by Maggie Walsh
His eyes welled with tears and one spilled out, rolling down his cheek as he stood there watching the two most gorgeous men he had ever seen lost in a passionate embrace. He bent and gently placed Haven’s phone on the floor at his feet. When he straightened, he couldn’t stop the onslaught of tears that fell. His mind and body felt numb as he turned and headed back down the hall.
“Crew, wait!” Lexi yelled from behind him, but he paid him no attention. He needed to get away from the sight of losing his Haven. He closed his eyes and thought of a place where he could just disappear. A place where no one knew him and no one here had to worry about him anymore. He heard Haven’s voice calling out to him as he vanished from the pack house.
Chapter 6
Haven heard Lexi yell his beautiful mate’s name through the fog of his lust that had consumed his mind from the Adonis devouring his mouth. Crew, his stunning mate, the most beautiful man Haven had ever met would be so happy that they found their other mate. Now their bond could be complete.
Haven pulled back from the incredible kiss. The man was bigger than him and a hell of a lot stronger. His bulging muscles rippled against his chest as they pulled back to look at each other. Out of the corner of his eye he caught Crew’s movement and his heart broke at the site of the crestfallen look on Crew’s face. “Crew!” he yelled out, but Crew didn’t hear him. He just walked away and disappeared down the hall.
Haven gently pushed against the Adonis’s chest, silently asking to be released, but the Adonis had other plans. He tightened his hold on Haven and bent his head in for another toe-curling kiss. Haven drew his head back. “What is it, mate? Did you not like our first kiss?” Laylen asked.
“No, it’s not that. The kiss was amazing. But we need to go after Crew,” Haven explained.
“No, mate. Now that we have found each other, you will have to give up your plaything,” Laylen said angrily.
“We need to go after Crew because he is our other mate. He looked so sad, as if someone had ripped his heart out,” Haven said, brokenhearted.
Laylen’s eyes opened wide at Haven’s words. “Another mate? I get two?” he asked joyfully.
“Yes. I am a feline shifter. We get two mates.”
“Well hot damn! Thank you, Aurora! Well, mate, what are we waiting for? Let’s go get our man,” Laylen said happily and grabbed Haven’s hand, pulling him from the kitchen.
They left the kitchen in search of their mate but he was nowhere to be seen. Haven led Laylen through the pack house and up to Crew’s bedroom. They entered and Haven released Laylen’s hand as he ran toward the bathroom.
Laylen entered the beautiful bedroom and was immediately assaulted with the most wonderful smell that had ever had graced his senses. He could smell the sweetness of his feline, but it was mixed with a woodsy scent. It had a hint of fresh cut grass and also arousal. He could smell both his mates’ cum mixed together. He walked to the bed and stared down at it, imagining what his feline would look like in the throes of passion. He wondered what his other mate looked like. If he was even half as gorgeous and sexy as his feline, then Laylen would be the happiest man alive. “He’s not here,” his feline said in concern as he stepped out of the bathroom.
Laylen turned to look at his mate. “It’s a big house, so let’s go look elsewhere before we start to worry.” Laylen held out his hand for his mate to take and was thrilled when his feline grasped his hand without hesitation. “What’s your name, mate?”
His mate gave him a bright smile. “Haven. What’s yours?”
“Haven. What a beautiful name for a beautiful man. My name is Laylen. Our other mate is Crew?”
“Yes. He is such an amazing person. He’s so gorgeous and funny. He’s very brave and adventurous. He is going to be so happy that we found our other mate so soon.”
“What do you mean so soon?”
“Felines get two mates because of their mating heat. It’s pretty rare for us to find one mate, forget both mates. Crew and I only found each other a week ago. We just came out from our mating this morning and poof, here you are.”
“What do you mean your mating heat? And the way you said just came out from your mating sounds like it is different than other matings I have heard about.”
Haven gave him a sexy smile and explained everything to him as they searched the pack house for their mate. After searching everywhere they could, they ended up back in the kitchen alone. “Where the hell did he go?” Laylen asked.
