* * * *
It was official. Jory hated flying. Every bump and shimmy sent his pulse pounding and his stomach rolling. “How much farther?”
Stavion lifted the armrest separating the space between them and pulled Jory to his side. “We’ll be landing in about forty-five minutes.
We need to talk about a few things first.” Jory didn’t like the sound of that. “What now?”
“I want you stay on the plane when we get there.”
“What? No!” What was the point of him enduring this awful flight if he wasn’t even going to be allowed off the damn plane when it landed?
“Jory, listen to me. I don’t know Flynn or Boston that well. I want to trust them because I trust Malakai. I don’t know a lot about shifters, but I do know a thing or two about being mated.” He kissed the top of Jory’s head and squeezed him gently. “I would do anything to keep you safe—anything. I have to believe that Boston and Flynn would be no different with Malakai.”
“What does that have to do with me staying on this plane?” Stavion always talked in circles. Most of the time it didn’t bother him, but Jory wished he would just get to the point this time.
“Baby, I don’t want them to use you against me.”
“Stavion.” Jory sighed and sat up straight, shifting in his seat so that he could look at his mate head on. “That doesn’t make a lick of sense. How could they use me against you?”
“Do you really need me to answer that? I’d do anything, refuse the contract, and accept any punishment handed down to me to keep you from being hurt. You think they don’t know that?”
“That’s crazy. Boston and Flynn wouldn’t do that.” Jory tried to speak with conviction, but he’d never even met the men. He liked Malakai, though. Malakai wouldn’t let his mates do something stupid.
“I want to believe that, too, but I can’t risk it. I’ve only met Boston twice. I know of Flynn, but the first time I met him was at the wedding. This is important, Jory. I’ll only be gone for a couple of hours, and I need you to stay here where it’s safe.”
“It doesn’t seem very safe for me to be here alone. I have no illusions that I’m able to fight against…well, anyone really.” Stavion chuckled and kissed the tip of his nose. Jory melted, just as he always did when Stavion did something so simple, yet so sweet.
It really wasn’t fair. All the big vampire had to do was bat his long lashes, flash that mega-watt smile, and Jory was putty in his hands.
“Cassius is flying. He’ll stay here with you.”
“Wow,” Jory breathed. He didn’t know why it shocked him so much that the Enforcer could do something as magnificent as flying a private jet. It was kind of cool, though. Another thought occurred to him, and he tilted his head to the side as he spoke. “You said Flynn and Boston. So, does that mean they’ve found Flynn?”
“They know where he is. Raven’s going in after him. Unfortunately, he’s not going to make it back in the allotted timeframe. I’m going to have to figure out a way to buy us some more time.”
Jory felt nauseous just thinking about it. They were hanging all their hopes on a missing shifter and his willingness to claim Malakai.
It just didn’t seem like good odds to him that everything was going to turn out all peachy keen like Stavion kept telling him.
What could he do about it, though? He could sit there and make himself sick, or he could trust his mate to take care of them. But was it fair to put that kind of pressure on Stavion? Then again, it wasn’t like the man ever asked for help.
God, he was so confused that he didn’t know whether to scratch his watch or wind his butt. This wasn’t even his problem. It had nothing to do with him—yet, it had everything in the world to do with his future.
If all the help he could offer his mate was to sit in the plane and stay out of the way like a good little demon, he guessed he could do that much.
“Go save the world. I’ll stay here and miss you.” Stavion chuckled as he dragged Jory into his lap. Then he planted a searing kiss on his mouth that left him panting and his head spinning. “I don’t know about saving the world. How about I just save the day?”
Jory shook his head solemnly. “From the moment you claimed me, you became my world. Keeping your ass safe is all I care about. It may not be everyone’s world, but it’s mine, and I expect you to save it.” He wiggled his eyebrows and smiled crookedly. “No pressure or anything.”
Stavion didn’t come back.
Jory was going stir-crazy. The plane was large—hell, it even had a bedroom—but the longer he stayed inside, the more claustrophobic he felt.
He vomited twice when the sun started to rise, and there was still no sign of his lover. Where was he? Stavion couldn’t be out in the sunlight. He’d fry up like fatback bacon. Had he been hurt? Did the news go over worse than he expected? Jory hated not knowing. He kept telling himself that no news was good news, but believing it was the hard part.
