Zeus’s Pack 9
Rave
Logan leads a pretty simple life. That is, until he delivers a load of
lumber to Hunter's Hardware and nearly gets blown up. Logan
doesn't understand who would try to kill him until he's attacked
outside the hospital, and then his home. The man after him is
relentless.
Agent Monroe is sent to Pride Pack Valley to investigate. Under the
guise of wanting to get reacquainted with Rave, he digs into
multiple murders committed by a man who can control minds and
make his victims kill themselves.
Rave is sent to retrieve someone Dr. Maximus Samuel feels is in
danger. Little does Rave know that he will be rescuing his mate,
who doesn't want to be rescued, even after being nearly blown to
bits when his truck explodes.
As the body count begins to rise in Pride Pack Valley, Agent
Monroe must find the man behind the murders. But his
investigation leads him to Logan, his mate. Can Rave save Logan
from Agent Monroe, and can the two of them stop Logan from
going nuclear as he discovers abilities he never even knew he
had?
Genre: Alternative (M/M or F/F), Ménage a Trois/Quatre,
Vampires/Werewolves
Length: 44,630 words
RAVE
Zeus’s Pack 9
Lynn Hagen
MENAGE EVERLASTING
MANLOVE
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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
IMPRINT: Ménage Everlasting ManLove
RAVE
Copyright © 2012 by Lynn Hagen
E-book ISBN: 978-1-61926-745-9
First E-book Publication: June 2012
Cover design by Jinger Heaston
All art and logo copyright © 2012 by Siren Publishing, Inc.
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www.SirenPublishing.com
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RAVE
Zeus’s Pack 9
LYNN HAGEN
Copyright © 2012
Chapter One
Logan waited as Hunter signed the forms. He glanced around the
hardware store, noticing that a few things had been added on since the
last time he’d been at the store. There were new rows next to the nail
section that held power tools and all the accessories a man could
desire. The owner was expanding his business, and it looked nice.
“You can unload the lumber out back,” the hardware store owner
said as he handed Logan back his pen. “And anything else that isn’t
lumber can be stacked by the back door.”
Logan nodded as he shoved the pen in the front pocket of his ugly
brown work shirt and then tore off a copy of the delivery ticket,
handing it to Hunter. “Not a problem.”
Tucking the clipboard under his arm, Logan headed out front to
his delivery truck. He climbed inside and then pulled the truck around
to the back of the hardware store, backing into a spot near the door
and turning off the motor. This should be a quick in-and-out job.
He hoped.
As Logan slid from the truck and headed around back to the door
Hunter had specified, he heard the wind blow and leaves rustle across
the concrete. A chill entered him as he shook his head. What was he
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Lynn Hagen
expecting in the back of the hardware store, zombies? He needed to
lay off the late-night movies. He was starting to spook himself.
He loosened the tie-downs, releasing the pressure on the thick,
cloth material. No one had a forklift around here, so unloading the
order would be by hand. Thank goodness Hunter hadn’t ordered
much. Logan didn’t figure to be unloading wood for the rest of the
day. He had better things to do, although, at the moment he couldn’t
think of a single one.
If the order had been large, there would have been a forklift
attached to the truck as well. It took Logan a little while to stack the
last of the wood in the designated area by size and length. Once he
was done, he walked around to get the few boxes sitting on the floor
in the cab of his truck.
A soft breeze blew across the back of his neck, warm and subtle.
It felt like someone was standing directly behind him, blowing on his
neck in soft tufts. Logan rubbed the tingling skin and opened the truck
door. He grabbed the first box, carrying it inside and setting it next to
the already-existing inventory that still needed to be put away.
The back room was cluttered, but not so much that Hunter
wouldn’t be able to find what he was looking for. It was sort of an
organized clutter. Nails were with nails, clamps with clamps, so on
and so forth. He made sure he stacked Hunter’s order accordingly.
I wouldn’t want to mess the guy’s strange system up. Some people
functioned better disorganized than neat and tidy.
Hunter was apparently one of those people that liked
disorganization.
Logan walked outside into the warm spring air and felt goose
bumps march down his arms. A low whistling noise drew his
attention to his left, so Logan looked. But nothing was there.
He ran his hands over his head and went to the truck to get the rest
of the boxes. Maybe that zombie marathon last night wasn’t such a
good idea after all. He was imagining things, very bizarre things,
noises and touches that weren’t there.
Memphis 9
His buddy Cal was going to rib him good for his runaway
imagination. They had only known each other for six months, but he
teased Logan about his imagination. Logan grabbed the last two boxes
and took them inside the hardware store, stacking them according to
Hunter’s screwed-up system.
Wiping the dust from his hands onto the front his pants, Logan
stepped back outside and stilled. The passenger’s door was closed.
He hadn’t closed it.
Or maybe he had and didn’t notice he had done it. Some things
were done out of habit to the point people didn’t remember doing
them. This could have been the case. Logan chuckled softly to
himself, wondering if he was going to be this freaked out all day. He
usually didn’t imagine things after watching one of his favorite horror
movies, though.
But last night was the first time he had watched a marathon of
them. That could have been what was freaking him out. At least, that
was how Logan justified the huge case of the willies he seemed to
have.
Sliding into the driver’s side, Logan turned the key to start the
truck. He heard a whirl and then a click in the silence of the cab.
Something deep down inside of Logan made him scramble from the
truck and then run as fast as his damn legs would carry him. He didn’t
hear a boom or any kind of explosion as he rounded the brick
building.
Damn, was he really letting his imagination get the better of him?
That’s it. No more late-night movies for me.
Just as Logan headed back toward the truck, feeling like a
complete idiot, an explosion ripped through air, expanding outward
toward the back of the hardware store. Wood, glass, metal, and fire
rained down all around him as he huddled in a ball on the ground. He
felt objects slap his arm and leg as he lay there curled up tightly,
covering his head. His right side was the only thing exposed, and that
was the side that took the brunt of the falling debris.
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Lynn Hagen
People began to run around back, and a small crowd began to
form. Logan looked up from his arm, seeing the twisted metal of the
truck he had been sitting in only moments before and the back of the
burning hardware store.
“Hunter!” Logan tried to stand but swooned instead. He landed on
his ass as something warm trickled down the side of his face. His
nostrils burned from the acrid smoke billowing from the melted truck
and the burning wood. He coughed a few times, turning his head as he
spit on the ground. His mouth was even sore.
“You’re bleeding,” a man said as he knelt close to Logan. “Your
temple, or maybe your scalp.”
Logan could only lip-read at this point. The explosion had done
something to his hearing. He reached up and winced when he felt a
low throb in his temple where his fingers had touched. Pulling his
hand away, Logan found blood smeared on his fingertips. It didn’t
seem real. None of this did.
Who would want to blow him up?
He had no enemies, none that he could think of. Winning at poker
on Friday night did not constitute someone trying to kill him,
especially since they wagered with quarters. No one should want him
dead just because they had lost their laundry money.
So who the hell could it be?
The ringing in Logan’s ears was giving him a splitting headache.
It sounded like the Emergency Broadcast System was in surround
sound as he closed his eyes and covered his ears. Logan rolled to his
side and vomited violently on the ground, feeling the bitter taste of
bile as it left his mouth. He felt off-balance and out of focus. He knew
with his hearing affected, so would his balance be. The two sort of
went hand in hand.
Someone touched his shoulder, and Logan swung onto his back,
his arms covering his face. The person tugged until his arms finally
lowered. It was a paramedic. The paramedic wore a navy-blue shirt
and matching fatigue pants, the hospital logo stitched across the front
Memphis 11
of his left chest, right above his heart. The guy had an orange medical
bag slung over his shoulder, which he sat down next to him once
Logan was lying still.
Logan glanced at the truck once more, tears gathering in his eyes.
A fire truck came into view, and Logan prayed Hunter hadn’t been
hurt. Hopefully the man had made it out of the front of the store.
He really didn’t know Hunter that well, but the man seemed like a
decent guy. Logan didn’t want him hurt. An ambulance board was
brought over and laid down next to him. The blue-and-chrome board
was curled around on all sides, to stop its patients from rolling off.
There was reflective tape running along the inside.
“Hunter,” he said as the paramedic tried to lift him up, but it was
only to put a neck brace on him. “Is Hunter okay?”
The man in the navy-blue paramedic uniform began to talk, but
Logan couldn’t hear anything beyond the deafening ringing. He
pointed to his ears. “I can’t hear you.”
The paramedic nodded.
That gesture didn’t answer his question. For all he knew, the man
was just acknowledging that he understood that Logan couldn’t hear
him. Although he was really praying the man nodded to affirm that
Hunter was all right.
Another man, dressed in the same navy-blue uniform as the man
by his side, came to squat at Logan’s head. The next thing he knew,
Logan was being lifted. A black wave of nausea washed over him,
and Logan closed his eyes, fighting not to vomit as he was placed on
the board.
He swallowed a few times, the foul taste of vomit heavy in his
throat as he was loaded into the back of the ambulance. As the doors
began to close, Logan saw a man dressed in a black and expensive-
looking suit watching him. It was nicely tailored. He had a black silk
dress shirt underneath the jacket and one of those extremely thin,
bone-straight, black ties running down the front of his shirt with a
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Lynn Hagen
silver tie clip. The tie clip was the only color that stood out.
Everything else was the color of nicely creased darkness.
His dark eyes locked onto Logan’s, his expression indifferent as
the ambulance doors closed, cutting off Logan’s view of the man. He
closed his eyes and allowed the paramedics to work on him as the
ambulance pulled away, rocking him back and forth as it rushed
toward the hospital.
Logan was in and out of awareness as he was unloaded, placed on
a gurney, and then wheeled into the emergency room. The ringing
was slowly dying down. It was more like a soft hum now. But it was
still hard to hear what people were saying. He caught bits and pieces,
but nothing that he could use to string together what had happened to
him or why.
A dark-haired man came into Logan’s line of sight, smiling down
at him. Logan smiled back. There didn’t seem to be anything else he
could do. The doctor in his white lab coat flashed a penlight in
Logan’s eyes, nearly blinding him.
“What hurts?” The sound was muffled, distant, but Logan had
made out the words.
“My entire body,” he replied.
The doctor started pressing into his stomach, feeling around.
Logan groaned, but managed to stay still. He watched as the doctor
began to move his lips and then turned away, making it impossible for
Logan to read what he was saying. The doctor’s voice wasn’t loud
enough right now to catch any words, so Logan had to try and
decipher the words from the man’s lips, if only he’d turn back around.
Would he understand the medical analysis anyway? Probably not.
The gurney began to move again, taking him inside an elevator.
Logan opened his eyes, and he was lying in a bed in some sort of
room. Had he passed out? If he had, for how long? The walls were
white, the sound of machines beeping all around him.
Memphis 13
Logan could hear. God, he was thankful for that. Not being able to
hear sucked. His head still throbbed and his body still ached, but he
could hear. It was better than nothing.
Sliding from the bed, Logan realized that he was tethered by an IV
and wires. He was in a hospital. He stood there on shaky legs,
wondering if there was any permanent damage to his body. That had
been one hell of an explosion.
And that only reminded Logan of the stranger standing in the
crowd, wearing his crisp black suit with the silver tie clip, staring at
Logan as if he didn’t matter. His eyes had been the color of charcoal
and reminded Logan of something cold, something dead.
“I see you’re up and about.”
Logan turned, taking a long second before he remembered where
he’d seen the man before. The dark-haired man was the doctor that
helped him in the emergency room.
“I’m Doctor Samuel.”
“Logan Albinster.”
“Ah, now we have a name to go with the patient.”
The voice was pleasant, light. It made Logan relax as he stared
around the room. “What’s wrong with me?” He’d never needed a
hospital in his life. He knew what they looked like, but he’d never
been a patient before. The IV alone was bothering him.
“Nothing.” The doctor smiled kindly at him. “We’re just keeping
you here as a precaution. All of your tests have come back negative.”
There was something in the way the doctor had said negative. As
if that wasn’t quite the word he wanted to use. Logan wanted to ask
what the doctor was hiding, but honestly? He just wanted to get the
hell out of there.
The place felt sterile, cold, and unforgiving. All Logan wanted to
do was go home. He wanted the wires off of him, the IV out of him,
and his damn clothes onto him. If they weren’t burnt to hell from the
explosion.
“I’m ready to leave.”
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Lynn Hagen
The doctor sat down slowly onto a shiny chrome stool, a polite
smile on his face. “There’s a problem with that request, Logan.”
“And what problem would that be?”
The doctor had said his tests were all negative. He was up, feeling
fine, and ready to leave. What was the holdup?
“The problem would be your blood work. I’ve run it three times
but it’s still coming back with irregularities.”
Again, Logan had the distinct feeling that the word irregularities
was not what the doctor had wanted to use. He was tiring of the game.
“Just tell me what’s going on. I need to get home.”
Dr. Samuel shook his head, confusion marring his handsome face.
The guy was handsome, after all. There was no denying that fact.
“I wish I knew, Logan. But I’d like to keep you here until I can
figure out what’s going on inside of you.”
Inside of me?
Logan wasn’t going to stick around and be the doctor’s guinea
pig. Someone had tried to kill him. They had blown his work truck
up, and he had nearly died. From the immense pain he had felt in his
head and body, he was surprised he was standing here breathing.
There was no way he was going to let the doctor poke at him for days
on end. He was tired, sore, and ready for a hot bath.
“No thanks. Just give me my clothes, and I’ll sign anything you
want. I’m going home.”
“I won’t force you to stay, Logan. But as your doctor, I’m
advising you to let me run more tests.” Dr. Samuel stood, his body
slim, but Logan could tell the man held an air of authority around
him. That still wasn’t going to make him stay.
“I’ve considered your advice, but I’m saying no. Now give me my
clothes or I’m going to walk out of here with my ass flapping in the
wind.” And he would. Logan had been to a hospital once when his
grandmother fell ill. He remembered the cold way she was treated, as
if she was a pincushion instead of a living and breathing person. She
Memphis 15
had died in that hospital, and no one had really done anything to help
her.
He wasn’t going to die here while Dr. Samuel played pincushion
with him. If something was wrong with him, then something was
wrong with him. If the irregularity was going to kill him, he’d rather
die at home.
Morbid, but true.
“Very well,” Dr. Samuel said as he crossed the room, shoving his
hands into his white lab coat. “But if you feel off, please come back.”
Not going to happen. “I will.”
A sly smile reached Dr. Samuel’s lips before he walked out of the
room. Somehow the doctor knew Logan was lying through his teeth.
He didn’t care. Logan just wanted to go home.
A nurse came into the room and removed his IV, not before
flushing it out first. Damn, that burned. She plucked him clean of the
wires and looked at him as if she wanted to argue his leaving. She had
papers for him to sign and then pointed over to a closet. “Your clothes
are in there.”
Logan crossed the room and opened the door, staring at a clear
bag at the bottom of the shallow closet. He pulled his clothes out and
winced. His shirt was a bloody mess, torn in a few places with scorch
marks thrown in for good measure.
His pants weren’t in any better shape. The leg that had been
exposed to the flames was ripped and the edges singed. At least his
shoes were unscathed. He would look one hell of a mess, but he
would be covered. Now all he had to do was call Cal for a ride.
If the man answered his phone.
Cal was an expert at letting the call fall headfirst into voice mail.
Logan would never understand the man. He slept with his phone at his
side, but never answered it. He was a very weird man, but Logan’s
only friend.
He really couldn’t complain.
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Lynn Hagen
Well, he could, but only Cal was there to listen. He couldn’t
rightfully complain about Cal to Cal. It just didn’t come across the
same through voice mail.
Once he pulled on the remains of his clothes, Logan used the
phone by the bedside to call his friend. Logan was half tempted to lie
back down in the bed and rewire his body for signs of a heart attack
when Cal answered the phone.
Miracles really did happen.
“Dude, it’s all over the news. The reporter said your work truck
was blown up and that the explosion took out half of the hardware
store. Is it true?”
“I’ll tell you all about it in the car.”
“That means you need a ride.”
“Yep.”
“And where are you?”
“At the hospital in Pride Pack Valley.”
“So it’s true!”
Logan rolled his eyes skyward. He really didn’t feel like going
over the events with Cal. All he wanted to do was go home and get
some sleep. But Cal was his only ride, so he’d suffer through it. He
had met Cal at the lumberyard where they worked. Cal was quiet,
reserved, and a bit on the strange side, but Logan needed a roommate
to help pay the bills.
Cal had agreed to move in, and they had been friends since.
Although not one would consider them close friends. Cal did his own
thing, but the man was good for a ride, when he answered his damn
phone.
“Just come get me, moron.”
“On my way.” Cal hung up the phone.
Logan replaced the receiver and headed toward the door. He could
wait for his friend outside the confining walls that felt like they were
closing in on him. Following the signs to the exit, Logan found
Memphis 17
himself standing out in the coolness of the night. It was late spring,
but not warm enough yet to be without a jacket at night.
And he was without a jacket.
He’d deal with the coolness of the night. It was better than
stepping back into the hospital. The doctor just might change his mind
and haul Logan back in, kicking and screaming.
It could happen.
Logan leaned against the side of the building, trying to get out of
the breeze and stay out of Doctor Frankenstein’s sight. He wrapped
his arms around his chest, hoping to stave off some of the cold
entering him.
He smiled when he spotted Cal pulling in front of the hospital.
The man knew how to get here quickly. Somehow Logan knew Cal
was closer than he had let on because there was no way he made it
from the place they shared to Pride Pack Valley that damn fast. He
walked away from the building, waving at his friend in the small red
Nissan.
Cal nodded and pulled closer to Logan.
As Cal pulled to the curb, Logan caught sight of the man dressed
in the expensive black suit. It was the same man from the blast site.
He was leaning against a car in the public parking lot, his eyes drilling
into Logan like he wanted to kill him.
Logan quickly climbed into the car, closing and locking the door
behind him. “Just go.”
Cal lost the smirk. It slid out of place with a frown replacing it.
“What’s wrong?”
That was a very good question. “I’m tired.”
The Nissan pulled away from the curb as Logan glanced across
the parking lot. The man was gone. He sat back and breathed a sigh of
relief until he heard a loud thump on the roof of the car and then it
sounded like boulders were falling from the sky. The nose was loud,
and dents were appearing in the roof of the car.
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Lynn Hagen
“Shit. What the fuck is going on?” Cal shouted as he began to
slow down.
“Speed up!”
Cal looked at Logan like he had lost his mind. He just might have.
The sound of something hard hitting the roof repeatedly echoed all
around them, getting louder by the second. Cal sped up, stealing
worried glances at Logan as the noise reached an unbelievable level.
When the roof almost caved in over their heads, Cal began to
shout, swerving the car back and forth across the road.
Logan knew the man in the black suit was on top of the car, trying
to pound his way in. With what, he wasn’t sure. If it was his fist, they
were dead men. “Hit the brakes!”
Cal shot him a questioning glance but slammed the brakes hard.
Logan’s head cracked against the windshield. He had forgotten his
seat belt.
Logan gaped as someone rolled from the roof and hit the ground
in front of Cal’s car. The headlights were shining brightly, washing
the road ahead of them with lights as the car idled. They both
screamed when the man stood in front of the car, just popping up like
a damn jack-in-the-box. He stared murderously at Logan, his
shoulders tight, his eyes blazing with hate.
“Go!”
“I’ll hit him,” Cal said in a panicky voice.
“If you don’t move this damn car, I have a feeling neither of us
will live long enough to care who you hit.”
Cal hesitated and then gunned the gas, the tires squealing as the
car lurched forward. The man jumped on the hood and then ran over
the car until he was standing behind them, growing smaller as Cal
smashed his foot into the damn floor, the car gaining speed.
“What the fuck is going on, Logan?”
“Hell if I know.” And that was the god’s honest truth. Logan
wasn’t sure he wanted to know either. He glanced back again, but the
Memphis 19
man was no longer in the middle of the road. He turned around in his
seat, buckling himself in as he let out a long and steady breath.
This day was so screwed up. He almost preferred zombies.
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Lynn Hagen
Chapter Two
“I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Rave stood there listening to Max, the shifter doctor who not only
worked at Pride Pack Valley General, but who was also mated to Bald
Eagle and Chey. Max was a lion shifter, and a damn good doctor, but
Rave didn’t understand why the soldiers were called there.
Zeus, the alpha of the wolf pack, stood there with his hands on his
hips, looking just as confused as the soldiers were. “What did you
find, Max?”
Max looked over his shoulder and then lowered his voice. “I had a
patient here, Logan Albinster. He was in an accident. I ran his blood
work and found something that shocked me to the core.”
Rave leaned against the nurses’ station, bored.
“And that was?” Zeus asked.
“He’s a styre mente.”
Everyone looked at Max, confused.
Max growled. “Does no one read about preternatural creatures
around here? The ancient scrolls aren’t easy to come by, but you can
read them.”
“Okay, so we’re uneducated backwoods wolves. Sue us, Doc. Just
tell us what the hell a styre mente is.” Rave wanted to get out of there.
They were having wings at Theo’s, all you can eat for five bucks.
That was one hell of a deal, and Rave just happened to have five
bucks in his pocket.
He was pretty damn bitchy, and hungry as hell.
“They are very rare,” Max continued as if Rave hadn’t had his
little outburst. “Only one in two hundred million are born. He can
Memphis 21
control minds, literally.” The excitement and dread mingled in Max’s
voice, as if he discovered UFOs really existed. He might be just as
excited, if he knew what the hell Max was talking about.
“I’m still not getting it, Max,” Zeus said.
“I don’t think he knows what he is yet. Logan didn’t seem
conscious of the fact that he can control minds. I asked him to stay, he
refused, and I let him leave. Normally that wouldn’t have happened.
If he’s left on his own, he could cause some serious damage. From his
blood work, he has great potential to have TMC.”
“TMC?”
It was like dancing around the obvious that was just out of reach.
Rave was starting to put the pieces together, but Max wasn’t giving
them the whole story. Not all at once at least.
“Total mind control,” Max supplied. “Logan, when he realizes
who he is, will be able to push himself into your mind, control it, and
control whoever he wishes. And if he decides to become malevolent,
he could also mind rape a person. That means he can tear down your
mind and rebuild it as whatever he wishes it to be. Styre mentes are
extremely dangerous and rare.”
Rave stood up straighter at what Max was saying. He had never
heard of a styre mente, but the more he listened, the more intrigued he
became.
“There will be side effects as well,” Max said as he shoved his
hands into his white lab coat. “He will get headaches, have slight
confusion, and feel fatigued. Using the mind as a weapon, if that is
the route he takes, is taxing on the body. But Zeus”—Max turned to
the alpha—“if we catch him in the early stages of this phenomena
developing, we may be able to keep him on the right path.”
“And if we don’t?” Zeus asked.
“He could hurt a lot of people and do some irreversible damage.
He could learn how to use remote mental influence, or mental tricks
to make a person do his bidding. Like I said, he is young, still
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Lynn Hagen
salvageable. Most styre mentes choose the path of evil. They are lured
in by the power, but we could help him, guide him.”
“Do we know where to find this Logan guy?” Zeus asked.
“I have his home address,” Max said as he fished a piece of paper
from his lab coat and handed it to Zeus. “Get to him quickly. Most
styre mentes can feel each other. If another has found Logan, he can
kill him and steal Logan’s budding powers for himself, making the
killer ten times stronger.”
Zeus handed Ian the piece of paper with Logan’s address on it.
“Rave, Jaxxon, and Ian, take this address and go find Logan. I want
you to bring him to me. But be careful. I don’t need any of you three
ending up without your brains.”
Amen to that. Rave didn’t want anyone to mind rape him. He
knew for a fact that if mind control were used against him, he would
be screwed. How does one fight having their mind messed with? Did
anyone sell special helmets to keep the fucker out?
This was one time Rave wasn’t sure shifting into his wolf form
would help. Human form or wolf form, the mind was the same. This
had suicide mission written all over it if this Logan guy discovered
what he could do before the wolves got him back to the alpha.
With a heavy sigh and an empty belly, Rave followed Jaxxon and
Ian from the hospital. He glanced toward Theo’s and wondered if the
other two wolves would mind him running over there to get some
wings first before their perilous journey.
“We need to hurry,” Jaxxon said as he jumped into the driver’s
seat of his Jeep.
Guess the wings would have to wait. This Logan guy better come
with them before Rave’s stomach tried to eat its way out. That would
teach him to skip lunch.
“The address says that Logan lives in Browlers. That’s about an
hour’s ride.”
Rave was going to shrivel away in an hour, two if he had to wait
until he got back to eat. He sat in the backseat, his mood sour as they
Memphis 23
drove by Theo’s. He wasn’t a happy man when he was starving. He
should have his mind on Logan and his budding powers, but his
rumbling stomach was interfering.
“You think Max was telling the truth?” Ian asked from the front
passenger’s seat.
Jaxxon shrugged. “The world isn’t so simple anymore. There used
to be just shifters. And then we learn there are vampires. Then we find
out that there are Fey and demons living around us. And not too long
ago, Zeus tells us that the mythical pecus volatile and inferno incolae
exist. So you tell me, Ian, can styre mente exist as well?”
“You don’t have to be a smart-ass,” Ian complained as he rested
his arm on the door. The man looked just about as happy as Rave felt.
Rave grinned.
“Can we stop to get something to eat?” Ian asked.
“I second that request,” Rave said from the backseat with
enthusiasm. “I’m starving.”
“And if Logan gets away from us because you two want to grab a
bite? Who is going to explain that to Zeus, hmm? I sure as shit am not
telling the man Logan couldn’t be found in time because I was too
busy shoving a greasy burger down my throat.”
“Chickenshit,” Rave grumbled.
“Damn straight,” Jaxxon shot back.
Ian turned in his seat, grinning mischievously at Rave. “We could
always shift and eat Jaxxon.”
“His hide is too tough.” Rave chuckled.
Jaxxon scowled at Rave in the rearview mirror and then grinned.
This was going to be one long ass ride. Rave sat back, thinking about
his mate, Agent Monroe. The man had said he had to close out the
bookie case, but he would be back. The bookie had one of his goons
kill a prominent lawyer and Memphis’s mate had witnessed the
murder. Romano had come here to hide out, but the FBI had soon
followed as well, stopping Romano or anyone else from being killed.
And that was when Rave realized that Agent Monroe was his mate.
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Lynn Hagen
That was four months ago.
Rave wasn’t too happy about the guy being gone so long. He had
tried to call, but always got the man’s voice mail. He didn’t even
know Monroe’s first name. How pitiful was that? Rave wondered if
maybe Monroe was avoiding him. The agent knew about shifters.
How much he knew, Rave wasn’t sure.
But he had looked like he wanted to come back after that hot ass
kiss they shared in the parking lot. Or maybe his mate was just a
damn good actor and couldn’t wait to get the hell away from Rave.
Being hungry and having an MIA mate wasn’t helping Rave’s
mood. If anything, it made it worse.
“We’re getting close,” Jaxxon announced from the driver’s seat.
“Read me that address.”
Ian rattled it off and then punched it into the GPS that sat mounted
on the dashboard. Jaxxon drove slowly, everyone watching their
surroundings as they drove up a small concrete driveway only large
enough for one car at a time. They parked behind a red Nissan and got
out. It was nightfall now, the stars twinkling high above and the moon
casting a long shadow over the house in front of them. The day had
withered away as they had driven here. That meant Rave had to watch
the shadows as he grabbed this guy they’d come here to retrieve.
“If he doesn’t know that he is a styre mente, what in the hell are
we supposed to tell him?” Ian asked as all three approached the large
oak door. The house didn’t look very big, and there was a rusted,
green metal chair sitting to one side of the door. There was a large bay
window to one side, shrubbery sitting in front and below like leafy
sentinels.
