Chapter 10

CHAPTER TEN

AZIEL

Confused, Dante looked at me. I should've warned him never to look away from my uncle. It only gave him more ammunition. By looking to me for answers, Dante was proving that he valued my opinion more than my uncle's.

It happened quick. One minute I was standing next to Dante, the next I was on the ground, Ilus's fists pounding into my face as other family members kicked at my sides. I knew better than to fight back, but that didn't make it hurt any less. I could barely hear Dante's confused cries as they hurt me.

"No! No! He's not! I–"

A loud crack filled the room, and between blows, I saw Dante hit the ground hard. My uncle stood over him, his teeth bared, fury coming off him in waves. He snapped his fingers and the people hurting me stopped on a dime, taking a step back. Ilus grabbed me by my hair and forced me to my knees, jerking my head back as he put a blade to my neck.

"You dare lie to me? I know you've been consorting with humans! I knew better than to let that piece of shit raise you without reports!"

Dante shook his head wildly, eyes wide, and his hand on his cheek where my uncle had backhanded him. "I don't know what you're talking about!"

"No? Then explain this!"

A cascade of photos spilled across the floor in front of Dante. I couldn't see that well with the way Iluz held me, but one slid close enough for me to see it. The basketball game. Dante was smiling and laughing, blocking the human boy from getting the ball, the older brother in the background with a soft smile on his face. Shit. I knew being near them would only cause them trouble. I should've told them to wait for the meeting until I was there. I should've warned Dante not to get too close. Now he was on his own. Nothing I could say would change my uncle's mind. I deserved to die for not protecting them better.

"It's a ploy!"

I'd closed my eyes, not willing to watch Dante get hurt because I was stupid enough not to explain things better. It was the coward's way out, but it tore at my insides, watching them hurt him, and I didn't want to lose my control. But my eyes flew open at his response. The whole room was watching him as Dante shoved to his feet, his chin lifted and his fists clenched at his sides.

"Explain," my uncle demanded.

"Aziel said to pretend to make friends so I could get information. No one would tell me anything if I was mean. That's how I heard about the girl's dad. The humans don't run away from me anymore."

Disgust crossed my uncle's face. He didn't believe in playing nice to get what he wanted. But he didn't care how I got the information as long as I got it. I taught Dante the way that worked best for me.

Kaiser made an irritated sound, jabbing his finger at the photos. "That boy is not part of a prestigious family. What exactly were you hoping to gain from him?"

Dante didn't hesitate, glaring at his older brother. "His family works for the big families. They get information all the time. His dad works in the same building as Cesar Perez. The library his mom works at has a book club run by Charlotte Clifton. And his older brother gets all kinds of information from his clients!"

Those were big names. Huge names. He never mentioned anything about that to me. Not that I ever asked. I only made sure he had enough information to make his dad happy. But getting information on those families was like striking gold. And Dante knew that. He stood his ground, his glower in place, even as my uncle seethed at him.

"Getting information through others is the coward's way. How do you know anything you overhear is true?"

"I check for him," I gritted out, carefully swallowing around the knife at my throat. Iluz pressed harder, cutting into the skin, but he didn't finish me off. My uncle swung his gaze to me, narrowing his eyes.

"Prove it. Give me information on Perez."

Luck or divine intervention was the only thing that could explain the fact that I actually had the information he was looking for. Athena told me to protect the white tiger. Apparently, lying to save his life was enough.

"He's working with the politician you told me to watch. They met twice this week for lunch and discussed an anti-paranormal campaign for the upcoming election. Perez wants to back McMillan and get his agenda on the ballots. They don't let little kids at the restaurant those two meet at. Dante told me so I could go for him."

With a furious snarl, my uncle snapped his fingers, and Iluz released me with a shove. I dropped forward, catching myself on my hands, and pushed myself to my feet. My entire body screamed in pain, but I refused to let it show on my face, standing my ground as my uncle stalked back to his stupid throne. Seriously, he had a throne. Like a corrupt king. I hated him so much.

"Fine. If you want to be so pathetic as to follow your cousin's example, then do it. Get me more information on those families. And Aziel. If he fails, it's you who will face the consequences."

