by Celia Kyle
Breath stilled in his lungs, Brute aligned the pictures, edges straight, and then slid them back into the envelope with infinite care. Focus equaled strength. He had to busy himself with minute details while he held the cat at bay.
Ease the pictures in. Lower the flap. Press the crease. Slide the flap into the envelope. Set the packet on the table. I can do this…
“No one else sees these.” His voice was harsh, torn and wrecked. “No one.”
Brute’s father grabbed one of his hands, covering his fingers and squeezing. “There are a few with faces, Brutus. Those should be shown to Sheriff Corman, Ricker and Alex. They may be able to identify them and hunt them down.”
“No.” No. No one could see his mate that way.
“Elise, then. See if she could give us names.”
Tears stung his eyes. And why did his chest hurt? Breathing. He wasn’t breathing. “No.”
Grayson spoke next. “Brute, we can all protect her. She’s part of the pride now. But we need to know what we’re up against.” Brute forced his attention to the Second. “None of us caught a scent from her apartment. The cow’s blood overpowered everything else. So, we need whatever information we can get.”
“No.” He only held one word in his mind: no. He’d keep repeating the word until it got through to them.
Brute couldn’t reveal these images to anyone, he couldn’t show others what she’d been through, couldn’t accept that he hadn’t been there to save her. His mate had suffered so much. He couldn’t force her to relive that time.
“Brutus.” His father snapped. “You only have so many choices here. Do you want to keep your mate safe?” Yes, yes he did. “You show the images to them in full or just the faces that are visible. If you don’t do that, you show the pictures to Elise and see if you can get any information from her. Period. We can’t help if we don’t know what we’re up against.”
No-no-no-no… With a ferocious roar, Brute’s beast tore through the wall of steel in his mind and rushed forward, shoved its way through his mind and his shift tore through him. Between one heart beat and the next, he went from man to lion. His clothes shredded as his body reformed. The sudden pain of the shift forced a deafening roar from his maw.
The cat watched the men retreat, stumbling over furniture to put space between them. They were afraid. Good. They hadn’t listened and now they’d pay for their denials.
He was lion. He was cat. Men should heed him or…
The rapid patter of feet on tile had his attention shifting from the males to the hallway as four females crowded the space.
“Get back!” His father screamed at the women. Ah, fear tasted so delicious on his tongue. He licked his lips.
No. He shook his head. He couldn’t eat his father. But the tantalizing scent of terror came from the other two males as well. He took a step toward the other men, looking at each in turn, trying to decide who would suffer first for their refusal to listen.
“Brute?” The voice was so soft, almost a song to his ears, and he tore his gaze from the males, searching the cluster of women for the one who called to him. “Mate?”
Mate. Yes, he had a mate. A sleek fox who called to him like no other female. He had to protect her. There was someone threatening his mate. A growl formed, echoing through the room and he curled his lip. His claws extended and then curled into the carpet as his muscles tensed. He wouldn’t let anyone harm her. He had to stay alert. Lion could take care of what belonged to them. Sweet fox was theirs and…
“Brute?” The women shifted and a single female stepped free of them, taking a step forward.
Ah, mate. Her scent beckoned him. Delicate and sweet and she still carried his essence as well. Lion remembered claiming their mate only hours ago. Yes, this fox was his.
Brute padded toward her and nuzzled her stomach, purring against her curves as he covered her in his scent. His. And when a delicate giggle reached his ears, he chuffed. Yes, his mate liked him.
Along with rubbing, he nudged and prodded her until she was backed into a corner, his body between her and the rest of the room. A whisper-soft shuffle sounded behind him and he spun, snarling and baring his fangs. They shouldn’t move. Shouldn’t come closer to what belonged to him. The fox was his. His. No one would threaten his mate.
Brute’s father was closer now. A chair no longer separated them and he snarled, the sound echoing off the walls.
“Brute!” His mate’s voice was loud and sharp…and followed immediately by a thump to his forehead. “No, bad kitty.”
