They were eating in the kitchen a few hours later when the pounding on the door jolted them both.
Creed rose, grabbed Angel’s arm, and hurried her into the bedroom. “Stay here,” he ordered. “Bolt the door behind me.” He grabbed the sword next to the bed, strode to the fireplace, and took down the second one.
“Wait!” Angel grabbed his arm. “Do you have more weapons?”
He nodded. “In the wardrobe.”
She let him go. “Do you know who’s out there?”
“No, but I’ll find out. Probably my brothers. I’ll assume they didn’t agree with Neb and have a problem with my challenging our father to the death.”
The pounding grew louder, and he knew time was up. They’d break in the door soon, and he wanted to battle them in the corridor instead of his home. “Bolt the door.”
He rushed into the living room, wishing he had his belt on to sheath his swords. He had to set one against the wall in order to unlock the door and jerked it open. It hit the wall as he grabbed the sword so he had them both in hand. A rumble came from him as three men in the hallway leapt backward.
Creed recognized each face.
He should have predicted that the surviving council members would have a problem with him killing one of them. He tensed and lowered his weapons, keeping the blades down. “Did you come to challenge me? I’ll assume that’s why you’re beating on my door. When and which of you shall I fight?”
Domb pulled his sword—but so did Milgo and Lisser. The three Gargoyles spaced each other by four feet, leaving Creed trapped with only the open doorway at his back. They obviously meant to attack him.
“You have no honor if you do this,” Creed pointed out. “You want to challenge me? Do it fairly one on one. Issue a time and I’ll meet you in court. All challenges are to be performed before Lord Aveoth for his ruling. You know this.”
Domb sneered. “We don’t acknowledge him as our lord.”
Creed gripped his weapons tighter, taking a defensive stance. The bastards had him outnumbered three to one. They were bad odds. “Cowards,” he accused.
“Executioners,” Milgo argued coldly. “You murdered a council member. We sentence you to death.”
“Lord Aveoth will kill you for this.” Creed had learned enough about his leader to know he wouldn’t allow them to get away with slaughtering one of the clan. He glared at Domb. “So will Kelzeb. Isn’t he your son?”
“I will disown him,” Domb spat.
“They both are plotting to kill us anyway.” Lisser began to slightly shell. “We’ve been stripped of power, and Kado’s death was methodically orchestrated.”
“That’s a lie. Have the three of you lost your sanity? I mated a human and my father tried to have me encased for it and demanded that she be enslaved as his breeder. No man would allow that to go unchallenged.” Creed slightly shelled his skin. “At least have the honor to come at me single file.”
Lisser stepped back a few feet, silently agreeing by lowering his weapon.
Domb swung his sword and lunged forward. So did Milgo.
Creed was glad he’d been taught to use double swords when worried about an attack. It was tempting to completely shell. They wouldn’t be able to kill him, but he wouldn’t be able to move or protect his mate if he did. That wasn’t an option.
Metal clashed as he kept Domb back and saved his neck from Milgo taking a swipe at it.
“What the fuck?”
The voice was a familiar one to Creed, but he couldn’t spare a glance down the corridor to see which one of his brother’s spoke since they sounded alike.
“We’ve got your back!” another voice shouted, again familiar.
Milgo spun, moving off. That left Creed fighting Domb. The Gargoyle was a bit stronger but Creed was desperate to protect the door and his mate inside. Adrenaline surged through his body and he found extra strength. He blocked another blow and was able to position himself enough to see what was going on around him.
His two brothers were taking on Milgo and Lisser. No matter how they felt about him challenging their father, he was grateful that they were fighting with him rather than against him.
Domb rumbled deeply, leapt back, and shot a glare at the other fighting men. He curled his lip before he took another swing with his sword at Creed.
He blocked the blade aimed at his chest. He could see Domb was becoming frustrated when Creed was able to use his swords to avoid taking direct hits. The Gargoyle unshelled his body to be able to move faster. It gave him an advantage but also made him more vulnerable to injuries his harder skin would have deflected.
Creed took advantage and managed to land a strike on Domb’s shoulder. Blood poured down his arm, soaking his shirt where it had sliced open. The Gargoyle roared from the pain and stumbled back. He shelled fast and hard, his skin turning gray.
