by R. A. Boyd
Bastian clasped her wrist and brought her delicate hand to his mouth, kissing each one of her fingers until she let out a contented sigh. “I am in awe of you, Nev.” He pulled away and looked into her beautiful brown eyes, marveling at how selfless she was. “You could have told them to fuck-off, or completely ignored their asses.”
She narrowed her eyes and looked up at him. “You have no idea how impossible it is to ignore a dead person, especially if they know you can see them. Persistent little buggers, they are.”
“But, you didn’t.”
He leaned down and brushed his lips against hers, loving the tender feel of her skin. She shivered as his warm breath caressed her cheek. His dick twitched in his pants when she gave in to him, pressing her body against his as he slid his hand up her shoulder, to the nape of her neck. Fisting her hair, he tilted her head back, giving him total access to her mouth.
A loud whistle sounded right outside the backdoor.
“Stop making out,” Audra yelled. “I’m coming in.”
Nev tried to pull away, but he held her closer, giving her plucking kisses before Audra opened the kitchen door that led outside without knocking.
“You two dressed?” Audra let the screen door slam closed behind her. “Welcome to the family, Nevada! I was really hoping one of my brothers would snatch you up and claim you.” She opened her arms and waved her fingers as if beckoning Nev closer. “Come on over here and accept my loving affection. You’re my new sister.”
Nev tensed for a moment, and Bastian remembered how she said she wasn’t a hugger. He’d have to tell his sisters to give his mate some space. Nev surprised him by shooing him off of the bench seat of the breakfast nook.
She went over to Audra and hugged her up tight. Something settled in his chest when he saw the genuine smile on Nev’s face.
“I was waiting to see you,” Nev said, pulling away and leaning against the chrome refrigerator. “I’m going to take off work for a while. My temper is a little off.”
Audra waggled her eyebrows. “I heard. A woman after my own heart. You’ll get used to it. Or people will stop fucking with you after you shred a few asses. Either one is cool with me. I know how to get blood out of any fabric. Even silk!”
“Impressive.” Nev pursed her lips and nodded. “That’s pretty awesome.”
Remembering someone sent him a message, Bastian walked over and checked his phone while Audra asked Nev if she wanted to make a market run. The message was from Remus.
He slid his finger across the screen to check it and had to get a handle on his anger before Audra picked up on it. A picture of Bastian, Remus, and Samiyah from last year. They were sitting at a restaurant in Baltimore. He remembered the day vividly.
He’d confronted them when he found out about Cass’s murder. They’d thanked him for the information on the Ghost shifters, and Bastian had to physically keep himself from killing both of them in a restaurant full of people. Their only saving grace was a table full of kids celebrating someone’s birthday.
Meet me tonight, or I’ll send this to your Alpha Triad. I may not have their numbers, but I’m certain I can get this to them.
Bastian swallowed a few times, trying to think of how to get away for a few hours.
“So it’s settled,” Audra said, punching her fists to her tiny hips. “Nev is coming with me, Emma, Charlie, Willow, Paige, and Riley. We’re going to the market and then to have drinks at the pub. I promise to keep her safe and make sure she doesn’t kill anyone.”
He didn’t know whether or not to look at this as a blessing. He needed time to drive to Baltimore, but he wasn’t sure Nev was ready to be around people. Her animal had been born in uncertainty, and though they were getting to know each other, Nev hadn’t given her consent with a clear mind.
All the doubt fled from his body as Nev turned and looked at him, eyes bright with exhilaration and a smile on her face.
“I’ll be fine,” Nev said, resting her hand on Audra’s arm. “You look worried, but don’t be. I want to get to know the people here. Besides, I haven’t had a girl’s day in years.” Her nose twitched as she looked at him. She picked up on his unease. Shaking her head, she said, “You’re worried. I won’t go if it bothers you. I don’t want you to be uncomfortable.”
Damn-it. He didn’t want Nev thinking she needed to stay here with him. Hell yes, he was worried about what would happen, but he knew his sisters would help Nev keep her beast under control.
