Hagen, Lynn - Stormy Eyes [Brac Pack 5] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic ManLove) (2 page)

“Glad to see you, Storm.”

The guy was middle-aged, around forty-five with a salt-and-pepper beard, friendly man.

“Maverick sent me. He asked me to give you this.” Storm pulled the envelope out and handed it to the guy. His eyes darted around the marina, looking for another soul, but they were alone. He scented the air but felt no pull drawing him to his mate. Storm was discreet about it.

Paul helped them out from time to time but had no clue they were shifters, a secret Maverick and the pack guarded close to their chest. No human, aside from the mates, knew they existed, and they planned on keeping it that way. Less complicated.

Paul took the offered envelope, opening the clasps as he looked inside. The human hurriedly closed it and looked around.

What the—? Maybe Maverick had lost it and decided he was Mafiosi instead. Shit did get boring around home.

“Follow me.” Paul glanced around one more time before he took Storm down to his galley. Storm leaned against the small kitchen counter as Paul went to his sleeping quarters. He could hear Paul speaking quietly and two Asian voices responding. Being a Timber wolf, he had exceptional hearing, and Storm listened closely.

Paul spoke. “I promise he will not harm you. I have not harmed you, and I would not give you over to anyone that would.”

A heavily accented voice replied, “But he is stranger. I will not let harm come to Keata.”

Paul again. “No harm will come to Keata or you. Go with him. He is a brave warrior that will protect you.”

The same accent voice again. “Promise?”

“I promise, young friend.”

Storm straightened as he heard them approaching. Paul emerged with two young Japanese men behind him. They looked frightened and, and,
shit.
Storm leaned down at one of the men, and he sniffed closely, feeling a thousand thunderstorms wash over him.

Mine.

The young man leaned back, staring from Paul to Storm.

Maverick had sent him on one of his dream missions. Why the hell couldn’t the Alpha just come out and say
go get your mate
? What was with all the cloak and dagger crap? “Who are they, Paul?” Storm had to know if this was Keata, if not, he needed to know what his mate’s name was.

“This is Keata.” Paul’s hand gently touched one man’s shoulder. Not his mate.

“And this is Kyoshi.”

Kyoshi. The name sent a shiver down Storm’s spine. Storm felt twitchy, knowing how much he was restraining himself. The muscles were locking into place, preventing him from lunging forward and snatching his mate into his arms. He swallowed, trying to add moisture to his throat.

“How old are they?” Storm needed to know what he was dealing with. Would he have to wait for his young mate to come of age to claim him? The thought hurt his brain, the cells rejecting the idea of not binding the small man to him was painful.

“Keata is eighteen years old and Kyoshi is nineteen.”

Storm exhaled. He didn’t have to wait. All he had to do was get Kyoshi to agree to sweaty sex and biting. Yeah, no problem for a human to accept him as a shifter. Piece of cake…hopefully.

Kyoshi stepped forward, craning his neck back to look into Storm’s eyes. Storm wanted to grab him up and claim him right there on the spot. God, he was so tempting. His heart raced, and his blood pounded through him. Finally, after one hundred and seventy years, he had found his mate. The rush was heady as he stared into his mate’s eyes. The warrior fought the pull. It would only frighten his mate if his canines extended while his eyes shifted to crimson.

What the hell was happening to him? This out of control feeling of emotionally flip-flopping around was maddening. He wanted to claim his mate and give him space at the same time. Someone just shoot him now and put him out of his confusion.

“Your eyes. They…change.” Kyoshi looked at him with a mixture of awe and fear. Storm had to close his eyes momentarily. Just being near Kyoshi and hearing his voice was risky to his sanity. He knew he had abnormal eyes as they constantly swirled and changed colors. Was it frightening to his mate?

Storm also noticed that fate had a nasty little sense of humor—emphasis on the word
little
. Kyoshi was shorter than his commander’s mate, Johnny. Johnny was five four. Storm was six seven. What the
fuck
was he supposed to do with this guy? He had an urge to put Kyoshi on his lap and stick his hand up his back. “Genetics.”

“I don’t understand that word.” Kyoshi took a step back while entwining his hand with Keata’s, pulling him close.

“Uh, Paul. Are they like, boyfriends or something?” Storm was
not
sharing his mate. They looked comfortable with each other, like two other Sentry wolves in his pack, Cody and Jasper. They weren’t mates, but they sure as hell acted like it.

“Cousins.”

Thank god.

“We go with you?” Kyoshi asked.

“Yes. Come on, guys.” Storm turned to head upstairs then remembered Maverick’s request. “You have information for me, Paul?”

“I found them hiding on my deck under a tarp. Seems big, ugly Americans stole them from home and carried them across the sea in a big cargo box. There were three other men with them, but they were taken away in a white van. The ugly American wanted to keep these two for himself.”

Storm growled. “Human black market? Sex slaves? What?”

“Don’t know. They don’t know. Hell, I’m just glad I found them. Good luck, Storm.” Paul shook his hand as Storm ushered his mate and cousin up on deck. He watched around him as he led the men to his truck.

“I need you to lie down.” Storm pointed to Keata and Kyoshi. Storm hunkered down. “In the back of my truck.” He tapped the backseat as he reached into the cab.

