A Lion for Christmas (4 page)

“How the hell did they
let this happen
?
” Dion yelled and threw his papers against the wall.

He
’d
had the perfect opportunity. Blake’s Second was going to be the reason he was going to become King. Blake was going to bend to his will. He would have done anything he wanted when Dion got his cooperation. And it all slipped through their fingers. Dion was waiting on the report of what the hell was going on.

“Worm,” Dion yelled
for
his stupid assistant
.
Or maybe he was a Weasel, who cared
.
He
was
‘
Worm
’
to
Dion r
ight now.

“Yes Sir,”
t
he small man said hesitantly as he walked into the room.

Dion glared at the man and said, “Where are my reports, what happened?”

“Well, sir, we have a bit of a situation. Apparently, the
Guards
and the
Wizards
have found our doorways
. Plus, w
e have lost a few of our men who ran
,
” Worm said slowly.

“What do you mean they found our doorways, I thought you assured me that they found the men through one of the idiots following them. Are you telling me they have figured out my system?” Dion screamed.

He had no idea why Blake and the other Kings were insisting on fighting here. It didn’t make sense until now; they thought they were going to beat him. If they had him stuck here, as soon as his followers all chickened out, then they would have him right where they wanted him.

“I need more Transport Coins
,
” Dion ground out.

“Sir they have shut them all off, and our man inside the
P
alace is no longer talking to us
,
” Worm whined.

“Then we get the Head of the Transport. Who is it?” Dion yelled. He was slipping from reality and he didn’t even realize it.

“I don’t know sir,” Worm whispered frowning, thinking Dion should know he was from here.

“Find out, and then bring them to me. We need to try a different course of action. If Blake will not give up the throne, then he will have it taken from him. Double the attacks on the
P
alace, and make sure they are actually killing someone. No more warning, if anyone in the magical community is not with us, they are against us, there is no being neutral
,
” Dion said slowly thinking for a minute. His mind was going a mile a minute and he needed to think, he needed a plan.

The only one of the
Stratums
Dion had not been able to recruit from was the Fae; they were a bit more slippery. Maybe it was time to force their hand.

His mate paused, and looked over his shoulder and then shook his head before running back to where he was standing. “Dude, I need some space.”

“You have it,” Crispin frowned. “I have not spoken or bothered you in weeks. In fact, I think I have been more than patient. You are the one who refuses to admit to the mating call. We both know it is riding us hard. I can feel it when we are close, like now. Your heart is beating fast, not from exertion, but from desire.”

Chase shook his head and laughed, “Wow, now that is an awesome pick up line. However, you are going to have to do better than that. Did you ever stop to think that maybe I was not accepting the mating because, one, I know your reputation, trust me it has followed you. And two, although you are following me, we’ve had one discussion about the mating we both feel. If I remember correctly, your exact words were, ‘we are mates so let’s get a move on it’. Hmmm, not the most romantic thing I have ever heard.”

Crispin frowned. “Hey, wait a minute, I offered to take you to dinner.”

“Not to sound indelicate or anything, but you are a man-whore. I have a nice life here, why would I go off and leave my position as the Second in Command of the
Wizard Stratum
for the chance to be mated to a serial horn cat?” Chase drawled. “Although, I find you extremely attractive and all, I think maybe we should take this a step at a time.”

Chase patted Crispin on the shoulder and then ran off again, while the King of the Jungle, or
Shifter Stratum
, was standing there with his mouth open.

“I need help
,
” Crispin said to the only human he knew and his new
Stratum
member. “He said I am a man whore.”

Trent laughed
,
lifted the glass of beer to his lips
,
and tried to hide the amusement when the lion growled at him.

“You are,” Ian said simply and shrugged his shoulders. “We have all heard about your conquests.”

Crispin frowned deeper and then looked around the small room they were meeting in. They were still on the Palace grounds. Ryker
had
t
aken pity on the men who arrived fro
m the
Stratums
, and offered to make a Bar for them to hang out in. The room was dark, and held a full bar on one side, and tables on the other.
T
he walls above the tables held televisions. They could
watch their sporting events fro
m all the
Stratums
on them. Crispin was watching as his
Shifters
were trouncing the
Trolls
in a game of
Human
football.

“I wouldn’t go that far
,
” Crispin argued.

“Ha, everyone knows it. Man, you are going to have to do some serious ass kissing if you want Chase to even give you the time of day
,
” Trent laughed.

“I have tried to show him
,
” Crispin said frustrated.

“Right, by following him around?” Ian smirked.

