Claiming a Beta Coyote

by Serenity Snow

  Claudia let up the kickstand and started the engine. She pulled out of the driveway and rolled smoothly down the street with Kyra holding on tight. She tried to put mental distance between the woman in front of her and herself.

  And what about the sex?

  Claudia had parts she didn’t even want to become acquainted with.

  Oh, yeah, right. The woman had made her come harder than she’d ever come, and Kyra couldn’t stop wanting her all over again.

  So, what was she going to do about that?

  Claudia parked in a parking lot what seemed like minutes later and cut the engine. Kyra let her feet fall to the ground as she quickly climbed off. She had to keep her head together, Kyra warned herself angrily.

  Claudia faced her as she removed her helmet, her silver-gray eyes watchful as they lighted on Kyra. Kyra saw a brief flash of heat and looked away as she took off her own helmet.

  As she put the helmet into the box, Kyra glance casually around, the coyote’s senses wide open as she cast out for the wild energy she could sense.

  Sam and Mallory came out of the shadows of the trees edging one side of the lot and Kyra exhaled softly. She didn’t want to fight tonight.

  The two women strolled towards them and Claudia’s hand came to rest on Kyra’s waist, drawing Kyra toward her.

  “Let me lead,” Claudia reminded her. “Sam won’t cut you any slack if she thinks you’re just a fling to me.”

  Kyra wasn’t worried about that. She wasn’t here for a popularity contest.

  “Did you bring the papers?” Sam asked.

  Kyra shrugged out of her bag and opened it. She removed a baggie which contained only one set of the promised papers, the air vacuumed out.

  “Why didn’t you just tell me about the drugs the other night?” Mallory demanded. “Cordelia’s sure you know more than you’re saying.”

  “Cordelia needs to learn to keep her mouth shut,” Kyra said. “But when it comes to you, that’s probably impossible.”

  “Tell us,” Sam commanded. “Everything and don’t hold back. I won’t be so nice if I have to ask again.”

  “Watch yourself, Sam,” Claudia warned. “I’m not going to keep telling you that.”

  Sam looked at her. “Let’s drop the shit. She means no more to you than she does to me or Mal. I think Kyra just came to you first because you’re unmated. She’s probably working with the cartel.”

  “I could be,” Kyra replied as she held her gaze. Sam stared her down, making her feel like a tiny bug, but Kyra refused to look away. “I came here to kill Jericho not screw with you.”

  “Save it,” Sam snarled. “You were up to something helping Cordelia. What was that? Stealing the paperwork that gives Cambrie claim to her family land?”

  “I can let you go to war over that land—you are anyway because those papers mean nothing,” Kyra said coldly as she leaned toward Sam. “The men who want your land mean to have it even if that means killing every member of your pack to get it.”

  “That’s been tried and it’s failed.”

  “Not with the moles activated,” she said softly. “This thing with Bradley ran deeper than even Bradley understood.”

  “Meaning?” Mallory held up a hand when Sam started to speak. “Talk to us, Kyra.”

  “I’m trying to, but Sam is under the impression I have a true stake in this, and I don’t. I just needed to make a case, and I’ve got what I need. I don’t have to stop anything, just take my ass back to the city until I get another case.”

  “Who set the bombs and which of our people helped?” Mallory asked.

  “The Russo organization’s boss ordered the bombing,” Kyra answered. “The reason I ended up with these papers is that Bradley had one of your people steal them, Sam. I took them, along with a few other things from him.”

  “Like?” Claudia asked.

  “Intel on moles, but Russo has his own. I think they were created years ago when Salvatore Russo was in town.”

  “That would be crazy,” Claudia insisted. “It would be like saying he reached into the heart of every pack in this city.”

  “You spent time snooping around Bradley’s—why?” Mallory asked.

  “Bradley’s connection to Jericho,” Kyra said. “My client wanted all information on anyone involved in raping and killing a loved one of his. That’s how I found evidence of their killer club and turned it over to the FBI.”

