Fatefully Yours 2

Upon Crimson Waters

The test has come, and Eyce finds himself unprepared to deal with the churning crimson waters of the lakes and ponds. The Oracle warns that he must surrender in order to be victorious—a concept foreign to the big warrior. Surrender is not an option.

Echo still doesn’t understand his role in this war, but he’s willing to do whatever it takes to help Eyce complete his task. First, he must find a way inside the demon’s heart and force him to accept the love he offers so freely.

While Echo and Eyce work to clear the lakes, the threat from the lab still hangs heavy in the air. More are coming. They will never stop coming. Though their troubles seem never ending, Echo knows they can face down their enemies if they stand together. Now, if he can only make Eyce see this before it’s too late.

NOTE! You are purchasing Siren's newest serialized imprint, the LoveXtreme Forever Series. This is Book 2 of 9 in the Fatefully Yours collection. These books are not stand alone. Each is a continuation of the previous book and must be read in the numbered order. Each book may end on a cliffhanger but usually with a happy-for-now for the beta hero and one or more men. The final book contains a happily forever after for the beta hero and all his men.

Genre: Alternative (M/M or F/F), Fantasy, Ménage a Trois/Quatre
Length: 42,904 words

UPON CRIMSON WATERS

Fatefully Yours 2

Gabrielle Evans

LOVEXTREME FOREVER

MANLOVE

Siren Publishing, Inc.

www.SirenPublishing.com

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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK

IMPRINT: LoveXtreme Forever ManLove

UPON CRIMSON WATERS

Copyright © 2011 by Gabrielle Evans

E-book ISBN: 1-61034-617-3

First E-book Publication: June 2011

Cover design by Jinger Heaston

All art and logo copyright © 2011 by Siren Publishing, Inc.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.

All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

PUBLISHER

Siren Publishing, Inc.

www.SirenPublishing.com

Letter to Readers

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DEDICATION

To Kelley, for everything she does, for never losing patience with me, and for keeping us all in line. Thank you!

UPON CRIMSON WATERS

Fatefully Yours 2

GABRIELLE EVANS

Copyright © 2011

Chapter One

They gathered in a large circle, each watching the Oracle intently.

Casting a look about the group, Eyce met each man’s eyes, holding their gaze for just a moment before moving on to the next.

“The gates of Tartarus will burst open wide, releasing its evil upon the world,” the Oracle began, speaking in her robotic monotone. “Those who have escaped the flames must stand together and fight, or return to the bowels of whence they crawled.”

This didn’t feel like the other dreams. Eyce could feel the heat surrounding him from the wall of fire that rose up on all sides. The Oracle’s voice rang through the night, but everything seemed fuzzy around the edges—more like a memory than a dream.

“Each gift must be united, sealed together in eternal bond.”

This was the part where Eyce usually became annoyed. He understood the Oracle was this mystical being, but if they were in so much danger, why couldn’t she just tell it to him straight? The dreams were obviously meant to be a warning, preparing them for things to come. Didn’t do a lot of good if they couldn’t understand what the hell she was talking about, though.

Blocking out the Oracle’s words, Eyce took a deep breath and almost choked it back out when the stench of death and decay filled his nose. Snapping his head one way and then the other, he looked for the source of the foul odor. All he could see, though, was the Oracle, his lovers, and the wall of flames surrounding them.

The smell grew stronger, causing his stomach to roll as he fought not to gag. He couldn’t even concentrate on what the Oracle was saying. Casting glances around the other men gathered in the circle, he noticed they all stared straight ahead with blank expressions on their faces. How were they not affected by the horrible smell?

“Nurture and protect your sacred bond with your very lives.”

Then the Oracle lifted her head and turned slowly to pierce Eyce with her gaze. Suddenly, everything became clear, and he gasped, knowing the words she would speak before they flowed from her lips.

“The heart is coming with whispered echoes. Seek its shelter and win your struggle.”

* * * *

Eyce came awake with a gasp, pushing to a sitting position and scrubbing his hands over his face. His heart thundered inside his chest, and he panted for breath, his body cold and shuddering. What the hell was wrong with him? It wasn’t as though that had been the first time the Oracle had slipped into his dreams.

A small hand glided over his thigh and patted lightly. Trying to pull himself together, Eyce looked down at Echo and did his best imitation of a smile. “Sorry I woke you, baby. Go back to sleep.”

“Wanna talk about it?” Echo wiggled closer, resting his blond head in Eyce’s lap. “I’m not so tired,” he slurred around a huge yawn.

Eyce gave him a genuine smile this time as he brushed the hair back from his mate’s face. “Let’s wait until the others wake up. We’ll have a meeting, and I’ll tell you everything then.”

“M’kay,” Echo mumbled, closing his eyes and drifting back to sleep almost immediately.

“Are you sure you don’t want to talk about it?” Syx moved closer to Eyce’s other side, curling around him and stroking his stomach as he rested his head on Eyce’s hip. “We’re all in this together.”

“I’ll tell everyone in the morning.” Eyce smoothed his knuckles down Syx’s cheek. “Go back to sleep.”

“You look like shit.” Syx pushed up to sit beside him, nudging him with his shoulder. “You’re pale and shaking, and you’re breathing like you just ran a mile. Spill it.”

“Nothing. It was just a dream. That’s all.”

“Look, I’m not really in the mood to play this game with you right now. It was more than a dream, or you wouldn’t be so upset.” He wrapped an arm around Eyce’s waist and kissed the side of his neck. “You can tell, or I can just look for myself.”

Eyce rested his head against Syx’s and sighed in resignation. With the warrior’s ability to see inside his head, he knew he wouldn’t be able to hide. “It was the Oracle. The same dream we all had a few weeks ago, but…different. Everyone was there, but not there. Am I making any sense?”

“Not in the least.” Syx chuckled and kissed Eyce’s temple. “How about you start over?”

“It was the dream about the prophecy. We were all there, except Echo. There was this awful smell—like something rotting. I couldn’t figure out where it was coming from, though.” Eyce took a deep breath and let it out slowly before he continued. “It was like I was the only one who could smell it. Everyone else just looked like they were in some kind of trance.”

“Then what happened?”

“That’s about it. Just before the Oracle finished the prophecy, I realized that I was having kind of a re-dreaming. I knew what she was going to say before she spoke. She told me the heart was coming, but she said something else after that.”

Syx rubbed his palm over Eyce’s bicep when he began to shudder. “What did she say?”

“She told me that the heart would be my shelter. Something about me needing it to win my struggle.”

“Your struggle?” Syx stopped rubbing his arm and leaned away to look in his eyes. “Just you?”

“That’s what she said.” Eyce pushed a hand through his shoulder-length black hair and sighed. “I don’t know what it means.”

“She told you to seek the heart or seek shelter?”

“Both, I guess. She said to seek the heart’s shelter.”

“Well, we know Echo is our heart—the one that binds us together.” Syx looked down at the little man sleeping beside them.

Eyce followed his gaze, and a soft smile spread over his lips. Only six weeks since Echo had practically landed in their laps, and he already couldn’t picture his life without him. Reaching out slowly, he combed his fingers through Echo’s golden-blond hair, loving the feel of the silky strands sliding over his hand. “I know,” Eyce whispered. “Look at him, though. What shelter is he going to offer? He’s so…fragile.”

Syx snorted and elbowed him in the ribs. “Don’t let him hear you say that.”

“He’s kind of beautiful, huh?” Eyce ignored Syx’s jab as he continued to study their mate’s sleeping face. “I mean, he’s prettier than most women I’ve met.”

“Dude, you better hope he’s sleeping.”

“I’m not.” Echo’s eyelids fluttered open, revealing his deep blue eyes, framed by impossibly long lashes. “I’m okay with being beautiful. Keep going.” Then he smiled impishly and closed his eyes again.

“So modest,” Syx mumbled under his breath, but Eyce could hear the humor in his voice. Echo just pulled that kind of response from all of them. They couldn’t help but be enamored by his charm. Even if he was a brat more times than not.

“Go back to sleep,” Echo mumbled. “You’re making my head hurt with all this prophecy crap. I don’t want to think right now.”

Eyce agreed. Exhausted didn’t begin to describe how he felt. They would talk to the others when the sun came up, and hopefully someone would have an idea of what his dream meant.

Scooting down in the bed, he maneuvered his arm under Echo’s neck and pulled him close. Syx inched down as well, curling himself around Eyce’s other side and reaching over him to rest his hand on Echo’s hips.

Surrounded by the warmth of his lovers, Eyce sighed in contentment, closed his eyes, and waited for sleep to claim him.

* * * *

Shuffling into the kitchen with only a pair of boxers on, Eyce scrubbed the sleep from his eyes with the back of his knuckles. Syx plodded behind him, pressing close enough for Eyce to feel the warmth of his bare chest.

“Where’s Echo?” Hex asked from near the counter as he poured a cup of coffee.

Eyce’s eyes raked over their leader, taking in his bare chest and tanned skin stretched over flexing muscles. His dick twitched in interest, but he pushed away his desire. It was damn hard living in a house with seven gorgeous men and not feeling the need to be naked and moaning all the time.

“Good morning to you, too, asshole,” he mumbled instead, but he couldn’t stop the slow grin that spread over his face. He knew Hex hadn’t meant it the way it sounded, but he just had to rib the guy a little.

Hex looked properly chastised, and his cheeks flushed adorably. Eyce would never say it out loud, but the huge demon’s tendency to blush was one of the things he found most appealing about the man. “I didn’t mean it like that.”

Eyce chuckled as he moved over to the table and plopped down in a chair next to Myst. Looking around the table, he eyed his men, curious to see if any of them had shared a dream similar to his. Though Syx said he hadn’t dreamed last night, that didn’t mean that no one had. Well, at least he hoped not. He didn’t like the idea of the Oracle speaking directly to him. It kind of made him feel like a kid who’d been called to the principal’s office.

None of the warriors seemed upset or even thoughtful, though. Eyce sighed, leaning back in his chair and dipping his head in thanks as Hex sat a steaming mug of coffee in front of him. “Thanks, man. I needed this.” He lifted the cup to his lips and took a sip, groaning in appreciation that Hex had made it just the way he liked it.

“What happened?” Hex settled into his seat across the table from him with a frown. “You look like shit.”

“Gods, you’re such a charmer.” Eyce couldn’t quite muster a smile this time, though. He kept replaying the Oracles words over and over in head, trying desperately to figure out their meaning.

“Just tell them,” Syx encouraged as he sat beside Hex and reached across the table to take Eyce’s hand. “We can help.”

“Help with what?” Onyx strolled into the kitchen with Fiero right behind him. His hair was tousled, his lips swollen, and he moved gingerly as he walked to the counter to pull down two more mugs for coffee.

Eyce smirked as Fiero took a chair at the end of the table, looking and moving much the same as Onyx. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what the men had been up to before joining them in the kitchen.

“Where’s Vapre?” Eyce scanned the table, and even checked over his shoulder, searching the doorway, but he didn’t see the other warrior.

“He went into town to get some supplies,” Myst answered around a mouthful of toast. “Supposed to be a big storm coming in tonight.”

“He went alone?” Eyce felt his brow furrow, and he shook his head. They never went anywhere alone if they could help it. For over two thousand years, they’d been watching each other’s backs and looking over their shoulders, waiting for the day Hades would rise from the Underworld to reclaim his creations. It didn’t make sense that the demon would venture out without backup.

“He was gone when we woke up.” Hex shrugged, seemingly unconcerned, but Eyce saw the tick in his jaw as he spoke—heard the tightness in his voice. “He left a note.”

“Vapre’s gone?” asked a frightened voice from the kitchen threshold.

They all turned as one, and Eyce smiled as he watched Echo enter the kitchen. He looked worried, his bottom lip sucked in between his teeth and his eyes darted around the room as though to confirm Hex’s words. “Is he…Is he coming back? Did I do something wrong?”

Before Eyce had even fully registered their mate’s distress, Myst was out of his seat and lifting Echo into his arms, petting and stroking him as he whispered into his hair. “He just went into town, baby. You didn’t do anything wrong, and he’ll be back soon.”

Moving to stand from the seats as a unit, they all converged on Myst and Echo, touching and soothing their mate as he continued to cling to Myst’s neck, burying his face against the demon’s throat.

“What’s all this?” Eyce asked quietly as he cast his eyes around the circle. “Echo, you know that none of us would ever leave you.” He combed his fingers through his mate’s hair and sighed. “You had a dream, didn’t you?”

Echo nodded frantically, but didn’t move his face from Myst’s neck. Then he stopped and began to shake his head. He stopped again and nodded. Then he stopped once more and shook his head. Eyce couldn’t help but chuckle. “Well, which is it, little one?”

Finally extracting his face from Myst’s neck, Echo looked at him and sighed. “I was asleep, but it didn’t really feel like a dream. It didn’t feel like the other times the Oracle has talked to me either, though. I don’t understand it.” His brows drew together, and his nose crinkled. “I don’t like it.”

“We need to talk.” Hex motioned for everyone to resume their seats around the table. “I’m guessing you had a dream as well,” he said to Eyce.

Eyce grimaced, not wanting to talk about it just yet, but he knew they couldn’t put if off forever. It was already the day after Christmas, and the new moon raced toward them like a freight train. They needed to prepare, to work out a plan if they hoped to face whatever evil was coming.

“Yeah, I had a dream, but like Echo, it didn’t feel like a dream. It was strange.” He gave them a rundown of his dream, telling them the same things he’d confessed to Syx in the earlier hours of the morning when he’d woken, shivering and afraid. He was a fucking demon warrior, for pity’s sake. He wasn’t supposed to be afraid.

“We’re all worried about what’s coming,” Syx said softly. “There’s no shame in it.”

Echo scrambled out of Myst’s lap and hurried over to crawl up on Eyce’s thighs. Their little mate just always seemed to know what they needed, and it warmed Eyce right down to his soul. Wrapping his arms around his lover, he nuzzled his cheek against the top of Echo’s head. “Thank you,” he whispered.

“I’m scared, too,” Echo admitted. “I usually like the Oracle, but she was creepy in this dream. She talked all funny, and there was fire. It was so dark, and I couldn’t even see the moon. Then it felt like I was drowning. I couldn’t see the water, but I felt it all around me, and I couldn’t breathe. There was this horrible smell, like something dead, and I wanted to gag, but I was afraid to open my mouth and let the water in.”

Eyce nodded his agreement as he rubbed his palm gently down Echo’s spine. He hadn’t felt the sensations of drowning, but he’d felt and seen all the rest. A brief flicker of recollection passed through his brain, too fast for him to latch on to it. Recalling the memory, he studied it from beginning to end. He was missing something. He just couldn’t figure out what the hell it was.

“I could see you,” Echo continued, snuggling closer to Eyce’s chest. “I could see all of you, but no one could see me. I screamed for someone to help me, but no one could hear me. Then the water came, but it wasn’t really water, and I couldn’t yell anymore.” He pushed away and looked up into Eyce’s eyes. “Then you looked right at me, and I calmed down like that.” He snapped his fingers to punctuate his statement.

“I looked at you?” Eyce didn’t remember Echo being in his dream. The small memory nudged at him again, teasing him, but he still couldn’t latch on to it and reel it in.

Echo nodded slowly. “Then the Oracle said something about the heart being the shelter, and how it would help win some struggle.” He cocked his head to the side in confusion. “I’m the heart, right?”

“When did you have this dream?” Syx asked from across the table as he eyed Echo intently.

“I woke up at the same time as Eyce,” Echo mumbled.

“Why didn’t you tell us?” Eyce caressed his little man’s face and frowned. “You didn’t say a word.”

Echo shrugged innocently. “You were so upset. I didn’t want to add to your problems.”

“You can’t keep these things from us,” Fiero growled, speaking for the first time since entering the room. “Why do you keep lying to us?” Without waiting for an answer, he stood so abruptly that his chair tipped over and crashed to the floor. Turning on his heels, he stepped over the chair and stomped out of the room without a backward glance.

“What did I do? I wasn’t lying, I swear!” Echo looked on the verge of tears, and Eyce wanted to throttle Fiero. “I wasn’t keeping it from you. I just didn’t want to add to your stress just then.”

“Shh,” Eyce cooed before kissing the tip of Echo’s nose. “I understand, baby. Everything is fine.”

“You keep saying that.” Echo pushed against Eyce’s chest and jumped up from his lap. “None of this is fine! Vapre’s gone. Fiero is pissed at me, and I don’t even know why. I keep having these fucked up dreams, and I talk to some lady in my head. I’m mated to not one, but seven freaking demon warriors. Please tell me how any of this is fine!”

In the weeks since Echo had arrived on their doorstep, Eyce had never seen him so vehement. He hated to admit that it turned him on something fierce. Reaching out for his mate, he sighed and let his hand drop when Echo dodged his advance.

“I’m going back to bed. I’m just going to sleep until one of you starts making some goddamn sense.” Then he, too, stomped from the room, mumbling under his breath the entire way.

“I’d say that went well,” Myst muttered from beside Eyce. “He’s got a bit of a temper, doesn’t he?”

“He’s afraid,” Syx whispered. “He has no control over any of this and no way of knowing what the future will bring. Anyone would be freaking out right now.”

“True.” Hex pinched the bridge of his nose and inhaled deeply. “What the hell is Fiero’s problem? I mean, I know he’s always a dick, but this was above and beyond.”

“He’s scared, too,” Syx answered. “He’s afraid of losing Echo, of having to return to Tartarus, and of something happening to one of us.”

“Aww, he does care,” Myst said around a snort.

“So, who’s going to talk to him?” Eyce asked the group. He was unsurprised when all eyes turned to look at him. “I had a feeling you’d say that.”

Chapter Two

Echo grumped and grumbled all the way up the stairs. Okay, so he was young, and small, and maybe didn’t know a great deal about the world outside of the lab he’d come from, but he wasn’t stupid. They all kept telling him things were going to work out, yet no one had any idea what they would face, or how they would defeat the unknown threat.

He appreciated that they all wanted to protect him, but his men were so focused on him, they weren’t being cautious with themselves. Though his brain still rebelled against the idea of being in love with the warriors after such a short amount of time, his heart thumped rapidly against his sternum at the thought of anything happening to his lovers.

So lost in thought, he didn’t immediately realize where he was going until he found himself outside of Fiero’s door. Pursing his lips and scrunching his brow, Echo lifted his hand and rapped heavily on the door.

He didn’t know what the hell Fiero’s problem was, but he intended to find out. He hadn’t lied or withheld anything from them, so why was the man acting like Echo was the bad guy?

He waited for a couple of seconds, but didn’t receive an answer. He could hear Fiero’s footsteps on the other side of the door, though, and knew the man was pacing. He banged against the wood again, his temper rising when he still didn’t receive any type of acknowledgement.

“Open this fucking door!”

“Go away!” Fiero roared back.

“I will not!”

“Leave me alone,” Fiero growled.

Echo kicked the door in frustration then wailed as his big toe began to throb painfully. Lifting his foot and grabbing it with both hands, he hopped around on his other foot while he cursed and yelled.

The bedroom door flew open, and Fiero stood framed by the doorway, his eyebrows lifted and the corners of his mouth twitching as he watched Echo’s little dance.

Placing his injured foot to the floor, but keeping most of his weight off of it, Echo pointed a finger in the warrior’s face and glared. “Don’t you dare laugh! This is all your fault.”

Fiero nodded slowly, but he looked to be having a hard time containing his mirth. “Wouldn’t dream of laughing at you.”

Echo dipped his head curtly and pushed past the man and into the room. “Much better.” He turned to smirk at Fiero.

“Sneaky little shit,” Fiero mumbled under his breath as he strolled back into the room and closed the door quietly behind him. “Okay, so you’re in. What do you want?”

“I want to know why you have such a foul attitude. I want to know why you always push me away.” Echo started pacing, waving his arms around wildly. “I want to know why you don’t trust me.” He stopped abruptly and turned slowly to look up at the bigger man. “I want to know why you don’t like me.”

Fiero growled and pushed a hand through his spikey blond hair. “I never said I didn’t like you, or that I didn’t trust you. I just don’t like it when you keep things from me—from us.”

“I wasn’t hiding anything.” Echo took a tentative step closer. “Everyone was sleeping when I had the dream. You didn’t see Eyce when he woke up. He was shaking so hard, I thought he was going to have a seizure. I didn’t want to add to whatever he was going through.”

“You still should have told someone,” Fiero argued. “This is important.”

“I told everyone the minute I woke up, didn’t I?” Echo eyed his grumbly lover for a long minute before he finally began to recognize the emotion Fiero was hiding. “You’re scared.”

“I’m not afraid of anything.”

“Yes, you are.” Echo stepped even closer, pressing himself against Fiero’s front. “What are you hiding, my big warrior?” He laid his palms against Fiero’s chest, loving all of the smooth, sun-bronzed skin beneath his hands. How the hell did he get so lucky?

Fiero’s long fingers wrapped around Echo’s wrists and pushed his hands away. Though the action had been done gently, it felt like a slap in the face. Fiero didn’t want Echo’s touch. “Fine.” He sighed and took a step away. “If you decide to be an adult and talk to me, I’ll be around.”

He made it no more than three steps before the door eased open, and Eyce stepped into the room with a deep frown on his face. Great! Another pissed off asshole too macho to admit that he might have feelings other than hunger and anger wasn’t exactly what Echo wanted to deal with just then. “I was just leaving.” He tried to sidestep Eyce, but the warrior’s arms shot out, stopping his retreat.

“We need to talk,” Eyce said coldly, his eyes never leaving Fiero.

“Yeah, that sounds like fun, but count me out.” Echo tried to push Eyce’s hand away, but the man was having none of it. “Look, he obviously doesn’t want to talk to me, or have anything to do with me. It’s fine.”

“It’s not fine.” Eyce’s fingers looped around Echo’s shoulder and turned him to face Fiero. “Talk,” he demanded.

“I have nothing to say.” Fiero turned his back on them and went to sprawl out on his bed to stare up at the ceiling. “Leave.”

“We’re not leaving until you start talking.”

Fiero didn’t answer.

“This is bullshit, Fiero, and you know it. We’re supposed to be a team. You can’t just run and hide when things get hard.”

Still, Fiero didn’t answer. Echo just wanted to leave, but Eyce’s hand rested on his shoulder, holding him in place.

“Coward,” Eyce growled.

That got a response. Fiero leapt up from the bed as though it were on fire and strode across the room to stand directly in front of Eyce. He leaned in close until their noses almost touched and snarled like a wild animal. Eyce gently eased Echo behind him, but otherwise didn’t react to Fiero’s aggressiveness.

“I am no coward,” Fiero growled. “You want to walk around pretending like everything is sunshine and daisies, that’s your fucking problem. Forgive me if I’m a little more realistic.” Then he turned sharply and just stood there with his head bent and his body heaving as he breathed heavily.

Echo didn’t understand exactly what was going on, but he couldn’t stand to see one of his men in pain. Easing out from behind Eyce, he moved cautiously until he stood just behind Fiero, then reached out hesitantly with a trembling hand to smooth his fingertips down Fiero’s spine. “Please talk to me,” he whispered. “Let me help.”

“You can’t help me,” Fiero said so quietly that Echo almost didn’t hear him.

“I can try.” His chest tightened painfully at the hopelessness in his warrior’s voice. “At least let me try.”

Eyce moved soundlessly to stand in front of Fiero, cupped his face in both palms, and lifted his head to meet his eyes. “A team, right? Something is coming. Something bigger than all of us, and we need to face it together. You can’t take this on by yourself.”

Echo watched as Fiero’s breathing slowly eased, his muscles relaxed, and he leaned forward to rest his forehead against Eyce’s. “I know,” he whispered. “That doesn’t mean I have to like it, though.”

The light went off in Echo’s head, and he finally got it. Yes, Fiero was scared, but he also felt guilty. He’d taken all of their troubles on his shoulders, unwilling to share the weight of the burden with his lovers.

He stood there silently, just watching the two men together. They didn’t speak, didn’t move, didn’t so much as blink as they stared into each other’s eyes. Even if they wouldn’t admit it, Echo could practically feel the love pouring off of them like a tangible force. They looked so beautiful together, Echo suddenly felt like an intruder.

Stepping back slowly, he started to leave to give them some privacy when Fiero grabbed his hand and squeezed it. Echo squeezed back, a tiny smile playing over his lips. “I’ll be down the hall,” he said quietly, not wanting to interrupt the moment. “You two don’t need me right now.”

It hurt a little to say, but Echo knew Fiero needed Eyce. The man just seemed to ground him, calm him, and Echo could respect that. Maybe if he disappeared for a little while, Eyce could heal whatever was hurting Fiero.

He tried to tug his hand free, but Fiero wouldn’t release him. Instead, he tugged Echo forward until he could wrap an arm around his shoulders and pull him into his and Eyce’s combined embrace.

“Stay,” he whispered. “Just stay.”

* * * *

Fiero let his hand roam over the soft, creamy skin of Echo’s back. He still rested his forehead against Eyce’s, enjoying the closeness of his lovers and allowing their nearness to calm him. Being a prick all the time wasn’t something he was proud of, but he just wasn’t good with emotions—especially ones he didn’t understand.

Echo made him feel strange. Besides wanting to fuck him on the nearest flat surface every time the little guy breathed in his direction, Fiero also felt extremely protective and possessive of him. Oh, he didn’t mind sharing with the other men in the house. Echo belonged to all of them, after all. The thought of someone besides his lovers touching their mate made him see red, though.

“I don’t know what’s wrong with me,” he whispered as his other hand moved to tangle in Eyce’s hair. Gods, they made him feel things that he didn’t understand, couldn’t explain. Things he wasn’t sure that he wanted to feel.

He’d always cared about his lovers, worried about them, and would protect them with his life. Until Echo showed up, however, that had been the extent of it. Now, he had these strange emotions warring inside of him, and he didn’t know what to do with them. He was a goddamn warrior. Lust, desire, respect, and concern for his men’s safety—those were things Fiero understood.

He wasn’t supposed to feel all warm and fuzzy when they touched him, though. Nor was he supposed to feel a soul-wrenching fear that he wouldn’t be able to protect them.

“Nothing is wrong with you,” Echo murmured as he rubbed his face over Fiero’s chest. His tongue snaked out, licking a slow circle around Fiero’s nipple and causing the big warrior to shudder as a deep groan escaped his parted lips. “Want you, big guy.”

