Page 6 of The Healer (The Blood of Legends #2)

Chapter Six

DON’T BE STUPID

“I don’t know how I feel about this, alpha.” Madison pressed four fingers to her mouth. “I mean, he just stands there, doesn’t say a word.”

At fifty-four, she was still a beautiful woman with two pencils pinning her chestnut-colored hair in place. The laugh lines around her eyes softened her ‘sternness’ and made her more approachable.

“The pal’tsy are part of the deal, Maddy. Each child and their future are my responsibility, and I can’t abandon George—”

“No, your decision to include her in cub-play was a wise one. I just… He doesn’t talk to me.” She buried her fingers into her hair, wobbling the pencils. “Just yesterday, I offered him my blood, for lunar’s sake.”

Rhys chuckled. “He’s there to protect George. Who knows for how long.”

“After Alrik’s despotic rule, I can understand.” Maddy tucked her escaping tendrils into the chignon. The action raised her shirt, exposing a sliver of her ribbed stomach.

“Just endure. Ignore him as he does you.”

A sensual smile twitched her lips. “Mm.” She ran her hand over her hip in a gesture as old as time. “Let me turn my full charm on him.”

Rhys laughed. “You can try. Is there anything you or the children need?”

“We’ll make do with what we have, although, there is a broken faucet in one of the bathrooms. I told Noah about it.”

“School supplies?” If he didn’t ask, she wouldn’t tell him.

“I asked for donations from the Inner City Educational Board, and they delivered a few boxes.”

Donations? He grimaced, not liking the bitter taste of its implications.

She darted around the couch and threw her arms over his shoulders, smacking a wet kiss on his cheek. “Quit worrying. I got this, and Brianna and I will come to you or Noah if we need something we can’t organize.”

He patted her arm, huffing at her silliness. Noah strode into the lodge; his blond hair still damp from a shower. He carried two coffees from their local café. Rhys accepted one with a nod, having skipped his morning ritual to repair his leaking roof.

Madison bumped her hip against Noah’s as she left.

“Heard the ruckus this morning. You okay?” He dropped into a chair but leaned forward to cradle his coffee between his knees.

“My leaky roof.” Rubbing the back of his neck, Rhys relished the lingering twang of worked muscles. “What has you up so early?”

“Sawyer stopped by on his way to the Inner City precinct.” Noah sipped his coffee as if he had news to share but wasn’t sure how. “Callie’s planning on running with the teams tonight.”

“She what?” Rhys jerked, then bolted to his feet, pushing his bulk off the creaking sofa. He placed his half-drunk coffee on the desk and swiped his keys.

“Callie wants to patrol to see how our units are operating.” Noah trailed him, shoving one hand deep into his chino pocket while he sipped his coffee.

“Is she fucking insane?” Rhys ran a hand over his face. “I can’t allow the Huntress to disrupt everything.”

It was madness to have agreed to this idea in the first place. But he had wanted to be close to her, to try to understand why her blood had triggered the mating call. Now that the units were rolling out and continuing on its own steam, they didn’t need to involve themselves. She didn’t need to.

“She has a right to be there with the pal’tsy as much as you do with our unit.” Noah leaned on the porch’s wooden pillar, crossing his ankles like he didn’t have a care in the world.

“Dimitri shouldn’t have put her in charge of his assassins. Gabe shouldn’t have let her out of his sight.” Rhys paced on the lawn in front of the porch.

“And you shouldn’t have imprinted on her.” Noah’s soft words sliced through the ozone-scented tension.

Air whooshed out of Rhys’s lungs, and he slumped against the side of the SUV. Just like that, Noah cut to the heart of the matter. “I didn’t, but it was a close thing.”

Noah crossed the lawn to him. “Blood doesn’t lie.” He held out his palm, waiting for the keys.

Rhys grumbled under his breath, ignoring his bear’s tantrum, and dropped the keys into Noah’s hand. “I swear, that woman will be the death of me.”

“I’ll drive. Let’s head to Dimitri’s and have him resolve this. She, at least, listens to him.”

Rhys in the front passenger seat, gripped his knees as Noah drove along the winding driveway to the main road. He wanted to drive, to have something to hold onto. Bruising his knees was his only option. Tension pinged off every muscle, intensified by his lack of sleep.

If it wasn’t for the loss of a potential mate haunting him, it was discovering all their cubs and pups caged and in danger or stumbling on something Alrik had done. Not every secret had been revealed. The unknown plagued Rhys.

Noah snuck glances at him, his knuckles white where he clasped the steering wheel. Rhys tried to calm his bear and his alpha essence pulsing outward, conveying his heightened emotions and stress levels.

