“Well, if it isn’t our wolverine friend, Zack,” he exclaimed. “I thought you were a solitary animal.”
“No more Animal Planet for you.” Zack pointed at Wraith. He eyed Zane sitting in the middle of the hallway. “What did you do to him now?”
“I took his fish.” Wraith smiled proudly.
“You guys really need to get out more. Maybe we can take another trip to the island with you guys. You can help train the Olympians.”
“I don’t know.” Wraith’s brows furrowed. “Does it have trees?”
“If not, I’m sure our handy warlock and the Olympians can create them.”
“I’ve seen you around.” Chaz held out his hand. “I’m Chaz Savage.”
“Zack Duran, wolverine shifter and guardian of Aphrodite’s son, Brock Holloway.” Zack shook Chaz’s hand. “So the word is that you took this all pretty damn well.”
“My best friend lived because he got healing werewolf blood after he was mortally wounded in a fire. That’s all I cared about.” Chaz shrugged. “I’ve worked with the guys at the firehouse for years, know what kind of people they are. Finding out that they’re werewolves didn’t really faze me.”
“Well, kudos to you, Chaz.” Zack smiled.
“So, guardian of a demi-god, huh?” Chaz grinned. “How’s that gig?”
“Wait until you spend time with Brock Holloway. I’ll get you a prescription for Fukitol.”
Chaz laughed.
Chapter Two
Lev propped against the wall as James Pruitt-Jacobs roared at a group of soldiers. He was really glad he wasn’t on the receiving end of that anger. They were going over evidence at Area 51 and were finding some very interesting intel. The soldiers on duty had been put under a submission spell by whoever was working with the Titans. They hadn’t see anything out of the ordinary and Chance Christianson — the team’s own warlock — had fished around in their brains for subconscious information.
So far, nothing.
Lev shivered at the thought of someone poking around in his cranium. It was a little unsettling.
They’d recovered a log of tests run on not only Cezar and Lucian, but on a few other familiar names as well: Zack Duran, Wraith Panthera and Zane Nanook. They were the three shifters rescued from Siberia during a mission.
The information they’d gotten their hands on was making James nervous. Who knew what other tests they’d run on the shifters? Lev eyed Devin Lyons propped against the wall across from him. The man had his perpetual smirk in place and Lev caught his eye. They both smiled, and Lev jerked his head toward to a room nearby. Devin nodded and elbowed his former FBI partner, Keegan Markov.
Keegan was married to Vince Markov, world famous assassin and fellow Skull Blasters team member. It was odd to see someone as — well, adorable — as Keegan married to a man known for most of his life as a monster. Keegan’s job was to hack into the computers and, so far, he’d done his job wonderfully.
Hence, James roaring at soldiers.
“So?” Lev raised his brows at Keegan once they were alone.
“Well, I know they tortured those shifters. No wonder Wraith is so afraid of people and Zane hasn’t shifted yet. He’s former military.”
“Whoa, what?” Devin’s head whipped to Keegan. “The polar bear?”
“Yep.” Keegan flipped out a folder from his bag. “Seems he doesn’t exist, though.”
“Yeah, well we know better.” Devin, snarled.
“Hey, Lyons, reel in your inner wolf,” Lev chuckled.
Both Devin and Keegan had been turned into werewolves. Keegan had been bitten by rogues, and Justice Salvatore had given him the life-saving bite of Wayne Maccon’s line. Devin had been changed by his husband, head of the Russian Mafia, Andrei Panchenko.
“I’m trying.” Devin balled his fists. “I hate what’s been done to these guys. God knows I had enough people fucking with my mind for most of my life.”
Lev nodded in understanding. Devin Lyons was actually Tanner McKinley, an associate of the Santorno family. He had been in an accident that wiped his mind clean, brainwashed and then put in place as an assassin to kill Andrei Panchenko. Fortunately for Andrei, Devin fell in love instead.
“I can’t even imagine.” Lev said in earnest.
“Guys!”
They turned to find James glaring at them.
“Get on the plane; you’re off to Moldova.”
“Yes sir,” they said in unison.
