Under Siege [Eternal Flames 10]

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 1

Three weeks. It had been three damned weeks since he had found his mate and yet the frustrating man only looked at him as if he were a bug flitting around his head in annoyance. Then to top it off, he up and disappeared without a word. Without a thought. How does one do that to another?

How the hell does someone do that to their mate?

Okay, so the infuriating man was a human and had no understanding of mates as those of his kind did. Even though the sexy f**k had asked many questions about what mates were and what was expected, he still did not understand the clawing need that paranormals had for their mates once they found them.

Maybe he was being too hard on the man? Maybe he needed to show more understanding and patience? He was a king after all and knew how to do both. Hell, he had shown cute, wonderful Timmy more patience than he had ever shown anyone in his long life. But Timothy was

different. Even though he was also a gargoyle, Timmy was not only smaller than the rest of his men, but he was kinder and had a gentler soul and bigger heart.

Wade Wells was not Timmy. Not even close. The man was a gorgeous, large, deadly, fighting machine. He was a warrior and leader of his men. He had fought in war and led his men

honorably, and with pride. Wade would not be intimidated or impressed by who or what he was.

The man had made that perfectly clear upon their meeting. He gave no thought or care that he was King Suneth. King of the last chimera of gargoyles to grace this Earth. The last true guardians of Fate.

No, his mate had looked unimpressed, and part of that thrilled Suneth. It intrigued him. Most people that met him were in awe that his kind even existed. Most treated him with respect for his position. They treated him like the king he was.

That was until he and his men had come here to Crystal. These men, their new allies, did treat him with respect, but they did not hold him higher because he was a king. They looked upon him as a friend, which gave him great joy. For the first time in his life there were people around him that treated him as an equal, but still understood his station in life and respected it.

Then there was his mate. Suneth could see the glint of interest in the human's eyes as they looked upon him, but Wade was not impacted by their meeting as he was. He could not, and would not, force anyone to do what they didn’t want to do, and he especially would not force his mate to mate with him if he did not want to. It hurt deeper than anything he had ever felt before, thinking that his mate may not want him.

He wasn’t even sure if Wade wanted him, or was rejecting him. The human said they would talk about it, but then became busy helping Vik and Baldwin with their investigation. Then suddenly he just disappeared without a word to anyone.

He had tried on numerous occasions over the past three weeks to speak with Wade’s brother, Rory, but the human very rarely came out of the shop in town that Wade owned. And when he did, he jumped right in his car and headed home, pulling straight into the garage and closing the large door behind him before exiting his vehicle, so Suneth didn’t get the opportunity to approach him. And calling the shop got him nowhere. He either got the mechanic, Jim Farmer, on the phone, who knew nothing, or it went to that damn answering contraption.

Not seeing or speaking with his mate for three weeks was starting to take an effect on him.

Suneth could hardly eat or sleep. He had lost some weight, and he stayed in his shifted form longer and longer. Hell, the last time he had been in his human form had been four days ago. For the past four days, he just perched up here on the top of the hardware store that sat across the street from his mate’s shop and stared at the building just waiting for Wade to make an appearance.

* * * *

“Lay down some cover fire! There’s only one way out of here, ladies, and that’s through the front door!” Bull yelled over the deafening sound of machine gun fire.

“We need to get the Senator out in one piece! Radar, can you hear me?” Wade asked through his com link.

“Got you, Commander. I show three enemies on satellite. First one on the roof of the hotel down the street on the left. Numbers two and three in the street and coming in hot.”

“We need to get to that airfield before Flyer is forced to pull out! Everyone locked and loaded?”

Wade yelled.

“That’s a ten-four, Commander.”

“Ready to roll, Commander.”

“The Senator is out and I’ll have to carry him. I’m gonna need cover.”

“You’ll have it, Six. Shadow and Snake, take up positions in the rear. Keep Six covered,” Wade commanded. “Bullseye, you’re with me. I need eyes on that sniper!”

