by Tami Lund
He glanced at Olivia and noticed she gave him a funny look, as if he’d just insulted her.
“We’ll be inside soon enough,” he said as he finally drove into the underground parking garage attached to the hotel she’d named.
After he parked the car, he grabbed her arm to keep her from leaping out. “Hang on,” he said, and he scanned the area. “Wrap your hair in the scarf again,” he commanded. “And put on the sunglasses.”
“It’s dark,” she protested.
“Put on the goddamned sunglasses,” he said with a growl in his voice, and then he stepped out of the car and hurried around to the passenger door. When she climbed out of the car, she wore both the scarf and the sunglasses and still managed to give him an obstinate look. He almost laughed out loud. The Lightbearer had spunk, that was for sure.
Just because he knew it would irritate her—and not because he liked the rush of magic he felt every time he touched her—Tanner grabbed her arm and guided her toward the nearest elevator. Once they were inside, she jerked her arm out of his grasp and glowered at him. He gave her a bland look in return.
They made it safely to the hotel room. He watched with fascination as Olivia used magic to open the door. A moment later, a whirlwind of Lightbearer energy slammed into her.
“Oh my lights, thank the lights, oh fates above, oh-oh-oh,” a high-pitched, excited voice babbled on and on, sounding utterly breathless with relief. Suddenly, the Lightbearer jerked away from Olivia and gave a small shriek.
“Shifter! Shifter! Shifter!”
Olivia actually looked around in fear, as if she’d momentarily forgotten that Tanner was a shifter. He wasn’t sure how he felt about that. Flattered? Insulted?
“She’s referring to me, Olivia.”
“Oh,” Olivia said with a sigh of relief. “Cici, he’s harmless. Well, not harmless, but won’t harm us. At least, he keeps insisting that is the case.”
Tanner rolled his eyes, but before he could assure her—yet again—that he meant her no harm, another Lightbearer stepped in the room. This one was male, with perfectly groomed blond hair, a smoothly shaven face, and wearing clothing that was more fitting for the nineteenth century than this one.
He stormed into the room, shrieking at almost as high a pitch as Cecilia had, and then rushed to the two women and tried to pull them both away from Tanner, who stood there looking with bemusement at the man whose head barely reached his shoulders. Although when he produced a sword out of thin air, that got Tanner’s attention.
“Dane,” Olivia snapped as she struggled out of his grip. “What are you doing here?”
Dane stood between the two women and Tanner, holding them back with one arm, while holding a sword with the other, and glaring at the shifter. “Protecting you, my lady,” he proclaimed, as if he were an old world hero.
Olivia glared at the other woman. “You called Dane of all people?”
Cecilia shrugged. “Who else was I to call? You disappeared and he was the only one I knew would come without alerting your father.”
Olivia’s look suggested she now appreciated Cecilia’s wisdom in calling Dane.
“Can you call off your toy soldier please?” Tanner requested. He wasn’t too worried about taking the significantly smaller man, even with a sword in his hand, but Tanner assumed he was friend to Olivia, so he didn’t want to hurt the guy.
“Toy soldier,” Dane sputtered indignantly as he thrust the sword at Tanner.
“Dane,” Olivia snapped. He reacted instantly, backing off and dropping the sword to his side. Tanner found his reaction interesting, to say the least. Olivia hadn’t mentioned that she was some sort of general in the Lightbearer army. Although, in truth, all Tanner had learned thus far about the beautiful Lightbearer was that she had healing abilities but her father hadn’t allowed her to actually become a full-fledged healer. For all he knew, she was a general in the Lightbearer army. She was certainly bossy enough to qualify as one.
“He’s on our side, Dane,” Olivia said wearily. “Release the sword.”
Dane hesitated, but after a moment, the sword disappeared from his hand. Still, Tanner kept a wary eye on that appendage. He’d never seen anyone conjure a sword from thin air before.
“What are you doing with a shifter, Olivia?” Cecilia whispered to her cousin, loudly enough that even without his enhanced shifter hearing, Tanner would have been able to hear her.
