by Fel Fern
At Des’s agreement, he and the other enforcers leading their own search times headed out.
By the dark alley near the apartment, the werecats began to shed human skin, including Lex. Lex wasn’t usually a follower by any means, but she’d run with the Leopold Pard for this night alone to save her brother.
She could feel the pard bonds between each and every member of the pard. It started from the top, from Cas and Des, then to the strongest werecats, and down to the weakest, like a forged link of chain.
You’ve done a good job here, brother. It will kill them to lose you.
She ran alongside Noah and Mason, their forms mere shadows in the night, but her black coat was a contrast to their spotted ones. Occasionally, one or both men would rub against her. It wasn’t anything sexual. It was just a shifter’s natural hunger for touch, closeness, and comfort. Lex didn’t mind the little touches. Their presence made her forget she was still an outsider running with their pard.
The pard seemed to know their way around their city. They kept to dark corners and alleyways where human eyes wouldn’t see them. Des led them west of the city, to the bad part of town. He halted at the corner between two buildings.
Lex craned her neck past other furry heads to see what had caught Des’s attention. Being mated to both Lars and Cas, Des was linked to Lars more intimately than the other cats, so he could find Lars even if Lars was unconscious or drugged.
Nestled between two run-down apartment buildings across the street was small two-story animal clinic with a peeling sign and boarded windows. It looked like it had been closed for a while now.
Des let out a thin growl of confirmation, making Lex’s heart leap in her throat. She hoped to the gods they made it in time. Two other cats went with Des to cover the front, while Noah and Mason went round back.
Noah was larger than the average wereleopard, and he used his large frame to force the back door open. The cheap wood easily gave way after one shove. They prowled their way in the dark, navigating past empty corridors and trashed rooms. The clinic looked like it had been ransacked long ago.
Lex’s nose twitched at the faint but familiar coppery smell of blood mixed with the familiar childhood feline musk her brother carried. She lightly nipped at Noah’s ear to get his attention. Noah and Mason nodded, and let her take the lead.
The trail led the three of them past a flight of stairs and into a dimly lit basement. Rusted cages were piled up together with stacked, rotting boxes of supplies. At the center of the room was a large, scarred but solid wooden table. Strapped across the table was an enormous black panther moaning in obvious pain.
Lars.
Standing over Lars was a hulking giant holding a syringe. The killer wore a tattered pair of jeans, sneakers, and an old hoodie. Under the hoodie were easily forgettable features concentrated in deep thought. He looked like just any of the homeless folk loitering around the slums. There was nothing remarkable about him, which was perhaps an asset in his work, Lex guessed.
Before Lex could formulate a plan, Noah and Mason were bounding down the stairs. Animal instincts had taken over and they were automatically reacting to their king’s pain.
Stop. The two men wouldn’t be able to hear her, though, and making a sound and giving away her position wasn’t going to help anyone.
Screw stealth. Lex was about to follow them, but Noah’s surprised yelp of pain, followed by Mason’s, made her halt at the entryway of the stairs. She crouched low, using her black coat and the darkened corridor to her advantage. Something metallic flashed below the stairs, something that managed to catch Noah and Mason’s paws. Sharp metal jaws gleamed menacingly at Lex beneath the forms of her two hurt men.
Fuck. He’s using silver spring-loaded leg traps and trapping us like animals. Using traps and drugs, he sure knows what he’s doing.
The thought of seeing her two men stuffed into cages and mounted on the table like her brother made her see red. Human logic fell away and the primal animal instincts to protect her two mates overcame her.
Lex was about to lunge forward while the killer was admiring his handiwork, when she felt a reprimanding swipe of a paw on her side. She whirled only to see Des’s slender but deadly leopard form and the other two cats. Des shook his head. Not yet, he seemed to say.
Despite how hard it was, Lex tried to remain calm. Fuck, did she want to gut the killer who took her brother and injured her two men. One of the cats padded forward, but Des urged her and the remaining leopard to wait.
