by April Kelley
“You’re plan sucks. Jalen is the king of bossy, and if you try that shit on him, he’ll shut you down every time.”
“King, huh?”
“That’s human for alpha, shifter.”
Rico chuckled. He liked Casey. He said things in a direct way that could be hurtful but he phrased them in such a way that they came off as comical. It could be useful to the Rogue Army if he were put in the right position. Rico made a mental note to let Delco know about it.
“He told you to go to Markie, right? If you do what he says and bond, Jalen will never mate with you. He’ll think you’re happy with Markie and don’t need him. So all you have to do is tell Jalen that you won’t mate with either of them if you can’t have both. Just don’t say anything else. Uri will be the one who tells him what an idiot he’s being.”
“Why Uri?”
“Jalen will listen to him better, I think. I mean, Uri’s successfully mated. Jalen knows that even better than Uri and Virion probably. He’s had a protective eye on them from the beginning.” Casey shrugged. “He’s never trusted anyone to have his back.”
“Your father.”
“Hmm... yes, that’s true. But he was also a kid when he died. He was young when he had to be grown up enough to parent us. Mom relied on him too much.”
“After last night, he should know I’d do anything to keep him and Markie safe.”
“Hey, you’re telling the wrong person. Or wrong people. And he’ll say the same thing about you and Markie. Problem with Jalen is, he thinks he has to sacrifice his happiness so you can have yours. So all you have to do is let him see you’ll be miserable without him. Got it?”
“Yeah. I might not like it, but you’re probably right.” It would suck, though, and Rico wasn’t sure how long he’d be able to go without bonding with either of them.
“No probably about it. I’m right.”
* * * *
Markie saw Rico and Casey coming even before they walked through the door. At first he thought Casey was Uri. They looked so much alike that from a distance it was hard to tell, especially when Uri wore his hair in a ponytail the way he always did for every work shift. As they drew closer, Markie could tell it was Casey, though. He had short white blond hair, and he was slightly taller than Uri, although next to Rico almost everyone looked short.
Markie sighed as he focused his gaze on Rico. Gods, he was the stuff of Markie’s fantasies, not that Markie would ever tell him that. At least not now that he knew Rico was Jalen’s mate. Markie wouldn’t step in between the two of them.
The way Jalen made it sound, he didn’t want Markie to anyway.
Knowing Rico would always remain his friend and nothing more didn’t change anything for Markie. He still wanted to run his fingers through all that dark, curly hair. And he still wanted to touch him every time he got within a few feet.
It didn’t stop his heart from jumping as Rico pulled open the door, either. Markie held his breath as Rico walked behind Casey, into the café.
Yeah, Markie had fought his reaction long enough. When he had given in to his feelings, Markie didn’t know. Maybe sometime in the past year, even though he wasn’t ready to admit it then or give in to the guilt his feelings had caused.
Markie might be ready to begin again, but it wouldn’t be with the two people he wanted. Maybe the timing of Rico finding his mate when he did was Hamid’s doing. After all, Hamid had always been a possessive shifter.
Love had a funny way of working and in unexpected ways.
Markie plastered a smile on his face for both Casey and Rico in equal measure. So what if he didn’t feel so cheerful. He’d owned the café long enough to fake it well.
The scowl on Rico’s face didn’t change, so maybe Markie wasn’t fooling him.
Markie raised his eyebrows when Casey came around the counter without a word. He stood in front of the cash register, looking at it as if he were trying to figure out how to open it to steal all the cash.
Markie decided to tease him, knowing full well Casey would never take a dime that didn’t belong to him. That wasn’t how any of the Etter brothers operated. “I have fifty bucks in there. That’s all. I’d start at Hadi Eld’s music store. His guitars are hella expensive. Bet he has a few hundred in his register.”
Casey smirked at him. “I’d take your advice into consideration, but Jalen would kick my ass all over the island if I stole even a spoon from the mess hall.”
