Edge Of Tomorrow (Eternal Flames Maddox Book 6)

by Cree Storm

  “No. You can’t do that unless we’re mated, otherwise you have no right. And seeing as I am not going to mate you, then―”

  Before Ollie could finish his sentence Wyn released him like his hands were on fire, stepped back, and said in disbelief, “You don’t want me?”

  Ollie stared at him for a moment before sighing heavily. “Look, it’s not you, it’s me.”

  Wyn could feel the hurt and anger growing inside him. “Isn’t that a little cliché and usually saved for the break-up?”

  “Maybe, but in this case, it’s true. You could be any guy standing here right now as my mate and I would say the same thing―”

  Wyn’s eyes got wide as he interrupted Ollie again and gasped, “You’re straight?”

  Now Ollie’s eyes widened before his face twisted in disgust. “What? Ew. That’s just…wrong. Hell no, I am not straight. Look at me. What about me would make you think I was one of those? Pussy?” Ollie made a gagging sound. “I have no clue how straight guys even go down there.”

  Wyn tilted his head in confusion as his browns went down in a deep V. “Then I am confused.”

  Ollie’s face softened and he sighed again. “Look, Wyndingo, it really isn’t you and is all me. I have spent most of my life hiding, and now I am finally free. I can’t be tied down by the bonds of mating at this point in my life. I just started learning things about myself, about the world, and as much as you are hotter than shit, I just can’t. Being what I am has been like wearing a collar around my throat put on by a master, and that collar is now a distant memory, and I won’t slip it on again for you or anyone.”

  Wyndingo was so consumed with pain and fear. Two emotions he was not really familiar with. His mate had just rejected him. How was he supposed to deal with that? When the elders spoke of mates, they always said what a wonderful gift it was and how you were supposed to embrace it and keep it precious, safe, happy, but they never said what you were supposed to do if your mate didn’t want you. He had never been prepared for this.

  He didn’t know how to deal with the turmoil thrashing around inside him, so he forced it to change to what he did know how to cope with. Anger. Wyn steeled his spine as he stood up straight and held his head up high. His jaw clenched and he could feel all emotion but anger leave him and knew it would show in his eyes. “Get out,” he whispered calmly through clenched teeth.

  Ollie’s eyes saddened and he gave one sharp nod, then walked closer to the desk, picked up the file marked ‘Dain’, then turned and walked away without another word.

  Wyn stared at the empty doorway for what felt like hours as his mind raced with everything that had happened since meeting Ollie. His beast roared inside him, clawing to get out to claim what was theirs, but as the pain seeped back in, and the anger faded, even his beast calmed and became despondent.

  Wyn heard the others returning and knew they would be coming in to give their report soon. He moved to the chair behind his desk and sat. Taking a few deep breaths, he tried to control what was going on inside him. He had not cried since his parents were taken from this world in the Great War, and he sure as hell wasn’t going to cry now for a man who didn’t want him.

  “Wyn? Wyn?” Day said.

  Wyn looked up surprised to see Day standing in front of his desk and from the look on his face, Wyn guessed his friend had been trying to get his attention for some time. “Yeah.”

  “Are you okay, man?” Day asked in concern as he sat in one of the empty chairs.

  Wyndingo cleared his throat, then grabbed the pen that sat on the desk. “Yes. Everything’s fine. So how did the rest of the session go?”

  CHAPTER 5

  It had been almost twenty-four hours since he had finally stood face to face with Wyndingo, his mate, and damn near ripped the man’s heart out. Ollie may be a jokester, but he wasn’t heartless or ignorant. He had seen the pain that gripped Wyndingo and he almost faltered and threw himself into the man’s arms, but the thought of being caged in any way scared him. He thought about how his brother, Nelson, had spent so long in a cage in Fallon’s grasp. Even though he, Pas, and Toby hadn’t been in that cage with Nelson, they were still in their own kind of prison as they hid in caves and warehouses, not being able to go out for fear they would be discovered.

