***
“If they think I’m going to stand by and watch them take my brother again, they have another thing coming.” Jeremy’s growl was packed with so much anger and power a hush fell on the people in the conference room.
‘Baby?’ Ryan called out softly on his mind-link with Jeremy. ‘Calm down, please. Troy is not going anywhere.’
“Easy, brother.” Philip rasped low in his throat as he gripped Jeremy’s shoulder and gave him a slight shake. “The only way they can get to Troy is over our dead fucking bodies.” He growled. As Jeremy’s closest friend, Philip knew that it was imperative to calm the alpha of alphas before he got too upset. No one wanted Jeremy to snap.
“Yeah…thanks.” Jeremy breathed. With his mate’s voice in his head and his friend’s reassuring grip, Jeremy visibly calmed down.
“Paul says that Mary has a lot of witches she’s using,” Agyemang informed the group. “He even knows that some had been made to look like him to fool us.”
“What else did he tell you?” Philip asked.
“That’s it.” Agyemang shrugged. “Oh, wait. He said something about hearing sounds of fighting dogs and men cheering. He thinks it was a sport of some kind. But I think it’s…”
“Rogues,” Stan muttered. “They plan on attacking with rogues. God, I can’t wait.” He was practically salivating. “The new recruits can use them for practice.” He told Kate who nodded with an evil grin on her pretty face.
“Finally, some action.” Pete grinned as he slapped his raised palm against Stan’s. Warriors and Assassins had a lot in common. They both got off on violence. So Stan, who until recently, had been the head of warriors for years, and Pete, the head of the pack’s assassins were all fired up for what was about to go down.
“So rogues and witches huh?” Paige chuckled. “They should bring it.”
“I can bet my left testicle those twats are standing somewhere this very moment, waiting to hear and see an explosion in here,” Stan said gruffly.
“Well, I don’t know about your testicle with all that’s happened…” Philip drawled, earning himself the finger from Stan to the amusement of the others. “But if an explosion is what they want to see, let’s give them one.” The alpha shrugged.
“Son?” Joel gave his son a confused look.
“They have expectations. So let’s give them a fucking show.” Philip said. “We are going to follow the sequence. I’m sure they’re probably thinking that the only reason they haven’t seen the explosion yet is that Jeremy hasn’t laid eyes on Paul. Well, let’s give them an explosion that will rupture their fucking eardrums.”
“We give them the explosion, and then lower the shield,” Deloris said, a smile splitting her lips.
“Exactly.” Philip nodded. “They will confidently step onto our land then.”
“Then we give them a fine welcome.” Paige smiled so wide her fangs showed.
“Oh, shit.” Agyemang groaned suddenly. “That means everything will have to happen today.”
“Of course,” Philip responded. “There’s no way Jeremy wouldn’t try to see Paul after he’s rescued. After all, that’s his brother’s best friend. Not to mention the fact that he was kidnapped by none other than the ‘kickass’ warlocks of the Wyatt Clan.” He gave the word air quotes. “It will be very weird if that explosion doesn’t happen today, don’t you think?”
“Fuck!” Agyemang growled. “I need to be there for this, Philip. The idiots took my mate. I need my pound of flesh.”
“Not today, A. G.” Philip gave a soft sigh, completely understanding his friend. “Tend your mate. That’s more important. We’ve got this.”
“You don’t understand, Lip.” Agyemang was getting worked up by the second. “Those people kidnapped me once. But for my quick thinking, they would have killed me. Your pack robbed me of the joy that comes with raining hell on them by attacking and defeating them, all on your own.” He paused and swallowed hard. “Then the few that survived decided to kidnap none other than my mate. I say this is my fight.”
“Of course, it’s your fight,” Philip responded. “But had it not been for our pack, you would never have met your mate. That boy is part of our pack now and more important to us than your thirst for revenge. He needs you, and by Luna, you’re going to be there for him. If we didn’t have to do this today, that would have been different. You would have gotten your pound of flesh. But it has to happen today so…” Philip shrugged. “Too bad.”
“Jeremy?” Agyemang looked like he was about to shift any second. He stared at his boss with glowing eyes. “What say you? I need this.”
“I’m with Philip on this, A. G.” Jeremy nodded. “You’ve done enough by giving us the needed information. We’ll take it from here.” Jeremy’s tone sounded final. “And A. G.?”
“Yes, boss?”
“You better not shift with my mate beside you,” Jeremy growled. “Get a grip.”
Ryan chuckled as they all watched Agyemang take a deep breath and release. “Sorry, Ryan. I was looking forward to…”
“Damn, you’re going to miss all the fun, A. G.” Stan shook his head with mock sadness. “‘Cause this is going to be some mad fun.”
“Stan…” But Philip’s warning tone was lost in the amused chuckles from the others.
“We can record it for him.” Kate quipped.
“See?” Philip grinned. “Kate’s going to record it for you to watch over a bowl of popcorn one evening with your freshly marked mate.” He laughed when Agyemang groaned.
“My warriors are getting ready to come over to…”
“Oh, hell no,” Stan growled. “This is going to be practice for my new warriors. I don’t want your warriors killing those rogues before my recruits get to them.”
“It’s not necessary, A. G.,” Ryan told him gently. “Your mating ceremony is tomorrow, remember? Your warriors need to prepare. What we’re about to do is not a battle. It’s more like a…recreational activity. You can call it games.” He shrugged with an excited grin, making everyone including Agyemang laugh. “Trust me, this is not worth your time.”
“Alright.” Agyemang knew when he’d been strong-armed.
“And the spell?” Gloria asked.
“When Paul wakes up, my resident warlock will work on him to break that spell.” The alpha sighed.
“He’s not going to wake up anytime soon, A. G.” Philip drawled.
“I’m sure that spell will be broken before Paul wakes up.” Deloris chuckled. “The death of Mary will automatically break the spell since she cast it. So it’s between her death and Paul waking up…whichever comes first.” She said.
“Death of Mary it is.” Gloria nodded.
“You tell your warlock to get ready to work on Paul, A. G.,” Philip said quietly. “Thanks for your help. Our love to Paul when he wakes up. See you tomorrow.”
“Thank you, buddy.” Agyemang got to his feet and then reached for Ryan’s hand to pull him up. “Thank you, Ryan.” He said to his boss’ mate. “I’m forever in your debt.”
“No, you’re not.” Ryan countered. “As my alpha said, Paul is family. I’m glad I could be of help.” He said as Agyemang drew him into his arms for a fierce hug.
“Time to come home, Ryan,” Philip said as he reached out to disconnect the link.