“Did Jase talk to you?” Noah’s soft question spiked Rhys’s heart rate.

“Yes, and I agreed, just not now.”

“I’ll set a date, and you’ll fucking stick to it, Rhys. Take care of yourself before taking care of us.”

Rhys harrumphed. “That was Alrik’s attitude, and look where that landed us.”

“I’m talking emotionally and physically, not financially. You’re not power-hungry, so quit comparing yourself to Alrik, but if you keep up this pace, you’ll burn out.” Noah stopped at a traffic light. “A weak alpha is worthless to the pack.”

“Weak?” Rhys roared, throwing a swing.

Noah caught his fist then tossed it at him. “Stop it. I’m your best friend. Listen to what I’m saying, brother-in-pack.” He sighed, put the car in gear, and accelerated when the light changed to green. “After we deal with Callie, head to the cabin and let your bear out. Some fresh air might calm you a little, buy you time until you can go on vacation.”

Rhys grunted. Noah spoke the truth, but Rhys’s sight still pulsed red with pent-up fury. He wanted to rip off limbs, to sink his teeth into flesh, preferably a deer’s haunches. Biting a woman’s shoulder during sex claimed her, and he didn’t want to be stuck with a lifetime mate because he couldn’t control himself.

So relieving the stress with sex was a no. “Is the lake restocked?”

Noah’s shoulders slumped, and he flicked Rhys a grin. “Always. Imported salmon for our delectation.”

“The full moon’s near. It might be best if I made myself scarce.”

“I wish I could.” Noah smirked. “You’ll have to peruse the hopefuls at some point, Rhys. One of them might be—”

“I know. I just don’t need to deal with that now. Let’s get the pack settled, cared for, and maintain what we have before I bring a woman into this.”

“If Gabe died?”

Rhys laughed, but it lacked humor, as if his life had taken on the dull grays of monochromatic cinematography. “How does an ancient vamp die?” He shook his head. “She loves him, and his death won’t mean she’d seek comfort in my arms. Callie is a fighter. She would stand on her own. And besides, her blood is at the center of this. I just need to find a woman with the same lineage.”

“Easier said than done.” Noah stopped the car in front of an eight-foot brick wall. Barbed wire and electric fencing along with patrolling men in black would have any passerby think this was a military base.

He lowered the window, and Rhys dipped his head to glare at the guard.

He waved them in, no expression marring his features.

Rhys frowned. “How do they live like that? Emotionless.”

In a pack world, everything was emotional, the more intense the better. His initial reaction to Callie had been a bombardment of lust, admiration, and awe. One sniff of her essence and his bear had roared, demanding he claim her.

“They’re vamps. We’re only now beginning to understand them.” Noah drove along the paved driveway, and the rolling green hills on either side had impeccable gardening. Both screamed money. The mansion ahead was in stark contrast to their lodge.

“We don’t live as long as them, but fuck, surely we can make wise investments.” Rhys shifted in his chair, trying to calm his frustration. Money would help his people and ease their lives.

“Well, maybe aligning with the suckbloods was a good strategic decision.” Noah grinned. “Maybe meeting Callie was the best thing for Knights Ridge.”

“Let’s just deal with the now before you start congratulating me on future successes.” Rhys slid his bulk out of the SUV, raising his gaze to the towering mansion’s facade.

The architecture was Greek with a bit of Russian thrown in. Bronze domes serving as lookout points glittered in the sunlight. The de Winter hold was a sprawling Italian structure, with two levels and dungeons below. Dimitri’s was three levels of breathtaking architecture. There were other buildings on either side. The doors of one said garages, but it seemed too small for the number of vehicles Rhys suspected they owned.

“Well, well, to what do I owe the honor?” Dimitri Vasiliev danced down the steps, greeting them with a hug and handshake as if they were old acquaintances. His white-buttoned shirt was crisp and his dark-gray slacks tailored.

Rhys grimaced at his dirty denims and a plain T-shirt that had permanently stretched into the shape of his shoulders and chest.

Ebony curls cascaded over Dimi’s piercing green eyes. A deep inhale revealed his species with old blood, money, and power resonating off him. Yet, along his throat ran an intriguing, jagged scar. Sunlight didn’t kill a suckblood, only weakened them. And they healed like shifters. So what would leave a scar? Rhys pondered this each time he saw Dimi, and one day, when he could gather his balls in hand, he would ask.

Not that Rhys feared the suckblood. No, but something like a jagged scar tended to have a matching emotional one. At the moment, if Dimi decided to take offense at his probing, Rhys wasn’t energized enough to fight him off.