He pressed his lips together and nodded. “Go. I know you’ll be fine. Have fun.” Bastian went into his wallet and pulled out his bank card. “I’ll text you the pin.”
“Bastian. I don’t—” Nev started, eyes pinched at the corners as she shook her head.
Grabbing her by a belt loop on her painted on jeans, he pulled her close, kissed her nose, and tucked the card into her back pocket. “I don’t keep too much food here, so get whatever you want. If I don’t eat at the community hall here, I’m in town grabbing takeout. The inside of my fridge looks like it belongs in a frat house. Please, pick up whatever you like. And have fun. I know you don’t need the money, but I want to give it to you.”
Nev gripped his wrists, and her eyes flashed to a bright amber. “Thank you,” she whispered. “I don’t know why this feels so funny, and quite honestly, I’m pretty sure I’m overreacting.”
“Are you used to taking care of yourself?” Audra chimed in.
Nev pursed her lips and turned around to face her. “I was married. And my parents took care of me when I was younger.”
“Aww, Nevy,” Audra sang. “Can I call you Nevy? You’re my sister now, and you require a nickname bestowed upon you by me, Nevy. Do you like it?”
Nev’s head bobbed back and forth as she seemed to consider it. “I actually do.”
“Awesome,” Audra yelled, snacking Nev on the butt. “So, like I was saying. A lot of women don’t let others take care of them, and maybe you haven’t. But Bastian will. Not because he thinks you need him, but because he’s happy you want him and are giving him the chance to do so.”
“It’s true,” Bastian agreed. “Go on and get your shoes. Have fun.”
His sister was right. Bastian was happy as a dung beetle in a shit factory that Nev even wanted him. A bond could bring mates together, but them agreeing to be contented with one another was all up to them.
Before Nev could run from the room, Bastian grabbed her by the waist and ran his fingers through her hair. With the background song of Audra saying how gross they were and how much she wanted to throw up and poke her own eyeball out, he leaned down and brushed his lips against Nev’s, loving the soft moan she made in her throat.
He kissed her lips and said, “Thank you for being here with me. I’ll see you later.”
Chapter 10
Bastian knew deep down in his soul that Remus must have sent him into the middle of the Baltimore Music Festival as some sick joke. Summer in Maryland was like vacationing in Tartarus. Despite the breeze that came up off the Inner Harbor, the heat and humidity made Bastian fight to keep himself from punching the gyrating bodies crowding him. Too many scents to pick up on, too many bodies to maneuver around, and his sensitive ears couldn’t take the racket.
Loud music pounded from the speakers as the band, and their crooning lead singer performed some catchy tune that played on the radio too many times for Bastian to like anymore. The singer demanded the crowd sing with her as she danced on the stage like her life depended on it. He approved of the way she could dance wildly and still hold each note with the perfect pitch, but it was too noisy and jam-packed. He couldn’t help but know the song like he knew his own wrinkled ball sack and belted out a few words before annoyance kicked in, and he was pissed all over again.
Remus had played him. He’d called Bastian out just to see if he would come, and like the gullible idiot he was, Bastian was at that bastard’s beck and call.
“Fuck this,” Bastian muttered as he wove through a crowd of sweaty peop
le.
Checking his phone to see if he had any missed calls, he headed back to where he’d parked so he could get home before Nev, and the ladies were finished with their girl’s night out. Audra had sent him a video of Nev and his sisters scurrying around the supermarket as they played hide and seek in the long isles. The next picture was of them sitting at the pub, each of them with some fruity sweet drink that had strawberries perched on the glass, and empty shot glasses collecting in the middle of the table. If his mate hadn’t looked so happy, Bastian would have insisted that Audra take her home so she could rest. But she did look happy, and the smile on her face was so wide he knew her cheeks would be sore by the time she got home.
“Enjoy the music, Ghost shifter,” a growly voice said from the car parked next to his. He had dark, oily hair and glowing green eyes. “Get in your car and follow me.”
Bastian had noticed the open window and caught the scent of a shifter before he got to his car, but he hadn’t been sure if it was a Rogue or not. Welp, his question was answered.
