by Harper Wylde
“Doesn’t sound all that fair,” I murmured quietly.
My father turned to face me more directly. “Life often isn’t.” He leaned back in his seat and rubbed a hand across the back of his neck. “I’ve done my best with what I have to work with. I know this isn’t the life you pictured for yourself, nor is it one you’re excited to step into. You think I don’t see it, but I do. I understand why you moved out. Every boy needs to experience that level of freedom once in his life.” My father straightened and motioned with his hands as he spoke. “However, I hope you can see that you can do some good here. I know you don’t agree with all the politics of our world, but that’s the very reason I think you will make a great Councilman one day, Damien. You see the world and want to make it better. That, in and of itself, is a strength.”
“I doubt that the other Council members would agree with you,” I challenged.
“No. I don’t believe they would, but perhaps that speaks volumes. Don’t think I don’t see the unrest,” he whispered, his voice dropping so low that I could barely make out what he said. “Not everything we do is right, Damien. I’ve made my fair share of mistakes.” He glanced directly at me, and the honesty I saw in his russet eyes—eyes so very much like my own—lanced straight through me. “Those mistakes are my cross to bear, but I’d like to think I did my best, despite my sins.” He sighed and drifted back in his seat while I wondered about the nature of his vague confession. “You, however, have the entire world ahead of you, son. I don’t want to see you waste it, or worse, squander it away devoting yourself to the wrong path in life.” He looked at me pointedly and my brain raced to decipher his meaning. Did he mean with Nix? Or could he possibly know about the rebellion? Perhaps he meant my need for a college education versus living at the Lodge and dedicating my life to becoming a Council member one day. I wanted to dip inside his head to understand him fully. Functioning without my mental powers was debilitating, but I held my questions in and kept my face clear of emotion despite my frustration.
“I understand.” I inclined my chin in a nod and my father relaxed marginally.
“Good. It’s hard to effect change from the bottom, but with a position of power—say, as a Councilman—you have the ability to make a difference. If you don’t like the way the funds are drawn, perhaps that can be a focus of yours when you take your seat on the Council.” My father turned back toward the stack of papers on his desk and he shuffled them mindlessly. If he only understood how much I knew of the Council’s evildoings. The funds, while worrisome, were nowhere near the worst of the their crimes against shifters.
I cleared my throat to push down the anger that was rising in me. My Gargoyle’s claws were drawn and he wanted to quarter something as he thought about the grievous crime that had been waged against our mate.
A knock on my father’s door distracted my Gargoyle from the partial shift he’d been pressing for, and I glanced over my shoulder as Councilman Khan strode into the office with his nose buried in a file folder in his hand. “Raphael, our intel just came back regarding the camp of insurg—”
“Adar, how nice to see you today,” my father swiftly interrupted, “You remember my son, Damien.” Pleasantries aside, my father’s voice was low with warning, and I fought the way my eyes wanted to narrow as I processed what I’d overheard.
“Ah, yes. Damien. Nice to see you.”
“My son has decided to start his training in preparation to take my Council seat someday.” My father’s voice lightened a smidge as he attempted to change the subject from whatever confidential information Khan had started to spill.
“You come from a long line of prestigious Councilmen,” Khan drawled, half bored with the conversation already, though he shifted the file folder anxiously in his hands. “You have large shoes to fill, boy.”
My jaw clenched at the derogatory way he spoke to me, and I slowly stood. Before I could get a word in edgewise, however, my father intervened.
“Damien.” His barking command grabbed my attention, and I glanced at his direction as he waved a stack of manila file folders at me. “Would you please file these for me? Second drawer down on the left. It’s all alphabetical.” He gestured with the folders to the filing drawer in the far corner of the room, his eyebrows raised as he waited for my reply.
“Of course. What am I here for if not to help?” I offered, giving both him and Khan a curt nod before turning on my heel and moving away from them. Khan and my father moved into the hallway, taking their hushed tones with them.
Gritting my teeth, I asked my Gargoyle for help with a partial shift, transforming just my right ear—the one angled away from the door, lest I get caught. My hearing amped up beyond anything my enhanced powers would have allowed in my human form. I opened the filing drawer and mindlessly started shuffling folders while I eavesdropped, catching as much as I could, given their rushed whispering.
“You’re sure? Do we know how many there are?” My father sounded frustrated.
Khan mumbled, “I can’t be sure. Maybe twenty. Could be up to fifty.”
“That’s not many… is it worth the effort?” my father drawled, sounding uninterested.
I froze and strained to increase the volume, pretending my focus was on filing the folders he had given me in their correct location.
“Of course it is,” Khan spat. “We can’t let these sympathizers gather like this. They must be punished. Nonconformity and defiance will not be tolerated. It’s time we sent the rebellion that message.”
My blood turned to ice in my veins at the mention of the rebellion. Holy shit. They knew. Not only did they know, but they were planning an attack.
“Are there women and children in this outpost?” My father pushed for information.
“If there are, they are simply casualties of war. We cannot make allowances, no matter the gender or age.”
