Diesel nodded. "Our young James may have tried out his new wheels, but he didn’t do it alone.”
X leaned against the center table and watched his brothers pour coffee while they waited for the meeting to start. Troy walked in with Evy and they stood beside him.
“Hey. How are the Thomsens this morning?”
Evy smiled. “Good. Maybe could’ve used a little more sleep.”
He smiled. “You got that right, little mama.”
The Goddess Akina walked to the front of the room with Reyn, Ana, and Pax right behind her.
The Goddess laid her fist over her heart. “In lak'ech.”
“Ala k'in.”
“Good morning,” Reyn began. “I know it’s early, everyone, but we’ve got important news on several fronts. Ana, would you like to start?”
She nodded. “Sure. At roughly two o’clock this morning, Pax and I infiltrated what we have confirmed to be Toltec’s new labs. While we were there, we made a discovery. The mutant program’s head scientist was apparently given the serum even though he’s human. It caused him to go through some kind of unnatural mutation. I won’t go into detail, but it was pretty clear he didn’t have long to live. We were able to make a deal with him to get some answers. It appears that he was given the serum so Victrixa could see what the serum would do to a human subject.” The female slowly surveyed the room, making eye contact with as many shifters as she could. “Brace yourselves. We believe her goal is the annihilation the human race and we think she somehow plans to use the serum to do it.”
“Son of a bitch,” Diesel said under his breath.
X glanced around the room. The looks on the brothers’ mugs were dire, but he was pretty sure there was more coming. He stroked his goatee and waited.
The Goddess stepped forward. “I know the situation seems insurmountable, but it is not. I too have made some discoveries. I believe I have discovered the identity of the aj k’o’ol. Evelyn and I encountered it in the ether just before I arrived here.”
X noticed Evy was trembling. Troy wrapped one arm around his female and placed his other on her belly. Then he whispered something in her ear that X politely pretended not to hear.
“I believe,” the Goddess continued, “that the aj k’o’ol is Bane, the Lord of Xibalba. I think he will use the power of the naguals he captures to free himself from the Underworld and gain access to the Otherworld. There he will exact his revenge on the gods imprisoning him.”
Instantly, the room erupted into chaos. X looked around him. It was clear that some of them at least knew of Bane, while others were in shock. He was sure most, if not all, of the nervous banter was related to the new discoveries, but X had already come to grasp its full meaning. It was very likely at some point the war would expand to fronts on all three planes: Xibalba, Earth, and the Otherworld. He turned his head and looked at the Goddess. Their eyes met, and in that moment he realized he was right. It wasn’t just possible. She expected it.
The Goddess continued. “For now our main focus should be on Victrixa and Toltec. She is a double threat. Not only is she in charge of gleaning the souls of the naguals, but she now has her own nefarious goals as well. She is the more immediate threat to humans and shifters alike.” She cleared her throat and managed a slight smile. “For now, I am afraid I must leave you. There are many naguals waiting to cross to the Otherworld and they are not safe. Please, take care of one another.”
Reyn gave them all a nod. “That’s all for now. We’ll keep everyone up to date as we find out more. Dismissed.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
Evy stood in the conservatory and watched the birds twitter around the garden as the sun began to brighten in the east. She felt the presence of her Goddess who quietly came to stand beside her.
“Thank you for accepting the ring, my sister.”
She turned and looked into Akina’s sea green eyes. “Of course. How could I not have?”
“I was not sure after your wonderful news. You would have kept your power after all. The ring only enhances it.”
“Yes, but it might not have been enough to truly help. The difference in the power I feel is…” She looked back through the glass.
The Goddess lightly touched her shoulder. “Evelyn, look at me.”
Evy tried to swallow the lump in her throat. Tears began to fall down her cheeks as the Goddess took her into her arms, stroking her hair lightly.
“This is my fault. I am so sorry. I should have prepared you. There has never been a human seer before now. I should have known.”