  He pushed the thought of Wyn, and the pain he had caused him away, and headed into Dain’s office. He was slightly apprehensive about going in after the small argument he had with Dain the day before, but he pushed that aside as well, he had work to do. Opening the door, Ollie was not surprised to find Rune laid back over the desk as Dain stood between his spread thighs bent over his mate, licking Rune’s chest as Kerrick stood at Rune’s head and devoured his mate’s mouth. It was a common accordance these days. The three seemed to be making up for lost time for all the years Rune knew who his mates where but Dain and Kerrick didn’t. It was like Kerrick and Dain were rewarding Rune for being such a good mate and being so strong when he stayed away from them for their own safety and well-being.

  That thought gripped Ollie’s heart and almost brought him to his knees. He grabbed the doorframe for balance, so he wouldn’t fall on his ass. What he did to Wyndingo was wrong and he knew it. If only Dain hadn’t given him that damn ultimatum, his mate would still not know who he was and would not be in the pain he was now, and Ollie could go on pretending that what he was doing was what was best for both of them.

  Yes, he wanted his freedom, but to be honest, he was also thinking of his mate. Ollie knew he had a bullseye on his back and an expiration date. He just didn’t know when his time would run out. Being a Santorini fox meant he had thousands who would hunt him, wanting to use him, drain him of his powers, and kill him. What would happen to Wyn if they claimed one another and he died? Ollie had heard many stories of true mates going mad or feral when they lost their true mate. Some dropped so far into the abyss of darkness that they died.

  Wyn was a good, strong man who was needed by their kind to protect others. He was a warrior and a fierce firefighter, and what was Ollie? His own passing may not be much of a hardship. Yes, he had mad powers, but other than that and his sharp tongue, he wasn’t worth much in this world. Take Wyn’s powers away and he was still a hero. Take Ollie’s powers away and he was just like a thousand other twinks. No, Wyn needed to be protected more than he was. Wyn held more worth.

  “Enjoying the show, Oliver?” Kerrick said in an amused voice, pulling Ollie out of his thoughts.

  He blinked a few times, then focused on the men before him. Dain was now seated, with Rune leaning on the edge of his desk and Kerrick standing behind him. Ollie painted his best saucy smile on his face and pushed away from the doorway. “Yes, actually I was, until you broke it up. One of the good things about working here is that I always get free porn live and in person.”

  The three chuckled as Dain shook his head and smiled. “You are too much, Ollie. So, what can we do for you?”

  Ollie moved to stand in front of the desk and held out his hand with the local newspaper in it. “You asked for this. I would drop it on the desk but….who knows what’s on there? Would you like me to call a cleaning crew to come in here and steam clean everything?” Ollie smirked.

  Dain’s smile widened, and he laughed as he reached out and grabbed the paper from Ollie’s grasp. “You little shit.”

  “Was there anything else you needed from me today before I head home? A trip to the sex toy shop for some goodies? Or maybe the drug store for some more lube?”

  Rune threw his head back and laughed as he stood and went around Dain’s chair to stand beside Kerrick. “Nope, we got all that covered, but thanks for the offer.”

  “And I thought you didn’t spend money on your fuck me items, Ollie? From what I hear your sex poker games are legendary and that’s where you get all your supplies from,” Kerrick said with a smirk.

  “True, but that’s me, I was talking about your personal stock. You three go at it so much in this room I’m surprised you don’t have stoc
k in the company that makes Boy Butter.”

  Dain gave him a mischievous smile and replied, “Who says we don’t.”

  Ollie barked out laughing and was soon joined by Rune and Kerrick. “You’re too much yourself, bossman. I like the change in you since finding your mates. You’re not so long pole up the ass anymore. Well, at least not when one of your mates are―”

  “We get the idea, Oliver,” Dain cut him off. “And to answer your question, no, we are done for the day and were about to head home ourselves.”

  Just then Dain’s phone rang. He reached over and picked it up, placing it to his ear as he answered, “Dain here.”

  Olle watched as Dain’s brows drew low and his facial expression turned to one of confusion, then hardened. “We’re on our way,” he said into the phone, then hung it up slowly as if in shock.

  “What is it, love?” Kerrick asked, the slight hitch to his voice giving away his own concern.

