Page 10

LUKAS SAT on the sofa with a cup of coffee early the next morning.

He’d texted Rían two days ago, then again yesterday after the attack, but he still hadn’t gotten a response.

He knew the mage wasn’t dead only because his messages were marked read, but he must have been neck-deep in a job if he hadn’t responded by now.

He only knew two other mages well enough to have their contact information, but he didn’t trust them half as much as he did Rían.

His phone vibrated with an incoming call, and he smirked. Speak of the devil. “Hey, squirrel.”

“Wolf,” came the immediate response with an audible eye roll. “Why are you contacting me?”

“Need to call in a favor.”

“For?”

Lukas hesitated, tapping his thumb against the rim of his cup. “My alpha found a newly Sparked mage. The Order is after him. He’s in desperate need of a magic crash course, and some better wards on our home would be nice.” They only had the basics that would protect against natural disasters.

A long silence followed, which wasn’t surprising. He knew this might blow up in his face. Being a mage, Rían didn’t trust shifters, but even he had to admit a mage would be better off with Lukas and his pack than with the Order.

Rían let out an explosive sigh. “I’ll be there tomorrow. And I’m still going to charge you out the ass if your place is a pain to shield.”

“So glad you’re not dead,” Lukas said dryly.

“Feck off and give me the address.” As soon as Rían had what he needed, he disconnected.

Lukas didn’t take it personally, especially as he hadn’t really expected Rían to call or help in the first place, despite Lukas saving his life a few months ago.

He set the phone aside and turned his attention out the large bay windows, sipping his coffee and watching the sky darken before gray crept in.

He probably should have been trying to sleep, but he didn’t feel like dealing with the nightmares.

It was easier to inhale caffeine and wait for his body to reach its limit.

He tilted his head as he heard someone upstairs.

It was still too early to be Caius, and Quinn was in his lair downstairs.

When he glanced over, he saw a sleep-tousled Max.

The sharp scent of woodsmoke and citrus was stronger since he’d apparently lost control of his magic yesterday.

Lukas was about to offer a greeting when Max spotted him and froze, his eyes widening as fear soured his scent.

Lukas didn’t flinch only because he’d had years to train himself not to flinch from anything.

Hard to be a decent sniper if every little thing got a reaction from him.

Instead, he looked away from Max, turning his attention back to the window, where the sun was peeking over the horizon. “Good morning.”

Max murmured something that might have been a “Morning,” before inching into the kitchen. With the open floor plan and no walls for him to hide behind, there was nothing to dampen the stench of wariness.

This was one of the reasons he’d been leery of binding a mage. As a shifter, living with someone who feared you was a nightmare. He was lucky enough that most of the men in his squad had no problem with shifters, and the one who did wasn’t part of his team.

He listened to Max making breakfast as he watched the sunlight slink its way across the neighborhood, glistening on the fresh snow. They’d gotten at least a foot overnight. Hopefully the sidewalks were clear enough for a run.

Lukas stilled completely when Max moved towards him, pretending not to notice even though the tang of nerves in his scent made Lukas’ nose burn. He could hear Max’s heart threatening to burst out of his chest.

“C-coffee?”

He tilted his head slowly as he turned his attention to Max and the coffeepot. “Sure,” he said, holding his cup out to let Max refill it. “Thanks.”

Max hurried back to the kitchen like he expected Lukas to pounce and eat his heart out.

When Quinn finally stumbled around downstairs, Lukas breathed a sigh of relief. If anyone could break the tension in a room, it was Quinn.

Sure enough, as soon as the redhead shuffled up the stairs, he moved straight for Max and draped himself against his back. “Bacon? ”

Max’s lips twitched, and his scent cleared almost immediately.

Lukas tried not to take it personally, letting the quiet banter in the kitchen go in one ear and out the other as he picked up his phone.

He was usually guaranteed a week minimum between missions, but he still marked himself unavailable for the next few days due to pack business, just in case.

Considering the size of the house, it would take Rían at least that long to put proper protections in place.

And Lukas doubted anything would stop the Order from trying to get their hands on Max, even with their three bindings on him.

It was rare for a mage to Spark past eighteen.

Rarer still to have as much literal firepower as Max had shown.

