by Elle Boon
“Nah, you’re not my type, besides, who fucks and runs besides bunnies. They might, but I don’t really know because well, they’re bunnies, and I eat them, but only if I’m really hungry and...what? What did I say?” Lula turned to stare at the wolves.
“Lula, tell me you don’t eat the Easter Bunny?”
“Stop it, everyone,” Niall roared.
Chapter Eight
Joni fell back on the mat. “Okay, that’s enough. Seriously, Annie, I can’t hang,” she panted. They’d been hitting what Hollis and Annie called the Gym for the past week, working with the shifters of the Wilde Crew in human form. Joni hadn’t thought she’d like another pack as much as she’d liked the Mystic pack, but this Crew, was really close. They were a bunch of misfits, or lost ones, who came together as a family more so than anything else.
“So, why does your wolf hide?” Annie asked, taking a sip from the water bottle.
She stilled, fear skating over her. In the time she’d been with them, not once had they pushed her to talk about her past, other than to ask if she would be bringing trouble to their door. After she’d reassured them she wouldn’t, they’d nodded and welcomed her like she was one of their own. A glance across the huge space showed nobody was paying any attention to her and Annie. Although she knew if she put one foot wrong, any one of the shifters would be there in an instant to protect Annie should the need arise. “My old alpha, not the one who...I just left. Shoot, that sounds weird. The alpha I grew up having to bow and scrape to was a sadistic asshole. No, he was worse than that. He was an evil bastard who took great pleasure in others’ pain. I won’t go into the details of his deeds, suffice to say, he...the things he did to another physically, I bargained with him, in order for me to be able to help her afterward. She was his daughter and one of my best friends. He tortured her, physically. I didn’t realize he could do the same to me without actually laying a finger on me. So, after she healed, I would then suffer the same, only I couldn’t let anyone know. Which was easy because nobody saw me most of the time. My family’s job was to surf the internet, literally, and make the pack money by finding the right places to invest, then keeping the accounts for the pack. Keith fucked with black magic and that’s all I’m going to say on that.”
Her voice shook at the end, the memories of all the times she couldn’t get out of bed. The broken bones, the ruptured organs, all the things poor Taryn had faced at the fist and feet of her father. Goddess, how awful it had been to witness her friend’s suffering. Her saving grace was she’d been able to prepare, had been able to order supplies for herself, while Taryn had to limp back to her tiny room alone, save for Joni and Sky. That was the compromise she’d made with Keith. He had agreed to allow them to care for Taryn, in exchange for Joni taking the same punishments. Oh, he hadn’t shown up and doled out the abuse in physical form. He’d been powerful enough he could do it through their private mental link. Her wolf had tried to stop him at first, but he’d beaten the poor beast into submission too many times, now she couldn’t feel her, not even when she needed her, not even now that Keith was dead and gone.
“You see, I don’t think my wolf is here anymore. When she needed me, I was too much of a coward to help her. I allowed him to hurt us, so she retreated,” she whispered her deepest fear.
Annie wrapped her arms around her. “No, honey, you’re not. You’re the farthest thing from a coward I’ve ever known. You, you’re a warrior and a protector. Even if your wolf never comes out again, you’ll always be a warrior female. Now, come on. Let’s head out, and we’ll pick something up for dinner. I’m too tired to cook.”
Joni let Annie help her stand, but her words helped her lift her shoulders a little higher. Learning to use the extra strength her shifter side gave her to fight also gave her a little hope she could protect herself if she needed. She didn’t kid herself thinking she could win if she went up against another shifter, but at least she could put up a good fight.
“I don’t give a fuck if she eats damn Bambi, if she can find Joni for me,” Atlas growled.
Lula clapped her hands, then twisted her long pink hair into a bun, several bobby pins appearing in her mouth. When she was done, she smiled. “I knew I liked you. And just for the record, I don’t eat Bambi. Baby deer have spots and they freak me out. Okie dokie, now give me a minute.” She walked away, spinning on impossibly tall wedges, her tutu like skirt fluffing out, showing off boy shorts underneath. The female looked more like an anime character than a real life female, but he kept his thoughts to himself. She was almost too gorgeous for reality.
