by Tate James
“Sleep well, Regina mea,” he whispered.
Again, I mumbled a noise in lieu of words, and Cole swept me out of the room, returning to my giant bed in the master suite.
“I’m fine, Cutie,” I whispered as he lay me gently down on the rumpled covers I had just climbed out of not long ago. “I promise. I’m just...”
“Exhausted?” he finished for me, and I gave him a weak smile.
“But not, at the same time. I don’t feel weak—totally the opposite. My muscles just don’t want to play ball anymore.” I blinked a few times, trying to wake myself up while Cole unbuttoned my jeans and tugged them down off my legs for me.
“Just sleep, Vixen. It’s three in the morning, anyway.” He pressed a light kiss to my belly, where River’s shirt had ridden up. “Do you want me to stay with you?”
“Always,” I replied, shuffling over slightly and tucking a pillow under my head while Cole stripped down to join me. He rolled me onto my side and tucked me tight against his huge body, making me feel warm and safe.
“I love you, Vixen,” he murmured in my ear. “Thank you.”
He didn’t need to say anymore as I knew what he meant. His relationship with Vali had only just begun to heal, so the last thing I wanted was to become any more of a wedge between them than I already was.
“Any time, Cutie,” I whispered back, but he was already asleep, his warm breath slow and even against the back of my neck.
Sleep did not come easily to me that night. Instead, I lay there in Cole’s embrace for hours, simply watching my hand in fascination as scales rippled back and forth across my skin. First red and gold, then blue and green, and finally—just before sunrise—it settled into a metallic purple. A perfect blend of both my dragons’ colors.
19
COLE
Sweat ran down my spine, soaking into the thin fabric of my T-shirt and making me glad for my perpetually dark wardrobe. It wasn’t like I didn’t like colors; it was just much easier to hide the blood on black.
“Vamanos.” The pockmarked man in front of us nodded, holding the mesh gate open and allowing Vali and I to enter the corridor. “This way, señores.”
I cast an uncertain glance at my brother, but he gave me a tiny nod of reassurance. Why I was so jumpy about this, I had no idea. I’d done far more dangerous jobs under the Omega banner, but something about being so far from Kit was making my skin crawl.
Not bothering to waste breath on unnecessary words, we kept our mouths shut and followed the sweaty Mexican man down the dimly lit corridor and toward the sound of a raucous crowd.
We stopped just outside our destination, and another moustached man stepped in front of us, blocking our path.
“Quinientos,” he demanded, holding out his greedy hand for Vali to place five hundred American dollars into. “Bueno.” Flicking the notes with his thumb as though counting them, he stepped aside and allowed Vali and I to follow our guide into the following room.
Raul, the man we followed, led us through the roaring crowds of people until we were directly in front of the octagonal cage set in the center of the room with two bloodied and bruised men duking it out with bare knuckles.
“Just here, señores,” he told us politely, indicating to two vacant folding chairs in the front row. “Let me know if you need anything, sí?”
My attention had already left him and zoned in on the fight currently going on in the cage, but from the corner of my eye, I saw Vali slip the man some bills before taking his seat beside me.
“What do you think?” he asked me quietly, and I grunted a vexed noise.
We’d come all the way down to Mexico City on the rumor that this fight ring had an ace in the hole that was making them mega-bucks in the black-market cage-fight scene. Supposedly, they had hombres lobo.
Werewolves.
The coincidence seemed too great, given the recent influx of magical creatures and all the various factions vying to come out on top, so Vali and I had volunteered to check it out and see if there was any substance to the rumor. If they were having werewolves fight and not making any attempt to hide their inhuman origins, then the widespread exposure of magic was likely much closer than we’d been counting on.
“I think this could have been a waste of time,” I muttered back, turning my gaze from the half-dead bare-knuckle fighters and casting my gaze over the crowd. “They’re clearly both human, and shitty fighters at that. I don’t sense any other shifters in the room... do you?”