Want, Fiero understood as well. It clawed at him, sending electricity racing down his spine and zipping along the length of his cock as it began to swell between his legs. He just wished he didn’t have to be so careful with Echo. Not that he didn’t like slow and sensual, but it seriously deprived him of his kinky nature.

“Yeah, want you,” Eyce whispered before palming the back of Fiero’s head and claiming his lips in a scorching kiss.

Fiero couldn’t stop the moan of pleasure as his lips and tongue dueled with Eyce’s, each battling for dominance. He didn’t mind giving over power sometimes, but with his emotions all over the map, he needed to be in charge and take back some control.

Luckily, his lovers seemed to realize this, because Eyce backed off, allowing Fiero to take over the kiss. Echo insinuated himself between them, licking and nipping at Fiero’s chest as he humped against his thigh.

Pushing his leg between both of Echo’s, Fiero grabbed the man’s slim waist and tugged, urging Echo to move against him. As much as he wanted to bury his aching cock inside his mate’s sweet little ass, he knew he couldn’t be gentle. He might be a bastard when it came to some things, but he’d never intentionally hurt his men.

Echo was just so small and unlike anything he was used to. His lovers were big warriors like himself. He didn’t have to worry about causing them pain or being too rough with them. With Echo, he constantly held himself in check and second-guessed his every move.

“Need you,” Echo whimpered as his head fell back against Eyce’s chest, and his hips continued to rock, grinding his cotton-covered cock over Fiero’s thigh. “Need you both.”

Fiero felt like the world’s biggest asshole as he desperately tried to figure out a way to make this work without actually fucking Echo. He wanted the little man with something akin to pain, but in his current mood, he knew he couldn’t be gentle. He’d never forgive himself if his inability to tame his lust caused him to hurt his mate in any way.

Looking into Eyce’s eyes, he tried to convey his dilemma without words. Eyce caught on immediately and dipped his head once in understanding. Throwing a quick wink at Fiero, he glided his hands down Echo’s chest, pausing to pinch and tug at his copper-colored nipples. “I call middle.”

* * * *

Echo didn’t really give a damn who went where. His body burned, his skin overheated, and his dick ached and throbbed, demanding release, and soon. His fluttering hole clenched and relaxed, begging to be filled.

Eyce walked them backward, pushing Echo’s boxers down his legs as he went. Then he plopped down on the end of the bed and pulled Echo into his lap, spreading his legs until they stretched wide, draping over Eyce’s powerful thighs.

Moaning and panting, Echo dropped his head back on Eyce’s shoulder as his eyes closed, and he wiggled his ass over the rock-hard erection beneath him. Eyce’s chest pressed against his back, heating his skin and setting his nerve endings sizzling. Echo didn’t know how Eyce was going to be in the middle in their current position, but he couldn’t form coherent words to question it.

His eyes popped open when he heard Fiero growl, and he watched the man drop to his knees, crawling forward, his eyes locked on Echo’s exposed opening. Before he could even gasp, Fiero dove between his parted cheeks, licking, sucking, and nibbling at the sensitive flesh of his entrance.

Echo cried out, bowing his back and pressing against Fiero’s mouth. “Don’t stop,” he begged as he reached over his head to lock his arms around Eyce’s neck. “Touch me.”

“I am touching you,” Eyce murmured, his lips trailing over Echo’s neck and up the sensitive flesh to suck at his earlobe. His hand continued to roam Echo’s body, touching him everywhere as Fiero’s tongue plunged into his eager opening, stabbing in and out and driving Echo out of his mind.

“Please!” he cried out, arching his hips as he squirmed and whimpered.

Eyce’s arms locked around him, holding him in place and preventing his escape. A long finger replaced Fiero’s tongue, pushing into his ass as Fiero moved up to lave his balls, sucking them into his mouth and rolling them with his tongue.

“Fuck! I can’t…can’t!” Echo’s stomach cramped, his balls tightened, and cock jerked and throbbed.

“Shh, baby,” Eyce whispered in his ear, palming Echo’s shaft and stroking it lightly. His thumb brushed over the spongy head, spreading pre-cum and using it to slick Echo’s length. “We got you. Just ride it.”

Easy for him to say. Eyce wasn’t the one that was about to lose his goddamn mind. A second finger slipped in beside the first, twisting and scissoring as they sawed in and out of his greedy ass. “Please, fuck me! Someone fuck me!”

Fiero’s mouth traveled up Echo’s stomach, over his chest, and latched on to one of his pebbled nipples, tugging at it with his teeth just as Eyce gave a sharp twist of his hand just under the leaking head of Echo’s cock.

“Come for me, baby,” Fiero demanded gutturally.

Echo couldn’t have stopped it if he’d wanted. The flames engulfed him, overwhelming him, and he threw his head back and screamed as creamy ropes of cum erupted from his slit to paint the space between him and Fiero.

He slumped back against Eyce, letting the warrior support his weight as Fiero gently eased his fingers from Echo’s still spasming hole. “More,” he panted.

Fiero chuckled, his eyes softening as he pushed up to claim Echo’s lips in a tender kiss. “Demanding, aren’t you?”

“Please?” Echo had no qualms about begging for what he wanted.

“Okay, little one, okay.” Echo whimpered when Fiero pushed away from him and disappeared. He was back in a flash, though, flipping open the cap on a bottle of lube and slicking up his jutting cock. “Lay back,” he ordered.

Echo was confused for a second until Eyce eased back on the bed and pulled Echo down to lie over his chest, still on his back. Two slick fingers immediately pushed into his entrance, and Fiero worked to stretch him quickly, adding a third finger when the muscles began to loosen and relax.

Then the fingers vanished, and the demons worked together, lifting Echo and moving him until the tip of Eyce’s straining dick nudged against his hole. “Yes,” Echo hissed, taking a deep breath and lowering himself over the hard shaft until his ass rested against Eyce’s groin.

From his position facing Fiero, he had a perfect view of the warrior’s long fingers separating Eyce’s muscled globes and slipping inside his waiting entrance. Echo braced his hands on Eyce’s thighs and rocked up and down, groaning and panting as he felt every veiny inch sliding against his inner walls.

Then Fiero pushed him to lean back just a bit, changing the angle, and Echo cried out as Eyce’s cock nailed his prostate, sending him into overdrive in seconds flat. Lying back and bracing his hands on either side of Eyce’s waist, Echo rose and lowered, impaling himself again and again as his renewed erection slapped against Eyce’s balls on every downward thrust.

“Hurry,” he begged of Fiero.

The man nodded, his eyebrows drawn together in concentration as he lined up the crown of his cock with Eyce’s waiting hole and pushed in to the hilt in one long, hard thrust. Eyce growled, arching his hips and almost unseating Echo.

Fiero bent over him, attacking his mouth as he continued to drive into Eyce’s body with enough force to rock all three of them up the mattress. Echo couldn’t wait any longer. His balls burned, threatening to unload at the slightest touch. “Gonna,” he panted, jerking away from Fiero’s searching lips.

He reached for his cock, but Fiero batted his hand away and looked right into his eyes, pinning him in place with the intensity of his gaze. “Just us. Come for me again, baby.” He gave a sharp thrust into Eyce’s body. “Give me what I want, Echo,” he growled. “I want you to come.” Then he claimed Echo’s mouth in another kiss that Echo felt right down to his pulsing cock.

Without warning, his orgasm slammed into him, hitting him like a freight train, and he yelled around Fiero’s lips as the head of his cock exploded, shooting reams of pearly seed from the slit.

He heard Eyce groan from behind him seconds before scorching lava coated his channel, and Fiero roared, burying his face in Echo’s neck, his body shuddering through his release. “Thank you,” he mumbled softly. “Thank you, baby.”

“More,” Echo demanded. He didn’t even know if he’d be able to walk after enduring two climaxes so close together, but he wanted—needed—more.

Fiero’s head snapped up, and he looked at Echo for a long time, several emotions Echo couldn’t identify playing over his face, before he grinned devilishly and dipped his head once. His strong arms wrapped around Echo’s waist, lifting him off of Eyce’s softening prick, and flipped him over, pushing him face-first into the mattress.

“Don’t move,” Fiero ordered.

Echo didn’t think he could move if he wanted to. His cock was still hard enough to cut glass, and his ass clenched and relaxed, anticipating and begging to be filled all over again.

He didn’t have to wait long before Fiero returned, and something cold and rigid nudged against Echo’s opening before Fiero pushed it inside in one rough shove.

Moaning and whimpering, Echo rolled his brow against the bed, clenching the sheets in his fists as he wiggled his upturned ass.

“So fucking pretty,” Eyce mumbled from behind him, and Echo only then realized the demon had moved to stand beside Fiero. “We need to get you more toys, baby.”

Toys? Enlightenment dawned, and Echo realized the unyielding phallus currently moving in and out of his passage was a dildo. Even if he hadn’t figured it out then, he would have when it suddenly began vibrating, and he thought he’d come unglued.

Fiero fucked the toy in and out of his ass at a relentless and demanding pace as his other hand smoothed over the skin of Echo’s ass. Eyce’s hand skimmed over Echo’s back, down his spine and over his hips before sliding around him to grip his pulsing cock.

“Damn, he’s still fucking hard.” The warrior groaned, giving a couple of good strokes to Echo’s dick before releasing him. The bed dipped, and Echo blinked up to see Eyce kneeling in front of him. “Suck my cock,” his lover demanded.

Pushing up on his hands with an effort, Echo licked his lips once and dove forward, encircling Eyce’s renewed erection with his swollen lips. Eyce moaned and rocked his hips as his fingers tangled in Echo’s hair, pulling him down on his cock roughly.

“That’s it,” Eyce encouraged with a feral growl. “Eat that cock, baby. Damn, your mouth is like heaven.” He thrust forward, his movements jerking and ungraceful as he nudged the back of Echo’s throat with the tip of his prick.

The dildo pulled out of hungry hole, and three fingers replaced it, driving into Echo’s ass hard enough to pull a strangled, though muffled, groan from his mouth.

“Oh, fuck, do that again,” Eyce demanded, his fists tightening around Echo’s hair.

“What? This?” Fiero curled his fingers, brushing over Echo’s prostate, and Echo cried with such force, he began gagging, swallowing convulsively around the cock in his mouth.

“Oh, gods,” Eyce groaned gutturally. Apparently, he liked that a lot.

Fiero pulled his fingers free, lined up his huge dick, and drove into Echo without further preliminaries. He didn’t pause, didn’t stop, just gripped Echo’s hips and fucked him like a man possessed.

Echo couldn’t get enough. The more they gave him, the more he wanted, and he set to work, trying to suck Eyce’s brains out through his cock—metaphorically speaking.

A warm body draped over his back, covering him like a human blanket, as Fiero kept up his punishing pace. His lover’s warm hand palmed Echo’s aching cock, jerking him roughly as each of Fiero’s hard thrusts sent Eyce’s prick deeper into Echo’s mouth.

“Come,” Fiero growled. “Now!” He twisted his wrist around the crown of Echo’s cock as he snarled in his ear.

Echo’s body tensed, his muscles locking as his release rampaged through his body, speeding up his throbbing shaft to spill over Fiero’s hand and wrist.

“Ahhh,” Fiero moaned into the back of Echo’s neck, pushing into the hilt and grinding his groin over Echo’s ass as he unloaded his balls into Echo’s silky channel.

Eyce followed them quickly, pulling Echo’s face forward by his hair until his nose was buried in the demon’s closely-cropped, coarse hairs. Then creamy, salty seed filled Echo’s mouth, bathing his tongue and splashing against the back of his throat.

Swallowing quickly, Echo was proud when he didn’t miss a single drop. He licked Eyce’s clean, then let the warrior’s flagging erection slip from between his lips as Fiero gently eased out of him. Dropping forward, Echo sagged limply on the bed, smiling as only the truly well-fucked can, and drifted to sleep instantly.

Chapter Three

“You have friends?”

Eyce blinked at Echo once then burst into laughter. “Why do you sound so surprised?”

Echo blushed and scuffed his toe over the living room carpet. “I don’t know. I’ve been here for other a month, and I haven’t met anyone else. No one has even talked about having friends. I just assumed you guys kind of kept to yourselves.”

“We do for the most part.” Eyce was still having trouble controlling his amusement. “We still have to go into town a couple of times a month for supplies, though. I don’t know if I’d call them friends exactly, but they’re good people that we associate with fairly often.”

Echo cocked his hip out to the side and lifted his eyebrows. “Have you ever had a party here before?”

Damn. Busted. Eyce shook his head slowly. “We’ve only lived here for a couple of years. We don’t age, so we try to move on before people become too suspicious.”

“Have you ever had a party at any of your other homes?”

Eyce chuckled as he shook his head again. “Fine. You win. We just wanted you to have a good time, so we invited some people from town over to toast in the New Year with us. Is that so wrong?”

A soft smile spread across Echo’s face, and he launched himself into Eyce’s arms with a giggle. “I think it’s awesome, but you should have just told me. I may not understand everything involved with being a demon, but I’m not stupid.”

Eyce spun his mate around in a circle, his heart soaring with Echo’s laughter. Then he pressed a quick smacking kiss to Echo’s lips and grinned. “I never thought you were stupid.”

“So, when is everyone supposed to be here?”

Eyce turned to glance over his shoulder at the large clock over the fireplace. “In about an hour, I guess.” He turned back to his mate, completely bewildered by the look of shock on Echo’s face. “Why? What’s wrong?”

Echo wiggled and pushed until Eyce had no choice but to set the little man on his feet or drop him…again. He’d never forgive himself for that little mishap in the bathroom the day Echo had arrived.

“People will be here in an hour, and you didn’t tell me? I’m still in my freakin’ pajamas!” Echo flapped his hands around as he turned in a circle, looking their living room over with a critical eye. “No one has cleaned or decorated. Do you have food? Drinks? Music? Oh, you can’t have a party without music.” He wandered off toward the staircase, muttering under his breath and waving his hands around wildly.

Eyce stood frozen in place, unsure of what to say or do next. True, he hadn’t thought of all of those things, but he didn’t think it would earn him any points with his mate to say so out loud. Shaking his head, he hurried out of the room to search for the other warriors. Myst was pretty good with shit like this. Maybe he could do something in the limited time they had before people started arriving.

“I don’t even have anything to wear,” Echo screeched from the second floor.

Eyce winced, but kept walking. Maybe this hadn’t been such a great idea after all. They’d all gotten together and decided that it wasn’t fair to keep Echo so isolated. None of them were very social, and they all had each other, so avoiding other people like the plague wasn’t exactly a hardship.

Their little mate had so much energy and charisma, though. He needed to interact with people, especially after the life of confinement he’d led inside that damn facility. Eyce growled as he stalked through the house looking for his fellow demons. The lab was something else they needed to discuss. The men who’d held Echo for all those years weren’t going to just sit back and let him get on with his life. They would come again, and soon.

Lost in his own thoughts, growing angrier with each step, Eyce didn’t see Syx until he plowed into the man, sending them both stumbling backward and groaning.

“Nice bumping into you.” Syx chuckled as he rubbed his brow where their foreheads had banged together.

“Did you get shit for the party?”

“Whoa! Where’s the hostility coming from?” Syx held his hands up, palms out. “Myst and Onyx are getting beer, wine, and munchies. They should be back any second.”

Eyce sighed and dipped his head. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to eat your face about it.”

Syx moved closer, wrapping his hand around the back of Eyce’s neck and pulling him into his embrace. “This is more than just the party. Talk to me.”

Resting his face on Syx’s shoulder, Eyce wrapped his arms around the man’s back and held him tight. “We have to do something about that fucking lab.”

“Agreed,” Syx growled immediately. Then his tone softened as his fingers slipped into Eyce’s long hair and began massaging his scalp. “One crisis at a time, though. Okay? Let’s just get through the next couple of hours.”

Eyce stood straight, his hands coming up to cradle Syx’s face. “You’re right. I just get crazy when I think about those fuckwads waltzing in here and trying to take our mate. I’ll kill them all before I let Echo go.”

Syx nodded solemnly then leaned forward to brush his lips against Eyce’s. “No one is going to take our mate. We’ll do whatever it takes to protect him.” He pressed more insistently against Eyce’s mouth, running his tongue over the seam until Eyce opened with a pathetic whimper.

The kiss went on for what seemed like forever, and they were both flushed and panting when they finally disconnected. “How are you always so calm?”

Syx took an unsteady step back and shrugged. “I’m not,” he answered simply.

“Well, you do a damn good job of hiding it.” Eyce chuckled and pulled on the ends of Syx’s shoulder-length blond hair. “Thank you,” he whispered.

“Stop it.” Syx batted his hand away and chuckled. “Echo may be our mate, but that doesn’t mean I don’t care about the rest of you as well.” He shook his head, a fond smile on his lips. “He just makes it easier to express it.”

* * * *

Fiero was hiding in the corner, sipping his beer and minding his own business when a snippet of conversation caught his attention. He didn’t move, didn’t turn his head, and his face showed no interest, but his eyes narrowed as he watched some asshole paw his mate from across the room.

“What would it take to get you naked and on top of me?” the man slurred.

“I don’t know what you mean.” Echo smiled, but it looked forced, and he tried to sidestep the man.

“Ah, now don’t be that way, sugar.” He stepped with Echo, blocking his escape as his hands continued to roam over Fiero’s mate. “I’ll make ya feel real good, baby.”

Echo pushed the man’s hands away from him, and tried once more to move around him. “I’m not your baby, and I suggest you keep your hands to yourself if you know what’s good for you.”

“Oh, I know what’s good for me.” The drunk snickered as his fingers looped around Echo’s arm and began tugging him away from the crowd. “I think my fat cock in your ass will be real good for me.”

Fiero pushed off of the wall, scanning the room for backup. He saw Eyce and Myst look his way, and he jerked his head in Echo’s direction as he wound his way through the guests, marching determinedly toward his mate.

“Let me go!” Echo yelled. He kicked out, his foot connecting solidly with the man’s knee.

The drunk grunted, yanking Echo around in front of him, as the other hand delivered a vicious backhand to his delicate little face.

Fiero snapped, and a haze of rage descended over him like palpable force. He launched himself the remaining few steps, hissing and snarling as he flew through the air and tackled the bastard to the floor.

There were several loud gasps, a few screams as Fiero unloaded on the man beneath him, his fist driving into the guys face repeatedly as he growled over and over. “Mine!” He knew he was scaring the shit out of their guests, and the man beneath him was already unconscious, but he couldn’t stop. His demon had taken over completely, howling with rage that this asshole had dared to lay a hand on what belonged to them.

A strong arm wrapped around his chest from behind, and Fiero responded by whipping around and crushing his fist into Myst’s nose. His canines began to elongate, his chest heaved with his rapid breaths, and his nostrils flared as he inhaled deeply, scenting out his mate. He rose to his feet, forgetting about the prone body beneath him, and turned in a slow circle.

People gasped, tripping over themselves and each other in their hasty retreat as Fiero’s eyes swept over them. Music still blared in the background, but it sounded distant and hollow to his ears. He couldn’t even think past the clawing need to find his mate.

Halfway through his turn, his eyes landed on Echo and a feral snarl escaped his lips. Several people stood around the little man, all moving to form a barricade around him when Fiero took a step forward.

“Move,” he demanded.

The men before him trembled in their fear, but held their ground. “He’s had enough, buddy,” one of the braver men spoke up. “Just leave the little guy alone.”

Echo pushed at them from behind, trying to get through them. “He’s not going to hurt me. Let me through.” Still, no one moved.

Fiero could see his fellow warriors moving in on him. Three came from his left, two from his right, which left one behind him. He ignored them and took another step toward his mate. “Mine,” he hissed.

“Let Echo through,” Hex called from behind Fiero. “I won’t let anything happen to him,” he added when no one moved.

The men looked over Fiero’s shoulder then cast glances at each other before finally stepping apart slowly. Echo wasted no time, shoving them roughly out of the way as he burst through their ranks, took two running steps, and leapt into Fiero’s arms.

Fiero wrapped his mate up in his arms, crushing him against his body as he buried his face in the little man’s golden locks and breathed deeply, letting the warm scent calm the beast within him. “Are you okay, baby?” he asked raggedly.

“Perfect,” Echo breathed in return. “I’m just fine, big guy.” He nuzzled his face against Fiero’s throat while his arms kept a chokehold around his neck. “You’re scaring people, though. Think you can bring it down just a notch?”

Fiero began to relax, but he didn’t loosen his hold on Echo. “Did I scare you?”

“Nope. I think it’s sexy that you went all alpha and wanted to protect me.” Echo’s tongue licked up the vein on the side of Fiero’s neck. “Thank you.”

“Let’s get some ice for your cheek. Does it hurt?” Fiero asked as he began walking them out of the room. The crowd parted for him easily, eyeing him with trepidation as he passed. Fiero ignored them and continued toward the kitchen.

“Just a little.” Fiero felt Echo lips stretch into a smile against his throat. “You are so ruining your reputation right now.”

A light chuckle escaped him before Fiero could pull it back. The runt was going to be the death of him. Reaching the kitchen, he settled Echo onto the island counter and eased away to inspect his cheek. A light bruise had already popped up, and the flesh looked swollen and puffy. A deep growl started in his chest as anger boiled inside him once more.

Echo’s small hands reached up and caressed Fiero’s cheeks. “I’m fine. Thank you for protecting me.” He rubbed their noses together, and Fiero melted at the affection. Damn, he was turning into a fucking sap. “How about that ice?”

“You called?” Eyce chuckled as he entered the room and strolled over to them. He ruffled Fiero’s short hair before turning his attention to Echo, gripping his chin to turn his face toward him. “Yep. You’re gonna have a shiner, baby.”

“Do you think it’ll make me look tough?”

Fiero didn’t think it was possible, but Echo’s words stamped down his anger, and he threw his head back and laughed. “Oh, yeah, you’ll be a regular little badass.”

Echo giggled, pulling on Fiero’s shirt and then Eyce’s until they both bent to receive his kisses. “Thank you.”

“Anytime,” Fiero whispered, those damn emotions he didn’t understand clogging his throat.

“Hex is sending everyone home,” Eyce said as he stood up straight.

“What? No!” Echo pushed at them until they stepped back, and he could jump down from the counter. “Don’t let that asshole ruin the party. Everyone was having so much fun!”

“Okay, okay.” Eyce held his hands up and chuckled. “I’ll tell the boss man. I guess we can at least have the midnight toast before we send everyone on their way.”

“Please?” Echo looked up at them with such pleading, Fiero knew he’d give his little mate whatever he wanted.

“If you promise to stick close to one of us,” he finally responded.

Echo nodded eagerly. “I promise.”

Fiero sighed and jerked his head toward the door. “Go tell Hex.” He waited for Eyce to nod his agreement and hurry out of the room before returning his attention to Echo. “Let’s get you that ice and a drink. It’s almost midnight.”

Echo nodded his head, but frowned.

“Hey, what’s all this? You just said you wanted the party to continue.” Fiero’s eyebrows drew together in confusion. “Did you change your mind?”

“No.” Echo chewed his lip for a minute before continuing. “I want to kiss you all at the stroke of twelve, but I don’t know how to make that work.”

Fiero rolled his eyes. “The clock will sound twelve times at midnight. There’s only seven of us. I think we’ll figure it out.”

Echo’s eyes lit up and practically vibrated where he stood. “Oh, I didn’t think of that.” Then he pushed against Fiero’s chest, urging him toward the refrigerator. “Hurry!”

They rushed around, getting an ice pack for Echo’s cheek, and making sure everyone was calm and had a drink in their hand for the toast. Though it rankled his feathers, so to speak, Fiero apologized for his earlier behavior. To his astonishment, everyone was very understanding, stating they would have reacted in the same way if someone had put their hands on their loved ones.

Everyone gathered around the living room, the air buzzing with excitement as they counted down to the New Year. “Seven! Six! Five!” Fiero wrapped his arm around Echo’s waist, pulling him close as his other lovers circled around them. “Four! Three!” He bent slowly, his gaze never leaving Echo’s beautiful sapphire blue eyes. “Two! One! Happy New Year!”

The room erupted into cheers, but Fiero barely heard them. He leaned in the rest of the way, placing a tender kiss on Echo’s lips and gliding his tongue inside to lick at his mate’s mouth. “Happy New Year, baby,” he whispered when he pulled away.

Echo gave him a brilliant smile, unshed tears shining in his eyes. “Happy New Year.” Then he moved around the group, kissing each warrior in turn before they all started grabbing and kissing each other.

Fiero knew they were getting some strange looks from their guests. He could only imagined what the eight of them looked like, making out in the middle of their little party. He didn’t care, though. Pulling Hex to him, he claimed the man’s mouth next. “Happy New Year,” he said with a smile when he pulled away. “And just for the record, I got the first kiss from Echo again.”

Hex snorted and jabbed him in the ribs. “Asshole.”

Yep, it was the perfect start to a new beginning.

Chapter Four

Echo waved happily as the last guest said their good-byes and headed out into the night, then turned to beam up at Hex. “Tha’ was awesome.” He hiccupped. “We should soon, again.” He waved a hand around. “Ya know wha’ I’m meaning.”

Hex chuckled, reaching out to muss Echo’s hair. “I’m not sure the good people of this town could handle us more than once a year or so.”

Shrugging, Echo turned to make his way across the living room, but tripped over his own feet and went sprawling across the living room carpet. Hex hurried over to him, lifting him to his feet and holding him steady. “Are you drunk?”

Echo swayed a bit before finally giving up and leaning heavily on his lover for support. “No’ sure. Ne’er been drunk before. I feel kin’a fuzzy.”

Onyx laughed as he entered the room from the direction of the kitchen. “He’s totally smashed!”

“’M’not,” Echo slurred as the room tilted on its axis. His legs wobbled, and he began sliding down Hex’s body until his warrior caught him and slung him up in his arms. “’Kay, but jus’ a wibble.”

“A wibble?” Hex snorted and rolled his eyes. “Let’s get you to bed, ya lush.”

“No’ sweepers.” Echo turned his head to glare at Onyx as the man doubled over in laughter. “S’not funny.” Crap, his tongue felt furry and too thick for his mouth. Why the hell wouldn’t it just cooperate with what his brain wanted to say? “Sfink my tongue is swollen.” He stuck it out at Hex, wiggling it around a bit.

The big demon started laughing so hard his entire body shook. Afraid that Hex might drop him, Echo tried to reach up to hold on to his lover’s neck, but he couldn’t get his arms to move. He frowned down at his hands where they rested in his lap. “Stupid han’s.”

“What’s so funny?” Myst entered the room, surveying the scene before him with his head cocked to the side. “Did I miss something?”

