Chapter Ten
Stavion didn’t come back.
Jory was going stir-crazy. The plane was large—hell, it even had a bedroom—but the longer he stayed inside, the more claustrophobic he felt.
He vomited twice when the sun started to rise, and there was still no sign of his lover. Where was he? Stavion couldn’t be out in the sunlight. He’d fry up like fatback bacon. Had he been hurt? Did the news go over worse than he expected? Jory hated not knowing. He kept telling himself that no news was good news, but believing it was the hard part.
“You have got to calm down,” Cassius said with a sigh. “You’re making me nervous, and I know that everything is fine.”
“What?” Jory flew across the plane—no pun intended—and grabbed Cassius by the front of his shirt. “You know something? Did you talk to Stavion? What’s going on?”
“Whoa, little man.” Cassius pried Jory’s hands off of him, and took a step back. “Yeah, the boss called right before the sun came up.” He motioned toward the metal plates covering the windows of the plane, much like the ones they had at home. “It took a little longer than he thought it would, but they’ve got Flynn, and he and Raven will be here tomorrow night. Elder Winters was able to buy a little more time. Stavion just didn’t have time to get back here to the airstrip before the sun came up.”
“And you didn’t think to tell me?”
“I’m barely awake here. I’m sorry. Why don’t we try to get sleep? Stavion said he’d be back tomorrow after sunset.”
Jory didn’t want to go to sleep. He wanted to grab the Enforcer and shake the shit out of him. He’d been going out of his mind with worry, and Cassius had just “forgot” to tell him that his mate wasn’t roasting out in the sun somewhere.
Flynn was safe and coming home, they had more time, and everything should be just fine. So, why did he feel like he was going to hurl again? Things didn’t just suddenly fix themselves right when he needed them to change. That wasn’t how life worked, and especially not his life.
He guessed he was lucky in some aspects. His life had been filled with one disappointment after another. He’d never had the disadvantage of seeing the world through rose-colored glasses. So, when bad things happened, they weren’t that crushing because he’d come to expect them.
This was different, though. This was his mate. Even if Stavion hadn’t been the one person on earth made just for him, there was no doubt that he’d still want the man. How could anyone not? The fact that Stavion wanted Jory in return was just icing on the cake.
Maybe he’d been right in his original assumption. Happy endings weren’t granted to people like him. That didn’t mean he was just going to bend over, grab his ankles, and let fate screw him.
Sometimes you have to go out, grab your destiny by the balls, and show it who’s boss. The way he saw it, this was shaping up to be one of those times.
* * * *
Stavion arched his back and groaned. It had been a long time since he’d been forced to sleep on the floor inside a closet. The pack house in Georgia wasn’t exactly vampire-friendly, however, and he’d had to make do with what was available.
He felt like shit for leaving Jory alone throughout the day. There had been little choice, though. By the time he’d finished talking with Boston and Malakai, the sun was cresting over the horizon. There’d been no way for him to make it back to the plane.
He hoped Cassius had passed along his message. The man sounded like the walking dead when he’d spoken with him. Either way, he had a feeling it wasn’t going to save him from Jory, though.
The little demon had quite the temper when he was riled up.
Chuckling under his breath, Stavion perched on the edge of the bed and dug his cell phone out of his wrinkled pants. The first call he made was to Raven.
“We’ll be landing in about ten minutes,” the Enforcer said as soon as he answered the phone. He gave Stavion a brief synopsis of the events leading up to Flynn’s rescue. “We couldn’t get to the leader or his personal guards. They just vanished, man. We have the werewolves and most of the inner circle, though.” Stavion looked out the window and frowned. It was later than he’d thought. God, Jory was going to be pissed. At the same time, he’d just woken up, and it was too damn early to deal with this shit.
“I’ll see you when you get here, and we’ll discuss it.” They said their good-byes, and Stavion immediately started dialing again.