Rave glanced around, but saw only parked cars under streetlights.
The neighborhood was quiet, as if everyone were asleep already. A
few lights were on in various houses, but the street was as quiet as a
graveyard.
Rave shuddered. That was a hell of a way to think about it.
Memphis 25
“We could tell him that Max needs him back at the hospital,”
Rave said as he hit the glowing orange doorbell.
Rave froze when he heard a crash and then someone scream. It
was a male’s voice, and it was loud enough to wake the dead. Using
his shoulder, Rave rammed his body into the door. That didn’t work.
He reached out and turned the knob. It was unlocked.
The three shifters raced inside just in time to see two men crash
through a back door. Rave gave chase. He wasn’t sure who was who,
but if that was Logan being taken away, he needed to rescue the man.
The two men weren’t running side by side. One was being
dragged by the other. Not a good sign. Rave shifted into his werewolf
form and leapt, landing on the pair. He fought to get the guy that had
been dragged away from the house by the man in a black suit.
“Go back inside the house,” the man in the black suit said calmly.
Ripples washed over Rave, making him release the guy in jeans and a
sweater. He took a step back, his muzzle to the ground. Rave had an
all-consuming need to obey the soft command.
“No!” the one in the jeans yelled, and Rave felt like a jolt of
electricity had been shot through his body. He growled, his muzzle
pulled back to show his canines. The human being that had been taken
shouted to Rave, “Don’t leave me.”
Rave barked out a warning like a common dog, but it seemed to
do the trick. The man in the black suit scrambled backward, his eyes
wild as he stared from Rave in his wolf form to the human lying on
the ground. His eyes narrowed into slits as anger filled the dark orbs.
“Go back into the house,” he shouted this time.
Rave took another step back, his body trying to obey the
command. He was getting pissed. He could feel something pushing at
his mind, demanding he do as he was told. Rave didn’t like anyone
ordering him around.
“Don’t leave me,” the man in the jeans said helplessly, his blue
eyes pleading for Rave to save him. Rave lunged, taking a large bite
out of the man’s black suit pants and his leg underneath. The man
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Lynn Hagen
howled, and then he pulled his leg free, scooting further back into the
darkened backyard.
The would-be kidnapper whirled around and pushed to his feet,
jumping the small chain-link fence, and took off down the street.
Rave wanted to give chase, but he shifted instead, helping the man in
the jeans to his feet.
Rave swallowed hard, his heart beating erratically as the scent of
his second mate filled his lungs. He stared openly at the slightly built
man rubbing his hands up and down his arms, as if chilled to the
bone.
“Logan?”
The guy’s blue eyes went wide as he nodded. “How did you know
my name?”
Oh hell. Rave stood there in the backyard, naked as the day he
was born, stunned. His mate was a styre mente, and he had been sent
to stop him from turning evil.
Rave stood on the edge of the lawn, staring at the dark-brown hair
falling over Logan’s eyes, shielding Rave from seeing his mate’s eyes
in the shadows of where he was standing. “I was sent to protect you.”
It was mostly the truth. Now that he knew that Logan was his mate,
Rave would do whatever it took to keep the man on the right path and
protect him from the world.
“No offense, but that’s exactly what Aba just told me. I’m cool on
the protection shit.”
“Aba?”
“The man who just tried to force me to leave with him. He said
that he only wanted to protect me. If that’s protection, I’m going to
wholeheartedly decline the offer.”
Rave grinned as he listened to Logan. The man had a sense of
humor, a weird one, but he had one. Rave liked that.
“And could you put some clothes on?” Logan asked. Even in the
dimly lit backyard, Rave could see a blush span over his mate’s
cheeks. It was a lovely pink that made Logan bashful, a quality that
Memphis 27
was making Rave hot. This wasn’t the time for Rave to be getting
turned on, but he couldn’t help it.
“Aren’t you freaked out that I shifted into a wolf?” Rave asked.
“And I don’t have any spare clothes with me.” Jaxxon had some in his
Jeep, but Rave liked standing naked in front of his mate.
Logan’s eyes stayed glued to the grass as he headed toward the
back door. “Cal is a shifter. That doesn’t wig me out. But a naked
man in my backyard does.”
“And having your truck blown up, finding out something is wrong
with your blood, and a madman trying to pry you from your own
home must be child’s play next to a naked man in your backyard,
hmm?” Rave knew he was being a little too harsh, but Logan needed
to face the facts of what happened and deal with them. He could smell
denial all over Logan.
Logan spun around, a low growl ripping from his chest. Rave was
impressed. “I know what happened. I don’t need you reciting the
events back to me. I don’t know who sent you to protect me, but you
can get lost.”
Rave was halfway into saying good-bye, but knew he wasn’t
going to leave his mate open to another attack. The man had a sharp
tongue and a heavy dose of denial in his blood, but Rave wasn’t that
cruel. “You honestly don’t know, do you?”
Logan opened the back door, ignoring Rave as he stepped into the
house. He glanced around and then looked at the man sitting on the
couch, his face pale. “Cal, pack your bags, we’re going to my
mom’s.”
Rave felt the pulse in his temple beat harder as he tried his best
not to just grab Logan and toss the man over his shoulder. It wasn’t
easy. “No, you’re coming back to Pride Pack Valley where you will
be safe.”
“No, I’m going to my mom’s.”
Rave could feel the mental push, the ripple wash over him to let
Logan leave with Cal. He shook his head, digging his fingernails into
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Lynn Hagen
the palms of his hands to stop the impulse to let Logan walk out of the
front door. “Stop that.”
Logan looked genuinely puzzled, but still ready to argue. “Stop
what?”
“Stop trying to get me to do what you want.”
Logan’s combative expression melted away, replaced by total
confusion. “How can I make you do what I want?”
“You’re a styre mente,” Jaxxon stated and then shrugged when
Rave turned and glared at him. “We’re getting nowhere being
tactful.”
Rave gave a low growl toward the wolf.
“A what?” Logan asked.
“I’ll explain on the way back to Pride Pack Valley,” Rave said as
he walked toward the front door, realizing that he was still naked.
“Ian, can you get me a pair of jogging pants from the Jeep?”
Ian nodded and walked out. There was no sense in scaring the
neighbors if they were watching the house. Rave wanted to smile
when he noticed Logan trying his damnedest not to stare at Rave’s
exposed cock.
“I told you already. I’m going to my mom’s.”
There was no push this time. No ripple or force behind Logan’s
words. It was just an ordinary statement. Rave wanted to tell Logan
that he was getting better at his ability, but decided to leave it alone.
Once Ian gave Rave the pants, he slid them on and walked outside. He
was bare-chested and shoeless, but he’d live.
He opened the door to the Nissan and reached in, grabbing the
knob, and pulled, hearing the hood pop. He closed the door and
walked around front, feeling underneath for the latch. Once he had it
opened, he yanked the spark plug wires completely free.
“What are you doing?” Cal said as he raced outside.
“Ensuring that Logan comes with me.” Rave could see the honey
yellow of Cal’s eyes and knew he was some sort of cat shifter. He just
Memphis 29
wasn’t sure what kind. A black panther would be harder to fight. They
had a lot of muscle under their sleek coats.
But so did Rave.
“I’ll go,” Logan said as he walked out toward the car. “Just give
Cal back his car parts.”
“Get in the Jeep, and Cal can have them back.” It was childish,
but Rave was determined to make sure Logan got into the Jeep. Not
only was he following his alpha’s orders, Logan was his mate. He
would do whatever it took to protect the man.
Rave opened the back door of the Jeep and motioned for Logan to
get in with a theatrical wave of his arm. Logan didn’t look impressed.
His mate walked to the Jeep, but kept his eyes locked on Rave, as if
he were going to leap onto the man at any second.
Glancing over at Cal, Rave wasn’t so sure leaving the man behind
was a good idea, cat shifter or not. “Do you know who the man was
that tried to take you?” he asked Logan as his mate rounded the back
door of the Jeep.
Logan shrugged. “A psychotic asshole.”
Rave had a feeling Logan was lumping him into that category.
Maybe it was the way Logan had darted his blue eyes at Rave when
he said it. Why did Rave have a guilty conscience? He shook his
head, wondering if Logan was doing that damn mental thing again.
“Lucky for you I showed up, huh?”
“Yeah, lucky me,” Logan said flatly.
Rave ignored Logan’s cheerful tone. “Is Cal going to be safe
here?”
Once again, Logan’s shoulders lifted and then fell. “Beats me.”
The soft glow of the interior light reminded Rave that they had to
get moving. He glanced over his shoulder to see Cal staring down at
the wires in his hand and then at his car, as if he didn’t have a clue
what to do with them.
Damn.
“Get in while I talk with Cal.”
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Lynn Hagen
“Are you going to pay him off to keep quiet?”
His mate was a real comedian. “No, I’m going to ask him if he
wants protection as well.”
“At least he gets a choice,” Logan grumbled as he climbed into
the backseat. Rave closed the door, stopping his eyes from rolling
skyward. He could see now Logan was a hell-raiser. He just hoped
that when the man’s powers kicked in fully, he stayed on the right
side.
And that side would be Rave’s.
Memphis 31
Chapter Three
Logan stood against a dark-paneled wall, staring at the men
standing around him. He wasn’t what one would consider brave by
any stretch of the imagination, but damn if he didn’t feel trapped by
every last man in the room.
All eyes were on him, making him feel as if he should run for his
life. They were staring at him as if he were the boogeyman and an
enemy of their town. Or maybe it was just having Cal with him. A
few of the men in the room had sniffed his friend, a few times.
Logan hadn’t known Cal that long, but he never noticed an odor.
Why were the men sniffing him? Okay, that was not the important
thing right now. He needed to prioritize. He’d worry about Cal’s BO
problem later.
“Why am I here?” Logan asked as he watched Zeus stand from
behind his desk. He noticed how huge the man was. His body mass
looked large enough to be considered a planet. Logan took a step
back, pressing his back firmly into the wall. He didn’t know these
people. They could have had malicious intents for all he knew. What
did he really know about any of these men? Not a damn thing.
He glanced over at Rave, the man who had ridden in the backseat
with him the whole way here.
Rave gave him a slight nod, his eyes confident and the angles of
his face strong, but his lips were soft and sensual, lightening some of
his sharper features. Logan felt a little out of depth here. He had no
clue why he needed protection, but having Rave standing so close did
make him feel a little better.
But not by much.
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Lynn Hagen
He was in a room full of wolf shifters, after all. Cal may have
been a shifter, but Logan was one hundred percent human.
If a fight broke out, he was in deep shit.
“You are here because of your blood work.”
Logan watched as the doctor from the hospital walked into the
outsized office. He was studying a file in his hand, his attention on
what he was reading, but the man managed to thread his way into the
room without bumping into anything or anyone. His head rose from
whatever he was reading as his thick, black brows furrowed. “Why
are you over here by the wall?”
Because going any further into a room full of wolves didn’t seem
like a good idea to Logan. He noticed Cal sit up a little straighter, his
eyes locking onto the doctor as he squirmed around uncomfortably.
Cal never squirmed. What the hell was up with that?
“I’m fine,” Logan said. “Why am I here?” He knew the doctor had
wanted to conduct more tests on him. Was this the man’s way of
getting him to cooperate? Had he sent muscle to get Logan to return?
What in the hell was in his blood to make the doctor go through all of
this? Nah, there was no way the good-looking doctor set all this up
just to get more blood.
No one was that desperate.
He hoped.
“Shall we begin?” the alpha asked.
Logan glanced at Zeus. His presence was commanding, his tone
almost regal as he stood there. Logan felt as though the man should be
wearing a crown or something to show he was the leader of this pack
of wolves. His dominance seemed to take up every extra inch in the
office.
Logan nodded, but stayed against the wall. He was not giving his
back to anyone in the room. His eyes slid back to Rave. The man was
staring at him, heat in his liquid brown eyes. Logan knew that look. It
was nothing short of pure fucking. The man wanted Logan. The
Memphis 33
weight of his want was not only in his eyes, but Logan could feel it
like a physical caress along his skin.
He averted his eyes back to the alpha.
“Have you ever heard of styre mente?” Zeus asked as he took a
seat behind his desk.
“Can’t say that I have,” Logan said as he shifted to the other foot.
The doctor gave him a soft smile. It was one of those smiles that said,
oh, well then, you’re in for a doozy.
Logan didn’t like doozies.
He stood there, listening to the doctor explain to him what a styre
mente was, and began to feel sick to his stomach. This had to be a
joke. It had to be some sort of sick and twisted joke that the doctor
pulled on his patients just to get them to cooperate. If he wanted more
blood, all he had to do was ask. Not that Logan would have said yes,
but it was better than listening to this bullshit.
Logan was becoming uneasy. It was a feeling he didn’t like. The
doctor was talking about something completely impossible. The man
had to be certifiable.
“Do you understand what I’m saying to you, Logan?” the doctor
asked.
“Not one single damn word. Now, can I go to my mom’s?” He
didn’t mean to say it so aggressively, but Logan was tired of hearing
this crap. A blond man stepped up next to the doctor, his blue eyes
raking over Logan as if he weren’t even worthy enough to talk to the
doctor, or maybe he just didn’t like Logan. He really didn’t care.
“I’m fine, Eagle,” the doctor said to the blond man. “He’s just
scared.”
Mr. Blondie didn’t look like he cared what the reason was for
Logan’s tone. If he had been in a room full of humans, Logan would
have probably flipped them all off and walked away, but he wasn’t.
Eagle’s eyes were glacial blue, the tip of one canine showing under
his upper lip.
He was in a room full of wolves.
34
Lynn Hagen
Would he make it out of here alive? That was one hell of a
warning look being shot at him. Logan got the message loud and
clear. No yelling at the doctor. But Logan wasn’t backing down, not
in front of these men. For all he knew, they would smell weakness
and converge on him, leaving nothing behind but his bones for
toothpicks.
“If we allow you to leave, Logan, the man that was after you just
might find and kill you,” Rave said as he inched closer. Logan took a
step away. He didn’t want any of these men in arm’s reach.
“I don’t believe any of this.”
“So then why was Aba after you?” Rave asked.
Hell if Logan knew. The only thing he knew for sure was that he
wanted out of this room. He was becoming angry that he couldn’t just
go to his mom’s. No one should be able to find him there. The only
reason anyone knew where he lived was because they either followed
him home or got the information from his hospital charts. “I want to
leave.”
He felt a surge of power stretch out from his mind, expanding
across the room like small ripples in a pond after someone had tossed
a rock in. It was like tiny tentacles reaching out, feelers grabbing at
the closest person. Logan had actually felt them. He stood there
stunned as Zeus smiled at him.
“You can go to your mom’s. We won’t hold you up any longer.”
If he hadn’t felt the exerted power leave him, Logan wouldn’t
have believed it. It had been like nothing he had ever felt before. He
concentrated on the thought of leaving, pushing it toward the pack of
wolves, straining for them to let him go.
“Stop it!”
Logan glanced at Rave. His hands were balled up into fists, tiny
spatters of blood on his hands. It looked like Rave had dug his
fingernails into the palms of his hands, fighting against whatever the
hell Logan had been trying to do.
“You can’t use that against anyone not trying to harm you.”
Memphis 35
The men around him blinked as if coming out of a dream and then
began to growl low in their throats. Did that qualify as harming him?
They sure as shit looked like they wanted to.
“Don’t do that again,” Zeus said, his voice holding a pissed-off
tone.
“Or?” Logan challenged with a clip to his tone.
“Do you really want to find out?” Zeus gritted through his teeth.
He leaned over his desk, palms flat as his dark eyes ate Logan alive. If
he had not been giddy over this newfound power, Logan would
probably be wetting himself right about now. But unfortunately it had
gone to his head, making him feel invincible.
Rave slid in front of Logan, blocking his view of the alpha.
“Now do you believe me, Logan?” the doctor asked from beside
Eagle.
Logan felt tired, a slight headache thumping in the back of his
skull. He wasn’t feeling empowered any longer, but drained. “Yes.”
“Seriously?” Cal asked as he jumped up from the leather sofa he
had been sitting on. “You’re some kind of mind controller?”
Why did the man make it sound like it was the coolest thing ever
invented? Logan wasn’t sure he wanted this. Quite frankly, it scared
the shit out of him. His body was losing the little high it had been
riding, and now all he wanted to do was crash somewhere. He glanced
around at the men in the room, trying to focus.
“He’s drained and confused,” the doctor said as he approached
Logan.
Logan pressed his back into the wall, throwing his hands up to
ward the man off. He tried to send out the message not to touch him,
but the harder Logan tried to push the message into the doctor, the
worse his head hurt.
He was helpless.
“All I want to do is examine you, Logan. I promise I’m not going
to hurt you or try to perform any experiments.”
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Lynn Hagen
Logan lowered his arms slowly, his eyes snapping over to Rave
for help. There was no logic behind reaching out to Rave, but he
seemed like the only one in the room who would oblige. Logan didn’t
trust the doctor, and Cal was too busy looking starstruck at Logan.
What a dweeb.
He stood stock-still as the doctor shined the penlight in his eyes.
Logan glanced over at Rave, making sure the man was at his side.
There was nothing he could do but stand there and allow the man to
check him. The doctor knew it. Logan knew it. He was helpless.
“Your eyes are dilating, Logan.” The doctor lowered the penlight.
“And?”
“They should be restricting away from the light, not growing
larger.”
What did that mean?
“Get some rest.” The doctor walked back over to the chart he had
been reading when he first walked into the room, jotting something
down.
“I’ll show you somewhere comfortable you can rest.” Rave waved
for Logan to follow him.
“What about Cal?”
Rave glanced back at the office. “Cal is fine. He’s a cat shifter.
Max, the doctor, is a lion shifter. He won’t let anything happen to Cal.
Besides, both of you are in the safest place you could be.”
Logan wasn’t too sure he’d bet on that claim. The safest place he
could think of was his mom’s.
“There is also a jaguar shifter here as well. Cal will be safe.”
Logan had no damn idea so many different species of shifters
existed. He knew about Cal, and he knew about wolves, but lions and
jaguars? Why didn’t he feel safer?
* * * *
Memphis 37
Zeus sat back in his chair, looking exhausted. “Did he really just
try to get us to let him walk out of the front door?”
Max nodded. “And that was just a test. Can you imagine what
he’ll be like when he fully comes into his powers?” As fascinated as
Max was with the case, it was a sober reality. Logan was a loaded gun
ready to go off. If the pack didn’t help the young man channel his
ability, so many bad things could happen.
Irreversible things.
And Max for one didn’t want scrambled eggs for brains. He was a
lion shifter, self-assured, strong, and confident, but the thought of
having Logan at full power made even him take pause.
“I think I need to fill Rave in on as much as I can. The more he
knows about styre mentes, the better he’ll be able to handle his mate.”
Max had noticed the way Rave had resisted Logan. It wasn’t easy
from the strained look on Rave’s face, but he had resisted. The rest of
them were ready to dance around and dub Zeus the fairy queen if
Logan had suggested it.
And that pissed Max off. But that was his lion that was angry.
Max, as a doctor, was intrigued.
* * * *
Rave kept his face closed and careful. He didn’t want Logan to
know just how truly pissed off he was. He knew Logan was just
coming into his powers, but his mate had purposefully tried to use his
mind control on everyone in the office to get what he wanted.
Even if it was his freedom.
Maybe that was what had Rave so angry. That his mate didn’t feel
safe in his presence. The tension between them was choking as Rave
walked Logan to his bedroom. There were plenty of vacant rooms that
Rave could have given Logan, but the man was his mate, after all.
“You can lie down in here and get some rest.”
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Lynn Hagen
Logan glanced over his shoulder at Rave. His cornflower-blue
eyes glittered with uncertainty, and fear raw and tangible swam in
them. Rave chanced a step closer, touching his fingers to Logan’s
cheek. “You’re safe. I give you my word.”
Logan’s smile appeared, but wavered. “I don’t even know you.”
“But tell me you don’t feel that you are safe with me. “ He wanted
to hear those words, needed to hear them to settle his wolf. His wolf
wasn’t too damn happy that Logan was afraid. It was a foul smell that
insulted the creature’s senses.
Logan pulled back, glancing over at the bed. Rave curled his
fingers in as the soft feel of his mate’s skin left him, but didn’t force
Logan to give him an answer. Logan kicked his shoes off and climbed
onto the bed, resting his head on the pillow as he closed his eyes.
Rave did the only thing he could. He closed the door behind him
as Logan rested. As he walked back toward Zeus’s office, his cell
phone vibrated at his side. Rave grabbed it and answered. “Yeah?”
“Is that how you normally answer your phone?”
Rave froze. It was Agent Monroe. His silky voice melted over
Rave and sent tiny shock waves to his gut and groin. “Long time no
hear.”
He could actually feel the unease on the other end of the phone.
Monroe cleared his throat. “Yeah, I’ve been meaning to call you.”
Rave wasn’t too sure he believed that. It had been four months,
after all. How much time did it take to make a phone call and say hi,
I’m still alive? Not long. He gritted his teeth as he looked back at his
bedroom door.
“So what’s going on?” he asked as he moved toward the wall and
then leaned against it, feeling tonight’s adventure finally seeping into
his bones. He was half tempted to go back to his bedroom and rest
with Logan.
He wasn’t too sure the human would welcome that.
Memphis 39
“I finally closed the case out with the bookie. I was thinking of
heading that way.” Monroe’s voice was guarded, careful. Rave wasn’t
sure if Monroe was waiting for Rave to tell him to forget about it.
“When?”
A relieved sigh sounded on the other end. Not loud enough for
Rave to pick up if he were human. A smile tilted Rave’s lips, and he
was glad Monroe couldn’t see it.
“I can be there tomorrow evening. Did you want to meet at
Theo’s?”
Rave glanced at his bedroom door again, wondering if he could
leave Logan here while he met Monroe. He wasn’t sure if introducing
the two would go so well since he really didn’t know either man.
“Sure.”
“See you then, Rave.”
Rave hung up, wondering how much more of a mess this was
going to be. He pushed the phone back into its clip and finished
walking to the alpha’s office. Max was still in there, Eagle at his side
as they talked quietly. Zeus was sitting behind his desk, on the phone.
Rave came in and took a seat in front of Zeus’s desk in one of the
matching leather chairs. He waited while the man finished his phone
call.
“I need to talk to you, Rave,” Max said from behind him. “I want
to give you the notes I have on styre mentes.”
“Didn’t you explain everything to us at the hospital?” he asked as
he turned around. He didn’t like the frown on Max’s face.
“You really should read them.”
Rave would rather have Max tell him. He wasn’t big into reading
boring files, and hearing the doctor explain things to him would stick
in his brain better. He never really was too good at retaining things he
read if the material was long and drawn out, in terms that made
Rave’s eyes cross.
“How about you tell me what I don’t already know?”
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Max took a seat on the sofa, Eagle sitting next to him. Eagle may
have been healed from his ordeal with the ex-alpha, Jackson, but he
was still very quiet at times. Eagle placed a hand on Max’s knee as
the doctor sat rigidly.
“I’ve told you everything that I’ve read about styre mentes, Rave.
But what is surfacing through his blood work isn’t in any scroll I’ve
come across.”
Rave turned fully. He wasn’t sure he was going to like what Max
was about to tell him. He had an urge to look up to see if a bomb was
heading straight for his lap because it sure felt like Max was about to
drop one in it.
“And what’s wrong with his blood work?”
“That’s what I’m trying to figure out, Rave. It’s normal, but not.
He has the markers for a styre mente, but it’s sketchy at best. I’m still
working on his blood. My advice to you is to help him control his
urges. We’re still not sure how strong he may become, and he
certainly has the potential for TMC. Just be careful.”
“What about the whole mate thing? Shouldn’t I be immune to
what he can do?”
“Sometimes, it just isn’t that easy to hand out a black-and-white
answer. You know as well as I do that nature has a way of doing
things on her own. The human mind is complicated, and DNA is even
trickier when it comes to preternatural creatures.”
Rave sat back and sighed. And here he thought he would get a
mate with a simple problem. He knew he wasn’t going to have a
cakewalk when it came to mating. Dealing with Jackson and watching
the other soldiers with their mates let him know things weren’t going
to be easy, but this was the most complicated shit he had heard of to
date.
And he lived in the paranormal world.
Memphis 41
Chapter Four
Agent Anthony Monroe lifted his cup of coffee and took a sip as
he read over the open file in front of him. He was sitting in a diner the
next town over from Pride Pack Valley. He was going to see Rave
today, and Tony had to admit, the idea was very pleasant, but the file
in front of him was not.
He leafed through the pages, studying the jacket. He had been
assigned another case, and the debriefing had taken weeks. Tony
wasn’t at liberty to tell Rave any of this, so he had to make it sound as
though the bookie case had taken longer than it truly had.
Rave was a nice-looking man, and Tony was interested, very
interested. But he’d had his fair share of men in his bed. As much as
he wanted to fuck Rave until the man lay sated in his bed, work came
first. The only reason he was heading Rave’s way was because of this
case.
“I still can’t believe any of this,” Agent Dorm said. “No matter
how many times I read the file.”
Neither could Tony. He knew shifters existed. Hell, he was half
jaguar, but his genes were so recessed that they weren’t even
detectable in his DNA. Freak of nature was what his father had called
him for having recessed genes, but Tony really didn’t give a shit
about that. He lived with it.
But what his director handed off to him was beyond the stretch of
imagination. He had been briefed on what little the men working on
this case knew—which wasn’t much—and now here he sat with the
order of bringing the “freak” in.
He really hated that word.
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Lynn Hagen
“It does seem impossible,” he muttered as he picked his coffee
mug up and took another sip. He’d had better coffee, but it wasn’t like
he was in the city where he could run down to the nearest Starbucks.
The coffee wasn’t that bad, though.
He glanced at the picture attached to the file. Tony studied the
face, the dark irises that looked almost black, deep, dark charcoals of
emotionless eyes. It was a surveillance snapshot, the perp unaware.
Or maybe not, according this the file.
The word at the top of the file was in big, bold print. Styre Mente.
He’d never heard the term before. His orders were to find Aba and
bring him in. The man had committed multiple homicides, bank
robberies, and blackmail. The problem was, none of those charges
could be proven. The file claimed that Aba had used some sort of
mind control in all these crimes. How the hell could someone prove
that?
The director had also informed him that there was another in
Browlers County with the same potential. It was only rumor,
unsubstantiated, but Tony’s orders were to bring the suspect in as
well.
Tony would find the suspect and bring him in. Being able to
control minds was extremely dangerous to the human population. If
styre mentes really existed, they were very perfidious according to
what Aba had done already.
He had an address where the second suspect lived, but nothing
more. Tony and Dorm were going to check the place out before
heading to Pride Pack Valley, the last place Aba had been seen.
“You gonna eat that?” Dorm asked as he nodded toward Tony’s
untouched meal.
Tony slid his plate across the speckled, yellow Formica table. He
sat the file down, glancing around the diner. Director Simone had
handed the case over to Tony because he had the highest rate of
arrests.
Tony knew what he was doing and was damn good at his job.
Memphis 43
“We need to head out,” Tony said as he pushed away from the
orange booth seat. He dropped a few bills onto the table, grabbed the
file, and headed toward the car. Staying in one place too long was not
a good thing. People tended to remember a man who sat too long in a
diner, especially in a small town.
He wore plain black jeans, a solid dark-grey shirt and cowboy
boots. He blended in, nondescript, and that was the point.
Dorm took one last sip of his coffee before tossing his paper
napkin down and joining Tony.
