by Jo Penn
“Not what. Who.” The person belonging to the first voice, smooth and cultured, sighed. “Think of it this way. It’s for the triplets. You’re buddies with them. You even gave Trekk advice on how to open up his engine valves.”
“It was either that, or watch him ruin a damn fine car. So, it’s Trekk?”
“No—”
Edward stuck the earbud into his ear and sank back into the corner of the lift behind the two men who were speaking. Neither paid him any attention when they boarded the elevator a few moments before from the seventh floor, and that didn’t bother Edward one bit.
For one, he didn’t know them, so he didn’t expect a greeting and friendly conversation. That would have been weird. And two, he instantly pegged them as creatures. Edward wasn’t a fan of paranormals. He wasn’t prejudice per say, just indifferent.
Occasionally, passive aggressively irritated by them.
Creatures just seemed to take over. They stepped into a room and were instantly part of the group, liked and joining in. And the rules and laws always favored paranormals in some way or other. They even boasted about being faster, stronger, and smarter, and had ‘gifts.’
Yeah, they were the whole package.
Edward wasn’t impressed. In fact, he did his very best to avoid paranormals. If they were so damn good, why were there so many articles about the Renegades? That told an entirely different story, didn’t it? A group of paranormals who banded together for the sole purpose of overthrowing leaders, paranormal and human alike. It was just power and control. Renegades wanted more power. They already had power, they were stronger and had gifts, yet they were hungry for more and wanted control of everything! Never satisfied.
Huh, sounded fantastic to be around.
And what were the supposedly good creatures doing? Well, they banded together, too. They trained soldiers to fight off attacks from Renegades and kept track of everyone they could. Including humans. Another form of control. They didn’t want to give up their power, so the ones without gifts were stuck beneath all the drama and angst.
Edward was happy to completely ignore the fact that humans were members of the Renegade group.
The big inky black haired creature in front of Edward turned slightly and looked him up and down, eyes a startling light, liquid silver. For a moment, Edward was struck dumb by the creature. Big, nearly seven foot he imagined, with a dark complexion and dark hair, he really was a sight to behold. Fierce looking, all slashes and angles, dark and intense.
Man, the creature was damn hot. Too bad he was a paranormal, and probably far too intense for Edward’s taste…still.
The other man also turned after a moment and first glanced at the big creature, then Edward. This creature was probably six inches shorter, had golden eyes, light blonde hair, was slender and very attractive. Edward had seen the man around a few times. They worked in the same building, and he was hot. He received a lot of looks from males and females alike.
The blond man’s eyebrows shot up, and he turned fully to face Edward. “Hello. Sorry, I didn’t realize there was anyone else in the lift.” He gave a charming, self-deprecating smile. “I was engrossed in the argument with my brother.”
Edward frowned, eyes flicking to the other man. Brother? There wasn’t anything similar about them.
“Anyway, I’m River Aston.” He put out his hand and had it batted away by the big inky black haired man. River sighed. “Vinn—”
“The human smells of irritation and dislike, to name a few scents he’s giving off. And that’s directed at us.”
Edward rolled his eyes. The lift door opened and with a grip on his backpack, slipped out past the creatures and made his way across the lobby, inwardly groaning when River Aston caught up and walked beside him.
“I apologize for my brother. He meant no offense.” River stepped right in front of Edward, blocking him.
Edward sighed and waved a hand inanely. “Doesn’t matter. Excuse me.”
“I’m a lawyer here for Aston and Williams. I haven’t seen you before. What’s your name?”
Here was the thing. Edward could brush the guy off, he wasn’t getting the vibes Aston was interested in him physically, sexually, but he was interested in some way, and that caused the hair on Edward’s arms to stand on end. It wasn’t good to come to the notice of a paranormal. And a lawyer paranormal? Yeah, that was just a bundle of trouble Edward could do without.
He sighed. There was no point in brushing the lawyer off. He’d answer some questions, try to cover his disinterest of paranormals as best he could, and hope the creature didn’t pull him up on some law or other. Creatures could be tricky bastards.