“I got him, Commander,” Bullseye replied.

“Flyer, we’re coming in. How’s your runway looking?” Wade asked through the com link.

“I've got me some company, Commander. Four coming through the trees. Birdie up.”

“Damn it! We need to go! Move out!” Wade ordered, then he moved to the right side of the door.

Bullseye was on the left, his eye focused down the sight of his Colt M4A1 5.56 Nato. Wade didn’t need to second guess his sniper, Bullseye was the best there was.

Wade raised his hand, giving them the signal, then aimed his weapon. He and Bull stepped out together. Immediately, gunfire rang out in the empty street. They needed to go one click to the end of the road, then another two clicks through the jungle to finally make it to the deserted airstrip. He hoped the Senator could make it.

Wade swung his weapon to the right as Bull pointed left, both opening up in a spray pattern as they continued running down the center of the street. He heard Six behind him, half carrying, half dragging the Senator. Snake and Shadow ran out next, both firing high over their heads.

A shot rang out from above, right before Wade heard Snake hiss through clenched teeth.

“Snake?”

“I’m hit, Commander, but I’m good. Don’t stop!” Snake replied.

Wade couldn’t risk looking back. He needed to keep his attention on their surroundings and trust his men to do their jobs. They needed to get the Senator home and back on U.S. soil. The man had been kidnapped while in Mexico City, meeting with the U.S. Ambassador at the Embassy there.

After 12 hours, the kidnappers contacted the government demanding the release of two of the top drug lord’s men from Guyana who had been picked up by border agents as they tried to sneak into the U.S. from Mexico through an underground tunnel. Usually they sent a courier, also known as mules, to smuggle their s**t over the border, but recently the largest drug cartel in South America had been hit hard and they sent two of their top men, seconds to the drug lord himself. That’s when they were called in. When were these assholes going to realize the U.S.

government didn’t deal with kidnappers? But this Senator was supposedly very important to the government and their fight against the drug cartels and they wanted him back. Of course, they weren’t going to go through proper channels or concede to the cartel’s demands. They needed the Senator back, and they needed it to stay hush/hush. Not even the man’s family knew what was going on.

That’s what they were for and why they got paid the big bucks, but Wade was finding himself less interested in this game. He was getting close to forty and he and his team were getting too old for this s**t. A few of the guys had poked at life after this and what they wanted to do.

Nothing concrete. No open discussions. Just a comment here and there. He wondered if his team was feeling the same way he did. That maybe it was time to retire.

Then there was Suneth for him to think about. The man was a f*****g gargoyle, for Christ’s sake. Wade had always known about shifters, especially growing up in Crystal where phoenix shifters first settled and built the town, allowing humans in. Then there was two of his men who were shifters. Shadow was a black panther, and Bull was a f*****g Timber wolf.

Although he had known about shifters his whole life, he never knew pixies, fairies, elves, dragons, vampires, and gargoyles were real. When he returned home three years ago after his

sixteen years in the Navy, eight of those with the SEALS, he was looking forward to a nice relaxing life fixing cars, designing bikes, and an occasional Black Ops mission. He surely hadn’t expected to walk in on a f*****g paranormal war.

And now these beings, these creatures, were asking him to join their paranormal council. Damn, why him? Okay, so maybe he understood why, but still. He and his brother, Rory, were two of the humans living in Crystal who were there the longest. There were a few other humans in Crystal that had been there longer than them, but they were a lot older. Then there was the fact that everyone knew him and knew what type of man he was. Honest, straightforward, and

protective. Top that off with his military background and of course he was asked. Wade thought it was a pretty good idea actually, and was grateful the shifter council wanted to include the humans. It made him feel better about what was going on in their town and region.

But now a mate? A gorgeous, hot as hell bastard that Wade just wanted to bend over any flat surface he could find and plow into him. The man was the hottest thing Wade had ever laid eyes on. Suneth had beautiful long, black hair and stunning, dark grey eyes. Stood a good four inches shorter and thirty pounds lighter than him, but he was built like a god. It was clear that his mate was a warrior and no stranger to doing battle. His muscular body would look amazing writhing under Wade’s.

