by Jo Penn
“Fuck, that’s hot.” Drake growled, moving in and out, dragging his thick cock across Keeley’s prostate. “Love you, my light.”
Keeley could barely make his brain return from heaven and only managed a mumbled, slurred “love ya, too” before Drake was using his ass, holding Keeley down on his desk with a big paw on the back of his head, another at his hip, tilting Keeley just right. When Drake came, it was long and loud and left Keeley a sloppy, debauched mess on top of the huge desk.
The big cat shifter was definitely all heat, dominance, and fucking awesome. He was also really caring beneath all that, cleaning Keeley up and then helping him dress, kissing and cuddling him until Keeley got his mind back on track.
“Yeah, I’ll be coming to visit you here a lot.” Keeley giggled. “So, what’s this plan you never bothered to talk with me about?”
Drake sighed. “Visit anytime, light. Guess I’ve still got a bit to learn about mateships, also. I’m used to making decisions—”
Drake was interrupted by a loud, shrill alarm. Bizarrely, what Keeley had thought was a television screen, mounted to the corner wall to the left of the desk above the windows, flashed on with Dominic’s face.
“Drake, we have a security breach, quadrant 4B. Baron says it’s the wizard after Xavier and he’s bought along a large group of Renegades.”
For a moment, Keeley was caught on the fact the Paranormal Alliance Council always branded the creatures who had banded together to try and take over not only the Council, but parliaments and ultimately the world, Renegades instead of rogues. Rogues were different, more individual, and just didn’t want to follow all the rules. They didn’t want to take over anything or anyone and just wanted to be left damn well alone, so he’d overheard before.
Renegades, however, were a well-organized group of different creatures across the world working together to take down the council and parliament. And they weren’t nice about it, either—spying, killing, maiming, treason, extortion, and any other means they could use to get their own way.
“Dammit! Where is our Avenger?”
“Vicus was called by the High Council two days ago to attend an emergency assignment. Emile became suspicious a few hours ago and discreetly checked it out. Vicus was led on a wild goose chase and suffice to say, he has dealt with the guilty parties and is on his way back. Should be here soon.”
“Right. I’ll put Keeley in the safe room and be right there.” Drake lifted Keeley onto his feet and they were on the move.
“Err, what? Shit! The wizard that’s after Xavier is here?”
“Yep, sounds like.” Drake didn’t slow down. In fact, he leaned down and slung Keeley over his shoulder and began racing through the palace, which was going into full-alert mode by the looks of it. Keeley had seen that type of behavior before.
“Hey! Put me down!”
“Nope. You’re going into the safe room. No arguments.”
“Huh! As if I’m going to argue! Sheesh, I’m not completely stupid, you big-headed tiger,” Keeley grumbled as he was set on his feet and swayed a bit from the sudden movement of standing again. Then he stomped his foot and crossed his arms over his chest. “Those Renegades would come straight for me, and it’s not like I’ve got any special magical skills, claws, talons, or fangs, and I can’t fight for shit, so a nice…err, big safe room sounds good. Any popcorn here?” Keeley stared wide-eyed around the huge room.
Drake grinned and grabbed a headset that Ryder held out. He slipped it in one ear.
“Probably. The safe room is a well-equipped underground apartment. My younger relatives and those who cannot fight are kept here. Next door are other rooms for members of the pride who don’t have a safe house or are too far away. Right, Ryder, you’re on guard duty here.” Drake leaned down and gave Keeley a swift kiss. “Stay here. Our family will protect you. Don’t try getting out or I’ll spank you.”
Spank? Hmm, they would discuss that. Keeley’s cheeks flushed at Drake’s lecherous grin.
“Wait!” Keeley wrapped his arms around Drake. “Please find Xavier. I know he can fight, I’ve seen him, he can look after himself. But he’d also sacrifice himself for others. You said you’d always have his back. But don’t get hurt, okay? Who will have your back?”
Drake tilted Keeley’s chin up, smiling in such a loving way that Keeley felt tears fill his eyes.
