Chapter 14

Chapter

Fourteen

CONNOR

Staring from the deck, Connor resolutely did not panic at the stillness settling over the lake. Ben was somewhere in the water, having disappeared under the surface almost ten minutes ago under the guise of swimming to the pontoon Connor and Seamus inflated days before.

How long could sprites hold their breath? Hours? Days? Did sprites sleep underwater? His lack of knowledge of Ben's people made him draw a frustrated breath.

Ben could be anywhere in the lake by now. The pretty sprite was wily enough to pop up unseen on the shore and disappear into the forest.

Pulling out his phone, Connor wondered if it might be premature to alert Freya and her sentries of Ben's latest escape attempt.

He growled in frustration. He honestly thought they'd moved past ill-thought escapes. The connection between Ben and himself was a constant hum in the back of his mind. He wondered if Ben felt the same or if it manifested differently in sprites. Did sprites even have mates?

"Calm down before you have an aneurism, boss," Kris said, leaning against the deck railing, sunglasses obnoxiously halfway down his nose. "Look, Ben's right there." The enforcer pointed to a slight rippling in the water beside the pontoon.

A minute later, Ben pulled himself out of the lake and onto the pontoon, water flowing over the muscles of his bare back and arms. Black briefs contrasted sharply against the silken paleness of his skin, and then Connor was distracted by muscled thighs and calves. Already, Connor could see the effect of a few weeks of good food, clean water and exercise on Ben's body.

Ben threw himself onto his back on the pontoon, arms spread wide and face towards the sun. A gorgeous sprite in his element.

Connor's mouth watered.

"Anything you want to talk about, boss?" Seamus asked from where he lounged on one of the sun chairs. Jake sat in his lap, letting the bigger enforcer coil his big arms possessively around him.

Anders nursed a coffee, seated at his usual spot on the top step of the deck. Kris stood a few feet away, giving Anders the space he always needed in the morning.

Connor scrubbed his jaw. He felt the pull across the water, and suspected given time and less panic, he'd learn to sense Ben's location with his eyes closed. A useful skill when hunting a runner, but Connor longed for Ben to want to stay.

He purposely didn't think too hard about why Ben chose to bask on the floating dock rather than attempt to sneak out of Oakford territory. Connor wasn't na?ve enough to believe Ben was done trying to escape, but maybe the sprite found he didn't hate his predicament quite so much.

"Boss?" Seamus prompted.

Turning his back to the lake with an effort, Connor rested against the railing. "Vaughn can never get his hands on Ben."

"Yeah, we've already agreed on that," Seamus said, speaking for the enforcers who all nodded. "What's really going on?"

Connor thought over the desire to nurture and protect Ben; it wasn't simply about wanting to see Ben recover from the terrible things haunting his steps. Connor wanted Ben to thrive . He wanted those clever green eyes staring at him hungrily like he'd done at the pack gathering. He wanted to see desperation replaced with confidence, so that Ben's quick wit and ferociousness served him beyond the need to survive. Ben deserved to command attention, not because he was a luckbringer but because his nature and intelligence demanded respect.

"He's your mate," Anders said, nursing his coffee in both hands.

Connor looked sharply at the enforcer, mouth falling open, but no protest came out.

Anders's lips quirked. "It's kind of obvious, Connor. The chances of us going to Lake Erie and finding him in that diner were absurdly small. Not even Freya would have been able to find Ben—but we did, and we didn't even know we were looking for him."

"Ben says his luck betrayed him," Connor countered.

"More like it conspired to help him," Jake said. "Ben's already changed so much in a couple of weeks, but I remember what he was like when we found him, all washed out and pale like a ghost." He tilted his head, thinking. "Like he was dying."

Connor swallowed hard. He'd noticed the color returning to Ben's cheek and the spark brightening his forest-green eyes. The anger and fear were still there, but something else simmered between them whenever their eyes met.

"I can't lose him," Connor admitted. "He knows going after Vaughn is a suicide mission but he's determined to see it through."

"Let's not underestimate Ben—he got the best of Craven," Kris pointed out. "The brute might be as smart as a bag of rocks, but not many can win a fight against him. Ben's as wild as a feral wolf under a full moon."

"We need to up the training, though," Anders said. "It's a matter of time before Vaughn comes sniffing around here."

Connor nodded. "Freya's already picked up strange scents on the border. Grayson said a few wolves entered the city without first getting permission."

"Vaughn's wolves?" Kris asked.

"Possibly. Vaughn will be looking for Craven, too. If we're lucky, Vaughn thinks Craven has Ben stashed away to get his luck, so he'll send hunters to cities with underground gambling dens."

"How unoriginal, thinking a sprite's luck is only good for money," Kris muttered.

Connor grunted in agreement. There were old stories about luckbringers aligning with packs and the inadvertent prosperity the partnership brought to both species.

