by AM Halford
Even with all the insanity, Roy at least felt as if he was making a difference in his own small way.
Thinking of changes and differences made, Roy needed to check his notes for the class tomorrow. Fridays were the days Dr. O’Hare gave him and the human mates access to his waiting room for a support group type thing. Roy preferred to call them classes though, as he and Calisto had been using them to educate the other fathers. These classes were also a trial run, to see if they could be implemented in other parts of their community. At least two of Roy’s regulars were mates to smaller pack alphas, who wanted to start their own classes in their territories.
Calisto’s vision of a support system for the human mates was gaining form.
Of course, Roy still couldn’t understand why none of this hadn’t been done sooner. The one time he’d managed to get Calisto to talk about it, he had mentioned something about stigma and shame in the shifter community. Seemed at the start of the contracts with Cupid, shifters were ashamed that they had to turn to humans and magic to continue their species. That was hundreds of years ago, hell, almost a thousand from what Roy knew. So the fact that this mindset had persisted until now, that pregnancy wasn’t openly talked about, just felt wrong. Not to mention it was extremely damaging for the humans that were thrust into this situation.
Roy’s goal was to erase that stigma and bring their pregnancies to the forefront of their world. Humans might not be able to know about what was going on all around them. That didn’t mean the mates needed to hide it from each other.
Finished typing, Roy closed out of the file after saving his work. He’d edit the article over the next couple days before uploading it on Sunday. New articles for Hubby’s Kitchen were published on Monday. Life with Cubs was updated on Wednesdays. Sometimes the articles topics overlapped. Others, like next week’s, had nothing to do with each other.
“How’s it coming?” Nexus asked, coming into the kitchen to refill his coffee.
“I just finished writing both articles.” Roy stretched. “What about you?”
“I’m almost done going over last quarter’s reports. And just in time to have a small break before this quarter’s come in. Of course before that I need to check over a new housing proposal in Washington.”
“The city or state?” Roy frowned.
“State. Washington DC is out of our territory.”
“But I thought you were Regulus of all of North America?”
“I am, but we leave DC alone. No shifter is permitted to live there. It’s strictly a human city, as all nation capitals are.”
“Odd rule.”
“It’s to prevent influence,” Nexus explained. “If an alpha was to take up residence in a capital such as DC, he could influence the human government, and we can’t allow that. The only one of us that has contact with the controlling human bodies is Stylianos.”
Roy just nodded and hummed. He was still trying to understand the complex politics of his new world.
“So, what kind of new housing proposal are you looking at in Washington, the state?” Roy asked, bringing them back to the original subject.
“A small community wishes to set up in the Entiat Mountains. They’ve purchased a sizeable chunk of land to sustain themselves.”
“What’s the problem?”
Nexus sighed. “Their plan is one of isolation, which never bodes well in the end.”
“Oh?”
“Shifters can’t reveal themselves to humans, but as you know we can’t completely separate ourselves either. Isolation leads to problems of socialization when paths do cross, or worse, when a human mate is introduced the environment can be hostile. For this reason, we encourage packs to form close to human towns and cities. Far enough out to have privacy, but close enough to still have interactions.”
Made sense. “I wish I could help, but…” Roy gave him a helpless shrug.
Nexus smiled and walked over to him. Kissing his forehead, Nexus hugged him gently. “Don’t worry about it, minha alma. If anything, I’ll prevent them from raising livestock so they have no choice but to go into town and buy meat.”
“Well, okay then.” Roy wasn’t sure what to make of that. The crashing of a brick through the kitchen window prevented him from having to say anything else. Nexus moved swiftly, shielding Roy with his body as glass rained in on them.
Trying not to scream, Roy allowed Nexus to lead him from the kitchen and to the stairs. “Go, hide! Now!”
“Come with me.” Roy grabbed Nexus’s arm and implored him.
“I’m right behind you.”
