Betrayed Read online

  “Yeah, but you don’t want just any man, you want Colin Greystone.”

  “Can we drop it for now? What are you doing to me this time?”

  Chance smiled. “What makes you think I’m going to do anything?”

  Nikolai narrowed his eyes at Chance. “You’ve got that, I’ve-gotnew-spells-look.” Nikolai shivered. “Just don’t make me small again, that was creepy.”

  Chance laughed. “It was fun holding you in the palm of my hand.”

  “You’re lucky I trust you.”

  Chance smiled, opening the door. “I appreciate the fact that you do; it’s an honor.” Chance let Nikolai in and went for one of the spell books in his room. “I’ve been working on a protection spell actually.”

  Nikolai followed Chance to his room. Posters of rock bands covered the walls and books lined one row of shelving. Soft music played in the background and Nikolai tilted his head looking at the iPod in the dock. “Lee Ann Womack? I thought you didn’t like country?”

  “I normally don’t,” Chance shrugged his shoulders. “My mom used to sing this to me when I was a kid. I didn’t understand the meaning of it until I got older.”

  Nikolai turned the sound up and listened to the lyrics. “I hope you dance?”

  “Listen to the rest,” Chance laughed at Nikolai wrinkling his nose. “I know you’re the head bangin’ kind of guy.”

  “I’m definitely a bangin’ kind of guy,” Nikolai waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

  Chance rolled his eyes.

  Nikolai listened and had to smile. “I can see why she’d sing this to you; it’s okay, for a country song.”

  “Well, gee, thanks,” Chance punched Nikolai playfully.

  Tiny bottles lined the shelves opposite the bookshelf and Nikolai picked one of them up. “What is this?”

  “Toads’ eyes.”

  “Ew.” Nikolai put the bottle back quickly. He picked up one of the spell books and looked through it. “A love spell?”

  “I’d never use it, it’s dangerous. It was my mom’s.”

  “Yeah, I saw an episode of ‘Buffy’ when Xander used one on Cordelia.”

  Chance turned slowly with an eyebrow raised. “You watched ‘Buffy’?”

  Nikolai shrugged. “I was bored. There was a marathon on TNT.”

  “Angel or Spike?”

  “Oh, definitely Spike,” Nikolai answered immediately.

  “Uh huh,” Chance grinned.

  Nikolai smirked. “Can we get on with it?”

  ~~

  Chance sighed in frustration; he’d been stabbed numerous times now. The protection spell needed some serious tweaking. Although he healed fast because he was a werewolf, the pain of being stabbed was horrendous.

  “Okay, I can’t do this anymore.” Nikolai put the knife down. “I hate seeing your face every time the knife slides into you.”

  “No shit.” Chance ran his hands over his face. “I don’t get it, what am I missing?”

  “Well, it’s in Latin. Maybe you’re missing something in the pronunciation?”

  “Maybe,” Chance looked at the time. “We better get going if we want dinner and cheesecake.”

  Nikolai eyed Chance’s blood-covered shirt. “You should change; you look like a murder victim.”

  “You’d know,” Chance laughed, running.

  “Oh, ha, ha. Make fun of the assassin.”

  ~~Chapter Two~~

  Logan rinsed the blood out of his hair and the water turned crimson around his feet. They’d found another nest of rogues and this time it had taken all of them to clean it out. More than once his thoughts had turned to Chance during the fight. Was he all right? Was Nikolai protecting him? Pierce had been careful since the last time they’d crossed paths, always sending his minions to do his dirty work. The thought of Pierce getting close to Chance made him nervous. No, it

  downright terrified him. Somehow, Pierce had found a way to walk around in human form undetected. Rogues didn’t smell differently than regular werewolves, but their yellow eyes gave them away.

  At the last fight in Toronto, he’d actually seen one in human form. The eyes were just as yellow in human form as they were in wolf form. They caught one and tried to pull information from him, but it hadn’t worked. Jacob, Seth,

  Tristan, Noah, Ross and Hayden all had Special Forces

  backgrounds and had been in charge of the interrogation. They’d come up empty after days of questioning. The rogue was

  promptly killed and burned. Most of the guys were off to Denali to start a two week patrol of the park. Logan just wanted to go home, which was going to be Arizona in a few weeks. The mines under the desert were the perfect hiding place for rogues and they’d been informed by the Arizona pack that rogues had been seen in the desert east of Tucson.

