Fighting the Lies

by Anna Edwards

  “Scott?” Tyler handed him the amber coloured liquid. He just stared down at it. “Scott?”

  The red mist descended; claws shot from his fingers. The whole hand transformed into a paw. The glass went flying, as he swiped at it. The fine crystal shattering into hundreds of tiny little pieces.

  “What the hell man?” Tyler stepped back from him, his trousers covered in brandy.

  “I don’t want brandy. I don’t want comfort.” He spoke through gritted teeth, the anger in him flooding every pore. “I want Emma back here.”

  “That’s what we all want. It’s what Kas is working on. It doesn’t mean that you get to smash glasses over me!” Tyler snarled back at him.

  Scott was barely holding onto his control.

  “Kas shouldn’t have let them take her in the first place. You know what that prison is like. We’ve been down there to see people before.” He was on his feet with his face level with Tyler’s. The claws in his hands were still drawn. “She’s too delicate to survive in there.”

  Tyler laughed and prodded him in the chest. “Emma, delicate, seriously, don’t judge her by your own lazy standards. She’s tougher than all of us put together.”

  It took Scott an instant to complete his full transformation into a lion and leap at Tyler. The wolf shifted to protect himself against the ensuing fight that saw them begin to roll around the floor. The three women in the room screamed.

  "Stop it," Brayden ordered, but Scott barely heard the words. His claws were too busy swiping at Tyler's face. The wolf didn't know Emma as he did. He watched her every minute of the day. She might be a tremendous fighter, and one of the best in the pack, but she was also so very sensitive. When she made a kill for them to eat, she always said a quiet prayer for the soul of the departed animal. Where the others always went into a fight with the attitude that it would lead to the death or at least bad injury for the person against them, Emma saw a tiny bit of goodness in every creature. She believed that she could turn them to the path of good. Hitting out was the last result. She had a silly little aversion to dirt, while most lions, like him, enjoyed rolling around in the mud to condition their coats, she avoided it at all costs. She also had a secret penchant for fashionable labels. She may spend a lot of her time in tight gym wear, ready for fighting, but it all had a label. He started to imagine her tight little backside in her very brief gym shorts, her pert breasts in a slightly too tight vest top. Damn! Tyler broke his reflection with a pawed thud to his cheek.

  “Back off. Transform back.” Tyler’s voice entered his head.

  Like hell, Tyler didn't know Emma as he did, and the wolf was going to pay for even suggesting that he did. His beautiful lioness would hate the situation that she found herself in. She would never murder anyone, and he would rescue her. He pulled his paw back and sent another bruising punch into the wolf's face. In quick fire succession, he delivered several more. Tyler barked out in pain. Nobody defeats the King of the jungle.

  "Enough," Brayden demanded again.

  "Scott, please, you're hurting him." Selene's voice was full of worry. Tyler whimpered as another round of punches went his way.

  “You don’t know anything about Emma, none of you do.” He roared his voice projection into their heads.

  "We aren't pretending to." Selene held her hands up in surrender, as she took a step closer. Brayden was approaching from the other side, and Zain and Katia were joining them. If they thought, they would take him down then they had another think coming. Tyler slipped out of his hold and twisted around to his back. He was too quick for him though and back flipped over to send them crashing through the furniture. Jane screamed when Brayden pulled her out of the way at the last minute.

  "Scott, stop this, please. We need to be thinking how to help Emma and not fighting amongst ourselves. She would hate this." Selene realised at the last minute what she had said. She was telling him what Emma would think. His blood boiled over and exploded. He pounced for her, but she vanished into thin air, and he went flying into the wooden wall. It splintered under his weight, leaving a big hole. He let out a painful cry, when a shard dug into his side. He turned back to Tyler, his breathing heavy and his growl full of determination. Selene appeared, placed her hand on the wolf, and they disappeared. He cursed the day she developed the witch’s power to dematerialise and re-appear elsewhere.

  “Cowards.” He shifted back to human, the transformation process ripping his skin further where the wood was.

