by Jane Perky
“Noel, what are you talking about? If it weren’t for your quick thinking, we wouldn’t be able to get ourselves out of that situation. We might have lost Jim. You acted cool-headed in a tense situation. Not everyone could do that,” Teddy said.
“Your brother’s right,” Mandy said. “Tonight, you’ve proven yourself as one of us, a member of the pride, Noel.”
Those words lifted his spirits. The drive was silent on the way to the safe house, which turned out to be Mandy’s family home. Through the brightly lit windows of the modest starter home, he could see a man in his early thirties in the kitchen, cooking for two kids, a boy and a girl, who sat by the counter.
“Teddy will be safe here,” Steve told him, stopping the car in the garage. “Mandy’s husband, Raul, is also a warrior for the pride.”
“Wait. What about Noel?” Teddy demanded.
“The Alpha wants his mate by his side before the fight tomorrow.”
“I want to see Isaac, too. The challenge is still on?” Noel asked, worried. “What if those hyena shifters pull another fast one on us?”
“Trust in the Alpha,” Mandy told him, before getting out of the car with Teddy.
Steve took him back to Isaac’s apartment. Seeing Isaac waiting in the parking lot, a wave of relief filled him. Noel rushed out of the car, leapt at his mate, who easily caught him in his arms. Isaac buried his fingers into his hair, wrapped him into a fierce hug.
“Thank God, you’re unharmed,” Isaac murmured, pressing a kiss to the mate mark on his neck. The bond between them sparked to life. For the first time that evening, Noel finally felt safe in the arms of his mate. Noel could sense the lingering worry and fear coming off from his strong and proud Alpha. That didn’t sit right with him.
“I’m sorry. I should have taken more precaution,” he said.
Isaac shook his head. “None of us predicted this. Marsh sending his men to go after you and your brother? That’s a new low. No respectable Alpha would resort to that solution.”
“The more I learn about Russ Marsh, the more I hate him,” Noel mumbled.
“I won’t forget this,” Isaac said against his ear. “Tomorrow, I’ll end Marsh’s reign. I’ll make sure nothing and no one will touch you and our baby again.”
Chapter 13
“Isaac, you don’t have to do this,” Noel insisted the following evening as Isaac was about to leave for the challenge.
Deciding they needed to have this talk, Isaac settled on the couch in the living room. The fight would go down at midnight. It was only ten. He patted his lap. Noel straddled him, leaned against him. Isaac had gotten used to this, the weight of his mate, his warmth. Noel sitting this close to him only reminded him that he had plenty to lose. Marsh thought Noel was his kryptonite. The hyena Alpha was wrong on so many accounts.
Noel gave him renewed strength, showed him a glimpse of a future he wanted to come true. A mate with guts. A family. Once his pride mates saw their Alpha had settled down, that Noel and their offspring only strengthened the pride bonds, it would encourage the other single lion shifters to find their own mates. Their pride would grow. Only become stronger.
“I do. Marsh claims he knew nothing about yesterday’s incident, that his hyena shifters acted on their own,” Isaac said.
He couldn’t contain the anger in his own voice. Isaac hated to admit it, but he’d been careless. His mate should have every right to go to any part of this city, visit his brother if he wished. Marsh and his gang had ruled the streets with fear far too long. It was time to wipe the menace out. Completely.
Noel snorted. “Yeah, right. I bet Marsh thought you’d back out from the challenge. Are you certain there’s no way he’d cheat?”
“The location of the challenge is at an old gym downtown. Jed and Spencer already scoped out the place beforehand. We’ll take extra security measures. Three other Alphas from different groups will also be present for the fight. If Marsh does resort to something quick and dirty, or withdraws, his reputation will go down the drain,” Isaac explained.
Noel went to him, hugged him tight. “I know you have to do this, but I’m worried for you. You’re the strongest man I know, but Marsh? He’s proven time and time again he’s a different type of monster. Someone who’d use any underhanded means to win.”
Wanting to chase away Noel’s fears, he kissed his mate, slowly, tenderly. Noel clutched at his biceps as Isaac deepened the kiss. Noel sucked down on his tongue He was tempted to rip all of Noel’s clothes, have him right here and now, but Isaac needed to focus for the fight. Noel was a distraction of the best sort, and if Isaac let his guard down, even once, he might end up losing everything.