“I don’t know but I don’t like this. I have a really bad feeling about this.”
“Why?”
“Because as beautiful and sexy as Crew is, he doesn’t know it. He sees himself as an outcast. He thinks he’s not worth anyone’s time or love. He…” Haven stopped as he spotted his cell phone on the counter. He walked to it and lifted it off the smooth surface.
“What is it?” Laylen asked coming up behind him.
“It’s my cell phone. I forgot it and Crew went back to his room to get it for me. When I spotted him before he turned and left, he looked so sad. I wonder if he saw us and thought…” Haven stopped talking and looked toward the door. “He did. He saw us, and he didn’t know you were our mate. He just saw me kissing another man. Oh no. Shit!” Haven yelled and turned back toward Laylen. “He’s gone. We have to find him, but I don’t know how.”
“I don’t understand any of this. What the hell are you talking about?” Laylen asked in frustration.
“Crew has a very low opinion of himself. He thinks he’s worthless and nobody could possibly want him. He was happy when we found each other and I let him know exactly how much I did want him. It broke my heart because I realized it was the first time in his life that he felt that someone wanted him. But if he walked in here not knowing you were our mate and he saw us kissing…” Haven trailed off.
“Then he thinks he’s unworthy and that you don’t want him anymore,” Laylen finished his thought.
“Exactly. But with his newfound power, he could be anywhere.”
“He’s new to his powers, too?”
“Yes. He just got his power three days ago. Teleportation.”
“Shit, then what the commander said is true. Everyone in this pack is coming into their powers no matter how old they are. Which means the war is coming.”
“Commander?” Haven questioned.
“My leader. Phenex, commander of the Legion Warriors.”
“Phenex is your leader?” Haven asked in shock. “So that means you are…a demon?”
“Not entirely. The Legion are made up of soldier angels who the gods handpicked to police the Underworld. But to be able to go against the residents of the Underworld, the gods changed us into half angel-half demon and gave us demon powers as well, so that we would be able to defeat our enemies.”
“Wow. Okay, so what powers do you have?”
Laylen smiled mischievously at Haven. “The question should be what power do I not have. As an angel-demon we gain powers as we get older, but we also gain powers from the demons we defeat. We absorb their powers.”
“Shit. I don’t even have one power yet.”
“I have a feeling that now that you mated Crew, that is about to change,” Laylen said with a smile and drew Haven into his arms. “And once we mate, your powers will grow stronger, too.” Laylen bent and took Haven’s lips in another heated kiss. He pulled away and licked Haven’s lips. Laylen rested his forehead against Haven’s. “I can’t wait to start this mating you spoke of. Three days in sexual bliss with my mates sounds like my idea of heaven. And I lived in Heaven for a few thousand years and I can tell you, the thought of my two mates loving with me for three days uninterrupted sounds a whole lot better than Heaven.”
“Heaven,” Haven mused, thinking about his Crew calling him Heaven.
“What is it, mate? Why have you suddenly turned sad?” Laylen asked, pulling back to look at Haven.
“Heaven. It’s what Crew called me when we made love. He said I was his heaven,” Have
n whispered.
Laylen could hear the despair in his mate’s voice and it tugged at his heart. As much as he was worrying about what was happening with their other mate, he was enjoying spending this time alone with Haven. He liked the man before him. He was a good man, a good soul. Laylen could tell he was also a warrior for his people just from the way he held himself. He wanted to know everything about this man, but they needed to find their other mate first. Laylen kissed Haven’s forehead and looked into his eyes. “Let’s go find our mate and bring him home.”
“But how? He could be anywhere. All he has to do is think of somewhere and poof, he goes there.”
“There must be some way to track him. Let’s go see my commander and maybe he can help us,” Laylen offered.
“Or you could just go see Micah,” a sweet voice came from the doorway. Haven and Laylen turned to see who had joined them.
“Alpha Prime mate,” Haven said and nodded.
“Hey, Jess man. How’s it hanging today?” Laylen asked and then laughed.
