“A Valentine’s Day miracle, then.”
Isaiah snickered. “You should ask Keenan to come with you. He’ll kill you if he finds out you convinced Bradley to come out of his cave and you didn’t tell him.”
“Aww, do I really have to?” Taylor whined.
“It’s your balls, Tay. But I know what I’d do in your place.”
“But Joshua will probably kill me if I do. You know those two can’t stand each other.”
“It’s more that Joshua can’t stand Keenan’s meddling, but I’m sure that with Bradley there, Keenan won’t even notice Joshua.”
Wes got up and grabbed the laptop from the desk. He walked around the desk and stopped next to Taylor, and Taylor slid an arm around his mate’s waist to pull him closer. He kissed his forehead and noticed Isaiah grinning at them.
“Wes, come by to discuss college options any time you want, okay?”
Wes nodded. “As soon as I know what’s up with high school. I’m not even sure I’ll be going to college yet.”
Isaiah waved. “You know where to find me. Shackled to my desk.”
Taylor snorted. “Please. If you’re shackled to anything, it’s to John.”
Isaiah grinned. “I think you mean the bed.” He waggled his eyebrows and Taylor groaned.
“Please, there are things I really don’t need to imagine.”
“Ah, you wish you were as hot as me.”
Taylor looked at Wes. “Nope. I have all the hotness I can take.”
Wes blushed and slapped Taylor’s chest. “Stop being an idiot and let’s go. You told everyone we’d see them in thirty minutes, and that was ten minutes ago. We need to get ready and get Keenan if you want to ask him to come.”
“Your wish is my command, babe.”
Wes shook his head, but Taylor saw the smile on his lips. He grinned, feeling satisfied. “Let’s go.”
They stopped at Keenan’s office and peeked in. He was glaring at his computer and his eyes lit up when he saw them. “You came to rescue me this time, Taylor?”
“Yup. Go grab your coat.”
Keenan clapped his hands and bounced on his chair. “Yay!”
He did something to his computer and jumped out of his chair. Taylor laughed when he saw Keenan wasn’t wearing shoes. His socks had cartoon characters on them, and it wasn’t surprising at all.
“Where are we going?” Keenan asked as they walked up the stairs.
“Just in town, but Bradley’s coming too.”
“Really? Oooh, maybe I’ll finally get him to talk to me.”
Wes cleared his throat. “Don’t you have to work, though?”
“Hey, don’t pop my happy bubble,” Keenan scolded him. “Besides, day’s almost over, and with Dominic on a business trip, I don’t have as much to do. And everyone knows my cell number. They can reach me if they need to.”
They separated at the top of the stairs and Taylor and Wes went to their room. It took only about ten minutes for them to get ready, and there was already a small group of people waiting for them in the entrance. Taylor was surprised to see Ani was there too, talking with Oliver and Finn. Sebastian was talking with Trevor, Bradley was pouting in a corner, and Taylor was sure he hadn’t invited that many people.
Sebastian looked up when Taylor walked to him and smiled. “Hey. I hope you don’t mind, but Trevor was feeling a bit lonely, so I told him he could come with us.”
Taylor shrugged. He didn’t really know Trevor. The only things he could remember was that he was Casey’s uncle and a cheetah shifter. “Of course I don’t mind.”
“I’m here!” Keenan yelled from the top of the stairs. Everyone stopped talking and turned to look at him, and he opened his arms. “We can go now!”
“Brat,” Sebastian muttered, but it was with a smile on his face.
Taylor didn’t think anyone hated Keenan, although Joshua made a face and glared at Taylor, and Bradley seemed about ready to slink back to his room. Unfortunately for him, Keenan saw him and bounded down the stairs to where he was standing. Bradley tried to step backward, but he was already against the wall, so he couldn’t put any more distance between them.
Keenan happily linked his arm in Bradley’s and pulled him toward the front door. Bradley looked around, his eyes a little wild, but no one stepped in to help him, and Keenan bellowed, “Come on, guys. Let’s go. Whitedell is waiting for us!”