Creed didn’t allow him to recover, instead focusing on disarming the bastard. It took three swings of his swords to send Domb’s flying from his hand.
“Submit,” Creed snarled.
Domb lunged at him. He couldn’t move too fast with his body in that dark gray state. Creed dropped his swords and spun, twisted out of the way, and threw out a leg. The Gargoyle tripped and crashed into the floor. Creed watched as the man had to soften his skin enough to get up. Swords clashed nearby but he didn’t look away from the pissed-off ex-council member, even when someone screamed in pain.
Domb spun and held a dagger in his hand. He lunged, attempting to stab Creed in the throat. He missed making a direct hit, but pain lanced the side of Creed’s neck.
Domb had to stay unshelled to be able to move fast, and Creed took advantage by letting his claws loose and punching them into his opponent’s chest.
The Gargoyle roared from the pain and jerked back, but then attempted to plunge the dagger into Creed’s face, going for his eye.
Creed managed to dodge and stabbed out with his claws again, scoring a direct hit to Domb’s exposed throat. Protective instincts over his mate and rage had him twisting his wrist viciously before he even gave it thought. Blood sprayed, and he used his other hand to stab into his enemy’s throat too, slashing.
Domb dropped and Creed jumped back.
Shouts and pounding boots sounded as Creed panted, his fingers soaked with blood. He watched as Domb struggled to breathe, choking on his own blood. Most of his throat had been destroyed. Creed expected the man to shell in an attempt to save his own life. It would stop the bleeding. He’d eventually heal, but he’d have to remain in a hard shell for months to survive that much damage.
He didn’t.
“Shit!”
Creed glanced to his side when Duster stepped next to him. The scout had others with him, who also crowded around the downed ex-council member. They looked as if they’d just come off shift, since all four of them wore their uniforms. Duster pulled out his cell phone, making a call. Creed heard him informing someone, probably Lord Aveoth or Kelzeb, that there was a problem and the location.
“Shell,” Creed ordered Domb. “You’ll die otherwise.”
Domb managed to lift his gaze from where he was on his knees a few feet away. A look of hatred blazed from the bastard’s cold eyes.
Duster ended the call. “What happened?”
“They came to my home and planned to execute me.” Creed finally glanced back to take in the rest of the corridor. It came as a shock to see the other two council members dead on the floor. His two brothers were alive but Glacier had a cut on his right cheek and cradled his bleeding arm. His other brother appeared fine but angry.
“Thank you.” Creed appreciated that they’d come to his defense.
“You’re our brother.” Glacier shrugged. “Neb sent us both to let you know we’re fine with what happened with Kado. We’ll talk about that later, though.”
Duster moved and Creed watched as the scout knelt, staring at Domb. His voice was soft as he spoke. “You’re bleeding out. Shell. That’s an order.”
Domb removed one of his hands. Blood spread down his chest faster when he did. He flipped the scout off and his mouth moved. No sound came but Creed could read the “fuck you” clear enough. Domb collapsed to his side on the floor. He gasped and choked but stayed down.
Duster rose up and put his hand on his sword. “I should end it faster for him. That’s a bad way to go and he seems hell-bent on dying.”
“Don’t bother,” Glacier grumbled. “We came upon him and the other council member unfairly attacking our baby brother. Two on one is cowardice. A merciful death goes to those who have honor. Let the prick choke to death.”
Braze, the scout to Creed’s right, drew his sword. “He probably doesn’t want to live now that the other council members are dead. I’ll do it.”
Duster motioned him back. “Kelzeb is on his way right now. We’ll let him decide. It’s his father, after all.”
Domb became utterly quiet as the minutes passed. Kelzeb and Lord Aveoth arrived. Creed retreated to his open door and stayed there, guarding it. He watched as Kelzeb knelt next to Domb and checked on his father. He lowered his head and closed his eyes.
Lord Aveoth grasped his friend and lead enforcer’s shoulder. His words came out low but they carried. “Is he dead?”
Kelzeb rose up and opened his eyes. “Yes.” He glanced around at the bodies on the floor. “What happened?”
“They came to execute me.” Creed held his gaze. “Your father and Milgo drew their weapons, refused to go to court with me to settle the matter, and attacked. Lisser hung back. My brothers arrived and evened out the odds. I told Domb to shell when I tore open his throat but he refused.”
