by Lynn Hagen
“I called his house and told his parents that I was Dorian’s coworker and was worried that he didn’t show up for work today. They told me he was being accused of killing three people.”
Rick grabbed the phone on his desk, dialing his top enforcer’s cell phone number. “Nate. I need you to head down to the police station and find out what is going on with Dorian.”
“Your nominee?”
“Yes,” Rick growled.
“On it.”
Rick wished he could go himself, but he had a staff meeting to attend. Being the boss did not mean he could come and go as he pleased. That would have helped right now, but it wasn’t possible. Plus if he showed up at the police station, he was more than likely going to be accused of being changeling. Nate was good. He could spin a story that was plausible and have the cops believing him.
Rick was too pissed to even try to lie right now.
Rummaging on his desk for his notes, Rick tried his best to put Dorian out of his mind. He had planned on dating Dorian last. It would give him a chance to decide what he was going to do with the human for seven days.
He should have started dating Omar and then Silvia by now, but Rick had found one excuse or another to put things off. He knew the pack wasn’t going to wait much longer.
Thankfully, neither Omar nor Silvia had complained about Rick not seeing them yet. Rick was stalling for time, praying he found a way out of this whole mating thing.
Nothing had come to mind yet, but he wasn’t giving up.
“Are you going to bail him out?” Miguel asked, a worried expression on his face. “You know he didn’t kill anyone.”
Rick didn’t know shit about Dorian. All he knew was that Dorian was his human employee who worked over in the deli section and one of his nominees.
That was the extent of his knowledge.
“Let’s wait and see what Nate finds out.” There was no need to get up in arms, yet.
“Thank you.” Miguel smiled at Rick before leaving the office.
Rick shook his head. Juveniles.
Unfortunately, Rick knew he had to bail Dorian out. As archaic as pack law was sometimes, he knew he had to date Dorian for a week. That was kind of hard to do if the man was behind bars. He wasn’t sure if he would be penalized by the elders or his pack if he told them that Dorian was indisposed.
As alpha, he could make needed changes, but the more ancient laws of the changelings were written in stone. All shifters abided by the rules. It didn’t matter if they were wolves, lions, leopards, or deer. They all heeded the ancient decrees.
And the mating law was about as ancient as it could be. It was outdated, but there was nothing Rick could do about it. Three candidates had been chosen. Three candidates would be considered.
Rick just hoped he didn’t have to date Dorian behind a thick piece of plexiglass.
He frowned when the telephone rang in his office. The meeting wasn’t for another half an hour. No one should be calling him. “Hello?”
“Is this Alpha Enrique?”
The hairs on the back of Rick’s neck rose a fraction. He didn’t recognize the voice, and whoever was speaking used a soft tone, as if afraid someone would hear him. “Depends on who is calling me.” And at work no less. Was he nuts? If anyone found out Rick was changeling, he was screwed.
“We need to talk. I have your human candidate. Meet me at the Great Oak Forest, south entrance at sunset.”
“Who is—” Rick growled when the caller hung up. He was using Dorian, a human he didn’t really know, as leverage. How fucking stupid was that? But Rick knew he would go. Not only did he have to uphold the laws of mating, but as alpha, he couldn’t stand by while a weaker being was held hostage.
Rick picked the phone up again, this time dialing Nate.
“I was just about to call you,” Nate said before Rick had a chance to talk.
“Leave it. Dorian has been kidnapped. I want you to gather the enforcers and meet me at Great Oak Forest at sunset, southern entrance, but make sure none of you are seen.”
“Shit, Rick. What’s going on?”
“I’m not sure, but whoever is behind this, they have Dorian. I can’t ignore it, even if Dorian is a human candidate.” Rick really didn’t like the idea of being mated to a human, but he liked the idea of the human being hurt even less. He protected the weak, and it shouldn’t matter if the weak wasn’t changeling.
Rick could hear a heavy sigh on the other end. “No matter. I called ahead and was told by our guy on the inside that Dorian set up his own escape—which is hard to believe considering the man was just arrested. He wouldn’t have had time to call anyone to plan an escape. But they are saying he had help getting away from the cops. There is an APB out on him now. We need to find him before the cops do.”
“I’m working on it.” He had no clue who had Dorian, or what they wanted, but they were going to soon find out what messing with the alpha of the local werewolf pack alpha entailed. No one took from him.
He may have to play nice in the human world, but Rick wasn’t someone to fuck with when it came to his pack. And since Dorian was up for candidacy, by law, he was pack until Rick made his decision.
Rick pulled his Mustang off of the main road, driving up an access road and parking his car. It made it harder for anyone to see his car if they were driving by. Being silver, it wasn’t easy to hide, but he was parked far enough away that someone would have to be really looking to spot it.
As soon as he got out, he inhaled deeply, scenting the area. He could smell changelings, but they were far enough away that he couldn’t detect what breed. There were also some werewolves close by. Rick smelled pack all around him. Nate was here with backup, hidden in the copse of the forest.
Confident that he was covered just in case whoever was forcing him here had more men than he could handle, Rick began to walk back down the access road. He came to a stop when a man walked from behind a tree.
