The Mating (Black on Black, #1)

by BJ Cunningham

  Damion watched Serra leave and smiled. “They grow up fast, don’t they? She worries about letting everyone down. She’s a tough one. Gets that from her mother.” He poured bourbon into Kara’s coffee when she wasn’t looking.

  “No, she gets it from you, and you damn well know it. No doubting that you’re her father.” Kara shook her head and laughed. Sipping her coffee, she eyed Damion and her mug before pushing it closer to him and nodding toward it. “A little more, please. Any word about who is trying to take your spot on the tribunal?” She took a long drink when he obliged and poured more of the booze into her cup.

  “No. Still working on it. Wouldn’t be surprised if my daughter’s new mate was involved somehow.”

  “Jared?” Kara shook her head. “Damn you got your hate on for him, don’t you? Not that panther. He’s a good male and match for Serra.” She rolled her eyes at Damion’s snort. “Fine, doubt me if you want to, I’ll keep an eye on her, okay?”

  “There’s no one that I would trust more.”

  “Good. Now stop bogarting the bourbon and lighten the hell up.” She grinned and popped a piece of bacon into her mouth.

  Damion laughed.

  Pulling into the gravel parking lot of the quaint tavern that he’d snuck into more than once to listen to his father compare stories of the ‘old days’ with his friends, Jared parked the Rover. There was nothing to do now but wait. Taking his phone out, he texted Serra. [I just wanted to let you know I’m okay. Happy New Year. I hope the Cubs aren’t being too much for you.] He hit send and looked at the bikes parked in front of the pub. There were no Harleys, so Zander wasn’t here yet. He rolled the window down a bit and the smell of beer and haggis hit him.

  Serra looked up from wrestling the last piece of bacon away from Theo when her phone beeped. Sliding her thumb over the screen, her smile grew, and she let the cub win. He trotted off proudly with his trophy to tease his sister, making her laugh. Sighing as she read the text, she snapped a photo of the cubs and typed, [Happy New Year Babe. Cubs are fine. We bonded. Love you. Come home as soon as you can.] She paused, there was so much more she could say and none of it helpful. Biting her lip, her brow wrinkled as she added. [Be careful.] Pressing send, she sent a silent prayer that Jared would be alright. She didn’t give a damn which God listened, but if anything happened to him, she would hold them all responsible.

  Jared’s phone vibrated on his leg. He looked down and saw the photo. Smiling, he replied. [Love you too, and I’ll do my best. Could you do me a favor and tell Brock and the others at the bar that I’ll be out of town for a bit?] He hit send and then heard the rumbling thunder of four bikes coming closer. He saw Zander and the triplets speed past him and park in the alley. As Zander pulled off his helmet, Jared got a good look at him.

  Getting out the Rover, he started into the pub wanting to find a table with a good view of the place. He found a decent spot and sat down. The barmaid came over to ask what he’d have. “Beer.” He answered, watching the door.

  Reading the incoming text, Serra smiled and replied. [Will do as soon as I get back home.] Shaking her head, she pushed her hair back and tried not to think about how much she missed him. She snapped a pic of herself, making sure to smile like everything was fine. Yeah, it sucked, but he’d seen her when she rolled out of bed in the morning and not run screaming from the room, so he could probably handle it. [Miss you. XO.] She tapped send and sighed, hugging a pillow tight against her chest and wishing it was him.

  His phone vibrated in his jacket. Taking it out as the Ligers passed by, Jared read the text. [Thank you for the photos. I miss you all so much. Where are you?] He hit send and watched Zander and the others sit down in a booth not too far from him.

  Serra raised a brow when her phone beeped again. Yeah, you couldn’t kick the smile off her face right now. Glancing over to check that the Cubs were good she read and replied. [You’re welcome Babe, and we miss you. I’m at The Asylum. Pops is falling in love with the Cubs. He just doesn’t know it yet.] She snickered, because she knew he would, they were her kids now. Instead of asking him to come home now, like she wanted to, she pressed send.

