Mating Call

by Martha Bourke

  “What’s up with him?”

  She sighed. “I wish I knew.”

  James tossed the CVS bag on the bed and got undressed. He walked into the bathroom and flicked on the light. His reflection loomed out of the corner of his eye, but he refused to look. He was done with that male, which was just as well. Only one thing mattered now and the old James would never be able to handle it. He opened the box of hair color, mixed the ingredients without reading the instructions, and put on the gloves. The chemicals assaulted his senses as he pulled the dye through his thick auburn hair, careful not to get any on the brand new gauges he wore in each ear. Seth had to be stopped and there was no way that was going to happen without the element of surprise. They knew one another too well.

  James pulled the gloves off and threw them into the CVS bag. Without giving it much thought, he looked down and peeled the bandage off his wound. There was nothing left now but a scar across his chest. Wasn’t that just fucking poetic. He rolled his eyes. At least he still had a few days left before he officially went back on duty. Christ only knew who his new partner would be, but the more he thought about it, the more he realized he didn’t give a shit. Not anymore. He only wanted to fight to eliminate the enemy and he could do that alongside any warrior in the order.

  When it was time, James headed for the shower and made quick work of rinsing out the dye. He toweled off, pulled a pair of scissors from a drawer, and went to work. Slicing into his new black hair, he cut out his waves, leaving it choppy. He looked into the mirror. Steely gray eyes looked back at him. They were going to be a problem. They would probably light up like frigging Christmas morning the second he saw Seth. He could try contacts, but he seriously doubted they were gonna hide those New Breed peepers. Nope. The only way he was gonna keep them under control was by clamping down on his emotions. He figured he could manage it with a little practice. After all, if his ex-camzah had taught him anything, it was the importance of duty.

  No fear. No hate. No love.

  Only the job.

  Troy knocked on X’s door, buried his hands in his pockets, and waited. He didn’t have the faintest idea what this was about. It was almost time for dinner. What could the brother want to chin–wag about that couldn’t wait half an hour?

  He felt X’s emotional imprint makin’ its way up the corridor. The male was definitely excited about somethin’. “Yo, X.”

  “Sorry, bro. I got held up.”

  They exchanged a quick shoulder clap.

  “No worries. Whassup?”

  “My car got hit.”

  He started to follow his partner down the hall. “Are you shittin’ me? Is it bad?”

  “Not too. I just thought I’d have you take a look, dig?”

  “Yeah, sure. The douche bag is still alive right? You didn’t do anythin’ you could be busted for.”

  X shook his head. “Nah. Not worth it.”

  They walked into the garage and fresh winter air hit Troy’s lungs. X turned and started toward the back. “You parked it way up there?”

  “Easier to work on if it’s out of the way.”

  They passed Diesel’s Ford and he froze. There was a ‘Vette parked along the far wall. It looked like a ‘67 Stingray. ‘Course he knew better. “Wait, you bought a new car and someone hit it?”

  X grinned. “Nope. The guy that tapped my rear fender was towing it.”

  “Is it authentic?”

  “Hell yes. Even came with papers. And it’s all yours.”

  X waited for it to hit. The male suddenly went bug eyed and he couldn’t help but smile at his expression.

  “Back the fuck up. Are you serious?”

  “Deadly.” Troy hadn’t had much in his life and what he’d had nobody in their right mind would want. Lately it seemed like his luck was changing and X sure as hell didn’t mind helping it along.

  Troy walked toward the ‘Vette and stopped a foot away, like if he touched it the car would disappear or some shit. “I don’t believe it.”

  “It’s just a little mating gift.”

  “Little. You must’ve knocked over Fort Knox.”

  “I knew you two would need it. Some of us put our money in high yield funds instead of spending it all on beautiful females. I had to replace the brakes and a few other incidentals. I wanted to wait for you to paint. But she’s road ready.”

