by Lynn Hagen
Victor’s jaw dropped. “You’re not gonna arrest me?”
Nick stopped and turned. It was pure coincidence, but the moon cast a glow around his frame, making the guy seem otherworldly. “Do you want to go to prison?”
“No.”
Just then Pierce’s car pulled to the curb. He got out and rounded the hood then stopped as he stared Nick down. “Get away from him,” Pierce snarled.
Nick gave Pierce a withering glare before he walked away. Victor had been holding his breath, unsure what was about to happen, and finally let it go when Nick disappeared around the corner.
“Did he hurt you?” Pierce stepped in front of Victor and looked him over.
“He…uh…invited me home.” Victor scratched his head. “He said I was safe there.”
Pierce furrowed his brows as he stared at the corner Nick had walked around. “Are you sure?”
“Lately, I’m not sure about anything,” Victor said.
“What else did he say?”
Victor told his mate about Nick’s questions and his answers, leaving nothing out. He even told Pierce about occasionally visiting his mother’s house, even after what she’d done to him and what he’d tried to do to her. The more he talked, the angrier Pierce looked. “I remember Zeeshan. I’d never met a more evil person in my life.”
“Can we just walk?” Victor didn’t want to talk about Zeeshan anymore. He was enjoying the crisp night air and didn’t want his walk to end too soon.
Pierce took his hand as they headed toward town. Victor wasn’t ashamed to admit that he’d been lonely for far too long, desperate for attention, and Pierce made him feel safe and wanted. He made Victor feel as though they could conquer the world together.
“It’s been a while since I’ve walked these streets just for the pure pleasure of it,” Pierce said. “This is nice.”
Victor was about to return the sentiment when he noticed a very tall, broad man walking toward them. It wasn’t the fact that the guy seemed intimidating that made Victor notice him. It was the fact that he was looking directly at Pierce, as though he were on a mission and that mission was Victor’s mate.
* * * *
Before Pierce could register what was going on, Victor zipped in front of him. “Stay behind me. I’ll protect you.”
Pierce stopped walking and gaped at his mate. “What the hell are you talking about?” He would’ve laughed if Victor hadn’t looked so damn serious. “What’re you gonna save me from, a frying pan, a shovel, or a beer bottle?”
“Those methods worked, didn’t they?” Victor argued as he turned to face Pierce. “And tell me you don’t notice that brute heading right for us.”
This time Pierce did laugh. “Are you talking about Malachi Lang?”
Victor frowned. “You know him?”
“He owns Lang’s Tire and Service Center over on Neville Road.” Pierce stopped when he reached Malachi and shook his hand. The guy was big and wide, and he guessed to a stranger Malachi would look scary.
“How you doin’, man?” Malachi smiled at him and then looked down at Victor. “Aren’t you a cutie?”
“This is my mate, Victor.” Pierce introduced them. “We’re just out for a nightly stroll.”
“I was trying to catch the bakery before it closed,” Malachi said. He rubbed his flat stomach as he grinned. “Got me a mean sweet tooth, and I want one of them cinnamon rolls those mates bake fresh.”
Pierce didn’t have the heart to remind Malachi that the bakery was about to close, which meant nothing in there had been baked fresh probably since this morning.
“I’ll let you get to it. I don’t want to stand between a man and his sweets.” Pierce waved as he and Victor walked away.
“He’s a bear shifter,” Victor pointed out as he glanced over his shoulder.
“No, really?” Pierce teased.
Victor narrowed his eyes as he looked at Pierce. “It’s just weird seeing a bear shifter who doesn’t belong to the LaSalle clan or the Grizzly Bastards.”
“There are shifters who live in Mercury who don’t belong to any clan, leap, den, or pack. Some like being loners, and Malachi is one of them.”
Pierce had known Malachi for years, and you couldn’t ask for a nicer bear. Though one time Pierce had seen Malachi destroy a guy when the leopard had beat up Malachi’s younger brother. There hadn’t been much left of the shifter when the bear had been done with him.
