by SA Welsh
“And that’s the river with all sorts of magic nasties waiting in there. I remember one time a salesman somehow got through when she was renewing the wards and the magic was thin—it’s amazing what those guys will do for a commission—she fed him to her pet scaly monster. After that, she made a jungle of black trees and plants that sprout up out of the ground. It moves. Then there’s the river...at least I think it’s a river. It has a current, but it doesn’t go anywhere, only around the property.”
Kyle’s brain had reached overload point. This was getting more impossible the more informed they were. “Wait a minute. Your mother has a moat?”
Logan shrugged as if that was even remotely normal when Kyle glanced at the wolf. “What can I say, she likes the classics.”
Kyle looked out of the window. He could just about make out the cluster of dark tall jungle that Logan stated Katrianna’s house resided. Like Logan described, there was a ring of dark water surrounding a thick layer of dark, dangerous looking forest. Katrianna’s house was in there.
“You’ve got to be kidding me?”
There was no way they’d be able to get through all that and defeat Katrianna before the spell killed Jay.
“I never said this was going to be easy,” Logan told them darkly.
“Fuck easy, I was just hoping for possible,” Tryst spat, face pressed against the small aeroplane window.
The landing wheels finally touched down and Kyle watched with cool detachment as Merrick drove them into a hangar and parked the plane. The journey to even get to Katrianna was going to be much harder than he’d anticipated. But he wasn’t turning back.
This was his only hope of getting Jay back so any obstacle was either going to get out of his way or be mowed down and left trampled in his wake.
Mack and Logan were filling Rogo in on the area. The black lion shifter must have come out of the cockpit when they landed, no longer being needed to serve as a co-pilot. Mack was being his usual smartass self, joking that this was one of those medieval quests that turn into a great literary classic because everyone dies at the end.
Kyle didn’t find it funny this time. It was too close to the bone.
“If you don’t want to come, stay here,” he said harshly, getting up and grabbing one of the backpacks of provisions that had been in the truck with Rogo. He needed to get out of here.
Silence was his only answer as he made his way to the exit and popped the door. He shoved the heavy flap open and jumped out without waiting for the airport attendants to bring over the small staircase to disembark.
He was standing outside, dragging in air like a drowning man when Tryst joined him. “That was a pretty shitty thing to say, Kyle.”
Kyle’s breath escaped him in a sigh. “I know. I’m sorry.”
“It’s not me you have to apologise to. Mack didn’t mean anything by it, he’s just scared. We all are. We’re scared of dying in some horrible, painful way—we’ve felt what that bitch’s green smoke does to people, Kyle—and we’re even more scared that we might fail and Jay...”
Tryst didn’t have to say anything else. And Kyle was thankful the beta didn’t.
“I know.” He couldn’t say anything else. Kyle knew all of that.
There was a hell of a lot of guilt attached to that knowledge though. Was he doing the right thing, dragging everyone out here when he couldn’t offer them a way back? Sure they had all volunteered, but did that make it okay?
Another fissure of guilt festered in his mind as he wondered if he’d been so focused on helping Nikko, being strong for his parents and for Kane that he’d closed off the bond between him and Jay that should have warned him about Jay being in trouble when Katrianna attacked.
“We know what we signed up for. Just because you’re juiced up and going loco doesn’t mean you’re on your own. It’s you, me and Mack against the world, remember?”
“I remember.” Kyle could really do with a hug, but even the thought of it ruffled his jaguar’s fur the wrong way.
Tryst touched his shoulder briefly.
It was as close as they could get safely while his new alpha powers were still up in the air. Surprisingly, no one had quizzed him on the plane about them, in fact that topic appeared to be being avoided rather avidly. He guessed they’d all steered clear after the way he’d almost gone after Logan in the truck.
Kyle didn’t have to turn around to know the others were getting off the plane. A three hundred and sixty degree awareness was always a good thing for a cat to have but since waking up and being enveloped in the bond there was a new level of ease around him he couldn’t explain. He still felt as if he were on a crates worth of energy drink and a bag of sugar but something was different.
