by Oliver, Lisa
Sebastian thought for a minute, then grinned. “Yep, in fact I think his fishing gear is right here at the club. I’ll text him and get him to bring it down. He’s on Dungeon duty later today so he’ll be in his room.”
“Thanks. I might not be able to shoot the fucker, or rip his throat out, but I haven’t got a problem with keeping him tied up for a while if he gives me any crap.”
Both Phillip and Sebastian heard a decided squeak from the other side of the door, and shared another grin. Phillip was well aware that Tristan’s hearing would be stronger than a human, and he fully intended for the ferret to hear his conversation. After sharing a few more pleasantries, including suffering some good-natured ribbing about his more dominant mate, Phillip headed to the guard’s room for another cup of coffee. He had no intention of opening the cell door without making sure he could cope with Tristan in either form. A net could come in handy.
/~/~/~/~/
Phillip peered through the steel-infused glass panel set in the cell door. Tristan was in human form, and surprise, surprise, he’d put on a pair of jeans and a mesh black top that was the perfect foil for dark hair. Phillip grimaced at the purple streak that Tristan seemed to think enhanced his fine features. There’s no accounting for taste, he thought, as he punched in the code and opened the door, closing it quickly with his booted foot. As Sebastian mentioned earlier, the remains of breakfast were plastered all over the wall, although the bacon had fallen to the floor. Phillip knew it’d been at least three hours since breakfast was served. Those eggs weren’t going to be easy to scrape off concrete block. But he had the tools for the job in his hands.
“Seems breakfast wasn’t to your liking,” he said with a cheery smile. Tristan, who was sprawled across the bed, simply glowered at him, which Phillip ignored.
“We do have standards here, you know. You made the mess, you clean it up. That’s if you want to be fed again.” He called on his Dom persona that often had the club subs quivering. Phillip didn’t expect it to work on someone like Tristan, but a firm no-nonsense attitude worked in a multitude of situations.
“Your cell, your pack, you clean it up.”
Phillip ignored the truculent tones. Keeping hold of the bucket, he dropped the scouring pads on the bed and wandered through to the bathroom area. He wasn’t foolish enough to arm any criminal with a broom or mop. Whistling a nameless tune, he half-filled the bucket with cold water and sauntered back to the bed.
“You have a mess to clean up,” he said firmly. “Lunch is due in twenty minutes, and if your breakfast isn’t cleaned up by then, you don’t get any.”
“You can’t starve me. It’s against pack law.”
The little shit was right, but Phillip didn’t say so. “You’re not pack; you’re not even a wolf shifter. So pick up that scouring pad and get scrubbing half-pint or you’ll go hungry.”
“You can’t make me.” Tristan grabbed the scouring pads and tossed them on the floor, crossed his arms defiantly and glared at Phillip.
“Fair enough, guess I’ll have to do it myself.” Phillip swung the bucket towards the wall. Tristan shrieked as he was suddenly dripping wet and shivering.
“Oops,” Phillip said with a grin. “I missed. Never mind. Plenty more water where that came from.”
“You bastard.” Tristan jumped from the bed and stood there in a rapidly growing pool of water. “You no good, runty-wolf, shit-faced bastard.”
Phillip pretended he couldn’t hear the man rant as he filled the bucket with more water. Kellen had told him that there was nothing more important to Tristan than looking good.
Stepping around the half wall, he swung the bucket lazily in one hand. “Ready to clean up the remains of your breakfast?”
“I won’t do it. The food’s shit, this cell is shit. I’ve been wrongfully imprisoned and I demand you let me out of here.” Tristan hadn’t bothered to lower his volume and Phillip knew that there’d be at least two other shifters that could hear what was said.
“One last chance. I want that mess cleaned up.” Phillip swung the bucket a little higher, without letting the water escape.
“You’ll get yours,” Tristan sneered. “You, your whole fucking pack. Sent to hell where you belong.”
“At least we’ll be warm and dry.” Phillip threw the second bucket of water, hitting Tristan square in the face. The man screamed and ran towards the door, banging on it with his fists, yelling obscenities. Phillip went back into the bathroom and filled his bucket for the third time. As he walked back into the main cell area, Tristan turned, his lips turned up baring his teeth.
