X picked up a screwdriver and opened the paint. “Doesn’t matter. I won’t be asking again. Not sure why I wanted to get involved in all that female shit in the first place.”
Troy thought back to all of his partner’s lectures about Evy and chuckled. He’d heard all that before. Hell, he’d lived it.
X gave a low whistle. “Look at that color.”
He clapped his camzah on the back. “Word.”
“Let’s get some more mixed.”
As they walked back through the gym Troy sensed Evy nearby, but she wasn’t down the back hallway settin’ up the shelter. She was with Helen in the surgical ward somewhere. That was weird. He hoped the kids were okay. Christian seemed to be a strong male, but Rory was young yet. For a moment, he thought about Patrick. If only they hadn’t been placed so far apart. That was the beginning of the end right there. Whether or not Rory phased, there was no way in hell he’d let anyone split those kids up. Period.
The closer Troy got to the opposite end of the compound’s main corridor, the faster his heart started to beat. His mate was nearby alright. His dick had been worse than a divining rod the last couple of days. Sure, he’d heard all the stories about how intense the call could be just after a mating, but this was hardcore. He’d practically mauled her at breakfast when she kissed him. He just couldn’t seem to leave her alone. It was like he had some kind of rogue boner. Luckily, she didn’t seem to mind. The even stranger thing was that he needed to know where she was like every second. And how she felt. He knew she could tell when he read her emotions, and that she minded. But he couldn’t stop himself. He glanced up at his partner. Not exactly the male you’d ask for mating advice. Suddenly, he realized he had stopped dead in the middle of the corridor.
X turned around. “You okay, bro?”
“Yeah. I’m just gonna have a cig before I head up.” Or eight.
Reyn looked across the desk at the youngest brother and sighed. “I think it’s a shitty idea, to be honest. We’ve never let any new brother out of his vow to his camzah, and sure as hell not this early on.”
James paced in front of him. Jesus, the male was almost unrecognizable. His wavy auburn hair was dyed jet black and he had enough metal in his face to start his own scrap business. Emphasis on the crap. If he was ever going to let a brother out of his camzah agreement it sure as hell wasn’t going to be a male who was pulling a total one-eighty. Fuck that.
“Ana doesn’t even have a mentor.”
“Look, Ana is Ana. She’s been a part of this war her whole life. You’ve been here all of a few months. Big difference.”
“Fine. Just pass me on to someone else then. The Induction ceremony is tomorrow night. I can’t—” The brother stopped short and dropped his gaze.
Reyn leaned across the desk. “I honestly wouldn’t have a problem with that, James. I just don’t have anyone who can take you on right now. Dimitri’s got Viktor. X has Troy. Diesel’s working his own way back. I wish I could help you out, but I don’t have the means. Not now, anyway.”
The male started to back his way out the door. “Yeah, okay. Thanks.”
“James?” Reyn stood up and watched him go. That went well. He shook his head and opened the door to his room. It was time for a break with his mate. Akina was in the sitting room on the floor in front of the fireplace. She seemed deep in thought. He was just about to quietly head back out when she spoke.
“Do not be so hard on yourself, Reyn. You cannot give him what he truly wants.”
He looked into her lovely aquamarine eyes. “What he wants?”
She held out her hand and he let her lead him into the room. She smiled. “James is in love.”
“How…” Hold up. Was he actually going to ask his mate, the Goddess of freaking Love, how she knew that little factoid? Moron. “The thought never even crossed my mind. Wait, you mean Pax, don’t you.”
She nodded.
He stretched out in front of the fire and laid his head down in her lap. This was brilliant. How the hell was he going to keep James from pulling more erratic shit in the field? He’d already taken a bullet for Pax. What next? He took a deep breath. First things first. He had to get everyone through that ceremony tomorrow in one piece.
CHAPTER TWO
Diesel walked out of the closet and looked at the colossal mess he’d made of the suite. Wasn’t Helen just going to love that? He went to the antique desk and pulled the middle drawer open a little harder than he meant to. Nada. Son of a bitch. He hadn’t seen his ruby cuff links since he and the Doc expanded their suite. Fuck. Me. There was a brief tap on the door. Pax.
