Page 11 of Ivy and the Deathstalkers

Cree doesn’t even wait for us, pushing his way through the crowd in his rush to my office.

“Have fun with that,” Neo laughs.

Flicking him off, I leave without a word. Neo’s the smartass of the crew. His type of humor’s not well received by most. But we’re used to his shit.

As I walk toward my office, I’m pleasantly surprised no one stops me wanting to “show their respect”, otherwise known as kissing my ass. I must be giving off a serious stay-the-fuck-away-from-me vibe. By the time we get to my office, Cree’s already sitting behind my desk typing away at his laptop. Hearing the door open, he snaps his head up, but immediately looks back at whatever’s on his screen, dismissing us as a threat. I’d take that as an insult from anyone else, but he’s right. I’m no threat to him. If I walked in on anyone else sitting at my desk like he owns it, I’d shoot first and ask questions later.

Closing the door behind him, Beck grumbles just that. “I still think it’s bullshit thathecan sit behind your desk but no one else can. The fuck? I’m your brother too, asshole. Why can’tIsit at your fucking desk?”

“Guess, I’m just the favorite, fucker,” Cree taunts with a grin as his fingers fly across the keyboard, never slowing their pace as he flings the barb.

“Now, now, children. There’s no favorites in this family,” I scold, interrupting their bickering before it can get out of hand. “What have you got for us, Cree?”

“The Brew Hog is steady. We knew that wasn’t going to be a cash cow. The new bar is doing better than predicted. Here. Sit down, look at the numbers and the new projections,” Cree says, jumping up and walking around the desk.

Chuckling, I shake my head and take his place in my chair. He’s right. The numbers are looking good.Really good.

“This is up-to-date?” I raise a brow. If so, that’s damn impressive. I’ll have to take his advice more often.

“It-” Cree starts before my door suddenly bursts open, slamming against the wall.

I jerk my head up with a scowl.Who the fuck… Jax. I should have known.The fucker has no respect for personal space. He's the only asshole in this club who can get away with storming into my office without knocking.

Rage wafts off him in waves and I arch my brow as he stomps around my office. “I take it he eluded you?” I ask him.

Jax mumbles something about a minx and slipping away. I don't know what's set him off but if he shifts in my office, I'm kicking his fucking ass.

Cree takes a subtle step back, putting some distance between him and Jax. We've been together long enough to know when to push and when to give him his space. Right now, his scorpion is so close to the surface, it'd be a death wish for anyone to get too close.

There's a quick tap at the door before it opens to reveal Neo and DJ. The pair freeze in the doorway, taking in the scene. DJ’s eyes flick to mine in silent communication and I shrug a shoulder. His guess is as good as mine. Shoving Neo into the room, he closes and locks the door.

“Hey, Jax. What's goin’ on, brother?” he murmurs, his voice taking on the calming timbre he reserves for when one of us is too far gone to respond to anyone else. DJ has a way with our scorpions that I've never seen from anyone else. He's like the scorpion whisperer.

“Bro, what's up? Your scorpion's way too close to the surface. If he's coming out then we need to get you to a better place. KC’s office is a bit small for him,” he reasons when Jax doesn’t respond.

Jax’s steps come to an abrupt stop and his brows furrow before he shakes his head. “What?” He looks around the room with wide eyes as if just noticing that he's not alone. “Fuck. Sorry guys. I…” He sighs, dropping down into a chair, and putting his head in his hands.

“Talk to us, Bro. What's going on? This isn't about Stanley, is it? What happened?” I question as I squat in front of him, my arms resting on my knees.

Jax drops his hands and his eyes meet mine for the first time since he walked in. “I lost Stanley. But I found-” He shakes his head and runs his hands through his hair, pulling at the root.

Neo pats his back. “It's all good. We found him once, we'll find the scumbag again.”

“No, you don't get it.” He shakes his head again. “I found mymate, and she… sheranfrom me,” he stutters.

A choir ofwhat the fucksand similar shock rings out. “Seriously? Your mate? Are you positive?” Neo gapes at him.

“Ok, guys let him breathe a minute and then we can ask questions.” I glare at the others who all nod. This is a big deal. Honestly, most of us never wanted mates. Females complicate shit. But it's in our DNA to long for our missing piece. As shifters, we'll never be complete without our mate. As bikers, we don't give a fuck. We’d rather not be tied down. I can only imagine what a mind fuck this is for Jax.

DJ walks to my mini bar and I just know the fucker’s getting my Johnny Walker. He smirks at me as he turns around and unscrews the lid before passing the full bottle to Jax. He takes a long swig and sighs.

I take a deep breath, reigning in my desire to throttle my VP. “Ok, walk us through what happened when you left this evening. That’ll help you get it out and us to know how to help.” I find when you don’t know where to start, the beginning is usually the best choice.

Clearing his throat he starts walking us through it. Everything was going as expected until some purple-haired pixie ran into him.

“I’m tellin’ you, this girl… Fuuuck. Never thought I had a type, but Fate hooked a brother up when they destined her for me. Beautiful and badass. Makes finding my mate not as bad as I’ve been imagining. Hell, she even rides,” he groans.

“What’s she ride?” Neo asks and DJ smacks the back of his head. “What? It’s a valid question,” he huffs.

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