Half Shifters weren’t necessarily weaker than full-blood ones. A half Shifter basically was a person who could shape-shift and had formidable Shifter strength, but who could easily blend in with humans. Half Shifters could pass for human and live among them without humans knowing any better. But Shifters knew. The scent was unmistakable.
“You’re saying my Shifters sent for you?” Kendrick asked. Lachlan had come at their behest. “Which of them?”
“Ivan for one.” Lachlan’s mouth was partly scarred over—he couldn’t move it well, and his words slurred a bit. Both his eyes were intact—bright, intense gray—though his left was surrounded by a shapeless mass of skin. “And others. They’re tired of you always promising them paradise and never delivering.”
Kendrick didn’t rise to the bait. It was an old, old argument between the two—which style of leadership would keep the Shifters safe?
“If you haven’t been dead, where have you been for twenty years?” Kendrick asked.
“Living.” Lachlan shrugged. “Staying with humans who took care of me. I owed them my life. That is, until they tried to turn me in to Shifter Bureau. Then I killed them, and left.”
Kendrick paused while more rage seeped through him. Lachlan could have made up the story to rile Kendrick, but he didn’t think so. Lachlan had approved of the old-style Shifter existence, where threats were dealt with only by violence.
Kendrick gave him a wintry smile. “And you decided coming here was your best idea? Now I can kill you again.”
“You couldn’t do it the first time, Guardian.” Lachlan moved his gaze to Kendrick’s left shoulder. “Where’s your sword? Don’t tell me you left home without it.”
“A friend is holding it for me,” Kendrick said. He’d passed it to Zander on the way in. “He knows where to find me.”
Lachlan grinned, his face pulling. “Rules of the fight club say no deaths.”
“We’re not at the fight club,” Kendrick pointed out. “We’re in a field outside it.”
“True. So, what, you’re going to kill an unarmed, injured man?”
“Yes,” Kendrick said, and struck.
His pummeling fists found purchase in Lachlan’s face and chest, but Lachlan brought his hands around to chop into Kendrick’s middle, the man as strong as ever.
Kendrick punched him again, feeling his body start to shift before he told it to, his clothes stretching, tearing. He’d tossed Lachlan off the leadership throne for a reason, and there was nothing to say twenty years had changed the man.
Kendrick heard a rustling in the brush and grasses, and suddenly the field held twenty more Shifters, rising from the shadows.
They were Kendrick’s Shifters—at least, they had been. Now they regarded Kendrick with anger in their eyes, their stances shouting that Lachlan had their loyalty now.
Kendrick noted the Feline, moving closest to Lachlan, who must be the Shifter Ben had overheard making plans in the bar. Figured. The Feline had been one of Lachlan’s favorites.
They were all against Kendrick at this moment, ready to kill him.
Kendrick suppressed his shift, rose to his full height, and swept his gaze over the Shifters. A few wouldn’t meet his eyes. Others did. They’d be the ones he’d have to take down first.
“You won’t settle this one-on-one?” Kendrick asked Lachlan, disgust filling his voice. “Oh, yeah, the last time we did that, I kicked your ass.”
“This time, you’ll just be dead,” Lachlan said. “Take him.”
The Shifters surged forward, but none of them, Kendrick saw, wanted to risk being first to encounter him. In a few seconds, though, the group would decide to jump him at once, and that would be the end of him.
Kendrick didn’t like the hollow feeling in his stomach this betrayal gave him. At the same time, strength ran through his limbs, fury begetting energy. He snarled.
His snarl was echoed by another throaty tiger snarl that came from behind Kendrick. Kendrick held his ground, and the line of Shifters edged back, the scent of sudden fear clogging the air.
Tiger, in his tiger form, stalked forward and halted next to Kendrick. His body was stiff, still, his golden eyes on Lachlan.
Behind him came an enormous black-maned lion, whose eyes were just as golden and just as hard. The Shifters edged back again, except Lachlan, who only looked on in contempt.
Kendrick knew Dimitri was behind him as well, though he didn’t turn his head to look. And Seamus. No Jaycee, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t circling around to try to attack the Shifters from behind.
