“Do you mind reeling that in,” Knox growls out, grabbing himself over his pants. “I know my ass is sexy, but my wolf is in love with Rez right now, so I wouldn’t risk it.”
“Oops. Sorry man,” I pull back on the lust and he grunts as he adjusts himself. “Is there anything good in there?” I ask, while kicking out a staccato on the kitchen drawers.
“No,” he says, slamming the fridge door. “Is it just me, or do our fathers seem more off than normal?”
I smirk at the knowledge I’m about to drop in his lap. “Oh, that’s because they all got laid. Can’t you smell their pheromones seeping out of their pores? Their lust is still clinging to them from last night or this morning,” I tease my growly brother. “My guess,”—inhaling deeply, I pick up a hint of sulfur along with their individual scents—“is they had a gangbang with a Demon. Our fathers have a bit of a freaky side to them,” I admit as a chill runs down my back, churning my stomach, thinking of my own father mentioning the nerd swagger only the other week.
Knox scrunches up his nose and jerks back in surprise. “No, I can’t smell that shit. Thank the Fates!” he says, pulling at his short hair in a huff.
Frowning, I take in his stance. He seems more irritated than normal. “What’s eating you? I doubt it’s what’s going on in there,” I say nodding toward the door.
“My wolf is on edge and I don’t know why,” he admits and rubs the back of his neck.
“You mean…Fluffers?” I smirk, and he shoots me a death look, shaking his head.
“I wish she didn’t tell you guys, but yeah.” He walks over to me and leans against the cabinets. “It's as if he’s itching to go running, but not just any kind of running, you know?”
“Actually, I don't man. Have you tried to communicate with him instead of getting upset and pushing him off?” I ask, trying to help the big lug out any way that I can.
He scoffs but sighs and closes his eyes for a moment, and I take the time to watch his face go through an array of expressions. Annoyance, shock, acceptance, and then panic mars his face as his green eyes fly open and he looks right at me with a burning conviction.
“Rez is in trouble,” he states and takes off to the kitchen’s back door. I look back to the front door and wonder if I should go tell Dad and the rest of the guys but decide against it because it will take too much time. Knox is about to leave and he’s the only one who knows where Rez is, if that brief flash of green meant what I think it did. Those glowing green eyes mean that Fluffers is in charge, and from what Knox has told me, he’s made his claim on Rez so he’s more attuned to her and her needs. So if he’s saying she needs help, who am I to question it? Shifters just seem to know things.
I’ll just text them later once we’re on our way and I have a better idea of where we’re going.
“Wait! I’m coming too,” I call, chasing after him into the rain. He quickly shifts into Fluffers and I swear, he’s twice as big as he usually is. “Don’t you dare buck me off like a horse,” I yell as I jump onto his back and hold on tight.
Levi
The longer I sit here in the den, the bleaker my future looks. Dad decided since our house is bigger, he would ask everyone to come over here and have the cook prepare meals while we discuss the issues we are having with the Elves. We’ve been at this most of the day, and we only took a break to have dinner where we talked about classes and more personal affairs. Like how Lilith has been transferred safely to L.A.M.B’s care last night after our fathers helped free her of her possession, and she will not be back until she’s healed properly. They didn’t share how they did it, only that it took all four of them and the Demons behind the intrusion are being held responsible.
Once dinner was done, JP and I took our seats back at the game table where we’re still at with our checkers lined up from earlier, and Zeke has been lounging on the sofa with his dinner shake. Dad takes a moment to close the windows, since there’s a freak storm coming in, and starts a fire in our fireplace. Mayor Abernathy leans back in one of the wingbacks with a glass of blood while Chief Cloak paces back and forth in the back of the room. Dr. Steinbeck is the only one sitting quietly, contemplating.
It turns out that even though I don’t have proof of what King Elverson said, the entire Council is taking this seriously, but nothing has come about yet. Knox is so flustered he immediately went to the kitchen to find something to snack on, and of course Ryker went with him. Honestly, I know he just went with him to get out of this room. This has always been the worst form of punishment for him, sitting still.
“Any new ideas on what we’re going to do about Sunday?” I ask before taking a sip of the whiskey my father gave me when we first came in. He’s the only one that’s picking up on my nerves like a live wire.
“This is bigger than your petty oath, Levi,” Chief Cloak barks out.
I take a little longer to sip on my whiskey as I school my features. I’ve had years of practice, but he’s talking about my future here.
“Easy there, Jessup. We are also talking about Leviathan’s future. It’s not easy to have your life planned out for you,” Dr. Steinbeck says, shocking me as I sputter. The whiskey burns going down the wrong pipe, and I quickly conjure up a handkerchief to clean myself.
Steinbeck pockets his cellphone and starts cleaning his glasses as he addresses the room.
“Like I mentioned before, Elves rarely do anything without reason. So, after Caldron told me what happened, I reached out to an old friend that still has their ear to the Spring court, which I used to be a part of.”
My breath catches in my throat as Steinbeck divulges information about his past. I catch JP and Zeke freezing in their spots, and we wait with baited breath while he continues to share more about himself. The Council members' pasts have always been a tight-lipped secret, kept even from their own families. So getting this little glimpse means the world to us. Even the tiny details about my own father are a mystery to me. I have no idea about his parents, past struggles, or even his past loves. It’s just something all Council members are known to keep tight lipped about for some reason.
“The rumors, I’m sure that you’ve heard, are true about King Elverson. He married the Autumn princess and took the crown, which united the two kingdoms. But he, like most men that want power, was not happy with just two. He did bribe, kill, and blackmail kingdoms to reign over them all.”
“In whose kingdom did he commit the murder?” JP asks, completely captured by Steinbeck's story.
“Ahh. That’s one most people don’t know about because the scrolls were burned shortly after the murder. He killed his older brother so he could be the crowned prince. I only know because I was there in the kingdom visiting the royal family when it happened,” he says, taking a deep breath and putting back on his glasses to look at us.
“That’s where the bribery came into play. He spared my life, but only if my family disowned me and banned me from returning to the Spring kingdom. So I lost my title and birthright the day I got back home. I was the only heir, so it was easy for Elverson to take over. And the Winter court…,” he chuckles, “they are beyond foul beings, so I doubt it was hard to find something to hold over their head.”
He stands up and moves to the bar and pours himself a drink, throwing it back in one gulp. In all my years, I’ve never seen him drink. “The point is, men, he is not one to mess with, so if he’s looking at Levithan foranyreason, even at the request of his daughter, there’s a deeper reason for it.”
