by T. S. Joyce
Higher and higher they rose. In horror, she looked down at the ground just in time to see Nox with a dart gun, unleashing hell in their direction as Torren blasted his fists against the crowd, covering Nox’s back and buying him precious seconds. Pain pricked her back in two spots, and as she lost her grip on the dragon, she shrieked. Her breath was stolen as she fell from the sky and back to earth, and she wasn’t coming alone. A single red-feathered dart was stuck in Vyr’s neck, right where he was missing a scale. Nox had damn good aim. When Vyr roared, he blistered her skin with the heat of his fire as he sprayed it across the woods and fell with her.
Even if she survived the fall, she wouldn’t live through Vyr crushing her body under his monstrous weight. And because she knew it was the end, and because she wanted to be brave, she yelled out, “Torren, I’m sorry!” and hoped to God he understood. Sorry she couldn’t save his friend, sorry she couldn’t save herself, sorry his life would be darker because she hadn’t been enough. She was sorry she hadn’t saved him because now HavoK would drive them into the ground to cope.
Just before impact, she flinched in on herself and closed her eyes, but she didn’t hit like she’d expected to. She was blasted from the side and went sailing through the air so fast her breath was sucked from her lungs. Torren’s strong arms were around her. He did his best to shield her from the impact with his body when they hit the earth.
Vyr nearly slammed a wing onto them, but lifted at the last second, and as he shattered inward, jerking and twitching as he shrank, he arched his long neck back and spewed fire into the air with a deafening screech. Smaller and smaller he became until the dragon roar became a man’s scream. Vyr fell to his knees in the snow, arms out, body flexed, wings retracting into his body as he stared at the sky with gritted teeth.
“Can you walk?” Torren asked in a rush.
“Y-yes.” She hoped she could at least.
“Good girl.” Torren righted her quickly and pulled her by the hand.
Too fast because she stumbled. Her body wasn’t working right, and she retched. Maybe it was the darts in her back. She couldn’t even feel her tiger right now. She felt completely empty. It was terrifying being so alone in this body for the first time in her life.
Torren didn’t stop running until they stood in front of Vyr. And then Nox and Nevada were here, blocking their alpha from the weapons that were trained on him, and from whatever hid in the woods that Butte had organized to end the Red Dragon.
The clearing was eerily silent as officers stood in clusters, faces confused, eyes flickering to each other, and then back to the crew, weapons trained on them.
Butte was Changed back and wore a pair of black cargo pants. He looked furious and was saying something low into the radio on his shoulder.
“Vyr Daye, you’re under arrest for the destruction you caused in Covington,” he called, making his way toward them. “And for the destruction of two police cruisers today.”
“Fuck you, Butte,” Torren spat.
“Torren,” Vyr rumbled. “It’s fine. I’m ready. You’ll take Alpha while I’m away.” He arched his attention to Candace. “You. Welcome to the Sons of Beasts Crew. You have a job to do, and don’t forget it for a second while I’m gone. Keep. Torren. Steady.”
Candace blinked back burning tears. It was a confusing moment. She’d just been welcomed to the crew by her alpha, but he was about to leave and cripple them. And she was worried about him. “I don’t think you should go alone,” she murmured. “They just had a plan in place to kill you, Vyr. You can’t trust them to get you to the shifter prison alive.”
“No, I can’t.” Vyr stood slowly and winced like his body hurt. “But I can trust him to escort me there safely.” He flicked his fingers at an approaching black SUV that was picking its way through the chaos. As it pulled around, the back window rolled down Damon Daye sat somberly in the back.
“Aw fuck,” Butte muttered when he looked in that direction. He leaned over to the radio on his shoulder and murmured, “Abort mission and back way off. The Blue Dragon just got here. I repeat, abort all plans.”
“Sorry, Sheriff Butts,” Nox said, resting his hands on his hips. “If you fuck with Damon’s kid, he’ll snuff your entire family out of existence. If I was you, and I would hate to be you because your name is Hanky Panky and your polar bear is hideous, I would make sure Vyr gets where he’s going in one piece. I mean if you like breathing and all.”
