She didn’t want to give him a chance to use Spencer against her. She attacked, swiping at the Fox, hoping to knock him over so she could get her jaws on his neck. If she could get him to submit, the fight would be over.
But whatever had caused the other Fox to hesitate disappeared as Chloe attacked. It, too, crouched low and Chloe’s swing went over his head. She leapt at him, kicking and scratching, forcing him to back farther away from Spencer’s bed.
“Holy shit.”
Out of the corner of her eye she saw Spencer edging toward his wheelchair. What he thought he was going to do she had no idea, and no time to deliberate. The other Fox came back at her, making its own gekkering sounds. They danced around each other, watching, taking turns darting in and out of each other’s range. The high-pitched yipping echoed through the room as Chloe tried to get a hold of the other Fox.
The Fox lunged at Chloe, forcing her back into a chair. The chair toppled over, nearly trapping Chloe. She darted between the legs and came at the Fox’s hindquarters, drawing first blood.
The Fox yipped and jumped at Chloe, forcing her onto her back. She kicked at his vulnerable stomach with her hind legs, digging deep and forcing him to arch his back to minimize the damage. She tucked her chin down and bit the Fox’s bottom jaw, keeping him from getting hold of her throat and ending the fight.
She managed to kick him off. Hopping to her feet, she began circling the other Fox, looking for a weak point or an opening she could use to bring him down.
Instead, it was the Fox who found Chloe’s weak point. He began attacking Chloe’s left side, going for her weak paw. She tried to compensate, but the pain in her right paw when she tried to put more weight on it made her quickly rethink that strategy.
Instead, Chloe chose to go with a different tactic, one that she hoped would prove effective.
Super Bear had powers outside the norm for a Bear. With luck, the same thing would apply to a tiny, damaged white Fox.
Chloe dodged under Spencer’s bed and used the ability of her species to cloak her scent.
Almost holding her breath, she peered from under the comforter to find the Fox had frozen in place. He lifted his muzzle, scenting the air, but was apparently unable to find her. He turned in place, whining slightly, obviously confused by her sudden disappearance.
Chloe sniffed discreetly, surprised to find that her scent was completely gone from the room. She wasn’t entirely sure she was happy about that, but for now it was going to work to her advantage.
Slowly, stealthily, she made her way out from under the bed, using the furniture to cover her movements. She stalked the enemy Fox, keeping her eyes on it. She waited patiently as it sniffed Spencer’s bed, smiling internally as Spencer quietly wheeled his way out of danger.
Good. With luck Spencer would get to a phone and call for help while she and Jim dealt with the shifters.
Her distraction almost cost her. The Fox was far closer to Chloe than she’d expected when she looked around for him again. While a Fox could mask their scent, sight would still reveal them. Chloe silently pulled back behind a piece of furniture, hiding herself from the Fox as it stalked across the floor. Once its back was to her she hopped up onto the back of the chair, prepared to fly at her enemy.
The Fox stared right back at her, and snarled.
Chloe leapt, tackling the Fox to the ground. She managed to get over him, clamping his throat between her teeth hard enough to draw blood but not hard enough to kill. She growled, forcing the other Fox to surrender. She would kill him if he gave her no other choice.
The Fox went limp beneath her just as Jim and a strange Wolf ran into the room. “Chloe?”
The Wolf stared at her, then at the fallen Fox. “Remind me you two shouldn’t be messed with.”
She backed up slowly, snarling at the Wolf in man form. He was far too close to her mate.
“Down, vixen. He surrendered.” Jim watched as the other Fox shifted, turning into a blond man with a scar across one cheek and eyes so dark they should hold stars. If Chloe had seen him in his human form she would have been terrified. He looked like he ate babies for breakfast and nuns for lunch.
And he’d submitted to her dominance.
Yikes.
Chloe shifted, ignoring Jim’s scowl. “Boo… too… sue… who are you?”
The man blinked and looked toward Jim before responding. “Casey Lee Coleman.”
The man’s thick Southern accent screamed Georgia to Chloe, who’d heard the same lilt in Tabby’s voice. Oddly enough, the sound of it made Chloe relax. “Are you from Marietta?”
