Chapter Six
Nolan hummed the song along with the radio, tapping his fingers on his thigh. The snow outside was still falling, but it had decreased enough for them to drive the short trip to Colorado Springs so Nolan could pack his things. His parents and his brothers were in the car in front of them and he could see Billy waving at him from time to time.
Casey had been more subdued than usual the past few days, and Nolan knew it had to do with Gregory, but Casey hadn’t wanted to talk about it and Nolan had let him. Now, though, it was clear that it was eating at him, so maybe it was time to ask.
“What did Gregory do to you?” The car swerved and Nolan had to grab the dashboard with both hands. “Whoa, sorry!”
“Why do you think he did something to me?” Casey was avoiding Nolan’s eyes.
“You haven’t been the same. You’re quieter, and you spend less time with me.” Nolan was afraid he sounded like a brat, but he decided he didn’t care as long as the old Casey came back.
His mate stayed silent for a while and Nolan thought that he wouldn’t say anything, so Casey startled him when he confessed, “He kissed me.”
Nolan let it sink. Okay, so someone else had kissed his mate. “So? Why are you acting different?”
Casey looked briefly at him, his eyes wide. “So? I just told you another man kissed me. Aren’t you going to yell or tell me that you’re leaving me or something?”
“Is that what you want?” Nolan asked softly. “You want me to leave you?” Maybe Casey had liked the kiss Gregory had given him. Maybe he had realized that he was still in love with his childhood friend. Maybe Nolan wasn’t enough for him. He was just a cat, after all. Dread filled the pit of his stomach. What if Casey wanted them to break up but didn’t know how to tell him?
“Love, you’re thinking too hard.” A featherlike caress on his cheek jolted Nolan away from his dire thoughts. “I don’t want us apart, ever. I just thought that you would be angry, and I was feeling guilty.” Casey returned both of his hands on the steering wheel.
“Guilty? Did you kiss him back? Did you want him to kiss you?”
“Of course not!”
“Then I don’t see why you should feel guilty. It was just a kiss and you didn’t like it, so let it go. It’s not a good reason to start behaving that way.” Okay, so maybe Nolan’s cat wasn’t as forgiving as Nolan was. It was hissing in his head, ready to take that bastard cheetah Alpha down, never mind that the guy was several inches taller and had so much more muscle. Or that in shifter form he could eat Nolan in a single bite. Nolan knew he had to keep his mate happy, and acting like nothing had happened would make Casey happy.
“Are you ready to meet the rest of my family?”
Casey chuckled. It seemed like the previous conversation was already forgotten, and Nolan settled back in his seat, a warm smile playing on his lips. “As ready as I can be, I guess. I’m used to living with a lot of other people after all, so it shouldn’t be too different from that, except for the fact that I don’t want them to dislike me.”
“They’ll love you. My parents sure already do.”
Casey opened his mouth, probably about to argue, when the car got hit and skidded forward. Nolan once again gripped the dashboard while it swerved, slitting on the slick road and heading toward the woods on the right. Casey managed to straighten it and accelerated, trying to put more distance between them and the car that was trying to take them out.
“What the hell happened?”
Casey’s eyes were hard while he looked in the rearview mirror. “Someone hit us.”
Nolan turned in his seat, trying to see who was driving the other car, but with the snow he wasn’t able to identify the person behind the steering wheel. He could just see that it was a big man from the silhouette. The car, though…it did remind him of someone.
Casey tried to distance the other car, but with the state of the road it wasn’t easy. Nolan’s heart was beating hard in his chest as he thought that this might be it. Would this be the last time he saw his mate? Would they die out here in the middle of nowhere? Nolan looked straight in front of him, both relieved and worried to see that his parent’s car was still there. He could vaguely see Billy’s form looking back at him. Nolan wanted his parents to go home, to be safe, but he also didn’t want to be alone here, in the middle of the snow.