“Y’all have a good day,” the waitress called out as Tony exited
the diner. He opened the trunk and stored the file in a hidden
compartment on the side wall, behind the fuzzy lining, before getting
in the driver’s seat.
“What’s the possibility that we’ll secure the second suspect on
day one?” Dorm asked as he sat back, resting his arm on the frame of
the door as Tony pulled away.
“Zero to none.”
Dorm nodded. “Just asking.”
Dorm hadn’t been with the FBI as long as Tony had. But they had
been partners for two years. He hadn’t brought Dorm with him when
he’d come here as a favor to Zeus to clear up the bookie case. He
knew shifters lived in Pride Pack Valley and didn’t want to expose
them.
So much for trying to keep their secret.
Now they were ordered there. Tony would try his best to keep
Dorm in the dark about the shifters who lived there, but catching the
styre mente was his first priority. Having someone like that on the
loose was dangerous, more dangerous than Dorm finding out that
more than humans inhabited the earth.
Tony drove to Browlers, pulling into a narrow driveway with a
red Nissan sitting in front of a single-car garage. The lights in the
house were out. It didn’t look like anyone was home. Tony climbed
from the car, closing the door behind him. He didn’t have a photo on
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Lynn Hagen
the guy they were looking for, or even what his name was, but Tony
wanted to check things out.
Placing his hand close to his Glock, which was secured in the
holster around his shoulders, Tony walked slowly to the door. If the
suspect was one of those mind controllers, he wasn’t sure a gun would
be enough. But he did have his backup, a small Star handgun in his
ankle holster.
Dorm knocked on the front door as Tony crept around back. He
glanced around the chain-link fence, seeing that the backyard was just
as dark. Tony eased the small gate open, but the metal creaked,
sounding like a marching band was coming straight into the yard.
Tony silently walked to the back door, and stilled. The lock was
busted, and the door was hanging halfway open. It looked as though
someone used force to break in.
He pulled his Glock and slowly eased inside, checking the small
house. He met Dorm in the front room. “No one is here.”
So much for catching a break on day one.
Tony checked the bedroom, rifling through the drawers, trying to
find a clue as to who lived here.
“Hey, I have some papers here with the name Cal Winters.” Dorm
sounded optimistic.
Tony found some mail and sighed. “And I have some mail here
for a Logan Albinster.”
“Well, we narrowed it down to two names. That should make
things a little easier,” Dorm said as he tossed the papers he had onto a
table in Logan’s room.
Tony knew better. From the looks of the back door, things were
about to get harder. He hadn’t a clue where to look or who could have
possibly broken into this place. Was the suspect kidnapped, killed, or
had he been the one to do the damage? Tony wasn’t sure, but he knew
he would be back here.
Memphis 45
“Let’s get moving.” He tossed the mail aside and headed for the
door. Tony caught movement from the corner of his eye and had his
Glock pulled and pointing in under a second.
“Tony?” Dorm said his name questioningly as he stood frozen in
the living room. “There’s nothing there, man.”
Tony blinked, seeing shadows all around the house. There wasn’t
a light on, but he knew he saw something. He didn’t spook easily. He
glanced around the thin shadows again, pools of light softening the
edges of darkness from the streetlights outside. He shoved his gun
back into the holster and grunted as he headed toward the door.
“You all right?” Dorm asked as they walked to the car. “I’ve
never seen you this jumpy before.”
That was because Tony had never tried to shoot a damn shadow
before. What the hell was going on around here? Things weren’t
adding up, and he didn’t like it. Tony drove to Pride Pack Valley,
arriving after midnight. There was a small motel on the outskirts of
town where he and Dorm checked in. They got separate rooms and
Tony gladly went to his. His eyes burned he was so damn tired.
Sliding his gun under his pillow, Tony lay down and closed his
eyes. He had thought about calling Rave to come to his room, but it
was late and all Tony wanted right now was some sleep.
Tony’s eyes flew open, his hand sliding under his pillow. He
grabbed his gun and eased it from its hiding place. He glanced at the
clock to see it was after three. The room was bathed in darkness, the
curtains drawn tight.
“I hear you are looking for me.”
A wave so subtle, so caressing wrapped around Tony’s mind. The
ripples were soft, comforting, like being held in his mother’s arms. He
lay there feeling as though he really didn’t want to work this case and
needed to just close it. There was no such thing as mind controllers,
no such thing as styre mentes.
Tony fought against the invasion in his mind, knowing that what
he was thinking was wrong. He knew what the person in his motel
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Lynn Hagen
room was doing, but Tony felt powerless to stop it. The need to walk
away was strong, and the pain in his head was getting worse, as if the
shadow in his room knew Tony was fighting him.
Tony rolled from the bed, aiming his gun at the darkness. He let
his eyes adjust to his surroundings, but as he darted them around, he
didn’t see anyone.
But he could feel them. He could feel a presence somewhere in
the room, watching him, mocking him.
As Tony glanced around the motel room, his fingers began to
tremble uncontrollably, his wrist bending awkwardly as the gun
slowly began to turn. Tony gritted his teeth as he tried to release his
gun, to drop it, but no matter how hard he tried to open his hand, he
couldn’t.
It was as if an unseen force was helping him, guiding his hand and
applying so much pressure that he could feel his temples throb with
exertion.
His arm rose slowly, and the muzzle of the gun pressed hard into
Tony’s temple, reminding him of the power behind the steel. He
fought to breathe, fought to get the damn thing away from his head.
He was sweating profusely as he glanced around the room, praying
his finger didn’t pull the trigger.
A hand curled around Tony’s neck and Tony realized in horror
that it was his own damn hand.
But he could feel that someone was standing behind him and there
wasn’t a damn thing he could do. He was so fucking helpless and
powerless to stop the person. His fingers dug into his windpipe,
making it almost impossible for Tony to breathe as the pressure
mounted. He stood there strangling himself with a gun to his head.
This was not one of his better nights.
“I could kill you right now or make you shoot your brains out, and
no one would truly know what happened in here,” the man said from
a darkened corner. Tony could hear the note of amusement as his
finger slid next to the trigger, taunting him, making Tony believe that
Memphis 47
he was going to shoot himself. He became light-headed, white dots
bursting all around him from the lack of oxygen as his fingers
maintained their tight grip on his neck.
“Go back to where you came from, or the next time I won’t stop
you.” A few seconds later the door flew open, the night air spilling in.
Tony caught a glimpse of the man’s face as the cheap, yellow lighting
from outside splashed into his room and framed the man in a soft
halo.
Aba.
The deep angles of his face were half masked from the shadows as
his eyes glanced back at Tony. They were soulless eyes, eyes that said
Aba would do exactly as he promised if Tony didn’t back off.
Something Tony didn’t plan on doing.
His fingers eased from his gun, and Tony’s arm fell limp at his
side from his neck. He fell to the floor, gasping for air. Wheezing for
air was more like it. The skin on his neck burned from where his
fingernails had dug into flesh, and his throat felt raw, his breathing
ragged. Tony was on all fours, forcing air into his lungs as the door
snicked closed. Tears streamed down his face from the pure pressure
that had been exerted, his head feeling as though it were going to
explode.
What the hell was he dealing with? The file had said that Aba had
committed multiple murders, but they all looked like suicides. Tony
hadn’t really put too much stock into those reports, but he was quickly
changing his mind.
His hand came up, rubbing at his neck as Tony pushed back onto
his knees, gun still in hand. He glanced at the door, but it was closed
and the feeling of someone watching him in the darkness was gone.
Tony sat on his ass, his back against the bed as he wondered how he
was going to capture someone who could make him want to just walk
away and forget about this case.
Good thing he was a stubborn ass bastard who never gave up.
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Tony stared down at his Glock. It used to be a solid, comforting
weight in his hand, but now he only saw it as a tool for Aba to use
against him. He finally pushed to his feet, swaying a little.
He sat down on the side of his bed, staring down at the gun he had
fired very few times over the years, and wondered if the next bullet
fired would be into his own head.
The thought was sobering, but Tony was not going to run away
and allow Aba to go unpunished. If Tony scared that easily, he
wouldn’t have advanced as far as he did in his career.
No, for better or dead, Tony was in this until the job was done.
Awake now, Tony grabbed the file he had on the styre mente and
began to pore over the notes again. He grabbed the small notepad and
pen from the side table with the motel monogram and began to make
notes of his own. It was after six when he finished memorizing
everything in the file. He yawned, his stomach rumbling at the same
time, letting Tony know it was time for some breakfast. He tucked the
motel notepad inside his jacket and stood, grabbing the file to store in
the trunk of the car.
Dorm knocked on his door after seven. Tony was showered and
ready to go.
Dorm’s eyes widened as he stepped into Tony’s room. “What
happened to your neck?”
Tony had seen the bruising in the mirror after his shower. The
fingerprints were clear and an ugly deep purple. There was no
denying he had been strangled. “I choked myself.” He told the bizarre
truth, hoping Dorm would let it go.
Dorm’s brows furrowed as he stood in Tony’s motel room, staring
from his neck to his eyes. “Why would you do that?”
So much for hoping.
Tony slid his jacket on, shrugging it over his shoulders, knowing
there was no way he could hide the bruising. “I had a visitor last
night. Aba warned me away from the case, strangled the crap out of
me with my own hands to show his power.”
Memphis 49
“Are you kidding?” Dorm gaped at Tony with a glint of anger in
his eyes. His lip snarled back as he looked at Tony and then glanced
back at the motel door, as if Aba were still standing there. “And you
didn’t shoot him?”
There was no way Tony was telling Dorm that he almost shot
himself in the head with his own damn gun. That was something a
man never shared. Talk about kicking someone’s pride in the gonads.
“I was too busy trying to breathe. It’s kind of hard to shoot when
you’re about to pass out from blood loss to your brain.” And it was.
“You have a point.” Dorm didn’t look too happy, as if the thought
of someone choking him left a bad taste in his mouth. Tony knew
how he felt.
“Let’s get some breakfast, and we can start questioning people.”
Tony tucked the file under his arm, closing the door behind him.
They drove through Pride Pack Valley, heading toward Theo’s. Tony
knew from the last time he was here that Theo’s served breakfast.
He slammed the brakes just a block from Theo’s when he caught a
glimpse of a body in an alley, and the perp standing right next to it.
Tony jumped from the car, pulling his gun as he raised it and ran for
the mouth of the alleyway. “Freeze.”
The man looked at him, his eyes narrowed and his canines
exposed. Was he a shifter? He didn’t look like any shifter Tony had
ever seen. He wanted to look down at the body on the ground, but he
didn’t dare take his eyes off of the man standing there staring at him
as if Tony was meddling.
Dorm was out of the car, gun raised and coming up behind Tony
when Tony gaped at the suspect flying away. Flying? He was really
flying? He glanced around to see if Aba was anywhere near. Maybe
this was another mind trick. It had to be.
Men just didn’t fucking fly away from a crime scene.
“Get the sheriff on the phone,” Tony said to Dorm as he carefully
walked down the alleyway, his eyes scanning for any other flying
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men. When he saw that the alley was clear, Tony checked on the
victim.
He gasped when he saw black ooze coming out of the man’s neck
wound. Just what in the fuck was going on around here? Tony had a
feeling he had stepped into some shit in this town. There was more
than just a mind controller running around, and he was going to get to
the bottom of things.
He jumped back when the downed man’s eyes popped open, and
then he scurried to his feet, running from the alley with a damn knife
still embedded in the side of his neck. Ah hell. He was going to lose
his mind by the time he wrapped his case up. He could just feel it.
“The sheriff is on his way.” Dorm walked down the alley, his gun
out and at his side as he glanced around. Tony was still kneeling on
one knee, feeling slightly disoriented.
“What’s going on?” Dorm asked as he glanced around. “Why did
you jump from the car and tell me to call the sheriff?”
Dorm hadn’t seen the men in the alleyway. He had been behind
Tony. Shit. Now he was going to have to tell the sheriff what he really
saw, or tell them it was a false alarm. Maybe he needed to go talk to
the alpha of the grey wolf pack that lived here. Things were just
getting too damn strange for words.
Sirens blared as the sheriff approached, the front of the car
coming into view as the sound of heavy footfall came toward them.
Tony stood, dusting his hand onto his jeans as he holstered his gun.
Dorm put his away as well.
Sheriff Jesse DeKalb came into view, his gun out and his eyes
searching. “What’s going on, Agent Monroe?”
He wished he knew.
“False alarm.” It gutted him to say those words when they weren’t
true. And he knew Jesse was a shifter, which meant he could probably
smell the lie. Grey wolves had a very keen sense of smell.
“False?” Jesse glanced at him with questioning eyes and then
looked over to where Dorm was standing. Understanding dawned in
Memphis 51
his eyes as he nodded. Jesse knew Dorm was human. He would be
able to scent it, which meant no talking about strange paranormal shit
in front of the human who had no knowledge that shifters existed.
“What do you think you saw?”
Tony knew Jesse couldn’t just walk away. He had to play the part
in front of Agent Dorm. But Tony also knew he would be explaining
himself later to the sheriff when Dorm wasn’t around.
“I thought I saw a body, but I must have been seeing things.”
Damn if he didn’t feel lame saying that. Tony never imagined things.
He even knew that there had been somebody in Logan and Cal’s
house when he and Dorm were there last night. He’d bet his bottom
dollar on it.
Jesse looked around, giving Tony a few subtle glances along the
way. “Nothing here,” he called over to Deputy Hanes. “False alarm.”
Tony wanted to get out of there. He hated feeling like an idiot,
especially when he wasn’t. One way or the other, Tony was going to
find out what in the hell was going on in Pride Pack Valley.
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Chapter Five
Logan walked into Theo’s Bar and Grill. There was a horseshoe-
shaped bar in the center of the room, booths off to the left, tables and
chairs scattered around on the dark wooden floor. He spotted a pool
table behind the row of booths and flat-screen televisions spaced out
in various places. Most bars were dimly lit, a place of refuge for those
seeking solace, but Theo’s was moderately lit, not brightly, but
enough to see the people around him.
Wine glasses hung over the bar, bottles of liquor lined the shelves,
and bowls scattered from one end of the bar top to the other with nuts,
pretzels, and napkins stacks on the side. But Logan could smell the
salty scent of bacon on the air, home fries and pancakes as well.
Damn if it didn’t make his stomach growl, but he’d never really been
a breakfast person.
Logan walked to the bar, taking a seat on one of the stools. Rave
was with him, talking with a few people who had stopped him by the
door. Logan glanced around, spotting a bartender busy on the right
side of the bar. He glanced back to make sure Rave wasn’t watching
him and then concentrated on the bartender, mentally pushing the
thought of coming over to Logan and serving him into the guy’s head.
He wasn’t out to hurt the man, but Logan was curious as hell to
see if he could do it. It just didn’t seem real that he could actually
control minds. Logan was floored by the idea, and who wouldn’t want
to test their boundaries if they knew they could control minds?
The bartender walked away from the customer he had been
serving, the lady looking indignantly at the bartender as he made his
way over to Logan. “What can I get for you?”
Memphis 53
Logan sat there stunned for a moment. He had done it yesterday in
Zeus’s office, but to see that it worked on humans as well, wow.
Okay, so he assumed the man was human, but it had worked. “I’ll
have an orange juice.” After all, it was only eight in the morning.
The man nodded and brought Logan a tall glass of cold OJ. He
felt a hand grip the back of his neck, and then Rave’s face came into
view, a disapproving look on his face. “I thought we talked about
this?”
“You talked about this,” he said casually enough as he sipped his
juice. He noticed a light throb in his head, but nothing compared to
yesterday. Maybe Logan was getting stronger, better at controlling
minds so it didn’t make him weak and vulnerable afterward.
“Do you think it’s right to make people do what you want, taking
away their free will?” The question was spoken low enough for just
Logan to hear, but he heard the censure in the guy’s voice. Now
Logan felt like crap for mentally making the bartender get his drink.
“I am who I am, Rave. You may try and stop me from being a
styre mente, but I have this gift for a reason.” Why would he have this
ability if he couldn’t use it? He wasn’t trying to do bad things with it.
Hell, Logan wasn’t even sure what he was supposed to do with it. But
not using it seemed like a waste to him.
“Then we need to figure out a positive way for you to use it.
Making someone do your bidding without a choice is wrong.”
“Life isn’t fair. Get over it.” Logan wasn’t usually a douche, but
he felt as though Rave was blowing down on him. He hadn’t hurt
anyone. Logan didn’t plan to, either. But how was he going to know
the extent of his powers if he didn’t try them out, like a test run?
“If you insist on using people as slave labor, we can go back to the
house.”
“Or I can just go home.” Logan still wasn’t sure why he was
hanging around. His mom’s place was just as safe as Rave’s house
was. Aba didn’t know where his mother lived. And since Cal was his
only friend, he didn’t have to worry about anyone ratting him out.
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“You’re being difficult on purpose,” Rave accused as he took a
seat next to Logan. “I’m not your enemy.”
“I don’t know you well enough to agree with that.” Logan could
see the frustration in Rave’s brown eyes, but like Logan had stated, he
didn’t know Rave. For all he knew, the man could be using him.
Logan didn’t know who to trust. His life had gone from ordinary and
monotonous to a fun-filled trip to Disney World where the characters
tried to eat people. Maybe not that bad, but it was damn close.
Someone had tried to blow him up—which he was really starting
to suspect it to be Aba—then he was told he had funky blood, and
then Aba tried to whisk him away to the unknown, against his damn
will. Now he sat here with a wolf shifter he didn’t even know who
was stating that Logan could trust him.
Not likely.
Rave shook his head, as if confused by Logan’s mistrust. “I know
you don’t know me too well, but on my honor I would never hurt
you.”
“Again, don’t know ya, pal.” Logan drank down the last of the
orange juice and sat the empty glass down that had pulp stuck to the
inside as he glanced around.
Logan held back the gasp when his vision blurred for a moment,
and then images started forming in his head. He glanced at a couple
sitting in a booth, looking pleasant enough as they ate. But Logan
could see images swimming in front of him of the woman being
pregnant and the man cheating on her countless times. The man was
paranoid, too, doubting that the child was even his. Logan blinked a
few times and then wiped his eyes with the palms of his hands. How
in the hell did he know that?
He glanced at the woman’s belly, but didn’t see even the smallest
bump to prove she was pregnant, but somehow he knew she was.
His gaze swung to the next occupied booth. A man sat there alone,
sipping what looked like apple juice, or maybe beer, as he watched
something on one of the televisions. The guy wore a deep-blue suit, a
Memphis 55
matching hat, and had brown patent leather shoes on. The soft-soled
kind. Logan’s vision swam again, and he could see the man in the
blue suit stealing money from the church offering plate.
It was if he could see everyone’s dark little secrets as he stared
around the room. Logan was frightened to look at Rave, afraid of
what he would see. As much grief as he was giving the man, Logan
really did like the guy. He didn’t have anyone he could really trust
aside from Cal, and although he didn’t know Rave, or know his
motives, who else did he have to rely on right now? Cal was a good
guy, but he was useless in this mess. And to be honest, Logan didn’t
know Cal all that well either. Six months was not long enough to
know someone like the back of his hand. Although Cal was quiet, and
gone half the time, Logan knew he could trust the man.
He wasn’t so sure about Rave.
“Is there something wrong?” Rave asked.
Logan closed his eyes as he bent his head, praying that he didn’t
see anything dark or wicked when he looked at Rave. He took a deep
and cleansing breath and then glanced to his right, opening his eyes to
stare at Rave.
Nothing.
No images, no deep, dark secrets. If the images he had seen with
the strangers were correct, then he could see, or not see as it were, any
malice coming from Rave.
Big point for Rave.
It made him relax a little. Logan wasn’t too sure he liked this little
trick of the eyes. He didn’t want to know everyone’s evil little secrets.
It sucked all the optimistic joy from his world and turned it into a
cruel and cold place, where everyone was a thief or a liar, a bad man,
an evil villain. It made him want to push into those people’s minds
and make them do the right thing.
Logan shook his head. “Everything is fine.” He knew that pushing
into their minds was unfair, even if it was the right thing to do. He
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couldn’t take their choices away like that. Good or bad, they had to
make the choices, not him.
In that moment, Logan could see how someone like him could
abuse the powers he possessed. It was very tempting to make people
do the right thing, and that scared the shit out of him.
* * * *
Rave was becoming a little worried about Logan. He looked a
little pale, and he was sweating. His eyes kept jumping around the
bar, staring at everyone. His wolf wanted to ease the discomfort on
Logan’s face, but Rave knew Logan wasn’t being too receptive right
now.
He cursed under his breath when he spotted Agent Monroe walk
into the door, a large, lumbering man following behind him. This was
not a good time. He knew that Monroe and Logan needed to meet, to
get to know each other, but with what Logan was going through, and
the mistrust he was swimming in, that was going to be a tall order.
The agent locked eyes with him, a small smile tilting his lips as he
headed Rave’s way. A soft, playful smile was on his kissable lips as
Monroe sat on the other side of Rave. His chestnut-brown eyes
sparkled as Monroe laid an arm on the bar. “I was going to call you
this morning, Rave.”
Why didn’t he believe that? Maybe because he could smell the lie.
But not only that, Monroe shifted his eyes slightly, telling Rave that
he was indeed holding back the truth. “Really?”
“I’ll go find a booth,” Logan said as he began to push from the
bar. He could see the tension in Logan’s jaw and the scorn in his eyes.
Jealousy. It wasn’t strong, but it was there.
“Have a seat, Logan,” Rave said. Logan hesitated and then sat
back down, his eyes skipping over to Monroe as if he were trying to
size the other man up. Rave wanted to groan. Logan looked back at
Memphis 57
him, and a thoughtful look crossed his face. His features relaxed, as
he grabbed a handful of pretzels, acting as if he were ignoring Rave.
“Your boyfriend?” Monroe asked as he glanced over at Logan.
“Not a bad choice, cute.”
“I’m not cute,” Logan grumbled.
“You said it, not me,” Monroe stated.
“Who the hell are you?” Logan asked.
“Your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.” Monroe smiled tightly
at Logan.
“Prick.”
“Call me that after I’ve slept with you. It’ll be more fitting.”
“Enough,” Rave growled. He was getting a damn headache, and
oddly enough, turned on. Why was the aggression between Logan and
Monroe making his wolf horny? Rave shook his head. “Stop taking
shots at each other.”
Was it him or could he smell the lust rolling off of Monroe and
crashing into…Logan?
“What’s your name?” Monroe asked around Rave.
“Why?” Logan asked suspiciously.
“Just curious.”
“Logan.”
Rave watched as the lust and humor slid from Monroe’s eyes.
They were made of forged steel now, giving a no-nonsense look that
was a bit intimidating to even Rave.
“Logan Albinster?”
Logan’s head snapped back, his eyes wide with surprise. Rave
watched in slow horror as Monroe pushed from the bar and pulled his
gun, aiming it right at Logan’s chest. “Put your hands behind your
head, and if you try to use your mind on me, I’ll blow your fucking
head off.”
Rave saw from the corner of his eyes as the man who had come
into the bar with Monroe pulled his gun as well, aiming it at Rave.
What the fuck had he done? “What are you doing, Monroe?” Rave
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asked as he slid closer to Logan, blocking the agent from shooting his
damn mate, Monroe’s mate, even if the man didn’t know it yet.
Monroe hesitated and then snarled. “Move away from him, Rave,
or I swear I’ll put a bullet in you just for pissing me off.”
Rave could see his friend Taz behind the bar, talking quietly into
his cell phone. He sure as hell hoped Taz was calling for help,
because there was no way Rave was going to hurt Monroe, even
though his mate had promised to open his damn chest up.
“Lower your gun, Monroe,” Rave warned as he turned fully
toward the agent, his canines unsheathing. “Now.”
Monroe didn’t even blink at Rave’s partial shift. His eyes were
looking past Rave, but Rave had a feeling Monroe was watching him
as well. “I don’t think so.”
Rave spotted Jesse walking into the tavern, a few deputies behind
him. He glanced from Monroe to the lumbering man with a gun
pointed at Rave. “What in the hell is going on in here?”
“It’s an FBI matter, Jesse.”
“What the hell did Rave do?” Jesse asked as he stepped closer,
slowly, cautiously.
“It’s not Rave. He’s in my fucking way, though. Logan Albinster
has a warrant for his arrest.”
“Let me see it,” Jesse said, his gun still holstered. Thank goodness
for small favors. Rave would have been pretty pissed if Jesse had
pointed his gun at Monroe. Rave may not understand what was going
on, but he knew somewhere deep down that Monroe wouldn’t hurt
him. He prayed like hell that that was true.
“This doesn’t concern you, Jesse,” Monroe said between clenched
teeth.
“The hell it doesn’t if you’re about to shoot one of my citizens.”
“Get out of my way, Rave!” Monroe barked.
“No,” Rave replied steadily, his eyes locked tight with Monroe’s.
“I won’t let you shoot our mate.”
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“Our what?” Monroe asked, his gun wavering slightly. There was
indecision in his eyes, confusion, as if Rave had spoken another
language and he was trying to translate it on the spot.
“Your what?” Logan chirped from behind him.
“Our. Mate,” Rave said clearly enough for Monroe to hear.
Rave saw Jesse clearing out the tavern, making everyone leave.
Not all the customers were shifters. Some were humans, clueless to
the paranormal world around them. The only one left who was
clueless now was the man that had come into the bar with Monroe.
“Who is the man pointing a gun at me?” Rave asked.
“My partner,” Monroe replied, his gun still point-blank to Rave’s
chest. “He’s a very accurate shot. I’d move away from Logan if I
were you.”
“If you don’t want him to know about us, then make him leave,”
Rave warned.
“He’s not going anywhere,” Monroe replied.
“Fine.” Rave moved with preternatural speed, disarming Monroe
and pushing Logan away from him at the same time Monroe’s partner
shot his gun. The bang echoed in the tavern as the bullet whizzed by
Rave’s head, just missing splattering his brains all over the bar. Rave
tossed Monroe’s gun to Jesse and then shifted, growling menacingly
at Monroe’s partner.
“What in the hell?” the man said as he swallowed loud enough for
everyone to hear. “What just happened?”
“Back off, Dorm,” Monroe warned his partner.
Rave could see that Dorm’s gun was still pointed at him in a
teacup hold. The man meant business, even if he looked confused and
scared as hell.
“Lower your gun,” Jesse said as if he was talking a man down
from the ledge. His voice was patient, smooth.
“Not likely,” Dorm said as he gripped the gun harder.
“Lower your weapon, Agent Dorm.”
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Rave was surprised to hear Monroe giving the order. He would
have bet that Monroe would have told Dorm to shoot his hairy ass.
“You know about this, Tony?” Dorm asked.
About fucking time Rave learned his mate’s first name. He liked
it. Logan and Tony. Nice. Now if he could manage not to get shot,
maybe he could talk to his mates without a gun pointed at his damn
head.
“I knew.”
“And you didn’t warn me?” Dorm actually looked hurt. If he
didn’t have a gun aimed at Rave, he might have actually felt sorry for
the man.
“It’s not something a person runs around advertising, Dorm.”
“But I’m your damn partner.”
“True,” Tony said as he took a step toward Rave, running his
hands over Rave’s furry head. Damn if Rave didn’t want to roll
around on the floor and have Tony rub his belly.
Dorm’s gun began to slowly descend, ending at his side. “What is
going on, Tony?”
Memphis 61
Chapter Six
Tony sat there looking from Rave to Logan and then back at Rave
again. “Could you repeat that? I’m not sure I caught what you said.”
