CHAPTER TEN
Chained to a wall in the old dungeons beneath the High Council chambers, Myles Byrnes hung limply by the wrists, legs dangling, body stretched.
On the outside, Nate appeared unmoved, but inside he was saddened. Once Myles had been a friend, a comrade and trusted. To do what he’d done was deliberate and with a certain amount of malice. Because Nate refused to be disloyal and wrote the warrant for Myles arrest himself, a vendetta had begun, leading Myles to plant a bomb in the vamp car Nate was driving and then to go after his mate.
Ada had suffered, but she’d also whipped Myles’s butt. Nate was proud of her, and furious this piece of scum whom he’d once called friend had hurt the woman he cared about, the one. Nate was falling in love with his brownie, everything but the chip on her shoulder and that touch of prejudice was admirable and amazing. Even those he could understand to a point, though he wanted to remove them, more for her sake than anything else.
What he had for his mate overrode any feelings he may have once held for this prisoner, the leniency he may have given.
“How did he get through Galdo security?” Nate demanded.
“He and five other Revmiras came through the doorway and laid siege. It was well planned and orchestrated.” Chase said with disgust. “Galdo Guards are going to be spending a lot of time coming up with counter measures for the future.”
“The other disloyals were caught?” Nico asked.
“Yes. Unfortunately, one guard was killed and three others badly injured. It was during the fight Byrnes got away. The choice is yours, Nate.”
Byrnes was a known Revmiras and criminal against Galdorcwide, as set down by the High Council. As such his punishment would normally be decided by them. But because the disloyal werewolf attacked one who was family to Nate, it was now his choice of execution methods as per the ancient laws. When a creature attacked a member of a family specifically, that family was given the right to choose punishment or execution methods, though within specific guidelines.
“I transfer my decision rights to the High Council, knowing their choice of execution will be the most fitting.” Nate spoke loudly to ensure all the council present heard. “This werewolf does not deserve the Justice Fight of our kind.”
It was one of the biggest insults that could be given to a werewolf. Myles growled, but Nate ignored him, striding from the dungeon closely followed by Nico and Chase. As at this time, Myles meant nothing to him but a disloyal who would meet justice by the High Council. Outside the dungeon was the King of the Werewolves, his father, King Thomas Le Garde.
“A wise decision, Nate. Now, you will come home and bring your brownie.”
Nico bowed elegantly, turned into mist, and was gone. Chase simply shifted away. Nate winced, knowing his father hated to be thwarted. That was one of the qualities that made him such a good ruler.
“Can’t, Pop—”
“No? You say no to me.” King Thomas may be an inch shorter than Nate, but somehow he always managed to loom over him. He hated the word no nearly as much as Nico did. “I have waited many centuries for you to find your mate and produce pups and you tell me no!”
“Could be little baby brownies.” Ace popped up from nowhere.
Nate bit back a smile at his father’s reaction, then frowned. “Shit, brownie babies.”
“I think before you get to the stage of considering pups or brownie babies, you have to actually tell her she’s your mate,” Blaine added teasingly.
King Thomas’s green eyes narrowed menacingly. “You haven’t told your mate? Dammit, boy, have I taught you nothing! Hurry and lay claim to the girl, brownies are sneaky, and as a lawyer, she may try arguing her way out of the claim.”
Nate was still reeling from the pup or babies subject but snapped to attention. “She can try, and that’ll be half the fun. What genes are more prominent? Werewolf or brownie?”
“Do you care?” Ace asked.
It only took a second, but Nate was smiling. “Nah, I wouldn’t mind a beautiful little sharp-tongued brownie daughter.”
When two different creature species mated and produced offspring, it was a matter of chance what genes rose first. None were more prominent, and in some mixed-species families, there were a mix of offspring, a few of each. Halflings were very rare.
His father humphed inelegantly. “I expect you to bring her home tonight.”
“Wish I could, Pop, but we’ve got an idea for tracking the ceremonial power bowl, which may help us to find Grydern and the captured imp. We need to move on that tonight.”
“Fine, fine, I can’t argue that. From now on don’t let the brownie out by herself, especially on the Outside where we have no security to stop the Revmiras getting through.” The king left with five werewolves after getting the final word in, like always.
“Right, what are you two doing?” Nate turned to his cousin and Ace.
“Glitterbug has a few ideas where Grydern may hide out,” Blaine explained. “He’s been researching the evil sorcerer more thoroughly, his likes and dislikes, and found some old pictures put away among Grydern’s belongings from when he left Galdo.”
“Yeah? How many locations, Ace?” Nate asked interestedly.
