by Maggie Walsh
Nicco’s eyes flicked in the direction where Adam was. The beautiful familiar was never far from Vic’s side. He knelt naked at Viktor’s feet, with his hands tied behind his back with a black silk scarf as his head rested on Vicktor’s leg. The submissive’s eyes were closed and his face was a mask of peace. Nicco looked back to his best friend. “You do know how lucky you are, right?” Nicco gave Vic a smile.
“No, my friend. I am more than lucky. I am truly blessed,” Viktor answered with conviction as he lowered his hand and began to softly run his fingers through Adam’s silky hair. The submissive released a small moan.
“That you are,” Nicco agreed.
“So what can I do for you, Nic?”
“I was hoping you would be able to cover for me today. I don’t know what's going on, but I haven’t slept very well for months, and lately, I can hardly sleep at all. This evening I woke up after only an hour’s sleep, feeling like I had been locked in a freezer or trapped on top of Mt. Everest, but I was soaking wet with sweat.”
“Well, I would have to ask Dare about how it feels to be on top of Everest,” Vik said with mischief, causing Nicco to chuckle and shake his head.
“Low blow, Vic.”
“He can handle a little teasing. He’s gotten so much more relaxed and easygoing in the year he’s been mated to Dale and Dante.”
“And the fact that’s he’s going to be a father has helped with his attitude, but has amped up his overprotectiveness of his mates.”
“I wouldn’t expect anything less from any of our family, but anyway, if you need to take time, then go ahead. I can cover for you. I don’t have too much going on this week, so I can fit in your schedule with mine.”
“Thanks, Vic. I really appreciate it.” Nicco gave him another tired smile.
“May I speak, Master?” Adam asked softly.
“Of course you may, my pet.”
Adam straightened, lifting his head from Viktor’s lap, and looked at Nicco. “Maybe you should have Doc Aaron check you out? It sounds like something more than just sleeplessness, Nicco.”
“I’m sure whatever this is will pass. Aaron is always so busy taking care of everyone and doing all his research. I don’t want to bother him with something so insignificant.” Nicco waved it off as if it were nothing.
Adam looked to Viktor for approval and Viktor nodded. Adam turned his attention back to Nicco. “Since what happened with the evil demon Envy trying to possess Crew, King Dante and the Alpha Prime asked us all to keep an eye out for each other in case anyone showed any signs of change. Even the smallest change. Maybe, just in case, Aaron can check you out? Make sure,” Adam hedged.
“He’s right, Nicco. It may be a good idea to have Aaron take a look at you,” Viktor agreed.
“I guess I can call Raith and pop over there, but I highly doubt someone or something is trying to possess me. Isn’t that why everyone got those matching talisman tattoos that Zane showed us? To guard us from being possessed?”
“Yes, but you know we still need to be cautious. With this Minos still out there trying to destroy us, we need to be extra careful.”
“You’re right. I’ll go call Raith now.” Nicco stood up. “Thanks, you two. I…” Nicco stopped talking, grabbed his head between his hands, and cried out in pain.
Adam sat back on his heels, allowing Viktor to stand and move around his desk. Viktor grabbed onto Nicco’s arm. “What is it, brother? What’s happening?” Viktor asked with concern.
“I don’t know. Suddenly my head feels like it’s being stabbed and about to explode,” Nicco explained through clenched teeth.
Nicco’s vision went blank and all he could see was black. Then it began to change, and a fog grew and swirled. Suddenly, a picture of Shelby’s face appeared, and it was all contorted in pain. He could see the sexy stripper writhing in agony, and his mouth opened in a silent scream. Then everything faded. Nicco blinked a few times and he focused on Viktor’s face. His friend was standing before him with a worried expression. “What the hell was that?”
“I don’t know,” Nicco answered breathlessly.
“What exactly happened, Nic?” Aaron asked as he wrapped an arm around Nicco’s waist. “Help me get him to the couch.” Viktor wrapped an arm around Nicco from the other side and the two led him to the couch. Once Nicco was sitting, Aaron flashed a bright light in his eyes. “When was the last time you fed?”
“Aaron? How did you get here?” Nicco asked in confusion.
