The Chosen One Universe Volume Three: An MM Paranormal Fantasy Shifters Series

by Macy Blake

  Nick shrugged. “I only know what I feel.”

  “And your lion accepted Leandra and her cubs?”

  “Yeah. I figured that’s what you wanted anyway, right?”

  Zaire smiled. “No, actually. I thought you’d want to talk to her about what happened to her, and perhaps learn a little more about being a lion.”

  “Oh. Well, I mean, I didn’t think it was right to poke her about that stuff. Not when I don’t know anything about that shit. It’s magic stuff. That’s your arena.”

  “But you are her alpha now.”

  Nick grumbled. “Look. I like her. You. Sorry, Leandra.”

  She chuckled. “It’s fine. I like you, too.”

  “But your life is yours, you know? I’m not your boss or shit like that. I just…I’m here if you need me. That’s all.”

  “I know.”

  “That’s very sweet,” Zaire said. “But before we attempt to work on the magic from the past, I think we need information about what they are up to now.”

  “Well, it’s been like three years, right? The kids are two and add nine months or whatever. But closer than before, so I get your point.”

  “Leandra?”

  Leandra moved beside Nick and grabbed his hand. Jedrek stood also and leaned into her other side. She grabbed onto the back of his shirt and held on. “You can ask me what you want.”

  Zaire’s eyes softened, and she spoke in a calm, gentle tone. “Tell us what happened.”

  Leandra sucked in a breath. She turned to Nick. “There aren’t a lot of lions anymore. I don’t know if you know that, but, I mean, there’s a lot of mating issues going on. Not a lot of cubs are born. I mean, some, yeah, but not like before. So my mom, she really wanted to find me someone to mate with who was… I don’t know. Better.”

  “What’s better?”

  “Rich,” Leandra said. “She was tired of being poor and thought if we could find some rich alpha lion or something that we’d have it made. But I just wanted to see the world, you know? Party a little, meet new people. See what was out there before I settled down so some guy could spend the next twenty years trying his best to knock me up.”

  “Ugh.”

  No one could say his mate wasn’t eloquent. It was what Leandra needed to hear, though, because her hold on Jedrek eased a bit as she continued.

  “So I decided to take a year to myself. I packed up and got on a bus and just rode. All the way to the east coast. I figured that was far enough, you know? I mean, I want to see the whole world, but at least I could see places I’d never been. I left mom a note, which was shitty, but there was no way she was going to let me go.”

  “Did you let her know after?”

  “Yeah. I called. She was pissed, but she got it. So I got a job as a waitress and just…lived. I was close to a college so there were always kids around partying and having fun. It was nice. No pressure. No rules. No alpha.”

  “Then what happened?” Nick asked.

  “My year was almost up. I wasn’t ready to go back. My friends were trying to convince me to apply to the college and I wanted to. So bad. I had the grades, but we didn’t really have the money and I didn’t want to take on a ton of debt. I don’t know. But I was tempted. Then we went out to this bar, and there were shifters there. I hadn’t really seen anyone in all that time. Which was weird, when I thought about it, but I mean, most shifters don’t hang around community colleges so it wasn’t all that crazy. But these guys, something was off about them.”

  “Off how?”

  Leandra paused, trying to find words, then turned to Zaire. “You know how sometimes, when a shifter gets sick or something, they sort of… I don’t know… fluctuate? Like sometimes they’re strong and sometimes they aren’t.”

  “Yes,” Zaire said.

  “It was like that but more. I mean, I thought one of the guys was human at first. But then he was a shifter again. It made no sense.”

  Jedrek and Zaire turned to each other. They’d seen that before as well, once before.

  “Then what happened?” Nick asked.

  “I guess they drugged me. I don’t know. I know I sort of remember flashes. Some of it is crazy. Like, I swear there was this glowing white tiger. Other weird stuff, too. Lots of birds. They were so loud. And then, one day, my lion sort of woke up. I remember being so angry. Furious. Ready to hunt. One of the guys came in and I just lost it. I shifted, but I guess they thought I couldn’t. I… I killed him.”

  Nick grabbed her and pulled her close. Jedrek leaned in behind her and met his mate’s angry gaze. Nick really wanted to find the bastards now, even more than before.