“Hey now, it’s going to be fine. The compound is full of shifters, well-trained ones. We fight Renegades all the time. Damn stupid move on their part to come here with a compound full of soldiers. Literally to the tigers’ den. Have some faith in me, baby. I’ll be bringing our mate back safe and sound. No heroics from either of us. Just the usual praise-worthy fighting skills and medal ceremony afterwards.”
Laughing, Keeley nodded and wiped his eyes. Drake grinned, gave him a toe-curling kiss, and was gone, a big iron door closing behind him and a few guards locking it up securely.
“He’s right, those Renegades are fucking stupid.” Ryder grinned. “Suicidal, probably. Anywho, Melody likes popcorn, and if we’re lucky, Ace has set up the monitors so we can keep an eye on the action. Hey! Marco, get your hand out of the cookie jar!”
Keeley really liked Ryder. He was cheerful and fun, and had an unsuspecting sweetness. Drake told him that, though Ryder was a good fighter, he would never go into battle or be sent out on patrols, as he was just too frigging sweet, unable to harm another. He could defend, would, but it wounded his psyche so badly that they gave him sleeping darts and a sniper rifle for his fifteenth birthday and said he would be their defender. Since then, Ryder had become the best marksman in the pride, but he still only ever used sleeping darts.
* * * *
Drake raced through the compound with a few of his personal soldiers, ready to take down these bastards and retrieve his mate, who was apparently here in the small outer village of the compound. And ready to yell at Baron over how Renegades could possibly infiltrate their security.
What he found, though, stunned him. No wonder the compound security had Renegades getting in. There were hundreds of the bastards! Drake didn’t hesitate, jumping into the fray, figuring out plans, working with the pride commanders and his brothers as he made his way through the throng of Renegades, receiving a few minor cuts and burns as he went.
All the while, he was issuing orders via his headset, taking updates and instructing the communications room to inform Milson Valley Alliance of the Renegade infiltration. The town needed to be protected, as did the creatures here at the compound, and Drake needed to find his mate.
When he got to Xavier, he wasn’t surprised to find his mate in the thick of the fighting, Emile at his back. Both had a few minor cuts and abrasions, thankfully nothing serious. Kicking out, he sent a Renegade lynx flying and used his claws to tear out the throat of a snake shifter, a slimy, hissing bastard. More compound soldiers flooded the now-battlefield, and though the Sanchez Pride was outnumbered, they had the skills, confidence, knowledge, and training to get them through. The Renegades seemed to have lost their confidence when faced with such fighters. They were probably pumped with anger and the element of surprise working for them. Now they were left to engage the enemy, who did not back down, but rather leapt in and clawed.
“We have wolves wishing to join the battle,” Emile greeted him, tapping his own earpiece.
“I never like to deprive the Starters pack of a good fight.” Drake flashed a grin and grabbed Xavier, pulling his mate close, and he got a scowl for his trouble. “Hey, gorgeous, how about you stay close to me now?”
Xavier gave him a droll look. “I’m unsure if you can keep up, babe.”
With vampire swiftness—those creatures were frigging fast—Xavier spun away and took out a little creature creeping up on them. Drake just laughed and got into the fight, dealing with vampires, magic-wielders, a gargoyle, and even an insect shifter of some kind. They were always difficult to distinguish. Knowing how rare they were, Drake pounced on the little creature and sn
arled as his body was hit by thousands of volts of electricity, which just pissed his tiger off rather than disabled him.
Snarling, he went to use a claw to slice the strange-looking collar around the shifter’s throat.
“No, wait. If you want to kill me—sure, go ahead and slice the collar off.” The shifter’s wide eyes clung to Drake. “I’m completely wired. You cut one off, it’s designed to combust and electrify me, and I’m not an immortal shifter.”
“Fuck,” Drake growled. “Electricity, right. I’m guessing you were meant to get near my mate.”
“If your mate is Lord Xavier, yes, yes, that was the plan.”
Knowing something was off, and that the little freaky-eyed shifter reeked of fear and defeat, Drake practically tossed the creature—he was just so damn small—to Emile.
“Rare insect shifter of some kind. He’s wired to combust if you cut off any of the wires, to fry my mate.”
