Lorelei (7 page)

“D?” He prodded his partner’s shoulder while anxiety flooded Zeke’s veins. His emotions fed off Dylan’s and he knew that worry plagued the other male. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about,” Dylan’s words were slow and measured. “Someone tried to snatch the three of us out of the darkness before we got here. I’m saying Whitney was a glowing mass of pure magic when we landed because she drew on everything she had to stop them and it wasn’t working. Lorelei has been out for so long because I took from her to keep those men from getting us all.”

The words struck Zeke’s chest, digging into his heart and squeezing the muscle until he felt as if it’d burst. Someone tried to take his mate and partner mid-teleport? No. That couldn’t be.

“Is that even possible?” He tore his gaze from Dylan and looked to the Ruling Wardens.

“Obviously,” Dylan muttered the word.

“No, you lie.” Emmett shook his head. “You can’t do that. Once they’re in the—”

“And Wardens don’t have mates, right?” Zeke countered. The truth rang in that single word from his partner. “What else did the five families do?”

He saw Dylan’s flinch and cursed himself for causing it, but there was no hiding the truth.

“You think…” Levy murmured.

“There were four wolves. Three shifted and one male reading from an old book. If I had to guess, it’s the Clerinell family Grimoire, though they’re pretty tight with the Sarvis family, so it could have been theirs. It was hard to tell.”

“And how,” Levy’s voice was soft, but Zeke recognized the underlying warning in his tone, “do you know so much about their Grimoires?”

Zeke’s wolf rushed forward, ready to defend their partner. His magic joined the animal, prepared to burst into action the moment it was needed. The gathered males wouldn’t be able to sense that he rode the edge of violence, but Dylan knew him. The man shot him a cautioning look, but Zeke didn’t give a damn. He’d stood by Dylan for too long to have a Ruling Warden destroy his friend.

Dylan drew air into his lungs and Zeke leaned forward, slowly placing his elbows on his knees. He let his hands hang between his thighs. It seemed like a relaxed pose, but Zeke’s wolf went to work as he attempted to appear uncaring.

His skin prickled, the animal lurking beneath the surface. His pores stung with the anticipation of fur bursting from within. His nails ached, the human’s weakness ready to be replaced by a wolf’s weapons. It would take a single breath to release the beast and magic.

Dylan’s voice was strong when he answered the Ruling Warden’s question, but he knew his partner fought to suppress his fear. That feeling, that scent, was something they’d trained to eradicate. They succeeded. “I know so much because I once belonged to the Clerinell family. And,” Dylan swallowed and Zeke’s wolf snarled at being held back. They should tackle their partner before he could reveal the truth and open himself up for attack. “And the male reading from the Grimoire was Maxim Clerinell. My brother.”

*

Dylan closed his eyes, refusing to see the hatred and disgust on their faces. He wasn’t proud of his family connections. It was why, after he was kicked out of the house at thirteen and taken in by Zeke’s family, he changed his name. The Roberts family had no connection to the five families. They were working class and never batted an eye when Dylan was dragged home by his best friend and just never left.

It hadn’t taken much convincing to get his father to approve Dylan’s adoption and Zeke’s parents had taken Dylan’s choice of name in stride. No, Mrs. Roberts merely gave him a tight hug, a kiss on the head and murmured that it was his decision.

So, for seventeen years, he’d been Dylan Clarke. The boy with no past.

Now he was Dylan Clarke. The son of Walter Clerinell—one of the men who’d done their best to destroy Emmett, Levy, and Whitney. He was also the brother of Maxim Clerinell—the wolf who’d tried to kidnap Lorelei mid-teleport.

Whitney and Dylan would have been there as well, but he had a feeling that Maxim was after Lorelei. His brother’s focus, his intent gaze, was on the prone woman and not on Dylan or Whitney.

No, Maxim wanted his mate.

His brother didn’t know he’d never get his paws on her.

“Excuse me?” Madden’s voice was soft, the words hardly above a whisper, but he sensed the wolf’s suppressed violence.

“I am Dylan Clerinell. My brother Maxim attempted to tear Whitney, Lorelei, and me from the void. He almost succeeded. I had to pull on Lorelei’s power to get us out. Combined with Whitney’s efforts, we were able to break free.” He refused to let the words tremble as he pushed them forward. Yes, he was a Clerinell, but he was Dylan Clarke, adopted son of the Roberts clan.

