by JL Madore
“What about next time?” Austin asked. “Is there any way you or Phoenix can safeguard them against magical foul play going forward?”
“Like the spell you put on Jack,” Ronnie suggested.
Austin nodded. “Is that possible?”
Storme thought about it. “There’s a big difference between laying one magical spell to counter one thing—in Jack’s case, an untimely death—and finding a way to counter endless magical attacks on eight different men in any given location or situation. A protection spell like that would need to be tailored to the person and account for every possible combination of magical assaults.”
“So, is that a no?” Ronnie asked.
Storme sighed. “Not a no. I just can’t imagine how I could do it. Sorry.”
“That’s all right, Storme,” Cassi said, gathering a fussing baby Zane from the playpen. “I think we’d all like to think that we could help them in some way.”
She nodded, looking around the room at each of them. In her mind, she started sorting through logistics. Making Colt’s ring to banish Avestaexa taught her a lot about amulet magic.
Neima powered that with the sacrifice of her own life. They weren’t thinking anything so drastic. Still, how many did she have? Her, Austin, Cassi, Ronnie, Thea, Layne, Scarlett—seven—not enough.
“What are you counting?” Ronnie said, staring at her.
“I’ve got an idea. Not a spell, per se, but what if we could make them amulets or rings or something? Something we could tailor here that they could each wear when facing the evils of their world. Like Colt’s ring.”
“Could it protect them from witchcraft?” Ronnie asked.
“Maybe, or at least make them less susceptible to it.”
“You can do that?” Austin asked.
She shook her head. “Not on my own. For something as detailed as that, I’d need the power of a full coven. That means I’d need help from all of you.”
“Witches bitches!” Ronnie said, looking excited. “I’m in.”
Storme laughed. “We’d need at least two more to make it three times three. Nine would be our minimum. Twelve would be better.”
“Maybe Ren,” Austin suggested. “I know she just got here, but I have a sneaky suspicion she’ll fit right in with the Nephilim Wives Club.”
“Yeah?” Ronnie asked, her focus suddenly shifting.
Austin smiled. “Oh, yeah. I have it on the highest authority that Hark is being taken off the market.”
“Nice,” Storme said. “Okay, yeah, we can ask her.”
“I could ask Jhaia,” Layne said.
“What about the Queens?” Ronnie added.
“Oh, that would fun,” Austin said, laughing.
“Maybe too much fun,” Storme said. “Oh, but maybe Pyper.” She remembered the ripple of power she got off Wilder’s girlfriend at the hotel opening. She wasn’t sure where in the Otherworld that woman fit, but there was something about her for sure.
“Jules would come,” Ronnie added.
Storme nodded. “Okay, let’s make some calls and find out who’s available on short notice. I’ll figure out the place and what we’ll need. Tonight, when the men leave for patrol, we’ll hold our first circle and go from there.”
“They won’t want us getting involved.” Thea threw a receiving blanket over her shoulder and lifted Zane to feed him. “They like us insulated from the ugliness of their world.”
Storme shrugged. “I needed to set up somewhere at some point anyway. So, we don’t say anything until there’s something to say. They have plenty of secrets from us. We ladies can have hobbies, can’t we?”
Austin snorted. “I’ve never seen Witchcraft Amulets 101 in any community hobby schedules.”
“That’s because it’s under craft, not hobby,” Ronnie said with a smile. “DIY Witchcraft with Friends.”
Storme laughed with the rest of them. This might work.
The energy in the room had tripled, and Storme understood their excitement. When your husband went out every night and faced dangers unimaginable, when he came home stabbed and covered in black blood, when he couldn’t unburden himself of the horrors of taking tainted souls into his body because he didn’t want you to suffer, it made you feel powerless.
They were all in the same boat.
Rough, male voices sounded down the hall as the warriors broke from their post-mortem meeting. She pressed a finger to her lips, and all the wives did the same. The pact was set.
Tonight would be an adventure, if nothing else.
These women were the best.
