by Kelex
And you’re intimidating as hell. I need this kid to agree to help us.
Theis was a bear shifter, as well, but he was a panda shifter. And considerably smaller than his mate. Theis was huge, even by brown bear shifter standards.
Colm sighed. “I’ll wait for you out here.”
“Thanks,” Theis said before heading in.
After finding the elevator wasn’t working, Theis marched up the six flights of stairs before coming to the apartment number scribbled on the parchment. Caelian. Some name. He knocked and heard sounds within.
“Coming.” The door opened, and a younger version of the librarian eyed him. “Yeah?”
“Hi, Caelian. My name’s Theis.” He was in street clothes, not his normal king’s guard armor. He pulled out a badge he used when dressed in plain clothes.
And the guy bolted. He slammed the door and ran.
Theis barely had time to get his foot into the door before it closed. He shoved the door open and saw the younger man climbing through a window. Theis ran over… and just missed grabbing the guy’s wrist.
“Damn it,” he cried before trying to shove himself out of a too narrow window. When it became evident he wasn’t fitting, he raced out of the apartment and down the stairs, knowing full well he’d never catch the guy.
By the time he got toward the bottom, he slowed his pace, realizing there was no point.
He pushed open the front door and turned to Colm.
Who held the guy up a few inches off the sidewalk.
“What took you so long?” Colm asked.
Theis sighed and let out a chuckle.
“The bags weren’t mine. I promise! I was just… dropping them off for someone.”
Colm eyed Theis, trying to hide his smile. “Not yours, hmm? Why not tell us your side of the story and we’ll decide if we believe you or not.” Theis walked closer to the young man. “Let’s get you down to the station.”
“Come on, man. I’m not a bad person. I swear. I owed someone some money, and I had to make the drop off. I don’t even do that blooddust shit.”
Fairy dust mixed with demon’s blood. It was the crack of the immortal world. If he could kill two birds with one stone and get intel on a supplier, it wouldn’t be a bad thing. “Who’d you get it from?”
“I don’t know for sure. I was just told to pick it up at point A and take it to point B and my debt would be gone. The bags were where they were supposed to be. I never saw anyone at either spot.”
“Who told you where to be?”
“I got a note slipped under my door with the details. I don’t know.”
Theis moved in closer. “Whether or not it was yours, we’ve got you on tape transporting an illegal substance. Carries a big jail sentence… possibly even an exile.”
The guy’s eyes grew wide. “Look. I borrowed a little cash to try and start a business… which failed. Either I paid them back or did as I was asked—or they’d kill me. I didn’t have the money, so I had no choice. I don’t use drugs. I didn’t sell any. I just brought in the bags through the terminal.”
“How’d you get past?”
Caelian closed his eyes. “Man, if I tell you that, they’ll kill me.”
“Exile sound better to you?” Theis asked.
Caelian reopened his eyes, looking worried. “Dead or exiled. Maybe I choose exile.”
“And what if I can protect you?” Theis said.
Caelian stared at him.
“Well?” Theis asked.
“I want the promise in writing,” Caelian said. “And protection. A damned good spell, it needs to be. These people have money to buy top of the line spell breakers, so I need better than good. I need unbreakable.”
“I have something else in mind,” Theis said before nodding to Colm. “Let’s get him somewhere a little less public.”
An hour later and they had Caelian’s confession. One of their own—a transit authority officer—was letting a flow of drugs come into their city. Caelian had been instructed to go through a certain line when bringing the bags in and had been allowed to pass right through. The guy wasn’t on any of the watch lists and wouldn’t have set off any alarms in the terminal.
“You believe he’s not in on it?” Colm asked from the adjoining room. He stared at Caelian through the two-way mirror.
“My gut tells me he’s clean,” Theis said. “You think otherwise?”
Colm shook his head. “No. He’s clean. I just wanted your honest opinion. If you’d hedged answering me, I’d have known you had doubts.”
Theis eyed his mate. “Do you use that tactic often?”
Colm grinned. “Noooo… of course not.”
“Careful. I’ll tell our pregnant mate when we get home so he knows your game, too.” Their human, Reese, was growing larger by the day. And Colm bent over backwards caring for the man. Not that Theis wasn’t spoiling their human rotten himself.
“Game? No,” Colm said with a grin. “I just know how to get answers.”
“Maybe you should’ve interrogated Caelian instead.”
“I’m ready to tag in if you need me to.”
Theis shook his head. “I don’t think we need it. I just came out to give him a moment to squirm a little before telling him he’s about to be drafted into service. He needs to think I’m giving him a deal to get out of trouble.”
Colm lifted a brow. “Ever use that on us?”
Theis smiled. “Noooooooo.”
Colm tugged him closer and then pressed a kiss to his lips. “Go get ‘em.”
“Yep. And I need you to go check in with the tech team to see if they’ve pinpointed which transit cop let Caelian through.”
“On it.”
Theis headed back into the interrogation room as Colm went the opposite direction. Once inside, he took a seat across from the table where a very worried looking Caelian sat, ashen.
