by Celia Kyle
“Nope.”
Ty moved to stand, but his father forestalled the movement by placing his hand on Ty’s forearm. “Sit your ass down. Your mother is making me do this or I don’t get laid ever again.”
Moans and groans filled the room.
“Dad…”
“Gross…”
“Really?”
“C’mon…”
Dad grunted. “If y’all would get your shit together and quit fucking around, you wouldn’t have to hear about your mother and me doing it.” The old man leveled a flat expression on them all. “It’s not like y’all sprouted from the ground like trees. Little annoying, dirty, smelly trees.”
“I’m telling Mom you said ‘fuck.’” Keen was such a tattletale. He was also grinning widely.
He hadn’t really seen his brother smile before Trista.
Hell, Isaac hadn’t really smiled before Kira.
It made sense that it took a mate to make a male realize nothing else mattered if you had your female. Nothing.
“And she doesn’t give a damn as long as we have this come to Jesus meeting.” Dad curled his lip, exposing a long fang.
Keen, being the ass he was, did it back except his was longer than their father’s.
“Can we not do this in my mate’s kitchen?”
That had the four of them focusing on Isaac. Dad didn’t seem to care. No, he thought the old man might have even smiled. Keen looked happy, Van just shrugged like it didn’t matter and Ty… looked like he swallowed a rotten fish.
“Oh, fuck you, Ty.” He snarled the words.
“I didn’t…” Ty shook his head and finally just leaned over and pressed his forehead to the table.
His dad released a snarl that had them all paying attention to him. “You four are acting like you aren’t brothers. Van gave Ty shit for Mia. You gave Van shit because of Lauren and then all three of you gave Keen shit—”
“Not three,” Isaac raised his hand. “I wasn’t here to care about Trista being half-hyena. Not that I would.” He shrugged. “It’s not like she was, you know, there.”
Dad shook his head while his brothers glared at him. Well, glared at him and then focused on his scars. “We’ll talk about that in a minute.” Dad got back to yelling at them. Only thing was he didn’t yell. No, when he was real quiet, saying the words low, they knew they’d really pissed the man off. “And now you are all being dicks about this Kira-Vanessa bullshit when you know Vanessa is a two-bit bitch who can’t take anyone getting the better of her.”
“Well, she—”
“Get your head outta your ass,” Dad snapped at Ty and Ty glared at Isaac like it was his damned fault his brother was a dick.
“The fact is, you’re brothers. I don’t give a flying fuck why one of you did anything. You stand behind the others. They start a fight, you finish it. They put their trust in someone, they claim a mate, and you better protect that person with your lives. You four are the heart of this clan and if you don’t beat together, you’re not beating at all.” His dad harrumphed. “Now, your girl got any beer in there?” Dad grew serious. “We’re gonna need a drink while we sort out how the she-bitch got her hands on that poison.”
*
Kira stood in the hallway, leaning against the wall, using it to keep her upright. The words were harsh, but she heard the love in each syllable. There were problems between the brothers, obviously, but their father cared. Or rather, their mother cared and made their father deal with it, but he wasn’t doing it with claws or fangs.
He shot out a few words that were followed by grumbles and then she heard Isaac pad across the kitchen, his stride unmistakable to her.
Making noise, not wanting them to continue digging into manly relationship stuff and embarrass themselves in front of a woman, she strode into the kitchen.
Anger, sorrow and regret hit her in the nose, but regret rose above everything.
And then… crisp, clean, and sweet, a man reached her. With unerring precision, she found Isaac, the man just reaching for the handle on her fridge. Then his happiness struck her and he smiled, exposing his teeth as his lips separated. She wanted to feel that smile. Without hesitation, she moved to him, depending on him to stop her if she came to an obstacle. But she didn’t and managed to get to him unhindered. He didn’t move, merely opened his arms and she walked into them, sighing when he held her close.