  Zain grabbed his arms and held them tightly behind his back. You didn't escape a bear’s hold. Not without a broken limb, and to help Emma, he didn't need one of those. Brayden stepped in front of him, his face was full of thunder. Scott just raised a nonchalant eyebrow.

  “You messed your hair up.” The snow leopard sneered.

  Ok, that wasn't what he'd expected to come out of the Beta’s mouth.

  "And I suspected, you've messed Tyler's face up. One of our good fighters who we may need to help rescue Emma when we are called for by Kas." The last few words were spoken with strong vehemence. A knot of guilt twisted in his stomach. What had he done? He'd lost control and allowed his anger to get the best of him. Selene re-appeared behind Brayden with Tyler, now in human form. He held an ice pack to his face. Beneath it, Scott could see that his eye was swollen shut, a cut bleeding on his cheek.

  "I'm sorry." The words tumbled out. "I'm sorry." Zain let his arms go, and he tumbled down onto the floor. His head swam around with dizziness.

  "And I think you also might have taken yourself out of any fight." Brayden knelt down beside him and inspected his bleeding wound. "This is going to need stitches." Scott looked at the hole in his side. "Brace yourself." He did, and Brayden pulled the shard of wood out. "Mum, Katia, can you clean him up please? I’m going to contact Kas and Jessica and get some news. I think we are all sick of waiting.” Brayden left the room with heavy footsteps pounding on the floor. His beta was sad; his beta was suffering. Scott had allowed himself to be blinded by the rage he felt. Emma, as much as he lo… no, he wasn't going to say that word, liked her, she was part of a family here. They all needed her.

  Katia and Jane hesitantly came near him. He held his hands up.

  “I won’t attack. You have my word.”

  “I may have only been staying here a few weeks, Scott.” Jane handed him a comb from her pocket. “But I’ve watched a lot. I know why you did what you did. You’re hurting. We are going to help her. None of us will rest, until she is back here.” He listened to her speak while combing his hair.

  “She will hate it.”

  "I know. But she is stronger than anyone of us gives her credit for. She will need you to be there for her." Jane next placed an antiseptic wipe over the wound while Katia threaded a needle. He hissed at the tenderness of the ripped flesh. “You will need to be her strength to help her recover. Kas will get her out one way or another. He will never leave any of you behind. He couldn’t.”

  “I know.” His heart softened at the mother of the pack’s words. “I’m worried for her.”

  “Trust her. It’s all you can do.”

  Selene was at his side now,

  “And as soon as we know what is happening, I’ll take you to see her. I’ll take everyone to see her.”

  "I'm not sure about that Selene." Brayden was back in the room, and he was not looking impressed. In fact, the grey flecks in his hair were already looking a little lighter from his mate’s exuberant attitude to life. It had been such a short one so far that she wanted to live it to the fullest and make sure he played his very full part in that wish.

  “Oh stop being such a worry wart.” Selene rolled her eyes at her mate. “You know that I can shift my way out of most problems. Remember the ant when we were escaping from that pack of mangy wolves? You had to run for ages. I just vanished into thin air and then waited for you to return while munching on a leaf. So much healthier than the half a deer you devoured after you came back.” Selene placed her hands on her hips and s
wayed her curvy backside to emphasise her point. Scott couldn’t help the chuckle that left his lips. It was a complete contrast to his mood earlier.

  “We will discuss that later, and if you disobey me, I’ll tie you to the bed.”

  Selene whistled. “I can even escape that; a snake is good for getting out of bindings.”

  “Damn woman.” Brayden brought his mate into his arms again. “I spoke to Kas.”

  "What did he say?" Zain looked up from his pot of honey. Scott had almost forgotten that he was there. But then the bear never actually got involved in the group fights unless it involved food, especially honey or fish. Tyler came and sat at his side and took the needle. The wolf normally did most of their surgery. They nodded at each other, the fight now forgotten for a higher cause. Scott winced again, when the needle entered his tender flesh.

