CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE: HUDSON

THE REALIZATION that Kit was missing sent a jolt of fear through Hudson’s chest. He quickly gathered Connie and Kage, and they set off, following Kit’s scent trail out the back door of his business.

Part of him hoped that Kit had just wandered off—although he didn’t believe Kit would be that irresponsible. Regardless, he couldn’t shake the feeling something was wrong.

Don’s presence, standing so close to his mate, caused Hudson’s body to tremble as he fought to control the partial transformation that threatened to consume him. Connie’s hand on his shoulder and his soothing words whispered in his ear were the only things keeping him grounded.

But deep down, he couldn’t deny the conflict raging inside him—the desire to protect his mate at all costs versus the need to resist his primal instincts. It was a constant battle, one that left him teetering on the edge of losing control.

The fact that there was no fear coming from Kit was probably the only thing that stopped Hudson’s dragon from trying to force a shift, which would have been disastrous, but sometimes instinct overruled everything else.

Having a known danger so close to his mate was definitely a case for nearly losing his damn mind.

“Do not run.” Hudson bared his fangs at Don when he noticed the hunter tense. “If you do, I’m not sure I can restrain my dragon. Why are you here? Why are you speaking to my mate? What the fuck do you want?”

“You need to put some space between you and Kit,” Connie said, one hand still on Hudson’s shoulder. “ Now .”

Don stepped back.

“I can open a portal and toss him into it,” Kage offered.

“No,” Kit said calmly. “We’re not opening any portals, and we’re not burning Don to a crisp.”

Ever so slowly, Hudson dragged his gaze off Don and turned it to Kit. “Give me one reason why not. Just one.”

“Because Nox and Lennox have harmed yet another innocent,” Kit said. “Don has a younger brother whose name is Chester. Nox kidnapped Chester—”

“So he says,” Connie said, slowly lowering his hand from Hudson’s shoulder. “Are you okay, my King?”

Hudson took a deep breath and released it. If Connie was using his title, he was extremely worried. “I’m in control.”

“Oh, good,” Kage said quietly. “Because it would be rather hard to hide a three-story dragon out here in the back alley.”

Hudson glared at Kage.

“Just pointing out the obvious.” Kage shrugged. “Because if you do shift, it’ll be you going into a portal and staying there until you get control. Can’t have the humans seeing a big-ass dragon in downtown San DeLain.”

“I’d like to see you—”

“Oh, I won’t try, my friend. I will.”

“And as I was saying, Lennox forced Don into helping him attack me that day so he could get to Austin and Kage,” Kit snapped. “Don wants our help to save Chester. And the only way to save Chester is to kill Lennox.”

Kage made some sort of deep angry sound.

Hudson quickly glanced at Kage and was unsurprised to see his eyes completely black. He imagined his own eyes had changed too and were the color of his dragon.

“Okay, Don, you need to answer some questions immediately because the ocean option is not off the table,” Kage said. “Nox hurt Austin that day. Don’t think I’ve forgotten that.”

“And he will answer our questions, but before we get to that, I have an idea,” Kit said. “None of us trust Don—”

Connie snorted, a ring of smoke traveling from his nostrils.

“But no one can enter my bookstore who means me ill will, right?” Kit turned to face Don. “You want us to trust you? I honestly don’t know if that’s possible with what you’ve done, but a step in the right direction would be you getting past the wards. If you’re honest about wanting our help to save your brother? Prove that this isn’t a trap. Walk into my bookstore.”

“This isn’t a trap,” Don said, walking past Kit toward the bookstore. Without hesitating, he grabbed the handle, opened it… and walked inside.

“Shit,” Kage said, hands on hips.

“Fuck!” Connie thew his hands in the air. “Dammit to the Flames.”

Hudson growled harshly.

“Well, there you go, I guess. It’s not a trap.” Kit waved at the back door. “After you guys.”

Hudson seethed with anger, wishing he could just set Don on fire instead of having to follow him into the store, but Don had proved his point, as much as it irritated the hell out of Hudson. With a low growl, he reached out and yanked open the door before stalking in behind Don.

