Rise to Love [Rise of the Changelings 1] (Siren Publishing Epic Romance, ManLove)

by Lynn Hagen

  “Don’t you dare get sick in my car,” Rick pulled over, got out, and then opened Dorian’s door, pulling him out. “Breathe.” He pushed Dorian over, placing his head between his knees. “Just breathe, Dorian.”

  “I shot a man.”

  “Technically, you shot a vampire. Big difference.”

  Dorian was trying his best to breathe, but he couldn’t stop shaking. “No difference to me.” It was still a person, even if it was a vampire.

  “You were defending your brother, Mr. Badass.” Rick’s tone gentled as his hand smoothed down Dorian’s back. “At least I know you aren’t afraid to pull the trigger.”

  Oh god. Dorian bent over and vomited. Rick held him up. It said a lot about the guy if he was willing to hold Dorian’s hair back while he emptied his guts on the side of the road.

  “Better?”

  “No,” Dorian said as he swayed, but Rick grabbed him, pulling Dorian to his chest.

  “It’ll ease.”

  “Ian’s an addict, Rick.” Saying that out loud made it sound ten times worse. His baby brother was a fang addict and liked to get beaten. How in the hell had that happened? His dad would shit bricks if he ever found out. His father was cool as hell, but he wouldn’t be cool about this. The man hadn’t even gotten angry when Dorian had come out, announcing to his father that he was gay.

  His dad hadn’t cared.

  He would care about this.

  His mother was the one that was going to kick Ian’s ass. She didn’t take any shit from her sons and husband. But it would also break her heart.

  Dorian was the older brother. He should have protected Ian. Instead, his brother was a regular at a damn BDSM club. He just couldn’t stop thinking that. Where had he gone wrong?

  “Let’s get you back in the car. We need to get out of Kraven’s territory before we really piss him off.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Don’t thank me yet. If they come after us and I have to choose between you and Ian, Ian is going back to the club.”

  It was the sweetest threat Dorian had ever heard. No one had ever stuck by him like this before, aside from his dad. Maybe he had misjudged Rick. Maybe the man wasn’t all that bad.

  “And if comes down to me and you, you’re hit.”

  The man just had to open his fucking mouth and ruin the warm and fuzzy feelings.

  Chapter Eleven

  Rick really wouldn’t hand over Dorian. It was an empty threat. He just felt uncomfortable with that weird look in the man’s brown eyes. The human had been looking at him with something close to tenderness. Now he was looking at Rick with disdain. That was much better. Rick could handle disdain. He wasn’t too sure about tenderness.

  He was interested in Dorian, sexually, maybe because they were in this screwed-up situation together. Friends. They could become friends. But not mates.

  He didn’t want Dorian falling for him. Rick didn’t want this forced mating to begin with. He had thought Dorian had agreed and they were on the same page. The human wasn’t allowed to change the rules halfway through the game. Even though it was almost impossible, Rick had to find a way to get out of this mating shit.

  “We need to separate Ian from us.”

  “Why?” Dorian shouted the question.

  “Because if the Mãos da Morte are sent after us, do you want Ian in the way?”

  “No,” Dorian replied as he slumped back. “But he can’t go home.”

  “I know a place.” It was a pack member’s home. Olivia was the pack healer and was the best chance Ian had at overcoming his addiction to the vampire’s bite. If not, she could at least look after him. Her mate, Graham, wouldn’t mind. The man was fully submersed into the pack life and knew the score.

  Besides, Graham would do anything for Olivia. All she had to do was say she was helping Ian and Graham would fold like a deck of cards. Now all he had to do was figure out where he and Dorian would go, because going back to the Wallington place was out of the question.

  He glanced over at Dorian and saw how pale the man still was. It was his first time handling a gun. Rick just knew it. What he hadn’t said was how turned on he was at seeing Dorian going in, guns blazing—so to speak.

  If Rick was looking for a mate, Dorian would be a perfect match for him. The human had backbone. In this ever-changing world, filled with corrupt politicians and dangerous werehyenas out to destroy them, it was welcome. Rick would need someone with guts and steel balls by his side.

