by J. C. Diem
I nodded in confirmation. “It’s the fastest way for us to get around. Unfortunately, I can only travel like that to a place that I’ve been to before.”
“I need a drink,” the bottle-blond said in a shaky voice. The rest of the pack were just as rattled as she was. Even Rick was having trouble recovering. I caught a flash of claustrophobia from him. Apparently, being buried alive was his worst fear.
Sensing his terror, Aiden drew his second in charge aside. They spoke quietly as the alpha very carefully soothed his second. Rick didn’t even realize his emotions were being manipulated. Aiden was a true born werewolf and he’d been taught about his heritage since birth. He’d lost almost his entire family in a turf war, but he’d been born to lead. He’d taken in these people who were mongrels to most pure borns. They were loyal to him and would do anything he asked.
Patrick stared at me for a few seconds then hesitantly walked over to me. Reece huffed out a silent sigh when I slanted him a look and asked him to give us some time alone. He nodded and ambled over to join our friends. “I always knew you were destined for greatness,” Patrick said quietly. “I just never realized how important you’d become.”
I grimaced and shrugged uncomfortably. “I didn’t choose this life. It chose me.” Actually, Fate chose me, but that sounded pretentious even inside my head. I couldn’t bring myself to say it out loud.
“You’ve grown up since you left Texas. You’re not the carefree young girl I knew anymore.”
I felt a moment of grief for the person I’d once been and for the woman that I might have become. Then I pushed the pointless feelings aside. I’d never been destined to become a career soldier like I’d planned. I had been tasked with something even more important than just keeping the US safe. I was the guardian of the entire world. “I am who I was meant to be and I’m content with that,” I said.
Patrick leaned down to kiss me on the cheek. “I’ll always care about you, Lexi, but I can see that my feelings are hopeless. It’s obvious that you’re bonded to the man you love.”
I looked over at Reece to see him watching me. He met my eyes when he felt my love for him swell and he smiled. Our desire rose and every shifter sensed it.
“Get a room, you two,” Kala said just loudly enough for supernatural ears to hear her. Chuckles swept through the gathering and my face went bright red.
Fortunately, Mark spoke before my embarrassment could overwhelm me. “I just spoke to Cole,” he said. Kala instantly scowled at hearing the werelion’s name. “He’s waiting for you at his nightclub.”
“Awesome,” I replied with false enthusiasm and gave him the thumbs-up. “Who wants to come with me this time?” Suddenly finding much more interesting things to look at, everyone looked away. “Really?” I said incredulously. “No one at all?”
My father went to take a step forward, but Mark grabbed his arm and surreptitiously shook his head in warning. I appreciated my father’s intentions, but felines had no respect for humans. They would probably take his presence as an insult.
It seemed that no one liked the werecats. Not even Zeus wanted to accompany me on this journey. He was sidling away slowly, hoping he wouldn’t be noticed. He looked everywhere but at me, refusing to look me in the eye.
“Thanks a lot, guys,” I said sourly. “I guess I’ll go on my own then.” Silently cursing them all, I sank into the welcoming ground with only Reece’s mental chuckle for company.
₪₪₪
Chapter Twelve
My destination this time was a town called Lilydale. It was a pretty name for a place that had been infested with a couple of hundred ghouls. Surfacing on a narrow strip of dirt near the nightclub where Kala had been imprisoned for a short while, I looked around to see if my arrival had been noticed. No one was running and screaming, so I figured I was in the clear.
I’d arrived in the exact spot that I’d aimed for and the Nightstalker Club was directly across the road. Owned and operated by werelions, the scent of felines hung heavy in the air. It wasn’t just werelions that hung out here. Every type of feline shifter was represented.
Bitterly wishing that I didn’t need Cole’s help, I crossed the road and knocked on the door. A tall blond bouncer by the name of Mason opened the door. He wasn’t happy to see me, but he stepped aside and let me in. Instead of a leather vest, this time he wore a white t-shirt. It was too small and was almost bursting at the seams. Glowering down at me, he called out without taking his eyes off me. “The werewolf is here!”
I could hear werelions speaking quietly in the bar that was just down the hall. Clearly unwelcome, I stayed where I was. A few seconds later, feet appeared at the top of the stairs at the end of the hallway. Cole descended at a leisurely pace. He wore tight jeans and was shirtless. I wasn’t into werecats, but he had a nicely muscled body. His face fell in disappointment when he reached the bottom step and saw that I was alone. “I thought Kala might have come with you to try to talk me into joining your cause.”
That took me by surprise. Mark hadn’t mentioned that Cole would need convincing. “Why wouldn’t you want to help us?” I asked. “Haven’t you seen the news?”
He shrugged in apparent unconcern that the world as we knew it might soon come to an end. “I rarely know or care what happens to humans. They always seem to be at war with someone.”
“Let me sum it up for you then,” I said. “A bald half-faery called Kurt Jorgen has created six golems that can control animals, birds and spiders. He also has a necromancer on his team who can raise thousands of zombies at a time. They’ve already destroyed several towns in just a couple of days.”