“Hopefully Hudson won’t let anybody kill Don before we have a chance to hear what he says,” Kage said, following behind Hudson through the door.

“And here I was looking forward to calling it a day and heading home,” Kit said.

“I’m afraid that’s not happening,” Connie said, taking Kit’s hand as he opened the back door. “Shall we?”

“I guess we don’t have a choice.” Kit followed Connie back inside his bookstore, immediately looking around. “Where is he?”

Denisha and Maia stood guard near Austin.

“Fortunately, Hudson was right on his heels, otherwise….” Denisha shrugged.

“Hudson took Don back to your office, Kit, and said for the rest of you to join them,” Maia said.

Kage nodded to his lieutenants. “Thank you. Stay with Austin, please.”

“Of course,” Maia said, while Denisha nodded.

“Would one of you quietly inform everybody else of what’s happening and tell them that everything’s okay,” Connie said.

Torres approached them, and Connie quickly explained what had just happened.

“Do you need me?” Torres asked.

“Not right now, but if that changes, I’ll text you. Keep an eye on my parents, would you?”

“Of course.”

“Thank you,” Connie said. Taking Kit’s hand, he pulled him toward Kit’s office. “Come on, babe.”

Connie opened the door so Kit could enter.

“Is everything okay out front?” Hudson asked as he motioned for Connie, Kit, and Kage to join them at the table in Kit’s office.

“Yes, I informed Torres of what happened in the alley. I asked him to stay with my parents but told him I’d text him if we needed him.” Connie pulled out a chair for Kit, then sat down himself. He glanced at Don.

“I don’t think we will,” Hudson said, seeing where Connie’s gaze had landed. “Okay, Don. You have our attention. You said you wanted our help to deal with Lennox so you can save your brother. What exactly do you have in mind?”

“As you probably know, Lennox has teams of hunters. Each team has a head. Like a boss. He’s meeting with the bosses this evening in the tunnels. The peons like me are not included.”

“So, which hunters are with him during these meetings, then?” Connie asked.

“I should have said none of us who were forced, or those like me, who are not… doing good,” Don admitted. “In fact, most of us would probably disappear if given the chance. But Lennox has made sure we can’t.”

“And why is that?” Connie asked.

“Because a lot of our families have been held hostage or forcibly converted like my little brother.”

“Jesus,” Kit murmured. “That’s horrible.”

“It is, yes, but it’s not surprising. Back to this meeting this evening. It would be the perfect opportunity to strike,” Kage said.

“There’s only one problem. Every tunnel that’s connected to a front like that bookstore you followed me into has security cameras plastered all over the place. If you try going into the tunnels, Lennox is going to know you’re coming immediately. You’ll never catch him unaware,” Don said.

“I can always portal in,” Kage pointed out.

“Did you try to portal while you were in the tunnels?” Don asked.

“Well, no, there wasn’t a reason. We met back in that dilapidated bookstore and left from there,” Kage admitted. “Why?”

“Do you remember seeing runes plastered all over the walls?”

“Well, shit. He’s warded the tunnels?”

“Yes. Could you still open a portal in there? I don’t see why you couldn’t. It shouldn’t stop that, I think, but I’m unsure,” Don said. “But it will sound an alert, and Lennox will be in the wind.”

“Shit. Did it the last time?” Kage asked.

“No, because I disabled them temporarily,” Don said.

“So we need a reason to keep his men in the tunnels and keep Lennox distracted, at least until we can get in there and get at him,” Kage said.

Kit sighed. “And we know there’s only one thing that would keep him distracted.”

Hudson immediately started shaking his head. “No.”

“ Hell no,” Connie added. “I know what you’re going to say, and that’s absolutely not an option. No.”

Kit rested his chin on his hands. “You know perfectly well that me acting as bait is the best way to go. Don is going to kidnap me and turn me over to Lennox. We all know he wants me. So? Let’s give him what he wants.”

