by Cecilia Lane
She raced for the keys hanging on a hook by the door and threw them toward the occupied cages, then turned into the fight.
The hunter rushed at her with a wild yell, gun raised over his head as if to strike her. She ended that attack with a quick sidestep and crack of her hand on his wrist that sent the gun to the ground.
Mara glanced over her shoulder in time to see Jasmine snagging the keys with a hand stretched between the bars.
Mara dodged what flailing swings she could and absorbed those she couldn’t. She resisted the urge to unsheathe her claws. With her lioness roaring in her head, she doubted she’d be able to stick to a partial shift. Those moments between shapes could mean the difference between life and death.
And Jasmine still fumbled at her lock.
The hunter eyed the door, then tried to make a run for it. Mara shoved him back before he could call others to his defense.
Jasmine rushed out of the cage and right for the hunter. The two others howled and cheered and banged their chains against the bars holding them inside.
The man jumped back right as Jasmine’s chain straightened to its maximum. He reached for the dropped gun, but Mara’s sharp kick sent it skidding toward Jasmine. He was caught between two shifters without a weapon.
Instead of doing the smart thing, he turned toward Mara and threw a desperate punch. She blocked the blow, but missed his second that landed on her stomach and sent her doubling over.
Jasmine clicked the gun. Once. Twice. Wild eyes switched between the hunter and Mara as he stalked forward.
“Safety!” Mara shouted.
Too late. He kicked Jasmine and followed her down to the ground where they wrestled for control.
Mara sucked in a sharp breath and flung herself on the man’s back. They were a flurry of twisted arms and flying elbows. She wrapped an arm around his throat and her legs around his waist. He countered by dropping to his back and crushing her against the ground.
Stunned, her lioness fought to take control. The first crack of her bones sounded soft next to the cocking of the gun.
Mara lifted her head and locked eyes on the hunter standing over her. He wiped blood from the corner of his mouth and spat. His chest heaved as he lifted the gun right at her head.
Mara swept a final look at the faces still behind bars and Jasmine with her fingers tugging fruitlessly on the collar around her neck. She tried and failed. This was how she’d meet her end.
The roar of a bear cut her silent apologies to the others short.
Then he was there, filling the open doorway. Tearing toward them. A massive paw knocked the hunter and his gun into the barbed bars. The jeering howls of the others grew louder with each huffed breath of the enormous bear.
Other roars filtered through Mara’s stunned brain. She watched with shock as Jasmine freed herself, then unlocked the cages of the others. The bear pulled on the spikes set into the ground, and all three ran for the open door and into the activity blossoming in the yard.
Which left Mara and her bear alone.
Furious didn’t even begin to describe the stench wafting off Hudson. His silver eyes stayed locked on her even as his form cracked and snapped and shimmered from one to the other. Mara scrambled to her feet and tried to follow the others out, but Hudson was faster.
He crowded her against a wall, all naked and uncaged rage. “You snuck away from me,” he growled.
Mara lifted her chin. “You don’t control me.”
In a flash, Hudson’s fingers dug into her thighs and lifted her off the ground. Heat whipped through her, spinning her world end over end. Sparks of electricity jumped up and down her skin.
Then his lips crashed against hers, and she was lost.
No playing, no gentle teasing. He stormed her mouth by force. The worry and frustration she’d built inside him crested over her and he branded a part of himself on her heart.
His growl vibrated through her chest with such shock, she gasped. He swept his tongue between her lips and kissed her harder than anyone had ever done. Pure dominance commanded her submission, with her cat happily rolling over to take whatever touch he wanted to give her.
Each stroke of his tongue claimed her. The pressure of his fingers on her skin dared her to challenge him. Heat blasted off his chest and ignited a fire that burned through all her objections.
When he was done thoroughly kissing her, he let her slide to her own feet. By the Broken, her cat loved the feel of him. Hard planes and solid muscle packed his body. Her blood thundered in her head at the things he could do to her... the things she wanted him to do to her.
Dangerous, dangerous man. They didn’t have time for games neither would win. He wanted more than she could ever give him. She’d leave him broken, and he’d break her heart.
Mara shoved at his chest.
Hudson planted his hands against the wall on either side of her arms, effectively locking her in place.
A shiver ran down her spine. He was so close. He pressed into her everywhere. Heat flooded her core, and she felt weak.
That weakness fueled her anger.
She shoved at him again. “Let me go,” she hissed. “I’m not yours.”
“Such lies, kitty. You are mine, and you know it.” He dipped his face into the crook of her neck and dragged his nose along her skin.
Betrayed by her own body, another shiver worked its way through her with force. Not wanting to risk her voice breaking, she dropped her volume to a fierce whisper. “I’m no good for you. Stop trying to make me the woman you want me to be!”
Hudson reared back like she’d hit him, then fisted a hand in her hair. Silver eyes held her as steady as his grip.
“I don’t need you to be anybody. I need you to be alive.”
Chapter 9
“Hudson!”
