“No idea,” Eion admitted, sounding sad. Then he cleared his throat and smiled at him. “So. Hot chocolate? I know I have cocoa powder. What do you like as the base? Milk, half and half, heavy cream?”
Castrose rested his forearms on the counter. “Half and half, if you have it.”
“Sure do.” Eion matched his stance, resting his hands on the counter and leaning toward him. His expression turned hungry. “Good morning, handsome mate.”
Realizing what Eion intended, Castrose turned his head. “Morning,” he mumbled. Upon seeing his lover stiffen, his shoulders tensing as he straightened, Castrose realized he’d given the other man the wrong idea. “I heard voices, so came out without brushing my teeth first. Give me a minute, huh?”
Eion’s eyebrows shot up as a wide grin stretched his features. “You didn’t seem to have a problem with that last night.”
Castrose heard the teasing in Eion’s tone, but it was the man’s words that truly caught his attention. “Huh. You’re right.” While looking at it in hindsight, Castrose thought it was a little squicky. Still, Eion didn’t seem to mind. “Come here.”
Reaching across the counter, Castrose gripped Eion’s nape. His lover came willingly, leaning toward him. He pressed his lips to Eion’s, teasing and licking, enjoying the light tongue play.
Castrose hummed, happiness filling him as he pulled away. “Now it’s a good morning,” he stated, unable to stop his grin.
“Yes, it is,” Eion murmured, smiling back at him. While tracing his fingertips down Castrose’s jawline, he offered, “Why don’t you go clean up. I’ll get your hot chocolate ready.”
“Thank you,” Castrose replied. Then he cocked his head. “I can make it myself, though. I always have in the past.”
“Naw,” Eion said with a shake of his head. He waggled his eyebrows, probably to soften his refusal. “You can make it for both of us next time.” Taking a step backward, Eion told him, “I already have breakfast almost finished.”
Castrose nodded as he turned back toward the hall that led to the bathroom. “I’m surprised Brennan didn’t try to stay for breakfast.” He recalled that the man had been setting the table, after all.
“He tried, but I kiboshed that idea,” Eion called back. “He was setting the table to stall, so he could meet you.”
Pausing at the hallway’s opening, Castrose turned back to face him. “Why would he want to meet me so badly?”
Eion peered over his shoulder, giving him a wide grin. “Finding a mate is a big deal for a shifter, and he’s family, so—” He shrugged again.
Castrose nodded. “Okay.” Then he headed to the bathroom.
After cleaning up, Castrose returned to the kitchen. Eion pointed at the dining room table. Castrose spotted a steaming mug of hot chocolate along with a plate full of food. There were several strips of bacon, a couple of sausage links, a pile of hash browns, and three eggs cooked over-easy. On a smaller plate were several pieces of buttered toast.
“I didn’t know how you liked your eggs, so I hope that’s okay,” Eion stated, sitting down across from him. There was a plate heaped with even more than what Eion had given Castrose placed in front of himself. “And there’s plenty more. Help yourself.”
Castrose nodded. “Thank you, and I eat eggs any way I can get them.” After receiving a smile from Eion, he dug into his breakfast.
For the next ten minutes, Castrose filled his belly with the delicious food Eion had prepared for him. The hot chocolate tasted rich and smooth. The hash browns had just the right amount of crispiness. The sausage links were flavorful and succulent. Even the bacon had just the right amount of chewiness. Castrose slathered strawberry jam on the toast and dipped it into the yolk, enjoying the combination of flavors.
To his surprise, Castrose managed to eat everything on his plate. He hummed as he leaned back in his chair, patting his full belly. Gripping his cocoa mug in his other hand, he lifted it to his lips and swigged back the last of it.
“There’s more,” Eion reminded before crunching on a piece of bacon.
Castrose chuckled, “I couldn’t eat another bite.”
“More hot chocolate, then?” Eion leaned back in his chair and grabbed a carafe from the counter behind him. He held it up.
Even as he groaned and licked his lips, Castrose held out his mug. “Sure.”
Eion laughed. “Guess it’s to your liking,” he commented as he refilled Castrose’s cup.