Sheriff Butte handcuffed Vyr roughly and shoved him toward one of the remaining cruisers.
“Alpha,” Torren called. “What’s our play?”
“No play,” he called over his shoulder. “You’re alpha now. Keep the crew intact. Try not to fuck up too much. Wait for me. One year and I’ll be back.” He tossed Torren a look over his shoulder that Candace couldn’t read, but a thousand things seemed to pass between them in a matter of moments before he was shoved roughly into the back of a police cruiser.
“Candace Sumner,” Damon Daye called to her formally. He had silver dragon eyes like Vyr, but dark hair gone gray at the temples. He was striking as a man and emulated pure confidence when he spoke. “You did more than you realize. Your late-father’s medical debts will be paid by the end of the day. Torren, I’ve made a donation to your sister. Her surgery is now covered with the help of all the crews. Use the money you’ve been saving to make something of yourself. You heard Vyr. You’re alpha until he comes home.” He gave a slight, sad smile. “Fix up the sawmill. Give your dad some competition.” Damon dipped his chin in a sign of respect and then rolled up the window.
The police cruisers, news team, and Damon’s SUV trickled out of the clearing and into the woods.
In silence, the busted-up crew stood there watching everyone leave. Candace was cold and numb, shaking from head to toe. Was this what complete shock felt like?
“What about me?” Nox asked.
“What do you mean?” Torren said in an exhausted voice.
“Well, Damon’s out here granting wishes like a damn dragon-genie, you got hearing for your sister, Candace got all her debt paid off, and what am I? Chopped liver?”
Torren’s sigh tapered into a frustrated growl.
“Yeah, yeah,” Nox muttered, draping his arm over Nevada’s shoulder. “I already know what you’re going to say.” He dropped his voice low and mimicked Torren. “We just lost our alpha and you want to talk about why you didn’t get some life-changing gift.” Nox snorted and spun him and Nevada to head back toward the house.
“Where are you going?” Torren asked suspiciously.
Nox tossed the Manners & Shit book behind him, which landed in the snow near Candace’s feet.
“I’m gonna go plan a jailbreak. Even though no one will admit it yet, I’m the MVP of this stupid crew. Our alpha can’t rot in shifter prison for a year without his crew. He’ll go nuts and burn the world to the ground. Are you coming or not? I’m hungry for pasta and have devious deeds to plan. I need like seven beers. Today sucked balls. Speaking of sucking balls…” Nox’s voice became too hard to hear as he and Nevada made their way into the house, leaving Torren and Candace to stare after him dumbly.
Well…okay then.
Devious deeds and jailbreaks.
No one had ever accused them of being the good boys of Damon’s Mountains. And now they sure as hell weren’t the good boys of Vyr’s Mountains.
Chapter Thirteen
The lobby was full of shifters. The walls and tiles on the floor were the same sterile white, and every air molecule in this room was so saturated with dominance, Candace couldn’t breathe. And from the looks on the faces of some of the other inhabitants from Damon’s Mountains, they were feeling the heaviness, too.
Two months since Vyr had gone into the shifter prison.
Two months since the crew had been rocked to the core.
Two months since Torren had started doubling his effort to stay stable.
Two months since her mate had begun allowing only one Change a da
y.
Two months since they’d gone over everything Nox had been able to track down about the shifter prison and realized it was impenetrable.
Two months since they’d had to accept that their alpha had to stay the year.
Two months since Damon Daye had followed through on his promise to pay off her father’s debts.
Two months since she’d quit Jem’s and gotten a job bagging groceries at Essie’s Pantry.
Two months since she and Torren had begun saving money to fix up the sawmill.
Two months that felt like an eternity without Vyr around. Every one of the Sons of Beasts felt the loss. Felt the absence. Felt the hole in the crew. Even Candace’s tiger was harder to manage.
Two months since Torren had devoted himself completely to keeping her happy, and also Nox and Nevada, because he was determined to keep the crew together. He was now alpha until Vyr came back home and took the crown again.