“Echo’s sloshed,” Onyx gasped through his laughter.

“Really?” A wicked grin spread over Myst’s face.

Echo wanted to punch him. And he would, too. Just as soon as the room stopped spinning, and he figured out which one was Myst and which one was his double vision playing tricks on him. “Bed,” he mumbled thickly, resting his head heavily on Hex’s chest.

“Where would you like to sleep tonight, baby?” Echo could still hear the amusement in Hex’s voice.

“You.”

“I was hoping you’d say that.” Hex nuzzled his cheek against the top of Echo’s head before placing a quick kiss on his brow. “You’re going to hate yourself in the morning.”

Echo just sighed and curled in closer to his warrior’s warm body. He was so tired. Yawning hugely, he closed his eyes and was asleep before they even made it out of the room.

* * * *

It was official. Echo hated himself, but not nearly as much as he hated alcohol. Although, his men might be running a close third since they gathered around him while he paid homage to the porcelain god the next morning. No one said a word, but he could practically feel their knowing smirks. Yeah, would have been nice if someone had warned him before he downed all those glasses of wine.

Eyce knelt down beside him, pushing his hair back and holding it away from his face, as Echo’s stomach continued to heave. His head throbbed, his entire body felt achy, and all he wanted to do was crawl back into bed and sleep for the rest of his life.

“Thank you,” he mumbled as he rested his forehead on toilet seat. Gross, maybe, but he couldn’t find it in himself to care.

A cool, damp cloth found its way to the back of his neck, and Echo lifted his head, groaning as the room began to swim. Myst smiled down at him as he swiped the cloth over Echo’s face and down his throat. “Better?”

“No,” Echo croaked. His throat felt raw, and his stomach continued to cramp and churn. “I feel like death warmed over.”

“Drink this.” Hex shoved a glass into his hands and nodded firmly. “Trust me.”

Echo stared down into the glass, his eyebrows drawing together at the fizzy looking liquid. “What is it?” He bent closer, but pulled back immediately when the bubbles tickled his nose.

“Morning After Relief,” Hex said around his chuckle. “Just sip it slowly. I promise you’ll feel better in no time.”

Deciding he was in no position to argue, Echo brought the cup to his lips and took a tentative sip. It didn’t taste too bad, but he still didn’t like the bubbles that kept trying to leap up into his nasal passage.

By the third sip, his belly began to settle a bit, and his head didn’t throb quite so much. He sat on the cold tiles of the bathroom floor, sipping his fizzy water until he’d drained the last drop and passed the cup off to Eyce. “Bed.”

Eyce nodded and leaned forward to kiss his brow. “That’s probably a good idea. You’ll feel better when you wake up.” He lifted Echo into his arms and carried him back to Hex’s bed, placing him gently in the middle of the mattress.

The other warriors gathered around, helping to get him tucked into the bed with the blankets pulled up around his shoulders. Echo sighed, letting his eyelids drift closed as he snuggled down into his pillow. “Stay.”

“Who, baby?” Eyce eased down on the edge of the bed and began softly stroking Echo’s hair.

“Everyone.”

“I’m not sure we’re all going to fit in the bed.” Eyce chuckled, but Echo heard the rustling of the warrior removing his clothing. “How about we take turns staying with you until you feel better?”

“Okay.” Echo didn’t feel like arguing, but he made a mental note to talk to his men about ordering a custom-made bed, big enough to fit all eight of them. Silly maybe, but sometimes he hated all the bed-hopping. They were a family, and even if his men wouldn’t admit it, they cared for each other as much as they cared for him.

The blankets lifted, and cool air rushed over his back, causing him to shiver before Eyce’s heated chest pressed against him, and his massive arm wrapped around Echo’s waist, pulling him closer. He eased his other arm under Echo’s head, cradling it in the crook of his elbow and sighed.

Echo’s eyelids drew back slowly when he felt a weight on the bed in front of him. Smiling softly, he nodded his head at the question in Fiero’s eyes. “Please,” he whispered.

Fiero didn’t return his smile, but he did slip under the blankets and pressed close to Echo, his arm wrapping around him, so that Echo was sandwiched between him and Eyce.

“Well, it’s my bed,” he heard Hex huff. Then the bed dipped again, and Echo felt another large hand caress his hips.

“Make room,” Myst mumbled, and Echo felt more than heard him crawl into bed on the other side of Eyce.

“I guess that means we’re out,” Vapre pouted. “I’ll go get breakfast started.

“Yeah, I’m coming, too.” Echo could hear the disappointment in Onyx’s voice. He hated it, but he didn’t know what to do about it. Maybe they could all sleep on the floor like a big wolf pack or something.

“They’re fine,” Syx said softly. “We’re not jealous, baby. We just want to be able to hold you, too. We understand, though, and we’ll come give you lots of attention later.”

“Just sucks,” Echo returned.

“I know,” Eyce whispered in his ear. “I don’t like it either.”

“We’ll figure something out,” Hex said from Fiero’s other side. His fingertips skimmed up and down Echo’s thigh, drawing light circles over the skin and causing Echo to shiver. “We’ll make this work.”

* * * *

“It’s snowing.” Eyce stood by the sink, staring out the kitchen window as he sipped his coffee. They’d traded off about an hour ago, and Syx, Onyx, and Vapre were taking their turn with Echo.

“How bad is it supposed to get?” Hex hissed as he pulled the bread from the toaster and dropped it quickly, blowing on his burned fingers.

“Not sure, but it doesn’t look good.” The wind whipped and howled, swirling the heavy falling snow around the field behind the house. Eyce didn’t know precisely when the snow had begun to fall, but he guessed already two inches covered the frozen ground.

Hex stepped up beside him, bumping him with his shoulder. “We’ve seen worse, and there’s not much we can’t survive.”

“Echo’s not a demon, though,” Eyce reminded their leader.

“Right.” Hex sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Bring in more firewood, and get the candles and flashlight from the attic in case the electricity goes out. I think there’s an old battery-operated radio up there as well.”

“I’m on it.” Fiero jumped up from his seat and hurried out of the room immediately.

Hex watched him leave with a slight frown on his handsome face. “What’s gotten into him? He seems…different.”

“I think he’s got a crush on Echo,” Eyce said loudly, hoping his voice would carry to the fleeing demon.

“I do not,” Fiero yelled back indignantly.

Chuckling, Eyce looked at Hex with his raised eyebrows. “See?”

Hex joined in his laughter and bobbed his head up and down. “Got it.” Then he became serious again as he pushed away from the counter and began pacing the kitchen. “We have enough supplies to last for about four days, so I guess the main thing is to just keep warm and ride out the storm.”

“Four days,” Eyce groaned. “The new moon is coming, and we still don’t have a plan. We don’t even know what’s coming. I’m pretty sure when the Oracle said that rivers would run crimson, she didn’t actually mean they’d turn to blood.”

Hex shook his head thoughtfully. “I don’t think so either, but I don’t know what else could turn the waters red.”

“Google it,” Myst mumbled around a mouthful of toast.

“Excuse me?” Eyce swung around and stared at Myst in confusion.

“Google it,” Myst repeated. “You know, like do a search on the internet for natural phenomenon that could turn rivers and lakes and other bodies of water red. I bet you’ll find something. Maybe not on the scale we could be facing, but it might help.”

Eyce raced across the room, grabbed Myst’s face in both hands, and placed a loud, smacking kiss on his lips. “You’re a genius.”

Myst pushed him away, his face flushing with embarrassment. “It’s not a big deal, dude. If I was really a genius, I would have thought of it long before now.”

Eyce just rolled his eyes as he stood up straight and headed out of the kitchen and toward the office. Why couldn’t anyone in the damn house just take a compliment? “Grab the coffee and meet me in the office!” he yelled over as his shoulder as he jogged down the hallway.

Entering the office, he plopped down into the chair behind the desk and immediately powered up the desktop computer. Syx’s laptop sat off to the side of the desk, and Eyce stared at it for several minutes before finally shaking his head and returning his attention to the screen in front of him.

Syx had been spending a lot of time by himself in the office, or even barricaded in his room with his laptop. He’d been very mysterious about it, not letting anyone touch his computer, or even giving them a hint as to what he was working on. It had Eyce worried, but he would respect the warrior’s privacy…for now.

“Find anything yet?” Hex asked as he entered the room with Myst.

Eyce rolled his eyes and waved a hand toward the computer screen. “I just got here. Still booting up.”

“Do you have any ideas?”

Eyce shook his head. “Syx and Vapre are the smart ones. I’m just here for my good looks and to keep you assholes in line.”

“Yeah, same here.” Hex sighed and plopped down on the sofa near the bookshelf on the other side of the room. “Maybe we should go wake them up.”

“Nah.” Myst moved to sit at the other end of the couch. “Echo still looked like dog shit when we traded places. Besides, we had our time with him.”

“Agreed. We can always ask them later if we don’t find anything.”

“Ask who what?” Fiero asked as he entered the room, his arms laden with candles and flashlights, and a small radio hanging from his fingers by its strap.

“Myst had the idea that we might be able to find something on the internet that would explain why the waters would turn red. Other than blood, that is. I don’t think even Hades can do that, but then again…” He trailed off and motioned around the room to include the four of them.

“Good point.” Fiero dropped the supplies to the desk and strolled over to the window where he leaned against the wall and stared out into the storm. “It’s getting worse. I’d hurry before we lose power.”

“Okay, so what do I search for? Red water?” Eyce typed the words into the search engine and hit enter. He frowned as he read over the results. “There’s just a lot of shit here about the Red River that forms the border between Oklahoma and Texas. Doesn’t exactly help us here in Montana, though, does it?”

“Try searching for causes of red water.” Myst rose from his seat and hurried over to stand behind Eyce, looking over his shoulder at the computer screen.

Eyce dipped his head and typed in the words. “Ah, here we go.” He scanned the results, clicking on the one that seemed to be the closest to what they were looking for. “Red tides…red algae…pollution…toxins,” he mumbled the keywords under his breath as he read.

“There’s not much pollution around here,” Myst said slowly as though he were turning the idea over in his head. “It says that red algae grows in either cool, damp places, or in direct sunlight when temperatures rise suddenly—depending on the type of algae. It doesn’t really fit. It’s winter here, below freezing, and the snow is falling like crazy.”

Eyce shook his head. “It’s still a couple of days before all the craziness hits. Anything could happen before then.”

“I’m not buying it.” Myst frowned as he buried his hands in his shaggy hair and pulled roughly. “Keep looking.”

“We also need to decide what we’re going to do about that lab.” Fiero spoke quietly from his place near the window then turned slowly to face the room. “They’ll be back for Echo.”

Hex pushed to his feet with a grunt and scrubbed his hands over his face. “I know. Can’t we just deal with one fucked up situation at a time, though?”

“Actually, that’s what I mean.” Fiero moved away from the window and started pacing. “We don’t know exactly what’s coming from Hades, but we do have a good idea of when. The opposite is true with the people from the facility.”

“We know what we’re facing, but we don’t know when they’ll make their next move,” Myst finished the thought. “I get what you’re saying. We need to eliminate the threat to our mate so we can focus on the prophecy.”

“We need to have a meeting,” Hex said after several minutes of silence. “Go wake the others, but let Echo sleep. He doesn’t need to hear this yet.”

Eyce started to rise from his chair, but Myst’s hand landed on his shoulder, holding him in place. “You keep looking. I think the one thing we can agree on is that whatever this first round has in store for us, it’s coming for you specifically.”

Slumping in his chair, Eyce closed his eyes and groaned. He’d already worked that much out for himself, and he wasn’t looking forward to the challenge.

Chapter Five

“You have not surrendered.”

Eyce squinted against the warm rays of sunlight that beat down on his face. “No, Oracle. I have not surrendered.” This was damn strange. He’d never spoken directly to the Oracle before. Nor had her voice ever sounded so pleasant—almost musical.

“You must surrender, Warrior.”

Frowning in confusion, Eyce looked out over the vast field in which they stood. The green grass, the newly bloomed flowers, the gentle breeze that floated through his hair—it all reminded him of spring. “I don’t understand,” he finally admitted. “I have to surrender to Hades? Not to be thick, but doesn’t that kind of defeat the purpose of this war?”

The Oracle laughed, a soft tinkling sound that did strange things to Eyce’s insides. He didn’t desire the woman before him, but he suddenly felt a great fondness for her. “It is not the Lord of the Underworld who requires your surrender.”

“I’m sorry, but I just don’t get it. Who do I need to surrender to, if not Hades? Isn’t he the one that’s all bent out of shape about us escaping Tartarus?”

“Oh, yes, he is rather cross with you about that. I hid your departure from him for as long as possible, but it could not be kept in the shadows forever.”

Eyce dipped his head in gratitude. “Thank you, Oracle.”

She waved her hand dismissively. “Do not offer your gratitude just yet.”

He still didn’t understand, but he was beginning to realize that was a permanent state of being when he was in the Oracle’s presence. “So, who do I have to surrender to?” He had been born for battle. Surrender was not an easy word to digest.

“Yourself, of course.” The Oracle smirked as she closed her eyes and tilted her face up toward the sun. “All these questions,” she said quietly. “If you would but look within yourself, you would find the answers.”

“Why do you always talk in riddles?” Eyce had been dying to ask the question for years. He figured he might not get another chance, and though he had no guarantee of an answer, it was worth a shot.

“It is simply the way things must be.” She opened her eyes and turned to look up at him. “You will understand in time.”

Eyce seriously doubted that, but decided he’d pushed far enough on the matter. “What about this lab in the mountains? How do we protect Echo?”

“Echo,” she murmured with a smile. “He waits for you.”

“Huh?” Eyce could have smacked himself in the head for his lame response.

“Go to him. Seek his shelter.” Then she faded away, leaving Eyce standing in the middle of the field.

* * * *

“Eyce, wake up. You’re drooling all over the keyboard.” Echo tried not to laugh as he shook his lover, trying to rouse him from his sleep.

Eyce groaned quietly as his eyelashes fluttered against his creamy cheeks, but he didn’t open his eyes.

“C’mon, big guy.” Echo pushed the dark hair back from Eyce’s face and trailed his fingertips from temple to jaw. The man really was gorgeous. Stepping closer, he bent at the waist, pressing his lips to the corner of Eyce’s mouth.

“Mmm, I like this dream,” Eyce mumbled. He finally opened his eyes and sat up slowly, rubbing a hand over his face and yawning. “What time is it?”

“A little after six. You’ve been in here forever.” Echo motioned to the plate sitting on the desk. “I brought you dinner.”

Eyce didn’t even look. He wrapped his hands around Echo’s waist and pulled him into his lap. “How are you feeling?”

Echo cuddled close and kissed the underside of Eyce’s jaw. “Much better. What were you dreaming about?”

“The Oracle.”

“She’s nice, huh?”

Eyce snorted. “I guess that’s one way to put it. Frustrating, infuriating, confusing—those would be better descriptions. I don’t understand why she has to talk in circles all the time.”

Echo rolled his eyes. “You mean you don’t know why she can’t just give you all the answers on a silver platter.”

“Exactly.” Eyce said it with such vehemence, Echo had to slap a hand over his mouth to muffle his laughter. “It’s not funny,” Eyce grumbled.

“I know,” Echo said when he finally felt in control of himself. “You’re just really cute when you pout.” He pushed up straight and looked into Eyce’s eyes. It still bothered him that he couldn’t ever pinpoint what color his men’s eyes were. They all looked the same—just a big swirl of everything.

“I’m not pouting,” Eyce argued, even as his bottom lip slid out and began to tremble.

Echo slapped at his chest. “I think finding the answers is half the battle. It wouldn’t mean nearly as much if you just had all the information gift wrapped with a pretty bow.”

“Now you sound like her. What is that supposed to mean?”

Echo didn’t know how to explain what he meant. Hell, he wasn’t even sure he understood it himself. He hadn’t meant to speak the words. They’d just slipped through his lips without thought. Knowing his sulky demon wouldn’t let it go, he decided a distraction was in order.

Pushing up straighter, he pulled Eyce’s mouth to his in a scorching kiss. “It means you talk too much,” he panted long minutes later. “And it also means you’re missing a meeting in the kitchen. They kicked me out.”

“They’re talking about the lab,” Eyce said distractedly as he tried to chase Echo’s retreating lips.

“The lab? Why didn’t anyone tell me?” Echo scrambled down from Eyce’s lap and fisted his hands on his hips as he glared. “Tell me what’s going on.”

Eyce dropped his forehead to the desk with a loud thud and growled. “I wasn’t supposed to tell you that.”

“Too late and tough shit. I want to know what’s going on, and why you all felt the need to keep it from me. I’m not a child, and I’m not fucking stupid. Besides, you’re going to need my help.”

Yeah, he was pissed off, but a small part of him was hurt that his men hadn’t trusted him with this. He wracked his brain, but couldn’t come up with a single reason they would have for not confiding in him. They were supposed to be on the same side.

“Stop it,” Eyce demanded without lifting his head. “We just didn’t want to worry you. No one has any ideas of how to stop those assholes. We just wanted to have a plan in place before we brought you in on it. That’s all, I swear.”

“Cat’s out of the bag now, so I’m coming with you.” Echo slapped his hand on the desk. “Move your ass.” Then he turned and marched out of the room without a backward glance. Either Eyce would follow him, or he wouldn’t. Whatever.

Entering the kitchen, he didn’t think it was his imagination that all conversation stopped the minute the demons set eyes on him. The room went unnaturally quiet, and everyone seemed to find different points of the wall extremely interesting all of the sudden.

“I thought you were going to get Eyce,” Hex said tightly.

“And I thought we were supposed to be a team? Or am I just the cute and loveable mascot?” Echo glared at each of the men around the table before returning his attention to Hex. “Oh, poor Echo just can’t deal. Let’s not tell him anything that might not be rainbows and ice cream. We wouldn’t want to upset his fragile sensibilities.”

“You’re being childish,” Hex growled. “Why don’t you run along and let the big boys take care of this.”

Echo jerked back as if he’d been slapped. The words stung for just a moment, and then he got pissed. Narrowing his eyes, he sauntered over to Fiero and held out his hand. Judging by the look on his lover’s face, Hex’s words didn’t sit well with him either. He reached out and took Echo’s hand immediately while he pulled his lighter from his pocket with the other.

“Echo,” Hex snarled in warning. “Don’t even think about it.”

Fiero flicked the lighter and lifted the flame in front of Echo. “Don’t hurt him too much. We still kind of like him.”

“Echo!” Hex took a step back, his eyes rounding when Echo just smirked and waved his hand over the flickering flame, catching it in his palm. He tried to retreat further, but froze mid-step, his eyes darting to Myst.

“Sorry, dude, but that was uncalled for. You’re being a fucking douche.” Myst’s voice held none of its usual jovialness, and he looked spitting mad. His face mottled a dark red as he rose from his seat and stalked around the table to stand beside Echo.

Vapre rose as well, coming to stand beside Fiero, while Onyx took up ranks on Myst’s other side, presenting a united front to their leader. Syx was the last to stand, and though usually the mediator of the group, even he came to stand beside Onyx, crossing his arms over his chest and looking menacingly at Hex.

Echo still held one of Fiero’s hands while he left the flames leap and dance over his other. “I may be smaller than you,” he told Hex. “I may not be as strong physically, or lived as many years as you.” He held his hand up in front of his face, blowing softly at the fire until it shot out in a stream, stopping just inches from Hex’s chest. Then he sucked in a deep breath, calling the flames back.

“I may not have seen the things you have, or fought against swarms of enemies. I didn’t live a thousand years in the depths of Hades, but I have survived my own personal hell.” He swirled his hand around until the fire rolled into a ball, then flicked his wrist to make it bounce into the air. It rose until it almost brushed against the ceiling, then made a graceful arc to fall back into Echo’s waiting palm.

“I’ve lived my entire life with people who tell me what to do, when to do it, and bitching about how I did it wrong.” He pushed his hand toward Hex, sending the fireball rushing toward him, then pulled it back like a yo-yo on some invisible string. “Just because I let you stroke and pet me, cradle me on your lap, and snuggle with me at night…” He stopped speaking and tilted his head to the side, considering his still unmoving lover. “You only wish you had the power I do.”

He squeezed his hand into a fist, extinguishing the flames with just a thought. “I accepted all of you—this entire fucked up world of demons, warriors, gods, oracles, prophecies, and supernatural wars. I let you claim me as yours—as your mate. Never once did I ask for anything in return, so now I’m telling.”

Echo released Fiero’s hand and walked forward until he stood toe-to-toe with Hex. “You may see me as weak and naïve, fragile and delicate, but I assure you…I’m not. You will respect me.” He snapped his fingers, smirking at his lovers’ gasp of surprise when tiny flames immediately sparked along his fingertips. Fiero could manipulate fire, but he couldn’t create it.

“And that’s just from syphoning for a couple of minutes.” He wiggled his fingers in Hex’s face, enjoying the widening of the man’s eyes. “Go ahead and have your little meeting,” he said icily. “I’ll run along and play like a good boy.” Then he let the flames die away as he turned to stroll out of the kitchen.

“Impressive,” Eyce said from the threshold where he leaned against the kitchen doorframe. He eyed Echo cautiously, obviously hesitant to approach him.

Smart man.

In Echo’s current mood, he wasn’t sure he wouldn’t accidently…or maybe even purposely…set his lover ablaze. “You accused me of treating you like a pet—something to lavish affection on when the mood struck.” Pushing past the demon, he shook his head sadly. “Well, consider yourself in the doghouse.”

* * * *

“What the fuck happened in here, and why am I getting the blame?” Eyce pushed away from the wall and stepped further into the room.

“Ask him.” Myst glared as he jabbed a finger in Hex’s direction.

Eyce followed his gaze, narrowing his eyes at their leader. “What did you do?”

Hex stumbled back a step when Myst released him, grabbing for the counter to steady himself. “I didn’t do anything!” he roared. Then he took an angry step toward Myst. “You’re going to use your powers on me?” He met each other of their eyes as his body trembled with anger. “That’s how it’s going to be? I’m the fucking bad guy now?”

“You were a prick, and you know it,” Fiero said heatedly as he jumped to his feet.

“We all agreed that we didn’t want him to know until we had more of the facts. Why the hell is everyone pointing their fingers at me?” Hex threw his hands up in the air. “You were all thinking the same thing.”

“Don’t put words in my mouth,” Vapre said dangerously. “I didn’t want to worry him, and I don’t want him in danger, but I would have never spoken to him that way.”

“What the fuck is going on?” Eyce yelled.

“Hex told Echo that he was acting like a child and to run along and play while the big boys dealt with the danger,” Syx answered, his eyes locked on Hex.

“You did what?” Eyce’s eyes almost bugged out of his head, and his mouth dropped open in utter shock.

“I didn’t mean it like that.”

“Then just how the hell did you mean it?” Onyx demanded. “I’m not sure how else he was supposed to take it. Please, enlighten us with the underlying meaning, because I’m just as lost as everyone else.”

“I would, if everyone would stop attacking me!”

Fiero snorted. “Believe me, you’d know it if I attacked you.”

“Is that a threat?” Hex snarled, his voice deep and feral.

“Whoa!” Eyce stepped between Hex and the rest of the men, holding his arms wide and looking back and forth between them. “Everyone just take a breath and calm the hell down.” He turned and pointed at Syx. “What did Echo do before Hex acted like a complete dickhead?”

“He was upset because he knew we were keeping things from him. He was also smart enough to realize that we were hiding shit because we didn’t think he was tough enough to handle it.”

Eyce nodded sharply and turned back to Hex. “And this was a sufficient reason to treat him like something on the bottom of your shoe?” He spoke calmly, but fury roiled just beneath the surface. “Do you want him to leave? I know I wouldn’t stick around to be treated like that.”

“It wasn’t like that!” Hex roared. “You’re all blowing this out of proportion.”

“Now, who’s being childish?” Vapre asked.

“You can all go to hell,” Hex grumbled.

“Been there. Done that. Got the T-shirt,” Myst snapped back.

“You don’t deserve him,” Fiero said so quietly that Eyce barely heard him. “I won’t let you hurt him again.”

What the hell? Eyce didn’t know what had gotten into everyone, but he needed to diffuse the situation before Armageddon broke out in their recently updated kitchen.

“You can’t keep him from me.” Hex came forward but stopped when Eyce’s palm caught him in the chest. “He belongs to me just as much as he does you.”

“He’s not a fucking piece of property!” Fiero yelled. He started to jump for Hex, but Eyce caught him in the chest with his other hand.

The two demons leaned close to each other, hissing and snarling, their canines elongating, and their pupils bleeding out to the corners of their eyes.

“Shit,” Eyce groaned a split second before Fiero shoved him out of the way and launched himself at Hex, tackling him to the floor and landing on top of him.

Eyce was back on his feet in an instant, but not fast enough to stop the other four from jumping into the fray. Sighing in exasperation, Eyce turned his back on the jumble of bodies in the middle of the floor and left the room. There was only one way to fix this. He didn’t relish the idea of begging, but he’d do what needed to be done.

“Echo!”

“They’re fighting because of me, aren’t they?” Echo asked softly from the corner of the couch where he was curled.

“I have no idea why they’re fighting.” Eyce swallowed his pride and reached a hand out for Echo. “I need your help.”

Echo shook his head. “It’s just going to make it worse if I go in there.”

“Trust me?”

Echo eyed him for a full minute before he finally nodded his head and pushed up from the sofa. He walked slowly across the room, reaching out to take Eyce’s hand, and followed him back into the kitchen.

Stopping just inside the entryway, Eyce gave Echo a little nudge forward. Echo looked over his shoulder, his eyes wide and fearful. “What do I do?”

“Just talk to them.”

Echo glanced at the brawling crowd in the middle of the kitchen then turned back to Eyce with disbelief written all over his face. “You’re kidding, right?”

Chuckling softly, Eyce shook his head.

“You are so dead if I get another black eye.” Then he marched over to their men, stopping just at the edge of the fight. “Hex! Vapre! Myst!” He shouted their names as he fisted his hands on his hips. “Syx! Onyx! Fiero!”

Eyce had never seen anything like it before. Everyone froze in place—some with elbows cocked back, others with their fingers twined in someone’s hair—and stared up at the smallest of them all.

“That’s better,” Echo said in a quieter tone. “Do you even know what you’re fighting about?”

All six demons just stared up at their little mate in apparent confusion. “I didn’t think so.” Echo sighed, his chest rising and falling slowly. “Now, I’m going to bed. I’ll see everyone in the morning.”

