Cernunnos - 21. Chapter 21

The warm lips pressed against his. Cyn’s eyes remained wide open as Sheamus’s face was touching his own. He kissed me! He’s...he’s kissing me! Letting his instincts take over, Cyn returned the action as he closed his eyes. He felt the lips part under the pressure, forcing his own lips to move in conjunction, only to have them close again for a second meeting. The buck felt an overbearing sense of ownership within himself. Is...is Sheamus choosing me? Choosing me as his mate?

Moments passed as the two shared their tender embrace. Shea pulled away slowly and opened his eyes to see his boyfriend. Damn, that was some kiss! He looks so flustered and breathless. “Cyn, are...are you okay with this?”

Fluttering his eyes open, Cyn tried to collect himself, “I… umm. Y-yeah.”

“That was nice. I wouldn’t mind doing that more often with you.” With his eyelids lowered, Shea leaned forward once more to plant another kiss on the deer’s lips. It took a second to receive a response from Cyn, but the kiss became mutual. The wolf parted and leaned in further, leaving smaller kisses along Cyn’s face and neck. He smells so sweet. I...I want him to be mine! Bringing his head back, he looked into the deer’s brown eyes and smiled, “I’m not scaring you, am I?”

Cyn shook his head slowly and gave a timid smile, “No. l’m...I’m not-”

“Hey, love birds!” The two darted their heads and saw Kara at the front door, “C’mon! Alpha’s about to have dinner prepared!” She took Jaime by the arm and entered the manor, leaving the new couple on their own.

Shea chuckled as he kept his eyes on Cyn, “She’s right. I don’t know about you, but I’m starving! We can continue this later.” He saw a disappointed frown on the deer’s face and decided to give Cyn one more kiss before opening his car door. As he saw the buck leave the car, the lycan remembered their current sleeping arrangement. Oh, Hell! I’m not sure if I can keep my hands off of him.

The two entered Arric’s home and saw the Turbins sitting on one of the two sofas in the living room. Led by the hand, Cyn was ushered to the other one with Shea. As they sat, the buck was unsure of where Arric had gone to. Listening, he heard the sound of running water and assumed the Alpha was showering. “So, Cyn?” He flashed his head towards Jaime’s call, “You did a damn good job out there!”

“I’ll say!” Kara chirped, “You spotted that asshole before Shea or Arric did. How’s that make you feel, commander?”

Shea shrugged his shoulder and scooted closer to his boyfriend, “Feels alright to me. I know Cyn’s got a better set of instincts than I do, so it’s no big deal.” The larger lycan looked around and sniffed the air, “You guys know where Walter ran off to?”

“Arric said he went to the store with Melinda to pick up groceries for dinner.” Kara leaned back and laid her arm across her mate’s shoulder, “I’m just surprised that Alpha is inviting us to dinner.”

As the water in the nearby room turned off, the group turned as Arric shouted from behind closed doors, “Get used to it, Turbins! After dinner, get a week’s worth of clothes and get back here, pronto!”

The four shifters looked at each other in confusion, but Shea put the pieces together. “I think you two are staying here as well. If I’m guessing right, you just put a big target on your back, Kara.”

Kara rolled her head back and groaned loudly, “Great! I take down a scumbag and now I can’t go home!”

Her mate wrapped his arm around her shoulder and spoke softly, “Oh, it won’t be that bad, hon. You can live without your soap operas for a while.”

Cyn stared at the couple as he tried to make sense of the situation. “Don’t worry, Cyn.” He turned to see Shea. His whispered words comforted Cyn as his body started to form to the lycan’s, “Kara and Jaime are-”

“Going to be staying here until Eike and Hauser are captured,” Arric stepped into the kitchen wearing black sweatpants, accurately pressing buttons on his coffee maker, “or killed. Sorry, Kar, but I can’t risk anyone going off on their own. I don’t like it either, but my home is our safehouse. The second Eike and Hauser learn of our victory, I won’t be surprised if they start making further plans.”

