Zeus's Pack 9: Rave (3 page)

Max looked over his shoulder and then lowered his voice. “I had a patient here, Logan Albinster. He was in an accident. I ran his blood work and found something that shocked me to the core.”

Rave leaned against the nurses’ station, bored.

“And that was?” Zeus asked.

“He’s a
styre mente
.”

Everyone looked at Max, confused.

Max growled. “Does no one read about preternatural creatures around here? The ancient scrolls aren’t easy to come by, but you can read them.”

“Okay, so we’re uneducated backwoods wolves. Sue us, Doc. Just tell us what the hell a
styre mente
is.” Rave wanted to get out of there.

They were having wings at Theo’s, all you can eat for five bucks.

That was one hell of a deal, and Rave just happened to have five bucks in his pocket.

He was pretty damn bitchy, and hungry as hell.

“They are very rare,” Max continued as if Rave hadn’t had his little outburst. “Only one in two hundred million are born. He can control minds, literally.” The excitement and dread mingled in Max’s voice, as if he discovered UFOs really existed. He might be just as excited, if he knew what the hell Max was talking about.

“I’m still not getting it, Max,” Zeus said.

“I don’t think he knows what he is yet. Logan didn’t seem conscious of the fact that he can control minds. I asked him to stay, he refused, and I let him leave. Normally that wouldn’t have happened.

If he’s left on his own, he could cause some serious damage. From his blood work, he has great potential to have TMC.”

“TMC?”

It was like dancing around the obvious that was just out of reach.

Rave was starting to put the pieces together, but Max wasn’t giving them the whole story. Not all at once at least.

“Total mind control,” Max supplied. “Logan, when he realizes who he is, will be able to push himself into your mind, control it, and control whoever he wishes. And if he decides to become malevolent, he could also mind rape a person. That means he can tear down your mind and rebuild it as whatever he wishes it to be.
Styre mentes
are extremely dangerous and rare.”

Rave stood up straighter at what Max was saying. He had never heard of a
styre mente
, but the more he listened, the more intrigued he became.

“There will be side effects as well,” Max said as he shoved his hands into his white lab coat. “He will get headaches, have slight confusion, and feel fatigued. Using the mind as a weapon, if that is the route he takes, is taxing on the body. But Zeus”—Max turned to the alpha—“if we catch him in the early stages of this phenomena developing, we may be able to keep him on the right path.”

“And if we don’t?” Zeus asked.

“He could hurt a lot of people and do some irreversible damage.

He could learn how to use remote mental influence, or mental tricks to make a person do his bidding. Like I said, he is young, still salvageable. Most
styre mentes
choose the path of evil. They are lured in by the power, but we could help him, guide him.”

“Do we know where to find this Logan guy?” Zeus asked.

“I have his home address,” Max said as he fished a piece of paper from his lab coat and handed it to Zeus. “Get to him quickly. Most
styre mentes
can feel each other. If another has found Logan, he can kill him and steal Logan’s budding powers for himself, making the killer ten times stronger.”

Zeus handed Ian the piece of paper with Logan’s address on it.

“Rave, Jaxxon, and Ian, take this address and go find Logan. I want you to bring him to me. But be careful. I don’t need any of you three ending up without your brains.”

Amen to that.
Rave didn’t want anyone to mind rape him. He knew for a fact that if mind control were used against him, he would be screwed. How does one fight having their mind messed with? Did anyone sell special helmets to keep the fucker out?

This was one time Rave wasn’t sure shifting into his wolf form would help. Human form or wolf form, the mind was the same. This had
suicide mission
written all over it if this Logan guy discovered what he could do before the wolves got him back to the alpha.

With a heavy sigh and an empty belly, Rave followed Jaxxon and Ian from the hospital. He glanced toward Theo’s and wondered if the other two wolves would mind him running over there to get some wings first before their perilous journey.

“We need to hurry,” Jaxxon said as he jumped into the driver’s seat of his Jeep.

Guess the wings would have to wait.
This Logan guy better come with them before Rave’s stomach tried to eat its way out. That would teach him to skip lunch.

“The address says that Logan lives in Browlers. That’s about an hour’s ride.”

