Ancient Enforcer (Ancients Rising #3) - Katie Reus Page 0,3

saw there was frosting smushed into the brothers’ hair as well.

“You’re not going to bail me out too?” Axel asked, still looking like the smug asshole he was.

Mikael snorted softly. “Ask one of your crew to get you out.”

Axel stretched out on the bench, putting his hands behind his head as he did. “I think I’ll just take a nap.”

“Why am I not surprised? Come on.” He motioned for the boys, who weren’t boys at all but somehow seemed like actual children some days.

As they stepped out into the hall together, the brothers’ eyes widened to see King standing there, leaning against one of the walls.

The wolf pushed up, the motion languid, almost feline despite his lupine status. “The human you got into a fight with last night,” the Alpha murmured. “He was speaking disparagingly about your mother?”

“Yes,” Riel answered, his shoulders straightening. “My mom died of cancer and he was trying to upset Anthony. He said… I can’t even repeat the words. But they were hateful and ugly. No one talks shit about my family like that.”

King’s wolf flashed in his eyes for the briefest of moments before he nodded. “You’re free to go. Don’t get into any more fights. You have them?” he said to Mikael.

Meaning, would Mikael take full responsibility for them now? Of course he would. “Do you need me to escort the lion home too?” He couldn’t believe he was even asking, but…Avery liked that jackass.

The wolf was back in King’s eyes. “Aurora is coming to get that troublemaker.”

Ah. Okay, then. Mikael nodded once at the wolf and headed out. He knew King was busy figuring out how to set up a currency system, an education system, and if they ended up having a prison of sorts, a system for that as well. Though in the shifter world, things were run differently than in the human one, so he had a feeling that things would look far, far different than what humans were used to once King had full control of New Orleans. Not that any of that was Mikael’s concern right now.

As the three of them stepped out into the waning sunlight, he gripped the back of both Riel and Anthony’s necks and squeezed with just enough pressure to make his point. “You’re too old to be getting into fights.” Or maybe they weren’t. Hell. His own brothers were almost as old as him. Old and jaded, they’d retreated from the world and gone into Hibernation millennia ago once they’d grown tired of humans and shifters and treachery in general. They’d lost most of their family, and sleeping had been the respite they’d needed. But his dragon had decided it was time to wake up. He hadn’t understood why.

Until he’d met her.

Both males winced slightly but Riel was the one who spoke up. He was often the spokesperson of the two. “Maybe you don’t tell Avery about this?”

“I will not say anything to her right now, but I also won’t lie to her.” The boys were supposed to have been helping out on a construction site on the other side of town this week, assisting another crew. It was clear that King had held them for a while, probably since last night if Mikael had to guess, likely giving them time to cool off and think about their actions. “We are all rebuilding the world right now. Do you think fighting unnecessarily is helpful?”

He could scent the shame rolling off both of them. Good.

“No,” Anthony muttered. “But I’m still not sorry for punching that douche canoe.”

“Me neither,” said Riel.

Mikael let out a low laugh. “Well if anyone has the audacity to talk about another being’s deceased mother, they deserve to get more than their nose broken. I will show you how to take down another human quickly and efficiently without permanently maiming them.” Hopefully.

They both gave him a surprised look.

Feeling protective of them, he wrapped an arm around both their shoulders and squeezed once before he let them go.

“Don’t worry about that loser,” Riel muttered as they continued down the sidewalk. “He’s your ex for a reason, Anthony. He showed his true colors and he’s a piece of shit. He’s not your ride or die.”

The two boys started murmuring to each other but their words made Mikael frown. “What is ride or die?” He did not understand a lot of human idioms. And this one was definitely new to him. Not that he’d been awake for very long anyway, but he’d discovered that many