“You make a damn fine cup of hot chocolate,” Castrose admitted. He couldn’t remember a time when he had enjoyed the drink that he hadn’t made on his own. Everyone else always made it too weak, but Eion’s was damn near perfect.
After refilling his own cup, Eion set down the carafe. “So, I—” The sound of a car approaching caused him to snap his mouth shut. He rose from the table, mug in hand, and headed toward the front windows. “Now what?” After looking out, Eion started toward the front door. “I was going to ask if you wanted me to call Beta Dixon about seeing your brother, but it seems Alpha Declan is bringing him here.”
“Clayton is here?”
“Probably,” Eion told him. “The windows are tinted, but that’s the alpha’s SUV.” Opening the door, he asked over his shoulder, “Didn’t he say something about you seeing him today?”
Castrose rose to his feet, taking his hot chocolate with him. “To be honest, I can’t remember a whole lot of the conversation I had with your alpha.” He rubbed at his head, pleased that it no longer bothered him. “Between the concussion and the shock, I was a little out of it.”
Eion nodded. “Makes sense.” He opened the door and led the way outside. “The porch boards are cold. Do you want socks?”
Noticing Eion was also barefoot, Castrose shook his head. “I’ll be fine,” he assured as he stepped onto the porch beside him. Immediately, the chill of the spring mountain morning wrapped around him, causing goose bumps to lift on his skin. Eion wasn’t kidding about the planks, and the cold instantly sank into his soles. “Damn,” he mumbled, clutching his hot mug close.
Castrose recognized Alpha Declan but not the small blond that slid from the front passenger seat. A second later, seeing who exited the back, he dismissed the man. His slender frame appeared barreling out of the back seat, and he jogged toward Castrose, a wide grin splitting his normally serious features.
“Hey, Castrose! You’re here! What took you so long?” Clayton bounced up the steps and wrapped his arms around Castrose. “Isn’t this amazing?”
Castrose returned Clayton’s embrace, hugging the man. “What do you mean, what took me so long?” he asked as he released his excited brother. Clayton took a step away from him, and Castrose kept his free hand on his shoulder. “How the hell was I supposed to know where you went? I had to track you through Killian.”
Clayton scowled. “I left you a message on the Sanderson News message columns just like we’ve done before.”
Groaning, Castrose stared skyward. He mentally counted to three before refocusing on Clayton. Seeing his brother’s confused expression, he stalled a little longer by taking a deep swig of his cocoa.
“Clayton, I told you not to use that one anymore,” Castrose told him slowly.
“What?” Clayton’s brows furrowed. “When? Why?”
“Because that message board has been compromised by—” Castrose paused, narrowing his eyes as a thought hit. “Clayton, how many times have you used the Sanderson newspaper in the last month?”
“Um”—Clayton’s brows squinched as he gave Castrose’s question some thought—”Twice. Once a few days before these guys showed up, and then once last week when I first arrived here.”
“Shit,” Castrose grumbled, restlessly popping his neck.
“What’s wrong?” Eion asked, resting his hand on Castrose’s upper arm and rubbing lightly.
Clayton glanced between them, his dark eyes growing big as saucers behind his glasses. “Uh, Castrose?” he mumbled,
waving between them. “What’s going on?”
Castrose took in Clayton’s confused expression. He glanced at Eion, who lifted his brow and dropped his hand. Realizing that his lover would allow him to play it any way he wanted, Castrose smiled at the man.
“I appreciate the thought, Eion,” Castrose murmured, releasing Clayton so he could wrap his arm around his shifter’s waist. Huh. My shifter. I sorta like that. Then Castrose turned his attention to Alpha Declan. “You didn’t tell Clayton?”
“Not my place to share somethin’ like that, Castrose,” Alpha Declan replied.
With the way the huge black man had his arm around the small blond man, Castrose guessed him to be his doctor partner, Lark. Another man stood nearby, flanking the alpha. He was also big and broad, similar to the alpha, but there the similarity ended. The guy was as fair as the alpha was dark, with pale blue eyes that were constantly moving, showing he was surveying the area.
“Castrose?”
