by Leah Blake
Mikhail snorted, stepping out from behind Nico. “Okay, can you all just talk? Out loud where I can hear it? This telepathy shit is rude.”
The corner of Raul’s mouth twitched as his attention shifted to Nico’s mate.
“Nico trusts you. That’s what he said. He trusts that you are telling the truth and you are unaware of a tracking device or chip.” Raul lifted his chin slightly. “And I know Nico to have a keen sense when it comes to deceit.”
Mikhail shot him a baffled glance. Nico shrugged.
“So…what does that mean?”
Raul fastened up his jeans and disappeared into his bedroom. A few moments later, he emerged with a shirt on and his hair tied at his nape.
“Cael’s waiting for us.” The alpha led the small group to the corridor. “If you have a chip, he’ll find it.”
Chapter Eighteen
A simmering pool of rage licked along Mik’s soul, tunneling his vision on the tiny object—no bigger than a long grain of rice—resting in a stainless steel basin. Cael finished cleaning the small incision at the back of his neck. He barely felt the sting of the antiseptic or the heat as the sorcerer healed the wound. Barely heard the conversation between Raul and Cael about missing the device during his healing. Cael had no explanation for missing it. He seemed as surprised as the rest of them to find the thing after a concentrated search.
Mik’s stomach roiled, acid burning his throat.
“I can’t fucking believe this,” Mik muttered under his breath. Never in his four years with Jude had he consented to that. A chip. A tracking device. It was bad enough he signed away his life, but his freedom, too?
Jude Cristo owned him. Jude Cristo owned every man in his elite group. He didn’t play leader. He played god.
Fucking bastard. You goddamn piece of fucking shit.
“Easy,” Raul said. Mik lifted his attention away from the unblinking device and met the wolf’s level gaze. His fingers ached from gripping the exam table. Every muscle in his body had hardened beneath his fury.
Nico slipped his hand over Mik’s and lowered his mouth to his ear. The heat of his breath and the subtle caress of his nose along his temple tempered his anger a little. In a hushed, soothing tone, he whispered, “Breathe, Mikhail.”
Mik shut his eyes and concentrated on a slow inhalation, followed by an equally slow exhalation. He performed the routine again, then a third time. His fingers relaxed, as did the muscles along his back and shoulders. With it came a rush of blood to his head and the beginning of a headache.
And realization.
“I have to go back,” Mik murmured. When Nico stopped nuzzling his temple, he nodded. His shoulders sank. “I have to go back to Jude. If he managed to pinpoint where I am, the best way to protect the Creek is for me to return to him.”
Nico leaned back, his upper lip peeling away from his teeth. “Absolutely not.”
Mik held his mate’s glowing gaze. “Nico—”
“No.” Nico growled. “No.”
“Nico, he may be right.” Raul stroked his chin, his expression shadowed. Mik could only imagine what the wolf was thinking. “If Jude has any reason to believe Mikhail was trying to leave the hunters, he’s a dead man, per his contract.”
Raul glanced over his shoulder when Gadge returned to the exam room. Behind him, Vuk and Storme. Mik was waiting for Victor to join the club. He sure could use some of the vampire’s calming magic right about now. Unfortunately for him, the vampire was preoccupied at Beauty, per Raul.
Vuk’s glower was anything but friendly at first. Raul must have sent him a telepathic summary of events because his hard-lined expression smoothed and the deadly glow of his aqua eyes smoldered.
Vuk leaned over the basin with the chip and pursed his lips. “Seems you’re in a bigger bind than we thought.”
“Okay, so this is what I’ve got on the chip.” Gadge’s interruption was both relieving and unnerving. Since Cael located the chip, confirming Mikhail’s worst nightmare, he wanted to know what exactly the thing was doing. “It was initially activated the night Storme brought his team back to the Creek. The wards were able to skew the device and keep it from setting off a positioning signal. However, the techs have been persistent, locking into the device daily until they were able to get a ping.”
“Jude knows he’s here,” Storme said.
Gadge cocked his head and shrugged. “They had a grasp on the chip for an hour and a half at most, and the connection was shaky at best. They will know he is in New York State. They may assume he’s here. There should be no certainty.”
