Page 51 of Changeling (The Incubus Saga #2)

Jim rolled his eyes and bucked Nathan right back. “I did not surf for porn. Or watch any on Pay-per-View,” he added quickly. “And it was actually nice getting some alone time away from you two lovebirds constantly making out and trying to feel each other up when I’m asleep in the next bed.”

“Whatever. We’re adorable,” Nathan shot back. He waited for his brother to shoot something snarky back at him, but when he looked over again, Jim seemed to be straining to hear something in the direction of the building nearest them.

“Something’s going on,” Jim said. “I think someone’s being attacked.” He took off for the building without another word.

Nathan stumbled a little but tried to keep up as he ran after his brother. “Geez, Jim, the psychic stuff is one thing, but these super-senses are just unfair.” He couldn’t hear anything himself, but he trusted Jim’s determination.

By the time they were almost around the building, the sounds of the school parking lot were fading away and Nathan could finally hear what Jim had picked up on. Angry voices. Scuffling. Curses. Nathan had a pretty good idea what was going on and it had nothing to do with the supernatural.

Prepared as he was to find a gang of bullies and their victim, however, Nathan was not prepared to run into Leven unexpectedly for the third time that day.

After turning the corner of the building, the group of teenagers was still several yards in the distance, but Nathan easily spotted the turquoise hair among the otherwise boring shades of blond and brown.

There were four boys besides Leven, all clearly the same age as him or close enough.

Two of them had his arms while another slammed a knee up into his stomach.

The fourth stood back, clearly the leader.

The others all barked out insults and curses, but the leader was the one spewing angry sentences that got Nathan’s blood boiling.

“Stupid fag,” the leader spat. “I bet it’s you.

I bet they’re not accidents at all. You working some pansy-ass goth magic shit, is that it?

Want revenge on the school like some Columbine reject coz nobody likes you?

Coz no one wants you here? Fucking queer,” he sneered.

“We’ll show you what we do with freaks like you. ”

Bells clanged in Nathan’s head at those familiar words, but the voice he heard was not that of a teenage boy.

A snarl formed on Nathan’s lips. Suddenly, he was right back in that hick town and there was Pete and that damn pool cue.

Pete’s buddies. Pete’s hands. Pete’s fetid breath.

Only this was Pennsylvania, Nathan wasn’t drugged, and he didn’t need any backup to handle pathetic, prepubescent fucks like this.

Nathan flew so fast across that last bit of ground in front of him that he left Jim behind in the dust. The leader’s lackeys were smart.

They saw Nathan coming before it was too late and let Leven go, immediately backing off.

But the leader himself wasn’t as quick. He was Nathan’s real target.

In the end he was the one stirring up hatred.

He was the one without the balls to just stand up to someone by himself.

He was the one who needed to be taught a lesson.

Nathan had that kid slammed up against the brick wall of the building so fast, he heard the sweet telling crunching sound that meant he had either chipped a tooth or cracked the kid’s jaw. Good .

“You think he’s a freak?” Nathan growled dangerously. “Well I know a thing or two about freaks , lemme tell ya, and I am looking at the worst kind right now, you mother-fucking shit .”

“Nathan!”

But Nathan couldn’t hear Jim right now. He was so angry he couldn’t see straight. It might as well be Pete he had eating the brick right now, with Pete’s arm wrenched behind his back. Nathan had never gotten to repay the bastard himself, after all.

“Nathan, stop!” Jim called again, and this time Nathan felt a firm hand grip his shoulder.

There was no power to Jim’s words but sometimes brother mojo worked even better than the psychic kind.

“You’re gonna break his arm,” Jim explained, like that was the only reason he was getting in Nathan’s way, not because he thought beating the kid up a little was wrong.

The fury lessened in Nathan somewhat but he only loosened his hold on the kid a little.

“I’m guessing you’re realizing your mistake about now,” Nathan said evenly.