Levy growled. “Why didn’t she say anything? Why didn’t
you
?”

He closed his eyes and thought back to the adrenaline filled fight. “I don’t think she remembers. She was consumed by magic. I mean… I couldn’t even see the color of her eyes. She was white. It wasn’t a glow, it was…” He shook his head. “God damn, she was pure magic. And I…”

Maybe he was a pussy after all.

“And I used Lorelei.” He sighed. “But the women’s lives were more important to me than—”

“Than telling us that the threat hit damn close to home,” Madden snarled at him and Dylan didn’t have anything to say to that.

Apparently Zeke did because he shot to his feet and bared his teeth at the Ruling Alpha. The man always was a hothead. Especially when it came to defending Dylan. His friend still hadn’t realized Dylan wasn’t a battered and beaten kid any longer.

“What? So you can do what you’re doing now? You forget that he fucking saved your mate’s sister, asshole.” That was Zeke, the king of discretion.

Levy jumped into the verbal fray. “Whitney wouldn’t have been in danger if—”

Zeke bared a fang. “Fuck you, you know she would have. She was transporting them. If it wasn’t Dylan’s brother, it would have been some other wolf from the five families. Everyone knows the wolf who kidnapped Rebecca last night was from the Dannel family. That clan is powerful, but they breed idiots. So, that was one of five. How hard is it to figure out the other four are here and they’re pissed?”

“Maybe he’s in on it,” Levy shot back. “Maybe they were waiting—”

Dylan didn’t think of the consequences or what it would mean for him to react to those words. He just
did
. In one monstrous leap, he went after Levy. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew the wolf was one of the Ruling Wardens. Dylan understood Levy could destroy him without thought.

But that didn’t stop him.

His claws burst forward first, human hands giving way to wolfen paws in an instant. His face slowly followed, the bones snapping and reshaping as he flew through the air. The shift after they emerged from the void had weakened him, but he still had enough strength to take the Warden down. They tumbled to the ground in a knot of fang, claw, and magic.

Levy hadn’t expected the attack and Dylan knew why. It was suicide to go after a Ruling Warden. Not because it was a death offense. Merely because the Ruling Wardens were the rulers for a reason. They were the strongest.

Dylan grunted when his back struck the carpet, Levy atop him, and he rolled until he straddled the Warden. He didn’t punch, didn’t strike or scratch the male. No, he simply wrapped on claw tipped hand around the wolf’s throat and then pressed the other to Levy’s forehead.

“Bear witness,” he hissed the words, his wolf’s teeth making speech difficult.

Then he made Levy watch the horrors of seventeen years ago.

No, it wasn’t just witnessing. It was experiencing. That was his gift. Through touch, Dylan’s thoughts became another’s reality. With instruction, with the proper training, he could kill a person.

With fear.

That wasn’t his intent now. No, it was merely a replaying of Dylan’s history.

Of sharpened nails.

Of wicked blades.

Of evil smiles.

And blood. There had been a lot of blood.

All because he wouldn’t remove the obstacles from his father’s path. With his dad, obstacles weren’t inanimate objects. No, they were wolves. Alphas, Wardens, and even humans who opposed him. The only reason he still lived was that Zeke’s uncle was a powerful Warden who was able to heal the damage to Dylan’s body all those years ago. Then, days later, when Dylan finally woke, he clung to Mrs. Roberts. He attached himself to her side with tears dripping from his lashes.

Twenty-four hours later he was her son. Two weeks after that, he was Dylan Clarke.

Since that day, he hadn’t delved deeply into himself to bring those powers forward.

Levy jerked from Dylan’s touch, wrenching his head from Dylan’s grasp with a harsh gasp. Yellow eyes met Dylan’s and he didn’t flinch beneath their weight. Now it was up to the Warden if he continued to live. He had his reasons to attack Levy in such a way, but that didn’t erase what he’d done.

Dylan dimly heard rough shouts and snarls and he slowly realized he hadn’t been interrupted. No one had pulled him from the Ruling Warden. He diverted his gaze, hunting for the reason why he’d been able to complete the task. And he found it. Found it in Lorelei, clinging to Zeke, and glowing brighter than the sun. A shimmering ball encircled them, covering him and Levy in a bubble of… protection.

