Page 61 of Ruin

“Keep an eye on our brother. Shannon keeps pushing him away, and he’s shutting down again. Just like before.” I leaned forward peering down at the sleeping baby that was making strange sucking noises and whimpers. “Is that normal?”

Owen shrugged. “Well, he always does it, so I expect so. I don’t know much more than you about babies.”

“Yeah, well, you look like a natural father,” I said, meaning it. My friend looked more than comfortable cradling this little being in the crook of one arm. “Did you know Stone had a mate before?” Owen’s eyes widened. “Yeah, exactly. She was killed by Doherty. I don’t know what happened between him and Shannon, but they are drawn together. He’s a lucky fucker to have met another match.” I shrugged. “Maybe she is his soul match and his other mate was not; who knows? But she is ripping his heart apart right now by rejecting him, even though he’s an intense, moody bastard, and would never tell her that.”

“Right, so what do you want me to do about it, boss? I can hardly order her to accept him.”

I huffed a laugh at the thought. “Nope, you can’t order Shannon to do anything. She has to want to do it. No, I just want you to watch out for Stone. His head is not in the right place for this attack, and I need him to be functioning properly. He needed to let his wolf run free and find his calm again. Right now, he’s in the woods, but so are our enemies. Just make sure he comes back safely when night falls. I’m going to my mate, but tomorrow we finalise our plans. Tell that wanker Jedi or whatever his bloody name is, to be there too. We’ll keep him close until we know what he’s really after.”

Owen snorted and grinned, raising one brow. “Jedi? He’s hardly as smooth as a Jedi. He’s a bloody great gorilla.”

I shrugged and smirked. Owen’s smile dropped as he watched the other people who used the large cave as a warm communal area. “I’ve met Hawk before. He has a look in his eyes that I don’t like...at all. He’s a shifter, but no matter how many men he commands, he’s a loner. He has no pack and no loyalty to anything but money.”

“True. So we keep him close. Especially with Ember being what she is. From what she’s told me, Walker didn’t want her back here, not until she was able to shift into her true form. There has to be a reason for that. And that immortal fae arsehole knows far more about the demons and portals of Hell than we do. No matter if he’s a lying and betraying piece of shit. If he thought her at risk here, then there was a reason.” The fact that Walker had lied to me; stolen four years of my life, and then kept my mate imprisoned in his own lands didn’t help my feelings about him, either.

Owen stood with me. I wanted to get back to Ember now that I knew he’d watch for Stone’s return.

“I’ll walk with you. I want to talk to Drake before I go back to my cabin with this little one.”

I smiled, and nodded down at the still sleeping baby. “It suits you, you know?”

Owen smirked back. “Yeah? Who knew? This little dude deserves a shot at life. And if Selina will allow it, when all this mess is cleared up, I’d like to be around for him.”

I smacked him on the back. “I hope it works out. So what’s his name, you can’t keep calling him ‘it’ or ‘little dude’ forever.”

Owen chuckled as we walked. “Nah, his name is Devon.”

“Devon?”

“Yeah, it’s where I was born, right before my parents moved to London and sent me to that school where I met wankers like you.”

“Selina let you name her child?” I stopped walking unable to contain my shock.

Owen even flushed a little, and ran his spare hand through his hair. “Well, I...er… I didn’t really. I just came up with some ideas when she was talking about it a few days ago.” He shrugged uncomfortably. “She said she liked it.”

I just shook my head. “That’s amazing. Naming a child? Damn.” I couldn’t help but feel a stab of jealousy that he had been given that kind of honour. I frowned, thinking back to my distant conversation with Ember about her season. She had been vague about when it was. My dick twitched, my fingers curled into fists and the hair on the back of my neck rose at the thought of being around her when that happened. I’d not let another male anywhere near her…

“You okay there boss?” Owen glanced at me, and I realised I had been staring at Devon.

“Yeah. Yeah, I'm good.” I cleared my throat. “I’m going back to Ember now. I’ll see you in the morning. Kawan and Lionel are guarding my door tonight, so they won't be there for the morning meeting, you’ll have to update them after they’ve slept. I want all my brothers alert and rested for the attack.” I glanced around the compound. “We’ll address the others tomorrow, and make sure they all know their part.”

“Sure thing. And don’t worry about Stone, I’ll send Myles to shadow him.”

I nodded and left him, crunching through the fresh snow. I sped up at the thought of sliding into bed and pulling Ember’s soft, warm body into mine.

“Hey, boss,” Kawan greeted from outside my bedroom door.

“Hey, man.” I exchanged a few words with Kawan and Lionel, who, as usual, looked highly amused when I edged towards the door, impatient to be with my mate again. I’d showered with her as soon as I’d got her back in our room, taking her gently again before I dried her exhausted body and helped her to the bed. She’d fallen asleep in my arms and I’d slid away not wanting to wake her. She needed to rest and recover. Yes, she had more power than most females, human or shifter, but now I was more, too. Prime was inhabited by the king of the Hell-beasts. That meant that I was now fae, wolf, Hell-beast and human, and since the king had been set free, I didn’t feel tired, or cold, all I felt was an insatiable need to be with my mate. When she was near I felt whole, away from her there was a piece of me missing, and I hated it. I wondered if she felt the same.

“She’s not woken,” Lionel said.

I immediately stiffened and growled. He lifted his hands. “Sorry, Prime. All I meant was, I haven’t heard her moving around. I haven’t been in there,” he said quickly, turning his gaze to the ground.

My fingers curled around the door handle and I tried not to rip it off its hinges at the thought of another male watching her sleep. I snarled at Lionel and opened the door, making sure I closed it behind me with a click rather than slamming it. I didn’t want to wake Ember. Her scent hit me, and I was suddenly desperate to be near her. Within seconds, my clothes were gone. Naked, I slipped under the covers. Her warmth hit me, and I sighed, my tense muscles relaxing; even Prime relaxed. Ember murmured and backed straight into my body, sliding her hand down my hip to pull at my thighs as I wrapped a leg around her and drew her in close; close enough that we were touching everywhere. I inhaled deeply and kissed her head, enjoying the silky feel of her hair against my lips. I smiled as strands tickled my nose.

“You left me,” she whispered into my arm, her breath warm against my skin. Her fingers reached down and curled possessively against my thigh as she pulled me closer. My heart squeezed.

“I did. You were tired, and needed to rest...I had to see Stone.”

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