Rave was going to shrivel away in an hour, two if he had to wait until he got back to eat. He sat in the backseat, his mood sour as they drove by Theo’s. He wasn’t a happy man when he was starving. He should have his mind on Logan and his budding powers, but his rumbling stomach was interfering.

“You think Max was telling the truth?” Ian asked from the front passenger’s seat.

Jaxxon shrugged. “The world isn’t so simple anymore. There used to be just shifters. And then we learn there are vampires. Then we find out that there are Fey and demons living around us. And not too long ago, Zeus tells us that the mythical
pecus volatile
and
inferno incolae
exist. So you tell me, Ian, can
styre mente
exist as well?”

“You don’t have to be a smart-ass,” Ian complained as he rested his arm on the door. The man looked just about as happy as Rave felt.

Rave grinned.

“Can we stop to get something to eat?” Ian asked.

“I second that request,” Rave said from the backseat with enthusiasm. “I’m starving.”

“And if Logan gets away from us because you two want to grab a bite? Who is going to explain that to Zeus, hmm? I sure as shit am not telling the man Logan couldn’t be found in time because I was too busy shoving a greasy burger down my throat.”

“Chickenshit,” Rave grumbled.

“Damn straight,” Jaxxon shot back.

Ian turned in his seat, grinning mischievously at Rave. “We could always shift and eat Jaxxon.”

“His hide is too tough.” Rave chuckled.

Jaxxon scowled at Rave in the rearview mirror and then grinned.

This was going to be one long ass ride. Rave sat back, thinking about his mate, Agent Monroe. The man had said he had to close out the bookie case, but he would be back. The bookie had one of his goons kill a prominent lawyer and Memphis’s mate had witnessed the murder. Romano had come here to hide out, but the FBI had soon followed as well, stopping Romano or anyone else from being killed.

And that was when Rave realized that Agent Monroe was his mate.

That was four months ago.

Rave wasn’t too happy about the guy being gone so long. He had tried to call, but always got the man’s voice mail. He didn’t even know Monroe’s first name. How pitiful was that? Rave wondered if maybe Monroe was avoiding him. The agent knew about shifters.

How much he knew, Rave wasn’t sure.

But he had looked like he wanted to come back after that hot ass kiss they shared in the parking lot. Or maybe his mate was just a damn good actor and couldn’t wait to get the hell away from Rave.

Being hungry and having an MIA mate wasn’t helping Rave’s mood. If anything, it made it worse.

“We’re getting close,” Jaxxon announced from the driver’s seat.

“Read me that address.”

Ian rattled it off and then punched it into the GPS that sat mounted on the dashboard. Jaxxon drove slowly, everyone watching their surroundings as they drove up a small concrete driveway only large enough for one car at a time. They parked behind a red Nissan and got out. It was nightfall now, the stars twinkling high above and the moon casting a long shadow over the house in front of them. The day had withered away as they had driven here. That meant Rave had to watch the shadows as he grabbed this guy they’d come here to retrieve.

“If he doesn’t know that he is a
styre mente
, what in the hell are we supposed to tell him?” Ian asked as all three approached the large oak door. The house didn’t look very big, and there was a rusted, green metal chair sitting to one side of the door. There was a large bay window to one side, shrubbery sitting in front and below like leafy sentinels.

Rave glanced around, but saw only parked cars under streetlights.

The neighborhood was quiet, as if everyone were asleep already. A few lights were on in various houses, but the street was as quiet as a graveyard.

Rave shuddered. That was a hell of a way to think about it.

“We could tell him that Max needs him back at the hospital,” Rave said as he hit the glowing orange doorbell.

Rave froze when he heard a crash and then someone scream. It was a male’s voice, and it was loud enough to wake the dead. Using his shoulder, Rave rammed his body into the door. That didn’t work.

He reached out and turned the knob. It was unlocked.

The three shifters raced inside just in time to see two men crash through a back door. Rave gave chase. He wasn’t sure who was who, but if that was Logan being taken away, he needed to rescue the man.

The two men weren’t running side by side. One was being dragged by the other. Not a good sign. Rave shifted into his werewolf form and leapt, landing on the pair. He fought to get the guy that had been dragged away from the house by the man in a black suit.