He turned his head and focused on her. Didn’t she know he was a lion, the fiercest in the pride? He could challenge Alex and become Prime if he wanted. Others feared him to their very bones.
“Brute. You can’t get growly with family, so quit it.”
Brute huffed. She just didn’t understand.
“I mean it, mate.”
“Elise, I wouldn’t—” Neal’s voice overrode Elise’s.
Brute growled and bared his fangs at the man. That earned him another thump, this time on his nose. When he turned back to Elise, she pinched and twisted his ear and he whimpered in response.
“No more growlies. Do I need to give you catnip to calm your kitty ass down?” She released his ear and then crossed her arms over her chest. He couldn’t help but stare at the way the position pushed her plump mounds up. “If you don’t quit it, I’ll shift and bite your ass in a not good, very bad way.” His mate narrowed her eyes. “I’d do it now, but that gets too close to bestiality.”
“How about he shifts back and you nibble his ass then? ‘Cause I’m all for that show. Brute’s got a cute butt.” Carly’s laughing voice filled the room and then Neal snarled.
Thank god for his mother. The woman would get Neal under control and… “Enough. Brutus Mauer, I don’t know why you’re furry, but you shift back right this minute.” Brute huffed and his mother stomped. “I mean it young man. I put you on this earth, I’ll take you right back out of it. How many times have I told you that shifting isn’t the answer? And in the house no less. You would have thought you’d learn after Ian treed your snarly butt.” His mother tsked. “I thought I raised a smarter boy.”
With a final growl, the cat relinquished control and Brute the man pushed forward. The shift took twice as long, but eventually he was on two feet once again.
“Oh! God! My eyes! It’s brother junk. Ew! I’m blind!” Emma screeched and spun, hiding her face against his mother’s shoulder, and his sister Honor was quick to follow. The males in the room looked everywhere but at Brute, and Carly…
“Carly, quit looking at my mate.” Aw, his sweet fox had a bit of a backbone.
“What? A mated girl can’t look?” The little rabbit blinked with wide, not-so-innocent eyes.
“No.” Neal’s snarl was followed by the male stomping across the room. The lion wrapped his arms around the smaller woman and shoved her head against Neal’s shoulder.
“What a killjoy.” Carly’s words were muffled. “Hey, I have an idea. Let’s worry a little more about Brute becoming a homicidal, furry ass and less about Carly ogling junk.” Neal’s growl was so loud and deep, Brute felt it in his bones. “O-kay. How about the fact that Brute got treed by Ian when he was sixteen? That’s fun. A sweet little bunny chased the big, bad lion up the old oak. Yay.”
A delicate snort came from behind Brute and he turned to look at his mate, single eyebrow raised.
“A bunny? Really?” Elise stepped forward and wrapped her arms around his waist, pressing all of her luscious curves against him, resting her head on his chest. “Don’t worry, kitty. I’ll keep you safe from the scary bunnies. I hear they’re crunchy. Like candy.”
“Hey! I heard that!” Carly’s voice was louder now, but still muffled by Neal. “Didn’t we give you enough chew toys in your welcome basket, fox? Now you’re threatening innocent little bunnies? Didn’t you get the memo that rabbits are no longer on your list of munchables?”
“Screw all that
. I just wanna know if Brute’s junk is still hanging out.”
He’d kill Honor. Later.
“Honor Mauer!” His mother’s voice held the perfect balance, of anger, love and exasperation.
Brute rolled his eyes and then tipped his fox’s head back with a finger beneath her chin. “Welcome to the family, sweet fox.”
Apparently, Emma was riding the same crazy train as Honor. “Seriously now. Is someone gonna answer the question? Bro-junk? Is it still flopping around or are we safe from the attack of the weenie? And how much does it suck that my first weenie sighting is my brother’s? Ew!”
Elise was smiling, laughing with his family, and it pierced his heart. Because what he was about to ask of her would wipe the happiness of these few moments away as if they’d never existed.