“So, the party’s out here now?” Zander’s voice rang across the field as he strode toward them. He flung off his duster and drew the Sword of the Guardian, the blade flashing. Starlight rushed up and down the runes on the silver. “Hey Kendrick, does this thing work? I mean for making Shifters bleed? I know—let’s find out.”
Zander swung the sword at a Lupine. The Lupine jumped out of the way. “Fucking crazy bear.”
“That’s right, dog breath,” Zander said. “I’m completely off my nut. You can never be sure what I’ll do.”
Zander’s voice sounded a little hollow, though. He was staring at Lachlan, his face fixed.
“Enough,” Kendrick said with a low growl. “You can’t win here, Lachlan. Take your children home. I’ll meet you another day.”
“That you will. Without your backup. I heard you had Dylan Morrissey in your pocket. Or maybe your pants.” Lachlan’s words ended in a sneering growl, but the Shifters who backed him were too nervous to laugh.
“Go,” Kendrick said evenly, “before I let the polar bear rip off your head.”
Lachlan had no fear of Zander or of Kendrick, or even Dylan, Kendrick noted. Lachlan reserved that fear for Tiger, who hadn’t moved his gaze from him.
Lachlan growled low in his Lupine throat, and his Shifters changed stances from ready to fight to watchful. They surrounded Lachlan protectively, which was a bit sickening.
“I’ll be seeing you,” Lachlan said softly. “Maybe sooner than you think. Better look for your girl. I think she’s in trouble.”
Kendrick’s gut clenched, and it was all he could do to keep from swinging around and searching for Addison. Lachlan, knowing this, laughed softly and walked away into the empty land, his Shifters fading with him.
As soon as they were gone, Kendrick moved from standstill to run, the others coming behind him.
He saw, as soon as he hit the arena, that when Lachlan had said girl, he hadn’t meant Addison. He’d meant Jaycee, who was being dragged away by several Shifters, unnoticed by the rest of the locals, who were intent upon the fight by their champion, Spike.
* * *
Addie turned her head in time to see Jaycee in a sharp altercation with two Shifters who’d kept to the edge of the crowd. Jaycee leaned to them and snarled at them, the two males backing up a step.
That didn’t stop a third Shifter coming up behind her and grabbing her.
Jaycee whirled, her Feline speed snaking her away from the Shifter who’d snagged her, but the other two stepped in, one slapped a hood over her head, and all three dragged her away.
Instead of fighting, Jaycee went limp. Addie couldn’t tell why—either the bag contained an anesthetic, or maybe she was lying low for reasons of her own.
Addie scooted out of the arena and hurried after the Shifters and Jaycee. Kendrick and his crew were nowhere in sight. Great, just when she needed them.
Addie quickened her pace until she caught up to the Shifters. She pasted on a big, loopy grin, and stumbled against the Shifter who brought up the rear.
“Hey,” she slurred, pretending to be a groupie long past drunk. “Where y’all going? Another party? Can I come?”
The Shifter, gray-eyed, snarled. “Out of the way, sweetheart.”
“Aw, come on, tell me.” Addie slid aw
ay from him and banged hard into Jaycee, loosening the others’ hold on her. “Hey, what’s wrong with her? Whatever she’s on, can I have some?”
The lead Shifter swung around. “Shit, get rid of her.”
One of the Shifters shoved the limp Jaycee onto his partner and swung a quick fist at Addie, a blow meant to knock her out.
Addie ducked swiftly but still was caught with a clip on her cheek. She staggered back and fell, then scrambled out of the way as a lion bounded past her and landed on two of the Shifters.
Addie rolled aside, narrowly missing getting kicked by fighting men. A hand reached down to help her up—Dimitri, looking grim.
Tiger and Seamus landed on the Shifter still standing. Kendrick pushed through the melee and lifted Jaycee. He held her as gently as he would a cub, carefully easing the bag from her head. He cradled Jaycee with unflagging strength but his gaze went straight to Addie.