The sound of his name didn’t register. His bear pushed against his skin, his mind, his heart. Mara shoved at his chest again, but it was weaker than before. Even the sharp anger in her scent had faded. Oh, she still wanted to stick her claws in him and deny their connection, but her eyes laid bare how conflicted that desire really was. Blue and amber flashed and melted together so fast he could practically feel her lioness ripping her apart.
“Hudson! You all good in there?”
Good was relative. Mara was alive, which was good. She’d left him behind, which was not great. She’d been in a fight. She’d survived. She wanted him. She refused to accept their connection. Mixed bag all around.
“We’re good,” he shouted back to Callum. “I have her.”
With one last significant glance, he stepped back from his mate. She sidled past him, eyes glowing and chest still as if she held her breath to avoid taking in his scent.
Hudson followed her out and caught the jeans someone tossed his way. Mara didn’t make it more than a few feet from the shed door before stopping to stare at the activity.
Mara glanced over her shoulder, then back to the yard. “They all came?”
Hudson swung his head from side to side and took in the scene unfolding before him. Every face belonged to someone he knew. Bearden was the nearest enclave, and trust was in short supply, so the clearing of the camp fell to them. Most of the Strathorns were present, and he knew the ones that weren’t likely guarded Leah and Becca and the cubs at home. Judah had skin in the game because of Mack and Cullins, so his clan made a showing, too.
He tried to see it from her perspective. She’d been on guard for so long and iced out anyone she didn’t deem hers. Self-preservation built a wall around her. She needed to see what support looked like.
“Of course. They’re clan. Family and friends.” He crossed his arms over his chest and flicked his eyes to the side. “You didn’t exactly leave me any options for scouting. I wasn’t going to come in here with nothing but the skin on my back when more was needed.”
Judah oversaw the cuffing and shoving of the humans from the trailers. Cole and Jacob huddled together with the three shifters from inside the shed
. Two men and a woman nodded at the questions lobbed their way. The woman pursed her lips and stared hard at his mate.
“She was one of mine,” Mara muttered at his elbow.
Hudson’s eyebrow nearly reached his hairline before he smoothed out his expression. Four of her seven had been found, then. The missing three still weighed her down, but maybe she would feel fewer stones around her neck now.
All three looked whole and mostly healthy. Dirty, but hunters never seemed to care to keep their fighters neat and tidy. They were meant for bloody entertainment, not prancing around. At least they hadn’t gone feral. Those shifters experienced a disconnect between their human and animal sides and rarely found a way back from the madness.
“She said Kerry was here and moved a few days ago.”
“So she’s alive. That’s a start.” And a relief. Axel, torn up from his fight and unbalanced with his loss, would appreciate the confirmation. He’d have one of the others pass the word along once he was back on the trail.
“Three days ago,” Mara said darkly. “Plenty of time for something to go wrong.”
“Defeatist,” he chided gently.
“Realist.”
He wasn’t going to spend his time imagining all the ways life could get fucked up. Only thing to do was get up and keep moving until the end.
Callum and Judah watched Cole and Jacob, too. The two worked with all the shifters pulled from camps and got them back on their feet. Hudson kept sharp eyes on them even after Callum and Judah brought their heads together and started toward him and Mara.
The second in his clan and the broken wolf didn’t crowd anyone. They kept their eyes lowered. Their bodies were fluid and non-threatening, but ready to spring into action. Mostly, after the initial questions, they just listened.
Hudson snuck another look at Mara. He’d tried propping her up and keeping her on the move. She had enough quiet hours to sink into the darkness of her past. Maybe he needed to be more like Cole and Jacob and climb down in there with her. Hauling her out when she didn’t want to reach up and grab the ledge above her wasn’t working.
Callum blocked his view of the rescued shifters. “We have this just about handled. The one you smacked around is the most banged up.”
“That was mostly her,” Hudson nodded at Mara.
Callum eyed her with growing respect. “Regardless, these ones are contained. We’ll set up patrols for the next few days and catch any stragglers that come home to roost and send them off to our friendly enforcement.”
Judah offered his own news. “We finally got the truth out of that asshole with the broken jaw. He and his partner were paid off to disconnect the cameras and take out Ms. Malone. Not going to be good for anyone once news of hunters in SEA ranks spreads, but that’s trouble for another day.” Judah passed a hand down his face and looked tired. “You’re both free to head home.”
Hudson slid his focus straight to Mara. She was free to go. She should go. He had a missing child to find. He made a promise to Axel, and he didn’t like going back on his word.
Mara shook her head. Amber mixed with the blue of her eyes and her jaw set in a stubborn line. He could practically hear her ranting at him. He could tell her to go, but she wouldn’t stay. She felt the entire weight of the world as if she were solely responsible for every bad thing that took place.
The choices were clear. Head out on his own, and find her tagging along and getting into danger. Or fold her against his side and keep her safe.
His bear clawed him up for even suggesting to leave her behind. They were a team. Every fight, every battle, they went in together and worked the problem. Together. That’s what mates were for.
She wasn’t in a good place and liable to get herself killed if she went out on her own. He needed to figure out how best to bring her back from the edge. He couldn’t do that if they were separated.
She needed a purpose. A mission. Some way to redirect all that restless energy inside her into something good.
