Chapter 6

CHAPTER SIX

Wade ate a hefty breakfast made by the private chef the hotel offered before leaving to meet with Ella. He made a pit stop at Dunkin' on the way to the god pack territory out in the Forest Hills area of the Jamaica Plain neighborhood. Ella had given out the address at the end of lunch only a little reluctantly. Not because she didn't trust Wade in her pack's territory but because she didn't know what the fallout would be if Niall had their home under surveillance.

Wade didn't notice anything out of the ordinary when he parked in front of the triple-decker home on Walk Hill Street. He peered at the pale blue siding and white-trimmed windows, noticing there was enough space on either side between its neighbors that could've been filled in as apartments back home. The space and the numerous trees dotting the street was a little mind-boggling coming from a city as packed in as Manhattan.

He got out of the car, peering down the street in both directions, taking in the area. He drew in a deep breath, parsing out the scents. It definitely smelled like werecreatures lived there. He'd bet good money every single house facing the cemetery in Franklin Park was owned by the god pack. The park itself was surrounded by a low iron fence that wouldn't keep any werecreature out. He wondered if they had permission from the city to shift in that greenery.

Locking the car, Wade carried his three boxes of donuts with him up the walkway to the house. He shoved the last bite of a chocolate old-fashioned into his mouth and would've knocked, except the door opened before he could do so. Ella stared at him, gaze flicking from his face to the boxes.

"Is there even any left?" she asked, clearly remembering their lunch.

"Uh, I can get more delivered?" Wade said a little sheepishly. "I didn't want the car to smell like donuts because then it'd make me hungry later. Can I dump them in your trash?"

Ella sighed and stepped back, gesturing at him to enter. "Come inside. The trash bin is out back."

She took the empty boxes from him and passed them off to an older man who appeared behind her, his bright amber eyes the same color as hers. Wade glanced around, not seeing the usual setup of food and drink on the hallway credenza that he was used to back home. "No hospitality?"

Ella arched an eyebrow. "Do I need to ask that of you?"

Wade raised his hands in a fending-off gesture. "Nope. I just have a mage in my pack, and I'm used to us offering it. You might want to make it a standard procedure going forward."

"I'll mention it to my alphas when we get them back."

Wade shoved his sunglasses on top of his head, looking around curiously at the home. He could hear a couple more people in the home that he couldn't see and wondered how many pack members were going to be present for this little meeting.

Ella seemed more at ease today than she had yesterday out in public. Maybe it had something to do with being in her own territory, but she didn't seem so stressed, despite the situation. She led him to the dining room adjacent to an open kitchen. Someone had left a bag of Oreos on the island, and Wade's fingers twitched with the urge to grab it and eat the remaining cookies.

A small stack of folders sat on the dining table next to a laptop. Ella claimed the chair in front of the laptop and waved casually at the folders. "I've had my pack looking into Niall so you can see what we're dealing with. It's not much. He hasn't been on our radar as a threat, to be honest."

"Fae can afford to play the long game. If he's targeting you now, I'd bet he's been planning it for years."

"You're still certain he's fae?"

"I'd bet the no-limit on my credit card he is."

Wade sat in the chair next to Ella. He opened up the folders and laid them out on the table to get a better idea of what he was dealing with. After so many years working alongside Patrick and Sage, he knew a bit about investigative work. It wasn't something he'd ever want to make a career out of, but if it helped his pack, then he was all for it.

"Niall Noai—you know what? I'm not gonna butcher that," Wade said, squinting at the printout of a news story about Niall's real estate empire, which probably only scratched the surface. "He's Irish. Looks like an asshole."

"Because he's Irish?"

"No, because he's pulling sneaky shit." Skimming through the documents provided a superficial background on the man who Wade didn't believe for a second was mundane human. "He doesn't look like a fae in the photographs, which makes me think he's using glamour. I won't know until I see him."

"You don't have any magic."

Wade hummed. "Glamour doesn't work on me."

He could always see right through it to what was hidden underneath. Magic made his skin itch if it was strong enough for him to even notice it. Mostly, he didn't, unless someone was lobbing military-level attack spells his way. Then he just got annoyed.