Returning his focus to Clayton, Castrose told him, “I didn’t look in that paper, because there’s a terrorist group that figured out we use it.”
“Hey, maybe we could share everything inside.” The small blond burrowing against Alpha Declan’s side offered Eion a sweet smile. “You got any more coffee, E?” He switched his attention to Castrose. “And how’s your head feeling, Castrose?”
“Were you injured?” Clayton leaned closer and must have spotted the stiches at the side of Castrose’s head. He gasped and grabbed his upper arm, nearly spilling his cocoa. “What happened?” Clayton then scowled at Eion. “Did he do that to you?”
“No, Clay,” Castrose immediately denied. “Calm down.” A cool morning breeze took that opportunity to send a chill up his spine. “Yeah. Inside.” Squeezing Eion’s hip, Castrose quickly added, “That okay?”
Eion nodded. “Absolutely.”
Castrose allowed Eion to pull away from him, and everyone trooped into the cabin. While Eion began getting everyone coffee or another beverage of choice, Castrose sat at the table. After the big blond introduced himself as Beta Dixon, Castrose explained how he’d followed Clayton.
Chapter Ten
Eion listened with half an ear as he set out mugs and poured everyone coffee. After placing the cups on the table, he added the carton of half and half as well as a dish of sugar. He set the cocoa carafe near Castrose, earning him a smile from his lover.
It also caused Clayton to level a narrow-eyed gaze his way.
Huh. What’d I do to him?
“Stop scowling at my lover, Clayton,” Castrose stated, tapping his forefingers on the back of his brother’s hand. “It wasn’t his fault I ended up injured. I told you that.”
That caused Clayton to frown at Castrose. “If he and his sister hadn’t jumped out while in wolf form, then you wouldn’t have been injured,” he pointed out coldly. “So technically, it is his fault. I mean, geez, he shifted right in front of you without any explanation.” Then Clayton glanced between them when Eion sat down next to Castrose. “And what do you mean, your lover? Since when have you ever taken on a serious relationship? It’s always been just the two of us.”
Ah, so that’s it. I’m threatening his relationship with his brother. Shit.
Castrose chucked Clayton on his jaw as he told him, “Yes. He’s my lover. I’m his mate.” He glanced Alpha Declan’s way. “Did you explain mates to him?”
“That I did,” Alpha Declan replied. Relaxing in his chair, he had one arm slung behind Lark’s seat. He held his coffee cup with his other. “And ye seemed pretty keen on meetin’ all the single members of me pack, Clayton, so why the scowl now?”
Clayton cleared his expression as he peered Alpha Declan’s way. “Sorry, Alpha. I—” He paused and shook his head.
“I’m not stealing your brother, Clayton.” Eion decided to just get it out there and clear the air. He smirked at the small human. “In fact, you’re gaining a really big family who will give you shit as much as they harass and help you.”
Clayton frowned. “Why would I be gaining a family? Castrose is your mate. Not me.”
Eion chuckled as shook his head. “But you’re Castrose’s brother. That means you’re family, too.”
“Your brother is mating into the pack,” Alpha Declan cut in. “Since ye’re his brother, it makes ye an honorary member, too.” Then he leveled a narrow-eyed gaze the small human’s way. “That also means ye have to obey the rules of the pack.” Declan focused on Castrose next. “You, too.”
Castrose cocked his head. “What does that mean?”
Beta Dixon smirked as he glanced between the brothers. “It means you obey orders from Alpha Declan or myself, since I’m this pack’s beta.” He waved his hand absently as he added, “You’ll meet the enforcers before too long—Kade, Manon, Gracen, Mishka, and Artemis.”
“It’ll be a while before ye meet Carson, my head enforcer, however.” Declan’s lips thinned, betraying his displeasure. “Since for some reason, ye took a job to give someone a bomb to kill his husband, Jared.”
Castrose frowned. “If my brother and I killed one of your own, why are you being so hospitable?”
Eion not only heard the disbelief in Castrose’s tone, he also scented his unease.
“They’re not actually dead,” Clayton answered, snorting. “Jared faked their deaths before tracking down our hideout.”
“Then where are they?” Castrose glanced around before adding, “And we took the contract because it was to take out a fellow assassin.” He shrugged. “It was just business.”