“Edward Nelson.”
Aston smiled, pleased. “Edward, excellent. And where do you work, Edward?”
“I’m an accounts clerk for Stenhouse Finance on the twelfth floor. Look, I’m not offended you didn’t notice me in the lift. Not bothered at all, go ahead and not notice me, I’m fine with it. Can I go now?”
“Sure, sure, it was nice to meet you, Edward. Oh, do you know Café Knowles?”
“No.”
“Ah, you should go there, great coffee. See you around, Edward. Let’s go, Vinncent.”
Paranormals were weird, Edward decided, watching the pair leave the lobby and exit the building. The big guy, Vinncent, glanced back at Edward while speaking on his phone.
Leaving the office building, Edward walked down the end of the street and caught the bus that weaved through the business district and out of the city to the Eastern suburbs. He liked Milson East. Sure, there were better parts of Milson Valley to live in, like the Village which was the real posh area, or Milson South that had all the mansions, but Milson East was like a little township with a mix of working families, single parent families, young couples, and singles such as himself. Arriving at his stop, Edward got off the bus and walked the block and a half to the building where he rented a small one bedroom apartment.
It wasn’t much, but it was clean and had relatively new appliances. Edward had been here for three years and purchased a few pieces of furniture, and was saving up to buy his own place. At thirty-seven, he was beginning to want something to call his own and was considering the future a lot more.
After dinner, he was restless. Probably because of that weird conversation with River Aston. He would have to watch his emotions, creatures could scent them and tell what he was thinking and feeling. That was a peculiar thing and had always made Edward think of paranormals as more animal than human. Apparently, that wasn’t the case, something about them having heightened senses.
Opening the bay windows, Edward sat on the cushioned seat and took in the cool night. It was late winter, and quite cold in Milson Valley. He thought he’d mind that, after coming from LA where it was pretty warm most of the year, but Edward was finding he liked the change in seasons and colder weather. It would stay cold here through January to late March before spring slowly began. As it was only January, Christmas just a few weeks past, there was still a lot of the winter season to go.
Edward sighed, trying not to think about Christmas. It was said to be a time of year that was full of happiness, or made people more depressed. Edward wasn’t depressed, but that didn’t mean he didn’t feel for a brief time the sadness that came with being alone, especially during the Christmas season. While others were opening gifts and putting on a big spread for the ones they loved, he had Oreos, a dirty martini, and books. Alone. That’s the way it had been for a long time now.
Edward peered closer at a car across the street. It was like one of those cars on police shows getting busted for illegal racing, so it stood out. Edward had often wondered what that would be like, the speed, the freedom. He didn’t have the courage to do something like that, though, and there was no way anyone from the illegal racing scene would let him into their clique.
A big man leaning against the side of the car pushed off and with a movement of his hand—perhaps a wave—and walked around to the driver’s
side and slid in. The next moment a loud, rumbling engine disturbed the quiet of the night and the car shot off at a rather sedate pace, Edward watching until it was out of sight.
He looked to the sky. He’d only ever wanted happiness, but like the stars, it was out of his reach.
Chapter Two
“Where is he? Did you go see him?”
Tripp grabbed a beer and nudged one of his brothers out of the way of the track. Sometimes Trekk was like a hyperactive puppy. Not all the time, the bear could be a lazy shit, and he liked to buck authority. They were close, though, very close. They had a unique connection. Not all littermates had such a strong connection as Tripp and his brothers. Some were as close as any brothers would be, others went their own way. And then there were the ones such as Tredd, Tripp, and, Trekk, who could feel what the other felt and had difficulty being apart for too long.
That was part of their triplet connection, and Tripp wouldn’t have it any other way.
“I saw him. I didn’t get close enough to scent.”
Trekk gave an exaggerated sigh while Tredd just smiled and shoved another honey bun into his big mouth. Tredd had an enormous sweet tooth.
