Evans, Gabrielle - Shades of Black [Fatefully Yours 5] (Siren Publishing LoveXtreme Forever ManLove)

by Gabrielle Evans

  Luckily, no one seemed to notice anything. They were too busy mumbling mutinously under their breaths. Unluckily, Echo chose that moment to come waltzing into the kitchen, his long hair still damp from the shower and clinging to his bare shoulders. Without a word, he marched straight over to Hex, took his wrist, and steered him toward one of the kitchen chairs.

  “Up,” he demanded of Jet, and the little shifter popped up immediately and hurried around the table. “Sit.” Echo pointed toward the chair and pushed at Hex’s chest.

  With his head spinning and his equilibrium off, Hex had no choice but to obey the command. Dropping heavily into the seat, he closed his eyes and tried to breathe through the blinding pain. It kind of amused him that though unaffected by sickness and diseases, he and the other demons were prone to headaches. It seemed like such a weak human frailty it almost made him laugh…almost.

  Echo crawled up in his lap and straddled his thighs. His slim fingers pressed against Hex’s temples, drawing small, precise circles. “You know better than to let it get this bad,” he scolded lightly. “You need to go lie down. The meeting can wait. Did you take any aspirin?”

  Hex shook his head, though he wasn’t sure which part he was saying no to—maybe all of it. “We need to figure this out,” he said finally. “I want to leave either tonight or first thing in the morning.”

  Echo sighed. “I didn’t want to have to do this.”

  That got Hex’s attention. His eyes snapped open, and he regarded his mate warily. “Do what exactly?”

  Instead of answering, Echo closed his own eyes, pressed his palms flat against the side of Hex’s face, and breathed deeply. Several seconds passed where no one said a word or moved a muscle. Then Echo opened his eyes and frowned. “I hope this doesn’t hurt.”

  Before Hex could become worried, Echo’s eyelids drifted closed once more, and his hands pressed more insistently against Hex’s temples. An uncomfortable tingle worked its way across his skin, not painful, but definitely not enjoyable. His heart beat a little faster, his stomach knotted, and bile rose up in his throat.

  Very slowly, the unwelcomed sensations began to dissipate, taking with them the tension in his neck and shoulders. With every inhale, the pain inside his head lessened until it faded away completely.

  Echo’s hand slid down to cup his cheeks, and he smiled beautifully. “Better?”

  “Much.” Hex sighed and bent forward to brush his lips over his mate’s. “Thank you, baby. How did you do that?”

  “Just took a little of you, mixed it with a little of me, and gave it back.” He leaned closer so that his soft lips swept over Hex’s ear. “Tell me next time. Please? I don’t like to see you hurting.”

  Hex pulled Echo to his chest and hugged him tightly. He’d never done anything in his life to deserve someone like this man. That didn’t mean that he wouldn’t fight fang and claw to hang on to him, though. “I’ll tell you,” he promised. Echo sat up straight again, and the smile he gave him was worth any sliver of weakness he felt for accepting his lover’s help.

  Patting Echo’s hip, he eased the man off his lap and stood to address the room. “Okay, first we need to decide who’s going, and who’s staying here with Syn and Jinx. They’re scrappy little guys, but also completely defenseless during the day.”

  “I’ll stay,” Gage answered immediately. “Me, Sony, and Mac, we’ll stay and take care of them.”

  Mac snorted and rolled his eyes as he patted Gage’s thigh. “Nice try, big guy, but I think I need to go. You can stay and protect the vamps. Sony can come and look out for me if that will make you feel better.”

  “Why in the fuck would that make me feel better?” Gage growled, the sound deep and rumbling in his chest. “You’re not going anywhere without me.”

  “Well, we have to go as well,” Pax added, jerking a thumb between himself and Jet. “We may not be much help in actually finding the cave, but I think we’ll be useful once inside.”

  Hex nodded his agreement. He’d asked to be diplomatic, but in actuality, he’d already decided who would stay behind. Taking a deep breath and preparing himself for the fight that was sure to follow his announcement, he turned to face his warriors. “Myst, Onyx, and Vapre, you’ll stay.”

  “No.” To Hex’s surprise the denial had come from Eyce.

