“Oh, fuck.”
Stepping into the kitchen for a cup of coffee I come face to face with Reed.
“Good morning, Reed.”
“Riley. Hey. Good morning,” he stammered out nervously. Clearing his throat, he continues, “I was hoping to run into you before I left for work this morning.”
“Well, here I am.”
“Yes, you are. First, I want to apologize for my reaction last night to your mating marks. Believe me when I tell you that I am incredibly happy for you, Cree, and Enzo. I love Enzo like a brother and all I have ever wanted for him is to be happy. He’s been through so much and I have not seen him this content with his life for an exceptionally long time. You’ve healed a part of him no one else could reach. I would like to explain what happened last night if you’ll allow me.”
“Okay. I’m listening,” I say leaning back into the countertop, sipping my coffee.
“Not now. Can I take you out to dinner later? We can talk then.” His face is a mix of nervousness and fear.
“Yes, Reed. I’d love to go on a date with you.” A grin breaks across his face, wider and brighter than I’ve ever seen.
“Yeah? A date?”
Chuckling at his schoolboy reaction I confirm, “Yes. A date. Pick me up at 7?”
“I’ll pick you up at 7,” he says as he heads towards the front door.
“Reed,” I call out, stopping him as he’s about to close the door. I jog up to him and place a kiss on his cheek. “Have a good day,” I say with a smile.
A blush grows across his cheeks as he smiles and heads to the elevators. I close the door and prepare for Cree to arrive with the bar's books.
I fucking hate math. I mean like burn it all to hell, fucking hate it. I have never been a fan of numbers. Helping Cree with the books for the bar is just confirming that fact in my life. “Cree, I can’t keep fucking doing this. I hate math and all things numbers related. You have to hire a fucking accountant or a bookkeeper at least.”
“Why? I have you.”
“No. You have one fucking week. I’m serious, Cree. I’m done.” He just grunts in response to my declaration. “I fucking mean it, Cree. One week.”
“Alright, alright. I got it. One week. I’ll put an ad out tomorrow.”
“You haven’t even tried to hire anyone? Are you fucking serious?”
He shrugs his shoulder as if it’s no big deal.
Slamming the binder closed I yell, “Fucking hell, Cree!” Standing from the table I head down the hall towards my bedroom. “I’m done for the day. I’m going to the gym.” I change into my tight black workout shorts with a matching sports bra and tank top. I grab my gym bag and head out the door.
Arriving at the gym I get to the locker room, drop off my bag, and grab my tape and gloves. Enzo catches my eye as I exit the locker room. His brows pinch tight, questioning what’s going on. I shake my head, not wanting to fucking talk, and head to the heavyweight bag. Wrapping my hands, I loosen my shoulders and shake out my legs, trying to let go of some of the tension I’m holding on to.
“What’s going on, Riley? You are vibrating with tension,” Enzo says as his hands come to rest on my shoulders. His fingers begin to work the knots lining the tops of my shoulders working his way towards my neck and down my spine. Fuck, that feels good. My head drops forward as I melt under his touch.
“Cree never tried to hire a bookkeeper. The deal was I’d help until he found someone else to take over the books.”
“Are you really surprised? He never wanted to let you go from the bar. Are you surprised he’s trying to keep you?”
“We had a deal,” I all but moan out as he works away another knot.
“Riley, you’re his mate. He knows you’ll never just let us take care of you. So, his way of ensuring you’re cared for, have everything you need, is to pay you for services rendered. You can’t work in the bar anymore so this is the next best thing. He can see you and see that you are taken care of. Go easy on the big guy. He went from seeing you almost every day to a few times a week for a few hours. He’s going through Riley withdrawal. It’s hard, really hard.”
He wraps his arms around me and grabs my hands, lifting them so he can inspect my wrap job. “This is great. You’ve really picked this up quick.”
Leaning back into his warmth, I thread our fingers together. “I have a great teacher. He’s patient and attentive. He loves to touch me, so I’m able to get a lot of hands-on training.” Licking my lips, I glance back at his face, my eyes landing on his mouth.
