Page 8 of No Honor Amongst Shifters (It’s a Psychic World #9)

ALCOTT WASN’T SURE what made him more nervous—leaving the protection of the clan to meet the cockatrices he and Terrence had agreed would be best to talk to, or spending time with Terrence. Alcott had no idea what the cockatrice shifter thought of him. He didn’t know if Terrence viewed him as a traitor and wanted him dead or if he was willing to look the other way considering their family relationship.

Terrence was dating Donahue, who was Olsen’s brother. Olsen was dating Misha, Alcott’s brother. Alcott didn’t know if their overly complicated family tree would make things better or worse for him when he was allowed to leave, but he wasn’t going to find out today, and he had other things to focus on.

He eyed the front door. Misha had been the one to get him from his room a few minutes ago. Alcott had thought he’d be walked straight to the car, but instead, they’d stopped in the entrance to wait. Terrence hadn’t made his appearance yet, and Alcott understood why when he stumbled out of the living room looking like someone had run their hands through his hair and kissed him senseless. From the satisfied expression on Donahue’s face when he followed, Alcott believed that was what had just happened.

“Sorry we’re late,”

Terrence mumbled.

“You’re not,”

Misha said. He was smiling and looked at ease with Terrence and Donahue.

Alcott couldn’t say the same.

He pressed his lips together and waited. He and Terrence weren’t going alone, so he wasn’t surprised to see that Donahue was ready to leave, too. Leo, Tim, and Marcel would also be coming with them. Alcott thought it took a lot of courage on Marcel’s part, considering what he’d been through at the hands of a cockatrice shifter.

Alcott thought that was it until Roslin arrived. He was wearing jeans and a t-shirt under a jacket, and he looked good enough to eat. Alcott felt his cheeks heat at the thought and looked away before realizing that Roslin would be going with them when he walked to the door after Tim and Leo.

“You should stay behind,”

he murmured as they walked through the door. He didn’t want everyone else to hear him and for Roslin to feel bad.

Roslin smiled as if he didn’t have a care in the world.

“Why would I? You’re not.”

“Because I have to do this, but it’s dangerous. You shouldn’t put yourself in danger.”

“But you can?”

“It’s what I deserve and what I should do.”

Roslin sighed. Alcott suspected he knew what Roslin wanted to say, but thankfully, he didn’t have the opportunity to. They stopped next to a car, and Misha pulled on Alcott’s arms to get him to turn around. Alcott hadn’t been surprised when Misha had followed them outside, but at least he was sure his brother wouldn’t be coming with them.

Misha wrapped his arms around Alcott and squeezed.

“You be careful and stick close to Leo, Terrence, and Tim. They’ll protect you.”

“What am I, chopped liver?”

Donahue mumbled.

“No, but you can’t turn into a dragon and eat anyone who threatens my brother.”

“I can try.”

Misha rolled his eyes, but Alcott could see the worry in his expression. He quickly hugged him again, not wanting Misha to decide he would go with them after all.

“I’ll be fine. I promise.”

“That’s not something you can promise, unfortunately, but I’ll try to believe it.”

Roslin reached around them and opened the back door. Alcott didn’t want to leave his brother, but he had to, so he quickly slid into the back seat. He wasn’t surprised when Roslin followed him in.

They’d be taking two cars. There were too many of them to fit in one, and that way, if something happened to one of the cars, they could still get away. They could also shift, but Donahue and Roslin would have to be carried, and there might not be time to do all of that if they were under attack.

Alcott had to believe they wouldn’t be. No one knew they were coming. They were going to talk to people who wanted Irwin and the coven to stop what they were doing as much as Elijah did. It had to work.

Tim took the wheel while Leo sat next to him in the passenger seat. Alcott was relieved when everyone stayed silent as they drove. His heart was racing, and he was sweating, but he wasn’t sure if it was because he was nervous or because he was terrified. A mix of both, probably. He wanted to scream, but instead, he bit hard on his lower lip and stared out the window.

It didn’t take long for him to start recognizing the buildings and shops they drove past. His heart skipped a beat, and he swallowed, telling himself he wasn’t going back to Damien. Damien would never hurt him again. Alcott would die before he allowed him to.

“Do we know who owns the bar?”

Leo asked.

“A cockatrice shifter.”

Leo snorted.

“And they called it Red Rooster?”

Alcott thought it was clever, but he understood why it also sounded ridiculous. To dragons, cockatrice shifters were strange. They were smaller and looked a bit like chickens. Alcott wouldn’t say that dragons thought cockatrice shifters were inferior, but they tried to stay as far away from them as possible when they could. On the other hand, cockatrice shifters thought dragons were arrogant and too big. They couldn’t stand each other, which was one of the reasons people weren’t surprised when they started fighting.