“Alpha Enrique.”
“You are?” he asked, using a tone that said whoever the man was, he wasn’t important. He never showed weakness to others, caution, but never weakness. It was a surefire way to come under attack. His plate was already full. Rick didn’t need any added headaches.
“I am one of the wererats. My king wanted me to meet with you.”
“Does your king have a backbone or does he always send his subordinates in to do all of his biddings?” It was a strike against whoever the king was. Rick wasn’t aware that a pack of wererats had moved into the area. He ruled this territory and should have been asked permission first. It pissed him off that the wererats thought they could just move right in.
The man waved a hand toward the parking lot. Someone got out of a black sedan and stood at the back door, watching them, but guarding the car. Dorian must be in the backseat.
The guy talking to Rick turned back to face him. “I am Leon. I spoke with you earlier on the phone.”
“If you have a point, make it.” Rick was tiring of these games.
“Our king has gone missing. We would like your help in finding him.”
“First of all, you just told me your king wanted you to meet with me. Now you’re saying he’s missing? And secondly, you kidnapped one of my pack members thinking I could be strong-armed into doing your footwork?”
Leon quickly shook his head, his expression panicked. “No, but we rescued your nominee from going to jail. He was set up. There would have been no bail for him, and the evidence is airtight.”
Rick tensed. Word had gotten around fire-quick about his candidates. That was to be expected in the changeling world. What hadn’t sat well with him was how knowledgeable the rats were about what was going on with Dorian and the cops. “And how do you know all of this?”
Reaching into his jacket, Leon pulled out an envelope. “The hyenas mailed this to me. They want to take over your territory. They thought sending your nominee to jail would start the ball rolling.” Leon handed him the envelope. “I’m not s
ure why they gave me this. They had to know I would pass it along to you.”
Rick opened the envelope, gritting his teeth at the pictures inside. There were photos of various pack members, each in several stages of shifting. This would destroy many lives if the newspaper got ahold of them. “I take it these are copies.”
“They are. But he also has the same evidence against the wererats as well. I suspect they are the ones behind my king’s disappearance.”
“Do you know their next move?”
Leon shook his head.
“You could have just come to me with this. There was no need for the cloak-and-dagger bullshit.”
Leon laughed. “It is our way. We meant no offense. Do you wish to have your nominee returned to you now?”
“What the fuck do you think?” Rick asked as he stuffed the envelope in his pocket. Something told him that the king’s abduction was only a ruse to a bigger plot. He just wasn’t sure what that plot was.
“Keep him hidden. He is a highly sought man right now. Until you defeat the werehyenas and clear his name, the police won’t stop until they catch him.”
The man standing at the car opened the back door. Rick saw Dorian sitting in the backseat, his hands cuffed behind his back and looking scared as hell. The wererat helped Dorian out and then closed the door.
“Come here, Dorian.”
The human moved quickly across the parking lot, nearly tripping a few times along the way. Rick could see the fear in the man’s brown eyes, but Dorian didn’t say a word. Rick reached up and gave the signal. Within seconds they were surrounded by werewolf changelings. “Take Dorian to my car.”
Leon looked surprised that they hadn’t been alone. He started backing toward the parking lot when the werewolves began to surround him. “Can we expect your help in this matter?” Leon asked, his eyes snapping from Rick to the other changelings.
“You should have asked permission to enter my territory.”
“We haven’t moved in. I’ve come to you from our very own territory. We still live in Freelawn County.”
Well, hell. “I’ll call you when I know something.” Freelawn sat between Shelton County and Hamilton County. Rick was a little more at ease knowing the wererats hadn’t just moved right in without asking permission first. It showed they weren’t stupid.
Leon raised his hand, as if to grab Rick’s arm, but stopped and let his hand fall short. “He is our king, Alpha Enrique. We are lost without him. I’m not sure how well he will take the news that I’ve come to you for help.”
By law, Rick had a right to interfere in wererat business now. They had come to him. He pretty much owned them as of this moment. But Rick didn’t want that. He had a big enough headache dealing with his own changeling pack. “I’ll call you.”
Leon didn’t look happy with Rick’s answer, but nodded. “My phone number is on the back of the envelope.”
Rick wanted to reassure the wererat that he would try his best to find their king, but he couldn’t show any weakness in front of the man. He suspected Leon was the king’s right-hand man. Anything he said would be reported back to the wererat king.
Rick was halfway up the access road when Leon called out. “His name is Edward.”
“What?” Rick said as he turned around.
“My king. His name is Edward Costello.”
Rick nodded, but kept on walking. He didn’t let Leon know that he knew the Costello name. It had been a very long time since he had heard it, but knew he had to help Edward.
For some unknown reason, he wanted to check on Dorian, to assure himself the human was unharmed. He looked exhausted, but Rick hadn’t noticed any bruises on the man or smelled any injuries.
“What do you want us to do?” Nate asked as he stepped closer to Rick.
“Find those fucking werehyenas. Let me know where they are hiding. If it’s a war they want, then it’s a war they will get.”
His top enforcer nodded and then disappeared into the thick forest surrounding them. Rick slid into the driver’s seat, glancing over at Dorian. “Were you harmed?”
