Haven 4: Back Roads (16 page)

“Wow,” Galen breathed. “You’re really old.” Bannon reached back and popped him on the butt in reprimand. Galen jumped and glared up at his lover as he rubbed his stinging backside.

Camdin laughed again, though. “I will be seven hundred and twenty-three in November. So, yes, I guess I am rather old.”

“How do ya know Phillip McCarthy?” Bannon asked with a little growl in his voice.

And he thought Galen was being rude? “Hypocrite,” Galen muttered out of the side of his mouth. As usual, Bannon ignored him, though.

“I was called to Leader McCarthy’s estate to translate some scrolls he’d found. He thought they might be Faerine, you see, the ancient language of my people. As far as I knew, there were no remaining traces anywhere on earth. I was eager to see these scrolls.”

“I thought Nicholas was the leader?”

Bannon kissed the top of Galen’s head. “He gained the position from his brother.”

Oh, well that made sense. Galen really needed sleep. His poor, frazzled brain just wasn’t functioning properly.

“That’s how he got you to come to him, but the bigger question is why. How did he know what you were?” Stavion asked, speaking for the first time since they’d gathered in the room.

Camdin swallowed hard and fisted his hands in his lap. Galen already knew the answer to that question, and he figured everyone else did as well. Only one of Torren’s brothers could have passed the information on to Phillip. The only thing left to piece together was which one of them had done it.

“Mikko, but he didn’t betray you. The boy looked half dead when Phillip brought him to me. He was sick and weak, making it simple to compel his mind.”

From everything Bannon had told him about Phillip McCarthy and all the shit that went down in Nevada, Galen counted a few things that weren’t adding up. Patting Bannon’s hand when he tried to hold him back, Galen stepped forward and cocked his head to the side, looking first at Camdin, and then to Torren.

“Phillip died approximately three years ago, right? And when did your father die?”

“Fifteen years ago,” Raith supplied at once.

“So, you lost contact with the man you were supposed to be guarding for fifteen years, yet Phillip McCarthy was able to find him easily enough with the help of one of your brothers only three years ago. Do you see where your story isn’t adding up for me?”

“You knew exactly where he was up until he was kidnapped by those eagle shifters,” Raven accused. “Why didn’t you just tell us, Torren?”

Torren rubbed the back of his neck and sighed. “If Camdin had been taken by witches, I couldn’t risk you knowing too much.” He looked right at Bannon as he spoke. “I needed you to find him, but with the way you track, it was too dangerous for you to know everything. What would have happened if you’d been pulled out of your dream?”

They’d have been screwed. Galen remembered the circle of witches who’d popped into that dream field. They were scary as hell.

He could only imagine what would have happened if Bannon hadn’t forced them from the dream when he did.

“Witches,” Galen whispered. “That’s what all of this is about. These witches know that you and your brothers are the keys. They’ve been rounding you up like cattle, haven’t they, Torren? They have the keys, but they need the book.”

Torren nodded slowly. “It’s a race between the witch circles as to who can find the book first. The only advantage we have is that they think they’re looking for an actual book. I’m sorry I lied to you, but it was for your own protection.”

“So, why did those shifters have Camdin?” Demos asked.

“They believe he has information about the book,” Lynk answered, his voice a bit hoarse. “The witches are using weres, shifters, and vampires to do their dirty work so they can hide the fact that they’re in possession of a key.”

“We have the Relegatis and three of the keys,” Bannon said after a tense moment where no one spoke. “I say we get to findin’ the other keys.”

How could Galen not love the man? His heart was so big, and he always saw the good in people. Even though Torren had lied to them, he’d done it for his family, and also to protect Galen and Bannon. It was a delicate line, but being pissed off took too much energy. “I’m in.”

“Thank you, but I can’t let you do that.” Torren smiled, but it looked sad. “You know too much now. I can’t risk it. We’ll have to find another way to locate my brothers.”

“We’ve got this,” Raven said indignantly. “With Galen’s help, it’s practically a cakewalk.”

“Aye, Galen can identify the witches the moment they enter the dream. We’ll find your brothers.”

Torren’s eyes traveled over their group, and he eventually bobbed his head. “Thank you. I know I don’t deserve your help after I lied to you, but I do need it.”

