Iggy grinned. “I know what I want.”
“Yeah?”
“I want to fuck you again.”
“I’m not an inflatable sex doll. I need some time to rest, and my poor ass needs it too.”
Iggy pushed another finger inside Zane and Zane didn’t even realize he was opening his legs until Iggy chuckled and leaned against his chest again. He kissed Zane, all tongue and teeth, and Zane wasn’t surprised when his cock started stiffening again.
“Whatever,” he said, pulling Iggy close and pressing his lips against Iggy’s new mating bite.
When they finally got downstairs, they were more than an hour late for dinner. The kitchen was dark and the light was on in the living room. Zane had hoped they’d be able to sneak into the kitchen without being seen, but when he turned the light on, Simon was at the table.
Zane yelped. “What the fuck?”
“Hello boys,” Simon said, his arms crossed on his chest.
“What were you doing sitting in here alone in the dark? It’s creepy, man.”
“You missed dinner.”
“Yeah, sorry. We were... talking.”
“Talking. That’s why you yelled something that sounded like fuck me harder while we were eating dessert?”
Zane could feel his cheeks go red. “You, uh, you heard that?”
“That, and the noise your bed made as it slammed against the wall.”
Iggy snickered and Zane slapped his chest. “Yeah, sorry about that,” he told Simon.
Simon finally let his arms fall down and grinned. He didn’t look like Zane’s father anymore, and that made it easier to relax. “So?” he asked, and Zane ignored him, going to the fridge instead.
“So what?” Iggy asked. “I don’t think you need details.”
“I already know too many of them, thank you very much. I just wanted to congratulate you guys, but if you’re like this, I’ll just go back to the living room to watch the movie with everyone else.”
Simon got up, and Zane snatched him before he could really leave. He wrapped an arm around Simon’s waist and pulled him closer, kissing his cheek. “Fine. Yeah, we just mated. As you heard. Happy?”
Simon beamed. “Very.” He kissed Zane back and bounced away, stopping to kiss Iggy’s cheek before disappearing. Zane had no doubts he was already telling everyone about it.
Iggy looked surprised at the sign of Simon’s affection, and Zane chuckled. “Don’t you know that once they get their claws into you, you’re part of the family?” he asked, taking the two plates that were waiting for them in the fridge.
He stuck one of them into the microwave and went to kiss Iggy as they waited for the food to warm up.
“I know,” Iggy said in a soft voice. “They’ve accepted me since the beginning, but it’s still hard to believe. It wouldn’t have happened back in my nest.”
“You guys are wary of strangers?”
Iggy chuckled. “You could say that. Our alpha usually sticks them into a cell for a day or two before even asking what they wanted.”
“Yeah, no one’s going to lock you away here.”
“I know that now.”
“And we’re your family. Your new pack. We can’t be a nest because the only guy with wings is Quinn and he’s not even a pack member, but we can be your family anyway. Besides, I’m not sure you’ll want Quinn as your family. That has to be terrifying.”
Iggy kissed Zane again. They both ignored the beep of the microwave for a while, and when Zane moved away to get the plate out and replace it with the second one, Iggy said, “I don’t need winged shifters to feel part of the pack.”
“That’s good to hear.” Zane knew Iggy was having a hard time getting used to some aspects of the pack. The fact that Kameron had accepted him so easily and that a lot of people, mainly the ones living in the house they were in right now, already loved him enough to feel that he was part of their family were the main ones. It didn’t make sense to him, but Zane thought it would soon, especially now that they were mated.
They brought their plates back into the living room. The other guys were sprawled all over the couches, all coupled up, and Zane and Iggy sat on the floor by the coffee table. Mal poked at Zane’s shoulder with his socked foot. “Want me to make space for you?” he asked, and Zane shook his head. He shuffled closer to Iggy, and Mal grinned.
“We need to buy another couch,” Malik said.
“I don’t know,” Simon answered. “We’re not often all together like this. But maybe we could make a night out of it every week? Like a movie night? I miss you guys, especially Iggy. We never see him anymore.”