He didn’t say anything, just got in his truck and followed the hunter green SUV. Without taking his eyes off of the Rogue, Bastian followed him through the back streets of downtown Baltimore. This was the factory district, and he could smell bread baking and crabs steaming. He was familiar with the area, but still surprised when they pulled up to the old sugar factory that had closed over twenty years ago.
Bastian parked where the man pointed, and got out of his vehicle when he saw Remus leaning against the dilapidated metal railing leading up the concrete stairs to the darkened building. Two Rogue members stood in front of him on either side like dumb ass sentinels.
“I knew you’d come,” Remus drawled as he gestured toward the deserted area. “With the right motivation, most people will make—”
Bastian didn’t give him the chance to finish the sentence. He knocked over the Rogue’s protecting Remus and blasted his fist against his pretty fucking face.
Over six feet tall with ghostly yellow eyes and hair black as pitch, Remus was the epitome of a movie villain. In stark contrast, his long lashes, innocent smile, and soft, rounded cheeks made him look the part of an evil angel.
And Bastian didn’t give a fuck.
Rage filled his gut as he thought of Nev’s car, dented and ripped apart. He thought of Nev as she lay dying inside the ravaged vehicle, her insides bursting forth from her soft belly as she bled out. He’d loved before, but never in his life had he known such a connection and oneness with another living being.
Over and over, he pounded Remus’s face, a complete feeling of sick satisfaction permeating through his entire body at the sound of bone crunching against bone.
He drove his fists into every spot Remus couldn’t cover with his hands. Every time Remus tried to utter a spell to stop the attack, Bastian found a new spot to strike to make him howl in pain.
It took the Rogues a few moments to recover from the shock of Bastian’s assault, but once they did, they called in reinforcements to pull him off of Remus’s ass.
It took six men to do it, but once they managed to pull Bastian away from Remus, a splash of liquid hit him on the side of his face. Bastian hissed as it seeped into his skin, making him feel as if an anvil was attached to where the liquid made contact. Heaven’s Flame.
“You sick bastard,” Bastian yelled, using the collar of his shirt to wipe away the poisonous fluid. It was one of the only substances that could harm an angel. “You almost killed my mate! She was innocent in this.”
Remus spat out a mouthful of blood and shot Bastian a lethal glare. “None of them are innocent, Bastian. None of us are, either. Calm the fuck down before I let them shoot you full of Heaven’s Flame. Every single one of them has guns modified to hold the bullets.” A man with dark brown eyes and blond hair handed him a napkin, and Remus used it to wipe away the blood, but all it did was smear it across his forehead and cheek. “I want to talk. That’s all.”
Ripping his arm out of the grip of a man looking down at him with lit-up green eyes, Bastian clocked the guy who threw the Heaven’s Flame and then put his hands up in surrender.
“Fine,” Bastian growled out. “We can talk.”
Just to watch the fuckers flinch, Bastian quickly lowered his hands and shoved them into his pockets. He smiled as they readied for an attack and watched as Remus muttered a spell, making the double doors to the warehouse swing open.
“Nice security system,” Bastian growled, as he walked into the wide-open space of the building.
“Only I know the incantation to open the doors. Anyone who tries to enter uninvited will be filled with enough volts of electricity to incapacitate even the great Ghost shifter saber-tooth cats.” His arrogant voice was full of disdain. “Bring your people here if you like, Bastian, and they will be hit with grenades filled with the Flame. But I’ve no worry of that. You stand to lose too much if you give away what you know.”
It was evident that a cloaking spell was in use to make the warehouse look abandoned from the outside. The brightly lit room was sizable and full of activity. People walked around, some on computers, and others tending to the creation of modified firearms to be filled with bullets of Heaven’s Flame. A vast armory lay to the left of the door. Metal tables and cabinets filled with handguns, shotguns, and a few that looked to be automatic assault weapons lined the walls and areas in front of them. Bastian watched in horror as men and women stood with syringes in front of vats of Heaven’s Flame, filling bullets with the silvery liquid. They were ready for war, and there was no way in hell the Ghost shifters could contend with this many people armed with these weapons.
