Chapter 11

Why?

Why him?

Why that human?

Preston. Manu wanted to punch the fucker in the face. Punch him hard. Maybe a few times. He glanced up at the lightening sky and realized he'd been up for close to twenty-four hours. He needed to grab a few hours sleep, then head in for the meeting to go over last night's events. That meant sitting in a room with Preston.

That wasn't the worst part. No, the worst part was everyone would know they'd mated. There was no way to disguise his scent, and Preston, being the little shit he was, would probably give them a full account of what happened.

Grinding his teeth together, Manu hopped into his truck and drove to his apartment, pulling up into his place in the parking lot and getting out. Slamming the door shut was not nearly as satisfying as he wanted it to be, and he stomped up the stairs to his apartment.

Once inside, he stomped around his apartment, then decided he needed to wash the man from his body. Stripping, Manu shoved his clothes in the washing machine, then walked naked to the bathroom. He turned the shower on and stepped under the cold spray, flinching when it touched his skin. He didn't care. He wanted that man gone, but he would never be gone for long.

Growling, Manu scrubbed his skin, and when he touched his ass, he winced at the ache. He'd never, not once, let someone fuck him, yet he let Preston. Could be because they were mates that he had willingly let Preston do it, and he couldn't claim it was against his will because Preston had asked, and he'd agreed.

Growling louder, Manu switched the shower off and stepped out. Grabbing a towel, he roughly dried himself, then threw the towel on the floor. Stomping into his bedroom, Manu slid between the cool sheets and closed his eyes. He needed to sleep before the meeting, but sleep was giving him the finger.

Snapping his eyes open, he reached out to Preston. Preston.

What the fuck?

Yeah, we can talk like this.

Huh. So I can piss you off when I'm not even in the room with you. How is your ass?

Manu scowled. Bastard.

Manu cut off contact and now wondered why he had reached out in the first place. The man was so annoying, and now, Manu was stuck with him. Forever. Stuck with him forever and he wouldn't be able to sleep with another man again. All those men were off the list now.

Not that Manu had been sleeping around since moving to Morefield Village. Keeping the residents safe, making sure security ran smoothly, had kept Manu busy. His down time was usually spent with his brother, having a drink, or sleeping. Usually all at his brother's place.

Having Mintu here helped. He had someone he could talk to about the Village and life, and it helped to have family here. Their parents were more nomadic in nature, rarely staying in one place. He and Mintu were the opposite. After Manu had finished his service, they'd moved to the Village and settled.

Mintu had his construction business, and he worked with Crocker construction. Even with both their teams working together, they had far too much work. It would take years to get Salutem and Morefield Village where they wanted, but it was a task Manu knew Mintu could handle.

Thinking of his brother had Manu reaching for his phone, and he dialed his number, not the least surprised when he answered. "What's up?"

"Why are you up?"

"Finishing some specs. Once these are done, I'll head out to check the construction sites with Kris."

"You need some sleep."

"So do you. Why are you up?"

Manu remembered what had happened. "We lost Fabien tonight."

"What? How?"

"I have no idea. The things we fought… I don't know what the fuck they were, and I don't want to run across them again. My wolf was scared."

"Your wolf?" Manu heard the paper being moved. "When was the last time your wolf wanted to leave a situation?"

"Never," he whispered. "We've had some close calls in the past, but the way he reacted… He was scared."

"That's…concerning. Do you need more help with security? I can help in one of the buildings."

"We need you where you are. We're having a meeting in a few hours. I think Salutem will be there as well. This is bad. They laid a trap. Used Albie's body?—"

"Albie's dead? How is Serenity?"

"He isn't dead. Somehow, he survived, and I have no idea how. The injuries…"

"How is your mate? Does he know?"

"He was out there when it happened. He spotted something, called it in, and I went." Manu rubbed his face with his hand. "I mated him."

"You what?" Manu closed his eyes when he heard Mintu's chuckle become full-out laughter. "That's funny."

"He kicked me out, or I left. I'm not too sure about that."

"He is perfect for you, and I haven't even met him yet. Oh, and the folks are thinking of visiting." Mintu laughed again as Manu groaned. How was he going to explain Preston to his parents?

"That's great. I'm so looking forward to it."

"I can't wait for them to meet him. Hey! When am I going to meet him? He's like my brother-in-law now."

"Never. I don't want to see him again."

"Yeah, right. That won't last long. You'll have blue balls."

"And that's another thing that's pissed me off. I can't have sex with any other man now."

"Tell me he's good, though. At least, he should be good in bed if he's the only lay you're going to have now until death do you part."

"You're enjoying this far too much, and I'm going to try to get some sleep." Manu remembered what he'd been told before the night went to shit. "Oh, and what's this about you having a mate?"

"I do, and we're both happy not mating. Maybe one day in the future."

Manu shook his head. "Shifters mate when they find their mate."

"Yeah, they do, but we don't want to do that. We both agreed. If it changes in the future, then we'll look at it again. Not all shifters are the same." Manu heard papers moving around again. "Get some sleep, Manu."