“Five. Two specific locations, three general areas. Have you seen Lucio?”
“No. Nico may have. Why? Dare lost him again?”
Lucio often went wandering, especially when Dareios was busy with royal fairy duties or sentinel ones. Ace shrugged, not giving anything away.
“I’ve got to go. Let me know when the Tremor Hammer is going to be used.” Blaine hurried off.
Left with Ace who didn’t seem to have a particular place to go, Nate quizzed his sentinel buddy on the way out of the High Council Chambers. The places he’d discovered Grydern may be more inclined to hide out in hopefully would lead to them finding the bastard. Apparently Glitterbug was surprised that there were no sightings of the creature, and curious as to why, he looked deeper into Grydern. There was a lot more to Glitterbug Ace than his flamboyance and beauty.
They may have some leads now, and a way to get Grydern, and that made Nate feel better. He was suffering because his brownie had been physically hurt and because she suffered the loss and feared for her friend. Until now he hadn’t felt he’d been able to do much to help the situation, but now with the information they had, they weren’t just chasing their tails.
“Oh, there he is! Social vamp. See ya, wolf!” Ace took off into a restaurant where Nate could see Lucio dining with three other vamps.
He continued on to the hospital pleased to see the brownies had gone, not that he wasn’t beginning to feel a bit of affection for the pesky sneaky buggers, but he wanted some alone time with his brownie. There were a few werewolves guarding Ada as well as a couple of vamps who looked like they would rather be a thousand other places but wouldn’t leave unless dismissed by Nico.
Nah, they didn’t want the vamp prince’s wrath down on them. Nico got testy when his orders weren’t followed precisely.
Not knocking, Nate pushed open the door and was stunned.
When he left the hospital, Ada was badly bruised with numerous deep cuts, abrasions, and a mild concussion. He had expected when he returned to find his brownie sleeping, or at least resting. Instead, he walked in to her dictating into a small machine while typing with one hand on a laptop and surrounded by law books. His jaw dropped to a spot near his chest.
“You’re back. Good.” She snapped the small machine off and put it aside. “Are we ready to use the Hammer?”
“Hang on. Hang on.” Nate shook his head and took a moment to look around. “You’re supposed to be resting, brownie.”
“I am healed and rested, thank you. The Hammer?”
The black eye was gone, Ada’s skin was smooth and pale once more without a blemish or imperfection in sight. Creatures rarely scared or had imperfections, though that did not mean they were always beautiful. Nope, there were attractive and unattractive, plain and in between creatures. Nate nudged up the hospital gown to check her arm and found the clawed skin nearly completely healed, leaving what looked like fresh pink scratches. They would vanish in about an hour.
“No more dizziness?”
“No.”
“Soreness?”
Ada studied him shrewdly. “No.”
“Aches? Pains?”
“No. And no. I am not a martyr, wolf. If I am unwell, I will do what is necessary to take care of myself. Now, Nico was nice enough to deliver my clothes a short time ago so if we are ready, I will dress and we can go. I hope the matter of the magic for the Hammer has been dealt with so we can get on with using it.”
Nate smirked, enjoying her. “Yep, sure has. What’s with all these books, anyway?”
“I sent the wolves to fetch them.” She smiled when he winced at the word fetch. Werewolves didn’t like that term. “Divij wasn’t wrong about the High Council sending a ‘request’ for my services. Though I’m not as annoyed as I thought I’d be, I won’t just be told I have to work for the damn council. A swift, thorough reply is necessary to bring them into the modern world.”
“Go for it, honey. You hungry? I’m starving. I’ll take you out to dinner as soon as you’re ready.” He loved her spunk.
“Very well. Stack up these books while I get ready and return them to wherever the wolves fetched them from.” She slipped out of bed, and Nate easily caught her, pulling her close and sniffing the mark he’d left on her neck. It was nearly gone now; he’d have to replace it. “Nate, I need to dress—”
“I’ll help you.” He offered with a grin and wink.
“Yes, I’m sure you will help me, just out of my clothes, not into them.”
“Sounds good to me.”
“Hmm, but not more than a few hours ago you walked out when we were just getting started. Perhaps that means you have no follow-through.”
One of Nate’s brows shot up. “Are you taunting me, brownie? Would you like me to prove myself? I’d be glad to, believe me.”
“Maybe another time.”
“Unfortunately, you’re right.” He released her, flicking a finger under her chin. “But we’ve only just gotten started, honey; we’ve got a long way to go with no expiration date. As I said before, there is nothing brief between us. You better get used to the idea.”
“Whatever you say.” She collected a bag on the way to the bathroom and shut the door after herself.
