Chapter 15

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Wade sank his claws into the floor as the concussive blast of the magical bomb slammed through everyone. He ducked his head, grimacing at Ella's scream of rage, the dire held back from reaching her alpha only by dint of the shield ward. He didn't try to use the ring Gerard and órlaith had gifted him, not wanting to tip his hand.

A different, high-pitched humming sound hit Wade's ears, nearly popping his eardrums. He glanced up, seeing the wards running from the floor to the high ceiling in the bar were all activated, magical threads tangling through the physical manifestation of the blast radius. He didn't know what the spell was, but it had managed to neutralize some of the harsher aspects of the magical bomb, even if it could do nothing for the concussive force behind the explosion. He did know the silence ward would probably keep anyone outside the bar from knowing what was going on and calling the cops.

" Casey !" Ella screamed, clawing at the shield ward Saoirse hadn't deactivated.

The other werecreatures with her appeared just as equally furious and devastated at the cruel way their alpha was being treated. Casey lay unconscious on the floor, magic flickering around his body. Wade could hear that he was still breathing.

One of the werecreatures got halfway to him before skidding to a stop as Niall walked into the bar, radiating power and carrying a faint hint of ozone with his scent. It wasn't anywhere close to how a true god felt, but it was enough of a warning that Niall's magic maybe wasn't just fae magic, and Wade swore softly under his breath.

Maybe he should have called Patrick after all.

Wade could see the fae through the glowing shield ward and wanted to punch that weaselly little smirk off his face. Wade drew his aura down into a tight knot. He wanted to pass as human for this confrontation if at all possible.

"It's never good to try to break a bargain with a fae, my dear dire," Niall tsked as he came to stand beside Casey's unconscious form. He nudged Casey with his foot but thankfully didn't do anything more. Three more fae followed him inside, acting like bodyguards, but none of them went further than a foot past the door. They carried swords instead of guns, the edges flickering with magic.

" You ," Abhartach snarled, stepping forward. "You dare to step foot into my territory like this ?"

"I told you so," Wade muttered, knowing everyone could hear him.

He shoved himself to his feet, edging around the still-active shield. Abhartach's vampires were all up and prepared to attack, their human servants huddling behind overturned furniture. Every bottle behind the bar had been shattered from the blast, and the handful of mundane humans there for a walk on the wild side were probably regretting their life's choices right about then. So far no one else was dead, but Wade knew how quickly that could change.

Niall's gaze swept the room, lingering on Ella and then Riordan in a way that Wade absolutely hated before the fae smiled lazily at Abhartach. "My mistake. I was under the impression this was a bar owned by magic users."

"Oh, I call bullshit," Wade scoffed. "How long have you lived in Boston?"

"For once, I'm in agreement," Lucien said.

Wade jumped when Lucien appeared on his other side, staring Niall down. Niall's attention slipped to Lucien, and Wade had the absolute pleasure of watching the asshole fae do a double take. Wade knew enough about body language and territory negotiation to know that Niall had just revealed a weakness—he knew who and what Lucien was, and it made the fae wary.

Okay. So maybe Wade wouldn't try to eat Lucien tonight.

Niall paused, taking Lucien's measure. "I wasn't aware you would be here tonight."

Carmen and Einar blurred to Lucien's side, and Niall's gaze flicked to them, eyes narrowing fractionally. Wade recognized the smile Carmen gave the fae, the one that promised absolute fucked-up mayhem the moment Lucien gave the word.

In this one instant, Wade hoped Lucien let her have the run of the place.

"Niall Noígíallach, is it? We haven't had the pleasure of a proper introduction," Carmen drawled, her tone arctic. "We should rectify that, seeing as you've interrupted the drink we were having with an old friend."

Niall's attention swung back to Abhartach and the vampires of the Boston Night Court primed to attack, holding back only because their master bade them. Niall seemed to be rethinking his dramatic entrance. "I'm here about a broken bargain. It doesn't concern you."

Abhartach arched an eyebrow and looked down his nose at Niall. "You made it my concern when you attacked my place of business. I've killed for far less."

Niall spread his hands in a faux friendly way. "I'm certain we can come to an accord of some sort."

