Chapter 28: A Deadline

Jericho’s POV

After Aria left, I couldn’t shake this weird feeling that was creeping in. It was different from the one I’d had since that postcard showed up in Van Zanth. That night, there was this strange tension in the air, and I couldn’t figure out where it was coming from.

I decided to call Ash, my fingers fumbling on the phone.

“What’s up?” the demon asked, picking up right away. I let out a dry laugh.

“You think I’m just calling because something’s wrong?” I joked. “Can’t a guy check in on his friend to make sure he got home okay?”

Ash’s tone softened a bit.

“I’m home now,” he said. After a brief pause, he added, “Have you made any moves yet?”

I took a deep breath, trying to keep my annoyance in check. With him and Aria both on my case, it felt like I was under constant pressure.

“Not yet,” I said calmly. “But Aria’s given me a deadline. I’m working on it.”

Ash chuckled. “Smart girl.”

That wasn’t why I called. “Are we cool?”

“What?” Ash laughed. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, you left here pretty upset. Are we okay?”

I could hear him take a deep breath.

“Of course we’re good, Jericho. Hearing you were alive was the best news I could get. But I have my life in Fabrice. I couldn’t stick around while you figured out what to do with yours.”

Aria’s been saying the same thing. My uncertainty is putting everyone in danger.

Jericho, you’re an immortal, an Original shifter. You created Amestris and thrived for two centuries without your memories in a remote corner of the world. I can’t blame you for doing what you think is right for yourself.

I felt a wave of relief knowing that even with Ash gone, I still had his backing.

“Now that you’ve figured out how to use a cell phone, feel free to call me anytime,” Ash said. “And if you need me, I can come back.”

“No,” I replied quickly. “You’ve done more than enough. I just wanted to make sure we didn’t leave things on a bad note.”

“Not likely, Jericho,” Ash chuckled. “You’d have to really mess up to annoy me that much.”

I smiled and told Ash to give my regards to his mate and daughter before hanging up. I flopped back onto my bed, staring at the ceiling.

The strange patterns in the plaster were oddly mesmerizing, but they didn’t ease the tension I felt. It wasn’t about any unresolved issues with Ash.

Aria and I were okay; maybe a little tense, but no fights. So why was I feeling so restless?

The swirling patterns above began to blur my vision, and I realized I was running on empty. I shut my eyes and tried to think of something less stressful, like Aria being with me.

The thought made me hard instantly, my arousal pressing against the soft fabric of my boxers. My left hand slipped under the waistband as I lost myself in the fantasy of my mate on top of me.

Soon, I wouldn’t have to resort to stroking myself every night. Aria would be naked beside me, her hot mouth trailing over my body…

My fingers tightened, the blood surging to swell my huge cock fully. Inside Aria, every night, was where I needed to be, the walls of her closing around me to squeeze and drive me crazy. The strokes grew harder, faster, and I panted lightly, a pull starting from within me.

But as I began to mount my climax, my moment of release was brought to an abrupt end by a smashing from within the suite. Instantly, my eyes opened, and I sat up, withdrawing my hand.

“Draven?” I called out.

But even before he answered, I smelled the tension permeating toward me.

Another crash and a roar of fury brought me to the door. I barely managed to throw it open before I fully shifted. I didn’t know exactly what was happening, but I knew an attack when I heard one.

Paws flew across the short hallway, and I almost froze when I saw the half dozen shifters overtaking the common rooms of my unit.

A fire blazed in the kitchenette, Draven’s nostrils still pluming with smoke as his scaly, dragon tail lashed out to knock the intruders off guard.

Jake’s wide, owl eyes peered back at me from his perch just above the balcony doors, but he did not stay there long, claws extended as he swooped in to attack a horse shifter who raced toward me.

I overcame my shock and got into the action, catching Silver through my peripheral vision. Ash’s third loaner ambled out from his room, roaring furiously with his barrel bear-chest exposed.

This pitiful group was no match for us, even if they doubled our numbers. Two already lay dead, their blood soaking into the living room floor, and two more fell at my feet, even before I had a chance to react.

I bit out, landing my teeth at the horse’s jugular as Jake took his back, hooking his owl talons into the meat of his back.

The equine neighed and squealed a dying breath, but I was already onto the next one. In less than three minutes, one lone wolf remained standing, and I frowned, realizing it was a woman.

She held her ground, but her fear stunk up the whole room, her sinewy black body trembling.

I put myself between her and the others.

“Wait!” I commanded my men silently.

I worried that their adrenaline would make them deaf, this blind attack infuriating them as much as it did me.

But these were Ash’s men, trained to respect commands, and they stood back, trembling in anticipation as I decided what to do.

The wolf bared her teeth, but her fight-or-flight response was challenging her. She wanted to flee.

I morphed back into my human body, noting as the she-wolf’s head lowered to look at my package. A low whimper escaped her mouth, and she bowed her head as I reached for a throw off the sofa to cover my nudity casually.

Her flight response was kicking in higher, and she tried to move toward the door, but she was surrounded now, the last woman standing of all her failed army.

“Who sent you?” I demanded, already knowing the answer.

She didn’t shift back or attempt to answer me telepathically.

I drew closer to you.

“And afterward, if he doesn’t shoot the messenger, you could always come back here if you want a job,” I added.

Her breaths grew more panicked, and I waved my hand dismissively.

“Go on,” I told her. “Before I change my mind.”

She didn’t need to be told again, and her black tail zipped through the broken, open door.

By the time I turned back, Draven and Jake had morphed into their human forms. The pair wriggled into pants as they scanned the carnage in the suite.

I waited for one of them to question my actions, but neither did as they got to work cleaning up the mess.

“I guess it’s time to change rooms,” I mused dryly, and the others scoffed, but inside, I was fuming.

So Knox knew I was back in town, and this was his response. This unprovoked attack had angered me like never before, and I didn’t need five more days of sitting on my hands. My former lieutenant had solved my indecision for me.

I had to take out Knox now before he came after me again.