“You need to get your ass back here,” Cassius answered. Did no one say hello anymore? “I’m going to lock your mate in the lavatory in about two minutes.”
With anyone else, Stavion would have lost his cool. He knew Cassius wouldn’t do anything to hurt Jory, though. So, instead, he found himself chuckling. “What did he do?”
“He kicked me in the fucking shin, bit my ear, and threw frozen desserts at me.”
Stavion laughed harder at the mental images Cassius’s words produced. “What did you do to piss him off?”
“How is this my fault?”
“What did you do?” Stavion was having a hard time getting himself under control. Cassius sounded so indignant, and Stavion felt like a parent refereeing a game of sibling rivalry.
“I was doing my job! I wouldn’t let him leave the plane. Seriously, if he kicks me again, I’m going to belt him one.”
Stavion shook his head. Cassius was so full of shit, and they both knew it. “I’ll be there as soon as I can. Keep him inside and play nice.” Cassius started sputtering, but Stavion just shook his head and disconnected the call.
Part of him felt bad for not talking to Jory and assuring the man that everything was fine. He still had phone calls to make and things that needed his attention, though. Jory would insist that he be allowed to come to the house, and Stavion would give in like always.
Boston may have claimed Malakai that morning, but until his friend was claimed by both mates, Stavion was playing it safe. Most likely, he was overreacting. Probably, Boston and Flynn were good guys and would never do anything to hurt Jory. He wasn’t willing to chance Jory’s well-being on “most likely” and “probably,” though.
The next phone call he made was to Blaise. The alpha gave him an actual greeting, but he didn’t sound very happy.
“What happened?” Stavion knew it was too much to hope that everything was settled with McCarthy now.
“McCarthy is demanding a hearing with The Council. I might have smudged the facts a little and said that both Flynn and Boston had claimed Malakai, instead of just Boston. It’s not going to fly, though. McCarthy is arguing that he sent the contract request before Malakai was claimed, and therefore his claim supersedes the mating bite.”
Stavion growled and beat his fist against the side of his thigh.
“When is the hearing?”
“In three days.” There was a long pause, and Stavion could hear Blaise’s heavy sigh. “Stavion, it doesn’t look good.”
“I’ll see you in a few days.”
“I’ll try to find a loophole, but I wanted you to be prepared.”
“Yeah,” Stavion mumbled. “Thanks, Blaise.” He pulled the phone away from his ear and hung up in a kind of numbed daze. He’d been awake for ten minutes, and already, he wanted to crawl back into that closet and sleep until everything made sense.
He had people depending on him, though. Jory was number one on that list. So, he pushed up from the mattress, did his best to smooth out the wrinkles in his clothes, and crossed the room to the door.
Upon stepping out into the hallway, he was immediately greeted by two naked bodies, rocking together against the wall just outside his door. Stavion wasn’t a prude, but the shock of it heated his cheeks and made him gasp in surprise.
Xander slowed his thrusts, but he didn’t stop completely, nor did he look embarrassed in the least. Braxton kept one arm around his mate’s neck and used the other to give Stavion a cheery wave.
Stavion waved back automatically, inwardly groaning at his idiotic behavior. Hurr
ying around the pair, he took the stairs two at a time down to the living room. He made it all of two steps before his overworked brain caught up with what he was seeing and hearing.
“Does anyone in this house wear clothes?” Boston laughed as if it were an everyday occurrence for someone to walk in on him fucking his mates. Slipping out of Flynn’s ass, he turned and gave Stavion a huge, shit-eating grin. “I take it we’re not the first you’ve walked in on?”
Stavion was never going to understand these shifters. He just shook his head and groaned.
* * * *
Flynn was home. The news of the hearing had been delivered.
Stavion just wanted to crawl into a hole and sleep for the next year.
Being in charge was fucking exhausting. Now, he had to deal with a very pissed off mate.
“Where is he?” he asked Cassius the moment he entered the plane.
Cassius jerked a thumb toward the back where the bedroom was.