He couldn’t think of anyone, including Nick, who would go up against Malachi Lang. Okay, maybe Nick, but not many others.
Pierce pulled his phone from his pocket when it started to ring and saw that Matt was calling him. “Hello?”
“Bring Victor to the house, now.”
Red-hot anger shot through Pierce. “I’m not bringing him back there so you can—”
“It’s not about the warrant,” Matt said. “I just got word that some vampires from his coven are hunting him down. I suggest you haul ass here. I’m gonna send some men to ensure your safety. Just tell me where you are.”
Pierce scanned the streets. He didn’t see anyone, but he felt eyes on him. “I think it’s too late.” He told Matt where he was.
“Help is on the way,” Matt said before he ended the call.
* * * *
Colton had searched the club trying to find Riley so he could have a talk with the little shit, but he couldn’t find him anywhere. He pushed through the crowd of partiers and made his way to the bar.
Waving Reggie down, Colton let his gaze bounce around as he looked at the people all around him.
“What can I get for you?”
The sound of Reggie’s voice made Colton turn around. Even with as many people that were jammed up against the bar, waving their hands his way, the bartender didn’t look exhausted. He looked as though he was having the time of his life. The guy wasn’t even breaking a sweat. Did vampires sweat?
“Are you the only one who works back there?”
Reggie shook his head. “There are supposed to be two other guys, but I have no idea where they’re at.” His brows furrowed. “That’s not entirely true. I saw them head out the back with Riley and a few others.”
For some reason, Colton’s stomach shrank. “Do you know where they were going?”
Reggie stared bug-eyed at him as he spread his arms. “Do I look like I have time to run after them and ask what they’re up to? I’m swamped back here.” Reggie looked up and down the bar. “Was there something else you wanted? I’m spread thin here.”
Colton waved Reggie away. “Thanks.”
The guy didn’t answer him as he moved up and down the bar, mixing drinks, slamming beer bottles on the counter, and ringing people up. Colton could tell the vampire was restraining himself, not using his inhuman speed, although that would’ve made things a lot easier for him.
Worried about Victor, Colton sought out his mates. He hadn’t a clue where Lucian or Corbin were, but he found Antonio kicked back on one of the lounge seats, his ankles crossed, his arms spread over the back of the leather couch.
The vampire looked like a god sitting there, and if the club had been empty, Colton would’ve crawled onto his lap.
“My favorite person.” Antonio gave him a seductive smile. “Come to sit with me and enjoy the view?”
Colton looked over his shoulder and then rolled his eyes. Two guys who were dancing together looked more like they were fucking on the dance floor. They might as well have been the way one guy was grinding so hard against the other.
“Not my cup of tea.” Colton dropped down next to Antonio.
“Fucking isn’t your thing?” There was a spark of mischief in Antonio’s eyes. There was always a spark like that in his eyes. Colton was willing to bet Antonio thought about sex twenty-three hours and fifty-nine minutes a day.
“We might have a problem,” Colton said.
The spark left Antonio’s eyes as he turned and looked at Colton. “What kind of a problem?”
The Veneto broth
ers were trying to whip this coven into shape, but Colton felt as though they were losing the battle. Magnus had corrupted the vampires, some beyond redemption.
“Victor.”
Antonio knew how much Colton cared about the little mouse. Colton never hid the fact that Victor was his favorite coven member and that he hated how the others treated him.
“Go on.”
He told Antonio about what Reggie had said to him. “Do you think Riley and the others are going after Victor?”
That would be bad. No doubt Pierce was with him, and if shit got started and a wolf was involved, that could start a war. He told Antonio as much.
His mate’s features darkened. “Then let’s go find Riley.”
Colton was relieved. With a Master at his side, hopefully that would defuse the situation.
They stood and headed toward the exit. “I don’t know how many vampires are with him,” Colton said as they cleared the entrance and spilled onto the street.
Antonio no longer looked like the playful, seductive man Colton had grown to love. He looked like something that had been formed in the bowels of hell. His features were still dark, but a look had entered his eyes, and Colton knew that look all too well.