Everyone in the room turned to look at Kit, their expressions a mix of horror and disbelief.

“ Absolutely not .” Hudson slammed his fist down on the table. “There is no way I am sending my mate to that lunatic! There’s got to be another way.”

Connie rumbled in agreement.

“But there isn’t,” Kit insisted, sitting up straighter. “Lennox wants me. If he thinks he has me….”

“We are not using you as bait,” Connie interjected sharply. “It’s too dangerous, and besides, it’s exactly what Lennox wants. He wants you. And I do not trust Don enough to send you down into those tunnels with him!”

“Agreed,” Hudson snapped.

“But think about it,” Kit pressed on. “Lennox has been after me for months. If Don shows up with me in tow, it could be the perfect lure. He won’t expect it to be a trap. It’s our best shot at catching him off guard. Don has to take me into the tunnels and give me to Lennox.”

Silence descended over the room; the tension palpable. Hudson clenched and unclenched his fists.

“He’s never going to stop, Hudson. He’s always going to be this threat hovering just behind me, waiting to strike either at me or my papa. I can’t live my life like that, and I shouldn’t have to,” Kit said. “All it’d take is just one time, a split second, really, of one of us not paying close enough attention, and bam. He’s got me. Or my papa.”

Hudson growled.

“My papa fled his homeland to get away from Lennox,” Kit said. “Think about that. Lennox isn’t going to stop. Wouldn’t you rather control the narrative? We have a chance to do just that. We can control this instead of waiting and reacting to the next attack. And there’s going to be another attack because he isn’t. Going. To. Stop.”

“Do you understand what it is you’re asking of me?” Hudson demanded quietly.

“Do you understand what the cost of waiting could be?” Kit replied just as quietly. “I don’t want to do this. I absolutely don’t want to do this, but I also don’t want to be a victim again. I’ve already been that once because of these brothers.”

Connie huffed. “Well, dammit, it’s hard to argue against that.”

Hudson’s shoulders slumped.

“If we’re considering this, we need absolute assurance that Kit will be safe,” Kage said. “We’ll need a solid plan for extraction, contingencies for every possible scenario. We need to involve all the leaders of San DeLain like we did before.”

“And a word or phrase to signal to attack,” Connie added.

“How about ‘Mother of all’?” Kit asked. “Anyone who knows me wouldn’t be surprised to hear me say that. Lennox especially.”

Hudson nodded. “That’s true. That will be your signal, then, to call for us.”

“I’m glad we got that squared away, but do we have time to gather everybody?” Connie asked, checking his watch. “It’s already five, and it’s a Saturday evening. Traffic is going to be a bitch. What time is the meeting, Don?”

“Usually around nine,” Don said.

“Four hours,” Kage said. “That’s not a lot of time.”

“Connie, call the werewolves, vampires, gargoyles, and the mers. Tell them what we’re planning and ask if they can spare anybody on such short notice. Beg if you have to. Also, call Isadora,” Hudson said.

“On it,” Connie said, taking his phone out of his pocket.

“I can send a daemon to portal anyone—as long as each leader agrees—if they can’t get here in time,” Kage offered.

“Thank you. Pass it on, Connie,” Hudson said.

“Once we get a head count, I can provide a daemon for each group, just like we did when we rescued Axel,” Kage said. “We also need to check as soon as we get in the tunnels to see if my kind can portal.”

Don cleared his throat. “I, ah, have a suggestion because I do understand your concerns about me. What if I wear a wire? Everything that happens in those tunnels will be heard by you in real time before you can get in there. And I promise, I’ll do my best to protect him.”

Connie sneered. “Like we trust you to protect—”

“I want to be very clear, Don. If something happens to Kit, it’s not you that’s going to pay the price. It will be your younger brother. Do you understand me?” Hudson demanded.

“I do.”

Kit didn’t say anything, but he sighed. “Again, Chester is an innocent, just like I was when Nox attacked me in my own damn bookstore.”