“Atlanta.” The man—Casey Lee—stood, keeping his eyes respectfully down. He kept sniffing, as if trying to catch a specific scent. “May I ask how you did that?”
“Did what?”
“Disappear like that.” He peered around, his brow furrowed. “Even now I…but it’s different.”
“Good,” Jim grunted. He lifted one of Spencer’s shirts from the pile next to his bed and tossed it to Chloe. “Here.”
Okay. Apparently it was all right to wear his brother’s clothes. Not all Wolves could handle their mate wrapped in another man’s scent, even that of kin. She slipped the shirt on, holding it closed over her breasts. “I think I’m the Fox version of a Kermode.”
The Wolf tilted his head in confusion, but Casey Lee seemed to know exactly what she was talking about. “The white Bears?”
“Julian DuCharme.” The Wolf seemed to make the connection. “But instead of healing…” He shared a glance with Casey Lee. “You’re a master at hiding.”
She shrugged. “I guess so. It’s the first time I’ve tried it since the beating.”
The two men exchanged another glance. The Wolf, whose name she still didn’t know, spoke up as the Fox leaned closer, sniffing her shoulder. “Your fur used to be red, right?”
She nodded.
He held out his hand, smirking when Jim tried to force him to put it down. “Derrick Hines.”
“Chloe Williams.” She took it, shaking firmly. She refused to be intimidated by the larger man. “Now tell me. Why the duck did you two invade my home?”
Casey Lee shook his head and turned toward the Wolf. “I can’t fight her no more.”
“Huh?”
Casey Lee sniffed her shoulder again. “She smells like family. Like kin. I can’t fight family.”
Chloe lifted her arm and took a deep whiff. She didn’t smell any different, but for some reason Casey Lee felt comfortable enough to sit cross-legged on the floor. “I don’t understand.”
Casey Lee shrugged. “Neither do I, but Derrick and I need to return the Senate’s deposit. No way, no how I fight family.”
Derrick rolled his eyes. “Well, shit.”
“Are you kidding me? He submitted because you smell like family?” Max Cannon shook his head. “I think I’ve heard everything.”
“Not yet, but I’m working on it,” Emma immediately responded, earning a grin from her mate. “Okay, Jimbo. We need to figure out what the hell is going on with those two.”
Those two were the men who’d come to Jim’s home with the intent of taking his mate. Jim was far less inclined to forgive them than Chloe was, but he was bowing to his mate’s desire to make nice with them. The fact that she was cuddled up to him on Max’s sofa, safe and sound, went a long way toward making that easier.
At the very least they were getting information from the mercs. They were currently sitting in Max’s living room, talking to Adrian, Gabe, Barney and Ryan. They’d agreed to convene there once Jim called Barney to let him know what had happened. It was Chloe’s idea to also call the Alpha pair, and they’d insisted on holding a council of war.
“Who told you to come after Chloe?” Barney sounded outraged.
Jim immediately turned his attention to the other men, ignoring Emma’s commen
t. “What’s going on?”
“They said it was the Bear Senator who sent them.” Barney huffed. “I know the Bear Senator. He’s a cousin of mine. Carl wouldn’t send mercs after someone who’d supposedly been declared a rogue.”
“Wait.” Derrick pinched the bridge of his nose while Casey Lee looked sick. “Are you telling me we were lied to?”
“Aw, hell no.” Casey Lee shot out of his seat. “Let me get the paperwork.” He darted out of Max’s house like his ass was on fire. He returned quickly with a manila envelope. “Here.”
Barney took the envelope and began rifling through the documents it contained.
Jim stood at his side, reading over his shoulder. “Blah blah blah, Chloe Williams and James Woods, blah blah, preferably alive, blah blah. Who is Darien Shields?”
“My cousin’s secretary.” Barney scowled. “I don’t get it. Carl doesn’t handle Hunts. He shouldn’t have called down mercs. He doesn’t have the authority.”
“As a Senator he does.” Derrick shrugged. “It’s not the first time a Senator has called on us to do what you guys can’t.”
