Callon’s voice came through the speakers, steady and cool. “We’re not giving up. We’ll keep digging. But if you hear anything—anything at all—you let us know.”
Nox nodded. “Our kingdoms are now tied together.” He glanced at Gage and then looked back at the prime. “Katy is basically Lola’s sister and each is mated to one of our members. There can be no feuds between us. Not if we want to keep our females happy and safe.”
Gage didn’t let the shock he felt show on his face. Nox and he had always had a rough relationship, but in that moment, the alpha gained Gage’s respect.
Taras’s eyes softened just a bit as he glanced at his son’s mate, then looked back to Nox. “I agree.”
The call ended, the screen going dark. For a long moment, no one spoke.
Nox cleared his throat. “We’ll double the patrols on the Silk border and pass on the news to the pack that Kingdom of Claws is more than just an ally. They are an extension of our battle arm, just as we are an extension of theirs. Justice, get word to the scouts—anything out of the ordinary comes straight to me.”
Justice saluted, his usual cocky grin gone. “On it.”
“I’m assuming you want to stay with your mate,” Nox said after Justice left. “Considering what she’s been through, and what she’s now going through with her friend missing.”
Gage knew that Nox needed him to track. He was the best in their pack, but the alpha was also empathetic when it came to a male needing to care for his female. Being an alpha was never something Gage wanted to be. Having to make those difficult decisions that could cause pain to his pack members, even if it was out of necessity, was not on his bucket list.
“I need to speak with her before I make any decisions,” he said, glancing at the door as if she was going to walk in at any moment. “I have a feeling Nico will be contacting us because of what Zeena told us about the Kingdom of Chaos, so we have that to deal with as well. I won’t have Katy going off without me to deal with that shitshow.”
“Understood,” Nox nodded. “Just, if you could, keep me posted. And know that if you decide to join the hunt in California, Katy will be safe here. I know she is yours, Gage, but that doesn’t make her any less one of mine.”
As he headed for the office door, Gage’s thoughts were a tangled snarl of frustration and want. Every cell in his body screamed for Katy, for the comfort of her skin and the warmth of her mouth and the way her nails dug into his shoulders when she finally let herself go. There was so much that needed to be done, but he could feel her need for him, and right now, he neededher just as badly. The only thing holding him back was the hope that when he got Maddie back for her, she’d not be split in her attention. Gage would have her all to himself, and he could finally let himself give in to the need that was clawing him raw from the inside out.
But for now, all he could do was wait. And for a wolf—especially one with a mate who burned as hot as Katy—waiting was its own kind of exquisite torture.
Chapter Three
“Here is the remarkable thing about being unique—everyone gets to be. Because there is no one just like you. There is only one me, which I am sure most of my fellow shamans are thankful for. Some of us might wear our idiosyncratic qualities like our favorite shirt, for the whole world to see. While others might be more subtle, and only letting certain people see those qualities. Whatever the case may be, our Creator made us exactly who we are supposed to be, in the exact time that we are supposed to be, with all of the exact talents, qualities, and abilities we need to do what we were created to do. See? Special.” ~Nico
There was an art to chaos, and Nico had always considered himself a connoisseur. He lounged with deliberate ease in a threadbare velvet chair, one ankle balanced on the opposite knee, in a private high-roller lounge above the shimmering madness of the Las Vegas Strip. The lights below blinked and pulsed—false stars for a city that fed on illusion. Everything about the Kingdom of Chaos was like that, really: dazzling,distracting, and dangerous if you didn’t know how to play the angles. Wolfgang and his mate hadn’t truly made it a safe haven so much as a place for the “others” of the Damarian race to hide in–as if they should be ashamed and as if any of them had some sort of control over what they’d been born as.
Raphael paced the length of the room, agitation rolling off him in waves. The demon’s sharp, angular face was set in a tight scowl, purple eyes flicking restlessly to the window, the door, then back to Nico. The power that he kept tightly under control seemed to pulse off of him, as if his agitated state made it harder to keep it locked down.