Iggy put his fork down to pat Simon’s foot, then went back to eating.
“I’m sure he’ll spend more time with us once this is over,” Malik said, and they all knew what he was talking about. Zane lived with them now, even though he still had to tell his family it was going to be permanent, and where Zane went, Iggy followed.
“Then we’ll get a new couch when it is. And we’ll have movie night.”
Hopefully they’d all still be here to enjoy it.
Chapter Five
Iggy didn’t want to leave the house, but he and Zane—and all the guys who lived with them—had spent the past day and a half in, and it was time to leave. Kameron had called for a last meeting before they’d be shimmered to Riverton to bring down Tom later that afternoon.
“Ready?” Malik asked from where he was cuddling Simon in a corner of the entrance.
“I don’t think I’ll ever be ready.”
Malik nodded. “I understand.”
Iggy’s gaze briefly went to Simon. “How are you two holding up?”
Simon smiled brightly, but Iggy could see it wasn’t sincere. There were dark circles around Simon’s eyes and his lower lip looked like it’d been bitten almost to blood. Instead of his usual bright and colorful clothes, he was wearing a pair of black sweats and a sweater that clearly belonged to Malik, since the sleeves hung past Simon’s fingers. “We’re fine.”
Iggy nodded, because what else could he do? It wasn’t like he could tell Simon he knew he was lying. Instead, he said, “We’ll be fine.”
“I know.”
They both knew it was a lie because they couldn’t be sure of it, but it was easier to keep up appearances than to admit it and break down. Iggy needed to get into a battle state of mind, and it had never been so hard.
This wasn’t the first time Iggy would fight for his family, even though it would be the first time he’d fight for his new one, for the pack. It would be the first time he’d have to fight against his birth family, and he hoped he wouldn’t see either his brothers or his father on the battlefield, because he didn’t think he’d be able to do anything to them, except if it meant saving Zane’s life.
It was also the first time he’d have something so big to lose—Zane. He’d gone into battle with his brothers before, but even in Alexander’s case, his little brother, it wouldn’t be the same thing. Zane was Iggy’s mate, and they were bonded.
Zane finally came down the stairs, his hair ruffled as if he’d spent a few hours carding his fingers through it. He’d probably done just that, actually. They were all nervous and on edge.
The rest of the house’s inhabitants slowly trickled into the entrance, and Iggy wanted to run away. The sight of five men hovering there and waiting for Iggy, Zane, and Malik to leave would have been funny if it hadn’t been so tragic, if the reason behind that gesture hadn’t been so dark.
“Let’s go,” Iggy said without saying goodbye to anyone. He didn’t want to, because he’d come back. He’d do whatever he had to do to come back, and he’d drag Zane along.
He heard Malik softly say goodbye to Simon just before he stepped onto the porch. Zane followed him, pressing a hand on his lower back and comforting him without saying anything. They’d talked about it the day before and there was nothing else to say. Touch was enough to say what they w
ere feeling. That, and the bond that was strong and pulsing between them.
As soon as Malik joined them, closing the door behind himself, they left. The walk to Kameron’s house was a short one, and silence weighed on them. None of them tried to break it.
Kameron’s house was bustling with movement. The council enforcers Kameron had chosen to help were gathered in front of the house. They were divided in teams, and Iggy knew every one of them had a feline shifter, a bear one, a wolf one, a reptile one, a winged one, and a water one, plus a Nix. Some of the teams even had a demon member or another kind of fae, but only a few because the demons and other fae who wanted to join the council weren’t many. There was a bigger group of Nix sitting on the porch steps, and they all shuffled to the sides to let Zane, Iggy, and Malik pass.
The house itself was full of people and voices. Iggy ignored everyone, because his place was next to Kameron. He still was Kameron’s bodyguard, even though he’d spent a day and a half away from his charge.
Kameron was in his office, looking at a map on his desk. Nick was there too, as well as several enforcers. Iggy started to move toward the desk, intending to walk around it and place himself behind Kameron, but Zane caught his wrist. Iggy stopped and arched a brow at him, and Zane shrugged.