"The way I see it, Ella didn't break your bargain. You said she couldn't find help with friends, and she didn't. If anyone broke the bargain, it's you after you tortured Casey. Which means it's void, and you should give him back," Wade snapped.

The retort earned him Niall's full and undivided attention. Wade met it angrily. "You speak out of turn. I fail to see how a mundane human could aid the dire."

For a wannabe god, he really was dumb. Wade could totally work with that.

"Because clearly, you're an unimaginative dickhead."

Riordan's hand fisted tightly in the back of Wade's shirt, ready to haul him back. "He's right, Niall. You broke the bargain with Ella."

Niall arched an eyebrow. "No, I did not. The dire was meant to keep her mouth shut. Otherwise defiance would be met with death. Her precious alpha is still alive. For now."

To prove his point, Niall drew his foot back and kicked Casey in the gut with enough force to send the alpha rolling. Wade decided right then and there he was going to find Saoirse's skin, get Casey and Harper back as soon as he could, and then eat Niall. The fae would probably give him indigestion, but it would be worth it.

"I guess that's one way to view the situation. You're still wrong, and it doesn't mean you had the right to come blasting into Abhartach's territory like you did," Wade said.

Niall's eyes narrowed, and Riordan's grip tightened to the point Wade thought the selkie might rip his shirt. "You haven't given me your name."

"Nope, and I'm not gonna, so go cry about it."

"Leave," Abhartach ordered Niall. "Now."

The magic in the walls had sucked up the explosion's residue, and now a tangled web of jagged-looking light was forming in the air. Niall looked up, mouth twisting in distaste. "I see you aren't in the mood for conversation."

The magic dropped, but Niall attacked first. He made a cutting gesture with his hand, and light as bright as the sun exploded away from him. Wade closed his eyes against it, but it still burned. The vampires in the bar screamed in fury at the mockery of sunlight that filled the bar from floor to ceiling. It faded after a few seconds, and Wade blinked rapidly, trying to clear his vision of colored spots.

Niall was gone, as were the fae who'd come with him. They'd taken Casey with them, and Wade hoped carting the alpha around would be enough to slow them down as some of Abhartach's vampires gave chase, blurring out of the door. Wade had a feeling they wouldn't catch up with the fae, but if it kept Niall on the run, so much the better.

Abhartach said something in what might have been Irish, and Wade's brain squeezed out a translation. "Send out an edict to the Night Court. Niall and his fae are considered the enemy and have no pass-through rights. I want him found, and I want to be the one to kill him."

" Finally ," Wade muttered under his breath.

Saoirse spoke the reversal phrase, and the shield ward contained itself in the artifact again. The crystal hanging around her neck glowed for a couple of seconds before all signs of magic disappeared. Saoirse took a couple of steps toward the door before she drew herself up short, shaking her head.

Freed from the protection the shield had offered, Ella staggered toward the space where Casey had been, falling to her knees. Wade figured Casey couldn't have been that bad of an alpha if people were worried about him, but good or bad, he didn't deserve to be treated like that.

Wade twisted around, batting Riordan's hand aside. He stepped around Riordan and jabbed his finger at Abhartach. "You see what I mean about Niall targeting you? You should consider teaming up temporarily with the Boston god pack and the selkie clans."

"That's not how you bargain," Carmen said.

"I'm not bargaining." He just wanted confirmation for everyone else that Abby Boy wasn't going to sit back and take it on the chin. The only silver lining to the night so far was that Niall had gone and overplayed his hand and painted a target on his back with his actions. In attempting to corner Ella and the rest of the Boston god pack by pleading ignorance of territory borders, he'd hopefully ensured the attention of two master vampires, one of whom excelled at murder.

Abhartach took in the destroyed furniture, shattered bottles of absinthe, the scent of all that liquor bitter in the air, and made a gesture with one hand. To an undead asshole, the vampires of his Night Court moved. Some left the bar, while others remained to work with the human servants to start putting things to right. Those mundane humans who'd been caught in the crossfire were escorted from the premises, but Wade didn't have time to worry about them. They couldn't be his priority.

"I need no bargain to secure my borders," Abhartach sneered.

"So you're going after Niall?"

"What do you think?"

"Great. Have fun. Don't kill anyone my pack is allied with." Wade craned his head around and searched out Lucien, catching the other master vampire's eye. "Are you going to help with the murder spree?"