“So, I’ve discussed what you’ve told me with my bosses… they’re rechecking the tapes now, trying to confirm everything you’ve told me.” Theis sighed, pinching his nose. He played his part, overdramatizing the situation. “They told me to take you down to holding b—”
“You said you’d protect me!”
“Wait,” Theis said, lifting a hand. “I saw in your file that you have some skills we need… and I talked them into letting you prove you’re on our side.”
Caelian sat up straighter. “Skills?”
“You read and write the old languages, correct?”
Caelian’s face went blank. He was quiet a moment. “That was in my file, huh?”
“Yep,” Theis said.
“Or did my grandfather set this shit up?”
Theis smiled. “We talked to your grandfather… he told us where to find you.”
Caelian sat back in his chair. “This wasn’t even about the bags, was it?”
Theis’ smile grew. “Nope.”
“Fuck.”
“You still broke the law, Caelian. You transported illegal contraband into the city.” Theis paused. “You ratted yourself out.”
“You can’t hold me for this. Without the bags, there’s no proof of anything. You have to release me.”
“Yeah,” Theis said. “But you still told us a lot of information. Information that could get you killed.”
Caelian’s eyes closed again. He squeezed them shut before reopening them. “What is it you want me to do?”
“We need a researcher. Someone to comb through the archives, looking for information. Discreet research… in exchange for that protection spell. I can have the king himself create the spell.”
“Word on the street is the king’s magic isn’t as juiced as it once was.”
Theis eyed the man. “Is that so?”
“He was attacked twice… nearly killed. His magic didn’t save him. Who says it’ll save me?” Caelian asked.
“He’s the strongest warlock in this city.”
“Obviously someone else holds that place, if someone had the king runnin
g for his life,” Caelian said.
“Where do you get all this information?” Theis demanded.
“I hear things,” Caelian said. “I spend my days hustling to make a dollar. You see and hear things out there on the streets.”
“When you could be working in the archives and making an honest living.”
Caelian’s face fell. “Have you met my grandfather?”
“I have.”
“Would you want to spend hours on end every day of your life with him?” Caelian chuckled. “And don’t tell me he won’t last much longer. The bastard is five hundred and sixteen. He’s outlived his wife, his siblings, all twenty of his children, and a few grandchildren. None of his over a hundred living grandchildren speak to him. Including me.”
“Are there any other of his grandchildren who know the old languages? Maybe they would be more cooperative than you.”
Caelian eyed him. “None. I was the only one who could handle him for any length of time.”
“What changed?”
Caelian didn’t answer.
Theis narrowed his lids, wondering what had happened. “Look, it’s truly none of my business what went on between you and him. All I know is the king has commanded me to search for answers and I need help with that. I don’t speak the old languages and your grandfather has no time to help me. Either you do it, or I fail my king. Either you do it, or you leave this building looking over your shoulder, wondering if someone will figure out you sang like a bird in here.”
Caelian remained silent a few more moments before releasing a slow breath. “Fine. I’ll help you. But I don’t have to be nice to the asshole.” He paused. “And when this is done and over, I’m not stepping foot inside that archive ever again.”
“I could care less one way or another,” Theis said.
“Good.”
Theis rose to his feet. “I’ll get your protection spell ready. And to make sure you’re safe, I’ll send an officer to guard you, as well.”
“Babysit, you mean?”
Theis tilted his head. “You were the one second-guessing the king’s spellmaking. Do you want extra protection or not?”
“Whatever,” Caelian spat.
“Consider it an extra layer of protection from your grandfather, too. Having someone else there might be the buffer you need.”
“As if that will stop him from saying every nasty thing that comes to mind.”
Theis frowned. He was just glad he wouldn’t be doing the babysitting. He felt bad for whomever they sent to do the job. “I’ll get everything ready for you so you can get to work.”
Chapter Three
Later that night, Adriel peeked into his office. Eilam and Noah hovered over his desk, pouring over the proposed guest list. He heard them grumbling about the ball… had heard them grumbling about it earlier when he’d handed over the lists. Adriel knew they weren’t excited about the ball—but it was important for him to show the immortal world that he was no longer hiding from his mates. He had accepted them into his life and they now stood at his sides in their rightful places.
His subjects would show them the respect they were due. In order for that to happen, he needed to properly introduce them and honor them as his mates.
Adriel eyed both men, his heart quickening a bit. He let his gaze roam over their big, muscled bodies. Their few nights together hadn’t been enough to quench the need he felt for them. Remembering the feel of their strong hands on his body, he stiffened, already yearning for their touch once more.
They were both so handsome. So intelligent. So exhilarating. They were strong willed and strong minded. Capable challengers who would never leave him bored. In bed and out of it. Their time together had been brief, but they’d already turned his world upside down.
Perhaps too much. He struggled to make it through the day, following through with his duties. He hoped things would settle between the three of them. The distraction was proving to be too much for him.
But what a distraction they were.
After looking his fill, he strolled into his office. He let his robe fall open slightly, exposing some of his nakedness underneath. Adriel came to a stop before the desk, ready to pick up where they’d stopped that morning.
