A Matter of Pride (12 page)

“Oh yeah. You might not care for the cat, but you sure as shit care about your family.” Jeremy nodded. “Lex was right about you.”

“I have something called loyalty.” She couldn’t help her throaty growl. “And I won’t hesitate to cut your throat and watch you bleed out when I’m free.”

Ted laughed. “Gee, Jeremy. I don’t think she likes you much.”

The other Hunters chimed in.

Jeremy’s mirth left him. “I don’t give a shit. She’s Lex’s problem. Not mine, or yours,” he warned.

Ted sobered and turned his pale gray eyes on Jeremy. “Don’t threaten me, boy. I’m here because I have a hankerin’ to kill. Just be glad I’m not aiming my rifle in your direction. Me and the boys don’t miss.”

The cats closed in to cage Jeremy. But were they offering protection or ganging up on him? Stacey didn’t care. She only knew she liked the dissent between Jeremy and Ted. Now how to use that to her advantage?

She could feel Dean staring at her, could feel his distress and wanted badly to end it. But she refused to give the others leverage over her. They would hurt Dean, and she’d crumble. Princess Stacey needed to be strong, because she knew Dean would risk life and limb to save her from harm. And she’d be damned if she’d lose him to this trash. She emotionally distanced herself to keep a clear head. Emotion muddied the waters, and she couldn’t afford the distraction.

She turned to Ted again. “So what is Lex offering you that I can’t better?”

He gave her a considering stare. “What have you got?”

Dean couldn’t believe the woman was ignoring him and trying to wheel and deal with the devil. He limped along, hurting like a son of a bitch, and she trotted next to a fucking Hunter, flirting and simpering over everything the bastard said.

He fumed, wishing like hell he didn’t have doubts about her. She had to be acting. Despite what she’d said about not caring about him, she didn’t want him hurt. He didn’t think.

God. How could he love the woman and not trust her? Hadn’t he admitted he’d always known she wasn’t telling the truth? Those flashes of vulnerability that hinted at the real woman beneath the glossy veneer were real. He’d seen them. She didn’t like his past with other women. She lit up like a firecracker when they touched. Physically, emotionally, they meshed. Hell, he still scented her all over him.

“I don’t know. She said he’s nothing, but they smell bonded,”
one of the cats near him commented on a common Ac-taw pathway.

“Sex will do that. Come on. You really think she’d turn down Lex, our pride leader, for this dirtbag?”

The third cat, the one he’d wounded, agreed. “
Look at him. He’s a piece of shit barely holding onto a touring company that caters to humans. Why would she want this when she could have Lex?
”

A legitimate question, and one that hurt to think about. She’d made no bones about wanting to go back to Miami. And it would kill Dean to leave his home, everything he loved. But for Stacey, he’d try. He’d probably hate every second of it, but he’d pack up in a heartbeat for her. Dean had more going for him than jokes and the ability to track. He was smart. He’d never had the urge to see more than Cougar Falls. But for Stacey he’d travel. He’d help her, learn to dress right, try to fit in with her friends and family down South…

Fuck. Who was he kidding? Their relationship had been doomed from the start. And what relationship did he think they had? They’d fucked, and it had been brilliant beyond comprehension. But other than that, she hadn’t acted much like she liked him. Now in danger, she put distance between them, not wanting to be held back by him.

He fell into a blacker mood as they spent the morning walking through the forest. The cats continued to prod him, talking about her life in Miami with the hottest designers, the rich and famous. She’d apparently dated a movie star a few months ago. A few CEOs, some foreigners with money, rich assholes in Miami. Yet Lex put no stock in her human conquests because he knew she’d mate a cat, eventually.

Was that why she had no Ac-taw lovers? Not because she was lonely, but because she’d been forbidden by Lex? Had he completely misread the situation?

A Hunter motioned with his weapon for Dean to stop, but Dean didn’t feel like stopping. He wanted a reaction from Stacey, something to let him know she remembered he was there.