Lucien raised an eyebrow over his scarred left eye. "What do you think?"

"I think I'm going to plead ignorance to all your bloody fun." Wade turned to Riordan and jerked his head at where Ella still knelt on the ground near the door. "Let's get her outside."

"No," Ella rasped. "I'm going after Niall."

"That is a bad idea. Let the vampires hunt him right now."

"He hurt my alpha. It's my fault Casey is being tortured. If I hadn't?—"

"If you hadn't worked out a way to get outside help, you'd all be worse off than you are. Quit your sniveling and get the fuck out," Lucien cut in, clearly still a heartless bastard.

Wade flipped Lucien off. "Quit being an asshole."

Lucien bared his fangs at Wade, so he returned the sentiment with his own snarl. A warm hand settled on his shoulder, hauling him back until he stood beside Riordan.

"Let's see to Ella," Riordan said quietly.

Wade pointed two fingers at Lucien, then pointed at his own eyes, then pointed again at Lucien in the universal language of I'm watching you, asshole . Then he let Riordan pull him away to where Ella was being helped to her feet by one of her pack members. All three of them were ashen-faced, but he was at least glad to see anger in their eyes rather than despair.

Wade made sure everyone else exited the bar first before pausing in the doorway. He looked back at the two master vampires, seeing both of them staring at him. "I know your kind can sniff out blood for miles, but I don't know if the rest of your nose works. So you should know Niall smelled a little like ozone."

Lucien raised his chin, something dark and hungry in his black eyes. "That just means this hunt will be fun."

Wade didn't want to know what sort of powers Lucien had accrued from his mother after the end of the world. Only psychopaths would think hunting a maybe-god was fun.

"You've overstayed your welcome," Abhartach said.

Wade waggled his fingers at the master vampire. "Just admit that I was right."

Hands grabbed him by the waist and hauled him out of the bar. Wade yelped at the manhandling, nearly elbowing Riordan in the face by accident.

"Stop antagonizing the master vampires. My stress levels can't handle it," Riordan said.

"You're handling him well enough," Donal said.

"Hey!" Wade said, trying to tamp down the flush that hit his cheeks. "Uh, we should go."

Riordan snorted. "You don't say."

They hustled back to the parking garage, the streets weirdly calm and normal after the attack they'd just survived in the Green Fairy. Whatever magic Abhartach had bought to line the bar was definitely high-grade, because no one outside seemed to be aware of what had transpired inside. That meant they could leave Beacon Hill without the cops being involved, which Wade always thought was a plus.

They huddled around the pay machine on the ground-floor level of the garage to validate their tickets. Wade tapped Ella on the shoulder, getting her attention. She looked at him, wolf-bright amber eyes still red-rimmed. "Go home. Get behind a threshold. Niall came to target you personally, and you shouldn't make it easy on him."

"He knows where our territory is."

"Do you have a safe house, then? Or maybe someplace outside the city?" The London god pack had owned territory outside that capital. Wade wondered if the Boston god pack had something similar.

Ella's lips firmed into a hard line. "I'm not running away from this fight, not while that bastard has our alphas."

"Niall is going to have his hands full tonight. Abhartach might not have agreed to an alliance, but he's pissed, and he's ordered his entire Night Court to hunt Niall. Lucien's is going to him because he's never said no to murder. Hopefully, that buys us time to find Casey and Harper and get Saoirse's skin back before anything worse happens."

"Vampires are useless during the day."

"Most of them are. But there's one in Boston right now who doesn't mind the occasional sunburn. Niall knows that. He'll probably be cautious so long as Lucien is here in the city."

"I won't have my pack owe that bastard."

"You won't. I promise. Trust me."

Ella nodded. "I do. Despite hating that my alphas are suffering, I don't regret reaching out to your pack."

"Get home safe. We'll talk tomorrow, but if you need me, you have my number."

"Thanks."

Ella and her pack members took the elevator up to whatever level they had parked at. Wade looked over at the selkies. "So what now?"

"I'm hungry. Let's get out of vampire and fae territory and head back to the pub," Saoirse said.

"You're fae."

"Our territory is better."

