The Alpha's Onyx & Fire (12 page)

They would save the talk with the kids tomorrow given the late time, but Sage knew they needed to know soon about shifters, and exactly who they were to their big sister. A ridiculous part of him worried the kids would reject both he and Leontis, that they wouldn’t be comfortable with either of them. The children were everything to Tessa.

However, it turned out his worries were for nothing. As soon as the door opened, a thundering herd of children swamped all three of them.

“Ah, hey,” Sage said awkwardly.

Leontis on the other hand gave a big, deep belly laugh before picking up the youngest, Ryder, and throwing him on top of his shoulders.

“Better be careful with him. Not much oxygen up there,” he snickered.

Leontis rolled his eyes. “Watch it or you’ll be next.”

Sage stumbled to a stop, desperately willing himself not to get a semi-erection in front of the children. He was an Alpha, the thought of his much larger mate being able to lift him like that should not turn him on.

Nope. Not at all. Like ever. Dammit.

Beside him Tessa giggled, and Leontis raised a brow that suggested they both knew exactly what he was thinking.

Clearing his throat, he attempted to redirect attentions. “So, have you terrors had dinner and everything?”

Oliver snorted. “Of course they have, it’s like ten-thirty at night, dude.”

“No need to worry, big brother. Kids are already bathed, showered, whatever.” Chase shrugged as he got up from the lounge, making his way to the kitchen, no doubt about to raid the coffee stash. Man had a serious problem with caffeine. “They are all fed and ready for bed, but I figured you’d want to see them first, and since it wasn’t a school night I let them stay up.”

Sage stared after his brother, slightly bemused by Chase. It was sometimes easy to forget that his jokester brother had another side of him.

“Well, at least it looks like Chase has everything organized,” Tessa said with a smile.

“Who the hell said I was organized?” Chase's head shot around the corner from the kitchen, his gaze darting around as if trying to find the guilty party.

Tessa laughed. “Do you have to look so offended and appalled by the idea?”

“Yeah, I kinda do actually.”

“No one's ever gonna accuse you of being organized?”

Chase seemed to consider that for a moment then shook his head. “Not even on my death bed. And people are usually nicer and tend to lie more to make you feel better.”

Leontis snickered. “Death bed. Seriously?”

“Think about it….no one wants to make a dying person feel worse. I mean, come on, that’s like a whole new level of going to hell.”

Sage grunted at Chase’s antics, annoyed that he couldn’t argue the logic behind that. His little brother knew how to talk himself out of a paper bag if nothing else. Probably what made the idiot such a damn good lawyer.

His phone rang, and he glanced down to see Rourke’s name flashing on the screen. “Hey, brother, what’s up?”

“Sage. It’s Ruth,” Rourke sounded gutted. “We were giving her a lift home when we were ambushed. Car ploughed straight into us. When I came to she was gone. There is blood everywhere, man.”

“Fuck.” Sage roughly speared his fingers through his hair. “Are you okay? Where are you?”

“Just off Linderman road. I can’t...I can’t track her. I hit my head and it hasn’t healed, too much blood. Everything is a mess.”

Rourke sounded vague and distant, making Sage worry.

“Just wait there. We’re coming.” He hung up, turning to Tessa and Leontis. “I need you both to stay here, Chase will remain as well. Dom, you’re with me.”

“Wait, what happened?” Leontis asked, frowning in concern.

“Rourke, he was ambushed. Ruth is missing. Please, after everything that has happened, stay here with them tonight. I need you both safe.”

Leontis nodded, leaning in to kiss him briefly. “Go. I’ve got our girl.”

Kissing Tessa, Sage stalked out of the house, the anger coursing through him. First Tessa is attacked, now this. Someone was going to pay tonight. He was sure of it.

*****

A sharp knock at the door almost an hour later had Leontis running down the hall. Having just gotten the last of the kids into bed, the last thing he wanted is for them to be woken up. Chase had left a few minutes before to scout the perimeter telling him he’d check in with Sage and find out what was happening.

“Great guard dog you are,” he mutters, wrenching the door wide open.

The sight before him left him momentarily stunned. Two familiar faces stared back at him. One hopeful, one bored.

“Theron? Yorik? What the hell?”

“Now is that anyway to treat your brothers?” Theron grinned.

