Sixx (The Stone Society, #7) (41 page)

What the fuck are you waiting for? Do it now!

Desi obeyed the beast and blindly leaned down to where he knew Simone’s neck to be. He sank his fangs into her shoulder, the coppery tang of blood hitting his tongue. Instinct told him to retract his canines and clean the affected area. Desi’s orgasm ceased pulsing inside Simone’s body, but her pussy was still convulsing around him.
Wow.
He’d never come close to blacking out from an orgasm. That was some powerful shit. Desi wondered if every time would be as explosive, or if it was because of the mating. He didn’t remove his softening cock. Instead, he cleaned her neck with his tongue while he waited for his vision to return.

“Desi...”

“Hmmm?”

“Desi, oh god, that was... Wow,” his mate purred as she stroked her hands down his back where his wings had been seconds before.

“I know. That was intense,” Desi murmured into her neck.

“Intense doesn’t even come close. Are you okay?”

“Hang on.” He didn’t dare tell her what was going on.

“Desi, please look at me.” She pushed at his shoulders, trying unsuccessfully to get him to move. “You’re squishing me, you big lug, now move,” Simone demanded.

“Sorry,” he apologized, rolling off to the side. He covered his eyes with his forearm, praying his sight would return soon. Simone’s hand circled his wrist, pushing his arm out of the way. Desi blinked, a little light seeping in.

“Holy fucking hell!” Simone exclaimed. “Your eyes. Desi, oh my god!”

“What? Simone, what the hell’s going on? I can’t see you.” Desi continued to blink until a faint outline of his mate was visible.

“What do you mean you can’t see me?” Simone crawled off the bed. “I’m going to get your parents.”

“No, don’t. Not yet. Simone, please...”

The bed dipped as she sat back down. “Desi, your eyes... they’re the same color as mine.”

“That’s impossible,” he huffed. His eyes were almost black they were so dark. He had his father’s eyes. They couldn’t change. Maybe Simone’s vision was fucked up like his was. He blinked a few more times, and she finally came fully into focus. “There you are. That was some freaky shit. I thought I was going to pass out. How do you...” Simone’s eyes were no longer golden brown. They were black. The same color his had been.
Shit.
It wasn’t possible. “You’re not going to believe this...”

Three Months Later

S
ixx moved the corn around the grill, making room for the steaks. When word got around he and Rae were visiting New Atlanta for a while, Rafael changed family day from Sunday to Saturday. The manor was large enough to accommodate all the Gargoyles, their mates, and the kids. The females had kidnapped Rae and were showing her around the manor, making introductions, and basically making her feel at home. Priscilla came out onto the patio carrying the tray of marinated meat. “Here you go, Michael.”

“Thank you, Priscilla. Did you make your famous cookies?” he asked, trying to keep the conversation light. All he had to do was look into her dull eyes to know she was anything but all right. Her brother was ill, and Jonas still hadn’t found a cure.

“I sure did, but don’t tell Rafael,” she joked.

“Priscilla, you wound me,” Rafe gasped as he always did when his beloved housekeeper pretended to have secrets. He kissed her cheek as she walked by him to return inside.

Once the door was closed, Rafe’s smile faded. “We’re going to lose him, aren’t we?” Sixx asked.

Rafe nodded. “I’m afraid so. I don’t know anyone smarter than Jonas Montague. The man created the first successful clone, yet he can’t find a cure for this fucking cancer eating at Jonathan’s insides. It doesn’t make sense.”

“There are a lot of things that don’t make sense,” Sixx said. Like his son’s eyes. When Desi and Simone completed the mate bond, their eyes had changed colors. In the past three months, they had tried everything to get them to swap back, but nothing had worked. Sixx had contacted Jonas, but the old Goyle had never heard of such a thing happening. Nikolas searched the Clan journals, and he couldn’t find an account of it ever happening, either. If it had, the incident hadn’t been recorded.

“Are you getting excited?” Sixx asked Rafael. The women had thrown him and Kaya a baby shower that turned into another family gathering. Rarely did the females go anywhere without their males due to the fact that Alistair was a lunatic. Before he could answer, several of the males exited the kitchen with beers in their hands. Dante offered one to Sixx. “Thank you,” Sixx said.