“He’s been in there for hours.”
Stavion sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’ll deal with it.”
“Boss, we have another problem.”
“No.” Stavion shook his head. “No more problems. No more shit going wrong. Everyone is happy, and nothing is falling apart. That’s what you tell me. Otherwise you aren’t allowed to talk.”
“There have been werewolves prowling the grounds around the estate.”
“Damn it! Don’t you ever fucking listen to me? There are no werewolves or anything else that needs my attention.” Stavion was about to have a nervous breakdown. He could feel it coming. How the hell did people deal with this shit? As soon as he got one thing fixed, there were a hundred other problems that cropped up.
“What did you expect, Stavion? You took members of his pack!”
“I didn’t take anyone. They’re not kids, Cassius. I helped them get out of a bad situation and gave them a place to live. It’s not like we kidnapped a couple of goddamn toddlers.”
Cassius pressed his lips together and glared. “What do we do?”
“Raven is bringing food. We’re going to eat. Then I’m going to deal with Jory. After that, we’ll fly home and get ready for a Council meeting where I may or may not end up in a jail cell, and Malakai might be forced to move to Washington.” Stavion clenched his hands into fists and growled under his breath. “Have the werewolves made any threatening moves? How many are there?” Cassius shook his head. “There are six of them—two females and four males. They just prowl the boundary lines around the property.”
“So, they haven’t actually come onto our lands?” Cassius shook his head again.
“Then keep an eye on the situation for now. We really need to get more guards. We can’t do our jobs and worry about werewolves at the same time.”
“What werewolves?”
Stavion swallowed back his groan and turned to face Jory. “It’s nothing.”
“Just like the reason you didn’t come back last night is nothing. ” Jory crossed his arms over his thin chest and growled. “You said mates tell each other everything, but does that not apply to you? Or maybe you think I’m too stupid to understand what’s going on?” He said it with a sneer, but Stavion could hear the hurt in his voice.
“Baby, it’s not like that.” Fuck, he so didn’t need this shit right now. “I just don’t want you to worry.”
“I’m going to see if Raven is back.” Then Cassius hurried off the plane. Coward.
“Well, I’m already worried. Is this going to be a habit of yours? If it is, I’d like to know now.”
“There have been some werewolves prowling the outside of the grounds. We don’t know why they’re there, but they don’t seem aggressive.”
Jory deflated and his shoulders began to shake. “I’m not trying to be a pain in the ass. I’m just scared. For the first time in my life, I’m happy. I don’t want that taken away. When you keep things from me, I…I don’t know. It makes me feel like things aren’t as okay as you say they are.”
Crossing the distance between them, Stavion lifted Jory into his arms and carried him to the back of the plane and into the small bedroom. He laid his mate gently in the center of the mattress and hovered over him, just staring into Jory’s green eyes. “Things are a little crazy right now, but they’ll settle down. You don’t have to ever be scared, Jory. You’re the most important thing to me, and I’ll do whatever I have to do to keep you safe.” A single tear escaped the corner of Jory’s eye and slid down his temple. “It’s not just about me. I need you to be safe, too. It’s scary having something to lose.”
Stavion knew the feeling all too well. The idea of anything happening to Jory made his throat burn and his stomach cramp. “No more talking,” he whispered before dropping his mouth to Jory’s and kissing him with everything he felt and couldn’t say.
Arching into him and moaning quietly, Jory opened to his questing tongue as his arms and legs went around Stavion. It was one of those all-consuming kisses, the kind that seemed to go on forever, blotting out everything in the world but the two of them. Each lazy glide of their tongues, every gentle caress of their hands, and each sweet whimper or moan from Jory’s mouth pushed Stavion’s desire to the edge of madness.
He’d never felt so much from just a kiss before. No one had ever had him on the edge of orgasm by simply brushing his hair back from his face. Everything felt different with Jory, though. It was like having a live wire wiggling beneath him, making every feeling, urge, and need more intense.
