Chapter Seventeen
Jules kissed the center of Hacen's chest and then moved over to his nipple. He kissed Tommy’s mating mark before licking his nipple. Hacen held the back of his head. "Behave."
Jules chuckled, licking it again. He decided to listen the second time around, apparently, because he pressed his cheek to Hacen's chest.
Hacen reached for the cell phone at the same time Jules closed his eyes and snuggled closer. Hacen stiffened. "Shit."
Hacen held Jules to him in an attempt to keep from jostling him around. Then Hacen let him go when he remembered Jules wasn’t injured anymore.
Shit. He couldn’t think.
"Get dressed, honey." Hacen scrambled out of bed and grabbed his jeans.
Jules sat up, the blankets pooling around his waist. He made a sexy picture, but Hacen couldn’t focus on him. "What's going on?"
Hacen nodded toward the phone. "Tommy's in trouble."
Jules scrambled out of bed, dressing so quickly Hacen had never seen anyone move that fast. He grabbed the phone from the nightstand, and that was when he finally looked at the message.
“Oh my gods, our Tommy is hurt. We should ask Ramsey for help."
"I don't need help from your family." Hacen pulled a shirt over his head, which was the last thing he needed. "Hurry up, Jules."
"I'm hurrying." Jules ran over and grabbed his shoes. "What if we need to fight warlocks? They're pretty strong. Shouldn't we at least find out if Ramsey has any contacts?"
Hacen turned to him and grabbed him by the shoulders. "First of all, there is no we in this. I'm going. Not you. And secondly, Tommy could be out there lying in a bloody heap. I don't have time to waste. I'm especially not wasting any on someone who would most likely stab me in the back."
Jules opened his mouth once before closing it again. Instead of talking, he flipped Hacen off.
Hacen rolled his eyes at the same time he pulled the door open. “Grab a coat. It’s cold out.”
Jules ripped one of Tommy’s coats off the hook and then a coat for Hacen. He pressed it against Hacen’s chest and held it there. “You’re an idiot.”
"Jules. Damn it. I’ll be worried about you the whole time.” Hacen put the coat on as he made his way down the steps of the porch.
"Why are you so stubborn?"
"Why are you?”
"The last thing I want is for both of my mates to get in trouble. That's what's going to happen if you go by yourself.” Jules stopped talking long enough to clear his throat.
Hacen sighed and stopped long enough for Jules to catch up to him. He wrapped his arm around Jules’ shoulder.
Hacen sucked in a breath and pulled Jules to him. He sniffed the air, doubting his senses, wanting to be wrong. Hell, he hoped he was, but Nicolono’s scent was all over the area. “Get in the car and lock the door.”
“Why?” Jules tried to pry Hacen’s fingers from his arm. “Let go. You’re hurting me.”
Hacen let Jules’ arm go but kept a hold of his waist. He repeated, “Get in the car and lock the door.”
“Tell me why first.”
Hacen scanned the area, while still staying hidden in the trees. The car sat, still and silent, on the side of the dirt road. The distance between them and the car was maybe three yards, but it seemed like miles when he thought about Jules crossing it by himself.
“Are you gonna answer me?”
“Shh.” Everything around them was still and silent. The birds and small animals stayed hidden, which told him they knew a predator was nearby. The animals had nothing to worry about, though. The predator in question wanted Jules and no one else.
“Don’t shush me, Hac—” Hacen put a hand over Jules’ mouth to shut him up.
He leaned into Jules, whispering in his ear. “Nicolono’s nearby.”
Jules stiffened and moved into him. His body shook as he pressed himself as close to Hacen as he could get. “I’ve got you, honey. Just let me think.”
By the gods, he was out of his depth. His gut ached so bad it stole his thought process.
Hacen felt Jules fumble around between them and then pressed the cell phone against Hacen’s chest without moving at all.
He took it, staring for a full minute before his brain finally kicked in enough to use the damn thing. Searching the contacts for Ramsey’s number, he texted the situation as fast as he could and handed the phone back to Jules.
The next thing was to get Jules behind a locked door. Hacen took a deep breath through his mouth and released it slowly as he guided Jules the few feet to the car.
The second he touched it he knew it was a mistake. A wave of fatigue washed over him. He fought against it as he pulled the car door open. The tree line on the other side of the dirt road spun.
Nicolono had a warlock put a spell on the car. It was the only explanation.
Hacen looked at Jules. Other than shaking like a leaf on a windy day, he seemed okay, so that meant Nicolono had meant the spell for him, not Jules.
Hacen fumbled in his pocket for the car keys. “Get in the car, lock the doors, and start driving.”
Hacen’s vision grayed around the edges. He braced himself with a hand on the hood of the car.