  “No?” Hex arched an eyebrow and crossed his arms over his chest. “Do you have a better solution?”

  Eyce dipped his head curtly, his eyes flashing with determination. “Leave me and Onyx. We’ll be the least helpful to you.”

  “Agreed.” Onyx spoke up. “We’ll stay and work on finding a steady supply of blood for Syn and Jinx. Maybe they’ll have some suggestions when they wake up. There’s no need for three of us to stay.”

  “If it’s as bad as we’re thinking it is, you’ll need all the help you can get out in those trees.” Eyce crossed his arms over his torso, mirroring Hex’s pose and daring him to argue without words.

  “I’d rather have three of you here,” Hex said after a short pause.

  “I’ll stay.” Sony rose from his chair and squeezed Gage’s shoulder when the werewolf opened his mouth. “Hush,” he whispered to his mate. “There’s not much I can do for you in the forest, but I can protect the vamps and keep these clowns in line.”

  Gage began to rise from his chair, but Sony pushed him back down. “You’ll take care of Mac, and I can help here. You will let me do this because frankly, you don’t have a choice.” He bent and kissed Gage’s temple. “But also because you trust me and know I’m right.”

  “I don’t have to like it, though,” Gage grumbled, winding his arm around the man’s waist and pulling him into his lap. “Be careful and take care of yourself, because I expect you to be waiting for me when I get back.”

  Hex could understand the ex-guard’s concern. Hell, he’d give anything to keep Echo locked up in his bedroom until this entire mess was over. Shifting his gaze to Echo, he found his mate staring right back at him with a stubborn set to his jaw.

  Scrubbing a hand over his face, Hex bobbed his head a few times. “Get packed,” he ordered. “We’ll leave when the sun goes down.”

  “We could always call—”

  “No,” Hex said firmly, cutting Syx off and shifting his eyes toward Echo. “Just drop it.”

  “Who?” Echo stood quickly and hurried over to them. “Call who? Is it someone that can help? Who is it?”

  “No one,” Hex growled. “Everyone go get packed.”

  Fisting his small hands on his hips, Echo glared at them. “You know I don’t like secrets or lies. You’re doing both. Now someone better fucking tell me what’s going on and who Syx is talking about!”

  Every demon turned a murderous stare on Syx, and Hex wanted to punch him in his stupid mouth. “We’ll talk about this later,” he said to the warrior, completely ignoring Echo’s anger. Then he pushed past them all and stormed out of the kitchen.

  He made it no further than the threshold when a hand wrapped around his wrist and jerked him around. “You do not just walk off like that. If you know someone that can help, why won’t you call him? You’re being a complete dick.”

  “Echo, let it go.” Hex didn’t want to yell at his mate, but he didn’t want to have this conversation either.

  “I will not let it go. You’re hiding things from me, which means it’s probably bad. I’m just as much a part of this family as anyone, and I deserve the right to know. Who does Syx think you should call?”

  “Craze could help,” Myst said softly from behind him. Hex closed his eyes and groaned.

  “Craze? Who is that? Who the hell has a name like Craze?” Echo looked around the room at the men assembled there and smiled crookedly. “Oops. I guess we all have some funny names.” Then he went right back to being serious. “So, who is he…or she?”

  “Let it go,” Hex said coldly and pushed Echo aside to leave the kitchen. He made it to the staircase before he heard Echo scream.

  “What t
he fuck do you mean he was your lover?”

  Chapter Three

  Echo swallowed hard while his legs shook, threatening to drop him. He didn’t know why the news upset him so much. He knew Hex and Ares had been…well, they’d had sex. If the others had taken someone to bed outside of their relationship, none of them had mentioned it. Hell, he hadn’t been a blushing virgin when he’d wandered to them, either.

  But, this felt different. Maybe it was the way Myst had said the man’s name. Maybe it was Hex’s cold refusal to discuss it. Mostly, it was the look in his lovers’ eyes that made his heart ache inside his chest.

  “All seven of you?” he asked quietly, looking around the group, trying to get someone to meet his eyes.

  “Yes,” Eyce answered, but still looked somewhere over Echo’s shoulder.

  “Were you ever going to mention that there had been an eighth?” He knew the answer just by staring at their faces, but he had to ask.