While she cozied up to Dr. Death and his Hunter buddies, he was nursing a bullet wound in his thigh and lacerations all over his bloodied body. Though he’d begun to heal, he’d need to shift back and forth to speed the process. And these assholes had made it clear he was to stay a cat.

“I said stop,” the Hunter warned.

Others watched him. Dean didn’t care. He waited for Stacey to turn away from dickhead Ted. When the Hunter near him aimed in his direction, he pounced.

He knocked the gun aside and raked claws down his face, enough to scar, but not kill. The cats shoved him on his ass and mauled him once more, but he tuned out everything but Stacey, needing to see her reaction.

She screeched, and everyone around them froze. Marching over to him, she stopped with her hands on her hips. “I am
trying
to have a conversation with Ted. Would you please shut the fuck up?” Then she kicked him, actually
kicked
him in the arm, the only spot not covered by a bruise, before turning back to Ted, muttering under her breath.

“I’m sorry,” she said when she reached him and curled her hand around his arm. “You were saying?”

Dean slumped under the angry felines clawing at him. How had he missed that she didn’t care? He knew she disdained the Hunter, but to survive and protect her family, she’d play nice. Dean wasn’t family, as she’d so unkindly reminded him. She’d
kicked
him.

Yet… He inhaled and still smelled her on his fur, under his skin, embedded in his heart and soul. Talk about a curse.

He let the others bat him around before succumbing to his wounds and unconsciousness once more. Apparently Stacey would have the last laugh, because the town man-whore had fallen for an icy princess way out of his league. But hey, if this kept up, she’d soon have her wish, and he’d be out of her life, permanently.

Stacey coolly flirted, keeping Ted at arm’s length as she discussed a monetary bribe and the possibility of hunting down Ac-taw she considered enemies. It took all her considerable skill and acting talent to keep her focus on Ted and not Dean. The scent of his blood had her back up, and she reminded her cat that they were playing with their prey right now. They had to string him along, enough so that he’d lower his guard. Then she’d kill him and the others without a qualm.

She didn’t intend to wait for Quince, who was likely no longer coming. Whether she could believe Jeremy or not, she didn’t know, but he’d joined in with the others to punish Dean. He was a dead man walking. Period.

She let the anger and fear flow away, reminding herself she was a princess, needy and used to being fawned over. Then she let the scent of impatience and nobility bleed through her pores. Best to keep the cats on their toes as well. The assholes.

Ted studied her like a newly discovered species. She’d learned he had an impressive resume when it came to hunting. But he leaned more toward wolves than cats. “You really don’t care about the cat?” His watchful gaze didn’t miss a trick.

“I won’t say he hasn’t been fun. A pleasant diversion.” She shrugged. “I’m not completely heartless.”

Ted grunted.

“But I have more important things to worry about than the people in hickville. I mean, Cougar Falls.”

“And that would be?”

“Me.” She gave him a bright grin, one that had him blinking. Thankfully. “I am a commodity, Ted. My designs are world-renowned. My family and I make millions, much of which the pride would like to siphon away,” she said in a quieter voice. “I admit I’m not fond of Hunters, because I like the skin I’m in. Furry or fleshy, it’s mine. And I love life.”

“I see that.” His thorough study missed nothing, and she thanked the idiots for not including a bra with her wardrobe. Anything to distract these men worked for her. Had they been smarter, they would have included a woman or two to even the playing field. But most Hunters, like Lex and his ilk, believed women to be too soft to endure.

Underestimation worked to her advantage, however, so she encouraged Ted to think what he wanted.

She shrugged, knowing the shirt bunched over her breasts, her nipples obvious against the flannel, since the weather had turned cold this morning. “I have money and I’m not afraid to use it.”

“Just money?”

“And my body. It’s good. I’m firm, young and beautiful. What’s not to like?”

Ted nodded, not smiling. “You’re awfully sure of yourself.”

“In some respects, yes. I want to live, and I particularly want Lex to suffer.”

“Why?”