She raised a hand, stroking the side of his face, following the scar on his cheek and on to his mouth. His lips were spread wide, turned up at the corners. The left was slightly lower than the right, his wound tugging at his flesh, but… he smiled.
A gasp that turned into a manly cough came from her left, but she ignored the sound, too focused on Isaac to be distracted. “What’s this smile for?”
He eased closer, his face almost coming into focus the nearer he got. Not entirely, never entirely, but she could see the warmth in his eyes. This man… With his man-noms and good heart and scars and… He was just… Hers. And she needed to accept that.
“You.” She nuzzled his cheek when he got close enough, showing him she didn’t care about his scars. “Just you.”
Then a gag came from one of the brothers trying to be funny, but it was followed by a smack, then a disgruntled “hey” and finally a grunt.
She really liked Isaac’s father.
With a shake of her head, she stepped from Isaac’s arms and tugged on the refrigerator door. “I’ve got beer, but it’s light.”
She ignored the groans and smiled at Isaac’s low growl. Smiling wider when Ebenezer joined in.
Isaac sidled closer, his heat consuming her. “It’s perfect.” He reached past her and snatched a couple of bottles as well as the one from her hand. “If I tell you you’re perfect will you believe me?”
With a shake of her head—and ignoring another gag from the peanut gallery—she turned to face him, eyebrows raised. “Laying it on a little thick, aren’t we?”
She liked that he was. Liked that he followed up his words upstairs with action in front of his family. He… wanted her.
“Maybe. It depends.”
“On?”
“What’ll get me back in your bed.” He dropped his head, voice low. “Naked.”
Warmth suffused her face and she didn’t need to look in a mirror to know she was bright red.
“Quit.” She nudged him. “I’m sure your dad wants to hear about Vanessa.”
Isaac stepped away to give her room and she stood beside the fridge as she waited for everyone to take their drinks and settle down.
Except George nudged Ty before the Itan sat down. “Go sit on the counter.”
“Why am I sitting on the counter?”
“Because your brother’s mate isn’t gonna sit on the counter. She’s gonna sit in your chair. Did I raise you to be an asshole? I swear, I don’t know why your mother thought I could come in here and deal with this shit. I told her I should just kick your ass and be done with it, but no,” he huffed. “That woman thinks I should talk to you four.” He took a swig of his beer. “Putting a few new holes in your head is talking as far as I’m concerned.”
Kira grinned and leaned against Isaac.
“Move your ass.” George nudged Ty’s chair once again and the large male vacated the seat. “Kira, come sit already.”
“I’m—”
George grunted and she let Isaac lead her across the space. She could have made it on her own, but with five large males occupying the small space, it was best to let him lead. Except, when they got there, Isaac sat first and tugged her onto his lap.
“Hey, how come—”
“Because you’re an asshole.” George didn’t let Ty finish the words.
“Is this pick on Ty day?” A growl filled the Itan’s words, but she didn’t sense he was truly on edge. Just annoyed.
“Yes.” George didn’t miss a beat. “It is. Because we don’t have better things to talk about than how big of a dick you are.”
Isaac’s a
rms around her felt too right to ignore and rather than pull away, she settled against him, enjoying the rightness of his embrace. She’d stand on her own two feet tomorrow. For now, she’d enjoy leaning on someone. Just for a little bit.
Rather than Ty, George began their discussion, his words unhurried and calm while tension thrummed through the rest of the men. Isaac included.
“Now, why don’t you tell me what happened.”
So, she did. From the moment Vanessa knocked on her front door, to the second the woman threw the heavy box of groceries at her and followed that with a rough shove.
Then came the mad race to the back yard, the rush to get away from the female whose body was rapidly transforming from lithe woman to fierce bear.