  Logan dressed quickly and made his way out to the living room. James Pruitt Jacobs and his husband, Derek Jacobs, were putting them up until they all went back to their homes. Logan only had a week left in Boston before the packers and movers came, then they’d be living one block over from Riley and Mateo Esposito in Arizona. It would be interesting living in the same neighborhood as Vince and Keegan Markov as well.

  “Ready to head home?” James handed him a beer. “Hell, yes.” Logan smiled, taking the beer and sitting down on the couch.

  “So, pretty soon you’ll be right here, in Arizona. Looking forward to the move?” James sat down on the couch and put his feet up on the coffee table.

  “Yes and no; I’ll miss the beach, but this is where the rogues seem to be migrating.” Logan eyed James Jacobs. “So you seem to be pretty relaxed around us

  werewolves.”

  James shrugged his

  shoulders. “I’ll admit at first it weirded me out, but knowing Sam and Troy as well as I do, it really doesn’t faze me.”

  Logan opened his mouth, only to have a sense of dread hit him full force. James stood up

  immediately at the look on Logan’s face.

  “What is it?” James asked. “Chance…”

  ~~ Chance felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise. The smell of werewolf invaded the house. He smacked Nikolai’s shoulder and nodded toward the living room. They both stood, and Chance shut the light off in his room. Nikolai grabbed the short swords from on top of Chance’s dresser and put his finger over his lips. Chance

  nodded, moving behind Nikolai. They heard grunts and yips coming from what seemed to be all over the house.

  “Stay behind me,” Nikolai whispered.

  They crept through the

  darkened house and Nikolai kept his eyes open for rogues.

  Something fell over in the kitchen and the unmistakable sound of claws on tile reverberated through the house. A rogue flew over the couch and Nikolai’s hands moved with precision, his short sword slicing through the rogue’s belly.

  “Get down!” Nikolai

  shouted, as the wolf passed over his head.

  Chance rolled off to the left, as a rogue landed right where he’d been standing. He stood back up only to see another one flying at him. His hands went up in defense and the wolf hit what looked to be an invisible wall. The wolf bounced back and slid across the floor.

  “Hey!” Nikolai smiled. “It looks like your spell worked!”

  “Get over here!” Chance shouted.

  Nikolai ran to him and

  Chance dropped the shield long enough for Nikolai to get in. One of the rogues shifted, standing in his human form.

  “We can do this the hard way, warlock,” he said.

  “Your eyes doing okay, dude?” Nikolai tilted his head. He smiled wide when recognition hit the rogue. “Yeah, Nikolai Markov. You have about fifteen seconds before I go all ape shit on your ass.”

  “This isn’t over, Chance. An old friend wants you back, and he always gets what he wants,” the rogue said.

  “Not in this case.” Nikolai flipped his short swords in his hands.

  “How do you know my name?” Chance asked.


  The rogue smirked. “We’ll be back.”

  They stood for another half hour in the circle of the protection spell. Even though Chance knew Nikolai could fight his own battles, in this case he didn’t have to.

  “So, all you really needed to do was use your hands, kinda like on ‘Charmed’,” Nikolai said.

  Chance raised a brow.

  Nikolai shrugged. “TNT marathon.”

  Chance dropped the

  protection spell only to feel what seemed like a hippo standing on his head. He groaned and opened the lines of communication. He’d never get used to hearing the other werewolves in his head.

  “Chance!” Logan almost screamed.

  “I’m here, I’m all right,” Chance said.

  “What the hell happened? I got this feeling that you were in danger.”

  “Rogues attacked us.”

  “What?” Logan shouted.

  “It’s okay; Nikolai and I made it through. My protection spell actually worked.”

  “We are coming home right now. Locke and I will take Riley’s jet. Stay right where you are.”

  “Not a problem,” Chance said.

  Nikolai had his head tilted. “Pack talking to you?”