“Adam called and said it was an emergency. Laylen brought me. So when did you last feed?”
“I had two bags of O negative when I woke up.”
“When was that? You said you didn’t sleep last night,” Vic asked.
“Um...yesterday.”
“Can we get a few pints in here?” Aaron asked as he placed a stethoscope against Nicco’s chest and listened.
Adam picked up the phone and dialed. “Hi, it’s Adam. Nicco needs a few pints in Viktor’s office right now please. Okay. Thank you.” Adam hung up. “It’s on the way.”
“So what happened, Nic?” Aaron asked as he held Nicco’s wrist, checking his pulse.
“I don’t know exactly. I came in here to talk to Vic. Then I stood up to leave and suddenly a stab of pain hit me in the head, then my vision went black. It got foggy and a picture of Shelby’s face appeared. He was writhing in pain and screaming. I couldn’t hear him, but I could tell from what I was seeing that he’s in trouble.”
A knock came to the door. “Come in!” Viktor called.
The door swung open and Seth hurriedly walked in with two glasses of blood on a tray. He stopped short and his eyes opened wide in surprise when he spotted Aaron, and the glasses tilted. Seth grabbed for them, but only caught one. The second tumbled over and spilled onto the tray. “Shit. I’m sorry.” Seth picked up the still-full one and handed it to Viktor. “Here’s one. I’ll go back and get another right away.”
“Thank you, Seth,” Viktor said, taking the glass from Seth.
Seth’s gaze flicked to Aaron nervously, then away. He turned quickly and exited the room.
“I’m sorry, Aaron. I wasn’t thinking,” Adam said in a distressed voice.
“It’s okay, Adam. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
“No, I should have asked for someone else to bring the blood. When Seth answered the kitchen phone, I just reacted. I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine. Really, Adam.”
Viktor wrapped his arm around Adam’s shoulders and drew him close to his side, then kissed the top of his head. “It’s okay, kitten. Aaron’s right, you did nothing wrong.”
“Am I missing something here?” Laylen asked.
“It’s a long story. I’ll explain it to you later, Lay,” Aaron answered.
“Is that guy the reason I was to not only bring you here but to guard you?”
“Yeah,” Aaron answered softly.
“Okay then,” Laylen said and moved closer to Aaron’s side. He stood with his legs shoulder-length apart and crossed his arms over his massive chest, as he changed his facial expression to cold and hard.
The door opened again and Seth walked in with his mate, Sky, beside him. Seth hesitantly stepped toward Aaron and Nicco. Laylen took a menacing step forward, causing Seth to stop. Laylen reached out and grabbed the glass from the tray and handed it to Aaron, but never took his cold stare off Seth.
“What’s going on, Viktor? Why the big, growly dude scaring my mate?” Sky asked, offended.
“We’ll discuss it later. Right now we need to attend to Nicco.”
Aaron handed the glass to Nic and he drank the warm crimson liquid down in one swallow, emptying the glass. Vic stepped closer and handed him the other glass, taking the empty from him. Nicco downed the second one and handed the empty to Vic. “Thanks, everyone, but I feel better now.”
“I’m sure you do, but I would still like you to come back to the pack house with me and get checked out,” Aaron offered.
�
�And I will come with you so that you can explain to Micah and me exactly what you saw in your vision,” Dante announced from the door.
“Vision? I don’t get visions, Dante. That’s not one of my gifts,” Nicco said in confusion.
“It is now.”
* * * *
“So what’s all the hubbub about?” Xavier asked as he sat on one of the stools surrounding the center island of the pack house kitchen.
“I’m not sure,” Bailey answered as he cut a pile of vegetables. “Something with Nicco. Aaron was sent to get him and bring him back here. They said something about another gift showing up and someone named Shelby.” Bailey shrugged and continued to dice an onion.
Now Xavier’s interest was really piqued. Shelby was the hot vampire shifter that worked at the club, but no one had seen or heard from him in forever. Not since the spring when the club shut down for a few weeks and they had to instill the curfew after the massacre in the town square.