  The barmaid set the beer in front of Jared as his phone went off. “Thank you.” He said to her looking at his phone. [As long as you’re safe. I’ll talk to you soon.] He hit send and sipped his beer watching his target. They were talking about some mark of theirs. Jared picked up his beer and phone, moving closer to them and settling at a table behind them.

  “So we cruised by their home last night, Brother, and it’s locked up tight.” One of the ligers said.

  “Are you sure, Rocky?” Zander growled.

  “Yes and I believe it’s warded. I’m not sure how you plan on getting in there.” Rocky replied and looked at his brothers.

  “Don’t you worry about it. I’ve got a plan. It’ll take us to New Orleans.”

  Jet’s brow shot up. “Why that shit hole?”

  Zander smiled at them. “Because, fool, that’s where the bait is.”

  Bait? Jared’s mind went wild. Who could they be talking about? He watched Stone pull a folder from his jacket and put it on the table. Zander opened the folder, but Jared couldn’t see what they were looking at as the ligers blocked his view. He cursed to himself.

  Jared noticed the bathroom was not far from them. Leaving his beer, he got up and started past them with his phone’s camera on. As he passed, he snapped some pictures of the table and the folder that lay open on it. Once in the bathroom, he looked at his phone. His jaw tightened as he saw his parent’s home. Jared slid to the next photo and almost lost his shit when he saw a photo of Daniel and Brian. Everything in him wanted to go back out there, kill them and be done with it, but he knew Zev would take him out if he did. With Serra tied to him, he couldn’t chance it. Jared growled, closed his eyes and sucked in air, trying to calm down. He wasn’t sure who the real target was. If it was brother bear, they would be in for an ass kicking, but if it was his son, Jared didn’t know if Daniel could handle all four of them. He left the bathroom and walked back past them, returning to his seat and drink.

  “So we’ll try tonight to get into the house. If we can’t then we’ll use the bait to get them to open it up for us,” Zander said.

  “I still don’t get why you want in there?” Rocky asked.

  “Simple. Frank killed my mother,” Zander answered in a cold tone.

  “How do you know it was him?” Jet asked looking at the photos.

  “I just do,” the lion replied.

  Jared couldn’t believe his father would murder a woman, but then after the thing with Hel, he may not know his father as well as he thought. Worry filled his eyes as he drank his beer, not sure what else he could do.

  CHAPTER 12

  Jared had been tailing the Liger and his pals since they’d left the pub. He’d watched them try and fail to break into his family’s home and followed them back across the Atlantic until he found himself back in New Orleans. At a loss of what to do next as he paced the hotel room, he called Zev.

  Zev’s answer was short and curt. “Nothing.”

  “Nothing!!! How can I do nothing? He’s after my family! Maybe because you have none, you don’t care but I can’t just do nothing.” He yelled into the phone.

  “Panther you let them carry out their plan.” Zev’s voice was cold.

  Jared growled and hung up. “Fuck him. I don’t care. I can’t let that shit happen.” He wondered if this thing on his wrist could amp his power enough to glamour himself so that no one would recognize him. His scent was different. Jared looked into the mirror and watched his face change, a stranger’s smile curling up the corners of his mouth. “Not bad.”

  Leaving the hotel, he headed to The Pit. Brandon stopped him at the door and asked me for. I.D making Jared smile. It was working. “I assure you, I’m over 21.” Brandon growled and let Jared go in, but not before warning that if he started shit he’d bust his head wide open. Jared nodded and headed inside to keep an
eye on his brother and son.

  Daniel was tired. He hadn’t slept after hunting demons all night. He was feeling pretty proud of how it had gone and decided to stop in for a few drinks to celebrate eviscerating some demons. Walking in, he took a booth. He sat down slowly, stiff from the last encounter and ordered a beer and some of the special whiskey that packed some extra punch for shifters, as he looked around at the crowd.

  Jared spotted his son and sat down not too far from him, hoping that he was wrong. But Brian had no real ties his parents, so it had to be his son. Zander has no clue about Serra, so she was safe. He hoped.

  Brian nodded to Daniel from across the room, and saw a stranger staring at the cub. It made the bear’s hackles rise. Deciding to keep an eye on the stranger, Brian told Daniel’s waitress to put cub’s drinks on his tab.