Markie chuckled and tried not to peek at Rico out of the corner of his eyes, but Rico leaning against the counter staring at Markie as if he were the best thing he’d ever seen made it impossible.
“Why are you behind the counter, Casey?”
“I’m watching the front while you and Rico talk in the back.”
Markie turned to Rico then. “Is everything all right?”
That was when Markie saw it, the way Rico’s mouth turned down at the edges and his eyebrows drew together just slightly. Something was bothering Rico. “No. Can we talk?”
Markie took a step back and folded his arms over his chest. “I need to know why first.”
Rico huffed out a sigh and straightened, moving off the counter. He ran a hand down his face in frustration. “Gods, between you and Jalen my brain is going to explode. Will you just do it? Please. I can only argue with one of you today, and Jalen has already used up that quota.”
Casey snorted out a laugh. “And you say you want them both.”
Markie’s arms fell away as Casey’s words took hold of his system, swishing around in his mind. “Uri’s shift starts in a half-hour. Just come get me if you need help before then.”
“Yeah, I know when Uri’s shift starts. He told me, but I’ll get you if I need help.”
Markie didn’t wait to see if Rico followed him. He could smell him and hear his shoes on the tile floor. He stopped at his office door with a hand on the knob when Rico gently gripped his waist and his body warmed Markie from behind. Rico’s breath fanned across the top of his head and then down the side as Rico placed a kiss on the exposed part of Markie’s shoulder.
Markie wanted to cry, because the last person to touch him with such intimacy was Hamid, and the memory of it made him feel as if he were in the room.
At the same time, he knew who was behind him. He could feel the difference in the way Rico’s body felt against his own. Rico’s scent was different. It didn’t make Markie wild with need the way Hamid’s had. His touch wasn’t as possessive, either, but rather he was holding Markie with the expectation that Markie would reject him.
Rico moved up to a spot just under Markie’s ear and kissed before whispering, “I’ve loved you for over a year now. That doesn’t shut off just because I met my mate.”
“He doesn’t want me, though.” Jalen’s words had nearly crushed him the night before, but he’d lived through heartache once already. “You should let me go.”
“Never.” Rico’s hands tightened just a little on Markie’s waist.
“Please. You should be with Jalen. He’s your mate. You don’t know how long you have with him.”
Markie mourned the moment Rico moved away from him, but he knew he was the one who’d initiated it. He walked into his office, leaving the door open for Rico, who didn’t shut it behind him. No one came back there anyway, and Markie honestly didn’t think they had much to say to each other anymore.
No sooner did he have the thought than Rico said, “I miss him. I need you to know that.”
They were no longer discussing Jalen, but Hamid. The whole situation left Markie emotional enough that he couldn’t keep the tears from gathering. “Me too. So much.”
Markie turned just as Rico’s arm came around him, hugging this time.
“It’s what had me coming around at first. I wanted the connection to him, and you knew better than anyone how it felt. We share that, and somehow it locked us together. When I saw you, I remembered how he was when he was alive, and I need
ed that for a long time after. I still do sometimes. Probably always will.”
“So that’s why you say you love me?”
“No. I say that because something changed when I wasn’t paying attention. After a while, I just needed to be close to you.” Rico pulled Markie away just enough to meet his gaze. Rico’s hands cupped his tear streaked cheeks. Rico wiped a tear away with his thumb. “I see you, honey. I promise you that.”
“Oh Gods, why are you doing this to me?” Markie pressed his face to Rico’s side, but the wet spot he’d created on Rico’s shirt became uncomfortable. He turned his head to Rico’s other pectoral muscle.
“I need you to know how things went for me. I also need you to know that I understand you still love Hamid and always will. I’ve never viewed him as competition, and I’m not looking to take his place. The last thing I want is for his memory to fade.”
Markie nodded.
Rico let Markie cry for a few minutes, providing quiet comfort.
Markie sniffled. “What about Jalen?”