Chapter Nine
“Everyone dies at some point. I just help things along every once and again.” – Brute Mauer, Prima guard and wishing a few choice people would die already.
Elise was in a daze as Brute led her through his apartment. Memories still tumbled and turned in her head, the faces of her rapists flashing in her mind. So many… So many names, so many men.
And Brute had seen them.
She followed her mate, forcing one foot before the other, yet the shame of her past still pulsed through her body. She remembered them all. Maybe not their names, but definitely their faces…
And she’d had to relive those moments, those painful snippets of time, with her mate and other pride members.
After they cleared the room of Brute’s family, Carly had sat to her left, fingers twined with hers, while a newly clothed Brute curled around her on her right, lending her strength as she flashed picture after picture to Alex, Grayson and Sheriff Corman.
That’s Laramie. He’s a lion. I was there a year before he came to me…
The one with the tat is Jasper. A hyena. But Ricker and Maddy took him out during my rescue…
He’s another lion. His name starts with a “J”. Jennings? Jensen? Jenner?
Tension in the room had exploded then, but she ignored it, too lost in her memories. She needed to ask Brute about it, though. Especially since the males had each eased toward furry-dom as she spoke.
Polar bear. I don’t know his name, but he helped kidnap Maddy.
Wolf. He didn’t usually come alone. This is Owen, but he tended to have Elijah with him.
And on and on and on until they came to the last one in the stack, the final image and she saw that the man had been in her apartment at least once before he’d destroyed it last night. He’d broken in as she slept, stood over her and taken pictures. That single photo had been worse than the others combined.
Because it shattered her peace. Every hint of safety that she’d acquired since coming to Ridgeville had been dashed with one four inch by six inch piece of paper.
Just…gone.
Elise didn’t even process her surroundings. Distantly she recognized that her feet were bare. Did Brute take off her shoes? Her toes dug into carpet. Then slapped against a hard surface. Wood? Tile? Then carpet and something hard and cold again. Maybe this was tile?
The flare of bright lights had her blinking against the sudden glare, and she looked at her surroundings to find herself in a huge bathroom nearly the size of her apartment bedroom. The large space was sparsely decorated in neutral colors of brown, brown and more brown. One corner was occupied by a glass walk-in shower while the opposite held a large garden tub. Part of Elise yearned to surround herself in hot water, but the other half of her just wanted crawl into a bed and hide.
“Come on, sweet fox. Let’s get you clean.” Brute’s voice was soft and gentle as he tugged on her borrowed shirt and she lifted her arms so he could pull it free of her body. Next went the shorts he’d worn when he was in middle school, and then she was left bare to the room.
She let him lead her to the shower, stepping in at his urging and waiting while he closed them into the glassed area.
The sudden rain of the shower had her jerking in surprise and her mate was quick to reassure her. “It’s okay. We’re just gonna clean up and then I’m gonna make you breakfast. How’s that sound?”
Clean. Yes, she needed to get clean. They’d touched her and did things to her and…
“Yeah,” her voice came out strangled and she coughed to clear the lump in her throat. “Yeah. Need to get it off. All of it.” Tears stung her eyes. The morning had been like reliving her years with Freedom. True, she’d repeated her tales to Maddy and her therapists, but never with Brute. And now he knew so much… “Want to get clean and then you’ll claim me again?”
She needed it. Needed to have those memories erased and replaced by her mate.
“Elise I don’t think…” His hesitation was clear in his voice.
Elise snuggled close, resting her head over his heart. “Please, Brute?”
“Okay, baby, okay.” He stroked her back, running his fingers along her spine until they came to rest just above her ass. “I’ll give you whatever you need.”
Yeah. Yeah, she had no doubt he would.
Brute shifted, hand sliding over her skin, and she let him draw her into the warm spray, soaking them. She felt some of her tension melt away. Here, in the safety of Brute’s arms, she had nothing to fear.
Her back to the shower, she leaned against him as he soaped his hands and then slid them along her body. The delicate scent of his soap surrounded them and she settled into the comforting embrace. This was Brute, her Brute, and he was taking care of her.