He couldn't really argue that. They split up like before, with Riordan joining Wade in his car for the drive back to South Boston. Wade was distracted by Riordan's hand resting on his thigh for the entire drive to the pub and how nice it felt.

"Park in our driveway down the easement," Riordan instructed once Wade hit the more residential streets closer to the pub. Most of the street parking was taken, so Wade was glad he wouldn't have to be circling blocks looking for a spot.

Donal and Saoirse were already inside the pub by the time they arrived. The place was packed, almost everyone there smelling like the sea, which probably meant selkies. What caught Wade's nose and attention first, though, was the smell of fried food and lots of it.

"Fish and chips?" Wade asked hopefully as he followed Riordan to the back, where he could see Saoirse sitting.

Riordan laughed. "Sure, I'll go put in an order."

"Do you sell hamburgers?"

"How about I get you a couple of dishes to tide you over while we figure out our next steps?"

"Sounds like a plan."

Riordan headed for the bar counter while Wade went to join Saoirse at the table. Four pints of beer had already been served, and Wade snagged one as he sat down. "Where's Donal?"

"Wrangling the clúrachán in the basement," Saoirse said.

"The what now?"

"A small fae. Merv has been working for us for over a century. He came off a ship and sort of never left." Saoirse wrinkled her nose. "We're short on our Guinness inventory, and Donal is down there castigating him for it."

"So he drank all your Guinness?"

"Yeah."

"And you still employ him?"

"He really is good at inventory, except when he isn't."

Wade took a gulp of his beer. "I don't know how that makes sense."

"Well, we can't exactly fire him. Where would he go? He's practically clan at this rate, even if he can't swim."

Wade silently toasted her for that because from what he'd seen, selkie clans were a lot like werecreature packs. Once you were part of one, it would take a lot to get kicked out, and drinking on the clock clearly wasn't going to cut it.

Riordan arrived maybe a minute later, dragging his chair closer to Wade when he pulled it out to sit down. "Orders are in. Saoirse, I put in for a fish pie for you."

"Thanks, boyo."

Wade was about to ask when the food would be ready when his phone rang. He pulled it out of his back pocket and winced at the name on the screen. "I was hoping he'd be too busy to call tonight."

"Who?" Riordan asked.

Wade accepted the call and put the phone up to his ear. "Heeeey, Patrick."

"Don't hey me. I've been stuck in court and late-night meetings with the director for the past two days. What are you doing spending money on Lucien of all fuckers?" Patrick said testily.

Wade tried to think of any excuse to hang up and dodge getting read the riot act. "Uh, I'm in a pub, and there are people around."

"That's not going to get you out of this conversation."

"But they can hear you! Are you sure you want to talk right now?"

"Oh, we're talking since Jono didn't see fit to send someone after you and your bad decisions. We taught you better than this."

"Hey! Since when have I done anything stupid and irresponsible?"

"You want that list in numerical order or alphabetical?"

"Er, okay, but when I'm representing the pack?"

"Exhibit number one would be the wire you sent Lucien."

Wade slumped in his seat, teetering to the side so he could lean against Riordan. "So I guess I shouldn't tell you that Niall was dumb and tried to attack the Boston Night Court tonight and pissed off two master vampires? Lucien is probably going to make a mess of Boston, and I want you to know that's not my fault."

Patrick was quiet for all of five seconds, which was just long enough for Riordan to reach up and scritch his fingers through Wade's hair. He would've melted in bliss if he didn't have Patrick sounding all kinds of pissed off in his ear. Wade knew the anger wasn't directed at him but at the situation Patrick couldn't come and handle himself.

"What were you doing in the Boston Night Court?"

"I paid Lucien for an introduction to Abby Boy."

"Abby Boy," Patrick echoed. "That's not his name, I'm betting."

"He goes by Abhartach, but that's a mouthful, and everyone gets twitchy when I say Abby Boy, which is funny. Anyway, Niall is targeting leaders of the supernatural and preternatural communities here, so I thought the best way to distract him would be to sic vampires on him. Turns out Lucien was in town for a visit and now there are two master vampires gunning for him. Half a million dollars was actually a bargain if you think about it."

Saoirse stared at him as if he'd lost his mind, and Wade could feel the vibrations of Riordan's disbelieving laughter against his body.

