Page 6 of Fever

“You have Dreikx, the gate master.”

“Fix it.”

His command grates against me. No Alpha male likes to be ordered around, but I would follow Raven to death and back. He’s not only the strongest Alpha, he’s also my baby cousin, the sole heir to the Regha crown.

Raven grunts. “My father is stuck on Earth. Please fix the gate so I can bid him farewell. Today, if possible.”

“The gate can transport one male or even a few.”

“He is refusing, citing it’s unsafe for his kingship.”

“Bullshit. He wants to transport more than just himself.”

Raven scrubs his face. “I know.”

We like to keep my uncle out of our Earthly business. “Do you need a hug?”

Raven walks away. I laugh and approach the gate monstrosity, its energy pulse beating again my skin. Erecting my armor, I frown at Dreikx’s crystal in my hand. I’ve memorized the network of yellow tendrils inside it. It is our mapping system. The tendrils have shifted slightly, but even the slightest shift means a different route has been mapped out. This is why Seer and however many males he’s tried to transport today can’t cross to Earth. They’re stuck in a void, waiting for the gate to open.

I press my finger above a tendril. It glows bright yellow and rises until it reaches my finger. I feel the slight sting of energy as the crystal heats up. I drag the yellow tendril to the right and it connects with another, then I drag them both to the third one, creating a detour that should rearrange the paths inside the void and allow Seer to cross. I can’t transport them all right now. I need time to figure this out. Dreikx’s mapping is a mess of knotted fragments that need to be put together.

Through the gate, Seer frowns, feeling the energy shift. The gate pulses and shoots Seer out. Raven ducks as Seer’s body flies at him, over him, and into an oak tree nobody has the heart to cut down even though it’s obstructing half the city view.

A grunt, and Seer hops out of the branches, shaking the leaves from his body. “Who is handling the fucking gate?” he growls.

Raven walks away.

I laugh and pocket the crystal, then round the gate only to find Deyo avoiding my gaze and my Omega not where I left her. This means Deyo is a traitor. Junior even more so for allowing Leah to leave. I’m fairly certain Leah argued with the Collectors and left. This is partly my fault. I’ve made it very clear Arkin’s Collectors are not to touch Leah.

Unfortunately, I can’t follow her. If I leave now, Raven might strangle me. I’ll catch up with the Omega tonight. She is a free woman. She doesn’t need me monitoring her every waking second of her day. I’m giving her some “space,” as my mother would call her time alone. Also, Horde watches from the shadows. If I keep telling myself that, I can make it through my day.

Chapter 3

Leah

The location of the engagement party is on the bay, a few blocks from my friend Tabby’s house. In fact, as I lean over the patio, I can almost see the roof of her home and the former mayor’s home, now the Regha prince’s residence. At this time of year and during heat waves, the people visiting the beach are mainly tourists. Locals are at work or school.

“Ms. Jenkins?”

I turn to see a middle-aged man in a suit and a yellow tie, his hair pulled back into a ponytail, goatee neatly trimmed. “Ms. Karen left a note for you.” He hands me a piece of folded paper and walks away. I dread reading it, but I do anyway. It says what I expected, and in a polite way, also as expected from Ms. Karen. She has changed her mind and thanks me for my time.

This is the second time in ten days I’ve been late to the meeting with her, and she wants to have a party while her fiancé’s parents are still in town. In general, I specialize in fast planning, can whip out a five-hundred-invitation party in just a week, but my reputation is now tarnished. All thanks to the Omega dynamic I was born with and particularly that one Hordesman who won’t leave me alone, whom I’ve tried avoiding since the first time I arrived late.

I crumple up the note and throw it into the nearest ashtray, then proceed inside the restaurant and straight to the hostess, an older blond with glasses sitting low on her nose.

I approach her with a smile. “Excuse me.”

“Around the corner.”

I blink.

She points behind me.

“Ah. The bathroom. Actually, I was wondering if you’re hiring.”

Finally, she lifts her gaze from a paperback, hazel eyes assessing me. I feel like fidgeting, but restrain myself.

“Sure,” she says. “Fill out the application.” She reaches under her host stand and hands me a holo with twenty percent battery warning. The tech cut, and soon she’ll roll out old paper applications. “Someone will get back to you,” she adds.

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