If the triplets didn’t have a rule about not killing their own kind, Riley definitely would die tonight.
Chapter Six
Victor might’ve been ready to defend Pierce against Malachi, but why, why, why when it came to Riley, did he turn into a straight-up wuss? The guy wasn’t even that big to begin with, yet every single time Victor laid eyes on him, his bones turned to jelly.
And just like always, Riley wasn’t alone. He was never alone whenever he picked on Victor. It was as though he needed a crowd to show just how evil he could be.
Instead of jumping in front of Pierce this time, Victor took a step back, ready to bolt if he had to. But Pierce moved, as if reading Victor’s mind, and half hid him from the men crossing through the park.
“We should go,” Victor whispered. “We still have time to get out of here.”
“I’m not running from that piece of shit,” Pierce snarled. “I’ll put that cocksucker over my knee and give him the spanking he should’ve gotten years ago.”
Victor rolled his eyes. He liked that his mate was big, strong, and confident, but he’d seen the things Riley had done to others, and he didn’t want his mate witnessing firsthand just how cruel the vampire could be.
He grabbed Pierce’s hand and tried to run, but damn, his mate was strong and held on tight, refusing to move as Victor pulled and pulled but couldn’t get Pierce to budge. “What’re you made of, solid bricks?”
“Just stay behind me, mouse.”
“Now’s not the time to call me that,” Victor protested. “I already feel like a scaredy-cat, and you calling me a mouse isn’t bolstering my confidence.”
Pierce looked down at him and gave Victor a soft smile that made him want to melt into goo…until Riley spoke.
“Hand Victor over and we promise to leave you alone, wolf,” Riley called when he walked closer and stopped at the curb across the street.
Pierce bared his canines, which made Victor look around, making sure no humans were on the streets. He saw some a few blocks away, but they weren’t paying them any attention.
Riley moved so fast that he caught Victor by surprise. He grabbed at Victor, yanking his arm so hard it should’ve come right out of its socket.
Victor cried in pain as he tried to free his arm. And then Pierce backhanded Riley so hard he flew backward and landed on his ass in the street.
“You’ll pay for that.” Pierce glared at Riley but didn’t move, as though afraid to leave Victor alone on the sidewalk.
Victor was glad his mate refused to leave his side, but he also wouldn’t have minded seeing Pierce beat the brakes off Riley to teach him a lesson.
Victor even tried to pull his hand free of his mate’s grip, but Pierce wasn’t having it. His fingers stayed curled around Victor as Riley pushed to his feet and wiped at his mouth, which, by the way, was bleeding.
“Are you gonna let a wolf do that to you?” one of the men with Riley asked.
Victor knew the troublemaker. His name was Todd, and he was just as cruel, if not crueler, than Riley. He looked as if he wanted to see a smackdown and didn’t really care who won, just as long as there was bloodshed.
Blake—the bully outside the bathroom at the club—was also by Riley’s side, and the sadistic bastard was grinning.
Riley ran toward them again, but this time Victor was ready for him. Victor dropped down just as Riley tried to grab him and then spun—his wrist still gripped in Pierce’s hand—and shoved his body into Riley’s. Riley slammed into the building behind them and bounced off the bricks, hitting the ground once more.
When Victor looked up at Pierce, his mate was grinning. “We really do make one hell of a team.”
Victor was so busy smiling like an idiot, pride filling him from Pierce’s compliment, that he didn’t see Riley get up. Riley slammed his fist into Victor’s stomach and sank his fangs into his shoulder, barely missing his jugular. Even so, Victor felt Riley tear out a chunk of skin as he screamed.
This time Pierce let him go. He drove his fist so hard into Riley’s head that it should’ve separated from his shoulders.
That was all Victor saw before he went down, lying on the ground in agony. He felt the warm ooze of blood spreading underneath his upper body as panic set in, and he found it hard to breathe.
