Outlaw (Wolves of Royal Paynes #4) - Kiki Burrelli Page 0,44

gently.

"Right!" Kansas shook his head like he was trying to dislodge the mental journey he'd just gone on. "That thing you were fighting when we got here. It wasn't really alive, but it had living energy."

"How would that happen?" I asked, and Knox made a sharp noise. I assumed he'd asked that question the first time they'd all talked about this, and he hated going over the same things.

Kansas acted like he hadn't heard Knox's irritation. "I've never come across anything like that. I mean, except for me. I can consume energy. Well, I kind of have to every once in a while, or else I go a little…loopy."

"You're an energy vampire?" Storri whispered, tucked deeply beneath Faust's arm.

"Yeah, I guess. But I don't kill people." Kansas craned to face his mate as he emphasized.

"Totally not creepy that you feel the need to mention that," Jazz quipped.

Kansas laughed like Jazz had told his favorite joke. "Hollister told me you were funny!"

"Anyway…" Knox all but snarled.

If I had the slightest artistic ability, I would've drawn his face at that moment and hung it on the wall beside his room.

My boy could draw and paint. I needed to make sure he had the supplies to do that. I twisted to turn to the door before Quinlan tugged me back, reminding me what was going on at the moment.

I couldn't help it. Caring for my mate rose above everything else. But keeping him safe was caring for him, and his safety was the most important thing.

"So, yeah, I used to only be able to draw out what I consumed. I've been practicing…and stable for a while and I can control more. Which is good because that living energy was some of the foulest I've come across. It didn't feel human—at least, not mostly human. I don't know what used its energy to create that water thing, but it's strong, and I'm gonna go ahead and say he's evil too." Kansas's face sharpened into an expression far removed from his bubbly personality to this point. "You don't attack babies if you aren't evil."

That was a reasonable benchmark that I could get behind.

"As helpful as that information is," Faust leaned forward over the table, bringing Storri forward with him, "we still don't know who attacked us. I'm comfortable in guessing the why."

"It's Portal, right?" Isaiah asked. "Can't we assume that as well?"

"Yes, but at this point, it isn't enough to just say Portal." Knox turned to a monitor beeping on the table behind him. "Badger's here. I'll bring them in. They should hear this."

"Oh cool, it will be nice to see them again," Kansas chirped after Knox had left.

Wyatt drew his mate in, pressing their foreheads together. "Kitten, we can't stay long."

"But what about the message from the council?" Huntley asked.

"And why did they send you instead of a council representative?" Jagger added his question to his mate's.

Wyatt's expression of love turned sour as he looked from his mate to us. "Technically, I'm a council representative."

Sitka frowned. "You don't look happy about that."

"Nana made him," Kansas whispered.

"She didn't make—" Wyatt took a deep breath. "She asked me—"

"—and he wouldn't ever do anything to jeopardize his spot as favorite."

"My sweet omega," Wyatt said through clenched teeth. "Why did I bring—"

Kansas squeaked, and Wyatt turned to face two bright blue eyes a blink away from tearing up.

The fight left Wyatt as quickly as it probably had when Nana had asked him to be a council representative.

As they made up, Quinlan whispered, "I like him."

A kiss and nose rubbing later and both faced us again. "The council is officially expressing their vow to assist in this Portal business however needed. If you all accept it, I'm to be your liaison, not because you can't speak directly to the council, but because I'll be able to get what you need faster. Soldiers, weapons, equipment. I've been advised to spare no expense. If demons open a gate to hell, that's gonna be bad for everyone."

The council hadn't been a friend to my life, but not because they were an enemy. In my experience, they assisted when they weren't needed and disappeared when they were. And thanks to Jazz's inheritance, the pack could probably equip a large army with the latest weaponry, but soldiers were a thing we could not buy. At least, not the type of men you wanted fighting by your side. I'd know; I was one.

Knox returned, smelling of the biker pack as well as one more man—old