Authors: Nancy Corrigan
He turned away, unable to bear the hurt expression on her
face, and reached for another movie. Not looking at her didn’t stop the memory
of her laving the wound her brother had caused when he’d swiped a clawed hand
across Josh’s face.
Josh had almost kissed her that night, probably would’ve
made love to her too if she would’ve let him. Kade had stopped them in a
frenzied panic as if he’d known they were about to get naked. That was when all
the ridiculous rules had started.
“It makes you my beloved human.”
He whirled around. “No, it makes me Devin’s fucking
beloved
human. Or did you forget that rule?”
She wrapped her arms tightly around her chest. Dammit,
seeing her upset always infuriated him. Being the cause of it agitated him more.
Only around him did Mira act real. She never backed down in the face of the
other men—he’d seen her unleash her claws and egg them on. With him, she
softened. He still hadn’t decided if it was because she felt safe enough around
him to show her femininity or didn’t view him as a threat.
“No, I didn’t forget. How could I when I have not only Devin
directing my life but Kade and now the Council?” She dropped her arms and
stepped forward. “I know exactly what I am—a pawn! This whole ridiculous demand
from the Council proves that.”
He tipped up her chin with a single finger and waited until
she focused on him. “Why are they doing this to you?”
The fight went out of her. She sagged and he looped an arm
around her waist to support her.
“They claim it’s to preserve the species. We’ve lost over
three-quarters of our women this century alone, many of those royals.”
He’d already heard the official excuse from Lena. “What’s
the real reason?”
She licked her lips and tried to turn her head. He firmed
his grip on her chin, refusing to lose the insight her expression gave.
“I don’t know.”
“Bullshit, Mira. Tell me the truth.”
“I suspect it has to do with Molly. The Council had plans
for her, which Devin nixed when he stopped the trafficking deal involving her.
Within days of that, the order concerning my mating was delivered.”
He’d heard bits and pieces of Molly’s situation but nobody
had mentioned anything about the Council’s involvement. It bothered him, yet
didn’t surprise him. “What kind of plans?”
She nibbled her lower lip. “Molly’s special.”
Not exactly an answer. His anxiety spiked. “Of course she
is. White lions are nearly extinct.”
She blew out a breath and the sign of her conflicted
emotions angered him. “Mira, look at me.” He waited until she complied. “What
has Kade been hiding from me?”
“The scientists who experimented on her accomplished the
impossible.” She swallowed hard. “Now we’re pretty sure she’s immortal.”
His heart skipped a beat. He knew Molly had spent the first
four years of her life in a medical facility before finding her way to Lena’s
family a few months ago, but this little nugget of info had been omitted. He
pushed his irritation aside over being left out of the loop and focused on the
facts. “Single-shifters are mortal. They must be mistaken.”
“After what they’ve done to her, she should be dead, Josh.”
She laid her hand over his racing heart. “And the fact she’s spoken to Devin
telepathically proves she’s not quite…normal.”
“And the Council knows she’s been altered?”
She gave a small nod in answer.
The idea forming in his head brought his anger back to the
surface. Josh narrowed his eyes. “Were they planning to continue experimenting
on her?”
“I hope not but the single-shifters resent our immortality.
If there’s a chance they can figure out how to get it too…”
“Shifter Affairs won’t stand for it.” Neither would he.
“My instincts say their plans are less nefarious but just as
painful.” She sifted her fingers through his hair, an act he knew soothed her
as much as it did him. “Unofficially, the Council approved a pre-arranged
mating between Molly and the future leader of a single-shifter pride from
California. Since female white lions always give birth to white cubs, no matter
the father, I assume they’re hoping Molly’s kids will be immortal too.”
“They want to start a new breed?”
Mira shrugged. “
If
Molly’s kids are born immortal,
any of her female cubs would most likely give birth to another generation of
immortal cubs.”
“And her sons?”
Another shrug. “Your guess is as good as mine, but instinct
tells me they’d pass on their genes. Whether all their kids would be immortal,
I can’t say, but some might be.”
