Rough Ride [The Exiled 3] (Siren Publishing: The Lynn Hagen ManLove Collection)

by Lynn Hagen

“Smelled your scent last night when you left the bar.” The stranger with the smirk didn’t move away from the door. Neither he nor the men with him took one step farther into Morgan’s apartment. “I’m really hoping you’re the one he’s been looking for.”

  A strange sensation zapped through the room. An odd kind of energy that made Morgan’s skin began to itch as tiny black hairs started to sprout along his arms. His gums throbbed as pain shot through his body.

  “Fascinating,” the stranger said as he cocked his head to the side. “My close proximity is forcing you to shift.”

  “It’s him,” one of the other men said. “We’ve found him.”

  Morgan gasped. Sweat covered his body as he dropped to his knees. “What are you doing to me?” He held his stomach and then flipped to his back, writhing on the floor in pain. It was as if someone was pulling him apart. Agonizing cramps twisted his gut. His bones felt as if they were breaking. It was hard to suck in enough air to breathe.

  “So you’re the one who survived my bite,” the man said, his smirk widening. “Very interesting indeed.”

  “Fuck. You,” Morgan gritted out.

  “Just let it happen. Stop fighting it.” The stranger squatted next to Morgan as if Morgan was a rare bug that needed closer examination. Dark claws slowly slid free, replacing Morgan’s fingernails. The hair along his arms grew thicker, darker.

  Morgan let out a blood-curdling scream right before his door flew open. Three men entered, and one of them was Dog. The nerves in Morgan’s body stretched to their limits, burning so badly that he felt as if he was on fire. Dog and one of the men with him rushed the four men as the other man who had come with Dog dropped next to Morgan.

  “What the hell is going on here?” Kyle shouted as he entered the living room. His eyes widened as he stared at the crowd in their apartment. Kyle’s gaze dropped to Morgan, and then the shifter raced to his side. “What’s happening, Morgan?”

  “He’s shifting.” The stranger picked Morgan’s head up and gently placed it in his lap.

  Through the agonizing torment, Morgan kept his focus on the stranger holding him. He knew that voice, had lived with it for two decades, and now he had a face to put with it. He should be relieved that he wasn’t crazy, but he was too busy fighting against what was happening to him to care.

  All Morgan could do was cry out in pain. The pressure inside of him was building and he was terrified to find out what the end result to all of this would be. The man had said shifting. Shifting into what?

  Kyle had told him once that Morgan didn’t smell human. He’d never elaborated no matter how much Morgan had bugged him. Kyle had always said he wasn’t sure and then changed the subject. Morgan was about to find out.

  “You have to stop fighting it,” the stranger said as he rubbed a hand over Morgan’s hair. “You have to let the shift take over.”

  “The hell he does!” Kyle shoved at the stranger. “Get off of him!”

  “N-no. I can’t let it take over.” Morgan shook his head as another rush of hot lava scorched his blood. His arms flew outward, and his back bowed. Every muscle in his body locked in place. He was dying. There was no other outcome for the unbearable torment he was suffering through.

  “You have to relax.” The stranger picked Morgan up from the floor and carried him down the hallway, the fight still raging on behind them. Morgan was placed on his bed before the stranger disappeared, only to reappear a second later with a wet cloth in his hand.

  “I can take care of him,” Kyle snapped, reaching for the cloth, but the stranger growled at Kyle before moving to the bed.

  As he wiped Morgan’s face and neck, he pulled his cell phone free. Morgan noticed how badly the man’s hand shook as he dialed.

  “Who the fuck are you calling?” Kyle demanded. Morgan’s best friend looked down at him, worry in his blue eyes. “Who is he calling?”

  Like Morgan would know. He was in too much pain to care. Kyle snatched the wet cloth from the stranger’s hand and wiped at Morgan’s face and neck. “You have to calm down. It kills me to see you in so much pain.”

  The stranger’s voice drowned out Kyle’s begging.

  “I need you here,” the stranger said into the phone. “I’m not sure what’s going on. A human is transforming into what looks like a hellhound.” The man paused. “You don’t think I know that’s fucking impossible!”

  Morgan turned over and tried to crawl away from the pain as bile rose to the back of his throat. The stranger moved Kyle aside and sat. He pulled Morgan into his lap as Kyle gave the man the evil eye.