  But he wasn’t looking for a mate. He was placating his pack until he could figure a way out of this. Rick didn’t like to be forced to do anything, let alone find a mate for life.

  “Miguel and Benito are at the other place. You should call and warn them to get out.”

  “I thought you didn’t like them?” Rick said as he grabbed his cell phone. He had forgotten about the two juveniles in all this mess. Those two would be no match for Mãos da Morte. He wasn’t even sure he was able to defend himself and Dorian against them. Mãos da Morte were a nasty business and something Rick had only heard about. He had never come across one. But then again, it was said that to see one would be the last thing a person saw before death.

  Rick shivered at the thought.

  Dorian’s voice brought Rick out of his deep thoughts. “It’s not that I don’t like them. Miguel got me into this mess, and Benito is a little too hands-on for me. Even after I threatened him he kept trying to paw me.”

  Rick laughed. He knew what Dorian was talking about. Benito could be a little needy. “That sounds like Benito. He’s harmless. The juvenile thinks you are going to be my mate so he is trying to get close to you, get to know you.”

  Dorian shook his head, checked on Ian in the backseat, and then looked over at Rick. “Is every changeling so hands-on?”

  Rick nodded. “It’s our way of life. There’s nothing sexual about it. Even the cubs need reassurance. It’s just who we are. We are very tactile creatures.”

  “As changelings, they piss me off. As individuals, I have nothing against them. I even like Miguel.”

  Rick growled, stunned at the sound. Was he feeling jealous?

  “Don’t worry, he isn’t my type.”

  “What is your type?” Rick asked before he could stop the question from leaving his lips.

  “I’m not sure, but it isn’t Miguel or Benito.”

  Dorian didn’t like submissive men. Good to know. That only left intellectual or strong males. Those were basically the three categories in the changeling society. That didn’t mean submissive pack members or dominating-type males weren’t smart. It just meant that intellectuals were a whole other kettle of fish. They tended to be academic or scholars, like George and Omar. Some were submissive while others were very dominating males.

  The weaker members of any given changeling pack, leap, or whatever they belonged to tended to rely on the stronger males to protect them. Miguel and Benito depended on Rick and Nate to protect them. But other members were there in case Rick or Nate weren’t available.

  Rick had a feeling Dorian liked the dominating type, but the man didn’t fit into any changeling category. The human perplexed him. He wasn’t submissive, and he wasn’t a scholar. The man wasn’t dominating either, although he had backbone.

  He could be wrong, though. Dorian could like the book-toting smart guys. Rick inwardly growled at the thought of Dorian with another man. And that shocked the shit out of him. He was the alpha of a werewolf changeling pack with a mission, and having a mate at his side was not something he needed at the moment. Dorian could not only be used as leverage—and already had been by the wererats—but the man was human, unable to handle the harsh life of a changeling.

  He needed to get his head out of his ass and stop being infatuated with this man and the idea that Dorian would be the perfect mate.

  Rick had made up his mind by the time he pulled into Graham and Olivia’s driveway. Fucking Dorian was something he was very interested in. Mating the man was not going to h
appen. “This is a pack member’s home. The female is our healer. Ian will be safe here.”

  Dorian stared at the house for a long moment and then turned toward Rick. “Promise me nothing will happen to my brother.”

  Rick turned the key, killing the motor. “You trust my word?”

  “I don’t have a choice. If you lie to me, I know how to use a gun now.”

  So it had been the first time Dorian had used a gun. Damn, that thought made Rick’s cock hard and made him want to smack Dorian at the same time. “You used my gun and had never shot one before? Do you even know how to handle one?”

  Dorian shook his head. “I got Ian out of there, though.”

  “You could have fucking shot me.”

  “But I didn’t.”

  “You are going to learn how to handle a gun. Leave mine alone until I take you out to the range.” Rick was pissed and proud at the same time. God, he was truly sick in the head.

  Graham came out onto his porch, shotgun in his hand. He must have recognized Rick’s silver Mustang because a grin spread across his face. “Alpha.”

