“Can you really trust him?” I asked.
“I have to believe so. Javi’s conscience wouldn’t let him kill innocent babies. That put a target on his back. He’s in just as much danger as we are. His family swore a blood oath to the royals centuries ago. They won’t take kindly to the fact that one of their purebred attack dogs has now turned and bitten them on the hand.”
I sighed, still not convinced we could trust Javi or anyone in his family. “If you think it’s necessary, I’ll go along with it.”
“I do, Maddy. I think we’ll really need the manpower. I’ve got a bad feeling that when we go to rescue your family, it’s gonna get ugly. We’ll need everything we have to pull off the mission.”
I couldn't argue with that. I had the same feelings.
39
NICO
Idug my fingers into my biceps and clamped down and squeezed, trying to massage away the strange sensation I’d felt for a couple of days. It wasn’t helping. Since I’d claimed Maddy, it had been as though I was going to rip right out of my skin. All I could do was try to keep it together so no one else noticed or worried about me. My attempts to do that had been fairly successful but not perfect.
Luis sat on the other side of the table. “What the hell’s going on?”
I glanced up and saw Luis looking at me, one eyebrow raised in question. His eyes were glued to my hand, massaging my other arm. If there was anyone I’d never be able to fool, it was Luis. He was a professional investigator, for God’s sake. He was too damned observant for his own good. I pulled my hand away so quickly that it probably looked like I’d been burned.
I shook my head. “Nothing’s wrong. Why?”
Luis crossed his arms and tilted his head. “You say that, but your body language says different. Spill it.”
We stared at each other for several long moments. I was hoping he’d get the message and drop it, but he was obviouslynot going to. My irritation slowly gave way to acceptance, even though it pissed me off to no end that he’d beaten me.
“Fine,” I hissed. “It's this new power I’ve got.”
“New power?”
“Yeah. Ever since I claimed Maddy. It’s like… I don’t know. Imagine how strong you are now, then take all that power and strength and plunge it right into the body of a thirteen-year-old kid or something. That’s what it’s like—almost too much to handle. Good lord, I can almost feel it seeping out of my pores.”
Luis nodded. “I can go ahead and confirm that’s true. Even sitting this close, I can feel it coming off you. It gives me these weird instinctual feelings. Sort of like I want to get on my knees and swear fealty to you like you’re some ancient king or something. The others also feel it. It’s weird. I’ll admit that. Sort of difficult to be around, honestly.”
I lowered my head into my hands. “I’m sorry. I can’t control it yet.”
“Don’t worry about it.” Luis waved me off. “It’s not abadthing. We aren’t scared of you or anything. Besides, I think it’ll get better once you learn to harness this new power. You know, control it. It’s new. Just like what Maddy’s going through.”
“Right, but shouldn’t I be dealing with this better? I was born a shifter. Changes should come easier to me,” I said. Maybe he didn’t understand what I meant, but it made sense in my head. I was the one who’d been changing since I was eleven years old. I was well-equipped to handle this, but I still felt like my skin was about to explode from my body.
“Correct,” Luis said. “But the issue is the power you’re sharing. We know Maddy’s lineage. That’s some powerful shit. We know you aren’t trying toforceus all into submission or anything. We’re here, bro. You’ll be fine in a few days. I’d almost guarantee it.”
“I can only hope some of your positivity rubs off on me.” I shook my head and sighed. “You know, I really thought claiming Maddy would be all about me helping her through the changes. I didn’t think I’d have to worry about myself.”
Luis left a while later, and I was stewing in my own thoughts. Maddy was grocery shopping with Felipe, and the house felt simultaneously too big and too small. If I could describe how I felt, it was probably closer to going through puberty than anything else. It ticked all the boxes: strange emotions, weird things happening to my body, new strength.
I took a little while to sit on my bed and do some breathing exercises. Perhaps meditation would help me focus on my new power. I listened to music and took slow, deep breaths, letting the new sensations wash over me. At first, I felt weird, like some new-age guru trying to “find his center”, but after a few minutes, I really thought it was helping. Luis was probably right—it would probably take a few days to really get a handle on it. There was just so much power. It was a testament to Maddy’s family tree. Being fated mates likely increased the power even more. I couldn’t even imagine what was going on inside Maddy’s body.
In the afternoon, Javi and his packmates showed up. Although the meeting was scheduled, it didn’t alleviate the tension. There were lots of glares and whispered words from my pack as Javi and his crew pulled in. The cars came in a big convoy, almost like a parade, and parked at the edge of the forest at the far end of the Lorenzo property. We were using a large open field, which was usually only used for flag football games on Thanksgiving. It was the best place for the training I had in mind.
My pack stood in a clump behind me, and everyone looked nervous about our long-time rivals being so far into our lands. Dad, Maddy, and my brothers stood with me. Luis, Felipe, and Sebastian were in a small semi-circle between my family and therest of the pack. Javi got out of his muscle car and gave me a nod, which I returned. His crew piled out of their cars and slowly approached us. Several members of my pack growled behind, and I heard my three friends quieting the dissent. I was thankful for them because the last thing I needed was to appear weak and unable to control my own people.
“Hey, Nico. How goes it?” Javi said as he got within a few yards of me.
“It goes fine. How are you and yours?”
Javi sighed and kicked a clump of dirt to the side. “Pretty sure the royals are shopping out my neighborhood. Nothing concrete, but there’ve been some sightings. This little”—he gestured around at all of us and his pack—“get-together seems like a really good idea. The longer this goes on, the more danger we’re all in.”
I nodded and raised my hands, turning so everyone in both packs saw me. The murmurs of conversation faded, and I tried to project my voice so everyone could hear me. “The two packs that have come together here have been rivals for as long as I can remember. As of today, we are one team brought together by a mutual enemy. An enemy who wishes us harm. An enemy who would kill each and every one of us, our friends, and our families, to further their gains. On this day, we stand and begin a partnership that will benefit and protect both packs. Tonight, we learn to fight together. This is the day we spit into the eye of the royals.