Rafe took a long pull off the longneck Nikolas handed him. “Yes. I’m excited, but I’m also scared shitless. I have three months until Sebastian arrives. Three months to figure out what to do about my uncle. If we haven’t contained him by the time Kaya gives birth, this property is going to become a fortress like the world has never seen.”

“Any more news from Carter?” Sixx asked Dante. Carter had been instrumental in Isabelle’s rescue, having lived undercover in Alistair’s home for over a year.

“Hunter gave his twin everything his contact could dig up on Alistair. It wasn’t much. Whoever Alistair has on his payroll hacking our systems must have buried any negative information there was on the Greek,” Dante relayed.

“Whoever it is has been slacking off on messing with Julian. For a while, he would fuck with stuff just to piss Jules off, or to keep him preoccupied,” Nikolas added. “Now that we’re focused on helping Katherine, the hacks are coming less and less. It’s really weird, but it’s like the man knows Jules is focused on helping his mate.”

“What if he is?” Sixx asked. Something in his gut told him he was on the right wavelength. “What if this hacker was the one who set up Katherine in the first place, and now he’s giving Julian breathing room to work the puzzle out.”

“An enemy with a conscience?” Nik asked. “That’d be a first.”

“There’s been no movement from Kallisto. When we released her, she traveled back to the compound, where she’s been ever since. I’ve spoken to Xavier again. He and Athena are secretly meeting with the Kings they feel they can trust. Once they’ve filled them in, we’re going to gather to discuss Alistair. There’s never been a Council meeting to discuss removing a King from power. Never has one gotten so out of hand it came down to a ruling. If the Council can’t or won’t come to a decision, those of us opposed to war will have to decide how to handle the situation.” Rafael downed his beer before continuing. “I will not allow my uncle to continue on this path he’s on. I will take his head before he harms another one of our mates.”

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep, Cousin,” Julian said as he rounded the corner of the house. “We’ve all seen firsthand how deceptive he is. We don’t see him coming. We have no idea how he knows who among us have found mates. I have no doubt Katherine is sitting in prison because she is my mate, even though I’ve kept my distance. Nothing I’ve done these past few months would indicate she means anything to me.”

“Is that why you haven’t visited her in the Pen?” Gregor asked.

“Yes. I refuse to give the bastard any more reason to target her. Victoria’s doing all she can to keep the Feds away, but I’m running out of time,” Julian seethed. They all knew he was taking the situation with Katherine personally. He was taking everything that happened to any mate personally. Whoever was getting the best of him was an affront to his genius, not to mention his Gargoyle loyalty. “Now, can we talk about something much more pleasant, like babies?” Julian held out his hand, and Sixx handed over the spatula. Julian needed to keep busy, whether it was tapping away at a keyboard or flipping steaks.

“Or loud as fuck rock concerts!” Tessa boomed as she led the parade of mates out the back door. Each female found their respective Gargoyle, and the patio was soon overflowing.

When Rae reached Sixx, she was smiling. Not any smile, but the smile of a woman surrounded by friends. He knew the feeling well, and was thrilled to have helped her find it again. She had spent so many years alone, hiding from the world because of what she was. Now, Rae no longer had to hide. She had the support of women who were in the same boat she was. It didn’t hurt that Tessa and Sophia had given them all their own prosthetics to wear if they ever wanted to hide in plain sight.

“When will Desi be here?” Tessa asked.

Trevor answered, “Their bus gets into town around three.”

“Thanks for the update, geek boy. I was talking to Sixx,” Tessa said and play punched him on the arm.  

Sixx, along with everyone else, everyone except Julian, laughed at the banter between Tessa and Trevor. “He’s right. I have tickets for anyone who wants to go as well as all-access passes for everyone to get backstage. After we eat, we can head down to the arena.” Sixx and Rae had been to two concerts already. Rae had worn her mask, and Sixx had done his best to
not
look like his son. So far, it had worked.

After everyone got their bellies full, those who were going to the show piled in their various vehicles and headed downtown. Sixx and Rae stood with their family on the floor in front of the stage. Everyone except Jasper and Trevor. They were taking full advantage of the all-access passes and were hanging out with Desi and the guys backstage. Desi had set it up so that they could get in an hour before the crowds. “Hey!” Simone said as she made her way to where they were standing. Sixx made the introductions to those who had yet to meet his son’s mate.