Obviously she didn’t believe him. That was fine; all the evidence needed would be there the first time they had sex. A brownie may not recognize their mate at first meeting, but when they had sex with their mate for the first time, a brownie’s recognition sensor kicked in. He didn’t want it to be such a shock to Ada when it happened. Knowing she wanted him, had even admitted it, was a start.
Even if they weren’t mates, Ada was a woman he wouldn’t be having a brief tumble with, but a long, torrid, and steamy relationship. That was generally against his rules, Nate choosing his partners to keep everything brief and unattached because he knew someday he’d have a mate and didn’t want any entanglements to cause problems. With Ada, exceptions would be made. Fortunately, he got her completely. It had him smiling.
A smile that faded when he heard the rustle of the hospital gown hitting the floor. Then he was picturing her standing naked on the other side of the door and swiped a paw across his lax mouth. It was damn hard sticking to this restraint thing; he hoped it was worth it. The soft shiver of silk had him taking a step toward the door, the snap of a bra fastener making him want to groan.
To distract himself, he piled the law books by volumes and years and put the laptop into the carry bag along with the small dictating machine, pens, and paper. He could still hear every movement and hoped she wouldn’t be long because he didn’t know if he could hold out. A knock on the hospital door thankfully gave him a reprieve.
“Here’s your wallet, cuz.” Duncan held out Nate’s dripping wallet.
“What the hell happened?”
“Wasn’t my fault the brownie took a tumble in the stream…and a rock fell on him. Got to go, Jaac and Dante are waiting for me.”
That was a scary combination. The youngest fairy and demon royals waiting for the youngest werewolf royal. A potential for trouble.
After taking his wallet, he swiped Duncan’s ear. The young werewolf ducked and ran. Smiling, Nate opened his wallet. The smile turned to a scowl. Bloody brownie had stolen everything! Even his centuries-old library card! Dammit, Duncan should have frisked the creature.
“Where is Nico?” Ada asked as she stepped out of the bathroom.
“The vamp queen wanted to have some time with him. You look good, brownie.”
“Thank you. Are we going out to eat?”
It would be at least an hour before anyone was ready to test the Hammer, so a meal would be good. Werewolves loved a good meal and good sex afterward. Looked like he would have to settle for food and work.
They left the hospital, dismissing the guards. Nate instructed one of the vamps to return Ada’s computer bag to the building in New York where all her belongings were stored and let his brownie take the lead of where they’d go and eat. He didn’t mind, and she liked being in control. She also wasn’t the sort to dither and debate over a good place to eat, so it was all good for him.
The main square of Galdorcwide was always alive at night, and there were dozens of restaurants, cafés, and bars. Ada chose a nice bistro a few streets off the main square and within minutes of sitting down had decided what she was going to eat and even chose the wine. Nate didn’t even bother looking at his menu; he was a steak man through and through. Rare. And he’d have ale, not wine.
Once their orders were taken, Ada got straight to what was on her mind.
“What is going to happen to Myles Byrnes?”
“The High Council will decide his fate.”
“Execution?”
He nodded. “Yep. You against that?”
“I leave those types of decisions to those who have the knowledge and experience to hopefully know what is right.”
“The last time I asked what you did for fun, you told me some rubbish about doing your accounts. What do you really do?”
“Perhaps I find doing my accounts to be fun.” She raised finely sculpted brows, smiling slightly. “Remi often tells me I need to get a life and has been doing all she can lately to make sure I do.”
“I’d like to meet Remi properly, sounds like she’s a good influence.”
Ada actually laughed, and Nate’s groin stiffened. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat and tried to distract himself.
“Remi is anything but a good influence. She has the worst taste in men, can’t budget to save a dime and parties far too much.” She smiled indulgently. “She has a natural joy in life that I’ve never experienced before, and she is not one to be angry or hold a grudge, unlike a brownie.”
“Grudges are for brownies and demons. We werewolves deal with issues with a good fight.”
“Yes, I can well imagine. I would ask what you do for fun, but CreatureBook is full of your exploits.”
“Full of lies and exaggeration. Glitterbug’s antics far out do mine, and Lucio’s,” Nate grinned, shaking his head. “That vamp needs a term in a monastery.”
“You’re all very close. Is that because you’re sentinels? Or royalty?”
“Half aren’t royals, and we don’t hold titles in the sentinels, no place for it. No, I grew up with most of them. They’re good friends, brothers to me. Yeah, they’re quirky, but that makes it more interesting. Do you stay in contact with old friends from here?”