If the coven succeeded, they’d come out of this with their hands clean, and the blame would fall to the dragons and cockatrices.

Alcott hoped the cockatrices they were about to talk to realized that.

“I’m coming in with you,”

Roslin said when they parked.

“That wasn’t the plan,”

Tim said. He turned in his seat.

“I know you’re worried, but Alcott and Terrence need to do this alone. It’s the only way to make it work.”

Roslin looked like he was about to argue, so Alcott put a hand on his thigh and squeezed.

“I’ll be fine. I’ll be with Terrence, and you’ll be right outside. You’ll hear right away if something happens.”

Roslin frowned.

“I don’t like it.”

Alcott didn’t, either, even though he’d volunteered. He couldn’t stop thinking about everything that could go wrong as he exited the car and joined Terrence in front of the bar. They looked at each other, and Alcott glanced up at the sign of the Red Rooster above the door.

It was time to get to work.

He squared his shoulders and hoped he didn’t look like he was terrified. He walked in, then quickly glanced around, knowing who he was looking for. He wasn’t surprised to see them gathered in a corner, their heads close together as they talked. The glasses on the table were almost empty, and, considering the time, Alcott knew they were about to go home. Irwin wouldn’t tolerate them being away from their territory for too long.

Alcott sucked in a breath and marched up to the table. He could feel Terrence behind him, a strong and comforting presence that told him that he’d be okay even if one of the cockatrice shifters attacked him.

He didn’t stop until he was standing next to the table. It took a few seconds for the cockatrice shifters sitting there to realize something was happening, but eventually, one looked up.

“You’re the dragon shifter who was beaten by that mage,”

one of the cockatrices said.

Alcott nodded. “I am.”

The man’s gaze slid to Terrence.

“And you’re the traitor,”

he said with a growl.

Alcott needed to get the situation under control before it exploded.

“I know how much you hate the coven and what they’re doing to your clan. I hate them, too, and we’re not the only ones. Elijah, the leader of the dragon clan, has a proposition for you.”

For a few moments, no one spoke. Alcott was sure it was going to end in a mess, and he’d be right in the middle of it. If it came to that, he could shift, but he’d rather avoid doing it in a public place.

The man glanced at his friends, then back at Alcott. He nodded.

“We’re listening.”

ROSLIN FELT LIKE HIS skin was itching. He didn’t like having Alcott out of his sight for so long, especially not when Alcott was in the lion’s den—or in this case, in the cockatrice’s den. The only reason Roslin hadn’t gone after Alcott was that Alcott had chosen to do this. He wouldn’t be happy if Roslin put all of them in danger by interrupting the meeting.

Donahue bumped his shoulder against Roslin’s. The two of them were leaning against the car, watching the bar. The dragons had moved closer, but they were still far enough away that the cockatrices probably wouldn’t consider them a threat.

It was too far away as far as Roslin was concerned. One of them should be inside with Alcott and Terrence, keeping them safe. Hell, he wished all of them were inside.

“He’ll be fine,”

Donahue murmured.

Roslin almost snapped at him until he remembered that someone Donahue loved was in there with Alcott.

“I’m sure Terrence will be, too.”

“He will. I have faith in his ability to protect himself and Alcott. Besides, they can turn into a cockatrice and a dragon. If anything happens, they’re more than capable of defending themselves and each other.”

Roslin rubbed his face. He wanted to ask Donahue how he could be so calm, but he didn’t think his brother was. He could see the way Donahue’s fingers twitched every so often as if he was about to take out his phone, no doubt to call or text Terrence.

“Do you think they’ll succeed?”

he asked instead.

Donahue pushed his hands into his jeans pocket.

“There’s no alternative,”

he murmured.

“The clan and the coven would be too much for us to fight at the same time. We need those cockatrice shifters to stand down. Hopefully, they hate the coven enough to disobey their leader’s orders.”

Hope was what they were running on at the moment—that and frustration. Roslin hated not being able to do much. He could talk to ghosts and use them to spy on the cockatrices, but how useful was that?

It felt like an eternity before the bar door opened.

Roslin tensed, only for two women to come out.

He slumped back against the car, telling himself he couldn’t go in there.

He could probably get away with it since he wasn’t a dragon shifter, but he had no idea what he’d be walking into, and he wasn’t about to risk Terrence and Alcott.

“For the record, I think he’s good for you,”

Donahue said.

Roslin didn’t have to ask.

“How would you know?”

“You’ve been drifting a bit the past two years. I know you love us, and we love you, but we all have someone now, and I can see how much that hurts you.”

“I’m happy for you and Olsen and Victor,”

Roslin quickly said.

“I don’t doubt that you are. I just know that you have a lot of love to give, and maybe you found the right person to give it to.”

Donahue was unusually serious. It gave Roslin pause.

“You don’t care that he betrayed the clan?”

