by Maggie Walsh
“What happened to you, Trevor?” Raffy asked gently. Trevor’s eyes filled with fear and he began to shake.
“Oh shit,” Jesse cursed and went to Trevor. He reached down and took his hands, pulling him to his feet. Then Jesse wrapped his arms around him. “It’s okay. You’re okay now. I promise no one will ever hurt you again.”
“Who are you?” Trevor asked nervously.
“I’m Jesse Angel. I am Micah’s mate,” Jesse answered, keeping his tone soft.
“You’re the Heart,” Trevor stated in astonishment as he pulled back from Jesse and his eyes went wide.
“Yes, I am.”
“Then you can free my mate,” Trevor said in excitement.
Now it was Jesse’s turn to look surprised. “Free your mate? Where is your mate?”
Trevor’s eyes flicked to James and then back. He started to bite his bottom lip nervously. “He took Fallon away right after the attacks. They drugged him and put him in the cells. Once in a while, I sneak down there to see him. But the last time they caught me, they…” Trevor stopped as he sobbed.
“Fallon Wade is your mate?” Raffy asked. Trevor nodded as he continued to cry.
Micah stepped forward and stood next to Jesse. “Trevor, why did they put Fallon in the cells?”
“They wouldn’t believe us when we told them that we were true mates. When the attacks came and the alpha and the others were killed, they went after everyone who was gay first. They said that the attacks were the alpha’s fault because he allowed gay wolves into the pack and it was the gods’ way of punishing him.”
“Wait a minute,” Micah said in confusion. “I have so many questions. Cass, Christian, take the car and head back into town, start searching for the new wolf Trevor spoke of, and find the ones hunting him. Don’t let them get away. I want them brought back to my father’s house. The rest of us will head back there now and talk to Fallon and the rest of the pack and find out what the hell’s been going on around here. Jesse, it’s time to call Pops and have the council come, like we discussed.”
Everyone nodded at him. Christian hugged Raffy and gave him a kiss. “Stay with Jesse and Taylor, angel.” Raffy nodded and gave him a quick kiss. Christian and Cass got in the car and turned around, heading back into town.
“Phenex! It’s time for you all to come,” Jesse called out. All the wolves who were still on their knees, except for Trevor, looked at him in confusion. Suddenly a bright light appeared a few feet up the road. The light grew and Ryland stepped out, followed by Phenex, Dante, Dare, Raith, Crew, Haven, Laylen, Nuriel, Ryx, Sasha, and Colby.
“What’s going on here? You all having a church meeting and didn’t invite us?” Crew teased.
“Council, I’m glad you could make it. There seems to be a lot of illegal shit going on here in my pack. It looks like we have our work cut out for us. Ryland, can you and your men open a portal big enough for all of us? I don’t want one person here out of my sight until we get some answers,” Micah asked.
Sasha and Colby stepped forward and began to chant and a large portal opened up. “We’ll go through first, Alpha Prime, so that we can watch over the ones that step through. Make sure none of them try to get away,” Sasha offered.
“Thank you, Sasha.” Micah nodded. “The rest of you will stand and follow the fae warriors through the portal. Trevor, please stay with my mate. And, James, I think I have the perfect escorts for you. Laylen, Ryx, would you?”
“It’ll be my pleasure, Alpha Prime. Come on, dirtbag,” Ryx ordered as he grabbed James’s arm and dragged him to his feet. Laylen grabbed his other arm and the two walked him through the portal.
Chapter 4
“How are you holding up, Josh?” Evan asked as he walked into the living room where Josh and Milo were sitting.
“I’m okay, Evan, thanks,” Josh answered, but Evan saw the slight twinge in his face.
“No, you’re not.” Milo outed him. “He’s getting warmer and he’s starting to sweat more.”
“Thanks for being on my side,” Josh huffed and looked away from Milo.
“And crankier,” Milo teased with a smile.
“Yeah, well, bite me,” Josh grumbled and crossed his arms over his chest.
“Would it help if you went to the shop and worked? Maybe keep your mind off of things,” Evan asked.
“No. I got fired,” Josh whispered.