“Just wanted to say good luck.”
“I thought we’d decided not to say goodbye.”
“I’m not. Good luck is not the same.”
Iggy slowly nodded, and he didn’t protest when Zane kissed him in front of everyone. They kept the kiss short and mostly chaste, but the depth of the feelings coursing through the bond was enough to tell them both how they felt.
Iggy didn’t look at Zane after that, because he knew it’d be so tempting to say fuck it and ask Kameron to stay in Gillham. Kameron would say yes—he would never force anyone to go to war, even if they backed out at the last moment. But this was Iggy’s job, what he’d trained for years to do, and what he’d done since he’d been nineteen. He was good at it, and he was going to show it, and to prove he could be useful as a pack member.
Iggy kept an eye on the door and on the people in the room, but no one made a move toward Kameron. Then Kameron finally straightened and nodded, and the tension in the room rocketed. Iggy swallowed and tightened his fists at his side but he was as ready as he’d ever be.
“Everyone knows their places?” he asked, looking around.
Iggy’s place would be by Kameron, and only there, so he nodded back. They made their way outside, and a hush fell on the crowd waiting for them. The people who’d been in the office separated and Kameron stayed on the porch, along with Quinn and Malik. That meant Kir and Zane were there too, but they kept their distance and stayed silent.
Everyone looked at Kameron, and Kameron waited for the clearing to be silent to talk. “You all know where we are going and why. I don’t have to tell you that Tom will gun for me, because your team leader should have told you about our back-story. There should be around forty people in the house in Riverton. Some of them are the members of Tom’s council, and I’d rather take them alive, but if you can’t, if it’s a life or death situation, don’t hesitate. There’s back up ready in case we need it, and the Nix have the order to take anyone in bad shape to the hospital ASAP.”
Kameron paused and Iggy took a deep breath. This was it. They were about to leave, and Iggy knew his old alpha would be there for the meeting with Tom. He couldn’t know how many bodyguards and fighters would be with him, but he prayed neither his brothers nor his father would be there. He knew the possibility of that happening was slim, so slim it might as well be non-existent, but he couldn’t help himself.
Iggy had missed Kameron’s last words, and people were already moving around, gathering around the Nix, who were holding their hands out. He followed Kameron toward one of the Nix who lived in the enforcers’ house in pack territory. Iggy didn’t remember the man’s name, but they nodded at each other as Iggy reached for his fingers.
There were too many of them crowded around the Nix—Kameron and Iggy, Malik and Zane, Quinn and Kir. Nick would stay with the pack and make sure it wasn’t attacked, and if something happened to Kameron, he’d take his place as the alpha. The pack would be fine whatever happened that evening. The council members who wouldn’t be at the fight would make sure of that.
Iggy’s gaze locked with Zane’s, and he reached out without thinking about it. Zane was pressed between Malik and Kir, but he reached for Iggy anyway, squeezing his hand. They held on as the Nix shimmered them away.
* * * *
Iggy’s hand slid from Zane’s as soon as they arrived in Riverton, and Zane didn’t get another occasion to be that close to his mate, or even to see him one last time before they had to fight for their lives.
He followed Malik away from Kameron and Iggy. The three council members who’d be present at the battle wouldn’t stay together, and it had been tempting to ask Malik to stop being his bodyguard just to stay with Iggy, but Zane hadn’t. Iggy would have been spitting mad at him for doing something like that, and he could feel Iggy anyway. It wasn’t the same thing has having him in front of him, but it would do for the next few hours.
They surrounded the big house in silence. Zane could feel Iggy was somewhere to his right, and he knew Kir and Quinn were to his left. Each council member had a team of council enforcers with them, because they all wanted to fight. It was a stupid idea, or at least that was Zane’s opinion, but they obviously hadn’t asked him what he thought of it and he wasn’t about to tell them. At least they were well protected, even if something could still happen.