Shelby was the hottest thing Xavier had ever seen. He tried many times to get close to the stripper, but the man always seemed to disappear before he could get close. Xander had said he had the same problem whenever he tried to cozy up to the sexy man. What Xavier would give to have a crack at that fine body. Shelby was the definition of sex on legs, and the man knew how to use his body to the fullest. It was apparent to all who watched the sexy man dance on stage.
“Hey, Xavier. What’s cooking?” Laylen asked as he strolled into the kitchen and walked over to the sink. He began to wash his hands.
“I have no idea what Bailey is making,” Xavier answered. Laylen turned and looked at him over his shoulder, giving him a smirk, then went back to finish washing his hands. Finally, it dawned on Xavier. “Oh, you meant what’s going on. Sorry. My mind was somewhere else.”
“Probably thinking about your next conquest,” Laylen said with a laugh as he turned, drying his hands on a towel. He tossed the towel on the counter and stood next to Bailey. Laylen grabbed a knife and some red peppers and started to chop. Xavier raised a brow in question. “What?”
“I didn’t know you cooked, Lay.”
“I don’t. That’s why Bailey and Jesse are teaching me. You would have thought in the six thousand years I’ve been alive I would know how to cook by now, but I’m lucky if I can boil water.”
Bailey froze and turned his head to look at the Legion Warrior. “You’re six thousand years old? Holy shit.”
“Yeah. It’s no big thing. I’m the youngest of the bunch, but I can still kick most of my Legion brothers’ asses,” he answered with a chuckle.
“So your mom never taught you how to cook anything?” Bailey asked as he went back to chopping.
“No. I don’t have a mom. I don’t have any parents as you all do, actually. The gods are my makers, so I guess technically they are my parents.” Laylen shrugged.
“So when you were little, who took care of you?” Xavier asked as he snatched a piece of red pepper that Laylen had cut.
“Angels are never young. We were created exactly as you see us,” Laylen explained.
“So you have always looked like that?” Bailey asked.
“Yes. This is how we are created. Then we spend our first thousand years learning how to do battle and learning everything about all of the Gods’ creations. Every creature, every plant, every animal, et cetera. Once our first thousand years are up then we are placed with a Legion. We spend the next thousand years by their side in battle. After that, the Gods see where our strong points are and place us with our permanent Legion. I was placed with Phenex and changed into a half demon.”
“Wow. So you have spent four thousand years in the Underworld?”
“Yeah, that’s about it.”
“And he’s amazing at his job,” Crew said as he walked into the kitchen with Haven. They sat on stools next to Xavier and Crew leaned over the counter. Laylen understood and leaned forward, giving his mate a kiss, then did the same with Haven.
“So what are you teaching our hunky mate to cook tonight, Bailey?” Haven asked as he snatched a piece of celery from the cutting board and bit it.
“Seeing as the weather is getting bitter cold out there, Jesse thought a good, hearty stew was in order.”
“Mmm. I love Jesse’s stew,” Xavier said in appreciation.
“Thanks, Xavier,” Jesse said happily as he walked into the kitchen. They all looked toward Jesse and saw that he wasn’t alone. Micah, Raith, and Dante walked in with him.
“It smells great in here,” Dante commented and sat on another stool.
“The meat is in the pot and the veggies are almost done, Jesse.”
“Thanks, Bales. Sorry I had to leave you with all the chopping,” Jesse answered and went to the pot to stir.
“No biggie. I hope everything is okay with Nicco,” Bailey answered.
Micah stood next to Jesse and leaned his back against the counter, crossing his arms over his chest. “He seems to have acquired a new gift. He’s having visions.”
“It seems like more than that to me, though,” Dante added.
“What do you mean?” Xavier asked.
“As those who have visions have described, including my mate, they usually don’t go through anything like Nicco is experiencing. Slowly over the past few months his sleep has been getting interrupted, until he is now at the point he can hardly sleep at all. Then when the vision hit, he described it as being very painful, like someone was stabbing him in the head. His vision went blank and then to black. Then it turned to a fog before the picture of Shelby came to him. That’s not usual for visions. They just sort of come and are a little disorienting, but not painful.”