“I dreamed of him,” he said quietly, not sure why he was telling Tryst this.
He was scared telling someone would make it not real.
Kyle touched the bite on his neck again, reaffirming that he wasn’t going crazy, that Jay did come to him in a dream but that it was still real.
“Was that after you passed out on the plane because of your senses being all out of whack?”
Kyle shot a surprised look at Tryst. “I may play the fool but I’m still a beta. It’s my job to know what’s wrong with my alpha. We didn’t know how to help, you didn’t want us to before, but we cleaned you up after you were out. You said Jay’s name once so we didn’t try and wake you.”
All traces of humour were gone and Kyle could see his beta was deadly serious.
“You did?” He’d wondered about that, there was no trace of the blood from his nosebleed.
Tryst nodded. “What kind of dream was it?”
“None of your business,” he rumbled, swatting Tryst when the beta grinned and made a girly ooooo sound. Another part of what Tryst said struck him. “Why didn’t you try and wake me after?”
The beta shrugged, blowing a stray strand of red hair out of his way.
Usually Tryst kept his hair short and trimmed, but with everything going on he’d obviously not had a chance and there was nothing that annoyed his beta more than long hair getting in his eyes. One time it had gotten too long while they were on a camping trip and the leopard had taken a hunting knife to the strands.
“Me and Mack figured that Jay might be talking to you.” Tryst’s eyes focused on his but his jaguar didn’t take it as a challenge and ended up looking like that creepy Chucky doll.
Kyle’s head snapped back. How did they know?
“With all the fucked up things that are happening lately, Jay’s managed to do some spectacular and terrifying things when he wanted to. And he’s never wanted anything as bad as he wants you.”
The bite mark under Kyle’s fingers was proof of that and he smiled smugly, for a minute remembering what they’d been doing in the dream.
“Yeah, yeah. Don’t get gooey on me,” Tryst groused dramatically flicking another piece of hair off his face.
Mack’s scent got stronger as Kyle heard four sets of footsteps coming toward him.
Kyle dropped his hand from his neck. All he wanted to do was keep touching Jay’s bite but he couldn’t concentrate when he did. And he owed Mack his full attention when he apologised.
His other beta drew up short a few feet away, looking uncertain as to whether he would be welcomed. It hit Kyle like a brick to the stomach. His betas were his best friends. Like Tryst had said, them against the world.
“Mack, I’m sorry. I know you’re with me. If not for you and Tryst I’d never have gotten this far.” He wanted to haul the leopard into a hug, Mack was the more tactile of the bunch and seeing him standing there, a backpack at his feet looking all alone and like a chastised puppy, Kyle knew his words wouldn’t be enough. “C’mere,” he grouched.
He kept a hand on the bite mark and hoped it would work to calm his cat as he hugged his friend.
Mack released a relieved sigh and walked straight to him, taking deep breaths of his scent. It was an animal thing. Mack and his leopard needed to
feel grounded.
Mack’s leopard had always been less self-assured than Tryst, which if someone were in a room with the two of them for any length of time would never believe. Kyle had known them all his life, though. The masks they all wore for the outside world didn’t work with each other. They’d seen him at his best and mostly his worst, but stuck by him and he’d done the same with them.
“Oh, never mind me. I just flew the damn plane,” Merrick bitched, shoving his way past with a grunt.
Kyle and Mack pulled apart and he rolled his eyes as the beta reverted back to the goofy idiot. “You want a cwtch, Merry?”
“God no,” the lynx shot back.
It didn’t faze Mack though, as the man poked his tongue out and pulled faces behind the lynx’s back.
“You’re an idiot.” Kyle smiled to soften his insult.
Mack grinned and wagged a finger at him. “Ahh, but you made me your beta. So who’s the idiot now, mister big bad alpha?”
There was no reasoning with him. Kyle turned away, smothering the smile that tugged at the corner of his mouth. It would only encourage Mack. And to be honest, Mack did have a point. Several well-meaning people in the pack had come to him to try and dissuade him from naming his two best friends as his betas.