Thus giving the single-shifters what they believed had been
wrongfully denied them—eternal life exactly as their royal cousins had. Well,
the shifters already born wouldn’t get it, but their kids would. Still, for a
group who had resented their royal cousins for millennia, it wasn’t a bad
outcome.
“They can’t do that. Molly is not just an incubator. She’s a
beautiful child who deserves happiness and love.”
Mira caressed his cheek, running her fingers back and forth
over his stubble. Desire hazed her eyes despite the grim topic. “I know. What
they’re doing to me isn’t exactly on the up and up either. Over the last
decade, the Council has gotten over a dozen new members, mostly single-shifters.
At least one of them knows how to manipulate the laws.”
He slid his hand along her neck and savored the way her
pulse kicked up under his palm. “We need our own sneaky lawyer.”
“Shifter Affairs is helping. They’re not reporting her
whereabouts to the Council and neither have we. At the moment, the Council only
suspects we have her. She should be safe.” Mira’s exploration reached his chin.
She brushed her fingertip over the cleft there. “But the Council has the right
to visit any pride. Kade doesn’t want to give them a reason to come to ours and
accidently see Molly.”
He cursed inwardly. Molly’s early shift would normally be an
automatic death sentence for single-shifters but Molly was different. Mira’s
explanation explained why and he agreed with Kade. The five-year-old child
trapped in her lion’s body should be protected. He just fucking hated that
doing so screwed Mira.
She held up a single finger. “And before you say it, I don’t
think hiding Molly will matter. The Council gave an order. Going back on it now
would make them look weak and they want to punish our pride for messing up
their plans. I’m just a convenient way to do it.”
Another string of curses whipped through his mind. He
swallowed the expletives. They wouldn’t help. Logic would. “Tell me exactly
what the Council’s orders for you were.”
She stilled her wandering fingers. “I have a month to pick a
male from my pride to mate or they’ll pick one for me.”
His breathing quickened. “Is that the exact wording?”
She nodded. “They said it’s in consideration of the short
notice. I don’t believe it. The Council doesn’t care about my feelings. They’re
probably hoping—”
He cupped her face and kissed the tip of her nose, stopping
her words. It didn’t matter what the Council wanted. They’d screwed themselves.
“Perfect, baby.” Her bemused expression made him smile. “I’m—”
The door banged open and they jumped apart like naughty
teenagers who’d been caught necking. Devin’s full-feline eyes leveled on him. “Time
to go, Mira. Josh is all settled.”
She followed her brother out without so much as a glance in Josh’s
direction. Josh clenched his jaw to hold back the demand she return to him. He
didn’t have the right…yet.
“Call if you need anything,” Devin yelled as he walked to
the car.
Josh didn’t bother answering. He leaned against the doorjamb
and watched them drive away.
“Sure thing, Devin. I’ll let you know exactly what I need.
And this time, I’ll get it.”
First, though, he needed to deal with Zeb. Then, he’d teach
the shifters not to screw with Mira’s life.
As soon as Kade pulled away, Josh had jogged up the stairs
to change. Dressed in jeans and a long-sleeve shirt, he pulled the tarp off the
twenty-year-old Harley he’d won in a poker game.
He revved it and the bike gave a loud growl. The familiar
rumble soothed him and the vibrations of the bike between his thighs offered
him something mindless to focus on while he drove to Zeb’s house. Josh needed
that. The less he thought about what had happened the better. Every time he
did, the itch crawled over his skin and memories he refused to acknowledge
returned.
Josh drove up the road to Zeb’s run-down home and breathed a
sigh. His rusted pickup sat in the driveway. Josh hadn’t misjudged the loser
he’d known all his life. Too damn bad his instincts had been wrong about Zeb’s
sister. He parked his bike behind the piece-of-crap vehicle and hurried to the
front door. Not bothering to knock, he turned the handle and walked into the
musty, darkened living room.
Zeb slept in one of the recliners, his mouth open and drool
dribbling from the corner. He’d changed his clothes and wore sweats and a shirt
advertising the local strip club. An empty bottle of homebrewed wine sat on the
floor next to him.