Isaac pulled his mouth away. “I’ll make good on my promise. Marsh is lion fodder for what he did to you yesterday. I’ll also avenge Sebastian.”
“I want to come with you.”
Isaac shook his head, gently gave Noel’s arm a squeeze. “You’ll be safer here.”
Noel began to protest, but Isaac continued, “Yesterday, I was terrified out of my mind. I’ve never experienced fear like that my entire life.”
“Never?” Noel asked, wide-eyed.
He shook his head. “I’ve been backed into a corner a few times in my life. When I made the hard decision to leave this city so my brother could rule and when I challenged the old Alpha of our pride for his position because I knew he’d run the pride to the ground. Those incidents were nothing compared to the terror I felt last night.”
“I make you weak,” Noel said in a small voice.
He growled. “Wrong, baby. You make me strong in ways you don’t even realize. Jed and Jim told me everything. You did good.”
“I did?” Noel asked, giving him a hopeful look. Then his mate squinted at him and crossed his arms. “You sure you’re not just saying that to make me feel better?”
“Why would I do that?” Isaac asked, baffled. “Not everyone would be able to think of others in a situation like this. Most would want to save their own skin first.”
“I’d never do that,” Noel said. “Jim and Benny, they’d risk their lives for Teddy and me. For that, I’m eternally grateful. Thank you, for those kind words.”
He pressed his forehead against his mate’s, looked into Noel’s eyes. “You might have been born a wolf, but you possess the courageous heart of the lion.”
Noel blushed at those words. “Okay. I’ll be good and stay here, but you better win.”
“That, I can guarantee,” he said with a smile. Someone knocked on the door, and Noel got off his lap to answer it. Isaac followed his mate, only to discover Spencer. Isaac noticed Noel hesitated, took a step back, only for Noel’s back to bump into his chest. Isaac knew Spencer and Noel had gotten off the wrong foot, but after he divulged his plans to Spencer, the warrior had become his biggest supporter.
“Omega, I heard about your actions last night. Thank you for not leaving a lion behind. Jim’s my brother-in-law. He’s a good guy,” Spencer said. “I misjudged you. For that, I’m sorry.”
“There’s no need for apologies. Just do me a favor. Make sure Isaac comes out of this fight in one piece, okay?”
Isaac chuckled at that, gave his mate one last kiss.
“I’ll be waiting for you,” Noel said after.
Isaac nodded towards the two other lion shifters standing outside the door. It was getting pretty crowded in the corridor, but it didn’t matter. Pretty soon, they needed to make their move. “Steve and Jace will be right outside. You know the drill. If you see or hear anything suspicious, go right to them.”
“Two bodyguards?” Noel asked.
“Just until this is all over,” he reassured his mate.
“Okay. Take that bastard down, baby.”
* * * *
Jed was waiting for them downstairs in his truck. Isaac slid into the seat next to the driver’s. Jed started the engine.
“I forgot to ask. The bodies from yesterday?” Isaac asked his Beta.
“Delivered to
Marsh’s doorstep, as you commanded.”
“Sure serves the fucker right,” muttered Spencer from behind.
“Spencer, cull your temper,” Isaac reminded the warrior.
“Got it. It’s just, I’ve been waiting for this moment a long time.”
Isaac looked at the other shifter through the side-view mirror. “My brother, he meant a lot to you.” Isaac made it sound like a statement, not a question.
“Sebastian was the world to me.”
Isaac didn’t pry further. He knew Sebastian never took a mate, considered mates a weakness, but he wondered if his brother ever regretted his choices. It didn’t matter now. Isaac’s duty was to avenge Sebastian’s untimely death, and once he got rid of Marsh, the fractured cracks in the pride would be healed again.
His lions, and the ones from Sebastian’s old pride who decided to join his, were loyal to him. Isaac had spoken and spent time with every man, woman, and child under his protection, but he also knew Sebastian’s former pride members still mourned his death.
“You got what I asked for?” Isaac asked.