“I told him to shell as well,” Duster sighed. “He refused me as well.”
Lord Aveoth’s eyes flashed sliver. “They came to execute you?”
Creed nodded. “They didn’t want to challenge me in your court. They stated they didn’t acknowledge you as their lord. It was payback for my father’s death. I would have been killed if Glacier and Pest hadn’t arrived when they did.”
“Goddamn it.” Lord Aveoth lifted his hand and ran it though his hair. “Why am I not surprised that they’d pull this shit?” He dropped his arm to his side. “I’m glad you’re fine.” He spared looks to Creed’s brothers, giving them a slight nod. “Good job.”
Kelzeb looked a little shaken up but he approached Creed and stopped a few feet in front of him. “I apologize. I should have posted guards at your door, but I didn’t think they’d be stupid enough to seek vengeance for Kado’s death.”
Creed relaxed slightly, grateful the lead enforcer wasn’t angry with him for killing his father. “It’s not your fault. I don’t understand why Domb wouldn’t shell.”
“He always was a stubborn bastard. His council meant more to him than anyone else ever did. He lost them all, and I’m sure it stung his pride that a lowly GarLycan took him in a fight. You did what you had to.” He turned and spoke to Lord Aveoth. “I need to go to my mother. I want her to hear the news from me that her mate is dead.”
“Go. Be with her. We can handle this.” Lord Aveoth began to give the scouts orders to remove the bodies. He finally gave Creed his attention. “We have this. Go into your home with your mate.” He turned to Creed’s brothers. “You came to talk to him. Do it.”
Glacier didn’t budge. “We’re all good?”
Lord Aveoth actually smiled. “I deem your actions appropriate. There will be no punishment or reprimands for what happened here. The ex-council members attempted to murder Creed. It was prevented. Spend time with your brother.”
Creed backed into his home and his brothers followed. He spun, walking fast to his bedroom door. “Angel? It’s fine. Open the door.”
She unbolted the door and threw it open. He had to grin at seeing his mate. She held a short blade in one hand, as if ready to fight. He stepped inside and carefully took it from her, placing it on the nearest surface.
“Are you okay? I heard the fighting and someone screamed.” She clung to his waist, burying her face against his chest. “I was so scared for you.”
He hugged her tight. “I’m fine. My other brothers are here. They showed up and saved me.”
She looked up at him. “Are they mad about your father?”
He wasn’t sure. “Let’s go find out.”
Angel was nervous as Creed led her into the living room. Two men waited. One was injured and bleeding. She would have known they were related to her mate by looks alone. Their features were enough like Creed’s and they had the same body types. Tall and muscular. She let go of Creed’s hand and went into the kitchen, wetting a dish towel before striding up to the bleeding one. “Sit.”
He arched a black eyebrow but grinned. “Okay.” He took a seat on a barstool.
She inched forward and began to dab the cloth at his face to clean away the blood. The injury had already stopped bleeding and begun to heal. She turned her attention to his arm next. It looked as if he’d been cut across his forearm. It still bled a little. “I’ll get the first-aid kit.” She turned to Creed. “Do we have one?”
Creed snagged her around the waist from behind and dragged her a few feet back. “He’ll be fine.”
“But he’s hurt and he’s your brother.” She flashed him a frown.
“His name is Glacier. I’m Pest.”
She stared up at the other brother. He had black hair and dark eyes. It was hard to tell their color. Not black but they reminded her of heavy thunderclouds. “Pest?”
He grinned. “Blame Neb for that handle they stuck me with.”
“He has an actual name but he gets pissed when we use it.”
She stared back at Glacier. He had black hair too, his features the most like Creed’s. They could have been almost twins except his eyes were a very lively light blue.
“Shut it,” Pest warned.
Creed pulled her closer against the front of him and bent his head. “Tempest,” he whispered.
Pest shot him a dirty look. “I hate that name. It sounds like a girl’s.” His expression softened when he gazed at Angel. “I got teased, and still do when anyone learns my name.”
She shook her head. “You think Pest is better?”
He shrugged and took a seat on a barstool next to Glacier. “I can be one. It at least fits me.”
“You can also be a bit girly,” Glacier replied.