Rave sighed. The tavern was clear of people. Only the three of
them sat there at the bar. Dorm had protested leaving, but Jesse had
assured him that Tony was safe. He still wouldn’t leave until Tony
had told him it was all right.
“Mates,” Rave said as he waved his hand between them. “We’re
mates.”
“I’m not sleeping with you guys.” Logan scowled at Rave and
then Tony. “I don’t even know you, Rave, and that prick over there
just tried to shoot me.”
“I told you not to call me a prick until after I’ve fucked you,”
Tony said, enjoying the blush of embarrassment on Logan’s face. It
was cute.
“Not happening,” Logan snapped.
“Fine, no sex,” Rave said, “but I need to know why in the hell you
pointed a gun at Logan.”
Tony knew he shouldn’t tell civilians about the case, but nothing
was making real sense to him any longer. If Rave and Logan were
truly his mates as Rave claimed, then a lot of things were about to
change in his life. Tony wasn’t even sure how he was going to do his
job any longer. How would he travel and have two men at home?
This was too much for him to think about right now, so he just
pushed the mess aside like a utility broom after a party.
“Have you heard of Aba?” he inquired.
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“Yeah, he tried to kidnap me,” Logan said. His eyes held surprise.
“Why?”
“Is that why your door was busted?” Tony asked.
“You’ve been to my house?” Logan didn’t sound too happy about
that, so Tony ignored his indignation.
“Aba has been on FBI radar for some time. He’s killed at least a
dozen people, robbed three banks, and is wanted for blackmail.”
Rave whistled low. “Damn.”
“The problem is, we don’t have any proof that he killed those
people. They all look like suicide cases. We have the tape from the
banks, showing the teller smiling as she handed over the money to
Aba, no note, no gun in sight. She doesn’t even remember doing it.
And the tellers from the other two banks are saying the same thing.”
“Who did he blackmail?” Logan asked, leaning closer to the bar
so he could see Tony more clearly. His eyes were wide, listening
intently as if Tony was telling a ghost story.
“The director of the FBI. Director Simone isn’t too happy about
having his mind screwed with. Aba made Simone believe that he had
slept with a few prostitutes, the chief of police, and the mayor. Aba
was blackmailing him for ten thousand dollars.”
“That’s a pretty low amount for the director of the FBI,” Rave
commented.
The man was sharp. “That’s the part we’re still trying to figure
out.”
“And what do I have to do with all of this?” Logan asked.
“Aba came to my motel around three this morning.”
Rave’s jaw clenched as he stared at the bruise mark on Tony’s
neck. He could see the animal behind Rave’s eyes, as if it wanted to
come out and have vengeance for Tony being hurt. The brown in
Rave’s eyes slid around, as if someone were behind them, looking
directly at Tony. It was a bit creepy in his opinion. “He told me to
forget about the case and go home. He choked me to show that he
could do it. The man was pretty persuasive, but I don’t scare off that
Memphis 63
easily.” Tony was still omitting the part about almost shooting
himself. No way, no how was he telling anyone about that.
“No offense, Tony, but why didn’t he just kill you? Why did he
just warn you?” Rave asked. “If he has killed so many people, what’s
another body to him?”
“Good question.” And one Tony hadn’t thought about. Why
hadn’t Aba just killed him? The man had the power to make Tony do
whatever he wanted.
“You still haven’t answered my question,” Logan reminded Tony.
“You are on the FBI wanted list as well,” Tony stated flatly. He
wasn’t so sure he could just haul Logan in now. Ever since Rave had
said they were mates, Tony could feel something deep stirring inside
of him. Power of suggestion? Maybe. But Tony knew it was more.
His parents refused to teach him about shifters since he couldn’t shift
or even sense things like shifters could. Hell, he had average hearing
and smell, like a human. They had called him a freak and pretty much
treated him as if he had been a leper.
But he felt that deep stirring down in his gut, for both men. He
had felt it the first time he had left Rave, but Tony had chalked it up
to lust. Now he wasn’t so sure.
Logan looked stunned. He even gasped. It was dramatic and Tony
wanted to reach out and comfort the man, but he kept his distance.
“But I haven’t done anything wrong,” Logan damn near
whispered, his voice small, as if he were a child begging for someone
to believe he hadn’t stolen the cookie from the cookie jar.
“Yes, you did,” Rave said softly. “You were born a styre mente.
That’s all they care about.”
“We care about catching a man who has killed innocent people,
who has robbed banks using his mind controlling technique, and who
felt he was above the law for anyone to stop him. That’s what we care
about,” Tony said. “I was told there was another like Aba. Of course I
wanted to catch him as well. I just didn’t know it was Logan.”
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“It’s not a technique,” Logan corrected him. “It’s who I am, not
some magician’s parlor tricks.”
Tony once again brushed aside Logan’s snap reply. “Have you
seen flying men around here?” he asked. It was an abrupt change of
subject, but Tony was tired of not having answers. He felt as though
he was getting nowhere fast.
“You saw one?” Rave asked, but didn’t look surprised. So the
man knew about them. Maybe he would finally catch a damn clue to
what was going on in Pride Pack Valley. This place seemed to hold
more secrets than Area 51.
“They’re called winged beasts from what I’m told, but no one can
see their wings.”
Hence Tony seeing a flying man. He hadn’t seen wings, but the
man had flown straight up into the sky as if he had a large span of
them. “He was leaning over a dead body, a dead body that got up and
ran from me.”
“That would be a hound of hell.”
Tony waited.
“Some dark being that looks human, but is more dangerous than
one hundred nuclear bombs going off inside of you. They’re lethal
and so is their bite. Do not let anyone around here bite you.” The
warning was clear in not only Rave’s tone, but his eyes were hard,
glittering stones. Rave turned toward Logan who threw up his hands,
shaking his head.
“I don’t want anyone biting me.”
“Good.”
Tony was taken by surprise when Rave leaned closer, his lips
brushing close to Tony’s mouth. “And just so you know, I’m going to
mate you, Agent Monroe. I’m going to make you mine.”
For the first time in years, Tony swallowed nervously. He saw
Rave’s eyes shift and his canines extend a little longer than what they
already were. They looked sharp and threatening in the dense lighting
of the bar, but Tony knew they would only bring him plenty of
Memphis 65
pleasure if Rave bit him. “I thought you said no biting?” His voice
didn’t hold the usual confidence Tony carried with him. It was low,
filled with desire and hesitation that blended together.
“I’m not a hound from hell,” he said before pulling back.
“If you two are about to have sex, I can wait outside,” Logan
complained. “Don’t let me stop you.”
Tony could hear the small snap of jealousy in Logan’s voice. “I
thought you weren’t going to have sex with us?”
“I’m not.”
“Liar, I can see lust written all over your darling face, honey.”
Tony grinned and then laughed. “I’ll have you in my bed yet, my little
pretty.”
“What are you, the Wicked Witch of the West?” Logan asked
sarcastically.
“Yeah, and I’m Toto.” Rave chuckled.
“I sure as shit ain’t Dorothy,” Logan complained, only making
Rave and Tony laugh harder.
“Come on,” Rave said as he slid from the stool. “We need to let
Taz have his tavern back.”
“Do you know anything about Aba?” Tony asked as he turned
from Rave to Logan.
“Only that he tried to kill me, possibly, yesterday. I left the
hospital, and he attacked the car I was in. Later he came to my house
and tried to force me to go with him, stating that he was only trying to
protect me.” Logan shivered. “If that’s protection, no thanks.”
“He’s strong,” Rave added as he stared at Tony’s bruise, the anger
flickering in his eyes. “Mentally at least.”
Tony absently rubbed his neck, agreeing with Rave. Aba’s mind
powers had been strong. Strong enough to make Tony try and shoot
himself. He wanted that bastard dead yesterday.
They stepped outside into the bright, sunny morning, the warmth
spilling over Tony as he glanced around. The streets looked deserted,
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like a ghost town, not even a car was in sight. “Where in the hell is
everyone?”
* * * *
Dorm stood in the hallway, swallowing a few times as he stared at
the carnage. He was not going to be sick. There was no way he was
throwing up on the white carpet. He had seen dead bodies before, but
nothing like this. It looked as if the husband had cut the wife apart
with a kitchen knife. He knew they were married. He could still see
the shiny ring on her finger, the stones glistening clean, untouched by
the horrific scene.
The call had come in, neighbors hearing screams coming from this
house. Dorm hadn’t wanted to leave the tavern, to leave Tony, but
Jesse had invited him to ride along. Dorm wasn’t one to stand around
twiddling his thumbs, so he had accepted the invitation.
Dorm stared at the wife. Her arm lay a few feet away from her
body, her leg cut so raggedly that it looked like the guy had tried to
saw it off. The limb was hanging on by a thin layer of skin. He
swallowed a few more times, tasting the bile in the back of his throat.
He was not going to throw up.
The husband lay in a pool of his own cooling blood, the knife
sticking out of his neck. He had bled to death. No person in his right
mind would kill himself that way. It looked painful as hell.
“I knew this couple,” Jesse said as he leaned an arm against the
wall, looking just as green as Dorm felt. “They were high school
sweethearts. Rick would have never killed Sarah.”
That left only one explanation.
“Aba is taunting us, telling us with these bodies that we can’t
catch him, stop him,” Jesse said through gritted teeth. He kept looking
at the husband, as if by sheer will the man could make his friend stand
up and be alive again.
Memphis 67
“We have to catch him. I have a feeling the body count is going to
rise if we don’t.” The smell of death was thick in the air as Dorm
found himself swallowing again. He needed fresh air. “I have to call
this in.”
Jesse shook his head as his deputies began to fill the home. He
spotted Rave, Logan, and Tony coming through the front door,
looking a little sick as they spotted the bodies on display for all to see
the gruesome details. “Can it wait? We have a lot more going on here
than I care for the FBI to know about.”
“Like?” Dorm asked as he moved aside for the crime scene photos
to be taken. The click of the camera somehow made everything
around him sharper, more focused, and a hell of a lot bloodier.
Dorm really did need some fresh air.
“I’ll leave that up to Agent Monroe to explain things to you,”
Jesse said before leaving his side.
* * * *
Logan ran back outside after spotting the dead bodies cut up like a
bloody roast at Sunday dinner. He bent over the bushes under the
front window and threw up. Never in his life had he seen a dead body,
so why did the first one have to be so damn gruesome?
His eyes watered and his stomach clenched as he spit out the last
of his stomach contents and then wiped his mouth. Logan held his
stomach, feeling anger and rage building inside of him. Those people
did not deserve to die, and for what, to taunt the cops? For Aba to
prove he could do it? Logan felt ripples of power racing through his
veins, pushing out toward everyone around him as his anger mounted,
boiling like hot lava down the side of a mountain. He kept envisioning
the couple inside, probably begging for their lives, begging for each
other’s lives.
His vision blurred as power he’d never felt before began to take
shape, mold around him, and push itself out like an exploding
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lightbulb. Logan gritted his teeth as he willed Aba to die, to suffer the
way the couple had.
He heard someone cry out, then another, but Logan was consumed
with rage. It ate at his gut like a starving monster inside of him.
“No!”
Logan was tackled, his head hitting the grass underneath him as
the feelings growing inside of him began to unravel, dissipate. His
world swam out in front of him, taking Logan to a place he had never
seen before, gripping him in its tight embrace.
“Come back to me, Logan.”
Logan fought against the darkness, fought against the need to right
everything, everyone, to make them into what he thought they should
be.
“Logan, come back to me.”
Logan felt the gentle caress of the dark, begging him to stay,
begging him to make the ugly pretty, the wrong right. He cried out,
fighting the dark grip that pulled at him, surrounding him with a false
sense of comfort and warmth.
It was a lie. The darkness wanted to use him, to claim him for its
own bestial needs. Logan wasn’t going willingly. Not today.
“Logan!”
Logan struggled to breathe, fought to come back to Rave, to Tony.
He wasn’t sure why those two were his main focus, but he clung to
them, pressed against their images as the dark curtain gradually began
to lift, slowly allowed him to leave.
His eyes sprung open as he took a long breath into his lungs. His
eyes burning and his heart racing, Logan saw Rave and Tony beside
him, clinging to him.
“This side,” Rave said as his brown eyes peered down at Logan.
“You will always walk on this side, with me, with us.”
Logan whimpered when Tony’s hand caressed the side of his face,
bringing him warmth that wasn’t false, wasn’t a lie. He was lying on
Memphis 69
the ground, his eyes to the brightly lit sky as Rave and Tony lay on
either side of him, keeping him grounded.
“What happened?” Logan asked as he swallowed, the sound
audible as the tears rolled down the sides of his face. They were hot,
wet, and welcome. It meant he was no longer in the dark, no longer
fighting the alluring call.
“You took out half the police force,” Tony said. “You made the
shifters drop to their knees, grabbing their heads. What did you do to
them, Logan?”
The question wasn’t accusing. It was gentle, but firm.
“I don’t know,” Logan confessed. “I saw those bodies, and anger
just took over.”
“So now we know that anger is one of your triggers,” Rave said as
he rolled to his side, using his arms to push away from the ground.
Tony stood as well, both men reaching down to help Logan to his
feet. He glanced around, seeing the police staggering to their feet as
well.
Logan wanted to apologize to everyone around him, but didn’t
trust his voice. He felt doors slam inside his head, as if the power
were shutting down on him for the time being. Logan shivered,
praying he never hurt anyone, unintentionally or otherwise.
“Let’s get you back to my place,” Rave said as he helped Logan
walk back toward the car. “You need rest.”
As if the words were spoken with magic, a headache started to
throb low in his skull, and his limbs began quivering and shaking with
a deep need to rest. Logan didn’t protest when Rave and Tony took
him to the car and then drove him back to Rave’s. He felt out of it,
unfocused, and drained.
Rave led him to his bedroom and laid Logan down, stretching out
beside him. Tony crawled onto the other side, pressing his chest into
Logan’s back.
Logan closed his eyes, praying he didn’t see the dead couple in his
dreams.
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Chapter Seven
Tony tossed the phone aside, sighing deeply after his conversation
with Director Simone. If he didn’t stop Aba soon, stop the killings,
this town would be swarming with agents. That was not something a
shifter town wanted when they desired to keep their existence a
secret.
He turned his head, seeing Logan asleep and Rave watching Tony
intently. Rave had told him that all three of them were mates. He
knew what mates were. His parents had been mates. But Tony had
never thought to find his. He never thought he had one, let alone two.
Tony had thought that with his recessed genes, that would never
happen. But here he lay in the bed with two mates.
Two mates that made his blood sing with desire.
“I can smell your lust,” Rave said as he curled to his side,
propping his head on his hand. His coppery-brown eyes gazed at
Tony, a hint of humor and a pound of lust in their depths. He could
see Rave’s wolf behind his eyes, watching him, waiting. Tony pushed
from the bed, walking around the other side, and then dropped to his
knees, pressing the palm of his hand over Rave’s erection. He had
never been shy when it came to sex, and Tony wasn’t going to start
now.
Rave groaned as he stared down at Tony. The browns in his eyes
seemed to bleed into the whites, growing darker, hungrier. Rave was
watching him closely.
With a roll of his body, Tony pulled Rave from the bed, both
tumbling backward until Tony landed on top of the dark-haired man,
his eyes blazing now with want and need. Rave reached up to touch
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Tony’s face, but he grabbed the man’s wrists, locking them on either
side of his head. It was a power move, plain and simple, but effective.
Rave didn’t move.
Tony leaned forward, inhaling Rave’s scent from collarbone to
ear, taking in the raw aroma of man. He may not have the ability to
scent his mate, but smelling Rave was hardening his cock. Tony loved
the smell of man, was addicted to the flavor. His legs shifted, trapping
Rave between his thighs as he leaned back, giving himself enough
space to gaze down at the guy.
“You smell edible.” He grinned and then leaned forward to nip
Rave on his jaw. “Simply edible.” He could feel small pants of Rave’s
breath tickling his cheek. His mate’s breath was coming out raggedly,
softly, though.
“Then eat me,” Rave replied. There was no humor in the request,
only a raw need that swam over Tony like fur running down his naked
flesh. He shuddered and then nipped Rave on his bottom lip.
“I plan to.”
Rave’s wrists moved, pulling at Tony’s to be released. Tony
moved away. Rave slid his hands under Tony’s shirt, smoothing over
his back. Tony shivered. Rave slid the shirt up as his hands lifted,
pulling it up and over Tony’s head. He raised his arms and allowed
Rave to undress him. Rave tossed the shirt aside, it hit the floor
soundlessly, and then Rave ran his hands down Tony’s chest, his
thumbs playing at his nipples.
A course of lust shot through Tony’s groin, making his dick throb
with his heartbeat as Rave’s canines slowly slid down. Tony leaned
forward, pushing against Rave’s hands, forcing his way to Rave’s
throat as he nipped the tattoo on the man’s neck. He had never asked
what the symbol meant. Tony had seen a lot of the wolves in this
house with the tattoo on their necks, but he wasn’t going to ask. That
was Rave’s decision if he wanted to tell Tony.
Rave’s fingers tightened on Tony’s nipples, squeezing them,
rolling them between his fingers. The pleasure of his mate’s hands
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racked Tony’s body, making him tremble with need as his tongue
snaked out, licking a path from one side of Rave’s neck to the other.
Tony’s hands glided up Rave’s arms, circling around his mate’s
wrists, applying the lightest of pressure as he pressed his chest harder
into Rave’s hands. Rave bucked underneath him, the brown in his
eyes bleeding out until they were nothing but two coppery orbs.
Rave’s wolf was close, watching Tony’s face with enchantment.
He shifted his weight, pressing his body down until he could
nuzzle Rave’s neck, and then leaned back, pulling Rave’s shirt free
from his body. Tony needed raw, naked skin. His flesh needed flesh.
Tony rubbed their chests together, feeling the sensual and hard body
beneath him.
“Are you rubbing your scent all over me, marking me?” Rave
asked, this time humor floating around his words.
Tony hadn’t realized what he’d been doing. Now that he thought
about it, he’d never rubbed all over another man before. It had always
been hard, rough sex, animalistic almost, but he’d never rubbed all
over anyone before.
“Maybe I am.” Tony glanced down at the tanned and gleaming
chest. It was lean, strong, and damn near perfect. There were a few
scars here and there, but nothing to detract from the sculpted way
Rave was formed. His hands ran over the bare flesh, his nails scraping
lightly, small red marks appearing along the way. “Maybe I am,” he
repeated more slowly this time.
Glancing down Rave’s body, just above where Tony was sitting,
he saw the outline to Rave’s erection. It was full, stretched wide, and
left little to the imagination. Tony released the snap on Rave’s pants,
pulling the zipper down until he saw the moist head of Rave’s cock
peeking out.
He glanced up at his mate, staring into the deep pools of brown as
he snaked his hand into Rave’s jeans and massaged the heated flesh. It
was hard, but felt like liquid silk under his fingers with the pre-cum
leaking over Tony’s fingers.
Memphis 73
Lifting his hand to his mouth, Tony sucked his fingers in, the taste
rolling over his taste buds like nectar to a bee. He groaned, licking
each finger clean before he pulled at the waistband of Rave’s pants,
chasing the material down Rave’s body until he could toss the fabric
aside.
Rave lay there stunningly naked now, exposed to Tony’s
appreciative eyes. He drank the man in as he pushed Rave’s thighs
apart. Rave didn’t hesitate. He parted his legs, showing off the sexiest
thing Tony had ever seen. A male’s body was such a sculpted piece of
art to Tony, so perfect, so exotic. He found himself wanting to rub his
scent over Rave again.
Tony wasn’t sure what was up with that, but the urge was strong,
compelling him to lean forward until his stomach was touching
Rave’s erection. He rubbed his body over Rave’s length, feeling the
pre-cum trailing over his skin.
“Marking me again?” Rave asked, his voice wrapped around
Tony, touching him in the wickedest of places. Tony grinned as he
pushed his body down the length of Rave until his head was even with
Rave’s weeping cock.
“Do you have a problem with me marking you?”
“None at all,” Rave answered as his hands pressed into the carpet
on either side of his body. “I’d wear your scent proudly.”
Tony licked a path up Rave’s cock, his tongue circling around the
head as he watched his mate watch him. His broad shoulders pushed
Rave’s legs further apart, shouldering Rave’s thighs as he licked back
down the heated flesh until he reached Rave’s thick and heavy sac.
Rave’s hand came down, pressing and massaging his balls, feeding
them to Tony. He lapped at them, like a kitten lapping at cream. His
tongue glided over Rave’s scarred and thick fingers as Rave squeezed
his nuts harder.
A rush of blaze ate at Rave’s brown eyes as he fed a finger to
Tony, pushing it past his lips as Tony sucked it in. His tongue swirled
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around the digit, sucking it hard into his mouth, his lips promising
Rave what he could do with them.
Rave’s fingers caressed Tony’s jaw, gently, almost begging Tony
to show Rave just what he could do with his lips. Tony leaned
forward, taking Rave’s cock into his mouth, the finger wedged
between Rave’s cock and Tony’s lips. Rave groaned out his pleasure
as Tony drank the man’s dick down his throat.
“Yes,” Rave hissed as he pulled his finger free, placing his hand
back onto the floor. Tony cupped the back of Rave’s knees, pushing
the man’s legs back as he worked his mouth over Rave’s cock. His
jeans became too tight, too confining, and Tony wanted to stop to pull
them off, but wouldn’t let the cock slip free long enough to get the
jeans free.
Rave pushed his legs back, wrapping them around Tony’s
shoulders, pulling him closer as his fingers dug deeper into the carpet.
Tony’s chin brushed over Rave’s sac and felt that it was drawn close
to Rave’s body. Reaching around his mate, Tony played at Rave’s
hole, pressing his fingers against the throbbing muscle, but not
entering.
“God yes, please,” Rave begged as his legs tightened around
Tony’s shoulders in a death grip. “Please, Tony.”
Tony reached his hand up, wetting it with his saliva before placing
it back at Rave’s entrance, pushing three fingers deep into Rave’s
tight body. Rave shouted, and his hips bucked, pushing his cock to the
back of Tony’s mouth as hot seed spilt down Tony’s throat. He drank
it like a dying man, pulling every last drop from Rave’s cock.
Tony let Rave’s dick slide from between his lips as he leaned
back, pushing his pants down his legs, and then kicked them off.
“Lube?”
Rave pointed a limp hand toward the drawer, his fingers shaking
as he took in a deep breath. Tony pulled the drawer free, snagging the
lube as he coated his cock. He tossed the bottle aside and then ran his
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hands up Rave’s chest, tweaking his nipples, seeing his mate shiver.
Rave’s eyes were hooded, satiation swimming in their depths.
Tony was far from done with the shifter.
The head of his cock touched Rave’s sensitive hole, but Tony
didn’t push forward. A shudder ran over Rave, making his body
tremble slightly. Tony could see that Rave’s eyes hadn’t returned to
normal. If anything, they had turned darker, glazed over with
postorgasmic bliss.
Damn if the man wasn’t sexy as sin as he lay there waiting for
Tony to take him. Rave’s eyes sparkled like dark gems behind the
glaze, telling Tony what Rave truly wanted. Tony leaned forward,
placing his hands on Rave’s chest, his cock brushing along Rave’s
crease as he ran his tongue over Rave’s parted lips. Tony reached up
and touched Rave’s moist lips, the pads of his fingers running along
the smooth and soft skin.
Rave swallowed.
Tony curled his fingers around Rave’s wrists, pulling the wolf’s
hands above his head as Tony’s cock pressed against his mate’s
entrance. Rave’s eyes rolled upward, his hips pressing down onto
Tony’s cock.
Tony didn’t move, allowing Rave to take what he wanted, what he
needed. Tony shuddered when he felt the head of his cock slip past
the tight muscle and enter Rave. This was one of those defining
moments in his life, one of those perfect seconds that Tony wished
could last forever. The tight grip made him shiver as Rave pressed
down harder, taking another inch inside of him.
“Feels good, wolf.”
Rave’s eyes were still rolling, his tongue wetting his lips as he
groaned loudly. Rave didn’t try to free his hands, or even pull at them.
His wolf was too lost in taking pleasure from Tony’s body. Tony’s
fingers tightened on Rave’s wrists, fighting not to plunge deep inside
Rave. He normally wasn’t this slow, this caring. But Tony felt
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something in his chest close to love, lust, need…He wasn’t sure, but
he wanted to draw the moment out for as long as he could.
When he felt Rave bottom out, Tony was damn sure he was going
to lose his mind. Tony felt ravenous, as if he wanted to plow into
Rave until his body burst from his orgasm. Tony gritted his teeth, a
trickle of sweat snaking from his hair to run down his temple. The
need to move was torturous.
Rave began to slide back up Tony’s cock, the grip like an iron fist
as Tony’s body trembled. He growled gently, looking down to where
their bodies joined together, watching his cock reappear from Rave’s
giving flesh. Tony couldn’t be still any longer. The sight made
something click inside of him, and Tony was releasing Rave’s hands,
grabbing his wolf’s hip bones as he began to fuck Rave with an all-
consuming need.
His mate cried out, his legs lifting to wrap around Tony’s hips,
locking him into place as Tony slammed his cock into Rave’s ass
harder. Rave never moved his arms, never took his hands away from
above his head where Tony had placed them, but Tony could see the
limbs shaking.
Rave’s canines gleamed as his head rolled back, his back arching
as Rave cried out once more. The muscles in Tony’s thighs grew tight
as he watched the beautiful sight beneath him. His fingers traced over
Rave’s sharp teeth, touching each point as he rocked his cock in and
out of Rave’s body.
Tony wanted to bite, the need so intense that his gums ached. He
knew he would have no canines to fulfill his need, but that didn’t stop
his teeth from throbbing. He was a jaguar, and the need to mate was
riding him strong. Tony grabbed Rave’s ankles from around his waist
and pulled Rave’s legs up and apart as he watched his cock fuck
Rave’s ass.
“I need to bite you,” Rave cried out as his hands curled into fists,
the knuckles turning a ghostly white from the strain. Tony leaned
forward, pressing his chest into Rave’s thick calves. The dark hair that
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decorated Rave’s legs scrubbed along Tony’s chest as he tilted his
head, exposing his neck to his wolf.
Rave’s hands left the floor as he grabbed Tony’s hair, pulling it
hard as his teeth sank into Tony’s neck. An explosion rocketed
through Tony’s neck down his arms and then scattered all through his
body, his mind fragmenting as he shoved his cock into Rave’s ass, his
seed forcefully being pulled from his body. Tony cried out, his teeth
hurting so badly with the need to bite, to claim his mate, that it damn
near made him cry.
Rave whimpered around the wound, as if he could feel Tony’s
anguish at not being able to claim his mate. Tony’s legs quivered as
his back stiffened, giving Rave room by tilting his head farther away.
His mate licked the wound and then touched Tony’s face with his
fingers, his eyes questioning. “Did I hurt you?”
Tony gathered his composure, but not by much as he shook his
head, a mournful feeling tightening his chest at the lost moment. He
hadn’t been able to claim Rave. His recessed genes had prevented
what could have been the most perfect moment in his life.
“I’m fine.”
“You’re lying to me,” Rave said as his fingers danced over Tony’s
face. “Why?”
“It’s a long story that I’ll share someday, but not now. Not in this
perfect bubble we’re lying in.”
Rave looked like he wanted to argue as his fingers left Tony’s
face to trace over the bite wound. “I didn’t hurt you?”
Tony shook his head. “No.” It was the truth. The only thing that
hurt right now was Tony’s pride.
Rave gave a small nod and then laid his head on the carpet, his
eyes back to normal and his canines receded. Tony eased from Rave
and then pushed from the floor, walking to the bathroom. He needed a
moment, a second to let the disappointment flow through him before
he pushed it away.