Jory stiffened and a strangled groan fell from his lips as he dropped his head back to the pillow. The look of bliss on his face, the realization that he’d come from just a kiss, pushed Stavion over the edge. He dropped his forehead to Jory’s, just staring into his mate’s eyes as he coated the front of his boxers with his release. He should probably have been embarrassed by his lack of control, but he just couldn’t find it in himself to care.
“I could sleep.” Jory punctuated the statement with a huge yawn.
Stavion stole another kiss and pushed up from the bed to find something to clean them with. A nap sounded great. A nap with his mate curled in his arms sounded like heaven. The idea of pushing away all of his problems and just enjoying being with Jory sounded like a miracle.
He could definitely use a few more of those.
Chapter Eleven
Elder Macintosh, the shifter representative of The Council, stared down his crooked nose at them and sighed. “I’m sorry, but I have no choice but to rule in favor of Nicholas McCarthy and grant approval for his contract.”
The room erupted into shouting, snarling, and growling. Blaise began screaming things at the elders. Malakai struggled against the guard holding him, kicking and flailing as he tried to free himself and get to his mates. Boston and Flynn were going crazy as they fought against a dozen Council Guards.
Stavion struggled as well, but it was more out of instinct than anything. His heart sank as he watched McCarthy carry Malakai out of the room through a door just to the side of the dais where the elders sat. It was over, and they’d lost.
Before Stavion could figure out how to get loose of the guards holding him, the doors at the back of the room banged open. Xander and his pack hurried into the room, followed by Blaise’s mates, Willow and Cole. They all looked excited, with big smiles on their faces. Stavion prayed Cole had finally found something that would get them out of this mess.
“Wait!” Xander yelled, his voice ringing around the room.
Everyone stopped immediately. Hell, even Stavion paused in his struggles. Not only was the alpha massive in body-size, but the air of authority surrounding him commanded respect.
Raven, Varik, Demos, and Cassius entered through a door near the front of the room, and Stavion watched as his friends moved to stand with Xander. The door McCarthy had just left through opened again, and five men Stavion had never seen filed in, one of them pushing McCarthy ahead of him.
“What is the meaning of this?�
�� Elder Macintosh shouted.
Yeah, that was what Stavion wanted to know. Who the hell were those guys with McCarthy? Looking around the room, Stavion tried to gauge if their entrance was as shocking to anyone else besides him.
Blaise and Flynn were beaming like mad. Boston, however, looked just as confused as Stavion.
“Blaise?”
The alpha looked over his shoulder and winked at Stavion. “Just hold that thought.”
Stavion decided he didn’t really have a choice, so he returned his attention to McCarthy. He was privileged to look up just in time to see Talon punch the vampire leader in the face, grab Malakai from him, and carry him over to Boston. Stavion knew he liked that guy from the moment he’d met the leopard shifter.
“Flynn, ya be owin’ us for this. How is it ya always be gettin’ into the most trouble?” one of the newcomers spoke in his charming Irish brogue.
Stavion’s eyes flitted to Flynn, and he finally realized why the men looked familiar. They all looked like different versions of Flynn Murphy. “Brothers?” he asked out of the side of his mouth. Blaise grinned and nodded.
“I’ve been missin’ ya, too, Devlin, and a sight for sore eyes ya are,” Flynn called back.
“And what are ya havin’ to say to the rest of us?” Another of the Flynn look-alikes kicked his foot out to the side as he spoke, connecting with one of the fallen guards. Stavion bit his tongue to keep from laughing. “I’m thinkin’ I’ll be likin’ America just fine.” Stavion lost track of the conversation for a minute as he once again tried to find his mate in the all the chaos. He wasn’t going to panic. Everything was fine. It was all going to be okay. Fuck, where was Jory?
Okay, Stavion was panicking. His eyes darted around frantically, landing briefly on each face in the room before passing on to the next.
Haven 1: Caution: Contents Under Pressure Page 10
