“I’m trying my hardest not to have the rest of the SOA know about my pack. As a government agent, it puts my cases in jeopardy to have so obvious a bias. Me waltzing into Chicago with a request to talk to the god pack alphas there isn’t good PR for my agency.”
Jono frowned, the worry in his eyes easy enough to read. “I’m with Sage on this one, Pat. I don’t like you going alone.”
“You can’t come with me. I leave all the time for my job, but right now, we can’t afford for you to be missing from our territory. One of us needs to stay.”
The borders they claimed were still too fragile, and Estelle and Youssef weren’t going to stop testing them. As much as Patrick hated not being able to have Jono with him, he disliked it even more that he’d have to leave Jono behind for the duration of this mission. He wouldn’t put it past Estelle and Youssef to strike while he was gone.
Patrick trusted their own pack and a handful of their allies; he just didn’t trust anyone else.
Sage pulled the straw away from Marek’s mouth and set the potion bottle aside. “I can’t go. I have a motion for summary judgment due on Friday, and I’m crunched for time as it is.”
“Sorry,” Marek mumbled.
Sage leaned down to kiss him lightly on the lips. “Not your fault.”
“I can go,” Wade said.
“You have class,” Patrick reminded him.
Wade shrugged. “I’ll get my therapist to write a note and excuse me. Worked during December.”
“You’re still making up classwork from December.”
“I’m still pack. I can go.”
Patrick would’ve preferred Wade stay in New York and keep working toward getting the equivalent of his high school diploma. But choice was a big thing for Wade, and it was something Patrick refused to take away from him. Wade had spent four years fighting to the death as entertainment for the rich. He hadn’t known what he truly was after being kidnapped and enslaved by the god Tezcatlipoca. Wade’s ignorance was the only reason the immortal had been able to keep control of the teenager over the years.
Being free didn’t mean life was immediately easy. Wade still saw a therapist weekly to help him work through years of trauma. Getting to have control over his life and make choices was an integral part of his recovery. Patrick and Jono might set limits for the safety of the pack, but they were careful about giving Wade orders because they both understood losing bodily autonomy in a way most people didn’t.
“I think you should take Wade,” Jono said after a brief pause.
Wade fist pumped the air before pulling out the second Pop-Tart from the silvery wrapper. “I’ve always wanted to try a Chicago-style hot dog.”
“Of course you’d make it about food,” Patrick muttered as he stood.
“You can call me if you have any pack law questions,” Sage said.
Emma smoothed her hand over Marek’s messy hair before clearing her throat. “I’m pissed you kept this from us, but I get it. The gods don’t give you a choice about what you’re allowed to share. If you need backup, I can send some of our pack along with you.”
Patrick wasn’t close to anyone in Emma’s pack outside the core leadership. He liked them well enough—everyone was loyal to her and Leon—but he couldn’t afford for knowledge of his ties to immortals to get out into the general public.
“Thanks for the offer, but Wade should be enough help. If shit goes down, he’s a good ace in the hole. No one expects a dragon as backup.”
“Just like no one expected the Spanish Inquisition,” Wade said with a snicker.
“You are banned from watching any more Monty Python.”
Jono snorted. “Now you’re asking for the gods to throw a spanner in the works.”
Patrick shrugged. “I expect that on a daily basis.”
“What time does your flight leave?”
“Six o’clock,” Patrick replied, remembering to use civilian time. “I need to go home and pack.”
Wade frowned. “I need to pack. Do I even have a suitcase?”
“Yes,” Jono said. “We found one when we cleaned out your apartment last month.”
“Right.”
“Pack a jacket. You need to act like Chicago is cold. It’s February and it’s still snowing over there,” Patrick told him.
Wade made a face but didn’t argue. Being a fire dragon, he ran a lot hotter in human form and forgot about appearing human in the dead of winter. Walking around in a T-shirt and jeans while it was snowing outside was not the best way to hide what he was. Reminding him to act human was second nature these days as Wade settled in to what he was.
“Send me your flight information and I’ll get Wade’s ticket. Hopefully there are seats available,” Sage said.
Wade ripped open his last packet of Pop-Tarts. “I could just fly there on my own. I have wings.”
“No,” everyone said in unison.
Jono went to fetch Sage’s Birkin and coat, carrying both over to her. He spoke quietly to her for a moment before straightening up and looking at Patrick. “Ready?”
“We’ll pick you up at your apartment in two hours, Wade,” Patrick said as he and Jono headed for the door.
Patrick snapped his fingers, disengaging the silence ward. A chorus of goodbyes followed them out of the apartment.
“I hate separating like this,” Jono said when they were finally in the Mustang and driving back home.
“Can’t be helped,” Patrick replied, typing on his phone while Jono drove. He shot off an email to Sage with his flight details. “You know how my job is.”
“I know how the gods are.”
“Yeah, well. I’d tell them to fuck off if I could.”
Jono hummed a wordless response. Patrick sighed and reached over to settle his hand on Jono’s thigh. The heater was running in the car because it was a gray, dreary day outside. Jono was warm to the touch, body heat seeping through his jeans and into Patrick’s chilled fingers.
“You’ll need to be careful with the Chicago god pack. They aren’t one Estelle and Youssef have an alliance with,” Jono said.
“Isn’t that a good thing? Means we can try to get them on our side.”
“Alliances take time to form. A couple of days isn’t going to be long enough.”
“Somehow I doubt I’ll be in Chicago for only a couple of days.”
Jono sighed heavily. “Yeah.”
They drove the rest of the way home in silence, with Jono managing to find a parking spot one block over from their apartment. Patrick shoved his hands into the pockets of his leather jacket, the heat charms embedded in it keeping most of him warm in the face of a cold winter wind.
Gray slush was all that remained of the last snowfall, shoved to the edge of the sidewalk and roads. Puddles that hadn’t quite iced over littered the cement as they walked to their apartment building.
After climbing five flights of stairs, Patrick let them inside and immediately found himself pushed up against the front door. He tipped his head back, staring up into Jono’s eyes. Jono lifted his hand and wrapped it loosely around Patrick’s throat. Patrick swallowed, feeling Jono’s fingers move with the motion. His cock twitched with interest, and despite needing to pack for his flight, Patrick had no intention of moving unless Jono wanted him to.