Before long, he turned her, front facing the gentle mist of water, and he repeated each caress, fingers dipping and stroking her curves as he cleaned her. She rested passively against him, reveling in her mate’s care. A whimper escaped when his touch retreated, but he’d merely dropped to his haunches and treated her legs to the same treatment as her chest, soaping and rinsing her skin. His fingers seemed to pay special care to the juncture of her thighs and delicate tendrils of arousal surrounded her.
“Brute…” Her voice was barely a whisper, but he’d heard.
“Right here, sweet fox.” He came to his feet and cuddled against her back, arms wrapping around her waist, his hardening cock nestled against the crease of her ass. “Right here.”
Elise turned in his embrace and absorbed his features, recognized the concern, fear and…love? God, she hoped so. Mating didn’t equate to love, she knew that. But his daily visits to the diner, his understanding and caring, had practically forced her to fall in love with the fierce lion.
“Take the memories away.” She blinked away the tears in her eyes. “Please.”
Brute leaned down and she let her eyes flutter closed when he brushed a soft kiss across her lips. His natural scent tickled her nose and she inhaled his raw essence, savoring the comfort that came with his closeness.
“Not here, Elise.” He whispered against her lips. “Not against a wall. I want to take my time with you. Show you how well I can love my mate.”
God, the tears kept coming.
Elise pushed into him, rose to her tip-toes and deepened their barely-there kiss. She licked at the seam of his lips, tongue gently caressing his mouth, and she delved deeper into him when he opened for her. She lapped and drank in his flavors, let them slide over her taste buds, and she felt her fox stir in response. The small beast had retreated as they’d looked over the photos, hiding from their shared pain.
Eventually, Brute engaged her, mimicked her every stroke and giving as well as taking.
His cock hardened fully against her belly, telling her without words that he was more than ready to help dispel her memories. She wanted to bathe in his scent, let his every touch wipe away any others. She didn’t want to be able to recall anyone’s touch but Brute’s. Always Brute’s.
Slowly, she eased from him until their lips were once again gently brushing. “Need you…”
“Yes,” his voice was deep and husky.
Not releasing her, he reached and
shut off the shower then helped her leave the glass enclosure. Dripping on the bath mats, Brute was quick to snag a nearby towel and dry her, then him.
In moments, they were merely damp and Elise reached for him, twining her fingers with his. “Bedroom?”
Brute tilted his head toward an open door and she took that as an invitation.
On trembling legs, she led him toward the master bedroom, carefully padding over the tile and then into the cavernous space that Brute called home. A large, dark wood bed dominated the center of the space. Masculine hues were sprinkled throughout the room, and she could see hints of her mate in every corner.
At the bed she paused, looking over the soft surface, imagining the two of them rolling and loving one another.
Brute’s warmth enveloped her and she leaned against him for strength. “We don’t have to do anything, sweet fox. We can crawl beneath the covers and nothing more.”
Oh, her sweet, sweet lion.
Elise shook her head. “No. We’re making new memories. Our memories. I need our lo—” Brute’s hands stilled and she swallowed. “I need us to replace everything else.”
Her mate turned her until she was faced with a simple choice: stare at his chest or look into his eyes. She decided to take the risk and meet his gaze, and hope blossomed in her chest. There…in his eyes…she saw what she’d be hoping for.
“Do you need our love to replace it all? Is that it, sweet fox?” His voice was soothing and gentle. “Because it’s yours. I’m yours.” He cupped her cheek as he stared at her and his eyes glistened in the dim lighting. “I love you, Elise. More than life, I love you.”
The tears that had been a blink away for the last half hour finally fell, trailing down her cheeks as the weight of his feelings blanketed her. “I love you, too.”
Reaching up, she ghosted her fingers over his face, absorbing his features by touch, and then finally settling her hand on his neck, tracing the underside of his jaw with her thumb. “Make love to me, Brute.”