by Fel Fern
“I’ve heard enough,” Deacon announced, and his heart raced a little faster. “Sabine tells me Theo is heading over to the hawks’ territory.”
Joe recalled seeing a couple of hawk shifters who left the diner with the rest. A chill went down his spine. The hawks were their spies in the air and probably had gotten word to their king, Mal, about Theo. Mal would only see Theo as a threat, because Deacon formed the head of their community. Without Deacon to hold Devil Hills together, the groups living in this territory would scatter, be prey for the humans.
God, but he had to admit, Voss knew how to hit where it hurt worst.
“Santino, Joe, with me. Lance?” Deacon turned to the Beta.
The two had worked together long enough that Lance only nodded. “I’ll take care of things here.”
Not trusting Deacon’s words, he looked at the Alpha.
“We’ll retrieve Theo and decide from there,” was Deacon’s final decision.
Chapter Fourteen
Theo had no clue which direction he flew toward. He only had one destination in mind, Joe’s cabin, because he knew Joe would find him there. Besides, he didn’t want to leave without saying good-bye. Theo knew he’d regret it for the rest of his life. He wanted to see Joe one last time, too, except it felt like he’d been going in circles. The trees in the part of the forest looked different, and Theo felt like he was being watched.
He landed on a branch, securing his talons on the wood for fear he’d somehow slip. While Theo did trust his inner magpie, he knew it wasn’t good fully giving in to his animal. Joe left the cabin in the middle of the night one time to find a werewolf pup who’d gotten stuck in animal form. When he asked if that was dangerous, Joe told him that if a shifter let their inner animal take over, the shifter might forget their human half.
The last thing Theo wanted was to forget Joe—but even if he found Joe’s cabin, would the werewolf enforcer still talk to him? After all, Theo could never forget the judgmental looks of the other paranormals in the diner, how Daryl tried to reach out to him and how close his knife came to that little girl.
Assassin. Theo came this close to knifing the mate of the Alpha. His made his insides twist. Theo didn’t want to kill anyone, to have their blood on his hands. Worst of all, if he did succeed, what would happen to Joe’s pack?
Voss saw the Devil Hills wolves and their allies as a threat because they were one of the few strongest paranormal communities that lived beyond the reach of the Humans Matter government.
Theo’s mind started to wander that he didn’t see the blur of rust-red feathers from the corner of his eyes, but he screeched when talons raked at his chest. He flapped his wings erratically. Pain flared as he tumbled out of the branch and fought to free himself from the large hawk that held him in its—his or her—grasp.
Shit. He forgot about the hawks. Theo still felt like a stranger to his second form, but he did have one thing—he desperately wanted to see his wolf again. He fought back, using talons and his beak, scoring a line of blood over the hawk’s right wings.
The hawk shifter shrieked, releasing him. Theo started to plummet to the forest ground. He shut his eyes, expecting to impact with the forest floor, but landed on something soft instead. Fur.
Joe, he thought, heart racing, but the fur wasn’t bronze but white.
The hawk let out a shrill cry, flapping its wings, but it didn’t swoop at him right away. The werewolf who cushioned his fall lowered him to the ground. Joe stared at the silver eyes peering down at him, then she turned her attention to the hawk.
The avian shifter landed on the forest ground, transforming into a dark-skinned muscled man with piercing brown eyes. “We all saw him attack the wolf Alpha’s mate, Ghost. He nearly stabbed your daughter.”
A chill went down Theo’s spine at those words. That distinctive white-gold hair should have told him that girl was Sabine’s daughter.
Sabine didn’t change forms, merely stared down the hawk shifter.
The shifter scoffed. They must have been doing some kind of communication, because the hawk shifter said, “I won’t stand down. This is hawk land. I would have thought you’d ripped him to shreds for what he nearly did to your precious Alpha’s mate.”
More staring. Did Sabine have some kind of psychic ability? The hawk shifter crossed his arms, no longer pissed, but he had a frown on his lips.
A rattling roar came from the nearby trees. He looked up, seeing Joe in wolf form sprinting to where they were, using his body to shield his tiny form. His heart beat a little faster as the largest wolf he’d ever seen soon appeared, one whose fur and eyes were black as night. Theo thought Joe was big but this—there was no denying this was Deacon Becker.