My father sighed. “We have to be careful not to show that we were the ones to initiate an attack and cause such death. You know as well as I do that the shifters in our communities won’t take the death of women and children lightly. These are the incidents that band the rebels together. Perhaps we can spare the innocents, or make it look as though the bounty hunters are to blame? You know as well as I do that it worked in the past. Keep our involvement discrete while accomplishing our goals?”
Khan grumbled and begrudgingly agreed. “If they can be spared, I’ll make sure the team makes the effort, however, I cannot and will not make any promises, LaCroix.”
My father must have nodded because the conversation continued as he inquired, “Shall we get Ishida involved in the cover up?”
“He’s my next stop. I’ll make sure to mention it to him,” Khan murmured. “I don’t know why we can’t just use force with our own damn name behind it. All this appeasement simply for the regular shifters is ridiculous, if you ask me.”
“I understand, but we all agreed to keep knowledge of the uprising quiet so as not to stir the pot among the shifter communities. This method works, as discussed and voted upon. If you’d like to make amendments to the ruling, you are more than welcome to speak your piece at the next Council meeting, and we will all surely listen to your plans.” My father spoke sternly and diplomatically, and Khan grunted his assent.
“So, back to our topic. If the others are in agreement, I will vote your way.”
My father’s answer was clipped. “Fine. Which team have you chosen to send out?”
The small amount of hope I’d gathered during my earlier conversation with my father deflated like a balloon zipping around the room losing air. He was seriously going to sanction an attack on women and fucking children? The rage that flooded my system caused my muscles to shake and tense beyond belief.
“Josiah’s team is well trained and they have a number of cold, resilient members, which will benefit them given the time of year and Denali’s terrain.”
“Make the call then.”
I heard the shuffling of feet and I let my magic c
rawl over my skin as my hold on my partial shift disintegrated, returning me to normal.
“Everything alright?” My question was hard and seemed to startle my father, almost as though he’d forgotten I was still there.
“Yes.” He waved off my inquiry. “Everything is fine. Just some Council business. Nothing that you’re ready to be trained on yet, I’m afraid.”
I wanted to call him on his bullshit, but I was practically vibrating with the need to get home, protect Nix, and tip off the rebellion. My father and the Council may be fine with waging war against innocents, but that would never fly with me. Besides, if the Council knew about the rebellion—especially to the point where they were issuing attacks against them—then we needed to finish our initiation before shit hit the fan. I wanted to be as far away from this godforsaken commune as possible.
I shut the filing cabinet with enough force to draw my father’s attention, and his eyes narrowed as I walked across the room and headed toward the door.
“Where are you going?” he questioned.
“You said you had meetings.” I didn’t turn to glance at him. If he saw my face, looked into my eyes, he’d know I’d heard his conversation. As much as I wanted to fight him on the choice he’d just made, Nix was more important. My magic thrummed and twisted inside of me with the insistent, driving need to see my mate.
“Damien…” My father trailed off, stepping back around his desk and pausing a few feet behind me. “Someday you’ll understand.” His words were spoken so quietly they had barely been given life. “I’m trying to keep my family safe.”
Tension slashed between us, so thick it was nearly choking. After an awkward moment of silence passed, I forced myself to move. My heart felt like it was being ripped in two as I strode from the room, leaving him to the silence of the sins he committed.
On the way out, I pushed the only reply I could make his way, unknowing and uncaring if he’d receive it or not.
So am I.
Sixteen
Theo
“Are you sure this is where Ciarán instructed us to go?” Nix glanced around the darkened parking lot when she climbed down from the Hummer. I took another look around, staying hypervigilant of my surroundings.
“I’m positive,” I reassured her.
After Damien had returned home yesterday and informed us of what he’d overheard, we’d been anxious—all of us shifting around each other in a haze of deep thought and worry. None of us had realized that the Council had knowledge of the uprising against them, and it made joining the rebellion incredibly risky for those of us still living under their rule. The news of the impending attack on a rebellion outpost in Denali meant the war was already on our doorstep, and my brothers and I had all landed on the same conclusion. Protecting Nix and keeping our family together and safe was our main objective. We needed to get out of Anchorage before we got caught in the crossfire, and that meant we needed to solidify our place on the side we wanted to fight on. The need to get my brothers and Nix out from under the Council’s surveillance had increased to nearly desperate levels.
Our message to Ciarán had been clear. If they were going to make us complete the third trial before our membership could be finalized, then we wanted to be assigned our mission now, though deep down I hoped we’d have already proven ourselves to them through our acts of good faith.
“Do you know where we are?” Nix smoothed out her winter coat and peered around, trying to figure out where I’d taken her to.
“I actually picked the location with Ciarán’s approval. The guys and I thought it would be best if we made our outing appear as a sanctioned date to belay any suspicion.”
Nix’s eyes grew wide as her attention focused on me. “You’re taking me on a date?” she questioned, with the cutest little smile curving her lips. Despite the fact that this was technically a meet up with the rebellion, I knew we were all trying to make an effort to maximize our time together, and enjoy our life amid all the stress and unknowns.