  “Shove me aside again and I’ll kick you in the nuts,” Kyle threatened.

  Morgan shivered like crazy as sweat poured off of him. He curled into the man’s body and prayed for either falling into a coma or death. Either would be preferable at this point.

  “I have you,” the man whispered, completely ignoring Kyle, “but you have to stop fighting this.”

  The guy spoke again, into the phone, giving Morgan’s address. No sooner had the guy hung up than Morgan turned over and emptied his stomach onto the floor. He coughed and gagged, the tendons in his neck growing taut. He gagged so hard that tears ran down his face and his eyes felt as if they’d pop right out of their sockets. The vomit smelled heavily of booze, which made Morgan only want to upchuck again.

  “What the hell is going on?” Dog asked as he appeared in the doorway.

  “I wish someone would tell me,” Kyle said tartly. “And what the hell are you doing here?”

  “Did you kill the hounds?” the man holding Morgan asked.

  Dog’s lips thinned as he shook his head. “Me and Trigg killed two of them, but the other two go away. One of them was Morbius.”

  “Damn it, Dog!” The stranger wiped Morgan’s mouth and then turned him over so Morgan could rest against the man’s body.

  “What the fuck you want me to do?” Dog snapped. “The bastard is slick. You know that. We haven’t been able to kill him or Rythicam since they escaped hell.”

  The fever burning through him must have caused his brain to short-circuit. All of this was an illusion, just like the voice had been. The past twenty years had been nothing more than one long, continuous nightmare, and any second Morgan would wake and be in his bed at home.

  Wherever home was. The two were talking about hounds escaping from hell. That didn’t make any sense. None of what was happening made any sense to Morgan.

  “We can’t stay here, Renato,” Dog said. “No telling if Morbius will come back with reinforcements. He seemed hell-bent on getting down the hallway until I pulled my blade free. He told me he would be back for his brethren.”

  His brethren? What the hell did that mean? Morgan didn’t even know who Morbius was or any of those men who had broken into his place to begin with. He could only conclude that Morbius had been the guy talking to him. He seemed like the guy in charge, and Morgan hoped never to run into the guy again. Talk about one scary-ass man.

  When the stranger who held him pulled Morgan tighter, he realized he had a name to go with the voice and face.

  Renato.

  As he lay against Renato, Morgan noticed the pain easing. His claws and the hair along his arms started to retract. His bones hurt, but not as badly as they had before. His body was no longer on fire, and all he felt was overwhelming exhaustion.

  “He’s not shifting anymore,” Dog pointed out.

  Curling closer to the warmth of Renato’s body, Morgan mumbled, “We are definitely not going on a date.”

  “What’re you talkin’ about?” Renato soothed a hand over Morgan’s back. “What date?”

  “What’s goin’ on?” Dog looked confused.

  Renato said something in a language Morgan didn’t understand. Apparently Dog did because the man paled as he took a few steps back, looking from Renato to Morgan.

  Tucking his finger under Morgan’s chin, Renato turned his head until Morgan was looking the man in his brown eyes. “Has your stoma
ch settled?”

  Morgan heard Dog inhale sharply. “There’s no way, Renato. No fucking way. I know you want your zaterio back, but this isn’t him. It can’t be. He died a long time ago.”

  Kyle threw his hands into the air as he glared at Dog. “What are you talking about? What is a zaterio, and would you two please speak English? Why were those men in our apartment? What did they want? And more importantly, who the fuck are you guys?”

  “You’re starting to be a huge pain in the ass,” Dog snapped at Kyle. “Quiet down or I’ll duct tape your mouth shut.”

  Kyle narrowed his eyes. Morgan’s best friend looked ridiculous as he squared his shoulders. Kyle was short compared to Dog, yet the shifter didn’t back down. “I dare you to come anywhere near me with duct tape, bastard.”

  “What is he talking about?” Morgan asked Renato. He blocked out Dog and Kyle as he stared at the stranger. “Do you know who I am?”

  Morgan was stunned when tears sprang to Renato’s eyes. The man smiled as he nodded and then pulled Morgan into a tighter hug. The man wept, rocking Morgan, and Morgan had no clue what the flipping hell was going on. He looked over Renato’s shoulder to see Dog standing there with his mouth hanging open.