Walking away and leaving his men sitting on the floor gaping at him, Echo grabbed Eyce around the wrist and pulled him out of the room. “You’ve earned a reprieve.”

Eyce looked over his shoulder as he followed his lover out of the room and smirked at the men staring after them.

Chapter Six

Echo stripped off his clothes as he entered his bedroom and crawled into bed without comment.

“Do you want me to stay?” Eyce asked quietly as he shuffled his feet near the door.

“Yes.” Echo snuggled down under the blankets, wrapped his arms around his pillow, and closed his eyes. He didn’t feel like talking. He just wanted to go to sleep and pretend like the day had never happened.

“He didn’t mean it, you know.”

Echo turned his face into his pillow to muffle his groan. He should have known Eyce would insist on talking about what happened in the kitchen. Why couldn’t, just this once, he be the strong, silent type that didn’t feel the need to work things out with words?

“I don’t want to be difficult, but I really don’t to talk about this.”

“I know, but it’s not going to just disappear because we sweep it under the rug.”

“Can we talk about it in the morning then? I’m tired, and I just want to go to sl—” Echo groaned into his pillow again when a soft knock at the door cut him off. “Go away!”

He heard the knob jiggle, and the door ease open then close again with a quick snick. “Echo?”

“Can this day get any better?” Echo rolled over and glared at Hex where he stood beside Eyce just inside the door. “And in case you missed it, you can pick any part of that sentence to insert sarcasm. Now, go away.”

“Will you just let me explain?”

“No.”

“You’re being ch—”

Echo flew out of bed, stomping across the room, and jabbed a finger in Hex’s chest. “If you say I’m being childish, I will rip your balls off and fry them up for breakfast.” He reached out with his other hand and gripped Hex’s balls through his jeans, giving them a good squeeze to emphasize his point. “Do I make myself perfectly clear?”

Hex swallowed audibly as he bobbed his head in understanding.

“This isn’t childish. This is not wanting to listen to your lame excuses or false apologies.” Echo released the man’s balls and turned back to his bed. “When you can pull your head out of your ass and stop being a gigantic fuckwad, we can talk. Until then, I want you to leave.” Echo crawled back into bed and pulled the blankets up around his waist.

“I’m not leaving until you listen to me.”

“It wasn’t a request,” Echo said coldly.

Eyce leaned closer, whispering something to Hex that Echo couldn’t make out. Judging from the look on Hex’s face, the big warrior didn’t like what he was hearing, though. His face turned a couple different shades of red, the vein in his temple pulsed, and the muscles in his jaw ticked as he stared down at the carpet as though it had done something to offend him.

Rolling his eyes, Echo flopped back on the bed, pulled the covers over his head, and closed his eyes. Maybe by the time he woke up, Hex would have worked out a proper apology. For now, Echo would just try to forget he had an angry demon grumbling about his bedroom.

Of course, he couldn’t be that lucky, though. He’d done no more than curl into a ball when the bed dipped, and a big hand landed on his hip. “Echo?” Hex sounded a lot calmer, his voice softer, almost pleading. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I got some bad news just before you came into the kitchen, and I took it out on you. I shouldn’t have done that.”

Echo slowly pulled the blankets back from his head and blinked up at Hex, curious against his will. “What kind of bad news?”

“That lab you came from?” He waited for Echo’s nod before continuing. “You said it’s in the mountains east of here, right?” Echo nodded again. “The only mountains east of here are a few ranges that are part of the Rockies.”

“Okay.” Echo sat up straighter in the bed. “I don’t understand how that’s bad news, though.”

“The only range close enough for you to have traveled here in three days on foot is in the Glacier National Park on the Canadian border.”

“Son of a bitch,” Eyce growled under his breath.

Echo didn’t get it. “I’m sorry, Hex. I’m just not following.”

“The park is government-owned, baby. That lab can’t exist there without someone knowing about it.”

“Which means the lab is most likely government-owned as well,” Eyce said as he moved to sit on the other side of the bed. “This is bad, Echo.”

Echo shook his head vehemently. “No. The government doesn’t just lock people up and experiment on them. They don’t send guys with guns to slaughter innocent people.”

The looks his men gave him were so full of pity, Echo choked down the rest of his denial. “This is bad,” he whispered, repeating Eyce’s words.

“Yeah, it is.” Hex moved up the bed to sit beside Echo, leaning back against the headboard. “We can’t fight them and win, Echo.”

“Even if we manage to take down this facility, there will be others to take its place,” Eyce added. He leaned forward and placed his hand on Echo’s bent knee, giving it gentle shake. “We’ll keep you safe, though. Even if we have to move to Russia.”

A surprised chuckle burst from Echo’s trembling lips. “Russia?” He turned to stare through the parted curtains covering his window. The snow still fell heavily, swirling around in the wind and blowing against the glass. “Couldn’t you at least pick someplace warm?”

“The Galapagos Islands,” Hex offered.

“Better.” Echo pulled his knees to his chest and tucked them under his chin. “We can’t leave until after this stupid war is over, and I really don’t want to spend the rest of my life looking over my shoulder. Not to sound like a conceited prick, but they won’t stop looking for me. I’m too important to them.”

“We know,” Hex whispered. “We’ll figure out something.”

Echo rolled his head until his temple rested against his knee and looked up at Hex. “That still doesn’t explain why you’re an asshole.”

Hex grimaced. “And I don’t really have a good excuse, either. I was scared, and I handled it poorly. Fear and uncertainty are not emotions I’m used to. Then you walked into the room, and I could see it in your eyes that you knew what was going on. I just kind of lost it.”

“Why shouldn’t I have a right to know what’s happening? I’m the one at the center of this whole mess.”

“It’s my natural instinct to protect you—even if it’s just from bad news or things that would upset you.”

“That makes no sense. Your protective instinct told you to treat me like a piece of ass? Because that’s kind of what it feels like.”

Hex winced at his words, but Echo wouldn’t take them back. “No. I was scared and angry, then you came storming into the kitchen with your claws out, and I retaliated.”

“Not good enough.” Echo looked away, unwilling to fall victim to the pleading in Hex’s eyes.

“What do you want me to say?” Hex growled. “I didn’t mean to hurt you.” His voice softened to barely more than a whisper. “I never want to hurt you.”

“But you did. You disrespected me in front of everyone and made me feel like my thoughts and opinions weren’t important. You can’t have it both ways, Hex. Either you want me here or you don’t. You can’t just send me away when I don’t fit into your plans.”

“Maybe I should leave,” Eyce mumbled as he started to move off the mattress.

“No. You stay. Hex was just leaving.”

Hex didn’t argue, but rose from the bed silently and crossed the room. He paused with his hand on the doorknob, but didn’t turn around. “I always want you here.” Then he opened the door and disappeared through it.

Echo felt the tears prickle the corners of his eyes, and his throat burned as he fought to keep his sobs at bay. He hadn’t really wanted Hex to leave, but he didn’t want half-ass apologies, either. Was a little groveling too much to ask for?

“Do you want to be alone?” Eyce hadn’t moved from his spot on the end of the bed, but he hung his head like a whipped dog, as he mumbled his question to the comforter.

“Definitely not. Come here.”

Before Eyce could even twitch, the bedroom door burst open, and Hex took two steps inside before falling to his knees. “I suck at apologies, but I don’t have a lot of practice. You want me on my knees? I’m here. You want me to beg? I’ll do it. Just tell me how to make this right.”

Echo’s heart felt like it had crawled up into his throat, cutting off his air supply as his brain worked frantically to come up with a reply. This is what he wanted, right? So, why did it make his chest ache to see Hex on knees like that?

“Stand up.”

Hex looked confused, but did as Echo asked, rocking back on his heels and rising to his full six-eight height in one slow, graceful movement. “Tell me what to do,” he whispered.

“Strip.”

His eyebrows drawing together, Hex nodded slowly and reached down for the hem of his shirt to pull it over his head.

“Slowly,” Echo amended with a slight smirk. “You want to make this right? Strip for me…and make it sexy.” He looked at Eyce and jerked his head toward Hex. “You, too.”

“What? Me? What did I do?”

“You all tried to keep this from me. I’ll get the others later.” Echo winked mischievously and wiggled his fingers for Eyce to join Hex at the end of the bed.

The two men undressed slowly, their movements awkward and stilted, lacking any kind of fluidity. Echo just rolled his eyes and shook his head in mock exasperation. “You suck at this. Just get ‘em off.”

Neither of his lovers stopped to ask questions, but stripped in record time, sending their clothes flying about the room. When they’d finally divested their clothing, they stood shoulder to shoulder, tall and proud for Echo’s viewing pleasure. “Yum,” he purred as he crawled to the end of the bed. Then he tucked his legs under him and kneeled on the mattress, looking up at Hex. “Apologize and mean it.”

“I’m sorry, baby. I didn’t mean a damn word of it. I know you’re not stupid or a child. Let me make it up to you.”

“I’m sorry, too,” Eyce added quietly. “I shouldn’t have kept things from you, but I just hate it when you’re upset. I wanted to have a plan in place before we told you, so you could feel safe even though there was danger.”

“Now, was that so hard?”

“Does this mean we’re forgiven?” Hex asked hopefully.

“I’ll think about.” Echo wiggled his eyebrows playfully and held his arms out to his lovers. “I think I could be persuaded, though.”

Hex started to reach out for him, but stopped and frowned. “If you don’t like when we carry you or hold you in our laps, why did you let us do it?”

“I never said I didn’t like it. I love it, in fact. I let you take care of me because you seem to need it, and well, it makes me feel special. It doesn’t make me weak, though.”

“No, you definitely aren’t weak.” Hex’s eyes softened, and he stroked Echo’s cheek with his fingertips. “What do you want, baby? Tell me what you need, and it’s yours.”

Hex’s palm curled around his cheek, and Echo nuzzled into it for just a moment before pulling away. “I need you to give up some of that control, big guy. Let someone else be in charge for a change.”

Echo wrapped his fingers around his lover’s wrist and pulled gently until Hex sat down on the foot of the bed beside him. “Let us take care of you.”

Hex gulped, but nodded slowly, letting Echo push him back to the mattress and climb on top of him to straddle his hips. “Trust me,” Echo whispered, leaning down to brush his lips over his lover’s. “Just trust me.”

* * * *

Eyce watched his lovers kiss and touch, wanting more than anything to join in with them. He knew Hex needed this time with Echo to fix what they’d broken, though. So, he stood there, breathing heavily as he stroked his aching cock, his eyes roaming over all of the damp, naked flesh on the bed.

He didn’t know what Echo had planned, but he wanted to be ready when his little mate gave the word. Hurrying around the side of the bed, he dug through the nightstand, almost groaning in relief when he came up with a small bottle of lube. Wrapping it up in his fist like a precious gift, he went back to his place at the foot of the bed.

Echo kissed Hex for a few more minutes before he finally lifted his head and peeked over his shoulder at Eyce. His eyes caressed Eyce’s body, almost like a physical touch, and his gaze lingered on Eyce’s jutting cock as he licked his swollen lips. Then he lifted one hand, stuck up a finger, and crooked it at Eyce.

Without waiting for a response, Echo turned again, and crawled over Hex’s body to retrieve the pillows from the head of the bed. He pushed two under Hex’s head, and threw the other two behind him at Eyce. “Under his hips,” he panted.

They worked together, moving Hex into position, and Eyce popped the cap on the lube, slicking his throbbing length, then drizzling more over his fingers. Echo moved up to straddle Hex’s face, his knees resting on either side of the warrior’s head, and lowered his hips, feeding his cock to Hex’s open mouth.

Echo moaned softly, and Eyce had to grip the base of his cock to keep from blowing from the erotic sight. Shaking his head and trying to focus, he pushed Hex’s feet up to the mattress and spread his legs wide, giving him unobstructed access to the tight little sphincter he sought.

He ringed the muscles with his oiled finger, caressing Hex’s hole until it began to relax under his touch then pushed in roughly with two thick fingers, knowing just how his lover liked it. Hex cried out, the sound muffled around Echo’s slippery prick in his mouth. His hips arched up, pushing against Eyce and riding the fingers as he moaned and writhed on the mattress.

“Look, I know I pissed you off, and I’m so—”

Eyce looked over his shoulder as he worked quickly, adding a third finger and then a fourth, stretching Hex as swiftly as possible without hurting him.

“Holy hell,” Fiero breathed. His hand went to the growing mound behind his zipper, kneading his swelling cock with the heel of his hand.

Echo continued to thrust into Hex’s mouth, whimpering and panting as a fine sheen of sweat coated his skin. Eyce looked between the two on the bed, and over his shoulder at Fiero several times before he grinned slowly. “Get ’em off,” he ordered.

Fiero wasted no time, stripping out of his clothes, practically tearing them from his body, before taking two long strides and molding himself to Eyce’s back. “Need you,” he whispered thickly.

Eyce snatched the bottle of lube from the bed and handed it to his lover. “Make it quick.”

Fiero stretched him quickly, as Eyce continued to loosen Hex. Echo was so lost in his pleasure, he doubted the little man had even realized they’d added a fourth to their fun. Then Fiero’s fingers disappeared, replaced by the blunt tip of his cock, and he pressed into Eyce’s aching channel slowly until his hips brushed against the flexing cheeks of Eyce’s ass. He stilled, his hands resting lightly on Eyce’s waist as he nuzzled the back of his neck.

When Eyce had four fingers sliding into his lover easily, he eased them out of Hex’s entrance, and lined up the head of his leaking cock. Rocking his hips, he pushed in slowly until the crown popped through the guarding muscles, and Hex’s snug channel sucked him in to the root.

He paused when he felt his balls brush against his lover, giving Hex just a moment to adjust to his size, then began a slow thrust, groaning as the man’s inner walls clamped around his aching length. “Not gonna last,” he warned. They’d only just begun, and already he felt the tightening of his balls, the tingling in his lower belly.

Fiero moved as well, wrapping an arm around Eyce’s chest as he drove into him, pushing Eyce’s throbbing cock further into Hex’s tight hole with every thrust. It took them a couple of tries, but eventually they set up a steady rhythm, working together as they raced along the path to orgasm.

“Need more,” Echo panted.

Using just one of his still-lubed fingers, Eyce traced the crease of Echo’s creamy cheeks and pushed through to nudge against his fluttering opening. “Yes!” Echo hissed, pushing back against the finger and trying to capture it.

Increasing his rhythm, Eyce drove into Hex’s heated tunnel, holding the man’s hip in a firm grasp as he pushed into Echo’s tight hole with his finger. His mate went wild, throwing his head back and crying out to the ceiling as he pushed deeper into Hex’s mouth.

Hex groaned, his hands coming up to grip Echo’s ass and parting his rounded globes, giving Eyce a clear view of his finger sawing in and out of the clenching entrance. The sight did little to steady his already shaky control. Releasing his death grip on Hex’s hip, he palmed his lover’s bouncing cock and stroked him in time with his almost punishing pace.

A sun-bronzed hand came into view, and Fiero ran his fingertips along Eyce’s wrist and over the top of his hand until he found the place where Eyce’s digit disappeared inside Echo’s fluttering hole. Fiero rubbed across the muscles where they stretched over Eyce’s finger, then pushed in with his own, pumping it slowly.

Echo whimpered, rocking between Hex and the two fingers sliding in and out of his ass. Eyce almost swallowed his tongue, the sights, sounds, and sensations overwhelming him and short-circuiting his hazy brain.

Fiero met him thrust for thrust, driving into him as his other hand tangled with Eyce’s around Hex’s cock. They stroked him together as their long digits moved more forcefully inside Echo’s silky channel. Eyce felt his release speeding toward him, and he couldn’t hold it at bay any longer.

“Come for me, my loves.” The endearment slipped through his lips before Eyce could call it back. Too lost in the sensations coursing through his body, he couldn’t bring himself to care. His dick swelled inside Hex’s heated tunnel, fire spread throughout his body, and his balls ached with the need for release. “Now,” he growled, giving a sharp jab of his hips to Hex’s hungry ass at the same time he curled his finger beside Fiero’s, brushing over Echo’s sweet spot.

Echo howled, his body stilling as his muscles tensed, and he pushed to the back of Hex’s throat. Hex’s grunt followed swiftly, his inner walls squeezing Eyce’s cock like a vise, and sticky ropes of semen shot from his slit, coating Eyce’s and Fiero’s hands and wrists.

Fiero growled, releasing Hex’s dick and winding his arm securely around Eyce’s waist as he gave one final plunge and froze. Wet, sticky warmth splashed against Eyce’s inner walls, filling his ass and leaking out around his lover’s engorged shaft.

Once his men were sated, Eyce finally let go and buried himself in Hex’s welcoming body as he roared out his release. He’d had more orgasms than he could count over the years, but this one felt different. It rocked him right down to his very soul, and his chest tightened almost painfully as a glowing warmth surrounded him.

He didn’t understand it, but instinctively knew his little slip of the tongue had just changed everything.

Chapter Seven

The day of the new moon dawned bright and sunny—a complete contrast to the mood within the house. Everyone seemed sober and solemn when Echo entered the kitchen that morning. They waved and mumbled their greetings, but it lacked the usual warmth Echo had become accustomed to.

He didn’t take it personally, though. Even he felt so tense that the slightest touch might shatter him into a million pieces. Eyce and Myst had done more research on the internet, but still insisted that none of the information they found fit with the prophecy.

Vapre and Syx, though the brains of the group, were little help considering they’d been suspiciously absent over the last several days. Even during the snowstorm, when everyone had been confined to the indoors, Syx and Vapre were often hiding out in one of their rooms—and usually together, huddled over Syx’s laptop.

Scanning the room, Echo sighed when he noticed the two empty seats at the kitchen table. “Gone again?”

No one needed to question what he meant. They all nodded their heads as their eyes drifted to the empty seats as well. “They were gone when we woke up this morning,” Hex said quietly. “It’s beginning to worry me.”

“You mean they left the house?” Echo didn’t like this. The closer the danger came, it seemed the more their little family drifted apart. “Where did they go? Did they leave a note?”

“Nope.” Hex shook his head slowly. “They won’t tell anyone anything. I’ve asked. Hell, I’ve even demanded. I’m worried about them.”

Echo shuffled over to stand between Hex’s spread thighs and bent to place a soft kiss on his lips. “We’ll figure it out, okay?”

Hex’s hands came up to rest lightly on Echo’s hips, and he smiled crookedly. “I have no doubts, baby. You’re the glue that keeps us together. If they tell anyone what they’re up to, it’ll be you.”

Echo didn’t know about all that, but he decided it best to keep his mouth closed for the time being. “What’s for breakfast?” he asked instead.

Hex chuckled and pushed him away gently. “What would you like? I don’t think anyone else has much of an appetite, but I’ll make whatever you want.”

“Toast is fine.” Echo moved to take a seat beside Myst, but stopped when he heard a soft knock at the front door. “I guess they got the roads cleared.”

“Most of the snow has already melted,” Onyx informed him. “It’s damn strange. The weather said to expect temperatures in the mid-seventies today.”

“In northwestern Montana in December?” Echo’s mouth dropped open in shock. “It’s gotta be a record.”

Myst snorted. “Not hardly, babe. It’s still unusual, especially since the temperatures were hovering in the lower teens yesterday.”

The knock sounded again, a little louder this time, and Echo jumped. “Who do you suppose that is?”

“I’ll check.” Eyce stood and walked around the table, dropping a quick kiss on the top of Echo’s head as he passed. “Please, stay here, okay?”

“Fine,” Echo sighed. It wasn’t like the men from the lab were just going to waltz up and knock on the door…again. Still, if it made his men feel better, he’d sit back and let them play the protectors.

Eyce jogged out of the room, and Echo turned to Fiero, a question on the tip of his tongue, when he froze. A picture of a tall, muscled man with curly blond hair flashed inside his mind then quickly flashed to the image of Eyce, snarling and growling as he unleashed his demon on the man.

“Save him,” a voice whispered to him.

Whirling around, Echo sprinted for the front door. “Eyce! No!” He heard his lovers call his name as chairs scraped against the kitchen floor and footsteps thundered behind him. Echo didn’t stop.

Bursting into the living room just as Eyce eased open the door, bone-numbing fear settled over Echo, threatening to overwhelm him. He didn’t know why the guard had come, but he couldn’t let Eyce kill him.

“No!” he screamed again as he flew across the room and plowed into Eyce’s solid back. He locked his arms around the warrior’s waist and tugged with everything he had. “Move!”

“What the hell?” Eyce pried Echo’s arms off of him effortlessly and pulled open the door. A feral snarl escaped his lips, and he shoved Echo back roughly, stepping in front of him to block the entirety of the doorway. His muscles bunched and flexed beneath his thin cotton shirt, his arm lifting as his fingernails lengthened into vicious look talons.

Someone grabbed Echo around the waist, hauling him off of his feet and pulling him back toward the kitchen. Several angry snarls filled the living room as Echo watched his men advanced toward the door and the unwelcomed visitor.

Jerking his head around, he looked up at Hex in desperation. “They can’t kill him.”

“He’s from the lab, and he’s armed. I don’t have a lot of sympathy for him.”

“Yes, he’s a guard at the facility in the mountains, but he’s here to help.” Echo struggled in Hex’s arms. “The Oracle said to save him. He’s important.”

“The Oracle?”

“Yes! Now, put me down and stop them!”

Hex didn’t release him, but Echo felt him sigh heavily. “You better be right about this,” he grumbled. Then louder, “Guys, let him in.”

“He’s one of them,” Fiero said coldly. “We’ve been too lenient. Maybe we should make an example out of this one.”

“Normally, I would agree,” Hex answered calmly. “Echo says he’s important, though. Let him in.”

Echo had to give the guard props. The guy stepped over the threshold and held his hands up in a peaceable gesture. Neither anger nor fear marred his handsome features. He just looked like someone who had something to say. Yep, the guy had guts. Echo would have probably pissed himself by this point. Then again, the guard probably didn’t realize he faced down five immortal demons either.

His lovers parted to let the man through, but they didn’t rise from their threatening crouches. Nor did they allow the guard too close to Echo. The minute their eyes locked, his men rushed to form a solid barricade between them.

Rolling his eyes, Echo squirmed again until Hex finally set him on his feet. “I’m sorry, I don’t remember your name,” he called to the guard as he tried to push through his protection detail. “Guys, move it. You’re being assholes.”

“Corrigan. Gage Corrigan.”

“What kind of stupid name is that?” Fiero demanded, his arm extended to hold Echo back.

Echo punched him in the ribs and ducked under his arm. “Why are you here?”

“The Collector is coming for you.”

* * * *

Eyce watched as Echo’s body began to tremble so violently, he was afraid the little man would fall apart. Wrapping his arm around his lover’s tiny waist, he pulled him back against his chest, narrowing his eyes at the newcomer. “Who the fuck is The Collector?”

“He’s like us, but a lot stronger,” Echo whispered shakily. “He has powers, and he’s evil.”

“Why do they call him that?” Myst asked with his head tilted to the side.

“He collects bodies,” Gage answered without a hint of sarcasm. “Your little man here has become a liability, and you a threat. The top guns have ordered your termination.”

“No!” Echo’s head whipped back and forth, his chest rising and falling rapidly beneath Eyce’s palm. He spun around, his small hands gripping Eyce’s shirt as he stared up at him pleadingly. “We’ll leave. Forget this damn war. We need to go now!”

Eyce hated the fear and desperation in his mate’s voice. Pulling him close, he cradled the back of Echo’s head, rocking him gently side to side. “We can’t leave, baby. Besides, he’s just one man. There are seven of us. No one’s going to hurt you.”

“Why are you telling us this?” Hex asked.

“They’re moving the residents to a secure facility on the Olympic Peninsula. The helicopters leave at midnight.”

“And?” Fiero asked frostily.

Eyce understood his anger. He didn’t approve of what was happening in that lab, but as long as his mate was safe, he didn’t see how it was any of his concern.

“Two of the residents…They’re my mates,” Gage said so softly, Eyce almost missed it.

“Mates?” He pushed Echo behind him and inhaled deeply as he took a step closer to the guard. “Fuck me sideways,” he groaned as the other men in the room began to snarl again. “Do they know?”

“No.” Gage shook his head. “I think they suspect, however. I was relieved of duty this morning.”

“What’s going on?” Echo demanded as he pushed under Eyce’s arm. “What do they suspect? Why were you fired? Why are they moving them? Did I hear something about mates?”

“One question at a time, Echo.” Eyce chuckled at his lover. “Maybe we should all sit down and talk about this.”

“Good idea,” Hex agreed. He led the way back to the kitchen and motioned for everyone to take their seats around the table while he took up pacing the tiled floor.

“First, why are they moving everyone? And why are they sending some douche bag to k—” Hex cast a quick look at Echo and cleared his throat, “some guy to hurt Echo? I thought they wanted him back.”

Gage sighed and scrubbed a hand over his face. “They did. Well, I guess they still do, but after your little stunt a couple of weeks ago, they’re questioning their ability to get him back.”

“Good.” Myst smirked as he leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest.

“No, not good.” Gage looked at Myst sadly. “They’ve decided to cut their losses and eliminate the threat. The longer it takes for them to break through your defenses and retrieve…Echo, did you call him?” Gage waved a hand dismissively. “The longer it takes to get Echo back, the more risk they run of exposure. They can’t allow that to happen.”

“Wait.” Onyx held up his hand as he sat a little straighter in his chair. “We wiped their memories before we released them. How do they know what we can do?”

“They recovered the memories.” Gage looked at them all pityingly. “You have no idea what you’re up against.”

“So, are we correct in assuming that this is a government operation?” Eyce leaned forward in his chair, resting his elbows on the table as he eyed the guard. The more he listened, the more he didn’t like what the man had to say.

“Yes and no. It’s a top-secret facility. Not even the top ranking officials know about it.”

“So, why move the residents?” Eyce tilted his head to the side as his eyebrows drew together in confusion. “Even if Echo takes this to the media and blows the whole thing open, I’m guessing there is more than enough security to keep the reporters out. Then they release a statement about the ravings of a madman, and everyone blows it off like another UFO sighting or Area 51.”

“True, but they’re not willing to risk it. They’re cleaning out the facility and moving the residents tonight. All traces of the lab will be wiped clean by first light tomorrow morning.”

“What the hell is going on in that place?” Hex demanded. “This is a little over-the-top for some kind of research facility.”

“I don’t know all the facts. I don’t have a high enough security clearance. I’ve told you everything I know.”

