Sweet-Delight[ Brac Village 1] (8 page)

Maverick grabbed Skyler from the office floor where she was playing with her small dollhouse. “Come on, little lady.”
He needed to go find Jason and Gunnar. If someone was messing around in his town, Maverick was going to make sure the fucker had a welcoming committee. Roman Lakeland had said that he suspected it to be a spy from the Kenyon Corporation, but then Kenway’s story about the man on the road tanked that idea.
If Kenyon had sent someone, the spy was more than likely human. Whatever was going on, he was going to get to the bottom of things. He tossed Skyler high up on his shoulders as he walked into the den, but saw that no one was in there.
Maybe he should have just called the two wolves instead of trying to hunt them down. They weren’t on the roster to patrol, so maybe they weren’t even here.
“Higher,” Skyler squealed as she pulled at his hair.
Maverick chuckled at the small toddler. “Any higher and you’ll get a nosebleed.”
Her little lips twisted, as if peeved that Uncle Maverick wouldn’t do as she commanded. He found Murdock in the kitchen making lunch for the kids. Depositing Skyler in her highchair, Maverick grabbed his cell phone.
“Gunnar.”
“You home?” Maverick asked.
“Nope. I’m at Heaven’s shop.” Gunnar sounded like he really didn’t want to be there. Maverick didn’t blame the man. Heaven had been getting on Nero about needing a haircut, so it looked like his constant nagging finally paid off.
“Come see me when you’re done. Find Jason as well. It seems we have an unwanted visitor in town.”
Gunnar chuckled. “I’m at Heaven’s. Don’t you think I know everything by now?”
The damn gossip.
Just because Heaven owned a barbershop…salon…whatever it was, didn’t mean he had to fall into the stereotypical gossiping hairdresser. But Heaven was who he was. “Then you know we have a person, or persons to hunt down.”
“Gotcha. As soon as Nero is done and I bring him home, I’ll hunt Jason down,” Gunnar said. “And then we’ll go hunting.”
“Thanks.”
Gunnar cleared his throat and for some reason, Maverick’s balls clenched. “What?”
“Are you really going to step into your role as mayor?”
Maverick growled. “Tell Heaven to mind his own da—dang business.” Skyler was in the room, after all. Hanging up his phone, he could see a smirk on Murdock’s face as he set the bowls on the table.
“My mate at it again?” Murdock asked just as Nevada and the twins walked into the kitchen.
“Don’t play coy with me, Murdock. You know everything already.”
Murdock’s smirk turned into a full-blown grin. “He is my mate.”
“Is there nothing he won’t gossip about?” Maverick’s tone said plainly that he doubted it. Murdock just gave him an amused smile as he began to fill the bowls with lunch.
Heading out of the kitchen, Maverick ruffled all three boys’ heads and gave Skyler a kiss on hers. He knew that no matter what he said or did, Heaven was going to be Heaven. At least he hadn’t needed to explain things to Gunnar. There just might be a benefit to the grey wolf’s loose lips.

Ross entered The Café the next night to get Kenway’s usual when he spotted Johnny behind the counter. That was fast. The way Hawk had been acting, Ross would have thought the man had chained Johnny to their bed.

Johnny gave a big wave and a goofy smile when he spotted Ross. Well, make it two friends he now had in Brac Village. He knew he should have gone to the bakery first, but Ross was determined to not let some stranger in town scare him. He wasn’t sure how Kenway was going to react when he found out Ross was walking the streets by himself, but Ross was well over three hundred years old. He was pretty good at running and saving his ass from harm.

“Hi, Ross!” Johnny said excitedly and then leaned over the counter, his voice dropping to a whisper. “This is my first night here. I’m the new employee at The Café. I’m also a godfather, but don’t let the title fool you. I don’t whack people.”

What a strange little man
. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
Johnny straightened. “What can I get for you?”
Ross could see Ray off to the side, one corner of his mouth

twisted upward. The man looked like he was happy Johnny was working here and that the man seemed excitable. “I’ll have a coffee and a slice of chocolate cake.”