“Just stop being a prick and hiding stuff from us,” Raven said bluntly, but he was smiling. “You’re a good guy, and I like you. I don’t like having things kept from me when I’m trying to do my job, though. From now on, we work together. Got it?” Torren grinned. “Got it.”

“We need to find Mikko first,” Raith added, turning to look at Camdin. “What did McCarthy do with him?”

“Some of the servants helped me get away, and I haven’t seen Mikko since. I truly don’t know what happened to your brother. I’m sorry.”

“Question McCarthy,” Stavion suggested. “Better yet, get Nicholas’s ass back here and have him question his crazy brother.”

“We have the Relegatis, so we should be safe for now.” Torren linked his fingers behind his back and began pacing. “Everyone needs to rest and recuperate. We’ll meet and discuss this more after Halloween. Wherever our brothers are, they’re not dead. Not to sound like a cocky asshole, but we’re all too important for the witches to kill us.”

To outsiders it might have sounded cocky, but Galen understood exactly what Torren meant. Those witches hadn’t spent years tracking down the Braddocks just to slaughter them. They needed a Braddock to open the book, and that couldn’t very well happen if the men were dead.

There were some more words said, but Galen kind of missed them when Bannon’s hand traveled down his back and began massaging his ass. Galen had made a damn big promise back in that hotel room in Pennsylvania, and he couldn’t wait to deliver. “Take me home, big guy.”

Bannon’s arms wound around his waist and lifted him off his feet.

“Let’s go home.”

“They’re idiots, every last one of them.” Galen sat in the grass beside Malakai and laughed as Bannon and his brothers chased each other around a field in the moonlight. While it would have been hilarious if they’d been human, it was even more so to watch six huge Irish Thoroughbreds romp around like children.

Malakai chuckled and leaned back on his elbows. “They’re having fun. They don’t get nearly enough of that lately.” No, they really didn’t. Until he’d been thrust into an assignment with Bannon, Galen never appreciated how much crap his mate had to go through with his job. “So, where’s Boston?”

“In Georgia, helping Xander and everyone pack.”

“So, Blaise convinced them to move?”

“Yeah, it wasn’t as difficult as I thought it would be. I think Braxton and Keeton had a little to do with that, though.”

“Who’s that?”

Malakai shook his head and laughed. “Flynn calls them the Trouble Twins. You’ll see why when you meet them. They’re almost always into some kind of trouble, but they have these big, bleeding hearts. I imagine the minute Blaise said that some shifters needed help, Braxton and Keeton were all over it.”

“When will they be here?”

“Next week. I guess they’re going to stay in the main house until the cabins go up on the new land. It’s about triple the size of the land we own now, and Stavion’s going to section off a hundred acres just for the Moonlighters.”

“I’m guessing Stavion wants to get this done as quickly as possible.” Wasn’t that the entire reason for asking Boston’s old pack to come to Wyoming? Galen didn’t really understand what all the fuss was about, but he did know that shifters of the white-pelted variety made people twitchy.

“Yeah,” Malakai sighed. “Boston tries to stick to the back acreage when he runs, and more often than not, he’s taking Inhibitors on the full moon. It keeps him from shifting, but he’s always sick for a couple of days afterwards. I don’t like it.”

“Haven isn’t supposed to be this way.” Everyone was welcome here. It was where the homeless, neglected, and abused came to find safety and acceptance.

“People are just scared, Galen. It’s been this way for a long time, and it’s going to take just as long to start convincing people that Moonlighters aren’t evil. We’ll get there, but for now, it’s just best if everyone is on their guard.” Malakai rose to his feet and smiled.

“Things will work out. I’m going to get my mate and take him home. I’ll see ya later, Galen.”

“Slut!” Galen called after his friend.

Malakai just laughed and waved a hand over his shoulder as he took off running across the field. Galen didn’t know how the vampire could tell all those horses apart, but Malakai made a beeline straight to one of them, grabbed the equine around the neck, and swung himself up on its back. He made it look so easy.
Stupid vampires.

As the others took off across the field again, one of the Thoroughbreds broke away and trotted over to Galen. He dropped his head and snorted softly as he butted his nose against the side of Galen’s face.