Even if he was technically too old to be forced to serve eight years, he was powerful enough the Order wouldn’t want him running around without their leash.

Caius would have to find a dedicated trainer for Max. There was no way he’d learn even a fraction of what he needed in a few days. The problem was, most trainers worked for the Order. Few mages ever escaped their grasp, even after their mandatory eight years.

He texted Rían again, asking if he knew any.

The response was a Yeah, me with a kissy face.

Lukas snorted and balanced his cup on his knee. You still work for Order

Only for another 2 months

He considered that with a soft hum, wondering if Rían would actually manage to finish his service. Not sure we could afford you

I’ll give you the Special Fucker discount

Lukas couldn’t help the laugh that escaped. Do you want my ass that badly?

It’s a pity discount

Fuck you

You think too highly of yourself, wolf

Lukas rolled his eyes and stubbornly ignored the sharp pang in his chest. It was harmless flirting and banter; Rían didn’t mean anything by it.

“What the fuck’s got you in such a good mood?” Quinn asked, sprawling on the sofa with his head in Lukas’ lap.

“Nothing,” he replied, locking his phone and tucking it under his thigh. He pretended not to see Quinn’s smirk as he sipped his coffee, ignoring the fact Quinn likely hacked into all of their phones on a regular basis to snoop through their shit .

He resisted the urge to adjust his pants to hide the growing problem Quinn’s head in his lap was causing. Instead, he motioned towards Max, who was scooping what smelled like scorched eggs onto plates. “You still think this was a good idea?”

Quinn followed his gaze and sighed. “You weren’t there. His father’s men beat the shit out of him, and I’m pretty sure it wasn’t the first time. His own father was going to kill him.” He shook his head, his scent twisting with anger and heartache. “Besides, he’s cute.”

“You think everyone is cute,” Lukas muttered. That was one of the first things he learned about Quinn. The second was that Lukas wasn’t Quinn’s type.

“Not true,” Quinn said. The devious twitch of his lips gave him away, but his next words weren’t for Lukas, they were pitched louder for Max as Caius came down the stairs. “I would never call Cap cute.”

Not one to ruin a good prank, he raised his own voice so that Max could hear him. “Caius is definitely a smokin’ hot Daddy.”

Max nodded his agreement without looking up. “Damn right he is.”

The look on Caius’ face was priceless, before he shot Lukas an accusing glare.

Lukas raised his free hand in a WTF do you expect? g esture as Quinn cackled like a madman.

Max finally looked up, saw Caius, and turned red all the way to his ears. “I uh…. Breakfast is ready.”

Between Caius and Max smelling like mortification and embarrassment, and Quinn’s manic delight, breakfast alternated between excruciatingly painful and endlessly entertaining.

Lukas let them stew until he finished his third cup of coffee. “Rían will be here tomorrow.”

Caius latched on to that like a drowning man. “Good. Does he need us to get anything?”

He shrugged and pulled out his phone to ask. “If he does, I’ll go grab it later.” He took his dishes to the sink and rinsed them. “Going for my run,” he said, heading to his room.

Caffeine hardly had an effect on him anymore, but he was still buzzing with a restless energy he was used to after coming off a long mission. He could, and had, waited days for a target before, but the longer he had to wait, the more he had to move once he was back home .

He changed into his running pants and windbreaker, found his cordless headphones, and scrolled to the bilateral stimulation music that helped him relax on his way out the door. He didn’t much care where he went, so he picked a direction and took off, his feet keeping to the pace of the stim beats.

The scents of the city were still new enough that he paid attention to his surroundings, but even that wasn’t enough to distract him from mulling over Max’s wariness towards him.

Max didn’t seem to have a problem with Quinn or Caius, even after the attack yesterday.

If Max grew up in an abusive environment, Lukas could only assume he reminded Max of someone.

As much as that grated on him, there was nothing to be done about it except to wait for Max to realize Lukas wasn’t a threat. Unlike the guy following Lukas from twenty paces back. He wasn’t sure if it was the Order or the mob or a petty thief, but they were about to have a very bad day.

He turned into a park, still deserted this early, and headed for the small tunnel where one of the jogging paths looped over itself.