“You have got to calm down,” Cassius said with a sigh. “You’re making me nervous, and I know that everything is fine.”
“What?” Jory flew across the plane—no pun intended—and grabbed Cassius by the front of his shirt. “You know something? Did you talk to Stavion? What’s going on?”
“Whoa, little man.” Cassius pried Jory’s hands off of him, and took a step back. “Yeah, the boss called right before the sun came up.” He motioned toward the metal plates covering the windows of the plane, much like the ones they had at home. “It took a little longer than he thought it would, but they’ve got Flynn, and he and Raven will be here tomorrow night. Elder Winters was able to buy a little more time. Stavion just didn’t have time to get back here to the airstrip before the sun came up.”
“And you didn’t think to tell me?”
“I’m barely awake here. I’m sorry. Why don’t we try to get sleep? Stavion said he’d be back tomorrow after sunset.”
Jory didn’t want to go to sleep. He wanted to grab the Enforcer and shake the shit out of him. He’d been going out of his mind with worry, and Cassius had just “forgot” to tell him that his mate wasn’t roasting out in the sun somewhere.
Flynn was safe and coming home, they had more time, and everything should be just fine. So, why did he feel like he was going to hurl again? Things didn’t just suddenly fix themselves right when he needed them to change. That wasn’t how life worked, and especially not his life.
He guessed he was lucky in some aspects. His life had been filled with one disappointment after another. He’d never had the disadvantage of seeing the world through rose-colored glasses. So, when bad things happened, they weren’t that crushing because he’d come to expect them.
This was different, though. This was his mate. Even if Stavion hadn’t been the one person on earth made just for him, there was no doubt that he’d still want the man. How could anyone not? The fact that Stavion wanted Jory in return was just icing on the cake.
Maybe he’d been right in his original assumption. Happy endings weren’t granted to people like him. That didn’t mean he was just going to bend over, grab his ankles, and let fate screw him.
Sometimes you have to go out, grab your destiny by the balls, and
show it who’s boss.
The way he saw it, this was shaping up to be one of those times.
* * * *
Stavion arched his back and groaned. It had been a long time since he’d been forced to sleep on the floor inside a closet. The pack house in Georgia wasn’t exactly vampire-friendly, however, and he’d had to make do with what was available.
He felt like shit for leaving Jory alone throughout the day. There had been little choice, though. By the time he’d finished talking with Boston and Malakai, the sun was cresting over the horizon. There’d been no way for him to make it back to the plane.
He hoped Cassius had passed along his message. The man sounded like the walking dead when he’d spoken with him. Either way, he had a feeling it wasn’t going to save him from Jory, though.
The little demon had quite the temper when he was riled up.
Chuckling under his breath, Stavion perched on the edge of the bed and dug his cell phone out of his wrinkled pants. The first call he made was to Raven.
“We’ll be landing in about ten minutes,” the Enforcer said as soon as he answered the phone. He gave Stavion a brief synopsis of the events leading up to Flynn’s rescue. “We couldn’t get to the leader or his personal guards. They just vanished, man. We have the werewolves and most of the inner circle, though.” Stavion looked out the window and frowned. It was later than he’d thought. God, Jory was going to be pissed. At the same time, he’d just woken up, and it was too damn early to deal with this shit.
“I’ll see you when you get here, and we’ll discuss it.” They said their good-byes, and Stavion immediately started dialing again.
“You need to get your ass back here,” Cassius answered. Did no one say hello anymore? “I’m going to lock your mate in the lavatory in about two minutes.”
With anyone else, Stavion would have lost his cool. He knew Cassius wouldn’t do anything to hurt Jory, though. So, instead, he found himself chuckling. “What did he do?”
“He kicked me in the fucking shin, bit my ear, and threw frozen desserts at me.”
Stavion laughed harder at the mental images Cassius’s words produced. “What did you do to piss him off?”
“How is this my fault?”
“What did you do?” Stavion was having a hard time getting himself under control. Cassius sounded so indignant, and Stavion felt like a parent refereeing a game of sibling rivalry.