“All I want you to do is clean up your breakfast,” Phillip said, staying firm.
“This is torture; it’s illegal. You’ll be locked up for the rest of your life if Kellen doesn’t kill you first.”
“The only thing Kellen will be doing later is sucking my dick, right before I fuck his ass.”
Tristan’s eyes widened in shock and while Phillip felt bad about sharing intimate information with someone else, Kellen had also told him that Tristan had begged for an opportunity to top on more than one occasion.
“Kellen’s a top,” Tristan said, his voice wavering. Then he got a look of cunning in his eyes. “The man’s always a top. He never bottoms for anyone. I should know. I’ve had his cock in my ass more times than you ever will.”
“Yep, he told me.” Phillip fought his wolf, who wanted to rip out the throat of a man who’d been with his mate. “Of course, he was very appreciative when I let him claim me. If you know what I mean.” Phillip smirked. “Seems your ass might have got a little loose, what with all the use it gets.”
“How fucking dare you!” Tristan jumped from his position from the door, claws extending from his fingers. Phillip dropped the bucket and let the man come, knowing he needed for Tristan to remain mark free, while he carried evidence of the assault. A sharp gouge across his face had him closing his eyes. Mission accomplished. Ignoring the blood streaming down his face; Phillip quickly subdued the smaller man, taking a piece of chain from his pocket, and binding Tristan’s arms behind his back from elbow to wrist. One quick click of the accompanying padlock, and Tristan wasn’t going anywhere in a hurry.
“I’d recommend not shifting,” he said as he pushed Tristan back onto the soggy mattress. “Of course, it’s up to you, but if you try, then you’ll dislocate both shoulders, and I can tell you, it’ll fucking hurt.”
“I’ll get you, you bastard, I swear if it’s the last thing I do, I’ll see you six foot under.” Tristan didn’t hear the cell door opening but Phillip did, and he turned and winked at Pearson and Dante who more than filled the space.
“Phillip. I was just coming to talk to Tristan. Did he attack you?”
Phillip sighed. “I’m embarrassed to say he did. I was simply trying to get the man to clean up the mess he made from breakfast and he came at me with his claws.”
“You fucking liar. Look what you did to me. I’m drenched, I’ve been tortured. I want to lay a complaint.” Tristan had rolled over and was trying to sit up. Dante helped him and then stood back, a look of compassion on his face.
“Did Phillip hit you? Do you have injuries? Did he hurt or threaten you in any way?”
“I’m soaked through,” Tristan wailed.
“Yes, I can see that.” Pearson checked Phillip’s cheek and took a quick picture of the scratches with his phone, before turning to the man on the bed. “However, my enforcer is bleeding and unless he shifts quickly, he’ll have permanent scarring on his face. The wounds are very close to the throat. You clearly had deadly intent when you attacked him, and yet there’s not a mark on you that I can see. Did he threaten you? Did you fear for your life? Were you protecting yourself from attack?”
“Tristan was by the door, and I was over here by the bed when he flew at me Alpha,” Phillip said quietly. “We were just talking and his attack came out of nowhere. If you check the recordings, you will hear that he threatened me and this pack, more
than once before he attempted to rip my throat out.”
“That’s a serious charge. Tristan, you do understand under pack law, you attacked an enforcer without provocation, and your threats to him and this pack have been recorded. I’ll have to get in touch with the Council, because an infraction like this carries death as its only punishment. It doesn’t matter that you’re not a wolf, you’re a shifter, so the law applies to you.”
“Death.” Tristan’s face went white. But then his eyes gleamed and he raised his chin at Pearson. “Call the Council. Call Councilor Malcom. He sent me here. He’s got plans for this pack and none of them are good. He’ll get me out of here and then all of you will be sorry you ever laid a finger on me.”
“Councilor Malcom, are you sure?” Dante stepped forward. “He’s been on the Council a long time, a man of high standing. I’d be surprised if he even knows who you are.”