“And what is with the scarf? Is this some sort of new fashion statement?”
Olivia tugged the scarf out of her hair and tossed it and the sunglasses onto a small table. “It is a disguise, Cici. So that other shifters did not recognize me.”
Cecilia did not react to Olivia’s words quite as Tanner might have expected. Instead of alarm at hearing she was hiding from other shifters, she said, “Are they all so handsome?”
She gave him an appreciative look that encompassed his entire body, from toes to shaggy hair. Tanner had to duck his head so she would not see his grin.
“Whether they are handsome is irrelevant,” Olivia pronounced as she walked over to the small kitchen area and pulled two bottles of water out of the refrigerator. Tanner was mildly surprised when she walked over and handed him one of the bottles. Bossy and considerate.
“Most are our enemy, so do not allow Tanner’s presence to lower your guard. Now, hurry and pack. We have to get back to the coterie. There are far more dangerous shifters out there who will be coming after us soon.”
“What happened?” Cecilia demanded, and Olivia must have figured out it would be quicker to simply tell the tale than to try to convince them to get on the road first, because she gave them a quick recap of where she’d been and what happened to her over the course of the last two days. By the time she was done explaining, both Dane and Cecilia looked as if their eyes might pop out of their heads at any moment. Then Cecilia turned and batted her eyelashes at Tanner.
“That’s so romantic,” she cooed, and he blinked uncertainly.
Olivia stepped between them. “It is not romantic,” she said icily. “Now, do you think you could go pack your things so we can leave?”
Cecilia threw Tanner another adoring look before leaving the room.
Olivia looked at Tanner. “I should go help. Dane?” She gave the male Lightbearer a questioning look.
Dane puffed out his chest and said, “I have nothing to pack. I dropped everything and rushed here as quickly as I could, when Cecilia summoned me.” He looked particularly proud of that fact.
Tanner thought he sounded like a stupid, lovesick lapdog. If this was the kind of guy Cecilia dated, he could understand why she was giving him adoring looks.
He wondered if all the male Lightbearers were like Dane. It certainly explained why Olivia and Cecilia had escaped to Vegas.
Once the ladies were in the bedroom, Dane leaned against the wall, trying to be cool, while Tanner dropped onto the sofa, knowing he was affecting the very epitome of cool without even trying.
“If you hurt her in any way— ” Dane started. Tanner cut him off.
“Obviously, we did not hear the same version of events a minute ago.”
“I heard what she said,” Dane replied. “And I also see the way you look at her. Olivia is a very special person, and I will not abide anyone hurting her—especially you.”
What had Dane seen in the way he looked at Olivia?
Chapter 6
Like all shifters, Quentin Lyons understood the significance of taking a female from behind. It was how shifters declared they were mated. It was a pact, one you made forever. It was also Quentin’s favorite way to fuck.
Conveniently, he was already mated, and he was the pack master as well, so as far as he was concerned, he could do whatever the hell he wanted. Still, whenever he was in the mood for a shifter-style fuck, he sent one of his minions to the nearest human bar to pick up an attractive human female. Shifter females too well understood the significance of that was of fucking.
Plus, he w
as the pack master, so every shifter within a thousand miles knew who the hell he was. Shifters were also notorious rumor mongers, and it was bad enough that the rumor mill whispered of various children within this pack who carried Quentin’s blood in their veins, even though he’d never formally claimed any of them.
None were legitimate, so none would do as his heir. He had only one legitimate son, thanks to his useless mate, who’d never managed to produce another, despite Quentin forcing himself upon her time and time again over the course of the last forty years.
The human female who was brought to him last night pleased him greatly. She wasn’t shy or timid or afraid of him, which was a nice change. In fact, she was aroused by him, by his dominance and power. He could smell it, almost the moment she was presented to him. They’d fucked for the first time less than fifteen minutes later.