“Yo!”
His partner walked in and took in the view. “Hey. Why does it look like your next call should be to FEMA?”
“My fucking cufflinks are missing.”
Pax closed the door. “The Order rubies? I put them in the safe when we were working in here. Remember?”
He ran his hand though his hair and sighed. “Shit, that’s right. I totally spaced. Hey, how’s James doing?”
“Yeah, about that. I need you to do me a favor.”
He popped a piece of gum in his mouth. “Sure. Shoot.”
“Do you think you could make sure he does the prep work before the ceremony? The meditation and whatnot?”
“Don’t you want to do it? You’re his camzah.”
The male’s eyes began to glow faintly and he looked down at his feet. “Yeah, I do. I just don’t think it’d be very fair considering how he feels about me right now.”
“Pax—”
His partner looked at him with those warm chocolate browns and a lump formed in Diesel’s throat. He knew that look. It wasn’t so long ago that he’d seen it in his own gaze. Desperation. Like the male was about to unleash some crazy at any moment.
“Not now, Dies. Please. Just tell me you’ll do it.”
“Yeah, of course.”
“Thanks. He knows what he needs to do. You just need to make sure he doesn’t leave anything out.” His partner handed him a gold box. “I picked up his cufflinks this morning. Would you give them to him for me?”
“Sure.”
Pax turned and headed for the door. “I gotta go. I’ll see you in a bit.”
Diesel sat down on the bed and opened the box. Holy… He knew these cufflinks. They belonged to Pax’s father. The center stones had been swapped out for the traditional red rubies of the Order, but the metal design and pave diamond trim were still intact. He carefully took one in his hand and flipped it over. The old man’s initials were still engraved on the back. Son of a bitch.
Rose Sato sat in her Cambridge Street office at Harvard University. She looked away from the window and down at her desk. Not good. There was a fifty-pound grant proposal for the school’s Institute of Japanese Studies to read, a pile of exams to be corrected, and her latest article to finish. She looked back out the window into the March sunshine as she once again found herself wondering about the male at the Boston Public Library. Xavier. The whole thing just seemed so, well, odd. He was a New Breed warrior, for one thing. That bit of knowledge had been front and center in her mind since she’d sensed him when he knocked her books over a few weeks ago. Now she’d seen him twice more. He was striking to look at—incredible, actually. What would a New Breed shifter possibly want at BPL? More to the point, what would a male like that want with her?
He clearly wanted something. He told her that he wanted to take her class, but it didn’t fit his schedule. To satisfy her curiosity, she had the registrar look up his contact information. There wasn’t any. Not that she had expected anything. The New Breed warriors of the Order were killers who fought in the streets to keep shifter and human civilians safe from Toltec. They did not attend Ivy League schools. It was just as well. She’d hated to lie to him about not having time for coffee on principle, but what other choice did she have?
“Not gonna happen, Xavier with no last name.”
She picked up the grant proposal and, chin in hand,
reluctantly started to read.
James sat on the edge of the bed and stared at the white robe hanging from the top of the closet door. There was no way he could do this. He couldn’t stand next to Pax in front of the Goddess like they were getting mated or some shit. His chest got tight just thinking about it. He rubbed his face with his hand and exhaled. God, he was such a pussy. Get it together. He needed to get this over with and get back to tracking down Seth. A knock at the door startled him so badly he made the lights flicker.
“It’s open. Hey, Dies. What’s up?”
“Hey. Just thought I’d check on our inductee.”
He crossed his arms. “Be my guest.”
“Listen, ah, Pax asked me to do the prep with you tomorrow. He thought you might be uncomfortable doing it with him since you two are kind of on the outs.”
James snickered. That was one way to put it. “Sure. When do we start?”
“We can start with the meditation tomorrow afternoon. We just need to leave enough time for you to shower and dress afterward.”