The Alpha turned as his brewer whirred to life and saw the cernunnos staring. He looked down and kept a laugh to himself. I bet that buck is scared to death right now. I should probably grab a shirt. He made his way back into his bedroom and quickly nabbed a shirt from his dresser. Putting it on, he sat in his large recliner and impatiently waited for his Beta and chef to come back. “Jaime, the cell phone is on the counter in the kitchen. How about you start on that, while we dig through Marric’s bag?”

Everyone got to work. Jaime pulled out a laptop and a cable, connecting his computer to the phone. The three other lycan opened the bag and sifted through the rogue’s belongings. Cyn sat in curiosity. They’re so productive! Constantly finding something to do with their time! He looked at his time spent with herds and became irritated. Compared to these lycan, those...those deer did nothing! We just traveled from one state to the next, and often made the same trip back. Sheamus and these guys, they work. The buck leaned up and watched Sheamus dig through the pack.

The lycan fished out a set of keys and placed them on the coffee table. He laid out plans for a small group to find the vehicle that matched the key fob. Outside of the recovered phone, finding the vehicle was the next priority, as the fob indicated it was a newer model, and could possess a GPS. “If the phone is a bust, then we can find out where this car has been.”

Arric sounded his approval, “Good. Have you all found any teammates that have not been compromised?”

“Other than Anton’s team, I haven’t received any word from the tracking team.” Shea slumped and rested his elbows on his knees, “I’m calling my lead on the Kettle team. We still haven’t gotten their damned report.” Pulling his phone out, he scrolled through his contacts and found the proper number. As the phone rang, he whispered to Cyn, “Might want to close your ears. I’m about to sound pretty nasty.” Cyn nodded, understanding his boyfriend’s intention.

“Stella! I want to know where the Hell that report is. That was supposed to be in my hands last night, and I’m not seeing it!” Shea’s brow furrowed as he waited for his subordinate’s excuse.

“Commander Farren, I’m getting mixed signals here and I need to know what’s going on.” The commander cocked his head as Stella’s voice was not as chipper as usual.

“Elaborate.”

“Eike told me you stepped down and were not on the operation any longer.”

Shea looked to Arric with a concerned face, took the phone away from his ear and set it on the table. He pressed the speaker call button and spoke up, “Stell, you’re on speaker with the tracking trio and Alpha Claude. I need you to repeat that again.”

“Al-Alpha Claude! Uh, yes! Eike came to me after you called for the report and said you were stepping down as the commander.”

“What?” Arric stood in fury, “That bastard! He’s using his position to influence the teams. Miss Wentz, you have been misinformed. If you have that report, I need it sent to Farren immediately.”

“Yes, Alpha! Right away! Anything else, sirs?”

Arric and Shea looked at each other, but came up with nothing, “No, Stell. All I need from you is your trust.”

“You got it, Commander. Sir, is Eike to be trusted?”

“Not in the slightest. We’re working on things from behind the scenes. Just keep your nose to the ground for me, okay?”

“Roger.”

The call ended, forcing Arric to slump in his chair once more. “Eike is pulling rank. This isn’t good. I’ll need to call an emergency pack meeting. You thinking tonight?”

Shea looked down to the floor. Hell, I think it should have already happened, but I’m not-

“Farren.” The commander moved his head to respond to the Alpha but was cut off, “Walter is at the store. Although he will return, that makes you my Beta for the moment. You and Walter are all I have right now. I need guidance. What are your thoughts?”

Gritting his teeth in discomfort, Shea breathed hard from his nose, “Permission to be blunt, sir?”

The request brought a smirk to Arric’s lips, “I thought I’d never see the day. Go for it.”

“A pack meeting should have happened yesterday. I suggest having it immediately, but only request all council members, and specifically named members that we each trust, like Anton and Saige. It may seem extreme but I recommend for you to clear everyone who comes.”