“Okay, so who is this Collector guy?” Eyce growled the name, his hackles rising at the thought of someone hurting his mate.

“He’s evil,” Echo whispered. “He has enormous power. I’ve never met him. I saw him once, though, and I’ve heard stories about him from the other residents. Sometimes they send him out to bring back people that show signs of supernatural abilities. Sometimes, they send him out to bring back bodies.”

Gage dipped his head. “He’s right. When someone gets too nosey about what’s going on inside those mountains, The Collector makes sure they have a nasty little accident. I’ve seen him in action.” Gage shook his head wearily. “It’s scary has hell, man.”

“If he’s so powerful, why doesn’t he leave? How can they possibly hope to control him?” Eyce banged his fist against the table in agitation.

“He’s not a resident,” Echo answered quietly.

Fan-fucking-tastic! Eyce wanted to pound his head against the wall until at least some part of his entire mess started making sense. This was bad, really bad, and he didn’t even have a clue as how to get out of it.

“So, why were you fired?” Echo asked, fidgeting in his seat beside Eyce. He looked scared, pale, and shaken, and Eyce wanted to wrap the man in his arms and shield him from the world. He’d do whatever it took to keep his mate safe.

“They didn’t really give me a reason. They just said that my services were no longer required.” Gage’s eyes softened and a sad smile played over his thin lips. “Though we tried to be discreet, I think they suspected there was something more than professional in my relationship with two of the residents.”

“Your mates,” Fiero said with a nod. “Do they know what you are? Or that werewolves even exist?”

“Werewolves!” Echo yelled as he pushed back from the table so quickly his chair toppled to the floor and sent him rolling head over feet across the floor. “No way!” He scrambled to his feet, moving quickly to stand behind Hex, eyeing Gage as though he’d sprouted horns and a tail. “No more!”

“Echo,” Gage said softly, but remained seated. “I’m not going to hurt you. I’m really no different than any other man in this room. I just have a bit of an allergic reaction to the full moon.”

Eyce snorted. That was certainly one way of putting it. After several millennia on the earth, he’d seen his share of the strange, unusual, and insane. He’d met witches, shape-shifters, elves, werewolves, vampires, and more. While the news of Gage’s affliction held little surprise to him, he could only imagine what Echo must be feeling.

“No!” Echo growled. “I can’t deal with this shit right now. First, demons, gods, and Oracles, and now you’re telling me that werewolves and stuff exist, too? I can’t do this. It’s too much.”

“I felt the same way about the residents when I began working at the lab,” Gage said with a smile. “I transform into part beast and howl at the moon, but I couldn’t make a thing levitate or manipulate the elements. I thought you were the freaks.”

“Seriously?” Echo’s brow wrinkled, and he slowly stepped out from behind Hex. “I guess that kind of makes sense.”

“Baby,” Eyce smiled reassuringly and held his hand out for Echo, “how is he any different than the seven of us?”

Echo moved hesitantly across the room and took Eyce’s hand. He looked thoughtful, scanning the room with his head tilted to the side. “I don’t know,” he said slowly. He turned to look back at Eyce and wrinkled his nose. “I’m being a dumbass, huh?”

Chuckling, Eyce pulled his lover closer and kissed the top of his hand. “No, you’re not being a dumbass. I know it’s all a lot to take in. You’re being surprisingly calm about the entire situation actually.”

Echo took a deep breath and looked up at Gage. “I’m sorry. I’ve had my entire reality turned on its ass in the past several weeks. I know you won’t hurt me.”

“I understand. Believe me.” Gage laughed softly. “I thought Sony and Mac were going to wet themselves when they found out what I am.”

“Sony? Mac?” Echo frowned.

“I thought all of the residents had numbers,” Eyce added in confusion.

“They do,” Gage growled, then his tone softened, and he smiled fondly. “They wanted names. I told them they could pick whatever they wanted, and that’s what I’d call them. Sony has a fondness for the PlayStation, while Mac…well, I’m pretty sure the guy would live on macaroni and cheese if he could.”

“Ninety-two, and One-oh-two.” Echo nodded eagerly and laughed. “When they wouldn’t let One-oh-two have mac and cheese, he’d tell me he had the blue box blues.”

“I have to ask you this again.” Hex cleared his throat and stopped his pacing. “Why are you telling us this? What do you want from us?”

“I couldn’t just sit back and watch you murdered in cold blood for trying to protect your mate. I didn’t sign up for this shit. Secondly, I need your help. I don’t have the abilities you do, and I can’t get back into the facility. I have to get to my mates before the helicopters leave at midnight. Otherwise, I may never see them again.” Gage’s voice held steel, but Eyce could see the fear in his eyes. “They’re going to hurt them. I don’t understand how I know this, but I just feel it. I can’t let that happen. I promised Sony and Mac that I’d get them out of there, and we could move somewhere warm.”

“Sorry, man, but we kind of have our own shit going on here.” Myst stood from his chair and looked down at Gage in sympathy. “We can’t help you.”

“Myst,” Echo whispered. He waited until the warrior met his eyes then turned to look at each of his lovers in turn. “Everyone, please. They’re my friends. How would you feel if someone took me, and no one would help you?”

Eyce closed his eyes, sighing in defeat. He’d give Echo anything he wanted if he took that look of sadness and disappointment off his face. “I’ll go.”

“No,” Hex said immediately. “You and Echo have to figure out what’s going on with the waters. This is your fight, Eyce, your battle. You know we have your back, but I don’t think we can be a lot of help on this one.”

Unfortunately, Eyce had to agree. “Yeah, I got it.”

“Vapre and Syx can stay here and help you protect Echo. They’re the best choices for digging through information anyway.” Hex pushed his hand through his hair and shook his head as though he couldn’t believe what he was about to say. “The rest of us will go.”

“Thank you,” Gage mumbled. “Once my mates are safe, I will happily help you in any way I can. I don’t know what’s going on, or what war you’re talking about, but I want to help.”

Myst snorted and clapped his hand on the guard’s shoulder. “Yeah, you might want to hold on to that thought, brother.”

Chapter Eight

Echo stood on the front porch, one hand clasped in Eyce’s the other in Syx’s. Syx and Vapre had arrived just in time to give a rather hostile welcome to Gage and receive a briefing on the situation from Hex. There’d been a bit of an argument about who should stay and who should go, but in the end, Hex won.

A lump formed in his throat as he watched the dark SUV carrying his men turn around in front on the house and travel down the long dirt drive that would lead them out to the main road. A part of him wished he was going with them. He didn’t know how much help he would be, but at least he would know what was going on. The thought of something happening to any of them made his chest tighten and his heart beat rapidly inside his chest.

“Tell me they’re going to be okay,” he whispered.

“They’ll be fine,” Syx assured him as he squeezed his hand. “Everyone will be back before you know it.”

“Where were you?” Echo looked up at Syx then over his shoulder to include Vapre. “Why do you keep disappearing without telling anyone?”

“I’ll tell you when the time is right,” Syx said mysteriously and winked. “It’s nothing bad, I promise. Just trust me, okay?”

“A little faith, yeah?” Vapre added as he moved around to stand in front of Echo, bending to kiss his lips. “We would never hurt any of you.”

“I know.” Echo sighed. “I just don’t like secrets.”

“You’ll like this one.” Then Vapre turned and looked out beyond the front yard to the tree line. “Should we go check the creek?”

Eyce groaned and nodded reluctantly. “I guess we should.”

“I’m coming, too,” Echo said firmly. “If I’m going to help, I need to see for myself.”

Surprisingly, Eyce agreed. “Yeah, I think you need to come with us. I don’t want you here alone, and I need Vapre and Syx down by the creek. Go grab a coat and your boots. We’ll wait here.”

Echo continued to stare at him for a minute, judging the truthfulness in Eyce’s words. Nodding slowly, he released the demon’s hand and hurried inside to grab his boots and jacket from the closet in the entryway. Moving quickly, he shoved his feet into his shoes, laced them up, then pulled his jacket on, glancing over his shoulder repeatedly to make sure his men still waited for him on the porch. He wouldn’t put it past them to lock him inside and go without him.

“Ready,” he announced.

“Thought we’d leave you here, huh?” Vapre smirked at him as he reached out to ruffle his hair. “Let’s go.”

Vapre led the way across the dead grass and into the woods, pushing aside low-hanging branches and prickly vines. Eyce walked beside Echo, helping him over fallen logs and big puddles of melting snow, while Syx brought up the rear. It took a little longer than his last trek into the forest, but soon they reached the small rippling stream.

Echo frowned in confusion. “It looks the same.” The water flowed smoothly, trickling over the rocks and pebbles, so clear Echo could see clear to the bottom of the shallow stream. “It’s definitely not red.”

Eyce growled in frustration, pulling on the ends of his long ebony locks. “I don’t get it.”

“Let’s check the lake,” Vapre offered. “This little creek isn’t really important. I doubt anyone would even notice if it just dried up completely.”

“Good point.” Syx jumped across the creek and turned to hold his arms open for Echo. “You’re going to have to jump, little one.”

Echo shook his head. Yeah, Syx had made it look easy, but the guy had a good ten inches on Echo, and his legs were way longer. The stream wasn’t really that wide, but Echo doubted he’d be able to make it across without getting wet.

Eyce chuckled, stepping forward and holding his hand out in front of him. The water parted slowly, retreating away from the creek bed and forming a muddy walkway. Echo beamed at his lover and blew him a kiss. “Brilliant.” He jogged to the other side, skimming his fingers through the hip-high wall of water on either side of him, and jumped into Syx’s arms.

“Show off,” Syx called to Eyce.

“Jealous much?” Eyce smirked as released his hold on the water and backed away. Then he took a running start and somersaulted through the air to land lightly on his feet beside them.

Syx rolled his eyes and smacked Eyce in the back of the head. “Show-off,” he repeated under his breath. “Vapre, move your ass!”

“Coming, dear.” Vapre made kissy faces then held his arms out to his sides, the wind whipping around him as he slowly rose into the air and glided over to the other side of the stream. “Nice to meet you here.” He winked slyly, and Echo slapped a hand over his mouth to contain his laugher. They were nuts, every one of them.

The marched along silently through the trees, and Echo’s mind began to wander. What would they find when they reached the lake? Would it be like the stream? Would they find it completely untouched? He hoped so, but somehow he doubted it.

“How far is the lake anyway?”

“Not much farther. Another mile maybe,” Syx called over his shoulder.

“A mile!” Echo groaned. His feet already hurt, and he was getting hot and sweaty. Stripping off his jacket, he tucked it under his arm and swiped at his damp forehead. “This blows.”

“Would you like me to carry you?” Eyce asked.

“No.” Echo shook his head. “I’m not a child. I can make it. Just don’t get pissy because I’m slowing you down.”

“We’re in no hurry,” Eyce assured him, reaching over to wrap his warm fingers around the back of Echo’s neck and squeezing gently. “I don’t mean to treat you like a child. I just like any excuse to hold you.”

Echo rolled his eyes but graced his lover with a crooked grin. “I know, big guy. You’re all as ferocious as a cuddly kitten.” He held his hand up to forestall Eyce’s argument. “Don’t worry. I’ll take the knowledge to my grave.”

“That’s a shitty promise,” Vapre called to him from up ahead. “You’re immortal now.”

“It was a figure of speech, asshole!”

“I have one, just waiting for y—” Syx shoved Vapre with another force to knock the man to the ground.

“You talk too much, man.”

Echo doubled over in laughter, leaning heavily on Eyce for support. Vapre jumped to his feet, a wicked glint in his eyes. “You asked for it.”

“Children,” Eyce said calmly.

Vapre paused for a just a second before he flipped Eyce off and dove through the air at Syx. He landed on the sodden ground with a squelch when Syx merely sidestepped him. Without even looking at his fallen lover, Syx kicked his foot out, connecting with Vapre’s hip and pulling muffled grunt from the warrior. “You missed.”

* * * *

“Oh, crap!”

Eyce stood on the banks of the lake, staring down into the crimson waters as he held Echo’s hand in his own. His heart felt heavy, his stomach twisted painfully, and he couldn’t seem to get enough air into his lungs. He couldn’t fix this—didn’t even know where to begin.

“This is bad,” Vapre murmured as he stepped up on Eyce’s other side. “Look at the fish.”

Eyce was looking. He’d ever seen anything like it. A dozen or so dead fish floated on top of the water, bloated and unmoving. The stench was almost enough to drive him to his knees. The water looked thick and syrupy, the current slow and sluggish.

“What do we do?”

Eyce hated the waver in Echo’s voice. He wished he had the answers for his mate. “I don’t know,” he admitted. He looked at his lovers hopefully, praying someone would have a solution.

“Let’s go back,” Syx said after a minute. “We need to see how many of the lakes and ponds are affected, find out if this has spread to the drinking water, and do some more research.”

It wasn’t the answer Eyce had looking for, but at least it was a course of action, and a hell of a lot more than he had at the moment. The seriousness of the situation crashed down on him, robbing the breath from his lungs and making his knees shake. This was his battle, his test, and he had a horrible feeling that he was going to fail.

“Stop,” Echo whispered as he clutched at the little sapphire teardrop hanging from the leather braid around his neck. “You can do this. We’ll find the answers.”

Wrapping his arm around Echo’s neck, Eyce pulled the little man to him, resting his chin on the top of his head, letting his mate’s closeness calm him. They’d given Echo the necklace for Christmas, promising that no matter what, he’d always have a shoulder to lean on. It was time for Eyce to man up and get his shit together. “I hope you’re right.”

“For the record, I’m always right.” Echo snickered softly. “It’s just that no one ever listens to me.”

“We listen.”

“Right.” Eyce could almost hear Echo’s eyes rolling. “Do you think this is localized? I mean, is it only happening here because this is where we are?”

“No clue.” Eyce shook his head and released his hold on Echo. “I guess that’s the first thing we need to find out.” The idea that this could be widespread phenomenon didn’t sit well with him. The enormity of his task overwhelmed him already. How was he supposed to combat something on a larger scale?

“I’m pretty sure it’s centralized to our location,” Syx offered. He squeezed Eyce’s shoulder and gave him an encouraging smile. “This may be your test, but you’re not alone.”

Eyce didn’t comment, but he knew the truth. His lovers could only help him so far. At some point, he would have to face this on his own. He only hoped he’d be ready.

Crouching down on the edge of the lake, Eyce reached out to touch the water, but small fingers wrapped around his wrist, halting him.

“Don’t touch it.”

Squinting against the sun as he looked up at his mate, Eyce shook his head. “I just want to see if it’s as slimy as it looks. Maybe we can take a sample to the college.”

“Then get some gloves. Besides, you don’t have anything to carry a sample in.”

Eyce held up his hand and smirked.

“Gross, and no.” Echo shook his head in finality. “Whatever that is, it killed all those fish. You’re not touching it.”

“Echo, I’m a demon. Not to mention, I think the fish probably died because they ingested it. I don’t plan to eat it.”

“I don’t care. This is a disgusting cesspool. You’re not touching it.” He slid his bottom lip out and widened his eyes. “Please, can we just go home now?” Echo asked quietly. “It reeks out here and my feet hurt.” He pointed a finger in Eyce’s face when he opened his mouth. “And I don’t need you to carry me.”

Pressing his lips together firmly to keep from laughing, Eyce nodded. The man could be so damn stubborn sometimes, but at least he wasn’t a doormat. Eyce didn’t know what he’d do with a mate who just let them walk all over him and bowed down to their every whim. He adored that Echo stood up to them and put his foot down when he felt strongly about something.

And apparently, this was something he felt strongly about. “Fine, I’ll come back later and get a sample.”

“Thank you.”

“You are such a pushover,” Vapre mumbled under his breath, but the look on his face said he understood the need to give Echo anything his heart desired.

Standing, Eyce had a smartass comment on the tip of his tongue, but stopped short when his cell phone began vibrating in his pocket. Pulling it out, he frowned at the display before pressing the talk button and putting the phone to his ear.

“Fiero? What’s up, man?”

“Get Echo out of there now! They’re coming!”

“What the hell are you talking about? You couldn’t have made it there yet. It’s only been an hour.”

“They were waiting for us just outside of Columbia Falls. Myst took a bullet in the neck before we could get out of there.”

“Where are you now?” Eyce hoped Fiero would answer his unasked question. He needed to know if Myst was okay, but he didn’t want to worry his mate. Echo was already looking at him suspiciously.

“Hex healed him. He’s fine. A little shaken up, but nothing big.” Eyce sighed in relief as he listened to Fiero talk. “We’re coming up on Lake McDonald now, then on to Heavens Peak.”

“The rest?”

“Everyone’s banged up, but we’re alive. Gage took two in the chest, but we got the bullets out, and he’s healing. Passed out in the backseat. You gotta get out of there. Take Echo and go somewhere. Anywhere.”

“I’m on it. Call if you guys need backup.”

“Be safe. These guys aren’t playing, man.”

Then Fiero hung up, leaving Eyce with the burden of telling Echo what had happened.

“So, where are we going?” Syx asked as he and Vapre moved to form a protective circle around Echo.

“Canada.”

“What happened? Did someone get hurt? Why are we leaving? What the hell is in Canada? Where are the others? Are they coming back soon?”

Vapre reached out casually and placed his hand over Echo’s mouth, instantly silencing his endless stream of questions. “We’re leaving because you’re in danger. The others are fine. We’re going to Canada because it’s as good as anywhere else. Now, I’m going to move my hand and I want you to be quiet. Got it?”

Echo glared, but nodded his understanding. Vapre removed his hand slowly, watching Echo the entire time. Eyce tensed, waiting for the outburst, and prepared to grab Echo if he decided a little physical retaliation was in order.

To his surprise, Echo didn’t say a word. He just turned around and stared walking back toward home. “Where are you going?”

“Home!”

“Didn’t you hear anything we just said?” Eyce growled in frustration and jogged to catch up with his mate. “It’s not safe, Echo. You can’t just go waltzing back into that house. They could be waiting for us.”

“Then I suggest you come up with a better plan.” Echo turned and jabbed his finger in Eyce’s belly. “Because I’m not walking all the way to fucking Canada.”

* * * *

“I would just like to let everyone know that this seriously sucks.” Myst spoke hoarsely as he knelt beside the lake, dipping his hands in the water and gathering enough to scrub away the blood on his neck. “How the hell are we even supposed to get in?”

Fiero shook his head, crossing his arms over his chest and staring at the mountain range in the distance. “We’re going to have to go on foot from here.”

“Is Gage up yet?”

“Hex is working on him.” Fiero tore his gaze away from the mountains and glanced over his shoulder. “He should be up and around soon.”

“I don’t like this,” Onyx said quietly. “They knew we were coming.” He looked over to the SUV. “Are we sure we can trust this guy?”

“I don’t know.” Fiero growled in frustration. Why the hell were they out here risking their necks for a total stranger? Besides protecting their mate from the threat that the lab posed, they had no business here. “We should be home, taking care of Echo and helping Eyce. This isn’t our fight.”

“Agreed.” Myst splashed water over his face once more and stood with a groan. “I’m sorry that the guy might lose his mates. That sucks.” Myst shook his head. “If they’re packing up and moving out, I say good riddance. We deal with this Collector asshole, and then we’re in the clear.”

“I don’t think it’s going to be that easy.” Fiero pictured Echo’s pale face, his trembling lips. His mate had looked scared out of his mind. “So, what do we do? We’ve come this far.”

“Yeah, and getting shot at was the easy part. Do you think they’re just going to let us waltz in that place?” Myst snorted in derision. “This is bullshit.”

“Then why do I feel like I need to rescue these guys?” Onyx asked.

Yeah, Fiero felt it, too. As much as he’d love to say fuck the whole thing and bail, he couldn’t. He felt the draw, the pull, the call toward the mountains. Something waited for them there. He just didn’t know what it was.

“Gage is important, huh?” Myst said grudgingly. “And whoever his little mates are, they’re going to be important as well. Fuck! We don’t have time to be scrambling around picking up strays.”

“Strays,” Fiero said slowly. But that wasn’t what they were doing. They were recruiting. It suddenly seemed so clear, he didn’t know why he hadn’t realized it before. How many more would find them before the war landed on their doorstep?

“I don’t like that look.” Onyx cocked his head to the side and smirked. “What are you thinking, Fiero?”

“We’re not picking up strays.”

“Well, what the hell would you call it?” Myst demanded.

“We’re building an army.”

Chapter Nine

“I don’t think we should leave.” Echo paced the living room while his lovers raced around, packing supplies and preparing for their journey over the Canadian border. “I don’t even have a damn passport. Hell, I didn’t even have a goddamn name until a few weeks ago.”

“There are ways around it,” Syx said distractedly as he rushed by with two suitcases in his hands. “We’ll handle it.”

“But what about the lake? We can’t just leave that.”

“We’ll take care of it,” Vapre said offhandedly as he jogged into the room with another suitcase.

“What about the others? We’re just going to leave them? What if there’s trouble?”

“We’ll figure it out.” Eyce threw a jacket at Echo. “Put that on.”

“You all just told me the same thing in varying ways. This is crap!” Echo stamped his foot like a child and crossed his arms over his chest. “You know they’re just going to follow us, right? Do you really want to face The Collector on foreign ground?” Uncrossing his arms he walked over to Eyce and placed a hand on his elbow. “You can protect me better if we stay. Home field advantage, big guy.”

This finally gave them all pause. Eyce, Syx, and Vapre stopped what they were doing and looked at each other before their eyes fell on Echo in surprise. “Your shock is unflattering,” he grumbled. “It just makes sense.”

“It does.” Vapre sounded so dumbfounded, Echo wanted to smack him.

“Look, I don’t know why you’re so amazed. I may not know battle tactics or whatever, but it just seems like common sense that you’d want to face your enemy on your own turf. I guess neutral ground would be the second best option, but just barely.” The answer seemed so obvious, Echo had to resist the urge to roll his eyes.

Eyce nodded once, his eyes narrowed and his lips pursed. “Okay. We’ll stay, but we do things my way. From now on, consider yourself under house arrest.”

Echo did roll his eyes then. “Like I ever go anywhere,” he mumbled.

“I mean it, Echo. You’re not to leave the house for any reason without one of us with you. I don’t even think you should wander around inside by yourself.” Eyce’s fingers skimmed along Echo’s cheek. “You can call it overprotective or whatever, but your safety is the only thing I care about right now.”

Though not exactly thrilled about the idea of them shadowing his every step, Echo smiled his understanding. They were only trying to protect him. The least he could do was make their jobs easier. “I promise. I won’t even go tinkle unless you’re there to shake it for me.”

“Mouthy little shit,” Syx said from behind him. “It’s a long shot that someone will make it into the house undetected, but it’s best to be prepared for the worst.”

Looking over his shoulder, Echo graced Syx with his smile. “Relax. I get it. I’m not going to argue.”

“That’ll be a first.”

Echo stuck his tongue out at Vapre, earning him a bright smile and a small chuckle. “I want to know what happened to the others.” Echo returned his eyes to Eyce. “I know something happened, and I’m guessing one or more of them are hurt. Judging by the fact that you wanted to whisk me off to Canada, I’ll bet it also involves the lab.”

Eyce opened his mouth to speak, but Echo cut him off. “I don’t need all the gory details. I just want to know if everyone is okay and where they are now.”

“Myst and Gage were hurt, but they’re okay now.” Echo appreciated Eyce giving it to him straight. “They were headed toward Heavens Peak when I talked to Fiero. That’s really all I know.”

“Thank you.” Echo spoke calmly, but inside he felt the panic bubbling in his chest. “I’m kind of tired after the hike to the lake and back. I’m going to take a nap.”

“I’ll come with you,” Eyce said immediately.

Echo started to argue. He really just wanted to be alone with his thoughts for a while, but he remembered his promise of just moments before. So, he sighed and dipped his head, holding out a hand for his lover to take. “Fine, but if you snore, I’m kicking your ass to the floor.”

“I don’t snore,” Eyce said indignantly. Then he wrinkled his nose and lifted his eyebrows. “Do I?”

“Like a freakin’ buzz saw,” Syx said without missing a beat. “I honestly don’t know how anyone in the house can sleep through it.”

“Oh, shut up and go make sure everything is locked up tight. Stick together and wake me if you spot anything suspicious. If a freaking squirrel wanders within fifty feet of the house, I want to know about it.”

The mood in the room took a drastic turn from light and playful, to somber and businesslike. “We’re on it.” Echo half-expected Vapre to snap to attention and salute Eyce. He didn’t though, which was kind of disappointing.

“So, are you in charge here since Hex is gone?” Echo asked his lover as they climbed the staircase.

“Yeah. It’s a shit job sometimes, especially with this lot. They all like to pretend that I’m just blowing smoke up their asses. They listen when it’s important, so I guess I can’t ask for more than that.”

“You don’t like being in charge.” It wasn’t a question. He could tell from Eyce’s tone and the tense set of his shoulders that the man hoped Hex returned soon to take over the job.

“No, I really don’t. I’d rather leave that to Hex. Tell me what to do and when to do it, and I’m all over that shit. It leaves little room for mistakes.”

“You big sub, you,” Echo said around a chuckle.

Eyce snorted and shook his head. “Not hardly, but mistakes get people killed. I don’t want that kind of responsibility.”

Biting his lip, Echo remained silent, mulling over his lover’s words as another piece of the puzzle that was Eyce fell into place.

* * * *

“Do we risk calling them? You know Echo has to be going out of his mind.” Fiero spoke quietly to Hex as they pushed through the trees. “It’s been almost two days since we left.”

“You know we can’t risk it.” Hex shook his head then glanced over his shoulder at the men following behind them. “I don’t know if they’d be able to track the GPS signal or not, but I’m not discounting anything. You saw the size of that place.”

Fiero grunted his agreement, but he didn’t have to like it. While part of him just wanted to let his lovers know they were safe and making their way home, another part of him longed to hear Echo’s voice. Even if he could talk to the little man for just a moment, he’d feel better about this entire fucked up situation.

“I miss them, too,” Hex whispered. “I don’t like to make them worry, but we should be home by tomorrow afternoon. Eyce will keep everyone calm until we get there.”

“Do you think they left?” What if they’d done as Fiero had ordered, taken Echo, and fled? He wanted them to be safe, but he also wanted them to be waiting at home when he arrived.

“I think Eyce will do whatever he thinks is best.”

Fiero looked back when he heard a soft grunt. One of Gage’s mates was kneeling on the ground, his face flushed and his eyelids drooping as he panted for breath. “We’re going to have to stop soon. We can’t keep pushing them like this.”

