Chapter 24

Adryan

Walking away from Kayla felt so wrong that it took everything in me not to turn around and go back to her. In fact, I found myself stopping several times but then forcing my body to keep moving forward, to keep moving away from her.

The sooner I got this shit handled, the sooner I could go back to her.

I didn’t know if the Lycans thought they were going to get some kind of closure heading up to the property in Vermont, but that wasn’t my concern. I would take them there, bring my soldiers for backup, and help them figure shit out. But that was it. If they wanted to try to take shit down tonight, I wouldn”t do that, not until everything was in place for Kayla first.

When I stepped off the stairs, I could hear the commotion outside even clearer, the deep male voices arguing, shouting curses, and making demands. I smirked. Wolves weren’t known for their patience.

Hours had passed since I’d dispatched James to call in reinforcements, and when I opened the front door, I could see my soldiers lined up in front of the house, as well as a shitload of very pissed-off Lycans.

Those big, animalistic fuckers were currently letting their inner animals run the show. That much was clear by their glowing eyes and partially shifted forms.

“Man, you boys are rowdy enough to wake the dead.” I closed the door behind me. “Shit, look at you all eyeing me up like a piece of meat. You want to tear me apart right now, don’t you?” I laughed and stepped forward. They didn’t respond aloud, but they did give me some nasty looks and threatening growls.

I stepped closer.

“Kane, Mikhail.” The two males in question broke off from formation and came to stand in front of me. “I want you two in the house and on the upper level.” They were smart not to ask questions. “James, you stay on the lower level. The three of you don’t do anything else but make sure nothing comes or goes from there, you understand?” I stared James in the eye, then looked at Mikhail and Kane. The males nodded but said nothing.

I stepped aside to let them in, keeping my eyes on the boys in front who were ready to go on a rampage.

I made my way toward the line of my soldiers, and without them having to look behind to see where I was, they parted for me. I shoved my hands into the pockets of my slacks, my feet bare, the stone beneath my soles cold as fuck. I’d haphazardly only thrown on a pair of slacks and a shirt before I left the bedroom.

But it didn’t matter what the hell I had on when I confronted Banner and the Guard. Hell, I could’ve been buck fucking naked and still took on these wolves.

And front and center was my motherfucking brother-in-law. The big bastard looked like someone had pissed in his Cheerios as he glared at me. His short dark hair was a mess around his head, as if he’d been running his fingers through it while he barked orders and tried to figure out what the hell was going on.

He was dressed in black fatigues from head to toe, his legs parted slightly, his hands clasped behind his back like he was the damn general of his squad.

And the scowl he directed my way had me smiling.

Flanking his sides were his sons Tavish and Lennox. Although my nephews were just as big as their father, they didn’t have the age and experience that created a chip on their shoulders yet.

But I had no doubt the longer they spent time with their father, the more they’d see the world through his point of view, and that was over two and a half centuries of being a stubborn, over-the-top alpha bastard.

“Well shit,” I said after looking back at Banner. “I didn’t know we were having a family reunion so soon after we spent quality time together in the Highlands.” When Banner scowled harder, my grin widened. “Admit it, you missed me.”

“Fook ye.”

I laughed hard. “Even after all these years of you mated to my sister and hearing that thick-as-fuck brogue, I still find it cute as hell.”

Banner growled and took a menacing step closer. My soldiers tensed, but I held up my hand, stopping them from doing anything.

“Calm down, boys. My surly brother-in-law knows his place when he’s on my territory. He’s just flexing.” I saw Banner clench his hands at his sides and heard his growl rise from his annoyance.

“Ye know why we’re here,” Banner gritted out.

I glanced at where Cian and Odhran stood behind him, both of them looking like they were ready to kill me. I couldn’t blame them. I had been a massive pain in their ass from the beginning. Even though it had only been a few days since we discussed heading to Vermont, they were antsy, and playing by my rules when shit was real personal for them didn’t sit well with the wolves.

Hell, I couldn”t blame them.