  Claudia gave her a curious look. “You’re the reason the feds are here, not Kamari. They’re going to take several wolves.”

  “Bradley just had proof of his crimes lying around?” Sam asked incredulously.

  “They all had little mementoes, but Bradley had video files on everyone’s crimes and so did Jericho. I put what I found on Bradley and Isaiah in the cannery hoping it would be found.”

  “We have you to thank for that?” Mallory asked. “Cordelia found it.”

  “I know. I saw her down there that night. I thought it would help you get Bradley and sway Jenner to sense. I even helped his sister by giving her some of it.”

  “You might have gotten her killed,” Sam snapped.

  “That’s not on me,” Kyra said coldly. She hadn’t led the girl to that cannery that night or even told her to take her ass down there. “Anyway, I never went over all the names I found because I didn’t think they were necessary to my case.”

  “Did you kill Jericho?” Claudia asked.

  “You know Sam and Kamari did that,” she said. “I enjoyed the show, took pictures of him roasting for my client.”

  “And you just so happened to have a few copies for Jenner,” Sam growled. “If you turn them over to him, you’re dead.”

  “Sam,” Mallory snapped in warning.

  “I don’t have them.”

  “How do we know that?” Sam demanded.

  “I’m not out to get you,” Kyra said softly. “I didn’t come to you because I didn’t think you’d believe me or even trust I wasn’t involved.”

  “I do think you’re involved,” Sam told her, crossing her arms over her chest.

  “You know, when I was staking out Russo’s brother today, I heard him say he had something you thought you had,” Kyra told her icily.

  “What?” Claudia asked.

  “Remember that land you thought you stole from Bradley?”

  “What’d you do?” Mallory demanded.

  “Me? Nothing, but Russo’s people took it back, and they’re already planning to get you both out of the way.”

  “We need a list of the moles,” Mallory told her.

  “Why does the son want the land now?” Sam demanded.

  “I don’t know,” Kyra confessed. “Russo had your club blown up because his competition is attempting to quietly take over your club. They’ve been running drugs through there somehow.”

  “Who’s been helping?” Claudia asked.

  “The dancer and bouncer involved weren’t working with Bradley, but the cartel. They’re jackal-coyotes and Isaiah brought them into the deal.”

  “Who are they?” Sam snapped.

  Claudia growled in warning at Sam who’d taken a step closer to Kyra with her hand clenched.

  Kyra wasn’t afraid of the alpha shadow coyote. She could kill her far easier than she could take out Claudia. However, she’d have Mallory and maybe Claudia to deal with.

  “Both are working with the Shadow cartel. That cartel is working with a Coalition member.”

  “Which Coalition member?” Claudia asked carefully.

  “Astor.”

  “What?” Sam, Mallory, and Claudia exclaimed at once.

  “The bouncer who’s screwing you is a wolf named Hadley. The dancer is Megan, but there were others they used to help plant the drugs. Dancers who wanted to see you get your due.”

  “That can’t be right,” Mallory said. “Both of them are nothing but loyal.”

  “To Jericho and the cartel,” Kyra told her.

  “I can’t believe this,” Sam mu
ttered. “You have to be wrong. Hadley is straight as they come.”

  “It’s simple, money talks and loyalty walks.”

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Silence reigned for a moment before anyone spoke. It was heavy, and Kyra could feel the anger rising.

  “But Astor has to be dealt with,” Claudia commented.

  “And Jenner is slowly being drawn in,” Kyra told them. “The Shadow is using him to get to you.”

  “No wonder he turned on us,” Mallory said.

  “Yeah, well, get ready for the next attack,” Kyra said. “Russo will attempt to annihilate you, but I don’t know what Shadow will do.”

  Sam pushed out a harsh breath. “Jenner might back off if he sees we legally own the land.”

  “He won’t,” Mallory murmured. “He’s certain we killed his cousin and nothing is changing his mind.”

  “Get ready for a fight then,” Kyra told them.

  “How do you know all this?” Sam asked casually. “I know you didn’t get this all from Bradley’s office.”