With a serious nod, Johnny went to making Kenway’s coffee. Ray came over, a light chuckle on his lips.
“How’s he working out?” Ross asked.
“Pretty damn good. Show him something once and he gets it.”
“Dang it,” Johnny said from behind them.
“I don’t think you’ll have to worry about this one flirting with anyone. I met his boyfriend. You’d have to be an idiot to go against Hawk,” Ross said.
“Dang it,” Johnny said again.
Ray gave him a wide-eyed nod. “I met the guy. He even had a little talk with me about letting people near his boyfriend. He’s one scary-ass dude.”
“Dang it.”
Ross glanced over Ray’s shoulder to see what was giving Johnny so much trouble. He was just standing there, lightly whistling, waiting for the coffee to drip into the cup. Ross didn’t see anything that would make the man say
dang it
.
“Have you seen anyone strange hanging out around here?” Ross asked. Maybe Ray had seen something but wasn’t sure what to make of it. It was possible.
“Dang it.”
Ray turned, his head tilted to a curious angle as he eyed the new employee. “Do you need help with something, Johnny?”
Two dimples appeared as Johnny smiled, his eyes sparkling, and gave them a thumbs-up. “Nope, got it covered.”
Ray turned back around. “Dude, every person in this town is strange, but that’s what makes living here so nice. It’s never boring.”
Ross wondered if Ray knew about the paranormal world, but wasn’t going to ask. If he didn’t, then Ross was not clueing the man in on anything. He just wondered how the humans had lived here so long and were still in the dark about what lived around them.
“Dang it.”
“Okay, why do you keep saying
dang it
?” Ross finally asked. Maybe Johnny was having a hard time but was afraid to tell Ray. It
was
the guy’s first day.
“Because I forgot to set record on my favorite shows before I left the house.” He brought the cup over and the bag containing the cake. Johnny glanced at the items and then at Ross, a curious gleam in his blue-grey eyes.
“It’s for Kenway.”
Johnny’s expression changed to an
ah
look. “Well then, tell him to enjoy.”
Ross chuckled, keeping his fangs hidden. “I’ll do that.”
“See you tomorrow night,” Ray called out as Ross left the shop. He was starting to feel like a regular, like this town was his town and this was where he belonged. There were two people who knew him and smiled when they saw him. It was a nice feeling.
No one at Dante’s coven was ever this nice to Ross, not even his brother Virgil. Tossing him into the demon realm had proven how not nice Virgil truly was. It just might be his brother pulling these stunts.
Ross just didn’t know.
Walking down the dark street, Ross continually scanned for signs of the person belonging to the disembodied voice. Not that he would know the guy by his face, but he scanned the area anyway.
It was a creepy feeling knowing someone was out there, probably watching him right now. Ross quickened his steps until he made it to the bakery. Once inside, he finally released a long-held breath.
And then he spotted the peeved look in Kenway’s eyes.

“We haven’t found anything yet,” Reese, the polar bear shifter, said as he leaned against the counter that was finally installed. The place was coming together. The floors were finished, walls done, and the equipment was being moved in. The gas man was supposed to be there in the morning to check everything out and turn the gas on.

Kenway hadn’t seen any more strange things since that night on the road, but he wasn’t dismissing it as coincidence either. Something was up. He just hadn’t figured out what yet.

“I haven’t seen anyone, and Ross hasn’t run into any more mysterious voices. But I’m not letting this go.” Kenway watched as the carpenters Roman hired worked on what was going to be the display case. He liked the choice of wood Ross had picked out. It was light and made the place seem a bit homier.

Reese glanced at the men working, his light-brown eyes looking at each one in turn. Kenway knew what the man was thinking, but he highly doubted the spy was one of the workers. He wasn’t that easily fooled.

“We’ll still keep an eye out for anyone suspicious. I hear the wolves haven’t had any luck either.” Thank goodness Reese didn’t care that he was in a town of wolf shifters like Styles did. Reese was pretty laid back, slow moving, freaky when it came to sex—according to the stories Kenway heard—but had a mean side to him that most tried their best not to bring out.

“Appreciate it,” Kenway said as the kitchen area became very busy when everything from a dough mixer to a rack oven was brought in. The proofing cabinet was brought in next. He only knew what this stuff was because the man who Maverick purchased the equipment from told Kenway.

