Aleron: Chosen Champions Book Three, page 1
ALERON
CHOSEN CHAMPIONS BOOK THREE
MACY BLAKE
Copyright © 2022 by Macy Blake
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Cover by Alex Corza, alexandriacorza.com
Cover Photo by Eric McKinney, 6:12 Photography
Editing by Deniz Durand.
Proofreading by Andrea Zimmerman.
CONTENTS
Welcome to the Chosen Universe
1. Aleron
2. Spencer
3. Aleron
4. Spencer
5. Aleron
6. Aleron
7. Spencer
8. Aleron
9. Spencer
10. Aleron
11. Spencer
12. Spencer
13. Aleron
14. Aleron
15. Spencer
16. Aleron
17. Spencer
18. Spencer
19. Aleron
20. Spencer
21. Aleron
22. Spencer
23. Spencer
24. Spencer
25. Aleron
26. Spencer
27. Aleron
28. Spencer
29. Aleron
Want more?
About the Author
Also by Macy Blake
WELCOME TO THE CHOSEN UNIVERSE
The Chosen Universe is a group of interconnected series set in one universe. There is some overlap to the series, so it’s recommended to read the books in order. You can download a FREE reading order guide by clicking here.
Sweet Nothings: The Chosen One Prequel — When Sam Baker discovers a small child at his backdoor, he learns that a world of magic and shifters exists all around him—including the alpha werewolf he had a one night stand with years before.
The Chosen One Series — The mythical Chosen One is set to return with his eight guardians and correct the magical wrongs done centuries before.
Hellhound Champions Series — As the champions of the fire goddess, the hellhounds have one task: keep the secret of the supernatural world safe.
Magical Mates Series — After the Chosen One returns, magic is in the air, and shifters are finally finding their fated mates… with a little help on the side.
Chosen Champions — With magic in the human realm going haywire, a new group of Champions is called in to help keep the world safe.
If you prefer to read in chronological order, check out the Chosen Universe Box Sets.
1
ALERON
Aleron let out a sigh as he followed the estate agent around yet another abandoned château. Boredom consumed him, and he had absolutely, completely, totally, 100 percent zero interest in anything around him. Considering he was in France on family business, his ennui, as the French would call it, said something about his current frame of mind.
He used to love traveling, especially to the luxury homes of his billionaire griffin relatives. Aleron had thought the idea of finding some hidden gem of a dilapidated yet perfect for his pack fixer upper project would ease his pain and suffering.
He’d rarely had to deal with the arduous task of convincing his relatives to sign contracts. Talk about a yawn fest. His cousin Victor normally handled the international business side of things, including the schmoozing that came along with visiting their European relatives. Since those relatives included Aleron’s own parents, it also said something. He wouldn’t repeat what it said; Bailey didn’t like that kind of language.
And thinking of Bailey made him miss the ragtag pack he’d attached himself to for the past several months. Looking at châteaus without his pack to argue with him over the pros and cons of each property wasn’t fun at all.
The estate agent actually stopped his dissertation on the advantages of purchasing a property like the one they were currently touring when Aleron let out another sigh. “I need to make a phone call,” Aleron said in French.
“Of course. I’ll be outside if you have questions.”
The ancient beautifully carved—although in desperate need of some repair—door shut behind the agent, leaving Aleron alone in the cold, damp space. He grabbed his phone and pressed the button to video chat with Bailey. The alpha-mate of his pack answered on the first ring, with a broad smile on his face.
“Alley Cat! I miss you!”
“Don’t call me that,” Aleron grumbled, but he grinned a second later, earning a laugh from Bails.
“Did you sneak away from your family? You’re supposed to be playing nice. Victor told me these negotiations are a big deal for the family’s investments.”
His guilty expression revealed the truth, not that he would have lied to his alpha-mate, or more importantly, to his friend.
“Aleron! Victor is counting on you to get those contracts signed.”
“I did!”
“You did?” Bailey asked.
“Pfft, I had those bad boys signed within two hours of getting there. Do you think I’m a newb?”
Bailey frowned in confusion. “Victor said—”
“My cousin thinks our family is complicated, but I schmooze better than Victor. And if you tell him, he’ll send me on all these trips going forward.”
“Goddess, no,” Bailey said. “It makes me itchy when our pack isn’t all together.”
“Itchy?”
“Yeah, like skin-crawly. Something’s not right. My Spidey senses are tingly. You know.”
Aleron frowned. “Have you—”
“Yes, I told Logan, and not only did we ramp up security, but we’re also going everywhere in pairs. Yes, we had Scout’s brother come by and check the place for magical woo-woo. You aren’t here. That’s the problem.”