Hark followed the flow of men down the hall. That gathering of the minds was an utter waste of time. Tempers ran too high to get anything constructive done. Bo and Phoenix were pissed at Tanek for sending their wives into the field. Danel was annoyed too, though he was keeping it in check. Tanek was pissed right back. Zander was pissed they’d been taken down and was awaiting the Archangel ass whooping. And every one of them were pissed at him.
Oh, the glamorous life he led.
When they reached the entranceway to the kitchen, he expected the men to break off and continue upstairs. Usually, they showered and dressed after patrol before coming to the table. This morning, they were too fed up.
Dirt wasn’t as unpalatable as black ichor and gray matter.
“Come sit, boys,” Austin said, passing the platter of fruit to Ronnie to set on the table. “Fill your bellies, and then we’re all going to take it easy for today.”
Hark searched the faces of the women, his frustration momentarily forgotten. She wasn’t there. Why hadn’t Ren come down for breakfast? Was she still there? Had they left her out?
The growl that rumbled from his chest seemed to surprise everyone as much as it did him. His female being overlooked brought his beast raging to the fore. “Where is Ren?”
Austin smiled. “I’m getting a tray ready to take up. I expect she’s feeling a little overwhelmed, and thought a quiet breakfast might be nice on her first day here.”
When she moved to finish, Zander hugged her tighter to his chest and laid his cheek across the top of her head. Closing his eyes, he seemed to be content to simply stand there, breathing her in. “Not yet, cowgirl. I need you for a sec.”
“You’ll have me all morning,” she said. “I’m declaring a family time-out. You each need showers and some sleep.”
Zander frowned. “Sadly, there’s no time for naps, love. Our world is detonating around us, and we’ve got no idea how to roll it back.”
“You need a PR rep doing damage control,” Ronnie said.
Storme’s eyes widened. “Yes, you do. You need Jack.”
“Jacky?” Brennus said, his brow tightening. “What does the lad know of our business?”
Kyrian pushed in Cassi’s chair, then settled beside her and lifted the platter of biscuits. “You haven’t told him about us? Have you, sweetheart?”
Storme waved away the disapproving looks and frowned. “No. He knows I’m a witch and you guys are soldiers for a covert military organization safeguarding humanity from all things other. He doesn’t know what ‘other’ means, but doesn’t have to.”
Cassi placed a biscuit on her plate and then chose three for the Greek’s plate before he passed the platter along. “How can he help us if he doesn’t know who and what we are?”
“Because, when Cleo first hired him, he was a star in corporate circles for putting out fires—big, political, public devastating fires that could take down massive conglomerates. He’s a phenom about PR and rebranding and taking the focus off what happened. It couldn’t be that different.”
Zander let Austin go and shook his head. “We appreciate the idea, Storme, but I doubt—”
“Now, angelman,” Austin said, arching a brow. “You just finished sayin’ you don’t know how to proceed, and Storme gave you a perfectly sound idea. The least you could do is meet with the boy and hear his take on things. Maybe a fresh perspective would help. When and where, Storme?�
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Storme shrugged. “I’m going to the hotel after lunch. He’ll be able to talk without interruption after that.”
Austin nodded. “All right. Everyone eat, and then all y’all are gonna get some rest. Whoever needs to be involved can join Zander at the hotel for one o’clock.”
Zander frowned and blinked at his men. “Why do I get the feeling we’re losing control here?”
Austin chuckled and headed to the oven to take out a warming tray. “You are in charge, angelman. No argument. There’s nothin’ about your job I want. But sometimes, you boys get so dug in that you’re lookin’ for your cattle instead of mendin’ the hole in the fence.”
Hark smiled to himself. He loved Austin’s front porch wisdom—even when he didn’t understand it.
“Hark, sweetie? Would you mind taking this tray up for Ringo and Ren? Drina wants him to take it easy until this afternoon, and I don’t want them goin’ hungry.”
“I can do that,” Danel said. The Persian was still standing at the doorway and took a step to collect the tray. “I was headed up to check on Ringo anyway.”
