Haven 1: Caution: Contents Under Pressure Read Free Page B

he was out within seconds.

    * * * *
    Stavion was up and pacing around his room before the sun had even set for the day. Not that he could see the ball of fire since the steel plates that protected them from the harmful rays were still in place over the windows. He hated the house, but the window coverings were a nice touch. Better still, they were set to automatic timers, so even if he forgot, the computer system wouldn’t. They even had not one but two backup generators in the basement in case of a power failure.
    His entire life was a fucking mess. He had a coven he didn’t want.
    Malakai could barely function through his depression. Thirty-five starved, beaten, and terrified men now looked to him for help and answers. Then, to put a nice juicy cherry on top of everything, he’d found his mate. And hadn’t that gone well.
    He couldn’t blame Jory for being frightened, but it hurt when his mate shrank away from him or whimpered in fear when Stavion came too close. The protruding bones, the sunken eyes, and the hollow cheeks broke his heart. Cyrus Redway didn’t deserve the quick death he’d received. No, they should have tortured him slowly before killing him.
    The effects of the life Jory had been forced to lead were obvious.
    His hair was dull and limp, his eyes held no kind of light, and his skin seemed almost gray in his pallor. Not a bit of it detracted from his beauty.
    The sweetest smell he’d ever scented had drawn him to Jory’s room the previous evening. As if in a trance, he’d walked right into that room and had nearly fallen to his knees when he saw the angel sitting on the bed, trembling from the top of his blond head to the tips of his tiny feet. Jory was stunning. Once he was back in good health, Stavion imagined he’d be so beautiful it would almost hurt to look at him.
    “Health.” Stavion snapped his fingers, and a wide grin stretched across his face. They needed to get a doctor. Not only did he want Jory examined from top to bottom, he should probably have the doc see to the other men as well.
    He felt a little better now that he had a plan, however vague it was. Then another thought occurred to him, and he paused in his pacing and frowned. Would they need a different doctor for different preternaturals? Would one doctor be able to treat all of them? And what kind of doctor would he need for Jory? Ah, hell, he didn’t even know if his new mate was vampire, shifter, hybrid, or human. Surely Jory wasn’t human, but Stavion was beginning to realize that he shouldn’t rule out anything when it came to the entire clusterfuck of a situation.
    There was a soft beeping then a metallic grinding as the steel plates slid away from the windows. The moonlight filtered into the room, ghosting over Stavion’s pale skin, giving it an almost glowing quality.
    Excited to have a course of action, he dressed quickly and hurried out of his room in search of his Enforcers. Every part of him wanted to sprint down the corridors and straight to Jory’s room, but there were matters that he needed to attend to before he could go to his mate.
    Finding his way easily to Raven’s room, Stavion smiled. He was getting better at this. Lifting his hand, he rapped on the door, unconcerned if he was waking the big vampire. To his relief, and a little surprise, the door opened almost immediately, and Raven stepped out into the hallway. He looked like he hadn’t slept all day, and Stavion wondered what burdened the Enforcer’s mind.
    “You okay, man?”

    Raven nodded curtly. “Yeah. I’m good. I hope to hell you have a plan, because I don’t know what to do about this.” The largest of the Enforcers, a smart-ass, and just as often a troublemaker, Raven secretly held a tender heart. Stavion knew it had to be bleeding after finding those men beneath the cabin. Part of him regretted that it was Raven to find them. The rest of him was just glad that he could count on the man. No one was better suited for the task at