The Half-Breed Who Found His Other Half (4 page)

Soren nodded. “Brody’s right. There might be a lot of other elders here, but you took your precautions when you called this meeting.

Now, what’s the matter?”

“As you well know, the reason behind this meeting is to further diplomatic relationships between magical creatures and shape-shifters. But while this is a goal more than worth exploring, our stay here makes us a target for an attack. I have reason to believe that a group of hostile individuals is planning to use the opportunity to attempt an assassination of an important official here.”

Isaac couldn’t help it. He snorted. “They’d have to be crazy to do something like that. Between all the powerful people here, it would be suicide. Besides, who would they be trying to kill?”

“That’s just it.” The elder werewolf sounded frustrated. “I have no idea. Sadly, I lost contact with my source.”

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“Who are they, then, these hostiles?” Brody asked. “Sidhe?

Shifters?”

Isaac’s father shook his head. “Humans.”

Humans? Why was the elder worried about humans? Sure, Isaac knew they’d been somewhat of a problem, but they were more of a pest rather than a true issue. Shifters could handle humans any moment of the day.

Obviously guessing Isaac’s dilemma, his father started to explain.

“Humans have never had a cohesive, organized movement before.

Whenever there were attacks, they were only isolated incidents, hate crimes that could be dealt with swiftly and efficiently. But these are not normal humans. They’re witches.

“A while back, Elder Adele Mercier staged an attack on Byron’s family while in Paris. Back then, both a siren and a warlock were involved. While the mer have been open to discussion regarding this alliance, the warlocks have not. Taking this into consideration, we sent an agent to investigate the situation. Rhys Whitaker.”

Rhys? Isaac had noticed the incubus’s absence, but he hadn’t considered it particularly conspicuous. After all, incubi led somewhat erratic existences, going wherever their hunger took them.

Isaac berated himself for the thought even as it crossed his mind.

It was that kind of mentality that Chantay was trying to change. “All right,” he said slowly. “And he told you what? That warlocks are planning an attack?”

The elder werewolf nodded. “I don’t know what they plan, but given that magical creatures resent us for revealing the existence of paranormals, it’s not good.”

“Who else knows about this?” Soren inquired.

“King Sterling, Byron, and of course, Rhys’s father. I would have preferred to keep the Sidhe in the dark, but it’s impossible to hide anything from that guy.”

Isaac wondered if Chantay knew. Probably not. He might be helping Sterling, but he wouldn’t be privy to inside knowledge of
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such delicate issues. No wonder the beautiful young man had been so upset earlier. He must be worried like hell for his brother.

“So what happened to Rhys?” he inquired.

“We lost contact with him one week back. Last thing he told us was that they were using someone here to assassinate a higher up.

We’re sketchy on the details, though, and now we’re in trouble because we don’t even know what happened to Rhys.”

Isaac couldn’t imagine the pain his mate would suffer upon hearing this. “We have to save him,” he said before he could help it.

“I already have people on it. Soren, I want some of your wolves to join in.”

Soren nodded. “I’ll have Anson and Liam lead my best men. We don’t abandon our own.”

“I want to go,” Isaac piped up. “I can—”

“No, son,” his father interrupted him. “It’s too dangerous for you.

You’re not ready.”

“Brody and Soren were already warriors by my age,” Isaac reasoned. “This is the perfect occasion for me to become one, too.”

“That might be true,” his father said, “but you’re not them. You’re different, and I won’t send you on a dangerous expedition.”

Anger and embarrassment coursed through Isaac. He couldn’t believe his father was treating him like an inexperienced pup in front of his brothers. Worse still, pointing out his inferiority hurt like a bitch.

“Why did you even tell me about this then?” he asked bitingly.

“You have an important role here, by my side. I need you to watch anyone who might look suspicious. I noticed you befriended Rhys’s brother. Team up and try to find our assassin before he strikes.”

Isaac focused to control his breathing, knowing he was being given an important job. Sure, it felt like his father was just humoring him, but preventing the assassination was more significant than Isaac’s ego. “I understand. Can I go now?”