  “That was Illan. He wants us all at the council building now. He said it was of dire importance.”

  “I’ll let you three get to that then and I will see you in the morning. Say hi to Pascal for me and let me know how he’s doing now that he’s a big shot council member.”

  “Illan wants you too, Ollie,” Dain informed him.

  Now Ollie was concerned and confused.

  * * * *

  Slowly everyone was coming together in the council meeting room. Wyn stood against the wall to the right side of the dais and watched as one by one everyone showed up. He had no idea why Illan had called him, or any of them there. Seeing as Fallon was now a thing of the past and everything was starting to calm down, he had no clue as to why Illan sounded so worried on the phone, or why they were all here.

  He looked toward the council members and found Justice, Illan, and Destrain with their heads together and whispering softly. Nick and Ezra sat chatting, and Suneth and his mate, the human, Wade, sat on either side of Pascal, talking gently to him. Pascal looked like he was about to either throw up or pass out.

  Day and his mates, Ethan and Rhys, as well as Morgan, Angelo, Jett, Zev, Finn, Marco, Twix, and even Pascal’s mate, Zen, sat huddled together all talking in hushed tones. Wyn wondered why some of the mates were here and others weren’t, but quickly pushed the thought away. Obviously Illan called in everyone he thought needed to be here, and Zen being here was probably as support for Pascal who had just accepted his seat on the council, and this would be his first official meeting.

  Toward the back of the room the police chief of Maddox, Pauly, and his mate, the DA, Ryder, sat talking to Crystal’s Police Chief, Nash and his mate, Toby.

  Along the back wall, as if standing guard, were a few of Suneth’s gargoyles and two of Wade’s men. Avery and Manny strolled in with Manny’s mate, Frankie, and right behind them was Dain, Kerrick, and Rune. Wyn stretched his neck out to look into the hallway to see if his mate had come along with them, but the hall was empty. Suddenly Baldwin and Vik appeared, and as they walked down the aisle toward the front of the room, Wyn spotted his mate walking behind them.

  Illan looked up and nodded his head to the men in the back, who then closed and locked the doors, before standing before them to block anyone from gaining entry. Everyone grew quiet and turned their attention to the front of the room.

  Illan stood and cleared his throat. “Thank you all for coming. Now that everyone is here, we can start. Something has been brought to our attention and we will need all of you on board to help us with this.”

  “What’s going on, Dad? Now that Fallon has been dealt with, I thought everything was okay. Why do you look like something bad is about to happen?” Day asked.

  “I’m glad that you of all people asked me that, son.”

  Day’s brows rose high as he replied, “And why is that?”

  “Because what we are about to show you involves you more than anyone else,” Justice answered as Illan sat.

  “Okay. So what is it?” Day asked.

  “For months people have been mentioning seeing you walking around Crystal and Maddox, but you never have any idea what they’re talking about,” Destrain began.

  “Yes, and it’s been pissing me off that everyone keeps accusing me of things I haven’t done or have no idea about,” Day huffed and crossed his arms over his chest. Ethan and Rhys, who sat on either side of him immediately each moved closer to him, wrapping their arms around him and whispering something.

  “I know, son, but it is the reason I called you all here. We now have some kind of answer for that,” Illan replied.

  “Some kind of answer? What does that mean?” Day questioned.

  “We called Timmy and spoke with him and he told us that the man he talked to that he thought was you had a large scar down the left side of his face and that he looked more…intense than you do. He also said that this other Day looked a bit taller and heavier than you.”

  “Exactly. And when I thought about it more, I realized he also had longer hair that he tied back in a braid that went down his back and he walked with a limp,” Pascal added.

  “So this someone out there that looks like me, you’ve found him? What does he want?”

  “We have found him, but we have no idea what his intentions are. Obviously, he doesn’t mean us any harm that we know of yet, because he saved Pascal, not hurt him,” Justice said.

  “So, where is he?” Ethan asked.