And the stench…
“Her hands were coated in Carvrix. Also known as Carve.” She turned her attention to Van, the clan’s Enforcer. “She has blisters, right? Maybe around her nails? Casual touch with the drug might sting a little. Like a lemon hitting a paper cut. But she had to have applied it between here and Miller’s, which means she had it on her human skin for a good five to ten minutes. It doesn’t need a lot of time to go to work on flesh. It works best with blood. Practically feeds on it. Skin isn’t as vulnerable.” She took a deep breath, prepared to tell them about the drug that’d haunted her for the last ten years of her life. “It’s usually applied right before a shift or even after if there’s someone around to brush it on. It doesn’t attack nails the same way it does a body. Nails are dead, so it just,” she shrugged. “I don’t know the chemical properties. I just know how it works. I can’t tell you the why.”
“Okay,” George drew her attention again. “Carvrix?” She nodded. “How did you know what it was? How did you know how to treat it? Do you know how she may have come across it?”
Memories rushed forward, burning her from inside out. One fucking drop of the stuff kicked her ass. Two had her screaming. Three had her almost passing out. Four… four took her too close to death. Of course, had they treated her before then, they could have played with her longer. Injure, neutralize, injure, neutralize.
She didn’t say he was the smartest man alive, just the most evil, and she never told them how she managed to live through it all.
Zoey. Zoey was the how. It paid to be smart and have a friend willing to listen to Kira and ask few questions.
“We’ll start at the end. You know it’s an acid laced with a suppressant. It makes you tired so the acid can do its work. There are two ways to get your hands on it. Buy it or make it.”
Isaac’s heavy gaze landed on her, weighing her down with the question on his lips. “You can make it? I thought… It’s a complex process.”
“If you’re looking for high grade, it is. You need a clean lab and advanced chemists. If you don’t give a damn and want to hurt someone or if you’re on a time crunch, you can whip up a batch in the kitchen.” Their shock struck her, anger fast on its heels. Before they could push further, she explained. “It’s like… human Meth. You can buy the better stuff on the streets, right? Dealers tend to have better stuff. But if you don’t care about its strength and just need some, you can make your own. There’s always danger, but if you’re at that level of desperation,” she shrugged. “It’s worth the risk.”
“Do you know the difference?” George sounded calm despite the anger and worry clouding him.
“Yes. I…” she fought past the growing ball of emotion in her throat. Past pain collided with today’s stinging reminders. The skin along her arms was still hot and red. She’d need to treat herself again soon. She must not have washed it all away. Kira rubbed her arms, skin flaking off with each pass. “I do know. I’ve scented both, felt both. Both have torn flesh from my bones, nearly killing me.”
She stared at the twists and turns of her old injuries, now as pale as her skin, lessened with age. That was the first test. It remained as evidence, the first batch’s success all those years ago.
Kira shook her head. She’d come so damned far and still she couldn’t escape the males.
Taking a deep breath, she let the air whoosh from her lungs in a slow glide. She turned to Isaac and cupped his cheeks, thumb sliding over his long scar. His eyes remained on hers while she focused on the ribbon of stark white against tan.
“This one was weapon grade. That’s the original design and application. It’s expensive and designed to go down, not out. It digs deep and keeps digging until it’s fallen through the body.” She reached for his arm, the pink still contrasting with the warmth of his skin. “This is from today. It’s the same. Down, not out. It’s biological warfare at its finest. You don’t have to encompass a body, to kill it. The drug just has to go deep enough.”
“How do you know?” The words were hoarse, but the voice was unmistakable.
She turned toward Ty. “Who do you think was the guinea pig? Though, I doubt the company president knew it. Then again, he might have.” She shrugged. “It doesn’t matter now.”
“Yeah, but…”
Kira ignored Ty and refocused on Isaac. She pulled him closer to nuzzle him. “You need to stay calm.”
Already tension buzzed through him, his skin stretching and pressing where her palms rested. She pushed to her feet and tugged on her shirt, slowly lifting the billowing fabric. After all these years, several spots on her body were still sensitive. Regardless, she tugged it high while she nudged her shorts a hint lower on her hips. She knew what they saw, the gasps alone told her what she needed to know.