“Indeed.” Emile flicked handcuffs onto the creature and waved over some guards. “Be sure to protect the butterfly and have him put in our detention center.”
Butterfly. Huh. Drake sniggered.
“Shut up,” the butterfly shifter grumbled as the guards laughed and called him “purrrdy.”
Vampires, like all creatures, were susceptible to some things, and extreme amounts of electricity or lightning would disable them for a brief time. With cats, it was a type of herb that slowed them down and disoriented them, and with wolves, of course, it was wolfsbane.
For the next few hours, Drake fought by Xavier’s side, protecting his mate and being protected by him. That chaffed his cat a bit, as he’d always believed it was his responsibility to take care of his mates and family. Now, though, he was beginning to see things differently. Xavier was, in fact, a brilliant, creative fighter. That didn’t mean Drake wanted his mate fighting, and he would always protect his mate, regardless of whether Xavier liked it or not.
Stacron emerged through the fighters to Drake’s right just as a group of Renegades converged on him.
“Emile! Stay close to Xavier.”
But Emile was met by another wave of Renegades, and Drake swore as his brother pulled a gun from the holster strapped around his waist and began shooting. While most creatures preferred to use their natural-born gifts, such as claws, talons, and teeth, there were times they had to resort to more technical or mechanical tools in a fight.
Drake pulled out his own guns and began shooting. All the while, he continued to move towards Xavier.
His mate, though, didn’t seem to be having any difficulty. Stacron was cocky. He had a lot of Renegades here and must have felt they were outnumbering the felines and the alliance, who’d come to their aid. As the coven leader and three others engaged Xavier, Drake roared and, no longer caring about taking prisoners, aimed for the heads of those coming at him.
Taking down creature after creature, Drake ran out of bullets with one gun, but he tossed it aside and lashed out with his claws, scoring a direct hit over a witch’s throat and taking her head off in one swipe. At the same time, he leapt to the side to avoid the claws of a vulture and kicked the creature in the head. Hard. The vulture’s head snapped back, the crack of the creature’s neck nearly drowned out by the sound of a small rocket launcher.
“Shit!” Drake had just enough time to throw himself a few meters across the field and out of the way of the missile headed straight for him.
Emile had seen the rocket launcher also and landed not far from Drake, unharmed. Neither stayed down for long and while Emile growled at the renegades and went back to fighting, Drake tore across the ground towards Xavier.
His mate seemed fine. In fact, one of the renegades with Stacron was down and didn’t look to be breathing while another was just feeling the sharp end of Xavier’s talons deep inside his chest. With a swiftness and precision that left Drake impressed and more than a little aroused, Xavier had the creature’s chest hanging open, his rib cage sliced down one side and blood pouring out. With a dismissive push of his foot, Drake’s vamp nudged the sliced and diced creature over.
Then Xavier turned to Stacron and the one remaining Renegade. The leader was furious, shouting at Xavier and ordering the Renegades to slaughter everyone, to take no prisoners.
“When I’m done with the felines, they’ll be nothing more than scorch marks on the ground!” Stacron yelled, spittle flying from his mouth. “I was going to be lenient with you, Xavier, keep you alive a little while, let you be my pet, but now you die painfully! You won’t take my coven from me, vampire, I will be the new Renegade leader! And you won’t be in the way to stop us anymore!”
In a fighting stance, Xavier lowered his head a little, his eyes glacial, his hands at his sides, and his razor talons long and lethal.
“Come and get me, Stacron.” Xavier hissed.
Enraged, Stacron snarled and leaped at Xavier at the same time the other Renegade did. Drake put on speed, but he needn’t have bothered it was over so quickly. Xavier caught both creatures with his talons, decapitating them with a simple flick of his wrists.
A big vampire roared at Drake and charged just as Drake reached Xavier. Turning to place his body in front of his mate’s and take the impact, Drake hissed when the creature dropped at his feet, a bullet hole through his eyes.
“Ooh, he was mine,” Drake whined.
Xavier smirked and holstered his gun. “I’ll let you have the next one. There appear to be creatures swarming Emile. Perhaps we should lend him a talon.”