Two months, and Damon Daye had paid for the rest of Genevieve’s cochlear implant surgery.
This had been the day they’d waited for.
Candace was pacing, her tiger restless around all these unfamiliar shifters.
“Everything is gonna be okay,” Torren’s father murmured with a kind smile. His leg shook in quick succession as he sat in the chair between his mate, Layla, and Torren. “No one will hurt you here. Everyone knows what you did for Vyr. For Torren, too.”
She huffed a laugh and shook her head. “I don’t think I’ll ever get that day out of my head. Most days I still wish he would’ve run. I pulled my alpha back to earth and asked the crew to stifle his dragon. I took away his weapons.”
“To save him. You did a brave thing for your crew.” Kong’s chocolate brown eyes were soft and understanding. They were the same color as Torren’s now that he had more control over HavoK.
Would Vyr see her betrayal as a good thing, though? She thought not. Every second he spent in that place, she couldn’t help but feel it was partly her fault, no matter how much Torren comforted her.
“Come here,” Torren murmured, reaching for her from his chair. He hooked a finger in the belt loop of her jeans and tugged her gently toward him.
She gave in and sank onto his lap. They didn’t say anything. He just slid his hand up to her neck and gripped the back. He’d learned that was her button. That was what made her feel safe, his firm grip on her, holding her steady. Her cat purred softly, and a slow smile took Torren’s lips. He loved having this effect on her. She could tell. He pulled her against his chest and sipped her lips, then rested his forehead onto hers and said, “Today is a good day. One we’ve looked forward to. You’re okay. I’m okay. Nox and Nevada?” he asked, jerking his chin to where they sat cuddled against the wall near them. “They’re okay, too. Vyr is gonna be all right. He’s stronger than anyone I know, and he’s going to come back to us, and we won’t ever have to look over our shoulders ever again.”
“Swear?” she murmured.
“You trust me?”
She nodded and gripped his wrist to keep his grip on the back of her neck.
“I swear. I’m going to make sure everything is okay.”
Strong man. Capable man. He was telling the truth. She could tell from his tone he absolutely believed that he was going to get this crew exactly where it needed to be.
The crowed ramped up their mumbling, and she turned to see a nurse cut through the crowd. She read from a clipboard. “Greyson, the Red Havoc Crew, Kong, Layla, Torren, and Candace. She’s ready. Come with me, please.”
Candace’s heart banged against her chest as they all stood. Greyson was Genevieve’s mate and had been sitting silently beside Torren. When the boys stood, Torren gripped his hand and pulled him into a rough hug, hand on the back of his head as he murmured something near Greyson’s ear. They both clapped each other on the back and turned to follow the nurse. Torren slid his hand around Candace’s and led her past the wall where Nox and Nevada were sitting.
Torren and Candace reached out their hands, and Nox and Nevada squeezed them. Touch had become important lately. It made those strained bonds feel better. They didn’t say anything— they were just there. Candace smiled at them and gave a little wave as Torren pulled her toward the hallway behind the others.
The room was a good size, but it was still crowded with Genevieve’s mate, crew, and family. She was sitting in a chair against the back wall next to a technician. She wore a red sweater dress and new boots. She and Candace had grown close over text the last couple of months leading up to today, and Genevieve had told her last night she wanted to dress up for her first day of hearing. Candace had matched her and wore a similar dress and boots. Red for Red Havoc. Genevieve waved Torren and Greyson closer, and Candace watched proudly as Torren knelt beside her, eyes trained on his sister.
The technician signed something to Genevieve who responded with something quick, then nodded.
“She’ll hear a beep first,” the technician explained to the room.
Everyone went silent, attention on Genevieve, who looked so nervous now. Candace wanted to hug her up and tell her it was all going to be okay, but what if the surgery hadn’t worked? Or what if the implant malfunctioned? She understood her nervousness.
Genevieve stared off into space and held up her hand, went tense, and then jerked her gaze to Greyson’s who was kneeling right in front of her. He was a big dominant panther shifter, alpha of Red Havoc, and he was kneeling before his mate like Torren often did to Candace.