“I’m the Councilor’s lover. His pet, his boy. He loves me. He believes in me. He’ll save me. He hates this pack, hates everyone in it. You’ll see – he’ll kill you all to see me safe.”
“Very well then. I’ll put off the sentence until I’ve spoken to Councilor Malcom. Phillip, you’re relieved of duty. Shift, clean up and then go and find Kellen, who I believe is interviewing the omega as ordered by the Council. Dante, if you could call a couple of the subs in and ask them to clean up this mess, I’d be grateful. You, Tristan, had better come with me.”
“You’re letting me go?” Tristan scrambled off his bed almost falling he was so eager.
“I’m moving you to another cell,” Pearson said. “I won’t have anyone say we mistreat our prisoners. You’ll be restrained until I’ve spoken personally to Councilor Malcom….”
Pearson was still talking as Phillip left the cell. The drying blood on his face felt itchy and he knew if Kellen saw him in his current state then Tristan would be dead. No matter what Phillip’s personal thoughts on the subject, the little ferret had to stay alive at least until Councilor Malcom arrived in Washington. After that, at least in Phillip’s opinion, all bets were off.
Chapter Eighteen
Anger? Frustration? Nope, definitely anger tempered with frustration. Kellen didn’t have a clue what was happening in Tristan’s cell, and it was driving him mad. He tried to concentrate and conduct his investigations with his usual professionalism, but his focus was shot and his wolf was snarky. His wolf let him know Phillip was angry, and later, he’d felt like his face had been slapped and his wolf surged, knowing his mate was hurt. He fought his animal, his body humming, waiting for a sign, anything that would have him flying downstairs to rescue his mate; the Alpha be damned.
“Kellen, you don’t look well. Is everything okay?” Kellen shook his head, meeting Cain’s concerned glance and frantic whisper with his customary arrogance. Fortunately, his friend knew him better than he knew himself and wouldn’t take offense.
“Never better,” he said shortly. He turned to Cam who was sitting on Roger’s lap. He, Cain, Prism and the mated pair were sharing a booth in the restaurant that was relatively quiet. “Now, Mr. Slater, I know a report was filed with the Council about your abduction from this pack, but there are very few details about how you escaped from the New York coven.”
Cam’s gaze immediately went to Roger, who gave him a soft smile. Both were blonds, but Cam’s hair was almost white while Roger’s hair was more yellow and hung in waves across his shoulders. Roger was a big guy, with broad shoulders and hazelnut eyes. Although not as big as Kyle, his protectiveness was evident.
“You need to tell him, precious,” Roger said. “Steel and Levi came up with some shit about this Council member, and we have a duty to Kellen in letting him know why this asshole Malcom wants you now.”
In contrast to Roger’s bulk, Cam was slender. His face was beautiful, and even though he’d just mated himself, Kellen could see why wars could be fought over a single Omega. Male Omegas in particular were rare and Cam was the first one that Kellen had met. The trace of fear emanating from the smaller man was worrying however, and Kellen had a strong urge to make the man feel better. The Omega effect, he thought with an internal grin. His countenance was professional, but in deference to Cam, he toned down his snotty attitude.
“Anything you say will stay confidential,” he said. “I simply need to know how you escaped and whether or not this has anything to do with the vampires’ increased interest in shifters now.”
“I got taken by two vampires,” Cam said haltingly. “They drugged me, or at least a shifter from here did, but they kidnapped me. I don’t know how I got there, but I woke up chained to a wall in a basement. I found out later it was at the New York coven.”
“That must have been frightening. Where was Roger while this was happening?” A man as dominant as Roger wouldn’t have left his mate for longer than five minutes.
“I got a message telling me I was needed at the Alpha’s house, twenty minutes’ away. I trusted the person who gave me the message and thought Cam would be safe in the club. I won’t make that mistake again.” Roger’s gruff voice held traces of pain, and Cam immediately picked up on it, caressing the man’s chest, soothing his mate. Kellen longed for that sort of connection with Phillip.
Kellen wisely didn’t say anything. Roger wasn’t the first mate to suffer guilt by failing to protect his loved one, and he wouldn’t be the last. He shifted his focus back to Cam again.
“So you were locked up. How did you get out? Did someone else find you, or what?”