They spent the night alternating between dozing and fucking. He was exhausted, but not enough to deny her when she’d rolled over a short time ago and wrapped her lips around his cock, suckling at him until he shoved her away, rolled over, grabbed her hips and slammed into her from behind. She grabbed the sheets and made noises of encouragement as he pressed closer and closer to release. He even entertained thoughts of keeping her around, just for this purpose.
There was a sharp knock on the outer door and Quentin cursed as he surged into the woman one last time, stiffening and pouring his seed into her as she continued to wiggle her hips and beg him to move harder and faster. Unfortunately for her, he was done. He pulled out and pushed her away as he rolled off the bed and headed to the attached bathroom.
“Enter,” he called out, just as he closed the bathroom door.
When he emerged again, fully dressed and washed of the woman’s scent, one of his guards, a shifter named Mike, stood near the door, trying unsuccessfully not to look at the human woman, who sat naked on the bed, pouting.
“Why are you still here?” Quentin asked her.
“You didn’t finish,” she complained with a swift glance at Mike.
“On the contrary, I did.”
“You didn’t finish me.”
Quentin regarded her for a moment and then waved at Mike. “Mike, finish her.”
Both Mike and the woman looked startled.
“After you tell me why you’re here,” Quentin amended.
Mike cleared his throat and looked everywhere except at the woman, who scrambled to dress herself. “We have possible news about the Lightbearer.”
Quentin’s interest was immediately piqued. “What news? From Vegas?”
Mike shook his head. “From out near the border of the territory, near the highway. Where the humans tried to build that industrial park, fifteen years ago or so.”
Quentin flicked a glance at his human bed partner, but she was too busy admiring her image in the mirror to pay attention to their conversation.
“What of it?”
“Couple of trackers were out there, sniffing around, searching for the Lightbearer. They saw Vincent Bearrans and his cousin, Freddy, out there. Vincent gave him a car.”
“So?”
“There were two other people in Freddy’s SUV.”
Anticipation thrummed through Quentin’s system. The prospect of capturing the Lightbearer again held more appeal than sex.
“They didn’t get a solid look. Didn’t want to get too close, to spook them, or let them pick up their scent. But they said it was a male and female. Male wore a straw cowboy hat. Female wore a scarf over her hair.”
“I don’t suppose they determined the color of her hair?” No shifters in his pack had blonde hair, so if they claimed the woman had blonde hair...
“They couldn’t tell.”
“Where are they now?”
Mike rubbed the back of his neck and looked distinctly uncomfortable. Being the bearer of bad news to Quentin could well get one killed, if he was in that frame of mind.
“The trackers let them go. They followed Freddy instead,” he added hastily.
“And where is Freddy Bearrans now?”
“In the basement, waiting for you to question him.”
Quentin rubbed his hands together. It was better than nothing, he supposed. He glanced at the human woman.
“Stay here,” he ordered. “I’ve decided I’m not done with you yet.” And then he followed Mike from the room.
* * * *
He abused Freddy until he was slicked with sweat and so exhausted he was certain he could not lift his arm to take another swing. Still, Freddy would not tell Quentin anything about his son. He directed one of his guards, a massive shifter who everyone called Butch, to continue the work Quentin started. Unfortunately, Freddy was rendered unconscious before he could give up any information.
“Is he mated?” He didn’t bother to keep up with the personal lives of his pack members. He didn’t particularly care, so long as they all obeyed him unconditionally.
“Yes,” Mike answered. “Her name is Lisa. They have a young pup, and she is due to whelp their second soon.”
Quentin wiped sweat from his brow and started up the stairs. “Bring him. Let’s call on his mate.”
* * * *
Lisa and her pup were not at their home. It took precious hours for Quentin’s trackers to figure out that her parents had a home tucked into the woods up on a mountain. It was still within pack territory, as required by the pack master, but remote enough that it would not be on anyone’s radar when they conducted their search for Tanner, after he escaped with the Lightbearer. Quentin grudgingly respected his son’s choice of hiding places, as he sat in the passenger seat of a full-sized truck, Butch at the wheel, two other guards seated in the extended cab, and Freddy’s unconscious, abused body lying in the bed.
