Ronan nearly choked. Such a weapon in the hands of a madman… He shuddered.
“How have I missed hearing all this news?” Ronan had no idea that recent matters had become so grave.
“You know the rest of the Council. ” Bram shrugged.
Indeed. Very closed-mouthed, even to magickind"s detriment.
“You"re involved in this?” he asked Bram.
“I formed the group. Mathias must be eliminated. ”
Ronan only knew of the evil wizard from history. He hadn"t been alive when Mathias last terrorized magickind. But if history was even half accurate. . . God help them.
“Agreed. But you cannot be here. You put Kari in danger. ”
“You don"t tell me who to serve in my own pub,” Kari warned.
Ignoring her, Ronan turned on Tynan. “A few days ago, she was attacked by a witch named Rhea, who was looking for you. Tall, dressed like a streetwalker. Ring a bell? She blasted Kari with some sort of spell I"ve never seen. ”
Tynan and Bram exchanged another glance, then shook their head.
Frustration pounded at Ronan as he addressed O"Shea. “Rhea wanted to know what you and Shock discussed. ”
Bram pinned Tynan with a stare. Tynan shrugged. “Since his family has long supported Mathias, I wasn"t keen on the idea of his involvement. Apparently, he got wind of that fact. ”
“I"m not certain anyone is,” Bram admitted.
“Who is this Rhea and why would she spy on Shock?” Ronan asked. “Or attack a human to learn about Shock"s conversations?”
Another exchanged glance between the wizards. They both shook their heads.
“Bloody hell, figure something out!” Ronan demanded. “My mate is in danger!”
“I am not your mate,” Kari protested.
Ronan sent her a look to let her know that denying his possession now would not be wise.
Bram sighed. “Shock Denzell is a member of the Doomsday Brethren…in theory. ”
“Should we assume, then, that Rhea supports Mathias? And that Mathias wants to know where Shock"s loyalty lies and is using the witch to find out?”
“That would be my guess. Ask many more questions, however, and I"ll conscript you. ”
Ronan ignored him. “Who else has joined?”
“I can"t say. ”
“Who else must I keep away from Kari?” Ronan growled at Bram.
Bram stared for a very long time. “This does not go beyond these walls, and I"m trusting you only because you were my sister"s childhood friend and you"re clearly overprotective because of your unanswered mating Call. ”
“Lucan MacTavish fights with us…or he did until he was felled by mate mourning.
Mathias took Anka from him while Lucan was away protecting the Doomsday Diary. We have been unable to locate her. His brother, Caden, is helping a bit. Isdernus Rykard and Simon Northam, the Duke of Hurstgrove, as well. Tynan, here,” Bram pointed to the other wizard, “Has just joined. An immortal human warrior, Marrok of Cadbury, trains us in human combat. And Shock Denzell plays the double agent. ” Bram shrugged. “We"ll see whose side he ends up on. ”
“A motley collection. ” Ronan frowned. Those men were from all walks of magic and humankind, high to low, from dedicated to dodgy. “That"s only eight warriors, including yourself. ” Ronan frowned. “How will you fight Mathias"s larger army?”
Bram gave him a tight smile. “We"re…working through the details. Interested in joining?”
His automatic answer should have been no. Wolveseys were noted for their achievement in bed sport, not battle. But…for the last few years, Ronan had felt aimless. What did he have to devote his time to now except protecting Kari? The real question was, would his involvement provide Kari more protection or put her in greater danger? And what would befall magickind if this group of wizards failed?
“My mate"s safety comes first,” Ronan insisted.
“I am not your mate. ” Kari shot him a mutinous glare.
“Agreed. We would help you defend her,” Bram said, as if Kari had never interjected.
“You and Raiden would be good additions to our force. ”
Kari scoffed. “If you could keep either of them from chasing skirts long enough. ”
That did it. He wanted Kari alone now. Right now. Two urges hit him at once: lay down the law and kiss her senseless. She made him crazy with her vulnerable, mutinous streak of feminine independence. Yet that maddening backbone was part of the reason he loved her.
As if he sensed the shift in the mood, Bram motioned to Tynan. “I"m done bringing you up to speed. Let"s go. ”
Ronan silently thanked Bram for being astute as they teleported from the pub. Finally, he and Kari were alone.
He cupped his hands around her shoulders and held her when she would have squirmed away. “Listen to me. What Bram and Tynan are involved in is very dangerous. You can"t even comprehend…”
The thought of Kari tangled in anything of Mathias"s making pushed him to the edge of panic.
She propped a fist on her hip. “You didn"t refuse Bram"s request to join. ”
“I don"t wish to fight Mathias, but it"s possible the Doomsday Brethren can help me protect you. However, it won"t work if you don"t cooperate. Keep Tynan, Bram and the other Doomsday Brethren away. You don"t know Mathias. ”
“And you don"t bloody know me! I won"t take orders from a man who tells me he loves me one night, then shags another the next. I learned from that mistake once. ”
Though Ronan had done his utmost to be the bigger dirt bag in Kari"s eyes, he didn"t like being compared to Edward.
“I did not shag that woman!” he growled. Damn, how he regretted hurting Kari. Stupid plan. “In my heart, you are my mate. Let me explain—”
“Shove off. In my heart, you meant nothing the moment you left with your slut de jour.
Now go. ” She sniffed, and the tears brimming in her eyes crushed Ronan"s heart. “And don"t come back. ”
Ronan teleported to his home in a foul mood. This was when being magical sucked. A human male would never have a mating curse hanging over his head. A human male wouldn"t trifle over his missing instincts. He would weigh whatever feelings he had and make a rational choice.
Right now, Ronan felt anything but rational.
“So you"re finally back?” Raiden lounged in the doorway. Then his body tightened, his eyes sharpening on the outline around his twin. He swore loudly. “You Called to her? Are you out of your fucking mind. Do you want her to die?”
Ronan blinked. Of all the things he assumed Raiden would express, concern for Kari"s safety hadn"t been made the list. “No. And she was nearly killed a few days past. Did you know Mathias D"Arc has returned from exile? And he"s created an army? He"s killing innocents!”
“You"re certain?” Raiden"s expression changed from fury to astonishment. “Is that possible?”
So his twin hadn"t known, either. Little wonder. Both of them had been shagging their way through life, giving little thought to tomorrow, to roots or family. He didn"t want to be like his father, slowly aging and alone, yet still attracted to the sort of woman willing to bed down for the night with any halfway good-looking bloke. Since his father advised him that Raiden would soon be a father, Ronan had been surprised to realize that he didn"t want a child with a woman for whom he had no feelings.
Bloody hell, if this didn"t make him the family freak.