Lex understood. The werecat was going to act as bait so the killer wouldn’t notice them. The first leopard leaped down the stairs, emitting a growl of challenge. A gunshot rang out and at the cat’s howl of pain, Des and the rest of them followed. The killer was prepared for an attack, but he didn’t see the three of them coming.
The first cat was still alive, resting himself in one corner. They ran past him and Noah and Mason’s still trapped forms. Lex glimpsed the killer fumble for his revolver again, his hands shaking.
He’s not shifting or doing anything supernatural related. Is he mortal?
Lex couldn’t care less about the killer’s origins or his motives. The gun roared again, managing to catch Des on his left flank. The other uninjured werecat bit down on the killer’s right leg, making him scream and drop the gun.
Lex didn’t bother with hurting her prey and making him pay. A monster like that shouldn’t be allowed to hurt anyone else. Her claws went straight for his throat. Blood spurted out as she and the killer tumbled to the ground. The blow was lethal and accurate. The killer died soon after.
Lex shifted back to human, and went by her brother’s side. “Asshole. Why’d you get yourself caught? Your damn wife and cats were worried to death.”
Lars’s groggily feline eyes swerved to her in recognition. He let out what suspiciously sounded like a weak growl of thanks. Lex snorted, and let the other werecat help him out of his restraints. With some delicate handling, she managed to get Noah and Mason out of the traps.
Lex mutely tugged at the two leopards’ ears. Noah growled at her in annoyance, but Mason only nudged his furry head at her thigh.
“That’s for idiotically running down the stairs and getting yourself caught.”
“As I recall, you were about to run to your two mates without a second thought weren’t you, Lex?” Des wheezed, back in human form.
He was bleeding and hit on the side, but it didn’t look lethal.
“Shut the hell up.” Lex realized she didn’t correct Des when he referred to Noah and Mason as her mates a second too late, because the two men were back to human form and grinning at her like idiots.
“Noah, did you hear that? She finally called us her mates,” Mason said proudly, despite his broken arm.
“I definitely heard it, Mason. Kinda embarrassing to be rescued by our woman, though,” Noah said, bringing Lex against his chest with his good arm.
His warmth felt so familiar and felt so right that Lex didn’t bother fighting him. She could feel Mason at her back, his good hand placing aside her hair so he could put his lips to her neck.
“You two shouldn’t be moving much with a shredded arm,” Lex pointed out. The press of Noah’s mouth against her silenced her. Lex leaned into the kiss as Noah deepened it, his tongue thrusting between her lips and into her heat.
“Hell’s bells, Lex. Don’t you think this is an inappropriate place to fuck?” Lars’s hoarse voice made her withdraw from Noah. Lex gave her brother a scrutinizing look.
“You look like shit, big brother.”
Lars snorted. He was being helped by the other werecat. “Damn. Now I owe you, huh?”
“I think we can work something out,” Lex agreed.
“The pard’s always open to feisty and hard-assed black panthers,” Lars said with a smirk.
Chapter Ten
Lex was relieved to find out Des and the injured wereleopard, Jack, were going to be fine despite being shot by silver bullets. They were recoverin
g at an almost human pace, but at least they were alive.
“I’ve never thanked you, Lex. For saving Lars,” Cas told her at the party the wereleopards were holding for Lars’s successful rescue and her inauguration into the pard. Cas projected her voice louder, so the rest of the werecats in the room could hear. “Let’s raise our glass, to the brave leopards who had risked their lives saving my husband and our king. More importantly, to our new member Lex, to whom without the rescue wouldn’t have been successful. Let’s all give Lex a huge welcome, everyone!”
Lex grew embarrassed by Cas’s surprising speech. Moreso by the glasses raised to her direction and the faces beaming at her. She never liked being the centre of attention, but for once in her life, she let herself open up to the warmth emanating from the other cats. Before, she stood as an outsider envious of the bonds connecting each leopard in Lars’s pard, but today signaled the end of her vagrant days. Seeing Noah and Mason’s grinning faces at the other side of the room, something told Lex she’d never regret her decision.
