The guy punched Zane’s side and Zane gritted his teeth against the pain. He slammed the man’s wrist against the wall again and pressed his thumb in the soft space between thumb and index finger. He dug his nail there and the guy swore and finally let go. He punched Zane in the side again and Zane had to let go.
He staggered backward but straightened right away, because the guy wasn’t done. He kicked out, nailing Zane’s thigh. It buckled under the hit and Zane almost fell back. He went forward instead, faking a punch to the guy’s face and kicking his stomach at the last second instead.
The guy roared, startling Zane for a second, and launched himself forward. He knocked Zane down. Zane almost hit a coffee table with his head, but he managed to turn it in time. The last thing he needed was to get knocked out, but it meant he had to take his gaze off the guy attacking him for a second, and it was enough for the guy to straddle him and pin him to the ground.
“Sorry, but I only do this with my mate,” Zane snarled, bucking as he tried to get the man off.
Pain exploded in Zane’s face as a punch landed on the side of it, then another one on the other side. He needed to get the guy off, and he scrambled to get a punch of his own in.
The next punch to his face opened a wound just above his eyebrow and blood spurted, enough that Zane had trouble seeing what was happening around him. He didn’t have the time to clean his face, not when the guy on top of him was pummeling him almost to death.
“No!” someone yelled, and a heavy weight landed on Zane’s chest.
He barely recognized Iggy through the blood and sweat. He tried to push Iggy away, because if there was one thing worse than being beaten to death it was watching it happen to Iggy, but Iggy pushed Zane’s hands away. He turned to face the guy who was still trying to punch Zane and raised his hands, yelling, “Christian! Stop!”
* * * *
Christian froze, his fist raised as if he were about to punch Zane—or rather, Iggy since Iggy had pushed himself between his mate and his brother.
“Iggy?” Christian asked, his voice unsure.
“Yeah. Yeah, it’s me.” Iggy slowly let his hands fall to Zane’s stomach. He wanted to check on Zane desperately, but he had to wait until he was sure Christian wasn’t going to try to kill Zane again.
“He said you were dead.”
Christian finally let his fist fall to his side and Iggy relaxed. The house they were in wasn’t the best place to do this. People were still fighting, and they could be interrupted any second, but Iggy really needed to make sure Zane was okay.
He moved, pushing his knees under himself and straightening. Zane didn’t react, but he was awake and looking at Iggy. His face was bloody, one of his eyes swollen, and his lower lip split. He still tried to smile, but his only result was a wince and more blood trickling from his lip.
Iggy leaned forward. “Are you all right?”
Zane looked like he wasn’t sure how to answer that. “I’ve been better, but then I haven’t been pummeled into the floor all that often,” he finally said, and Iggy released the breath he’d been holding.
“If you can joke, then you’ll be fine.”
Iggy helped Zane sit up, but before he could decide whether he should find a Nix and have Zane shimmered back home or if he’d be fine staying, a hand pressed on his shoulder. It wasn’t threatening, but it wasn’t as comforting as it should have been considering it belonged to Iggy’s brother.
“What’s going on?” Christian asked.
“Help me,” Iggy said instead of answering.
Christian hesitated, but when he finally moved, it was to help Zane sit up. They both helped Zane to his feet, and Iggy looked around. He didn’t want to leave Zane alone, but he needed to get back to Kameron, no matter what Kameron had said.
“Is there a safe place for him to stay?” he asked Christian, but Zane tried to shake their hands off.
“I’m fine,” he groused. “Just beat up, but I can stand on my own, and I can still fight.”
“You can’t even see anything with all that blood,” Iggy pointed out.
“Then find me a Nix. It won’t take much for me to be ready to go again.”
“They could shimmer you home.”
Zane barred his teeth—his bloody teeth—at Iggy. “I’m not going anywhere without you, so unless you’re coming with me back to Gillham, we’re both staying here.”
“What the fuck,” Christian said, finally snapping. “Iggy, what’s going on? We thought you were dead, that the Gillham pack had killed you, but now you’re here, and you’re obviously fighting for them. What the fuck happened to you?”