He really needed expert help.
All he knew was that the proofer allowed bread to rise in a place that required a temperature- and humidity-controlled environment. Kenway could only shake his head. How in the hell had he allowed himself to get talked into this madness?
“Don’t look so worried,” Reese said with a lazy drawl. “Ain’t nothin’ to it but to do it.”
“And possibly burn the place down in the process.”
Reese gave a slow chuckle. “You’ll do all right.”
He wished he was as positive thinking as the polar bear. The only thing he was positive about was that this was one harebrained-ass scheme. Maverick must have lost his mind thinking Kenway could run a bakery. He was staring at the bread slicer like it was an alien object. What the hell did he know about this stuff?
“Hey.”
Kenway slid his eyes over to Reese.
“Stop worrying.”
Exhaling on a long breath, Kenway nodded. “Ain’t nothin’ to it but to do it.”
Reese gave an easy smile. It made the man look less intimidating and more approachable. He wasn’t a bad-looking guy when he smiled. His cocoa-brown skin crinkled around his light-brown eyes. “You got that right.”
Kenway bumped his arm into Reese’s before heading into the kitchen. Everything was so shiny and new. Maverick hadn’t spared any expense. He would have settled for secondhand stuff. It was just as good, and less costly. Seeing everything falling into place made him doubt it all, and become excited at the same time. It was an emotional roller coaster he could have done without.
“It’s looking good,” Roman commented as he stood next to Kenway. “I’d say you’ll be open for business in five days max.”
The door to the kitchen swung open to show Ross standing there. He looked like shit and he was bleeding.
It was also broad daylight out.
Kenway grabbed his mate and ran to the closest room, shoving him inside as he watched his mate’s body smoke. “What in the hell are you doing out in the sun?” Kenway shouted. He was frantic as hell to keep his mate from combusting, and scared shitless. He hadn’t meant to yell, but it had just come out as a bellow.
Ross collapsed on the floor, his eyes unfocused. Kenway saw several slices across the man’s arms. They were defensive wounds. He had used his arms as shields from a knife attack.
“Who attacked you?”
The door flew open, Roman throwing in a first aid blanket. “It’s all I could find. I’ll send for Dr. Sheehan or Dr. Carmichael.”
Kenway nodded his thanks as the pantry door was closed.
Ross’s head lolled to the side, but he hadn’t said a word. Kenway dropped to his knees and pulled Ross into his arms, careful of his knife wounds and burnt skin. What in the hell happened to him?
Pulling his shirt over his head, Kenway began shredding it, using the fabric to wrap around his mate’s bleeding arm. “You’re going to be all right.” Kenway repeated himself over and over again, as if turning the statement into his own personal mantra. He had to keep repeating it because he had to convince himself that it was true. Ross’s skin had lost its pale luster. It was more bluish now, making the red cuts and burns stand out in stark contrast.
None of this made any sense, and Kenway’s mind was fighting to put the pieces together. The man he had gotten a glimpse of on the road the night he picked Baker up couldn’t have done this. His frame was too small. It didn’t mean the person wasn’t a threat, but Kenway couldn’t imagine his mate not kicking the smaller person’s ass.
But then again, dangerous things came in small packages. He knew that more than most. It was a small wolf who had killed Recker’s twin and Spencer’s brother. The man couldn’t have weighed more than a hundred and twenty-five pounds, but he had taken two lives.
Kenway was determined more than ever to find the mystery man and—the door opened, Dr. Sheehan standing with the lighting of the kitchen outlining his body.
“Carter is here. He’s going to shimmer the two of you to my office in the Den.”
Kenway didn’t speak a word. His throat was too tight. He just knelt there and watched as Carter moved in past the doctor and gave him a sympathetic smile. With one hand, he grabbed Kenway. The other barely touched Ross. The elf must have been afraid he would hurt the vampire with all the wounds on his body.
They blinked out of the bakery and into the Den. Kenway moved to lay Ross down gently on the gurney. Dr. Sheehan moved in closer as soon as Carter brought him in.
“He’s in shock.”
So was Kenway. Who could have gotten into a house full of predatory shifters and attacked his mate? Kenway was livid. He was so angry that he felt tears in the corner of his eyes. He felt as helpless as a newborn babe as he stepped aside and let Dr. Sheehan work. What more could he do? Kenway knew how to fight, to protect, and to love, but he knew shit about healing. The only healing he knew was to shift when he was wounded. A vampire didn’t stand a chance with him.
“I need you to feed him.”