Bailey walked as he talked, and Aleron recognized the upstairs hallway. They’d set up one of their meeting rooms as a study of sorts for Spencer, their resident witch researcher. They had a mystery to solve, one involving runes that no one could translate. Spencer, an old friend of their vampire pack member, Gideon, had been working on it for weeks. After Gideon’s mate, Taj, and their friend Cosmo had been attacked by Nio, a mysterious mage, their pack’s focus became twofold. One, find Nio, and two, figure out what exactly he was trying to do with the unusual runes.
Aleron enjoyed helping Spencer while he undertook the difficult task. He’d procured rare books, ordered mysterious sacred objects, and made sure Spencer ate three meals a day. Spencer was unaware of the time when he studied. He seemed to sink into some sort of trance where he moved, examined old tomes, and scribbled notes. Sitting around watching someone else read sounded boring, so much worse than spending time with Aleron’s relatives.
But the oddest part? Spencer absolutely captivated Aleron for reasons he couldn’t quite understand and definitely couldn’t explain. Sure, Spencer was gorgeous, with his giant ax-wielding muscles and the rest of his rugged outdoorsman charm, but Aleron usually got over sexual attraction pretty quickly. His interest in Spencer had become more than a simple desire to get in his pants, which wasn’t something that happened to Aleron often.
“How’s… uh… things?” Not his smoothest effort, and it earned him an eye roll from Bailey.
“Spencer’s fine. Cranky that we’re not as good at getting stuff for him as you. At least I think that’s what he’s complaining about. At any rate, I’m making sure he eats.”
Bailey opened the office door and flipped the camera’s screen so Aleron could see Spencer for himself. A dozen books on ancient languages and magical history surrounded him at the table. Spencer scanned different passages from each before turning to the photographs of the runes taped to the wall.
“Aleron, could you get me The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, Volume 55?”
“Of course,” Aleron said.
Spencer smiled without bothering to glance Aleron’s way before his focus returned to his work. Bailey left a sandwich beside his elbow, poked Spencer in the head until he had his attention, then ordered him to eat. Spencer lifted the sandwich and took a disinterested bite.
Bailey flipped the phone around, leading Aleron back toward the kitchen. “I’m pretty sure he thinks you’re still here,” Bailey said.
Aleron frowned even as he ordered the specific journal Spencer requested. “What?”
“He only talks to you, even when you aren’t here. It’s the weirdest thing.”
“Huh.” Aleron moved to the other side of the room, trying to imagine it renovated. It would be a grand project if the right team managed it.
“Aleron Eastaughffe, where exactly are you? And don’t you dare try to fib to me.”
Uh-oh. “France.”
“You are not buying our pack a château that we can renovate together.”
“But—”
Bailey wouldn’t even let him finish his sentence. “Our warehouse is our home and place of business, and our missions are here. Wait, have you been watching The Chateau Diaries without me?”
He couldn’t lie to Bailey, even if he tried. “I needed to know what was happening, Bails. Plus, have you seen her cousin? I mean, really.”
“Oh, I’ve seen him alright. Plus, Isabelle can’t get back to them from South Africa, and it’s breaking my heart. Isn’t Dan the Gardener doing well with all th
“Ah-ha!”
Bailey’s eyes widened. “Oops.”
“You’ve been watching without me, too!”
“I have. We both suck, but you’re still not buying our pack a château to restore. We’ll live vicariously through them.”
“That’s no fun.”
“Sure it is. We have enough construction at the warehouse, and if I visit France, we will go fancy-pants. I don’t want to be working or worrying about leaky roofs or radiators or sourcing reproduction wallpaper or whatever.”
“When you visit France, we’ll make it so fancy-pants you won’t know what to do with yourself.”
Bailey grinned. “One day.”
“We’ll make it happen,” Aleron promised. He looked back at the run-down building around him and sighed. “Someone needs to love this place as much as our pack would.”
“And I’m sure someone will if it’s as special as you think.”
Aleron sighed again. “I’m bored. I want to come home.”
“So come home. They signed the paperwork already, and that’s all Victor really needed you to do, isn’t it?”
“A few more appearances will help me stay on their good side. I should probably stay until the middle of the week, as planned. I’ll meet you all at my place on Thursday for the weekend events. Did everyone have their final fittings already?”
“Yes, Victor took care of it. I still can’t believe we’re all going to your uncle’s wedding. It doesn’t make sense, especially if Victor’s entire pack isn’t going and it’s his uncle’s wedding.”
“Yeah, well, Victor’s entire pack is about half-a-million kids, so that’d be chaos. Besides, Nick prefers the kids stay within the wards, even though security at my uncle’s place is going to be crazy tight with all the high rollers in attendance.”
“It’s weird to know we’ll be rubbing elbows with supernatural royalty. You won’t let me mess up and embarrass Logan, will you?”
“I won’t. Promise. We’ll mostly hang out at my estate and show up for the parties. It will be a long four days, but a fun vacation.”