Iggy sighed. “Do we really have to do this now? Someone could come in at any moment, and I’m pretty sure they wouldn’t appreciate seeing one of Alpha Dell’s top fighters chatting with two Gillham pack members, especially since said members are the bodyguards to two council members.”
Christian growled, and Zane straightened by Iggy’s side. He took a step forward, and Iggy had to put a hand on his chest to stop him. “Don’t, Zane.”
“He growled at you,” Zane spat out.
“Not like it’s the first time.”
Zane’s gaze flitted between Iggy and Christian. “You know each other.”
Christian rolled his eyes and crossed his arms on his chest. “Give the man a medal.”
Zane growled, and Iggy should have known those two would end up fighting. They’d have done it even without the fight he’d interrupted, no doubt. “Christian, stop being a dick. Zane, leave my brother alone.”
Zane blinked and he relaxed. “Your brother?”
“Yes. This is Christian, my older brother.”
“And Christian wants answers,” Christian said.
“Talking about yourself in third person is never a good sign,” Zane mumbled, and Iggy could already feel the headaches he’d get from dealing with those two. He wouldn’t mind, though, not if it meant he’d have both his mate and at least one of his brothers with him.
“Look, Chris, there’s really no time to explain,” Iggy said as he slid his phone out of his pocket and quickly dialed Clea’s number. Clea was with the team assigned to Kameron, but he’d shimmered around a few times already, helping to heal smaller wounds so that the enforcers could keep fighting. Only the badly wounded were being shimmered back, either to Gillham or directly to the hospital.
Christian growled again. “I want answers, Iggy, and I want them now. Alex and Dad are fighting somewhere around the house, and they’re doing it because they think the Gillham pack killed you.”
Iggy opened his mouth to answer, but Clea’s voice came on the phone. “Iggy?” he said.
“We’re in...” Iggy looked around. It was clearly a living room, but that was about all he knew.
His phone was wrenched away from his hand and he scowled at his brother.
“Downstairs, second room from the entrance, living room,” Christian said before hanging up. He handed the phone back and looked at Iggy. “Now talk.”
Iggy swallowed. He wasn’t going anywhere if he didn’t, that was obvious. He’d done the right thing by coming to Gillham, but it hadn’t been easy to leave his family behind, not even Christian, with whom Iggy didn’t have much of a relationship. They were still brothers, though, and he owed Christian the truth. “I left the nest to tell the Gillham pack what Tom was doing,” he finally said.
It took Christian a few seconds to answer. “So you betrayed the nest.”
Iggy noticed Christian didn’t mention Tom and his council. “Yeah. Yeah, I did, and I’d do it again.”
“Why?”
“Because Tom is an asshole, and he wants to destroy the pack just because Kameron is the alpha. He’s using the council thing to cover that up, although I guess it doesn’t stop him from being a bigoted dick anyway.”
Christian cocked his head. “Alpha Dell is as bigoted as that Tom guy is, yet you never ran away.”
&nbs
p; Iggy swallowed. He’d never told his family that he was gay, and he didn’t know how any of them would take it. He’d always thought that Alex, their younger brother, wouldn’t have cared, but Christian, well, he wasn’t so sure about him.
“Yeah, he is,” Iggy finally said. “And it’s not right to attack and kill people because of something they can’t change, be it the color of their skin or their sexuality.” Iggy took a deep breath and reached up, pulling the collar of his shirt away from his neck to expose his mating bite.
Christian’s eyes widened and he briefly looked at Zane, as if he knew. Iggy guessed his behavior had made it obvious, so he nodded and let his shirt go. “Yeah, Zane’s my mate.”
“When did you meet him?” Christian asked. It was better than having him yell or hit Iggy, but it didn’t help Iggy understand what he thought about it.
“Only recently. He wasn’t the reason why I left the nest.”
“You left because you’re gay.”