Casey Lee coughed. “Are we sure about that?”
Jim didn’t like where this was going. “I’m beginning to think Sarah was right when she said the right hand is spanking the monkey while the left makes lunch.”
Derrick, who’d just taken a sip of soda, sprayed it everywhere as he laughed.
Casey Lee chuckled. “Damn, that’s some good baloney.”
“Speaking of baloney, what if your cousin doesn’t know about this?” Jim picked up the letter. It had been printed on what looked like Senate letterhead. “Could someone else have written this, but used your cousin’s secretary’s name to cast suspicion on him?”
“Just in case we found anything out?” Barney stroked his chin. “It’s possible. I don’t know enough of the inner workings to tell you if it would be possible, but I’m betting it would. Who would think to double-check official correspondence was actually coming from the person it said it was coming from?”
“Damn.” Chloe shivered. “This sounds like a conspiracy theorist’s wet dream.”
Max stood. “Adrian, Gabe, until further notice, treat all correspondence from the Senate as suspect.” He turned toward Barney. “I want you here. You, Gabe and Ryan are the only Hunters I trust right now.”
Barney nodded reluctantly. “I understand.”
Jim wrapped his arm around Chloe. “The guards you guys assigned us weren’t enough to stop Derrick and Casey Lee from getting into my home.” Casey Lee had led them to where Derrick had knocked out the two men who were supposed to be watching Jim’s place. The guards were pissed but all right. “What’s to stop another group from attacking us?”
Max sighed. “Adrian?”
The Pride’s Marshall stared at his Alpha, his expression grim. “I’m going to assign round-the-clock, in-house protection for Chloe and Jim. I’m going to do the same for Julian, just in case.”
“I’ll have some of my Puma deputies do daily drive-bys of their houses.” Gabe grimaced. “Unfortunately, these two—” he hitched a thumb toward Derrick and Casey Lee, “—didn’t ding my Hunter radar at all.”
“Meaning the Senate could send more mercs and we won’t know until we’re attacked?” Jim growled and tightened his hold on Chloe. “You stay with me twenty-four/seven.”
“Even when I pee?”
“Yup.”
“That could get old fast.”
He kissed the top of her head. “Nothing you do could get old.”
She burped.
“Maybe some stuff you do.”
The grim tension was broken as his mate giggled.
“We need to talk about Spencer as well.” Max crossed his arms over his chest. “If he had a mate, I would stay back and allow nature to take its course. But since he hasn’t found one and he knows about us, he needs to become one of us. If they attack him I’d feel better knowing he’d be able to defend himself long enough for one of us to get to him. He can’t walk or run, but he can still bite and scratch.” Max turned his attention to Jim. “Do you know which way your brother is leaning?”
Jim shrugged. “I’m not sure, but I think he’s leaning in the kitty direction.”
“Puma? Or there’s a Lion living with the local Wolf pack as well. We can offer that option.” Emma tilted her head. “Or we could just ask him.”
“Yeah, you could just ask him.” Spencer wheeled into the room from Max’s kitchen. In his lap was a sandwich. “And I like the idea of being a Puma, if you’ll have me.”
“Done.” Max grinned. “Welcome to the Pride.”
“Who gets the honor of biting him?” Emma looked around the room, her glance landing briefly on the baby monitor. Felix was sleeping upstairs, undisturbed by the ruckus in his parents’ house.
“I’ll do it.” Max gestured for Spencer to follow him. “It’s a pleasure to welcome Jim’s brother to the Pride.”
Spencer grinned and blushed. “Thanks, man.”
“And if you do find a mate, she’ll be welcome as well.”
The two disappeared into Max’s office, and a few seconds later Jim could hear his brother cry out in pain.
He remembered that pain, but he hoped that Spencer’s change was less traumatic than his own. Spencer knew what he was getting into and what to expect. Even better, he’d have the whole Pride behind him, helping him.
Jim still wasn’t a member of a Pack. He hadn’t had the chance to meet with the Wolf Alpha in the Poconos, had never felt that bond other Pack and Pride members seemed to crave. And for some reason, he was perfectly fine with that.
