“Then she’s all yours.”
“She’s ours.” James grinned.
Pax smiled and wiped a tear from the corner of James’s eye. “Happy Birthday, my male.”
Holy fuck. The Golden was amazing, but hearing Pax call him his male was hands-down the best gift he’d ever gotten. “Kiss me.”
Pax put his arm around his shoulders and pulled him into a long, slow, deep kiss that James swore he could feel right down to his toes.
He leaned his head on Pax’s shoulder. “I love you.”
His camzah kissed his forehead. “I love you too. How about we take her out back for a bit? And then we’ve got a second cake all to ourselves before I leave for duty.”
James’s insides clenched up, but Pax attached a leash to the Golden’s collar and handed it to him. The panic seemed to subside a bit. He suddenly had a feeling tonight wasn’t going to be so bad. He smiled, gave the dog a pat, and followed Pax out to the yard, leading his new companion.
Reyn sat in his chair by the fireplace in the sitting room, thinking about everything that had happened during the ritual. He had no idea what was going on with Ana. Kina hadn’t figured it out while she’d been there, so he imagined it was going to be a tough mystery to crack. But, at the moment, his concern for Ana had more to do with Akina. With Evy unable to locate his mate, they were going to have to reconvene the circle as soon as possible. The question was whether or not they should include Ana. Not that he thought she was dangerous, but whatever was going on with her had forced them to end the ritual before they knew if the spell was working. On the other hand, when Ana ghosted out, she was packing some serious power. No one else had mentioned it, so he wasn’t sure who else had noticed it with all the panic. It was possible her energy might actually help things.
He got up and went into the bedroom to start arming for duty, glad he’d decided to take James’s shift. Some fresh air and a few good fights were just what he needed to clear his head so he could figure all this shit out. Maybe if he was lucky it would even offer some relief. With Kina so far away, he felt no protective instinct. It was as if his nagual had forgotten all about her. But the despair in his heart was just as bad, if not worse. He never thought he’d miss those goddamn headaches, but as he tightened the holster for his pistol, he knew he’d give anything to get them back if only it meant his female was safe. For now, he’d have to make do with a few frankenfucks, a couple of Tolies, and, if he was lucky, maybe even a rogue or two.
There was a knock at the door and Reyn detected the Seer’s energy. He stowed his last knife and opened the door. “Evy?”
“Hi. I know you have duty soon. This won’t take long.”
He stood back to let her in. “That’s okay. I can be a few minutes late. Comes with the job.”
“Have you talked to Richard about what he saw when he read me during the ritual last night?”
“No. He didn’t mention anything to me. Why, did you see something?”
“No, nothing specific.”
She pulled her fleece down and Reyn realized the female was beginning to show. It had been easy to forget she was pregnant, but now he found himself hoping all this wasn’t putting too much strain on her.
Evy looked him in the eye. “You’re going after her, aren’t you?”
Didn’t that just bring their conversation to a new level? Well, Evy was never one to mince words. “That option is definitely on the table. I won’t make any kind of decision until I find out as much as I can.”
“I know she’s your mate and you have every right to handle the situation however you see fit. But I would like to know which option you land on when the time comes. Right away, not along with everyone else.”
It wasn’t exactly an order, but she wasn’t really asking either. He scratched the side of his head. Man, she was really starting to get the whole Seer thing down. “I can do that.”
“Good. Well, I’ll let you get to it. I have some decisions of my own to make. Be safe tonight.”
Evy walked toward the main lobby and noticed Pax waiting for his partner. That saved her a trip downstairs. “Hey, Pax. Got a sec?”
“Absolutely.”
“I’m glad I caught you.” She lowered her voice. “I wanted to tell you that I think I can help you. A few days ago I was able to tap into Ana’s memories. So, in theory, I should be able to do the same with James.”
“But you’d need James to do it.”
She nodded.
“I was afraid of that. The thing is, I’ve thought about it and there’s no way I can ask him to relive that night. I just can’t. Not when we don’t know what we’ll even find out. He’s barely holding it together as it is.”
“You were there, though, right?
“Yeah, I was a few yards away.”
“Well, I could use your memories. That way we can see what we’re dealing with ahead of time. But when I replay the memory, he’s still going to know I’ve gotten it from someone and he’ll most likely figure it all out from there.” Evy looked into the male’s eyes.
He was putting up a good front, but she could tell he was worried. Worried enough that he was willing to put a damper on his relationship with James if it could possibly help him. Now that was some serious love.
Pax exhaled. “Okay, let’s do that.”
“Find me when you get in tonight and we’ll see what we can find out.”
The male nodded. “Will do. Thanks, Evy. I really appreciate this.”
She smiled. “Anytime.”
Diesel materialized just across the foyer, and Evy made a quick exit. She hoped she was making the right decision. If she was truly honest with herself, she still felt some guilt about James being shot after she’d shared her first vision. Maybe as her power grew she would be able to see the consequences of her visions, but she still had a lot to learn. She hadn’t been as stressed about the learning curve before Akina’s kidnapping, but now getting up to speed was paramount. She felt sure Reyn was going to need her help at some point down the line. The only way she could speed things up was by practicing. On the other hand, her male was going to flip if he thought she was working too hard. In the end, she decided she would have to do most of it on the nights Troy had duty.