“You got fired? Why?” Bailey asked as he strolled in with Aaron and Rory. They were each carrying a tray of iced tea and cookies.
“Rick said I was taking too much time off,” Josh explained as he sat forward and snatched a cookie off the tray. He bit into it and moaned as his eyes closed. “Mmmm. Oh my gods, Bales. These are amazing. What did you put in these?”
“Chocolate chip with a twist. I put in a few milk chocolate chips, a few dark chocolate, and some mint chips and then I mixed in a little mocha. Do you really think their okay?”
“You’re selling these at the café, right? Cause I gotta tell ya, these would go great with a mocha cappuccino,” Josh said around a mouthful.
“Right? I told him the same thing,” Rory said as he sat next to Aaron.
“Lexi loved them, but he’s a little biased. So I thought I would bring some over to see what you all thought.”
“Well I love them. You can make those for me any day,” Josh said and grabbed up a few more.
“These are really good, Bales,” Evan agreed.
“Mmmm, so gwood,” Milo added as he chewed his mouthful.
“Thanks, you guys. I’ll try them at the café tomorrow,” Bailey said as he sat back with an iced tea.
“So how can Rick fire you for taking time off to be with your mate? I thought that was against our laws?” Aaron asked.
“Because he’s a prick.”
“Well, I think you should talk to Micah when they get back. He owns the place. If he finds out Rick fired you over that, I can guarantee you’ll get your job back,” Evan said.
“So has anyone heard from them yet?” Josh asked anxiously.
“Right before we came over, the council got a call from Jesse. He asked for them to go there too,” Bailey answered.
“What does that mean?” Josh asked.
“They set up a plan that if Jesse called for Phenex and told him it was time, that meant there was trouble and they should all go right away.”
“Do you think it’s Matt? Is he in trouble?” Josh asked in a panic as he sat up straight.
“I don’t know, Josh. All I know is Jesse called for his dad, and they all left through one of Ryland’s portals.”
“Shit,” Josh cursed and jumped up from the couch. He started to pace as he ran his hands through his hair. “Why did I have to insist we keep us being mates a secret? If we had told everyone then none of this would be happening. I wouldn’t be burning up and Matt wouldn’t be out there gods only knows where, with whatever is happening,” he ranted in frustration.
Milo stood up and went to him, wrapping his arms around Josh’s waist from behind and pulling him against his chest. Josh relaxed against him, and Milo kissed his neck gently. “It’s gonna be okay, baby. I know it will. I have total faith in Micah and the others. We just have to stay calm and believe in them. They’ll come through,” Milo spoke softly.
“Wait a minute,” Aaron interrupted. Josh and Milo turned to face him. “You said you were burning up. How is that possible?”
Josh looked at him like he had two heads. “Because I met my mates and I just turned eighteen,” he said in a voice as if to say “Duh.”
“No, you’re a cat shifter and you go into heat when you meet your mate’s yes, but the heat doesn’t start until a feline gets to their full maturity at twenty-one,” Aaron explained in confusion.
“No. My whole life everyone said we couldn’t mate until we were eighteen.”
“Yes. The council said no paranormal could mate until they reached the age of eighteen, but our first heat doesn’t start until our bodies hit their
full maturity. Which is twenty-one.”
“But…then I don’t understand,” Josh said in confusion.
“Look, we all know how rare it is for paranormals to find their mates to begin with. It’s even harder for a feline shifter to find both their mates. But for any paranormal to find their mate at such a young age as you have, and Bailey has, is almost unheard of. So technically, you can mate at eighteen because of our laws, but your heat wouldn’t start until you hit twenty-one. So if you did indeed just turn eighteen, then we shouldn’t be in such a panic about finding Matthew to help you with your heat. But if you are starting to experience the heat, then we have more to worry about.”
“Why is that, Arron?” Evan asked in concern.
“If Josh is in heat, then he is not eighteen. He’s twenty-one and that in itself brings up a whole shitload of questions. One being, why didn’t you know you were twenty-one?”
“I don’t even know how to answer that. There is no way I am twenty-one,” Josh said with fear in his voice.
“Maybe I can find your birth records like I did with Matthew?” Evan offered.