  “It wasn’t important until now,” Vapre mumbled, then gave a scathing glace to Syx.

  “How long?” Echo watched the others rise slowly from the table and creep out of the room behind him. He couldn’t blame them. He wouldn’t want to be caught up in the middle of this mess either.

  “Four,” Myst whispered.

  “Four years?”

  “Four hundred,” Eyce said clearly. “Craze was with us for four hundred years.”

  “Oh, gods.” Echo covered his mouth with a trembling hand. “When did he leave?” Before anyone could answer, he waved his hand in front of them. “Never mind, I don’t want to know.”

  “Echo, baby, it was a long time ago. Over a thousand years ago,” Fiero tried to reassure him. He brushed past the others, holding his hands out for Echo to come to him.

  Taking several hurried steps back, Echo shook his head. “How could you keep something like this from me? You said it had always been just the seven of you. You lied to me. If you felt you needed to lie about it, that makes me worry that you’re not over him.”

  “You’re our mate,” Fiero said as if that just explained everything. It did very little to calm Echo’s growing panic.

  “I can’t…I have to go. I’m sorry.” Spinning around, he sprinted out of the kitchen and straight up the stairs to his room. He slammed the door, clicking the lock into place, then stripped out of his clothes. Crawling into his bed, he wormed his way under the blankets and closed his eyes against the terror of losing the men he loved.

  * * * *

  “Why the fuck did you have to bring Craze up?” Fiero snarled.

  “He can help,” Syx replied automatically, then pursed his lips and frowned. He hadn’t even known he was going to say anything about their ex-lover until the words were spilling out of his mouth.

  Sighing, he scrubbed a hand over his face and regarded his men. “I’m sorry. I haven’t thought about him in hundreds of years. I really don’t know why I said that. It wasn’t to hurt Echo, though, I swear.”

  “We know,” Vapre said softly, winding his fingers around the back of Syx’s neck and pulling him close. His lips pressed against Syx’s temple, and he sighed. “Why, though? Just why now? Don’t we have enough shit to deal with?”

  “It just slipped into my head,” Syx tried to defend himself, “like it wasn’t even my thought. Then it came rushing out of my mouth before I could stop it.”

  “The Oracle,” all five men growled at once.

  Closing his eyes, Syx felt like a moron. “That didn’t even cross my mind. Why does she think we need Craze, though? How could his presence possibly be a good thing? You saw how upset Echo was when he ran out of here.”

  “I think I know,” Myst said, surprising them all. Not that the demon wasn’t smart, but he rarely applied the gift. He was usually too busy causing problems to help think up solutions. When everyone turned to him with quizzical expressions, Myst waved a hand toward the ceiling. “We gotta feed the little bloodsuckers, don’t we?” He glanced over his shoulder guiltily, and Syx couldn’t help but smile.

  “Oh, fuck,” Onyx breathed. “Echo is not going to like this.”

  “He could be damn useful in the war as well,” Eyce added grudgingly.

  They all stood quietly for a long time before Fiero finally growled and banged his fist against the refrigerator. “This fucking sucks.”

  Syx couldn’t agree more, but if the Oracle said they needed Craze, what choice did they have? She might not always be straightforward with the delivery of information, but she hadn’t let them down yet.

  “Does anyone know how to get in touch with him?” A picture of a bull popped into Syx’s head, and he cocked his head to the side and frowned. “What the fuck? A cow?”

  “I know where he is,” Myst said as he blushed about six shades of red. “Well, I don’t, personally, but Hex does, and I overheard, well, it doesn’t matter. I can get the number.”

  “What did you hear?” Onyx growled angrily. “Hex had been talking to him? When? Why?”

  “I don’t know. I just overheard them arguing a few months ago. It was right after Echo showed up here. I was passing by Hex’s door when I heard him say Craze’s name. He didn’t sound very happy to hear from him.” Myst shuffled his feet nervously. “I don’t think there’s anything to worry about there.”

  “Fine,” Eyce sighed. “Who’s going to talk to Hex?”

  “Better question,” Syx whispered, “who’s going to talk to Echo and tell him our ex-lover is going to be living with us?”