Lev turned and ran right into James’ husband, the retired General Derek Jacobs.
“Yes?” Lev shifted under the tall man’s glare.
“Next time you want to disappear, tell someone. Got it?”
“I just … needed some space, I guess.” Lev mumbled. What Derek and James didn’t know, was that one of Bonini’s enforcers had been present at Cole’s last cage fight and Lev became spooked and went off the grid for a while.
“If you want space, we’ll give it to you, but disappearing like you did is frowned upon.”
“Oh, it’s ‘frowned upon’?” James snickered.
Derek glanced over his shoulder at his husband. “You have a better one?”
“It’s a no-no.” James shook his finger at Lev.
Lev chuckled. “Damn. You guys don’t play. Got it.”
“Good, now get out of here.” James smiled.
~*~
Lev jumped over a rogue and landed on the other side, whipping his body around just in time to cut the rogue in half. Cezar and Lucian were at his side as they faced the oncoming army of rogues.
They didn’t look happy about having their entire warehouse burned to the ground.
FBI agent Devin Lyons and his husband, head of the Russian mob Andrei Panchenko, flanked them in werewolf form. Nikolai Markov, the son of Andrei Panchenko and Vicious Vince Markov, was also in the fight.
You couldn’t keep Nikolai out of a rogue fight. The guy hated rogues every bit as much as he loved cutting them to pieces. And he had a love affair with that.
Lev assumed his attack stance as the rogues ran at them, snarling. The first one hit him full force, sending him flying through the air. Lev righted himself mid-flight and landed on both feet with a smile.
“You’re going to have to do better than that, pup.” He leaned forward, extending his arm fully and pointing his sword at the rogue. “Come on, sweetie.”
Roars filled the valley as they fought side by side. The Skull Blasters had rescued Cezar and Lucian from Area 51 after the men — and Killian Tenebris — had endured torture and experimentation for years at the hands of rogue leaders. They had eagerly signed on to kill rogues. Both were hybrids; Lucian was a vampire/werewolf, and Cezar was a vampire/shape shifter. Right now, both were still in their human forms. Their nails were like knives, however, and they sliced right through the flesh.
Lev whirled back around as more rogues exited the inferno behind them. He stood with Lucian and Cezar as the yellow-eyed bastards made a direct line for them. Periodic reports came in from the snipers of the Skull Blasters unit; the original four members were methodically taking out rogues with their rifles. Another part of the building exploded, and more rogues ran out.
They were surrounded.
“Now would be a good time, Lucian,” Lev warned, eyeing the advancing rogues.
Lucian grabbed Cezar’s hand and the air around them thickened. A flash of light pulsated from both men, and then they disappeared. Lev grinned at the looks of confusion on the rogues’ faces. He winked as he became invisible as well.
Devin let loose a roar that shook the ground, and he and Andrei jumped into the line of rogues. Lev brought his sword down on the neck of one and kicked at another behind him. Truth be told, killing rogues was therapeutic. It was a way of unleashing all his anger and depression.
Chaz Savage now knew about the existence of werewolves. Hell, he thought they were cool. But fear of Chaz’s reaction to Lev’s genetics wasn’t the only reason he stayed away, even now.
He stayed away because he’d been hired to blackmail Chaz. He never intended to go through with it, despite Bonini’s threats. He had fallen in love. But if Chaz ever found out about the blackmail scam, what were the odds that he would believe that what Lev felt for him had been real? So Lev had run, leaving behind the only man he’d ever love.
When Hayden Cox and Jude Brooks found him in Siberia, he had been surviving with Dane Durov and young Dasan Black. When the rogues had come, he and Dane had worried for Dasan — his parents had left him a fortune and they were sure the rogues were after it. As the pack alpha, Dane had kicked Dasan out to protect him. He stood a better chance of eluding the rogues moving around on his own than he did as a member of the pack. Lev watched over him from a distance.
Now he worked fulltime for James Pruitt-Jacobs as part of the elite Skull Blasters unit. As he did with the other shifters, Wayne Maccon, the powerful alpha of the created ones, had bitten him to give him the full power and abilities of the Maccon line. Now he fought side by side with the other men. Thinking of Chaz only brought forth the memories of their first encounter after six years of separation.
