AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Lexington grabbed for the gun, but I danced backward, leveling it at him. “Get back, Lex! I swear to the gods I’ll shoot!”
A lot of things started happening at once. Somehow Wyatt noticed what was happening from his position under Roxbury, and he threw him off in a great burst of strength. He held out an imploring hand to me. “Brandon, don’t shoot!”
Meanwhile, Lex fell back in shock, holding up his hands, and Asher was looking at me like I’d taken leave of my senses. Roxbury only grinned fiercely at me and held out his hand for the gun.
“No!” I shouted at him. “This is not about taking sides. Everybody just stop!” I waved the pistol in the air at all of them. Of course, I had no idea of pulling the trigger, but they didn’t know that. They weren’t sure of it anyway, and that little bit of doubt froze all of them in their tracks and even better, it shut them up for a few seconds.
“Listen to me, all of you! This man,” I gestured toward Roxbury. “This pirate captain is Lord Roxbury. You remember him—from school—surely you do. He was my best friend in the world.”
“I thought we were his best friends,” Wyatt murmured to Asher, who laughed and shook his head.
My pack mates still looked confused, and Lexington stared at Roxbury. “Who did you say he was? What has he been telling you? The Lord Roxbury we knew has been dead for years.”
“No, I’m not,” Rox said, and I echoed him.
“No, he’s not. This is Lord Roxbury, the one we knew from school, though he now goes by the name Captain Jack Devane. He’s a pirate, and he didn’t die ten years ago like we were told.”
“What the hell is going on?” Wyatt muttered, and Lex and Asher just stared at both of us.
“His naval ship was attacked and sunk by pirates, but they took Roxbury hostage and eventually they made him one of them. It’s a long story, but it’s all true.”
“Oh, I believe it. Roxbury as a pirate is not that much of a stretch, to be honest,” Lex said, glaring at Roxbury. “I can easily see it.”
I shot him a dirty look. “Not helping, Lex.”
“Why didn’t you bring Brandon home to us? If you were really his friend like you claim?” Asher demanded of Roxbury as Wyatt got back to his feet, growling.
“Because he belongs to me, damn you!” Rox shouted and Lexington blinked in confusion.
“Belongs to you? What the fuck do you mean by that?”
“Exactly what I said. “He’s my mate, and I’ve claimed him.”
“Rox, you’re only making things worse.” I groaned and whirled around to look at Lex and direct my remarks to him. He was our leader, and the others would follow what he said. He was frowning at me in surprise and disbelief.
“Brandon, tell me what’s happening here. Is any of that drivel true? Are you…” He came closer and literally sniffed at me. “Did this pirate cast some kind of spell on you? Asher, what do you think?”
Asher stepped closer too and his gaze traveled up and down me with suspicion. “He has magic of some kind working inside him. It’s strong, too.”
Lexington’s eyes widened and he touched my arm, though I jerked away. “Gods, you do—he’s done something to you, hasn’t he?” He turned to glare at Roxbury. “What have you done to him damn it? What kind of spell do you have him under?”
“I haven’t done any spell, but if I had, it wouldn’t be any of your fucking business, so back the fuck off!”
Asher and Wyatt both charged forward instead and began wrestling with Roxbury again, trying to choke him. Of course, that idiot fought back and began pummeling both of them, ready to fight the whole crowd.
“Stop it, damn you, or I’ll shoot you all!”
Roxbury gaped at me in shock. “Brandon,” he said in a disbelieving voice.
Hell, I was having trouble believing it myself. “I-I’m sorry. I really am, but you all have to listen to me and stop this fighting.”
They just stood there staring at me like I’d lost my mind. Hell, maybe I had. I needed to talk to my cousins alone and having them come over to this ship had been a serious mistake. I could see that now.
“I’m going back over to their ship, Roxbury, to talk to them. Do not try to stop me.”
“Brandon, please…think this through. They won’t allow you to come back.”
“No. I need to be able to think, and I can’t do that with you threatening to beat them up. And them trying to kill you!” I took a deep breath. “I’m a grown man and can make my own decisions. They can’t stop me.”