“You’re a lone Wolf.”
He turned to find Derrick staring at him. “What?”
“You’re lone, like me. Strong enough that you don’t need the Pack behind you, binding you to them. Not a lot of us out there.” He grinned, and Jim saw something in the other man that seemed right somehow. “Either that, or we just haven’t found the right Pack.”
There was something about the way Derrick looked at him, the need he saw in the other man, that spoke to Jim. “Do you think…?”
Derrick shrugged. “If it’s meant to be, it will happen. If not, we’ll probably see what we need in the Poconos Alpha.”
“Huh.” He blinked, thinking things through. “Would it be odd to have Pack and Pride living in one town?”
“Any odder than Bears, Foxes and whatnot?” Emma laughed. “I’m pretty sure your Pack and Rick’s would be far enough away from each other that there wouldn’t be any issues.”
“And if there are, we’ll deal with them when it happens.” Max and Spencer rejoined them, Spencer rubbing his shoulder and wincing. “But if a Pack develops here, then it’s between me and the Pack Alpha, not Rick.” Some of Max’s power seeped into the room, causing the Pumas to wince. “I’m Alpha in Halle.”
“Could you deal with a co-Alpha?” Jim was curious. Max said he was all right with a Pack in his territory, but when his authority was challenged by the possibility of Rick objecting he’d immediately let loose.
Max’s power display disappeared. “I think so.”
“Sure, Lion-O. If you say so.” Emma patted her mate’s arm. “We still need to figure out what’s going on with the Senate.”
“You think they’ll send someone else after Chloe?”
Adrian stood straighter. “If they do, we’ll deal with it. You’re not alone in this.”
“We’ve got your back, Jimbo.” Emma smiled at Chloe. “And yours too.”
“So does the family.” Ryan, yawning, headed for the front door. “And on that note, I say we adjourn until we have more info.”
“Agreed.” Barney glanced around absently. “Guess I should start apartment hunting, damn it.”
“Us too.” Derrick crossed his arms over his
chest. “Casey Lee and I are sticking around. I want to know what the fuck the Senate has gotten us in the middle of.” His scowl was fierce. “I don’t like being played.”
“Yeah.” Casey Lee ran his fingers through his hair. “I signed up to help uphold shifter law, not break it.”
Derrick nodded. “Me too.”
“You’ll need jobs here.” Gabe stared at them, his eyes narrowed. “Think you can handle police work?”
“Fuck yeah!” Casey Lee kept it to a dull roar.
“We both went to police academy.” Derrick grinned. “It’s where we met.”
“But we both got recruited by the Senate.” Casey Lee looked over at Chloe apologetically. “We were told we were going to be the shifter version of the CIA.”
“So you aren’t mercenaries?” Max whistled low. “Why did you lie about that?”
Derrick and Casey Lee exchanged a quick look. It was obvious the two had been partnered for a long time. Not surprisingly, it was Derrick who spoke. “We were told to stay on the down-low.”
“We’ve taken in rogue Hunters before,” Casey Lee added. “We thought it was just another assignment like that.”
“But how do you know when a shifter is rogue? You can’t sense it the way a Hunter can.”
“No, and that part’s bugged me for a while.” Casey Lee rolled his eyes at Derrick’s shushing motion. “Please. You know it’s bothered you too.”
“Fine. It has.”
Gabe eyed them both for a moment. “I’ll get you some applications, but consider yourselves hired.” Gabe nodded respectfully to Adrian. “I’m heading home. I’ll let Sarah know what happened tonight.”
“Sure thing.” Adrian followed Gabe toward the door, Derrick and Casey Lee on their heels. “Listen, Sheri wanted to get together for dinner with you and Sarah soon.”
Jim tuned them out. “Spence? You okay?”
Spencer smiled weakly. “Peachy.” He shifted in his seat, his foot twitching.
Jim stared, awed. “Spence?”
“Hmm?”
“Your foot moved.”
Figure of Speech (Halle Shifters) Page 21