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Tony closed the bathroom door and then rested his hands on the
counter, breathing out slowly. He had never felt the need to bite
someone before, but it had been like a strong grip around his teeth and
heart. It had shattered Tony not to be able to claim Rave the way he
should have been able to, but Tony didn’t dwell on disappointments.
He ran the water in the sink, splashing it onto his heated face
before he reached behind him and grabbed a towel. Once he was
cleaned up, he took the warm cloth to Rave and cleaned his mate.
Rave lay there, watching Tony intently as the towel glided
between Rave’s crease. He knew Rave wasn’t fooled. His mate knew
something was wrong, but Tony couldn’t bring himself to talk about
it, not now at least.
Maybe someday.
Tossing the towel toward the bathroom, Tony curled into Rave’s
arms, for once in his life needing to feel strong arms wrapped around
him, to feel comfort that he didn’t get too often, if ever.
* * * *
Rave watched as Logan slowly came awake. He was sitting on the
edge of the bed, fully dressed. Tony had gone out into the hallway to
use his phone, not wanting to disturb their mate.
“How do you feel?”
Logan stared at Rave, his blue eyes unfocused as he just gazed at
Rave. It was a bit disconcerting, but Rave stayed still, letting his mate
focus those eerie blue eyes on him. They looked haunted, as if Logan
wasn’t truly looking at him as much as he was looking into him.
“He abused you.”
Rave stiffened, his fingers curling into fists as he swallowed. His
mate was talking about the alpha that used to rule this pack. The pack
Rave belonged to. Jackson had been cold and cruel, making the
soldiers of this house commit unspeakable acts before Zeus defeated
Jackson.
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The things Rave had done for Jackson weren’t something for
public consumption. He never in his life wanted to speak about them,
let alone allow his mate to see the ugly truth of what he had done
through his eyes. Rave slid from the bed, crossing the room as he
wrapped his arms around his stomach, feeling the pain slowly enter
into his chest at the memories.
“I’m sorry,” Logan spoke softly from the bed. “I didn’t mean to
offend you.”
Rave shook his head as he walked back over to his mate. “You
didn’t. You just made me think of things better left in the dark.” What
happened to Rave, happened to the solders of this pack, was
something Rave never wanted to think about again.
Logan nodded, as if he knew what Rave was talking about. Rave
breathed out his fear, releasing it and letting it go as he sat back down
on the bed. “Truce?”
Logan grinned. “Truce. I won’t tell anyone what I just saw.”
Logan’s expression turned serious. “But is he still alive?”
Rave shook his head. “No.”
Logan nodded. “Where’s that pain in the ass of yours?”
“Ours,” Rave corrected as he chuckled. “Tony is out in the
hallway making a phone call. Miss him?”
“Like a toothache.” Logan grinned as he sat up, his soft brown
hair tumbling into his eyes. Rave reached up and brushed the hairs
back.
“Be nice to him. He’s your mate,” Rave chastised gently.
“I am being nice, trust me.”
If that was nice…Rave sighed. “You don’t like him?” He had to
know if Logan truly didn’t like Tony. That would present a very big
problem.
Logan shrugged, his eyes rising to stare at Rave, the blue light
pretty. “I don’t know him enough to not like him. He’s just…intense.”
They both glanced at the door as Tony walked in, shoving the
phone in a clip on his waistband. “Aba killed another person.”
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Rave stood abruptly, his face tightening. “Who?”
“Jesse said it was someone named Clancy.”
Rave cursed. No one liked Clancy. He was a town bigot and
loudmouth, but the man had never hurt anyone. He was just crude.
But that didn’t mean he had to die for it. “You heading over there?”
Tony nodded as he glanced at Logan. “Feeling better?”
Logan opened his mouth and then closed it, staring at Tony. “I
was, but if there is another dead body, I’m not so sure.”
“You’re not going, Logan,” Tony said as he turned to leave.
“You can’t keep me sheltered from the world either, Tony.”
Logan pushed out of the bed, his eyes narrowing at Tony. Rave
watched as the pupils in Logan’s eyes narrowed, something he had
never seen before. He stepped closer to the man, placing his hand on
Logan’s shoulder.
“Calm down,” Rave commanded.
“No, let him go, Rave. I want to see what Logan will do to me,”
Tony said as he squared his shoulders, meeting Logan’s glare with his
own.
Rave knew this wasn’t a great idea. In the idea department, it
sucked. He stepped between the two men, sighing. “Knock it off
before I put both of you in a fucking corner.”
Logan chuckled behind him, and Tony smirked. Great.
Rave reached behind him and swatted at Logan. The man jumped
to the side, laughing. Tony joined in, which made Rave grin. “You
two are impossible.”
Logan settled. “I’m going.”
Tony shrugged. “Fine, but if you start mind melding everyone, I’ll
kick your ass.”
“Deal, old man.”
“I’ll give you old,” Tony growled. “I may be what, eight years
older than you? I bet I could still kick your ass.”
Logan rolled his eyes. “In your dreams, prick.”
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“I haven’t fucked you yet,” Tony said and then winked at Rave.
Talk about an awkward moment. Logan stared between them and then
blushed.
“I don’t want to know.”
“Yes, you do,” Tony taunted as he swatted Logan’s backside
before walking from the room.
“Is it just me or do you want to fuck him and shoot him at the
same time?” Logan asked as he trailed after Tony.
“That’s just you,” Rave said as he closed the bedroom door
behind him. He wasn’t sure this was a good idea after Logan’s last
meltdown, but he was outvoted. The only thing he could do was stay
by Logan’s side and hope his mate didn’t lose it this time.
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Chapter Eight
Why was he jealous? Logan wasn’t interested in having sex with
Tony or Rave. So why in the hell was the green-eyed monster
bullying him around when he thought about Rave and Tony having
sex with each other? As Tony pulled behind the clothing store,
Lassiter’s, Logan looked really hard at both men. They both had that
daring, bad boy look that would make any man drool, but could he
have sex with either of them? Was he interested and just denying it to
himself?
Tony had a dangerous sex appeal about him. Black hair, light-
brown eyes, and a very thin goatee around his mouth that begged
someone to nibble at the hairs. Rave had that secretive look, black
hair as well, but his brown eyes were a little darker, smoldering
almost, making any man want to gaze into them for hours.
Maybe he did want to fool around a bit. They were two hot ass
men after all. Could he have sex with both of them at the same time?
Probably not. Logan had never participated in a ménage and wasn’t
looking to get involved in one. He’d never had sex with two men at
once before, and the thought of being with Rave and Tony—two
strong, dominant men—intimidated him.
Logan realized in that second that having a ménage with the two
men was the root of his denial that he was attracted to them. Fuck it. It
wasn’t going to happen, so why worry about it?
The three of them got out of the car, the car doors slamming in
unison as Logan glanced around. He wasn’t looking forward to
another dead body, but he wanted to see what his emotions would do.
He wanted to know what would happen when he saw death. Logan
Memphis 83
was actually here to see if he could control what was happening to
him or if his emotions would control him once more.
It wasn’t the best-laid plan, but he wasn’t going to get any practice
sitting on his thumb at Rave’s.
“Over here,” Jesse said from the side of the Dumpster.
Logan swallowed as he trailed behind the Rave and Tony. He saw
feet sticking out past the blue container and wondered how horrible
the rest of the body was going to be once he laid eyes on the victim.
Shit, maybe he shouldn’t have come. He was starting to sweat
bullets. The lights from the police car swirled around, deputies
standing around waiting for Tony to come closer. Logan wanted to
tell the agent that he had changed his mind, but he figured Tony
would razz him about it if he did.
Logan spotted Dorm standing next to Jesse, checking out one of
the deputies. He wasn’t sure if Dorm was concentrating on something
or if he was actually checking the man out. Whatever, it wasn’t his
business.
“Are you okay?” Rave asked as he laid his hand on the small of
Logan’s back. “You don’t look so hot.” He may not look hot, but
damn if Rave’s hand wasn’t. It felt like a piece of hot coal was
pressed against his back. The man was playing havoc with Logan’s
body.
“Cramps,” Logan said and then moved away from Rave. Rave
glanced at him curiously, but didn’t say anything else. Logan
swallowed and then walked closer to the body, taking small peeks at a
time. You can do this.
“What do you think?” Jesse asked Tony. “Is it our guy’s
handiwork?”
Tony knelt in front of the body and Logan got a full view. A
frighteningly full view. His head swam a little as he stared at the man
slumped against the Dumpster. There was a bloody knife in his left
hand and blood streaming down his shirt from his throat. The shirt
was still wet, the blood very vibrant in the sun.
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Logan swallowed repeatedly, trying his best not to get sick. The
victim’s eyes were open, large, frightened, as if he had seen the devil
himself. Logan moved closer, and an image began to form in front of
his eyes. He saw the deceased man cringing, a larger man looming
over him with a belt in his hand. The victim’s father?
And then the image changed. The man was running as fast as he
could, Aba forming right in front of the stranger, stopping the man
from getting away from…Logan couldn’t make out who was behind
the dead man, but someone had chased the deceased, chased him right
to Aba. Logan shook his head when he saw that Aba was the one with
the knife, but he handed it over to the man and made the guy cut his
own damn throat.
Logan stumbled, falling into the front of the Dumpster as tears
rolled down his face. He hated Aba more in that second than he did
anyone else in his entire life. The man had to be stopped, had to be
killed!
“Logan, breathe,” Tony said as he came up beside him and knelt,
speaking softly. “You have to breathe, hon. I can feel you pushing
into my head.”
Logan’s eyes snapped up as he stared at Tony, the man’s pretty
brown eyes filled with concern. Logan nodded as he took a deep
breath, letting it out slowly, feeling the buildup simmer down and
then disappear. “Aba killed him. I saw it in my mind. But someone
helped him. They chased the poor guy right to Aba.”
Tony moved a little closer, his eyes studying Logan. “Can you see
where Aba is now?”
Rave came to kneel by them, his hand squeezing Logan’s shoulder
gently. Logan tried to concentrate, tried to feel Aba, but there was
nothing, a large black hole where Aba’s location might have been.
“No.”
“Do you know who the other man was?”
Logan shook his head. He wished he could see anything that
would stop Aba and his accomplice from killing again. Was it another
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styre mente? God, Logan sure as hell hoped not. Dealing with one
was bad enough. Two would increase the body count by tenfold.
“It’s okay.” Tony patted Logan’s hand. “We’ll catch them.”
Logan hoped so, because he wasn’t sure if he could take another
dead body.
* * * *
Tony kept an eye on Logan from the rearview mirror as he drove
back to Rave’s. Logan was looking a little sick from seeing the dead
body, and he really didn’t want the man throwing up in his backseat.
Dorm had been invited by Zeus to stay at the mansion while they
were in town trying to catch Aba. The alpha had said it would be safer
if both of them resided under his roof until the matter was cleared up.
On the drive back, Tony tried his best to figure out who the
second person was. The file hadn’t mentioned an accomplice. Had
Logan seen things correctly? Could it have been a shadow maybe?
Tony wasn’t sure, and he hoped like hell he wasn’t dealing with two
styre mentes.
Director Simone would have a fucking cow if they were dealing
with two. He chalked it up to Logan being under a lot of stress and let
the second man go.
If there was a second man.
Tony still wasn’t too sure about that.
Tony jogged up the steps, leaving Rave to bring Logan up to their
room. He wasn’t being a prick, but if the man got sick, Tony would be
getting sick right alongside Logan. He just couldn’t stomach the
smell. Entering the bedroom, Tony tossed his keys onto the dresser
and grabbed the file on Aba and his small notepad, making his own
notes on the recent killing. He also made a little sidenote on the
mention of an accomplice. He may not be sure if Logan was seeing
things correctly, but Tony hadn’t gotten this far in his career by
discounting things.
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Jesse had promised to fill him in on the coroner’s finding, but
Dorm was with the sheriff as well, so Tony knew if Jesse didn’t tell
him everything, his partner would. Dorm was sore at Tony for not
filling him in on the shifter thing, but Dorm was an agent through and
through. He would set his personal feelings aside and make sure Tony
knew everything that was going on.
“I knew the guy,” Rave said as he entered the room with Logan.
“He was a town jackass, but he never hurt anyone.”
Tony flipped the page on his notepad, pen poised. “Tell me about
the victim.”
“He was a bigot. He hated gay men and let every man he
suspected as being gay know it. But Clancy had never hurt anyone.
He was harmless. Well, as harmless as a bigot can be.”
“Is that all?” Tony asked as he wrote the information down. There
had to be a pattern to the killings. Or was Aba picking his victims at
random? Most killers had a preference, and Tony was trying to see if
Aba had one as well.
“That’s all I really knew about the guy.”
“Did you know the dead couple?” Tony asked, but Rave shook his
head.
“You’ll have to talk to Jesse about them. He knew the couple, I
didn’t.” Tony saw something in Rave’s eyes. It looked like sadness
and regret as he stood there. Tony wondered what Rave could have in
his life that made him feel that way, but didn’t ask.
“This is my town, the pack’s town, and I really don’t know any of
the citizens.”
Well, that explains the emotions in Rave’s eyes. “Why?”
Rave shook his head as he headed toward the bedroom door.
“Maybe some other time.”
Tony really didn’t like his words thrown back at him, but what
could he say? He sighed as Rave walked out of the room. Tony
glanced at Logan standing at the edge of the bed, looking a little pale.
“You all right?”
Memphis 87
Logan twisted his lips, giving Tony a duh look. “No. Seeing a
dead boy tends to make me feel a little queasy, if you hadn’t noticed.”
“How did you know the man was forced to kill himself?”
Logan sighed. “I saw it in my mind.”
“How?”
Logan shrugged. “I was staring at the dead body, and then I saw
the man, his former life, and then there was an image of someone
chasing him toward Aba. But Aba is the one who had a knife in his
hand. He gave it to the victim, made him take it, and then he made the
poor shmuck slice his own damn throat.” Logan began to look sick all
over again.
Tony just prayed Logan didn’t vomit. He had almost vomited
outside the home of the couple when he saw Logan upchucking in the
bushes, but thankfully Tony hadn’t smelt the foul odor or he would
have been right beside his blue-eyed mate.
Tony stood, walking over to Logan, brushing his hand down the
man’s back. “Don’t get sick on me. I can’t take the smell of vomit.”
Logan nodded, swallowing a few times. Tony leaned closer,
inhaling Logan’s scent. It was wonderful. Logan smelled like chicory
wood and a hot summer’s night. He wanted to rub his scent all over
Logan as well. It was a very strong urge.
“You’re, uh, sniffing me, Tony.”
“I know.”
“I already told you I wasn’t having sex with you, so back off.”
Tony chuckled as he took a step away, his eyes raking over
Logan’s body heatedly. “I could change your mind.”
“Hardly.”
Tony heard the word spoken, but he also heard uncertainty in the
man’s voice. Logan wanted him. It was in his iridescent blue eyes and
the way he stood there staring at Tony with longing. But he could see
a touch of anxiety in their depths as well.
“Are you sure?” Tony asked. “Tell me to back away, and I will.”
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Logan didn’t say a word. He just stood there, slightly shaking.
Tony moved back toward Logan, standing so close their bodies
almost touched. He inhaled once more, the scent almost making him
high as he grinned slightly, letting the scent of his mate wash over
him, through him.
“You’re sniffing me again.”
“I can’t help it. You smell so good.” Tony reached up and brushed
a knuckle down Logan’s cheek, and his mate flinched. “Do you think
I would hurt you, Logan?” he asked.
Logan didn’t answer him. He stood there as still as a statue,
watching Tony closely. Tony walked around to the front of Logan,
bending slightly and brushing his lips across Logan’s. His mate didn’t
back away.
“Do you want me, Logan?” he asked as he slid his hands up his
mate’s chest.
Again, Logan stayed silent, observing Tony.
Gliding his tongue over Logan’s bottom lip, Tony watched
Logan’s blue eyes deepen to a cobalt color. They were swimming
with want. Tony was starting to catch on. Logan wasn’t the least bit
aggressive when it came to sex. But Tony was, so he was going to
have to guide his mate.
“Take your shirt off.”
Logan stood there for a long second, his eyes almost defiant. Tony
started to do it himself, but Logan’s hands reached for the hem of his
shirt, slowly peeling it up and off. Tony glanced at what Logan had
just revealed, appreciation flooding him as he looked at the tight
expanse. His mate wasn’t overly muscled, but he had a nice, defined
chest.
Tony kissed Logan along his collarbone, his hands wandering up
Logan’s back as his mate sighed deeply. Tony grinned. He knew
Logan had wanted him. Tony walked behind Logan, his fingers
tracing his mate’s skin along the way. “I want to fuck you, Logan.”
“W–Why?”
Memphis 89
That was an odd question. It made Tony pause for a brief moment
before he pulled his shirt off and then pressed his chest into Logan’s
back. “Because you are my mate.” He kissed Logan along his
shoulder blades. “And you are sexy as hell.”
Logan shivered.
Tony ran his hands from Logan’s shoulders to his elbows, letting
his nails gently scrape Logan’s skin. Goose bumps formed along
Logan’s flesh, his head rolling forward as Logan moaned.
Using the slightest pressure, Tony began to bend Logan over the
bed, kissing his mate down his spine as he ground his erection into
Logan’s jean-clad ass. Logan began to relax under Tony’s touch, his
body stretching out on the bed, on his belly, as Tony ran his fingers
over every inch of exposed flesh.
“Does this feel good?” Tony asked.
“Um-hum,” Logan said like a lazy cat being petted.
Tony massaged Logan’s shoulders, kneading the flesh as his cock
stayed planted against Logan’s ass. One hand kneaded the right
shoulder, and the other hand swam up into Logan’s hair as the nails
scraped lightly over Logan’s scalp.
Logan shivered again.
Tony let the hand in Logan’s hair trail down Logan’s back until he
reached Logan’s waistband. He ran his fingers along the material as
he continued to massage Logan’s shoulder. His hand skimmed around
Logan’s waist until he reached the snap on his mate’s pants,
unfastening them as he sank to his knees.
Logan didn’t move, but Tony could hear Logan’s breath coming
out in pants. He pulled the material from around Logan’s waist until
the waistband was at Logan’s ankles. Pulling the cheeks apart, Tony
began to lap at Logan’s skin, his tongue skimming around Logan’s
hole.
Moans were coming from Logan, becoming louder as Tony
sucked at Logan’s entrance. He pushed one finger inside his mate,
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stretching Logan as he continued to bathe Logan’s backside with his
tongue.
Another finger slid into Logan as Tony felt his cock lengthen and
throb to get inside of Logan’s ass. He reached down and undid his
pants, pushing them around his waist and down his legs as he stood,
bent over, licking Logan’s asshole.
Tony blanketed Logan’s back, his bare flesh rubbing over Logan
as his fingers stretched his mate. He rubbed his chest over Logan’s
back, his thighs over Logan’s. Tony was once again marking his
mate, but it was Logan this time.
“Do you want me to fuck you, Logan?” Tony whispered into
Logan’s ear as he pulled his hand free.
“Yes.”
Tony pulled away, heading for the drawer with the lube. He
smeared the gel on his cock as he walked back over to Logan. Tossing
the bottle onto the bed, Tony blanketed Logan again. He curled his
fingers around his cock and positioned the head at Logan’s hole.
“Show me you want it.”
Logan pressed back, his fingers curling into the sheets as he
turned his head, his eyes closed. Tony’s eyelids fluttered as his cock
sank into Logan’s ass. He blew out heavily as he fought for control.
Tony laid his arms over Logan’s, their fingers entwining as he
heard the door open and close behind him. Tony didn’t have to look
over his shoulder to know Rave had entered the room. If it wasn’t
Rave, he was shooting someone.
Pressing his knees between Logan’s legs, Tony pushed Logan’s
legs out a little further as he pulled back and then slid back into
Logan’s tight ass. His mate moaned. Tony looked into Rave’s eyes as
his mate moved closer, coming into Tony’s line of sight. Rave’s
brown eyes had gone all weird again, the brown bleeding out into the
white as his canines began to appear. Tony nodded, and Rave
undressed.
“Do you want Rave, Logan?”
Memphis 91
Logan stiffened under Tony, his breath coming out a little more
quickly.
“Are you afraid to have us both at once?” Tony asked as he felt
Logan’s heart beating faster through Logan’s back. Tony pressed his
chest tighter against Logan’s back, nipping his mate on his ear. “Are
you?”
Logan nodded.
“Do you think we would hurt you?” Tony asked.
Logan shook his head. Tony could see the relief in Rave’s eyes as
he climbed up onto the bed.
“Are you just afraid of having two men at once?” Tony asked.
Logan nodded.
Rave bent at the waist, gently kissing Logan as Tony moved
inside his mate. He wanted Logan as relaxed as he could get the man.
This was Logan’s first ménage, and Tony wasn’t going to frighten the
man. Tony wasn’t sure if Rave had ever had one before, but Rave’s
expression hid the fact if he hadn’t. Tony had had a ménage a time or
two, but even if he hadn’t, the thought of being with two men didn’t
intimidate him.
Tony could feel Logan tremble beneath him as he whimpered,
opening his mouth wider for Rave’s kiss. Tony turned his head,
kissing Logan’s shoulder, letting his lips ghost over his mate’s skin.
His cock throbbed in Logan’s ass, but Tony had stopped moving,
letting Logan lead the way.
Rave cupped Logan’s face, taking the kiss deeper. Logan curled
his fingers tighter into the sheet as he tilted his head, giving Rave
more room.
“Do you want to suck Rave’s cock?” Tony asked as he slid his
hands down Logan’s body, his fingers digging into Logan’s hips. He
was trying to relax Logan, trying his best not to plunge into Logan
over and over again, but it was hard as he watched his mates kiss.
Rave moved away, kneeling in front of Logan as he circled his
fingers around the base of his cock. “Open for me, Logan,” Rave said
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as he ran his free hand through Logan’s thick hair. “Suck my cock,
baby.”
Logan opened, sipping at the head of Rave’s cock, moaning
lightly as his tongue lashed out and lapped at the clear liquid falling
from the slit at the top of Rave’s shaft. Tony growled low as he began
to move inside of Logan again. He pressed his knees into Logan’s
legs, pushing them even further apart.
“That’s right, baby. Suck my cock.” Rave almost purred the words
as Logan took Rave’s shaft deeper into his mouth. Tony was half
tempted to pull out and throw Logan all the way onto the bed, but
having his mate bent over the side was just too damn exciting for
Tony.
He watched Rave and Logan as his cock thrust inside his mate,
biting his bottom lip as he let the feeling of utter pleasure fill him.
Tony shivered when he felt Logan pushing at his mind, but it wasn’t
anything he had ever felt before. Logan was pushing his passion, his
desire inside of Tony, amplifying what he was already feeling. Tony
glanced up at Rave and saw the surprised look. Logan was pushing
into Rave’s mind as well.
This time Tony wasn’t stopping Logan. The feeling was too
intense, washing over him like a tidal wave as he thrust harder. Logan
cried out around Rave’s cock, the feeling almost too much as Tony
held on. It was pure silk running through his blood, and then a burst
of warm air shot over Tony, making him gasp as his eyes shot to
Rave.
Apparently Rave was feeling everything Tony was feeling
because Rave was staring down at Logan with awe. Rave pulled his
cock free, jumping from the bed like it was a damn springboard, and
then pushed Tony free of Logan’s body.
“What are you doing?” Tony asked.
Rave grabbed Logan and used his preternatural strength to lift
their mate and toss Logan onto the bed. Logan looked at both of them
with shock. Rave crawled back onto the bed and sank deeply into
Memphis 93
Logan’s ass. Tony crawled onto the bed and scooted his body under
Logan, taking Logan’s cock into his mouth.
He was going to have a long talk with Rave about manners, later.
Much later. Logan cried out again as Tony sucked his cock to the
back of his throat, the intense emotions from being with Logan and
Logan projecting his feelings into Tony’s mind still riding him hard.
He felt as though he couldn’t get enough of the man.
“I can feel you, Tony,” Rave said from above as he pounded
harder into Logan. “I can fucking feel you inside of me.”
Tony formed a seal, sucking Logan hard as he, too, felt Rave,
along with Logan, inside of him. He wasn’t sure what in the hell was
going on, but Tony was going crazy as lust, desire, pleasure, and
everything else that felt too damn good hummed inside of him.
He grabbed his cock, stroking it quickly as he worked Logan’s
shaft inside of his mouth. He felt as though an animal had been
unleashed inside of him. His jaguar. Tony growled around Logan’s
cock as his teeth ached so damn badly that he was surprised his gums
weren’t bleeding. He wanted to bite, and bite hard, but his canines
never elongated. They were as blunt as Logan’s.
Tony became frustrated, attacking Logan’s cock as he squeezed
his cock hard. He wanted to claim Logan and then Rave. The feeling
was so strong that Tony damn near bit Logan’s cock. He breathed
through his nose, trying his best to calm himself, to calm the jaguar
trapped deep inside of him.
Logan shouted, the lights in the room bursting all around them as
Rave roared out at the same time. Tony knew for a fact that Rave was
sinking his teeth deeply into Logan’s shoulder and felt anger and want
fill him until he was overflowing with emotions.
Tony drank Logan’s seed, pulling it down his throat as he came,
his orgasm so intense that Tony had thought for a second he would
pass out. His head fell back, Logan’s cock slipping from between his
lips as he once again felt remorse for his jaguar, for the lost moment
he would never get back.
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Tony pushed away from the bed, stalking toward the bathroom.
As he closed the door, he heard Logan in the bed. “Prick.”
He deserved that. Just because his jaguar couldn’t get free, it was
no excuse to leave Logan’s side. Tony shut the door, wondering if he
would ever have sex with either mate without feeling as though a
piece of his soul was stolen every time.
Memphis 95
Chapter Nine
Rave stood on the balcony off of his bedroom. He looked off into
the night, feeling the soft breeze of the spring night blowing across his
face and through his hair. It was peaceful out here, quiet. He knew
what was wrong with Logan. His mate had a budding power that he
had to learn to control.
But Rave had no clue what was wrong with Tony. The man was
closed off, secretive. He wouldn’t tell Rave what was wrong, and that
bothered Rave. As a wolf shifter, a shifter period, he had a deep
compulsion to take care of his mates, to make sure they were happy
and healthy, well cared for. But Tony was making Rave fail at his job,
his honor.
But Rave couldn’t complain. He had his own demons he lived
with. The soldiers in this house had their demons from Jackson on one
level or another. Rave had pushed his demons down so deep inside of
him that he was almost positive that he had conquered the beast. But
one look from Logan yesterday had unraveled everything Rave had
tried hard to conceal.
“You look troubled.”
Rave smiled as he stared out into the night. Taz knew him well.
The man had a way of making Rave face what he didn’t want to face.
He wasn’t sure if that was such a good thing right now. Rave
shrugged. “It’s my turn to fight my demons.”
Taz chuckled. It was warm, comforting, and made Rave want to
smack the man. “What do you mean it’s your turn? You, along with
everyone else, have been fighting our demons from the first day
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Jackson took over our pack. What makes meeting your mates any
worse than what you had already been going through?”
“Shut up,” Rave said as his fingers curled tighter around the
railing. “That’s not what I wanted to hear.”
Taz shook his head. “And you think I would lie to you to make
you feel better?”
“Yeah.”
“Not going to happen. You know me better than that. We’ve been
through too much together for me to lie to you, Rave.”
That was true, and as much as Rave didn’t want to face the truth,
he was glad Taz was always honest with him. “You’re a dick.”
Taz laughed as he knocked his shoulder with Rave’s. “That I am.”