  Five sets of eyes turned toward him as one.

  “I’m not the one that actually said his name,” Syx grumbled.

  “Yes, but you can hear his thoughts. You’ll be able to answer the questions he won’t ask.” Eyce clasped Syx on the shoulder and gave him a little push. “We’re all going to have to talk to him soon, but maybe you should calm him down first.”

  “Thanks,” Syx shot back sarcastically. With a resigned huff and a quick jerk of his head, he left to find their mate. What was he supposed to say to Echo? Tell the man there was no reason to be jealous would just be stupid. He’d almost come unglued himself when he’d heard that Hex had been talking to their former lover.

  Damn, he hoped the Oracle knew what she was doing, because he didn’t see any good come from having Craze under the same roof once again. Jogging up the stairs two at a time, he swept down the hall and knocked quietly on Echo’s door.

  “Echo, can I come in?” He tried the doorknob and found it locked. “C’mon, babe, just let me explain.” There was no telling how long he stood talking to the cold wood. After a few minutes, he didn’t even pay attention to the words. He just kept his tone calm and soothing, trying to cajole his mate into opening the door.

  Finally, when he began feeling the strain on his vocal chords, he heard the lock disengage, and the door eased open to reveal a puffy-eyed Echo. “What?” he whispered.

  Syx had never heard more heartbreak spoken in one little word before. He could hear Echo’s jumbled thoughts, and the more he listened, the more he wanted a hole to open up in the floor and devour him.

  Echo questioned his status in their relationship. He wondered how much they had loved Craze. He imagined they had to still love the man a lot if they’d been so hell-bent on keeping him a secret. He wondered if once Craze returned his mates would forget about him.

  All these thoughts ran through Echo’s mind so quickly Syx only caught bits and pieces, but he’d read enough to get the general theme of his lover’s emotions. If he did nothing else right for the rest of his life, he would fix this.

  Easing into the room, Syx closed the door behind him and relocked it. Then he lifted his mate into his arms, cradling him to his chest, and walked across the room to place Echo gently on the bed. He undressed quickly, leaving his boxers on—this was definitely not about sex—and slid in under the covers.

  Pulling Echo to his chest, he cradled his mate’s smaller body to him, peppering kisses over the top of his head and smoothing his hands d
own Echo’s spine. “You know I love you, right?”

  Echo shrugged noncommittally.

  Pushing the man back gently, Syx cupped the side of his face and glared. “I love you, Echo. So does everyone else in this house, even if they can’t pull their heads out of their asses to say so. Don’t you ever question that.”

  Echo shrugged again. “I’m your mate.” The way he said it made it sound like a dirty word. “Isn’t that what Fiero said? You can’t get rid of me because I’m your mate.”

  Syx growled before he could stop himself. Echo had never questioned their devotion or loyalty before. Never had he had the slightest inkling that he wouldn’t always be adored and cherished. His unwavering faith in them was one of the things Syx loved most about his mate.

  “Where is all this coming from? Craze was a long time ago—our past, not our future.” Syx sighed and rested his forehead against Echo’s. “If you must know, we kicked him out. He didn’t just get tired of us and leave.”

  “Why?” Echo spoke as if the answer didn’t much matter, but Syx could hear the desire to know inside his lover’s brain.

  He hesitated to continue, though. Would it be better or worse for Echo to know the truth?

  “Please tell me.”

  “He liked to play,” Syx said cautiously. “Since escaping Tartarus, we’ve been monogamous. We never discussed it, never declared feelings, or talked about not taking others to our bed. It was just understood. Besides, it’s hard enough keeping up with seven lovers, why would we need more?” Syx chuckled softly.

  “Seven?” Echo moved a little closer to Syx, his muscles relaxing marginally.

  “Yes, Craze found us not long after we began to establish a life here on the Top World. He was with us for a little over four hundred years, until we finally forced him to leave.”

  “He wasn’t faithful?”

  “No.” Surprisingly, the memories of the whole ordeal barely left a twinge. They’d known from the start that Craze never fit with them. Why they hadn’t turned him away to begin with, Syx didn’t know. “He would bring men and women home, sometimes several at a time. Then he began disappearing for days, sometimes weeks at a time.”