I bowed my head slightly to acknowledge him. I knew that already. I'd known that from the beginning. And I'd take it as long as they stopped hurting Dante. I waved him closer, putting my hand on his shoulder as I guided him to the back of the room. We weren't expected to stay. They didn't want me knowing their plans, so we headed straight outside and I teleported the second we stepped past the gate.

I stumbled when we got to the alley near my apartment. I could feel the blood dripping down my neck from where Iluz cut me, and my body protested the beating. Dante looked worried, hovering beside me, but I waved him off, shaking my head .

"I'm good. Just need rest. Let's go home."

He slipped under my arm, letting me balance myself against him. He was tall enough that I could rest my forearm against his shoulder a bit, which helped. It felt like at least one of my ribs was broken, which was making me hunch as pain shot up my side with every step. My entire body screamed in protest. I swore those assholes wore steel-toed boots daily in hopes of getting to hurt me. The stairs down to my apartment were a bitch, and I had sweat on my temples and upper lip by the time we got to my front door. Dante pulled out his key while I leaned against the frame with my eyes closed.

"How come you never teleport straight home?"

"They can track it," I murmured. "I avoid it when I can because they don't know where I live and I don't want them to find out."

It was rare that I'd teleport directly into my apartment. I avoided it as much as possible. In the past year, the only time I did was after I found out about the white tiger bullshit. And it pissed me off that we couldn't avoid them anymore. Those brothers were the key to the information we needed to survive. If I wanted to live past next week, if I wanted Dante safe, I needed to spend time with them. And that scared the shit out of me.

Dropping onto the couch, I grimaced from the pain. Dante locked up behind us, coming to hover at my side with a deep frown on his face.

"What do I do?"

"Nothing. We used the last potions I had on you and Ollie. I'll get more in the morning. I'm just gonna rest my eyes for a bit."

Normally, the beatings I got were meant to hurt me but not kill me. Not while I was still useful to my uncle. This time, they wanted to kill me. Only Dante stepping in saved my life. The pain was excruciating, though, and I didn't have the energy to do anything but give in to the pull of darkness. It wasn't the first time in my life that I'd passed out from the pain, and I doubted it'd be the last.

I woke up to murmured voices and a potion being shoved down my throat. A familiar voice spoke, amusement laced in his tone.

"Damn, Athena. Couldn't be a little nicer? The man looks like shit," Felix snickered.

It took a second for me to open my eyes, my focus on not choking on the potion. I groaned as it swept through me, settling the aches and pains enough for me to breathe right. I blinked my eyes open, looking around the room.

"What are you doing here?"

I hadn't seen my friends since the wedding. None of the mates were here, just my friends and Athena stood over me. Felix jerked his chin over my shoulder and I followed his direction to find Dante standing on the other side of the couch.

"Your cousin called Athena. Athena called us."

Callum stepped forward, his frown deep and prominent. "Why didn't you tell us your family was hurting you? We could have helped."

I shook my head, slowly pushing myself upright, one arm hugging my side. The potions took the edge off, but until I could see an actual healer, the more severe injuries would still be there. There wasn't anything I could do until morning.

"There's nothing you could have done. He's got a damn army."

"Is that why you've been avoiding us?" Hendrix queried quietly.

I pressed my lips together, avoiding their gazes. It wasn't the only reason. But I didn't want them to know their matings drove me away. It wasn't fair of me to put that on them. They found people to make them happy. They shouldn't feel guilty about that.

"Why he stayed away is irrelevant," Athena interrupted. "The only thing that matters now is that you are aware of the danger. There will come a time when he needs you. You need to be prepared for that."

They all looked worried, but determined to help me. I hated it. I never wanted to need them. I didn't want to drag them into my issues. I spent years keeping things vague enough that they wouldn't ask questions. Now Athena wasn't giving me a choice. If I didn't want them to get hurt, I had to come clean at least enough to keep them safe. They needed to know what to look out for. If my uncle came for them, they needed to be ready.

"There are things about me you guys don't know…"