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“Yes. Send Anson and Liam in. We need to talk to them, too.” As Isaac turned to flee, his father added, “Oh, and, Isaac. About your new friend. Don’t get too attached. I don’t have anything against magical creatures, but there’s no point in complicating our lives further by consorting with one.”

Isaac didn’t bother saying that they were already consorting with magical creatures by being here. Hell, the elder himself had assigned Isaac to team up with Chantay. But Isaac knew that pointing it out would be useless. He swallowed his humiliation and nodded jerkily.

“Yes, Father,” he replied.

Thankfully, the answer convinced the older were to let him go.

Isaac left the office and found the two men whose presence his father had requested waiting outside. Both wolves were quiet and tense, although Isaac couldn’t guess if the atmosphere was caused by the knowledge of the important events going on or something entirely different.

“Elder Wade wishes to talk to you,” he said formally.

Anson nodded and got up, obviously meaning to follow the urge.

The man was somewhat of a mystery to Isaac. As a child, he’d been free-spirited, almost flighty, but after a while, he’d changed. He’d become silent and secretive.

Isaac knew a part of it was the enduring tension between Anson and Liam’s mate, Shiloh. In his opinion, it was more than clear that Anson and Liam were just friends now, but jealousy was a very strong emotion in shifters, and he couldn’t blame Shiloh for being upset at having to see his mate’s ex on an almost-daily basis. Still, he’d always felt like there was something more going on, something he was missing.

Anson passed him, heading into the office without a word. Liam, however, stopped in front of Isaac. “Isaac, can I ask for a favor?”

Liam whispered.

“Sure,” Isaac replied automatically. “What is it?”

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“Could you talk to Reed? He insisted on coming along, and he’s being completely unreasonable. I can’t have him throw a tantrum in the middle of this meeting.”

Isaac thought Liam was being somewhat unfair toward his adopted son, although admittedly, Reed had been acting a bit strangely lately. “I’ll try,” he told Liam, “but I can’t be sure it’ll help.”

“I’m sure it will,” Liam answered. “He cares about you a lot.”

And with that, Liam followed behind Anson and headed into the office. Feeling like a child dismissed by grown-ups, Isaac left in search of his friend. After he calmed down a little, he’d have to figure out how to approach Chantay with the information that his brother might very well be dead.

* * * *

Chantay rubbed his eyes tiredly, feeling like he’d run a marathon.

The day had drained him beyond all possibilities. The conversation with King Sterling had taken longer than expected as the Sidhe had given him detailed instructions on how he should act and what he was supposed to do and say.

Now, Chantay just felt hungry, and sadly, it wasn’t for normal food. He’d always had this need, and although, mostly, he managed to push it back, being overcome by emotion strained on the limits of his control.

He didn’t know what instinct guided him toward a receiving room at the second level. However, as he opened the door, what he found made him wish he hadn’t gone there at all. Isaac sat on the couch, hugging a young man who was clinging to him with far too much enthusiasm.

Both men looked up guiltily as he came in. “Who’re you?” the stranger asked, a hint of irritation in his voice.

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Isaac broke away from the other guy and explained, “Reed, this is Chantay Arceneau. Chantay, Reed Denning-Holden.” That told Chantay very little, except for the fact that the man’s last name was vaguely familiar.

“A pleasure,” he said, shocked when his voice came out weak and trembling. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were busy. I should go.”

Before he could flee to lick his wounds in private, Isaac shot up and stopped him. He grabbed Chantay’s arm and forced their eyes to meet. “What is it, Chantay? What’s wrong?”

Chantay barely managed to suppress a bout of hysterical laughter.

Isaac would have been more inspired if he’d asked what was right.

Nothing Chantay did seemed to go as planned. He’d thought he could find someone to empathize with in Isaac, but he’d obviously been mistaken.

As a half incubus, he could read people’s hearts, and while making it public was something his father had warned him against, it did provide him with a compass in his day-to-day life. And this compass now told him that Reed’s heart held so much love it nearly made Chantay keel over.

“I’m going to give you guys some privacy,” Reed said, oblivious to Chantay’s musings. “We’ll talk later, okay, Isaac? And thanks.”