  Jared smelled Brian and sighed. “So they’re both here. Lovely.” The front door opened again, the ligers appeared, scanning the room looking for their bait.

  “So you see any of them?” Zander asked.

  “No. but they have to be here. One of the demons I paid, told me they were.” Jet replied as he caught a whiff of Panther. “I smell the cub but I don’t see him.”

  “Too many fucking people in here.” Zander sucked in the air around him and smelled Brian. “The bear is that way.” He pointed toward the bar, heading past Jared and straight for Brian.

  Daniel looked at the ones who come in and dismissed them, even though they made his skin crawl and took a drink of his beer when the waitress set it on his table. He shook his head when she asked if he wanted anything else and went back to watching the crowd, which was normal for him. He was here, even when he wasn’t working.

  Brian was near the bar when he smelled lion, or was it liger? Looking up, he saw it wasn’t Dane, but Zander. “Well, fuck.”

  The quartet spotted Daniel and changed course. “This will get them both in the same place.” Rocky said, walking up behind Daniel. “Nice night, isn’t it?” He said to Daniel as the others crowded around him. Watching them made Jared’s skin crawl.

  Daniel stood up to get his phone when it went off and he smelled trouble as he heard a voice. “Sure I guess. Need something or are you practicing your people skills? I’m not in the mood for small talk. How about you beat it?” He sat back down and checked to see a text from Drew asking if he wanted to hang out on Tuesday night.

  Brian started making his way to Daniel’s table, grabbing the sundae order as it appeared in the window and dropped it off at a Kanon demon’s table along the way. She might look like your typical college student, but only an idiot couldn’t feel the barely restrained power that vibrated in the air around her. Smiling at her, he moved closer to his nephew. “Is there a problem over here?”

  Zander eyed the bear for a moment before slipping his hand into his jacket pocket.

  “No problem. We’re just having a talk here.” Rocky said, grabbing Daniel’s shoulder and squeezing it. Daniel growled and jerked his shoulder away.

  “Why don’t you go dumpster diving Bear? This is not your problem.” Stone growled, blocking Brian from Daniel.

  Daniel growled. “Look dip shit, I don’t like being touched so how about you and your little penis pals go over to that side of the goddamn bar and suck each other off, huh?” He tried to get up. Seeing Brian, alarms went off because he was NEVER jumpy and the bear was all but bouncing from foot to foot. Daniel and growled again as he was shoved back into the booth seat again. They all turn away from Brian, and they were all are looking at him.

  “Penis pals? That’s harsh kid. We’re just talking to you and you’re throwing insults. Might want to check that tongue, whelp.” Zander growled.

  Brian growled and slide around the liger to Daniel’s side. “It is my problem since your here and harassing the kid. Talking huh? He doesn’t look like he wants to talk to you, so find something out in the swamp to hump.”

  Zander grabbed Brian by the shirt and smiled. “How about we start with you, big bear? Where is the convict? I know he doesn’t leave his whelp unattended.” Zander snarled as he spoke. “Bear you stink of wolf.”

  “He’s mated.” Jet said, looking at Brian’s eyes. Seeing he had flecks of bright green in his dark eyes. Brian growled low and his jaw ticked.

  “Well, well, well. You got a bitch now, I see.” Zander took in Michelle’s scent. “I have her scent now, Bear. I can’t wait to find her, fuck her and then kill her. Course, she may be dead before I get there. I’ll still fuck her. They struggle less when they are dead.”

  Daniel watched them turn on Brian. Growling loud, he jumped out of the booth, tapped Rocky on the shoulder and, as the liger turned, drove a fist into his face. He didn’t care about the rules right now, fuck them, it was time for a fight. “Such tough guys. You’re threatening to rape a woman. Pegged all of you for the kind to like meat heat between your cheeks. How about shutting the fuck up before you leave here limping or dead?” He watched Rocky wipe the blood from his chin and lick it.

  Brian snarled and shoved Zander away from him and linked the others, warning there was trouble. “You try, and I’ll rip your heart out with my paw. The Pit is protected asshole, so get the fuck out.”