“Okay. Sounds good.”
“See you at dinner.”
The door closed and James fell back on the bed. Looks like he wasn’t the only wuss in the mansion. Pax didn’t want to be around him either. At least now he wouldn’t have to deal with hanging alone with the male for two hours tomorrow. Thank fuck.
Ana stopped in front of the little hacienda style house her mother had rented and smiled. The whole front of it was pink stucco. Her nunin called it atrocious, but Ana thought the Maya city of Valladolid was the nicest place they’d ever lived. The cobblestone streets were lined with pretty pastel fronts; the afternoon sunshine brightened the soft peaches, yellows, and greens. With a heavy heart, she unlocked the door and stepped inside. The air was easily ten degrees cooler. She slid out of her sandals and the tile floor was deliciously cool on her feet. It was the end of July in Mexico and that meant hot and humid. In a couple of months, the dry season would come and Valladolid would become its own desert.
Would they still be there?
She doubted it. Her mother had spoken many times of living in a true Maya city where shapeshifters were respected. But Ana knew her nunin wanted more. She wanted them to be revered. Worshipped. No, Ana didn’t see the point in getting her hopes up.
She dropped the basket of fruit from the market in the kitchen and walked down the back hallway. “Nunin?”
That was strange. Her mother was always home in the morning to give Ana her lessons. “Nunin, I’m back.”
She walked to the end of the hall and stopped in the doorway of her mother’s office. She was just about to knock on the door when she heard voices. First her mother and then a male? That was strange. She couldn’t recall ever seeing her mother with a male in any house they’d ever lived in. Well, she needed to at least let her know she was back from the market. Just as she took hold of the doorknob, the voices stopped abruptly. Curious, Ana gently opened the door and peaked inside just in time to see her mother and a tall, dark haired male vanish into thin air.
Ana sat straight up in bed. She was panting as she tried to catch her breath. Her boxers and tank top were soaked with sweat. SE was sound asleep next to her. She quietly slipped out of bed, walked to the bathroom, and closed the door behind her. She threw some water on her face and looked into the vanity mirror. She’d had that nightmare a lot over the years, with one major difference. It usually ended with her walking down the hall and turning the doorknob. This time it had played out further. She sat down on the edge of the tub. It was either that or fall the fuck over. So, the night she’d watched Mommie Dearest disappear on her mini cam wasn’t the first time. Apparently, she’d seen her do it before with some strange male, when she was a kid.
Craptastic.
Some weird-ass shit was happening and catching her bitch of a mother vanishing twice now was only part of it. She’d also busted Victrixa working dark magic. And she couldn’t possibly leave out her new bestie, the hummingbird nagual she rescued that preferred chilling with her to moving on to the Otherworld. Even the Goddess didn’t know what to say to that one. Figures. Well, she was sure of one thing. There was way too much freaky deaky going on to be coincidence, but she was still missing a piece of the puzzle. The worst part was she had this sense that deep within herself she knew what the piece was. More and more each day, tiny awakenings were happening inside her like little pinpricks under her skin.
Something was coming.
Evy sat on the chaise in the bedroom with her legs crossed in lotus position. What the hell good were premonitions if you couldn’t get one when you needed it? She stretched out her arms, rolled her shoulders, and cracked her neck. Then she closed her eyes and focused. Nothing. She’d been trying for over an hour. WTF? She stood up and started to pace the length of the room. This was ridiculous. She was the Seer, for Chrissake. There hadn’t been anyone like her in a thousand years. She had to believe she was meant to control her power, right?
She pulled her coat off the hook and gleamed out to the back garden. She’d had the original premonition here yesterday. Maybe coming back would help trigger another one. She put her hands in her jacket pockets and chopped at the melting snow with her sneaker in frustration. Come on, get a grip, Evy. Wait a minute. Maybe it wasn’t where. Maybe it was who. Ana had just handed baby Maya to her right before the vision kicked off. She materialized back in the bedroom and unzipped her jacket. She opened the door to the hallway and walked smack into her mate.
