"Bullshit. Try again. As the saying goes, never kid a kidder. Now tell me the truth, and maybe I won't put a bullet in your head. But start moving. I have a secret bunker not too far from here. We'll hide out until the wolves are gone. Then I'll get you sold and move my family far away. But I'll miss the payday and shoot you before I'll let myself get caught, so don't try anything funny. Turn around and start walking. Hands up where I can see them."
I lifted my hands but didn't move. If he wanted to shove me in a secret bunker, he would have to do it forcefully. I figured the odds were good he wouldn't really shoot.
Master wasn't about to let me get away with it. Lowering his gun, he pointed at my dick instead. "Okay, you called my bluff. I'm not risking my payday. I daresay I can shoot you and get you in the bunker before either of those alphas get back up here, though. And funnily enough, it won't matter to the buyers if you're dickless. They just need a hole to fill and someone to carry their babies. Whether or not you get off won't ever be their problem. Your choice. You want to keep your tiny dick, or shall I get rid of it so you know I mean business? You have till the count of three to decide. One… Two…"
“Roll to the right, beauty.”
A huge white wolf flew from the bushes behind him before he could finish. While I did what Lucian told me, Lucian took him to the ground. Master never saw him coming or had a chance to fire. Lucian simply clamped his teeth around Master's neck and snapped it, killing him instantly.
I jumped up, brushing leaves from my body. As he rose, Lucian turned and shifted. We ran into each other's arms for a grateful embrace. I didn't even realize how scared I'd been until my heart stopped pounding. Lucian lifted me into his arms and cradled me as he began walking.
"Where we going, charming?"
"Home, beauty. Home."
"Don't we still have things to do? I'm sure people need us, right?"
Cuddling me closer, Lucian pressed a kiss against my brow. "One of the perks of being in charge. The mission is done, and we get to leave because we can trust our guys to take it from here. Your brothers will be brought to our place, remember? So how about we go back and get ready to meet them?"
"I like your plan. Besides, Essie might appreciate another hand. I know Eli, Colt, and Tina were going to help, but they might need me."
"Maybe. Probably not as much as I do, though. Now see, I was thinking we could get back early and slip off to our room. It'll be a great time to teach you how to celebrate being alive, especially after cheating death."
Smiling at the arousal I was scenting, I liked his suggestion more and more. I'd never heard of a sexual connotation for the word celebrate, but I was ready to learn any lesson Lucian wanted to give me.
Eight
Lucian
The day after the rescue, my buddies had already gone back home, and I was left with eleven new omegas to protect.
Essie was in her element with so many lost boys to mother. Seeing her in action, I knew she'd been right the first day. Sooner or later, I was going to have to call her Mamá. Just like I knew we would both eventually start calling Tina Mom.
Sitting in my newly assigned spot on the front porch, I was watching for Ash while the boys lounged around the porch, some in chairs, some on the floor. One of them even sat on the railing with his back against the post.
They were talking and giggling, sharing everything that happened while they were apart. Almost everything. Thankfully, Charlie didn't tell them the finer points of our mating. At least not in front of me.
As their laughter washed over me, it chilled me to think how easily they could've been lost, auctioned to the highest bidder as though they weren't people who mattered. Though it warmed my heart to see them embracing freedom, I hated to think how they'd been stolen directly from the wombs of their carriers.
Which was why Ash was coming today. Something this big was over my head, and we needed to do our best to find of their families, if possible. I looked up at the sound of my name and Charlie tugging at my pant leg. He was sitting on the floor beside me, showing his phone to the redheaded one, who was apparently gifted in starting fires. Talk about having a superpower.
When he had my attention, Charlie beamed the adorable, nose-crinkling smile I noticed he gave when deep in thought. "What do you think, Lucian? Phoenix is the perfect name for Eleven. He doesn't believe me it's a name, even though it's here on the website."
"Yup. It is, all right, both for people and cities. If you ask me, a firestarter naming himself after a mythological bird who can go up in flames is too amusing to pass up. Not everyone has to take their name from books like Charlie and your other brothers."
Tom, the one formerly known as Fifteen, shot finger guns at me, then blew on his fingertips and mimed holstering them. "Only Charlie used an author's name. I chose an interesting character, so obviously I'm cooler than your mate. Sorry not sorry."
It was hard not to laugh. Colt and Ford had spent the night and half of the morning hanging out with their brother and his, well, other brothers. I'd encouraged it, thinking hanging out with guys their age would help them. And at the same time, seeing how tightly knit the little omega pack was would be good for the Silvers boys. Colt had already had an effect on everyone, and they were soaking up his lingo like dry sponges.
"What about me? I'm interesting, too, if you are. I mean, Tom and Sawyer, we go together exactly like we did when we were Fourteen and Fifteen."
Tom shook his head. "First, it's not interesting when you copied me. I said naming yourself after the same character was boring when you chose it, and I stand by it. Also, you can't compare it to our former names because Sawyer comes after Tom, which doesn't work with the numbers."
"Whatever." Sawyer wasn't buying it. He cracked me up, this saucy little blond who had enough freckles sprinkled over his nose and cheeks to rival the fictional character he and Tom obviously loved so much. "Like Mamá Essie said, it's okay for us to share the same favorites. The same way a lot of people like the same colors."
Darcy, probably Charlie's favorite even if he never admitted it, was previously known as Six. He glanced up from the magazine he was flipping through to come to Sawyer's defense. "Be nice, Tom. We don't know where we're going to end up, anyway. There might come a day when knowing someone out there has the other half of your name will make you smile. And hopefully, you'll pick up a phone and call Sawyer and apologize for being an idiot."
Tom smirked, dismissively waving a hand. "Like I'm supposed to take you seriously when you named yourself after a total jerk in a Victorian romance novel."
Eight, now known as Romeo, started giggling. "I knew you didn't like Pride and Prejudice, Tom. You don't get the subtleties, that's all. Mr. Darcy is a beautiful, complex man. He's lucky he thought of it first and how I'm also a fan of Shakespeare."
I interrupted with my own two cents. "If you think Mr. Darcy is hot in the book, I'll have to introduce you to my favorite movie version. When you see Colin Firth's wet shirt scene in the lake, you'll never think of Mr. Darcy the same way again. Seriously, cinematic magic. An artist even made a twelve-foot sculpture to commemorate it. Look it up on your phone, Charlie, and then we'll start watching the movie. I say start because it's a miniseries with six episodes, if I remember correctly."