Keata stepped forward, tilting his head all the way back. He looked peeved. “Bad English. Not retarded.”

Storm smiled as he put the two in back. “Sorry, didn’t mean to offend you. I need you to stay down till we are away from the docks. I don’t want the ugly American to spot either of you.”

“Roger that.” Keata beamed as he squirmed around to get comfortable.

Storm was really getting to like the little guy. His mate, though, was very quiet. A cynic it seemed. The little guy watched Storm warily.

After making it out of the marina safely and steering through the small town, Storm pulled into the gravel drive, opening the back door on his extended cab as he gently lifted Kyoshi up by his waist and set him down. Keata jumped from the back seat, landing on his feet.

“Hello, America.” Keata spread his arms wide and turned in a circle. Kyoshi spoke to him in their native tongue. He looked angry.

Keata dropped his head and clasped his fingers together in front of him.

Storm liked Keata’s attitude and spark. He didn’t want Kyoshi dampening it. “He’s fine, Kyoshi. He’s allowed to act that way, love.”

Kyoshi’s eyes widened as he took a step back, grabbing Keata’s hand. Storm couldn’t figure out which part of what he said bothered his mate.

He led them inside, where the noise in the den was deafening. The den was where
everyone
hung out when not on patrol. There were a dozen shifter warriors who patrolled the estate grounds, keeping the mates of the shifters safe from harm.

The Den was the
it
place to be. Big screen television, video games, pool table, bar and couches to lounge on. Maverick had decided that since he couldn’t ever get rid of his house guests and he had a gazillion rooms, everyone should live under one roof. Fine by Storm. He got tired of running back and forth between his apartment and The Den.

Keata ran behind Kyoshi when he heard the screaming and whooping. He looked up at Storm. “War?”

Storm chuckled. “No, big men playing kids’ games.”

“Oh. Like kids’ games.” Keata walked over to Storm and slid a small hand in his. This little guy was definitely outgoing. He was going to fit right in. His mate, Kyoshi, glared at Keata but said nothing.

Storm gently clasped Kyoshi’s hand and led them into the chaos.

“Hey, Storm. Kids from the rec center?”

Storm growled. Everything became quiet.

“Uh, okay. Kids from the neighborhood?”

“Shut the fuck up, Remi.” Damn, the guy was a loudmouth sometimes. Storm exhaled deeply as he turned his attention to the warriors in the room. There were five mates, as well, who belonged to the five warriors lucky enough to find them. “Everyone, this is my
mate
, Kyoshi, and his cousin Keata.”

“Remi, you’re an ass.” The redheaded warrior, Jasper, laughed.

“Fuck you, Jazz,” Remi shot back. “Sorry, Storm. Am I allowed to curse around them?”

“Fuck you, Remi.” Storm growled.

Johnny, Commander Hawk’s mate, ran over to the two, his honey blond curls bouncing on his shoulders. Keata reached out and poked at a curl.

“You have sunshine on head.” He smiled.

“I like him, Storm. Can I keep him?” Johnny bounced up and down, big puppy dog eyes pleading with Storm.

“They are human beings, pretty baby. You can’t
keep
them.” Hawk lifted his pretty baby up into his arms.

“Can I play with them then?” Johnny looked over at Storm, hopeful.

Hawk chuckled, kissed his mate, and then put Johnny down on his feet. “They’re not dolls, either. Show them around. Introduce them.”

Johnny grabbed Keata’s hand and reached for Kyoshi’s, but Kyoshi pulled away. Johnny shrugged and pulled Keata over to the other mates.

Kyoshi stepped forward, raising his hand slightly then lowered it, stepping back. He watched his cousin with eagle eyes, following his every move. Storm observed all of this as he knelt down and said, “You can go in there. No one will harm Keata or you.”

Kyoshi eyed him for a moment then nodded his head as he joined his cousin.

“You have a wary mate there, Storm.” Commander Hawk stood next to him.

“Yeah, he and his cousin were smuggled into America. Still don’t know if it was for human trafficking or sex slaves.”

“Sounds the same to me. Glad you got to them in time.” Hawk patted Storm on the shoulder.

“Me, too. I just don’t know what’s going on with Kyoshi. He’s very quiet and very protective of Keata. How do I approach him?”

“Very cautiously,” Hawk warned.

Storm blew out a breath as Hawk went back to his game of pool. Keata was all over the place, chatting it up with everyone as Kyoshi watched him.

The warrior Gunnar walked into the den, looking around. “We’re being overrun with the little people. I feel like we should open up a KinderCare.”

“I hope your mate is four foot tall.” Storm bit out as he walked over to Kyoshi.

“You okay?” Storm sat down next to his mate, taking in the striking beauty. His black hair was bone straight and to his shoulders, and his eyes were the color of midnight. He was slim and delicate looking. Storm was afraid he would break the man. His eyes, though, his eyes said he wasn’t as naive as he led people to believe. They were sharp, intense.

“Yes. Just strange country. Miss home. Scared for Keata.” Kyoshi heaved a sigh.

“I can promise you that you two are in the safest place possible. Any one of these men in this room would protect you two with their lives.” Storm wanted to reach out and run his fingers through the silky strands lying against his mate’s shoulder. It looked like a waterfall running down from his scalp.