“I don’t think he did it for malicious reasons. He was an idiot, but he’s young. He’ll use this opportunity to grow.”

“He wants to leave once this is over.”

Donahue grimaced.

“I can’t say that I like the idea of you ending up who knows where, but you and Alcott will make the best decision for the two of you.”

Before Roslin could tell him that they weren’t making joint decisions, the bar door opened again. Alcott was the first one who came out, quickly followed by Terrence. Roslin had to resist the urge to run to them.

They didn’t want to attract any more attention than they’d already gotten, so Roslin forced himself to stay where he was. Thankfully, Alcott and Terrence came toward them, ignoring the dragons hanging around.

Terrence walked straight into Donahue’s arms while Roslin watched Alcott.

Alcott shuffled his feet and reached for Roslin, then dropped his hand as if he wasn’t quite sure he was allowed to touch him.

Roslin wanted to tell him that of course he was, but before he could, the dragons had gathered around them.

“How did it go?”

Tim asked.

Alcott nodded.

“Well. They’ve agreed to stand down and disobey Irwin’s orders when he gives them. A few refused, but I don’t think they’ll talk. They’re scared.”

Roslin grimaced.

“You can’t know for sure that they won’t run to Irwin.”

“I can’t know anything for sure. Maybe the ones who agreed to help will change their mind. We won’t know until the fight starts.”

That was another fear Roslin needed to deal with. They were at the mercy of these cockatrice shifters.

“What did you offer?”

“What Elijah told us to offer,”

Terrence interjected.

“They know we have to kill Irwin because he’s a danger to our clan, but we reassured them that Elijah had no intention of invading their territory. He doesn’t want the cockatrice clan. Hell, I’m pretty sure he’d be happy never seeing a cockatrice shifter again after this mess is over.”

“I told them to start thinking about who could take Irwin’s place once he’s gone,”

Alcott said softly.

“They mentioned Curt’s mother.”

Roslin didn’t know much about the woman, but he was aware of the fact that she and Elijah had talked about taking down Irwin.

He personally didn’t understand how anyone could trust her, but as long as she didn’t hurt the people he loved, he and everyone else were ready to hand her the cockatrice clan on a silver platter.

Roslin didn’t care what happened to the cockatrices.

Maybe he should because they were human beings, but they were a danger to the dragons and their clan, so Roslin couldn’t afford to worry about them.

They hadn’t stood up to Irwin until their lives were in danger. They needed to deal with the consequences of that.

It sounded like they would.

Roslin didn’t know if Curt’s mother would be a good leader, and he didn’t care.

If she became problematic, Elijah would deal with her, too.

He was relieved when Leo ordered them back into the cars.

He didn’t like standing in the middle of the street.

It left him and Alcott too vulnerable.

“How did they take seeing you?”

he asked gently as they settled in the back seat.

“I think a lot of them still pity me. I made sure they could see the bruises.”

So that was why Alcott was wearing a t-shirt that was smaller than anything Roslin had seen him wear until now. It exposed his arms and part of his chest, and Roslin didn’t like the blue and purple marks he could see on Alcott’s skin. The contrast with his white t-shirt was stark and a reminder of what he’d been put through.

Roslin wanted to reach over and pull Alcott into his arms, but it would be stupid to do with Tim and Leo at the front of the car. That was why he waited until they were back at the house and on their way to Alcott’s room. They’d talk to Elijah tomorrow, but Terrence had texted their leader to let him know things had gone well. Now, everyone could go to bed, and while Roslin desperately wished he could get into Alcott’s bed, he knew Alcott didn’t trust him that much yet.

That was why he stopped in front of Alcott’s door. He unlocked it and pushed it open, but he didn’t step in the way he wanted to.

“I’m glad you’re safe,”

he told Alcott.

Alcott nodded.

“And I’m glad things seem to be going our way. I know you don’t trust the cockatrices, and I’m not sure I do, either, but I really think this will help.”

Alcott was so eager to help that it hurt to see. Roslin leaned forward, gently cupping Alcott’s cheek. Alcott sucked in a breath, but he didn’t say anything or move when Roslin pressed their lips together.

That was all there was to the kiss. A lot had happened tonight and recently, and Roslin didn’t want to overwhelm Alcott. He kissed the tip of Alcott’s nose, then his lips again before leaning back.

“Sleep well,”

he murmured.

Alcott stared as he slowly nodded. Roslin was supposed to make sure that Alcott was locked in his bedroom, even though he didn’t want to. He gently steered Alcott inside, knowing he needed some time alone after the evening he’d had. He hated the sound of the key turning into the lock, but at least he’d know that Alcott was safe and that no clan member would try to hurt him during the night.

Alcott deserved to be able to sleep without fearing that someone would attack him and so much more, and Roslin would make sure he could.