Dorian shook his head quickly. “I was too quick and dodged the fist.”
Rick sat there stunned. They tried to strike his candidate and then asked him for help? Were they mad? He reached out, tugging at Dorian’s chin, turning his face back and forth. He needed to check for himself.
“I’m fine.”
Rick released the human and started his car. He pulled away, and drove out of the forest, heading home. He wasn’t sure what to do with Dorian. He hadn’t planned on being with the man until last.
This was going to make getting to know the other two choices very awkward. But then again, Rick hadn’t started dating any of them considering he was trying to find a way out of this mating mess.
He pushed the thought aside. There was nothing he could do about it at the moment. Right now he needed to figure out what to do about the werehyenas. They had openly declared war on the werewolf changelings. Rick couldn’t let the challenge go unheeded. If he did, he left his pack vulnerable. He still needed to find out what happened to Alexander. He hadn’t forgotten about his nephew’s death. It seemed that when it rained, it poured. And he had thought his life was complicated at the candidacy ceremony two weeks ago. The bullshit seemed never ending lately.
“What happened?” Rick asked as he turned onto the freeway.
Dorian glanced at Rick and then turned toward the window, slumping in his seat the best he could, considering the man was cuffed. “When I got home from work, there were cops waiting for me. They arrested me for killing three people. Halfway to the station, we were carjacked. Only, they didn’t take the car. I was their target.”
“The police think you had something to do with your escape.”
“I figured they would. What am I going to do?” Dorian sounded desperate. Rick couldn’t blame the guy. He was on the most wanted list right now, and the human hadn’t done a damn thing wrong.
“You’ll lay low at my place until I can figure out what’s going on.” Maybe he could date Dorian first. The guy was already going to be living with him for the time being. Hopefully Rick could solve the problem and have the man out of his place by the second week. He knew Silvia wouldn’t welcome someone intruding on her time with Rick.
Rick groaned. He really, really didn’t want to go through with this. There had to be a way out of this forced mating.
“Why is this happening?” Dorian asked, wiggling a bit in the seat and reminding Rick he needed to find a way to the get the cuffs off of the human.
“Unfortunately you’ve been dragged into a changeling matter.”
Dorian slid his eyes toward Rick, the brown coloring turning darker. “My life is ruined over some changeling matter? Care to explain to me why I’m going to be sharing a prison cell with Bubba?”
Rick stopped the smile before it formed. It seemed Dorian had a twisted sense of humor. Rick liked that. “The hyenas want my territory.”
“From the cuffs I’m sporting around my wrists, I’d say that was a bad thing.” Rick watched from the corner of his eye as Dorian scooted up the seat, pushed his arms down, and then pulled his legs out. Now Dorian’s hands were sitting in his lap.
Flexible.
“They were bothering me.”
Rick nodded, but didn’t say a word. He was struggling with the fact that Dorian, a human, interested him.
Rick hadn’t expected that. Dorian was supposed to be as boring as a human could be, chatting Rick’s ear off about nothing important, and irritating him to death.
Dorian wasn’t irritating him.
The man was catching Rick’s attention.
Dorian sighed. “I have a few places I can lay low. You don’t have to burden yourself with me.”
The thought bothered Rick. “Since you are here, you might as well be the first person I get to know.”
“Oh.” Dorian glanced out of the window again, entwining his fingers together, making the silver brace
lets look like jewelry instead of steel cuffs. The sun glimmered off of them, tempting Rick to reach out and run his fingers over the cold steel.
“Oh?”
Dorian turned to face Rick. “Can I be honest with you, or will you turn furry and bite my head off?”
Rick did chuckle this time. “Go ahead.”
“I’m not really into this whole candidacy thing. I don’t believe I should be forced to mate someone.” Dorian put emphasis on the word mate. “People should be able to choose who they want to spend the rest of their life with, not speed date and then get hitched.”
The man was speaking Rick’s exact thoughts. He didn’t agree with what was happening either, but there was no way out of it. “I’ll take that into consideration.”
What else was he supposed to say? He wasn’t about to tell Dorian that he was just as fucked as the human.
“Just thought I would throw that out there.” Dorian sat back, becoming quiet as Rick drove home.
The human was doing more than catching Rick’s attention now. He was thoroughly intrigued.
Chapter Six
Edward glanced around the room he was being held in. He couldn’t believe he had been stupid enough to be captured. If he got his hands on the werehyena responsible for him being here, Edward was going to rip that bastard apart.
Leon was in charge until Edward found a way out of this. He had confidence in the wererat, but Leon was not a leader. The man would seek outside help. They had already talked about it. It was Edward’s way of safeguarding his pack. He didn’t want Leon in charge. The wererat wouldn’t know what to do. The thought of Leon going to Enrique for help made Edward ground his back molars. He had ruled for over a decade. Never once had he sought help from another changeling group.
But he didn’t have a choice at the moment and Enrique owed him. Well, technically not him, but it was a family debt that he was cashing in on. Hopefully Enrique was a man of integrity and would honor his father’s debt.
He shouldn’t even be in this mess right now. That was what the fuck he deserved for letting a pretty face distract him.