“Only my few cousins. I never formed strong friendships like you did until Remika…she has taught me a lot and admittedly, so has spending time with you and your friends.” Ada was studying him again, like she had in the hospital. Nate considered that a good thing, it meant she was taking a deeper interest in him. “I believe your cousin and friends came for me today, rather than just to capture Byrnes, though that was of course a bonus. They seemed to care whether I was OK or not.”
“You’re a very suspicious creature, honey.” He felt a little sad about that, mostly because he knew the attitude sprung from the pain she suffered at the deaths of her parents. “They like you. You’re smart, straight forward and have shown remarkable caring for your imp friend. They respect that, and so do I.”
There was a great deal more to her that he respected and really enjoyed. He liked her sharp tongue and sharper mind, and the independence that should have grated—he was a werewolf, after all, highly territorial and possessive, wanting to take charge and take care of things. He also respected how she set herself up and went after what she wanted and believed in, and didn’t hide who she was. And that she took the time to consider and re-evaluate her opinions and beliefs.
One of his biggest faults was that he rushed in without considering first and when it came to changing his ideas and opinions, yeah, he could fight to the last breath. Ada made him take a look at himself, and that wasn’t such a bad thing.
Nate knew exactly who he was, what he wanted, and what he stood for. He didn’t mind change, and he enjoyed learning new things. And with his brownie, he was learning a hell of a lot and having to take a bit of extra time to think before acting. Admittedly, he wanted his brownie to know who he was to her, what they were to each other, but he could wait for the right time. For now, he was enjoying tangling with a spunky, smart female.
Ada nursed her wine through her meal of a good rib eye steak and salad while Nate for once stopped at one ale. Tonight required him to keep a clear head and be at the top of his game. There might be a possibility to grab Grydern, and he sure as hell wasn’t going to fuck it up by being sloppy.
“Is there a plan?” Ada asked, watching a fellow brownie being led to a table in the worst part of the bistro.
“Yeah, Chase and the others have come up with a way to make sure we cover all the bases in case more than one piece of the bowl is unearthed…hang on a sec.” Nate pulled out his vibrating cell phone. “Yeah?”
“We will be convening in half an hour.” Ruine, the sometimes surly demon prince informed him.
“Right, we’ll be there.” Not awaiting a response, Ruine hung up. “Starts in half an hour.”
Ada checked her watch. “I have time for coffee then.”
Getting a waiter's attention, he waited till she put in her order then leaned forward and spoke in a low voice across the table.
“So, brownie, want to pick up where we left off earlier after this bowl retrieval?” He gave her a leering smile, eyes drifting over her breasts. “We both know you want me, and have even gone as far as admitting you like me—”
“I never said like, werewolf.” A smile threatened to escape, but she managed to pull those ruby red lips into a prim line. “And I have had far better-phrased offers than ‘how ’bout you and me go check out the etchings on my ceiling, babe?’”
Holy shit! His brownie had a sense of humor! After a moment of stunned amazement, Nate burst out laughing, drawing every eye in the restaurant and of course not caring. Ada let herself smile, then gathered herself together and sipped her coffee and nibbled the cookie that came with it.
“Man, you’re something else, lufu.” He grinned. “Why don’t you share with me the names of those who’ve offered the etching views so I can deal with them for you?”
“I don’t think that would be very wise. And as I recall, I was…” Their gazed locked together, desire flaring between them. “Very accommodating earlier. You were the one who for some peculiar reason balked.”
“Damn foolish of me that.” Nate rubbed his bristling chin in mock contemplation. “Though as I recall, you spouted some rubbish about a casual fling, which couldn’t have been right, not with the heat between us, honey.”
A wisp of a smile came and went. “Umm, but heat can extinguish so quickly that it is often best to be prepared.”
“Not this heat, honey.” Nate had the satisfaction of seeing desire flare and darken her eyes before she quickly hid it. Deny it as much as she wanted, but his brownie wanted him, and for more than just a few tumbles in the hay. Now he just had to convince her that really was fine by him. For some strange, unfathomable reason, possibly due to his very true reputation he admitted with a rueful smile, she disbelieved his true need and hunger for her. He’d had to do some convincing.
“Shall we go?”
“Yep.” Nate stood, quickly moving around the table to pull her chair out for her as she stood and received a semisuspicious look. Maybe she didn’t think he could be a gentleman. He winked and put money on the table. He took her arm and led them through the bistro and onto a cobblestoned pedestrian path.
He took the quickest route to the High Council, weaving them through the crowded square and passed a few smaller streets. A demon greeted them at the entrance and showed the way to the meeting room where Chase and Divij were waiting.
“The werewolf is ahead of time.” Chase smirked. “I’m amazed.”