Jesse shook his head and smiled at the angel-demon. “Pretty good, Lay, and yours?” Jesse asked with a smirk.
“Oh you know, heavy and to the left.” Laylen laughed at his teasing.
Jesse chuckled and walked farther into the kitchen. “So did I hear you say that Crew was gone and you couldn’t find him?”
“Yes, Alpha Prime mate. He’s nowhere in the house and I’m afraid he used his new powers to disappear.”
“First, please stop calling me that, Haven. We’re family. Second, I heard what happened earlier and that Crew took off, but I didn’t know he was gone. We can ask Micah to track him. It’s one of his powers. And with Malachi using voodoo shit on us now, I think we need to find Crew fast before Malachi hits him again.”
“Malachi used voodoo on my mate?” Laylen asked, his eyes turning red with anger and his jaw clenching.
“Let’s get into the storytelling later. Right now we need to find Crew before Malachi strikes again,” Jesse said and motioned for them to follow him.
* * * *
Crew hid behind a tree as he watched the people in their yard. They sat and talked, but Crew noticed none of them ever laughed. He hadn’t been back here since the day he left when he was sixteen years old. Why the hell did I think of here when I popped out of the pack house? His parents’ home was the last place he wanted to be. He looked at the faces of all his siblings gathered around and wondered how he was related to them. He didn’t look anything like the rest of them. He did look a little like his father, but that was it. They had the same sandy-blond hair and the same nose, but other than that, he looked nothing like these wolves. He noticed his oldest brother, Simon, wasn’t among them. He was probably off doing his alpha thing. Crew wondered what kind of alpha Simon was. Was he a good alpha? Or a sick twisted maniacal bastard like his father was?
“Looking for something?” an angry voice came from behind him and he could kick himself for not scenting someone’s approach.
Crew turned to face a man who stood about three inches taller than him. Approximately two hundred and thirty pounds and broad shouldered. The man looked slightly familiar but Crew couldn’t figure out who he was. “Just passing through,” Crew mumbled.
“You know that’s unacceptable, wolf. You have to ask the alpha’s permission to enter his lands. Are you a loner or a rogue?” the wolf asked in a menacing voice.
“I am neither. Like I said, I was just passing through. I don’t plan on staying for any length of time.”
“Doesn’t work that way. You enter another pack’s lands, you need permission from the alpha. Then he says if you stay and when you go.”
“What? What do you mean he says when I go? Since when?” Crew asked in annoyance.
“Since Alpha Simon took over about fifty years ago. But now that he’s gone, our new alpha has kept his laws intact. But that is of no concern of yours. You are trespassing and must be brought to the alpha.” The man grabbed his arm and started pulling him across the street. Crew turned and pulled his arm free as he swung his leg around in a high roundhouse kick and struck the man in the jaw. He staggered backward, but regained his footing quickly. “You’ll pay for that, asshole,” his opponent growled out. The man came at Crew in full force and Crew sidestepped the hit, spun, and landed a punch to the guy’s back. The man dropped to his knees as he yelped in pain. The man immediately jumped to his feet and spun back around to face Crew.
Crew stood in a fighting stance, ready to take on whatever this man had to send his way. The bigger wolf swung his right fist, heading directly for Crew’s face, but he grabbed the fist as it came close and pushed it back. The man pulled free of Crew’s hold and tried to throw a second punch, but Crew ducked and avoided the hit. As he ducked, he charged forward, ramming his shoulder into the man’s midsection as he wrapped his arms around him, bringing the man off his feet. Crew slammed him to the ground and lay above him. The man wrapped his arms around Crew’s waist and held on as the two rolled around in the middle of the street.
Crew pulled free of the man’s hold and sat up as he began to pummel his fist’s against the man’s face. “Stop!” a deep commanding voice cried out. Crew stopped beating on the man and realized his foe was unconscious. His jaw and fists clenched, he was breathing heavily and his face was twisted in rage as he looked up and met the eyes of his father.
“Who are you and what are you doing on my lands?” his father, William, asked in his alpha voice.
“As I told this twat, I am just passing through,” Crew growled.