“There’s something we need to handle before we go back,” Hudson said.
Mara searched his face in silence. The stubborn line didn’t soften. Her head tilted with the barest inclination of a nod, then she pushed past him.
He watched her disappear into one of the trailers and struggled to pack down the urge to follow. His bear was being a twitchy motherfucker. Mara’s fault for leaving him behind. His, too, for not convincing her they were a team. He needed to do something about that, as well.
Too many problems were piled up and knotted together. He felt like a damn kitten bound in a ball of string’s idea of revenge.
The difference between a realist and a defeatist was acknowledging where he was and trying to fix the problem, or perishing with the knowledge that he hadn’t even tried. Fuck that. He’d keep trying until he drew his last breath. He’d make damn sure Mara learned the difference before then.
“You need anyone?” Callum asked.
“No.”
The refusal was immediate. Callum was a good man and alpha, but he lived by the rules. Rules meant nothing if the other person refused to follow them. He was prepared to do the dirty work to get Kerry back. No one needed to see him falling back on bad behaviors. They could stick to their misconceptions of a just world while he made damn sure a little bit of justice was doled out.
Three days head start. That was what he had to work with. His bear objected to Mara leaving his side and his human side feared letting her see the monster he left behind when he went home to Bearden.
Callum lifted his eyebrows, but didn’t object. “Check in with me. You know we’ll come if you call.”
Hudson grunted and followed Mara’s path. Watching Cole and Jacob with the freed shifters gave him some new ideas to try with Mara. That didn’t mean he had to practice with Callum.
The door to the trailer where Mara disappeared stood open. Hudson watched her from the outside in an attempt to gauge her mood. Nothing about her scent helped or offered guidance. She smelled as prickly and sweet as ever.
She leaned on one hand, hips slightly cocked as she flipped through the pages of a ledger. Then she bent and reached for something else, giving him full view of her gorgeous, round ass.
The pose filled him with all manner of inappropriate thoughts. But hell, he’d kept himself contained for a damn year. He sat on his hands all through their immediate jump from frying pan to fire. And that kiss, that one slip of his control, had seared itself into his brain. He should have known she’d be as fiery as her hair suggested, even if the strands tinged to the side of brown. That, too, should have been a clue to the trouble she kept hidden away.
He needed to touch her and reassure himself that she was real. His bear ripped at him with the same demand. She was their match, their mate, and all the trouble ahead could be forgotten for a moment against her skin.
Hudson slunk up behind her and planted his palms on the desk. Her back stiffened under him, then her head cocked to the side ever so slightly. Something in her wanted to submit.
Hudson nuzzled his cheek against her back and let himself drown in her scent. No one had any business smelling so fucking good. “We really need to stop running into each other like this.”
“Like how?” Breathless voice, racing heart.
“Me saving your ass. You bite off more than you can chew. You’re more stubborn than a fighter.”
“Out of practice, is all.”
He’d hate to see her in practice. She could handle herself in a fight. She’d held off two men while collared. She’d have been able to easily take down the hunter if she let herself shift. She had her reasons, he was sure, but that played into his assessment. She had to fight smart if she was going to do it at all.
“Ground rules, then. No running off without me. Until you shake off the rust.” The indignation stabbing through her scent brought a smile to his lips.
In a flash, he grabbed her by the hips and swung her around and up on the edge of the desk. He stepped between h
er thighs before she could even gasp. That quiet intake of air was music to his ears.
Softly, he pressed his lips to hers. He’d been angry before. Scared for her and for what it’d mean if he lost her. Now, he took his time with her.
He moved against her delicately, savoring the softness of her lips and the warmth of her mouth when she parted for him. The hard, fast pace before didn’t allow time to explore or draw her into a dance. He sipped at her as he dragged his hands up her bare arms. Fire spread up his arms and through his chest and his bear rumbled with approval when he cupped her cheeks and tilted her face for more.
Mara growled and nipped at his lower lip. Hard.
Desire ripped through Hudson and his cock swelled painfully against his jeans. Kitty had claws, and he fucking loved them.
He groaned and locked a hand behind her neck. He wanted her. Needed to feel more of her. The hand still on her cheek dropped to her hip. He squeezed and rubbed up and down her thigh, still stroking her tongue with his and tasting his perfect mate.
He brushed his lips over her jaw and she chased the kiss. Perfect. Fucking perfect. And not just because he wanted her drenched and begging for him. If she stayed distracted, maybe he could convince her to go home.
Where would home be for her, anyway? There was no chance he’d let Judah stash her away where she’d already been targeted. Even if a dozen new security procedures were put into place, his bear would rampage through every last one until she was at his side.
Shiftermax was out, too. That place was a hellhole even without murderous SEA agents running the joint. Specialized prison facility? Fuck that. More like future murder processing plant.
Maybe he could convince her to stay in his den. Yeah, that sounded right. That sounded like exactly where she belonged.
His bear, ready to rampage at suggesting Mara leave his side, settled back at the last thought. Their den would be her den. Mates belonged together. Mates fought and loved and lived side by side. Each image in the whirlwind of sendings drove that point home.