The car bucked again, metal screeching against metal, the smell of burnt tires penetrating as Casey tried to slow down without success. The trees were growing nearer by the second and Nolan could do nothing more than hold on onto the door handle and the seat. He cast a last glance in Casey’s direction, watching how his mate frowned in concentration.
“I love you.”
Casey’s head jerked his way. “I love you too, love, so don’t think you’re getting rid of me so easily. We’ll get through this, and you’ll tell me again how you feel about me.” Casey’s attention returned to the road in front of him right before the car behind them hit them a third time. This time Nolan’s mate wasn’t able to maintain control. The car swerved, finally leaving the asphalted road and ending up on the side of it in the middle of the snow.
Nolan was jolted around in his seat, his knuckles white from the way he was grabbing the handle, holding on for dear life. He could hear soft whimpers and he realized he was the one making them, so he tightened his lips together to cut the sound off.
The car finally came to a halt, the hood hitting a tree. They were lucky the bushes had slowed down their car, or it would have hit the tree at full speed. As it was, the hood crunched, the screeching sound making Nolan shiver, and smoke started to come out of it, but they were safe.
Nolan turned to Casey and exhaled a sigh of relieve. His mate was safe, he was fine. Casey’s hands were still tight around the wheel and his chest was heaving, but he was fine. He turned to Nolan, his eyes wide in panic until Nolan told him, “I’m fine. I’m fine.”
Casey raised his hand to Nolan’s forehead and turned back slick with blood. “You’re bleeding.”
“It’s nothing.” Nolan hadn’t even noticed. He probably had hit his head somewhere. “It’s just a scratch.”
They both turned at the sound of a car stopping behind them. Not knowing if it was his parent’s car or the one that had pushed them off the road, Nolan looked at Casey in question.
“I’ll go.” Casey looked at Nolan before diving on him, their lips colliding in a hard kiss that left them both panting. “Stay in the car until you hear me or one of your relatives calling out to you.” Nolan nodded, but it wasn’t enough for Casey. He snarled, shocking the hell out of Nolan. “Promise!” Casey had never talked to him like this, but he understood why he was doing it. He was scared.
“I promise. Casey…come back to me, please.”
Casey gave him a ruthless smile. “I’ll be the one coming back, don’t you worry about it.” He started to undress, pushing off the heavy sweater he was wearing. He couldn’t completely undress—it was too cold for that—but he handed Nolan his shoes and t-shirt before opening the door and slipping out, blowing Nolan a last smile.
* * * *
It had to be Gregory. That fucker hadn’t left after all, it would have been too easy. Now Nolan was in danger, and Casey had to protect him.
Casey tried to ignore the snow that slipped between his toes. He was used to walking on the forest ground bare feet, but not the snow, and he already couldn’t feel them anymore. He had no other choice, though. If he wanted to be able to shift in a hurry, the fewer clothes he had on and better it was. That didn’t mean he liked the way the snowflakes felt against the bare skin of his chest.
Casey’s nipples were beaded, the cold creating goose bump on his skin as he rounded the car cautiously. He could see that the car that had stopped behind them wasn’t Nolan’s parent’s car, but the one that had sent them off the road. Gregory was still in it, his silhouette visible behind the windshield.
Casey could hear another m
otor running not far from where they were, and turning to the left he saw Nolan’s family’s car idling not far away. No one was getting out of it, and Casey was glad. They wouldn’t be able to do anything against a cheetah, even if they shifted, but he hoped they would come and get Nolan once Casey lured Gregory to a safe distance.
Casey stayed there, the snow falling around him and sticking to his hair, waiting for Gregory to come out of the car and face him. He didn’t know if the man had hit them because he really wanted to hurt them or because he was trying to make Casey stop, but either way, now that they were all here, Casey hoped he would face him, and he was right.
The door swung open and Gregory climbed down. He too had removed most of his clothes and they faced each other.
“What do you want, Gregory?” Casey shivered a bit, cursing the snow that he usually loved.
“You. I want you.”
“I already told you that I will never be yours. Why don’t you just go home and find yourself a nice little cheetah?”