My lips curved in a smile and my face heated regardless of the cold air. “I thought we might as well do something fun while we wait for our contact to arrive.” I reached out and feathered a touch across her cheek. “I plan to enjoy every minute I have with you for the rest of my life, and I thought we should take advantage of this opportunity for frivolity before our lives change.” Nix reached up and caught my hand, pressing a sweet little kiss against my palm.
“I’d like that,” she murmured softly.
“Besides, I figured you might enjoy an evening away from the house, on a real date instead of a forced one. Although I know we’re here for a greater purpose, there’s no reason we can’t have a little fun while we wait.” I offered Nix my arm like the gentleman my mother had raised me to be, and she slid her hand around my bicep. I tucked her close to my body and she immediately sent a blast of heat around us to keep us warm. While my Kraken was immune to the cold temperatures, the warmth of our mate had a strong feeling of contentment settling over us.
“Are you sure the guys were alright with this plan?” Nix bit her lip, worrying the beautiful pink flesh between her teeth. Angling her toward me, I stretched out my hand and traced my thumb along her bottom lip to free it.
We were all in agreement that a date would provide an excellent cover. It’s our safest bet for staying under the radar. A slight pressure invaded my mind, and I grinned at a startled Nix who’d obviously felt the same intrusion. What? Damien asked her. You didn’t think we’d send you and Theo out tonight without backup, did you?
While I appreciate the extra eyes, ears, and hands, I can take care of myself, you know, Nix replied, then huffed through the connection Damien controlled, and I bit the inside of my cheek to keep my grin from widening. Her confidence in herself was sexy and my Kraken roared his agreement.
We know that. I probably understand that better than the rest of them. Damien’s memories of his training session with Nix flitted through the connection and I winced as I caught the ghosting of the pain he’d experienced. As your mates, the need to protect you is overwhelming. Think about it in reverse. If it were Theo and I attending this meeting ourselves, would you want to let us go alone? Or would you want to be nearby, guarding and protecting?
Nix melted as Damien’s logic resounded within her. Why do you always have to be so rational? she complained, but I felt her teasing intent in her thoughts. Nix released a weary sigh. The guys are really okay with this?
Why wouldn’t we be? Damien questioned.
Because you’re not with us? You’re relegated to watching or feeling or whatever it is you’re doing. I feel like you should be here with us. When Nix pushed her thoughts toward him, she emphasized her concern.
Did I or did I not recently watch my brothers make you come? Damien challenged. A mixture of embarrassment and arousal slashed through the link from Nix. Exactly. I think I can handle you on a date with one of them. Besides, it makes me happy to see them happy—and you of course.
The darkness surrounding us couldn’t hide the deep color mantled across Nix’s cheeks. Are the rest of the guys nearby?
It’s just Damien. If we were followed for some reason, we can easily explain away Damien’s presence as a chaperone for our date. However, we wouldn’t have had a viable excuse for the others. I won’t lie to you. Ryder and Killian are rather jealous that you and me are getting more one-on-one time, but they both understand that our only true options were either Joshua or me, since we’re both authorized suitors. I figured since you and Joshua had some alone time the other day, you wouldn’t object to a date with me. Concern weaseled its way into my mind and my eyebrows drew down as a thought occurred to me. Perhaps I should have asked you first? I queried.
“Theo,” Nix stated out loud, soothing her free hand down my chest. “I’m beyond excited to have one-on-one time with you, despite the circumstances.”
I leaned in and pressed a kiss to her forehead.
Alright, I’m going radio silent, Damien info
rmed us. It’s safer this way. I’ll be nearby if you need me. Theo, I want information on what they plan to do about the intel we gave them. I need to know that they plan on doing something about it.
I won’t let them leave until our questions are answered and we have our final task, I assured Damien, and then felt him slip from my mind.
“Do you think they’ll be so forth coming?” Nix mused worriedly.
“I believe so. We’ve more than proven our worth, and I truly believe they need us as much as we need them. It’s time for us to lay our chips out on the table and see if they call or fold.” I gave Nix a little tug and navigated her through the cars lining the parking lot.
“So, where are you taking me?” Nix sidled up beside me as her excitement bloomed. It wasn’t often I was able to do something special for Nix, let alone surprise her, so I kept my lips sealed, even as she sent me the most adorable, begging look. Chuckling to myself, I shook my head, absorbing the moment and enjoying the heat of her Phoenix as it warmed us with its powers.
The click of her heels echoed through the alleyway, bouncing off of every hard surface as I led her between two brick buildings and around the front to our destination.
“You’re really not going to tell me where we are?” She tipped her chin up to look at me and I gazed down into her glimmering eyes, the sparkle lighting up her dark brown depths.
“Patience is a virtue.” One side of my lips lifted in a smirk I rarely wore. I was thoroughly amused by her antics. “Perhaps that should be your next lesson,” I teased her, though the idea was just as alluring for me as it was for her.