“How are you doing, sweetheart?” Rae asked their daughter-in-law. She and Desi had gotten married in a simple ceremony on the beach a week after they were mated.

“I’m great! The opening band asked for me specifically to help with their set design. I called a few friends, and we got it put together fairly quickly. You’ll get to see it tonight.”

“That’s wonderful. How’s Desi? Anymore blackouts?” Sixx asked. When they found out what happened during the mating, they had been worried that the poison was still affecting Desi.

“Not since the first time. Dr. Mercato is keeping close tabs on him, but so far his bloodwork has come back normal every time. Oh, look,” she said and pointed to the stage. Trevor, Travis, and Jasper were helping the roadies move equipment around.

“Morgue man’s living the dream,” Tessa said, shaking her head.

Seers For Sages opened the show, and Sixx had to admit, the new set was amazing. He was proud of Simone for being the one to spearhead the design. The band played their set, and then it was time for Cyanide Sweetness. Jasper and Trevor remained backstage while Travis came down front to stand with Frey and Matthew. Trevor’s brother had physically recovered from his run-in with Theron, but mentally he was still trying to get over the loss of his girlfriend. Another casualty in Alistair’s war on their Clan. Frey had taken Travis under his wing, and the Gargoyle was both mentor and friend to the young man.  

Finally, it was time for Desi and the band to take the stage. Sixx loved live music. He’d seen countless concerts over his many years, but none compared to the ones where Desi and his friends were the stars. The lights dimmed, and his own son walked out onto the stage, taking his place in front of the band. With the bass drum pounding, the lights came on, and Desi threw his arms open wide, commanding the crowd’s attention. Not one pair of eyes in the whole arena dared look anywhere other than at the man in the middle of the spotlight. In that moment, he wasn’t Desi, Sixx and Rae’s son or Simone’s mate. He was Desmond Rothchild, Vampire Rock God. Desi flashed his fangs and the crowd went wild.

For over an hour, Sixx and Rae, along with their family, rocked out to the hard pounding sounds of Cyanide Sweetness. Desi sang, growled, chanted, and mesmerized. Tyson shredded. Zach thrummed, and Brett beat the skins. Together, the four childhood friends rocked the fucking house down. After two encores, the house lights came up, and everyone in their family was ushered backstage. Sixx remained hidden while Desi did a shortened meet and greet. Sixx’s appearance on the news a few months ago had died down, overshadowed by Desi’s abduction. That, too, was old news now that the band was back on the road entertaining the masses night after night.

The band was staying with Desi and Simone at Sixx and Rae’s home. Sixx had convinced Jasper and Trevor to give them the first night alone with the kids if they promised to have a get-together the next day. The pout on Trevor’s face had been hilarious until Jasper promised to keep him otherwise occupied.

The following morning, random people began showing up earlier than expected. Sixx opened the door to an excited Matthew, the whirlwind that was his little sister, Amelia, and an apologetic Frey and Abbi. “Good morning. I know we’re early, but I’ll cook breakfast for everyone to make up for it,” Abbi offered sheepishly. Matthew was an even bigger fan of Desi’s than Trevor and Jasper were. He had been the first one to alert Sixx to the fact he had a son in the world. If it weren’t for Matthew, none of them would be having this little get-together anyway. Sixx smiled and welcomed them in.

Before he got the door closed, the sound of motorcycles rumbling down the driveway met his ears. Sixx was glad he’d already had his shower since it seemed their party was getting started a few hours early. He called out to his mate, “Rae, company’s here.”

His mate, looking less like a mother and more like a rock star groupie, bounced down the stairs dressed in tattered jeans and a worn out Mötley Crüe t-shirt. She smiled when she saw Abbi and Amelia. Frey and Matthew had found the band, who were already awake and hanging out in the game room. Simone peered around the doorway from the kitchen and said, “I guess I need to make more coffee?”

“Definitely,” Sixx said. He returned to the front door where Tessa, Gregor, and Lorenzo were parking their Harleys. “Come on in.” Jasper and Trevor arrived next, and Travis wasn’t far behind. Dante surprised Sixx when he, Isabelle, and Connor showed up. Pretty soon, the house was full and the cookout turned into breakfast. Sixx stood back while everyone talked, laughed, and ate. The three guys from the band were welcomed into the Clan and treated like family.