  “Emma has been officially charged with murder. She apparently killed her father five years ago." A collective hush of shock went around the room. "Jessica is collecting a copy of all the evidence against her and bringing it back here. We all know it is fabricated, so we will work together to clear her name. Ethern is looking after her as much as he can. He's provided her with facilities most people in that place do not get, and she has a private room." The last part was said with much emphasis on the private. Selene's invitation to take them to visit would come to fruition. Brayden held out his hand and placed it in between them all. Selene put hers on top. Katia, Jane and Tyler followed suit. Zain placed down his honey pot and lumbered over to join them. They all looked at Scott, their hands all on top of each other. He got to his feet with a sharp shot of pain through his side. The wound would heal in a day thanks to his genes, but for now, it hurt like a bugger. Hobbling over to his friends, he placed his hand on top of theirs.

  “For Emma.”

  They all replied.

  “For Emma.”

  CHAPTER THREE

  This wasn't how Kas’ day was supposed to go. He should be back in his office right now, while the youngsters of his pride partied the night away. He should have a beautiful dish of seal blubber with Jane's secret spice mix on it in front of him and also a glass of wine, preferably a two thousand and thirteen, Napa Valley red from the Dominis Estates. But no, he was in Berlin, in the Reichstag, trying to get one of his pack off a murder charge. Emma, a murderer, it was laughable. She was the least likely of his pack to kill in cold blood. He wasn't a happy bear. In fact, he was at the point of wanting to rip the next person in half who spoke to him with a stuck up air of stupidity or unearned confidence. He could imagine the scene, blood pouring, people screaming, half a puppet in his right hand and the other half swinging around to his left. He didn't have murderous thoughts like this. What was going on with him! He was the mild mannered, happy go lucky bear that liked nothing more than to wander off into the snow for a few hours. Ok, he could be moody, some would even say brooding, but he'd never wanted to remove a person’s head from their body. Not even his pain in the arse twin brother and that was saying something!

  He plodded through the corridors of the upper level of the Reichstag towards Ethern's office. He knew Jessica would still be there collecting the information he needed to ascertain what was really behind Emma's arrest, because it certainly wasn't that she'd killed her father. He'd done all he could do for Emma to ensure she was comfortable and safe. He would ask Jessica to do a protection spell before they left and maybe they could take it in turns to check on her throughout the night. Ethern had ensured her safety, but he wanted to check for himself.

  The corridor was suddenly flooded with light through the modern central dome of the building. He shielded his eyes against the glare but wished he hadn't when his spitting image came into view. That was all he needed, his brother.

  "Kas." His brother smirked with a superior eye of triumph, a far cry from the last time he'd seen him. Defeated, flat on his back and ready for death.

  "Brother." He indifferently replied. "I'm surprised to see you here. I didn't think you agreed with the council's mantra."

  "That was before..." His brother's beta, a corrupt and demonic Druid called Ciaran, materialised between them with another man. One prolonged inhalation told Kas that the mysterious newcomer was a lion shifter. And not a good magical traveller judging by the fact that he was a little green around the edges. "Ciaran, I was just talking about you." Nuka beamed from ear to ear. The pit of Kas' stomach dropped. “As I was saying, Ciaran has become the magical advisor to the council, so I’ve found that my services have been required here also. It seems that people think they can just project themselves into where ever they want to and use their powers to make the stays of prisoners more comfortable.” There was a knowing smile on his brother’s face that Kas wanted to wipe off. No, that he would wipe off, but for Emma’s sake, he would bite his tongue for now. Especially as his prized fighter had probably just lost all of her privileges.

  Kas turned his head to Ciaran, ignoring his brother.

  "Congratulations on your promotion. I hope the investigation into your part in the attack on a member of my pack does not impact on it in any way." Ciaran laughed, not a small giggle but a cackling bellow. His body shook with great delight. Kas didn't need to be told, there had never been an investigation. It had been buried, most probably under a mountain of paperwork that he'd inherited from his previous incumbent.

  "I can see that my faith in democracy and the truth of the law has been misplaced again." Gone was Mr Nice Polar bear that plodded along with a long sleep in the snow on his mind, in its place was a polar with murderous intentions akin to a mother when her offspring is threatened. "Selene is settled and aligned with my pack by way of mating. That cannot be overruled. I suggest you leave her alone, or I will find a way to bring you to justice."