  Chance nodded. “Logan is shitting a house.”

  Nikolai chuckled. “That guy has it so bad for you.”

  Chance sighed. “I wish. He’s never made a move on me. He treats me like a little kid.”

  Chance’s brow furrowed. “What do you think that rogue meant? About an old friend?”

  “Probably just trying to unnerve you; they love pulling that shit,” Nikolai said.

  “Well, let’s get this place cleaned up best we can,” Chance said.

  ~~ Six hours later, Logan ran into the house. He ran straight for Chance’s room and found him in bed, curled up in the arms of Nikolai Markov. The jealousy rose so fast he growled before he could stop himself. Nikolai opened one eye and looked down at Chance’s head on his chest. He grinned and raised a brow at Logan.

  “Oh, shut up,” Logan sighed in frustration.

  “I didn’t say shit,” Nikolai whispered. He moved carefully, trying not to wake Chance. Getting up, he made his way into the living room with Logan right on his heels. Locke stood in the foyer, inspecting the damage. “There were four of them,” Nikolai said. “They wanted Chance, and I mean bad. So please explain that to me.”

  Locke sighed, looking at Logan. “It’s a long story.”

  “Yeah? I’ve got time.”

  Nikolai crossed his arms.

  “Not here.” Locke motioned for them to go outside.

  Once they had gotten to the workout area, Locke leaned into Nikolai’s ear and explained

  everything. Nikolai’s body tensed up as Locke told him the truth about Pierce Barnes.

  “This guy is still breathing?” Nikolai snarled.

  “He’s smart, really smart,” Logan said. “He won’t come near the fights. Not after the first time.”

  “Chance can’t know,”

  Nikolai ran a hand through his hair. “He’d want to save him.”

  Logan nodded. “We know; which is why we haven’t said a word.”

  “Thank you, Nikolai, for being here,” Locke took the younger man’s hand. “Chance is special to us, in more ways than one.”

  “No problem, Chance is special to me, too.” Nikolai heard a soft growl and turned to look at Logan. “Dude, chillax, it’s not like that. Why don’t you tell Chance how you feel? It’s so damned obvious.”

  Logan stepped back in

  astonishment. “Does he know?”

  “Nope, he thinks you don’t feel like that about him.”

  “He’s not over Pierce; I want him to want me and only me,” Logan said.

  Nikolai sighed in frustration. “Jesus, have you guys ever heard of taking what you want? I like a guy, I say, ‘let’s fuck.’ We do, and then voila.” Nikolai threw his hands up in the air.

  “I don’t want just a fuck,” Logan crossed his arms. “I can get that anytime; I want something more than that and I want it with Chance.”

  “Don’t you guys have to be with your mate, though? I thought you guys had a special someone picked out just for you?” Nikolai asked.

  “Locke does,” Logan said. “I’ve never had a mate given to me. My ex was a woman I fell in love with but she was human until she was bitten by the rogues. I stupidly thought I could help her, but once you’ve been bitten, it’s too late.”

  “So you’ve never been mated?” Nikolai asked.

  Logan shook his head. “No.”

  “From what I understand Pierce wasn’t Chance’s mate either. They just fell in love

  without the bond,” Nikolai said.

  “Pierce Barnes is a master criminal; Chance had no idea who he’d fallen in love with. The guy had murder, rape and robbery under his belt before he was bitten. That’s why the rogues wanted him, and now he’s their number one in command. They want Chance because he’s a warlock,” Locke said.

  “How did you get that info?” Nikolai asked.

  “We caught one of Pierce’s flunkies this last time. He sang like a canary as soon as he saw Jacob and Seth.” Locke chuckled. “The plan didn’t go the way it was supposed to years ago. Pierce had them attack him in Central Park. Chance thought Pierce had been killed. One of the rogues was supposed to catch Chance as he fled the scene and kill him, but the guy didn’t want to mess with a warlock so he said he lost him somewhere on the street. Needless to say, Pierce now knows Chance is alive, and what’s worse he now knows what Chance is capable of magically. The plan has changed and now they want Chance in the rogue pack.”