Which meant he was going to chase down whoever threw that brick. Terrified, Roy ran up the stairs and went to the nursery. He didn’t even make it all the way in before he spotted the red box in the middle of the room. His pulse, already going a hundred miles an hour, spiked as he slowly approached it.
Carefully, as if it may be a bomb, Roy lifted the lid and screamed.
* * * *
Nexus was just about to leave the house when he heard Roy’s terror-filled scream coming from upstairs. Changing direction, he raced up the stairs and found his mate sitting on the floor with tears in his eyes. A red box was open in front of him.
Moving slowly, he crouched beside Roy. The second he reached for his mate Roy turned swiftly and hid himself against Nexus’s chest. As he soothed the terrified man, Nexus couldn’t take his eyes off the box. His stomach clenched, and he could feel his jaguar clawing to get out as the scent of blood filled the room.
“Regulus!” Iago shouted, followed by the sound of his feet pounding up the stairs. “Roy!”
“In here,” Nexus called.
“We lost the scent at the river.” Iago panted as he entered the room and bent at the waist, attempting to regain his regular breathing patterns. “I don’t recognize it either. Are you two all ri—” Iago’s question died as he finally spotted the box. “What the hell.”
Two kittens lay dead in the box, a skull rattle pinning them together. A note sat inside, against the box’s wall, soaked in the poor animals’ blood. Hastily written it boldly read I’m coming for them.
“I want Maria found,” Nexus growled. “Now!”
Iago bowed and ran from the nursery.
Nexus stood, with Roy in his arms, and carried him to their room. Every fiber of his being was screaming at him to get out there and track his demented sister down, but Roy needed him far more. His mate was shaking uncontrollably, and tears rolled in waves down his cheeks. His arms were wrapped around his stomach, his knees drawn up as much as he could get them.
“Roy,” Nexus whispered. “Minha alma, please look at me.”
Wide, haunted brown eyes met Nexus’s slowly, and he had to fight not to recoil from the emptiness he saw there.
“You said I was safe.” Roy’s voice was a whisper as he spoke. “You said our babies would be safe. She was in our house!” His voice grew quickly as his fear ebbed into hysteria. “She was in our nursery! She can get to them whenever she wants! I, we’re not safe here!”
“Yes, you are,” Nexus denied, his arms tightening on Roy, preventing him from running or doing harm to himself or others. “You are safe with me.”
“Did you not see the same thing I did?” Roy demanded. “She was in our house!”
“No, it wasn’t her,” Nexus assured him. “Iago knows Maria’s scent, and so do I. Whoever it was in our home, it was not Maria.”
“But they’re working for her, right?” Roy trembled. “Why else would you order her found?”
Guilt raced through Nexus. Roy sounded hurt, betrayed, and he could do nothing about it. If only he knew why his sister was doing all of this. Unfortunately, the private investigators he’d hired to look into it had come up empty. His future was being threatened and he was powerless to stop it and ignorant as to the reason behind all of it.
“I want to leave,” Roy announced, his voice a ghost of his previous bravado.
“What?” Nexus growled. “Why?”
“It’s not safe here anymore!” Roy shouted. “I don’t feel safe here!”
Those words cut deeper than anything his sister could ever have done to him. Nexus knew he could keep Roy safe here. The reason Maria had sent someone else to deliver a message was because she herself couldn’t get onto the land without an escort. As for the messenger, there was no way he’d ever make it off their land with Roy. Meaning, this was nothing but a cheap charade meant to scare them.
Sadly, it was working.
“Roy, you are safe here,” Nexus tried again. “Maria can’t get to you, and this message only proves that.”
“The only thing it proves is she’s fanatical!” Roy denied. “I want to leave.”
Nexus snarled, and stood. “Fine, but you’ll go to a place of my choosing.”
“Excuse me!” Roy snapped and jumped up. “You don’t get to make that decision!”
“Yes, I do,” Nexus growled. “I’ll contact Stylianos and see if he and Calisto can host us until Maria is caught. Until then, do not leave this room!”