“Then I suggest you come out of this unscathed because otherwise? You don’t want to see what I will do,” Hudson said. “Even with preparations, it’s risky. If anything goes wrong, or if anything happens to you—”

“Nothing is going to happen to me,” Kit said. “We’ve already established that, right, Hudson?”

“Connie? How many have committed?” Hudson asked.

Connie held his finger up as he finished a call. “So far I have fifteen vampires, fifteen werewolves, including Axel, ten mer, and five gargoyles. Plus, us and however many people Kage adds.”

That was a good turnout, considering the short notice. Hudson was going to owe a bunch of people a bunch of favors. He closed his eyes for a moment and focused internally. His dragon wasn’t happy but understood the necessity of this. They had a chance to bring Lennox’s reign of terror to an end and set Kit free from the harassment.

They really couldn’t afford not to take this chance. But his dragon also made it very clear that if Kit was killed, the creature wouldn’t stop until Lennox and every hunter was dead.

“Okay.” Hudson opened his eyes. “We’ll do it.”

Connie whined deep in his chest, the sound harsh and scared.

Hudson immediately spun in his seat and grabbed Connie by the chin. He stared into his other mate’s eyes. “I promise you we will come through this together. And if something happens to our mate? I will destroy them all.”

“I’ll help you,” Connie promised.

“Nothing is going to happen to me,” Kit reminded them.

Hudson gently kissed Connie on the lips, then he turned toward Kage. “If the worst-case scenario happens, get everybody out. Immediately. Or they’ll die by fire.”

“For crying out loud,” Kit muttered.

“Understood. It’s settled then,” Kage declared after a moment of contemplative silence. He looked around, meeting the eyes of each person in the room. “We prepare tonight. Kit will go with Don as planned, but under our terms, our control.”

Everyone gradually agreed.

Kit reached out and squeezed Hudson’s hand. “It’ll work.”

“For all of our sakes, I sincerely hope so,” Hudson said. “Now, let’s discuss strategy. Connie? Email everybody and have them meet here at eight-thirty tonight.”

“I will,” Connie said.

With roles assigned and plans set into motion, they dispersed to make the necessary preparations. It was decided that Don would go with Kage so no one would see him leave Kit’s bookstore.

Plus, Hudson didn’t trust himself around the hunter. Maia volunteered to run Hudson and his group home. She promised to return and portal them back to Kit’s bookstore later.

NIGHT fell over the city, and everyone readied themselves. Raven and his vampires were there, as were Axel and his werewolves, the mers, and the gargoyles, as well as Isadora.

Since they had mer helping them, Hudson warned them about Chester, just in case. The last thing he wanted was for the mer to attack Chester because he was a hunter and had their DNA.

Merchieftain Fenton wasn’t happy, but he promised that nothing would happen to Chester since he’d been forcibly injected with Mer DNA. He promised to get Chester out of there and offer him assistance in learning his new state of being if he wanted it.

Don was satisfied with that.

Don reviewed maps of the tunnels with Kit, going over every possible route they might take if things went to shit. Don was fitted with a wire too. It was no surprise that not a soul spoke to Don.

Throughout it all, Hudson and Connie remained close to Kit. Kit never said a word about them nearly standing on top of him—he just accepted it. Although occasionally he’d rest his hand on Hudson’s shoulder or Connie’s back, telling them without words that all would be fine.

Unable to stop the building tension, Hudson finally locked himself in one of the smaller storage areas and sent a quick prayer up to Gaura to protect his mates and the people who are helping them. It wasn’t much, but it did help some.

As the time drew nearer, Kit left his bookstore with Don. Seeing his mate walk out the door with Don called on all of Hudson’s courage. If Connie hadn’t been standing there with his arms wrapped around him, Hudson wasn’t sure he could’ve let Kit leave.

“He’ll be okay,” Connie promised.

Hudson didn’t bother to reply. Connie already knew what Hudson had threatened if Kit was hurt. He checked his watch. “As agreed, let’s give them plenty of time to get there, then Kage, at the signal, would your daemons start portaling everyone to the tunnels under the Whispering Pages Bookstore?”