There, he stopped and turned off his music, waiting in the middle of the dim tunnel.

He didn’t have long to wait, and the guy stalking him proved he wasn’t alone.

While the one who’d been following him came up from behind, two others stepped into the tunnel in front of him.

None of them smelled like a mage. Only stupidity and arrogance.

He tilted his head as he breathed in their scents.

They were clean, so not desperate or homeless.

There was a tang of metal and gunpowder on each of them.

Regular bullets, no aconite. Not too surprising, considering most shifters avoided this city as much as possible.

He still wasn’t decided whether Caius was a genius or absolutely mad to be trying to establish pack territory here.

Regardless, the men either had to be with the mob or hired hit men. They obviously thought he was the weakest member of the pack. There was a slim chance they were one of his own enemies, here for revenge for someone he’d taken down on a mission, but he was always careful to cover his tracks.

Not that it mattered. A fight was a fight, and when they rushed him instead of pulling their weapons, his adrenaline spiked.

Always a fun time when they underestimated him.

He knew he looked young, but he couldn’t be too annoyed when it gave him an advantage.

He was even feeling charitable enough to let the first guy get a couple of hits in, before grabbing his face and ramming the back of his head into the cement wall.

The man immediately crumpled, and Lukas turned to the next. This one had a large, ugly scar on his cheek like someone had taken a knife to it. Definite gangster vibes.

Lukas tilted his head with a taunting smile when the man eyed his fallen comrade. When it looked like the man was having second thoughts, he bawked like a chicken, snickering when it had the desired effect.

Scarface turned red and swung at him. The third guy was still lingering near the exit behind them, so Lukas focused on dodging and weaving, letting Scarface get a few glancing blows before jabbing him in the ribs.

He wasn’t too concerned about letting the fight drag on. He was still restless and antsy, and a fight was better than a run any day, even against a human. Surely they knew he was a shifter and that they stood no chance.

“Gonna tell me what you’re after?” he finally asked when Scarface started slowing with exhaustion. “Are you Savino’s men?”

Surprise flickered through Scarface’s scent. “You know Savino?”

“I wouldn’t say know —” His body moved before he fully registered the sharp tang of metal in the air, grabbing Scarface and yanking him around to use as a shield as the asshole at the entrance finally made his move and opened fire.

Even if regular bullets wouldn’t likely kill him, he hated being shot.

Scarface jerked as several bullets hit him in the chest, before groaning and turning into literal dead weight.

Lukas snarled and tossed him aside as the gunner took off.

“No you don’t,” he growled, racing after him.

Shifter speed meant he caught up within moments, and he launched himself at the man’s back, driving him hard to the ground.

He winced at the resulting earsplitting screech.

“Shut the fuck up,” he snarled, shoving the man’s face into the sidewalk.

“If you’re not Savino’s, who are you working for? ”

When the man remained stubbornly silent, Lukas shifted, digging a knee into one of the pressure points in his lower back until the man screamed.

“Tell me!”

“You’ll kill me!”

“Tempting, but no. What’re you after? ”

The man struggled beneath him, as if he really thought he could get away, before slumping with a pathetic whimper. “He wants the mage. Figured you’d be the easiest way to lure him out.”

“And who’s he?”

“Mr. Wright.”

“He got a first name?”

“Timothy.”

Lukas dug his knee in again as he pulled out his phone to do a quick search.

He could already hear sirens in the distance, but he wasn’t worried.

A few seconds later, he was staring at a picture of an old, balding white man who owned a construction company off Cherry Creek and was listed as a co-owner on a dozen others.

“This the guy?” he asked, shoving his phone in the man’s face, and was rewarded with a nod.

“Can see why he’d have to get a mage by force,” he muttered, sending the information to Quinn as he ignored the man’s pleas to be let go.

He sent a quick text to his CO so no one was caught with their pants down if the police flagged his name for something.

Then he slipped his phone into his pocket and pulled out his ID as the cops finally arrived.

He held his hands up, offering his ID as he stood. “Corporal Hunt. I was assaulted by these three men,” he said, motioning to the tunnel. He contained his smirk at the man’s outraged snarl and resigned himself to a long morning of dealing with police.