He could make out the form of another wolf that kept hidden in the bushes, one with dark fur and silver eyes.
Deacon Becker and his Devil and Ghost. This couldn’t be good.
Seeing Deacon, the hawk shifter inclined his head. “I’ll let the pack handle this, then, and inform Mal.”
The hawk shifter changed forms and flew away. Joe turned back to human, gathered Theo in his hands and lifted him.
“Hey,” Joe croaked. If he were human, he’d look away. “Theo, baby. You need to change back so we can talk.”
I can’t. I don’t know how, he wanted to scream, then felt a light brush against his mind.
It didn’t feel intrusive, but gentle and female.
Sabine turned back to human, as well. “Joe, it’s his first time shifting. He doesn’t know how to change back.” The Ghost tilted her head at Deacon, then said, “Deacon says we’ll head back to our lands first. Then deal with this.”
Joe nodded, cradled him close to his chest. “I’ll walk. I can’t risk dropping him.”
“We’ll go ahead,” Sabine said, changing back to wolf in a split second.
The Alpha must have trusted Joe’s word, because Deacon started toward where they came from, Sabine following him, then Santino.
Fear subsided, if only a little. Theo didn’t understand what was happening, but since the wolves didn’t execute him on sight, he might still have a chance of explaining himself. Then what? How could Theo continue living his life, knowing he was some kind of sleeper assassin brainwashed into targeting the Alpha’s mate?
* * * *
Theo must have fell unconscious along the way, but when he woke, Joe lowered his body into something soft. A towel. He looked around, relieved to see the familiar wooden cabinet, the shelf with the family photos of Joe, his two brothers, and parents. They were back in Joe’s home. Why did everything seem so big, though?
Joe stroked his feathers. Wait. His feathers?
Theo squawked, realizing he still remained in bird form. Everything came back to him, his attempt on Daryl’s life, getting lost in hawk lands, and Joe coming to save him. Where was the Alpha and his two scary silver-eyed bodyguards? Theo’s inner bird told him the wolves were nearby, outside the cabin, but Joe wouldn’t let them hurt him. Right?
“Calm down, it’s easy shifting back to human, baby,” Joe told him.
Theo focused his attention to Joe, hoped Joe saw the pleading in his eyes.
“Hey, I’ll guide you. Reach for your magpie, then imagine yourself in human form.”
Joe’s soothing voice helped him relax. Theo did as Joe asked, sensing his animal inside him, but nothing happened.
“Think of this. If you remain in that form, you’ll really miss having sex with me,” Joe said with a grin. That proved to be the magic word, because Theo concentrated on shifting again.
Why don’t we remain like this? This way, none of the wolves or Voss can hurt us, said a tired voice inside him.
After all, he’d been through enough, seen his parents murdered, his brother suffer. If Theo remained in animal form, he wouldn’t be able to hurt anyone, either. No voices in his head now, save his animal’s and his own.
As if Joe sensed his turmoil, the werewolf stroked the feathers on his chest again. Theo had been
injured there, he remembered, but somehow, the scratches began to heal. If being a magpie lying on Joe’s kitchen towel wasn’t an indication, then the healing was. He was really a shifter, just like Tommy and his mom.
“Don’t give up on us, Theo.” Joe scrubbed at his unshaven face. “There’s so much more I want to do with you.”
Me too, Theo thought. I love you so much it hurts, but I don’t want to hurt you or your pack anymore.
It’s better if Joe hears that from your own lips, said a new female voice in his head.
He turned his head, croaking at the sight of a muscled, black-haired man only wearing a pair of jeans standing next to Joe. Beside him stood Sabine, who, thankfully, also wore clothes. Recalling the way she seemed to be able to communicate with the hawk shifter, he tried to reach out, to talk.
Hello?
Had he imagined that voice?
“How is he?” Deacon asked Joe.
“He can’t shift back.”
“Can’t or won’t?” Deacon asked, eying him.