"Too busy to sleep. Speak later."

Manu put his phone on the side, punched his pillow a couple of times, and settled down to try to sleep. He had a feeling that it wouldn't be easy.

Manu buriedhis head in his cup of coffee and tried to ignore everyone in the room. He'd been right when he'd assumed Salutem would be there. Several of their security team had come over, and the atmosphere was somber.

Manu had heard Albie had survived the night but was still in critical condition. Fabien's family was on route, and Costas was performing an autopsy. Serenity was missing, but that was to be expected. She'd packed a bag and was staying at the hospital.

Slumping in his chair, Manu people watched, growing more anxious as time passed and his mate didn't appear. Nothing had been said to him, but there had been more than a few eyebrows raised when they'd caught his scent. Yep, he was mated, and they would all know to who as well.

Deac walked into the room and stood with Indy, heads bowed together, bodies tense, and for once Manu was glad he wasn't in charge. The pressure they must be under was intense and not getting any easier. If anything, it was getting harder.

"Sit please."

Indy took a chair next to Deac and sighed heavily. "As you might be aware, Albie survived the night and is hanging on."

"Costas said the wounds look like claw marks, but he said whoever hit Albie had to be strong to inflict that kind of damage. How he survived is a mystery."

"Maybe they wanted him to." Vir looked around the room. "I wonder if him being left alive is a message. We can get to you whenever we want. Fabien…" Vir coughed, and in a quieter voice said, "Fabien was ripped apart. He would have been harder to kill as a shifter, so they took him out. Left Albie alive as bait. Take the stronger member out first, then go after the weaker one." Vir looked over at Manu. "You were shot first. You would have been the one to go to Albie first."

Manu snorted. "You don't know Preston. We would have argued about who went in first."

Someone laughed, then smothered it. "You smell good."

"Oh, fuck off." Manu sipped his coffee and ignored several other people who laughed.

"You think he would have gone first and not you?" Vir asked.

Manu thought about it, then shook his head. "No. He would have watched my back, but he spotted the trap, and I didn't." Manu furrowed his brow. "I would have walked into it."

Vir nodded. "As I said, and we all know, take the strongest members out first. They must have been watching the road for some time. Watching us and how we work. We change things up so there isn't a pattern, but they found something."

"They watched the roads. Wasn't that what Preston said? Something was tracking him as he drove from Salutem to Morefield?"

"Yeah. That was the call."

"Listen." Manu straightened. "I don't know about any of the others who were there last night, but my wolf wanted to leave. He was scared. I've been in some hairy shit, but this was the first time I have had to force my wolf to keep going." He ignored the murmurs he heard and carried on. "The silence went on and on. We've all been in situations when the surrounding area goes quiet, but this was something else. Nothing moved. Nothing made a sound at all. For at least thirty minutes.

"They weren't scared of us at all. They taunted us. Moved us where they wanted us to go. If it wasn't for our expertise, we would have been dead a lot sooner. We recognized what they were doing, and that probably saved us. Preston emptied an entire clip into one of those things, and it kept going. If Eli hadn't shown up when he had…" He trailed off. He had nothing more to say right then.

"It was something I've never seen before," Eli murmured. "Like a bear crossed with something else. It shifted so fast into a catlike creature that had spikes or quills. It could aim and shoot them too. It locked eyes with me and aimed. Lucky I was able to get a shot off. I hit it twice, and it got up and ran away."

"Something they've created." Cyan messed with the pen in front of him.

"We know they've been trying." Ray stood and went to the window, staring outside. "We're vulnerable. They tested us and walked away." Turning, he leaned on the ledge and looked at them. "We're in trouble."

Deac nodded, as did Indy. "We are. I've put an order in for armor-piercing ammo. I have a feeling we're going to need it."

Indy agreed. "We've asked Jake, Kris, and Mintu to move construction to the outposts that haven't been completed. Those are our priority. We're also going to have to look at security again."

"Not sure what more we can do," Eli muttered. "We alter routes, alter times, alter team members. Maybe increase from two men teams to three men teams but that means we'll need more people. That in itself can leave us exposed."

"Where is Preston?" Deac asked. Coughing, he shrugged. "He's your mate. Where is he?"

"How should I know?" He knew how he sounded, but he didn't care. "I'm not his keeper."

"Ohhhh reminds me of mine and Sax's mating. Did he kick you out?"

"I left voluntarily." That got him more chuckles, and he glared at everyone. "We're working on things."

"That doesn't tell me where he is. Have you been in contact?"

"Not since he slammed the door shut in my face." Concentrating, he reached out to Preston.

You there?

When there was no reply, he shrugged at Deac. "Nothing. Could still be sleeping."

"Not Preston. He's never been late for anything." Eli pulled his phone out and dialed. "Voicemail."

Manu hated to admit it, but he was growing concerned. Reaching out again, he tried to get Preston to respond, but there was nothing. Nothing at all. Not even the subtle presence in the back of his head.

"I can't feel him. There's nothing."