Lula turned, gave him a wink, then spun again, doing a walk around the room, her hand touching different things in the room. As she stopped behind Jett and Taryn, she paused. “You two are just sooo darn sweet. I see a great future ahead of you, but really, magic Jett, you need to stop with the worrying. There are no baby planks running around out there. This one will be your only baby mama drama you’ll need worry about for the rest of your lives.” She slapped his ass. “Now that doesn’t mean the rest of the women shouldn’t get to enjoy your dancing skills every now and then. Taryn, be a sweetie and let him be a good male dancer, like once a month, just so the other men can get laid as their women pretend its him they’re doing, Mystic men aside.” She winked.
“My mate doesn’t need to see him bump and grind to get horny,” Niall groused.
“Of course, she don’t, duh.” Lula rolled her eyes. “Now, you want to know where Jonessa is, yes?”
Atlas shook his head. “No, her name is Joni.” He looked at the pink haired dragon female, worrying they might have called in a crazy one.
She wagged her finger at him. “Crazy is as crazy does, dire bear. Your female is a smart one. You see, she went clickity clack on her computer and zip zing zang, she has a new identity. Joni is now Vanessa, i.e. Jonessa.” She waved her hand in the air and took a bow.
Niall pinched the bridge of his nose. “So, can you tell us where...she is?”
Lula lifted one shoulder. “I can.”
They all stared at Lula, who stared back.
“Oh, you want me to tell you where she’s at?”
This time Atlas couldn’t keep his growl contained; his bear pushed closer, white fur rippled over his forearms. “Female, tell me where to find my mate. Please,” he grated.
“Why is it that in all the stories they make you bears all soft and cuddly, but in reality, you’re all big, bad, and snarly,” she tsked. “Fine, I’ll show you where she is.” She waved him forward.
“Lula, be nice,” Niall implored.
“Lula be nice,” she mocked in a sing-song voice. “Lula, don’t eat this, don’t eat that. Lula, don’t do this, don’t do that. You all are the killers of fun. Pfft. I might as well have stayed in the Fey Realm and listened to my dragon mother, or better yet, stayed an egg,” she complained.
Sky held her hand up. “Do dragons hatch from an egg, then?”
“I don’t think we really want to know, hellmouth.”
“River, I totally want to know. I have a bit of dragon in me. What if I have an egg?”
“You will not have an egg, dragon or no. You’re pups will be all wolfies or maybe wolfagons, since a dragolf sounds weird.” Lula looked at the trio, then at Atlas. “Now, come, I’ll take you to Jonessa.”
“Her name is Joni,” he growled.
“Potaytoe, Poe tot toe,” she said.
“I suggest you just go and not tug the tail of a dragon, Atlas.” Niall shook his head.
“Why would you tug my tail? Does he not know a dragon’s tail, while magnificent, is also very dangerous actually? Dire bear, it would be incredibly stupid of you to tug my tail, or any dragon’s, tail,” she warned, snapping her fingers. “Come, time is wasting, and danger is getting closer to the female.”
Her words had him hurrying over to her. “What do you mean?”
“Bye, my furry friends, I will see you soon. Niall, your mate is in need of you. Your wolfie pup wasn’t willing to wait the mont
h she demanded, silly girl. Ps. Lula Junior is an awesome name, just saying.” She grinned, then grabbed Atlas’s arm. “Let’s go, dire bear.”
Atlas looked at the stricken face of the alpha, but before he could say his goodbyes, he and the crazy dragon were gone. “Motherfuck,” he muttered.
Atlas fell on his ass in the middle of a cornfield, stocks falling beneath his weight. “What the hell, female?” he groaned, falling backward, staring up at the starry sky.
“Ah, doesn’t it smell wonderful? Take a deep breath, dire bear. Tell me, what do you smell? And if you say something like shit, I will personally kick you in the nads.” Lula sat beside him, or rather flounced down, her fluffy skirt of tulle covering half his face.
“How old are you, female?” He shoved the material off his face pushing to a sitting position, his arms hanging over his knees to look over at her.