Alpha Declan sighed deeply as Lark winced. Dixon rolled his eyes before taking a drink of his coffee.
Rubbing his hand up and down Lark’s spine, Declan murmured, “Jared always figured his past would catch up with him.” He smirked at Castrose. “And it was personal to him, Carson, and those of us in this pack that relied on them both.” When Castrose’s expression turned confused, Declan added, “Deciding who lives and who dies is a responsibility someone should never take lightly.”
“So I work for you now?” Castrose hazarded, glancing from Declan to Clayton and finally to Eion. “Is that what these guys are telling me?”
Eion reached over and took Castrose’s hand, squeezing lightly. “More along the lines of you’re currently out of work unless a special situation comes up where the pack needs your area of expertise.”
Castrose harrumphed, the noise one of annoyance. “Good thing I’m rich, but damn will being retired get boring.”
“We’ll find something to do,” Clayton countered confidently, nudging his brother with his elbow. His blue eyes twinkled behind his glasses. “Besides, it’ll be fun getting to go bowling whenever I want.”
“You enjoy bowling?” Dixon asked, lifting one blond brow. After Clayton had nodded, the big man stated, “I’ll go. I like bowling.”
“My whole family does, too,” Eion added. “My niece’s birthday is coming up in a few weeks. Tessa turns six. I bet she’d love to have her party at the bowling alley.” He squeezed his mate’s fingers as he added, “It’ll be a great way for you and your brother to meet everyone in a relaxed environment.”
Castrose sighed deeply as he nodded. “I suck at bowling.”
Clayton laughed as he nodded. “He really does.”
“So do I,” Eion admitted before leaning over and pecking a kiss to his mate’s pinked cheek.
“Not that I don’t love the idea of going bowling with the pack,” Declan cut in. “I do need to address one more thing that came across my desk this morning.”
Eion felt a fissure of unease trickle down his spine. Rarely was he part of a meeting that included the inner circle. His eldest brother was the one normally involved.
Alpha Declan focused on Castrose. “You said a group of terrorists cracked yer code. Do ye recognize any of these people?” He held out his phone.
Castrose took it and scowled at the screen. “Unfortunately, I do.” Tapping th
e phone, he enlarged a picture of a mocha-skinned male with shaggy black hair and a cold dead expression in his black eyes. “He calls himself Hodge, and he leads a group of rebels and terrorists trying to overthrow the Armenian government.”
“Well, that man was part of the group we fled from, taking your brother with us,” Dixon stated, leaning forward. “He’s part of the terrorists that figured out your code?”
“Yes.” Castrose nodded.
Alpha Declan exchanged a glance with Dixon, then met Castrose’s gaze. “He’s been spotted in town,” he stated. “He drew the attention of a couple local detectives because he was asking questions at a diner.” Shaking his head, Declan appeared less than amused. “It seems ye are these fellows’ good buddies, and ye’re supposed to be meeting around here to spend the week hiking, but they lost cell service so they can’t contact you.”
“Let me guess. The detectives are shifters,” Castrose commented, smirking. “So they immediately told you.”
Grinning widely, Declan nodded. “Yep. Most of the police force and firefighters in town are affiliated with my pack.” Then he smirked as he added, “Hell, about a third of the town are shifters, and another several dozen are mated to them. All in all, my pack probably makes up over half the town, and the rest who live around here enjoy the privacy created by our protection.” Pointing between the brothers, Declan told them, “If ye had stopped anywhere to ask if anyone had seen yer brother, I would have known almost instantly.” His eyes narrowed. “And we could have avoided the whole you pointing a sniper rifle at my house.”
“Not to mention your head injury,” Lark piped up.
Castrose chuckled low in his throat, the sound causing pleasure to warm Eion’s gut. “Of course, then I might have missed out on meeting Eion,” he pointed out as he leveled a heated gaze Eion’s way. “And that would have been a damn shame.”
“Fate and the weird way she works,” Dixon muttered, glancing between them. “So, we lure them to the Union Creek Cabins and take them out there.”
In the Sniper’s Crosshairs Page 8