Chapter 9

Brooklyn

What is it about males that the moment you leave them alone they manage to cause so much trouble and you are left with the dilemma if you should laugh from the insanity of it or strangle them because you are too mad to argue?

There I was, bringing not one but two demons to our present safe house - If we could call Samir's multilevel monstrosity of a house that – and instead of being grateful that I'm at least trying to come up with a solution to our current problem, they glower at me. It didn't faze me a bit, but I would've appreciated a little more enthusiasm for my efforts.

Which, I told them, in not so many words.

Okay, fine, it was more in the style of "Say a word and I'll rip your throat out" but still. I communicated my displeasure.

"Is there an explanation for the additional guests you brought, Brooklyn?" Samir narrowed his gaze on me from the top of the stairway the moment I entered the house. He broadened his stance and folded his arms like some sentinel of the mansion, I'm guessing so he could look more threatening.

"They have information we need, and they need our help." Not pausing in my advance toward him, I waved to the two demons to follow me when they both froze a foot inside the door. "Is there a problem?" I asked them when they stayed frozen, staring at Samir, you'd think they'd seen a ghost.

"I expected you to be many things, Brooklyn." Echo hissed at me, betrayal clouding her silvery eyes. "Liar was not one of them."

Confused, I watched her turn back-to-back with Chester who also looked like I stole his favorite toy and refused to lock eyes with me. The shock of all surprises was when I realized they were preparing to fight. I was about to tell Samir to get lost and go work on his manners when the words got stuck in my throat. The demons were not acting strange because of what Samir said. They were being weird because Samir was here. I guess they had no clue the Council lost one member not that long ago. If that was a good sign meaning we are one step ahead of whatever war was brewing in our city, or a bad sign that our new friends were not as informed as they wanted me to believe.

But I didn't have them with me for the Council.

I needed them for Alice.

Echo lifted her arm, palm cupped and ready to lob magic toward Samir. And although the arrogant male could've used a wake-up call and a notch down from his high horse, I had to stop them before they outright started fighting and someone ended up getting seriously hurt.

"Echo, stop." Placing myself between her and Samir, I lifted both my hands in a universal sign for peace. "Samir has been helping us fight the Council. He is no longer one of them." I also hoped with everything in me that I was telling the truth.

Did Samir help us? Yes, absolutely. Did he have a hidden agenda I knew nothing about? He was an ancient Atua, former member of the Council. I'd be a fool to think he didn't. until I was sure of what that agenda was, however, I had to make sure he was safe around me. The fact he had a soft spot for Alice also worked in his favor.

"Just because he decided to take a break from tormenting and killing for the time being, it does not make him a friend." Echo spat in the direction of Samir who was looking down his nose at her with one cocked eyebrow and a sneer playing on his lips.

Dominic stood to the side, arms folded over his chest and an unimpressed sour expression plastered all over his handsome face. Guilt drilled a hole in me that although I was acting unreasonable toward him, he still respected my wishes and stood aside without getting involved. I had to fix the problem I created with my mate, but it was not the right time for it.

"I'm not asking you to be friends with him." Sliding to the left I made sure Echo had her attention more on me than Samir.

Doing my best to placate the demon and keep the situation under control, I kept my tone even, pushing all thoughts of my horrible decision making when it came to relationships. Fingers crossed I won't have to use my curse to get Echo to back down. Once using it against them could be explained with lies and mumbo-jumbo. A second time would be a tough cookie to swallow.

"You needed my help. Remember?" resorting to blackmail, I shrugged when her gaze narrowed on me. "This is not some sort of a trap that I tricked you into following. You attacked and kidnapped me in that alley…"

And that's how all hell broke loose. Dominic shifted before I could take a breath to tell him to calm down and pounced on the closest demon to him. Chester appeared to be expecting it and the two of them crashed with the slapping sound of fists and claws smashing into flesh and bones.

Samir slid down the railing like some Frank Sinatra double ready to start singing under an umbrella, his polished loafers clicking on the marble floors in the entryway when he executed a perfectly graceful landing. Echo bolted like a bullet for him, ruffling the hairs that escaped my ponytail a second before they slammed into each other. Magic boomed from one of the demons strong enough that the foundation of the structure shook under my boots.

I closed my eyes on a groan.

Was it too much to ask for things to go smoothly for once.

Rubbing my face tiredly, I stepped aside and let the four of them get their frustration out for a while. I mean, it wasn't me hurting at the end of the day. I had every intention on asking all of them if it was worth it when they smarted bruises later.

A tail thick and long like rope swung for my head, and I ducked at the last moment saving my face from one of the bruises I wanted to gloat about everyone else having later. It smashed into an unassuming vase sitting on top of a Greek style column bursting it into thousands of sharp shards which promptly sliced into the exposed skin of my arms. With a hiss, I spun around avoiding the rest but not before Dominic heard it. A loud roar of a pissed off feline shook the glass on all the windows and doors pausing the fighting long enough for all of them to see me bleeding all over the marble.