  “Good to see you, Graham.” Rick slid from the car, nodding at the changeling. “I have someone who needs to be taken care of.” He reached into the backseat and pulled Ian into his arms. The man was so light that it cost him nothing to carry Ian toward the house. Being a changeling, it didn’t bother him that Ian was only clad in a pair of tiny shorts, but he caught the uncomfortable glances Dorian was throwing his way.

  Graham rested the shotgun against the house and then trotted down the steps. “How bad?”

  “Fang addict and possibly wanted by the Mãos da Morte, or in the very least, Calico.”

  Graham shook his head as he grabbed Ian from Rick’s arms. “You sure do know how to have an exciting night.”

  Dorian walked around the car, glancing at Graham like he wanted to argue the fact that Ian was in a stranger’s arms. Rick walked to Dorian’s side. “I promise he will be safe.”

  The human nodded, but still watched his brother.

  “Is Olivia home?” Rick followed Graham.

  “She is awake and making coffee in the kitchen.”

  “We woke her?” Dorian asked. That bit of concern went a long way with Rick. Even if Dorian continually pointed out that he wasn’t thrilled to be caught up in changeling bullshit, he cared that they had woken Graham’s mate.

  “She’s used to it. Changelings come to her night and day. Trust me, Dorian, she doesn’t mind.” Rick held the screen door open for Dorian, waiting for the human to pass through and found himself inhaling Dorian’s scent as he passed by Rick.

  Sex was definitely on the menu because Dorian’s scent was very pleasing to Rick’s werewolf. His cock jerked in his jeans at the thought of fucking the man.

  “You haven’t been properly introduced. This is Dorian and you’re holding his little brother, Ian,” Rick said as he showed Dorian to the living room where Olivia was waiting for them.

  “Oh, my,” Olivia said as she glanced at Ian in Graham’s arms. “He looks so young.”

  “He’s twenty-one,” Rick informed her. “And a fang addict.”

  Olivia screwed her nose up. “I’ll never understand that. Why would someone want a vampire to drink—never mind.” She pointed to the tray of coffee. “Help yourself while I take care of this young man.”

  “He’s human,” Dorian pointed out in a strained voice as he walked over to where the smaller male was lying. He knelt in front of his baby brother, brushing back the fall of wavy brown hair in Ian’s eyes. Rick’s chest tightened at the tenderness in Dorian’s eyes. He understood what it was like to feel so lost about a sibling. Only Rick had lost his. Bruno had been a pain in the ass, always in the way, and Rick’s very life. Losing the juvenile had changed Rick forever, making him jaded toward life. Rick had grown up quickly that day, again being forced into something he wasn’t ready for. Adulthood. He had lost his parents a few years before Bruno’s death. But Rick had mustered up the courage to finish the job of raising his siblings. It was a blow to him, but he hadn’t fallen apart.

  Not like he did when he lost his baby brother. He had loved his parents beyond words, but losing the juvenile he was in charge of raising had blackened something inside of Rick.

  Olivia patted Dorian’s shoulder in a motherly fashion. “I don’t care if he is a purple alien. I take care of people. It’s what I was born to do.”

  “Dorian, this is Olivia and Graham Casper.”

  Dorian nodded at Rick’s introductions, but didn’t look away from Ian.

  “I suspect you want him to stay here?” Olivia asked as she grabbed a blanket from the back of the couch, slipping it over Ian’s limp and almost nude body. The man was still unconscious.

  Rick walked further into the room, needing to be close to Dorian, feeling the human’s pain like a heavy weight sitting in his lungs. He wanted to take that pain away, but knew there was nothing he could do about it. “That would be appreciated. Dorian is my candidate as you know, and we have unfinished business.”

  Olivia blushed. Rick knew what she was thinking, but that wasn’t what Rick was referring to. Thoughts of fucking Dorian washed over Rick again, but he pushed them aside. They needed to find a place to stay and Rick needed to find out who killed his nephew and what was going on with the cops. This clawing sexual need for Dorian had to wait.

  Graham chuckled, a teasing gleam in his light-brown eyes. “We are well aware of what you have to do. Go, we’ll take care of Ian. We have your cell phone number if we need you.”