“That’s not allowed around these parts. You enter a wolf’s lands and you need to ask the alpha for permission. You should know that, wolf,” William sneered.
“I do know the laws and it states that you can pass through another’s lands as long as you are doing just that, passing through. Not stopping for a few days.”
“You are wrong, rogue. This is my pack, my territory, and I make the rules around here. To enter my lands, you must first get my permission,” William said angrily as he released a wave of power.
Crew stood and stepped over the unconscious form on the ground. He faced his father with a bored expression on his face. “This is not your land. You are not the rightful alpha here.” Crew kept his voice controlled.
“I am alpha here and you will obey my commands or face death for your insubordination,” William spat. “I shall call the council and inform them of your rogue status and have them eliminate you.”
“Go ahead.” Crew smiled wickedly.
William pulled back in surprise, but covered his shock quickly as his face twisted in anger. “You don’t know who you are dealing with, rogue.” Crew felt the wave of power his father pushed out toward him, but he didn’t even flinch. He continued to stand there, facing his father, with an evil smirk on his face. William’s eyes widened in shock again as he stared at Crew in confusion.
Crew stepped closer to his father until they were a few inches apart. “No, you don’t know who you are dealing with.”
“Step back away from our alpha, rogue,” a menacing voice said from behind his father.
Crew tilted his head and looked at who the voice had come from. It was his younger brother Jeremy. He stood a few inches taller than Crew and outweighed him by at least fifty pounds, but they definitely weren’t muscled pounds. The man was fat. “And who are you?” Crew asked.
“I am Jeremy Fitzpatrick. Kill enforcer for the Fitzpatrick pack,” Jeremy explained, trying to sound intimidating, but all Crew could do was laugh.
“There is no way you can be an enforcer period, forget a kill enforcer.” Crew continued to laugh.
“How dare you insult our alpha and enforcer,” another voice came from behind William. Crew looked through the tears of laughter in his eyes and met his mother’s gaze.
“Tell me this, if you are an enforcer, then how are you not between me and your so-called alpha? Isn’t it your job to protect your alpha? Especially being a kill enforc
er and all.”
“My alpha can handle himself,” Jeremy said with pride as he raised his nose in the air and puffed his chest out.
“I have no doubt that your real alpha can handle himself. But this is not your real alpha. If he were, his powers would work on me and I would be submitting to him.”
“Who do you think you are to come onto my mate’s lands and disrespect us?” his mother spat at him in disgust.
“I am the one you called a useless pile of garbage, Mother.” Her eyes opened wide in shock at his words. “I am the one you showed no care or concern for. I am the one you all tormented and abused for sixteen years, until I walked away from you all. Don’t you know me, Mother? Your useless, pathetic pup has returned.” Crew held his arms out wide.
“Chad?” his father asked in a surprised whisper.
Crew’s eyes met his father’s. “Yes, Father. Chad. Your throwaway child. But I don’t go by that stuck-up, stupid name anymore. My name is Crew now.”
“If you are truly my son, then you should be bowing before me as your alpha,” his father growled out in anger.
“You are not my alpha. I will only submit, as you wish, to one man and one man only. My true alpha. You are nothing to me but a worn-out old man.”
“How dare you talk to your father like that? We gave you everything―”
“You gave me nothing!” Crew’s yelled words cut off his mother’s lies. “From the moment I was born, you treated me like I was nothing. You told me on many occasions that I was nothing and that I would never be anything. You treated my brothers and sisters like they were royalty and allowed them to abuse me, too. Well not anymore. I am not Chad Fitzpatrick anymore. I am Crew Angel, enforcer to Alpha Prime Micah Angel. I walked away from you lot when I was sixteen and I never looked back. And I shouldn’t have today either. I should have stayed with my mate and forgot any of you ever existed.”
“You, an enforcer? Don’t be ridiculous. You were always a puny little shit and you still are. There is no way you are an enforcer. And to Alpha Prime Angel? Ha.” His mother laughed at him. “And what kind of pathetic, desperate woman would agree to mate with you?”