“Ah, much older than you, dire bear,” she assured him.
“My name is Atlas, female,” he growled.
She got up, dusting off her skirt. “And my name is Lula, dire bear.”
He nodded. “Touché, Lula.” He held out his hand. “Friends?”
“Frenemies,” she agreed.
Atlas laughed. “Why are we enemies?”
“You’re a dire bear, that comes with great responsibilities. Until you mate, you’re a liability to all other shifters. My friends are shifters.” She turned in a circle. “Your female is that way, but we have company coming in from that way.” Lula held her fingers up, counting off. “Three, two, one.”
A huge lion with a black mane leapt out, followed by a wolf and a grizzly bear. Lula clapped as if she was excited, but Atlas growled, shifting into his bear, roaring loudly. All the animals in front of him skidded to a stop, their paws digging into the ground, tearing down the cornfield around them when they tried to find purchase.
“Aw, come on, fight, fight, fight,” Lula cheered.
Atlas swung his head toward her. In his bear form, he towered over them all, the top of Lula’s head a good foot or so below his shoulder when he was on all fours. If he stood on his hind legs, his massive grizzly stood at close to twenty-two feet tall.
“What the hell are you?” A booming voice called from behind him.
Although he was irritated with the female dragon, his bear moved to protect her, placing his body between her and the newcomer. His bear growled.
“And just like that, we became friends instead of frenemies,” Lula said, clapping. Her hand tugged on his fur. “Now, be nice to the alpha. He’s kinda got an in with your female,” she whispered loudly.
“Boys, shift back. I think it’s pretty safe to say, if he wanted to eat us all, he could, and well, Pinky Tuscadaro over there would probably help, or cheer him on.”
“Although it goes against my better judgement, I’m going to give them all clothes.” Lula snapped her fingers. “How do you like that?” she asked.
Atlas in bear form turned to look over his shoulder, seeing the shifters turn into men, their bodies seamlessly shifting and being clothed in...good goddess, he definitely planned on staying on Lula’s good side. The booty shorts she gave the men to wear with tassels dangling off the bottom could only be classified as stripper attire. Not that he had anything against strippers in general, but damn, he was sure the males standing with their hands over their dicks weren’t at all happy with the spandex she’d given them.
“Can I keep these?” the man he had seen as the huge lion asked.
The one who’d ordered them to shift growled, but the lion shifter laughed. “Hey, my future mate would totally love these.” He shook his hips back and forth, making the tassels move.
Lula raised her hand. “I agree.”
Atlas shifted; energy swirled around him along with the knowledge on how to clothe himself after a shift. He made sure he wore what he would normally wear when facing an alpha and his future mate. His big hand came up and covered Lula’s eyes. “You do not need to see that male doing that, Lula.” He glared at the stupid lion. “Go home and put some clothes on, all of you.” He pushed out his own alpha powers, not shocked when they all averted their gazes, turning to do as he said.
The alpha male grunted but didn’t say anything when his people had turned tail. “Neat trick, son. Now, why don’t you tell me why you and Pinky here decided to decimate a large swath of my crops?”
Lula raised her hand, but Atlas still held his hand over her eyes. “I apologize for the damage we did here. I assure you it wasn’t our intent, and any money you might lose, I will repay plus interest.”
“What’s your name?”
“I’m Atlas. I’m looking for my mate Joni.” He saw no reason to lie or beat around the bush.
“Well, if you think I’m just going to hand her off to just anyone, you better think again.” He inhaled, staring into Atlas’s eyes. “Come on, let’s head back to my house. We’ll see what the women think. If Joni or my mate take issue with either of you, huge ass bear and whatever Pinky here is not withstanding, you’ll have to go through my crew first,” he warned.
Lula clapped. “More frenemies.”
Atlas sighed. “Come on, crazy.” He tugged her along with him.
“Crazy is as crazy does,” she repeated.
“Do you think they’re okay?” Joni bit her lip, fear for Hollis had her looking out the window again. Annie and Hollis had each felt some sort of call, but since she wasn’t an official member of their crew, she’d not heard or felt what it was. It didn’t mean she wasn’t worried for her friends.
