The Moonlight Breed 8: Leap in the Dark by Gabrielle Evans (chrysanthemum read aloud .txt) 📕

Keeton staggered and stumbled, relying on Braxton to support the majority of his weight, while he pressed his palm to his bleeding temple. “That fucker hits like a Mac truck.” He curled his lip and whimpered as he examined the crimson on his hand. “My hair is ruined.”

“Just be glad your head is still attached to your shoulders. Now, move.”

“I got him.” Demitrius hurried forward and lifted Keeton off his feet with a wink to Braxton. “You did good, Brax, but you can stop running now.”

The noise had dissipated, and the quiet was almost eerie. Turning on his heels to survey the damage, all the air rushed out of his lungs in a whoosh when he found Xander towering above the goblins, naked and sweating as his caramel skin glistened in the sunlight. He was the epitome of masculinity, and right then, he looked every bit the warrior Braxton had always known him to be.

It probably wasn’t a good idea. He told himself not to do it. Desperation overrode commonsense, however, and before he realized it, he was sprinting forward and climbing Xander like a jungle gym. Wrapping his arms and legs around the huge alpha, he slanted their mouths together in inappropriate enthusiasm considering their venue.

“Are you okay? Are you hurt? What happened at the front gates? Where is the rest of the pack?” He took a deep breath and frown when Xander began to chuckle. “There is nothing funny about this.”

The smile disappeared, and his mate looked him in the eyes, piercing him right down to his soul. “No, there’s not. I’m just happy you’re okay.” He dipped his head and pressed their lips together again, apparently unperturbed by the blood that still stained Braxton’s mouth. “I’m so damn proud of you, chulo. You fought like hell, and you won.”

“I didn’t do anything. If it wasn’t for you and Demitrius and the others, I’d probably be halfway to dead right now.”

Xander just smirked at him. “We’ll argue about it later.” He pried Braxton from his chest and set him on his feet. “You need to get cleaned up, and I have a phone call to make.”

“What do you want us to do with these two?” Demitrius asked as he casually kicked one of the fallen goblins, pulling a groan from the asshole’s blue lips.

“Take them to the holding cell with the others.” Xander glanced down at the creatures and sighed. “I doubt they’re going to give you any trouble.”

Considering how the men were unmoving and staring blankly up at the sky while they whispered inanely, Braxton figured his lover had a point. “How many are like that?” he asked quietly.

“Most of them,” Spiro answered as he joined their loosely formed circle. “I always hated that part.” He gestured toward the goblins. “It takes all the fun out of the fight.”

“Who are you calling?” Braxton figured it was The Council, but wanted confirmation.

“The goblin king.”

The snort that escaped his nose couldn’t be helped. “The what?”

“The leader of the goblin clan,” Xander explained. “This stops now.”

“And what makes you think he’ll be willing to negotiate with you?”

Xander arched one dark eyebrow and tilted his head to the side. “I have a whole fucking lot of his people. That’s what.”

Chapter Twelve

By nightfall, the entire coven was in an uproar over the events of the morning. Stavion looked mad enough to spit fire that his coven had been attacked while he’d be able to do nothing to help defend it. Raven, on the other hand, was just pissed that he’d missed a good fight.

The holding cells were crammed full, overflowing with their prisoners. Only three had perished in the battle. There were a lot of injuries amongst the Enforcers, and the doctors were busy attending to those wounds, but thankfully, there had been no fatalities on their side.

To his surprise, the phone call to the goblin leader, Kristoff, had been a rather pleasant conversation, and the man agreed to meet with them once the sun set. He’d acknowledged the attack had been on the shifters, but informed Xander that it was only good manners to meet with the leader of the coven as well. Xander, in turn, told Kristoff that maybe he should teach his clan some of those manners.

It had been a long and exhausting day, filled with cleaning up the wreckage of the gates, meetings with the Enforcers, and flitting between cabins to check on the pack. Braxton had been a fucking trooper, hadn’t complained once, and Xander loved him all the more for it. Once things were settled, however, he’d promised to make it up to his mate.

Settling himself into the corner of the sofa in the library of the main house, he pulled Braxton into his lap and tucked the man into the crook of his arm. They were supposedly meeting to negotiate peace, but he didn’t trust any of the goblins as far as he could throw them. One wrong look in Braxton’s direction, and someone was going to end up missing a body part.

Under normal circumstances, he probably would have left Braxton at home while he attended the meeting. After recent events, however, he fell into a panic every time his lover was out of his sight.

“This feuding amongst our kind has to stop,” Kristoff said as he paced the floor. “I’ve lost too many family members because of some ancient war that no longer has anything to do with us.”

“What do you propose?” Stavion propped one hip up on the desk and folded his arms over his chest.

“I propose you go fuck yourself,” Xander interrupted with a slight growl to his tone. “My mate was hunted and attacked because he stopped in your town for lunch. That’s it.”

“I assure you the two men responsible for leading the attack on the coven and harassing your mate will be dealt with harshly.”

That wasn’t anywhere near good enough for Xander. “Who are they?”

Kristoff linked his hands behind his back