Josh slammed the door. Zeb jumped from the chair. He rammed
his knee off the coffee table and squealed. Josh chuckled. “Hey, buddy, be
careful there. No need to get startled. It’s just your old pal.” Or old enemy.
Tit for tat where Zeb was concerned. He never exactly valued his friends, not
that Josh had ever considered Zeb one. In a small town, they were often one and
the same, though.
Zeb blinked. He plopped back onto the chair and gripped the
armrests. “J-Josh?”
“In the flesh.”
“Wh-what? H-how?”
Josh frowned. “You okay, Zeb? Have you been drinking again?”
He pointedly glanced at the rounded bottle. “No wonder you look a little
blurry-eyed. That stuff your pap makes will eat the lining of your stomach off.
Did you drink the whole thing?”
Zeb scrubbed at his beard with the back of his trembling
hand. “I…I thought I’d killed you. I was waitin’ for the cops to show.”
Josh forced a chuckle that sound bitter and a little crazed
even to his own ears. Part of him had thought the same thing but that was
impossible. “Do I look dead?”
“No.” Zeb leaned forward. He frowned so hard deep creases
formed on his pale freckled face. “The knife. It was covered in blood up to the
hilt.” He shook his head. “I had to have cut you up pretty bad.”
“Nah. You sliced a good flap of skin, though.” Josh gingerly
touched his belly. It no longer hurt. “They had to use those butterfly strips.”
Damn, the lies kept piling up.
Zeb glanced from Josh’s stomach to the kitchen. “I did more
than that. I know I did.”
Josh strode across the room, ignoring how his boots stuck to
the hardwood floor, and entered the kitchen. Bloody fingerprints coated the
edges of the counter. In the sink, the knife he’d felt rip him open lay on the
bottom. His gut rolled. Blood caked the blade and hilt. He forced himself to
turn the water on and rinse the evidence of the attack away.
“Whatcha ya’ doing?” Zeb asked.
“Saving your ass. It’s bad enough Ella’s got the gun you
decided to play with.”
Zeb cursed. “God, I’m screwed.”
“I told you, I’m making sure you don’t go to jail.”
And
hoping to convince you to keep your nose out of my business.
“Why?”
Zeb’s suspicious tone tensed Josh’s muscles. “Because things
got carried away. It isn’t worth getting the cops involved.”
Silence stretched. Finally, Zeb cleared his throat. “What do
you want?”
Josh finished wiping down the counters. He slipped the knife
in his boot and faced Zeb. He considered just walking out but couldn’t pass up
the opportunity to deal with another potential problem. “Get yourself back in
rehab and talk to Abby.”
Zeb frowned. “What about?”
Dear god.
Josh resisted the urge to smack his
forehead. “About Abby’s insistence that we’re an item. It’s not true.”
Zeb shook his head. “No way. I ain’t callin’ my baby sister
a liar.”
“You don’t need to. Set her up with someone else. Convince her
she can do better than me.”
“That all?”
Josh nodded. “That’s all.”
A long moment passed where Zeb stared at the floor. Finally,
he grunted. “Fine. I’ll talk to her.”
“Great.” Josh walked to the back door. He wanted to get out
of here. The smells lingering in the house churned his gut.
“I know you’re lyin’.”
Josh stopped with his hand on the doorknob. He looked over
his shoulder and leveled a glare on Zeb. “You don’t know anything.”
“You think I’m slow. I ain’t, ya’ know.”
Zeb was slow, but he wasn’t dumb. Josh ground his teeth. “So
what am I lying about?”
“Tonight. You don’t really care if I get arrested or not.”
“You’re right about that, but I do care about your folks.
Your mama shouldn’t have to watch you go to prison again. It’ll break her
heart.” Course, Zeb still might, but it was out of Josh’s hands. All he cared
about at the moment was the knife in his boot. He didn’t need the cops running
any DNA tests on it.
“I don’t buy it, but I’m gunna find out the truth ’bout why
ya wanna keep the fight quiet. I promise ya that.”