“We’ll work on Jalen together. His stubborn ass will be ours before he even knows what hit him. Just follow my lead.”
Markie smiled. He wiped a hand across his cheeks and moved back, meeting Rico’s gaze once again. “Are you sure about this? I love you, but I’ll love you if we’re just friends too.”
Rico leaned in, kissing Markie for the first time. Oh, Rico had his attention. As Rico moved his lips over Markie’s, trying to get him to open up, he melted. Rico must have felt it, because he tightened his hold.
Markie’s cock joined the party almost instantly, and that was the thing that made him pull back. “We need to wait for Jalen.”
Rico kept his eyes closed and he took a few deep breaths, obviously attempting to calm himself. When he opened his eyes again, they were that of his hawk, which surprised Markie. “Jalen better come around sooner rather than later.”
“What do you need me to do?”
“Just be your pretty self. That’ll be enticing enough.”
Markie grinned. “Uri has some sexy prostitute shorts I could borrow.”
“Prostitute shorts?”
Markie just nodded.
Chapter Eight
The short walk to the alpha building did nothing to quiet Jalen’s stressed mind. He’d lose it before too long and finally break down, which was something he hadn’t done yet.
It wasn’t just his experiences on the human army base or the situation with Rico and Markie. He was also worried about Casey leaving. Even basic training scared the crap out of Jalen, mostly because he couldn’t picture his youngest brother holding a gun with any kind of competency. Casey was just a short, skinny kid who had a big mouth and not much else.
Jalen stopped when he heard feet pounding the ground behind him. He turned to see Virion jogging to catch up. They walked companionably for a couple seconds before Virion spoke. “Looks like you’re heading to the alpha building. Why is that?”
“Just worried about Casey. Seeing if the alpha can pull some strings and have him stationed on the island after basic training.”
Virion stiffened beside him. “You should have talked to me about it first.”
Jalen waved a hand in the air. “I got this.”
“What else is wrong?”
It figured Virion would pick up on Jalen’s stress. He was an observant guy who ran one of the top teams on the island. Jalen had been around Virion enough to know he was good at making sure his team stayed healthy physically and emotionally. Virion also made sure Uri stayed that way too, which helped relieve some of Jalen’s worry.
Jalen didn’t want to talk about Rico or Markie, so he decided to go with yet another worry. “Not sure about my job. I guess I’ll need to talk to my boss about it.”
“Give it a few days. Your whole crew is probably traumatized and might need the time to process their experience. I’d say you do too.” Virion gripped the back of Jalen’s neck with a gentle but firm hand when he would have pulled the door open to the alpha building. The touch effectively stopped him at the same time it silently asserted dominance.
Jalen hadn’t been around many shifters until the last couple months, and until that moment, he’d thought the overall hierarchy was just a military thing. The dominating touch surprised him, and he couldn’t keep it off his face.
“I’m a shifter, Jalen. I consider you a part of my family, and not just because your Uri’s brother. You fit in with my team well, which is why I’m going to say what I have to straight out, so you know where you stand.” Virion paused, and his expression hardened. “I’m going to let you go talk to the alpha because you need to tell him your take on what happened yesterday anyway, but you will not go in there and say a word about Casey. You will let it go, because it’s not yours to control.”
It was on the tip of Jalen’s tongue to tell Virion to fuck off, but he held the words back. Instead, he let Virion’s little speech wash over him. “So you’ll take control of that situation. Is that what you’re telling me?”
“No. I’m taking control of you. On this one thing, because you’re trying to pull rank on me. It’s my job to influence Casey’s placement one way or another. Not yours. I’m the leader of our family. At least for now, and you will respect that.”
“So I’m just supposed to trust you with both of my brothers?”
Virion’s eyebrows drew together. “Have I proven to be untrustworthy?”
Jalen opened his mouth to speak and then shut it again. Something about the way Virion asked the question told Jalen just the thought that he’d answer it in a positive way hurt Virion’s very soul.