“I’m being fired at! What’s your ETA?” Flyer yelled in his ear.

Shit. He needed to focus on the mission or risk his men’s lives. He had never lost concentration on a mission before and he couldn’t start now. With the knowledge of a mate back home and his thoughts always straying to that mate, maybe retirement was closer than he thought.

A bullet whipped past his head, missing him by a mere inch, but he felt the brush of air against his cheek. He swung his gaze from left to right as they made their way through the jungle. He could hear Flyer’s chopper getting closer and knew they were almost there.

“Convoy coming up your back, Commander. Looks like several trucks and a couple of cars and they’re heavily loaded!” Flyer said.

“Move together. Keep it tight.” Just as Wade gave the command, two men stepped out from behind trees about twenty yards ahead with guns raised. Wade shot off a few rounds just as he saw the flash from return fire. He hit one of the enemies square in the chest. Bullseye cursed beside him and from the corner of his eye, he could see Bull’s body jolt back a foot and crash into a tree. Wade opened fire on the other enemy, hitting the man in the face.

Wade reached out and slid his left arm under Bull’s arm and around his shoulders, supporting him as they continued forward. Snake and Shadow were firing behind him, but Wade’s focus was on moving them to the airstrip and taking out any others that tried to block their path. He knew his men had his back.

Screeching tires and the rumble of large trucks came from behind them just as they stepped out into the clearing. Flyer was hovering above and Wade could tell he was dropping down to pick them up. He and Bull made it to the ripped-up airstrip, the guys right behind them. Suddenly, a shot rang out and ripped Bull from his grasp.

Wade spun around, bringing up his weapon at the same time, and immediately he had a visual on the man in the tree. Wade opened fire, dropping the man. Shadow reached down at the same time he did, and grabbed Bull under the left arm as he grabbed his right. Flyer touched down and they headed for the chopper.

He helped Shadow load Bullseye, then they helped Six with the Senator and Six jumped in. He immediately secured the senator, then went to Bull. Shadow was next as he and Snake kept watch for their company that was heading their way.

Shadow leaned out the door and started shooting just as Snake opened fire. Over a hundred men carrying AK47’s were racing toward them through the trees. Wade dropped down on one knee and began shooting.

“We need to get off the ground now, Commander!” Flyer said through the com link.

“Snake, in!” Wade ordered, and Snake grabbed the handhold next to the door and swung in, spun around, and continued firing. Wade stood and a barrage of gunfire was returned at them, but just missed him.

“We gotta go!” Flyer screamed.

“Lift now, Flyer! Get that bird in the air!”

“Not without you, Commander.”

“Move your ass, soldier, that’s an order!” Wade yelled back.

He heard the engine gear up and felt the whir of the wind as it picked up speed, then saw the chopper lift off the ground from the corner of his eye, but Wade never stopped shooting. The insurgents had stopped inside the tree line, taking cover. He needed to keep them off Flyer for as long as he could so they could escape without being shot out of the sky.

“Commander!” He heard Shadow and Snake yell in unison.

“Wade! Get the f**k out of there!” Rory yelled in his ear. “There’s another convoy of trucks headed your way and these ones won’t stop at the trees, they’ll barrel through! Wade, get your damn ass out of there!”

Wade reached back over his head and grabbed the handhold. Immediately there was a pull on his shoulder and his feet lifted off the ground. He tightened his grip and hung on. Snake and Shadow continued to fire into the jungle through the open door. Wade felt a large hand grip his wrist and looked up to see Six there. He raised his other arm and handed off his rifle to Six, who placed the gun on the floor then held out his hand. Wade flung his hand up and grasped Six’s hand and together they swung him up and he landed ass first in the chopper. Flyer pulled up hard and fast as he took off in the opposite direction of the enemy.