“Oooh, the firemen have arrived,” Jude chuckled.
“The who? Are they in costume?” Lev’s eyes darted to the front door. His breath stopped in his throat. “Um, do you guys know Chaz Savage by chance?”
“Yeah, he’s one of our closest friends. Why?”
“Oh, this was such a bad idea,” Lev whispered. His eyes met with Chaz’s. The crystal blue eyes narrowed and then anger rolled off the man in waves.
“What the fuck!” Chaz roared.
The whole room came to a silent stop. Lev backed into the wall as Chaz stomped across the room, rage evident on his face.
“Chaz.” Lev smiled weakly.
“What the fuck are you doing here?! I haven’t seen you in six years!”
“I should probably…” Lev motioned to the exit.
“I’m going to rip your fucking nuts off!” Chaz bellowed.
“Chaz, calm down.” Cole looked around the room at all the dropped jaws. “This is not the time, nor the place.”
Cole looked at Lev with narrowed eyes. “You should go right now before I can’t control him.”
Lev inched around them and made his way to the door. “I’ll see you back at the house, Hayden.”
“Uh huh
Lev had almost made it to his rental car when he heard the door to the center slam shut. He froze in his tracks as the sound of footsteps echoed in the parking lot.
“You’ve got some fucking nerve, Chirkoff!”
Lev turned slowly. Jesus, Chaz was even more beautiful now than he’d been six years ago. He swallowed the lump in his throat and eyed the man he’d loved so many years ago.
“I’m sorry about this. I had no idea you would be here.”
“That’s it?” Chaz shouted. “That’s all you have to say to me after all this time?”
“Would anything I said make you feel better?”
“An apology would be nice!”
Lev sighed. “I am sorry, Chaz; you’ll never know how sorry I am.”
“No, I won’t, because I never want to set eyes on you again.” Chaz turned on his heel and strode back to the building.
Lev watched the love of his life getting further and further away. How could he ever explain why he’d had to leave? No, this was better. Having Chaz hate him would be better than the man finding out what he was. That was the reason he had disappeared to Canada. Why fall even more deeply in love with Chaz when there was no hope it would last once the man discovered his secret? Once in Vancouver, he’d found a pack to join. When his closest friend headed to Siberia, he also went.
Lev was so wrapped up in his thoughts, he didn’t even realize the fight was over. He blinked to find Lucian scowling at him.
“What?”
“Where is your head?” Lucian demanded.
“With a former NFL player, I’ll bet.” Nikolai winked.
“Sorry.” Lev kicked the dirt with his boot. “I don’t know why I can’t stop thinking about him.”
“Duh. Because you love him?” Nikolai crossed his arms.
“Pfft! Love!” Cezar scowled.
“Oh, I see another Killian in front of me,” Nikolai ribbed Cezar.
Lev had to smile. Killian Tenebris was a shape shifter who had been locked up for years in the same lab as Cezar and Lucian. The man had no manners and fewer social skills. Although, he was getting better now that he’d found the love of his life in Stone Marinos — the child of Apollo.
“I am not like my brother.” Cezar frowned.
“No, I think you might be worse,” Nikolai laughed.
Cezar growled and Lucian swatted his head. Lev had to laugh at the two of them. They had been imprisoned longer than Killian, and had a long way to go as far as dealing with others.
Lev looked at the night sky and sighed. He wondered what Chaz was doing.
“Well, let’s pack up and head out.” Nikolai whistled loudly for the rest of the teams.
“Back home for you, Lev?” Lucian asked.
Home. Where was home? He lived in an apartment owned by billionaire Caden Fournier and his associates, but it was just a place to stay. Home was with Chaz. But he knew he’d never have that, not once Chaz found out about how and why they’d actually gotten together. And he knew that it would eventually happen. God, he wished he could go back in time and fix it all.
“Lev?” Cezar patted his shoulder.
“Yes, back to Seattle.” Lev sighed and closed his eyes. He opened the mental link all werewolves used to communicate telepathically with each other and was overcome by the noise of people talking. That was why none of them had their thoughts turned on while they were fighting.