Jalen’s whole body relaxed all at once. He didn’t even realize how tense he was until it disappeared. “I’m sorry. I do trust you, and I didn’t realize going to the alpha would be a problem.” He sighed. “I was so relieved when you came into our lives, because it meant I didn’t have to worry about Uri as much.”
“I know. You know I’d do anything for him. For you and Casey, too.”
Jalen smiled. “It’s hard to remember that last part sometimes. You bringing us here, providing us with stability, is something I’ve accepted. The emotional support is taking a while.”
“And on that note, I should tell you, your brothers know you’re having issues with your mate.” When Jalen opened his mouth to speak, Virion cut him off. “The house is small, and everyone in it heard you two yelling this morning. We all got the basic point of the argument whether we wanted it or not. Uri’s the one that sent me out here to talk to you in the first place, actually.”
“So instead of talking me into Rico’s way of thinking, you’re warning me my brothers are about to stick their nose in my relationship business.”
“Yeah.” Virion’s dark face split into a grin. “Figured you’d appreciate the warning a bit more than the relationship advice. Not that I have any.”
Jalen wanted to make a joke to lighten the mood, a bit but just talking about Rico and Markie made his heart feel heavier than his chest could hold. “What would you do if you were me?”
Virion dropped his hand from the back of Jalen’s neck. He shook his head. “Given your exact situation?”
Jalen nodded.
“I don’t know. Lock Uri in a room so thick this other guy couldn’t get to him. I’m a possessive bastard. If I put that selfish shit aside, I guess I’d have to take his feelings into account. I wouldn’t like it, but I’d at least give this other guy a chance. But then I love Uri more than I have words for, and maybe that makes it a bit easier to give him what he needs.”
“What he needs?”
Virion nodded. “Well, yeah. If Uri were a soldier and experienced the same things Rico had. I guess I get where Rico’s coming from better than most. Julian’s death is always on my mind twenty-four hours a day, and if it wasn’t for Uri, I’d lose it eventually.”
“I know you miss him.”
“It’s more than
that. It’s the fucking guilt, because why him and not me? Why couldn’t I save him? I should have been there but wasn’t.” Virion swallowed, and Jalen could see the tears gathering before he calmed down again. “Anyway, my point is, if it were Uri who needed someone to ground him the way that Uri does me, I hope I’d be strong enough to let my selfish insecurities aside and give him that.”
Jalen nodded. “I told Rico to go to Markie. He needs Markie.”
“And you think Markie can hold the weight of his own pain and Rico’s too?” Virion shook his head. “Hamid was his mate, Jalen. That’s heavy all by itself. Hamid died two years ago, and Markie’s been alone since, and now you and Rico are shoving Rico’s emotional soldier shit onto him, expecting him to carry it all.”
Shit. Jalen hadn’t thought of that.
“I’ll go in with you and mention Casey getting stationed here.”
Jalen was glad for the subject change. He didn’t want to think about Rico and Markie anymore. “Thanks.”
Virion reached for the door to the alpha building, pulling it open and waited for Jalen to go through first. Jalen stopped in the middle of the reception area and watched as Virion stepped up to the counter. “Alpha Delco available?”
“He’s in a debriefing meeting.”
“About the human army incident?”
The guy behind the counter just smiled without saying a word. His smile looked plastic, as if he were a robot. Apparently, the reasons behind Delco’s meetings were on a need to know basis, and the soldier turned receptionist didn’t think Virion needed to know.
Virion pointed at Jalen. “If so, then alpha will want him to join. He was the human involved.”
The receptionist looked at Jalen. “It’s down the hall to the left. Second door on the right.”
Jalen stepped up next to Virion. “Can he come in with me?” Jalen just knew Rico was in that room, and he didn’t know what he was going to say. Maybe he shouldn’t say anything at all. Maybe Rico and Markie had already bonded and there wasn’t anything left to say.