“Logan saw Jackson hurting me,” Rave said as he sobered. “He
saw the images of what happened to me and what I had done. I feel
like a fucking monster in his eyes now.”
Taz sighed. It was a knowing sigh, because Taz had been by
Rave’s side through it all. Rave had considered taking Taz as a lover.
The man was stunning as hell and a great friend to have, but Rave
knew that sometimes, crossing that line from friends to lovers
destroyed more than it conquered. Their friendship had been too
important for Rave to risk. But they did have a deep bond, a bond
forged in the fires of hell, and Rave would love the man until his
dying breath.
Besides, Taz was too damn picky for Rave. He glanced at Taz,
trying to convey how much he appreciated and loved the man.
“I know,” Taz said as he popped Rave in the shoulder. “But your
ass is too hairy for me.”
Rave chuckled. “Fuck you.”
“Don’t let Tony or Logan hearing you saying that. Tony has a
gun.”
Rave nodded. “And he knows how to use his weapon very well.”
Taz scrunched his face up, his body shivering dramatically. “Too
much detail, my friend.”
Memphis 97
Rave leaned back, sighing as he shook his head. “All jokes aside,
nothing changes the fact of how Logan must look at me now.”
“He’s your mate. Explain things to him. He’ll understand. From
what you’ve told me, he is fighting inner demons as well. Maybe
instead of looking at you as a monster, he’ll look at you as a kindred
soul.”
Rave hadn’t thought of it like that. Logan had looked at him with
understanding, but Rave had thought the man pitied him at the time. It
still didn’t make him comfortable knowing that Logan had seen the
monster inside of Rave, had seen the ugly things he had done while
under Jackson’s maddening reign. There didn’t seem to be any clear-
cut answer.
“What are you doing in my room anyway?” Rave asked.
“You’re going to love this one.” Taz harrumphed. “You know
how the winged beasts are patrolling the streets now for the hounds?”
Rave nodded, turning fully to Taz now. Somehow, he knew he
wasn’t going to like this.
“Well, the alpha wants to team one of us up whenever a pair of
winged beasts is out on patrol so we can learn how to fight the evil
little doggies.”
“You’ve got to be shitting me.” Rave stood there stunned. The
hounds of hell were nothing to sneeze at. One bite and there was a
chance a shifter wouldn’t survive. Of course, one bite and there was
no way a human would survive. His mates were human, so maybe it
wasn’t such a bad idea. Rave wanted to know how to protect both
Tony and Logan against everything. Even evil little doggies, as Taz so
eloquently phrased it.
“Nope, and guess who gets first go-round?”
From the look on Taz’s face, Rave didn’t need three guesses.
“Little ole me,” Taz supplied. “Wish me luck. If black shit starts
oozing from my mouth, make sure you kiss me.”
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Rave did not find that thought funny. Taz was his best friend, and
he didn’t like the idea of him being out there fighting those nasty
things. “Be careful, dumbass.”
“Aw, you care,” Taz teased, but Rave could see the slight fear in
Taz’s eyes.
“No, it just took me forever to break you in as my best bud. I
wouldn’t want to have to train anyone else.”
“Prick.” Taz chuckled as he walked from Rave’s balcony. Rave
watched him leave, feeling a weight settle in his gut. If he ever lost
Taz, Rave would never be the same again.
“What’s wrong?” Tony asked as he walked out onto the balcony
with Rave. “You look like you just lost your best friend.”
Rave turned to his mate, eyeing him. “I guess we all have our little
demons to deal with.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Tony asked as he rested his hip
on the railing, crossing his arms over his broad chest.
“Nothing,” Rave said as he turned away, staring off into the night
once more. He didn’t want to fight Tony. He wanted a peace that had
eluded him for so long that Rave thought he would never find it. Ever
since Logan had looked inside of Rave, he felt as though his world
was tumbling out of control.
“Dollar for your thoughts,” Tony said as he moved closer.
“I thought it was a penny?” Rave asked.
Tony shrugged. “Inflation. Nothing’s cheap anymore.”
Rave chuckled. “True.”
“I saw the way you were looking at Taz. Is it something I need to
worry about?”
Boy, the man didn’t hold back. He cupped Tony’s face, smiling as
he stared into the man’s shimmering eyes. The moon was reflecting
off of the light-brown orbs, making Tony’s eyes sparkle. “Never. He’s
my best friend, nothing more.”
“You ever sleep with him?”
“Intrusive, aren’t you?”
Memphis 99
“Hit dog holler?” Tony asked as he pulled away from Rave.
“What?”
“It means the guilty bark louder than the innocent.”
Rave curled his fingers in, trying his best not to lose control. “You
have no idea what you are talking about. Taz is my best friend. We’ve
been through a lot of shit together that you probably couldn’t even
wrap your head around.”
“And you aren’t sharing either.”
“Neither are you.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Tony snapped, his
light-brown eyes going from sparkling to a deep coppery anger.
“I’m a damn shifter, Tony. I can smell you lying to me, and it
stinks like hell.”
“Rub it in.” Tony stormed away, leaving Rave standing there
confused as hell. What was that supposed to mean?
* * * *
Logan watched Tony storm from the room, slamming the door so
hard behind him that the walls shook. Things seemed to be unraveling
around him, and he wasn’t sure what he should do about it, or if he
even wanted to do anything about the situation with Tony and Rave.
After all, it wasn’t like Logan had wanted to come here in the first
place. He wasn’t in a hurry to run back to his old life. That had been
boring as hell, but this new life didn’t seem to be working out either.
With a sigh, Logan left the bedroom and wandered downstairs. He
walked outside and sat on the front step, wondering if he would ever
feel at home anywhere else again. He couldn’t go back to Browlers,
and staying here was looking less and less appealing to him by the
minute.
He felt hopeless and lost, like he’d never be happy again. Logan
rubbed his arms, wondering why he was so damn gloomy right now.
It wasn’t like him to feel so damn despondent.
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He stilled when he felt someone watching him from the shadows.
He wasn’t sure if it was Aba or not, but Logan didn’t want to give
away the fact that he knew someone was there. He mentally pushed
out, trying to feel for a mind. What he saw made him gasp. It was
bleak, horror filled, and made Logan want to claw his own damn eyes
out.
Never had he seen anything so malevolent, so evil before. It was
like some sort of black ooze creeping over his skin, as if worms were
writhing all over his body.
“You know you feel me, human.”
Logan wasn’t too sure anymore if he could be categorized as a
human. He was feeling less like one every day. Freak would probably
sum him up right about now. He tried to push harder into the thing’s
mind, forcing his will upon the creature.
He knew right away that the thing talking to him wasn’t Aba. No,
this thing was much worse. Logan wasn’t sure what he was dealing
with, but the words sulfur and brimstone came to mind.
“You’re being a bad boy. Do you think that will work on me, styre
mente?”
“I was kind of hoping it would.” Why lie?
“Honesty, such a bad quality.” The thing stepped from the
shadows, but all Logan saw was a man. He would have bet everything
he was that something would have slithered from the shadows instead
of walked.
“What do you want?” Logan asked as he stood, backing toward
the door.
“Your life,” the man answered. “Nothing important.”
Logan scrambled for the door, but the thing was faster, grabbing
Logan and throwing him a good ten feet away from the house.
“I don’t think so,” the thing said as he hopped down from the
steps, stalking toward Logan. “We wouldn’t want my playtime cut
short.”
“I would,” Logan said as he pushed to his feet.
Memphis 101
The man-thing shrugged, looking casual as he walked closer to
Logan. “We all have our issues.”
Logan froze, his body locking into place as images so horrific that
Logan wanted to vomit flashed in front of his eyes. He saw this thing
killing, tearing throats out, biting into warm flesh, and glorying in the
kill. Blood and meat ran down his chin as the creature chewed,
ravaged each body in his arms. The thing was almost high from the
kills. The victims’ begging had fueled his hunger. It had excited him.
“Like what you see?”
Logan shook his head, trying to breathe calmly. The creature
wanted Logan’s fear, wanted his pleas. His eyes were shining over
with glee at the thought of Logan running. The creature wanted the
chase.
Glancing around, Logan knew the only way back into the house
was through the guy, thing, whatever. But Logan could also feel that
he was no match. The man would glory in tearing Logan’s flesh from
his bones.
“Run,” the thing said as he took a step closer. “Run from me.”
“No.” Logan moved to his right, keeping his heart rate as slow as
he could manage while looking hell in its eyes. That was what came
to mind when Logan looked into his deep, bottomless black eyes.
They were swimming with pain and suffering, no hope in sight for its
victims.
Logan was going to try his hardest not to become the thing’s
victim.
“I can feel your fear, your hopelessness, and it tastes so damn
good on my tongue.”
Logan’s heart rate flew up a notch. He wasn’t sure how he was
going to get out of this. He remembered Rave telling him not to let
anyone bite him—although Rave had bitten the shit out of Logan
when they had sex. Talk about a paradox.
“You are going to taste so good when I sink my teeth into your
flesh, human.” The creature moved closer, taking small, measured
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steps. Logan had already witnessed how fast the thing could move, so
he knew that the creature in front of him was toying with Logan,
trying to make him run.
Logan pushed his mind out, using his ability, but not on the thing
in front of him. He tried to push into Rave’s and Tony’s minds,
showing them what he was seeing. Logan wasn’t too sure it would
work, but something had to give. Either this thing was going to eat
him, or Tony and Rave would come to his aid.
He was praying for the latter.
“I told you that your little mind control won’t work on me,” the
thing said. Thank goodness it couldn’t tell what Logan was doing, or
it probably would grab Logan and tear his damn throat out on the
spot.
Logan gasped when the thing moved so quickly that he had
thought it just disappeared and reappeared right in front of him. Long,
clawed fingers wrapped around Logan’s throat as the thing licked
Logan from jaw to temple. “You taste sweeter than you look.”
His hands pushed at the thing’s chest, trying to break the
connection, but the creature was stronger. His grip on Logan’s throat
tightened like an iron fist. Logan couldn’t breathe. His air supply was
being cut off as he felt the claws digging deeper into his neck. His
vision swam as the edges began to fade.
Logan knew he was about to die.
Shots echoed close to Logan’s ears, making him slam his hands
over them as the creature spun around, taking Logan with him.
“Do you think bullets will kill me?”
Logan saw Tony on the front steps, two hands gripping the gun.
He fired again, and then again, the bullets hitting the thing, making
him jerk back.
“Kill him,” Logan said, even though his voice was barely a
whisper. He’d rather die than let this thing escape. He saw what the
creature was capable of, and Logan didn’t want anyone else dying at
its hands.
Memphis 103
Tony’s face was grave, his eyes trained on the thing. “Let him
go.”
A soul-shivering laugh fell from the thing’s lips. “Come make
me.”
Logan grabbed the thing’s wrist, holding on for dear life when he
was slowly lifted from the ground, his feet leaving the grass as he
dangled in midair. The pressure was becoming too much. Logan
couldn’t get enough oxygen into his lungs. The lobes burned as a
throbbing headache began to form in the back of his skull.
He was dying, being strangled to death, and there wasn’t a thing
Logan could do about it. His vision faded as he felt his body going
limp in the tight grip of the creature’s claws.
* * * *
Tony tried to stay calm and keep a level head. He wasn’t sure how
to kill a man who seemed to eat the bullets and spit them back out.
His heart spiraled up into his throat when he saw Logan go limp, his
eyes fluttering closed. He fired repeatedly into the man, thanking god
he had spent so much time on the gun range. His aim was accurate as
hell, but he didn’t seem to be doing any damage.
Dorm came from around the side of the mansion, firing his gun
along with Tony, but fuck if it was doing any damage. It was like
using a cap gun.
Rave, or it looked like his mate, came from behind Dorm in his
wolf form, racing toward the man who had Logan in his grasp. The
man laughed as he ran, his speed so fast that Tony had a hard time
keeping his eyes focused on the guy.
“Don’t you fucking lose Logan,” he shouted at Rave as Tony
jumped from the steps and gave chase. Dorm ran up beside him as
they followed Rave in his wolf form. There was no way Tony could
keep an eye on the man with Logan. He was just too damn fast.
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Fear threatened to bring Tony to his knees as he watched the man
slow to curl Logan into his arms. Tony wasn’t sure if Logan was dead
or alive, but the man could not have his mate. Tony was bound and
determined to get Logan back.
“No!” Tony shouted when the man disappeared from sight. He
couldn’t lose Logan. Tony feared that he would never see his mate
again if he couldn’t catch the man. He saw Rave put on a burst of
speed, and then Rave was out of sight as well. Tony didn’t stop. He
kept running in the direction that Rave had gone, praying that Rave
could save Logan.
Tony cursed his recessed genes, he cursed his fucked-up lineage,
and he cursed everything that was wrong with his jaguar as he tried to
keep up. Once again he felt the beast inside of him, but it was trapped,
with no way out. Tony rounded a clump of trees and froze.
The man was in a clearing, Logan lying on the ground. He wasn’t
sure what happened, but Rave was racing toward the man.
“Rave!” Tony shouted as he began to run again, racing toward
both his mates and praying he didn’t lose either of them.
Tony stumbled when he saw a flying man come from the sky,
descending down toward the clearing. He kept running, his only goal
Rave and Logan.
The man who had taken Logan shifted into the biggest fucking
dog Tony had ever seen. It was a Rottweiler, immense in size and
girth as it charged toward the flying man. Rave had said the flying
men had wings that he couldn’t see, but Rave hadn’t said anything
about fangs. Tony watched in horror as the winged man hissed and
then changed color. He was fucking blue, and his size had gotten
taller. Black claws came out of the winged thing’s hand, his fangs
gleaming in the moonlight as Tony dropped down on the ground next
to Logan.
He ignored the two fighting as he rolled Logan over, Rave
whining and pushing his muzzle into Logan’s shoulder. Tony began
CPR, pressing into Logan’s chest and then breathing into his mouth.
Memphis 105
There was a big, ugly purple mark on Logan’s throat, and it was
bleeding.
Tony raised his entwined fingers and let his hands slam down into
Logan’s chest, forcing air into his mate’s lungs.
Logan coughed and then sputtered. He took in gasps and gulps of
air and sucked it into his thirsty lungs. Tony grabbed Logan, pulled
his mate into his arms as he ran from the clearing, Rave and Dorm at
his side. He had to get help for Logan. Max was a doctor at the
mansion. He could help Logan.
Tony held on to Logan as tight as he could as he ran as fast as his
legs would carry him. Logan may have breathed in the clearing, but
he was lying limp in Tony’s arms. He crashed through the front door,
shouting for Max as Rave bounded in after him, Dorm coming in last.
Max ran into the foyer, his eyes wide as Tony laid Logan onto the
marble floor. Logan wasn’t moving, and this time, it was Tony who
wasn’t breathing.
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Chapter Ten
Rave lay curled around Logan in the bed. His chin was resting on
Logan’s head, his body coiled around the other man’s loosely. Logan
was in the hospital, a precaution, Max had said. The doctor had
rushed Logan into the emergency room when Tony had brought an
unconscious Logan back to the mansion.
Logan had begun healing on his way in. Rave didn’t understand it,
Max didn’t have a clue, and Tony paced like a maniac as everyone
tried to figure out how Logan healed on his own. Logan wasn’t a
shifter. He shouldn’t have healed so quickly. But then again, so very
little was known about the styre mente. Maybe this was normal for
Logan.
Logan lay there sleeping, breathing normally. The bruises were
still on his mate’s neck, but the cuts from the hound’s claws had
healed. Zeus had called the commander of the winged beasts to find
out if the hound’s claws could infect Logan with that nasty black
ooze. Nazaryth had ensured the alpha that only a bite would be lethal,
but to watch for fever.
Logan’s skin was as cool as spring rain. Rave pulled his mate
closer to his body, refusing to be an inch away from the man. Zeus
told Rave that the winged beast that had come to the clearing to fight
the hound was someone named Dog. He had defeated the hound,
killing him and setting his body on fire. Apparently fire was the only
way to kill the sons of bitches once they were stabbed behind the ear.
Rave just wished it was he who had lit the bastard on fire. He
wouldn’t have lost a moment of sleep over killing the man who had
put Logan in the hospital. Rave glanced over at Tony who was sitting
Memphis 107
in a chair by the bed now, gazing off into space. His brown eyes were
looking at something Rave only wondered about.
“What are you hiding from me?”
Tony glanced at Rave, his eyes haunted as he slouched a little
further into the chair. Tony sat there looking lost, as if he would rather
eat glass than say anything at all. That expression alone held Rave’s
attention. “I’ll tell if you will.”
Rave thought about it. It seemed only fair. “Deal.” He wasn’t sure
how much to tell his mate, but the rift between all three of them was
growing, and Rave had to do something to bring them together or
none of them would survive this relationship.
Tony crossed his fingers over the flat planes of his stomach as his
eyes rose up to meet Rave’s. He chewed on his bottom lip, glanced
away, and then sighed. “I’m a jaguar.”
Rave took in those three words, replayed them in his mind, and
then cocked his head. “But you don’t smell like a shifter.”
Tony snorted. The sound was bitter as he looked down at his
hands lying on his stomach. Rave had a feeling he had just hit a sore
chord in Tony, one he hadn’t meant to. “My genes are recessed, Rave.
If Max took blood from me right now, he wouldn’t find any shifter
genes.”
Rave’s mind began to turn over Tony’s words, and things started
to click, pieces of the puzzle falling into place. Acts that had baffled
Rave were starting to make a whole lot of sense, and Rave was
beginning to understand the man. “The claiming?”
A resentful look crossed over Tony’s face like a close storm. His
jaw knotted tightly, the muscle throbbing as his fingers clenched.
They turned white, except for the light pink around his knuckles.
“You’re going to make me say it, aren’t you?”
Rave held his breath, worried that Tony was going to shut down
on him. As pained as Tony’s expression was, Rave had to know the
truth in order to close the large chasm growing between them. “Yes.”
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Lynn Hagen
Tony didn’t look too happy with Rave’s answer. “When I was
with you, when you bit me, my jaguar was fighting to get free, to
claim you in return. That had never happened before.”
“Before you met me and Logan.” Rave said what he knew Tony
was omitting.
Tony nodded. “The urge was so strong that I thought I would
shatter into a thousand pieces. But my canines never lengthened.”
Sorrow and regret fueled Tony’s confession, and a pain like Rave had
never seen before washed over Tony’s features.
Rave knew that deep and soul-stirring need to claim one’s mate. If
he had been denied the chance to bite Tony, he knew he would have
gone mad. No wonder Tony had left him and gone into the bathroom
afterward. It had probably torn the man to pieces to be denied that
honor.
“When I was with you and Logan, the same urge hit me again,
only stronger that time. I wasn’t trying to be a prick to you or Logan,
but I couldn’t handle not being able to claim either of you.” It looked
like it had cost Tony a lot to confess that out loud. Tony’s features
were strained, lines forming at his eyes and mouth.
Rave slipped from the bed, hating to leave Logan’s side, but
knowing he couldn’t leave Tony just sitting there by himself. He
walked around the bed, kneeling between Tony’s legs. Rave rested his
head on his mate’s stomach as he circled his arms around Tony’s
waist. “I’m sorry your jaguar is lost to you. Have you tried a doctor, a
DNA test, anything that might help?”
“No.” That one word vibrated through Tony’s chest, making Rave
hold on tighter. “There is nothing anyone can do.”
Rave knew that, but he felt so helpless doing nothing. To be
denied one’s beast had to be the most excruciating experience one had
to live with. Rave couldn’t even begin to know what it would be like
to call his wolf and have nothing happen. His wolf was such an
integrated part of him, like the breath in his lungs “I know what it’s
Memphis 109
like to fight with something inside of you and lose.” He could offer
Tony that much.
“Your turn?” Tony asked, voice a little shaky.
Rave nodded his head in Tony’s stomach, praying he had the
courage to tell Tony about his monsters. He’d never spoken about his
nightmares out loud and feared reliving them. There was a time in
Rave’s life that he wished he could purge them, scrub the vile things
clean from his memories. But Rave knew that would never happen, so
he just buried them deep inside of him, hoping he could at least forget
that his monsters existed.
“Before Zeus fought and won the position of alpha, a wolf named
Jackson led our pack. He was as evil as they came. Torturing for
pleasure and punishing for the sheer joy of listening to the screams
and pleas.” Rave shuddered as he went back into his past, holding on
to Tony tighter as he knelt in front of his mate. He ran his cheek over
Tony’s shirt, inhaling his mate’s scent for some form of comfort Rave
knew he wouldn’t find while telling Tony about his past.
Tony’s hand skimmed through Rave’s hair as he knelt there.
Taking a deep breath for courage, Rave continued. “He would send
the soldiers into town, claiming someone had betrayed him. It was
never the case, but Jackson was the devil incarnate. If we didn’t bring
the accused back, we were punished severely. He had followers,
sadistic men who loved the torture and pain just as much as the alpha
did. Jackson would hand us over to his followers if we failed him, and
sometimes even if we succeeded.”
Rave hated Jackson with his very soul. He was glad the man was
dead. Rave just wished his memories of his time under Jackson had
died along with the wolf. “I’ve killed, Tony, killed for Jackson to save
my own ass.”
* * * *
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Lynn Hagen
Tony could hear the torture, the guilt, and the pain in Rave’s
voice. He wasn’t sure what Rave had done for this Jackson guy, but
Tony wasn’t going to make Rave tell. It seemed to be taking
something precious from Rave just to speak of his past. Tony didn’t
want that. He had only wanted to know what was going on with Rave.
The picture Rave was painting was enough. He didn’t need to hear
any more.
“Taz was there through it all with me,” Rave went on. “I love him,
but not how you think, Tony. He’s my best friend, knows my dark
secrets, as I know his. Please don’t ever think that I would betray you
or Logan.”
Tony slid from the chair, kneeling in front of Rave as the man
rose up, resting his head on Tony’s shoulder. They knelt there
together, a simple embrace that wasn’t so simple. They had bared
their souls to one another in the hospital room and now needed the
comfort only mates could give.
He could feel a slight trembling coming from Rave as Tony
looked up to see Logan watching them. The blue in Logan’s eyes was
almost so clear that Tony wasn’t able to discern the blue from the
white any longer. Logan looked as though he was in pain as he
watched Rave and Tony.
“This side,” Tony said as he held Rave and locked eyes with
Logan. “You will always walk on this side, with me, with us.”
Tony had taken the words Rave had given Logan and placed them
at Rave’s feet. “Your past is in the past. It will always be there. But I
need you to start walking in the future with Logan and me.”
Rave nodded, nuzzling Tony’s neck. Tony could feel the wetness
on his neck, making him hold Rave tighter.
Logan smiled, an approving look dancing in his eyes. He knew
words weren’t enough to help the three of them, but Tony wasn’t
going to give up. Logan and Rave knew his secret. Logan and Tony
knew Rave’s. And lord knew Rave and Tony knew Logan’s. What
Memphis 111
was left was to work through it and hope like hell that this
relationship worked.
Tony had to come to terms with his lost jaguar, and Rave needed
to come to peace with his past. He wasn’t sure what the hell to do
about Logan’s problem, other than pray Logan never used his ability
to hurt anyone.
Rave pulled away when the nurse came in, covertly wiping at his
eyes. Tony released him as they both stood. Talk about an awkward
moment.
“I see you are awake,” the nurse said to Logan, acting as if Tony
and Rave weren’t just on their knees by Logan’s bed. “My name is
Tonk. I’ll be taking care of you while you are enjoying our fine
establishment. Just remember that there’s no running around the edge
of the pool, and we’ll know if you steal our towels.”
Logan looked from the nurse to Tony, and then Rave, an
expression on his face as if he didn’t know what to say, but was ready
to get up and run from the room. Tony thought the look was comical
as hell. He liked Tonk. The man breezed around the room as if he
really loved his job and the people he cared for on a daily basis.
Tonk checked Logan’s neck and then nodded. “The next time
someone tries to mug you, yank their balls through their eyes. Trust
me, it works.” Tonk patted Logan on his leg and then walked out.
Logan just gaped at the man, his eyes wide. Tony chuckled. He
knew Tonk was human, and the man didn’t know anything about
what was happening in Pride Pack Valley. Rave had told him as
much. There were a lot of people who worked in the hospital that
were shifters, but there were a handful who were human.
Taz walked into the room, a large bouquet of flowers filling up the
space in front of him. Tony watched as the wolf set the vase on the
side table and then turned to give them a dazzling smile. Tony studied
the man, admitting that Taz was one handsome man. Taz eyed
Monroe, a devious smile playing at his lips. “I remember you from
the last time you were in town.”
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“Yeah, you and Rave gave me a hard time,” Tony replied, eyeing
Taz from head to toe. He wanted to be pissed at the man for holding a
special place in Rave’s heart, but knowing this guy was Rave’s best
friend stopped Tony from giving Taz a scathing look. He had to play
nice.
“It was all Rave,” Taz said as he stuck out his hand, pointing
accusingly at Rave. “I just played along. Sorry about that.” He
shrugged unrepentantly and then held his hand out for a shake.
Tony shook it, piercing his mate with a glare. “I should have
figured it was Rave’s idea to fuck with me.”
Rave had the decency to look embarrassed. A shitty grin appeared
on his face as he winked at Tony. “I had to see how far I could push
you.”
“I’m Taz,” Taz said as he reached over and shook Logan’s hand.
“Don’t judge me by Rave. He’s the ringleader between the two of us.”
Logan grinned as he turned his head, his dark-brown hair falling
over his eyes. Tony had an urge to brush it out of his mate’s face, but
it lent to the boyish look Logan carried about him. “I believe that,”
Logan replied.
Taz waved at the flowers. “Julien sent those over for Logan.”
“Julien?” Tony asked.
“He’s Sully and Austin’s mate. He runs the local flower shop. I
have a very large and strange family, Tony. And it’s your family
now.” Rave turned toward Logan, a sheepish look on his face. “And
yours as well.”
“I’m gonna head out. I hope you feel better,” Taz said to Logan as
he left the room.
“Just how big is your family?” Tony asked.
Rave sighed. “You really don’t want to know.”
* * * *
Memphis 113
“Are you coming by Sunday?” Deputy Arkans asked. “I was
planning on grilling some steaks and having a few beers. The weather
is supposed to be great this weekend.”
Deputy Ernest Varnes stood with his colleagues by the table that
held the coffeepot and pastries, looking at Deputy Arkans, but
watching Agent Dorm from the corner of his eye. “Sounds good.”
“I could use some steak and fixings,” Deputy Wilson remarked.
“What time?”
Ernest listened to the men talk and laugh as his attention became
divided. Ever since he met Dorm, it felt like a mass of butterflies were
trying to break free from his stomach. The guy had to be about six
seven. The agent loomed over Jesse as they stood by the sheriff’s
office and talked.
“Are you coming?” Deputy Arkans asked Ernest.
Dorm laughed, the sound skin-prickling as Ernest glanced up at
Arkans. He had to think very hard to remember the question before he
answered. “Yeah, I’ll be there.”
The deputies continued talking as Ernest covertly gazed at his
mate. Dorm wasn’t skinny, but he was lean, well-muscled, but not
bulky. He was a lot taller than Ernest’s five-nine. It made him feel
small, which didn’t set well with Ernest, but damn if the man wasn’t
the total package. He just wondered if Dorm could feel any kind of
pull toward him. Ernest turned, making himself a cup of coffee, trying
to think things out in his mind on how to approach Dorm as he stirred
the cream around in is cup.
“Deputy Varnes,” Jesse called across the room. Ernest lifted the
cup to his lips as he slowly turned around.