Bailey stopped so suddenly the phone wobbled in his hand.
“Bails?”
“Your estate?”
Bailey’s voice sounded kinda funny, like he’d suddenly developed a cold that made him croaky. The château’s giant stone walls must be messing with their connection. Aleron slipped outside, and a few dozen feet from the building he had five bars of reception again. “That better?”
Silence. Bailey blinked and breathed, so the line wasn’t frozen. Luckily, Ashley arrived to save the day.
“Alley Cat! Miss your face and your credit card. When are you coming home?”
“Friday.”
“That’s too long, and, um, did you break Bailey again? Because he looks weird and is making strange noises.”
“I think so, but I’m not there to fix him, so you’re up, Ash.”
“Aleron, is that a beautiful but run-down and neglected French château behind you?” Ashley asked with a frown. “You are not buying a dilapidated building for us to fix up, no matter how hot Stephanie’s cousin is.”
“I know. Bailey already said no before I could even give him a tour. You guys are no fun. Besides, apparently the cousin and Nati have been hooking up since day one, so we’re all out of luck.”
“Damn,” Ashley said. “I need to get caught up.”
“Your estate?” Bailey screeched. “What do you mean, your estate?”
Ashley looked from Aleron to Bailey, then repeated the motion. “Uh, I think you’re in trouble, which means I’m leaving. See you Thursday.”
Bailey glared at him over the video screen. And even though he couldn’t see it, Aleron could clearly hear the annoyed tapping of Bailey’s foot on the concrete floors.
“Why are you mad at me? Where did you think we’d stay, the Holiday Inn?” Aleron shivered at the thought.
“I don’t know, but ‘estate’ isn’t Oh, we’ll just crash at my place for the weekend.”
“Yeah, well, my place is an estate that was formerly owned by my parents before they decided they couldn’t handle the colonies and booked a luxury liner back to Europe. I mean, Bails, we’re going to a private island that makes Martha’s Vineyard look like a dump. What did you expect from the homes of the billionaire griffin clan?”
Bailey closed his eyes and sucked in a deep, if not cleansing, breath. “One day you’re going to understand how the 99 percent live.”
“Bails.”
“Sorry, that was harsh. I love how generous you are with us, but seriously, Aleron, you don’t even appreciate everything you have. You’re actually for real thinking about investing millions of euros in a château for us to fix up ‘for fun.’ You know the majority of people don’t live that way, right?”
“I know.”
“Okay. I adore you. Come home early. I don’t wanna fly on the fancy private plane without you. Alpha-mate orders.” Bailey’s wicked grin returned, and Aleron smiled back at him.
“Well, if my alpha-mate says I have to come back, then I guess I’ve gotta make it happen.”
“Good. Seriously, the itching needs to stop because I don’t like it one bit. Also, if some of those brochures for the châteaus fell into your luggage, I wouldn’t be mad. Oh, and if you brought home presents from… what’s that word again for French second-hand store?”
“Brocante,” Aleron replied. “And I already picked up a few things.”
“Really?”
Aleron grunted. “Let me see him again.”
Bailey snorted and went back to the room where Spencer worked. He opened the door and flipped the video screen again.
“The Journal will be there tomorrow,” Aleron said. “Make sure you finish your sandwich or Bailey will get cranky.”
“Thanks, Aleron,” Spencer said without lifting his head. He did reach for the other half of the sandwich, though.
“I swear, I don’t get you two,” Bailey said as he closed the door once more. “Also, Logan wanted me to let you know that Dasan and Joey are staying behind. Joey has rehearsals and really can’t miss them, and honestly, Dasan would rather be tortured by fire ants than go to a fancy wedding, so Logan figured he was the best choice to stay behind with Joey.”
“Not a problem. It’s most important that you and Logan are there as the leaders of our pack.”
“We’ll be there. I still don’t understand why we couldn’t have rented a tux like normal people.”
“Because you’re not dealing with normal people. You’re dealing with griffins. Besides, I can guarantee you that your wolf mate wouldn’t want to wear a suit worn by a hundred other guys. The smells would torture him.”
“Huh. I hadn’t thought of that. And now I feel like I should go shower to wash off the cooties from the prom tuxedo I wore years ago. Great, more itching. I blame you.”
“Guess that means I better hurry back so we can fight about it. I’ve had enough of my family, anyway.”
Bailey cackled. “And then we’ll make up, and I’ll make you some soup.”
“Soup isn’t the same here,” Aleron complained. “It’s all fancy. I miss your soup. I miss your face.”
“We miss you too.”
The phone suddenly moved, and Logan’s face appeared. “Quit flirting with my mate. Come home.”
“Awww, you miss me?”
Logan huffed and handed the phone back to Bailey.
“Logan doesn’t like you being gone either. He says it doesn’t make him itch, but it sure does make him cranky.”