It wasn’t a question, but Iggy answered anyway. It felt like the hardest thing he’d ever done, even though he knew it wasn’t, not by far. “Yeah, in part. I know what would have happened to me if Alpha Dell had ever found out, especially after he started associating with Tom. It’s not fair, and I didn’t want to die or be hurt. I didn’t want that to happen to anyone.”
“So instead of telling the family, of trying to find another solution, you ran away.”
“Leave him alone,” Zane grumbled, and Iggy tightened the hold he had around Zane’s waist. The last thing he wanted was for his mate and his brother to fight. It wouldn’t help.
“I didn’t think you’d accept me,” Iggy told Christian. “I know how Alpha Dell is, and I know the family is forced to follow him, but it doesn’t mean you’d accept me.”
“You’re an asshole,” Christian said, looking like he wanted to pound Iggy into the floor. “You left and you didn’t even leave a message, or tell us why. I’d have come with you, and I know Alex would have too. Probably even Mom and Dad. Instead you didn’t say anything, and now Alex and Dad are fighting to avenge your death and Mom’s been crying for weeks.”
Iggy relaxed, even though Christian’s words were harsh. “I’m sorry, okay?” he told his brother. “I thought I was doing the right thing, and now isn’t the time to fight over it.”
“Damn right it’s not, but don’t think you’re getting out of having your ass kicked for being an idiot.”
Zane growled at Christian again, and Iggy kissed his cheek to placate him. It might be weird, but he was actually happy to hear his brother threaten him. He’d missed it.
Christian took his phone out of his pocket. “I’m calling Dad and Alex and telling them what happened. You better call your alpha or something, because the family will need a new shifter group after this is over.”
Iggy couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “You’re leaving the nest? For me?”
“Yes, asshole. Now shut up and call your alpha.”
* * * *
Zane was fucking confused, but it was probably more due to the punches he’d just taken in the face than to the situation. He couldn’t wait for Clea to get there. Hopefully his magic fingers would make the headache go away. “Where’s Clea?” he asked. “Is he coming?”
Iggy looked at his brother—Zane almost couldn’t believe he’d been pummeled by his mate’s brother—but the guy was on the phone, talking quietly but urgently.
Someone screamed somewhere in the house, and Zane flinched. Both he and Iggy had left their places as bodyguards, and while he knew Malik and Kameron could defend themselves probably better than Zane and Iggy could, he also knew Iggy hated feeling like he wasn’t doing his job.
“I think so,” Iggy finally said. “Christian didn’t say anything about him not coming.”
“I can’t believe your brother hit me.”
Iggy chuckled and looked around the room. “He didn’t know you were my mate.”
“I’m pretty sure he’d have done it even if he’d known. He hates me.”
“You can’t know that. You guys don’t know each other.”
The air in the corner shimmered and both Iggy and Zane tensed. Zane pushed away from Iggy, because he didn’t really need his help to stay up, and he got ready to attack whoever was arriving.
It was only Clea, though, so Zane relaxed. Clea didn’t even look around the room. He made a beeline for Zane, holding his hands to Zane’s face. Zane closed his eyes against the glow and was relieved when his face stopped hurting.
He opened his eyes again when Clea tsked and pressed his hands to Zane’s aching ribs. Zane bit on his lower lip to avoid whimpering, and Clea shook his head. “Two broken ribs. I hope you hurt the other guy more than he hurt you.”
“He didn’t,” Christian said from behind Clea, and Clea jumped and twirled around.
His arm moved forward as if he were about to punch Christian, but he froze before he actually did. Zane felt a lot better and he moved sideways, needing to be close to Iggy a bit more, and to avoid any punches that might be thrown between Christian and Clea.
Clea straightened and stared at Christian. “Who are you?”
“He’s my brother,” Iggy intervened. “I know he fought against Zane, but he and the rest of my family don’t want to hurt anyone. They were fighting only because they were forced to.”
“Were?” Clea asked, never looking away from Christian, who looked mildly puzzled.
“Well, they thought the pack had killed me. Chris said he and the family want to change sides now, though.” Iggy looked at Christian in question and Christian nodded.
“Dad was with Alex. They’re both coming here.”