“Do you think we did the right thing?” Myst stepped up beside them as they paused to wait for Gage to attend to his mates. “Maybe we should have tried to rescue all of them.”

“There’s no way we could have pulled it off without getting someone killed.” Fiero chuckled and shook his head. “And I’m pretty sure that would get our little mate’s nose all bent out of shape.”

Onyx laughed along with him. “If these two are half the trouble Echo is, Gage is going to have his hands full. I mean, there are seven of us, and we can barely keep up with one of Echo.”

“Make no mistake of who’s in charge,” Hex mumbled.

“Echo,” they all answered together then burst into quiet laughter.

“How much farther until we make camp for the night?” Gage asked as he trotted over to them. “I’m sorry, I know they’re slowing us down, but Mac says they haven’t eaten in two days.”

Fiero’s chest constricted, and he rubbed a hand over his heart. Just a few short weeks ago that had been Echo. How the man made it all that way, cold, naked, and hungry was beyond him.

“Don’t apologize,” Hex told the guard as he clapped him on the shoulder. “We understand. There’s a stream a few miles west of here. We’ll stop there.”

“Thank you,” Gage mumbled. “I can carry one of them, but even though they’re small, I doubt I can make it that far with both.”

“I’ll carry one.” Fiero didn’t exactly want the burden of more weight, but the quicker they moved, the faster they would make it home. Besides, the little guys looked dead on their feet, and he’d never ask so much from his own mate.

“Thank you,” Gage repeated quietly.

“No worries.” Myst smiled and bumped the man with his shoulder. “We blew up a helicopter for you. That makes us practically family.”

Onyx snorted and reached out to cuff Myst in the back of the head. “You are such an idiot.”

“Whatever, man.” Myst rubbed the back of his head and shrugged. “He’d do the same for our mate.”

“I would.” Gage bobbed his head in agreement. “I don’t know Echo that well, but I did my best to keep all the residents safe. He’s a good kid. I hated the way the other guards treated him.”

“Did any of them ever…” Fiero trailed off, unable to ask the question he desperately needed the answer to.

“Not on my watch.” Gage growled vehemently. “Some of them tried with Sony once. They’ll be sipping their meals through straws for the next six months.” Raking a hand through his hair, he huffed in frustration. “I can’t say for when I was off duty, but he never mentioned anything more than they had tied him up because they thought if they touched him they could gain some of his powers.”

Fiero sighed in relief, but the demon in him still wanted to find these men and rip them to shreds. “That’s what Echo told us as well.”

“Okay, well, I want to get home to a hot meal, a hotter shower, and some good welcome-home lovin’ from my men.” Myst rubbed his hands together greedily then pointed toward the west. “Move out!”

* * * *

The third morning after Fiero’s phone call found Eyce pacing the kitchen, mumbling angrily to himself. He hadn’t heard a word from his lovers since. He didn’t know where they were, what they were doing, if they’d been captured, or if they were even still alive.

No one had come looking for them or Echo. Eyce figured he should be grateful for the fact, but it only served to gnaw at his already frayed nerves. He couldn’t help but feel like they were playing a game, and for some reason, he had the distinct impression they were losing.

To add to his already heavy burden, he still didn’t have a damn clue what to do about the lakes and ponds. Things were only getting worse, too. New reports cropped up left and right about the numerous small lakes and ponds in and around Eureka. They’d sent everyone from scientists to waste management. Several different tests had been conducted, and still, no one could pinpoint a cause.

The entire city was in an uproar, people panicking about the safety of their drinking water. Eyce didn’t blame them. He just wished he knew how to help.

Every night, he’d snuck out after Echo had fallen asleep and made his way through the woods to the little pond just west of their house. He’d sit in the grass near the edge of the pond and stare into the foul water, wracking his brain for some way to fix this.

He’d even been desperate enough to beg for the Oracle’s help. Of course, she only ignored him, leaving him to sit alone and angry in the moonlight night after night.

“You’re going to wear a hole in the floor if you don’t stop that.” Echo yawned as he plodded into the kitchen in nothing but a pair of low-slung jeans.

The gods bless him, Echo had held up remarkably well under the strain. Warmth seeped into his heart, spreading out to his limbs and thawing the cold his thoughts had left him with. “Morning, baby.”

“Mmm, if you say so.” Echo rubbed against Eyce, nuzzling his face over his chest. “Have you heard anything?”

Squeezing his eyes shut, Eyce held Echo close and rested his chin on the top of the man’s head. “No,” he whispered. He felt Echo tremble in his arms, and hated that he couldn’t give his mate better news.

“And we can’t call because we might give away their location, right?”

“If they’re in trouble, someone will have taken their phones. If they’re hiding out, they’ll have them turned off. Either way, we won’t be able to get in touch with them.”

“How much longer do we wait before we go look for them?”

“I don’t know. Let’s just play it by ear, okay?” As much as Eyce wanted to go storming the castle and rescue his men, there were several factors he had to take into consideration first. He knew he didn’t have a prayer of fighting their enemy alone. Taking Syx and Vapre with him meant leaving Echo unprotected—definitely not an option. That only left bringing Echo with them, right into the heart of the danger—again, not an option.

“I’m sorry,” Echo breathed. “I shouldn’t have asked them to go.”

“Hush. They knew what they were walking into when they agreed.” Pushing Echo away gently, Eyce smiled and winked at him. “We’re demons, baby. Those four men are the toughest sons of bitches I know. It’s going to take a lot more than some humans with a power trip to bring them down.”

“If you really believed that, you wouldn’t be sneaking out at night and pacing the kitchen in the mornings.” Echo looked up at him with concern. “You look horrible. When’s the last time you slept or ate anything?”

“I’m fine.” Eyce tried for reassuring, but he didn’t think he quite nailed it when Echo just continued to stare at him with one eyebrow cocked. “I’ll take a nap in a little bit, okay?”

“You’re no good to yourself or anyone else if you can’t even stand. Go to bed now. Vapre and Syx should be up soon. I think I can manage the next hour unsupervised.”

“No.” Eyce’s tone brooked no argument. “Either wake them now, or come to bed with me. Otherwise, I’m staying right here.”

“Okay.” Echo beamed at him. “Let’s go to bed.”

“You planned this!”

Echo pushed past him and headed out of the kitchen. “Duh! This celibacy stuff is for the birds.” He stopped in his tracks, but didn’t turn. “Actually, I think birds probably get more action than I have lately. Huh, imagine that.” Then he shrugged adorably and continued out of the kitchen.

Eyce debated for just a second before hurrying out of the kitchen, jogging to catch up with his mate. He scooped Echo into his arms and sprinted across the living room, taking the stairs two at a time, then down the hall to his bedroom.

Once inside, he tossed Echo the mattress, loving the sounds of his giggles. Echo bounced twice before coming to rest in the center of the bed, staring up at Eyce innocently. “Does this mean I need to get naked?”

“Unless you want me to shred those jeans, it does.”

Echo’s eyes widened, his face flushed, and his breath stuttered. He flopped back on the bed, pushing his jeans down his hips, then kicked his feet in the air to pull them off his legs. He threw them across the room and scooted up close to the headboard, palming his already hard cock and stroking it quickly.

“It’s been too long, Eyce. Hurry.”

Eyce couldn’t agree more. Ripping his clothes from his body, he undressed in record time and prowled to the bed, crawling up the mattress until he lay over his lover. “Mine,” he hissed as their heated bodies met, and his aching cock pressed between Echo’s legs, rubbing over his sac. “Need you.”

“Oh, yeah,” Echo agreed breathlessly. He jerked harder on his weeping prick, his back bowing and his hips arching off the bed. “Please.”

Gods, Eyce craved those delicious whimpers. With his world crumbling down around him, he hadn’t had time to just enjoy the feel of his mate in his arms, rubbing against him, their bodies moving as one.

“Again,” he demanded. A feral growl escaped his panting mouth, and he dove forward, claiming Echo’s lips and thrusting his tongue inside to taste the sweetness that awaited him. Groaning loudly, he pillaged and plundered, dominating the kiss as his tongue swept the inside of his mate’s mouth, demanding Echo respond to him.

His lover didn’t disappoint. His hands wound in Eyce’s hair, tugging him closer as Echo attacked his mouth, humping up against him so that their steel-hard erections rubbed together. “Please,” Echo whimpered as he jerked his mouth away, panting for breath, his little chest heaving as he sucked in the much needed oxygen.

“That’s it, baby.” Eyce moved away from his lover’s lips, licking a wet path down his neck and over his collarbone. “Beg for me.” Slipping a hand under Echo’s lean hip, Eyce gripped the flesh firmly, pulling Echo closer to him as their bodies undulated together in the center of the bed.

“Please, Eyce. Oh, fuck, I need you. Make love to me.”

The words broke through the lusty haze surrounding him, and Eyce paused in his assault on the copper-colored nipple between his teeth. Fucking, he knew how to do. He’d never made love to anyone before. Didn’t that require him to actually love the person beneath him?

Pushing up on his other arm, he stared into Echo’s glazed eyes for a long time. Did he love the man? Had they had enough time together? He knew he cared about Echo, wanted to protect him and keep him happy. He’d do anything to see that beautiful smile grace his lover’s plump lips.

“It’s okay,” Echo whispered, and Eyce hated the sadness in his voice. “Just fuck me.” Echo arched up off the mattress, pressing their chests together, and moaned. “Please, Eyce. I can’t wait any longer.”

Feeling like a rat bastard, Eyce pushed away his uncertainties and leaned over Echo to grab the lube from the nightstand. His dick ached and throbbed, straining toward Echo’s tight hole as he glided his length along the crease of his mate’s cheeks. He needed relief, then maybe he’d be able to work out his feelings. Yeah, it sounded like a lame excuse, even to him, but he couldn’t deal with anything else just then.

Flipping open the cap, he poured a generous amount of the slippery oil into his palm then closed the lid and tossed the bottle to the side, not caring where it landed. He slicked his pulsing cock, moaning in pleasure and lingering for just a moment, before he turned his attention to Echo.

Leaning over his mate again, he crushed their mouths together, growling against Echo’s lips as his lubed fingers separated the rounded globes of Echo’s ass and zeroed in on his clenching pucker.

Echo growled into Eyce’s mouth, rocking against the finger nudging at his entrance. “Stop teasing and fuck me.”

“Gods, that’s fucking hot.” Eyce buried his face in Echo’s neck, sucking and licking at the salty flesh as he pushed into his mate’s velvet-lined channel to the second knuckle.

Echo cried out, throwing his head back on the pillow as his body shuddered and bucked. “More!”

Happy to oblige, Eyce sawed his finger in and out of Echo’s snug hole a few more times, then added a second finger, shoving in roughly as he scraped his teeth over his mate’s shoulder. “I’m going to fuck you until you can’t walk straight for a week. I want you to come on my cock and scream my name to the heavens. Are you going to scream for me, baby?”

“Ahh!”

“That’s it. Louder, Echo.”

Eyce slipped in a third finger beside the first two, twisting his wrist and stretching Echo to receive him. His mate went wild, humping against his hand, fucking himself on Eyce’s long digits. “Now. Please, Eyce. Oh, damn, please!”

“I love when you beg, when you whimper and moan. Love how your body shakes and trembles from my touch.” Eyce gently extracted his fingers and replaced them immediately with the engorged head of his cock. “Love how your eyes glaze over, your skin flushes such a pretty shade of pink.” He pushed inside, sheathing himself to the root inside his lover’s silky heat in one fast stroke.

Echo cried out, his muscles tensing and his inner walls clamping around Eyce’s dick. “Mm, yeah, love how your ass just eats up my cock, squeezes and strangles it like you don’t want me to ever leave.”

“No.” Echo shook his head quickly, his eyes boring into Eyce’s. “Don’t leave.”

His eyes softening, Eyce stretched out over Echo’s chest, kissing his lips slow and tender as he began a gentle thrust inside his mate’s welcoming body. “Not going anywhere, Echo. Can’t live without you, baby.” He knew the words were true, even as they flowed from his trembling lips. He would do whatever it took to keep Echo with him forever.

Sliding one arm under Echo’s lean back, Eyce lifted him, holding him close as he continued to thrust slow and easy, his movements almost lazy. He trailed his lips over Echo’s face, his cheeks, down his jaw until their mouths finally met in an earth-shattering kiss that left his head spinning.

When the need to breath became too much, Eyce pulled away from Echo’s mouth, but didn’t move far. Holding his lover to him, he stared into his eyes, seeing his future laid out before him like an offering. He only needed to find the courage to reach out and take it.

His balls tingled, his spine stiffened, and his skin sizzled, heralding his oncoming climax. Too soon, his brain screamed. He didn’t want to lose the closeness they shared when their bodies were locked together this way, his cock buried deep inside his mate’s velvety hole.

Then Echo’s fingertips reached up to trace Eyce’s cheekbones, and a sweet smile spread over his kiss-swollen lips. Unshed tears shimmered in his sapphire eyes, and he swallowed hard before leaning up and pressing a kiss just under Eyce’s jaw. “I love you,” he whispered.

It was like being hit by a bus. Eyce’s orgasm ripped through him without warning, spurting from his slit to fill Echo’s convulsing tunnel. Roaring out his lover’s name, Eyce crushed Echo to him, pumping through his release. Echo gasped, his arms locking around Eyce’s neck, and sticky cum filled the space between them.

Completely spent, Eyce eased Echo back to the mattress and pushed his mate’s damp hair back from his sweaty forehead. He could have it all. Everything he’d ever wanted. He just had to surrender his heart and trust Echo would always protect it.

Pressing his lips to his lover’s temple, Eyce squeezed his eyes closed and prayed he’d made the right decision. “I love you, too, baby.”

Chapter Ten

“I love him,” Eyce said with a goofy smile on his face. “He’s so small, but he’s stronger than any of us.”

“I agree,” the Oracle answered with a crooked smile.

“So, I guess I kind of understand about all the riddles. I had to figure it out on my own. I couldn’t force myself to love Echo.”

“Wise words, Warrior, but you have still yet to surrender.”

“But, I have. I have surrendered everything I have, everything I am, to Echo. He’s my safe harbor, the one person who sees straight through me. I don’t have to pretend with him.”

“His shelter will help you to win this battle, but not the war.” Then she faded away, leaving Eyce standing alone in the sunny field feeling more confused than ever.

“Wake up,” a voice whispered in his ear. Turning in a circle, Eyce didn’t see anyone. He recognized the voice, though, would follow it anywhere. “Wake up, love.”

Eyce closed his eyes and smiled. When he blinked them open again, Echo’s sweet face hovered over him, his eyes dancing with happiness. “She’s not big on words, huh?”

“How did you know I was talking to the Oracle?”

“You mumble in your sleep, big guy.” Echo winked at him before dropping a kiss on his forehead then flipping over to roll out of bed. “It’s almost noon, and I’m starving.” He dressed quickly then turned to saunter back to the side of the bed. “You’re looking better. Good nap?”

“Yeah, it was better than good.”

Echo fidgeted nervously, wringing his hands together in front of him as he sucked his lower lip between his teeth and chewed it vigorously. His eyebrows drew together and a faint blush worked its way up his neck to stain his creamy cheeks.

“Spit it out.”

“Did you mean it?” Echo blurted. “I mean, was it just the heat of the moment, or because I said it first? I don’t want you to feel like you have to say it back. I can’t stop the way I feel, but I guess I shouldn’t have told you like that. I should have waited until a better time.”

Smiling wickedly, Eyce looped his fingers around Echo’s wrist and pulled him back into bed to sprawl over his chest. “You babble a lot when you’re nervous.”

“Yeah, sorry about that.” Echo bit his lip again, his eyes focused on Eyce’s chin.

“Look at me.” He waited until Echo hesitantly lifted his head and met his gaze. Cradling Echo’s cheek in his hand, Eyce’s heart melted when his mate hummed happily and nuzzled into his palm. “I wouldn’t have said it if I didn’t mean it. My brain just needed a little time to catch up with my heart.”

“Promise?”

“Absolutely. I love you Echo. I love everything about you.”

“Good.” A mile-wide grin stretched over Echo’s face, and he leaned down to rub their noses together. “I love you, too, big guy. Can we eat now?”

Rolling his eyes, Eyce chuckled and swatted Echo on his upturned ass. “Let me up, and we’ll go find Syx and Onyx.” A sudden thought came to him, and Eyce gripped Echo’s hip, preventing him from moving away. “Baby, do you love the others?”

“Is that wrong?” Echo looked nervous all over again. “I didn’t know there was a rule saying I could only love one of you. In fact, I thought that would be bad.”

Sighing in relief, Eyce patted his mate’s ass again. “No, baby, it’s not wrong. I was actually worried that you didn’t. Have you told them?”

Echo slid off the side of the bed and shook his head slowly. “You’re the first.”

Eyce burst out laughing, clutching at his sides as he rolled back and forth on the mattress.

“What the hell has gotten into you?” Echo demanded, fisting his hands on his hips.

“Oh, I can’t wait to tell Fiero!”

“Tell me what?”

Eyce stopped laughing immediately and stared in awe at the figure standing just inside the doorway. His heart hammered inside his chest, a lump forming in his throat, cutting off anything he wanted to say.

“You’re back,” Echo whispered. Then he launched himself across the room, jumping into Fiero’s arms and attacking his mouth like a starving man. “I missed you so much. Are you okay? Are the others okay? Where is everyone?”

Fiero chuckled, clutching Echo to him as if he never intended to let him go. “Everyone’s fine. They’re all in the kitchen, along with Gage, Mac, and Sony.”

Eyce rose slowly from the bed and moved across the room until he stood just in front of his lovers. “Welcome home, Fiero,” he whispered.

Fiero kept his hold on Echo with one arm, but his other hand shot out to wrap around the back of Eyce’s neck, pulling him into a desperate kiss. Eyce moaned, his tongue wrapping around Fiero’s as he fisted a hand in the man’s hair, pulling him even closer.

“Tell him,” Echo whispered, dousing some of Eyce’s desire.

“Tell me what?” Fiero panted against Eyce’s temple, his hand still gripping the back of Eyce’s neck.

Looking into Echo’s eyes, he pleaded for his mate to keep quiet. Yes, he loved his men, but they were demons and warriors. Besides, he waited so many years, would they even believe him if he told them now?

“Can’t you see how much he needs you?” Echo whispered. “I won’t let you fall.”

“Someone, please tell me what the hell is going on here,” Fiero moaned as he licked a slow path around the shell of Eyce’s ear. “Gods, I missed you. I missed all of you.”

Gulping audibly, Eyce pulled Fiero’s head back by his hair and looked into his eyes. He opened his mouth to utter the damning words, but the look on Fiero’s face stopped him. “What?”

“What the fuck happened to your eyes?”

* * * *

Echo couldn’t stop staring. After he’d kissed and hugged his men home, and greeted their guests, he’d crawled back up in Eyce’s lap and just stared. Gone were the swirling colors he’d never been able to recognize, and a pale, dreamy blue now shone from Eyce’s eyes.

“Would you stop looking at me like that?” Eyce grumbled as he cuffed Echo in the back of the head.

“I can’t help it. They’re beautiful.”

“They are really nice,” Sony said quietly from his place in Gage’s lap. Mac sat beside them, tucked under Gage’s arm. Echo thought they all looked a little wary, but happy to be together.

“I don’t get it.” Myst walked around the table, grabbed a handful of Eyce’s hair, jerked his head back, and bent until their noses almost touched. “How did it happen?”

Eyce smiled and leaned up to peck the demon’s lips. “No clue. Welcome home, sexy.”

Myst grinned goofily and released Eyce’s hair. “Good to be home.”

Echo thought his heart would burst. His men so obviously loved each other. Why couldn’t they say the words? Sighing, he rested his head on Eyce’s shoulder and decided it didn’t matter. Even if they couldn’t say it, they showed their love in all the ways that mattered.

“I want to know everything,” Vapre demanded.

“I want to know why you’re here when I said to take Echo and run.” Fiero growled as he plopped down in a chair beside Syx.

“Echo made a strong argument for staying.” Syx chuckled. “Home field advantage, Fiero.”

“That’s actually pretty smart,” Fiero agreed grudgingly. “We would have been better prepared if we’d been here instead of out in the open when they attacked.”

“Who attacked you?” Echo asked as he sat up straighter in Eyce’s lap and leaned forward to rest his elbows on the table. “Were there a lot of them?”

“Just a small guard,” Gage answered. “They ambushed us just before we reached the park entrance.”

“So, they knew you were coming?”

“I don’t know how, but it looks that way.”

“How did you get Sony and Mac out?”

Gage snorted and jerked his head toward Hex. “Ask the boss.”

Echo looked at Hex with raised eyebrows. “Well?”

“Fiero blew up the helicopter.”

“Excuse me?” Echo whipped his head around to stare at Fiero in astonishment. “You can do that?”

Fiero winked and gave him a little smirk.

“Wow! So, then what happened? How come it took you so long to get back?”

“He blew up the helicopter by setting the car on fire and having Myst hurl it at the damn thing.” Hex rolled his eyes and sighed. “We had to walk back.”

“And boy did that suck,” Mac piped up. “You should have seen some of the lakes and ponds we passed. They were gross-looking and had dead fish just floating on the top. Smelled like a bag of assholes.”

“How far out?” Eyce asked as he smoothed his hand down Echo’s spine. “All the way to Glacier?”

“No.” Myst shook his head. “We didn’t see anything like that until we were almost home.”

Echo felt more than heard Eyce’s sigh of relief. He wished he knew how to help his lover. He’d been trying for days to come up with a plan, but kept drawing a blank. Hell, they still didn’t even know what was turning the water red and killing all the fish.

“Okay, so you blew up a helicopter, but that doesn’t explain how you got them out of the lab.” Vapre lounged in his chair, his feet propped up on the kitchen table.

Echo cleared his throat, narrowing his eyes at Vapre’s muddy boots. The demon winced and dropped his feet to the floor, sitting up straighter in his chair. “Sorry, Echo.”

“Oh, you have them trained really well,” Sony said excitedly. “You have to teach us how to do that.”

“Yes, please,” Mac nodded enthusiastically.

Echo laughed when Gage groaned at his mates. “Later,” he told the two brunettes with a wink before returning his attention to Hex.

Their leader just shrugged. “We waited until they were bringing everyone out to load them into the helicopters. Fiero blew the damn thing up. Myst froze the guards and grabbed these two.” He waved a hand at Sony and Mac. “It was almost too easy.”

“Like how I just walked out?” Echo asked.

“Well, not quite that easy. We did get shot at, but it wasn’t as hard as I expected it to be at all.”

“The Oracle,” several voices mumbled at the same time.

“But why did she want you to rescue them in the first place?” Syx crossed his arms over his broad chest. “And why not the others?”

“We have a theory about that.”

Everyone looked at Myst, who in turned looked at Fiero. Fiero glared at the warrior, but addressed the room. “They have powers. Gage is a werewolf. I think either we’re going to find others, or they’re going to find us before this is all said and done.”

“It seems this war is going to be a lot bigger than any of us anticipated,” Myst added.

“It would seem we’re going to need a little help.” Onyx gestured toward the threesome across from him.

“Like an army?” Echo shivered at the implications. Just how many more would join them? How many more did they need?

Hex bobbed his head in confirmation. “Exactly like an army.”

“Are they all going to stay here? Do we have enough room?”

Eyce chuckled, tugging at the ends of Echo’s hair. “We have four empty bedrooms, and two storage rooms we can convert if we need more space. I think we have it covered.”

Echo shrugged. “Well, I think we need to start stocking up on supplies. We’re going to have a lot of mouths to feed, clothe, and keep clean.”

“I’m not cooking,” Myst said at once.

“Me either,” Syx and Onyx said at the same time.

“I’m not doing laundry either,” Myst added.

“We’ll divide up the chores, and everyone will rotate.” Echo sighed in exasperation. “Sound fair?”

“No,” Myst answered immediately. “I’m a warrior. I’ll slay the dragons. You can cook them.”

“You’re right. You can’t cook anyway.”

“Hey! I can cook!”

“Right. Sorry.” Echo pretended to think it over for a minute. “What I meant to say is that you can’t cook anything edible.”

Myst stood from the table, glared at Echo, then stomped over to the cabinets where he began assembling ingredients on the counter. He paused in the act of opening the refrigerator and turned to look at Echo in astonishment.

Echo just grinned back innocently. “Yes?”

Myst snorted and shook his head. “You suck.”

Chapter Eleven

Sitting at the edge of the small pond, Eyce held his hands up in front of him, turning them one way and then the other. The moonlight ghosted through the trees, the lunar crescent reflected off the surface of the dark water.

The wind shifted directions, wafting the pungent odor toward him and causing him to gag as his stomach churned in revulsion. He heard the footsteps approaching, and closed his eyes as small hands landed on his shoulders.

“Nothing?”

“I don’t know what to do, Echo.”

His mate moved around to sit on the cold ground beside him and leaned against his shoulder. “What all have you tried?”

“I tried separating the water.” Eyce opened his eyes and lifted a hand, watching as a wall of water rose up before them. He narrowed his eyes in concentration, trying to push the water to one side and the foulness to the other.

Nothing happened. The wall shifted to the left then to the right, but never separated. Sighing in defeat he dropped his hand, and the water fell back to the pond with a splash. “See?”

“What else?”

“What else is there? I’ve tried freezing it.” Eyce waved his hand again, a thin layer of ice forming on the top of the water. “That doesn’t do anything. When it melts, it’ll be just the same as if I never touched it.”

“What about draining the pond?”

“The water has to go somewhere, Echo. Where do suggest I put it?”

Echo bit his lip, his nose scrunching as he stared out over the moonlit water. “Can you evaporate it?”

Eyce opened his mouth to deny he could do such a thing, but stopped and pressed his lips together. “I would probably need Fiero and Vapre’s help, but it’s possible.” Then he frowned, a sigh bubbling up in his chest. “Only for the smaller ponds, though. We can’t evaporate the lakes or the bigger ponds.”

“Okay, then we get some sleep and regroup tomorrow. We bring everyone with us tomorrow night and put our heads together on this.”

Eyce admired his lover’s determination, but he just couldn’t match his optimistic outlook. Still, with no other alternative, he had little choice but to agree. At this point, he welcomed any course of action as long as they were doing something.

Sighing, he pushed to his feet and held a hand out to help Echo up as well. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, but I really haven’t done anything. I wish I could be more help.”