Gadge punched something on the tablet’s keyboard and turned the screen around. Mik and the rest of the men in the room crowded to see the red dot in the center of the screen. A satellite view of a dark building obscured by thick forest foliage. A cell tower at the back end of the property. Men dressed up in black gear walking scent dogs. Mik swallowed the lump in his throat.
Gadge had located The Bunker.
“I traced the signal back to here.” Gadge’s gaze lifted to Mik. “His technology is pretty impressive, but there’s that small issue of carelessness. He works from home.”
“Well, I’ll be damned,” Vuk said, smirking. He jabbed Mik’s arm with his elbow. Mik sneered. “How about that? Your boss man put a target on his own back. If only it were that easy with all the hunter cells.”
“We’re not attacking Jude.” Raul’s gaze lowered to the chip. “Not yet.”
“I definitely have to go back now.” Mik moistened his lips, finding comfort in Nico’s interlaced fingers. He sensed the protest in Nico’s stiff posture, but his mate remained silent. Well, at least by mouth. His eyes were a different story. “He may or may not know I’m here. Without the chip, there’s no way I can play it off like I suffered a head injury and mulled about for a week. He’ll know it’s been removed the minute I’m outside the wards and the guys back home can’t get a signal.”
Vuk snorted. “Raul, you’re going to let him walk right back to Jude?”
Raul nodded. “I am.”
“Are you nuts? What if he leads Jude back here—”
“I won’t do that,” Mik snapped, earning himself everyone’s attention. He pulled Nico’s hand into his lap. “You have my word, my promise, whatever it is you value most, that Jude will never find the Creek. Not from me. But, we need to come up with a plan that would explain why I don’t have the chip, why I’ve been away for a week leaving all my gear in the woods in Pennsylvania, and how I managed to make my way back to The Bunker.”
“The Bunker?” Storme chuckled. “Original.”
“I think Mikhail had a good idea.” For the first time since Cael removed the chip, he drew the room’s attention to him as he leaned back against a counter. “Amnesia can make people do strange things. I can initiate an amnesia-like mentation in Mikhail. You can drop him off close to The Bunker where he’ll be picked up by Jude’s men with the help of magic to lead a man to him, and back inside in no time. The only issue will be the magic. Mikhail will be engulfed in a state of amnesia. He will not remember anything from the night he sustained the head injury to the time he is picked up by Jude’s men.”
“What is the point of him going back again?” Nico asked, angling his body in a protective stance between Mik and the majority of the men in the room. Mik embraced the momentary transfer that allowed him to see and feel the mixture of anger and anxiety Nico suffered beneath the carefully composed shell. “We deliver him back to a madman who holds a gun to his head every minute of every day. You expect me to be on board with this ridiculous plan? To place my mate in danger? To fuck with his head, leaving him vulnerable to a viper? Hell. Fucking. No.”
Cael straightened up. “Nico—”
“I said no.”
“Wolf,” Mik whispered, slipping a hand up Nico’s arm and wrapping his fingers around his mate’s tense bicep. Nico dropped his sun-bright eyes to Mik. Behind his sealed lips, Mik caught the faint shift of Nico’s strong jaw as he g
round his teeth. “If I return and act like I’m lost, like I have no idea what happened, Jude won’t be so quick to press me for answers. Nor will he come hunting you.”
“He’ll hunt us. There’s no doubt about that.”
“It’ll buy time. Perhaps I can stop him.” Mik silently pleaded for Nico to understand. “This past week has been a life changer for me. Everyone here has showed me how narrow-minded the hunters are. How wrong. If I stay, Jude will come. I will bring his wrath down on every paranormal here. People will get hurt, and I don’t want that. Not now. Not ever.”
Nico’s nostrils flared for a split second. He turned his chin up, glanced one way, the other, then lowered it back to Mik. Some of the anger in his expression faded, but the wolf inside was not pleased and made his presence known. Nico’s mouth set in a stubborn pinch.
“My return will keep him at bay.”
“How do you expect to escape? You can’t just leave, Mikhail. And how the hell are you going to remember or know what you’re supposed to be doing? Cael’s going to make you an amnesiac.”