Kenway stood there staring blankly at the doc. “You need me to do what?”
Dr. Sheehan’s stern face pulled Kenway from any lingering thoughts he had. He stepped up to the table.
“Vampires heal faster when they have a fresh infusion of blood. I’m trying to heal his cut marks, but I think the knife was dipped in something to prevent the process from taking place. The wounds aren’t fusing back together like they should. They’re scarring.”
Without thought or hesitation, Kenway bit into his wrist and then held the bleeding flesh to Ross’s mouth. His mate had closed his eyes, unmoving, but when the blood touched his lips, he began to drink.
Kenway felt guilty as hell for the way his body reacted to Ross drinking from him, but there was nothing he could do about that. It was like his cock had been trained to harden with the slightest touch of Ross’s lips.
“It’s a normal reaction,” Dr. Sheehan commented as he looked over Ross’s wounds. Kenway didn’t say a word. Saying sorry for his boner wasn’t something he was about to do. Feeding and fucking were very private acts to Kenway, and he really wished the doc would step outside while Ross took his fill. But Dr. Sheehan didn’t leave the room. He continued to examine Ross.
“Is he healing?”
Honestly, Kenway wouldn’t care if Ross held scars on his body. It wouldn’t make him any less desirable. But it wasn’t his opinion that would matter to Ross. Not when he got his first look in the mirror.
“The scars are getting lighter, but they aren’t going away.”
“And his burns?”
“Healed,” Dr. Sheehan stated as if his answer was an afterthought. The doctor might know vampire physiology, but Kenway was clueless. He was glad someone knew what they were doing.
Ross finally retracted his fangs, his eyes slowly opening. They were a bit more focused than before, but they still held an edge of gloss to them. “Hey, babe,” Kenway said gently. “How do you feel?”
“Tired, sore, and stiff.” His mate’s voice was scratchy and low.
“Can you tell us what happened?” the doctor asked. He gave Ross’s arm a gentle squeeze as Kenway’s mate glanced from him to Dr. Sheehan. There was pure fear in Ross’s dark eyes and his head began to slowly shake back and forth.
“Can you give us a minute?”
Dr. Sheehan looked as if he wanted to argue, but left the room, closing the door behind him. Kenway ran his fingers over Ross’s hair, leaning in and inhaling the man’s scent. His buffalo was close. It wanted revenge against whoever had done this.
“Give me a name, love.”
The unfocused look was sliding back into his eyes. Ross’s lips moved, but there was no sound coming out. As carefully as he could, Kenway cupped the side of the man’s face, resting his cheek against Ross’s. “No one is going to hurt you again. I promise. Tell me who did this to you.”
Maverick’s dream came back to Kenway. Was Ross showing up burnt and bloody, lying on the pantry floor the vision he had seen? Or was more to come? Kenway would find a way to get Ross to talk, and by fucking god, he was going after whoever was responsible for this. He kept leaning into his mate, giving him comfort and hopefully the safety needed to help bring him out of his shock.
Ross began to tremble. It was slight at first, but then he was shaking as if he were standing in the middle of a blizzard…naked. Kenway leaned in closer, shushing his mate, trying to get him to calm down, but nothing was working.
Finally, admitting he didn’t have a clue what to do to calm his mate, Kenway called for Dr. Sheehan to come back in. “He won’t stop shaking.”
Apparently the doctor knew what to do because he went right to it. He gave Ross some sort of injection, wrapped blankets around the vampire, and began to examine his eyes.
Kenway moved a few steps back, watching and trying to keep his beast under control. There was nothing he could do about his heart. It was beating in his chest so quickly that he feared it would thump its way out.
“He’s resting now.” Dr. Sheehan pulled the blanket up to Ross’s chin and then pulled the sides of the bed up, the railings stopping Ross from falling out if he moved in his drugged sleep. “He has physical wounds that are healing a little better, but it’s the mental ones that bother me the most. Would you mind if I sent Taylor in here to talk with him?”
Kenway bristled at the idea of anyone talking to his mate about what happened. It should be he who was getting to the bottom of things, he who found out the culprit and made them pay.
Dr. Sheehan held up a hand. “I know you predators like to handle things your own way, but Ross needs help in ways you may not be able to supply.”
“The hell I can’t,” Kenway said before censoring his words. “I thank you for what you’ve done for him, but he’s a part of
my
pack. We take care of our own.”
“Stupid fucking me,” Dr. Sheehan grumbled as he snapped the gloves off of his hands in a jerky motion. “I forgot how pigheaded and stubborn you dominant males can be.”