“That wouldn’t work. I was born on a pride so the records wouldn’t be like the human ones.”
“You know, Joshie, I always thought you were older than you said you were. You have always been more mature for your age. Maybe what Doc Aaron says is true. I mean he is a doctor and a feline shifter,” Bailey said hesitantly.
“But how is this possible? I have been a feline shifter my whole life and I never heard about the heat starting at twenty-one. And how can I not know my real age? This is so ridiculous. There is no way I am twenty-one.”
“I can’t answer as to why you didn’t know about the heat at twenty-one. But trust me when I say that if you are experiencing the mating heat, then you are twenty-one,” Aaron said with conviction.
“Then why are the Alpha Prime and everyone going crazy trying to find, Matthew?” Rory asked. “If they think Josh is eighteen, but the heat doesn’t start until twenty-one, then they shouldn’t be in such a panic over it.”
“Because most paranormals don’t know about it, baby boy. There are some things that each species keeps secret from the world. Micah and the others didn’t even know about the heat a feline goes through until they met me and Storm. And most feline shifters don’t even think about it or talk about it because it is so hard to find your true mate in the first place, that we don’t even think about the age thing. It’s usually well beyond the twenty-one mark that a feline, or any shifter for that matter, finds their mate,” Aaron explained.
“As far as they know Josh is eighteen and experiencing the heat so they want to find Matthew as fast as they can. But they also don’t want him out there alone, unprotected, thinking no one wants him,” Evan added.
“I know you don’t want to have anything to do with your parents or your old pride, Josh, but maybe you should call your parents,” Bailey suggested.
“No. I am not calling them,” Josh said angrily and turned away.
“Well, whether you call them or not, if you are starting to go into heat, then you’re twenty-one, Josh,” Aaron stated emphatically.
Josh dropped down onto the couch, leaned his elbows on his knees, and put his face in his hands. “I can’t do this. This is too much.”
Milo sat beside him and rubbed his back comfortingly. “We’ll figure all this out, babe. And we’ll find Matthew.”
“I know everyone is doing everything they can, but it’s killing me that I can’t go after him. I feel like I’m letting him down again by my not being the one to find him,” Josh said in distress.
“I know it sucks, Josh, but we can’t take the risk of your heat getting worse while you’re out there searching for him. It’s too dangerous,” Evan said calmly, trying to appease him.
“I know, Evan. I just…I just want my mate.” Tears came to Josh’s eyes. “We can’t lose him, Milo. It will be all my fault if we lose him,” Josh cried as a tear rolled down his face.
Bailey looked at Evan with fear in his eyes. Evan mouthed, “It’s the heat.” Bailey nodded that he understood, and he looked back at Josh with concern. He had never seen Josh this upset about anything. He was the strong one. He always kept his cool and his head straight. Seeing Josh cry was killing Bailey.
“Josh, why don’t I take you upstairs and check on your heat?” Aaron offered.
Josh looked up at him with tear-filled eyes and nodded. He stood and followed Aaron up the stairs.
“Do you know what pride Josh is from, Bailey? He would never tell me. Maybe if I know which one he belonged to then I can dig around and see what I can find out.”
“No, Evan. I’m sorry, but Josh would never tell me about his birth pride either. He just told me about how overbearing his parents were.”
“There has to be something we can do to figure this out,” Evan said and stood up. “I’m gonna go start doing some digging around and see what I can come up with.”
* * * *
Ash sat huddled in the shadows against the brick wall of the Chinese restaurant. He kept his eyes on the opening of the alleyway and sniffed the air to see if those wolves were near. He didn’t catch their scent, so he looked back at Maddy, who was crouching next to the open door of the restaurant. He gave Maddy a nod and watched him carefully peer in the door. He looked back at Ash and smiled. Maddy straightened up and slowly walked through the open door. Once he was out of Ash’s sight, he turned back to watch the end of the passage.
Maddy had been inside for five minutes now, and Ash was getting nervous. He started to bite his bottom lip, but he figured everything was all right so far. He hadn’t heard any banging or yelling, so Maddy must be okay. He quickly looked toward the door then shifted his eyes back to the end of the alley. He sniffed the air and caught a slight smell of something. He drew more air in through his nose and his eyes went wide. Wolves. But these weren’t the wolves who had been hunting him and Maddy. These were new wolves that he had never smelled before. He took another sniff and the scent was getting stronger. These new wolves were drawing closer.