Hark picked up his plate from the table in front of him and took it with him practically on a run. “No. I’ve got it. You enjoy a moment with your mate.”
As I will with mine, he thought.
Setting his plate on the metal plate covers, he steadied the load and met Austin’s smile. Did she know? She did. There was a gleam in her eyes and no doubt in his mind. Humans might consider their cowgirl “non-sighted,” but she saw more than any other woman he’d ever met.
And that had nothing to do with her Otherworld vision.
“Thank you, Austin,” he said, bowing his head.
She patted his hand and winked. “Anything you need, sugar, just ask. I’ve got you covered.”
Ren flipped closed the back cover of the sixth comic book she’d consumed in succession and shook her head. “You are a gifted young man, Ringo. These are wonderful. The artwork is incredible, and the way you captivate your brothers with the subtle nuances of their personalities is amazing. Thank you for allowing me to enjoy them.”
She set the saga of Seth-tastic onto her read pile and picked up the next one in sequence. This was the one she’d been anxious to get to, Hark the Harrold.
Ringo looked up from working in his drawing pad and shrugged. “I can’t show them to anyone outside of the household now. When I wrote them, I didn’t know it was true. That’s how Danel knew I was a precog, like him. Well, that, and we have the same eyes. They come from our sire, Gabriel.”
He blinked at her and widened his pale, whiskey-gold eyes so she could get a good look. “So, we’re blood brothers too, as well as Nephilim brothers. He took one look at me and brought me to meet the others, and I’ve been family ever since.”
She nodded. “It’s very special how much they love you.”
He shrugged. “Yeah, it’s nice. My human family, not-so-much. Bo says family isn’t necessarily something you’re born into. He says it’s the family you choose and who choose you that counts.”
She’d never thought about it like that. Ayana had always been her only family. Would they have chosen each other, given the option?
“Knock-knock.”
Ren followed the deep male timbre to where Hark filled the opening of the doorway. A thousand butterflies scattered in her belly and tickled her insides. He was so handsome. So strong and fierce. One look at the Moor warrior, and she forgot all about her duty to care for the boy. The realms shifted, and everything became about him and her, and her fascination with him being fascinated with her.
She shook herself inwardly and tried to control herself.
Hark drew a deep breath and offered her a panty-scorching smile before turning his attentions to Ringo. “Breakfast in bed, kid. Drina wants you resting until this afternoon.”
Ringo set down his pad and colored pencils and reached up for the food. “Room service ain’t a bad thing.”
“You look better, kid.”
“Feel better too.”
“Good. That’s good.”
It really was special how much they loved the boy.
Ren moved the comic books off the top of the desk, and he set the tray down. When he straightened, he caught her hand in his and brushed his thumb over the meaty flesh of her palm. “Do you mind if I join the two of you?”
Ren glanced to Ringo to check if he minded. He shook his head, biting back a smile. “Please do.”
Releasing her hand, he set one plate to the side, uncovered two others, and handed one to each of them. “Austin wasn’t sure about your preferences, and if there’s nothing to your liking, she’s happy to try again.”
Ren looked down at the offering and shook her head. “It looks and smells delicious. I’m not fussy.”
“Austin’s a great cook.” Ringo straightened up against his pillows to get into a better position. The warmth of his Asian complexion had returned, and his gaze was much brighter this morning. “Zander says it’s lucky Nephilim have a great metabolism, or we’d all be too fat to protect the innocent.”
“Instead of a fat belly, he has a fat grocery bill,” Hark said, sitting on the end of the bed with his plate. “The Sumerian didn’t know what he had coming when he and Kyrian came up with the idea to have us all live together.”
“So, living together is new?” Ren asked.
He swallowed and nodded his head. “A lot changed with Zander and Austin. Until then, we’d never been permitted to love, we’d never been vulnerable to death, and although we fought together and trusted one another in battle, we never understood what it meant to have the love and stability of family.”