  Jared watched his son deck one of the ligers. When Brian shoved Zander something shiny poked out of his jacket. Brian and Daniel were too angry to pay attention. Without thinking, Jared bolted from his table and rushed into the middle of it all.

  “Zander, there you are man! I haven’t seen you in forever!” Jared pulled him into a hug. Zander growled and tried to shove Jared off him. “Come on now man, is that any way to greet a friend?”

  “Look asshole, I don’t know you.” Zander said holding his taser in the hand still inside the jacket. The ligers stared at Jared.

  “Yes you do man, come on.” Jared tried to pull him away from Brian and Daniel. Zander shoved him and pulled out the taser, trying to hit Jared with it. As it sparked, Jared grabbed his arm and slammed it down on the bar hard. Feeling his new powers surge, he bounced Zander’s head off the bar too.

  The ligers pounced on Jared and fell into the table behind them. The humans screamed and started to run. Zander growled and took hold of the taser. “Leave the moron be. We came here for the whelp.” He said, hitting Daniel with the taser.

  Pulling the garrote from his jacket, Jared kicked Jet back, out of his face, flipped to his feet and jumped on the liger garroting his neck. As Zander struggled, the triplets headed for Daniel who was sprawled on the floor shifting forms. Chaos broke put. People screamed ‘Panther!’ and ran for the exit. Others just stood, frozen and in shock.

  Rocky picked Daniel’s limp body up and stroked his fur, looking at Brian. “Good kitty.” Rocky purred. “Oh the fun we’ll have with you while your daddy is off jerking off somewhere like a coward. As for you, you worthless bear, tell your piece of ass we’ll see her soon and best say goodbye to the whelp here because this is the last time you get to see him whole!”

  Brian snarled and lunged forward, pulling first liger he saw, away from Daniel. He threw the liger against the bar and drove a fist into the second one’s stomach knocking him back and kicked out at the third one.

  Rocky snarled as he landed on the bar and lost his grip on the whelp. Turning, hatred burned in his eyes as he glared at Brian and Jared.

  Zander saw the bear getting in the way of his plans. He growled and choked as the garrote sank deeper into his neck. He butted his head back and reached up with his arms, grabbing Jared by the jacket. Leaning forward, he threw him into the disinterested Kanon demon eating her sundae. As Jared hit her, she fell backward, cursing in what he assumed was Kanon for ‘fucking bastard.’

  Zander growled, rubbing his throat. He grabbed Brian by the back of the neck, took his arm from behind him and wrenched it upward. “Boys, get the Panther and get the fuck out of here,” he growled as Brian tried not to scream.

  Jared could hear his bones starting to give and the ligers came at him. Stone picke
d up the taser and leapt at him. Rolling away, Jared pulled his daggers from his jacket stabbing the SOBs hand. Jet and Rocky grabbed Daniel by his arms.

  Daniel roared at them, trying to get free. Before he could, Jet snapped a collar around the whelp’s neck. Inside the panther started to panic. He remembered what his uncle had told him about these damn things. They trap the shifter in whatever form they are in the moment it locks on you. Once the collar was secure, the ligers smiled and they ghosted out before the pissed of demon could get to them. Instead she blew fire at Zander, but he turned and held Brian in front of him as a shield.

  Brian snarled, trying to get out of Zanders’ hold. He roared in pain and fell to the floor as he was hit by fire. Rolling around, he tried to put himself out.

  When the demon realized that she had set fire to the bear she stopped, giving Zander the time he needed to vanish.

  Jared got to his feet, seeing that Daniel was gone and Brian was smoking, but no longer burning. He arched a brow at the kanon demon who had returned to her ice cream as if nothing had happened. “Motherfucker!” Her growled. Before he could do anything, he appeared in front of Zev.

  “You stupid asshole. You almost ruined everything.”

  Seeing red, Jared jumped on him. “They got my son. I’ll kill you. I swear to the gods, I’ll kill you.” He screamed and tried to beat the hell out of the Ghardian.

  Zev bolted him back, but not before Jared busted his nose wide open. “Panther, I should end your life right now. But lucky for you, I still need you. The only smart thing you did was change your face.” Zev wiped the blood from his nose and ghosted Jared back to Ireland.