Dagon's Ride [Brac Pack 19] (3 page)

“That was close. If you had said
anything
, Dagon would have heard. Dang Timber wolves and their hearing.”

“Where are we?” Taylor asked.

“In my bedroom. I figured you wanted to get busted out of jail, so I just thought of you, and voila, here we are.”

“So you took me from one wolf with exceptional hearing to a house full of them?”

Melonee looked miffed. “I hadn’t thought of that.” Taylor kicked back on her bed, placing his hands behind his head.

“It’s cool. I appreciated you bailing me out. So now what?”
Dagon’s Ride

19

“I hadn’t thought of that either.” She sat on the floor and crossed her legs. “I just thought it was unfair that you had to go somewhere you didn’t want to be.”

They both jumped when her door opened. Taylor relaxed when he saw it was only Tangee. “Been shimmering prisoners out again, little sister?”

“He shouldn’t be forced to go somewhere he doesn’t want to be.” Tangee held his hands up. “I wasn’t saying anything about it.” He dropped down on the bed and smiled down at her.

“O h.” She grinned.

“We can just kick it in here.” Taylor smiled at his accomplices.

* * * *

Dagon stood up straight when he saw a low light in Taylor’s room. He growled, knowing exactly what that damn light meant.

Melonee.

Those two had become fast friends and bickering partners since they met. Dagon crept over to the sun porch, climbing the sunroof and looking into his mate’s room. No Taylor.

“Maverick.” Dagon spoke into his cell phone that he pulled from his jacket as he sat on the roof. “Your kid has kidnapped my mate.” The Alpha chuckled. “Seems they’ve become fast friends. I’ll go check her bedroom.”

“I’d appreciate it.” Dagon hung up the phone and crawled through the window. He walked to the closet, sliding into it just as he heard a key insert into the lock. Did Taylor know his mom had a key?

He watched through the crack, seeing Taylor’s mom come into the bedroom, sniff around, and then curse.

Did she really just sniff his bedroom? What human did something like that? An uneasy feeling settled into his stomach. Something sinister was going on here, and he was going to get to the bottom of it, especially with his mate living here.

20

Lynn Hagen

He’d ask Detective Lewis Keating—one of the mates—to look into the mom’s threat about calling the cops on Taylor. There was probably nothing they could do about it, but the thought of his mate staying here didn’t sit well with him.

Taylor’s mom bent over, sniffing and pulling at his bedspread.

Okay, that was just too damn weird.

Dagon’s heart stopped when Melonee, Taylor, and Tangee shimmered into the room at that exact moment.

Dagon’s Ride

21

Chapter Two

Dagon shoved the closet door open, rushing across the room, and grabbed his mate to his chest and spun away just as Taylor’s mom’s arms lashed out. Her face wasn’t human.
What the fuck?

“I told you Josh turned you gay!” she screeched.

Melonee placed her hand on Dagon’s shoulder, Tangee grabbing his sister’s hand as they shimmered to Melonee’s bedroom.

Maverick was sitting on her bed. “Well, I said for her to return him, not bring back more.”

“What the hell was that?” Taylor yelled, flailing his arms around.

“She wasn’t human.”

Maverick stood up, staring at the four. “Who wasn’t human?” He frowned as he waited for an answer.

“My mom, her face…” Taylor’s fingers wiggled around in front of his face in a busy manner.

“He can’t go back there. His mom is…hell if I know. She sniffed at his bed, and then when these three shimmered in, her face did this weird fucking thing. I can’t explain it.” Dagon would never forget that freaky ass face.

“Try,” Maverick said, looking confused.

“Her eyes changed to black, and her face almost turned scaly. I told you I couldn’t explain it right.” Dagon saw surprise in Maverick’s eyes. The Alpha
knew
what Dagon was talking about.

“Give me your hand, Melonee. We don’t have time.” Maverick turned to Dagon. “Take your mate downstairs. Melonee and I have to shimmer around a bit, lose the trace. Give me your shirt, Taylor. I need your scent to follow us.”

22

Lynn Hagen

Dagon was confused as hell as he watched his mate take his shirt off. Dagon instantly pulled his leather off and covered Taylor’s torso.

Better. He grabbed Taylor and headed for the bedroom door.

“Yeah, that’s good. Now he’s covered in your scent, go.” Maverick waved quickly as Dagon closed the bedroom door.