George had played a role in solidifying their alliance. She had taken to Dimi, and since children were impossible for suckbloods, protecting her had become a serious matter for him. He had tasked his pal’tsy to guard her despite Callie and Gabe adopting her. Who was more skillful than the Huntress? Rhys snorted, drawing a startled look from Noah.

“We’re here to discuss…Callie.” He leaned his backside against the fender.

“What’s to fear?” Dimi gestured with his chin for them to follow.

Rhys trailed him inside. A three-level atrium with marbled flooring and a dual staircase dominated the foyer. Doors led off on both sides and down the center was a passage with more doors.

Dimi strode through the first door on the left, into a parlor with large leather couches, wall-to-wall bookshelves, and a roaring fire. The dark wooden panels added to the welcoming warmth of the room, along with the thick Persian rug and sturdy antique coffee tables. Everything looked new but smelled old. Shit, Rhys would be happy with furniture not threatening to splinter.

“Beer, whisky, cognac?” Dimi offered.

“Anything.” Rhys shrugged and sank into a chair that didn’t squeak under his weight. He rubbed the smooth brown leather and inhaled the sweet fragrances of smoke and cherries.

On the table beside him, a chilled glass of beer appeared out of nowhere. He hated that they could summon shit out of the ether.

“Thanks,” he grumbled. He took a long pull from his beer. The smoky, bitter flavor, and the lingering after taste, hinted at imported. Go figure.

Dimi faced the room, with the fireplace behind him. He’d slid his hands deep into his pockets and rocked on his toes. “I’m glad you came over. Callie raised a few concerns about the state of your pack.”

“What?” Rhys jerked, spilling beer down his T-shirt. He didn’t care that the cold liquid saturated his jeans or pooled onto the leather. “Why the fuck would you discuss my pack?”

How dare they? He shifted to put the glass down, but it filled, just as his T-shirt dried and the beer mess vanished. Fuck, cleaning up after him like he was a cub? He gritted his teeth, willing his agitated bear to calm.

“Our alliance is long-term. She wants a contract drawn up so alphas after you for generations to come adhere to the agreement. This includes investment capital to build your infrastructure, schools, and such.”

Rhys blinked, torn between the warm pleasure at her concern and forethought and the fiery anger at her implication he was incapable of seeing to his people.

“An amount will be transferred to your account, matched by the Vasiliev Hold.”

Rhys stiffened and sliced a glance at Noah, wishing he had a moment to confer with his beta. “I don’t like handouts.”

Dimi closed his eyes for a second. “It’s for George, her future, and her pack’s stability.” Exploding into action, he blurred and appeared in the chair beside Rhys. “Wealth means nothing to vamps, Rhys. We’ve accumulated so much property, investments, bonds, shares, masterpieces, it’s like oxygen to us. There to use but not necessary to survive.” A tumbler of burnished liquid formed in his hand from which he sipped. “Callie has made a sizable donation to the Inner City precinct, as well.”

Noah laughed, cutting through Rhys’s tension. “She’s spending her husband’s money.”

Dimi grinned. “True, but to be fair, neither of us will feel it.”

Rhys frowned. Money was money, and it held its own power over people. “Who receives the status reports on what I spend it on?” He swallowed past the lump in his throat, tightening his shoulders as if he negotiated with the devil.

“No one.” Dimi swirled the golden liquid in his tumbler. “The other holds think we’re foolish to boost the shifters, our mortal enemies, but I agree with Callie. Those are antiquated thoughts, mired in tradition, and silly superstition. Just like we donate to human charities, why can’t we invest in shifters too?”

“Charity?’ Rhys thumped his empty glass onto the polished wooden table. “We don’t need charity.”

Dimi sighed, pinching his brow like he held back a headache.

Rhys grimaced. “I’ll talk to my pack and let them decide.” They did need the money, and it could fill holes Alrik’s neglect had created. But it shouldn’t be at the cost of Rhys’s soul, and it certainly shouldn’t make him or the pack beholden to suckbloods. “What are we going to do with Callie?”

“I’d suggest you go with her, and take Johanna along. Like a formal survey of the teams’ performance.” Dimi’s lips curled into a wicked grin. “If there is anyone who can calm, manipulate, or reason with Callie, it’s her old captain.”

Rhys frowned at having not thought to include Jo-jo. How tired was he? His eyes burned with grit. Exhaustion saturated every inch of him. His bear didn’t rear his head as much as he used to unless enraged, which he was, pacing across Rhys’s nerves, getting his point across.

“I have plans to take a few days off and head north.” He sighed, taking a leap of faith his beta could handle this. “Noah or Sawyer will escort the ladies.”

Noah grinned, squaring his shoulders. “Happy to.”