“All of your pacing is stressing me out,” Nico drawled. “Quit your fretting.” He rose, stretching his arms overhead, vertebrae cracking in a satisfying chorus. He felt the city’s energy—wild, unpredictable, a hundred different hungers humming through the walls. The Kingdom of Chaos was unlike any other Damarian territory. It was a kingdom for those who didn’t fit: hybrids, misfits, the broken, and the strange. It was his home, and he’d be damned if he let Wolfgang and Talulla’s betrayal bring it down from the inside.
He strode to the window on the farthest side of the suite that gave the best view and took a deep breath, letting the familiarity of this territory settle over him. There were others they claimed– Los Angeles, D.C., and Austin–but this was his favorite. Raphael joined him at the glass, his reflection a shadow at Nico’s side—tall, lean, every movement elegant and restless. He had stuck to Chaos because, even though he could pass for human when he wanted, there was no hiding the inhuman beauty that radiated from him, the violet eyes and the way his very presence seemed to fill the room. His energy permeated every space he entered and, without even trying, people stared.
“You spoke of finding the next in line to the throne. What if there’s not one?” Raphael asked, folding his arms as if he could keep his worries contained by sheer force of will.
Nico’s gaze sharpened. “Then I’ll make one. That’s the beauty of chaos; it’s unpredictable. Strange things happen all the time in our world. Just look at this new turn of events with the animus. It’s no longer about them only falling in love, but they also have to be destined for one another by Visata.”
Raphael arched an eyebrow, the ghost of a smile tugging at his lips. “I believe you could talk yourself into just about anything.”
Nico shrugged, running a hand through his spiked, naturally green hair—his body’s own personalized rebellion. “I believe in possibilities, and if I don’t see one, then I will make a way for one.”
A knock at the door broke the moment. Nico’s hand slid to the knife at his belt—a habit more than a necessity. Raphael’s posture shifted, lethal and ready, even as he kept his expression bored.
The door swung open, admitting a young man who could only belong in the Kingdom of Chaos. His hair—if you could call it that—was an unruly tumble of dark and white feathers, sticking out in tufts from his scalp and trailing down the sides of his face, woven through with strands of brown and gold. His features were sharp, eyes a clear, cool grey, and his skin was dusted with a soft, downy layer of feathers like the fuzz on a baby chick. Even in the smoky light, he looked as if he was halfway between human and something that had just fallen from the nest.
“News,” he said, voice a little breathless, a little musical—the kind of voice that always sounded like it might break into birdsong. “The women you asked about, I got them. There’s only three. Of course, that doesn’t mean that he didn’t have more andsomehow got rid of them before anyone realized they were here. I managed to move them through the freight elevators of the casino to the room you told me to. They asked a lot of questions, but when I told them their other option was to trust the Chaos king, they came without argument. Wolfgang’s men are sniffing around the casino floor, as if they know something is up.”
Nico nodded, every line of his body shifting from languid to lethal. “News of Azure’s demise is no doubt making the king and queen of Chaos nervous. Though, he’s cocky enough to think he still won’t get caught. Which is why we might actually get away with this entire mission. Thank you, Corin.” He met the young man’s gaze, and Corin nodded back, his eyes bright with the hope of belonging. “Keep your eyes on the exits. If anyone attempts to get near the room we have them in, let me know.”
Corin’s feathers rustled as he straightened. “You got it. I’ll keep to the shadows.” He flashed Raphael a quick, nervous smile—one that didn’t linger, as if he was used to people looking through him. Then he slipped out, silent as a breeze, leaving the faintest trace of down drifting in his wake.
Raphael sighed. “I’ve been a member of this kingdom long enough to be desensitized to those who call it home, but sometimes I see the ones who can’t accept themselves the way they are, and I pity them.”
“For a demon, you're uncharacteristically kind,” Nico replied, grabbing his coat. “If I didn’t know you, I’d think it was a ruse.”