“I’ll shimmer the three of you away,” Clea said. “That way no one will try to kick your ass.”
Christian’s hands tightened into fists. “I can still fight. I can help, especially since my alpha and Tom think I’m fighting for them.”
“But you could get hurt. Our people might hurt you because they don’t know you and they’ll assume you’re an enemy.”
“You think I can’t fight? That I can’t defend myself?” Christian said, stepping so close to Clea that their chests brushed.
Zane tensed, ready to help Clea if he needed it, but instead of punching Christian like Zane would have, Clea reached up and pressed his hand over Christian’s heart. “I have no doubts you can defend yourself, but our guys will be gunning for you.”
Christian didn’t seem angry anymore, and Zane was confused as fuck. Maybe the punches he’d taken from Christian had given him a concussion or something. Or maybe he’d managed to hit Christian in the head. He didn’t remember it, but he hadn’t been able to see much through the blood after all.
“I...” Christian said, and to Zane’s surprise, he put his hand over Clea’s.
Zane leaned toward Iggy. “What do you think is happening?”
Iggy snorted, but he looked as surprised as Zane felt. Surprised, and a bit smug. “I think my brother isn’t safe with the nest anymore.”
“Why? It can’t be because he found out you’re not dead.”
“No, but Alpha Dell would never accept a gay guy on his enforcers’ team.”
Zane blinked. “Your brother’s gay?”
“I don’t know about the past, but I’m pretty sure he just became a one man kind of guy.”
“What?”
“We’re mates, idiot,” Christian snapped.
“Mates? With Clea?” Damn, poor Clea. And poor Zane, because Christian wasn’t going to be an easy brother-in-law to have. Hopefully Iggy’s younger brother would be. “I... didn’t see that one coming,” Zane answered.
“I’m pretty sure no one did,” Iggy whispered.
Footsteps thundered in the hallway and they all tensed. Clea stepped away from Christian and put himself in front of him, and Zane would have laughed at the idea of tiny Clea defending the mountain of muscles that was Christian if Clea had
n’t kicked his butt more than once in training.
A guy burst into the room, and Zane relaxed, because there was no way the guy wasn’t related to Iggy. They looked the same, and he threw himself into Iggy’s arms without even looking around the room to make sure it was safe.
An older guy followed him more slowly, and Clea hurried to the man’s side, since his arm was bleeding all over the place.
“I can’t believe you’re all right,” the guy who had to be Alex said. “He told us they’d killed you, and that we had to avenge your death.”
Iggy patted his brother’s back. “I’m fine. I’m sorry I left, but I had to.”
The older man—Iggy’s father—walked closer to them and put a hand on both his sons’ shoulders. “We’ll have time to talk later, boys.”
Clea’s expression was stubborn when he walked to Christian, who was hovering next to his family, and held his hands out. “The three of you are coming with me.” His tone didn’t leave space for refusal, but Christian tried anyway.
“We’re not leaving without Iggy and our mother.”
“Where is she?”
“Home.”
“Then we’ll shimmer there, grab her, and I’ll get all of you to Gillham.”
“But Iggy—”
“I’m staying,” Iggy said. “I’m Kameron’s bodyguard, and it’s time I do my job. Go. You’ll be safe in Gillham, and I won’t have to worry about you getting hurt. Please.”
Everyone looked like they wanted to protest, but Clea grabbed Christian’s hand, then Alex’s, and stared at their father. The man sighed and reached for Clea, then they were gone.
Zane blinked at the space where they’d been standing seconds before. “That was... I don’t even know what it was.”
“Weird,” Iggy said, and Zane agreed.
“Come on, let’s go try to find Kameron and Malik.”
They walked through the house, not surprised to find out the fight was almost over. Tom’s council had been dangerous, but he hadn’t had many members. Not a lot of people were ready to follow a man who clearly just wanted revenge, and most of the shifter world knew the council Kameron was a part of was powerful and strong enough to win. Only the most bigoted ones and the ones needing help had accepted following Tom, and it showed.
Iggy [Gillham Pack: 15] Page 9