“Go back inside the house,” the man in the black suit said calmly.

Ripples washed over Rave, making him release the guy in jeans and a sweater. He took a step back, his muzzle to the ground. Rave had an all-consuming need to obey the soft command.

“No!” the one in the jeans yelled, and Rave felt like a jolt of electricity had been shot through his body. He growled, his muzzle pulled back to show his canines. The human being that had been taken shouted to Rave, “Don’t leave me.”

Rave barked out a warning like a common dog, but it seemed to do the trick. The man in the black suit scrambled backward, his eyes wild as he stared from Rave in his wolf form to the human lying on the ground. His eyes narrowed into slits as anger filled the dark orbs.

“Go back into the house,” he shouted this time.

Rave took another step back, his body trying to obey the command. He was getting pissed. He could feel something pushing at his mind, demanding he do as he was told. Rave didn’t like anyone ordering him around.

“Don’t leave me,” the man in the jeans said helplessly, his blue eyes pleading for Rave to save him. Rave lunged, taking a large bite out of the man’s black suit pants and his leg underneath. The man howled, and then he pulled his leg free, scooting further back into the darkened backyard.

The would-be kidnapper whirled around and pushed to his feet, jumping the small chain-link fence, and took off down the street.

Rave wanted to give chase, but he shifted instead, helping the man in the jeans to his feet.

Rave swallowed hard, his heart beating erratically as the scent of his second mate filled his lungs. He stared openly at the slightly built man rubbing his hands up and down his arms, as if chilled to the bone.

“Logan?”

The guy’s blue eyes went wide as he nodded. “How did you know my name?”

Oh hell.
Rave stood there in the backyard, naked as the day he was born, stunned. His mate was a
styre mente
, and he had been sent to stop him from turning evil.

Rave stood on the edge of the lawn, staring at the dark-brown hair falling over Logan’s eyes, shielding Rave from seeing his mate’s eyes in the shadows of where he was standing. “I was sent to protect you.”

It was mostly the truth. Now that he knew that Logan was his mate, Rave would do whatever it took to keep the man on the right path and protect him from the world.

“No offense, but that’s exactly what Aba just told me. I’m cool on the protection shit.”

“Aba?”

“The man who just tried to force me to leave with him. He said that he only wanted to protect me. If that’s protection, I’m going to wholeheartedly decline the offer.”

Rave grinned as he listened to Logan. The man had a sense of humor, a weird one, but he had one. Rave liked that.

“And could you put some clothes on?” Logan asked. Even in the dimly lit backyard, Rave could see a blush span over his mate’s cheeks. It was a lovely pink that made Logan bashful, a quality that was making Rave hot. This wasn’t the time for Rave to be getting turned on, but he couldn’t help it.

“Aren’t you freaked out that I shifted into a wolf?” Rave asked.

“And I don’t have any spare clothes with me.” Jaxxon had some in his Jeep, but Rave liked standing naked in front of his mate.

Logan’s eyes stayed glued to the grass as he headed toward the back door. “Cal is a shifter. That doesn’t wig me out. But a naked man in my backyard does.”

“And having your truck blown up, finding out something is wrong with your blood, and a madman trying to pry you from your own home must be child’s play next to a naked man in your backyard, hmm?” Rave knew he was being a little too harsh, but Logan needed to face the facts of what happened and deal with them. He could smell denial all over Logan.

Logan spun around, a low growl ripping from his chest. Rave was impressed. “I know what happened. I don’t need you reciting the events back to me. I don’t know who sent you to protect me, but you can get lost.”

Rave was halfway into saying good-bye, but knew he wasn’t going to leave his mate open to another attack. The man had a sharp tongue and a heavy dose of denial in his blood, but Rave wasn’t that cruel. “You honestly don’t know, do you?”

Logan opened the back door, ignoring Rave as he stepped into the house. He glanced around and then looked at the man sitting on the couch, his face pale. “Cal, pack your bags, we’re going to my mom’s.”

Rave felt the pulse in his temple beat harder as he tried his best not to just grab Logan and toss the man over his shoulder. It wasn’t easy. “No, you’re coming back to Pride Pack Valley where you will be safe.”