  “No. I got it from Jericho’s,” she said. “And surveillance.”

  “How much are you being paid to snow us?” Sam demanded.

  “For a job like this, my cut would be weighty but light enough to go over cyberspace. I travel light and often,” Kyra replied. “But lucky for you, I’m not working for the bad guys or you’d still be in the dark.”

  “Who are you working for?” Sam pressed.

  “I’m not going to let you get my client killed,” Kyra told her.

  “Then, we’ll just kill you.” Sam reached for her, and Claudia was between them in a matter of moments shoving Sam back.

  Mallory moved closer. “Claude.” She held up a hand. “Don’t do anything foolish.”

  Sam punched Claudia, and Claudia drove her fist into Sam’s stomach. Mallory reached to grab Kyra, and Kyra sent an arc of warm energy into her side before pouncing on her. She kicked Mallory in the knee and gave her a hard shove.

  Mallory fell to the concrete, and Kyra sent out a thin line of golden light. Mallory’s eyes widened, and she rolled out of the way. Mallory got quickly to her feet and Kyra raised a wall of light energy. Mallory jerked back when she would have reached past it.

  Kyra turned to find Sam with her claws out, hand around Claudia’s throat. The two were snarling at each other like rabid animals.

  Sam brought her knee up and it connected with Claudia’s stomach. Then Sam shoved her. She reached for Kyra, but Mallory knocked Sam off her feet.

  “Sam, don’t touch her,” Mallory exclaimed. “Her touch is deadly.”

  Kyra stared at them through a haze of light, the animal enraged. She pushed out her hand, and Claudia was there grabbing her from behind and jerking her off balance. The light ball went wide hitting the ground next to Sam.

  “Don’t,” Claudia said in a whisper in her ear. Her breath hot against Kyra’s skin. “Sam is just on edge, and Mallory is just being a friend.” Claudia moved in front of Kyra.

  Kyra didn’t really see her at first, the animal still in attack mode.

  “Pull it together.” Claudia gave Kyra a shake.

  The coyote fixed on Claudia, its vision filling with her tense features even as she remained aware of Sam getting to her feet a short distance away. The shadow’s aggression was pouring off her in waves that slammed into Kyra.

  Claudia’s eyes flashed pale blue-gray, the animal sensing the threat Sam still might be to her.

  “Don’t pull another one of these bullshit attacks on us, Sam, or you’ll walk with a limp for the rest of your life,” Claudia said acerbically.

  “You wanna test that theory?” Sam asked in a dangerously low tone.

  “We’ll work together from here on out,” Mallory said breathlessly. “We can’t afford to be divided if we’re under attack from jackals.”

  “I have no problem with that,” Claudia retorted. “We need teams to do some recon and intel. I already have my people at work.”

  “I’ll have Delaney and Mica contact Dylan to set up a meet. They can work things out among themselves and run it by us for approval.”

  “Evan will handle it,” Claudia said. “He’s already working the streets.”

  “Sounds good for now,” Mallory said.

  “Is there anything you haven’t told us?” Sam demanded of Kyra.

  “Maybe,” Kyra retorted with a shrug.

  “Sam,” Mallory said. “Relax. You’ve pissed her off enough for one night. She’s not going to talk. Let’s go. We’ll pick this up after we’ve talked things through.”

  “We can meet sometime tomorrow to discuss our aims and plans for dealing with Astor and the new people he’s brought to the Coalition,” Claudia agreed.

  “Right,” Mallory agreed. “I’ll call you.”

  They left, and Claudia turned to look at Kyra. Kyra growled at her.

  “Chill, baby,” Claudia ordered. “There’s a time for killing and now wasn’t it.”

  Kyra gave her a hard stare and walked away.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  “I’m not sure how receptive they’ll be to selling,” Astor said to Lena as they ate their dinner of lobster and shrimp, the soft glow of candles flickering over them.

  “Don’t worry,” she said. “I’ve planned a bit of extra incentive.” Another video like the first was planned and it would go to the DEA.