“Thank you,” he said.
Addie barely heard his words over the crowd’s roar that went up over at Spike’s match. The Shifters, on the ground, whimpered.
The lion shifted quickly, becoming a tall, dark-haired man Addie had never seen before. He had hard blue eyes and gray at his temples. “Kendrick,” he said, and pointed.
From all sides of the arena, Shifters were converging on them, ones without Collars. They came from the darkness beyond the ring as well, surrounding them in a thick circle, homing in on Kendrick holding Jaycee.
Zander stepped in front of Kendrick, the big silver sword his hands. Dimitri, the bandage off his wrist now, flanked Kendrick’s other side.
“Wait,” Kendrick said, voice steely. He drew himself up, still holding Jaycee. When he spoke, his words carried. “Are you with Lachlan?”
The male Shifter in the front, one with golden brown eyes like Jaycee’s, said, “Hell, no.”
Kendrick acknowledged this with a nod. “Help me take her home, then.”
Addie heard murmuring like a ripple of water. At the far side of the arena, Collared Shifters were celebrating their champion’s latest victory. On this side, the un-Collared Shifters converged on Kendrick. Addie watched in amazement as they flowed toward him, hands reaching for him, expressions relaxing when they neared him.
Kendrick was mobbed, but no one pressed against him or hurt him, or Jaycee. They merely touched him, then moved aside so others could, keeping him the nucleus of their circle.
Dimitri took Jaycee from Kendrick, holding her gently against his chest, his face as he looked down at her telling Addie everything.
Kendrick stretched out his arms and welcomed his Shifters to him.
* * *
The Shifters followed Kendrick home. They came in trucks and old cars, on motorcycles, or stuffed ten and more into vehicles meant to hold four at most. They followed Kendrick and Addie and his trackers out into the empty lands of South Texas and to Charlie’s old ranch.
Kendrick hadn’t the heart to tell them to stay away for a little longer. He knew he’d been away from them too long, letting them fend for themselves. Not entirely his fault, but even so, it was time to become a family again. And so, Kendrick led his clan home.
Charlie waited on the front porch with Ben and the cubs. Charlie planted his hands on his hips.
“Now, this is a big ranch, but no way do I have enough bedrooms for all of them.”
“Shifters are resourceful,” Kendrick said as he left his motorcycle and came up the steps. “You have a barn, lots of fields, and a basement that’s bigger than it first appears. They’ll manage. I was thinking of buying the place from you anyway.”
Charlie’s graying brows shot up. “Buy it? But you’re Shifter.” He waved his hands. “No, never mind. We’ll discuss it. Huh.” He looked around the crowd climbing from vehicles, stretching, chattering. “Well, I’m gonna need some more groceries.”
The Shifters surged around and into the house, through it, out into the back. Zane and Brett, who’d shifted to tiger, as they did when excited, ran among them. Robbie remained human but dashed about greeting the Shifters, being lifted for big hugs or kisses from the females, everyone babbling about a hundred miles an hour.
Kendrick knew full well that there could be enemies among them, spies Lachlan sent. Short of locking up every Shifter and interrogating them, though, he’d never find them. He’d have to trust his trackers to keep an eye out, and himself to spot a betrayal.
Addison moved among them without fear. She was wary, yes, but not afraid. She explained where everything was around the ranch, helped the younger ones, smiled at the older. Kendrick’s Shifters seemed to understand without being told, without the scent mark, that she was with him, and there to stay.
Dimitri carried Jaycee into the bedroom she’d chosen for herself and laid her gently on the bed. Zander followed and checked her over. She’d been given a dose of some tranquilizer, Zander said, but she’d sleep it off.
“Good for you, Addie,” Zander said when he came out. “If you hadn’t run after those guys, Jaycee could be who knows where right now.” He sent Kendrick a significant look, as though Kendrick would never be able to figure out that Addison had courageously saved the day.
Dimitri said nothing, but his glance at Addison showed vast gratitude. Then he returned to Jaycee’s room in silence.