  “Finish,” Nick demanded.

  “I killed him and got out. I ran for… I don’t know. I stuck to the woods. Hunted. Made sure no humans saw me. When I finally came out of it, I realized it had been months since I was taken. And then I figured out that I was pregnant.”

  Zaire’s breath caught, but Jedrek and Nick didn’t budge.

  “I hid. Stole what I needed and just stayed out of sight until the kids were born. I did what I had to do.”

  “Yes, you did. Why didn’t you go home?” Nick asked.

  “My mom would have gone nuts,” Leandra said. “She’d have wanted to use the kids as a bargaining tool. I didn’t want that. So I stayed away. But then… something changed and I was scared all the time. Convinced something was after me. I couldn’t stop looking over my shoulder. So I ran some more. And then I found the bar and all the others gathered. I could tell they were as scared as I was. I listened. I heard them talking about Meshaq and Solomon. About how they were the champions. I thought if anyone would keep me safe, it would be them.”

  “You’re safe now,” Nick grumbled.

  “Yeah, you are,” Jedrek added.

  “I don’t know what happened to me,” Leandra confessed. “But I know my kids aren’t safe.”

  “They’re safe here,” Zaire said.

  “How can you be sure? I don’t know what they did. And everyone keeps saying that magic is messed up and doing weird things. What if they find me? What if they find my cubs?”

  Zaire stood and held out her hand. “May I?”

  Leandra tensed, but Nick made one of his many noises and she relaxed a bit before releasing her hold on Nick’s hand and placing it in Zaire’s. Zaire closed her eyes and Jedrek felt her magic rise. Heat and smoke and power. Nick began a rumbling growl, but Jedrek wrapped an arm around both Leandra and Nick. Nick looked at him, his eyes glowing the golden yellow of his lion. He flared his own. Calm. It’s okay. She’s safe.

  Nick relaxed but the rumbling continued. It took a minute, and Zaire finally let out a breath. “You’re safe here. Go love on those sweet babies of yours. You’ll feel better.”

  Leandra let go of her hand and turned to Nick.

  “Go. And don’t let them eat all the Cheerios. The monsters.”

  With a laugh, she went down the porch and toward Izzy’s house. Nick waited until she was inside before he leaned into Jedrek and breathed deeply. “I want to gut them.”

  “I know. Me, too.” He turned to Zaire. “What aren’t you telling us?”

  Nick started, lifting his head and glaring. “What? Are they in danger? Are—?”

  “No. They’re safe here. The same dark magic was used against her. I can feel it. The remnants linger. We can use it.”

  Nick growled. “No.”

  Zaire scowled at him. “We need to—”

  “No. She stays out of it. Use me.”

  “But—”

  “Non-negotiable,” Nick snapped. “They’ve still got their claws in me, and you’re not touching her.”

  “Nick, you said it yourself. It’s newer with her. Fresher. We have a better chance…”

  “No.”

  Jedrek wanted to argue with him, but he couldn’t. No way would he put Leandra at risk. But doing so meant Zaire would be digging into the deep wounds of Nick’s past. They had no way of knowing what damage that magic had a
lready done, or what would happen when it was torn open again.

  Nick

  He’d upset his mate.

  Nick could think of nothing else.

  They walked back to the house in silence. Nick could smell the fire burning in Jedrek. Anger. Bitter and sour.

  “Jed, I—”

  “I’m going to go check the wards.”

  “I can—”

  “No.” Jedrek turned to him and grabbed his neck. He pulled Nick close, resting their foreheads together. “I just need a few. I’ll be back soon.”

  Before Nick could protest, Jedrek shifted and ran. Nick stared after him until he disappeared into the trees. He’d had no choice. Jedrek had to understand that. He couldn’t let Zaire mess around with Leandra, not after everything she’d been through. And she had the kids to think about. No, it had to be him.

  Nick went into the house and grabbed his phone. He ignored the messy sheets and abandoned, mostly-empty bottle of lube on the floor. Instead, he called the one other person he needed to talk to before the night’s events took place.

  “Nick?” Sawyer sounded stressed but happy to hear from him.

  “Checking on you guys.”

  Sawyer sighed. “No change. Vaughn kicked us out. We’re back at my house.”