Fuck. She hated the idea of deceiving her mate. Just thinking about it made her nauseous, but she would drink a hundred freaking shakes a day if it meant they could save Akina. Her eyes misted a little when she thought of her Goddess and she paused just outside her room to collect herself. As her pregnancy progressed, Troy’s protective instinct would grow stronger, and she figured he was likely to check on her emotions more often—possibly without even meaning to. She needed to be careful not to make it harder on him. Evy checked her eyes one more time before turning the knob and entering their room.
On with the show.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Rose started to clear books from the study table and Christian stood up to help her. She was so amazed by how intelligent the kids were. They were going to do amazing things someday. Thank the Goddess Troy found them when he did.
“Rose?”
“Mmhmm?”
“I know it’s late, but could I ask you something?”
“Of course.”
“First, I wanted to tell you that I’m going to accept Columbia.”
“That’s fantastic!” Rose walked around the table and hugged him. She knew how the young male had agonized over the decision. “I know I’ve kept quiet. I really wanted to let you work it out for yourself. But I know you’re making the right choice.”
“Well, up until this week, I was still planning on majoring in English like we’ve talked about. But, the thing is, being here with you all has made me realize that I’d rather study pre-law to get ready for law school. As a lawyer, I could work for shifter rights. I think in the back of my mind I’ve been kind of hoping I’d go through the second transition. I still might. Who knows? In the meantime, I really want to do something to help. Work from within the
system. And Columbia’s Law program is ranked in the top five, which is a great coincidence. What do you think?”
“I think I’m really proud of you.” Rose beamed. Chris was such an amazing male. He could be successful at almost anything he chose. The fact that he wanted to help the cause was both impressive and exciting. “I think it’s a plan worthy of your abilities and your heart.”
Christian smiled. “Thanks. Living here has changed the way I look at so many things. That’s kind of what I wanted to talk to you about. You all live very secretive lives here, and I understand it’s necessary. In some ways, Rory is safer here; in others, I feel like she’s more at risk.”
Rose nodded. She understood why he would feel that way. In many respects, his sister was safer here than almost anywhere. Certainly safer than on the street or maybe even in another foster placement. But he was also leaving his younger sister in the epicenter of a shifter civil war. “Go on.”
“Rory still wants to stay here. Her mind is made up. I can’t say I blame her. In spite of living in the compound, our lives haven’t been this normal and safe in such a long time. She understands I won’t be seeing her all that often. I can’t take a chance on anyone connecting either one of us to the Order. It’s too risky. Which brings me to my question. You know the shifter tradition of naming another shifter as legal guardian in the event something happens? Well, I’m all Rory has, and everyone here, well, you’re all we’ve got. It makes sense to ask someone here to be her guardian. I’ve thought about it a lot this past week. Troy and Evy seemed the logical choice, but Evy’s pregnant and, as the Seer, she has so much on her plate. We barely see her, which is understandable. James would be great, but he’s my age and still figuring things out. I’d rather not have to ask him to deal with this.”
Rose leaned back against the table. “Christian, are you asking me to take her?”
“I know you and X are newly mated, but it’s only if something were to happen to me. Other than that, she’ll continue to spend time with everyone. But honestly, there’s no pressure.”
“And when you finish undergrad?”
“Then I can take her last two years of high school off and support us. I can go on to law school after she graduates.”
Rose put her hand on his arm. “I’m really honored that you thought of me, Chris. But I’ll have to run it by Xavier first.”
“Oh, of course. I don’t leave for school until August. There’s plenty of time. It all just seems so surreal sometimes. Troy finding us, living here, meeting all of you. Oh, I was actually going to talk to X about how to get some paperwork to the school without announcing where it came from.”
Rose smiled. “He’ll definitely be able to help with that. And I’ll ask him about Rory tomorrow.”
The male hugged her. “Thanks, Rose. For everything.”
She put her arm around his shoulders and they walked quietly as they passed Rory’s door before arriving at his. They said good-night and as Rose continued on through the gym toward the main corridor, her mind hummed with everything Christian had shared. She and Xavier hadn’t talked much about offspring. They weren’t really his thing, and she wasn’t exactly going to pop a baby out at seventy-five. They were both very happy with the way things were, but becoming Rory’s guardians was unlikely to change anything anyway. It was such a powerful way to show the siblings they had a safe home whenever they needed it. She was sure her male would agree.
Probably.
Cerberus walked down the corridor on his way to deliver the underwhelming news Victrixa had been waiting testily for. He sighed. The new copy was in much better condition than the old one, but without any other information on the New Breed warriors themselves, the photo was of little to no help to them. If he had something to compare it to, he was positive he would be able to make out something useful. But the shifter who used to gather Intel on the Order was now a member. He supposed if he had a sense of humor he would have found it comical.