Ella closed the laptop and watched him flip through what little her pack had managed to find out about Niall around the magical restrictions placed on them. It wasn't anything like the dossiers Patrick sometimes came home with or the legal brief and evidence Sage worked on. It was lacking solid information, probably because Ella and the rest of her god pack couldn't talk about Niall. Fae and their magic were insidious that way, all twisty when it came to reading between the lines of what was said and what was meant.

"Do you know where he likes to hang out?" Wade asked.

Ella eyed him dubiously. "Sorry, but you don't look like you'd fit into the places Niall likely haunts. He doesn't strike me as the type of guy to go to a local bar and watch the Red Sox or Bruins play. His net worth is probably in the multimillions. He's a burgeoning hotelier, as far as our research shows."

Wade wasn't impressed. Marek was a billionaire, and he was pack through Sage. Wade was well versed in the kind of money that could buy a small country as opposed to a single hotel building. "I wasn't asking if I?—"

A loud banging on the front door had Ella's head snapping around, eyes narrowing. Her nostrils flared, and Wade drew in a breath as well. Something like sea salt hit the back of his throat, making him think of the ocean. The house wasn't close enough to the harbor to see the water, much less smell it, which meant whoever was on the porch wasn't mundane human.

Footsteps thundered on the second floor before clattering down the stairs. Ella stood, her chair nearly toppling over. "Stay here."

She darted away with preternatural speed. Wade easily tracked her exit and gave it, oh, thirty seconds before he got up and made his way down the hall to the front door. The argument happening across the threshold probably wasn't one they should've been having so openly, but when tempers were high, people never thought rationally.

Other members of the Boston god pack stood with Ella in the front hall, ready to back her if the argument turned into a fight. Wade couldn't see who was on the front porch, but he could clearly make out the anger in their faintly Boston-accented voice. A jolt of recognition shot through him as Wade realized he knew one of the voices.

"—want to speak with your alphas right now," Riordan snarled.

"They're unavailable," Ella replied with all the icy politeness a Southern belle could give. "You coming here like this could be construed as trespassing."

Riordan let out a sharp laugh. "You think I want your territory? Nah, lass. It doesn't come with oceanfront property. Casey came into my clan's territory last night playing attack dog for a bastard, and that means your pack owes us a damn explanation."

Ella drew in a sharp breath before saying, "I will let you inside if you take hospitality. If you decline, this conversation is over."

"We'll keep our word."

Two people stepped into the home, both of them tall and dark-haired, similar enough in looks they had to be related. Wade's attention latched onto Riordan, the same fae who had tried to dissuade him from interacting with the Unseelie fae at the dessert table during Gerard's wedding.

He's still hot.

It was unfair how ridiculously good-looking Riordan was, especially in the leather jacket he wore today. Wade had thought he was over mourning the fact he'd never thought to ask for Riordan's phone number, and yet, here the fae was, waltzing back into Wade's life to tease him. It just sucked that he was arguing with Ella because that put him on the opposite side of Wade.

Then Wade's phone rang, making him jump. He quickly turned his back on everyone in the hallway, digging his phone out of his pocket. Patrick's name came up on the caller ID, and Wade knew better than to not answer.

"Hey," Wade said in a low voice, stretching out the word as he retreated back to the dining room with quick strides. "People can hear you."

"Line and location not secure? Got it," Patrick said.

"Pretty much."

"I'm on the way to the airport. Are you somewhere safe, at least?"

Wade scratched at the back of his head and made a face down at the folders on the table before sliding over to the kitchen island and the bag of Oreos there, left woefully unattended. "Uh, sure."

"That lacked conviction."

Wade unfolded the bag and slid the carton out, pleased to see at least half the Oreos were left. It would be a travesty if they got stale. Really, he'd be doing everyone a favor if he ate them. "I'm at the Boston god pack's home."

"Who's having a row?" Jono asked from the background on Patrick's side of the line, clearly eavesdropping.

Wade heard him perfectly fine, even without Jono being on the phone. "Some fae just showed up."

"What?" Patrick said sharply.

Wade shoved two Oreos into his mouth and chewed, speaking through the mouthful. "Gotta go. Bye."