“You don’t want the cops involved any more than I do, Zeb.
Let it alone and we’ll both be happy.”
A considering look replaced the confused one on Zeb’s face.
“Are ya’ into somethin’ illegal?” Zeb grinned as if he’d just figured out the
solution to world peace. “Sellin’ drugs in the backroom of the bar again?”
Josh was halfway across the kitchen before he stopped
himself. He clenched his fists and fought the urge to pummel Zeb’s zit-pocked
face. “I didn’t even own the bar then. My dad did and he didn’t know what was
going on.”
Zeb held up his hands but the cocky smile never left his
lips. “Hey, I ain’t blamin’ your old man. Shit happens and people make
mistakes. Besides, it’s been what? Six years?”
“Five.” Five years, eleven months and thirteen days to be
exact. Hell, it was about time for his baby sister to come home for her yearly
visit. Maybe he’d succeed in convincing her to stay this time.
“Plenty of time to forgive and forget.”
Josh closed the distance between them until he towered over
the shorter man. Zeb craned his head to meet his gaze. Josh had to give him
points for holding his own, but since Zeb’s back pressed into the wall, he
didn’t have a choice.
“Never. You understand?” Josh waited until Zeb nodded. “You
better pray your buddy Vince never gets out of jail. Those bars are the only
thing keeping him alive.”
God, he should’ve killed the fucker then. He pushed hard
against the memory, shoving it back in the box, and turned his anger on the
little prick in front of him who’d stood by and watched while people died.
Josh grabbed Zeb by the shoulders and tossed him into the
living room. Josh ignored the curses and walked out before he committed murder.
With his damn luck, he’d end up in the same cell as the man who’d destroyed his
sister’s life.
* * * * *
Mira, in her jaguar form, pressed her chest to the soft soil
behind the human’s house. Josh stormed out the back door. He looked fiercer
than she’d ever seen him. While the predatory vibe he gave off appealed to her,
she wanted to know what had occurred inside the home to put the murderous
glower on Josh’s handsome face.
As soon as Devin had dropped her off at her place, she’d
jumped in her car and driven to Josh’s home only to find it empty. She
suspected he’d come out here so she’d followed. Apparently, she’d arrived too
late to find out why he’d gotten into a fight.
The bike roared to life. He tore out of the driveway and
faded into the distance. She waited until she could no longer hear the engine
before advancing in a slinking crouch toward the back porch.
Coming out here alone posed a risk. All the shifters in
Kade’s pride and Xander’s pack had been warned not to roam around in their
animal forms on other people’s properties. The humans in this area enjoyed
hunting. She accepted the danger if it meant ensuring Josh remained safe.
The heavy curtains on the widows prevented her from seeing
inside. It didn’t block the human’s voice or his stale, musty scent from
feeding her the information she required. The tart edge to his signature
suggested he’d recently used illegal drugs but she couldn’t distinguish between
the various types the way Kade or Rafe could.
She filed the information away to consider later and stepped
as gently as she could through the soggy, overgrown flower beds. An expletive
involving Josh rang out. She froze with her front paw on the deck.
“He’s hidin’ somethin’. He has to be.” Zeb, the human who’d
hurt Josh, grunted. “I don’t know what. You think he’s really gunna tell me?”
She crawled across the uneven deck. The high window which
probably sat above the sink only had a valence over it. She wanted to get a
good look at the male so her cats could judge him. A foot from her destination
the board under her paw gave way.
The human’s curses carried over his heavy footsteps as he
ran toward the back door. She pulled her leg out of the hole, ignoring the mud
between her toes, and fled for the safety of the tree line. The sound of a
rifle being cocked echoed through the night. In her jaguar’s body, she leapt
for the nearest tree and quickly climbed into the limbs.
“Where’d it go?” Heavy clunks of the human’s boots resonated
over the deck. “Fuckin’ wolves broke my porch.”
Something wooden crashed then the thumps faded. A door
slammed.
Mira waited a few more minutes to ensure the human stayed
indoors. The lights inside went out and she slunk away before the predator
became prey.