And Whitedell wouldn’t know what hit it.
* * * *
They decided to walk, since there were so many of them and the town wasn’t that far away. They were a noisy bunch, and it was something Wes was still getting used to. He’d lived on his own for the past three years, and it was a very quiet thing. He actually liked the sound of voices and laughter, and it was a big change from his lonely apartment.
Keenan was skipping at the head of their group, still arm in arm with Bradley, who still looked like he wanted nothing more than to run away. Wes could see him looking from side to side even with the distance between them, his back tense, his free arm straight at his side.
Wes leaned toward Taylor, who smiled down at him. Wes could see the end of the private road that led to the mansion only a handful of feet away, but something moving in the trees caught his eyes. He looked sideways and frowned. “Hey, Tay. Do you know that guy?”
Taylor went rigid against Wes’ side. “What guy?”
“To our left, in the trees.”
Taylor didn’t even move. He continued chatting and laughing with his brother, but Wes saw Sebastian’s expression changing. He called Joshua over, and it really looked like they were only discussing stuff like the weather, but Wes could hear their conversation was very different.
He could also see the way the men were able to pass along the information that someone was spying on them without even looking like they were. Five minutes later, their entire group except Keenan and Bradley knew about it.
“Why aren’t you telling Keenan?” Wes whispered.
“Because he’s Keenan. He’d start yelling and squealing and all that stuff. Discretion just isn’t in his DNA.”
“What’s going on, Tay?”
Taylor sighed and hugged Wes closer. “I don’t know. There’s obviously someone watching us, but that’s all we know. Just... listen to me and do what I tell you, okay?”
Wes took Taylor’s hand. “You think you’re going to need to fight?”
Wes had been told about the company, and about the hunters. He didn’t understand why humans would want to kill shifters just because they had a human side, but he knew people. He’d seen his fair share of hatred in his few years on the street, and it was never a pretty sight.
People hated what was different, what they couldn’t understand, and often they lashed out because they were scared and thought they had to get the first hit in.
He was scared, though, but it was nothing new. He slid his hand in his pocket and closed it around his knife. He might not be able to fight against a shifter, or against a group of humans, but it didn’t mean he’d cower in a corner until Taylor saved him.
They were almost at the end of the road, and Wes knew they wouldn’t have to wait long for something to happen. He was right.
They burst from between the trees from both sides. Wes managed to count five men before Taylor pushed him to the side. “Go and hide between the trees, Wes.”
Wes didn’t have to be told twice. He took his knife out and held it in front of him as he walked around small groups of fighting men. He realized there were more than the five he’d initially seen, and the pride members had to fight a few men each. Adrian was already hovering at the edge of the trees, his eyes following Joshua. He didn’t try to fight along, because like Wes he probably didn’t have any training.
Wes walked closer, avoiding a man who went down right in front of him. Oliver jumped on the guy’s back and Finn let out a war cry, and Wes scampered away. He’d almost got to Adrian when
he noticed Keenan and Bradley being cornered by four guys.
He swore and looked around, but everyone was busy fighting, even Ani, who was kicking at a guy on the ground while said guy tried to get up.
Wes gripped his knife tighter and ran toward Keenan and Bradley. Keenan had picked up a branch and was swinging it around. It was enough to keep the four men away—for now. Bradley was behind Keenan, but he wasn’t scared like Wes would’ve thought he’d be. He was standing tall instead, unmoving, just watching.
One of the men sidestepped Keenan’s branch and grabbed his wrist. Keenan yelled and moved the branch to his other hand, and Wes acted.
He threw himself forward, his knife in his hand, and sank it into the guy’s thigh. The guy yelled and let Keenan go. He swung his fist at Wes and pain exploded in Wes’ face, but he pushed his knife deeper. Keenan hit the guy in the head with his branch and let out a yell of victory when the guy went down. He turned toward the other three after a quick glance at Wes. Wes leaned forward and got his knife out of the guy’s thigh, then pressed his side to Keenan’s. He glanced at Bradley, who was still standing with his back against a tree, watching them. Poor guy was probably so scared he couldn’t move.