Cas was with Lil, Jen, and the other female members of the pard. Aside from the three women, Lex had already gotten snobbish looks from the other female pard members, but she couldn’t care less.
Lex had never really gotten along with the same gender, and she stopped trying. Cas seemed damn intent on making sure Lex and her brother spent more time together, and the leopard queen could sometimes be frighteningly persuasive.
By some miracle, the leopard queen had gotten them to work together over the past few days to look into the killer, but the investigation yielded more questions than answers.
* * * *
After uncovering the fact that the serial killer was a human who specialized in killing shifters, both the leaders of the supernatural community and Leopold City’s human authorities agreed to bury his existence. It took centuries for the humans and supernatural community to co-exist peacefully, and no one wanted to stir things up.
“First, the pard’s old king and some of their powerful enforcers are murdered, and then a killer with a taste for black leopards wanders into the city. For some damn reason, instinct tells me these two events are related, Lex.”
“You think someone else is pulling the strings?” Lex asked, frowning. Noah had told her about the events leading to Lars taking over as the pard’s king. “Noah told me the assholes responsible for nearly killing you a few months ago didn’t expect your arrival.”
“Yeah. The wereleopard traitor, Trig, and Razor, the werewolf scum he was working with, hadn’t counted on Cas and Des finding me. The alpha of the local wolf pack has denied any involvement in the scheme, and I don’t think he’s lying. Trig and Razor don’t seem like the sort to plan something this big either.”
“If there is an unknown third party out there, maybe they figured they could set loose a crazy killer to rid themselves of you. That way, nothing can be traced back to them. Damn. Wish I kept the asshole alive for questioning instead of killing him.”
Lex was surprised when Lars touched her shoulder. “You automatically reacted to danger, Lex. Your mates were hurt and so was your brother. I would’ve done the same thing. I was the one on the table. The killer was unstable, immune to logic. He was a shifter-hater, and saw all of us as nothing better than animals.” Lars paused, thinking. “Besides, I think whoever is gunning for the pard didn’t expect you to come along. It must piss them off two black panthers have twice interrupted their plans.”
When the awkwardness and silence that followed grew unbearable, Lars reluctantly let her go. There were perhaps a hundred other things she’d like to say to her brother, and Lex thought he had a few things he wanted to say to her. It was Lars who broke the dam.
“Well, I just wanted to say, I appreciate you coming back. If you didn’t warn the pard early, it would’ve been too late. I wouldn’t have cared a few months ago if I died, but I don’t think Cas and Des are going to survive my death, and there’s my baby girl.”
Lex’s cheeks grew warm. Never once had Lars ever thanked her, even when they were kids. She weakly punched his shoulder. “Fuck, brother. You’ve really become a big pussy.”
Again, his quiet and intense look unnerved her. “I mean it, Lex. I think I kinda missed you having my back.”
Lex snorted. “You have an entire pard at your beck and call. I ran with the pard that night, Lars, and most of them dropped whatever they were doing to find you. You mean something to them.”
“But you’re family, and sometimes I forget that.” Lars lowered his voice. “If you ever tell Noah and Mason about this conversation—”
Lex had to laugh. “Don’t worry, brother. Your secret is safe with me. Fucking pussy.”
Lars gave her a pointed look she knew too well. “I ought to tell Noah and Mason to clean your mouth.”
“Then I’ll just tell Cas and Des what a real softie their king is.”
It felt nice, Lex realized, to argue back and forth with Lars like old times. It felt nice, too, to have her brother back.
* * * *
“I didn’t save Lars by myself,” Lex said to the other women in the present. “Des led the rescue.”
Jen snorted. “I heard the men got themselves foolishly caught in animal traps and even Des got shot. Goes to show how women are really the smarter half.”
“Oh, definitely. I guess we just have to leave them to their drink and pride, but we all know the truth,” Lil agreed.
Lex found herself liking the two women because there was a maturity and toughness about them the other female pard members lacked. For one, they weren’t desperately rubbing themselves against unmated males during full moon or acting like bitches in general. Once Lex showed her teeth and claws at those who were stupid enough to paw at her two men, they wisely backed off.