  “Yes, I know who you are.” Renato pulled back and cupped Morgan’s face. “And I can’t believe you are here, in my arms.”

  “Renato,” Dog said in warning. “You don’t know that it’s true.”

  “Then tell me who I am,” Morgan insisted. The suspense was killing him.

  “You are my dead zaterio, my chosen one.”

  Whoa, wait! His what?

  Morgan shoved Renato away as he scrambled to his feet. He stood there in nothing but his boxers, but he was too freaked out to care. “That doesn’t tell me shit.” The possessive look in Renato’s eyes had Morgan ready to reconsider his option of jumping out the window to get away from these men. They were insane!

  “You mean, like a mate?” Kyle asked, his eyes wide.

  Dog cursed as he yanked on Kyle’s arm. “We’re going into the living room.”

  “Hell no.” Kyle yanked his arm free. “I want to know what Renato meant by zaterio.”

  “Yes, his mate,” Dog answered. The man looked as if he would be sick at any second. Kyle had told Morgan about mates, and there was no way Renato knew what he was talking about. The man was out of his mind!

  Dog picked Kyle up and hauled him from the bedroom, Kyle kicking and shouting the whole way and Dog threatening Kyle if the shifter didn’t pipe down.

  Morgan glanced from the door to Renato and took a step back.

  “Calm down, zaterio. I swear I’m not going to hurt you.”

  The look in Renato’s eyes was nothing short of worship, and that scared the hell out of Morgan. He might have heard the man’s voice in his head, but he didn’t know Renato from Adam. “Stop calling me that! You’re just as crazy as Dog is. Get out before I call the cops.”

  “I’m not going anywhere,” Renato stated flatly. He still held a look of amazement in his brown eyes, but his lips had thinned, and there was resolution on his face. “You have no idea the torture I’ve gone through thinking you dead.”

  Pressing a hand to his temple, Morgan shook his head. “I can’t deal with this. None of this makes any sense, and you’re scaring the hell out of me. I need you and your friends to leave.”

  Renato looked as if Morgan had plunged a knife into his heart and couldn’t understand why that bothered him so much. He didn’t know Renato and owed the man nothing. Well, he did owe him for getting those men out of his apartment, but that was it.

  Morgan heard lowered voices in the other room, and then someone appeared in his bedroom doorway.

  The newcomer was exceedingly tall, with short black hair and tattooed biceps. His whiskey-colored eyes zeroed in on Morgan, and Morgan took a step back. The guy emanated authority, and his mere presence commanded obedience. The air became too thick to breathe as the man glanced over Morgan with a bewildered and cautious glance. Morgan had a crazy urge to bow but forced his body not to react.

  “Is it true?” the man asked.

  “Yes, Nazaryth,” Renato said. “He’s the one.”

  Morgan wasn’t sure why, but those three words made him think of the Matrix.

  “What do you mean I can’t go in there?” Kyle shouted from the living room.

  “How can you be sure?” Nazaryth stepped farther into the bedroom. Morgan’s bedroom wasn’t big to begin with, but with Renato’s and Nazaryth’s presence, it felt like a shoebox. The closer Nazaryth drew, the more Morgan backed away until he was pressed against the wall.

  “Don’t come any closer,” Morgan warned. “I just want all of you to get out of my house.”

  “Does he feel the pull?” Nazaryth asked.

  The what?

  “I’m not sure,” Renato answered. He turned to Morgan and smiled, and damn if that smile wasn’t breathtaking. “Do you feel a connection to me?”

  “No,” Morgan blurted out the lie. He’d felt connected to the voice since first hearing it, and that connection hadn’t diminished. If anything, it had grown stronger since Renato had shown up in his apartment.

  When Renato reached for him, Morgan recoiled. Once again Renato looked as if Morgan had plunged a knife into his heart. He really wished Renato would stop looking that way. They didn’t know each other. Therefore Renato had no reason to appear so rejected. Besides, that look made Morgan feel guilty as hell when he shouldn’t feel anything at all for the stranger.

  “He lies,” Nazaryth said as his lip curled. “Tell the truth, human.”

  “Do not speak to my zaterio that way!” Renato shouted at Nazaryth.