Kendrick spent a long time walking among his Shifters, settling them in for the night. They were used to living rough, camping where they had to. The horse was a bit nervous about all the animals moving in with her, but she settled down when she started to grow interested and enjoy the company. Horses were herd animals—they liked communities as much as Shifters did.
Some Shifters camped under the stars and the few bears in Kendrick’s group moved into the basement. As Kendrick had found, a large door in the basement opened from a small space behind the generator and icebox to cavernous rooms. Storm shelters, he decided, or maybe built in the day when bomb shelters had been a popular thing. Whatever reason, Charlie had an enormous basement under his house, and the bears liked it.
With Dimitri and Jaycee out of it, Kendrick had to rely on Seamus, Ben, and Zander to move among the Shifters with him and keep an eye out for any who might be Lachlan’s. Seamus’s mate had returned with him, along with her brother, who started helping out without being asked.
In the small hours of the morning, Zander found Kendrick outside the barn with a crowd of his Shifters and put a heavy hand on his shoulder. “Go to bed,” Zander said in his outsized voice. “You’re all in, and your mate’s already there. Go snuggle up with her.”
The Shifters of his band said, “Yeah go for it,” and other encouraging comments. Kendrick stretched his back, the weight of the sword dragging at him. “You know what happens if I sleep with Addison,” he said to Zander in a low voice. “And what it will mean.”
Zander’s grin split his face. “Of course I do. We all do.” His hand dug into Kendrick’s shoulder, and he made an expansive gesture at the other Shifters. “It’s natural—enjoy it. Take one for the team.”
Kendrick shrugged off his hold. “She’s human. Do not stand under the window cheering.”
Amid disappointed groans, Zander said, “Aw, you know how to ruin all the fun. A leader in a mating frenzy is momentous, Kendrick. We’ll cheer from the barn. And the basement. And the fields. It’s catching, you know. Mating frenzy.”
Kendrick knew that—especially a leader’s mating. Other Shifters would catch the wave of need and find partners for the night.
Kendrick gave Zander a severe look. “If you get a cub on any of my Shifters, polar bear, you’re taking care of it and its mother forever. No love ’em and leave ’em on my watch.”
Zander raised his hands. “Don’t worry. I wasn’t planning on touching anyone. I like that you all love each other, but your way of life is . . . complicated. I like striding alone under the stars, on fields of endless ice.”
“You lived in a house with satellite TV,” Kendrick said. “And central heating.”
“Hey, even polar bears get cold. And bored. You know, those programs about searching for ghosts are hilarious. Humans are good with comedy.” Zander stepped back and let him go. “Need to talk to you about something after,” he said.
Kendrick barely heard him. Afterward meant everything in his life would be different. He ended the conversation by turning his back and walking without a word to the house. Zander’s laughter drifted after him.
Addison was in bed, as Zander had said. The room was warm, the windows shut, and Addison was sound asleep.
Kendrick locked the bedroom door, pulled off his clothes, and climbed into the high bed. He slid his hand under Addison’s body, and when she fluttered her eyes open, Kendrick brought her up to him.
“Addison,” he said, his voice low. “I can’t stay away from you. I try and try, but you defeat me in the end.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Addie came fully awake to find her arms around Kendrick’s very naked, hot-skinned body. She flattened herself against him as his mouth came down on hers, and she kissed him back, tasting fire.
Something had changed in him, and not just the fact that he’d abandoned his vow to keep himself from her. Kendrick tonight was wilder, more vibrant, more alive.
She pressed her hands to his shoulders to break the kiss. “Wow. I’d say finding your friends really made you happy.”
“You make me happy.” Kendrick spoke in a growl. “Jaycee might have died, might never have come home—except for you.”
“Yeah, throwing myself into three pissed-off, diabolical Shifters is nothing to me.” Addie shivered. “Scared the shit out of me. Is she all right?”
Kendrick smoothed a lock of Addie’s hair, fingers warm. “Zander says she’ll be fine.”
“He told me that too. But I mean, is she really all right?”
“Dimitri’s with her. He’ll take care of her.”
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