“Austin was first,” Ringo said. “And then Cassi, Ronnie, Storme, Thea, Layne. Then, a few weeks ago, Brennus mated with Colt. He’s cool, but I don’t think he understands about real family yet either. His cousin was a total douche.”
“Language in front of a lady, Ringo.”
Ringo looked at her and blushed. “Sorry. But it’s true.”
Hark nodded. “You’re right, it’s true, but with Austin in charge, Colt will understand family soon enough.”
Ringo laughed. “Yeah. Austin’s like the Queen of the Borg. Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated. Only with her, you are assimilated into all the good things.”
Ren had no idea what that meant, and by the polite smile on Hark’s face, neither did he. She chuckled and worked on her breakfast. Most of the dishes were unfamiliar, yet everything was delicious.
“Do you have family, Ren?” Hark asked.
She met Hark’s gaze and chewed longer than was necessary. What was she to say? Yes. A sister. You’ve met her. She’s the woman working with the Archangels and trying to seduce you, to worm herself into your home.
That would go over well.
Funny. Since she met Hark and his family, she forgot all about Michael wanting Ayana to get close to them. Hark was staring. Right, he’d asked her a question.
“I have a sister. We are very different people.”
He nodded. “I had a human brother before my transition. We grew up the same way, raised with the same values, and yet we were as different as night and day.”
“I never knew that,” Ringo said, finishing his meal. “You never talk about your past. Who are we kidding, Hark, you never talk. You’ve said more in the past two days than in the two years since I’ve been here.”
Hark finished his plate and collected his brother’s. “And you never stop. How’s a male to compete?”
“Yeah, yeah.” Ringo flipped back his sheets and swung his feet out to the floor. He caught both of them watching and rolled his eyes. “Guys, I’m good. Bathroom. Shower. Back to bed. I can handle it. I’m an immortal warrior, right?”
“You will be,” Hark said, pride visible on his face.
Ren watched Ringo as he went to his dresser and pulled out clean clothes. He seemed healthy and steady. Good. She didn’t like the idea that he might be infirmed in
some way.
Hark watched him too, his gaze serious. “You feel dizzy, you call. Anything feels odd, you call. I don’t care if you’re embarrassed or naked or anything. Your health and safety are priority one right now. I’ll stay here until you’re back in bed.”
“I have no doubt,” Ringo said, tilting his head towards her and making a goofy face. “Honestly, dude, I’m fine. Relax and keep Ren company. She’s good people.”
CHAPTER NINE
“Are we totally, fucking whipped?”
Zander scowled at Kyrian as they strode through the glass doors of Storme’s new hotel. “No. And if anyone has the nerve to say that to my face, I’d be more than happy to skewer them through the Adam’s apple to prove the point.”
Jack raised his head from his work behind reception and arched a brow. The kid was a Channing Tatum lookalike, but Danel checked him out back when Storme came into their lives and confirmed he was as smart as he was pretty. “If that’s your go-to response, Zander, I can see why you might need a little PR help.”
“Hey, Jacky, how’s things, lad?” Brennus passed them by and clapped hands with Storme’s right-hand man. “Are ye free to speak with us? Can we sweep ye away from yer front desk?”
He held up a finger and leaned into the private office off the registration area to speak with someone. When he was done excusing himself, he opened the door wide so Storme could see the registration desk and the lobby beyond.
With the receiver of the phone to her ear, she waved and kept chatting with the person on the other end.
Zander rolled his eyes. “This is a waste of time.”
“Now, now, Z,” Brennus said, clapping him on the back of his shoulder. “Let’s give the lad a chance to speak his mind. Then we can take his council or leave it.”
“And then the wives can’t say we didn’t at least consider it,” Kyrian added.
He scowled at Kyrian and let a growl rip up the back of his throat. “Fuck. We are whipped. When did that happen?”
He knew the answer. Austin owned him. Niobi ran a close second in that race. The wives of his brothers ranked high in that hierarchy too. Their lives were not their own anymore.