  Illan turned his head and nodded to the far corner of the room behind them and that’s when Wyn noticed for the first time that Wade’s brother, Rory, was also there, sitting behind a desk. At Illan’s nod, Rory began to tap on a laptop on the desk. A large panel of the wall beside Wyn moved and he stepped away, watching as the panel slid up, revealing a large screen behind it.

  Everyone turned their attention to the screen as Illan said, “This video was taken yesterday, but it’s not the only one. We found two others like it.”

  Wyn watched as the dark screen lightened, then a video of two of the holding cells down in the basement appeared. They were encased with a thick glass wall in the front. One cell held a large bright doorway, the other an equal doorway, but this one was pitch black. Wyn remembered when the council had moved these portals into the cells. They were kept warded with many spells to stop anything that came through the portals from getting out.

  The room grew completely quiet as everyone sat staring at the screen. Suddenly a pulse of dark light came from the black portal, then another, a deep sound coming with it, almost like a drum, but not. A few gasps could be heard from behind him, but Wyn kept his gaze glued to the screen. Something was about to come out of that portal and Wyn wanted to know what it was. A sense of foreboding crept over him and a chill ran down his spine as the verse, “Something Wicked This Way Comes” flashed across his mind.

  The pulse quickened, flickering one on top of the other, then it just stopped, and a large shadow stood in the doorway. It moved forward, stepping into the light, and that’s when they all saw him.

  “Fuck me! It is Day!” Wyn heard Jett say among another chorus of gasps.

  “Who the hell is this?” Day asked from beside him, making Wyn jump. He hadn’t realized the dragon had moved.

  “We don’t know, son.”

  “Except for that gnarly scar down his face, it could be your fucking twin brother,” Morgan added.

  The Day on the screen moved closer to the glass wall and raised his hand, palm flat, and let it hover over the surface but never touched it. He then lifted his head and looked right into the camera. “The time has come. You all need to act now. Today. Or we all will fall.”

  The Day on the screen’s voice was low, but harsh, like sandpaper, or like something had happened to his vocal chords. It was deeper than the Day that stood beside him, and gravelly.

  “I do not come to harm you, only to seek your help. I will return very soon,” the other Day said, then turned and walked back into the portal and disappeared.

  The room stood quiet as everyo
ne absorbed what they had just witnessed. Finally, Suneth broke the silence. “We can’t trust that what he says, whoever he really is, as truth. We have no idea where that portal goes to, or what his true intention is. And if that portal goes where some of us guess it does, then what exactly is he?”

  “I agree with my mate. There was something…I don’t know. Something was not right about the look in his eyes,” Wade replied.

  “I agree,” Ethan said as he stood and moved to stand beside Day. “Rory, can you back it up to his full face, then freeze it?”

  The vision on the screen reversed and once it got to the other Day’s face, Rory stopped it. Ethan moved closer, studying the screen. Everyone remained quiet just watching him. “Rhys, love, come here.”

  Rhys stood and joined Ethan. “Look in his eyes,” Ethan instructed.

  They both moved closer, standing only a few inches from the screen. Rhys tilted his head then whispered, “I know those eyes.”

  “They are Day’s eyes, right?” Ethan asked.

  “Yes, but…not the same,” Rhys whispered.

  “What do you mean, son?” Dain asked.

  “There is something gone from them, something…”

  “Happiness,” Ethan interjected. “There is no happiness there, only sorrow and loss.”

  “So does anyone have any idea what we should do now?” Nick asked.

  “Whatever it is, you better think fast, because that thing is pulsing again,” Rory said from across the room.

  CHAPTER 6

  Everyone rushed out of the conference room and followed Illan down to the basement. As they stepped into the hall leading to the back cells, they could see the black light pulsing faster and faster, flashing out from the glass.

  They all crowded around the area, waiting as the pulse became frantic and the beating sound grew. It was much more intense standing here experiencing it live then on the video. Wyn could feel it in his chest.

  The large shadow appeared, moving closer, then hesitated. A large booted foot stepped through, followed by the hulking form of Day. As he came fully through and into the light, his eyes swept over all of them. His gaze stopped for a moment on him, then moved on and stopped again on Ollie, before moving on and focusing on Pascal.