Only his parents hadn’t protested or tried to change his mind by suggesting other, more experienced shifters. They understood that he needed people he could totally and completely rely on. Who better than someone who already knew all your secrets and you knew all theirs?
Rogo stood silent and stoic a few feet away, taking everything in. As far as Kyle knew the shifter had always lived in a pack surrounded by mountains and forestry. Perhaps Rogo hadn’t been to a city before?
“Are you okay, Rogo?” Kyle hadn’t been convinced taking Rogo with them was the best idea, but the lion shifter hadn’t given him a reason to be sorry yet. So he’d try to keep an open mind.
Rogo used to intimidate him, being so big and obviously strong, but Kyle frowned as he realised the shifter didn’t bother him in that way now. His jaguar was certain they were stronger. Interesting.
He was well aware part of his dislike of the shifter stemmed from Jay’s reaction to the man the first time they met in Alpha Maddox’s territory. It was the only time apart from Logan that Jay had reacted to another male. Logan could be explained away because of the attraction charm the wolf was cursed with. And it would be hypocritical to be mad about Jay finding Logan attractive when Kyle had had a crush on the wolf as well when he was younger.
“Are you okay?” Kyle repeated the question when Rogo looked confused.
“I am fine,” Rogo replied formally, only sparing him an obligatory glance.
There was something off. Kyle couldn’t pinpoint it, but something in the lion’s body language was advertising Rogo’s unease. It didn’t feel aggressive or threatening, his jaguar would have felt it if that was the case.
Kyle nodded and moved back to his betas and Logan, casually keeping an eye on the lion. Rogo suddenly went tense as a board, eyes locking onto something and turning gold. Kyle followed Rogo’s gaze. Merrick came striding back toward them, grumbling about money grabbing idiots.
Why would...? Kyle’s eyes flew wide as his nose picked up on the scent of Rogo’s arousal. A quick look back at Rogo confirmed the lion was indeed aroused.
Rogo caught him looking, but dismissed him and returned to watching Merrick with that intense, hungry stare.
He looked away, knowing he was blushing.
Merrick seemed to either be completely unaware or ignoring the whole thing. Tryst caught his eye, casting a questioning look at Rogo before coming back to Kyle. “What’s that about?” Tryst’s voice was too quiet for anyone else to hear but Kyle wasn’t going near that subject. It was just too weird, anyone finding Merrick attractive.
Merrick was, well...an ass.
Sure the shifter had good genes, Jay had them, too, with the blond hair and blue eyes, but that was where it stopped. The scowl Merrick constantly wore didn’t make a great first impression and when the man opened his mouth things went from bad to worse. Rogo being fascinated with Merrick was kind of like someone lusting after the bogey monster.
Kyle shuddered and pushed the thought away.
He motioned everyone together so he didn’t have to talk so loud. “How are we going to get out of the city?” Now that Kyle had seen what lay ahead of them he was rethinking the original plan to simply run and attack. They’d need to move quickly while not being obvious.
Logan’s eyebrows lowered as the wolf looked confused. “A cab?”
The wolf may be one of his father’s best trackers, but strategy clearly wasn’t his strong suit. Before Kyle knew just how far Katrianna’s reach extended he wasn’t going to risk losing the element of surprise.
Kyle was about to explain it, but Tryst jumped in, face serious and focused.
“We can’t, if she thinks we’re coming after her, she’ll have people watching transport links in and out of the city. She might not know about the plane because she doesn’t know about Merrick. So I think he should go and buy a local’s car, or maybe we should borrow a shop’s loading van since that will be big enough to carry us all and hide in plain sight.” Tryst gestured with his hands as he spoke, emphasising his point.
“How did you come up with that?” Merrick shot a glare at Tryst that clearly said he doubted Tryst could ever have come up with that plan on his own.
“Every evil witch in films has minions,” Tryst asserted giving Merrick a look that said it was obvious.