He ended the call, silenced his phone, and shoved it into his pocket. If he didn't see the next call from Patrick, then he could honestly say he missed it. Picking up the bag of Oreos, Wade headed toward where the raised voices were coming from, which turned out to be the front room that overlooked the street and the park beyond. He leaned against the doorway, eating the Oreos one by one as he watched the drama play out.

The Boston god pack stood on one side of the room facing off against the pair of fae who didn't seem intimidated by werecreatures at all. Wade's attention lingered on Riordan in his leather jacket. The day was set to be a warm one, but he didn't seem bothered by the encroaching heat. The leather jacket fit him like a second skin almost, and Wade wondered what it felt like. His fingers itched to steal it, to add it to his hoard. Maybe it would get Riordan to follow.

Wade paused mid-chew, poking at that thought. Weird to think about wanting someone and wanting to act on it. He hadn't felt that urge in, well, what seemed like forever.

"You're sure you saw Casey?" Ella asked, staring at the newcomers.

"He nearly broke a table trying to go after Donal here. Yeah, we saw him."

Ella opened her mouth to talk, and the next second, she doubled over, clawing at her throat. Wade tensed, smelling a subtle hint of magic that abruptly faded once Ella let out a ragged breath. The fae, for their part, seemed a little surprised at her reaction.

"Are you all right?" Donal asked, sounding genuinely worried.

Ella opened her mouth again, thought better of it, and sighed in frustration. Wade dug another Oreo out of the bag. "She can't talk about it. None of them can."

The two remarkably human-looking fae finally seemed to notice he was there. Riordan's eyes widened, nostrils flaring, presumably taking in Wade's scent. Wade knew all the other man would really get was mundane human, false as that scent was. It would've been the same scent he'd have gotten at the wedding. If Wade didn't adjust his aura to the particular shielded level Reed had taught him years ago in Central Park, he'd just come across as a bit strange .

A bit dangerous.

He always weirded people out. It was hilarious some days.

"You're here? What are you?" Riordan asked, sounding a little bewildered and a lot less angry.

"A problem," Wade said cheerfully. "Don't make me yours. You won't like that."

Riordan's gaze dragged up and down Wade's body, making him blink as he realized he was being checked out? Yeah, he was definitely being checked out by the hot guy.

Riordan tilted his head, a contemplative look coming to his eyes. "I don't mind problems like you."

Wade nearly choked on his Oreo and had to cough out some crumbs. "Let's get back to you having seen Casey with Niall the asshole."

"You know Niall?"

"No, he just looks like an asshole. I'm a pretty good judge of character."

"You saw him in a picture," Ella said.

"He stole your alphas. That's asshole material right there," Wade retorted.

Ella made a face. One of her pack members, a guy twice Wade's age, spoke up with the thickest Boston accent he'd heard since arriving. "If Wade can speak for us, we should let him."

Ella shared an unreadable look with each of the werecreatures in the room with her before letting out an aggrieved huff. "Wade, this is Riordan and Donal Maguire, of Clan Maguire. They hold territory along the harbor shore."

"We've met," Riordan said.

"Did you, boyo?" Donal asked sharply. "When?"

Riordan rounded on the other man, saying something in the fae's version of Irish that had Wade's brain squeezing tight in his skull for a second or two before it started processing the language.

"How do you know him?" Donal was demanding.

Riordan glanced back at Wade. "He was at Cú Chulainn's wedding. He got in an argument with Lord Diarmait at the dessert table."

Donal reared back a little, head swiveling around to stare at Wade. "And the kid is still alive?"

"He was there as one of Cú Chulainn's personal guests with a group of other mortals. Everyone had strict instructions to leave them all alone."

Wade continued to pretend he couldn't understand them. Ella, however, seemed annoyed at their rudeness of excluding everyone else from the conversation. "Wade is part of the New York City god pack. He's agreed to help us with a problem."

At that, both of the fae froze where they stood, their attention zeroing back on Wade like a heat-seeking missile. Donal swallowed. "New York City?"

Wade wiggled his fingers at them. "My pack isn't looking to expand up to Boston. I'm here as a courtesy."

"When Brigid called for aid, the clans up here answered. We heard the fight against the gods was led by your pack," Riordan said slowly.

"I don't remember seeing you on the streets."

"We fought at the Battle of Samhain in the Hudson River."