“Riley,” he growls, “fuck, not here.” His hold on my body tightens as he tries to control his reaction to my seductive tone.
Standing up straight I shake off his hold. “You’re right. Now is not the time for that.” I bend at the waist and pick up my gloves as Enzo’s hands land on my ass.
“Fuck, woman. You are going to be the death of my sanity.” Standing I turn around and place a quick kiss on his lips before moving over to the bag to begin my workout.
The rest of my day goes off without a hitch. After warming up with the bags and weights, I got in a really good workout with my sparring partner, Jennifer. Thanks to all her training with Enzo to become a professional boxer I don’t have to hold back with her. I can really work through some of the pent-up anger I’ve been feeling.
After my workout, I get to work. First, inspecting all of the equipment, ensuring they are in ‘tip-top’ shape as Enzo put it when he was showing me the ropes. Then, placing restock orders on any supplies needed, such as towels — because I swear these guys eat them — laundry soap, paper, things of that nature. Lastly, helping with cleaning up. Because isn’t that just the highlight of everyone’s day, cleaning the guys’ locker room. Talk about a gag-fest. The only highlight of that being more time alone with Enzo, which never comes quick enough in my book.
As Enzo and I are locking up for the evening and head towards the rear parking lot I explain, “I have to head back to my apartment this evening. Reed is picking me up there at 7 to take me to dinner so we can talk about what happened last night.”
“Good. I’m glad he’s going to fucking tell you. The imp should have said something last night.”
“Any hints to what he’s going to tell me?” I ask hoping beyond hope he has some idea.
“Not a fucking clue, Riley. He said he needs to talk to you about it first. Whatever it is, he seemed terrified at the idea of telling you. So, do me a favor this evening. No matter what he tells you, please give him a chance to explain the whole story before you storm off or get pissed.”
“As if you have to ask. I am not the type to just storm off and leave someone hanging.” He rolls his eyes at me and yeah, I know I’m full of shit too.
Reed
The hands on my watch read 6:58 as I stand outside Riley’s apartment door. Enzo’s car is parked out front so I know he’s here with her. I try to resist the urge to use my hearing to listen in on whatever it is they’re talking about in there. No, no, no. I will not violate her privacy. 6:59.
Chicken shit. My wolf voices. Fuck, he’s right I am.
Breathing, I work up the courage to knock on the door. I raise my fist to knock when the door opens and Enzo steps out. “You’re late,” he states. I look at my watch, 7:00. “If you’re not fifteen minutes early, you’re late,” he informs me.
“Got it.”
“Piece of advice. Be honest with her, man. Don’t fuck around. Whatever you do, don’t fucking lie to her. She’s a lot stronger than she looks, mentally and physically. She can handle whatever it is that’s going on with you. And if you piss her off, watch her knees.” With those parting words, Enzo claps me on the back and laughs as he heads to his car.
Swallowing down my nervousness, I knock on Riley’s door. The door opens and standing before me is a woman, dressed in a blue baby doll style dress with the most stunning gray eyes. “Riley you look… beautiful. Fucking beautiful.”
“Thank you. You look very handsome. I wasn
’t sure where we were going, so I wasn’t sure how fancy to dress up.”
“You’re perfect. Always.” With a blush crawling its way up Riley’s neck, she steps out of her apartment and we head out.
The ride to the restaurant is silent. My nerves are running rampant as I run over the conversation in my head twenty different ways with twenty different outcomes, none of them good.
With my thoughts somewhere else, I scarcely register the words Riley yells. However, the panic in her tone registers loud and clear. “Reed, look out!” Standing in the middle of the road is a big as fuck black wolf. His only eye glows a deep crimson red. Slamming on the breaks, the car comes to a screeching halt a mere foot from the snout of the wolf.
“Riley, whatever happens, do not fucking get out of the car. Understand?” I demand.
“Reed…”
“No, Riley. This time, fucking listen to me. You stay in the car.”
Bad move. My wolf chimes in as Riley’s door slams shut.
Okay, I admit that was the wrong move. I quickly get out of the car and meet Riley at the front, just in time to hear her order the wolf.