"I don't know what's worse. That you convinced Lucien to be your attack dog or that you walked into a Night Court and convinced the other master vampire to do the same. Did you even have backup?"

"Yes," Riordan muttered, clearly listening in.

"Ella and some of her pack were with me, and so were the selkies. I know you're stuck in DC, but I am handling things here," Wade said.

Patrick let out a snort. "It's vampires. I'm going to worry."

Wade knew why that was the case, and it warmed him a little to know that the care from years ago when they first met was never going to go away. Despite it all, he decided against telling Patrick that Niall was possibly a low-ranked, prayed-into-being god because then he'd definitely leave DC for Boston.

"I can handle them. I handled Takoma's Night Court in Seattle just fine."

"I know, but I feel like you should have backup."

"You can't ditch your job."

"Watch me."

"I'm fine. Really. If anything gets worse, I'll let you know, but I'm not alone out here, and I need to help Ella and Riordan."

"All right," Patrick said after a moment, clearly fighting the urge to get on a plane to Boston. Wade knew that tone in his voice. "I'll tell the others I spoke with you and that I'm staying in DC, but you better pick up your phone when any of us calls next time. And I want you to update Jono twice a day on what is going on. If he doesn't hear from you within twenty-four hours, he'll be coming to Boston."

Ella would definitely not like that, but Wade also knew Jono wouldn't care about niceties if he had to come to Boston. Jono was very protective of his pack. So was Patrick, but between the two of them, Jono was the one who didn't mind ripping people's throats out with his teeth.

"Got it. Have fun annoying the director." Wade ended the call, set his phone on the table, and grabbed his beer. "Good news, which you all probably heard. Patrick isn't coming to Boston."

"I don't know if that's good if we could use the backup. Your pack certainly has a reputation," Saoirse said.

"Niall doesn't know you're New York City god pack," Riordan said.

Wade shrugged, letting Riordan take more of his weight. It earned him a strong arm wrapped around his shoulders, making him want to preen. "He's not going to know until I eat the bastard."

Wade had gone toe-to-toe with plenty of gods before and survived. In a range of godheads, Niall wasn't all that powerful—if he even had one. But he was corrupt and he was a bastard, and Wade was going to enjoy crunching the fae between his teeth.

He wouldn't even complain about the taste this time.

Donal popped up at the table just then, looking harried. "Boyo, it's your turn to talk sense into Merv."

Riordan rubbed his hand over Wade's shoulder, who took the hint and sat up. "What's he done now?"

"Drank the rest of the Guinness we ordered for June and insisted it was part of the May inventory. It's going to take at least a week for our supplier to get us a replacement shipment of kegs. We'll need to buy bottles from the packies to get us through the next few days."

Riordan stood, and Wade immediately missed having him close. "I'll talk to him."

"I'll come with you," Wade said.

"You don't want to wait for your food?"

"It'll be quick, right? Besides, I've never met a clúrachán before."

He knew he had mangled the name, but neither of the three laughed at him for it. Riordan just took him by the hand and led him deeper into the bar to a door with a faded Employees Only sign nailed to the wood. They shouldered through it, stepping down a creaky wooden staircase to a cold, brightly lit basement.

"Merv?" Riordan called out.

"Oi, I told your brother the inventory is fine" came the response from deeper in the basement, followed by a loud belch.

"How much inventory do you lose to Merv?" Wade asked.

Riordan sighed. "We can afford it. Mostly."

Wade followed Riordan through rows of shelving filled with boxes of liquor and beer to the back, where kegs were stacked against the wall. Leaning against one and taking a sip of beer from a glass mug with a contemplative expression on a weathered face was a fae who barely came up to Wade's knees. Dark brown hair curled away from Merv's head, and his beard was long and bushy. A bit of foam from his beer coated his mustache, which he licked off after a second.

"Merv," Riordan said, letting Wade's hand go so he could cross his arms over his chest. "What have I said about drinking through the inventory?"

"That leftover amounts are fine for me to imbibe," Merv replied. He belched again, holding the mug up and eyeing it critically. "Ach, but I think this keg's beer is a wee off on the taste profile. I'll have to drink more to be sure."

"No, you won't. Whatever is left of the inventory is fine. Go upstairs and finish the paperwork. Don't make me ask twice."