The demon rolled his eyes. He could have cared less about Victrixa or her pathetic daughter. He had no idea how the whelp had managed to be mated to a New Breed, then become one herself, but it obviously drove Victrixa to distraction and that was enough for him. There was only one reason she wasn’t dead instead of walking around with that scar. She was very valuable to his master. He did think about giving her a matching scar on her other cheek on occasion, but then he would be running from the Lord’s bounty hunters for the next thousand years or so. Even Victrixa wasn’t worth that kind of inconvenience.
He knocked on her door and walked into her office.
“Did you hear me ask you to come in?” Victrixa asked from behind her desk without looking up.
“Oh, I thought you had. The photo arrived a few minutes ago. I thought you’d want to see it immediately, although the results are not what we’ve been hoping for.”
“You’d better hope they’re good enough. Don’t just stand there. Give it to me.”
He handed her the envelope and stood quietly with his hands clasped in front of him while she opened it. She let the two photos slide out into her hand, then turned them over and studied them. “I assume the problem is not the quality of the image itself?”
“No. The work is excellent and there is information that could be useful to us, but only if we had picked up where your daughter left off. I have no other New Breed photos to compare it to. The photo itself was taken at an angle hiding his face.”
“I can see that,” she snapped. “Obviously, we have continued to gather Intel on the Order’s members, but that work fell off sharply with the start of the Initiative. Perhaps we need someone to take her place. In fact, that may be our best option. Add it to your list of whatever else it is you do.”
“Certainly. Perhaps this time we can manage to keep whomever it is from defecting and joining the other side.” He watched Victrixa’s face. It was like a game. They each held cards they could play to torture one another, which produced various levels of enjoyment. But that was all the game would ever bring as long as their Lord found them each too valuable to lose. Cerberus had hoped the loss of Ana to the other side would finally prompt his master to act. No such luck.
“What about Batiste?”
“I don’t know him well enough to say whether he has his own information or not. But he’s very astute and will most likely only share Intel with us if it somehow advances his own agenda. He also has a personal vendetta against this New Breed. He won’t give up any Intel he thinks could complicate any plans for revenge.”
“Is there a way to make him give us the Intel?”
“I am not torturing the drug lord.”
“Did I say torture? Just persuade him a bit.”
“I repeat. I am not torturing the drug lord. Is there anything else, Victrixa? I have work waiting for me.”
She was staring at him with little daggers in her eyes. He sighed. Not even that did it for him anymore. He turned and walked out the door.
Pax materialized in the main foyer and said good night to his partner after a long night of very little action. Time always seemed to crawl when you anticipated something. It was one of life’s real cruelties.
Diesel gave him a clap on the back. “Good luck, bro.”
“Thanks, my brother. I think I’m going to need it.”
Pax swept the mansion and found Evy waiting in the conservatory. She sure was easy to find. Damn. He went up the stairs and walked down to the end of the hall.
Evy was looking out into the night with her back to him. “Hey.”
“Hey. Are you okay?”
She turned around and nodded. “Yeah, I’m good. I was just reading the stars.”
Pax’s eyes widened. “You can read the stars? Since when?”
“Since about twenty minutes ago.”
They both laughed.
“You were just standing there and realized you could read them? Just like that?”
She nodded. “Um, yeah, pretty much. Why don’t we go into
the sitting room?”
Pax followed her across the hall and into the little room that served more to connect the mansion to the compound than anything else. For a moment, he thought about how crazy everything must be in the female’s life, not to mention Troy’s. It seemed like he should probably say something. “I really appreciate this, Evy. I know you have a lot going on.”
The Seer smiled. “It’s my job. And James is such an amazing male. But you already know that or you wouldn’t be here trying to put the pieces back together for him.”
All Pax could do was nod.
She looked up at him. “Let’s sit on the couch.”
The two of them sat down knee to knee. “Do you have any questions before we start?”
“Will I be able to see what you see?” Pax asked.
She took his hands in hers. “I haven’t been able to do that so far, but I’ll try. I can always show you afterward. Now close your eyes and relax. Let your muscles go and focus on your breath. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. Good. When you’re ready I want you to think back to that night.”
Pax could see his own memories of that night as he thought about them, but that was it. Against his better judgment, he opened one eye and looked at the Seer. Her eyes were glowing orbs of iridescent color. He closed his eyes again and waited. Moments later, he felt Evy let go of his hands. He looked into her big brown eyes and she smiled.
A faint feeling of hope warmed his chest. “You found something? I only saw my own thoughts.”
Evy’s grin widened. “I think I got exactly what you need.”
Pax exhaled. Thank fuck. She held out her palms to him and he laid his hands on hers.
“Now, close your eyes and clear your mind.”
Batiste rubbed his temples. Fucking migraines. This was a strong one. He unlocked his desk drawer and took out two bottles of pills—one for the pain and one for the nausea. He hated taking medication. Americans were so used to taking pills to fix their every little pain. If he were at home, he would try and tough it out, but at work he needed them. It was difficult to have the appropriate amount of fear for your boss when he was vomiting all over his shoes.
Desperate Call (New Breed Novels Book 5) Page 9