Over the years, their friendship had sustained Conrad, kept him from doing something daft, like killing all the council leaders. Something on his to-do list before he had met Ben. Though the guy had been an ass to start with, finding his fated mates had mellowed him somewhat. And Conrad liked both Teilo and Nico. Their deal was far worse than anything Conrad had suffered. Their fuckheads had left them to die. Yeah, in Conrad’s book that was inexcusable, and what the assassins had done to them was nothing more than they deserved from what he’d overheard.
As he pulled the speedboat up to the single jetty, Conrad felt the brush of wards that tingled across his skin as if determining who he was. Whatever the wards found, they let him through and as he scanned the area from behind his aviator shades, he knew he was being watched.
His lips formed into a welcoming smile, waiting for Wyatt to reveal himself. Seconds later Wyatt appeared out of the tree line, wearing raggedy cut-off jeans and nothing else. His gaze narrowed in on the bite mark on the top of Wyatt’s chest.Holy fuck, Wyatt has met his mate!
Conrad’s smile widened until his brain started to shuffle pieces together. His stomach took a dive as he waited for Wyatt to get to him as he took off his glasses.
Was that the missing piece? Was the Devil Wyatt’s mate?
Would the Fates fuck with his friend?
A wave of dizziness came and went as he forced himself off the boat and jumped onto the jetty.
“You know, don’t you?” Wyatt said as he came to a stop a few feet from Conrad. His dark eyes flashed a warning as Conrad’s gaze moved beyond Wyatt to the figure now standing in the tree line watching them, dressed much the same as Wyatt. Wearing an equally large mating bite at his throat.
Conrad’s gasp couldn’t be contained when he stared into eyes that were the same as Beaumont’s.Well, I’ll be damned!
“That is who you went to kill? That’s Beaumont’s son! He was this Devil person?” Conrad asked without preamble. They didn’t need to hedge with each other.
“He is my mate…James.Whatever connection he had to Beaumont, the fuckheads bred it out of him.”
Conrad swallowed carefully, knowing exactly what that meant. His nose burned for Wyatt at what that involved. Conrad kept his emotions to himself and nodded slowly, keeping his gaze on the man now snarling at him. His eyes flashed with a possessiveness Conrad had witnessed from Ajani, and latterly Duron, towards their mates.
It was a good sign, Conrad supposed. That didn’t mean his friend liked it. “You okay… with this?” What else could he say?
Wyatt’s expression revealed nothing as he continued to stare at Conrad silently.
He’d not considered having a mate until Marvin and Ajani. Then Duron found Beaumont and now it would seem Wyatt had found his.
Did it suck that the guy was a…“What… how… argh fuck! Tell me you’re happy. Give me something here! You’re my brother… I need to know you’re okay. That I don’t need to do something to help.”
The growl that came from the man who was now mere feet from them, barely got a reaction from Conrad. What did was Wyatt, who walked to the man who gave a good impression of a devil with how his eyes drilled into Conrad with pure hate.
Wyatt tugged the man into his chest, his hand going to the back of James’s neck, holding him closer. “He is my friend and nothing more.” At that Wyatt kissed him with what looked like hard possession. The show of dominance and how it flowed from Wyatt got Conrad looking away when it made his body react.
He’d acted that way many times with his bed partners, he’d just never expected it from Wyatt.
Long minutes later, he cleared his throat trying to be heard over the desperate sounding moans coming from the men mere feet from him. The scent of arousal—even outside—thickened the muggy air and every breath Conrad inhaled, it tortured him. His needs came to the fore, and he worked to control his breathing and his body’s reaction. Wyatt or his mate did not need to know the effect their display was having on him.
When Wyatt, appeared to have made his point, the noises stopped. Conrad shifted his gaze back to the two flushed and aroused men. “I think you’ve answered my question,” Conrad said pointedly to both men.
James gave him a hard stare and walked away, back towards the tree line. “Don’t be… long,” he murmured, then was gone.
“Fuck, Wyatt…”
Wyatt came to him then and hugged him hard. His scent different now and brought with it the stark reality that Wyatt was on the island of his own free will. “You want this.”
It wasn’t a question, but when Wyatt pulled back, he nodded. “I do. James can’t be around others, his nature and what they have done to him…”
When he left it there, Conrad could easily fill in the gaps. What James had done couldn’t be undone. He was a man the council wanted dead for his crimes, crimes they had aided and abetted in by creating a monster to do their bidding. The same as they had with Wyatt, Duron, Ajani, Marvin, Ekon and many more like them. Conrad finally understood what Duron meant by his cryptic message. Beaumont knew—he’d faced Devil that day and he didn’t want his son held accountable for the council’s crimes, he wanted them to take responsibility.
Duron was going to be appointed as the hybrid lead and he would stand for them all… including James, despite his crimes. Crimes they had all committed in the name of the Shifter Council.
“Duron is going to be on the council and represent us… James. You are both safe. Beaumont isn’t going to come looking for you or James.”
What appeared to be relief came and went before Wyatt nodded. “I’m going to turn off my tracker now.”
Conrad shook his head. “You knew I’d come.” His nose was back to burning.