“This one on my hip stretches down to about mid-thigh. Home brewed. This single line,” she traced the scar along her ribs. “That one’s medical grade. That time it nicked my lung.” She remembered the panic in Zoey’s voice when it collapsed. She never told her best friend what happened. “The one on my back,” she turned to show the combination of home brew and claws, but gentle hands eased her shirt from her grasp before turning her to face Isaac.
She didn’t have to see his agony to feel it. The emotions burst through the air and drenched her in misery.
“Who did this, Kira?” The words weren’t those of Isaac’s human half but from the man’s bear.
Kira flashed him a rueful smile. “Alpha Asshole. It’s his company. He hired the chemists to create it and he sells it.”
“And he did this to you?” Isaac’s brown eyes bled black.
“No,” she shook her head and let her eyes close, shutting out the world. “Those are all from his son. My…” She could push the words out. She could. And she would pretend it didn’t matter. Pretend they wouldn’t blame her for Isaac’s injuries today and all those months ago. Because the reality was, his wounds were caused by a drug the Alpha created and sold to the clan’s enemies. Somehow Vanessa got access to it. She pulled her hands from Isaac’s face, removing her touch completely as she stepped back. As long as none of the men moved or tried to stop her, she could get away before anyone said a word. Before they registered her connection to Isaac’s scarring and the death of their clan members. That it was all because her…
She kept her eyes closed when she finished her sentence. “They’re from my brother.”
Kira managed to get away, to race from the kitchen and make it to the back door and then the porch and then… then he caught her and held her and told her it would be okay because he had her and wasn’t letting go.
Chapter Ten
Isaac held her, refusing to release her and let her run from him again. She hadn’t made it far, but even if she had, he would have hunted her and brought her back.
He didn’t care if that made him sound like a stalker or a psychopath.
She was his. Period. Full stop.
He heard his brothers and father talking quietly in the house and instead of returning there, he kept her close and sat on the back porch steps. He held her in his lap, snuggled against him, and ignored her tears. If he acknowledged them, his bear would tear free and hunt her family.
He was pretty sure she’d be on board w
ith that plan, but if there were a chance she’d get pissed when he killed her brother… He’d wait. He could gut them tomorrow.
So, he held her, stroked her back and then her thigh. As much as he loved holding her, his cock didn’t react to her presence. It seemed even his dick knew now was not the time.
Every once in a while she twitched, jerking in his embrace, but he didn’t think she was fighting to get away. No, he knew they’d dredged up the past and when the mind remembered, sometimes the body did too.
He should know.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered and it broke his heart.
“Why?” He remained just as quiet. His family could hear if they wanted, but he wanted to maintain the peace as long as he could.
Kira released a hoarse, mirthless laugh. “Why?” she shook her head. “My family,” she spat the word as if it were poison, “developed the drug. They distribute it to whoever is willing to buy it. Your body is…” she sighed and leaned against him and he buried his face in her hair.
“My body is this way because a dozen or so hyenas decided to make me a pincushion and when they were done, instead of healing myself, I cared for the rest of my clan. My body is this way out of pure stubbornness and pride.” He cupped her cheek, encouraging her to look at him, to accept the truth and conviction in his words. “And I wouldn’t want to look any different. If I wasn’t covered in scars and rejected by the women in my clan, I wouldn’t have found you. And that is unacceptable to me.”
A single tear slid from her eye, down her cheek followed by another.
“Don’t cry.”
“Can’t help it.” She sniffled.
“You’re breakin’ my heart.”
Kira shook her head and he nodded. When she shook her head again, he stopped her the only way he knew how.
He kissed her. He closed the distance between them and brushed his lips across hers, nearly moaning as the blueberry sweetness filled him. With the next pass, he lapped at the seam of her mouth, gathering the alluring tastes. He did moan when she opened to him, allowing him entrance.