Vali shook his head, his sharp gaze trailing over the crowd just as mine had. We’d used his connections to get into the underground club, and I knew there were a lot of shady characters in attendance. Just on my first pass of the people I could see, I spotted at least three men currently being targeted by Omega Group for various reasons.
“Let me get our friend back and squeeze him for more info,” Vali suggested, meeting Raul’s eyes from across the room and giving a head jerk to bring him back to us.
“This tip had better pan out,” I growled. “It doesn’t feel right being away from Vixen.”
Vali quirked a half smile at me. “Like your skin is crawling? Yeah, I know the feeling. Don’t worry, as soon as we work out what’s going on here we can head straight back. Not that the boys aren’t taking good care of her right now.”
I huffed, but couldn’t argue. We’d left Kit on the couch watching trashy comedy movies with Wes and Caleb. Those two had been all too happy to have her for the night, seeing as Vali and I had demanded just about every waking moment from her this week for dragon training.
Just thinking about Vixen’s dragon magic made me cringe. The accelerated learning spell was doing little to help her master our magic, and she was growing increasingly frustrated by both her lack of control and frequent night terrors. Until Wes had lost his ability to manage her dreams, I hadn’t realized just how bad they were… which explained Wesley’s off mood. If it were me, I’d be way worse. Hell, just knowing there was nothing I could do was making me want to breathe fire.
We must have talked her through the process over a million times in the past few days, but unlike Austin’s Ink Magic, there was no clear symbol, word, or spell she could watch then replicate. Shifting, and the magic that came with it, was pure instinct and not something that we could really teach her.
“Sí, señor. ¿Cómo puedo ayudarlo?” Raul bobbed his head eagerly as he reached us once more, and I rolled my eyes. Vali must have over-tipped again.
“These fighters are shit,” Vali snapped to the man with all the arrogance expected of Românul. “We were told you had something better. Unique.”
Raul’s eyes widened and flickered past us to someone else, telling me we had hit the mark. There was something more to this seemingly uninteresting cage-fighting ring after all. Whether it was werewolves, though... well, that remained to be seen.
“Ah, si. Pero, they are not fighting tonight. Lo siento, señor.” He spread his hands as if to say there was nothing more he could do, but I wasn’t willing to let it go so easily. He was cagey as fuck, and that meant there was more he could tell us.
“Are they here tonight?” I asked him, not bothering to sugarcoat my tone like my brother had done. Fuck it. I was a killer, and these assholes might as well know who they were dealing with.
Raul froze like a deer in headlights, then flicked his gaze to that same person behind us. Turning, I tried to see who he might be looking at, but there were just too many people in the crowded room.
“What my brother means,” Vali corrected in his greasy smooth voice, “is that he himself is a fighter and would like to meet your best in order to see if this little setup is worth his time entering.”
“Little operation?” Raul spluttered, turning a bit red in the face. “This here—”
“Shut up,” I snapped, not caring for his boasting. I’d seen many, many cage fight setups in my time, and this was a little operation. But it was also one with possible supernatural creatures on the cards. “Introduce me to your u
nique fighters. I guarantee they won’t be worth my time, but Românul here seems to think they’re something special.”
My words dripped with contempt, but it was just the motivation Raul needed. These small time criminals were all the same. Prideful. I’d just insulted the organization he worked for, and now he’d have to prove me wrong.
“This way, señores,” he sneered, his beady eyes narrowing at me before he spun on his heel and stalked around the ring.
Vali gave me a look of warning but said nothing as we followed the greasy little man past the cage where one of the bloodied fighters was being tapped out, then through the crowd to another room where several men sat playing poker.
“How clichéd,” I muttered, taking in the tough-looking men with tattoos on their knuckles, smoking cigars and drinking scotch while scantily clad women fawned over them.
How the hell do I keep ending up in company like this?