  Troy looked back at him and then closed the distance between himself and the car. He laid his hand on the roof and dropped his head as he exhaled. “I don’t…”

  Time to let him off the hook. “Don’t worry about it. Just take it easy the first few runs. The keys are in the ignition. Go get your female.”

  His boy glanced back, his cheeks faintly wet. X watched him dematerialize, then headed for the door. He didn’t need to be there when the brother came back with Evy. He’d leave that moment between them. He smiled to himself as he walked to his room. He knew he wouldn’t see Troy’s mug at the dinner table tonight. It was the best gift he’d gotten in a long time.

  Viktor stoked the fire in the drawing room as he tried to think of his next step. He needed to leave and soon. Fate had given Dimka a new family and he didn’t want to jeopardize it. He’d taken enough from him. He took the photograph he’d found in the attic from his pocket and stared at the female. His mate looked back at him. Elena was young in this picture. It was taken years before their mating. She wore a long, beautiful coat with a fur collar and her bright blue eyes were alight with happiness. Why wouldn’t they be? His family had lived near hers in Moscow, both moving in the same shifter social circles, enjoying the kind of wealth most people would only dream about. They lived sheltered lives—ignorant of the poverty and suffering that went on around them. Eventually, the two families defected together and ended up in Boston. He started seeing Elena, but it soon became clear to him that Dimka had feelings for her.

  Viktor sighed and stared into the fire. His younger brother was the most important person in his life. His best friend. Elena was lovely and sweet, but she wasn’t worth losing Dimitri over. He broke it off with her and promised Dimka they were done. And they were, until a year later when he went to visit Elena for a weekend at her university. They were mated and the promise he had made to Dimitri became impossible to keep. He’d thought for sure his brother would understand, but he didn’t. He cut off ties to both of them, but Viktor had never given up hope that his brother would come around in time.

  And then the unthinkable.

  Elena’s time had run out. And so, it seemed, had theirs.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  Pax walked next to his partner as they went through the main foyer. He was blown away by how well Diesel was doing with his prosthesis, but Helen wanted to be sure he could get to dinner alright. So with Pax on one side and X on the other, Diesel entered the drawing room to the whoops and hollers of the Order.

  As they walked to the table, Pax looked around for James, but he didn’t appear to be there. Just as Reyn was offering Diesel his seat at the head of the table for the night, he picked up on James walking in through the far door. The brother sat down at the table and everyone went quiet. He had dyed his hair jet black and done some serious work with the scissors. He was also sporting a gauge in each ear. WTF?

  “SE and Ana you’ve outdone yourselves with the food,” Diesel said. “Those are some sweet gauges, James.”

  If the dinner wasn’t in his honor, Pax would have punched his partner in the head. He picked up the fork and helped himself to two enchiladas. “So, what’s all this about?”

  James looked up from his plate and Pax’s eyes were full-on assaulted by all the hardware in the male’s face. There was a barbell at his eyebrow, a nose ring, a ring in his lower lip. Holy shit.

  Apparently, he wasn’t going to get an answer. Not then anyway. He was going to have to nail James down in private and find out what the hell he was up to. It was one thing to have an attack of teenage rebellion. Too bad the male didn’t have a rebellious bone in his body. He
spooned some mole onto his plate. Nothing made him miss Puerto Rico more than SE’s cooking. He took another gander at the tool box happening on James’s face. He rubbed his forehead. That was if he could keep the food down at all.

  Dimitri walked up the main staircase and knocked on Viktor’s door. He hadn’t been at dinner. Not that he had to be. It just seemed a little off. Besides, it was time to admit it was worthwhile for them to at least try to work it out. He rolled his eyes. Go me.

  “Just a second.”

  His brother opened the door and Dimitri’s eye immediately caught the two open duffle bags on the bed.

  “What gives, big brother?”

  Viktor gave a nod toward the bed. “What does it look like? I’m bugging out.”

  “I’m sorry?”

  “I gotta take off. I got some shit I need to handle.”