Shaky breathing was all that responded like the kid was too scared to actually speak.

“Yeah, I’m thinking you do. So you’re not gonna be making that same mistake in the future, are you?

Coz if you even think about going after someone this way again, ganging up like a damn coward …

I will fucking kill you . We clear?” Even if Nathan didn’t really mean those words in relation to the teenager, it still felt incredible to say them.

Again, there was only shaky, harsh breathing that responded, and Nathan had a pretty good suspicion that the kid was trying not to cry. He pushed the kid into the wall one last time before releasing him and backing away. He glared mercilessly at the kid and the others that were hanging back.

“Get outta here!” Nathan yelled, gesturing at all of them with one angry toss of his arm. “You try and report this or some shit, you better believe I’ll know how to find you.”

The lackeys took off immediately, leaving the leader to stagger after them.

“Are you all right?” Nathan heard Jim ask Leven. Nathan came back to himself with a jolt when he picked up on Jim’s gentler tone.

This wasn’t his battle he had been fighting, this was someone else’s. Which was exactly what Sasha had done to him.

Nathan turned around and saw that Jim had Leven carefully leaned back against the building and was checking him over for injuries.

It looked like they had stumbled upon the fight before anything too serious had happened, but Nathan could still see at least one bruise forming on Leven’s chin, and there were probably a few others where Nathan couldn’t see them underneath Leven’s clothes and jacket.

“Are you sure?” Jim asked after Leven nodded with a pretty weak attempt at his usual flash of a smile.

“Y-Yeah…nothing worse than usual,” Leven shrugged.

“Usual?” Jim grimaced.

“Hey, kid,” Nathan said as he approached them.

He caught Leven’s big brown eyes as soon as they turned to him.

“Look, I’m…I’m sorry if I was outta line with all that.

We all got our own battles to fight. I just don’t like seeing someone messing with the odds is all.

I’m sure if it was just the dickhead I made pee in his pants back there, you definitely could have taken him. ”

A choked laugh left Leven’s lips and he returned Nathan’s worried look with an expression that was entirely grateful.

“Well, I guess I gotta be a little pissed at you what with stripping me of my manhood and all, but…” He shrugged.

“Since I don’t got any broken ribs or anything…

we might be able to call it even.” A grin stretched across his face, making the bruise lose all of its harshness.

“Thanks,” he said, and then nodded his head at Jim.

“I’m guessing this is the brother you mentioned? ”

“Yep,” Nathan replied. “See? Told ya I was prettier.”

Leven barked out a good laugh, completely real despite how worn he looked. “Aww, I don’t know. Still hot enough for me. What was your name again?”

The other Grier brother was busy blinking in confusion but finally said, “Uh, Jim.” Then it seemed to dawn on him why this all should make more sense and he pointed a knowing finger at the kid.

“Leven.” He shook his head at himself for being so slow.

“Right. Well, glad we were able to get here in time. Those guys bug you often?”

“I don’t think they’ll be bugging me anymore,” Leven smirked.

“Shoulda known they’d figure out my trick of sneaking out the choir room door.

I was heading for my car. Gotta stop home for a bit before practice.

” Leven nodded towards the parking lot where Jim and Nathan had come from.

They started heading that way. Leven moved a little slow, but more from the blow to his stomach and probable nausea than any heavy injuries.

“We’re going to be meeting with you later again with your sister, right?” Jim asked.

Leven nodded. “Wouldn’t miss it.”

“Good. Well—”

Nathan’s phone started to go off. “We’ll see you later, kid,” he said as he pulled out his phone and saw that Sasha was calling him. He didn’t get the chance to actually see Leven off before he picked up the phone. “What’s up?”

“Nathan, you and Jim better get in here,” Sasha said anxiously over the line. “I was right. Cam was in here waiting for us. Just in time to find out there’s been another death. Nate…” he trailed, finally finishing with a shuddery sigh, “…it’s Andy.”