"Shit." Chester had barely enough time to gape at me before the panther ripped into him with teeth and claws. I had to do something, or Dominic was going to kill the poor demon blaming him for me being hurt.

"Dominic, no!" My shout did nothing, but I followed it fast with action, throwing myself on the panther and wrapping my body around him. "Stop! You'll kill him."

Another cry bounced off the walls filled with so much pain and confusion my heart broke for Dominic and his animal. I had no doubt the beast couldn't understand how he could hurt his mate instead of protecting me. Instead of allowing Dominic to switch places with him and come to the surface, he channeled it into rage and kept trying his best to get his claws and teeth into Chester. Samir and Echo were not spared any bruises either, since the panther was in a frenzied anger. The large body was bouncing from walls and anything else in his way in his attempt to kill his opponent. Echo ended up in a heap at the foot of the stairway, Samir jumped out of the way, practically levitating himself halfway up the railing where he clutched the banister like he was imagining it was Dominic's neck. It would've been funny if the situation was not dire.

If the panther didn't shift soon, he will do irreversible damage to the demon who started bleeding profusely all over the entryway.

"Dominic, stop!" desperately clinging to his thick neck, I tucked my face in his silky coat as I resorted to begging the animal to see reason. "It's just a scratch, I promise. It's already healed and if you stop, you'll see it for yourself. You need to stop, Mate."

Everything stopped at once. Harsh breathing coming from Chester was the only sound slicing the eerie silence where the panther stood frozen mid-step, one paw lifted to the side when he prepared himself to take another chunk from the demon's back.

Carefully, so I didn't startle him with sudden movements, I slid off Dominic's back and found myself kneeling in a pool of Chester's blood. A puff of air stirred the baby hairs on my hairline a second before a thick raspy tongue slobbered all over my face from neck to my forehead. Soft chirps followed it and I forced myself not to grimace at the fact my face was covered in panther saliva.

He bumped his head on my shoulder so I could look at him and proceeded to search my gaze when we locked eyes. It was unnerving but I knew what he was asking. He wanted me to address him as mate again while he was looking at me.

"You and I have always gotten along much better than me and Dominic, Mate." Remembering how much I wished he was there before I lost consciousness in the alley I smiled sadly at him. "I'm sorry I've been difficult after you did everything in your power to save me. I'll try to do better but I do need Dominic right now so he can help me sort out this mess."

Aware that the other three were watching us, I fidgeted where I kneeled, the thickening blood squelching under me, I tentatively reached out a hand and scratched behind his ear. Immediately those piercing green eyes narrowed and I jerked back praying I didn't mess it up and upset him.

"As much as I would rather have you kill the demons, Shifter." Samir came around to himself finally and pushed off the railing he had been clutching tightly. "I'm dying to hear the explanation for all this. It's not every day Brooklyn brings visitors to my home so they could attempt to kill me."

The ancient Atua lifted an arrogant eyebrow at my deadpan look, not that I had any ground to stand on if I wanted to argue. He was correct. I did bring the demons into his house, and they did attack him without provocation. I should've expected it, given the fact they wanted my help to kill the rest of the Council and get their people back. It just never occurred to me they had no clue Samir was mercurial in nature. I fully expected him to turn on us the moment he thought we were the losing side.

While I was stuck in my own head, Dominic made his appearance, the shift seemingly a breeze from how smooth it always went. The breath caught in my throat when I looked up from his powerful thighs up his washboard abs pushing against the fabric of his shirt, over the mouthwatering chest, to his smoldering gaze. Good thing I was kneeling like a peasant at his feet because my legs got weak from the intensity in his eyes.

"Here I am, Mate." The deep, raspy tone of his voice vibrated in my lower belly and like a fledgling I had to press my thighs closed and bite the inside of my mouth not to whimper. "Let us hear the reason for the presence of the demons who have tried to harm you. That way I can decide if I should allow my beast to return and finish what he started."

"You can't blame them for kidnapping me." With a sigh I raised my hand so I can rub the tiredness off my face but stopped midway when I saw all the blood and dirt smudged on it. Instead, I wiped it on my pants with a grimace. "I killed two of Echo's brothers when they tried to talk to me while I was in bloodlust."

"I'm still not convinced it was smart bringing them here." Samir spoke to me but he was glaring at Echo who was picking herself up off the floor.

"They know why we had to fight abominations when you rescued me from the cages." It made me happy to see Dominic's mouth form an "oh" and he looked at the two demons in a whole new light.

"I need help, right now." Rowen stuck his head out from the hallway upstairs and everything we'd been doing or saying was forgotten.

"Alice!" I grabbed the hand Dominic offered to jump to my feet and we rushed to the bedroom my friend was in. I hoped she was not getting worse.

With my heart drumming in my throat and fear like I've never felt before I was first to dart inside the room.