  He leaned against the wall and crossed his arms. “Well, that is how you roll isn’t it.”

  The male stopped shoving socks into his bag and looked up. “What?”

  “I mean, let’s face it. You don’t exactly have the best track record. Punking out when things get tough is kind of your specialty.”

  “Jesus, Dimka.” He brushed past and walked into the closet. “You have no idea what you’re talking about, as usual.”

  He was trying very hard not to lose his shit here. “You left Pa and me, and never came the fuck back. Are you saying I just imagined that shit?”

  “Obviously not, but we’ve been right here. Right here, in our old house, and you haven’t knocked on my door once until today. Not once have you stopped me and asked me what the hell happened.”

  Dimitri’s eyes were trained on him as he pulled all the clothing off the hangers. “What’s to know? You got drunk, smashed your car, and killed the most amazing female on the planet. What more is there to tell?”

  “Is that what all this is about? Still?”

  He had no real claim to her and he knew it. But every time Dimitri looked at his older brother the same thought came into his mind. Murderer. “You’re damn right that’s what it’s about. She was an amazing, innocent female and I loved her. I loved her and you destroyed her.”

  Viktor pivoted in the doorway so his face was so close Dimitri could feel his breath. “Is it possible for you to get your head out of your own ass for one second? Sure, fine, you loved her. She was my mate! Every morning I wake up and for one glorious moment I think everything is okay. Then I realize she’s gone and I have to hold onto the bed to keep from gleaming to the nearest high building.”

  “That’s not enough. It’s not close to enough punishment for someone who robbed her of her life. The world will never know her incredible light because you snuffed it out.”

  Viktor seized his collar. “Get out. Now.”

  Dimitri turned and made for the door. “Fine. Make sure you don’t come back.”

  Ana started to rinse off the plates and stack them in the dishwasher when she felt Adriana come into the kitchen.

  “Want some help, sweetie?”

  “Sure. Where’s my beautiful baby Maya this evening?”

  “She’s in a meeting with her father. I told him to let me know if she disrupted things.”

  Ana grinned. “He can just like start talking in your mind, right?”

  “He can, although I’d rather have him buzz my cell, to be honest.”

  Ana laughed. “I’ll bet. That is some freaky shit.”

  “Indeed. Especially when you’re knee deep in the library and a voice out of nowhere pops into your head and wants to know what size diapers to get.”

  They leaned on one another and laughed.

  Ana picked up another plate. “You know, I’ve been meaning to ask you something.”

  “Sure. Although I have to warn you; you’re dealing with some serious sleep deprivation over here.”

  “Well, I have this theory. Ever since we found out that Victrixa’s not the aj k’o’ol, I’ve been trying to find out who it might be. Anyway, I’ve been doing a lot of reading about Maya mythology and the name Bane cropped up. Does that mean anything to you?”

  Adriana whirled around and stopped Ana from taking another plate from the pile. “Did you say Bane?”

  “Well, yeah. He’s some kind of obscure god or something. There’s hardly any information on him.”

  “Ana, Bane is a god. Just as Akina is our Goddess.”

  “So, that just means he would definitely be powerful enough to be the aj k’o’ol, right?”

  “He’s the Lord of Xibalba.”

  Ana froze and looked into Adriana’s eyes. “The Maya Underworld?”

  “Yes, and from what I know of him, he’s very, very dangerous. I’m not sure it’s a good idea to be looking into this.”

  Ana nodded. “Alright. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you. I just figured you read even more than I do, so I thought you might know something. I’ll drop it if you want.”

  “I wouldn’t normally say this, Ana, but I really think you should.”

  “Done.” She looked around her. The kitchen was practically sparkling.

  “Thanks, Ana. I think it’s for the best.”

  Okay, so she let Adriana think she was talking about the research instead of the dishes. BFD.