It was a couple more minutes of grumbling on Merv's part, cajoling on Riordan's, and the stealing of a mug before Merv could be herded back upstairs. He stomped his way up the wooden steps, muttering under his breath about stingy selkies, but he went all the same.

"That seemed easy enough. I don't know why Donal needed help," Wade said.

"He and Merv get along maybe half the time. Merv tends to bite, and Donal always takes offense to that."

Wade laughed. "At least he seems nice?"

"Nice enough. Though I wouldn't want to be bitten by him. It's never fun." Riordan tilted his head, eyeing Wade. "I wouldn't mind it from you though."

Suddenly, the basement felt way too warm. Wade cleared his throat. "Really?"

Riordan quirked a smile at him, warm brown eyes looking nowhere else but at Wade. "I thought I've been obvious about that."

"Admittedly, I'm never looking."

"I find it really hard to believe that no one has ever looked at you before." And just like that, all that warmth fled Wade. Something must have shown on his face, maybe his scent, because Riordan's smile disappeared, replaced by concern and not a little bit of anger. "I really want to find whoever hurt you and kill them."

"You can't," Wade said around the knot in his throat. "He was a god, and the master vampire he was working with in New York City is dead."

A complicated mix of emotions crossed Riordan's face. "If a vampire hurt you, why did you want to meet with Abhartach?"

"Because you needed the help."

"Wade."

He shook his head, frowning hard. "I know what I am now. Dealing with vampires is easier because of it. And my pack made sure the god who enslaved me as a kid paid for it."

"Enslaved," Riordan said slowly, hands curling into fists. " What ?"

Wade hunched his shoulders, reaching up to scratch at the back of his head as he looked up at the ceiling because it was easier to not look Riordan in the eye. "I never knew my father, and my mother died when I was fourteen or so. I didn't want to stay in a group home, so I ran away, and that was the dumbest thing I could've done. I got picked up by people who sold me to Tezcatlipoca. He knew what I was, even if I didn't. Not yet. I was collared and forced to fight to the death for rich people's entertainment, and sometimes after the fight, they…bought me. When I wasn't fighting, I was pickpocketing. I was eighteen when he took us to New York City. That's where I met my pack. That's where Patrick, Jono, and Sage saved me."

He could speak about it now. Years of therapy helped with that, but it still wasn't easy spilling his metaphorical guts to someone who wasn't pack. To wonder if they'd judge him for being a dumb kid or having weird boundaries about personal space and sex and nudity that kept shifting as he grew older.

He shouldn't have worried.

Warm arms wrapped around him, pulling him into a tight embrace that made Wade stiffen for all of a moment. But he took a breath, drew in the scent of the sea and Riordan, and gave in to the urge to tuck his nose against the warm leather jacket collar pressed against Riordan's neck.

"I'll hunt down and murder anyone who ever touched you," Riordan growled.

Wade snorted, burrowing in close, getting his hands beneath the jacket to rest tentatively over the sides of Riordan's rib cage. "That's nice of you, but I'd rather you not get arrested for murder."

"No wonder you hate Niall so much."

"I'd hate him even without knowing what it's like to be someone's prisoner."

Riordan ran his hands up and down Wade's back a couple of times before pulling away. He ducked his head, pressing a chaste kiss to Wade's cheek, which was nice and all, but he was okay with more. So he turned his head, catching Riordan's lips against his own, kissing inexpertly, he knew, but he liked it now. Mostly because it was Riordan, who groaned softly and deepened the kiss, pushing Wade gently up against the shelf full of alcohol and bracketing him in.

They weren't going to do anything down in the basement of a crowded pub, but it was really nice to be wanted.

When Riordan broke the kiss, much to Wade's dissatisfaction, the selkie cupped his face with one hand and rested his forehead against Wade's. "I wish I'd known you before Niall."

"I won't let him keep your sister or take you," Wade said.

Riordan didn't say anything to that, but it was fine. Wade meant it.

He didn't like anyone touching what was his.

Riordan reluctantly pulled away. "Come on, let's get back upstairs. I'm sure the food has arrived and is getting cold."

Wade grabbed his hand and hauled him toward the stairs. "Can't have that."

They headed back upstairs, and Wade spent the rest of the evening eating his way through every dish on the menu while holding Riordan's hand.