Lev concentrated and honed in on one voice.
Killian Tenebris.
And the message was one he didn’t like.
“We have to get the fuck out of here now.” Lev began walking.
“What’s wrong?” Nikolai trotted to keep up with him.
“My past just blew into my present and I’m not going to have the same outcome again.”
“Come again?”
“Samson Demarco has been hanging around Chaz. Last I heard, Samson was — still is — an enforcer for Mario Bonini. I saw him at Cole’s last cage fight, but I thought he was there for me.”
“The New York mob?” Nikolai asked.
“Yeah, them. I’m not the same person I was before. They had me at their mercy. This time, I’m going to make sure they get what’s coming to them.”
***
Lev stormed through Caden’s office building almost twenty-four hours later. Anger fueled him through the exhausting trip back and the fight he’d just waged. How dare Mario send Samson back to Seattle? Hadn’t the man taken enough from him? His father, his mother and then Chaz.
Lev shook his head as he boarded the elevator. Things were different now. He wasn’t that scared, twenty-one-year-old boy anymore. Things were going to be much, much different this time.
As he got off the elevator, he ran right into Killian. The man was huge, and slightly intimidating. Okay, very intimidating. Killian grinned and Lev realized his thoughts were still on.
Shit.
“Well, I am glad to know I still terrify people.” Killian winked.
“Dude, even if I didn’t know you were a shape shifter, I’d still shit myself.” Lev chuckled as Killian frowned. “Not literally. Still getting the hang of slang, huh?”
“Yes.” Killian nodded. “Some of the things Nikolai Markov says are very confusing to me. Stone is still trying to help me understand. How were Lucian and Cezar?”
Lev smiled. Killian had family now. Lucian and Cezar were kept in the same lab as Killian, and were created with Killian’s father’s DNA. They had also given Killian’s DNA and blood as they grew. Weird, but true. The rogues and the Titans were having a good time with their experiments. Motherfuckers.
He s
miled at Killian. “They’re good; their invisibility spell worked beautifully.” The shifters were also warlocks.
“Good.” Killian nodded. “We all need more training. Loki needs to get used to being around taller people, too.”
“I heard he shrunk Lucian and Cezar,” Lev laughed. Loki Kirkberry had been rescued from a fire by Cole and Chaz; his abusive ex-boyfriend had set it to kill him. He was a warlock, but also small and very shy. When frightened, his instinct was to shrink whoever had frightened him. Fortunately, Nikolai was getting used to it.
“Yes, but Cezar didn’t make things any easier on Loki by dropping his fangs.” Killian sighed in exasperation. “We spent a whole day begging Loki to remember how to turn them back to normal size.”
“Doesn’t Chance know how to do that?”
“Yes, but he wanted Loki to figure it out on his own.”
“I think Chance just got off watching those two be an inch tall for hours.” Lev noticed Killian’s forehead wrinkle again in confusion. “Not that kind of getting off!”
“Ah, that makes more sense I think.”
Lev laughed.
“See you later; I have to talk to James.”
“Ah yes, about Samson Demarco.”
“You saw him at the club.”
“I did,” Killian nodded. “And at the boys’ football game. He was seated a few rows behind us.”
“Thank you, Killian, for bringing it to James’ attention.”
“I have his scent; I will let you know if I come across him.”
“Thanks.” Lev patted Killian’s shoulder. “You’re a good guy, Killian.”
“I am trying,” Killian winked.
“See you later.”
Lev made his way down the hall to James’ office and knocked. He got the ‘come in’ from the other side and strolled in. He came to an abrupt stop when he noticed Stefan Santorno sitting in one of the chairs. If there was one thing he knew from back in the day, it was that you didn’t cross a Santorno — not if you wanted to live. Although he lived stateside, Stefan had taken his father's seat at the head of the table and now ruled the Italian Mafia in Italy. Just as Andrei was reining in the Russian Mob and focusing on legitimate business, Stefan was so directing the Italian counterpart. That didn’t mean, however, that protection wasn’t an everyday job or that blood wasn’t spilled when it was necessary.
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