“You three racing, or gossiping?” Alpha Urian Starters of the Starters wolf pack joined them and grabbed a beer out of the large tub filled with ice. “And did I hear that you’ve got River and Vinn Aston stalking some human for you, Tripp? Don’t touch that pup.”
All three big bears peered down at the little wolf reaching out to snag a beer from the tub. Such a gorgeous little wolf with a unique gift of being able to calm himself and others. In fact, the pup was so calm he made everyone want to relax and take a nap. Urian pretty much adopted the wolf and spent a lot of time keeping an eye on him.
The three bears grinned. They adored Ran Markson. He was a great addition to the Starters pack, and they got a real kick out of his mate, part human, part sprite, Deakin Myers. They found the creature hilarious. Not so much Ran’s other mate, Vicus Aston. Now that was a creature no one with a smidge of sense should ever mess with. As an Avenger, he was the deadliest creatures alive, and he was very protective of his mates.
This had Tripp frowning and glancing around wondering why Ran was here without his mates. He knew Deakin wasn’t too keen on the drag racing scene and Vicus could take it or leave it, whereas Ran got a little hyper and wanted to have a go behind the wheel. Vicus said no. Deakin squealed no, and Ran’s guardian, big special three wolf Enforcer, Drax Charmers, pretty much banned Ran. Of course, he was allowed to watch, but that was it.
Ran nodded and sighed. “I’m not driving. I can drink, Uri.”
“The last time I let you have a beer, you tripped, fell on the bottle, and cut your arm.” Urian, the big tough Alpha, grimaced. “Then I had to explain to Vicus how I could let that happen, while he was sharpening his claws on my brand new desk. So, no drinking unless I wrap you up in bubble wrap. That’s the deal, take it or leave it.”
All three Croggen bears grinned down at Ran. He was five foot five, they were six foot eight. Ran appeared to be mulling it over and then yawned.
“Nah, I can wait till Vicus arrives. Hey, I’m gonna go see River and Vinn.”
Before Uri could comment, Ran bolted. Uri swore and rushed after the pup. They all laughed.
“River and Vinn wouldn’t actually stalk the human, would they?” Tredd asked curiously.
“Nah, River’s too much of a stickler for the law,” Trekk said.
Tripp pointed. “That River? The one revving his illegal racing car ready to take the track?”
“Smartass.” Trekk chuckled. “So, when are you going to get a whiff of the human? Do you even want to? Just because Tredd’s mateship sucks, it shouldn’t sway you from finding your mate.”
Tredd pulled a face. “Yeah, thanks for that, bro. Speaking of mates, have you seen mine? He’s here somewhere.”
Tripp looked around. You didn’t often see Alessandro Trent Sanchez, a Lord from the Sanchez pride, hanging out with them, and certainly not at one of the racing nights. Alessandro, or Trent as he went by, was kind of suave and had different tastes. He was also not the best mate in the world.
“He’ll probably be with his pride,” Tripp muttered. “When is he due back in Zurich?”
“Leaves tomorrow at noon.”
That sucked. Tredd and Trent had met during one of Trent’s visits to his home pride here in Milson Valley five years ago. Tredd explained to Trent that as triplets with a deep connection, he couldn’t be separated long from his brothers. Trent had pretty much said that was okay, he understood, but he had his own life and duties and wasn’t going to stop what he was doing at this stage in his life.
On the one hand, Tripp completely understood, it wasn’t reasonable to expect one mate to change their entire life for another. There should be collaboration and agreement reached. On the other hand, insensitive much? As it turned out, Tredd followed his mate to Zurich, and over the last five years traveled between there and Milson City.
On this trip home, Trent had been ordered back by his uncle, King Diego Sanchez, and they’d stayed approximately a week. Now Trent was due back in Zurich, as he was a Commander for the Alliance and his skills greatly needed. Tredd wasn’t going back for a while, though. They were at a stalemate. Trent’s uncle had spoken to him about the situation and advised staying here with Tredd. The location of where Trent worked from could be changed, but the stubborn ass refused. This caused a huge uproar, mostly about Trent’s behavior. Tripp, Tredd, and Trekk, along with the pack, didn’t have to do anything. The Sanchez’s were giving Trent a hard enough time, and Tripp knew Trent wouldn’t be going for more than six weeks or so, just to transfer everything across to Milson Valley. Diego assured Tredd of that.