  “Meaning?” he asked with a frown and Lena studied him.

  “Are you losing your balls, honey?” she asked. She cared about him a great deal, but she wasn’t ready to tell him everything yet.

  “I’m just thinking if you push them too hard Summerfield will only dig in more. She’s preparing to go to war with the Coalition, and I’m sure we can take her and Blacklaw. I just don’t want to have to with the possibility of Dunbar and Mayer siding with them.”

  “I thought you had some sway over him,” she said, spearing a bit of lobster meat and dipping it in lemon-butter sauce. It was essential he did his part in controlling a possible threat or he was going to be as irritating as her brother as a business partner.

  “I can’t figure what or who got to him. I know it wasn’t Mayer. She’s out there on her own.”

  “What about Glory and Forbes?”

  “Glory is a wildcard, but Forbes seems to have an agenda of his own. I’m thinking he’s on Russo’s payroll.”

  She nodded. “I’ll get as much information on Glory as possible. With Jeno having fired the first strike by burning down the club and a good hundred K of our profits with it, we need to strike back.”

  “I’ve been trying to work out a way to do it without tipping our hand,” Astor replied.

  “His club will go up in a blaze around eleven tonight, and I’ve arranged to send patrons flying from that swanky little hotel they took from Holcombe.”

  “You should have found a way to link that to Summerfield and Blacklaw. If he kills them off for us that will save us a lot of problems.”

  She smiled. “That’s what my brother said, but why throw stones and hide our hands? Jeno needs to know we’re not cowards,” Lena told him, her tone hard.

  “Things are about to get interesting,” Astor said with a little grin.

  ****

  “What was that back there?” Claudia asked as they sat across from each other in the restaurant off the pier twenty minutes later.

  Kyra turned her gaze from the window. She’d been staring out at the darkness interspersed by light from the old lighthouse thinking things over. Not just tonight, but the developing emotions that made her uneasy.

  “What was what?” She glanced past Claudia taking in the emptiness of this part of the restaurant.

  “Cordelia has a wicked little ability dealing with cold and ice,” Claudia murmured. “I think I heard it called cryo-kinesis.”

  “So?”

  “What’s your ability called?”

  “It’s like pyrokinesis only it’s a form of electrokinesis. I throw li
ght, laser light instead of electricity,” Kyra explained quietly. “It’s a mutation. My family was comprised mostly of laser kinetics.”

  “Sun coyote,” Claudia murmured in awe. “A rarer breed than mine and even Sam’s. Descendants of the Incans.”

  “Right,” Kyra agreed. “We were only one of five sun packs in the world.”

  “Were?”

  “My pack is gone, annihilated by a pack of jackal-hyenas. Organized crime. They went to war with my pack over land and money.”

  “What did your family do?” Claudia asked.

  “We were farmers with some of the packmates in business. I don’t know everything, but I do know it got nasty. In the end, no one walked away.”

  “Except you.”

  “I’m dead, too. The FBI got me to testify against the crime boss, and they put me in witness protection. There were three attempts on my life and they decided to declare me dead and give me a new name and identity.”

  “That must have been hard for you,” Claudia said, reaching across the table to cover Kyra’s hand with hers.

  Kyra shrugged. “Life is a journey with many roads.” She slid her hand away.

  Things hadn’t been quite that simple. The crime boss had arranged a hit on her and a crooked agent had given her up taking away the rest of her family.

  “Are you in contact with the family who took you in?”

  “Oh, yeah.” She nodded. Wes had made sure he and his brother got custody of her when the dust cleared. “What about your family?”

  Claudia stopped when the waitress bustled to their table carrying their plates. “Here you go. Enjoy,” she said with a smile. “Call me if you need me.”

  “Will do,” Claudia assured her, and she glided away.

  “My brother and I are close,” she said. “My pack was betrayed by our alpha and then attacked by jackals and wolves. Broken, we rose anew.” She smiled.

  “With you as alpha?”

  “Yes,” Claudia confirmed. “I’ll do anything to keep them safe.”