Damn, his mate was strong. He’d never met a female so fierce and determined.

Now done, he rolled from Levy and waited for the wolf’s reaction. How long would it take the Warden to kill him? One minute? Two? He hoped it was less rather than more.

Levy stood and the moment two feet separated them, the aura of protection released the Ruling Warden and covered Dylan alone. Glares were shot his way, Emmett narrowing his eyes and curling his lip while the Ruling Alphas exposed their fangs. He finally noticed that others were near. More guards and a few additional Wardens lingered. As did… the Wickhams and Rebecca and Lorelei.

Everyone had to see it all, of course.

Thankfully, it seemed Scarlet, Gabriella, and Whitney were on his side. As were Rebecca and Lorelei.

Dylan’s mate remained in the safety of Zeke’s arms, but the other four were spitting mad. He did not envy their mates.

Yells, shouts, and even screeches that made him wince, filled the air. All centered around the same complaint. How
dare
Dylan attack Levy?

It wasn’t until Levy placed two fingers in his mouth and blew a harsh whistle that it quieted. Everyone fell silent, wolf and human alike.

“Thank you.” Levy straightened his shirt. “Dylan didn’t have anything to do with what happened today. He has no contact with the five families.” Levy met Dylan’s gaze. “And we’ll leave it at that.”

Emmett stepped toward Dylan. “How can you say that? He almost—”

“He,” Levy’s voice was firm and low, “is not involved.”

The Ruling Wardens then stared at each other and Emmett spoke. “You will stake our mate’s life on that.”

“Yes.” The one word was said without hesitation.

Dylan got a glare, but Emmett jerked his head in a sharp nod. “Fine.”

Fine? Dylan certainly hoped so, but he didn’t have much faith that he spoke the truth. They still had his brother out there somewhere with the three other wolves.

He knew the Dannel wolf died last night. Assuming one representative from each of the five meant he’d been faced with the remaining four. Now, they just had to be found before they located Paisley since he’d be
damned
if the quartet got another chance at his mate. He met Zeke’s gaze. Their mate.

He let his attention drift to her, to her glowing body enfolded in his partner’s arms. She trembled with the weight of her magic, her skin pulsing with light, and the hazel of her irises was almost completely hidden by the glow.

Staring at his tiny, lusciously curved mate, he had only one thought. Well, two, but the first went along with the second. “What now?”

Dylan hoped someone would say, “Mate with Lorelei.”

He was not that lucky.

Keller replied to his question. “Now we develop a plan. The remaining four will be located.” The Ruling Alpha’s gaze encompassed the room, and a sliver of fear crept into Dylan’s blood. The wolf didn’t have magic, but when that much dominance clung to a male’s skin… it wasn’t needed. “And then they will be killed.”

Well, maybe delaying the mating a little while wasn’t so bad. He’d at least get to kill something.

Lorelei was pretty sure her mates—mates? weird—were pouting because they didn’t get to kill someone.

On one hand, she was sad for them. She’d been unconscious when the attempted kidnapping had gone down, but the wolves did try to take her and Whitney…

Plus, those werewolves were also after Paisley.

So, yeah, she was wishing the men—her men—got to tear those four guys into very small pieces. On the other hand, that new part of her craved their presence. No, not just their presence. Their touch. She wanted them to touch her. All over. All of the touching of her body.

Lorelei sat sandwiched between the two men, the three crowded on the small couch. With Zeke to her left and Dylan to her right, safety and comfort surrounded her. It enveloped her even as they all spoke of the best way to hunt and kill their opponents.

She only vaguely heard. Exhaustion and fatigue still dogged her, and her body would love nothing more than fall into bed in a heap. A heap that would also contain Dylan and Zeke. The overwhelming thrum of energy she’d felt only hours ago was settled into a rumbling idle. Whitney assured her it’d ease further now that the “Big Blow Up of Doom” was over. Her magic would react to emotion at this point and after they mated, it’d reduce even more.

Then
she’d be able to gain full control of her power.

She leaned her head against Dylan’s shoulder, sensing his need for a snuggle even if he wouldn’t voice the words. While she pressed against one mate, she grasped Zeke’s arm with her free hand, unwilling to lose the connection to either man. When she sighed in relief, she sensed some of their tension ease as well. It was as if they remained anxious and on edge as long as she did.