  Nick didn’t care for his defeated tone at all. “What’s going on?”

  “Absolutely nothing.”

  “Mikey?”

  “Vaughn says he’s hanging in. No change, but he’s not getting worse. That’s a good sign.”

  Nick paused, breathed for a moment. Jedrek’s scent was strongest in the bedroom. It relaxed him, even if his mate couldn’t be with him at the moment. “I want to talk to you about something.”

  “’K.”

  “We’re trying something tonight. At dusk or whatever. I guess the time is important. I don’t know anything about this shit.” Nick paced. Walked the short walk down the hall to the kitchen, through the living room. And back again.

  “Define something,” Sawyer said.

  “We’re gonna do a spell. Keziah’s coven, I mean. They’re going to see if they can trace the magic in me so we can find Foote.”

  Nick could feel the stillness from the other end of the phone. He was pretty sure Sawyer had stopped breathing. He waited him out, let that big brain in his little brother's head process his words for a few seconds.

  “Nick.”

  “I know the timing is fucked up. But is there ever gonna be a good time for this? No. Time is now, when as you said, absolutely nothing is going on. Right?”

  Sawyer made a hiccuping gasp. “Don’t use my words against me!”

  “Not trying to. But it’s true. I don’t know what this is going to do. I wanted to talk to you first, but I’m not asking your permission. This is my decision.”

  “This is all because of me. Don’t you get it?”

  Nick snorted. “Sawyer, I don’t care if you’re some goddess’s son or if you’re Captain Underpants. This is not all about you.”

  “But—”

  “Bullshit. Cut it out. I have more stuff to tell you.”

  Sawyer apparently flopped over on someone, because Nick heard a distinctive male grunt from the other end of the phone. “Tell me.”

  “Who’d you squish?”

  “Saeward. It’s fine. Tell me.”

  “That’s the big one, right?”

  “Yeah. Hippocamp.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Don’t try to distract me,” Sawyer complained.

  “I’m not. I don’t know what that is.”

  “Sea creature. He’s sort of half-man, half-horse, half-merman. But he’s not a merman.”

  “So he’s a sea horse?”

  Sawyer sighed, and he heard a grumble from the other end of the phone. “That’s why I say merman, Ward! It’s the visual! And no, Nick. Not a sea horse. Except, yeah. A giant seahorse. Sort of.”

  “You don’t make sense.”

  “Yeah, well, neither do you. Tell me the rest, Nick. Stop stalling.”

  Nick wandered into the bedroom and stretched out on the messy bed. Jedrek’s scent was stronger there. He needed it. “I guess I’m an alpha. I have a pack.”

  “What?”

  “Yeah. I don’t know. Remember the lady with the lion cubs?”

  “Holy shit.”

  “Yeah. But see, they wanted to do the magic spell on her instead, ‘cause the magic is newer. Sawyer, I can’t let them do that. She’s got babies, you know? But we need to find out who did this, because if they were still pulling this bullshit three years ago, they could still be pulling it now. I need to find out.”

  Sawyer made another of his sounds, this one closer to a meep, and Nick could practically hear his brain working. “Okay. I don’t like this. But I’ll never like it. And Henry’s told me how much he trusts Zaire. And how strong Keziah’s coven is. So… you have the best people with you to help. I’ll have Draco bring me—”

  “No.”

  “Nick—”

  “No. We don’t know what the hell is going to happen, Sawyer. You being here will only stress me out. Besides, I kind of have a mate now, too. He’ll be with me.”

  Sawyer gasped, and Nick heard another oomph of pain from Ward. “What? You didn’t lead with that!”

  Nick grinned. “I saved the best for last.”

  “Who? When? How? Tell me.”

  “Jedrek. Pretty much day one. You know how. We fucked. A lot. Some biting happened.”

  “The giant Viking hellhound is your mate. This is epic.”

  “I think so. He’s kinda mad at me at the moment. So there’s that.”

  Sawyer sighed and flopped back down on Saeward. Nick probably should apologize to the poor guy. Sawyer was all knees and elbows when he was upset. “He doesn’t want you to do the spell.”

  “Probably not. But he knows it’s the right thing to do, too. Tell me another way. One that doesn’t put a mother and her babies at risk. Because I can’t think of one.”