Pest punched him on his injured arm.
“Ouch!”
“Who’s whining now?” Pest grinned. “You don’t see me bleeding, do you? How in the hell did you let your guard down twice?”
“The bastard was just standing there so I was watching you fight. He got in a sneak attack with a dagger before I could react. He was aiming for my neck but I flinched and he got my face instead.” Glacier took the wet dish towel and wrapped it around his arm. “This happened when I opened myself up so he’d take a swing at me. I blocked it with my arm and was able to take his head.”
Angel glanced up at Creed, confused and alarmed.
“The three council members decided to punish me for killing our father. They came to kill me. All three of them are dead instead.”
She knew the blood drained out of her face. “Are you in trouble?”
“No. It was justifiable. Lord Aveoth arrived with Kelzeb. It’s fine.”
“We saved our baby brother’s ass.” Pest chuckled. “He owes us now. I’m hungry. Is your mate a good cook? A nice meal will make us even.”
Creed let her go and growled at his brother. “My mate isn’t cooking for you, but I will.”
“You haven’t formally introduced us but it’s not necessary.” Glacier winked at her. “You’re Angel. It’s nice to meet you.”
Pest leaned back in his chair to appraise her with his eyes. “You’re smaller than I expected, but it’s not a shock that our baby brother ended up with a human. We heard about you last night from the dickhead. He was ranting and raging about it.”
Glacier snorted. “The dickhead, otherwise known as our father.” He turned to watch Creed move around the kitchen. “We tried like hell to talk him out of pulling his bullshit this morning, but he wouldn’t listen. Big shocker, right? We’re just the idiots our mother birthed.”
“Big mistakes, and his precious Gargoyle sperm wasted,” Pest muttered. “Every one of us.”
“He would have killed us in our cradles if he’d only known how weak and disappointing we’d turn out to be,” Glacier added. “Man, I’m not going to miss him. Did you really think we’d be ass-hurt over you taking him out, Creed? Come on. The only reason we hadn’t challenged the bastard ourselves was because Mom made us swear to let him keep breathing.”
Angel blinked back tears. It broke her heart to hear what they were saying and imagining growing up with Kado as a father. She’d had two amazing parents that Creed had given her. He’d rescued her from that very kind of upbringing.
“You didn’t show up at court.” Creed paused at the open fridge. “I hoped that meant you weren’t on his side.” He took out wrapped meat and carried it to the counter.
“We didn’t go because we planned to protect Angel. Dickhead and those idiots we just killed were always thick as thieves.” Pest sighed. “We kept an eye on his only friends in case he decided to have his council grab your mate. He was paranoid and thought Lord Aveoth had it out for him. They never left their homes, though. I was stationed in the hallway watching their doors and Glacier watched their part of the cliff.”
“Which Lord Aveoth probably did,” Glacier added. “He’s smart, and he had to know what a shit our father was. Only a moron would trust the council. Plus, his new mate is half human and half VampLycan. No way would our lord hand over any woman to be a breeder to any of them after the stunt they pulled when he made the announcement. I heard how pissed he was.”
Creed fried the meat in a pan while Angel studied the two brothers. Glacier caught her staring at him and smiled.
“I look a lot like your mate, don’t I?”
She nodded. “It’s a little eerie, actually. Your eyes are different, though. I’ve never seen anything like them.”
“Don’t get him started.” Pest chuckled. “He’ll tell you all about how we got stuck with our names.”
“I’m interested in hearing that,” she admitted.
Glacier grinned. “The dickhead couldn’t be bothered with us as infants. That meant Mom got to name us. Unlike humans, we aren’t born and instantly given names. It happens days afterward. Nebulas has some purple in his eyes, and Mom said she named him since she’d read books on the subject from some eighteen-hundreds astronomer guy. He described things he believed were in outer space so Neb got stuck with that name. I was born next. My eyes reminded her of glaciers. My father had flown her to the cliffs during winter so she saw plenty of them. They mostly traveled over the ocean to reach here and stayed on one during the day for him to rest.” He pointed to Pest. “Do you want to tell her, or shall I?”
“I got stuck with Tempest because it means violent windstorm. Want to guess what hit when she was in labor with me, and lasted for days? It was so bad she could hear it in her bedroom.” He sighed. “She couldn’t pick something cool like Storm. Nope. Tempest.”