Kyle shook his head, avoiding looking at Merrick. If he did, he’d laugh and he didn’t have time to soothe egos. It was clear that Jay’s uncle thought they were all morons. Since they couldn’t hurt Merrick, his betas seemed to take great joy in making the man want to pull his hair out in frustration. Kyle couldn’t lie. It was damn funny to watch.
No matter what the shifter wrote in a letter, or what Jay said, Kyle didn’t trust the man. Not even after the lynx took a beating from him to make a point to the shifter community that Jay was protecting.
Logan suddenly jerked back. “Uhhh, not to alarm anyone, but I think we’re being watched.” The wolf immediately began sniffing the air, trying to get a location.
Kyle’s jaguar rose without him having to reach for it and searched with their new senses. The heartbeat of his friends distracted him for a minute as his vision flashed and he got an impression of their bodies like sonar. That was new. He pushed the distraction aside and pinpointed the next nearest heartbeat.
“Behind the luggage buggy.”
Kyle discreetly wiped away the small wetness under his nose before anyone noticed and smothered the flame of power he’d raised. The strain of keeping the new alpha powers contained was taking its toll on his body. Who knew what kind of damage it was doing to him inside.
Logan growled next to him. It wasn’t challenging, just annoyed. No doubt the wolf was used to being the first one to know things like that. Logan was a tracker after all.
Mack shot in that direction, leaping over the cart and trailers.
Seconds later there was a yelp and sounds of a scuffle, but Kyle knew Mack could handle it. It was probably some human photographer hoping to get a snap up an actress’s skirt after hearing there was a plane coming in off schedule. Some members of the press were like cockroaches that just wouldn’t die.
A thin blond man stumbled into view, Mack just behind him, shoving the man over to them. Rogo tensed, though made no move to help the man up when he tripped. Mack growled low and continuously, scaring the human. The man crab-walked on his hands away from Mack, pleading for them to just let him go. There was no sign of a camera.
Not a paparazzo then.
Tryst came up to his side and he sensed Merrick stepping back to blend in with the shadows. As soon as Kyle could no longer see the lynx, the man’s scent disappeared, all traces of it vanishing as if Merrick were never here.
Narrowing his
eyes, Kyle made a note to self to research that nifty little trick when he was home. Jay’s uncle had a lot of secrets.
Rogo backed away as well, leaving Kyle and Tryst to deal with the human. Kyle didn’t miss the concerned squint the lion shot toward where Merrick had disappeared, however.
He drew himself up to his full height, tensing his chest and arm muscles to appear even bigger as he walked closer to the human towering over him. Kyle stared at him for a moment, waiting for the male to look away from Mack and realise the real threat was behind him.
Kyle knew the second the human felt his presence. The man squeaked and flipped around, cowering on the floor. “Why are you watching us?”
Kyle didn’t like scaring people but they didn’t have time to win the man’s trust so he would be entirely honest. Fear was the next best motivator. No matter how much he hated putting that look of terror in someone’s eyes, he didn’t have the luxury of sitting down and having a leisurely chat.
“I-I-I wasn’t,” the human forced out between trembling lips. The scent of the lie tickled Kyle’s nose. Otherwise the human smelled relatively good.
He gave the human an assessing glance, noting the tight black clothes, the watery big blue eyes and the way the man bit his lip. None of it had any affect on him, but his jaguar was taking an interest. There was something important here.
Trying to look at this from an objective perspective he tried to put his finger on what was bothering him.
It could be a coincidence that the man shared some physical attributes with Jay, right down to the nervous stutter. More likely it was a trap. If this was one of Katrianna’s followers then they couldn’t let him go and warn her.
On the other hand if the human was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time then it was unlikely he would keep quiet about it if they let him go.
“Why were you watching us?” He tried one more time to get the truth from the human.
“I wasn’t, I was waiting to unload the plane like I’m supposed to. I’m airport staff.” The lie rolled smoothly off the human’s tongue, but the worry and fear in the man’s eyes gave him away as well as his scent.