  “So, the fucker used him, tried to have him killed because he was done with him, now wants him back just for his magic?” Nikolai growled.

  Logan nodded. “That’s the gist of it. The only problem is that I’ll never let that happen. I will die before I let Pierce anywhere near Chance.”

  Nikolai put his hand out to Logan. “So will I.”

  Logan shook Nikolai’s hand.

  “Now that that’s out of the way, we need to get the fuck out of here and fast. They’ll be back, and in greater numbers,” Locke pointed out.

  “I’ll call Riley.” Logan walked back towards the house. The front door had been broken; shards of glass littered the hallway and living room. Logan stepped carefully into the kitchen and heaved a sigh at the mess.

  “It could have been worse,” a newly wakened Chance said, eyeing the demolished kitchen.

  “It shouldn’t have happened at all!” Logan snarled, gripping the kitchen counter.

  Chance stepped forward, placing his hand on Logan’s

  shoulder. The muscles tensed and jumped underneath his hand. Chance stepped back quickly. “I’m sorry,” he whispered.

  Logan turned to face Chance. “I’m not mad at you, not by a long shot. I should have been here! This should not have happened.”

  “Hey, I’m okay. My

  protection spell worked and Nikolai killed two of them.” Chance tilted his head. “Are you okay?”

  Logan stepped into Chance’s space, his hand touching the

  younger man’s cheek. “I couldn’t stand it if something happened to you.”

  Chance’s heart pounded in his ears. Logan was touching him, and the look in his eyes was one of longing. His eyes fell to Logan’s lips. He licked his own nervously. “So, you care?”

  “Of course I care,” Logan whispered, leaning in. Lord, what was he doing? Chance’s lips looked so damn inviting…

  “Logan?” Chance whispered, raising his eyes to Logan’s. His hands began to sweat as Logan’s lips came closer to his own. They were going to kiss…oh my God...

  “Chance?”

  Logan sighed, backing away from Chance, who let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding and bit back a groan of frustration. “Yes?”

  “Get packed,” Locke walked into the kitchen. Eyeing Logan, he realized he’d w
alked in on

  something. “Everything okay?”

  “Yeah,” Logan glanced at Chance. “It’s fine.”

  ~~ Pierce paced the abandoned mine under the Arizona desert. Chance was becoming a pain in the ass. He should have just killed him himself when they were in the park. Pierce ran a hand through his hair. Truth be told, he was glad they hadn’t killed Chance then - he needed him now. It’d been a

  mistake to hook up with the

  younger man in the first place. They had nothing in common except wanting sex, and even that was below par. Chance had

  attached himself to Pierce out of loneliness he guessed, but three months in Chance was declaring his love. It made Pierce want to vomit just remembering it.

  He’d done some stupid things in his past, but hooking up with Chance Christianson was his worst mistake. The kid couldn’t even light a candle without a match then. His magical powers were a joke and Pierce had never seen the kid use them once. What a pathetic waste of time. The decision had been made to kill Chance and now he knew that had never taken place. Stupid Mikey and his fear of magic. There was movement behind him from the cave’s east entrance and Pierce turned to see Petey and his flunky, Carl.

  “Well?” Pierce growled. Petey shuffled the dirt with his boot.

  “Oh come on!” Pierce

  shouted, the sound reverberating through the mines.

  “He had help, boss!” Carl blurted.

  “Oh, did he?” Pierce grabbed Carl by his shirt pulling him up to his face. “Who?”

  “Nikolai Markov.” Petey crossed his arms. “So, tell me how we should have taken him on? Not to mention the fact that Chance had a very good protection spell going on.”

  “What?!” Pierce turned to look at Petey. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean it knocked me halfway across the room, and Markov took out Lonny and Mel.”

  Pierce let out an exasperated sigh. “Go get me Stuart.”

  Pierce sat down in one of the overstuffed chairs in the cave. It wasn’t much, but it was home for now. They’d been run out of the last three caves by Logan MacLeod and his Special Forces assholes. Luckily for him and his crew, Arizona was brimming with

  underground mines and they had plenty to choose from. Pretty soon they’d move to the mountains near El Paso and start recruiting the Mexican drug cartels.