“He also howled a lot,” Glacier teased. “Loudest damn infant ever. Maybe she mistook him for a girl with all that crying he did.”
Pest growled and made a fist. “Want me to punch your arm again?”
Creed put food on two plates and set them on the counter in front of his brothers. “Eat and stop fighting.”
“Just meat? No side dishes?” Pest scowled. “That’s a shitty thank you. I killed someone and don’t even rate mashed potatoes?”
“I wasn’t expecting company.” Creed crossed his arms. “Take it or leave it.”
“Silverware would be nice.” Pest arched an eyebrow.
Creed spun away to get them.
“You brothers talk so differently. Why?” Angel had noticed.
“Our baby brother was raised with scouts, then sent to the barren zone for a lot of years where there was no one to talk to, and he’s not exactly got a shit-ton of friends.” Glacier grimaced. “Dickhead made sure he was a loner. Creed was stuck playing the enslaved son while the rest of us got the hell out of dodge.”
“That being here—or should we say, away from our father.” Pest snorted. “So, baby bro there is way more formal than we are and kind of a stick in the mud. We’re hoping you loosen him up a bit.”
It made sense to her. “What about Creed’s name? How did your mother pick it?” Angel was curious.
It was Glacier who answered. “Mom was going through religious books, reading all about different ones while she was pregnant with him. The dickhead was making her life a living hell at the time because he was furious with her for getting pregnant when he hadn’t given her permission to do so. She gave our baby brother that name because she had faith that he’d grow up to be a good man despite her mate, and live by his own set of rules. Or something along those lines.”
Pest nodded. “I wanted her to name him Faith so I wasn’t the only one stuck with a girly name. I got voted down.”
Glacier winked at Creed. “Neb and I said no. You’re welcome. Creed was the best name of the ones Mom considered. It’s very masculine too.”
“Dick,” Pest muttered. “Where were you when I was born?”
“Learning how to fly and imagining all the ways I could torment you when you were older, Tempest.”
Creed offered them knives, forks, and napkins. “Here. Don’t stab each other.”
Angel grinned. “I like your family.”
Creed came to her side and wrapped his arm around her. “Don’t say that. They might want to visit us often since we’re stuck here for six months.”
Pest nodded. “Next time make side dishes. A cake or pie would be sweet, too. Do you cook, Angel?”
“I do. My mom taught me.”
“Finally, someone in this family can. I’m so coming over every time I come to the cliffs.” Glacier winked.
“He does that a lot,” Creed murmured. “We think something is wrong with his left eyelid with the way he twitches it so often. He thinks it’s cute. That’s why he’s still single. Totally clueless.”
Pest laughed. “That, and his eyes freak the fuck out of the Lycan packs. Tell them what they called you at the last guardian gig you did.”
Glacier took another bite and growled low.
“I might be dubbed Pest but it beats the hell out of Ghost Eyes. He also got compared to a Siberian husky. Ever seen the ones with blue eyes? One Lycan asked if he was a shifter from that dog breed.”
Angel fought a laugh. Creed didn’t bother to hide his amusement and his body shook.
“I hate you,” Glacier sighed. “Really. This is why none of us see each other often and ask to be sent on assignments away from the cliffs. Who needs enemies when I have brothers?”
“You love us,” Pest taunted. “Deep, deep down you also enjoy being given shit.”
“I want to thank you both for what you did by fighting at my side.” Creed grew solemn. “You saved my life.”
“Thank you,” Angel added. “Creed means everything to me.”
Her mate smiled down at her. “You mean everything to me too.”
“Shit. They’re going to get all mushy and make out. Eat faster,” Pest urged his brother.
Glacier nodded. “We don’t do mushy.” He looked up at Creed then. “We always have your back, baby brother. We just don’t have to hide it anymore with dickhead gone.”
“We always knew he’d make it harder on you if we didn’t.” Pest paused. “You belonged to the clan, and that gave him the power to make your life miserable.”
Angel watched the brothers tease each other and joke around for the next half hour before they left. Creed bolted the door and she went to him, wrapping her arms around his waist.
“I almost lost you.”
“Never.” He kissed the top of her head. “You’re stuck with me for millennia.”