“There are two ways to get around that.” Cael pressed away from the counter, sliding his hands into the pockets of his lab coat. “One, I can create an amulet that will make you appear a true amnesiac while you retain your memories. The hitch with that is the amulet cannot come off at any time. You’ll succumb to the spell and be lost until I can reverse it.”
Mik shook his head. “Jude’ll have me checked from head-to-toe. There’s no way around that. An amulet won’t work. What’s option two?”
The corner of Cael’s mouth quirked. Mik wasn’t sure he liked the mischievous look on the handsome power wielder. He found himself leaning into Nico, anticipating another letdown.
“You bond.”
* * * *
Bond.
Only one week ago he would have laughed at the suggestion before putting an end to the shifter who dared utter that word. One week ago that very word would have never crossed his mind.
How much changes in a week.
Mik chewed his lower lip, staring blankly into the lightening dawn as he fingered the small disk hidden in the pocket of his shorts. Exhaustion dug its brutal claws into his mind and his body, yet he couldn’t sleep. The incision on his neck burned just enough to remind Mik about Jude’s subpar methods of controlling his crew and solidify his decision. Going back to The Bunker may not be the right thing to do, but it was the necessary thing to do to protect Nico and all of the paranormals who had gifted him with sight outside the proverbial box. Sure, there were still guys who tried to fry him with their hateful looks, but never once did anyone intentionally beat the shit out of him, an expectation he held from day one that fizzled by day three or so. Thanks to Marco, he actually had a few friends at the manor. He didn’t have to fear for his life, not that he ever encountered a life-threatening situation. He had Nico. Storme had come around in his favor. Even Vuk, the dick that he was, cracked a joke or two with him on occasion.
The laugh was usually at his expense, but hey. He’d taken it in good nature.
He’d been so caught up in his thoughts that he jumped when a mug of steaming coffee appeared in front of him.
“Hey, honey. Easy.” Nico moved up against Mik’s back, snaking an arm around his waist and pressing a kiss to the top of his head. Mik took the mug between both hands and took a sip. The scalding drink managed to loosen some of the knots in his shoulders and he leaned heavily into Nico’s body. “We can figure out a way to make the amulet work.”
“I’m not thinking about the amulet.”
Nico’s fingertips trailed up and down between the top of his shorts and belly button. The slow, methodical strokes fractured the tenuous thoughts that held him prisoner since discovering he was being tracked.
“Yes, you are. In a round-about way.”
Mik took another sip of coffee and let his eyes fall shut. “Okay. Maybe I am. Among other things.”
“We’ll make it work.”
Mik remained silent, soaking in the heat from Nico’s strong form. The wolf was an endless structure of support, a promise of safety and protection. Two elements Mik thought he could provide for himself until he crossed Nico’s path. Now, having experienced the passion, the hunger, the desire, and the tenderness that came with being dubbed Nico’s lover and mate, Mik refused to give it up.
“What if we do bond?”
Nico’s chest ceased the rhythmic rise and fall with each breath. His fingers paused at the waistband of his shorts.
“It’s only a matter of time before we can’t fight the mating status anymore, right? It’s inevitable. We’re going to bond at some point.” Mik resigned to opening his eyes and stepped away from Nico. When he turned to his mate, the expression of hope on Nico’s face made his heart soar. He grinned. “I’d rather bond with you, Nico, and know you’re part of me going into this than to rely on an amulet and not sense you close by.”
“Mikhail, in our world, bonding is permanent. Once it happens, it can’t be undone. Our minds will link, our spirits entwine to become two parts of a greater whole. It’s not like common day marriages with the assurance of a divorce if things go south.”
Mik placed his mug on the windowsill. “You don’t want to bond.”
Nico cupped his face in his hands and drew Mik close, bringing him to his toes. Mik held fast to Nico’s shoulders, licking his lips. What he’d do to keep Nico for the rest of his life.
“I want nothing more than to bond, little mate. I want nothing more than to know that when we do, you’re in it one hundred percent. Don’t make a hasty decision to go through with this because of the situation we’re about to face.”