“Okay, fine. Maybe I have had my fa
i
r share of lovers, but when
Shifters
mate, they mate for life. That is it. Nothing else. There is no one else for me. Only him
,
” Crispin ground out.

“You have to prove it
,
” Trent said simply and took another drink of his beer.

Ian tapped his fingers on the table and then smiled
,
“A Christmas Ball!”

“What?” Crispin frowned.

“We are bringing Christmas to the
Wizard Stratum
. A formal ball, presents, and
everything else that goes along with the holiday
. Blake told me that each
Stratum
celebrates it
s
own type of Christmas. I say, we celebrate them all at once, in one formal ball.” Ian laughed and then said
,
“We can have Bria, head it up, she loves that stuff. I unfortunately have no skills when it comes to parties, However, I do know what should be there and how to dress
,
” Ian said.

“You know, Logan has been asking about family. Maybe we can convince them to bring over your parents Ian. Your mom is an awesome party planner. They have been dying to come here. It
would be
the perfect excuse.” Trent shrugged.

“How will this help me?” Crispin narrowed his eyes.

“Well, you get to ask him formally on a date, and you get the perfect woman consultant on romance. My mother is a pro
,
” Ian laughed.

“I will try anything,” Crispin said miserably.

Ian’s parents were excited, they
’ve
wanted to come to the
Wizard Stratum
since Ian and Trent both left. Sasha was making the d
oorway ready for their
transport.

Bria already set about asking all the Kings what their traditions were. They were all going to be displayed at the Christmas Ball.

Ian’s parents were waiting in their home for the doorway to open. Sasha made sure the only place they would have to guard would be this doorway. No one else was allowed to Transport at the same time. All of the Coins that had been active were now deactivated.

Everyone gathered at the spot in Blake and Ian’s suite where they were going to open the doorway. Ian and Trent were both excited about the parents coming. So when Sasha and Logan opened the doorway Ian laughed when he saw the stunned looks on his parents’ face. It was one thing to be told this could happen, it was another to see and experience it. His father was a Senator of the United States of America; things were very black and white for him. Well, not anymore.

Ian’s mother, Sabrina, clapped and then grabbed her huge bags of gifts she brought with her and pulled them through the doorway. Ian’s father moved a little slower, testing each step as he came.

“Welcome,” Bria and Ryker said holding open their arms.

“This is so amazing, I seriously think this has got to be the best vacation spot ever,” Sabrina laughed and looked around at her son’s new suite.

They took them on a tour of the
P
alace and Crispin and Chase walked behind slower. Crispin leaned in and asked, “Do you miss this?”

Chase looked at his mate, knowing what he was asking. “Yes, Bria and Ryker are wonderful parents, but I do miss mine. I think someday I would like to be a parent.”

Crispin’s eyes widened. He was thinking along the same lines, and knew that in his
Shifter Stratum
things like this happened all the time. There were many of the lioness
es
’ that would be willing to carry his cub. It was a shock to know his mate felt the same way.

When everyone else left to allow Ian’s parents to settle and take in everything they experienced since their arrival, Trent and Ian called Crispin to come to the suite. Sabrina was waiting for him in the living area.

“So, my son tells me you need a little help in the art of wooing,” Sabrina laughed.

Crispin looked at Trent and Ian and rolled his eyes. “They think I need to make a grand statement, I do too, I just can’t figure out what the man wants.”

“Well, look at it this way. Ian explained the situation, so knowing you are mates is not the same as accepting you are mates. Just because your head tells you one thing, your heart may tell you another.” Sabrina reasoned.

“So how do I make his heart tell him to mate with me?” Crispin asked.

“Romance,” Sabrina laughed.

“Well that is nice for you to say, but considering we are all on lockdown in the
P
alace, I am a little limited with what I can do,” Crispin said miserably.

“Are you sure?” Sabrina said with a gleam in her eye. “Because where I come from, something as little as a walk in the garden is romantic.”

“I did that already,” Crispin replied.

“Well I see I have my work cut out for me. Hmmm…
w
hat is the date?” Sabrina asked.

“Twelve days to Christmas,” Ian said and laughed when he realized what he said.

“Perfect, this is what we are going to do…” Sabrina clapped and got excited.

Crispin looked at the woman and shook his head, he had to listen to her, but he was not certain she was going to be right. Chase was a hard nut to crack. Crispin had to crack the nut though, or he would spend the rest of his life lonely and miserable. Shaking off the feeling of dread, Crispin listened to the
Human
, hoping she was right.