Leontis didn't have a chance to answer before Theron embraced him in a warm hug. Pulling back, his eyes flickered from one brother to the next. While part of him was surprised to see either of them, he admitted finding Theron on his doorstep wasn't that much of a stretch. Yorik on the other hand? As far as he knew, Yorik hated him. Well, maybe hate was too strong a word. Barely tolerated him, would probably fit better. Still…

“What are you doing here?"

Theron’s eyes widened. “You can’t be serious? You disappear and we don’t hear a peep from you, then all of a sudden word spreads of the last White Tiger Alpha mating not only a human but a rare black lion...yeah, I’m gonna come and check to see if it is you.”

“Leontis, honey? Who is it?” Tessa called from behind him

Theron smirked. “Honey?”

He narrowed a glare on his brother. “My mate. So watch it,
brother
.”

Leontis took satisfaction in the way his brother’s eyes widened. “Oh, the human?”

“The human has a name,” Tessa said, nudging him to the side. “I’m Tessa. And if I heard correctly, you must be Leontis’s brothers.”

Yorik graced Tessa with one of his sweet and endearing smiles he used on women. “Why yes, we are. It is a pleasure to meet you, Tessa. Though I must say, you look far too gorgeous to be in my brother’s league.”

Leontis bristled, but Tessa settled him with a gentle touch to his arm. Giving Yorik a droll stare, she asked, “So are we inviting them in, or kicking them out of our territory?”

He didn’t even try to contain his laughter as his mate’s snarky response. Yorik let out a disgruntled noise, and Theron snickered beside him, his eyes lighting up.

“Oh, I like her, brother.” Theron grinned at Tessa. “My name’s Theron, this lunk head here is Yorik.”

Tessa nodded, but said nothing else, instead ushering his brother’s inside. Just as they were seated, a small voice called out from one of the bedrooms and Tessa sighed.

“Ryder.” She grimaced, narrowing her eyes on their guests. “Okay, so here is the deal. I have to deal with my baby brother, but let me make one thing clear. Hurt Leontis in anyway and I’ll take great pleasure in knocking you out, tying you down, and testing out each knife I have in the kitchen back there to see which one is the sharpest.” Tessa smiled sweetly. “Okay?”

They all watched her leave the room, eyes wide.

“Your mate is a little scary,” Theron muttered, though his eyes twinkled with mirth.

Yorik on the other hand looked serious as ever. “And I thought she was human.”

“So did we, but after Sage and I claimed her, her scent changed.”

Theron gaped. “How?”

“We aren’t sure exactly.”

“She smells like a bird. Like prey,” Yorik grumbled.

Leontis fisted his hands by his side to stop himself from taking a swipe at his brother. “If you have a problem, then feel free to let the door hit your arse on the way out.”

Yorik snorted, “Whatever. I’m getting a drink.”

His brother stood and headed for the kitchen around the corner.

“I’m sorry about that.”

Leontis turned to face Theron. “Why did you bring him? He clearly doesn’t want to be here.”

“But he does.” Theron dragged his hand down his tired looking face. “I told father I was coming to find you and Yorik overheard. He said he wanted to come, help me find you. Yorik was worried about you.”

Leontis scoffed, “Yorik? Worried about me? Not likely.”

“Then why else would he have offered to come,” Theron asked exasperatedly.

“Because unlike you, he can see the larger picture.”

Leontis whirled around to find a stranger standing beside Yorik, who wore a dark grin.

“Yorik?” Theron groaned. “What are you doing? Are you crazy? Who is this?”

“Me? Crazy?” Yorik pinned them with a glare. “You’re the crazy one, Theron. You’ve spent all this time trying to track our baby brother, and for what? So he can come back and take over our Pride? No fucking way. He is the youngest, he was supposed to be the runt. I won’t follow this freak.”

Each word dribbling from Yorik’s mouth slashed at Leontis like a physical wound. Did Yorik really hate him that much?

“We both know Leontis has no interest in ruling our Pride.”

“Not a chance I’m willing to take.”

Leontis growled. “Two of you and two of us, you really think you get a say in how this all turns out?”

Yorik’s smile was brittle and harsh. “You always did underestimate me, little brother.”

He didn’t have time to question what Yorik meant when something hard and blunt struck him hard. Collapsing to the ground with a howl, another blow, and then another came. Everything began to dim around him. He couldn’t even manage a snarl when the last thing he saw before his world faded was an image of the trouble maker, Bricker, standing above him, a sneer twisting his lips.