“Pill case on the dashboard.”
Isaac spotted the box, took out the white pills, and swallowed them down.
They finally arrived at the venue, a run-down-looking gym deep in the heart of the slums. Unfriendly faces greeted them. Hyena shifters toting an assortment of knives, guns, and baseball bats in the open. The aggression coming off them was off the roof. Isaac wasn’t worried about them or the prospect of an ambush.
Through the pride bonds, he could sense each of the lion shifters connected to them. Most of them, those who could hold their own in a fight, were here, sprinkled among the hyena shifters. They had his back. Jed and Spencer, he reminded himself, did thorough legwork beforehand, scouted the buildings, rooftops, every possible nook and cranny of this neighborhood. Jed had men positioned everywhere, made sure they were on the look-out for possible snipers.
He wouldn’t go out the way his brother did.
Isaac got out, Jed, Spencer, and a few other pride mates forming a group at his back as he entered the gym. He spied Kai and Dane, Alpha of the Bone Breaker werebear clan and Alpha of the Black Moon werewolf pack. He invited both men to witness the challenge. Isaac only met and spoke with the two men a couple of times to discuss the prospect of an alliance between their groups. He wouldn’t go so far as to call them friends, but he knew from Spencer and his brother’s former pride mates they had more honor than Russ.
He nodded to them, before approaching Russ Marsh. The hyena Alpha didn’t look like much. Six-feet-tall but all of him made of skin and bones. Old scars covered Marsh’s gaunt and pale skin. Spotting him, Marsh flashed his sharpened yellowing teeth at him and waved at him in greeting.
Another Alpha would have brought up yesterday’s incident, but Isaac wanted this done and over with. “Let’s get on with this,” he said. “This fight’s been a long time coming.”
His lions let out a few growls of agreement.
“What’s the rush, Mr. Rowland? There’s no need for blood to be spilled tonight, don’t you think?”
Chapter 14
“Wrong. It would only be your blood splattered all over that old boxing ring.” Isaac could barely grit the words out.
He kept replaying the image of Noel, being held captive in that apartment, a gun to his head. An unforgivable act.
Isaac wanted to wipe that grin off Marsh’s face. The big cat inside him wanted to flay Marsh’s skin in leisurely strokes. Hear him scream. Beg for mercy. Calm down, he reminded his inner lion. Marsh might use any means necessary, even dishonorable measures, to achieve his goals, but not him. The reputation of his pride was at stake.
“I hear you’re a man of business. What’s to gain with both of us fighting? Why not make an alliance? The Bloody Claws and your pride. What’s your pride’s name again? Iron Claw? I hear you refuse to take the name of your brother’s pride.”
Isaac hadn’t decided on a name for one reason. Iron Claw had been the name the old Alpha of his pride chose, and he couldn’t take the name of his brother’s pride, because it only invoked grief and bitterness for his brother’s former pride mates.
“Once I rip out your throat, we’ll be the Crawford City Pride,” he said with a smirk.
Marsh’s face rippled with anger. The hyena Alpha hissed. Finally, Isaac had hit a mark. “That’s pretty arrogant of you, don’t you think? Only the dominant shifter group in the city can have that name.”
“Yeah, and that’s us. No use trying to talk your way out of this, Marsh. You’ve used up all your tricks. An alliance with you? Don’t make me laugh. Only a fool would want the Bloody Claws as their allies. You’ll just end up stabbing us in the back,” Isaac said coldly. “Get in that ring.”
“You’ll regret this,” Marsh said, beginning to walk away from him. “Remember, I offered you a way out.”
“Be careful,” Jed told him.
Isaac entered the ring, stripped out of his clothes, and reached for his beast. Marsh did the same. His opponent looked nervous. Isaac reminded himself that this bastard hired a sniper to take down his brother. Didn’t even have the guts to confront Sebastian himself. Maybe it was because Marsh knew he wouldn’t be able to win in a real fight.
The watching crowd, yipped, hissed, snarled, and stomped their feet. Isaac barely heard them. He zeroed in on his opponent. Only Marsh and he existed. Isaac couldn’t afford to lose focus. One mistake against an unpredictable opponent who possessed deceit and cunning in his arsenal of weapons could spell out disaster for him.