“I know, baby. I wish I could, too. This is supposed to be my test, and I’m seeing a big fat F on my report card right now.” He held on to Echo’s hand, leading him back through the trees and to the safety of the house. “Why are you out here alone?”

“Don’t worry. Hex walked me to the tree line. I don’t exactly like this whole chaperone thing, but I understand the need to stick together.” Echo shrugged. “If it makes you guys feel better, I can live with it.”

Lifting his mate’s hand to his mouth, Eyce brushed a soft kiss over his knuckles and smiled. “It does make us feel better. Thank you for understanding.”

“Hey, Eyce?”

“Yes?”

“I love you.”

“I love you, too, Echo.”

“See, it gets easier every time, huh?”

Eyce arched an eyebrow. “I suppose it does. Why do you say that?”

“Just wondering when you’re going to tell the rest of the guys you love them.” Echo spoke nonchalantly, but Eyce could hear the concern in his lover’s voice.

“I do love them. I have for a long time. We’re just not very good with words and feelings.”

“You seem to do okay with me.”

“Like Syx says, you make it easy.”

Echo was silent for several minutes as they continued walking toward their destination. When he finally spoke, his words came slowly, as though he weighed each one carefully. “You’re worried that the others will think you’re weak if you tell them how you feel, but you don’t have to worry about that with me.”

“Yes,” Eyce answered quietly. “More than that, I worry that the feelings are not returned. I know they care about me, and that’s enough. We were created as guardians and protectors. Love and devotion weren’t supposed to be part of the plan.”

“How did that happen? I mean, when did you all realize that you felt more for each other than just brothers in arms?”

“Demons or not, we’re still men, Echo. We have needs, itches that need to be scratched. Locked together in Tartarus, we turned to each other to fulfill those needs. It wasn’t until we escaped the Underworld and started trying to build a life on the surface that it became anything more than sex and a mutual respect.”

“So, you were kind of gay by necessity?”

Eyce chuckled as he pushed aside a low-hanging limb for Echo to pass under. “I never looked at it that way. I honestly can’t say if I would have preferred women to men. I only know that I prefer my men. We have a very unconventional relationship, but it works for us. Although I share my bed and body with seven men, I would never go outside of our relationship. It feels…wrong.”

“Like cheating.” Echo nodded his head firmly. “I feel the same way. The thought of any of you touching someone outside of our circle makes my stomach hurt. Is that normal?”

“I feel the same way, but who am I to say what’s normal?”

“We’re not going to invite anyone else in though, right?”

“No, baby. No one else.”

* * * *

Fiero leaned against the back porch post, watching Eyce and Echo cross the field behind the house. Their clasped hands swayed between them as the strolled leisurely toward him. They didn’t seem to be talking, but they smiled at each other often, and Fiero watched as Eyce lifted Echo’s hand and pressed his lips to it.

They looked beautiful together. Echo’s hair appeared almost white in the moonlight, and his creamy skin looked paler than usual. The wind drifted through Eyce’s ebony hair, lifting it from his shoulders to fan out behind him. He looked almost ethereal, like one of the gods of Olympus.

The pair gazed up as they approached the house, and Fiero tensed, waiting for their reaction when the saw him standing there. Eyce’s smile stretched across his face, and he lifted a hand in greeting before bending close to their mate and whispering something in his ear.

Echo nodded eagerly then released Eyce’s hand and bounded across the remaining space until he was close enough to leap into Fiero’s arms. Fiero caught him with a grunt, lifting him up until Echo’s slim legs wrapped around his waist.

“Hey,” Echo whispered.

Fiero smiled, one hand gripping Echo’s firm bottom and the other drifting up into his golden hair. “Hey, back.”

“I have a secret.” Echo batted his eyelashes.

“And do I get to know this secret?” Fiero whispered again Echo’s lips. The man just seemed to draw out his sappy side. The little runt was going to kill his reputation as an antisocial badass. He really couldn’t bring himself to care.

“Maybe. What’s it worth to you?”

“Whatever you want, baby.”

The smile slid from Echo’s face, and he suddenly became very serious. “Do you like how things are?”

Fiero’s brow wrinkled in confusion. “Sure, I have no complaints.”

“Do you want to be with someone else?”

Oh! Now he understood. “Never,” he assured his mate.

“Do you think Eyce is hot?”

“Absolutely.”

“And me?”

“Without a doubt.”

“The others?”

Fiero chuckled and placed a quick kiss on Echo’s lips. “Yes. I think my men are gorgeous.”

“Do you like the color blue?”

“Eh, I guess.” Okay, this conversation was getting strange again.

“Just yes or no.”

“Yes.”

“What about eggs?”

“Yes.” Fiero was growing more confused by the minute. Why was Echo asking all these weird questions when they could be playing tonsil hockey instead?

“Hot showers?”

“Yes.”

“Blow jobs?”

“Yes.” Who didn’t like blow jobs?

“Do you love me?”

“Yes.” Fiero’s eyes widened and his mouth hung open in shock. “You little shit!”

Echo didn’t even have the decency to look ashamed. He just smiled sweetly and shrugged. “Do you love the others?”

Fiero pressed his lips together, unwilling to take the game any further.

Echo sighed. “Fine. Do you still want to know the secret?”

Fiero squinted his eyes in suspicion. “No more tricks?”

“Nope.” Echo used his pointer finger to draw an X over his heart. He glanced over his shoulder, and Fiero followed his gaze to where Eyce still stood in the field, giving them a moment alone. Then he turned back and smiled brightly before pressing his lips to Fiero’s ear. “I love you, too,” he whispered.

His eyes burned and a lump formed in his throat. Before he could make a complete ass out of himself, Fiero fisted his hand in Echo’s hair, pulling his head back far enough to claim his mouth in a possessive kiss.

Fiero kissed Echo with everything he had, pouring ever last ounce of the emotions into the kiss that he could put into words. His mate wound around him, clutching at his shoulders and whimpering as he rocked his growing erection against Fiero’s abs. Gods, he loved those sounds.

When the need for oxygen finally became too much, Fiero eased out of the kiss, pecking Echo’s lips once, twice, a third time. “I…I…” Why was it so hard to say the words? They were right there on the tip of his tongue.

Echo just grinned and wiggled until Fiero sat him on his feet then bounced up the stairs toward the back door. “I’m hungry,” he called over his shoulder before he disappeared inside the kitchen.

Stronger fingers gripped his shoulder, and Fiero glanced back to see Eyce smiling like an idiot. “Don’t worry. It gets easier.”

“I guess so. I mean, it was right there, and I wanted to tell him, but…wait! How do you know?”

Eyce grinned impishly. “I got the first one.” Then he pushed past Fiero and climbed the stairs to slip in through the back door.

“I still got the first kiss,” Fiero called before realizing how childish he sounded. Chuckling at himself and at Eyce, he shook his head and jogged up the steps after his men. It didn’t matter what order Echo had said it in, only that he’d said it.

Slipping in through the back door, Fiero paused just inside the kitchen and watched the men moving around the room. They laughed and smiled, pushing and shoving at each other as they joked about one thing or another.

Myst and Hex were standing over the stove, watching something boil in a large pot that smelled like heaven. Vapre, Syx, Eyce, and Onyx were rolling around the floor, wrestling like a bunch of puppies. Apparently, Eyce had gotten his ass jumped the minute he’d walked through the door.

Echo sat in one of the kitchen chairs, watching the scene, much the same as Fiero. He looked up, their eyes met, and Echo held his hand out, palm up, gesturing toward the warriors. Fiero didn’t need it spelled out for him. He understood perfectly what Echo was asking him.

Though he wasn’t ready to just lay his heart on the table, he could at least be honest with Echo. “Yes,” he whispered.

Echo just smirked and nodded as though he’d known all along, but simply wanted to hear the words from Fiero’s mouth. “Don’t wait too long to tell them.”

“Tell us what?” Eyce’s question trailed off into a loud grunt when Syx’s elbow caught him in the rib. “Asshole,” he grumbled, pushing the man away with a palm to his face.

“That Echo likes me best,” Fiero deadpanned. “We’re running off to Fiji, and Echo’s going to have my baby.”

Water sprayed from Echo’s mouth, and he began coughing as he set the glass he’d been drinking from on the table. “What?” he gasped then started coughing again.

“Nice try, man.” Eyce stood to his full height and puffed out his chest. “Everyone knows he likes me best.”

“No fucking way, dickhead. He likes me best,” Myst said and shoved Eyce with enough force to send him stumbling into the counter.

“You’re all full of shit.” Hex smoothed a hand down his thin cotton shirt. “Echo would pick me over any of you.”

They bickered back and forth good-naturedly, and Fiero sighed in relief. Echo wouldn’t let him hide forever, but at least he had a little more time to work up to the pledges of love and devotion.

Chapter Twelve

“Okay, we’ve tried everything!” Echo stomped up and down the edge of the pond. “What are we missing?”

Eyce sat on the ground, the unseasonably warm air drifting over his face, and sighed. “If I knew what we were missing, it wouldn’t be missing, would it?”

“There’s no reason to be a dick. I’m trying to help.” Echo stopped his pacing to turn and cross his arms as he glared at Eyce.

Pushing to his feet with a grunt, Eyce ignored Echo’s comment and walked past him to crouch down on the edge of the pond. “It’s not algae like we originally thought. It’s not blood. It’s not pollution, toxins, or iron. No one can figure out what it is, and I haven’t the slightest clue.”

He dipped his fingers in the water, flicking at the cool water. “It looks almost like syrup, but it doesn’t feel sticky or slimy. It’s like someone dunked a big red cloud in the water and it just got stuck there.”

“People are dying!” Echo shouted.

Closing his eyes, Eyce dropped his head as he battled to hold on to his anger and frustration. Nine days since the new moon, and he may as well been banging his head against a wall for all the progress he was making.

He’d heard the news reports over the last week, but he didn’t see how the two were connected. “Those people drowned, Echo. How is that related to this?” He snapped his wrist, sending droplets of water splashing over the surface of the pond.

“I don’t know,” Echo growled. “Doesn’t it seem a little odd to you? The water turns red, then all these people suddenly start drowning—only in the affected ponds and lakes.”

“Fighting amongst ourselves isn’t going to solve this.”

Standing and wiping his hand on his jeans, Eyce turned to face their leader. “Maybe we’re looking at this wrong. We’ve been searching out natural phenomenon, but this is Hades were dealing with here.”

“I’ve considered that.” Syx scratched at the back of neck as he spoke. “Those people didn’t just drown, Eyce. They were chewed and gnawed on.” He grimaced and shook his head. “Echo,” he called, “tell me about the dream you had right before Christmas. The one with the Oracle.”

“Just that it felt like I was drowning, like something was pulling me under the water. There was this awful smell that made me want to gag. It was kind of like dead fish, I guess. I could see everyone, but it no one could see or hear me.”

“Dead fish, drowning, being pulled under the water,” Syx mumbled under his breath as he started pacing. “Anything else?” he called to Echo.

“Not that I can remember.” Echo shrugged. “I remember feeling like someone was pushing on my back, right between my shoulder blades, like they wanted me to bow. I don’t really see how that’s helpful, though.”

Eyce’s head snapped up, and he stared at his mate as the pieces began to fall into place. “Echo, come here,” he said quietly, but firmly. “Get away from the water.”

“Echo, now,” Syx growled. “Move away from the water.”

Though he looked like he thought they’d all lost their minds, Echo nodded and took a step forward away from the edge of the pond. He lifted his foot to take another step, not moving nearly fast enough for Eyce’s liking, when water splashed up behind him, and along scaly arms wrapped around his torso.

“No!” Eyce charged forward, reaching Echo in only two steps, but it was too late. The water monster hissed something at him that he couldn’t understand then dove backward into the pond, taking a screaming Echo with him.

Without thought, Eyce continued toward the water, intent on saving his mate. Two sets of arms caught him around the waist and shoulders, dragging him back from the water’s edge as he roared his protest.

“Let me go!”

“You’re going to get yourself killed, and that sure as shit isn’t going to help Echo!” Fiero shoved him roughly, sending him to the ground to land on his ass. “You’re a goddamn water demon. Use your fucking head.”

Snarling up at his lover, Eyce sprang to his feet and took off running for the water before anyone could stop him again. His power flowed through him, more intense than he’d ever felt it before. It was almost physical, something he could bend and shape inside his mind.

He slowed to a walk when he reached the bank, but didn’t stop. He marched straight out into the middle of the pond, ignoring the gasps and mutter from the warriors behind him, as he strode upon the crimson waters.

The love he felt for Echo, the need to protect his mate raged inside him, pushing his powers to a strength he never knew he possessed. He’d finally admitted his feelings for the little imp, and he’d be damned if he would lose him now.

Once he reached the center, he stopped, took a deep breath, and threw his arms wide as he growled deep from within his chest. The water flowed away from the bottom of the lake to rise on three sides like an enormous, fifty-foot wall, revealing Eyce’s mate surrounded by five small creatures with lily pad-like indentions on the top of their heads.

“Kappas,” Eyce snarled at the beasts.

The water monsters dropped Echo’s limp body to the mud as they hissed and screeched, scrambling toward the wall of water. Eyce just smirked nastily, waving one hand and vanishing the water inside the indentions on the tops of their heads.

The kappas froze immediately, unable to move without the water to give them power. “Guys!”

He’d no more than spoken the words when his lovers raced past him, Hex dropping to his knees and scooping Echo into his arms. “I can’t hold it much longer,” Eyce warned. He could feel his power ebbing, the effort to hold back the waters becoming too much.

“Get the little fuckers,” Hex orders as he ran back toward the bank with Echo cradled against his chest.

The other demons moved fast, snatching up the kappas none too gently and dragging them across the muddy floor of the pond. Once his men had made it safely to the other side, Eyce started after them, closing his eyes as he walked and concentrating on keeping the water back.

He reached the shore just as he felt his power slip, giving way to the massive wall of water. Crawling up the embankment, he rolled to his back, gasping for breath as the water crashed back to the earth, refilling the pond in only seconds.

“Impressive.” Fiero smirked down at him, his face blocking out Eyce’s view of the night sky.

“Echo?” Eyce panted.

“Not happy, but he’s alive.”

Eyce flopped over to his side, feeling weak and disoriented, but needing to see his mate for himself. Echo coughed and gagged, his skin pale and his wet hair plastered to his face. He looked like shit, but Eyce decided he’d never seen anything more beautiful in his life.

Then Echo finally looked up to meet his gaze, his lower lip trembling, and his eyes glistening with unshed tears. He crawled across the grass, and Eyce opened his arms, catching his mate as Echo fell against him, shaking, sobbing, and clutching at his shirt.

Everyone gathered around them, stroking Echo’s back and Eyce’s chest, whispering words of comfort. Eventually, Echo’s sobs quieted, his tremors subsided, but he still leaned heavily against Eyce, his fingers twined in the fabric covering his chest.

“What are those things?” he asked softly, his voice breaking only once.

“Kappas,” Syx answered quietly. “Water sprites from Japanese folklore.”

“I’m looking right at them,” Echo said as he stretched out next to Eyce, resting his head on his chest. “They don’t look like fairy tales to me.”

“No, they’re very real.”

“Are they dead?”

“No, just paralyzed.” Syx stood and walked over to one of the creatures. “See the dip on their head that looks like a bowl? It has to be filled when they’re away from the water, or they are unable to move.”

“I’ve read about them.” Echo sat up slowly, but didn’t move away from Eyce’s side. “None of the myths mention anything about them turning the waters red, though.”

“They don’t.” Vapre sighed and pushed a hand through his hair. “I would guess that was just a diversionary tactic so we end up chasing our own asses. It worked.”

“So, what do we do with them now?”

“We put them back,” Eyce rolled to his side and pushed up on one arm with a groan. “We gather the other ones and bring them here as well.”

“What? Have you lost your fucking mind? They tried to eat me!”

“You said you’ve read about them?” He waited for Echo to nod. “So, if we refill the indentations on their heads…”

“They’ll serve us for eternity,” Echo mumbled slowly before a big shit-eating grin spread across his face. “They’d come in pretty handy in a war.”

Eyce leaned over and kissed the tip of Echo’s nose. “Exactly.” His heart still thundered inside his chest, making it difficult to form words. He had his entire world, his whole future, right here in his hands, and he’d almost lost it. He didn’t exactly understand it, but somewhere in the corner of his pounding heart, he knew Echo’s love had saved them all.

The Oracle spoke of surrender, and though the concept had made Eyce curl his lip in the beginning, he now knew what she’d meant. He hadn’t needed to surrender to his enemy, or even to Echo, though the man owned him heart and soul. The battle had been within him. Once he’d surrendered to himself, acknowledged and stop fighting his feelings for his lovers, everything had seemed so simple.

The idea had him rolling his eyes internally as a ironic grin spread over his lips. Love conquers all, he thought.

“So, how do we lure them out?” Fiero interrupted Eyce’s inner ramblings. He still knelt beside Echo, touching him everywhere he could reach. “I’m not keen on the idea of using Echo as bait again.”

“No, I don’t think I’d like that either.” Echo shook his head, the look on his face so serious that Eyce couldn’t help but chuckle.

“No, we don’t need bait,” he answered slowly. “We’re going to boil the lakes.”

* * * *

“That’s the last of them.” Echo groaned and slumped down on the ground. “We need to get some cucumbers.”

“Uh, why do we need cucumbers?” Onyx plopped down beside him and bumped their shoulders together.

“That’s what they eat. I guess it’s like a delicacy to them or something. I read it somewhere.”

“Hmm, well we certainly want to keep the little bastards happy.”

“They’re indebted to us now.” Syx sighed as he crouched down in front of them. “We still need to be careful near the pond, though.”

“Yeah, I’m not going anywhere near that thing.” Echo shook his head defiantly. “That was way worse than my dream.” He paused and took a deep breath. “That was way worse than my dream,” he added in a whisper.

“Hex just called. They’ve check all the ponds, lakes, and rivers, and everything is clear.” Eyce strolled up to them, slipping his cell phone back into his pocket. “The waters are back to normal.”

“I knew you could do it.” Echo beamed up at his lover, so proud, he felt his heart would jump right out of his chest.

“I didn’t really do anything.” Eyce waved away the praise. “You were amazing, though.”

Echo didn’t feel like he had contributed much at all. The only thing he’d done was act as a conduit between Eyce and Fiero, so that they could combine their powers to boil the lakes. It had been kind of funny to see the little sprites come bursting out of the steaming waters, yelping and squealing.

Then Eyce would vanish the water from the indentations on their heads, paralyzing them so they could transport them back to the pond behind their house.

The kappas all seemed rather pleasant and polite once they’d replaced the water and allowed them movement. Echo still wasn’t taking any chances.

The hairs on the back his neck stood on end, and a shiver raced down his spine. The air suddenly seemed thick, humid, and suffocating. “I think we need to go.”

“What’s wrong?” Eyce asked immediately.

“I don’t know. It feels like someone’s watching us. I can’t explain it right, but we need to leave. Now!”

“He’s right.” Onyx rose gracefully and scanned the trees around them. “Something or someone is out there.”

“The Collector?” Syx suggested. “Gage said he was coming. I expected him a lot sooner than this to tell the truth.”

“None of this makes any sense,” Eyce growled. He pointed a finger at Onyx. “Why did they attack you guys on the way to Heavens Peak, but didn’t even follow you? No one has come looking for Echo. They’re playing with us.”

“Well, I don’t like this game. I vote for checkers.” Echo took Eyce’s hand and tugged. “We’re too exposed out here. Let’s go.”

Eyce dipped his head in assent and started off toward the direction of home, holding Echo’s hand and pulling him along. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone, dialing one-handed, and pressed the device to his ear.

“Hex,” he spoke a moment later. “Round everyone up and meet us at home. We need to have a meeting.”

A tingle of desire raced up Echo’s spine at the deep, commanding tone of Eyce’s voice. He licked his lips, staring up at his lover as they stepped into the darkness of the forest. He understood the need for a meeting, but he really hoped they’d be able to have it in the nude.

“Echo,” Syx groaned from behind him.

His ears and cheeks heated as his face flushed with embarrassment. He’d completely forgotten that Syx could hear his thoughts. Oh well, judging from the slight growl rumbling in his chest, the man seemed to like the idea of a naked powwow as much as Echo.

Looking over his shoulder, Echo smiled at the warrior, then puckered his lips to give him air kisses. Syx growled again, swatting Echo on the ass and eliciting a quiet yelp from him. “Behave.”

Chapter Thirteen

“Something doesn’t feel right.” Echo sat sandwiched between Onyx and Eyce on the couch as they tried to watch some stupid movie on television. They’d been home for over an hour, and he still couldn’t shake the feeling he’d had out by the pond.

Myst and Fiero had the love seat, while Gage and his mates were cuddled on the floor. Syx, Hex, and Vapre had disappeared a while ago, and judging by moans and panting that followed them out of the room, they were having a lot more fun than Echo.

“Like what?” Sony asked over his shoulder. “Nothing has happened in days.”

Echo bit the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing. Oh, if the guy only knew what had been happening right under his nose. Then he sobered quickly, wrinkling his brow as he tried to find the words to explain. “I don’t know. I feel nervous, anxious, kind of jittery.” Tension settled over him like a palpable force, making him fidget where you sat.

“I agree,” Eyce said softly. “I feel it, too. Almost like a charge in the air.”

“He’s coming,” Mac whispered harshly. He sat up, shaking his head and blinking his eyes. He looked at Echo for a long time before he scrambled to his feet, grabbing Gage’s hand and tugging on it insistently. “We have to go. He’s coming!”

“Who’s coming?” Onyx looked like his eyes would bug out of his head. “What was that?”

“Mac is psychic,” Echo explained. “He sees things. Usually things that haven’t happened yet, but sometimes he can see things that are happening in the present. Very rarely can he see events of the past.”

“Peachy,” Fiero grumbled. “Another damn Oracle.”

“Who’s coming?” Eyce repeated Onyx’s question as he pulled Echo closer, wrapping his arms around him protectively. “The Collector? Right now?”

“Yes!” Mac cried, still jerking on Gage’s arm. “We have to go! Why the hell are you all just sitting there?”

Fiero and Myst jumped to their feet, and Myst sprinted toward the staircase, presumably to go warn the others. “How long do we have?”

“I don’t know.” Mac shook his head frantically. “It doesn’t work that way. I can’t pinpoint it, but I know he’ll be here soon. Like really fucking soon. Can we go, please?”

Eyce gave Echo a tight squeeze then released him and stood from the sofa. “Gage, go hide them. Take Echo and do not let him leave your sight. No matter what happens, take care of them.”

“No!” Echo struggled out of the blanket around him and stood up on the cushions so he looked Eyce right in the eyes. “I’m not fucking hiding this time. I can help!”

“Echo.” Onyx sighed in exasperation. “We won’t be able to concentrate if we’re worried about you getting hurt. I know you have power, but you need to stay out of this.”

Echo opened his mouth to argue again, but Eyce’s hand on his hip stopped him. “No. He’s right.”

His mouth hanging open in shock, Echo just stared at the warrior.

“What’s the point of building this army if we’re not going to let them help?”

A very loud, though purely human roar sounded from outside, and Echo jumped, whirling around on the couch to face the front door. “He’s here,” he whispered.

“Guys, we have a problem,” Hex called as he barreled down the stairs, the others following on his heels.

“No. I don’t like problems. Tell me this is going to be easy,” Echo demanded. He crossed his arms over his chest and wrinkled his nose. “Do it.”

“I’m not going to lie. This sucks balls.”

“What is it? What’s going on?” Eyce faced their leader, his blue eyes blazing with determination. Whatever awaited them, Echo knew Eyce would meet it head-on without any thought of retreat. Anyone of his men would do the same. The knowledge scared the hell out of him.

“The Collector?”

Eyce growled. “Spit it out, Hex.”

Instead of answering, Hex turned to Echo and held out a hand, palm up. Echo’s brow formed a shallow V, but he took his lover’s hand, yelping when Hex jerked him forward and flipped him over the back of the couch. “Go to the window and tell me if that’s the man you call The Collector.”

Swallowing hard, Echo tried not to show his fear as he nodded once and slowly made his way across the room to the window beside the door. Pushing the curtain aside just an inch, he peered out into the night and gasped.

Clad in only a pair of black leather pants, The Collector stood halfway between the dirt drive and their front steps, his head thrown back on his shoulders and his hands fisted at his sides. The chords in his next strained as his muscles bunched and flexed beneath his tanned skin. His massive chest heaved, rising and falling in huge movements as he screamed out to the stars.

Then his head snapped up, his eyes locking with Echo’s through the window, and Echo froze, paralyzed with fear. “It’s him,” he breathed, so quietly he didn’t know if anyone had actually heard him.

“Okay, so what’s the problem? We knew he was coming.” Echo couldn’t look away from The Collector long enough to even acknowledge Eyce’s words.

“Look for yourself.”

Echo heard Eyce’s growl of frustration then his heavy footsteps as he marched across the room and pushed Echo behind him. Instead of just peeking through the cracks of the curtains as Echo had, Eyce fisted each in his hands and threw them open wide.

“This is bad,” he groaned.

“That’s what I said,” Hex replied calmly. “We are royally fucked.”

“Do you know him?” Echo stepped a little further away from the window and looked over his shoulder at the men gathered in the living room. “Guys? You know The Collector?”

“That’s not The Collector,” Eyce snarled. “That’s Ares.”

“As in the son of Zeus?” Echo’s chin dropped to his chest as his mouth fell open and his eyes widened until they felt like they’d pop out of his skull.

Eyce let the curtains fall back into place and turned around slowly. “As in the bloodthirsty god of savage war.”

“Come out, warriors!” Ares called, his voice ringing inside the house as though he stood just next to them. “Come out and face me like men!”

“What do we do?” Echo didn’t want to go out there, but he had a feeling that’s exactly what his men were going to say.

Sure enough, as soon as Hex opened his mouth, before he even spoke, Echo closed his eyes and groaned. “We go out there.” Hex snorted. “What did you think I was going to say?”

“A guy can always hope.”

“I don’t think he’s here to fight.” Eyce’s eyebrows drew together, and he scowled down at the floor. “He’s not a fucking vampire. He doesn’t need an invitation to come inside. I think he’s just trying to intimidate us.”

“Well, he’s doing a really good job,” Sony piped up from his hiding place behind Gage.

“If he’s not here to smite us, then what the hell does he want?” Echo trembled where he stood, but he refused to back down. He would not duck his head and cower in fear when his men needed him.

“I guess we go find out.” Hex sounded much too calm considering a half-naked Olympian god intent on slaughtering them all currently stood in the middle of their front yard.