  Troy helped Evy out of the passenger side of the ‘Vette and closed the door. Jesus. Now that was fun. He was going to have to let X have his choice of kills for the next ten years to thank the brother.

  He bent down. “Hop up.”

  Evy gleamed out and materialized on his back. She locked her ankles at his waist and giggled. “I think I’m starting to get the hang of this.”

  “Thank fuck.”

  She laughed. “I think we missed dinner.”

  He walked her into the gym and down the hall to the elevator. “Nah. We can have Mexican leftovers or order up waffles.”

  “Umm…”

  He barked a laugh. “Lemme guess. Waffles?”

  “How’d ya know?”

  “Gee, I wonder. But I do wanna say, just so you make an informed decision, SE and Ana make wicked good Mexican.”

  He let her down at the foot of the main staircase, took her hand, and they started up. Just as they got to the top, Viktor bumped into Evy on his way down.

  “Jesus, Vik! Watch where the hell you’re…Evy?”

  His mate’s eyes were closed, she stood stalk still, and she hadn’t let go of his hand. After a moment, she opened her eyes. “Troy, I need to find Dimitri right away.”

  “Vision?”

  She nodded. “Do you think maybe his room?”

  “Probably.”

  “Okay. I’ll meet you in a bit.”

  She walked down to the end of the hall and stopped. She swallowed hard and knocked on the door. The whole Seer gig seemed to be getting easier, but she was stunned by how personal some of her visions were. She was just about to leave when the door opened.

  “Evy?”

  “Hi. Did I wake you? I’m sorry. I can come back.”

  “No, it’s fine. I had my ear buds in while I paid some bills. Got about forty grand you could lend me?”

  She followed him in. “I wish. Listen, I just ran into Viktor on his way out the door.”

  “Yeah, he had a change of heart about joining the Order.” He sat down on the bed. “It seems he has more important things to do.”

  Evy picked up on the acid tone in his voice immediately. “When I say we ran into each other, I mean we made actual physical contact and I had a vision. I know why he had to leave. It has to do with the attack on him and his mate. Elena, right?”

  There wasn’t a lot of color to the fare male’s face, but what there was of it drained out. “What are you talking about?”

  “You don’t know?”

  He shook his head. “I haven’t the faintest idea.”

  “On the night his mate was killed in the car accident, the car had no brakes. The line had been cut on purpose.”

  “My God. Are you sure?”
He dropped his gaze. “Forgive me. It’s not my place to question.”

  She sat down next to him. “No, Dimitri. I just assumed you knew. I’m sorry. The first thing I saw in my vision was the accident. And then I saw Viktor inspecting the car and finding the cut brake line. I’m not sure why, but he didn’t tell anyone. Instead he left.”

  Dimitri rubbed his eyes for a moment. He didn’t need to ask why Viktor had left. That much was obvious. “Damn it. He was trying to keep us safe.”

  The Seer nodded. “I would make sense. The only problem is he didn’t factor himself into the equation.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “This won’t be easy to hear.”

  “That’s okay. Please. I need to know.”

  “He’s been running, Dimitri. Ever since. From the same people who cut that brake line.”

  He could hardly get enough air into his lungs. Years. He’d been running for years. He’d stayed away, suffering the harsh judgment of both Elena’s family and his own.

  “The more visions I have the more I’m starting to realize there’s a reason behind them. I think you were meant to be reunited with Viktor. I think he belongs here.”

  He looked into Evy’s big, brown eyes and the certainty he saw there tore through his chest. My God. What had he done?

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  Evy trotted down the hall and went into her room. Her male was crouched over her copy of A Clash of Kings.

  He looked up from the book. “What’s wrong?”

  “Are you reading my emotions again?”

  “I don’t have to. You should see the look on your face.”

  “I think Dimitri might need…someone to talk to. I just told him that Viktor is innocent of everything their family has been holding against him all these years.”

  “Damn.”

  “Yeah. Do you think you could talk to him? I mean maybe you could just talk about Patrick or something.”