The bastard had bitten him like a wild fucking dog! Victor wanted to get up and beat his ass, but the pain kept him pinned to the ground. Some warrior he was. It seemed it didn’t matter how many fights Victor had under his belt. Riley had still gotten the better of him.
He heard loud shouts, scuffling, and howls rent the air, but he couldn’t turn his head to look behind him without excruciating pain slicing through him. Victor lay there, pulling in shallow breaths as he tried his hardest not to pass out.
Pierce appeared in his line of sight. He was kneeling next to Victor. “I’ve got you.”
Victor wasn’t so sure about that. He was losing too much blood as Pierce lifted him from the ground, and the next thing he knew he was being shoved into the backseat of a car.
With every sharp turn, Victor cried out. Whoever was driving would kill him before the wound did. He was pulled from the backseat and carried into warmth.
Victor’s vision was going in and out, but he recognized Pierce’s house.
“No,” he croaked out, his throat bone-dry. The wolves wanted to put him in prison, regardless of what Nick had said. They were bounty hunters, and it was their job.
Victor felt softness under him and assumed he was either on a couch or bed. Seconds later, the scent of Pierce’s blood flooded the room. He shoved his wrist under Victor’s nose, and Victor latched on, desperate for it.
Pierce petted Victor’s hair as he drank, crooning sweet words to him. Even as out of it as he was, Victor knew to be careful how much he took. He didn’t want to drain his mate in his quest to save his own life.
When he knew he’d taken just enough not to endanger Pierce, he pulled back and licked the wound closed. The offering hadn’t been nearly enough to fully heal him, but it would have to do.
“Just rest,” Pierce said before he kissed Victor’s temple. “I need to make a few calls, but I’ll be just outside our bedroom.”
Our bedroom. Victor liked the sound of that. He licked his lips and closed his eyes, so damn tired from the blood loss. As he drifted off to sleep, he heard heated voices in the hallway, and then there was nothing.
* * * *
Colton stormed toward the gathered men and snatched Riley from the ground, baring his canines in the bastard’s face. “What the fuck have you done?”
He was seconds away from letting his claws slide free so he could plunge his hand into Riley’s chest and rip his heart out, but Antonio grabbed his arm and shook his head.
&n
bsp; “He should have a kill warrant over his head,” Colton argued as he jerked his arm free of Antonio’s grip. “Not being taken back to the coven.”
“That is our law,” Antonio said solemnly. “However much you disagree with it.”
“That’s a bullshit law.” He slammed his fist into Riley’s face before shoving him at Antonio. “He damn near killed Victor, and what, he’s gonna get a stern talking-to or some shit?”
The wolves who had come to help had taken the other vampires down but not before beating their asses. It had been a quick and brutal fight, and many weren’t without wounds, but the vampires slinked away as Colton and Antonio argued.
“We’ll finish discussing this at the coven.” Antonio’s tone told Colton to shut his mouth, but Colton was too pissed to heed the warning. He cared about Victor, and to see him lying on the ground bleeding made his stomach twist into knots.
Riley appeared dazed as Antonio gripped his arm. Colton mentally counted to ten, then twenty, to stop himself from ripping the bastard to pieces.
“Meet me in the office,” Antonio said before he used his inhuman speed to take Riley back to the club.
Colton looked over the wolves who stood there and then turned on his heel. He wasn’t a part of the pack any longer, so he didn’t feel the need to stand around and talk shop with them.
Instead, he hurried back to Black Dragon, wanting to be there when Riley faced Lucian. He passed the line of partiers waiting to get inside, walked through the vestibule, and pushed through the crowd of dancers before he finally made it to the triplets’ office.
When he stepped inside, Colton had to quickly school his features to stop his brows from shooting up and his jaw from dropping.
Riley wasn’t seated in one of the chairs. He was strapped to what looked like a cross as Lucian stood in front of him with a whip in his hand. Riley was completely naked, and there were already whip marks over his chest and legs.
Corbin gave Colton a look that told him to remain quiet. Colton moved closer to Corbin, who stood against the far wall. Antonio sat behind the desk, appearing deep in thought.