  "I think I've rattled my mild mannered brother's cage." Nuka popped his tongue in his cheek before turning his own countenance as dark as the black of a raven's coat. "She would have made me the most powerful shifter on the planet. I would have ruled. I'd have avenged our family’s deaths." Kas winced at the mention of a father and grandfather he no longer mourned. Their lives ended to prevent the death of so many more. The ancient walls of the Reichstag echoed with the malevolence of a previous occupant, one who held the key to single biggest ethnic cleansing the world had ever seen. If his father had survived his grandfather, would life had been that way for so many? All for a plot of land. For wealth. For fame. When he looked at his brother, Kas saw the same venom and hostility. The walls started to close in, the high vaulted dome suddenly seeming to take all the air out of the room. Nuka placed a hand upon his. The searing heat of it burned his ice cold flesh.

  "Your precious little multi shifter is worthless now she is mated. She has nothing to fear from me now. Well not until it is her time." Kas pushed his brother's hand away and brought his own around the thickly corded neck of his reflection. Nuka's eyes bulged a little bit then sparkled with malignant humour.

  "Ciaran." Kas no longer had control over his hand. It removed itself from around his brother's neck, a red ring of pressure evident. The large hand unnaturally turned and gripped itself tightly around his own throat. He choked out a gasping breath. Spots were appearing before his eyes where the oxygen no longer flowed to his brain. The area they were in was empty so nobody would be there to witness his final moments except his brother, Nuka’s beta, and a strange lion shifter who he still hadn't been introduced to.

  “Let him go.” Jessica’s determined voice appeared from behind him. “I mean it.” An energy ball appeared in her hand.

  “Put your insipid display of power away, my little dove. It’s really not worth it. I can kill your alpha and stop your tame energy ball at the same time.”

  Jessica held her other hand out and a second energy ball glowed in her hand. “Who said I would aim at you. I’m more than happy to go to prison for using magic to cause chaos. Even if it means displaying it to humans. Now let my Alpha go." Jessica gracefully pulled her arm back ready
to throw. Nuka flicked his head, and Ciaran broke the link with a reluctant moan. There was nothing that the evil druid would like more than to kill him, but today, he would not get his way. Jessica extinguished the flames on her magic.

  "You win this round brother. But I will come for you and every one of your pack." Nuka sneered. “I will not stop until I have destroyed each and every one of your pack and taken what is mine. You are complicit in the death of my family, as far as I am concerned, and as a result, will die like the rest." The stare that bore into Kas' eyes was meant to make him scared, but instead, he pitied his brother's deluded fantasies. Ciaran, get us out of here.”

  "Wait." The lion spoke now for the first time. Nuka growled. "I do believe we need to be introduced first." Kas regarded the cut of the lion's sharp designer suit as he stepped forward and held his hand out. It was Armani, there was no doubting that, because it fitted like a second skin. This was a man who wore this type of clothes all the time. Stupid waste of money, really, because at some point, it would get ripped. Clothes never stayed intact for very long on a shifter’s body. Cheap and cheerful was the way to go. Walmart was his saviour. The suits only came out when he needed to look powerful. Lucky he was already in one for the mating ceremony. Kas took his hand.

  “Kaskae Lincoln. I’m sure you’ve ascertained that I’m Nuka’s twin brother. I'm the alpha of the Glacial Blood." He always used his full name when intimidating. After all, it meant leader. Unlike his brother's name which meant second.

  "Good to meet you Kaskae. Your brother has been telling me a lot about you. It seems we will soon be meeting in court." The words were spoken with such derision that it left Kas in no doubt as to who this man was. It also conveyed a stark warning to him. Nuka was starting with Emma. This man in front of him was Emma’s brother. “I’m Phillip Bryant. Alpha of the Las Vegas pack.” Money. He stank of it. It was Nuka’s favourite smell and his path to power. He hardened his face to show no fear; even though, he could see the pale colour of Jessica's.