Glacier Read online

  “Fuck you! I don’t care if there are a dozen of you assholes! You’re going to pay for embarrassing me.”

  Glacier grit his teeth. “Fine. You want a fight? I’m on my way.”

  “That option is off the table now.” Kevin snickered. “You leave that building to come after me—hell, anyone does—and my enforcers blow it. You might come kill me but your Vamp will be chunks.” He laughed. “I always get my revenge.” He disconnected.

  “Fuck!”

  Pest backed inside the building, locking the door. “I missed the last part.”

  “We leave to go after him and he blows the building to kill Mandy. We stay after one hour, he’s going to blow it anyway.”

  “Fuck. How are we going to get her out of here? They’re sporting guns. A few of them flashed ’em at me just now. That prick is right about what’s going to happen if we wrap short stack in a tarp and carry her out. I saw humans down on both streets. Gunfire will draw them, the cops will come, and it will turn into a fucking media mess.”

  “There’s only one thing to do then. We all need to walk out of here.”

  Pest stared at him, precious long seconds passing. “Fuck. You can’t do it, bro.”

  “What choice do I have? Leave Mandy to die? I won’t. Stay here and have us both shell around her, hoping our bodies protect her? We’d be buried under rubble and the humans would eventually start digging. They’d find us.”

  “You can’t just make that decision without permission first. This is Lord-Aveoth big.”

  Glacier closed his eyes. “Yeah. I know.”

  “He’s never going to agree to it. It’s law, bro.”

  Glacier took some deep breaths. “I have to ask.”

  He called Kelzeb.

  “I’ve called both alphas. They are discussing it. Neither has gotten back to me yet,” his boss stated after answering the phone.

  “I need to speak to Lord Aveoth.”

  Kelzeb didn’t answer.

  Glacier filled him in quickly. “I need to talk to him.”

  “Fuck. I’ll call you back in five minutes. He’s in his quarters with his mate. I need to give him an update and then you’ll get his answer.”

  “Don’t be long. I don’t trust that crazy Lycan to not just blow the building.”

  “I’m leaving my office now.” He hung up.

  Pest began to pack things up. “No means no. If Aveoth denies your request, you can’t just do it anyway. It’s Gargoyle law. He’ll have no choice but to order you punished, and her put to death. He’s pretty cool but he can’t let something like that slide. It would make him look weak to the entire clan. Shit’s already tense, thanks to our departed dickhead of a father. Aveoth has a mate to consider, too.”

  “I know.” Glacier sighed. “I’m going to get dressed.”

  He rushed upstairs, put on clothes, his boots, and packed his shit. He woke Mandy. She startled and sat up.

  “I don’t have time to explain. Run downstairs, get what Pest bought for you and blacken your hair right now.”

  She looked confused.

  “Do it fast.”

  She got out of bed, put on one his shirts, and stumbled past him out of the bedroom. Pest met her in the hallway.

  “Here, short stack. Spray-on hair color, clothes, and some makeup are in these bags. Need help with covering your hair in the back since Glacier is busy?”

  “I got it, Pest. Thanks. What’s going on?”

  “You heard my bro. No time to explain. Just hustle your ass. Faster is better. We might be attacked at any moment.”

  Glacier met her frightened gaze and nodded. “Hurry.” He began to shove all his things inside his bag. Minutes later, his phone buzzed. He answered it.

  “What a fucking mess,” a deep voice rumbled. “Kelzeb told me everything.”

  “Thank you for calling me, my lord. I can’t let her die. You know what I’m asking. But I’ve been loyal to you. I just need to feed her once. Just for today.”

  “It’s a huge fucking risk.”

  “I know. We’re changing her appearance. No one will recognize her for what she really is.”

  Lord Aveoth grumbled. “I have Jill. I get it. I’d level this entire fucking place to keep her safe. I have a condition, though. Are you prepared to do whatever it takes to save this Vampire of yours? This is a big fucking rule to break. I need to cover my ass because at some point, someone is going to find out. I can handle the GarLycans, but the full-bloods here might raise hell. This law is thousands of years old. In Europe, it’s an instant death sentence for you both. Every fucking clan would hunt you down to end your lives. Thankfully, I’m the biggest power in the United States as far as Gargoyles go.”

  “What terms? Tell me.”

  “You mate her, Glacier. I can sell that shit to our clan when they find out. We all respect mates. It also means keeping her away from any Lycan packs. If they find out, we’re all in danger because that information is valuable. I’ll figure something out though, since you can’t bring her here. You have my permission to feed her if you mate her. One other thing.”

  “What?” Glacier’s heart pounded. He was willing to mate Mandy to keep her safe.

  “If you ever part ways, it’s by death. If she ever betrays us, you put her down yourself. Swear to it. She can’t ever share this knowledge. She’ll be your mate, or she’ll be ash after you feed her. The fucking clans in Europe might come after us if you let her go and word spreads. I won’t risk the lives of our people or our VampLycan neighbors, who would find themselves in the middle of a war zone.”

  He closed his eyes. “I swear on my honor.”

  “Do it. Feed her. And once she’s your mate, your body belongs to her. That includes your blood. I won’t have you weakened by your mate in the future. Do you understand me?

  He opened his eyes, stunned. Lord Aveoth was giving him permission to allow his mate to feed from him whenever she needed to. “I do. Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome. Get the fuck out of there and call Kelzeb when you’re safely out of their territory. No one threatens one of mine this way. I’m sending your brothers to deal with the alpha.”

  “Tempest is already here. Once the enforcer attacked Mandy, I asked him to be with her when I had to leave her alone. He said he had some down time.”

  “Nebulas is two states over from you. Kelzeb is sending him orders now. I don’t expect you to lie to your brothers. Kelzeb will also inform Creed what’s going on. Now get the hell out of there as soon as you mate her. You can romance her later.”

  Lord Aveoth hung up and Glacier shoved his phone into his pocket. “I love that guy.”

  Pest grinned from the doorway. “I heard what he said. Give me your bag. I’ll have us ready to roll by the time you come downstairs. You know that talk Neb had with us about taking our time screwing women? Forget it. Ultimate quickie, bro. I want out of here in ten minutes.”

  Glacier watched him leave and sighed. Ten minutes to talk to Mandy, get her to agree to become his mate, and seal the deal. “Shit.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Mandy finished her hair, staring in the dingy mirror and tilting her head from side to side, hoping she’d covered every inch of blonde with black. The smell of the spray had her wrinkling her nose. It wasn’t the greatest odor. It worked though.

  She put the bottle down and ripped open the makeup. They were the wrong colors for her very pale skin but it didn’t matter. Any color would be good. She worked fast, spreading the foundation from the roots at her forehead, all the way down her neck, including any spots that wouldn’t be covered by a shirt. She even used some on her hands and arms up to her shoulders. Lastly, she used a towel to gently pat and remove any excess, to keep it from staining her clothes when she got dressed.

  It was a shit makeup job, she thought, as she dabbed on mascara, a little blush, and an ugly shade of pink lipstick. It didn’t matter. She wasn’t planning on getting close to anyone once Glacier was able to free her from whatev