“None of your concern,” Vali smoothly responded to the man’s unfinished question. “But we have questions. Clear the room of humans, please.”
One of the men still at the table chortled. “?Güey, qué pedo?” His friends all snickered, but I sure as shit wasn’t in the mood for funny business.
Vali and I needed no words passed between us; we both simply unleashed a little dragon magic. Not enough to shift fully, but enough to affect our eyes and fill the room with power to the point where not a single supernatural could mistake the threat we posed.
“Clear the fucking room,” I rumbled in a voice like thunder, and everyone seemed to burst into action all at once. Within seconds, the room was clear of everyone save four terrified-looking shifters.
“What is it that you want?” Baldy, the one who’d first spoken, demanded. His voice shook with fear, but I had to admire him for trying.
“Wolves, we presume?” Vali checked, and the man jerked his head in confirmation. “Why is it that I’m hearing rumors of werewolves in an underground Mexican fighting ring? You four are making no attempt to hide your species from the world. Why?”
The wolves exchanged nervous glances before another cocky little piece of shit spoke up. “Why should we? We’re the superior race. Humans aught to know that. Besides, a guy’s gotta earn a living, right?”
My knuckles cracked loudly in the now quiet room as I tightened my fist and tapped it into my other palm in a threatening manner. It was a move so overdone it was almost comical, but I really did want to pound this punk’s fucking face in.
“Don’t be a fucking idiot,” Vali sneered at the stupid asshole before turning back to baldy, who seemed to be in charge. “What do you know of the Ban Dia?”
Baldy frowned. “They’re myth. Nothing more than bedtime stories for children. Why?”
Vali glanced at me, and I nodded. This was good; they didn’t seem to be lying. Hell, they didn’t seem smart enough for that. Which meant this may not have anything to do with my Vixen after all.
“Why are you suddenly showing yourselves to the world?” Vali demanded, changing tact and ignoring baldy’s question.
The man’s mouth twisted, and I saw him consider a stupid nothing answer like his buddy had given about needing to make a living. But we both knew that wasn’t the real reason, and baldy seemed just a fraction smarter than his friend.
“We were ordered to,” he finally ground out from behind gritted teeth. The other three wolves burst out of their seats in outrage, yelling at him to shut the fuck up, but he held up a hand to silence them. “Can it!” he yelled at them. “Use your fucking noses. These two assholes are ten times stronger than our Alpha. You really wanna fuck around here? I don’t!”
Turning back to Vali and I, he eyed us warily. “Orders came down from up top to start making humans aware of us. Start breeding some fear. Apparently someone has been meeting with all the higher ups, convincing them that a war is coming and it’s in our best interest to come out of hiding.” He shrugged, scratching his face. “That’s all we know.”
Fury clawed at my throat, and the room shifted into sharp focus as my eyes shifted to dragon. “Who?” I demanded, my voice threaded with the snarl of my dragon, and I watched the wolves pale with terror. “Who is behind this?”
Baldy held his hands up as if in surrender. “We don’t know, man. I swear. We’re just lower pack members doing what we’re told. I do know that a lot of the packs told him to screw off, ’cause only a few have been stirring up shit with the humans.”
Vali and I exchanged a glance, and I saw he too was on the edge of losing his shit. Since we’d changed, our tempers had become significantly more volatile. Something Vixen was now needing to deal with, too.
We needed to get out before the shift took hold completely.
“Take this,” Vali held out a wad of money to Baldy. “Disappear. Stop exposing your kind to humans; it will not end well.” The threat in his tone was clear, and the four wolves nodded their understanding frantically.
Allowing myself one last threatening growl at the wolves, I followed my brother out of the dingy poker room, through the fight crowd, and out into the night.
“What do you think?” he asked me once we were totally clear of the building that housed the fight club. “Omega?”
Fucking Omega. I flexed and clenched my fists again, wishing those stupid wolves had started a fight so I could have worked out my aggression.
“Possible. Could also be something to do with this doctor who took Vixen’s blood.” Either option wasn’t good though. “They want magic outed. Why?”
Vali sighed and scrubbed a hand over his face, not answering my question. “This is going to devastate Kit if it is her father doing this. It’s not looking good for him so far...”
Something about his tone made me pause and glance over at him. His brow was furrowed, and his shoulders were set with tension. The change in him since he’d joined us was noticeable. Where before, as Romanul, he had always been impeccably dressed in suits and coats—much like River’s wardrobe choices, except with a much more deadly air about him—now he seemed almost... relaxed? Not right in this moment. But in general. He carried less tension in his face and had adopted the casual jeans and T-shirt look that I so often wore myself. Bastard really was my brother.
“You actually care about her, don’t you?” I asked grudgingly. I’d avoided asking anything about how he felt for Kit, not wanting to hear the answer. But I couldn’t stick my head in the sand forever.
Vali huffed a half-dragon noise, giving me a look like I was the most dense dipshit on the planet. “I’m fucking in love with her, asshole.”
My step faltered, and I sucked in a sharp breath. That answer was exactly what I’d been afraid of, but at the same time, exactly what I’d hoped to hear.
Fuck, I was a messed up piece of shit.
“But we have forever. No need to rush things, right?” My older brother shrugged, but the look in his eyes just seconds before he turned full dragon told me everything. He was holding back with Kit because of me.
Shit.
Kicking the dirt in anger, I stripped down and stuffed my clothes into the little bag we carried before turning dragon myself. It was a long-ass flight back to Ontario, and I had a lot to think about now.
Mostly... whether my brother and I had healed enough to handle sharing the woman we both loved.
20
KIT
A little chuckle vibrated through me as I peered out of the car window, passing the fancy Beverly Hills gallery where I’d stolen that god-awful ring which had led the guys to me. It felt like it had been a lifetime ago, but was little more than six months...
“What’s funny?” Caleb asked me, yawning and snuggling into my side. He’d returned home late again the night before, and we had needed to leave early to make our way down to Los Angeles for the meeting with Jonathan. He’d slept most of the way and was now tucked into the backseat of the seven-seat Audi that had been waiting for us at the private airfield.
His head rested on my shoulder, and one arm draped around my waist. On my other side, Austin’s hard thigh was pressed tight to mine, and I was practically hyperventilating just from being sandwiched between the two inhumanly handsome Mages.
Good thing I’ve learned to block my emotions, or this car ride would be a lot more awkward right now.
“Um, nothing,” I replied finally, shaking my head. “Just reminiscing on the last time I was here.”
Wesley, sharp as he was, turned in his seat to raise his eyebrows at me. He knew what I meant. The last time I was here was what ultimately had brought us all together.
“We’re here,” Cole announced, pulling in to the valet area of the The London Hotel in West Hollywood.