“Bite me,” Nate retorted cheerfully.
“Let us hope the others are not late.” Div checked his watch, icy blue eyes drifting over a map that lay spread out across the table.
“What’s the plan?” Ada asked, taking in the map, the demon, and the immortal, and chose a seat where she could see all three with ease.
Nate slid into a seat beside her. “We have everyone coming?”
“Yes, all the sentinels will be here. Now that Byrnes is captured, we have to re-evaluate the attack on Revmiras.”
“Did you discover how Grydern got in contact with Byrnes?” Ada’s lips compressed at the werewolf’s name.
Understandable, the bastard was a disloyal and attacked her.
“Under questioning, the disloyal mentioned he received a call on his cell phone from an untraceable number.”
“Probably a disposable phone.” Chase continued from Divij. “We had some techies check Byrnes phone and found some unknown numbers we couldn’t trace. Divij believes Grydern used magic to locate Byrnes’s number and put the call through, we have no hope of doing the same as the dark sorcerer has his shielded.”
“You’ve tried,” Ada stated, nodding. “Unfortunately, it makes sense. And Prince Ace was researching locations Grydern may favor. Was he successful?”
“He has narrowed down five locations. Two are exact spots, the others general areas.” Divij tapped the map. “Ace has marked them each in blue with different symbols, which he has clarified at the bottom, sides, and top of the map.”
Nate and Ada studied both. They meant nothing to him and as she didn’t comment, probably nothing to her either.
“Got a plan for that?” He asked.
“We’ll do your Tremor Hammer first. Grydern may turn up, and we have the opportunity to follow him to his hiding spot. Now.” Chase pointed to the markers beside him. “We’re breaking everyone up into teams of three or four, each assigned a different color. The magic that the fairies, imps, and immortals have placed in the Hammer could very well uproot more than one piece so we must have a few teams ready to go to different destinations.”
“That’s good,” Ada said slowly. “How many pieces was the bowl broken into?”
“The records state four, but there is no telling how many have been chipped or broken further apart out there in the world.”
“Shit, didn’t think of that.” Nate scrutinized the map. “Is there any way to direct the Hammer to only unearth a section of the world at a time?”
“Of course.” Div inclined his head. “But we do not feel there is enough time to do that. We shall perform a global coverage this first time and are prepared to grab all the pieces that turn up. Hopefully Grydern will be caught, and with the retrieval of Ada’s imp friend, we can take a more designed approach to the remaining pieces, if there are any.”
“Good point.” Nate agreed.
“You do have good ideas, friend.” Chase smiled. “And thankfully this is not as destructive as most.”
“Me destructive?” Nate scoffed. “Demon, I wasn’t the one who tore a big frigging hole in the side of the fucking council chambers.”
Chase’s lips twitched at the memory. “Ah, yes. Good times.”
“Here come the troops,” Div announced, turning in his seat toward the double doors.
Two dozen or more creatures filtered into the large meeting room and were quickly seated and quiet. A lot were sentinels, the rest magically powerful creatures that would be going to assist. Chase broke everyone present into teams. Each would have to have a creature, such as fairy, demon, or immortal who could shift, because they needed to get to the unearthed pieces of bowl as fast as possible and return with them.
Nate checked to make sure his cousin Blaine was covered in both areas. He was; Ruine and the imp Princess Missy were going with him. Severo was remaining behind to begin aligning the bowl pieces, with magic if necessary, so if another trip was needed in the future, he would be handy.
Div was with a sentinel imp and a demon; Chase a fairy and a vampire; Dare was with Lucio and an imp, and so on. Nico was remaining to liaise with the High Council and royal leaders and to put cover-up strategies into motion if required. Penny was with Nate and Ada. No one, for once, protested or grumbled over the matchups, and everyone was assigned a section of land.
“Let’s get going!” Ace rubbed his hands together excitedly.
“Are we ready?” Chase studied everyone quietly, and at their nods, he waved a hand at Div. “Proceed.”
“Be prepared, the vibrations from the Hammer can cause slight disorientation. Do not shift if disorientated, you could end up far off course and exposing yourselves to humans. The effect will only last a second, wait for it to pass.” Div advised.
The room fell into silence, everyone watching, some with excitement, some anxious. Nate could smell the emotions and had to ignore them so they didn’t make him jumpy. They rose from their seats, everyone moving into their assigned groups around the table, Nate crowding close to Penny and wrapping an arm around Ada’s waist. Penny placed one hand on Nate’s arm, the other on Ada’s.
With a flourish, Div raised the Tremor Hammer high above his head and lowered it with speed.
The next second they were shifting.