“What’s happening?” Taylor asked him as they ran down the stairs and into Maverick’s office.

“I’m not sure,
cachorro,
and we’re not sticking around to find out.” Dagon closed the door to the office, pacing back and forth. He pulled his cell phone out, calling his brothers. “I need you and Law in Maverick’s office. Bring your mates.”

Five minutes later his brothers, with mates in tow, entered.

“What’s going on?” Tryck asked, eyeing Taylor, who was sitting on the leather sofa.

“A very bad nightmare.” Dagon shook his head and then retold what had happened up until he called them.

“No shit.” Josh gaped. “Mom?”

“What the heck?” Taylor got up, going over to his brother and pulling his mouth open. “Those are vampire teeth.”

“I’ll explain later.” Josh smacked his little brother’s hand away.

Taylor dropped back down onto the sofa, shocked as hell that Josh was a vampire. How? He stared back up at his brother but didn’t say a word. His life was going to the shit house, and he felt like he had no control over it anymore.
Not Josh
.

“I knew this was a crazy ass place to join a pack. But
no
, you two wanted to be in the Brac pack. Way to go.” Tryck narrowed his eyes at Dagon and then Law.

“Like we knew all this shit was going to happen,” Law defended himself, pulling Josh into his arms. “At least I found my mate here, and so did you. So stop bitching.”

“Maverick took Melonee on a shimmer spree?” Carter, Tryck’s mate, asked in surprise. “She’s too young for that.”

“Too late, they’re already gone,” Taylor said.

Dagon’s Ride

23

Dagon pulled Taylor over to him. “How are you holding up?” Dagon asked Taylor.

“I think I’m pretty numb right now. I’ll let you know when my brain kicks back in. I’ll be screaming, if you need a clue as to when that happens.” Dagon pulled Taylor into his arms, giving him a supportive hug. Taylor hated that he gave a slight tremor of fear. He was supposed to be strong, a man, not a cowardly little wimp.

The three warriors turned, pulling their mates behind them when the door opened. Maverick and Melonee came in. “I think we lost her.”

“Just exactly what is she?” Dagon asked, sitting him and Taylor down on the leather sofa.

“A demon.”

“Could you repeat that? I thought you said a demon.” Taylor ringed a finger in his ear and then looked back up at the Alpha.

Maverick picked up the blue stress ball from his desk, staring down at it as he spoke. “My father dealt with one once. I was a cub when it happened. The thing pretended to be my aunt.”

“Wait, so where’s my real mom?” Taylor interrupted.

“Some kind of hypnotic state. More than likely following a compulsion to visit relatives or something. My real aunt was on vacation in the Bahamas.” Maverick tossed the ball into the air. “No one said the paranormal world made sense.”

* * * *

Dagon rubbed Taylor’s back. His mate was sitting there with his mouth hanging open. He couldn’t begin to imagine what he would feel like if told his
madre
was a demon, not just acting like one, but a real live version. “So besides the facial treatment, how do you know if the person is who they are supposed to be or a demon?” Maverick caught the ball midair. “The eyes. Josh and Taylor, I assume, never looked at their mom because she was too busy tearing
24

Lynn Hagen

into them. If they had, they would have seen that the irises weren’t quite the right color. There’s one more thing, the smell of mothballs.

My father told me that when he went to my aunt’s home, there was a strong smell of them lingering in the air. ” The Alpha set the ball back on the desk, looking at each individual in the room. “Go get some sleep, but keep one eye open. I’ll inform everyone else to do the same.”

“So basically, if she creeps up in here as someone else, we won’t know until we look them in the eyes?” Taylor asked. “And I know everyone’s eye color because?” Dagon didn’t like the fact that his mate’s voice was laced with tension. The need to soothe his worries had Dagon ready to fight every enemy in the world to keep him safe.

“Not just that, it’s the attitude as well. Josh said it himself. She was getting meaner. Demons for some reason can’t keep up the persona they are imitating. Sooner or later their real sparkling personality shows.”

“So Tryck’s been a demon his whole life,” Dagon stated, his brother flipping him off.

Dagon ignored him and stood, helping his tired- looking mate to his feet. “Come on, let’s get some sleep.” He took his mate to his room, showing Taylor into the adjoining room. “I’m going to leave your bedroom door open. Yell if anything shows up.”