Zane stayed tense and ready to move. The signal came, and the Nix shimmered. Zane watched the house, and he was able to see a few of the Nix shimmer behind the guards standing outside and take care of them. He swallowed at the sight of blood spurting and necks being broken. He’d never been in a battle, had never done anything except being a recruit, then Malik’s bodyguard. He knew what to expect, but seeing it wasn’t the same.
A heavy hand landed on his shoulder and briefly squeezed before sliding away. “You’ll be fine,” Malik said.
“I know.”
“I trust you to have my back.”
And that was scarier than anything else. Malik, an alpha and a council member, a proved warrior, trusted Zane, a recruit, a guy still training, to protect him. It made Zane want to run back to Gillham, but instead he straightened, and when Malik started running toward the house, he followed.
They were silent as they moved. Some of the enforcers were in their animal forms, and Zane was running next to a wolf and a lion. It was impressive, even though he’d ran with shifters all his life.
He wasn’t able to tell when Tom and his friends realized something was wrong, but there was a cry—maybe one of the Nix had failed to eliminate a guard, and everything after that was chaos.
People poured out of the house, and Zane briefly saw Tom looking around as if he didn’t know what was happening. Zane didn’t look long, though, because he had too much to do. He killed a bobcat in his animal form when he tried to jump onto Malik’s back. The bobcat left Zane a nice scratch on his stomach, but he’d live, so he continued to fight.
Malik was fighting a man who looked like he could bench press Zane without any problems, and Zane was glad he didn’t have to deal with him. When a second man tried to attack Malik from the back, Zane ran ahead, grabbing the man’s wrist and twirling him around. He had the time to see a surprised expression on the man’s face before he punched him, and the man howled.
This one didn’t look like he fought often. He had what looked like a beer gut, and now that blood poured from his nose, he was pressing both hands to it instead of attacking Zane or even trying to defend himself. Another punch was enough to knock the man out, and Zane tsked and shook his head.
“We should go inside,” Malik said, and Zane wasn’t surprised to see the man Malik had been fighting still on the ground. There was a bloody
gash on his throat, and Zane swallowed, but that was all the reaction he allowed himself.
He followed Malik, along with the enforcers’ team. They all were still alive, although the Nix now sported a bloody nose and a woman Zane thought was some kind of bird shifter had a black eye.
The house was a mess. Zane wrinkled his nose at the expensive decorations and wondered where Tom had found the money, but they were shifters. He’d probably been amassing it for decades. It didn’t mean he had taste, though, and the overabundance of golden stuff was like a punch in the eye, especially since a lot of it was now dirty with blood.
Zane thought he saw Kameron from the corner of his eye, but a big guy jumped him, and Zane had to take care of him. He managed to dislodge the guy from his back by slamming both of them against the wall. Zane didn’t feel the hit, but the guy wheezed and his grip on Zane loosened.
Zane moved away, turning around and aiming a kick at the guy’s knee. It wasn’t enough to bring him down, but it gave Zane the time to punch him in the stomach. This guy was harder to deal with, though. He took a knife out and grinned at Zane.
Zane had to get that knife out of the guy’s hand. He could deal with it if he really had to, but he’d rather not.
The guy lunged, and Zane turned sideways. The knife slid against the fabric of his uniform, slashing it, but not reaching the skin and muscles underneath it. Zane hit the guy’s wrist with the side of his hand, but it wasn’t enough—the guy’s lunge had taken him forward, and he turned to face Zane again, knife still in hand.
Zane had a knife too, and a gun, but he didn’t want to use them. Kameron wanted as many people as they could manage alive, and Zane was going to try his hardest to do just that. Iggy’s family was probably out there, fighting against the pack and the enforcers. The guy trying to gut Zane might even be one of Iggy’s brothers, as far as Zane knew, and he wouldn’t hurt anyone unless he had to.
The guy attacking him was more brute force than speed or precise movements, and Zane managed to dance out of his way the next time he lunged. This time, Zane grabbed the guy’s wrist with one hand, and he slammed it against the wall as hard as he could.
Iggy [Gillham Pack: 15] Page 8
