Page 15 of Convincing His Little Bee (K!nktober #2)

FOURTEEN

Cin was thankful for the silence Tor allowed them to slip into. The events of the last few days and the knowledge he’d gained made his head pound. The drakonid ran his fingers through Cin’s hair, scratching lightly at his scalp. The fae leaned into the massage, letting his eyes close.

Tor had said his pack took in people who were misfits…alone in the world…shunned by family. That’s me, isn’t it? I’ll fit right in.

“Motherfuckface! Parker!” Cin shouted, jumping out of Tor’s arms.

“What is a ‘parker’?” Tor stood, grasping hold of the fae’s arms and rubbing in soothing motions.

“From the auction! You have to save him. Find out who bought him. Please, Nock. He’s human .” Holy shitfuckers, how did I forget Parker? Everything had been so hectic from the moment Tor had carried him from that bar. I hope Parker’s okay, it’s my fault if he’s not.

“Okay, little one.” Tor calmly grabbed another one of his shirts from the closet, quickly ripped holes in the back and helped feed Cin’s wings through them. Cin buttoned up as fast as he could.

“Come.” Tor took the fae’s hand, pulling him along out of the room. Cin held on, flying a few feet off the floor to keep up with Tor’s large strides. Cin didn’t pay attention to the route they took but eventually they ended up outside.

In front of them were dozens of creatures in different garb. Some without shirts, others in full armor. Pairs and groups fought, wrestled, attacked. It was loud. And chaotic. Tor stopped just outside the doorway, where he gave a loud whistle. Everyone paused to look at their Alpha.

“Xaph!” Tor shouted into the quiet. Creatures parted as the tall demon bounded over from the back of the field, his own mate not far behind.

“Get back to practice!” Xaph shouted at the creatures before gesturing them all inside. They stood inside a weaponry room, maybe, Cin didn’t know the actual term. Shelves and hooks held all manner of swords, spears, bows.

“Everything okay?” Xaph asked.

“Has Mirkek checked in today?” Tor asked briskly.

“I saw him on his way to see my sister for a hangover cure just before lunch. He’s probably sacked out in bed.”

“Send someone to get him.” They waited while Xaph went back outside before returning with the guard Cin had seen last night, Kellan.

“What’s going on?” Xaph asked after the young guard hurried out of the room. The demon stood with his hands on his hips, his mate leaning against a wall drinking water, sweaty from his training.

“I’m a fucking idiot.” Tor grumbled, his scales rippling over his arms and face as his anger consumed his mind.

“Nock—” Cin tried to comfort his mate but the man started pacing around the small room. The fae knew how Tor felt, their guilt swapped between them, bounding back and forth along the bond. Unease bubbled in Cin’s gut.

“Cin wasn’t the only one for sale last night.” Tor spit out, furious with himself. “I just fucking lost my head when I smelled my fated. Cin says he’s human. Fuck.” He kicked at a pile of wooden practice swords, sending them splintering against the stone walls.

“My mate was almost killed by a mage when we first met because I was distracted and pissed off. We all do stupid things when faced with our other half for the first time.” Xaph stepped toward Tor, placing a hand on his arm to get the drakonid to focus.

“I’m sure Mirkek knows who purchased him. We’ll get him.”

“Right, yes.” Tor nodded. “Get a small group together.”

Xaph once again left out the door. Tor continued his pacing, muttering to himself. Oak sidled up next to Cin where he stood uselessly nearby.

“So…wanna fill me in here?”

Cin sighed heavily and told the human what had happened to him and how he had met Tor the night before.

"Wow. What an insane not-so-meet-cute to tell your children.” Oak shook his head in disbelief. Children ? Too focused on Parker to even think of children.

“Don’t worry though.” Oak spoke, breaking Cin out of his internal spiral. “Xaph is the best fighter. He’ll get the human back safely.”

“Parker.”

“Parker.” Oak nodded, giving Cin a reassuring side hug.

Kellan came back with another in tow. The man looked sleep rumbled, bags under his eyes. His top half was human, but from the hips down he looked like a snake. Cin and Oak both stared with tilted heads. Now was not the time to ask questions, unfortunately.

“You needed me, Alpha?” The half human-half snake asked.

“I need to know who purchased the human last night.” Tor rounded on the man, finally halting his pacing. “Where that creature lives and anything about his personal security, if you know it.”

Within minutes, the group was ushered into a larger room that Oak whispered was Xaph’s office. A large table with a map painted on it’s surface took up the middle of the room. The human-snake pointed at various landmarks and terrain.

The group talked for about an hour, Cin a mess of nerves the whole time. Every second they wait is a second that Parker is …Cin shook the thoughts away. Please, let Parker be okay.

When Oak left his side, having sat with him the whole time, Cin refocused on the room. Everyone but Xaph and Tor had left. Oak cuddled up against his demon mate, whispering in his ear while the demon’s large arm wrapped around the human’s waist.

Tor took the seat Oak had vacated, tipping Cin’s chin up to look at him. His mate looked fierce, ready to tackle anything. “The others have gone to gear up. We should be back by dinner. I will not leave unless Parker is safe in my hands.”

“You need to be safe, too.” Cin was sure as a drakonid, Tor could hold his own but the man was his mate , he was going to worry.

The guilt pinging back and forth between them about forgetting Parker had calmed down.

Cin could tell that Tor had handed his emotions over to his inner beast, readying for the upcoming fight.

“I’m very hearty, little one.” Tor reassured him, placing a kiss on his nose.

“I’ve got his back.” Xaph promised from across the room, earning a fond eye roll from the Alpha. Not caring about the other couple, Cin climbed into his mate’s lap, winding his arms and legs as tightly around the man as he could.

“Come back to me.” Cin pressed a kiss cheek, the drakonid’s arms tight around him. “We still need to talk about our bonding, mate.”

“I’ll be back before you know it.” Connecting their lips, Cin allowed himself to sink deeply into the moment, to his warm mate against him, soft lips against his own, the way his scales felt on Cin’s fingers along Tor’s neck.

Tor took his time with the kiss, parting the fae’s lips with his tongue. Cin savored the taste of his mate, sucking and caressing with his tongue. Pulling apart slowly, they left pecks and kisses against each other.

“Time to go, Alpha.” Xaph shouted from across the room, Cin heard him already striding toward the door.

“Oak will keep you company, little bee.” Tor set the fae on his feet, placing one last kiss on Cin’s lips before following after the demon.

“Got any ideas for a distraction?” Oak asked after a beat of silence, still staring at the door, pining clear on his face.

“Actually….” Cin drew out the word, a smile spreading as a thought came to him.

All Cin knew about mating with a drakonid was that it involved two obscenely large knotting dicks that he currently couldn’t take.

Unless he was able to control his magic properly.

“Want to scare the shit out of me and put my life in danger repeatedly all afternoon?”

“I’m in.” Oak laughed, sounding overly pleased at the prospect. Cin had a lot to learn about the new people in his life.