Chantay wanted to tell the man this courtesy wasn’t necessary, but a look from Isaac kept him silent. Reed slipped out of the room, leaving Chantay alone with the half werewolf. Chantay stared after Reed, trying to read him. Love, yes, but could it be unrequited love? It was certainly painful enough, from what Chantay could sense.

“Now can you tell me what’s going on?” Isaac asked once Reed was gone. “Is this about Rhys?”

The mentioning of his brother effectively drew Chantay’s attention away from his current dilemma regarding Reed’s relationship with Isaac. “What do you know about my brother?” he asked with a gasp.

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Isaac eyed him with a measure of apprehension. “What did your king tell you?” he shot back instead of answering.

“Just that Rhys is on an assignment and I shouldn’t worry. But I can’t help it. I feel something’s wrong. Please, Isaac. If you know something, tell me. Is he dead? Is that why King Sterling refuses to talk about it?”

Even as he spoke the words, he finally acknowledged the fact that it was entirely possible for his brother to be dead. Between that and the loss of the first friend he’d truly tried to make here, Chantay barely managed to suppress his tears.

Isaac must have realized his mood and led him to the couch.

Chantay was somewhat uncomfortable since earlier Reed had been sitting in the exact same spot. But then Isaac pulled him close, cuddling him and caressing his hair. “Your brother did go on an important mission,” he said. “He’s given my father vital information on a plot to assassinate an important figure here. They’ve lost contact with him recently, but already there is a plan to go find him. You have to remain calm. Rhys is a strong person, and he wouldn’t leave you just like that.”

Chantay buried his face in Isaac’s chest. Finding out the truth was both painful and a balm on his wounded soul. If only he could claim Isaac for himself. Or could he? God, he didn’t know.

His father had told him that incubi were like shifters in the sense that they had a true mate they could distinguish from anyone else. It was the only person who could satisfy the deep visceral hunger completely. Sidhe, on the other hand, fell in love, like humans, with whoever caught their eye, or their hearts. Chantay had no idea which one of the two options had been reserved for him. And wasn’t he a jerk for even contemplating it when his brother was in danger of being killed?

“What are you thinking, baby?” Isaac asked. “You’re so quiet.”

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Chantay couldn’t help it. He pushed away from Isaac and glared at the other man angrily. “Don’t call me that. You have Reed to love.

You don’t need me.”

“Reed?” Isaac looked shocked. “You don’t think something’s going on between Reed and me, do you? He’s like my brother, well, somewhat different because my real siblings are much older than me.

But we grew up together, in the pack, and that’s why we’re great friends.” A fond smile slipped on Isaac’s lips. “It was always our little group, my brothers’ kids, the Cunninghams, Reed. Corbin and Preston were older, and they rarely joined in.” He paused, and then his gaze focused on Chantay’s face. “But you, baby…You’re different.

They’re my friends, but they never could understand me. And while I care about them, I’ve never considered them from a sexual perspective.”

And as Chantay well knew, Isaac was indeed attracted to him.

“Then who is Reed in love with?” he asked. He wished he could contain his curiosity, but a side effect of his incubus ability was that he easily got involved with other people’s emotions.

“I wish I knew,” Isaac replied. “He won’t tell me. I can’t say more, as he is my friend and he spoke to me in confidence, but I believe he must have found his mate and whoever this person is rejected him.”

Chantay could easily imagine how Reed felt. He’d experienced it when he’d seen Isaac and Reed together. As the thought flashed through his mind, he froze. How had he automatically linked Isaac to the mentioning of “mate”?

“Let me guess,” Isaac said. “You sensed it in him?”

Chantay nodded, still dazed at his discovery. His reason screamed at him, telling him to leave as soon as possible. But Chantay couldn’t bring himself to abandon the haven of Isaac’s arms. The half werewolf felt warm, and not only physically. The emotions Chantay sensed coming from Isaac made him melt inside.

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As if guessing Chantay’s thoughts, Isaac asked in a gravel-filled voice, “Tell me, then, what am I feeling now?”