Arric stared at the commander and slowly sat up straight, “Now, where have you kept this side of you, Sheamus? I’ve never seen you like this.” The Turbins nodded in agreement with their Alpha. “Nevertheless, I agree with your input. Although, I do not wish to have the named members. Having them here will put a target on their backs, and I can’t have that. We’ll meet with them at a different time. Like you said, let the runt be the wallflower. He’ll come up with something we won’t hear about.”

Shea nodded and glanced at his boyfriend. The deer seemed to have drifted away to a daydream. He seems so out of place here, but there’s no place I’d rather see him. He heard a car pull up and before he rose to his feet, Kara was already walking past him. Well, damn! She never lets me have fun anymore.

“It’s Walter and Melinda.” She opened the door and received a warm greeting from the Beta and the chef. “You two need any help carrying stuff in?”

Walter chuckled loudly, “No, Kara. We brought everything in one trip. We are having a wonderful bolognese this evening, with a rather large romaine lettuce salad for Cyn.” The older lycan earned a starry gleam from the deer as the leafy meal was mentioned.

“We’ll eat and get started with the meeting.” Arric rose and filled the Beta in on the plans for the council meeting.

“Most excellent. Ah, Arric? Mind if I speak with you about something in private?” Walter left Melinda to get started with the meal, to which Kara and Jaime gladly took part in assisting. Cyn looked interested in the bustling kitchen and was nudged by Shea as the lycan led the buck to the chef. Melinda was pleased to see the cernunnos joining the kitchen once again. She showed the deer the different vegetables and greenery she selected for the salad, and handed him a grater to start assisting. Kara quickly stole the cernunnos to show him how to rinse the leaves and other ingredients.

Cyn was nervous around the sharp grater, but as he finished julienne slicing a carrot, he grew accustomed to the tool. This isn’t so bad! It’s just sharp and I need to watch my hands. After the carrots were done, the chef handed Cyn a knife and a few large tomatoes. With a short demonstration of proper hand placement, the cernunnos was a natural. With each addition to the large serving bowl, he became more confident in the kitchen. Melinda slid a bottle of olive oil and instructed Cyn to lightly drizzle the salad.

Shea watched his little man work effortlessly as he struggled to find a place to assist. Looks like everyone has their own job! I guess I can just watch. He stood next to Cyn for a minute before getting a text message. It’s from...Arric?

‘Office. Alone’

His nerves swam in his stomach and silently slipped away from Cyn. The lycan stepped into the dimly-lit office and was told to close the door. Well, this isn’t good. Arric motioned for him to sit in the chair in front. Shea looked around to see Walter standing beside the door. I think I’m in the principal's office now.

Arric spoke incredibly softly, as to avoid unwanted attention from the kitchen, “Walter and I have come to a hasty conclusion, Farren. This whole predicament is a sticky nightmare. We have arranged for the pack meeting to take place here in two hours.” Leaning back in his chair, Arric intertwined his fingers and let loose a sigh through his nose, “An absurd amount of trust has been placed on your shoulders in the past few days, and you have handled it like a true leader.”

“This meeting will not be the prettiest one in history, Shea.” The Beta’s voice was just as soft as the Alpha’s, but equally concerning, “I only hope you can handle it.”

Shea’s nose twitched in irritation, “Forgive me, Beta Haynes, but my concern is this pack and Cyn. I won’t stop until Eike is either behind bars or burned to ashes.”

“Yes, Arric told me you’ve developed feelings for the cernunnos. Normally, I’d marvel in the sheer curiosity of it, but now is not the time. You’d do anything for that buck, correct?”

That’s a loaded statement! Anything? “I...I don’t know about anything.”

“Let me rephrase. Anything, short of committing treason?”

After a moment of thought, Shea had an answer, “Yes.”

Arric sat up and leaned his elbows on the table, “But you would do anything for this pack?”

“Absolutely!” There was no hiding his pride for the pack and Arric’s leadership. I have been given far too many opportunities to let anything happen to this pack!

Arric and Walter exchanged a confirming look and the Alpha let a puff of air through his lips.

“Then as of this moment, I hereby instate you as my Pack Enforcer.”