There were indeed a great many creatures surrounding Emile. Not that his brother looked bothered. Usually Emile was the calm, analytical brother. Not much ruffled his fur unless someone got in his way or messed up one of his many organized systems. But when fighting, Emile was just like the rest of the pride and enjoyed a good skirmish.
Before they reached Emile, another creature appeared in the mix, dressed in neither the Sanchez soldier uniform nor the packs’. This creature was their Avenger and got down and nasty, leaping over three Renegades and reaching down to snap the neck of one as he did. Landing on the other side, he thrust his hand directly through a cheetah’s chest, tearing through muscle and bone and pulling out the man’s heart. The other Renegade screamed and ran off and was tackled by a soldier.
Emile cast a glare at Avenger Vicus and pointed to a spot on his pristine uniform. Drake grabbed a couple of Renegades and slammed their heads together, shattering their skulls while Xavier arrived on the other side of Emile and tossed a female fae a foot away toward a group of soldiers cuffing other Renegades.
Vicus sighed and, shaking his head, continued to the next Renegade and eliminated her.
It was a good fight. The pride and alliance tried to capture Renegades when they could, rather than slaughter them. A lot were misguided, some forced into it. Drake had a feeling the butterfly shifter—he still snickered over that—was somehow being forced into aiding the enemy. In the end, the Renegades scattered, soldiers chasing them out of the compound and trying to capture as many as possible.
There were a dozen farms that had been demolished. The little village had suffered greatly, and there had unfortunately been a few deaths, which just made Drake mad. He would push for more training of his pride members. Even the nonfighters needed self-defense. Just like they’d done with Ryder.
“Well, it appears I missed the main event.” Misha joined them looking very crisp, clean, and out of place on the now torn-apart farm fields.
“I hear that happens a lot with you Durand vamps,” Drake stirred. “What brings you by, Misha?”
“A friendly visit with my brother.” Misha smirked, the tip of a fang showing. It was a little threatening, actually. “I had a rather desperate call from Keeley, something about an iceberg.”
Drake groaned silently. Fine, fine, he would get used to the frigging annoying, crown prince of the Durand Coven, as the creature obviously loved and adored his family, and he considered Xavier and Keeley to be members of that adored family
. How could Drake fault the arrogant creature for that?
Xavier swept his dark hair back from his face, eyes so icy they should have technically been leaving frostbite. He said nothing.
Misha sighed and shot a glare at Drake, shaking his head. “You ruined him, Drakius.”
“What?” Drake spluttered, shocked.
Emile joined them, using disinfectant wet wipes to clean his hands. “What Misha is trying to say, Drake, is that you turned Xavier into a heartless vampire.”
Drake decided ignoring them was best. Reaching out, he cupped his mate’s chiseled chin in both hands and kissed those lips that he couldn’t get enough of. This may not have been the time or the place, but it was perfect, just what was needed. Holding Xavier close, his mate’s body barely responsive, Drake slowly slid down to one knee, trailing his hands over his vampire’s lithe, muscular body, feeling every groove and shallow. He lowered his head.
“I pledge my life, my love, my honor, my devotion, and my protection, all of me, my body, my heart and mind, to my mates, Xavier and Keeley. I am yours, Xavier, my star.”
There was no response for quite some time. Drake kept his head down until he felt the lightest touch over his knuckles on his left hand.
“How…touching,” Misha said with sickly disdain.
“Oh, knock it off, brother,” Xavier chided gently and, using a finger, lifted Drake’s chin. “I accept your pledge and give my own. I pledge my life, my love, my honor, my devotion and protection, all of me, my body, heart and mind, to my mates, Keeley and Drake.”
Drake smiled and then frowned and rumbled a growl.
Xavier sighed and rolled his now normal ice-blue eyes. “Fine. I am yours, Drake, my moon.”
Jumping up, he lifted Xavier up and covered his mate’s lush lips, devouring them, demanding, wanting, and needing.
“Really? Here? Now?”
Roaring in annoyance, Drake put his mate down but didn’t let Xavier go. He cast Misha the stink-eye.
