“Hey, easy now,” Crank soothed.
“You’re not thinking straight,” Roadkill said in a gentle voice.
Rael. Rael! Horvan’s voice rose in his mind, blotting out the others. Rael stilled, conscious of Horvan’s arms around him, the others retreating. You can’t help him right now.
I tried to reach him. I thought I had, but then he just…. Words failed him.
Horvan kissed his head. Rael caught the murmur of something about coffee, and the others left the room. Horvan cradled Rael with a gentle rocking motion, and far from making him feel immature, it soothed and comforted him.
“Better?”
Rael nodded, his head pressed against Horvan’s wide chest.
“Okay. Put some clothes on, and then we’ll go out there and talk about this. I don’t think any of us could get back to sleep right now. Does that sound okay?”
Rael gave another nod.
“By the way—” Horvan kissed his forehead. “—you’re really cute in my robe.”
Rael whacked him on the arm. He knew Horvan was trying to distract him. He had to be as frustrated as Rael. Of course, with his training, he could compartmentalize things better.
Once he’d pulled on his jeans and a sweater, Rael joined the others in the living room. Roadkill handed him a mug. Rael ignored the space in the middle of the couch and went over to where Horvan was sitting on pillows on the floor, leaning against the wall. Rael sat with his back against Horvan’s chest, knees bent, hands wrapped around the mug. Horvan’s arms went around him once more, their physical connection restored.
“Okay,” Hashtag said after a moment. “About what you said in there. You—we—can’t help Dellan right now. Yes, we could go in there, all guns blazing. We could get him out of the cage, but then what?” He gazed earnestly at Rael. “Think it through. Are we gonna waltz him through the lobby? No, of course we’re not. We have a plan, and we have to stick to it. You need to trust us, because getting jobs like this done? It’s what we do.”
“Although, truth be told, we have never had a job like this,” Crank commented wryly.
Hashtag glared at him. “You know what I mean. I’m trying to instill some confidence in him.”
Rael sighed. “I do trust you, honest. But….” He went with the truth. “I tried to reach out to Dellan psychically. To stop him.”
“Is that why he paused? Before he… you know….” Roadkill expelled a breath.
“Look, we need to talk about what we saw,” Crank interjected. “And I don’t mean the mating thing. If you’re right and they injected something to make her shift, it raises some questions. One, why would anyone make a drug that does that? Why would they need it? Two, if that’s what it was, why didn’t it last long? Because she was able to shift back once the deed was done. Surely whatever they gave her would still be in her system.”
“Unless they only gave her a tiny amount. Or not full strength,” Roadkill suggested. “Hell, we can only guess, right?”
“Why did she collapse like that?” Hashtag demanded.
“Shifting normally takes its toll on a body,” Horvan explained. “It takes a lot of energy, especially if you shift for any great length of time, and when we shift back after such a time period, we’re usually ravenous.”
“You know what I don’t get? A little slip of a thing like her, and she turns into a four-hundred-pound tiger.” His eyes gleamed. “Horvan shifts into a wee little teddy bear.”
Roadkill smacked him upside the head. “Firstly, I’d hardly call five hundred pounds of black bear a ‘wee little teddy bear,’ and secondly, you do not want to piss off said black bear. He might be smaller than a grizzly, but he has claws the size of steak knives, remember?”
“Horvan didn’t go all weak when he shifted back,” Hashtag observed.
Horvan snorted. “As if I’d let you guys see me looking weak.”
Rael had his own theory as to why she’d collapsed. “I think her state was more to do with what they were doing. You know….”
Crank snorted. “Yeah. Sex wipes you out, right?” He blinked at the silence that followed. “What?”
Roadkill let out an exaggerated sigh. “In the dictionary next to ‘insensitive fucker,’ it says, ‘See Crank.’”
“Yeah, way to fucking go, Crank.” Hashtag inclined his head in Rael’s direction. “I really don’t think he needs reminding, all right?”
Rael huffed out a breath impatiently. “I think we’re all missing a point here. What if this happens all the time? What if these guys are bringing shifters to Dellan’s cage, drugging them, then shoving them in there to mate? Why the fuck is this happening? Who is doing this?”
Horvan’s hand was on his waist, stroking him. “All good questions, and ones to which we don’t have the answers right now. Speculating is only going to drive you nuts.”
“Horvan is right,” Roadkill agreed. “And going over and over this is not gonna help. Let’s concentrate on the plan. In the morning, Hashtag will start work on his online campaign, and Crank will sort out the transport. I’ll get more guys in on this. And you?” He stared at Rael. “You are gonna find us a place to stay in that forest.”
Rael nodded. “You’re right. Let’s focus on action rather than reaction.”
That’s my mate. Horvan kissed his shoulder.
“I gotta say, I’m really liking this all-new, lovey-dovey Horvan.” Crank’s eyes glittered. “I could get used to this.” He batted his lashes. “Where’s my kiss?” Crank puckered up, his eyes closed.
Hashtag snorted. “If you’re real lucky, the bear has one for ya.” Crank’s eyes popped open, and everyone laughed at his startled expression.
“Thank you, Crank,” Rael said sincerely. He knew exactly what Crank was doing.
Crank shrugged. “Just trying to lighten the load, you know?”
“And on that note….” Roadkill glanced at the wall clock. “I think it’s time we all get some sleep. Or try to, at least.” There were murmurs of agreement.
Horvan got to his feet, pulling Rael with him. “Let’s give these guys their bedroom back.” He curled his hand around Rael’s and led him out of the room to cries of good night. Rael caught Crank’s last comment.
“Bedroom? We got no bed. Tomorrow, go to Walmart and buy some air mattresses.”
Once inside the bedroom, Horvan slowly undressed Rael down to his shorts, then pulled him gently toward the bed. He removed his own clothing and got in, his arms wide in a clear invitation.
Rael climbed in beside him and snuggled up against Horvan’s muscular body with a sigh. “You feel good.”
Horvan wrapped his arms around Rael and held him close. “And I’m going to feel good for the rest of the night.” He pressed his lips to Rael’s forehead in a sweet kiss. “Now close your eyes and go back to sleep.”
His earlier horror and rage finally having subsided, Rael closed his eyes and concentrated on the sound of Horvan’s breathing, regular and low. It wasn’t long before he was sinking into a deep, thankfully dreamless, sleep. His last conscious thought was of Dellan.