“Hollis said all was fine and is on his way back. He said to warn you he’s bringing someone from your past here.” Annie’s eyes held a bit of anger.
Joni turned from the window. “What?”
“You said nobody would come looking for you here. Did you bring trouble to our crew?” Annie crowded her against the counter.
“No. I promise. Nobody would care if I lived or died from my old pack.” Keith was dead. Her parents were set up and didn’t need her for the finances. Why would anyone be looking for her?
“You’re telling the truth, or at least to your knowledge. I’m sorry, Joni. These are my people,” Annie said.
The fact that she wasn’t considered one of her people hit Joni, hard. “I’m aware, Annie. I’ve always been aware,” she bit out.
“I didn’t mean it like that.” Annie reached out to her, but Joni flinched away.
The back door opened, saving Joni from hearing more platitudes. She was stupid thinking they’d accept her as one of theirs. She couldn’t shift. She couldn’t add to the crew, not like the others. Sure, she helped set their computers up, got the store computers working smoother so that Annie could find and order things easily, but anyone with half a brain could’ve done what she did.
Her breath stalled at a scent she thought she’d never smell again. Her eyes widened at the big man who followed Hollis inside, his gorgeous blue eyes met and held hers. Everything inside her stilled. Even the stupid wolf inside her seemed to wake up and hold her breath. “Atlas,” she whispered.
“Jonessa,” Lula cheered.
At the strange name, she jerked her eyes to the female dragon behind Atlas. “Um, Lula, what are you doing here?”
“Oh, ya know, being the fairy dragon to you and this dire bear. What are you doing here?” Lula asked, strolling into the kitchen, touching the different things Annie had on display. “Ah, you must be Annie, the lady of the house. I’ve smelled so much about you.” Lula grabbed Annie’s hand, pumping it up and down, up and down, several times before releasing her.
“Err, you mean, heard?” Annie asked.
Lula let go of Annie’s hand, tapping her nose. “Nope, smelled. So, whatcha doin?” Lula asked, plopping down on a kitchen chair, crossing her legs, putting her arms over them as she stared around the space.
Joni looked between Lula and Annie, then to Atlas. “Um, what’s going on?”
He shrugged. “I went to Mystic, had a chat with
Niall, and then Lula agreed to help me find you.”
Her friend Annie looked as if she’d swallowed saw dust and hadn’t drank a lick of water in days. Joni took a closer look, her wolf seemed to surface a little more. “Annie, are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine,” Annie assured her after coughing a few times.
Even without her wolf, Joni could smell the lie. However, Hollis pulled Annie into his side. “Joni, you don’t have to talk to him, or do anything you don’t want to. I know you haven’t formally joined my crew, but that doesn’t mean I don’t—we don’t consider you one of ours.”
Atlas growled; the sound had the hair on her arms standing up. “Thank you, Hollis. Um, can we have a few minutes to talk...in private?”
Lula sighed. “Isn’t lost love a beautiful thing?” She leaned against the counter, snatching up an apple, tossing it in the air with one hand, catching it in the other. “Who wants to play a game of catch?”
“Lula, Niall said to tell you to play nice,” Atlas warned.
The female dragon widened her purple eyes, looking way too innocent. “I always play nice. It’s the idiots who are stupid that don’t.” She looked around the room. “Are there any idiots in residence here?”
“Female, you’re in my home. I suggest you watch your tone,” Hollis barked.
Lula stood straight. All act of joviality gone. “Joni, why don’t you take Atlas up to the barn and have a little chit chat while I have one with Hollis and Annie here?”
“Um, why don’t you come with us?” Joni suggested.
“Nah, you two need a little alone time to work some things out. We’ll be fine. Won’t we?” Lula looked at Hollis who still had his arm around his mate.
“I agree. My crew is close.” Hollis’s warning was clear to all. If Lula did anything that Hollis didn’t like, the Wilde Crew would be there to protect them. What Joni wanted to tell them was that Lula cold decimate them all with only a blink and a breath of fire.
“Come on, Lula will be fine. She’s given her word she’ll be nice,” Atlas promised.