“How, Akina? How is it that I know everything that’s happened? I’m only twenty, but I have a thousand years of time in my mind.”
“The ring holds the echoes of the visions of all seers who have come before you. It makes each more powerful with every passing millennium. But they are only remnants. You must remember that. You cannot allow yourself to become lost in them.”
Evy looked down at the ring. “But I saw you die, my sister.”
“What you saw was Basira’s vision of my death. She was the Seer at that time. The best and most powerful seers have been able to use the psychic remnants in their work.”
Evy nodded. “Then so will I.”
“I know you will.” She placed a hand on Evy’s flat belly and laughed. “Oh, Evelyn, I am so happy for you both.”
“It’s a boy.” Evy smiled.
“Ah, a son.” After a moment, Akina’s smile faded. She turned and looked through the glass. She seemed lost to her thoughts.
“Is it Reyn?” Evy took her hand. She wanted to take it back as soon as she’d said it. It was so personal. But something had happened between them. She wasn’t sure if it was the shared history or similarity in their being. Somehow she sensed they were no longer ruler and subject. They were equals.
Akina nodded. “I have never been in love before. I know that must sound odd coming from me, and I suppose it is. But I was only eighteen years in my body. I spent all those years after my death in spirit form, in the Otherworld. Then, one day I could sense something. It was your plane of existence. I came to your realm and witnessed for the first time what my children were doing to one another. I was no longer at peace. I knew I needed to help, although I did not know how. And then I met Reyn. I corporealized for the first time almost immediately. Imagine. For the first time in a thousand years, I had a body. Now I’m only truly happy in his presence.” She turned to Evy suddenly. “I am afraid, sister. I am frightened of what will happen when I leave. The call is merciless.”
“You can’t control it? But I assumed the mating call originated with you.”
“Most shifters do. In reality, it is far more complicated. It comes from within the naguals themselves. It is organic in nature. The only way they can be united is by uniting their hosts. I am the only one who can read the pairings, so I create matings for shifters in this way. But that does not keep them from making their male hosts suffer when they try to resist. Evelyn, I am so afraid for Reyn. When I am close by in the ether, I can feel his nagual calling out for me.” She put her hands to her face.
Evy took her into her arms and held her. “We’ll take care of him, my Goddess. I promise you.”
Reyn waited in the solitude of the study while Akina spoke with Evy. His time with his mate always went by too fast. He was happy that everyone in the mansion knew about their mating. In truth, keeping it a secret had never felt right. He ran his hand over his newly buzzed hair. Jesus, the place had been a fucking madhouse and, with everything going on, he actually spent less time with her than usual. And this time there would be the protective instinct to deal with. He always felt it to some degree like any other mated male, but it was different now. His body was all too aware she was facing danger from realms both above and below the earth. Add that to her narrow escape of a few days ago and his insides began to churn.
Bane. The only thing he was sure of was that if she recognized him from their encounter, then it was likely he recognized her as
well. The bastard knew at least her spirit still existed. Reyn knew Akina saw herself as part of the douche bag’s plan to take revenge on the other gods and nothing more. Maybe that was true. Kina was so innocent and could be so unaware of the power she held sometimes. But, as far as Reyn could see, it was far more likely that Bane had other plans for her as well. Maybe that was the voice of the mated male in his head, but he really didn’t give a shit. Keeping her safe had just shot to priority number one, and if that meant tearing Bane apart with his bare hands, then that was fine by him.
X waited outside the study with Richard, SE, and Troy to see the Goddess Akina off. Well, more like to make sure Reyn didn’t blow a gasket. She was a god and he was mated to her. X failed to see how that combo wasn’t going to create a shitstorm of consequences at some point.
The brothers waited outside the door while their leader had some time with his mate.
X looked over at his boy. “You monitoring the sitch?”
Troy nodded. “Yep. So far he’s keeping it in check.”
“Thanks for helping out with this,” Richard said.