“I was naked,” Cam was whispering now, and Roger’s arm around his waist tightened. “My ex-Dom and his friend came in. I couldn’t shift, Omega’s can’t when they’re scared, and I was chained up.”
Kellen nodded. He knew that aspect of Omega physiology – it was supposed to protect them from unwittingly challenging a stronger wolf. Personally Kellen saw that type of thing a hindrance rather than a help. He was grateful he had a well-trained enforcer as his mate. Where was Phillip? He should be back by now.
“What happened?” Kellen wrenched his thoughts back to the table. Cam was getting distressed and he hated that he’d ever been asked to conduct this stupid farce of an interview. He was a troubleshooter, not a counselor.
“They were going to drain me,” Cam said. “Both men had fed from me before, and he…they said they wanted to play, but…I don’t know. But they didn’t have the time. So they decided to drain me dry and leave me while they escaped.”
“Fuck!” Prism suddenly shouted, getting up from the table, and storming out of the room with Cain hot on his heels. Kellen shrugged when Roger looked at him in askance. He’d talk to his friends later. What was more important was getting this interview finished so he could find his own mate.
“Go on,” he added, trying to be encouraging. Cam took a deep breath, his lovely eyes focused on Roger’s face.
“They were drinking from me, one on each side of my neck. I closed my eyes; I knew I’d be dead by the time they finished. I was thinking of you every second…”
“I know, baby, keep going just a little bit more, and then I’ll take you to our rooms and remind you of how much I love you,” Roger said.
“I know that already,” Cam said and the smaller man actually giggled, which had Kellen feeling a bit better. Then the tiny blond’s eyes met Kellen’s and the Omega said flatly, “The two vampires dropped dead at my feet. A mated omega’s blood is toxic to vampires, although very few people know this. I didn’t, we didn’t, but Stavia and Devin explained it once I was rescued.”
“Holy Mother of God.” Now it all made sense – why Malcom wanted access to the Omega; why Tristan had orders to take the small man to him when the shit hit the fan. Cam was a living weapon against an entire species.
“Roger came, Pearson, Dante, Phillip, all the other enforcers, even Devin who I didn’t know very well at the time, but they all came and got me out. I’m not scared of Devin,” Cam said, and Kellen was once again assaulted by a surprisingly steely gaz
e. “Devin’s a good friend, one of my very best friends. He protects me when Roger’s busy and I know he’d never hurt anyone in this pack. Make sure that goes in your report.”
“I’m not out to get Devin, little one,” Kellen said gently. “I was, I admit that, but I’d been fed the wrong information. This report, is on Pearson’s orders, and yes it will end up with the Council. But I promise, what you’ve told me will stay secret. I…you’ve helped me more than you could ever know.”
“Not many people know this about my mate,” Roger warned. “If it got out, you could imagine how dangerous it would be to Cam, me and the pack.”
“I do know.” Kellen held out his hand. “You have my word. I’ll never mention it.” Roger looked at him for a long minute and then shook his hand, nodding in agreement, or maybe it was acceptance, but Kellen felt better knowing he had two men in the Washington pack who didn’t want to kill him. It was a shaky start, but a start nonetheless.
“I may have to let Phillip know, us being mates and all,” Kellen added, “But I know he won’t say anything either. Your secret won’t be going in my report at all.”
“Phillip needs you,” Cam said suddenly. “He was so sad before. I don’t understand why, but he deserves to be happy.”
“I plan on doing all I can,” Kellen said pleased his mate inspired loyalty among his pack members. “This is all new to me, too, you know. I’ve never had anyone permanent in my life, so we’ll both be making some adjustments.”
“Are you both staying with the pack, or…?” Roger trailed off and Kellen wondered if the enforcer was worried because of his Alpha tendencies. He and Pearson were much the same size, and probably had similar levels of power, which could make staying at the pack problematic. Sure, there were other Alpha born men in the Washington pack, but Kellen wasn’t sure he’d be one of them.
“I’m not sure,” was the best Kellen could manage. “My mate and I haven’t talked about that yet, although I know we will once this mess is cleared up.”