One of the other guys tried to grab Wes and Wes slashed at his hand. The guy swore and got a gun out, and Wes knew they had big problems. He couldn’t do anything against a gun. He doubted anyone could do anything against a gun.
He froze and Keenan swore beside him. Then the guy smirked and raised his gun. “Who do I shoot first, huh?”
Keenan moved in front of Bradley. “We’re human, like you. You can’t shoot us.”
“Yeah? What about the guy you’re trying to hide? Is he human too?”
“Yes.”
“In any case... you all hang with monsters. You might as well be monsters yourselves.”
He raised his gun again and the two others cackled. Wes saw Sebastian moving their way and tried to keep his face as blank as possible with a gun pointed his way. He saw Finn coming from their other side and stepped backward.
Finn jumped and kicked one of the other guys in the back while reaching for the third one. The next thing Wes knew, Finn was only a few feet away, kicking the guy he’d just shimmered away in the nuts while Sebastian punched the one with the gun on the side of the face.
Wes reached out and grabbed Keenan’s hand to drag him away, but Keenan paused next to Sebastian and kicked the guy with the gun in the stomach. “That’s for threatening me and saying I was a monster, you asshole!” He kicked again and Wes let go of him. “And that’s for being a bigoted asshole!”
Keenan made to kick the guy again but Ani hugged him from behind and pulled him backward. Keenan continued to try to kick the guy. Wes looked backward and saw that Bradley was still there, looking at them. He reached for him and brought him closer, and Bradley didn’t protest. Wes thought he was probably in shock or something, because that wasn’t a normal reaction when someone attacked you.
“Wes!”
Wes turned to look at Taylor. He let go of Bradley and melted in Taylor’s arms when Taylor hugged him.
“Jesus, are you all right?”
“Yeah, yeah. I am.”
Taylor gently pushed him away and held him at arm’s length. He looked at Wes up and down, obviously searching for wounds. His gaze lingered on Wes’ face and Wes raised a hand to touch it. He hissed. “That hurts.”
“What happened?”
“Just a punch. I’ve had worse, don’t worry.”
Taylor started to hug him again, but he paused and took Wes’ hand in his instead. He gently pried away Wes’ rigid fingers from his knife handle and Wes let him. “You were very brave, babe.”
Wes shook his head. “I just didn’t want them to hurt Keenan and Bradley.”
He’d been able to resist during the fight, but now images of what had happened the first time flashed in his mind, and he whimpered. He was fine, but he could still feel the pain in his ribs, in his back, and taste the blood in his mouth.
Strong arms wrapped around him and Taylor shushed him, whispering senseless words in his ear. Wes clutched at him because it was the only thing he could do right now. At least he knew he was safe.
* * * *
The private road was chaos. Keenan was cursing and kicking anyone he could get to, so Ani was trying to keep him away from the men on the ground. Two of them were still fighting, but with the amount of blood they were losing, Taylor knew it was only a matter of minutes, if not seconds, before they lost to Sebastian, Oliver, Joshua, and even Trevor. Taylor wouldn’t have pegged Trevor for a fighter, but there he was.
The pride members were more than able to get rid of the last men standing, and Finn was doing the rounds and tying the men already down to the trees. Taylor had no idea where he’d gotten the rope he was using, but he didn’t care as long as the attackers were taken care of.
Wes was still trembling in Taylor’s arms, and Bradley was still standing next to the tree, looking shocked. Taylor dug his cell phone out of his pants and called the mansion. It wasn’t something he’d ever done, and he didn’t know who would answer, but he was relieved when he recognized Isaiah’s voice.
“Dominic Nash’s house, how can I help you?”
“It’s Taylor. We’ve been attacked.”
“Where?”
“We’re still on the private road.” Taylor looked around. “All the attackers are either unconscious or tied to trees.”
“Wounded?”
“Nothing bad that I can see, but Trevor looks like he’s limping and Oliver has a bloody cut over his eye. And I think Bradley’s in shock or something.”