  “You’re strong,” Sawyer said quietly. “And an alpha. Henry’s brothers and sisters… I mean, they could try with them, too. But that thought makes me want to throw up, you know?”

  “Yeah. I thought about it for like two seconds. I’m the best one.”

  “I know. But I kinda wanna throw up at that thought, too.”

  Nick gave Sawyer another minute to process. Just listened to him breathing on the other end of the phone. His brother was the smart one, even had a fancy master’s degree to prove it. “Hey, I have a question.”

  “What?”

  “What was Mama Thea?” Sawyer made a squeaking noise. “I mean, she got three of us from this world, you know? And I remember now from when she found me that she helped me shift back to human. She was something.”

  “I don’t know,” Sawyer said. “Holy crap.”

  “Yeah. But I think Papa Smith was human.”

  Sawyer hummed, thinking it over. “That makes sense. I mean, I guess he could have been something different. There are so many creatures out there, Nick. More than you can imagine.”

  “I get that. But I’m thinking human.”

  “What a fairy tale,” Sawyer said. “The beautiful fairy princess meets her human white knight and falls in love. But she has to give up her powers and immortality to be with him. But she does it. And then she finds three misfit orphans and keeps them safe.”

  “Sounds like something she’d do.”

  “Yeah,” Sawyer agreed. “I’ll ask Mother next time I see her, okay?”

  “Okay. So I’m gonna go. I want to go track down Jedrek. He’s been gone long enough.”

  “Nick?”

  “Yeah?”

  “I love you. Please be safe. And make sure you call me when it’s done. I’ll worry and show up there if you don’t.”

  “I will. And, ya know. Love you, too.”

  Nick ended the call and rolled onto his side. He couldn’t deny that talking to Sawyer and getting his suppor
t made him feel a little better. But he still wanted Jedrek’s okay as well. It itched beneath his skin, knowing his mate was upset and he’d been the one to cause it. Nick didn’t know what to do to fix it, though.

  He heard footsteps on the porch, then the door burst open. He didn’t know what to do, but Nick had a sneaking suspicion that he was about to find out. Jedrek stomped into the bedroom, his eyes blazing with the fire of the hellhound. He growled.

  “Nice.”

  Jedrek flung off his shirt and tugged at his pants. He was naked a second later.

  “Nicer.”

  Jedrek pounced, rolling Nick onto his back and straddling his waist.

  Nick groaned. “Nicest.”

  “There are ground rules,” Jedrek growled.

  “If by ground rules you mean the lube is on the ground right there and you should probably get it, then yes. Ground rules.”

  Jedrek growled. But he reached down and grabbed the lube anyway. Then he leaned forward and pressed his forehead into Nick’s.

  “Tell me,” Nick said softly. He couldn’t resist touching, all Jedrek’s beautiful skin and rippling muscles right there for him to explore. He stroked Jedrek’s sides, over his ribs. Down again, over his hips then to the curve of his ass.

  “Don’t be stupid. Listen to Keziah and the others.”

  “Agreed.”

  “Don’t be stupid.”

  “Got it.”

  “I can’t think when you’re touching me,” Jedrek complained.

  “I can stop.”

  “Don’t you dare.”

  Nick grinned and moved his head. He found Jedrek’s lips with his and teased them. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”

  He deepened the kiss, swallowing all of Jedrek's anger and fear then replacing it with all the emotions rolling inside of him. He didn't have words, had never had them where Jedrek was concerned. They just were. From the moment he'd seen him, shifted and out of control at his apartment. This stranger had become part of his soul. His grounding. His foundation. His safety. And Jedrek couldn't know how much he'd changed Nick's life. He'd found the missing pieces. His lion and his mate. He couldn't do any of this without both of them.

  "Stop thinking," Jedrek rumbled.

  His lion moved inside him, agreeing completely with Jedrek's sentiments. And Nick got it, finally. A moment of clarity. He didn't need to tell Jedrek. He needed to show him. His instincts went into overdrive and he poured heat and need into the kiss. Jedrek moved above him, grinding down, desperately seeking more. Nick growled and flipped them over, leaving Jedrek panting on his back, flame-filled eyes demanding.