They were in way over their heads.
“What do you want, Remus? To show me how many toys and lackeys you have?”
Bastian feigned boredom as he memorized his surroundings. He took note of how many windows were on the roof of the warehouse, and how many exits it had. That all meant nothing if no one could breach the fortress.
Remus shook his head as he looked around. “These lackeys are bound to me. Every Rogue here took part in a spell to seal themselves to the cause of your downfall. They strengthen me as I strengthen them.”
Willow and Zeke had already figured that out a few months ago. All the Rogue members had grey splotches around their auras, pulsing to the beat of one heart. Remus had used black magic to do it.
Bastian gritted his teeth as he balled his hands into fists to keep from beating the shit out of Remus. He sat down in a short wooden chair in front of a desk Remus pointed to.
“How did you find out about Nev so quickly? One of your connected people?” Bastian asked.
That question had been a needle in Bastian’s brain since it happened. He’d been aware of his surroundings at Melinda and Audra’s place, and both he and Simon checked every person who came in went inside the pub. The spell to make them stand out would have revealed them.
Remus laughed as he sat down in a steel chair at an empty table. Crossing his long legs, he said, “Oh no. Not yet. We have people who want to join, so they give us information on you. When they’ve proven themselves noble to the cause, we perform the ritual, and they are one of us.” He flitted his hand in the air, dismissing his comment. “But none of that matters. I need you to do me a favor, and I give you my word that no harm will come to any of the Ghost shifters or their mates.”
If ‘double-crossing booby trap’ had a picture in a dictionary somewhere in the world, this exact moment right here would be the poster child.
Bastian raised one eyebrow and stared at him. “What.”
“Bring me the woman. Jax and Damon’s mate. Just for a few hours.” He shrugged off the words as if they meant nothing. “I’ve come up with a way to jam her signal, so to speak. It’ll unbind all of you with your mates, therefore ridding you of your beasts.”
Without meaning to, Bastian let loose a loud, barking laugh that echoed through the warehouse. He laughed until his side hurt, and a tear started to build
in his left eye. Using one finger, he swiped it away and flicked it at Remus. “You’re out of your fucking mind. You want me to kidnap my alpha?”
“She isn’t your alpha.”
“You really don’t know who the hell Cass is,” Bastian replied. “Not only do her mates keep an eye on her, she would come in here and rip you bastards apart.”
Wait. That might not be a bad idea.
Remus lifted his eyebrows and dug into his pocket, gesturing to Bastian with an open palm. Inside of a clear plastic bag sat a luminescent pearl. “It’s a magical roofie. It’s dissolvable and will put her out for at least three hours. That’s more than I need to break the bonds.”
“And if I don’t?” Bastian challenged, the growl of his beast growing louder in the back of his throat. His saber-tooth was loyal to Cass, and doing something like this would be a complete betrayal.
He put the bag on the desk and clasped his hands on his knee. “Then I will bring every single Rogue to New Rose, and we will subdue you all. Filling the Ghosts with dozens of Heaven’s Flame bullets would put you down long enough to behead you and take out your hearts, but I imagine the mates would die a lot faster than you. Especially the human ones. Oh, and you do have children there, don’t you? And isn’t it lovely how Cole and his mate are trying so hard to have a baby.” He tsked and shook his head, a malicious smile pulling up the sides of his lips. “Do this, and all of you make it out alive. You won’t have your bond or your beasts, but at least you’ll be alive.”
Pure hatred slashed through Bastian’s chest, and he had to fight to keep from launching himself over the desk to rip his fucking head off. Tremors of loathing crawled up his spine as he looked around the room. The only thing that kept him in his seat was the number of shifters with Heaven’s Flame filled guns trained on him.
“Why?” he pushed through gritted teeth. “Why do you hate us so much?”
Remus slammed his fist on the desk and pointed at him. “Because your clan is the reason my daughter is dead! You should have done something to save Cara!”