“Whoa. Hold up, female. Where’re you off to in such a rush? It’s almost one o’clock. The parade starts in a few minutes, if you still wanna go.”
Aw, crap. She’d totally forgotten about Southie’s St. Paddy’s Day parade. Not only was it one of her favorite days of the year, her mate had taken the time to search for the perfect vantage spot. “Of course I want to go.”
She zipped her jacket back up and moments later they were on a rooftop not far up East Broadway. Evy knew Troy had taken great care to make sure the building was by a different section of the parade route from where her family always watched. They couldn’t be seen, but it was strange to be there without them. Her family was along the route somewhere with all the rest of the parade goers. Except for them. They were up on a roof out of sight, even though the whole point was to be there with family. It was like there was a dividing line between the two of them and everyone else. A barrier that could never be breached. As she started to tremble, she could hear her teeth knocking.
Troy wrapped his arms around his mate from behind. “Are you cold, babe?”
She turned against him and buried her face in his big puffy coat.
“Ev, what’s wrong?” The protective instinct rose within him, raising his adrenaline almost as high as when she’d been kidnapped. What the hell was the matter with him?
She swallowed. “I was just thinking that if we have a family, our kids will never get to see this. They’re never going to know what this is like.”
He brushed her hair away from her face. “Sure they will.”
“From where? Way up here? Alone?”
“They won’t be alone. They’ll have us, babe. Not to mention a shitload of aunts and uncles at the mansion, spoiling them rotten.” He wiped a tear from her cheek. “We’ll start our own traditions. Together.”
“But it won’t be like it was.” As soon as Evy said it, she regretted it. Troy never had this. Not any of it. “Oh, my God. I’m so sorry, my male. I didn’t mean…”
He wiped a tear from her cheek. “No worries. I understand what you’re sayin’. The thing is, our offspring won’t miss somethin’ they’ve never had. I can see why bein’ here would rile you up, but we have plenty of time to figure this out.”
When she didn’t respond, he panicked and immediately felt for her emotions. Sadness mingled with uncertainty. But there was something else hiding behind it. The acrid smell of fear hit his nostrils.
“Don’t do that!” Evy gleamed out and materializ
ed on the opposite side of the roof. She knew he would follow her, but it broke the emotional connection between them. She could still hear the parade, but at least now she couldn’t see it. It was all just too much. Her legs shook and she put her hands on the cement barrier to steady herself. She could hear her mate’s heavy boot steps crossing the roof, cutting the distance between them. She felt his energy as he stopped beside her.
He leaned his elbows on the barrier and kicked it with his boot. “I’m sorry. I know we agreed I wouldn’t do that. I guess I just panicked. The past day or two, I can’t seem to deal with being away from you. I thought it was just the mating, but now, I dunno. Maybe I’m losin’ it.”
Evy turned to him and looked up into his glowing aqua eyes. They were brighter than she’d ever seen them. A warm feeling passed through her and everything else, including the parade, faded to the background like a scrim during the ballet. “I’m pregnant.”
Troy didn’t know exactly what he’d expected to hear. Maybe somethin’ between concern that they might’ve missed the Star Wars marchers and sadness that she couldn’t be with her family. Even so, it took only seconds for everything to click into place. The constant arousal. The crazy need to know where she was at all times. The protective instinct. It all made sense.
“Are you sure?”
“I had a vision about it yesterday when I was holding Maya, so I went to see Helen this morning. I was convinced I’d misread the premonition. I’d never had one of the present before. But the blood test came back positive.” She looked up into his face, her eyes questioning. “Are you mad?”
“Mad? Are you kiddin’?” He lifted her straight off her feet and held her close. “Our own family, Ev.”
She laughed and he let her happiness wash over him. Mistake. He got so lost in her that he completely forgot about the parade and gleamed them back to the mansion. Ah, well. Evy seemed okay with the sitch. She reached up and brought his mouth down to hers and a shiver made its way down his spine.
Fatal Call (New Breed Novels Book 4) Page 2