  Morgan’s knees grew weak as the room began to spin. Too much had happened in a short amount of time, and his brain could no longer handle the overload.

  He heard Renato curse as his vision faded and he started to fall to the floor. Strong arms caught him as Morgan fainted.

  Chapter Five

  “Could you be any more intimidating?” Renato snapped as he laid his zaterio on the bed. He didn’t care what anyone said. Morgan was his mate. He felt the deep connection, and there was no way in hell the human could be anyone but the zaterio he’d lost so long ago. Renato wasn’t sure how that was possible, where his mate had been all this time or how he’d ended up in Brac Village, but he knew Morgan was the same human who had been bitten in the plant room.

  “I wasn’t intimidating,” Nazaryth said with a sniff. “But he was lying. Tell me you didn’t smell the obnoxious odor.”

  He had, but damn, did Nazaryth have to look so fucking evil about it? Morgan was already scared out of his mind, and Renato didn’t blame his zaterio one bit. Strangers had shown up in his apartment, declaring all kinds of things, and the human was supposed to believe them? He was glad his mate was smart enough to question everything, but at the same time, it killed Renato that Morgan hadn’t believed him.

  The void in his chest, which he’d lived with for so long, was no longer there. The pain of losing his mate had vanished. No one could convince him that Morgan wasn’t his, and he needed to get the man out of there. Dog was right. What if the hounds returned?

  “I have the Hummer outside. We can take him back to the castle.” Nazaryth turned to leave but looked over his shoulder at Renato. “Until we find out where’s he’s been and why he was shifting, I want him watched around the clock.”

  Renato was just as curious about Morgan’s body trying to shift, and his gut told him he wouldn’t like the answer. The human had been bitten by a hellhound and had survived. No human had every survived, so he had no idea what to except. “I’ll keep an eye on him.”

  With a quick nod, Nazaryth walked out. Renato gathered some clothes and personal hygiene stuff, as well as Morgan’s wallet and phone before he covered Morgan with a blanket. Renato tossed the bag over his arm and then lifted his mate from the bed. When he stepped into the living room, he wasn’t surprised to see half a dozen
winged beasts standing there.

  “Wow, so it’s true,” Silo said as his gaze landed on Morgan.

  “No goddamn way,” Vydeck commented.

  “That’s Jaycee’s cousin,” Wolf said with furrowed brows. “His family thought he was dead. He just wandered off one night and never came back.”

  “He’s back now,” Trigg said with wariness in his voice. “Question is, where has he been and how did he survive the attack?”

  Morgan’s friend ran to the door and slung his arms out, as if to block anyone from leaving. “I don’t know who you men are, but you’re not taking Morgan away from here.”

  It was Vydeck who took a step forward, snarled, and jabbed a finger at the shifter. “You have five seconds to move, pipsqueak.”

  The shifter yelped when Vydeck grabbed his arm. The sound made Vydeck drop his hand. “I wasn’t going to hurt you.”

  “Sure as shit fooled me.” The man looked on the verge of tears. That stunned Renato and brought out his protective instincts.

  “Get the fuck away from him,” he barked at Vydeck. Renato glanced at the man. “What’s your name?”

  “K-Kyle.”

  “Pack some things, Kyle. You’re coming with us.”

  “The hell you say.” Nazaryth turned to Renato. “Have you completely lost your mind? Since when do we invite nonmates to our home?”

  Renato didn’t have time for this. He was anxious to get Morgan out of there and into the safety of his bedroom. “The hounds have seen him. Are you going to risk them coming back to find Kyle here?”

  Nazaryth looked downright pissed. “Fine, but we’re taking him to Zeus’s. He can’t be at the castle.”

  “Oh hell no.” Kyle shook his head, his blond hair fanning around his collar. “You’re not dropping me off at some stranger’s like I’m a ditchable prom date.”

  Nazaryth took a step toward Kyle, his eyes narrowed and his lips thinned. “You’ll go, or you stay here and take your chances with the hellhounds.”

  “My prom sucked anyway,” Kyle said bullet-fast.

  Renato growled as he stepped from the apartment and made his way downstairs. He wasn’t sure if Morgan would flip because his friend had been taken somewhere else. Things were going to be bad enough when Wolf’s mate, Jaycee, saw Morgan. Renato would make sure to hold off the family reunion for as long as possible.