“Yes, Sheriff?”
“Could you come here?”
The other deputies dispersed, going back to their work as Ernest
crossed the room, keeping his gaze on Jesse and not Dorm. He didn’t
want to stare openly at the man, but damn if he didn’t feel like
walking over to Dorm and begging for a kiss.
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Lynn Hagen
“What’s up?” he asked as he neared the two. Heat flooded his
body as he stood close to Dorm. The raw, masculine scent of his mate
penetrated every inch of Ernest’s body, making him hyperaware that
Dorm was only a few inches away.
“I want you to work with Dorm on the murders. He’ll need
someone who knows the area.”
Ernest stopped himself from swallowing audibly as he gave a
relaxed nod in Jesse’s direction. “What about his partner, Agent
Monroe?”
“He’s working on something else,” Jesse said and then formally
introduced Ernest and Dorm. Ernest felt his heart slam in his throat as
Dorm held his hand out. Ernest took it, feeling the power behind the
shake. Dorm was human, but he exuded confidence. More confidence
than even Ernest possessed. The hand was large, swallowing his
whole.
Ernest prayed he didn’t get Dorm’s hand all sweaty with his.
“Nice to meet you, Deputy Varnes,” Dorm said. His voice was
deep, as deep as a person’s would be at such a towering height.
“Same here,” Ernest replied and then quickly pulled his hand
away. Touching his mate was making him hard, and he wasn’t sure
now was the time or place to show just how much the man affected
him.
“Shall we go?” Dorm asked as he waved toward the exit.
Ernest wasn’t sure if he’d survive the day.
Memphis 115
Chapter Eleven
Logan stood in the hardware store, thankful as hell that nothing
had happened to Hunter. The shifter had gotten out in time. The only
damage was to the store. The storage room looked like someone had
ripped it apart with a scorching hand. The wood was burned, in some
spots to a crisp. A lot of the inventory was lost, so burned that it
looked like a pile of singed paper with melted metal in the center.
“Insurance covered everything,” Hunter said as he stood behind
Logan. “I’m just glad you weren’t hurt.”
“That makes two of us,” Logan said as he pushed aside something
that looked like melted chocolate with the toe of his shoe. “I’m sorry
your store was burned because of me.”
“Don’t sweat it, Logan. That’s what insurance is for. Besides, you
found your mates.”
The man sounded too damn optimistic for having his livelihood
lying in charred ruins. That only made Logan feel worse for having
his work truck blow out the back of the man’s store.
“Listen,” Hunter said as he walked back toward the front of the
store, “I wanted to know if you were still working for the delivery
company or if you would consider working here. I could always use
an assistant. My mates complain that I spend too much time here.”
Logan was shocked. “You would want me to work here when I’m
the one who is responsible for the damage?”
Hunter gave a low growl. “I told you already, this is not your
fault.”
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Lynn Hagen
That still didn’t stop Logan from feeling responsible. But he could
really use a job. Logan had a feeling his other job wasn’t waiting for
him. “When do you want me to start?”
A grin spread across Hunter’s face, triumph in his eyes. “Tristan
and Quinn are going to love you for this.”
“I already have two mates to worry about.” Logan chuckled.
“Monday would be perfect. I have Dino and Quinn coming in this
weekend to start on the repairs. Hopefully they get the majority done
before Monday.”
“Ready?” Tony asked as he walked into the hardware store. “Rave
wants us to meet him at Harold’s Deli for lunch.”
Logan was starving. Just the mention of food had his stomach
rumbling. Getting put into the hospital did that to an appetite. Hospital
food sucked. Tony had tried to argue that Logan wasn’t up to
checking on Hunter, but Logan was fine. No permanent damage. Even
the bruising had gone from a deep purple down to a light green. His
neck was almost bruise-free.
“I’m ready,” Logan said as he stepped from the storage room.
“Hunter offered me a job.”
Tony quirked a brow at Hunter. “You think it’s a good idea with
Aba after him?”
“I’ll leave that decision up to you guys. Just let me know before
Monday.”
Logan walked out of the hardware store with Tony, breathing in
the fresh spring air. Damn, it felt good to be alive. He never told Tony
or Rave how truly terrified he had been when that thing had its claws
wrapped around his neck. Logan didn’t think he would survive, but
here he stood, living and, thankfully, breathing.
To some, the act of breathing was taken for granted. Air went in,
lungs expanded, and then retracted so that air came out. But for
someone like Logan who had lost that privilege yesterday, almost
permanently, it was a damn blessing. A reminder that things taken for
granted could be lost in a heartbeat.
Memphis 117
Harold’s Deli sat on the corner of Route 14 and Trenton Street.
Tony and Logan walked down to the corner, crossing over. Rave was
leaning against the building, his ankles crossed and his hands tucked
behind his back, looking bored.
Although that look didn’t last long once he spotted Logan and
Tony approaching. The look on Rave’s face was a mixture of
happiness and lust. Logan shivered.
“Logan here has been offered a job,” Tony said as they stepped up
onto the curb. “Hunter wants to hire him at the hardware store.”
Rave pushed away from the tan brick, eyeing Logan thoughtfully
for a few seconds, and then shook his head. “It isn’t safe. You would
be unprotected against Aba.”
Logan could feel his hopes of getting out and working slowly
slipping through his fingers. “And if you don’t catch him for some
time? Am I supposed to just sit around and be a pretty ornament for
you two?”
“No,” Rave replied. “But I don’t like you working someplace
unsecured.”
“And the mansion is? The hound found me with no problem.”
“First of all,” Rave said, his teeth clenched tightly, “you weren’t
supposed to be outside by yourself. Secondly, that hound wasn’t
looking for you specifically. He was just looking for a victim,
period.”
“That’s what I’m talking about,” Logan shot back. “No matter
where I am, there are risks. I’m not going to hide away in your
bedroom while life goes on around me.”
“But it’s a bigger risk standing around a hardware store all day,”
Tony interjected. “You won’t have a pack of wolves there to protect
you like you do at Rave’s.”
“Again, I wasn’t so safe.”
“I’m not going to argue,” Rave said as he grabbed the door handle
to the deli. “We’ll discuss this later. I’m hungry. Trust me. I’m
grumpy as hell when I’m hungry.”
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Logan had lost his appetite. His mates expected him to hide away
until Aba was caught. If he was caught. Logan had to learn how to use
his powers, and he had to learn how to defend himself. Staying hidden
wasn’t an option.
Picking over his sandwich, Logan glanced over at the deli clerk.
He was mad as hell and wondered if he could control his powers,
using them without losing control. Logan sat up a little straighter,
looking down at his food, but concentrating on the man behind the
counter.
He searched inside his body, searching for that one place that his
burgeoning powers brewed and churned. It was like a bubbling
cauldron of lava, hot and ready to be used. Logan focused on the clerk
bringing him a soft drink, something light and crisp.
The feeling of something simmering up from that dark place
began to build, slowly. Logan was trying his best not to alert Rave to
what he was doing. Rave could always feel when Logan was reaching
out, pushing as it was referred to by others. Small snaps of electricity
began to reverberate against his nerve endings as Logan thought of
the tasty drink, asking through his mind for the clerk to bring it to
him.
The clerk rounded the counter, a large cup in his hand as he
headed Logan’s way. A tiny ripple of vibration tightened and then
flowed in Logan’s chest as the clerk set the drink down in front of
him, smiled, and then returned to his duties.
“You did that,” Rave accused as he looked from the clerk to
Logan. “I didn’t hear you order a drink.”
Logan cleared his face of emotion as he shook his head. “I don’t
know what you are talking about.”
Rave’s face grew tight with anger as he set his food down on the
paper the sandwich had been folded into. “You made him bring you
that drink.” Rave leaned closer, their faces inches apart. “I can smell a
lie, Logan.”
“So,” Logan answered. “I was thirsty.”
Memphis 119
“Do you know who that blond man is?” Rave asked, the vein at
his temple throbbing. “Do you know what would happen if Zeus
found out you pushed your mind control into his mate’s head?”
Logan glanced over at the clerk, who was talking with some
redheaded man. Shit, he hadn’t known the clerk was the alpha’s mate.
“I didn’t hurt him.”
“That’s not the point. If the alpha finds out you forced Toby to
bring you a drink, even something that insignificant, he would banish
you.”
“Why?” Tony asked from across the table.
Rave turned, his features so tight with controlled rage that the man
looked scary as hell. “Because, if Logan would do that to the alpha’s
mate, then Zeus would assume Logan would have no qualms about
trying to control his pack.”
Logan sat there stunned. “But I don’t want this pack. I don’t want
to control anyone.”
“Then why did you do it?” Rave asked.
Logan pushed his sandwich away, dropping the pretense that he
was eating it. “How in the hell am I supposed to learn how to use my
powers, Rave?”
“I told you. Get the person’s permission first.”
Logan made a low snorting noise in the back of his throat. “Then
how would I know if it was my powers, or if the person was just
doing what I wanted because I asked?”
Rave stood, grabbing Logan by his arm. “Let’s go.”
Logan pulled, but Rave had a tight hold on his arm. “Let me go,
Rave.”
Tony stood, placing his hand on Rave’s. “Let him go, Rave.”
“No,” Rave growled. “I’ve been used, and I know what that feels
like. I won’t have our mate thinking he can use people just to
experiment on how to use his powers. I won’t have him treating
others—”
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“Like Jackson treated you?” Tony finished. Logan winced. Damn,
that was a low blow. Rave snarled, releasing Logan and slamming his
hands into Tony’s chest.
“Don’t you ever throw that in my face again!”
Tony staggered back a step and then caught his footing, glaring at
Rave. “Then stop trying to rule Logan with an iron fist. I don’t agree
with his methods of learning what he can do, but you aren’t helping
the situation.”
“At least I can—” Rave snapped his mouth shut and turned,
walking out of the deli. Logan could see the pain etched on Tony’s
face as he watched Rave go.
“He’s just worried,” Logan said, trying to lessen the blow. “He
didn’t mean any harm.”
“Too late for that,” Tony said as he walked toward the exit.
“Please come with me.” The request was low, anger simmering
around Tony as Logan hurried to the door. Having one mate ready to
hammer him was enough for Logan. He didn’t want Tony mad at him
as well.
They walked back over to the hardware store where Tony had
parked his car. Rave was nowhere in sight. Logan slipped into the
passenger’s seat, wondering if what the three of them had was falling
apart. And he wondered if it was all because of him. Logan was the
one who had Aba hot on his heels. He was the one testing out what
capabilities he had and how strong they were. The fight in the deli had
been about him, only Rave and Tony had turned on each other.
Tony drove, talking on his cell phone to his partner Dorm as
Logan stared out of the window at the businesses they passed by. He
hadn’t wanted a three-way relationship to begin with, but now that he
had tasted both men, he knew he couldn’t give them up. After that
moment in the hospital when he saw Tony, and then Rave, bare their
souls to one another, he knew he couldn’t just walk away.
But damn if they weren’t hurting each other. Tony and Rave were
being downright cruel to one another. But what was Logan supposed
Memphis 121
to do, wait until Aba trapped him somewhere and hope like hell he
knew what to do? He needed someone he could use to test his powers
on, but who? Who in the hell was going to let Logan unleash what he
had on them? No sane man would volunteer to have his brains
possibly scrambled.
For a fleeting second, Logan understood Aba. Not the murders,
never the murders, but how the man felt being unrestricted. Being a
styre mente was empowering, and made Logan want to toss aside
niceties, getting down to the nitty-gritty of what he could do. He
wanted to push without limits, feel the edges of what he was capable
of.
“Drop me off at Rave’s.”
Tony glanced over at him, his brows furrowed. “Why?”
“I’m tired,” he lied. “I just want to rest.”
“I won’t be long, and then I can take you back. I could use some
sleep myself,” Tony said as he turned onto Route 22.
Logan didn’t want to take a nap with Tony. Anger consumed him,
pulling him under into a violent sea of crashing waves and dark
waters as he pushed into Tony’s mind, making the agent pull the car
over.
Jumping out, Logan slammed the car door closed and walked
away.
* * * *
Quinn was standing in the back of his mate’s hardware store,
assessing the damage and jotting down the materials he and Dino
would need to make the repairs. He heard the front door open. Setting
the pad and pencil aside, Quinn walked up front to see who it was.
Logan was standing there at the door, his fingers curled in at his sides,
his shoulders tense.
“Something wrong, Logan?”
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Logan didn’t answer him. The man just stood there staring down
at the floor. A shiver crawled down Quinn’s back as he watched the
man for a moment, noticing how a stray tear ran down Logan’s face.
“Talk to me.”
Logan’s head moved slightly, a small nod. “I can’t.” The response
was filled with anguish. Quinn took a step closer.
“Why not?”
“Because I can’t control it,” Logan said as his head slowly turned
toward Quinn. Logan’s blue eyes were almost swallowed whole by
the pupils. They were large, dominating his irises.
“Tell me what’s going on,” Quinn said as he took a cautious step
to his right.
“I—” Logan shook his head, smashing his eyes closed as he
pulled in a long breath of air. “I can’t make it stop. It has to go
somewhere.”
“Your mind control? What’s wrong with it?”
Logan threw his head back and laughed, but the laughter was
chilling. “Does everyone know that I’m a freak?”
“Not a freak,” Quinn countered, “just different.”
“Very polite,” Logan said as Quinn felt something crawl across
his skin until it reached his mind, pushing at his brain. He was starting
to understand what Logan was fighting.
“I wasn’t going for polite,” Quinn said. “But if you need someone
to use to disperse your raging power, use me.”
Logan’s angry expression wavered for a moment. “How? You’re
human.”
“Not fully. Come out back with me where no one can get hurt.”
Quinn waited, wondering if Logan would follow.
“You’re tricking me,” Logan accused. “Why would anyone
volunteer to have their mind fucked with?” The anger was back,
tenfold this time.
Quinn felt his own powers stirring. He was half human, half
demon. He prayed his demon counterpart could withstand Logan’s
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ability. “I won’t have Hunter’s store burnt to the ground. Come
outside.”
“How would it burn?” Logan asked as he turned fully toward
Quinn, his lip pulled back into a snarl. This was not good. Quinn had
been told—as well as the rest of the pack—that Logan was teetering
on the sides of good and evil. The man could fall either way. From the
expression on Logan’s face and the rigid body stance, the man was
slipping over to the dark side of who he was.
Quinn knocked Logan away from him as he raced from the store,
praying no human was out in the open to witness what was about to
happen. He stood in the middle of the street, letting his demon free.
Logan slammed the door open wide, glaring at Quinn
murderously as Quinn’s body burst into flames. The fire licked along
his skin, bathing him in a warm red and blue glow, the fire growing
stronger, licking up toward the sky as Logan walked toward him.
“Do you think fire will help you?” Logan asked as his head slowly
tilted to the side. “Do you think I can’t get to your mind past your
flames?”
“Give me your best shot, jackass,” Quinn taunted. The buildup
had gotten out of control, and Quinn could see the slight hesitation on
Logan’s face, as if he really didn’t want to do this. Quinn remembered
that rage he had felt when he first discovered what he was. The power
was riding Logan, controlling the man, consuming him from the
inside out.
Logan lifted his arm, twisting his hand sideways. Quinn felt
pressure in his skull, pressing down on him like a heavy wet blanket.
He wasn’t sure what he should do, but if he wasn’t the one who
helped Logan get himself back under control, some unsuspecting
human may end up a vegetable…or worse.
Quinn’s feet began to move, taking him closer to Logan. He dug
his heels in, keeping his distance as Logan’s veins began to appear at
his temples. The man’s neck strained with muscles as if the pressure
was becoming too much.
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Quinn cried out, dropping to his knees as he pushed back against
Logan. He wasn’t a styre mente, but he had to fight, he had to help
Logan. Tension built in Quinn’s muscles. A flowing and ebbing
pulled at his mind, something dark reaching out to grab him and pull
him under. He screamed and sucked in a lungful of ice-cold air,
feeling something coming off of Logan as if it were lashing out,
beating against Quinn’s mind, trying to get in. Quinn slammed his
hands to his temples, fighting back, fighting to keep whatever it was
from getting in.
A feeling of power and ancient strength filled Quinn, making him
gasp as Logan dropped to all fours, rolling to his back and reaching
out for Quinn. “It’s going to kill me,” Logan sobbed as he writhed
around on the ground.
Quinn’s eyes shot up when he saw a slight outline of Panahasi
standing behind Logan. Panahasi was the demon leader, unable to be
seen in broad daylight. His corporal form shimmered as he nodded at
Quinn. “He won’t hurt you. Be his cushion. Absorb his excess powers
into your body.”
Quinn nodded, letting his guard down and taking the full brunt of
Logan’s assault. It wasn’t a pleasant feeling, but he no longer felt like
his skull was going to explode. “Push it out, Logan. Give it to me,”
Quinn shouted above Logan’s sobbing and screaming.
Quinn saw Rave and Tony racing toward him, along with Hunter
and Zeus. He waved them back as Logan screamed. The sound almost
shattered Quinn’s eardrums as he felt a blast slam into his mind,
making him stagger backward. Quinn had never felt such powers
before, but only gained a slight headache from the absorption.
Logan lay on the ground, his skin covered in sweat as he shook
uncontrollably. “Go to him,” Quinn said to Rave and Tony. “It’s
gone.”
“Tell the alpha that I will send one of my demon warriors to show
Logan how to channel his powers without the threat of Logan
overloading again. Logan is very strong, the strongest styre mente that
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I have come across in a very long time,” Panahasi said before
disappearing.
Quinn turned toward Zeus, relaying the message.
“Then get him home,” Zeus said. “He’s too dangerous even for
himself right now.”
Rave picked Logan up, tossing him over his shoulder as he and
Tony headed toward their car. Quinn blew out a long breath as the
fires licking along his skin began to bank. Hunter was going to kick
his ass for volunteering to be Logan’s outlet, and he wasn’t looking
forward to it.
Logan owed him for this one.
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Chapter Twelve
Rave sat in the backseat, holding Logan close as he ran his hand
over his mate’s soft hair. Logan was staring at the backseat as if he
was there, but wasn’t.
“Tony, I—”
“Let it go for now, Rave.”
Rave could see the inflexible way Tony’s shoulders were set and
knew he had fucked up big-time. Tony was right about Rave trying to
make Logan’s gift disappear. No, he wasn’t trying to make it
disappear, more like sweeping it under the rug. Rave had chastised
Logan every time his mate tried to use his gift. That wasn’t the right
way to handle things. He should have been more supportive than
stringent.
Instead of trying to find a way to help Logan, this was the result of
Logan feeling trapped. Fuck. “I’m sorry,” Rave said as he bent closer
to Logan. “I’m so sorry I wouldn’t listen to you.”
Logan kept staring off into space, unmoving. Rave was starting to
fear something was wrong with Logan. Usually after his mate used
his mind control, he got a headache, became tired, and was a little
disoriented. That was one hell of a show back there by Hunter’s.
What side effect would Logan suffer after such a great buildup like
that?
“Logan?”
Rave turned Logan’s head, seeing how large his mate’s pupils
were. Logan wasn’t responding. “Tony, something’s wrong with
Logan.” Rave wanted to smack his hands, yell, and shake Logan until
Memphis 127
the man looked up at him with focused eyes. It was scaring the shit
out of him.
Tony pulled the car over on the soft shoulder of the road and then
turned around, staring down at Logan. “What’s going on?”
Rave shook his head as he grabbed Logan’s jaw, jarring it gently
back and forth, but Logan just lay there, unresponsive.
“Let’s get him home so Max can look at him.” Tony pulled back
onto the road, going a little faster this time as they hurried Logan
home. Rave carried their mate in as Tony searched for Max. Rave set
Logan on their bed, making his mate comfortable as Max came into
the room.
“He won’t say anything. His pupils are very large,” Rave said as
he stepped back for Max to examine Logan. “He hasn’t said anything
since fighting with Quinn.”
“What do you mean, fighting with Quinn?” Max asked.
Rave explained to the doctor what he had seen. Rave had been in
shifter form, going for a run to cool off from the heated argument
when he had stumbled and nearly passed out from Logan’s use of his
powers. Rave wasn’t sure how he always knew when Logan used
them, but it had felt like he was drowning in a raging river this time.
He even knew where to find Logan, which was impossible, but true.
“Close the curtains,” Zeus said as he walked into Rave’s bedroom.
“It has to be completely dark in here.”
Rave didn’t question the alpha. He closed the curtains, the
daylight disappearing with only the bedside lamp glowing. He
watched in amazement as a pair of burning eyes appeared. It wasn’t
like the eyes were on fire, more like a fire was being reflected in the
dark orbs, as if whoever owned those eyes was staring at a fire
burning in a fireplace.
A large man walked out of the shadows, bowing like someone in a
karate class. But Rave wasn’t fooled. He felt the power surging
around the man.
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“I am Einarr. Panahasi told me someone here needs training on his
newfound powers.”
Rave stepped closer to the bed, growling softly as he blocked
Logan from Einarr’s sight.
“Calm down, Rave. Panahasi said he would be sending someone
to teach Logan how to harness his powers so he doesn’t overload
again,” Zeus said from the doorway. “He’s not here to hurt Logan.”
“Do you know anything about his comatose state?” Max asked.
“Because frankly, I’m a little clueless. The ancient scroll doesn’t
cover anything like this for styre mentes.”
Einarr nodded. “I studied his kind for many years,” he answered.
“Logan is more or less rebooting. He expended a great deal of power
today, and his body is exhausted, used up if you will. I am here to
teach him how to channel his gift, to make sure this doesn’t happen
again.” Einarr waved at Logan lying prone on the bed.
Rave didn’t like it. Logan was his responsibility, his and Tony’s.
But he had to admit that he was clueless on how to help his mate. “I
won’t let you take Logan to the demon realm.”
Einarr nodded. “It will be a little more difficult with daylight in
your realm, but I can manage.”
Rave glanced at Tony, but his mate was too busy gawking at
Einarr.
“Did he just really walk out of the corner of the room?” Tony
asked.
Rave hid his grin. “He is a demon warrior from the demon realm,
Tony. I see we have a lot to talk about.”
Tony’s eyes snapped over to Rave, anger and hurt still boiling in
his brown eyes. “Yeah, teach me.” His tone was dry and full of
sarcasm. Rave had a lot of ass to kiss to get back into Tony’s good
graces. Rubbing the fact that Tony couldn’t shift into his face was the
cruelest thing Rave could have done, and he wanted to beat his own
ass for letting his emotions rule how he treated his mate. It was
uncalled for and something he never planned on repeating again.
Memphis 129
That was if Tony ever forgave him.
“Let him rest for at least twenty-four hours, and he should be
fine,” Einarr said. “I will be back to check on him. Just call my name
if you need me before then.”
“Just call your name?” Tony asked.
“Yep,” Einar said with a grin as he faded back into the shadows.
“He forgot to mention to make sure it’s dark when you call his
name,” Zeus said. “Demons can’t hold their corporal form in
daylight.”
Tony looked confused as hell, but nodded. Zeus left and Max
walked toward the bedroom door. “I’m sorry there isn’t more I can do
for your mate, but call me if anything changes so I can check him
again.”
Rave wasn’t sure how much that would help considering Max was
out of his depth, but he appreciated the sincere look on the lion
shifter’s face. With Logan rebooting, Rave was left with Tony. He
wasn’t sure what to say to make Tony see how truly sorry he was for
being a rank bastard.
Tony solved that problem as he stretched out next to Logan and
closed his eyes, leaving Rave to stand by himself in the room. Rave
wondered if things were ever going to work out between them.
* * * *
Tony ran his knuckles over Logan’s jaw, worried for the man. It
had been a little over twenty-four hours, and Logan still hadn’t
opened his eyes. He was ready to call Einarr when Logan’s eyelids
fluttered, revealing his pretty blue eyes. Tony held his breath, waiting
for Logan to focus and fully wake up.
“Am I dead?” Logan asked as he ran his hand over his naked
sternum. “Because if I’m not, Zeus is going to fry my ass.”
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Tony grinned, happy to see Logan in such a teasing state after
what the man had just been through. “Zeus isn’t the one who’s going
to fry your ass, honey.”
Logan glanced over at Tony, worry in his eyes. “I guess not. Is
Quinn okay?”
“He’s fine. Hunter and Tristan aren’t too happy about you almost
melting their mate’s brain, but Quinn insisted that it was his idea. Was
it?”
“I don’t know,” Logan replied. That was the honest truth. Things
were a little blurry about what had happened. All Logan could really
remember was the raw rage that had consumed him and taken over.
Maybe he wasn’t meant to walk on the right side of this mess. Maybe
styre mentes were meant to be evil. Logan shivered at that thought.
He didn’t want to be evil. He had tried with everything in him not to
lash out, but the power had built up and overflowed until Logan
thought he was going to lose his mind.
This was some scary shit he was dealing with. Logan was way
past pissed at himself, at whoever gave him this power to begin with.
He didn’t want it. He didn’t want to become evil. He had hurt
someone, even if that person volunteered. Logan was truly afraid of
his own self at that moment. He wasn’t even sure he knew who he
was any longer.
Things were happening inside of him, dark things, immoral
things. Logan wanted run screaming from…himself. He curled into
Tony’s side, unsure of what to say or do. How could he apologize for
what he had done to Quinn? It was unforgivable in his book.
“Someone is coming by to teach you how to harness your powers
and use them correctly,” Tony said as he rubbed Logan’s back. “His
name is Einarr.”
Logan nodded into Tony’s chest, wondering how his mate could
be so calm with him after what Logan had done. Logan was shocked
Rave wasn’t here yelling his head off about using someone for his
own gain. But it hadn’t been his own gain. Logan had been out of
Memphis 131
control with no way to stop the onslaught of what was happening to
him. Would Rave believe that?
“Where’s Rave?” Logan asked.
“Not here.”
Logan heard the flat way Tony answered him. Tony was still mad
at Rave. This much he was sure about. How could Tony hold a grudge
against Rave, but not be mad at him? “You can’t stay mad at him
forever.”
“Watch me,” Tony said.
Logan pushed up, staring up at Tony. “You weren’t very polite
when you addressed Rave.”
“But it was the truth,” Tony argued.
“And what Rave said wasn’t?”
Tony’s eyes narrowed as his nostrils flapped in anger. “It’s not the
same thing.”
“How, Tony? You threw Rave’s past in his face, and he retaliated
by throwing something just as hurtful in yours. You were both wrong
and childish. You never use someone’s past against them if you love
them.”
“Love?” Tony repeated the word as his eyes widened. “Rave
never said anything about love.”
“Do you care about Rave?”
Tony nodded.
“Then you shouldn’t have said what you said, no matter if you felt
it was justified. Words hurt, Tony. You can’t take them back once
they are out there.” He really didn’t have room to talk. Logan had
tried to use innocent people with his powers. He was just as guilty as
his mates, but he had to smooth the ruffles between Tony and Rave.
Logan was going to smooth the crap he had done with the deli
clerk and pray Zeus didn’t tear him a new asshole.
Tony looked as though the wind was let out of his sail. He
grumbled something Logan couldn’t discern and then rolled to his
back, staring up at the ceiling. Logan pushed up until he was lying
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across Tony’s broad chest. “You know what has to happen now,
right?”
Tony turned his gaze toward Logan, his brows furrowed. “No,
what?”
“Make-up sex,” Logan stated matter-of-factly. “It’s the only way.
And it helps to clear up pimples and warts as well.”
Tony chuckled. “I’ve never heard of that one before.”
“Then you obviously have never been to high school,” Logan
teased.
“I’ve heard that sex is a great stress reducer,” Tony said before
lowering his head, ghosting his lips over Logan’s. “I’m willing to find
out if you are.”