“Coming to bed?”
Both men lifted their stares. Absent looks crossed their tired faces before both looked down again at what they were working on.
“Not yet,” Eilam said. “We have a ton of work to do in order to be ready for your ball.”
“I thought I said others should be handling the security. Your brother? Theis? I’m sure they would be quite willing to serve their king.”
“Both are quite busy with their own concerns,” Eilam said, before looking back at the guest list. “We just sent Theis on an errand, searching for clues about your uncle. And my brother?” Eilam’s face became a set of hard lines. “My brother has his hands full.”
“No one will do this job better than your mates,” Noah added before looking down at the desk.
Adriel stood there another moment, shocked they had barely given him a second glance. Disappointment gripped him at the thought of retiring alone. He let the silken robe slide down his shoulders some. His nudity was nearly on full display. That should get their attention. “You can work on those plans tomorrow. Tonight, we go to bed. Together.”
Eilam and Noah lifted their heads, yet still seemed to ignore Adriel’s seduction.
Eilam pinched his nose and closed his eyes. “You wish to hold a party for a thousand guests within a week. We have no time to spare.”
“None,” Noah agreed.
Adriel let the robe slip to the floor. He ran a hand down his chest… sliding it down to caress his burgeoning cock. “No time… for this?”
Eilam stared at him, one brow slowly rising while Noah lifted his head. Adriel thought he might see a spark of need there in Noah’s eyes, but if he had, it was gone too quickly.
“You’ll have to go to bed alone tonight,” Noah said. “We’ll likely be working through the night.”
Adriel stared between them, anger filling him. “You will come to bed. Now.”
“While going to bed sounds much better than what I plan to do tonight,” Eilam answered. “Unfortunately, the answer is no.”
No?
“One night alone in your bed won’t kill you,” Noah said.
“Perhaps more than one night,” Eilam added. “We might not be able to sleep again until after the ball.”
“If this is some game you’re playing,” Adriel spat. “It’s not appreciated.”
“It’s no game,” Eilam said, staring down at the plans. He turned to Noah, ignoring Adriel. “What about this area of castle? We should get an extra guard here, don’t you think?”
“If not two,” Noah said. “Do we have enough manpower?”
The gall! Adriel stomped his foot, but both men ignored him.
Ignored him.
Unused to such blatant disregard, Adriel stared at them another moment, knowing it was within his power to have them come to bed. He could cancel the ball and be done with it. But that would mean they had won.
They would not win.
Fine. I can play games just as easily. Adriel reached down and snatched his robe before marching into his bedroom.
Alone.
With the door closed behind him, he felt lonelier than ever. He leaned up against it, naked… needy…
On the other side of that door were the two he wanted. He wanted to feel their strong arms around his body, holding him tight. They hadn’t been together long, but he already craved the feel of their bodies beside his in the night.
No. They won’t play games with me. He locked the door and added a burst of magic. When they finally caved—and he knew they would—they would find themselves locked out and unable to spend the night in his bed. Adriel glared at the knob, pleased with himself, before padding barefoot to the bed and crawling in.
Alone.
Somehow he felt as i
f none of them were winning anything that night.
* * * *
“Do you really think these games are going to work?” Eilam asked. Though he’d told the king this was no game, ultimately it was. A power play he had little desire to pursue. He shoved a hand through his hair, exhaustion setting in. On the other side of that door was a soft, soft bed with the man they loved waiting for them inside it.
“This is no game,” Noah said. “It’s a lesson.”
“If you say so,” Eilam answered.
“And it isn’t as if we lied. We have no time to plan this event. The logistics of getting a thousand bodies through the terminals alone is enough to give me nightmares. There’s no time for sleep… or what the king has in mind for tonight.”
“We could bring in some outside help,” Eilam said.
“Max?”
Eilam stiffened. “No. Not my brother. You know as well as I do that I’d never hear the end of it from him if he was here.” Eilam shuddered to think about it. “I could make some calls and see if our friends in Bear Mountain would like to come for a visit.”
“Someone would still need to direct things,” Noah said.
Eilam sat back in his chair, knowing no one could do the job they would.
Noah sighed. “You’re so wrapped around our mate’s fingers that you’re ready to give in to him.”
Eilam scoffed. “I’m not wrapped.”
“It hasn’t even been twenty-four hours and you’re giving up already!”
Eilam sighed. “And how far have we already come. Months of him pushing us away has turned into being publicly acknowledged as his mates. He’s accepted us. He’s right next door, ready to take us into his bed. Ready to open his arms and let us in. We’ve come far, Noah.”
“And what of outside that bed? We’re not equals in this mating. He holds all the power.”
“That can come in time,” Eilam said. “We all have to get used to one another. He’s used to being in charge. We slowly show him how to surrender.”
“No,” Noah snapped. “We give into him now, and it will continue. He’ll become unyielding the longer we allow this. We’re not the ones following behind him, telling him yes at every turn. Someone needs to tell him no from time to time.”