  “Just like that?” Dorian asked as he stood, glancing between Olivia and Graham.

  “Just like that,” Olivia answered. “Your brother is in good hands. Go.” She blushed once more. Rick held back the grin. Let them think what they wanted. It would only help placate the pack if they thought Rick was whisking Dorian off to have sex with him.

  “Thank you,” Dorian said as Rick coaxed him toward the front door. They needed to get moving. If the master of Hamilton sent his boogeymen after them, they didn’t have much time.

  “No need for thanks,” Olivia said. “Just stay safe out there.”

  “We will,” Rick reassured her. He crossed the room, giving Olivia a peck on the cheek. “Thanks, hon.”

  “Oh, go on now.” Olivia waved him away as Graham laughed.

  “Stop making my mate blush,” Graham teased.

  “She is very pretty when she blushes,” Rick replied as he headed toward the door. “You are one lucky man, Graham.”

  “I’m well aware of that.”

  Rick waved to them as he walked back to his car. He had known the two since Olivia had converted Graham and then mated him. The couple had lived with Rick’s pack for three years now. They had pups, and couldn’t be happier.

  “They seem like really nice people,” Dorian said as he climbed back into the car. The anguish was still thick, a swirling blanket of despair that surrounded Dorian, but it was easing.

  “The best,” Rick replied. “Not all of us changelings are savages.”

  “I never said that.”

  “Implication is everything.” Rick started the car. He knew of one place they could go for the night. If they kept up their current pace, Rick was going to run out of options for places to stay. He knew he was welcome in any pack home, but Rick didn’t want to get the pack involved, no more involved than they already were.

  Their lives were harsh living as changelings, but most of his pack members were decent people. Rick didn’t want to get them involved. They had lives, families, and Rick wasn’t going to risk that.

  He was godfather to Graham and Olivia’s boys. It was an honor Rick cherished. Hunter and Samuel were the best pups in the world, in Rick’s eyes, and he would kill anyone who even thought about threatening them. After losing his parents, and then Bruno, Rick knew he couldn’t survive another loss without turning feral. The thought of harm coming to Isabelle was just too damn bleak. She was his shining star now.
If her light were to be extinguished, Rick knew his humanity would go with it. The mere thought of losing the one person who meant the world to him turned Rick’s determination into a lethal kind of focus.

  The people behind setting him up would pay.

  The ones responsible for Alexander’s death would pay dearly.

  “Where to?” Dorian asked as he buckled his seat belt.

  Rick blinked, the red haze that had encased him in cold revenge slipping away. “Another safe house,” Rick replied as he pulled from the driveway.

  “Safe house?”

  Rick carefully drove out onto the main road. There were drainage ditches on either side of the driveway and it was dark. Although his sight wasn’t hindered in the dark, his thoughts were so preoccupied at the moment that he needed to be careful. “They are scattered all over. We use them when we need them. Most use them for the first shift. The first time is very volatile and dangerous. Being in the middle of nowhere helps keep everyone safe.”

  “Jeez,” Dorian murmured as he stared wide-eyed at Rick. “And you want to convert me? No thanks.”

  Rick wasn’t sure what he wanted to do, but he was quite sure Dorian would be a very beautiful werewolf. He shook his head as he drove away from the house. He knew what he wanted to do, or not do as the case may be. He didn’t want to be forced into mating, but damn if Dorian wasn’t making it tempting.

  The man was handsome as hell, quick witted, courageous, and shot from the hip, holding nothing back.

  Every damn thing Rick liked in a person.

  He was so fucked.

  Chapter Twelve

  As badly as Dorian had fought it, he had fallen asleep. Now Rick was waking him, telling Dorian that they were here.

  Wherever here was. He glanced at the clock on the dash and saw that it was three in the morning. Dorian wasn’t used to pulling late nighters. His life had been simple. Get up early, go to work, and come home.

  This on-the-run shit had his schedule of not having a life thrown out of whack. He just wanted to find a soft bed and lie down, sleeping for the next year or so. But fate had it out for him because someone was sitting on the porch steps when they arrived.