He squeezed her thighs when he said, “Gen…I love you.”
Genevieve clapped her hand over her mouth and tears welled up in her eyes. “I hear you,” she said, still a bit thick as if she had cotton in her mouth, but at a soft volume. “I hear you,” she repeated, tears streaming down her face. “And I hear me.” She cupped Greyson’s face. “Again.”
“I love you,” Greyson said, his voice breaking on the last word.
She slipped her arms around his neck and hugged him so tight, and her shoulders shook with her crying. Suddenly she jerked back and pointed to Torren. “You!”
“Hey, little monkey,” Torren said, his voice full of emotion.
“Aaah!” Genevieve cried. “That’s me.” She signed it as she said it and then laughed as her cheeks turned red.
There wasn’t a dry eye in the room as the others spoke to her one by one. Even tough, brawling, dominant Torren sat against the wall and dashed his damp cheek on his shoulder. He blew out a shaky breath as he looked across the room at Candace, his brown eyes full of emotion. And she could feel his relief from here. He’d waited all Genevieve’s life for this and had wanted so badly for her to have this moment, and now it was really happening.
People were crowding Genevieve now, talking over each other in excitement, and she was laughing, searching faces in trying to keep up. Torren stood. He made his way out of the crowd to Candace. He pulled her against him and just hugged her like he needed her arms around him. His heart was beating like a bass drum against her cheek.
“I feel like I have everything now,” he murmured. “Thank you for getting me here.”
“You did the work, Torren.”
“Mmm,” he rumbled, the sound vibrating from his chest. “You gave me purpose, kept me from breaking. You stood in HavoK’s path and asked him for time. You made the man in me stronger, and the silverback in me more patient. Don’t downplay your role in my life, Candace. You got me here. I’m damn proud that you’re mine.”
And in that moment, she knew no matter what, they were going to be okay. No matter what the future held, they could accomplish big things together. She and Torren, Nox and Nevada, and someday Vyr.
Two months ago, she’d fallen into a crew of wild-hearted shifters. A bear, a fox, a gorilla, a tiger…a dragon. She would’ve never in a million years imagined her life ending up here. But that was the beauty of it—the unknown. How incredible she’d gone to her knees with her dad’s death and had to hurt her pride to work a job that made h
er feel less-than. But what a turnaround when Torren had come into her life.
New job and a crew that, even though completely dysfunctional, loved her. Had her back. Protected her heart. A mate who was the perfect match for her. Someday, Torren’s prediction would come true.
Everything was going to be okay.
Better than okay.
She was part of the Sons of Beasts Crew, and they didn’t back down, and they didn’t quit.
She was friend to Nevada, whom she’d come to adore.
She was new sister to Genevieve, and new daughter to Kong and Layla.
She was the mate of a man who treated her like his queen.
Two months since her whole life began to turn around for the better because Torren had believed in her worth and showed her she was valuable.
Two months since Torren had accepted every single thing about her and reminded her that even her broken pieces were beautiful.
Two months since she’d joined the crew and changed her stars.
And in another ten months, if they worked hard enough and took care of each other, the Sons of Beasts would be whole again.
Epilogue
Torren frowned at the package in the middle of the back-porch table. It was addressed to the Remainder of the Sons of Beasts Crew but had no return address.
The handwriting was familiar, but he couldn’t place it.
“Here,” Nox announced, plopping a plate of bratwursts on the table, “snack time.”
Candace giggled clear as a bell beside him and cuddled deeper into the blanket she’d thrown around her shoulders when Torren had called the early-morning crew meeting. She was sitting in her favorite duct-taped pink plastic chair right next to him. “I meant breakfast food or fruit or something,” she said.
“Oh, yeah, you’re going to have to clarify next time,” Nox said, biting into a cooked sausage. Around the giant bite of food, he explained, “I don’t get hints, and mind-reading is Vyr’s gig.”
“I like sausage,” Nevada said helpfully as she reached for one.