Gregory snarled. “You’re the only one I want! I would have gotten you if that damn cat hadn’t come along!”
Casey shook his head. It seemed like nothing he had said to Gregory had really penetrated into the man’s brain. “What are you going to do? Force me to come with you? Even if you manage to do that, you can’t mate me, since I’m already mated to Nolan.”
“I’ll have to take care of him, then. But if you just climb in the car and come with me, I’ll let him live. Is that a good enough compromise for you?” The folly in the Alpha’s eyes scared Casey. He usually won when they used to fight as kids, but if Gregory had managed to defeat his father and become Alpha, it meant that the man was way more powerful than Casey. It didn’t bode well, but Casey would do anything in his power to keep Nolan safe and out of the fight, even if it killed him.
“I’m not stupid,” Casey said with a snort. “I know if I come with you, you’ll take me back to Orston and lock me up before coming back here to get Nolan.”
Gregory shrugged. “I had to try, but if you don’t come with me, I’ll kill your cat in front of you before taking you back home. Wouldn’t you rather prefer not to see him suffer?”
The man had clearly lost his marbles. There was nothing left of the nice, friendly boy Casey had known so many years ago, and as he realized that only one of them would come out of this fight alive, he knew it probably wouldn’t be him. Not only was Gregory probably the strongest of them, but the manic gleam in his eyes said that he would do just about anything to be the one to survive. Casey had a very good reason to fight as well as he could, though, and he hoped it would be enough.
Flexing his hands, Casey called his cheetah from where it was lurking in the back of his mind. The time to talk was gone—it was time to get to the action and protect his mate, praying that he would see the beautiful smile he loved so much once again.
Casey’s eyes never left Gregory, and he watched as the Alpha shifted, taking a lot more time than Casey to get in his cat form. Casey knew it was a coward’s move, but since all was fair in love and war, and this situation belonged to both, he decided to strike.
Casey jumped on Gregory, aiming for the throat. The half shifted man saw him coming and moved, trying to get away but was hindered by the fact that his paws were still half human limbs. Gregory fell and rolled on the fresh snow, scrambling to get back to his feet as he finished the shift. Casey still managed to get to him in time to rake his claws along the cheetah’s flank, drawing first blood. The snow under Gregory turned crimson, but Casey knew it wasn’t a deep wound.
The Alpha had finished his shift now, and Casey was surprised to see his cheetah wasn’t that much bigger than Casey’s. It surely wasn’t proportioned to the big frame he had in human form.
The two cats circled each other, and Casey had never been so thankful that Dominic had wanted him to learn how to fight, both in human form and in cheetah one. He waited for Gregory to make the first move, hoping that the madness in the other man’s eyes would push him to be reckless and act without thinking. Sure, he wouldn’t be Alpha if it was usually the case, but obviously Casey had touched something inside him that made him lose contact with reality.
Casey knew he was right when Gregory launched himself at him, aiming right for throat. It wasn’t hard for Casey to dance out of the way, using the occasion to once more rake his claws on the other cheetah’s spotted fur, this time on his chest. He realized that he didn’t really want to kill the man, just injure him enough to make him back off. Casey wasn’t a warrior. He didn’t have it in him to kill unless it was absolutely necessary, and there was the fact that if he did kill Gregory, he would become Alpha of the Orston pride, and that was something he absolutely didn’t want.
He chirped at the other cheetah, tried to make him see that he didn’t want to fight, but Gregory answered with a growl and Casey knew then he would have to kill the guy. They moved at the same time, clashing together, both trying to make as much damage as possible with their claws and teeth. Casey managed to close his jaw on Gregory’s throat but he slipped in the damp snow at the last moment, losing his hold and falling back.
Gregory was on him right away and Casey had to draw his back paws to his belly, hoping to use them to throw the Alpha away, but Gregory latched on Casey’s shoulder. Casey whimpered in pain, feeling the teeth sinking into his flesh. If he tried to push Gregory away, he would end up tearing away part of his shoulder, making it hard to continue to fight, both for the blood loss and the pain.