If Theo were in human form, he’d flinch and look away from that intense black gaze. Joe growled and started a staring contest with his Alpha. This wasn’t good. Joe might have taken the role of his protector but going up against Deacon Becker at his full strength, with Sabine and probably Santino nearby, would be equivalent to suicide.
Still, Theo grew so certain Joe would defend him at the cost his own life that it shook him to action. The last thing he wanted was for Joe to die. He rose to his shaky talons and walked toward Sabine. Theo tried communicating to her on a mind-to-mind level again.
I didn’t mean to hurt Daryl or your daughter.
Those strange eyes unnerved him. Theo realized what she and her brother might be. Voss mentioned to another high-ranking Squad member while they thought he was unconscious about an old project where they tried cross-breeding shifters with Espers. Were the Devil and the Ghost a result of that project?
You said you love Joe, she said in his mind.
I do, with everything that I am. I’ll give my life for him, but I can’t live like this, either. Maybe it’s better off if I remain stuck in bird form. I can’t hear Voss’s voice like this.
“So Voss’s brainwashing only works if you’re in human form?” she asked out loud, drawing the attention of Joe and Deacon, who fell silent. Deacon gripped her shoulder.
“Don’t do that,” Joe muttered. “This involves Theo and he’s important to me. Please, just talk normally.”
“I’ve been communicating with Theo,” Sabine said.
“I thought you can only do that with Deacon and your brother?” Joe asked, then ran a frustrated hand through his hair. “What is Theo saying?”
“Part of him refuses to change back to human because he fears he’ll hurt someone.”
Joe let out a breath and reached out, his touch gentle, to stroke his feathery back. “Baby, listen to me. This is your first shift, the longer you hold off turning back to human, the harder it becomes to remember how to change back. We’ll figure this out together.”
“Joe, I made an exception for you and your magpie spy because it’s you, but I won’t again,” Deacon said in a firm voice.
“He’s not a spy,” Joe interjected. “I’ve been with Theo day and night and he hasn’t once harmed me. If the brainwashing only extends to Daryl, then I’ll take him and leave Devil Hills.”
No, Theo thought in panic. This was Joe’s home, and out there, beyond Devil Hills, the world was a dangerous and chaotic place.
“Fine with me,” Deacon said.
“Let’s not give up yet. I have an idea,” Sabine interrupted.
“Theo tried to kill both my mate and your daughter,” Deacon said, a growl accompanying his voice, and even though Theo wasn’t a werewolf, he could sense the overwhelming and angry energy coming off from Deacon.
If he were in human form, goosebumps would have appeared across his skin. No wonder Voss considered Deacon a threat of the highest order. This was one Alpha Theo didn’t want to ever cross again. On the heels of that thought came another. Voss painted dominant shifters as no better than violent animals, but Deacon didn’t kill him outright. When he asked Joe what Deacon was like, Joe’s answer stumped him: “Deacon’s ruthless, he has to be since he became Alpha at a young age, but he’s fair, too.”
Except Theo had a feeling the Alpha had reached his limits.
Chapter Fifteen
“No, Theo intended to kill Daryl, but when Sylvia intervened, he broke Voss’s conditioning because he couldn’t bear to kill a child,” Sabine said.
Those words, Joe mused, might have just bought Theo and him sufficient time. He never expected to find an ally in Sabine but was grateful for her intervention.
Deacon seemed to mull on her words for a few moments. Joe fully understood that Deacon allowed Theo to live this long only because this involved him. If it were any other pack member, Deacon would have acted differently. That decision meant the world to him, reminded him that his trust in his Alpha hadn’t been misplaced.
“What’s the plan?” he asked Sabine.
“Simple. Sever Voss’s influence on Joe’s mind by giving him the mate mark.”
Joe widened his eyes. “Will that even work?”
“When you become mates, he’d need to accept your wolf, and your beast’s dominant enough to keep Voss’s conditioning at bay. We’re working on the theory that, right now, Theo doesn’t hear Voss’s suggestions in his head because in animal form, he’s one with his magpie.”
“I get the gist of what you’re saying,” Deacon said. “If Joe officially mates Theo, then his wolf would keep Voss’s conditioning at bay.”