Basically, the distance and time apart had begun to adversely affect the triplets, and they couldn’t be separated for quite a while again. And mates shouldn’t be apart. Like it or not, Trent was being ordered home, and beneath the smiles and nods of agreement, Tripp didn’t believe for a moment the stunning tiger shifter was happy about the ruling. Trent had always been a little…defiant and challenging.
“That’s me.” Trekk grabbed his keys and rushed away as his race number was called.
“How’re you doing?” Tripp asked his brother.
“Been better. Mate’s not talking to me more than a polite few words, I feel like shit because I’m messing up his life and what he loves to do and honestly, I think something else is going on.”
“Like what?”
Tredd shrugged. “Don’t rightly know, bro. Trent’s the übersmart one. He’s always got something planned. So what are you going to do about the human? Don’t you think you’ve waited long enough to find out?”
“I’ll check him out tomorrow.” Tripp was keen to do that.
He wanted to scent the human. If he were this drawn already to a man he hadn’t even scented, one Tripp didn’t know was his mate or not, then he needed to take the next step as soon as possible and find out. For the next few hours, he watched races, laughed and joked around, winced at crashes and raced himself, winning one, blowing up his engine in the next. That sucked.
He saw Trent a few times, the magnificent looking creature giving one of those smiles that said nothing was wrong, but Tripp had long ago learned not to believe. He watched Tredd try to get close to his mate, but get dismissed. Trent was being hustled away by one of his littermates, Enforcer Baron Sanchez. At the end of the evening, Tripp had to get his car towed back to the large house he shared with Trekk, and now Tredd, who mumbled about not wanting to stay at the Sanchez Compound.
He drifted off to sleep wondering about the human who had so completely caught his attention.
* * * *
Rushing into the lobby late, as usual, Edward headed straight for the set of lifts that would take him to the twelfth floor where Stenhouse Finance was located, and he worked as an accounts clerk.
He was so focused on where he was going, he wasn’t in an
yway prepared for a large creature suddenly appearing directly in front of him, and very nearly collided with a very broad chest. After the incident yesterday in the lift with River Aston and his hunky darkly brooding brother, Edward knew his pepper spray would be considered an act of aggression, resulting in him either being severely injured when the creature attacked, or he would be arrested. So instead, Edward used a defense move he’d practiced till he could do it without thinking.
With no more than a quick glance at the damn big creature, he made a move to his right, just a slight turn that would have the creature believing he was going in that direction. Instead, Edward slid across the polished tiled floor to his left and shot past the outmaneuvered man. He picked up speed and practically ran the remaining distance to the elevator, and managed to jump in just as the doors were closing.
Unfortunately, he didn’t even have the opportunity to sigh in relief as the big creature was just as fast. Using both hands on the closing doors, the man didn’t seem to have any difficulty holding them open. Honey hazel eyes met Edward’s, and he blinked in surprise as the man smiled slowly at him.
Damn! Startled by the rather predatory smile directed his way, and not able to shrink back as the lift was pretty much crammed full, he kept his eyes locked on the creature in case of a sudden attack. And it came pretty quickly, too. Edward had little time to react when the man thrust a hand forward. Grabbed by the stone-gray overcoat he wore, the big man preceded to pull Edward out of the lift while holding the door open and sniffing deeply.
“He’s a fast little one,” a voice rumbled beside them.
“Hot, too,” another deep voice said chirpily.
Edward didn’t have much time to see what was happening as he was hauled along beside the creature that’d grabbed him, and the next moment, he was thrust into one of the leather chairs in the lobby. When he finally focused, it was to discover three very nearly identical men all staring down at him. All three smiled. One stuffed a honeybun into his mouth.