“Give me a sec and I’ll have someone with you.”
A hand cupped his cheek and Taylor looked down at Wes. “You all right?”
“Yes, but you’re wounded.”
Taylor frowned and looked at his arm. He hadn’t even noticed it, but his jacket had been slashed and it was dirty with blood. Now that he was aware of it, the wound stung and hurt, but it was tolerable. “Hey, Isaiah, looks like I’m wounded too, and Wes will need ice for his face.”
Taylor wanted to go there and kick the man who’d hit his mate, but Keenan had escaped Ani and was doing a good job of it, so Taylor stayed put. Ani wrestled Keenan away and Joshua helped. Adrian was already looking at Oliver’s cut, and Taylor saw the air do that strange thing it did when a Nix was about to appear.
Sure enough, Noem and Jared were there only seconds later. Jared went to check on Trevor while Noem came up to Taylor and Wes. He gestured at Taylor’s arm. “Do you want me to treat you in the infirmary? I need to take your jacket off, but it’s cold.”
Wes moved away and Taylor removed his jacket. He hissed when the fabric slid on the wound and realized he’d have to take his sweater and maybe even his T-shirt off too. The sweater went next, and Taylor shivered in the cold. Noem was already grabbing his forearm and looking at the wound, prodding with a finger until Taylor had to bite his lip to avoid yelping.
Noem crouched and took water and gauze pads out of his bag. He gently cleaned Taylor’s wound of the blood, and Taylor saw it wasn’t nearly as bad as the blood might have suggested. Noem disinfected it, then healed it with his magic hands.
“Wes, you’re next.”
“I’m fine. Go heal Oliver instead of me.”
Noem looked at him. “I can heal both of you.”
“Yeah, well, heal him first, then Trevor.”
Noem looked away, then back at Wes. “They’re already taken care of.”
Taylor looked. Finn had his hand on Oliver’s forehead while Ani had slid his under Trevor’s long coat. He was still discussing with Keenan loudly enough that Taylor could hear he was scolding him even from where he was.
“You can’t go around kicking people!” Ani said loudly.
Keenan crossed his arms on his chest and glared at the alpha mate. “Oh, I can. I just did, didn’t I?”
> “You could’ve been hurt, or worse.”
“I’m fine.” Keenan opened his arms and turned himself around. “See? Not even a scratch.”
“This time, but what happens if one of those guys had kicked you back?”
“Then I’d have kicked him harder, and maybe in the nuts. That’ll teach them to try to hurt me and my family.”
Ani moved his hand away and Trevor pulled his coat down. “Thanks.”
Ani waved at him and scowled at Keenan. “I don’t want you to be hurt, so next time stay out of it.”
Keenan scowled right back. “I will if they leave me alone.”
Nate, Ward, Bryce, and Jonah were rushing toward them from the gate. Jonah went straight for Keenan, but the other three walked toward Ani. It was weird to think that Ani was actually higher in rank than Nate, but Taylor knew hierarchy wasn’t that important here. Still, they listened when he explained what had happened and Nate crouched to one of the unconscious guys.
He grabbed the guy’s wrist and flipped it so that the inside was up. He pushed the guy’s jacket up to expose the skin and Taylor saw a black tattoo there. He couldn’t really see what it was, but it couldn’t have been good with the face Nate and the others made.
“They know where we are.”
“Does that really surprise you?” Ani asked.
“No, but it means a shifter told them.”
“Or that they tortured the information out of someone. We can’t go into lockdown, Nate, not for just an attack.”
“We can’t afford to be attacked again.”
“I know. We’ll strengthen security and move more enforcers to the perimeter around the house. I need to call Dominic and tell him what happened.” Ani looked around and sighed. “Take them to our cells. I’ll call the jail and ask them to pick them up.”
“I’ll interrogate them before they’re moved.”
“Just... no open wounds, yeah?”
Nate smile when he answered Ani was creepy. “Fine with me. I don’t need open wounds to get answers.”
“You go, Nate!” Keenan yelled from behind Nate before Jonah could make him shut up.
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