“If this doesn’t work,” Joe ventured, “then I’ll take Theo with me and leave Devil Hills.”
The decision weighed down on him heavily. Feeling the nudge of a small feathery head, he looked down to see Theo gazing up at him. He didn’t need Theo to be in human form to express emotions. Theo would understand how much that choice would cost him.
“It’ll hurt,” he told his mate. “But you’re worth it.”
“For everyone’s sakes, I hope it does work,” Deacon told him. “I can’t afford to lose another enforcer, and we still haven’t managed to replace Isabella.”
“First thing’s first, though, I need you to turn back to your human self,” he told Theo.
“Santino and I need to deal with the hawks soon,” Deacon finally said. “Sabine will stay here to monitor the situation, but Joe? This is Theo’s last chance. If he goes suddenly out of control, Sabine has my permission to end him, understood?”
Chilled by those words, he nodded, because it was more than fair.
Once Deacon left, he looked at Sabine. “Thanks for having my back there. Why did you help us?”
“Anyone can see Theo’s your mate.” Sabine looked down at Theo. “Now that you have a reason to live, why don’t you help out Joe?”
Joe stroked Theo’s feathers. “Can I do anything to help?”
“Keep talking to him.”
Joe did. “This is just a rough patch of road for us, baby. We’ll get past this hurdle, and someday, I can see us, both in our animal forms, in the woods surrounding our home. I’ll be running on all fours while you’ll fly above me.”
The vision felt so real in his head, and Theo must have wanted the same thing, too, because a series of pops came from Theo as bones rearrange themselves and Theo grew in mass. Finally, his shivering and naked mate stood in front of him.
“Joe, I’ll be outside,” Sabine told him quietly, leaving him and Theo to their privacy.
Theo stared at where Sabine had been. “I didn’t know the Ghost can be kind.”
“Are you itching to tell that to Voss?” It was a test and they both knew it, but Joe needed to know Theo was a hundred percent with him.
Theo huffed, eyes blazing with anger and determination. “I’ll kill myself first before I betray you and everyone else I’ve met.”
“T
hat’s my fierce little fighter. You ready for this?”
“Getting your mate mark, does that mean I’ll really be yours?” Theo asked, running his fingers up and down his bare chest. Good thing Joe only wore a pair of jogging pants. Clothing wouldn’t get in the way of sex.
“In every sense of the word.” Joe tipped Theo’s chin, banded one hand over Theo’s waist, and drew him close. His mate parted his lips, and fuck. It wasn’t hard imagining Theo wrapping those lips around his cock and getting him off.
Joe claimed Theo’s mouth, thrusting his tongue down Theo’s wet mouth. Like a starving man, he ran his hands over the familiar lines of Theo’s body. Over the past week, he made sure Theo ate sufficiently, so his mate was no longer just skin and bones.
His dick thickened and he rubbed it against Theo’s, which had already turned to half-mast.
When he pulled away, Theo surprised him by going to his knees. Letting out a rumble of approval, Joe fisted Theo’s hair, pulling Theo’s mouth close to his dick. “Show me how much you want my cock inside you,” he told his mate.
Theo went to work, sliding his tongue over the pre-cum on his tip, swirling it around his head. He groaned, tightening his hold on Theo’s hair as his mate licked him from top to bottom. Theo reached out, giving his balls a squeeze, probably knowing Joe liked that.
“Open your mouth, baby, take all of me,” he ordered.
Theo didn’t hesitate, merely closed his lips over his prick and began bobbing his head up and down. Joe groaned, his balls tightening against his body. He was so close, and Theo’s mouth felt so damn good on his prick. He gave Theo’s hair a gentle pull, making Theo pause.
“I want to take over,” he said, pleased Theo held his head still as he started thrusting his shaft in and out of Theo’s mouth.
Need surged through his entire body. His wolf wanted to take Theo now and finally free Theo’s mind from his old captor’s influence. If Joe knew earlier that mating Theo might have a chance of erasing Voss’s reprogramming, he’d have done so long ago. Then again, he didn’t want to overwhelm Theo right off the bat that they were mates, especially after everything Theo had gone through.