Casey bucked, trying to dislodge the cat on top of him, raking his front paws on his side and drawing even more blood. He could feel the teeth sinking farther as he mentally prepared himself for the pain that was about to come when Gregory suddenly opened his mouth and yelped as he twisted around, trying to get to his back. Casey jumped up as fast as he could, ignoring the pain that shot along his front leg from the wounded shoulder and froze at the sight in front of him.
Gregory was bucking, trying to dislodge two small domestic cats from his back as another three of them moved around, biting him wherever they could reach. They were clearly all from the same family, their fur so similar that Casey wouldn’t have been able to tell one from another. He certainly didn’t know which one was Nolan until a sixth cat appeared from behind the car and ran to him.
Casey let out a relieved sigh at the sight of his lover. He nuzzled Nolan’s small head for a few seconds before turning back to the fight. One of the cats that had been on top of Gregory was sprawled in the snow, dazed but moving. Casey growled, hoping that they would understand his request for them to step back.
He dove back in, passing the three that were still stubbornly nipping at Gregory’s haunches, distracting him as Casey locked his jaws on his throat and tightened. Gregory bucked, realizing that he had let his guard down, but Casey didn’t let go, feeling his canines penetrating the fur and flesh, blood seeping in his mouth as he pushed Gregory down. Casey’s cheetah wanted to yowl in approval, satisfied with the way they were taking care of his mate.
Gregory jerked and snarled, but Casey didn’t let go, not even when he felt claws penetrating his chest and his soft belly. The added pain barely registered under the one he could feel in his shoulder, but Casey knew he had to end this fast before the blood loss got to him. He moved his head, his human part hurting for the loss of his friend as he gave a last jerk and heard the sound of bone breaking.
Gregory’s body went slack under him, but Casey held on, afraid to let go. He knew the man was dead, but it was only when a soft mewl resounded beside him that he finally realized it was over. Opening his jaw, he scrambled away, shifting as he went. He needed to feel more human right now, needed to feel Nolan’s arms around him. Pain shot through him as bones realigned, and his wounds burned and hurt even more, now that the fight was over.
Casey fell on his ass, not even feeling the cold until a hot body climbed on his lap. Nolan carefully surrounded him with his arms, rocki
ng him back and forth as he tried to reassure Casey that everything would be okay.
* * * *
Nolan had never been so scared as when he’d finally decided to jump out of the car and saw Casey under Gregory, bleeding. He’d ripped the clothes he had on, quickly shifting, but his family had arrived before him. He couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw his father and Glenn on Gregory’s back, hissing and scratching at him while his mother and his other two brothers nipped at Gregory’s paws. A wave of affection had bubbled in his chest at the sight of his family protecting his mate, and he’d run to Casey.
Now everything was over, really over this time. Gregory’s body was lying in the cold snow, forever stuck in cheetah form, and Casey was safe. He was wounded, however, and Nolan was glad he’d thought about calling Dominic before exiting the car. It wouldn’t take long for the lion to arrive with help, but in the meantime Casey needed to get in the car. He would freeze otherwise, already weakened by the wounds and the blood loss.
Nolan slowly leaned away, pecking a feather-light kiss on Casey’s lips. “Babe, you need to get in the car.” Casey looked shocked, but he reacted, smiling a bit.
A blanket appeared next to Nolan’s head and he smiled gratefully at his mother before wrapping Casey in it. Nolan gave a quick glance around, making sure that all the members of his family were safe. They were busy dressing, and Glenn still seemed a little dazed from the flight Gregory had sent him into, but he would be fine.
Nolan’s father kneeled next to them and slid his arm around Casey’s waist, hauling him up while Nolan moved to his other side. Together they helped him walk to the car and climb in it, laying him down in the back seat. Nolan quickly climbed in the passenger seat and pulled it down so he could get to Casey. He didn’t know much about wounds and healing, but he knew Casey’s wounds had to be cleaned, so he started to do that as Casey gritted his teeth against the pain.
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