Nick. “Come with me, Mr. Smith. I’ll make sure you have something to eat.”
“Uh, just call me Nick. Otherwise, this just crosses the line into more weird than I can manage.”
Jedrek moved toward the door, and after a final, concerned glance at his brother, Nick rose as well. “I’ll be back, and I expect answers, little brother.”
“Thanks for coming, Nick. I needed you here,” Sawyer said.
He yawned again, and Draco tugged the blanket up over him. Sawyer closed his eyes as the others moved closer. The younger one climbed up onto the bed with him, while the blue haired guy sat on the end of the bed. The big one took Nick’s place and held Sawyer’s hand while the redhead and the blond moved to stand guard at the end of the bed.
Nick gave them one last look before leaving the room. Jedrek waited for him outside the door.
“I’m taking you to one of the cabins. Cecil is bringing you something to eat.”
“I just said that to—”
“I need to eat, too.”
Nick decided to just shut up and follow Jedrek. It wasn’t like the view was bad. They went back outside where they were met with stares of awe. Most of the people began whispering to themselves while looking at him. His lion began to stir again, but Nick turned his attention to Jedrek and tuned everything else out. He memorized the width of Jedrek’s shoulders and imagined them spread out beneath him. He watched the way Jedrek’s ass moved beneath the snug, worn jeans that covered it. His lion had continued to stir, but it wasn’t over concern at the others. No, the lion was as interested in Jedrek as Nick was. They went into a small cottage-style building a minute later and Jedrek shut the door behind them, forcing Nick to end his ogling and focus on all the questions he needed answered.
“How’s your control?”
Nick wanted to lie and say he was fine, but he found himself answering honestly instead. “Shaky.”
“No doubt. You did well.”
Nick sucked in a breath and let it out. “I almost lost them both tonight, didn’t I? And all because I refused to return their phone calls. I was too caught up in my own bullshit to be there for my brothers when they needed me.”
“You’re here now.”
Somehow, that didn’t make Nick feel better. His skin itched and he longed to let the lion free once more. Jedrek gave him a knowing look and pointed. “Go shower. It’ll help you relax. I’ll wait for the food.”
“I don’t need—”
“I need to check in with Sol and see what else is going on. You need to get cleaned up and get yourself calmed down. I always think best in the shower, anyway.”
A growl built, but Nick tamped it down. “Fine.”
A shower did sound good and maybe it would help him relax and get his thoughts in order. That was the only reason he was doing it. He wasn’t going to let Jedrek boss him around. No. He was a grown man and he could take care of himself. He didn’t need Jedrek to do anything for him at all. He barely even knew the man. Hellhound. Whatever. Besides, his focus needed to be on his brothers right now, and on finding out what else the hellhounds knew about the house of horrors and the kids. He wanted more than anything to know what had become of them.
He’d shower and eat and then grill the guys who seemed to have the answers.
Jedrek
Jedrek waited until the water turned on and he heard Nick step into the shower before slipping out of the cabin. Both Meshaq and Solomon were waiting outside.
Neither of them said anything. Instead, they walked toward the end of the row of cottages where Vaughn and Sam had built a small playground for any visiting kids. It looked like there was a glittery powder on the see-saw, no doubt from some experiment of Ollie’s gone awry.
A group of locusts chirped in the distance and Jedrek closed his eyes, listening to the sounds of the forest around him. The din of those gathered inside the wards and settled once more. So much had happened over the course of the night, and his newest discoveries only added to the mysteries they had yet to solve.
“What do you have to report?” Sol asked. “Start with why I found you fully shifted with Sawyer’s brother. How did you get from the farmhouse to there?”
“Cosmo is very disgruntled, by the way,” Meshaq added. “I got an earful about disrespectful lions and stubborn champions who refused backup.”
Jedrek grinned. “Yeah, well, just wait until he finds out the lion was the Chosen One’s brother.”
Both Meshaq and Solomon grinned back at him.
“Tell us,” Solomon said.
“Nick was at the house when I got there. He’d triggered the wards. Cosmo lost his mind and started attacking, which is why I sent him back here. Nick was one of them. One of the kids like Henry and Ben. He escaped. I haven’t had time to find out the hows and whys, but I know he ended up with Sawyer’s foster mother, and that he had another of her mysterious charms. This one kept him from shifting and suppressed his memories. He hadn’t shifted in fourteen years.”
Meshaq winced, and Solomon let out a low growl. “How is he not out of his mind?”
“I don’t know. But his control is very shaky, so I was trying to help him when you came in. I managed to get him into a full shift to see if that would help, and that’s when Solomon arrived. And if that’s not enough, there was a secondary ward at the house, one that wasn’t set by us. I think it messed up his shifting ability further.”
Meshaq scowled. “That damn house. So let me get this straight, he shows up tonight of all nights, and he just so happens to be Sawyer’s brother. The timing is very suspicious.”
Jedrek couldn’t deny it. He’d thought the same thing. “He said he’s been searching for the house for the last few years. Apparently, his memories were on lock down after he was found until a few years ago. Like I said, I wasn’t able to fully question him before Sol came and said we were needed back here.”
Both alphas grew quiet, each lost in their own thoughts. Jedrek had a few questions of his own, like why he had two alpha
s now, but it could wait. They definitely had more pressing matters.
A twig snapped behind them, and Jedrek spun around, half shifted and ready to attack.
“Uncle Jed?” Ben asked.
“Hey, kid. What are you doing out here? Shouldn’t you be inside with the others?” Jedrek forced his hellhound back, troubled that his nerves were so scattered he hadn’t even paused before moving to attack.
“Yeah, well, they’re all scared. So much going on, you know? First the fight at the bar, then Cosmo told Ollie that something was happening at the old house, and now with Sawyer and Mikey…. Well, no one can relax right now. Can I at least tell them everything is okay?”
“Uh, yeah. I think so?” Jedrek looked to Sol for confirmation.
Vaughn and Sam walked up and joined them. Sam wrapped an arm around his oldest son.
“Hey, Ben. What are you doing out here?” he asked.
“Just checking on everything, Papa.”
Sol smiled at them and squeezed Ben’s shoulder with one big hand. “You can rest easy. There was no threat to you. Or any of the children at the house.”
“Did you… catch whoever it was?” Ben asked.
“Yeah. He’s…” Jedrek started.
“Why don’t you sit down?” Sol asked, leading Ben to sit down at the picnic table.
“Uncle Sol?”
“Sol? What’s up?” Sam asked, putting himself halfway in front of his son.
“There’s no easy way to say this. The person at the house was a shifter. We think…” Sol started before turning to Jedrek.
“He was there, Ben. He lived in that house for some time.”
“What? That’s not possible. We’re all here. And no one ever— ” Ben shook his head. His eyes filled with tears. “No.”
Jedrek knelt on the ground in front of him. He gently put his hands on Ben’s knees. “He told me he’s been looking for the house for a long time. Searching for you guys.”
The tears Ben had been fighting off spilled over. “No. They’re all dead. No one lived.”
“He did, though, Ben. He finally found the house today. And now he’s here. He’s Sawyer’s brother.”