Taking a deep breath to steady his racing pulse, Echo nodded firmly and stepped up beside Eyce. “Try not to die, yeah?”

“We’re coming, too.” Mac released Gage’s hand and jerked his head for his mates to follow him. “Eyce said we’re part of this war. I have no idea what that means, but if I can help, then I will.”

Eyce’s hand landed on the smaller man’s shoulder and squeezed gently. “You already helped, Mac. You warned us that danger was coming. Stay inside with your mates.”

Mac didn’t argue, but nodded eagerly and rushed back across the room to stand beside Gage. Echo couldn’t blame him. He wasn’t exactly looking forward to the confrontation either. Giving his friends a little smile, he bobbed his head then returned his attention to the front door just as Hex turned the knob and pulled it open.

They all filed outside, descending the steps and spreading out in a line in front of Ares. Somehow, Echo had ended up in the middle, standing slightly behind Hex and Eyce. Peeking through the gap between their shoulders, he studied the god and waited.

“What do you want, Ares?”

“Is that any way to greet your commander, my young acolyte?”

“Not so young,” Hex growled. “We are commanded by no one, and you’ll find our devotions lie elsewhere now.”

Ares dropped his gaze, looking right into Echo’s eyes. “Ah, yes, I see.”

Echo had so many questions, but he knew it wasn’t the time for a spill-your-guts session. His men obviously knew Ares, though the relationship seemed strained, to put it mildly. The god said he’d been their commander. Had he trained them in battle to guard and defend the pits of Tartarus?

“We owe you nothing,” Eyce snarled. “Why have you come?”

“I simply wanted to extend my congratulations for successfully completing your first task.” Ares bowed, sweeping his arm in front of him and wrapping it around his torso as he chuckled. “I believe my dear uncle is losing his touch. Kappas,” he scoffed. “Honestly.”

“The red water?”

“His attempt at humor, I believe.” Ares shrugged. “He lives among the dead. I’m sure he found it a riot.”

“Cut the bullshit, Ares.” Fiero stepped forward, breaking ranks and growling at the god. “You didn’t just come here to shoot the breeze and reminisce about old times.”

“Watch yourself, Fiero,” Ares said icily. Then he plastered a smile on his face again and held his hands out to his sides. “The puppy told you I was coming, did he not?”

Puppy? The corners of Echo’s mouth pulled down in confusion.

“Since when do you play nice with humans?” Eyce demanded. “What’s this shit with the government lab?”

Oh! Ares meant Gage. Wow, what a prick.

“You are not the only one building an army.”

Echo jerked back as the voice sounded inside his head. Damn, he really wished the Oracle would warn him before she did that. “He’s assembling an army—picking and choosing those that will benefit him in the war.”

Eyce glanced down at him before quickly looking back at Ares. “I thought our beef was with Hades?”

“Well, let’s just say that my uncle made me an offer I couldn’t refuse. I agree to head his army in this war, and I get something in return.”

“What could he possibly give you that you can’t get for yourself?” Echo snapped his mouth shut, regretting his words instantly. Probably not the best idea to piss of the god of bloodlust.

Ares glared at him, but Hex spoke before the god could offer his reply. “Why humans? You could have any number of magical beings at your command.”

“And I do. The humans will have their purpose, though,” Ares answered cryptically. “I am not unreasonable, however.” His gaze returned to Echo. “Give me the little one. I’ll call this whole thing off, and you’ll be free to live among the mortals here in the Top World. I only require your mate.”

In a flash, all seven men moved to form a protective circle around Echo as they hissed and snarled at Ares. What the hell did the asshole want with him? He wasn’t anyone special.

Ares just laughed. “I assumed that would be your answer, but I thought I’d give it a shot.” Then the smile slipped from his face, his features darkening and his voice becoming low, evil. “He will be ours. You have until the autumnal equinox to make your decision. Either present him to me, or prepare for war.”

“Not happening, Commander.” Hex spat the last word as though it left a bad taste in his mouth. “We don’t share. Or have you forgotten?”

Echo didn’t know what that meant, but he was beginning to get used to it. Not a whole lot of this conversation made much sense to him. All he knew is that Ares wanted him and was willing to go to war to have him. But why?

Ares took a menacing step toward Hex, but stopped and tilted his head to the side. “Very well,” he said slowly. “If you change your mind, you only need to call my name.” A wicked grin stretched over his mouth, and innuendo slipped into his voice. “Surely you remember how to do that. You were so good at it.”

A loud, ear-numbing roar issued from Hex’s mouth, and Echo took a hasty step away, reaching up to press his palms to his ears.

Ares just laughed, gave them another little bow, and simply vanished.

Dropping his hands to his sides, Echo wrinkled his nose in distaste. “You had sex with him? Eww!”

Hex sighed as he wrapped an arm around Echo’s shoulders and pulled him against his hard chest. “It was a long time ago, just after we were created. Hades brought Ares to the Underworld to train us. The affair ended almost as abruptly as it began.”

“Did you love him?”

“I didn’t even like the bastard.”

“He came for Hex when we escaped Tartarus,” Eyce explained as he pressed against Echo’s back, leaning over him to place a soft kiss on Hex’s cheek. “The rest of us weren’t too keen on him taking our man, though.”

Hex snorted, but his eyes softened as he gazed back at Eyce. “I had no intentions of leaving. You never had to worry about that.” Then he bent to kiss the top of Echo’s head. “I have even more reason to stay now.”

“We all do,” Eyce whispered as he kissed the same spot Hex had. “Which gives us the advantage in this war.”

“What’s that?” Echo asked, nuzzling his face against Hex’s chest.

“We have more to fight for.”

Chapter Fourteen

Fresh from the shower, Echo lounged in the sun near the kappas’ pond with his lovers, letting the warm rays dry his long hair. “I don’t suppose you’re going to tell me what you and Vapre have been up to, are you?” Echo lifted his eyebrows at Syx and smiled innocently. “Not yet.” Syx smirked and reached over to tap Echo’s nose. “You know what they say about curiosity.”

“Curiosity killed the cat.” Echo nodded then smiled brightly. “But satisfaction brought him back.”

Hex snorted from Echo’s other side. “He has a point.”

“Not yet,” Syx repeated.

“Okay, the little bastards are fed,” Fiero grumbled as he ambled up to them and plopped down beside Syx. “I don’t know why you won’t let me just incinerate the little beasts.”

“They might come in handy.” Echo looked toward the water’s edge and rolled his eyes. “Myst, stop that!” The warrior had one of the kappas on the shore, smiling brightly as he bent over in a deep bow, then howled in laughter as the kappa mirrored him, spilling the water from the top of his head and rendering him motionless.

Myst jerked around guiltily and gave Echo a little wave before quickly dipping his hands in the water and refilling the indentation on the kappa’s head. The little, blue, scaly sprite just smiled—at least that’s what Echo hoped it was—and disappeared back into the pond with his brethren.

Jogging over to them, Myst plopped down in front of Echo and smiled innocently. “I was just being polite.”

“You were being a dick.” It was kind of funny, though. He just wouldn’t say that out loud. “How long do you think this warm front will last?” he asked instead.

“The weather says temperatures in the twenties this entire week.” Vapre shook his head as he joined them. “Plus, another snowstorm headed this way. Looks like this is our last day to soak up the sun.”

His men looked at each other with knowing grins, then turned their attention on Echo, moving toward him slowly as Eyce knelt behind him, wrapping his arms around Echo’s waist. “We want to make love to our mate in the sun. What do you say, baby?”

Seven gorgeous men, lavishing him with attention? He’d be an idiot to refuse. “Yes,” he whispered, dropping his head back to Eyce’s shoulder as his warriors worked to undress him.

Hex lifted him from the ground, waiting until Eyce and Vapre had spread out a large, fleece blanket over the grass, then settled him to it gently. Echo watched his men undress, his eyes feasting on the bounty they revealed. His cock swelled between his legs, standing at attention as his heart rate quickened and his breathing accelerated.

“What do you want, baby?” Eyce asked as he stretched out beside Echo on the blanket and rubbed slow circles over his belly. “This is your day. You name it, and it’s yours.”

“I want to watch,” Echo whispered. “Then I want us to all be connected. Can we do that?”

Eyce smirked, rolling over to claim Echo’s lips in a short but heated kiss. “You wouldn’t believe how imaginative we are.” His hand skimmed down up Echo’s thigh, his knuckles brushing over his sac, and Echo moaned, dropping his head back and arching into the touch. With so much going on, it felt like forever since his lovers had touched him like this.

Fiero settled on Echo’s other side, pressing against him and gripping Echo’s aching cock. Dipping his head, he traced his tongue over the dip above Echo’s collarbone as his hand set up a slow but steady rhythm, stroking Echo’s straining shaft from root to tip.

“You’re not watching,” he mumbled, his lips trailing up Echo’s neck, his teeth grazing the sensitive flesh just behind Echo’s ear. “Open your eyes, baby.”

Echo did as requested and whimpered pathetically at the sight before him. Hex and Syx were locked in a passionate kiss, their bodies molded together as their hands mapped and explored the other’s body.

Myst pressed against the length of Hex’s back, nibbling at the leader’s neck as his hands gripped Hex’s ass, squeezing and massaging the muscled globes. Onyx covered Syx’s back, his thick cock sliding along the crease of the warrior’s ass and painting it with his pre-cum.

Looking down his own body, Echo nearly swallowed his tongue as he watched Vapre sprawl between his spread thighs. His eyes locked with Echo’s, and he smiled seductively before lowering his mouth to suck one of Echo’s balls into his mouth.

The damp naked flesh, the sounds of panting and moaning, the feel of his men’s hands and mouths on him drove Echo crazy. His muscles tensed, his heart hammered against his breastbone, and he couldn’t seem to pull enough air into his lungs. Twining one hand in Fiero’s hair, he turned his face, searching out the warrior’s lips and crushing their mouths together in a hungry kiss.

His other hand tangled in Eyce’s hair, pulling him closer and arching into his mouth as the demon trailed open-mouth kisses down Echo’s chest, over his clenching abs, all the way to his hip.

Vapre’s strong fingers gripped the back of Echo’s thighs, spreading his legs wider and pushing them up toward his chest to reveal his fluttering opening. Then a wet tongue swiped over his entrance, and Echo cried out, the sound muffled against Fiero’s mouth.

Eyce continued to touch him everywhere. Fiero’s tongue plunged inside his mouth, swirling and sliding against his own. His hand kept up the slow, steady rhythm, stroking Echo’s pulsing cock and pushing him closer to the edge. Vapre licked and sucked at his hole then pointed his tongue, pushing it into Echo’s needy ass.

Moaning, whimpering, practically sobbing, Echo trembled as the sensations overwhelmed him. He attacked Fiero’s mouth, demanding the warrior give him more as Vapre continued to tongue-fuck his clenching hole.

Vapre’s tongue disappeared, replaced quickly by two slick fingers. Echo didn’t know where the lube had come from. He was just grateful someone had come prepared. He hissed as the digits penetrated him, loving the slight burn, the sweet friction created when he pushed back against Vapre’s hand.

His cock throbbed and jerked inside Fiero’s grasp each time Vapre’s fingers pumped in and out of him. His skin heated, his head swam, and his balls ached with the need for release.

Then Eyce’s warm, wet mouth engulfed the head of Echo’s leaking cock, dipping his tongue in the slit, and Echo couldn’t hold back any longer. Jerking his mouth away from Fiero’s, he yelled out to the sky, bowing his back as his orgasm roared through him, spilling his seed into Eyce’s eager mouth.

When he finally came back down from his high, he found himself on his hands and knees, Fiero kneeling in front of him as he stroked all ten inches of his gorgeous prick. Eyce pushed between his thighs, nudging his legs wider as he slowly fed his thick cock to Echo’s greedy hole.

Hex lay on his back beside Echo, his hands grasping Myst’s hips as the demon straddle him, lined up the blunt tip of Hex’s turgid cock with his entrance, and impaled himself in one quick drop.

Echo didn’t know who moaned louder—Hex, Myst, or him. Myst began a slow grind as he reached over, wound his hand around Eyce’s neck, and pulled him into a searing kiss that left Echo hard and aching once more.

When they finally broke apart, Onyx stepped between them, cupping the back of Myst’s head and rubbing the head of his thick cock along the man’s lips, smearing them in glossy pre-cum. Myst moaned in pleasure, grabbed Onyx’s bobbing dick, and enveloped the engorged crown in his mouth.

Returning his attention the man in front of him, Echo whimpered pathetically at the sight that met his eyes. Syx knelt behind Fiero, his hands roaming the warrior’s chest as he slowly thrust in and out of Fiero’s body.

Vapre stood to the side, gripping the base of his veiny cock, pushing the tip through Fiero’s parted lips. Not wanting to be left out, Echo licked his lips once then dove forward, capturing Fiero’s hard prick in his mouth and sucking him down to the root.

Fiero groaned and his hips snapped forward, pushing his cock to the back of Echo’s mouth. Relaxing his throat muscles, Echo took all of him, groaning around the hot length in his mouth as Eyce’s pace quickened, and he drove into Echo’s tunnel in long, hard thrusts. Every snap of Eyce’s hips pushed Echo forward, and every thrust of Syx’s hips rocked Fiero forward, pushing his cock deeper into Echo’s mouth.

Long fingers wrapped around his straining cock, and Echo’s eyes snapped opened, darting to the side to see Hex staring at him with heat and desire in his gaze. “Come for us, baby. You’re so beautiful when you come.”

Well, that did it. In that moment, they were all connected, and Echo felt it right down to his soul. He groaned around the slick flesh in his mouth as another mind-numbing orgasm rocketed through him, erupting from his slit to paint the blanket in thick, creamy ropes of semen.

Eyce growled from behind him, slamming home then stilling completely as scorching lava filled Echo’s spasming channel. Fiero’s muffled grunt followed swiftly, and his balls unloaded, spraying his salty seed over Echo’s tongue.

Maybe he was a cum slut, but Echo loved it. He gloried in the fact that his men were branding him from the inside out. He lovingly licked Fiero clean before letting the softening dick slip from his mouth and winced just a little when Eyce pulled out of his still-convulsing hole. His arm wrapped around Echo’s waist, preventing him from slumping to the blanket, and flipped him over to his back. “Now the fun begins,” he said with a wicked smile.

“Begins?” Echo choked. What the hell did they call what had just happened? Before he could ask any further questions, his men converged on him, licking and sucking his chest, neck, thighs, and groin.

Echo groaned, arching his back and closing his eyes against the onslaught of pleasure. A hand palmed his heavy sac, rolling and fondling his balls, another wrapped around his softening cock, stroking him until he was standing all full attention once again.

A finger pushed inside his entrance, followed by two others, and Echo couldn’t be sure, but he thought the fingers came from three different lovers. They pumped inside his overflowing channel until cum began to leak out of his hole and slide down the crease of his ass.

His eyelids fluttered open when the fingers disappeared and a warm weight settled over him. Looking up, he smiled dreamily at Syx, moving his legs to lock his ankles around the warrior’s lean hips, as Syx’s cock pushed into his hole.

Syx began to move just as Echo’s hands were pulled over his head and pinned to the blanket. Glancing behind him, his vision was immediately filled by Myst’s face, and the demon bent and shoved his tongue through Echo’s parted lips without preliminaries.

When Echo’s head began to spin with lack of oxygen, Myst jerked his mouth away and moved to straddle Echo’s hips. He didn’t say a word, just grasped Echo’s throbbing cock, lined it up with his hole, and impaled himself in one swift drop.

Echo’s strangled cry reverberated around the clearing, only to be cut off short when Hex’s mouth descended over his. Myst rode him fast and hard as Syx plowed into his clenching tunnel, and Hex tongue-fucked his panting mouth.

Hands roamed his body, pinching at his nipples, tugging and twisting them lightly. Hex pulled away and Vapre was there, his knees resting on either side of Echo’s head as he braced himself on all fours and lowered his cock to Echo’s lips.

Echo opened right up for his lover, sucking his hard dick into his mouth and laving the head with his tongue. He groaned in pleasure, dipping his tongue in the slit, lapping up the dripping drops of pre-cum.

Then without warning, everyone was moving again. Myst rose off of him, Syx slipped from his ass, and Vapre pulled his spit-slicked cock from Echo’s swollen lips.

He was flipped once again, ending up in Onyx’s lap with his back pressed to the warrior’s warm chest. Onyx lowered him slowly over his rigid cock until Echo’s cheeks settled against the man’s thighs. Fiero knelt in front of them, attacking Echo’s mouth with such intense hunger, Echo felt devoured.

Long fingers gripped his turgid length, stroking him roughly as Onyx thrust up into his aching hole. Eyce knelt behind Fiero, working his cock into the demon’s ass as Vapre leaned over Eyce’s back, doing the same.

Breaking the kiss, Echo looked to the side as he gasped for air. Hex drove into Myst’s hungry ass with wild abandon, and Syx fed his cock to Myst’s mouth, jerking his hips forward and pushing his dick to the back of the warrior’s throat.

Too much. The pleasure, the desire, everything was too much, and Echo felt himself slipping as Onyx’s cock retreated, leaving him empty, then slammed in again to stretch his inner walls to the max.

“I want you to come,” Fiero growled against Echo’s throat. “Come on my hand, milk Onyx’s cock, and scream until everyone in the state can hear you.” He gave a sharp twist of his wrist around the head of Echo’s leaking cock, and Echo had no choice but to obey.

Throwing his head back on Onyx’s shoulder, he screamed to the heavens as his release rippled through him, tightening his belly, and speeding up his throbbing dick. Cum gushed from his slit, bathing Fiero’s hand and wrist just as Onyx gave a deep growl, and wet heat filled Echo’s tunnel once more.

Fiero grunted, releasing Echo’s cock and burying his face in Echo’s neck as he began stroking himself roughly. Echo watched with heavy-lidded eyes, reaching down to brush his thumb over the head of Fiero’s engorged cock.

The warrior exploded, roaring out his climax as sticky ropes of scorching cum burst from his dick to splatter over Echo’s chest and groin. Then Fiero dipped his fingers in the warm spunk and lifted them to Echo’s mouth.

Echo sucked them right in, licking the salty cream from Fiero’s digit as he moaned and writhed in Onyx’s lap. He felt like a total slut, and loved every fucking minute of it.

Grunts, growls, and groans signaled the others’ climaxes, echoing around their little private paradise. Then somehow, they all ended up slumped together in one big pile of damp, heated bodies as they each struggled to catch their breath.

Fiero’s head rested in the crook of his neck, and Echo smiled serenely as he combed his fingers through the man’s short hair. He longed to say the words in his heart, but he didn’t want his men to feel pressured to return the sentiment.

Sighing happily, Echo kissed the top of Fiero’s blond spikes before closing his eyes and resting his head on Eyce’s arm. If his life in the lab had taught him anything, it was how to be patient.

“I love you,” Eyce breathed against his ear, so quietly Echo knew he had been the only one to hear it.

“Ditto,” he murmured sleepily. He’d never get tired of hearing those three little words.

One down and six to go, he thought to himself just before he drifted off to sleep.

* * * *

“Hey, can you guys come in here for a minute,” Syx called from the living room.

Eyce looked around the table at the other men then shrugged and stood, motioning for them to follow him. Congregating in the living room, everyone stood in a circle, staring at Syx and Vapre.

“Echo, baby, can you come here?”

Echo looked confused, but nodded as he crossed the room to stand directly in front of Syx. “What’s going on?”

“Sit down.”

Easing down to the edge of the couch cushion, Echo looked over at Eyce and frowned. Eyce didn’t know what the hell was going on either, but he smiled at his mate, hoping to reassure him that whatever it was, they would all stand behind him.

Syx and Vapre knelt in front of Echo, and rested a hand on his knees. “You wanted to know where we’ve been going, and what we’ve been up to, right?” Vapre asked.

Echo nodded again, but didn’t say anything.

“Well, we’ve been trying to find some kind of birth record or family tree for you,” Syx admitted. “We’ve done hours of research on the internet.”

“We took a sample of your hair to this genealogy research place in Seattle,” Vapre added.

Eyce’s chest constricted at the hopeful look in Echo’s eyes. Judging by the strain on Syx’s face, their search hadn’t been very successful.

“I’m sorry, baby,” Syx whispered. “We tried everything we knew to do, but we can’t find any traces of you, or anyone that even has a similar genealogical DNA strand as you.”

Echo was quiet for a long time, and Eyce wished for the first time ever that he possessed Syx’s gift so he could hear his mate’s thoughts. He wanted to badly to wrap the little man up in his arms and promise to love and cherish him forever. This time was for Syx and Vapre though, and he’d respect that.

“Thank you,” Echo finally whispered. “That you went to so much trouble to help me find out who I am means a lot.” His bottom lip trembled, and his eyes looked a little misty. “I really appreciate it.”

“I’m sorry we didn’t do better. We can keep looking,” Vapre hurried to add.

Echo shook his head slowly. “No. I love that you did this for me, but I don’t need to know where I came from or who my family is.” His hands shook as he reached up to caress fist Syx’s cheek and then Vapre’s. “You are my family now.” Lifting his head, he looked at each man in the room. “You are all my family. I don’t need more than this.”

Eyce swallowed hard, his eyes and throat burning with the effort to hold back his emotions. Since when did he get choked up about things like this? Meeting Echo’s eyes across the room, he had to smile as the answer stared him right in the face. Since a little imp had shown up on their doorstep and turned his entire world on its ear.

“Why didn’t you let the rest of us in on this?” Onyx demanded.

“Because you guys can’t keep a secret for shit,” Vapre responded flatly.

“Yeah, I can agree with that.” Myst snorted and clapped Onyx on the shoulder. “We really do suck at the secret stuff.”

“So, what do we do now?” Echo asked.

Everyone turned to look at Hex.

“We get ready for the next new moon.”

“Fiero’s test,” Echo mumbled with a slight nod.

“Hey, who said I was up next?” Fiero fisted his hands at his sides, and the little vein in his temple began to throb. Eyce could already tell the next few weeks were going to be hell.

“Raining fire?” Echo rolled his eyes and huffed. “Who else would it be, Fiero?”

“Why are we even being tested anyway?” Fiero demanded. “We’re supposed to fight some epic battle at the autumnal equinox. Isn’t that enough?”

“Yeah, it doesn’t really seem like Hades’ style either,” Eyce agreed. The god wasn’t exactly known for a merciful nature or fair play.

“But Ares said he was leading the army for his uncle,” Echo argued.

“Ares is a prick and scumbag.” Murmurs of agreement went around the room at Eyce’s statement. “I have no doubt the war is coming from Hades. These tests, however, just don’t fit.”

“Well, it doesn’t really matter who’s setting these tasks for you.” Echo chewed on his lip for a minute before continuing. “The point is they’re coming, so we still need to prepare.”

As much as he hated it, Eyce had to agree. “I think we need to find out more about this lab, as well. I don’t think we’ve heard the last of them.”

“Is anyone else concerned that Ares just left so easily?”

“Not really,” Hex answered. “That’s pretty much his standard operating procedure. Come in with a bang, throw his weight around, then disappear before you have time to question anything he says.”

“It sounds like you know from experience. This isn’t your first run-in with the douche, is it?”

Eyce chuckled darkly. “He’s got some kind of weird obsession with Hex. He tried to lure him to the dark side when we first escaped Hades. He’s made a couple of appearance since then. Nothing like this, though.”

“He’ll be back, won’t he? I mean, before the equinox?”

“Yes,” Eyce responded as everyone nodded their agreement.

“I knew you were going to say that.” Echo sighed heavily. “Okay, well, I guess we better get started. There’s a lot to do and only two weeks until the next full moon.” He tilted his head to the side as though listening for something. “Where’s Gage and his mates?”

“They went into town to get Mac and Sony some clothes. They’ve been wearing yours, but you’re actually a bit smaller than they are. Besides, it will make them feel more comfortable to have things of their own.”

Echo beamed at Hex. “That’s a wonderful idea.” Then he pushed to his feet and clapped his hands twice. “Okay, move your asses. Myst, I’m hungry. Syx, Vapre, you’re in charge of research. Fiero, Hex, this place looks like a tornado ripped through it. Eyce, Onyx, the laundry is not going to do itself.” He stretched his arms over his head and yawned. “I’m going to take a nap.”

“I love it when he gets all bossy,” Onyx said around his grin. “I’m glad we decided to keep him.”

Myst growled and threw his hands in the air in exasperation. “He’s not a fucking puppy!”

Eyce doubled over in laughter. Things had been good between them before Echo came into their lives, but he couldn’t ever remember laughing so much. It was good to know that if he had to live forever, at least he’d never be bored.

“Wait, I have one more question.” Everyone turned to look at Onyx. Eyce was surprised to find the man staring right back at him. “Why the hell are your eyes blue all of the sudden?”

Eyce smirked and shook his head. “I have a theory, but I’m not telling yet.” Then he turned and started to swagger out of the room.

“Just a little hint,” Myst called after him.

Eyce’s grin stretched across his face, and his heart galloped inside his chest. “I got the first one.”

THE END

WWW.GABRIELLEEVANS.COM

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Gabrielle Evans grew up in a small town in southern Oklahoma. We are talking one red light that may or may not work depending on the day of the week. She married her high school sweetheart and the rest is pretty much history. They have two very active boys and one high-strung wiener dog that keeps her constantly on the go. For now, she parks her car in north-central Texas, but who knows what tomorrow will bring.

Gabrielle believes in love at first sight, falling hard and fast, taking chances, and grabbing your happy-ever-after with both hands. She also believes that a great cup of coffee can cure anything.

Also by Gabrielle Evans

Siren Classic ManLove: Gods of Chaos 1: Devil Did Grin

Siren Classic: Salem Nights 1: Life Out Loud

Ménage Amour: Wicked River 1: Keeper of the Light

Siren Classic ManLove: Lawful Disorder 1: Lipstick and Handguns

Siren Classic ManLove: The Moonlight Breed 1: Leap of Faith

Siren Classic ManLove: The Moonlight Breed 2:

By the Light of the Moon

Siren Classic ManLove: The Moonlight Breed 3:

Whispers in the Night

Ménage Amour ManLove: The Moonlight Breed 4: Softly Spoken Lies

Siren Classic ManLove: Midnight Matings 3: Fire and Ash

Siren LoveXtreme Forever ManLove: Fatefully Yours 1: Dark Devotion

Available at

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Siren Publishing, Inc.

www.SirenPublishing.com