Roy was advancing on him even as Nexus turned and left, locking the door behind him. Roy pounded on the door, screaming at him. “Let me out! Nexus! God damn you! Let me out of here!”
Pressing his forehead to the door Nexus allowed the guilt to wash over him before he thrust it away and stomped down the hall. He found Iago at the base of the stairs, Danyal coming through the door.
“Go up and watch the door,” Nexus ordered Iago. “Do not let him out.”
Iago looked conflicted, but he nodded and did as he was instructed.
“How did this happen?” Nexus demanded of Danyal as he continued to his office.
“During the confusion of adding more security, it seems someone slipped in.” Danyal bowed his head. “I take full responsibility, Regulus. Whatever punishment you deem worthy, I shall accept.”
“Stop that,” Nexus bit out. “I already have Roy angry with me. I don’t need to lose the one person I can trust above everyone else.”
“Thank you.” Danyal smirked. “What are your orders?”
“Prepare an escort, full detail.”
Danyal frowned. “What for?”
“Roy doesn’t feel safe here and is demanding to leave. I’m going to call the Imperator and see if he can put us up for now. Until we either find Maria or Roy calms down.”
“That isn’t wise,” Danyal argued. “We have the homecourt advantage here. We know the land, the house, and the roads. Moving locations now could just put you both in unneeded danger.”
“I won’t have Roy upset and in fear in our own home.” Nexus sat in his chair and buried his face in his hands. “I realize leaving now is risky, but what else can I do? He’s terrified.”
“Stand your ground and don’t give in,” Danyal demanded. “You are the Regulus. If you bow to your mate’s emotions now, what kind of leader are you showing yourself to be? Make Roy understand it’s better for you both to stay here. If need be, put him under house arrest.”
“I will not imprison him in his own home!” Nexus snarled.
“Would you rather he gets taken from you?”
Nexus growled, his chest rumbling with the deep sound as he sat glaring at his friend. He hated this entire situation! “Fine, I’ll try again to get through to him. If it doesn’t work this time though, I will allow him to go to Stylianos and Calisto’s for the night.”
“Understood.”
With that decided, Nexus stood and went back upstairs. He found Iago standing at attention in front of the door, a dark look on his face. The hyena didn’t say anything as Nexus motioned him to move aside, but he also didn’t hide his feelings about the situation. Seemed his mate’s bodyguard didn’t agree with Nexus locking him up for his own safety.
Unlocking the door, and ignoring Iago, Nexus entered the room only to quickly dodge a lamp thrown at his head. “Cease fire, Roy.”
“Why should I?” Roy seethed on the bed as Nexus entered. “What gives you the right to lock me up in here?”
“I’m just trying to protect you,” Nexus explained. He took a deep breath and delved right in, quickly, laying out why Roy needed to stay at their house, and why it was safe here.
His mate regarded him with a cold, merciless glare and shrugged. “Doesn’t matter.”
“Excuse me?”
“You locked me in here, but you didn’t take my phone from me.”
Nexus looked to the nightstand, and sure as shit, there it was. “Who did you call?”
“Calisto.”
“And?” Dread filled Nexus as he met his mate’s burning gaze.
“And he’s on your fucking side,” Roy spat. “Same fucking song and dance, encouraging me to stay put. He even suggested I cancel the class tomorrow!”
“It’s a good idea,” Nexus agreed.
“Oh no.” Roy stood and advanced on him. “If I have to be a fucking prisoner in a house I don’t feel secure in at the moment, I at least have the right to leave when I want.”
Nexus didn’t even bother pointing out that prisoners didn’t have that luxury. Something told him if he spoke up now, Roy would walk out the door immediately.
Taking a deep breath, mainly so he didn’t say something stupid, Nexus nodded. “We have a deal. If you stay here, I promise to make you feel as safe as possible, and you can continue your regular schedule.”