“I was doing my job! I wouldn’t let him leave the plane.
Seriously, if he kicks me again, I’m going to belt him one.”
Stavion shook his head. Cassius was so full of shit, and they both knew it. “I’ll be there as soon as I can. Keep him inside and play nice.” Cassius started sputtering, but Stavion just shook his head and disconnected the call.
Part of him felt bad for not talking to Jory and assuring the man that everything was fine. He still had phone calls to make and things that needed his attention, though. Jory would insist that he be allowed to come to the house, and Stavion would give in like always.
Boston may have claimed Malakai that morning, but until his friend was claimed by both mates, Stavion was playing it safe. Most likely, he was overreacting. Probably, Boston and Flynn were good guys and would never do anything to hurt Jory. He wasn’t willing to chance Jory’s well-being on “most likely” and “probably,” though.
The next phone call he made was to Blaise. The alpha gave him an actual greeting, but he didn’t sound very happy.
“What happened?” Stavion knew it was too much to hope that everything was settled with McCarthy now.
“McCarthy is demanding a hearing with The Council. I might have smudged the facts a little and said that both Flynn and Boston had claimed Malakai, instead of just Boston. It’s not going to fly, though. McCarthy is arguing that he sent the contract request before Malakai was claimed, and therefore his claim supersedes the mating bite.”
Stavion growled and beat his fist against the side of his thigh.
“When is the hearing?”
“In three days.” There was a long pause, and Stavion could hear Blaise’s heavy sigh. “Stavion, it doesn’t look good.”
“I’ll see you in a few days.”
“I’ll try to find a loophole, but I wanted you to be prepared.”
“Yeah,” Stavion mumbled. “Thanks, Blaise.” He pulled the phone away from his ear and hung up in a kind of numbed daze. He’d been awake for ten minutes, and already, he wanted to crawl back into that closet and sleep until everything made sense.
He had people depending on him, though. Jory was number one on that list. So, he pushed up from the mattress, did his best to smooth out the wrinkles in his clothes, and crossed the room to the door.
Upon stepping out into the hallway, he was immediately greeted by two naked bodies, rocking together against the wall just outside his door. Stavion wasn’t a prude, but the shock of it heated his cheeks and made him gasp in surprise.
Xander slowed his thrusts, but he didn’t stop completely, nor did he look embarrassed in the least. Braxton kept one arm around his mate’s neck and used the other to give Stavion a cheery wave.
Stavion waved back automatically, inwardly groaning at his idiotic behavior. Hurrying around the pair, he took the stairs two at a time down to the living room. He made it all of two steps before his overworked brain caught up with what he was seeing and hearing.
“Does anyone in this house wear clothes?” Boston laughed as if it were an everyday occurrence for someone to walk in on him fucking his mates. Slipping out of Flynn’s ass, he turned and gave Stavion a huge, shit-eating grin. “I take it we’re not the first you’ve walked in on?”
Stavion was never going to understand these shifters. He just shook his head and groaned.
* * * *
Flynn was home. The news of the hearing had been delivered.
Stavion just wanted to crawl into a hole and sleep for the next year.
Being in charge was fucking exhausting. Now, he had to deal with a very pissed off mate.
“Where is he?” he asked Cassius the moment he entered the plane.
Cassius jerked a thumb toward the back where the bedroom was.
“He’s been in there for hours.”
Stavion sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’ll deal with it.”
“Boss, we have another problem.”
“No.” Stavion shook his head. “No more problems. No more shit going wrong. Everyone is happy, and nothing is falling apart. That’s what you tell me. Otherwise you aren’t allowed to talk.”
“There have been werewolves prowling the grounds around the estate.”
“Damn it! Don’t you ever fucking listen to me? There are no werewolves or anything else that needs my attention.” Stavion was about to have a nervous breakdown. He could feel it coming. How the hell did people deal with this shit? As soon as he got one thing fixed, there were a hundred other problems that cropped up.
“What did you expect, Stavion? You took members of his pack!”
“I didn’t
take
anyone. They’re not kids, Cassius. I helped them get out of a bad situation and gave them a place to live. It’s not like we kidnapped a couple of goddamn toddlers.”