Once he saw her in person, Quentin vaguely recognized Lisa as one who used to spend a great deal of time with his son, before Tanner left the pack. Which meant she and her mate had almost certainly spoken with Tanner before he left this last time, and taken the Lightbearer with him.
“Freddy,” she screamed when two of Quentin’s guards dragged her mate into the house and let him fall to the floor in the middle of the living room. Quentin allowed her to drop to the floor next to Freddy’s head, gave her a moment to determine that he was, indeed, still alive, and then he motioned for his guards to pick her up and push her into a nearby armchair.
She wrapped her arms protectively around her massive belly and affected a sullen look, although her gaze kept darting to her prone mate, who lay in a bloody, unconscious heap on the floor.
Quentin sniffed the air. “I smell something intriguing,” he said softly, giving her the opportunity to speak without coercion. He knew he was a bastard, but the woman was heavy with a pup in her belly—a full-blooded, legitimate shifter that would only strengthen Quentin’s pack. He would not hurt her—badly—unless she forced his hand.
“I just put a meatloaf in the oven,” she replied.
He backhanded her. Bloody spittle flew from her mouth as her head whipped to the side and she let out a cry of pain.
A dark-haired shifter pup appeared in the hallway leading to the bedrooms. “Mommy?” She looked at the shifter lying on the floor. “Daddy? Daddy? Daddy?” She started to run toward Freddy, but at a sharp nod from Quentin, one of his guards scooped her up and deposited her into her mother’s lap. Lisa grabbed the child’s head and forced her face into her mother’s shoulder.
“What did he do?” Lisa demanded.
“Wouldn’t give me the information I required,” Quentin responded.
Lisa’s gaze darted from Freddy to Quentin to her daughter and back again. He watched as she came to a decision in her mind.
“What do you want to know?” she finally asked.
Quentin smiled. “Good girl,” he said approvingly.
Chapter 7
“Time to go,” Tanner said brusquely, disconnecting the call he’d taken just a few minutes prior.
“Who was that?” Olivia asked as she dragg
ed a rolling suitcase into the sitting room of the hotel suite.
“Lisa. Quentin figured out she and Freddy helped us. She said he also figured out we’re in Vegas. It’s time to leave. Now.”
Cecilia came trotting out of the bedroom dragging her own suitcase. Dane grabbed each woman’s suitcase and headed toward the door. “We can take it from here. Thank you for your services, shifter.”
“It’s Tanner, and I’m not leaving you three alone until I know you’re safely back in your coterie.”
“I am perfectly capable of protecting Olivia and Cecilia,” Dane said with a sniff.
Tanner snorted out his disbelief.
Olivia decided to put an end to the argument. If Tanner wanted to be their bodyguard, she saw no reason not to take him up on his offer. After observing he and Dane standing side by side, she no longer had faith that Dane could protect them, either. She never realized how small Dane was until now. Or maybe it was just that Tanner was so big.
“We all go,” she said sharply. “Together.”
Dane opened his mouth to argue, but she quelled him with a look. Tanner smirked. Cecilia batted her eyelashes at him. Olivia wondered when she would ever escape from the rabbit hole.
She looked at Tanner. “Do you think they will be able to figure out we’re at this particular hotel?”
To her dismay, he nodded. “Shifters have an amazing sense of smell. And Quentin has some seriously badass trackers in his pack. They’ll find us.”
It was the middle of the night by the time they left the hotel. The attached parking structure where they’d left the car was lit with incandescent lights that gave everything a faint blue tinge. The world outside the parking garage was a sea of bright, flashing lights and swarms of people. Inside the garage, there were deep pools of shadows where the lights did not reach.
Tanner grabbed Olivia’s arm. “Dane, you have Cecilia,” he commanded. Dane nodded once and produced a sword. Tanner sighed. “Put the sword away. Humans don’t use swords and you’ll just draw unwanted attention.”