Logan was all for that. He’d slap a miracle label on sex if Tony
would give him some. Logan scooted closer, his leg blanketing
Tony’s. “I just noticed that I’m naked under the sheet. Have you been
playing with my beans and wiener while I’ve been asleep?”
Tony gave a full hearty laugh as he pulled Logan into his arms.
“No, but I will the next time if you want.”
“Groping an unconscious man.” Logan snickered. “Now that’s
just downright perverted.”
Tony’s grin was wide as he kissed Logan. “I never said I was a
saint.” His hand squeezed Logan’s ass, making him moan as Tony
took the kiss deeper. Logan slung his leg over Tony’s hip, giving his
mate room to do all the playing his heart desired. His cock thickened
as Logan began to hump Tony’s stomach. The man was driving him
crazy, and all Tony was doing was squeezing his ass.
Logan yelped when Tony rolled them, his mate somehow naked
as well. Logan had a sneaking suspicion that Tony had this all
planned. Of course Logan wasn’t going to complain. His legs
wrapped around Tony, pulling his mate closer. “Fuck me.”
“Oh, I plan to.”
“No, now. Get the lube and fuck me back into unconsciousness.”
“You don’t want me to stretch you?”
Memphis 133
Logan twisted his lips, staring at Tony’s lust-filled brown eyes.
“No, just fuck me hard and fast.”
Tony’s nostrils flared as he grabbed the lube and smeared the gel
onto his cock. Logan wasn’t so sure about his request, but he wanted
to feel alive, feel anything, even if it was the pain of taking his mate
into his body. He got his wish when Tony plunged into his ass, hard
and raw, making Logan shout as Tony began to fuck him like a
madman.
Logan took it, took the punishment as he bucked his hips, fucking
Tony in return. Sweat started building up on his body that quick,
making Logan try even harder to come. He needed the release, needed
the tension in his body to ease.
Tony’s fist slammed into the headboard, a low growl falling from
his lips. Logan saw the fight inside Tony, but knew what it was about
this time. “Bite me.”
“I can’t,” Tony gritted out in frustration.
“Your teeth don’t have to grow, Tony. Just bite the fuck out of
me. Do it!”
Tony slammed his teeth against Logan’s shoulder, a whimper and
a snarl leaving his lips as his blunt teeth dug so deeply into Logan that
Logan knew he was going to have marks, if not a scar. He would wear
that scar proudly, damn it. “Yes!” Logan shouted as Tony plunged his
cock in and out of his ass, stiffened, and then released Logan’s
shoulder as he shouted his release.
Logan was still hard, but he knew it wasn’t because Tony was a
bad lover. There was too much tension built up inside of him. “I can’t
come,” Logan said in frustration. “I’m too tense.”
Tony rolled from between Logan’s legs and swallowed his cock.
Logan saw Rave standing just inside the door, longing in his eyes to
join Logan and Tony on the bed. Logan bit his bottom lip and curled
his finger in, telling Rave to come here. Rave shook his head as he
leaned against the wall, watching.
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“Can Rave fuck you?” Logan asked as he panted and then
swallowed, his cock hard and buried in Tony’s mouth. Tony’s head
pulled back, Logan’s swollen cock slipping free. Logan wanted to
shout his protest, but knew that Tony and Rave needed to come to
some sort of truce. But damn if he didn’t want to shove Tony’s face
back down between his legs.
Logan curled his fingers into the headboard, breathing through his
lust as he watched.
“Come here, Rave,” Tony said.
“No,” Rave said as he shook his head. “This is your time with
Logan.”
“What, we share him on separate time frames now?”
Rave shrugged, looking like a lost man as he stood there. “You
tell me.”
“I’m telling you to get fucking naked and come here, damn you.”
Rave’s eyes widened as he took a step closer. Logan wanted to
shout at Rave to hurry the hell up so Tony could go back to sucking
his cock, but curled his lips in, fighting not to ruin this moment for the
two.
Rave began to slowly peel his clothes off, his eyes never leaving
Tony’s. He climbed onto the bed, and Logan heard a quick intake of
breath as Tony pulled Rave under him, resting Rave’s head on
Logan’s cock.
Just great, he had head, but no one was sucking him. How ironic
was that?
“I’m so sorry,” Rave cried out as Tony leaned down and began to
kiss him. Logan watched, getting even hotter as the two made out. He
cleared his throat, tapping Tony on the shoulder.
“If one of you two don’t lean over here and put my cock into one
of your mouths, I’m going to throw the biggest hissy fit you’ve ever
seen.”
Tony chuckled as he leaned forward and licked a long path up
Logan’s shaft. “Nope, not gonna do.”
Memphis 135
Rave squirmed from under Tony, situating himself behind the
man. Logan was torn between getting his cock sucked and crawling
down the bed to watch Rave fuck Tony. Choices, choices. He opted to
get his cock sucked. He wasn’t stupid, after all.
Logan forgot about Rave behind Tony as Tony sucked him like a
pro. Logan writhed on the bed, chasing after his orgasm like wind
riding a storm. He was going to find it or one of his mates was going
to be limping. If he couldn’t find release getting sucked, he was going
to fuck someone into the wall.
Logan raised his hips higher and then reached down between his
legs, pulling hard on his sac. That did it. Logan’s mouth fell open, a
tight squeak coming out as his body exploded into a kaleidoscope of
brilliant colors. Oh hell, he just might fall back into a damn coma.
“Yes, yes, yes!” Logan shouted. He slumped back into the
mattress, his eyelids heavy with satiation as he heard Tony and then
Rave cry out their release. His eyelids tried to lift so he could see the
wondrous sight, but hell, he was just too damn exhausted. He was
floating along, just enjoying the natural high, as boneless as any man
could get after a mind-blowing orgasm.
Who said sex didn’t cure a whole slew of things?
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Chapter Thirteen
“Okay, now visualize the place where your powers rest.”
Rave watched from across the room as Einarr gave Logan his
lesson. The demon had wanted the room cleared out, but Rave and
Tony had argued to stay. They weren’t going to let Logan go this
alone. If nothing else, they wanted him to feel their support.
And lord knew Rave had a lot of making up to do. He wasn’t
going to let Logan down again. “Do you know why I can feel when
Logan uses his powers?” Rave asked.
“You are interrupting,” Einarr growled. “Questions after the
lesson or leave.”
Rave screwed his face up, mimicking the demon. Childish? Yeah,
so what. He was hungry, and being hungry always put Rave in a
chompy mood. Tony elbowed him, his brows pulled down in a
disapproving expression. Rave sighed as he left the bedroom to find
something to eat. For him, an empty stomach equaled an empty head.
He walked into the kitchen to find some leftovers when he felt
prickles of power pushing against his mind. Rave glanced around but
didn’t see anyone. Could he feel Logan all the way down here? He
had been at a great distance when he felt Logan fighting Quinn, so it
was probably just Logan practicing.
He rummaged through the fridge, smiling when he grabbed the
plastic bowl with the leftover lasagna that Jasper had made the night
before. Damn, his mouth was watering for some of that.
Rave dropped the bowl, watching it hit the floor and tumble onto
its side as he grabbed his head. That wasn’t Logan practicing. It was
too strong, too powerful. Logan had proven himself powerful, but
Memphis 137
Einarr had said they would start off with something light for Logan’s
first practice.
That wasn’t something light.
Rave blinked a few times, his head throbbing gently, but he still
didn’t see anyone. He picked the bowl off of the floor, set it on the
counter, and then fell to his knees as he cried out. Images of Rave
grabbing the large butcher’s knife pushed into his mind, and Rave
knew then who was doing this.
Aba.
He tried to run from the kitchen, to go get his mate, and possibly
Einarr if the demon could fight Aba, but he fell into the wall just
inside the kitchen when a wave of pain crashed over him.
Rave touched his face, his fingers coming away with blood. His
damn nose was bleeding. What the fuck? The image of the butcher’s
knife sailed across his vision once more as Rave felt himself walking
back over to the counter. The butcher’s knife was sitting on the
cutting board, gleaming in the lighting.
It looked sharp, deadly as hell as well. Rave’s heart began to
pound in his throat as he walked closer. He knew that if he reached
that knife, he was dead.
“No!” he shouted as he tried to take a step back, putting some
distance between him and the knife. The temperature in the room
dropped like a heavy weight. Rave knew it was a trick of the mind.
He was standing in his kitchen, but feeling as though he were standing
in the middle of a snowstorm instead. His teeth began to chatter as he
pulled his body away from the counter, fighting against the need to
get to that damn knife.
“Help!” Rave shouted, but no one came to the kitchen. He was on
his own. “You can’t hurt me!” Rave shouted into the empty kitchen.
“Oh, I think I can, wolf. I think I can.” Aba appeared from beside
the cabinets. Rave hadn’t even seen the man hiding there. Had Aba
kept him from seeing the man? Was he that good, that powerful? If he
was, Rave was fucked.
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Rave grabbed the island, using his hands to pull away from the
counter with the butcher’s knife lying on it. He wasn’t going to get
the knife and allow Aba to make Rave kill himself. He wasn’t.
Aba took a step closer to Rave as the power rolled over Rave’s
skin, pushing into his mind more forcefully. His fingers began to
cramp on the marble countertop, but Rave refused to let go, refused to
butcher himself.
Blood trickled thicker down his lip, but if Rave raised his hand to
wipe it away, he was done for. Instead, he turned his head and wiped
his mouth on his shirt, glaring at Aba. “I won’t let you control me.”
“We’ll see,” Aba said with a small chuckle. The veins became
pronounced at his temples as he locked eyes with Rave. The irises in
Aba’s eyes were dark, bottomless pits of hell staring back at him.
Rave could see that not only did Aba choose the dark side, he had
lovingly embraced it. A high buzzing began in Rave’s head, like
buzzing bees. He smacked his hands over his temples and realized his
mistake too late. His body shot forward, his abdomen slamming into
the counter. The knife lay there, gleaming and ready to cut anything
in its path. The blade was sharp. Jasper kept all his knives sharp.
Jasper’s anal need for sharp knives was going to be Rave’s death.
How ironic. As if an invisible rope was attached to Rave’s wrist, his
hand began to reach for the knife. “No, damn it,” Rave gritted out, but
his hand was still reaching for the knife.
“Yes, damn it,” Aba mocked him. He stood there in his black suit,
crisp and clean, his skinny tie with its silver clip so shiny against the
black. Rave wanted to shift and…fuck! How could he have forgotten
about his wolf? Rave shifted into his wolf form. There was no way he
could grab the knife with paws.
“That will not stop me, wolf,” Aba said as he reached over and
grabbed the knife. Rave growled and snarled, baring his teeth, but
stood perfectly still as Aba approached him. Rave fought the urge to
lift his head and bare his neck. He was not giving Aba his neck.
Memphis 139
He threw his head back and howled, howled so loud that Aba had
to cover his ears. Rave knew someone heard him then. They better
have fucking heard him or he was going to be sacrificed with a slit
throat.
He heard heavy footfall as he fought to back away. Aba leapt at
him, the knife swinging in the air. Rave howled again when the blade
cut across his front leg. He felt the blood spilling from the wound, but
he didn’t lose his concentration. Aba swung at him again, but Rave
felt the release from the styre mente’s mind. He jumped back in time,
the blade embedding into the wood of the island.
“No!” Logan shouted as he came into the room. Rave saw in that
one glimpse of a moment what Aba wanted to do to his mate. He
wanted Logan’s powers. If Aba killed Logan, Logan’s ability would
be absorbed into Aba’s body. He wouldn’t allow that to happen.
“Abaddon,” Einarr sneered. “Long time no see.”
“You know him?” Logan asked.
“I do,” Einarr said.
* * * *
“He was named after the deceiver. Abaddon likes to think himself
all-powerful, but he is not,” Einarr replied. Logan snapped his head
from Aba to Rave, rage filling him at the sight of Rave bleeding.
“What did you do to my mate?” Logan demanded.
“Come see,” Aba taunted.
Logan blew out a breath, praying like hell that he wasn’t about to
get his ass handed to him. Logan smoothed his hair back, reaching
down inside of him where his powers rested. He tried his hardest not
to look anxious or scared. But it wasn’t easy. Aba was out to kill him.
Of that Logan had no doubt.
Einarr laughed, but it turned into a low chuckling growl as he
stood to Logan’s right. “Do you think he’s stupid enough to come to
you?”
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“So, you have been training him?” Aba asked Einarr.
Too bad it was only an hour’s worth of training. Why couldn’t
Aba come at a later date when Logan was a little more skillful?
“I have,” Einarr admitted.
“To fight against me?” Aba looked offended. Logan wasn’t sure
what was going on, but he wanted to get Rave away from Aba’s side.
His mate was bleeding all over the floor, which meant the wound was
pretty damn deep.
“Yes,” Einarr replied, “against you.”
Logan was glad one of them was calm, because he was about to
lose his damn mind. Einarr stood there as if the two were talking
about the weather. He knew the demon had come to teach him how to
control his powers, so what was the man talking about?
“Is this some half-baked attempt to redeem yourself for failing
me?” Aba asked. Logan could feel Aba’s powers sliding over him like
slick, black oil. He stopped himself from shivering. The probing
wasn’t hurting him, but he didn’t like it.
“No,” Einarr said as he shook his head. “I did all I could for you,
Abaddon. It was your choice to hurt people.”
“You were his teacher?” Logan asked in surprise.
Einarr nodded. “I was.”
Logan swallowed. He knew he was in trouble now. If Einarr, a
man who studied styre mente beings, was Aba’s teacher, he was so
damn screwed.
“And you expect me to win?” Logan asked.
“No, I don’t.”
Well, that was reassuring. Logan didn’t know what to say. Was
Einarr going to let him die at Aba’s hands? If he was, that was pretty
low to agree to teach him in the first place.
“Giving him over to me?” Aba asked with a glee of triumph in his
voice.
“No, I’m not.”
Memphis 141
“Look, you’re confusing the hell out of me,” Logan said as he
glanced quickly at Einarr and then back at Rave. Logan’s back
slammed into the wall, Aba catching him off guard. The pain shot
through his mind and down his spine as he fought not to cry out.
Logan shot forward, his anger unleashed, but Einarr drew him back
with his hand on Logan’s arm.
“Never go to your enemies. Always make them come to you.”
Right. That was Logan’s plan all along. Really.
Logan stood there waiting for Aba to do his worst, although he
had high doubts he would live to see the end results. Tony slid to
Logan’s left, his gun drawn. Logan wasn’t sure that was such a
brilliant idea, considering Aba could make Tony shoot himself.
Cal walked into the kitchen, standing there staring at Aba.
“I don’t think you should be in here,” Logan said as he took a step
toward his friend. Cal was no match for Aba. The guy would end up
with minced brains. Logan cocked his head as his friend began to
laugh. He knew Cal was a little off, but now was not the time for
humor.
“Cal?”
Cal began to cross the kitchen, his steps self-assured, maybe even
a little bit cocky. Was the guy about to confront Aba? “Cal, don’t.
He’s dangerous.”
Kneeling by Rave, Cal reached out and grabbed the wolf’s leg, his
fingers curling around the wound. Rave whimpered and tried to bite
Cal, but Logan could tell Aba was using his mind control to keep
Rave subdued.
“What are you doing?” Logan shouted, taking a step toward his
friend. Einarr grabbed Logan’s arm, stopping him.
“Let me go, Einarr.”
The demon shook his head.
“I think he is trying to rescue you, Cal,” Aba said humorously.
Cal licked the blood from his hand as he stood, smiling at Logan
as he pulled his fingers from his mouth. His tongue traced across his
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lips, as if he wanted to make sure he had every last drop. Logan felt
like he was going to be sick. Cal’s brown eyes were shimmering with
something close to lust as he looked back down at Rave’s injury.
“Stay away from him,” Logan gritted out.
“Or what?” Cal laughed.
“Is he using mind control on Cal?” Logan whispered to Einarr.
Because if Aba was, Cal was going to be sick to his stomach when he
found out what he’d done to Rave.
Einarr gave a slight shake of his head.
“Do you think Aba is controlling me?” Cal asked as if insulted.
“No, Logan. This is all me. I killed that couple. You should have
heard her husband begging, begging me not to cut her precious skin.”
Cal’s eyes were gleaming now, like twin jewels of terror. The man
appeared to be reliving the event in his mind, enjoying it.
How in the hell had he not seen the true Cal? Fuck, Logan had
shared a damn house with the man. “The man by the Dumpster?”
Cal laughed. “His screams made my damn cock hard.”
“You’re a fucking sociopath,” Logan spat.
“That I am.” Cal claimed the title with pride and then looked over
at Aba, glaring at the man. “But Aba wouldn’t let me eat him. He said
it had to look like he had killed the guy.”
“Eat him?” God, Logan really was going to be sick. He stared
across the room at someone he had called friend, but in truth, the man
was a complete stranger. He shook his head, knowing in his heart that
he wanted Cal dead. Just as dead as he wanted Aba. Not only had the
cat shifter betrayed him, but he had killed innocent people. Logan felt
disgusted just looking at Cal.
“What do you get out of this?” Logan asked as he waved a hand
from Cal to Aba. “What has he promised you?”
Cal toed Rave, smiling down at Logan’s mate. “Fresh bodies.
Victims I can kill without worrying about being caught. He promised
to give me playthings that I can torture for hours, Logan.”
Memphis 143
“You sick fuck.” Logan wondered how he was standing there.
Why hadn’t Cal ever tried to kill him at home?
Cal chuckled. “Sticks and stones, Logan.”
“Why didn’t you try to kill me?”
“Because.” Cal once again glared at Aba. “I was told you were
off-limits. Someone else wanted you all to himself.”
Gee, I wonder who.
“In return,” Cal continued, “I kept an eye on you. I was supposed
to make sure Aba had no problems taking you from our home that
night, but then Rave and his buddies showed up. You’re supposed to
die, Logan, so Aba can absorb your powers. So die!”
Aba’s powers lashed out too quick to stop. Logan was on the
floor, curling into himself as he grunted out his pain. That’s it.
Whether he died or not, Logan was tired of Aba playing with him. He
glanced up at Aba, seeing a frightening intensity in Aba’s eyes as he
glared at Logan, as if the gloves were off and playtime was over.
“Concentrate,” Einarr warned under his breath. “Don’t let your
powers control you. You are the one in charge of your powers,
Logan.”
Aba roared as a wave of darkness fell over Logan. He shook his
head, fighting to release Aba’s grip on him, on his mind. Logan
pushed and pushed damn hard, but he could feel the darkness taking
over.
“Channel your powers,” Einarr said with a bite. “Channel them.”
“You can’t win,” Cal taunted from across the room, but Logan
shut the man out of his mind.
Logan narrowed his sight down to Aba, pushing his will into the
other man to die. Just making Aba relent wouldn’t be enough. He may
not be the one responsible for the man and woman’s death in Pride
Pack Valley, but he was sure that Aba was responsible for more
deaths than what was reported. He could feel it in the man’s mind.
But his morals wouldn’t let Logan kill the man. That wasn’t his
call. He had to just disable Aba. He wasn’t a cold-blooded killer. He
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wasn’t Aba or Cal. Logan never wanted to be what he saw in front of
him. And he knew that if he killed Aba, it would make it a little easier
to kill again. Being a styre mente was too damn alluring in itself. He
didn’t need any help being seduced any further into his own powers.
A wave of cold ice formed just under Logan’s skin as he fought to
keep Aba out. It wasn’t a matter of hurting Aba now as much as it
was staying alive. He could feel Aba’s arrogance rolling off of him in
waves. The man thought himself untouchable.
Calmness began to settle inside Logan. It was serene and peaceful.
He wasn’t sure where it was coming from, but Logan grabbed on to it.
He could feel Aba’s powers weakening inside of his mind, loosening
their hold on him. Logan pushed hard, lashing out with everything in
him, wanting Aba to relent, to give up.
“I underestimated you,” Aba said as he pushed back. Logan was
caught in a duel of the minds, fighting for his life, his sanity. He had
gotten the upper hand only because Aba had been too cocky that he
could take Logan. But now that he knew better, his guard was up.
“I’m going to enjoy draining you.”
“Not today,” Logan said as an explosion went off inside his head,
his powers shooting out in all different directions, raining down all
around him.
“Channel it,” Einarr warned. Logan saw Rave curl up on the floor,
whimpering in pain as Tony dropped to his knees. He felt the
backlash of Aba’s power trying to destroy Logan. He concentrated on
Aba, tunneling his vision to just that one man standing in this room.
Aba cried out, falling to his knees. But it wasn’t over. Logan flew
back, his feet leaving the floor as his back slammed into the wall.
“Destroy him,” Eirnarr shouted.
“I can’t,” Logan cried out. “I won’t murder him.”
“Even if he is trying to murder you?”
“Yes.”
Einarr roared, the sound so deafening that Logan just knew his
eardrums were bleeding. The windows in the kitchen shattered, the
Memphis 145
glass showering the room with fine slivers and large chunks. Logan
glanced up to see the marble countertop split down the middle, like a
fault line, with an eerie crack running from one end of the island to
the other. Logan dropped to his knees, crawling over to Tony and
blanketing his mate’s body. Rave crawled over to them, his front leg
lagging behind, but Logan managed to wrap his other arm around his
wolf mate.
Logan felt something invisible enter through his nose, mouth, and
eyes. It was like warm water trickling into his body. He knew what it
was. Logan was gaining Aba’s powers, and he didn’t want them. But
how in the hell could he refuse them when he couldn’t even see them?
He doubted closing his mouth and eyes would work. It was just
something else he was going to have to learn how to master now.
The roaring stopped and the silence was even more deafening.
Logan’s ears rang. Jesse ran into the room, tackling Cal to the floor,
but it wasn’t much of a fight. Cal looked stunned, his eyes glazed over
as Jesse cuffed him. Cal wasn’t going to see the light of day for a very
long time, if ever. The sheriff pulled Cal from the room, and Cal
walked out without an ounce of struggle. Logan glanced up to see
Aba lying on the floor, his eyes wide and unfocused. “Did you kill
him?” It was a dumb question, but Logan wanted to hear it out loud.
“Yes,” Einarr replied.
“But you wanted me to kill him.”
“No.” Einarr shook his head. “I wanted you to refuse.”
Logan pushed to his feet, his hands curling in at his sides. “This
was a damn test?”
“In a way,” the demon admitted. “I needed to know which side
you walked on.”
“And if I had killed Aba?”
Einarr’s smile was anything but warm. It was just as dark as the
mental push Aba had forced on him. “I would have destroyed you.”
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Lynn Hagen
“So glad I have a conscience.” Logan could see the truth in
Einarr’s eyes. The demon would have done it. He would have killed
Logan. “Why?”
“Because, killing one man is what starts it all for a styre mente.
Once you have tasted the ultimate power, there is no going back.”
“Prick,” Logan snapped as he reached down and helped Tony to
his feet.
“That’s my name,” Tony argued as he rolled his shoulders,
looking no worse for the wear.
Logan ignored him. “What about Rave? He’s hurt.”
“He’s a shifter. He will heal. I will be back tomorrow to continue
our lessons,” Einarr said as he began to back away.
“Einarr?”
“Yes?”
“Why didn’t we all die when you opened your mouth?” And that
was a damn good question. Logan had felt pressure at the base of his
skull, but it wasn’t painful. It was like someone had laid a hand on the
back of his neck and gave a gentle squeeze.
Einarr winked at him. “Because I have learned to channel my
powers, Logan.”
The demon disappeared into the shadowed corner of the kitchen,
leaving the three of them alone. Great, now what was he going to do
with the body?
* * * *
Tony sat on the front steps of the mansion, watching Dorm pull
into the driveway. He had the file in his hand, wondering how he was
going to type his report up. Someone roared and the suspect died?
That would only cause more harm than good.
Dorm got out of his car, slamming the door closed and taking a
seat next to Tony. “Case wrapped up?”
Memphis 147
“In a way,” Tony replied. He wasn’t even sure how much to tell
his partner. Demons? Yeah, right. “I’ve already called Director
Simone,” Tony began. “I’m not returning with you.”
Dorm glanced over at Tony. “Why?”
“Zeus offered me a job here.” Zeus had asked Tony to be in
charge of the shifters that went out on patrol with the winged beasts.
Not only was the pay better than the FBI, but it enabled Tony to stay
with Rave and Logan. The whole kit and caboodle of the shifters on
patrol was in Tony’s lap, and honestly, he couldn’t wait to start. His
eyes had been opened to a whole new world here in Pride Pack
Valley, and this was only the beginning.
Tony had come to terms with the fact that he would never shift.
He found biting Logan with his blunt teeth was not as satisfying, but
sexy as hell. He’d live with that. He and Rave had made up…on the
floor, the bed, the bathroom counter, even on the kitchen table. He
just hoped no one had seen them in the kitchen.
“I’m not going back either,” Dorm said from beside him. That
shocked Tony. Dorm was a cop through and through. He breathed
catching the bad guys for breakfast.
“Sheriff DeKalb offered me a position on the force here, and I
took him up on his offer.”
That had to be one hell of an offer. Tony thought Dorm would
stay in the agency until retirement. “Any special reason why?”
Dorm actually fucking blushed!
“That’s none of your business, Tony,” he said and then winked at
him. “But I need to get back to the station. Can you handle the
report?”
Tony waved him off. Dorm grinned and then got into his car,
pulling away. He heard the door open behind him. Rave and Logan
came out, taking a seat on either side of Tony. Rave rested his head
on Tony’s shoulder as Logan placed his hand on Tony’s knee.
“Thanks,” Logan said as he sighed and looked out into the large
expanse of the lawn.
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Lynn Hagen
“For what?”
“For taking the job here.”
Tony wrapped his arm around his mates’ shoulders. “I can’t leave
you two alone. You need me.”
“And he takes forever to come back.” Rave pushed his shoulder
into Tony, a gentle smile on his face. Tony kissed Rave, and then
Logan, on the temple. He felt like his life was just beginning here in
Pride Pack Valley.
“Make-up sex?” Logan asked as he jumped up from the step.
“But we weren’t fighting,” Tony pointed out.
“Prick,” Logan said and then raced into the house.
Tony quirked a brow. “I think that’s his way of starting a fight.”
Rave chuckled as he jumped up and ran after Logan.
Tony grasped the file in his hand, wondering if Zeus could smooth
things over with his director so Tony didn’t have to leave to make his
report. He chucked the file under his arm, walking into the house,
closing the door behind him, and then running toward the stairs for his
bout of make-up sex.
Damn, life was good.
THE END
WWW.LYNNHAGEN.COM
HTTP://FACEBOOK.COM/LYNNHAGEN.MANLOVE
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Lynn Hagen loves writing about the somewhat flawed, but
lovable. She also loves a hero who can see past all the rough edges to
find the shining diamond of a beautiful heart.
You can find her on any given day curled up with her laptop and a
cup of hot java, letting the next set of characters tell their story.
Also by Lynn Hagen
Ménage Everlasting ManLove: Zeus’s Pack 1: Jasper
Ménage Everlasting ManLove: Zeus’s Pack 2: Avanti
Ménage Everlasting ManLove: Zeus’s Pack 3: Knox
Ménage Everlasting ManLove: Zeus’s Pack 4: Torem
Ménage Everlasting ManLove: Zeus’s Pack 5: Hunter
Ménage Everlasting ManLove: Zeus’s Pack 6: Sully
Ménage Everlasting ManLove: Zeus’s Pack 7: Bald Eagle
Ménage Everlasting ManLove: Zeus’s Pack 8: Memphis
For all other titles, please visit
www.bookstrand.com/lynn-hagen
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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