“Can’t we just pull the mattress in here? I don’t want to sleep in there knowing a demon is after me.”

Dagon pulled the mattress from the adjoining room into his bedroom, tossing it next to his bed. “I’m a light sleeper, so go ahead and get some sleep. I’ll watch over you.” Dagon felt more at ease with Taylor in the same room, knowing he was better able to watch his mate with him sleeping next to him.

“Can you pull yours down here, too?”

Dagon yanked his mattress up, tossing it next to Taylor’s, both of them getting comfortable on their individual makeshift beds.

Dagon’s Ride

25

* * * *

Taylor woke up and stretched. He yawned, feeling the gunkies in his mouth. Morning breath was the worst thing ever. Rolling over, he got to his feet and made it to the bathroom, taking care of business and then brushing his teeth.

It was his birthday today. Two days of looking at everyone in their faces, the entire house watching each other’s personalities for any sign of aggressive behavior. That was hard to do considering half the occupants were cranky shifters, with personalities to match.

Evan was hounded by the warriors. The man wasn’t Mr. Sunshine to say the least, but he wasn’t a demon. He was called a lot of other things though. His mate Lewis had to constantly reassure everyone that Evan was fine.

Taylor looked into the mirror at his reflection. He didn’t look any older. He looked like Taylor Tate. He smoothed his hands over his shirt and then reached for the doorknob. His hands began to shake, so he pulled back.

He was an adult now. What would Dagon expect today? The man said it wasn’t a countdown, but an image of Big Ben loomed in front of him. He closed the lid on the toilet, taking a seat. What if Dagon was out there right now lying naked on the bed? Taylor couldn’t get his heart to slow down. Taking a deep breath, he stood. Why he was acting childishly was beyond him. His mate said he had time.

When he finally emerged, Dagon was standing by the dresser smiling at him. Taylor’s lungs stopped working when Dagon walked over to him and cupped his face. “Happy birthday,
cachorro
.” Taylor closed his eyes, waiting for Dagon to lay a kiss on his lips.

Instead, dry lips touched his forehead. Taylor opened his eyes and watched as Dagon sauntered into the bathroom.

26

Lynn Hagen

Well, okay then. He could handle that. As a matter of fact, he liked it. A wide grin spread across Taylor’s face as he went to answer the bedroom door when a knock sounded.

A kiss, cool.

“Happy birthday,” a few of the mates sang. Taylor looked for his brother Josh but didn’t see him. That wasn’t like him. His brother
always
made sure to tell him first thing in the morning, every year.

“Thank you.” Taylor stepped aside to allow them in.

“I brought you something.” Johnny beamed up at him. Taylor thanked him and accepted the small black box. A pink bow sat on top.

He opened it, and a necklace with blocked letters spelling out the name TAYLOR sat nestled inside. The beads between each letter were wicked. It looked like something he would have picked up at a leather and bike shop. The mate had taste.

“Thanks, I like homemade gifts.” He pulled it out and clasped it around his neck.

“My turn.” Keata jumped up and down, another box in his hand.

Taylor opened it, and a rolled up piece of paper lay in it. He extracted it, unrolling the sheet. A picture of a man and a wolf were drawn on it, and then colored in. Taylor was amazed at how well it was drawn.

He never would have guessed Keata had such artistic talent. The rendering was beautiful.

“Thank you, I’ll buy a frame for it.” He laid the picture on his dresser.

“Now me.” Gabby handed him a small gift bag. Taylor reached in, pulling out a pair of baby booties. What the hell?

“The way things are going around here, you may need them.” Gabby and the others chuckled.

He knew the half vampire had become pregnant, giving birth to a son. Hell no, that was
not
going to be him. Not in this lifetime or the next. “Thanks.” He pasted a smile on, giving Gabby a quick hug.

“We also made you breakfast, so don’t be long.” Johnny smiled and clapped him on the back.

Dagon’s Ride

27

This should be interesting. He sighed inwardly. Taylor watched as the three left the room, still wondering where Josh was.

Duh
, the thought just struck him. If Josh was a vampire—which he was going to hunt his brother down and make him spill—then he couldn’t be out in daylight.

He pushed the thought away of Josh being a vampire. It was one more thing that would only freak him out if he thought too hard about it.