SE smiled easily. “He’d do it for any of us in a heartbeat.”
“So, that dead house guest of yours hitting the road with the Goddess?” X asked.
SE rolled his eyes. “Are you kidding? Ana can’t even pee alone.”
Troy’s head whipped up so fast he hit it on the wall behind him. “We’re up.”
They all followed Richard in, not sure what they were in for. The Goddess was slowly dematerializing and she’d clearly been crying. Reyn let out a roar so loud the shelves of books in the study teetered back and forth. Then the HNBIC saw fit to put his fist into the wall. Twice.
SE and Richard put him in a hold from behind.
“Troy,” Richard yelled.
X watched as Troy raised his right hand and focused on Reyn.
Okaaay.
SE tightened his grip. “Fuck, Troy!”
Troy cracked his knuckles and went in for another shot.
Shit. Sometimes it was time for the biggest NB to step in. X moved forward and uppercut the dude’s jaw so hard he knocked him out cold.
Richard exhaled. “Jesus.”
Ultimately, X had to use the ass load of sedative Helen had given him. You know, just in case shit got out of hand. Fuck. He was on his way to the medical ward to dispose of the syringe when it hit him. What if Victrixa actually succeeded in somehow getting the serum to the public? Rose would be out there. She would be vulnerable. Suddenly, checking up on her didn’t seem like such a bad idea.
Pax walked up the main staircase to James’s room. He was so not looking forward to this. The male clearly had a right to know. But if he was thinking of dealing with Seth on his own, well…that was going to complicate things.
He knocked on the door.
“Lemme guess. The real Slim Shady.”
Pax rolled his eyes. “Mind if I come in?”
“Nope.”
Pax went in and closed the door behind him. “Hey.”
James took a cuff link off his shirt. “Hey.”
“Listen, Ana and I found out some pretty crazy shit last night.”
“So I heard.”
“Hang on. I’ve got something on Seth.”
James froze. “What?”
“Yeah. Apparently, he’s working for Batiste.”
“Wha— The drug lord?”
Pax nodded. “I had the same reaction. Turns out, he’s connected to that human scientist, Roman. The douche was selling rogues to Batiste, and Seth has been handling the transactions.”
The male started on the other cufflink. “Well, I can’t say I’m surprised. He’s always had a way about him. People trust him.”
“I don’t know whether he’s still there or not, but it’s a start. If your intention is to find him.”
“Right.”
Okay. Clearly, the brother wasn’t up for sharing. Pax watched him fumble with the other cuff link until he was sure he was going to break it. “Here, let me.”
He moved closer and bent over the clasp. Then he stopped. James was covered in another male’s scent—one he didn’t recognize. He willed himself not to look up at him. He put the link on the dresser and beat it for the door. “Anyway, I thought you should know. What you do with it is up to you. Just be careful.”
Seth walked down a dimly lit alley in Back Bay. It was a well populated and much loved hunting ground for Toltec shifters and their hellions who were looking for targets. Actually, it was kinda funny. He used to be one of those hellions. He had a Tolie in charge of him and a den to sleep in. The whole nine yards. Well, tonight he was hunting the Tolies for their k’ul. He smiled to himself. Maybe there was a little karma in that shit. Plus, Grace needed it, and it would be a lot easier taking down an unsuspecting Tolie in a dark alley than a civilian shifter out on the street in plain sight.
Grace. He rolled his eyes. How the fuck he’d managed to get mixed up with that broad, he had no idea. What an asshole. He’d let her pull at his heartstrings until he took her with him. All he would do is give her the apartment and teach her how to feed. Period. He didn’t owe her any more than that. Come to think of it, he didn’t even owe her that. Besides, he had to think of his own neck. Batiste was the real deal. He had guys working for him all over the city. He couldn’t risk getting caught doing stupid shit like this after hours. Nope. Decision made. A quick lesson in basic hellion survival and he’d send her on her way.