*****

“Leontis! Wake up!”

Leontis groaned at the sharp noise, instinctively trying to turn away from it.

“Leontis. Tessa, where is she?”

He frowned. Tessa? Last thing he remembered Tessa was putting Ryder back to…

“Oh shit!” He shot up, instantly regretting it when his stomach rolled. Shaking off the feeling, he met Sage’s panicked gaze. “Did they take her? Oh God. Tessa.”

“Who took her? And who the fuck is that?” Sage asked harshly as he pointed at an unconscious Theron, Chase hovering above Theron with his claws extended like he was ready to pounce at the first sign of movement, to help or to tear his brother’s throat out, Leontis didn’t know.

“Theron, my brother. He came with another brother, but Yorik was working with Trevor and Bricker. I didn’t see Bricker until it was too late.”

Sage growled viciously. “Bricker?”

Leontis nodded and brought a hand up to his head, wincing.

Sage cupped his skull gentle, brushing his lips over Leontis’s forehead. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah. Tessa?”

Sage’s eyes darkened. “She isn’t here. I’m about to track her scent, but I needed to make sure you…”

Leontis rested his hand over Sage’s. “I’m okay. Let’s find our mate.”

Sage’s lips thinned and he nodded. He looked over at Theron’s still prone form. “Chase. Lock him up.” Leontis went to argue, but Sage silenced him with a look. “We have no idea if he was in on this too.”

Leontis winced, knowing Sage was right.

Dominic suddenly burst through the door, drawing all their attention. “I think we’ve found her, and Ruth. They’re near the clearing. Same place Bradley took Summer.”

Both men snarled then raced out the door, all thoughts of his brother’s safety leaving Leontis’s mind in a cloud of fury. Bursting through the trees, Leontis didn’t slow until he caught sight of Tessa tied up and hunched over near Bricker and Ruth. A line of others gathered around them, some of the faces he recognized from the group who went after Tessa at the gathering. Leontis allowed his sense to stretch and he drew in a breath when he realized they not only faced other shifters, but witches too.

In front of them all stood his brother, Yorik.

“Who the fuck is he?” Sage snarled.

“He’s my brother, Yorik,” Leontis whispered savagely.

“Another one?”

“Bastard,” the snarl ripped from his throat. Not hesitating any longer, Leontis shifted, his clothes tearing and bones cracking. Moments later his paws hit the ground, a growl rumbling from deep inside.

Tilting his head, he saw that Sage had changed too, his tiger snarling and ready to fight. Nudging the Alpha’s shoulder to let him know he was ready to find their mate, Leontis launched forward and into the fray.

All-out war had ensued in the time it had taken them to shift. Dodging blasts from witches and claws from animals, Leontis fought his way through the crowd until he found himself beside Sage again and a badly wounded Dominic. Skin pale, the stark red that matted the man’s hair stood out, his shirt had been shredded already and Leontis could smell the copper tang of blood. Why hadn’t he shifted yet?

He watched in satisfaction as Sage shifted into human form and grabbed hold of Yorik. Sage was still half shifted, his claws unsheathed, eyes blood red with his need for vengeance.

“What did you want with my mate?

Leontis growled as his brother cackled, “You really think I’ll tell you? I’m already dead, by you or by them. Either way, I’m not feeling inclined to be helpful.”

Leontis snapped and growled at him. His own brother? Regardless of their differences, he couldn’t believe Yorik had turned on him like this? Why?

“Oh, give me a break. Nothing you could do would be worse than what they would have install for me, were I to betray them.”

“Who is they?” Sage demanded. “Aidan? Is he behind this?”

The bastard seemed to consider for a moment, before grinning. “You know, I just can’t quite seem remember.”

“Pity for you,” the Alpha snarled, swinging out and tearing into Yorik’s flesh.

Leontis watched in detached horror as Yorik let out a blood curdling scream to rival a banshee’s, finally coming to an abrupt halt when Sage took another swipe.

Just as Sage delivered the final blow, another blast suddenly shot out just nipping Leontis’s tail and he hissed, turning to face the witch who had thrown it. He realized his mistake, however, when sharp claws sliced through his skin, piercing the flesh. The witch had just been a distraction, keeping him focused so someone else could attack. He let out a howl as he fell but found himself unable to move.