Roy folded his arms over his chest and regarded Nexus critically for several agonizing minutes. “Deal.” Roy held out his hand.
Nexus shook it and then pulled Roy into his arms. “I’m sorry I locked you in our room.”
“You should be,” Roy mumbled, but still cuddled against him. At least, despite everything, Roy seemed to instinctively know he was safe with Nexus no matter what. If he’d rejected him, Nexus wasn’t sure what he’d do.
Embraced together they both jumped when Roy’s phone went off. Nexus released him so he could check who it was. When he mumbled a select few curse words and rejected the call, Nexus sighed. He needed to get Roy a new number so Juaquin no longer had a way to contact him.
Chapter Eighteen
Nothing. There was zero trace of the intruder from yesterday. All they had to go on was the brick thrown through the window, and that cruel display left for them in the nursery—which had since been cleaned up by Abigail and Nora. The scent was faint, and mixed in with deer scent similar to what hunters wore and the blood from the unfortunate kittens.
The brick didn’t worry Nexus so much. It was the gift that had him stressed. Whoever could kill two helpless kittens presented a real threat to him and his family. The fact this person seemed to be after his own cubs bothered Nexus to no end.
Part of him wondered if it was in fact Maria behind it. Sure, his sister wasn’t all there in the head, but to kill defenseless animals like that? It just wasn’t her. Plus, his sister would never disguise her scent, or the scent of someone she was working with. Everything up until now said she wanted them to know it was her. From the original challenge, to the first baby rattle, to the threat—she’d always made sure she was front and center for it all. The only thing that was the same this time was the baby rattle. The note wasn’t even written in her hand.
Then there was the fact a call to José had confirmed she was still in hiding. Something else had to be going on here. Nexus just wished he knew what.
A knock on his office door had Nexus looking up to see Tyrese and Roy both standing there. “Eventful day yesterday, or so I hear.”
“I’m tired of eventful days.” Nexus pinched the bridge of his nose before motioning for Tyrese to take a seat. Roy followed him in and moved behind the desk to sit on Nexus’s lap. After last night’s fiasco, Roy was sticking close to him. Whether he was doing it consciously, Nexus wasn’t sure. He wasn’t going to complain though. The closer Roy stayed to him, the easier it was for Nexus to keep him safe, and the happier his jaguar was with all this. “Did you find anything new?”
“Does the name Lane Art mea
n anything to you?” Tyrese asked, showing Nexus a picture of a pale blond man. A pang of guilt cut deep into him as Tyrese said that name.
He didn’t need the picture. Nexus would remember that name and face for the rest of his life. The man he killed to prove to his father and alpha that he was worthy of taking the Regulus Rites. Those smoky gray eyes looking up to him as his life ebbed away still haunted his nightmares.
“What about him?” Nexus’s voice was thick, raw, as he spoke.
“It seems, whatever reasons Maria has for doing all of this, it has something to do with this man,” Tyrese explained. “The private investigator in charge of looking into her past dug up this photo from the things she’d left behind. Judging by the wear of the photo, it’s something she kept close.”
“Maria never knew Lane,” Nexus denied.
“Are you certain of this? Can you say you know every person your sister had contact with?”
“What’s so special about him?” Roy asked.
Nexus tensed. His arms tightened around his mate. “I killed him. To become Regulus.”
Roy said nothing else, only returned the embrace and kissed Nexus’s cheek.
“As for if I’m certain, no I’m not,” Nexus continued. “But, if he was important to Maria, our father would’ve never let the two of us fight. He doted on her to the point of never causing her pain in any form.”
“Even if you were both in the running for the Regulus Rites?” Tyrese pressed.
“I would’ve never knowingly fought him if he was important to my sister,” Nexus tacked on.
“Is this the theory we’re working with?” Roy sighed. “She wants revenge for a vague connection to someone Nexus killed years ago?”
“Female cats are vengeful. The stronger the female, the more adamant about getting their revenge they are. Maria, she’s about as strong as they come.”