Ash shimmied back further against the wall, making sure he was completely cloaked in the darkness, and prayed these wolves wouldn’t smell him and come to investigate. Suddenly two large figures appeared at the end of the alley. They were in silhouette so he couldn’t see their faces, but he could see that they were massive in build. The two stopped and looked around the empty street and a wave of power slammed into Ash. He almost fell back on his ass, but caught himself by grabbing the wall. The two turned and looked down the passageway in his direction. Ash held his breath as his body locked, frozen, in hopes they hadn’t heard him.
The two raised their faces toward the sky and Ash could tell they were scenting the air. Who were these guys? They definitely weren’t the asshats who normally hunted them, that’s for sure. Those idiots just ran and hoped they caught up to their target. But these two were smarter. He could tell they knew what they were doing. Every move they made was slow and calculated as if they were studying their surroundings before they moved on. Did that moron James bring in real enforcers? How the hell would he get his hands on real enforcers? There was no way the new council would send him these guys. But they undoubtedly looked like enforcers to Ash.
A shuffling noise came from the direction of the restaurant and Ash closed his eyes, hoping Maddy didn’t step out now. The two big guys would surely spot him, and if they caught Maddy’s scent, then they would be toast. Ash opened his eyes to look at the two enforcers, but saw that they were gone. He turned his head and looked at the open door. Still nothing. Come on, Maddy. He thought anxiously. Another peek down the alley showed that the two big guys were still gone. A soft exhale of air came from the open door and Ash turned to find Maddy crouching low as he quickly but quietly made his way out the door.
Maddy had a large sack hanging on his back and a small duffle bag in his hands. He moved to the side into the shadows and away from the light streaming
out through the open door. After he got about five feet away, he straightened up and moved farther down, then turned and looked at Ash. Maddy gave him a big smile and motioned with his head for Ash to follow.
Slowly Ash stood from his hiding spot and slid out into the open. He looked back toward the opening and then to the restaurant door. Silently he approached the open door and listened. He could hear low voices and some banging coming from the front, in the dining area, but no sound came from the kitchen. Ash quickly moved past the open door and headed to Maddy.
Using crates that they had stacked against the half wall earlier, they easily climbed over. Ash went first. When he landed on the other side, he immediately turned and held up his hands to take the duffle that Maddy lowered to him. He looped the strap over his head and put an arm through it. Then he reached up for the big bag. Maddy started to lower it to him when they heard a loud howl ring out through the night, and it sounded like it was close.
Maddy turned away from Ash to look back down the alley. He looked back at Ash with fear in his eyes. Maddy released the bag and Ash grabbed for it. His knees buckled slightly from the weight of it but he was able to get a firm hold on it. Maddy immediately jumped down, hitting the ground hard. A pained expression twisted his gorgeous face and Ash could see that Maddy was fighting to not make a sound.
Maddy straightened and took a step, and a small groan escaped his lips. Ash gave him a questioning look and Maddy shook his head. He motioned over the top of the wall and Ash caught on that the wolves were back there. Maddy grabbed the large sack and flung it over his back. “Run,” Maddy whispered so softly that Ash almost didn’t hear him. Ash turned and took off down the street. When he reached the next alley, he turned right and headed to the end, where there was a hole in the chain link fence. He pushed on the fence and squeezed through the hole. Ash turned to hold the fence open more for Maddy’s larger frame, but Maddy wasn’t there.
Ash quickly surveyed the area and found no sign of Maddy. “Shit. I can’t leave him.” Ash started to go back through the fence when he remembered the promise he made Maddy. If anything were to happen to him or they got separated, Ash was to keep going. He was to stick to the plan and their prearranged escape route and meet Maddy at the storm drain. If Maddy didn’t show within a half hour, then Ash was to get back to the old man and stay hidden. Ash gave the area one more look and then hesitantly backed out of the fence. He let it drop and took off for the storm drain.