“What if I told you I’ve been thinking about it? Before this cluster fuck of a morning?” A truth. Mik had thought about bonding, wondering what it would be like to belong to Nico. To communicate with his mate through their thoughts rather than being thrown into mind transfers at the whim of the universe. He reached up and brushed the tips of his fingers along Nico’s jaw. “Every time you take me, I feel like we should be even closer. Like there’s a gap between us that needs to be filled in. I don’t want that gap there anymore.”
“Honey—”
“I’m serious.” Mik lowered his hand and dug out the small disk from his pocket. He lifted it between them, showing off the gold coin etched with strange symbols, drawings, and lines. Both sides held the same markings, a small, pin-sized hole in the middle. “Cael gave this to me after you all left the room. He said all we need to do is hold the coin between our hands and mix our blood.”
If Mik could permanently capture the wistful expression that settled over Nico’s face, he would in a heartbeat. He had yet to see the wolf show such vulnerability and elation. It saturated his mind with delight to know he brought his mate such joy in a time of such uncertainty.
“And did he tell you how I will bond with you?” Nico’s hands coasted down his neck and over his shoulders. “The coin is for you, Mikhail. That binds you to me.”
A shiver of anticipation taunted the base of his spine and pumped desire into his dick.
“You bite.”
Nico’s sinful mouth curled into a grin. His hands lowered to the hem of Mik’s shirt and tugged the item up and over his head.
“I do. I bite your neck, little one. I draw blood with that bite.” Nico lowered his lips to Mik’s throat. Mik sighed, tilting his head to expose more flesh to his mate’s wicked lips and tongue. “My teeth aren’t as dainty as a vampire’s. It’ll hurt at first, but the rush that follows is worth those brief moments of pain.”
Said teeth scraped along the juncture of his neck and shoulder. Goose bumps spread down Mik’s arms as a moan pushed past his lips.
“This bonding gig is messy business.” Mik bunched Nico’s shirt and pulled it off, casting it aside. He ran his splayed palms over the warm contours of perfectly smooth muscle, pausing at the hardened peaks of flesh against his pecs. Nico growled against his neck, his grip ti
ghtening around Mik’s waist. “Blood. Pain.”
“Pleasure. Intense, unfiltered, impossible pleasure.”
Mik arched his neck more, guiding Nico’s hungry mouth to a sweet spot beneath his ear. His cock jumped with a spark of delight. “God, that sounds amazing.”
Nico pulled back, caught Mik’s gaze, and held steady, lips shimmering with moisture. “I need you to be certain. It’s all or nothing.”
“Cliché.”
“Yeah, well, under the circumstances, it fits.”
“It’s all, wolf.” Mik traced the gold medallion resting on Nico’s chest. “Whether you want me or not, I’m yours.”
Chapter Nineteen
Nico soared. His wolf howled with anticipation. This was the moment he dreamed of for the last month. This moment, when Mikhail accepted him, who and what he was, and still wanted to be with him.
“I love you, Nico. I have no idea how it happened, but I can’t deny it. I don’t want to fight it. This is where I want to be for the rest of my life.”
His heart swelled. The unabashed truth in those words imprinted in his mind and his spirit as Mikhail coaxed him closer and took his mouth in a sweet and slow kiss. The man didn’t linger long on his lips. He trailed kisses and delicious swirls of his warm tongue down his neck, his chest, teasing each nipple with gentle nips that caused Nico to jerk with delight. Mikhail’s fingers slipped beneath the waistband of his pants and slid them off his ass and down his thighs, releasing his erection.
Nico dropped his head back on a low groan, sinking his fingers into the mussed spikes of Mikhail’s hair. The man kissed lower, drawing circles around his belly button, scraping his teeth across his lower abdomen to his hip. He wrapped a hand around the base of Nico’s cock. Nico’s grip in his hair tightened.
“That wicked mouth.” Nico looked down at his mate, meeting his beautiful, emotion-filled copper eyes as he licked Nico’s tip. His cheeks flushed and his eyelids grew heavy as he sucked on Nico’s wide head, playing that mean tongue over his glans and through his slit, sipping at the drops of juice.