“Fucking shift back so we can talk, Alastair.” Fuck.
Alastair shifts, naked as the day he was born. “Do you have fucking clothes with you?” I ask.
“Nope,” he nearly sings, amused with himself, standing naked in the middle of the street. Not taking my eyes off Riley and Alastair, I back up to the trunk of my car. Opening it I pull out some spare gym clothes. Tossing them at Alastair he smirks as he slips on the sweats. “Better?” he quips.
A clipped one-word answer is all he gets from us, “Yes.”
“So. Mr. Stone, how the hell have you been? It’s been so long since we talked, son,” Alastair states, addressing me. Riley’s gasp beside me tells me I’m fucked and have a lot of explaining to do.
Fucking Alastair.
Chapter Fifteen
Riley
What. The. Actual. Fuck! “Reed? What is he saying?” My entire body is vibrating with anger, confusion, and fear of what Alastair means.
“Oh, you haven’t told her yet. Tsk, tsk, Reed. You know you should never keep secrets from your mate.” Alastair’s grin grows wider across his face as he taunts Reed into reacting.
“That’s enough, Alastair,” Reed commands, putting as much alpha power behind it as he can. Alastair flinches for only a moment before he begins to laugh. A dark menacing laugh.
“Did you just try to use your alpha powers to control me? Boy, you know you aren’t strong enough to beat me. So, what the hell makes you think you can control me?”
Reed glances down at me, a look of worry etched into his features. “Oh, I see. You’re trying to show off for your new mate. How endearing and nauseating. Anyway, I don’t have a lot of time to waste. I just came to collect…”
“Are you alone, Alastair?” I ask with a smirk, cutting him off midsentence. The blood fades from his face causing his normally tanned complexion to pale as his face converts from pissed off at being interrupted to fear. His narrowed eye widens and his pinched mouth begins to open slightly. That’s what I thought.
Pulling my phone from my pocket, I show the screen to Alastair then hand the phone to Reed. “You may want to run now,” I tell Alastair as Reed barks out a wicked laugh of his own upon seeing what’s on the screen. My Big Bad Bear is lit across the screen identifying the connected call with Cree.
Just that quickly Alastair recovers his composure and narrows his eye in my direction, sending a creepy vibe straight to my soul producing an uncomfortable shiver to work its way through my body. “I may be alone here in this moment but the pack is just in the tree line. So why not make this easy on yourself and protect your mates. I will have you, Riley. One way, or another.”
Reed wraps a protective arm around my shoulders, pulling me into his side. His fingers dig into the shoulder he has a hold on. I’m not sure if he’s trying to hold me in place or himself at this point. The energy rolling off of Reed is aggressive and hostile. There is no love lost between these two men, thus confirming for me that Reed is on my side.
Wrapping my arm around his waist, I pull myself closer to him. Looking up I give him a warm and affectionate smile. Letting him know that we’re on the same page. He has nothing to fear from my initial reaction. Reed exhales a deep breath, releasing much of the tension he was holding. Feeling lighter he looks back to Alastair. “You need to go now, Alastair. That is if you want to live to fight another day. What you tried to accomplish here today failed. Riley will not be manipulated by you. Not today, not ever again.”
Sniffing the air, I can sense Cree, Axel, Wild, and Enzo are close. A heady mix of scents fills the air as well, shifters. Twenty at least. “We should all go, now. We don’t want to do this here on the open streets of the city. You know it is in your best interests to keep what is coming off of the mortal streets and away from seeing eyes. Besides, you don’t want witnesses to your deceit, do you? I mean not if you plan to stay in power unopposed.”
Alastair takes too long to decide his next course of action. Cree in his huge brown bear form joins me at my side, as wolves led by Axel, Wild, and Enzo congregate around us, far more than I knew were on our side. A flash of ember gold magic flies between us. Following the path back, I spot Ember standing beside Dom with Gray and his crew. She gives me a wink as she nods her head up towards the moon.
Looking up I see a shadow fly through the moon's rays. I watch as it lands between our group and Alastair. Holy. Fuck.