“Because he thinks he’s better than me,” she said bluntly. “Clearly he’s not.”

Ted chuckled and seemed to relax. “Honey, I don’t trust you worth a damn, but I trust Lex even less. I think we might have a deal.” He stopped her, his grip painful. “But don’t think you’ll lead me by my dick or my wallet. I’ve hunted too many of you to be blinded by your tricks.”

“Then what do you want, Ted?”

He smiled, and she let him see her shiver. She didn’t have to act to show fear, because in that grin she saw pure evil.

“Funny you should ask.”

Monty raced to his truck and drove like a demon back to Whitefish after radioing a warning to Burke. After parking, he tore out of the vehicle and darted inside the office, intent on getting to his weapons stash before heading back out to help Dean.

He hadn’t expected to run into a horde of unfamiliar cats waiting by his desk. Six of them, looking angry and annoyed all at once. He continued to move through the door into the office while trying to figure the best way to incapacitate his enemy. He took a good look around, knowing he’d never make it outside again before they stopped him. A familiar scent gave him pause. A huge-ass cat moved, and Joy Bermin poked him in the side and stepped around him.

“Monty?” She turned and gave the giant a dark scowl. “Leave him alone, you bully.”

The big guy put his hand around her arm, and Monty didn’t stop to think. He acted. He’d almost reached Joy before a half dozen cats dropped on him like an avalanche.

“Let him up, damn it,” Joy snarled.

He continued to struggle with them when Joy’s voice intruded once more.

The cats stopped trying to hurt him and helped him to his feet, then held him back when he tried to reach the guy holding Joy.

“You’re the wolf, right?” he asked in a gravelly voice.

“Yeah, Sherlock. Joy, what the hell?”

She grunted her displeasure and elbowed the cat in the gut. “This is Quince. Apparently he’s here to save me. Hurray.”

Quince scowled down at her.

Then his name registered, and Monty froze. “Wait. Quince? You and your cats are supposed to be in the mountains right now trailing Dean and Stacey. What the hell are you doing here? And shouldn’t there be more of you?”

Quince shook his head. “Jeremy told me to meet here, that Lex was planning on staging an attack. Said Dean and Stacey would be here soon—J has a half dozen of my guys with him. The rest are staged around the ranch in case Lex jumps the gun.”

Joy looked from Monty to Quince. “I’m thinking something’s wrong.”

Monty shook free of the cats still holding onto him. “Dean and Stacey met with Jeremy earlier. He said you and the others are in the mountains, that Lex and his cats are south of the position, and that there might be Hunters around.”

Quince frowned. “That’s not right.”

Another cat spoke, “I told you he was acting weird. I think he’s been telling Lex everything we’ve been up to. We have to get out there.” He turned to Monty. “Where are they in the mountains, exactly?”

Monty would have answered when more cats poured through the back and front doors, effectively pinning them inside. Though the office had space, it wasn’t big enough to hold everyone comfortably.

Quince yelled at Joy to take cover and dove for the nearest intruder. All hell broke loose, and as usual, Monty was in the middle of it.

“Shit.” He ducked a punch and threw his own, pleased when it connected with someone’s face.

The fight broke out in earnest. Human growls turned feline, hisses and screeches filled the air. He suffered claws, bites and a few punches before the mess died down. And that’s when he realized he was no longer the only non-feline in the room.

Joel, Ty, Gerald and a few Whitefeathers from the Raptor Clan had evened the odds. When Burke rushed in moments later, Monty and the others were shoving mangled cats aside.

“What the hell? I leave you in charge out there, where it should be quiet, and everything turns to shit,” Burke growled at Monty, but the clear concern in his eyes expressed his worry.

“Told you he’s trouble,” murmured Ty, in sheriff mode. “I’ll call for help. Looks like we’ll be filling jail cells tonight.” He aimed a look at Monty. “And as usual, there’s a wolf involved.”

“Hey, don’t blame me. Blame—” Monty sought Quince. But to his dismay, the cat had disappeared. And so had Joy.