Despite being left by her mate and nearly losing her baby, Jen was still determined to bring her to the world and raise her on her own. Meanwhile, Lex sensed a certain sadness or buried grief behind Lil. Most found the pard’s only doctor intimidating and hard to talk to, but Lex rather liked her no-nonsense attitude to her work.
“Well, you still have my thanks. I heard from Noah you were out of Leopold City by the time he and Mason tracked you down, but you still back for Lars. I know he can be pigheaded sometimes,” Cas said.
She juggled Jana in her arm. Despite the fact it was way past her naptime, Jana was wide awake, happy by the attention she was getting from the pard members in the apartment.
The little girl kept curiously reaching out for Lex with her small fingers. Because her niece flashed her huge, brown, but lethal eyes at her, Lex sighed and gave in. The little girl inherited the same eyes from her beautiful mother, and a little of Lars’s rebellious streak of nature.
Lex let Jana grasp her fingers and it was amusing watching her poke her fingers at her ink. It seemed Jana was fascinated with her tattoos just like how she was fascinated with her father’s ink.
“Pigheaded is too polite a word to describe Lars.”
Lex didn’t add he was still an asshole because she heard from somewhere kids Jana’s age were bound to pick up random words. Besides, she promised Noah she’d cut down on her swearing.
“You wanted to say ‘asshole’, didn’t you?” interrupted Lars’s annoyed voice. He picked up Jana from Cas. The little girl let out a delightful sound and wrapped her tiny arms around his neck.
“Lars, didn’t we just have a discussion about not cursing in front of Jana?” Des asked, exchanging a look with Cas. Des still walked with a visible limp, but he no longer needed his crutches. Seeing Des, Jana began to reach out for him, too.
“I think you have enough excitement for the day, little one.” Des kissed her small cheek. “Lars, I think I’m going to put her to sleep.”
It was obvious Lars was reluctant to hand her over. “Are you sure you’re well enough to carry her, Des? She’s still hyped up.”
Des quietly snorted. “I think you enjoy treating me like an invalid and hogging Jana. N
ow hand her over.”
Lars eventually handed the baby over. Lex rather liked the dynamics and equal power balance between the three of them. It was also fun seeing her brother being bossed around.
“That’s why I keep saying you guys need to make another cub. It would be cute if Jana had a brooding little baby brother who looks like Lars,” said Mason, joining Lex’s side. She rather liked the feel of his hand possessively beginning to rub her back. The fiend knew Lex had a weakness for his backrubs.
“How are things going on with you three? Is there an adorable little panther cub in the future?” Cas asked warmly.
Lars let out a choking sound. Lex stared at the smaller woman. She was also aware Noah’s large form had molded himself against her back.
“What are you all on about?” Noah asked, frowning at Lex when she took his bottle of beer and took a large gulp. “Baby, if you were thirsty you should’ve just said so. I would’ve gotten you one, too.”
“Ah, well. Maybe in the future,” Cas said, winking at Lex.
“I need some air,” Lex muttered, untangling herself from Noah’s warmth.
“I already want to beat the shit out of Noah and Mason every time I see them,” Lars was saying to Cas.
“Lex, hold on a second.”
Lex didn’t go far. Her days of cowardly running away from problems she couldn’t face were long over. She just headed out the doors to the empty balcony of the apartment. It was a cold autumn, so most of the wereleopards stayed in the warmth of the dining and living room.
“Lex, Cas was just teasing, you know,” Mason said, joining her on the balcony.
“I still don’t get what went down,” Noah muttered.
The men positioned themselves on either side of her, making her feel a little foolish. She was one lucky woman, having both Noah and Mason to herself. What was she really afraid of?
Lex realized that she was perhaps terrified of giving herself fully to Noah and Mason. Some little part of her still wondered what would happen if they suddenly decided they no longer wanted her. Her heart wouldn’t survive the rejection, especially from the only two men she badly wanted.