“So this was the first vision he had? Maybe that’s why?” Haven asked.
“Not usually,” Micah answered.
“No, it sounds more like an intrusion,” Laylen added.
“What do you mean, Laylen?” Raith asked.
“An intrusion, like someone trying to enter his mind. Baby, didn’t you say that when the beast Envy was entering you, your vision went blank, then the stabbing pain in your head started before your vision went black?” Laylen directed his question to Crew.
“Yes, that’s exactly what happened, and the pain was like nothing I have ever felt before. Even when those rogues tore at me and killed me, it wasn’t as painful as what my brain felt like when Envy got in there,” Crew explained with a shudder. Haven growled from next to Crew. Crew placed his hand on Haven’s thigh and rubbed him, calming his cat. “It’s okay, Haven. Jesse was able to save me.”
“And for that, I will be forever in the Heart’s debt,” Laylen added, and gave Jesse a grateful smile.
“So then why did we all get the possession protection tattoos from Zane? If it’s supposed to ward off anything from possessing us, then how is someone able to possess Nicco?” Bailey asked in fear.
“I don’t think someone has possessed Nicco, but they may be trying. Maybe that’s why it’s so painful. The protection tattoo is working,” Micah answered.
“Would Phenex be able to tell us if something is trying to possess Nicco, Laylen?” Raith asked.
“Probably.”
“Hey, Pops! We could use your expertise here!” Micah yelled with mischief in his voice. They all stood still, waiting for Phenex to appear, but nothing happened.
“That’s odd, Commander should have come. Smacking you in the head for calling him Pops should be incentive enough,” the angel-demon said with a laugh.
“Maybe he’s busy with Lucifer?” Jesse added.
“Or maybe I was busy coming with my mate,” Phenex’s grumbled voice came to them. They all turned to see the Legion Commander walk through the wall with only a towel wrapped around his waist, his body and hair dripping with water. Everyone started laughing except Jesse.
“Nope, don’t wanna know that.” He turned back toward the pot and started adding spices.
“So what is so important now that I had to leave my mate dripping wet in the show
er?”
“Still not listening,” Jesse said in a sing-song voice.
“Son, if I can live with the knowledge that you and your mate have christened every surface of this house in the year and a half that you have been together, then you can live with the fact that your Ada and I do the same,” Phenex said with a smile as he crossed his arms over his naked chest.
“Not the same thing, Dad,” Jesse grumbled.
“Then how about get over it?” Phenex laughed when Jesse gave him a pout.
“Clothes, mate,” Ryland said as he walked into the kitchen and threw clothes at Phenex.
“Damn it, dearheart. I asked you to wait for my return.” Phenex caught the clothes.
“I figured if Micah called you there was a good reason. So what’s happened?”
Dante explained to the pair what was going on as Phenex got dressed. “No, possession is not possible with the tattoos. They ward off everything from trying to take us over,” Phenex said.
“Does anyone else feel like Sam and Dean Winchester with the tattoo?” Raith snickered.
“That’s what I was thinking, too,” Jesse answered with a laugh.
“So what do you think may be going on?” Micah asked.
“It sounds more like something the vampires do. Dante, as king of the vampires, you should know about mind melding more than I.” Phenex looked to Dante.
“Mind melding cannot be done from one vampire to another. Only vampires born with royal blood can use it on other vampires. Otherwise a vampire can feel it and a battle between the two begins, and it’s usually to the death, but I must admit, you’re right. It does sound like that is what’s happening to Nicco. I didn’t think of it because of the sleeplessness, but if we separate the two and focus on what happened to Nicco today, then it definitely sounds like mind control.”
“So what vampire do you know with royal blood who would try to get into Nicco’s head?” Micah asked.
“No one that I can think of.”
“And why would they show him Shelby?” Jesse added.
Chapter 2
“Come on, sleepyheads, get up,” Maddy announced loudly as he ran into the room and jumped on the bed, landing on both of his mates. Milo and Josh grunted as they snuggled closer together and tried pulling the blankets over their heads. Maddy sat up on his knees and sighed. A mischievous smile crossed his lips and he gently lowered himself back down over Josh.