“Hey, Bannon,” he said around his laughter. “Cut it out. That tickles!”

In the next blink, the horse vanished, and Bannon began kissing and licking up the side of Galen’s face as he slowly eased him back to the grass. “Missed you,
a ghrá.
”

“Mmm, missed you, too.” So what if it had only been half an hour since they’d held hands on the way to the field? It was one of those corny, mushy things people said when they were in love. Galen was all for being in love.

* * * *

Bannon knew exactly what Galen was thinking, but it wasn’t true.

He didn’t just say the words because they sounded sweet or because it came with the territory of having a mate. He’d said them because they were true. Every minute he wasn’t with Galen, he missed the man.

“Are you going to claim me?” Galen looked uncertain, his eyes shimmering in the moonlight that drifted down through the trees.

It had been three days since they returned from their assignment, and his mate had asked him every day. Bannon kept putting him off, though—not because he didn’t want the same thing, but because he wanted the moment to be perfect when it finally happened.

“Right here in the grass, then? Is that what you’re wantin’?”

“I just want to be yours.”

“Ah, but ya already are, darlin’.” And he always would be. The claiming bite was just the icing on the cake. He’d been so worried about it before, but he’d come to realize that he didn’t need it to feel close to his mate and to know that they belonged together. It was just a bonus.

“Please, Bannon.”

Now how could he resist such a sweet plea? Taking his time, he divested his mate of his clothing, kissing and caressing each inch of bare skin as it was revealed. When he finally had Galen completely and gloriously naked beneath him, Bannon pushed the curls back from his face and claimed his lover’s lips in a passionate kiss.

Galen arched beneath him, pressing their chests together and moaning into his mouth. “Touch me,” he panted as he humped upward to grind his hard cock against Bannon’s abs.

“Mmm, someone has been very naughty,” Bannon teased when he found the flat base of a butt plug nestled snugly between Galen’s ass cheeks.

“I wanted to be ready. Now, just fuck me already!” Bannon chuckled at his lover’s impatience. Gripping the silicone base, he tugged the toy out of Galen’s tight channel just a little and wiggled it around. Then he pumped it in and out slowly until his mate began to moan and writhe.

“Bannon, damn it!”

Oh, he loved teasing Galen. The man was forever trying to rush them along. “Shh, love. It’s so much better when you take the back roads.” Bannon knew from experience.

He continued teasing, pumping the plug in and out of Galen’s hole, licking at his pebbled nipples, and stroking his beautiful cock until the man could do nothing more than pant and whimper in pleasure.

When Bannon was satisfied that he’d worshiped Galen’s body to the best of his ability, he gently extracted the toy and replaced it with the head of his cock. Hovering above his mate’s flushed and glistening body, he pushed in slowly, groaning at the intense pleasure that always assaulted him each time he made love to Galen.

His thrusts were lazy, a slow languid glide of his hips, and nothing in the world existed besides the man beneath him. Galen had made him work for it. He hadn’t just handed over his body and heart on a silver platter, and Bannon loved him all the more for it. All those long months he’d spent chasing after his mate only made the reward that much sweeter.

The intensity escalated, driving Bannon to increase his tempo, and before long he was slamming into Galen’s yielding body with lightning fast strokes. His spine tingled, his balls tightened, and a wicked set of fangs exploded from his gums.

Well, that was new. Deciding that his body knew what the hell it was doing, Bannon pushed the thought out of his mind as he continued to surge into Galen’s tight heat. The cords in his neck strained, his muscles bunched, and loud, primitive growls fell from his panting lips.

“Now, Bannon,” Galen whispered before closing his eyes and turning his head to the side. The act was so submissive in nature, Bannon almost came right there on the spot.

Dipping his head, he licked up the column of Galen’s throat, then as gently as possible used his new elongated canines to push through the supple flesh. The first splash of blood over his tongue was like being struck by lightning. After only a couple of draws, he carefully released his hold on Galen’s neck and licked over the wound.

“Your turn,
mo chroí
.” Using his razor sharp fang, he sliced the pad of his thumb and lowered it to Galen’s mouth. Bless his little heart, he didn’t bat a lash as he sucked the digit into his mouth and sucked with vigor.