Wade made a face. "Water fae? No wonder you got stuck fighting against the Norse dead."

"We're selkies."

Wade's gaze lingered on the leather jacket Riordan wore and the stylish brown coat Donal had on. "Sealskin?"

Maybe he could hoard Riordan after all if Riordan was willing.

A wary look came to Riordan's deep brown eyes. "Off limits."

Ooh, a challenge. Wade liked those—when it came to stealing.

He'd never tried to steal someone's affections though.

"Niall kidnapped the alphas of the Boston god pack two weeks ago and gave the rest of the pack an ultimatum to fall in line and hand over their territory, or he'd kill Casey and Harper. What did he do to you?"

Both the selkies seemed startled at his statement, the pair looking to Ella for confirmation, which she couldn't give. She just stared back at them with a grim expression, mouth pulled tight. "Wade isn't from around here, and we couldn't ask for help in Boston. Take what he says as truth."

"The terms they were given sounded like fae words. If you've had a run-in with Niall, maybe you can confirm for me that he is fae. Ella thinks he's just a mobster businessman."

"He's fae," Riordan said, crossing his arms over his chest. "Part of the daoine sídhe ."

"So he's a lord or whatever? Demigod? Did he get kicked out of Underhill like Tiarnán?"

Riordan blinked at him. "How do you know the Lord of Ivy and Gold?"

"He's my dire's boss."

To be fair, Tiarnán was back in Brigid's grudgingly good graces after the Battle of Samhain. Something told Wade that whoever or whatever Niall was, that wouldn't be the case with him.

"How high up are you in the New York City god pack?" Donal asked curiously, eyeing Wade with a frankness that was much more businesslike than his brother's intense stare.

At that, Ella laughed. "High enough you won't want to mess with him. But it sounds like we're on the same side here, and Wade can be of help. So what does Niall want with you?"

Riordan and Donal were quiet for a good long minute before Riordan finally spoke. "Our sister was attacked two weeks ago. Niall's people took her sealskin. He said he'd give it back in exchange for mine and control of our clan, or he keeps it and Saoirse forever, and we'd never see her again."

Wade crumpled the bag of Oreos in his fist, destroying the rest of his cookies. "Oh, fuck that."

He didn't condone what basically amounted to slavery. He'd been there, survived that, and wasn't willing to leave anyone else in that kind of horror if at all possible.

He pushed himself off the doorframe and stepped into the living room, tossing the Oreos bag onto the coffee table. "It sounds like this boils down to a territory fight, only Niall is going about it by taking hostages to get you to comply. I'm going to need to see a map of everyone's territories, and you'll probably want to form some kind of official alliance for this mess."

He knew the Five Boroughs like he knew what was in the hoard in his apartment these days. All he knew about Boston was food places he'd seen on social media that he was hoping to hit up while there.

Riordan eyed Ella with a healthy dose of judgment. "Can you even speak for your alphas while they're in captivity?"

"Honey, it's not your fault you're a little slow on the uptake, but yes. I'm dire for a reason," Ella bit out.

"Whoa, don't go at each other's throats. You're both on a timeline you can't afford to miss," Wade said, cutting Riordan off as the other man opened his mouth to argue.

Riordan scowled at Ella, but his tone was grudging when he spoke to Wade. "I can't speak for the other clans with regard to an alliance."

"I'm not asking you to." Riordan stared at Wade, and Wade stared back, arching an eyebrow for good measure. He could outstare anyone and had when it came to the last snack in his pack's various homes. The only person he ever lost to was Lillian because she deserved to win every time. "The Boston god pack will keep its word. You need to promise to keep yours as well. Neither of you want each other's territory; you just want your people back."

Riordan's eyes were big and brown, and Wade was about five seconds away from getting distracted by counting the freckles scattered across his sharp cheekbones when the other man finally broke their staring contest.

"Clan Maguire will ally with the Boston god pack. We cede no territory," Riordan said.

"On behalf of my alphas, the Boston god pack agrees to the terms of the alliance and also cedes no territory," Ella said. She extended her hand to Riordan, and he accepted her handshake without trying to out-squeeze her.

Wade clapped his hands together, looking at them. "Great. Now that we're all friends here, one of you gets to play tour guide for me."