“Yeah, I know.” I looked at Banner. “But coming to my home is a no-go. Yeah?” I didn’t want to war with the wolves and sure as hell didn’t need any more beef with my brother-in-law. The Lycans and vampires had a fragile relationship as it was, and when you factored in this was also a family matter… well shit, things could get ugly real quick.

“I figured the only way tae make my point was tae come and tell ye personally. Since ye seem tae be dragging yer feet on this, and that’s no’ how things work, especially when it’s personal.” Banner’s nostrils flared slightly as he glanced at Odhran and Cian. “I wanted tae let ye know face-tae-face that we’re going with or without ye.” Banner crossed his arms over his chest and kept that stubborn expression on his face. “I didn’t come here tae ask for permission or yer help. I came here tae pay the respect ye deserve as being family.” He gritted his teeth, and I chuckled.

“I bet it hurt saying that out loud.”

“Ye’re Luna’s brother, family by default. So respect, yeah, ye get that because of her. But as King of the Scottish Clan, I’m here to take over. Ye can join us or fook off… respectfully.” Banner gestured behind them toward Odhran. “He’s been patient enough. We all have. This is yer territory, but we’re no’ playing by yer rules anymore, Adryan.”

I said nothing, didn’t show any emotion. Of course I’d expected this would be the eventual outcome—a confrontation between the wolves. And although I wasn’t a male who got easily taken off guard, Banner showing up was a surprise.

Although maybe I should have predicted this. He was an alpha—their head alpha—and if the roles had been reversed, I would’ve done the same thing. Hell, look at the off-the-rails shit I had done when my niece, Ainslee—Banner’s daughter—had been taken by her over-four-hundred-year-old, crazy-as-shit Lycan mate.

Banner had every right to kill me for going against his direct orders. But he didn”t, and truth be told, I would do it all over again, just because that’s who and what I was.

A rule follower I was not, and neither was Banner.

“Yeah,” I said, looking at all the wolves, sensing my soldiers waiting for my orders.

“Ye risked a fooking all-out species war… again, Adryan,” Banner said low, no hint of aggression or emotion, which was surprising seeing as he was just as volatile as I could be and didn’t give two shits about hiding how he felt. “If ye weren’t Luna’s kin, if ending ye wouldn’t break her heart, I’d kill ye myself, right here and now.”

I sobered and straightened, taking a step closer to Banner. I stared into his glowing blue eyes, letting mine flare red. “You could try.” I flashed them one cocky grin, which I knew would piss them off. “But you and I both know I’m not easy to take out. I bite, motherfucker.” The heavy silence that followed only lasted a few seconds before I nodded. “We’ll do this tonight.”

“Do what tonight?” Odhran interjected and stepped forward. “Ye’ve been pulling us all around by the dicks this entire time, no’ understanding the urgency, knowing full well why I,” he shouted and slammed his fist against his chest over and over again, “needed tae do this. And still ye were fooking us over with the ‘my territory, my time and rules’ bullshite?—”

Banner lifted his hand to silence Odhran. The other wolf looked at his king and gritted his teeth but otherwise stayed silent.

“Come on. We’ll go over all this shit and a solid plan before heading out.” I gestured for them to follow me around the side of the house and toward the back. I didn’t wait or look behind to see if they’d obey.

The most selfish part of me wanted to keep the knowledge of my mate a secret, something only I would ever know. I wanted to protect her always, keep her away from the dangers and violence that made up the world I lived in… that made up me. But I knew I couldn’t keep that secret hidden for long, not when the primal—animal--part of me also wanted to brag, to show the world I had the most perfect mate imaginable.

I was at war with myself.

I pushed all thoughts of my mate out of my head, knowing I didn’t want any part of her around this bullshit.

Once again my heart did a funny thing in my chest when I thought about Kayla and protecting her. I lifted my hand to rub it over the otherwise useless fucking organ.

I let my emotions go the cold, hard route, letting myself become utterly void.

I let myself become the male I was to my core.