“Grace?” I watch as Grace dismounts off the back of the actual fucking Pegasus. She is dressed in silver battle armor with a big-ass sword strapped to her back. Yeah, I got nothing.
Sister. My know-it-all alter ego pipes in.
Really, you don’t say. She just rolls her eyes at my sarcastic response.
“Not the time to argue with your wolf, love,” Reed whispers in my ear.
“She started it,” I whisper back. He just snorts in return.
“Alastair,” Grace greets with disdain dripping from that one name.
“Grace. Lovely to see you alive and well. Rumors of your death prove to be highly exaggerated.” Grace slowly moves forward, Pegasus a step right behind her causing Alastair to take a few steps back.
“Not rumors, as you well know. Seeing as you were the one who burned my body. What exactly did you think you would accomplish with that move? That you would, what, avoid the prophecy? Oh, Alastair. You poor man, you. You’re the one that brought the prophecy to fruition. Because of you, I stand here today.” The air to Grace’s side begins to shimmer and twist until out of nowhere a man with short onyx hair, who appears to be of Indian origins materializes at her side. He looks familiar but I can’t quite place him.
Alastair’s face turns deathly white, as though he’s seeing a ghost from his past. His mouth hangs open, not a single sound coming from him. “You need to leave, Alastair. I know your pack is on their way here as we speak, or rather I speak. But I have seen how this will end. You will die. Your pack will fight to avenge your death and they too will die. Save your people Alastair and go. You cannot win this fight today.”
Shaking himself free from his fear, or maybe just burying it deep, Alastair responds, “You dare to give me orders, girl. I am the alpha.”
“Do not test me, Alastair,” Grace growls, an earth-shaking growl. Alastair immediately takes another step back and lowers his head. “You know what I am capable of. Do you really want to put that to the test here, today?”
Bowing his head, Alastair whispers a clipped, “No.” Anger radiating off of him in waves.
“Then leave before you force my hand.” With that Alastair shifts back into his wolf and takes off into the woods at his back. Some of the wolves around us paw at the ground and snarl, wanting to go after him. “Leave him be. The battle is not to be fought today. If we are to be successful it must take place in the right setting and at the right time.”
Picking my mouth
up from off the road, and blinking back to reality I ask, “What the fuck, Grace?”
Before she can answer an argument behind us catches everyone’s attention. Turning I see Dom and Gray arguing with Ember standing between them with a glowing gold hand on each of their chests. Reed leans down and whispers in my ear, “Mates.”
“She’s my mate,” Dom roars.
“And she’s my anima mea,” Gray argues.
“And she is standing right here. Can we not do this?” Ember states as she drops both of her hands, turns, and walks off. Leaving behind a flare of magic that knocks both guys on their asses.
“Well, shit. That just happened,” I state in shock.
“I have known Gray for a long time. I did not see that coming.”
“What was that he called her? Ani-something?”
Grace picks that moment to join us. “Where shifters have mates, fallen angels like Gray have anima mea, their soul. Ember is the missing piece to Gray’s soul, his anima mea. Only the lucky ones ever find their anima mea,” she explains. “Come on we have a lot to talk about. Let’s head back to the penthouse.”
“I’d say. You flew in on fucking Pegasus. Flew. Pegasus.” My eyes are wide as I stare at Grace in utter disbelief and awe.
“Yes, we’ll talk about that, I promise.” Looking at Reed. “We’ll also talk about your connection to Alastair.”
Shit, right. Forgot about that.
After thanking everyone who came out in support of us this evening when Alastair decided to ambush me with more of my mates’ secrets; Grace, her men along with my mates, and I gathered back at the penthouse.
I couldn’t help but stare at the young Native American twins. The one with long, onyx silk hair turned into the freaking flying horse. The other with short, spiky Onyx hair, I can’t really get a read on. I know them, I’m sure of it. I just can’t place it. More importantly, he has power — that’s for sure — and a lot of it. I can feel it rolling off of him in waves from across the room.
Shattered Strength: Shadowcrest Pack Series Book Two Page 13