Kenway grunted, but didn’t correct the man. He was telling the truth. Regardless, Kenway would take Ross home and let his own pack help him. He appreciated everything Maverick and the other shifters in this town were doing for him, but when it came to his mate, no one was going to stand in his way. “I’m taking him home.”
“Then I’ll be by to check on him later.”
“There’s no need for that.”
The doctor surprised Kenway when he slammed his fist down on the counter next to the gurney. “Now listen, you stubborn-ass buffalo. I won’t have you risking his life because your pride is getting in the way. He needs my help. Deal with it.”
Whoa, the human had some brassy balls. He had also shouted loud enough to draw the attention of some of the resident shifters. The doorway filled with sentries, the men eyeing them both.
“Everything in here okay, Doc?” one of them asked. He was giving Kenway an unfriendly glare. Kenway didn’t give a rat’s ass.
“Yes, Kota. I just lost my temper dealing with a stubborn, dominant predator.”
The doctor’s statement didn’t relax Kota. It made him stare at Kenway with a hard-edged gleam in his eyes. “You need me to stay in here?”
“I’m not a damn threat to him,” Kenway said with rage. “I don’t pick on or threaten men smaller than me.”
“You need to calm down,” Kota said with deadly sincerity. “You’re becoming a threat to this household.”
A threat? Seriously?
Kenway was pissed that his mate had been attacked in his own home. He was upset that his mate was in shock and couldn’t tell him who had done it. Feeling helpless was not helping his mood, but wasn’t he allowed to be upset? He was only acting this way because Ross was hurt. He wasn’t even being aggressive, just pissy.
“Why, because of my size?” Kenway knew he had guessed correctly when Kota straightened to his full height. “You know what? Fuck you. Fuck the loan Maverick gave me. Fuck the bakery, and this town. I’m taking my mate home and then my pack and I will find another place to live.”
Kenway reached down and gently gathered Ross into his arms. He turned back to Kota, letting the disgust ring loud and clear in his voice. “I’ve done nothing wrong except worry about my mate. You’re acting just like those grey wolves did because I’m bigger than you and your alpha. It was their fear that killed some of our pack. It was their fear that drove us from our home. We are nothing but shifters who want to settle down and feel as though our size isn’t what people judge us by, but who we are and our own characters.”
He shoved past Kota, walking down the upstairs hallway. Halfway to the steps, Kenway remembered it was still daylight out.
Shit.
“You know you can’t leave,” Kota called out to him. His tone had lost the edge of anger to it, replaced by resignation of some kind. “Why don’t you take one of the rooms on this end of the hallway until it’s dark out?”
“No,” Kenway answered firmly. “Carter can shimmer us home.” His damn pride was smarting. Kota had judged him like all the rest of the people Kenway had come across in his past. He wasn’t a bad man. Not once since coming to this town had he given the impression that he was a hotheaded shifter. He hadn’t even raised his voice when the Lakelands pulled up on him outside the feedstore, thinking Kenway had threatened Sterling.
He didn’t need this shit.
“Problem?”
Kenway closed his eyes. He didn’t want to deal with Maverick right now. The alpha was the last person he needed to see.
“Yeah,” Kota replied. “I fucked up and judged Kenway without really knowing him. He wants to take his mate and leave.”
Kenway was shocked to his core that Kota would admit the truth. Most men like Kota would lie just to protect their image. The timber wolf had stood there and told the alpha what he had done.
“I see,” Maverick said as he leaned against the upstairs railing, his eyes focused on Ross, who was lying limp in Kenway’s arms. “What happened to him, Kenway?”
“We don’t know.” It was Dr. Sheehan who answered. “Someone attacked him, cut him up pretty badly, and he is in shock. Kenway is taking his mate out of here against medical advice.”
The human’s statement made Kenway look like an asshole.
“I’ll have Carter take you home.” That was all Maverick said. He didn’t try and talk Kenway out of what he wanted to do. The alpha walked back down the steps, leaving Kenway standing there.
“Why didn’t you lie?” he asked Kota. “Maverick would have believed you over me.”
“He would have,” Kota admitted. “But it wouldn’t have been the truth. Don’t get me wrong. Admitting my faults isn’t one of my strong points. But I know when I’ve royally fucked up, and my ego isn’t so big that I can’t admit when I’ve misjudged someone.”
Kenway still wanted to leave. He didn’t want to be here anymore. When Carter walked up the steps, Kenway pulled his mate closer to his chest, trying his best to be careful of his mate’s wounds. But he wasn’t stupid enough to let his mate go without medical help. He turned toward Dr. Sheehan. “I’ll see you at the house.”