“Raul!” one of the men shouted, seeing us enter and pushing back from his seat. “What is the meaning of this?” He took just two steps closer to us, and I could instantly tell he was a shifter.
It wasn’t that I could smell him or anything; it was more just a sense of familiarity sparking within my magic. Like calling to like. The bald-headed man who had been advancing toward us paused mid-step, his nostrils flaring and his eyes wide.
“What...” he started, and as he stared at us, his eyes bled to a wolf-like yellow-gold, not totally unlike the color of River’s eyes.
“None of your concern,” Vali smoothly responded to the man’s unfinished question. “But we have questions. Clear the room of humans, please.”
One of the men still at the table chortled. “¿Güey, qué pedo?” His friends all snickered, but I sure as shit wasn’t in the mood for funny business.
Vali and I needed no words passed between us; we both simply unleashed a little dragon magic. Not enough to shift fully, but enough to affect our eyes and fill the room with power to the point where not a single supernatural could mistake the threat we posed.
“Clear the fucking room,” I rumbled in a voice like thunder, and everyone seemed to burst into action all at once. Within seconds, the room was clear of everyone save four terrified-looking shifters.
“What is it that you want?” Baldy, the one who’d first spoken, demanded. His voice shook with fear, but I had to admire him for trying.
“Wolves, we presume?” Vali checked, and the man jerked his head in confirmation. “Why is it that I’m hearing rumors of werewolves in an underground Mexican fighting ring? You four are making no attempt to hide your species from the world. Why?”
The wolves exchanged nervous glances before another cocky little piece of shit spoke up. “Why should we? We’re the superior race. Humans aught to know that. Besides, a guy’s gotta earn a living, right?”
My knuckles cracked loudly in the now quiet room as I tightened my fist and tapped it into my other palm in a threatening manner. It was a move so overdone it was almost comical, but I really did want to pound this punk’s fucking face in.
“Don’t be a fucking idiot,” Vali sneered at the stupid asshole before turning back to baldy, who seemed to be in charge. “What do you know of the Ban Dia?”
Baldy frowned. “They’re myth. Nothing more than bedtime stories for children. Why?”
Vali glanced at me, and I nodded. This was good; they didn’t seem to be lying. Hell, they didn’t seem smart enough for that. Which meant this may not have anything to do with my Vixen after all.
“Why are you suddenly showing yourselves to the world?” Vali demanded, changing tact and ignoring baldy’s question.
The man’s mouth twisted, and I saw him consider a stupid nothing answer like his buddy had given about needing to make a living. But we both knew that wasn’t the real reason, and baldy seemed just a fraction smarter than his friend.
“We were ordered to,” he finally ground out from behind gritted teeth. The other three wolves burst out of their seats in outrage, yelling at him to shut the fuck up, but he held up a hand to silence them. “Can it!” he yelled at them. “Use your fucking noses. These two assholes are ten times stronger than our Alpha. You really wanna fuck around here? I don’t!”
Turning back to Vali and I, he eyed us warily. “Orders came down from up top to start making humans aware of us. Start breeding some fear. Apparently someone has been meeting with all the higher ups, convincing them that a war is coming and it’s in our best interest to come out of hiding.” He shrugged, scratching his face. “That’s all we know.”
Fury clawed at my throat, and the room shifted into sharp focus as my eyes shifted to dragon. “Who?” I demanded, my voice threaded with the snarl of my dragon, and I watched the wolves pale with terror. “Who is behind this?”
Baldy held his hands up as if in surrender. “We don’t know, man. I swear. We’re just lower pack members doing what we’re told. I do know that a lot of the packs told him to screw off, ’cause only a few have been stirring up shit with the humans.”
Vali and I exchanged a glance, and I saw he too was on the edge of losing his shit. Since we’d changed, our tempers had become significantly more volatile. Something Vixen was now needing to deal with, too.
We needed to get out before the shift took hold completely.