Dimi rose and offered Rhys a hand up. He hesitated but accepted the suckblood’s assistance. “You have my number. Call if you need anything. I mean it, Rhys. Anything.”

On the drive out the complex, Noah’s features wavered between concern and joyful hope. “Shit, Rhys, if the money has no strings attached, we could do so much. All those repairs, build better roads, upgrade the schools, and the lodge. Not to mention our digital infrastructure.”

“And start that skill-share training you mentioned?” Rhys couldn’t help but wallow in Noah’s excitement at the holes they could plug.

“I’d have our people slot in with the contractors we hire, make their tuition part of the contracts.” Noah laughed, slapping the steering wheel as they drove through the massive gate. “Imagine being able to do our repairs without having to pay an outsider.”

“Depending on how much money it is, we might be able to afford proper equipment for our clinic.” The research lab Alrik had started took care of itself, earning funding as well as hiring human staff. But this money could give them the boost they needed. The possibilities were endless. “Let’s discuss the donations first before we spend it all.”

“Investments.”

Rhys shook his head. “No, donations. Investments imply they’re expecting something in return. Either way, I don’t like owing anyone.”

“Then let’s take a portion, invest it somewhere else, and repay their donation. We only need the initial capital to get started.” Noah changed gears and floored it, a grin brightening his face.

“It’s your baby, then.” Rhys was happy to assign it to him. “We have enough cash to eke out a normal life. If more and more shifters find work outside the pack, then that cash will grow with their tithing, and we’ve survived with the slow progress we’ve made so far on our infrastructure.”

“I just don’t want to offend the suckbloods, Rhys. We’ve formed a tenuous alliance, and if we outright reject their donations, they might see us as too proud to bend, to forgive, and to build a future where this omnipresent animosity no longer divides us.”

“Can you imagine shifter and vamps merging?” Dreams of merging with Callie hadn’t once touched on her as a suckblood. Rhys hadn’t cared what species she was. But if he had a choice, he’d want his mate to be a shifter.

“Hybrids would be more powerful, something Alrik hadn’t considered, or perhaps he knew and feared. We’re not even sure if children are possible from such matings. Is it the suckblood as a species that makes them infertile, or does the problem lie with the female or male biologically?”

“At least our lab is helping them solve this.” He grimaced.

As per Alrik’s instructions, the lab focused on gene-splicing, for lunar’s sake. The ‘generous’ politician with his hidden agenda behind the chemical concoction purported to improve the suckbloods’ fertility had been arrested. The initial batch had promised to do just that. Once the vamps had bought into the formula, Alrik and the politician had altered the mix.

To make amends for Knights Ridge’s involvement in the human politician’s goal to trigger a war between the vamps and shifters, Rhys had offered the lab’s assistance in ensuring the chemical was safe and as viable as initially tested. It was the least he could have done.

An image of little Callies running around and playing with pack children sent a wave of warmth through him. She might not be his mate, but he did hold her in high regard. He wanted her in his life, even if it was on the peripheral.

“Need me to call Callie and Jo-Jo?” He didn’t want to overburden his beta. It wouldn’t be good if they were both exhausted.

Noah veered onto their gravel road leading deeper into their land. “Nope, I’ve got this. You let your bear free, go fishing, sleep in.”

“Sounds like bliss.” Trees closed around them, cutting off their houses and buildings from the public’s prying eyes. Still, despite the dense vegetation, some folks got through. Perhaps Rhys should build a wall with electrical fencing as Dimi had done?

“Then go visit your brother for a proper vacation.”

Rhys opened his mouth to argue.

Noah settled a look on him, silencing him. “You agreed, and the word of an alpha is law.”

Rhys gritted his teeth. “Task Jase to organize more patrols. Alternate the volunteers. Let them train alongside Callie’s units.”

“Done.” Noah stopped the car and climbed out, leaving the engine running. While he undressed, stripped, and tossed his clothes onto the backseat, he grinned at Rhys. “Enjoy.”

Noah snapped and popped as his limbs and muscles morphed. His eyes changed first into yellow slits, then his ears and his nose to a snout. Limb by limb blurred and reformed until a pale-gold wolf peered at Rhys through the open door. After a chaff, he loped off.

Rhys slid across the gearstick to the driver’s seat. He closed the door and steered the SUV left. Excitement built inside until the rearview mirror reflected the grin claiming his lips, cheeks, and face.

His bear leaped to life, bouncing around in his eagerness for freedom.

Guilt struck Rhys at his neglect. Noah and been right to remind him.

“Sorry, bear, give us a few minutes, and you’ll taste sweet air, cool water, and a salty salmon.”