CHAPTER NINE
X materialized two buildings down from Rose’s condo. He cast out his senses and swept the area. There was one lone shifter civilian on the second floor of the house behind him, but no Rose. He moved quickly through the darkness, crossing the adjacent lawn in just a few steps. Her white Prius C was parked in the driveway. She was on foot. Again. Maybe she was just on campus. It was almost eleven, but she kept pretty late hours. With a quick gleam, X stood alongside an old Victorian at the corner of Cambridge and Prescott. While he took a gander at Harvard’s Japanese Institute across the street, he swept the block for Rose’s energy. His exhale was a rush of relief. She was inside the building with only a human custodial staff.
A sudden yell from the delivery ramp next to the Institute caught his attention. Fuck. A Toltec shifter and two hellions were dragging a male civilian down the ramp into the darkness of the underground lot. X vanished and materialized behind the bigger hellion. He freed his steel and with a perfect strike, full on Sleepy Hollowed the fucker. The Toltec soldier tried to use his body to block him from the other mutant, while the hellion took his victim by the coat collar. Yeah, no doubt the cocksuckers were all about the shifter’s k’ul. The civilian groaned as white-hot light started to glow in the mutant’s eyes. Time to roll credits on these pussies.
X felt her just seconds before he heard her scream. Rose was standing at the top of the ramp, her eyes fixed on the scuffle. Instantly, the shifter turned and sprinted straight for her.
“Rose! Phase!” X yelled. Fuck. She was too terrified to access her energy. He looked from one attacker to the other. He could handle them both if they weren’t twenty feet apart. He didn’t dare use his pistol with the soldier closing in on Rose. As the Tolie grabbed her arm, everything started to move in slow motion.
Ilah.
Mine.
The protective instinct barreled into him, pounding through his very veins. The hellion was a linebacker, but screw the laws of physics. He grabbed it around the neck and gleamed them both to the top of the ramp. As the shifter pulled his pistol, X realized Rose was in the line of discharge. He slid his leg between the two of them and ripped it from the Tolie’s hand, letting off a stray shot. A burning sensation made its way down his calf, but he barely felt it. He was made of adrenaline, his body reacting to his every command with lightning speed. He pivoted and took the head off the confused hellion just as Rose fell to the brick sidewalk next to him.
“Rose.” He picked her up carefully. She was shaking, her
body still reacting to the fear. “You’re okay. Let’s get you home.”
X walked down into the shadows of the underground lot just in time to catch a glimpse of the male civilian driving off in his delivery truck. He dematerialized them and moments later they were in her living room. He laid Rose down on the couch, turned on a lamp, and gently checked her exposed skin for injury. He carefully inspected a cut over her left eyebrow. “I should clean that. Do you have any antiseptic?”
She nodded. “In the bathroom under the sink.”
X walked into a half bath where he found some peroxide, cotton balls, and Band-Aids. Then he made a quick stop by the kitchen to get Rose a bottled water from the fridge. By the time he was done cleaning her wound, she was done with her water and some color was back in her face.
“How are you?”
She gave him a little smile. “I’ll be fine, thanks to you. I don’t know how to repay you, Xavier.”
“No worries.” Actually, he had a lot of them—the chief among them being that he wanted his mouth on those pouty oval lips so badly he was practically salivating. Okay, he needed to leave right now.
“Can I make you some tea?”
Jesus. He was rock hard, his erection straining against his jeans. That voice. It was like she was his own personal Greek siren or some shit. He nodded. “Tea would be good. Thank you.”
After she headed off to put the kettle on, X managed to pull it together and actually do his job. Imagine that. He walked around the first floor and checked out the windows, closing the curtains as he went. He cast out his senses and scanned the area repeatedly. It was secure. There was very little chance that douche bag Tolie would try to track them down, but once the protective instinct kicked in, even an armed brigade complete with a tank didn’t seem adequate.
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