"Did anyone hear about Tara joining the pack run last night? It's been years since her joints were pain-free enough for her to enjoy the trails," Seamus said.

Anders snorted. "I heard she turned Mason's spicy meat rub into a poultice and rubbed it into her knees. The man says he's insulted, but he gave her a whole jar after the run."

Connor smirked. Prosperity, indeed. He glanced over his shoulder at Ben sunning himself on the pontoon. Despite Ben's protests, his luck seemed strongly itself with the Oakford Pack.

Connor felt the urge to swim out to the pontoon and spend time with his sprite, but it was important to give Ben his space, even if the sun was already turning his skin pink.

As if their thoughts aligned, Ben rolled off the pontoon and into the water with barely a splash. A heartbeat later, no one would know the lovely creature frolicked in the lake.

Connor tightened his grip on the railing until the wood creaked, waiting and wanting to go to his sprite.

Mate , his wolf said.

It was dangerous to acknowledge it. What if wolves and sprites thought of mates differently? What if Ben didn't feel the call of their twin souls? Or, worse, could push it aside?

Connor decided it was worth the risk. Everything about Ben was worth it.

"Here, Connor," Jake said, throwing him a towel.

With a grateful nod, Connor put the towel over his shoulder and went to the shore to watch the calm water.

Ben emerged in front of him, water clinging to his eyelashes as he blinked up at him. "Hello, Connor."

Breath caught in his throat, Connor held out the towel. His heart thundered when Ben left the water and took the towel with a smile. The scent of sunlight-on-water seemed a thousand times stronger than before, and with a start, Connor realized what it was.

In this simple, precious moment, his gorgeous sprite was happy.

Connor's wolf wanted to roll in the thick scent and proudly show off to the pack how good he was at caring for his mate.

"What is it? Do I have lakeweed on me?" Ben asked, turning to search himself.

"No," Connor croaked, then shook himself. He was the alpha of Oakford Pack, not a lovesick pup. "A storm's predicted to sweep in by early afternoon, so no training today. I'm not going to risk a tree coming down on you."

Ben blinked, forest-green eyes vibrant as he glanced up at the clear sky. "Okay," he said, accepting.

"The enforcers are going to be a little much when cooped up inside—the best way to keep them in line is to keep them fed, if you want to help," Connor said.

Ben tilted his head. "You like cooking for your people, Stone?"

"I do," Connor said. Even more so when it meant feeding his defiant, beautiful sprite.

Shrugging, Ben said, "Sure. Let me get cleaned up first."

For a few minutes, Connor could pretend Ben was in his territory by choice and part of his pack. It was too soon to think that way, but the yearning gripped him hard.

He followed Ben inside and busied himself by pulling ingredients onto the kitchen bench.

Ben thumped down the stairs a few minutes later, purposely loud as if Connor didn't know he could be as stealthy as the wind when it suited him.

"What are we making?" Ben asked, rounding the bench to wash his hands.

"I'm thinking of some different mini tarts. Jake and Kris will want to bring out the popcorn if they decide on movies, but I prefer a proper feed."

Ben nodded and pulled out a few bowls for different mixtures. Connor settled on beef and caramelized onion for one round of tarts, spinach and mushroom for another, and pork chili for the last. He settled on making the pastry while Ben started on the fillings. If they occasionally bumped against each other as they worked, Connor resolutely didn't react—even though he wanted to press his nose into the back of Ben's neck and breathe slow and deep while the sprite melted against him.

The enforcers entered as the sky darkened, bringing in deck cushions before the rain hit. Anders muttered something about checking on his herbs, disappearing for a short while as his mate and Jake set up the living space for an extended stay.

"Let's move before the comfy couch is taken," Connor said when the last tray of tarts went into the oven.

Ben joined him in the living area, sitting cross-legged on the couch while Jake and Kris pulled out the gaming station and four controllers.

"We'll take turns, but Seamus won't play," Jake said, giving Ben a controller. "He's going to pretend to read so he can make fun of us."

"I heard that, love," Seamus said as he settled on a loveseat with a creased book. "And you're not wrong."

Kris loaded up a multiplayer shooter and claimed Ben on his team.

Connor gave the enforcer credit for the move, as Ben was unsurprisingly fast to learn and ruthless. After receiving a headshot for the third time in as many minutes, Connor ceded the controller to Anders and went to the kitchen to plate their food.

Laughter filled the cabin, with Seamus throwing in unhelpful comments and Anders threatening to maim Kris for an underhanded move.

Connor glanced outside when thunder rolled in and the lake grew dark and churning. A sense of rightness filled him.

Returning to the living area, he set down the plates while Seamus went to get everyone beers. Ben smiled and bumped Connor's shoulder briefly before popping a tart in his mouth and returning to the game.

Connor settled back into the couch to watch the most treasured members of his pack heckle each other. His wolf sighed contentedly, and Connor rumbled his agreement, praying to the moon that this peace would last.