Golden fur covered his arms and shoulders. Bones cracked. Organs moved. Marsh lunged at him, partially shifted claws out, even before he could complete the shift. His nose instantly picked up a repulsive, toxic scent. Isaac zeroed his gaze in on the shiny substance smeared across Marsh’s knuckles.
He moved at the last second, but Marsh managed to leave a score of blood across his left shoulder.
Marsh grinned. “You talk big, lion king, but in the end? You’ll die from my poison.”
“That’s why I took precautions. An antidote before the fight.” Those were the last human words Isaac managed to utter, before the golden beast took over completely. Panic registered across Marsh’s face.
“You’re lying,” Marsh whispered.
Isaac went for the kill. He tackled Marsh to the ground. The hyena Alpha didn’t give him an inch, but rage empowered him. Although he never truly got along with Sebastian, he’d dedicate this fight, this win, for his brother. For his mate, who waited for him anxiously back at home. Marsh finally completed his shift.
Isaac lunged for Marsh’s throat, and the hyena Alpha did the same. He pounced, had Marsh under him. Marsh snarled, struggled, wormed his way out of his grip, only to claw his way out of the ring.
“Coward, stay and fight for your honor and the honor of your pack,” yelled Kai from somewhere in the background.
Isaac jumped on Marsh before the bastard could escape. Setting his teeth to Marsh’s throat, he ripped it out and ended Marsh’s misery. The hyena Alpha bled out on the ring, staining the dirty white flooring crimson. A smidge of satisfaction filled him. Someone needed to take out the trash in this city, clean it up. This way, the weaker paranormals and the humans no longer had to fear going out at night. They’d feel safe again.
The stamp of feet made him turn his head, but it was only Marsh’s hyena shifters heading for the exit doors. Without their leader, Isaac doubted the hyenas would cause trouble for him and his lions again. They’d make sure of that.
* * * *
Noel couldn’t focus on the TV show, didn’t even know what was playing. The sound was distraction, but nonetheless, he felt Isaac’s emotions. Anger. Adrenaline. Triumph. He let out a breath, turned the TV off as he checked his phone. A text message from Jed appeared, telling him Isaac won.
He slumped against his seat, relieved. Noel couldn’t sit still, do anything the entire time, his thoughts too preoccupied with th
e safety of his mate. It felt like hours passed, but half an hour later, the front door opened. He jumped to his feet, ran towards his mate. Flecks of blood still covered Isaac’s face, but he knew none of it belonged to his lion. The Alpha stood still, let Noel touch his face, the rest of him.
“Satisfied?” his Alpha had the nerve to ask.
He punched the Alpha in the shoulder. “I was really worried.”
“I know, baby,” Isaac answered, holding him tight. The Alpha kissed the top of his head. “But it’s all over now. The rest of the Bloody Claws scattered after I killed Marsh. He tried to one-up me, used poison.”
Noel widened his eyes. “Poison?”
“Jed and I were ready. He heard from a source that Marsh liked to use a particular nasty poison lethal to shifters to gain an upper hand against his enemies. I had him procure the antidote yesterday. It was costly, so was shipping.”
“Worth every penny if it meant delivering you safe and sound in my arms,” Noel said.
Isaac closed the door behind him, then raised his eyes, probably noticing the breakfast Noel prepared. “You had time to cook?”
“I needed something to do to take my mind off the fight. The food’s gotten cold by now.”
“Doesn’t matter to me.” Isaac took his hand, kissed it, then led him to the dining room.
They took their seats. Seeing his mate eat with gusto made him smile. Isaac probably noticed him staring, because he grinned.
“I’m always hungry after a fight,” Isaac told him.
He bit on his lower lip. “That’s only natural, isn’t it? You’re the Alpha of the biggest lion pride in Crawford City after all.”
“The Crawford City Pride,” Isaac told him.
“You finally chose a name? That’s so appropriate,” he said. “You certainly earned it.”
“No.” Isaac took his hand in his. “We did. It’s a group effort. You played your part, so did the rest of the pride.”
“Me? What did I do, besides get knocked up?” Noel teased.