Jules pulled away from him far enough to give him a concerned look. “What’s wrong?”
“Just get it the car, Jules.” Hacen blinked and tried to shake away the dizziness. He reached for the door handle and found the thing after three tries. He pulled open the door and then let it go when his stomach knotted up.
“You’re getting in too, right?” Jules stood in the open space, one hand on the car’s window and the other on Hacen’s chest.
Hacen groaned when his heartbeat started pounding out a rhythm in his ears.
Jules sucked in a breath. His mouth moved, but Hacen couldn’t hear the words.
Nicolono’s scent consumed him.
Hacen pushed Jules so hard he fell on the car’s seat. Jules cried out and landed on the center console. It took Hacen two tries to find the doors lock, but he managed to press it. He threw his keys into the car and slammed the door just as Nicolono came out of hiding.
Hacen turned to face him and swayed on his feet before falling against the hood of the car.
Nicolono’s laughter echoed in his mind. The sound of it so loud Hacen covered his ears. “I always get what I want, Hacen. You should know that by now.”
“Stay away from him.” Hacen held up his hand when Nicolono got closer.
Nicolono smiled. “You surprise me. The spell should have knocked you out by now.”
Hacen lifted off the hood of the car. “If you touch him, you’ll die.” Someway, somehow that would be true. He wasn’t making the same mistake twice. He wouldn’t leave Jules to that fucker.
The world tilted so suddenly he couldn’t figure out why until the gravel of the road coated his mouth. His head bounced off the ground once, sending shards of pain through his body.
The dampness sank into the skin on his face, and for a moment all he wanted was to lay there. Then hands lifted his head. His cheek lay against soft material and fingers brushed away the hair covering his face.
Something wet splashed against his cheek, and he heard Jules sob and then scream at the same time the softness under his cheek disappeared.
Cobwebs clouded his mind, but that scream still managed to clear enough of them that Hacen knew he needed to stand up. He struggled to get his hand underneath him and when he finally managed the small rocks dug into the flesh of his palms. He shook off the fatigue, physically shaking his head, trying to clear his mind.
Jules screamed his name repeatedly. The sound of it echoed through the forest.
Hacen blinked and his vision cleared just enough that the red paint on the car became visible as well as the dark brown gravel beneath.
“He must love you, little human. He fights the spell like a champion. His love for you will make this more fun.” Nicolono’s sickness laced every single one of those words.
Hacen managed to get to his knees, but he had to brace against the road.
“Watch him struggle against all that power.” Every word Nicolono spoke turned Hacen’s stomach.
When Hacen lifted his head, Jules’ tear-stricken face swam in front of him. Nicolono had Jules pinned with an arm around the waist and his other hand around Jules’ throat.
Hacen’s teeth dropped, and he hissed. He struggled to get to his feet, but he eventually managed. “Release him.”
“I’m taking him back.”
Hacen stalked to them, hissing the whole time. The further he got from the car, the stronger he became, and the spell lifted. His nails grew, and he held them up. His brain shut off and all that remained was his base instincts. Hacen slashed at the air as he stalked his prey.
He was almost to them when Nicolono turned and ran. He was just a streak of light as if a constant source of moving lightening. Hacen took off after them without a thought.
As he ran, a shadow fell over him. He looked up to see three big dragons overhead. How they managed to keep up with his speed, he wasn’t sure, but they did.
He sniffed the air, trying to keep Jules’ scent fresh in his nostrils. He hit a wall after only about a mile and couldn’t smell anything at all, including the pine and dead leaves of the forest.
Hacen stopped suddenly and looked up, hoping the dragon shifters had a scent trail, but they only circled above.
One of them, a black dragon, dove down. When he landed, he shifted right before Hacen’s eyes, and Bennett stood only feet away. Hacen would have commented on the nakedness, but he didn’t have it in him. All he cared about was Jules and Tommy.
“Do you think it’s a warlock spell? No smell anywhere.”
Hacen nodded. “Hmm.”
“I knew something was fishy about those three fuckers coming to town when they did. Have you heard from Thomas?”
“He’s in trouble. It’s where we were headed when Nicolono appeared. There’s a spell on the fucking car. I can’t touch the thing without passing out.”
“You didn’t bond with them? Can you communicate with either of them?”
“I bonded with both of them, but they haven’t bonded with each other so no. No internal link.” Hacen sighed, shutting his eyes. “Fuck!”
A hand patted him on the back. “I get it, man. Lucas was kidnapped not that long ago by that asshole.”
Hacen opened his eyes and met Bennett’s gaze. He didn’t want to trust a bunch of shifters, but Bennett was a good guy. Not trusting him could mean his mates got hurt. “What the hell do I do?”
“Come back to the house. We’ll get a plan together.”