“Take this,” Vali held out a wad of money to Baldy. “Disappear. Stop exposing your kind to humans; it will not end well.” The threat in his tone was clear, and the four wolves nodded their understanding frantically.
Allowing myself one last threatening growl at the wolves, I followed my brother out of the dingy poker room, through the fight crowd, and out into the night.
“What do you think?” he asked me once we were totally clear of the building that housed the fight club. “Omega?”
Fucking Omega. I flexed and clenched my fists again, wishing those stupid wolves had started a fight so I could have worked out my aggression.
“Possible. Could also be something to do with this doctor who took Vixen’s blood.” Either option wasn’t good though. “They want magic outed. Why?”
Vali sighed and scrubbed a hand over his face, not answering my question. “This is going to devastate Kit if it is her father doing this. It’s not looking good for him so far...”
Something about his tone made me pause and glance over at him. His brow was furrowed, and his shoulders were set with tension. The change in him since he’d joined us was noticeable. Where before, as Românul, he had always been impeccably dressed in suits and coats—much like River’s wardrobe choices, except with a much more deadly air about him—now he seemed almost... relaxed? Not right in this moment. But in general. He carried less tension in his face and had adopted the casual jeans and T-shirt look that I so often wore myself. Bastard really was my brother.
“You actually care about her, don’t you?” I asked grudgingly. I’d avoided asking anything about how he felt for Kit, not wanting to hear the answer. But I couldn’t stick my head in the sand forever.
Vali huffed a half-dragon noise, giving me a look like I was the most dense dipshit on the planet. “I’m fucking in love with her, asshole.”
My step faltered, and I sucked in a sharp breath. That answer was exactly what I’d been afraid of, but at the same time, exactly what I’d hoped to hear.
Fuck, I was a messed up piece of shit.
“But we have forever. No need to rush things, right?” My older brother shrugged, but the look in his eyes just seconds before he turned full dragon told me everything. He was holding back with Kit because of me.
Shit.
Kicking the dirt in anger, I stripped down and stuffed my clothes into the little bag we carried before turning dragon myself. It was a long-ass flight back to Ontario, and I had a lot to think about now.
Mostly... whether my brother and I had healed enough to handle sharing the woman we both loved.
20
KIT
A little chuckle vibrated through me as I pee
red out of the car window, passing the fancy Beverly Hills gallery where I’d stolen that god-awful ring which had led the guys to me. It felt like it had been a lifetime ago, but was little more than six months...
“What’s funny?” Caleb asked me, yawning and snuggling into my side. He’d returned home late again the night before, and we had needed to leave early to make our way down to Los Angeles for the meeting with Jonathan. He’d slept most of the way and was now tucked into the backseat of the seven-seat Audi that had been waiting for us at the private airfield.
His head rested on my shoulder, and one arm draped around my waist. On my other side, Austin’s hard thigh was pressed tight to mine, and I was practically hyperventilating just from being sandwiched between the two inhumanly handsome Mages.
Good thing I’ve learned to block my emotions, or this car ride would be a lot more awkward right now.
“Um, nothing,” I replied finally, shaking my head. “Just reminiscing on the last time I was here.”
Wesley, sharp as he was, turned in his seat to raise his eyebrows at me. He knew what I meant. The last time I was here was what ultimately had brought us all together.
“We’re here,” Cole announced, pulling in to the valet area of the The London Hotel in West Hollywood.
Vali groaned and cracked his neck. “Thank fucking goodness. I am about to claw someone for a shower.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. He and Cole had gone out two nights prior to follow up on some lead Vali had found through his connections, and they’d gotten back yesterday looking exhausted. They’d picked up some useful info about shifters actively trying to expose magic though, so it had been a worthwhile trip for them. Even if they looked like they’d flown halfway to Europe and back.
“What time are we meeting him?” I asked for maybe the twentieth time, but the guys indulged me. Not even Austin snapped at me to stop asking the same question.
“Seven tonight,” River responded. “You have some time before we need to go.”