The male werelions had left the bar and had gathered in the hallway to listen in. I could hear the lionesses at the top of the stairs. The other females were elsewhere on the second floor. Heavily beneath Cole’s influence, they were all-but mindless. They would attack at his order, but thinking for themselves became a thing of the past the moment he bound them to him.
“I suggest you kill this half-faery and put an end to his reign of terror,” Cole said. His expression and scent were serious.
“Gee, I wish I’d thought of that,” I said and rolled my eyes. “I already tried to kill him and failed. He’s immortal,” I explained at his miffed expression at my heavy sarcasm. “He doesn’t just have golems and zombies now. He also has access to a demon that can raise hundreds or possibly even thousands of other demons. Left unchecked, they’ll be able to wipe out whole cities in mere hours.”
Tall, blond, handsome and well-built, Cole had led a charmed life and wasn’t used to taking anything seriously. While he seemed clueless, he wasn’t quite as dumb as he looked. “What does Agent Steel have to say about this?” Mark was the only human the rex had a shred of respect for. “He didn’t say much over the phone.”
“He believes that the faery won’t stop at killing humans. He thinks all supernatural creatures will be eradicated as well. Kurt Jorgen won’t be happy until every sentient being is gone and he’s the only one left.”
Looking down at the carpet, he was torn between doing what was right and keeping his pride safe. After heavy thought, he looked at me again. “Must I involve my lionesses in this war?”
There were only four of them and I doubted they’d have a huge impact on the coming battles. “No. You can leave them behind.” One of them had been pregnant the last I heard. She might have given birth by now. Either way, I didn’t want her to be drawn into the fight.
Relieved, Cole turned to Mason. “Get the lesser felines to dress and tell them to pack some belongings.” I winced inwardly at his description of his concubines. They were bitten shifters rather than pure born like him and his pride. Most werewolves believed that bitten shifters were somehow less than pure bloods. Aiden was the only alpha I’d met so far who didn’t seem to share that point of view.
Like their rex, most of the lions were shirtless and wore only jeans. I watched Cole cross to the stairs and couldn’t help but admire the view. I felt
no sexual attraction for him, but he was undeniably pretty to look at.
Felix, the only werelion I’d met who had dark hair, caught my eye and shook his finger. “Now, now, interspecies mating is frowned upon,” he said slyly. He was different from his pride in other ways than just his hair. All werecats were promiscuous, but he went beyond that. He didn’t discriminate between male or female or even by species. He’d once told me that he’d slept with a vampire. Our usual instinct was to kill bloodsuckers on sight, but somehow I didn’t doubt his story at all.
“Felix!” Cole shouted. “Stop flirting with Lexi and get your butt up here!” His tone was a mixture of resignation and exasperation. He was well aware of Felix’s proclivities and there wasn’t much he could do about it. Not even he was cruel enough to order one of his pride to curb their sexual preferences.
With a rueful wink, Felix sauntered towards the stairs. In a remarkably short amount of time, they filed back down again. The fifteen lesser females were a mixture of species, including tigers, jaguars and cougars. All of them stared at their rex worshipfully. Kala had been among them for a short time and had been just as bamboozled by Cole. I pushed the memory away before my temper could rise. We’d saved her from enslavement, but these women hadn’t been as lucky.
“Is there a yard or a park nearby?” I asked Cole.
“There is a house with a yard behind my club,” he responded. “Why?”
“Because I’m going to transport us to Texas and I need bare ground to do it.”
He was doubtful, but led the way out through a backdoor. We took a narrow alley to a road and crossed to the backyard of a house. I motioned for everyone to move in closer until they were all touching. Felix managed to slip through the crowd and put his hand around my waist familiarly. Cole frowned at him, but he didn’t say anything. Felix couldn’t help himself. He flirted with anyone who caught his eye.
“Take a deep breath,” I warned them then we sank into the ground. We emerged in Texas moments later.
Confronted with Aiden’s pack of werewolves, the felines didn’t have time to be shocked by our method of travel. Shifting into combat stances, snarls were exchanged by both parties until Reece and I stepped between the two groups.
“Enough!” Reece shouted and the noise died down. The combined force of our will was enough to stamp out the instinct for them to do battle. “Like it or not, we have to work together if we’re going to defeat our enemy.”
“You didn’t mention that we’d be fighting alongside a mangy pack of dogs,” Cole said haughtily. Aiden sneered, but subsided at a glare from me.
“Did you think your pride would be enough to help us save the world?” I asked dryly. “We’re going to use every shifter we know to win this war. You’re going to have to put aside your petty prejudices until this is over.”
Catching a new scent, Mason turned and saw the oracle hunkering in the entrance to her cave. “Do you smell that?” he said to his rex. “What is she?” His nostrils flared as he breathed in her scent again.
“She’s a werebird,” Cole replied and unconsciously took a step towards her. If he’d had a tail in this form, it would have been twitching in interest. “I haven’t seen one since I was a cub. I thought they were extinct.”
“Mmm,” Felix said with a lazy grin. “I’ve never eaten a werebird before. Maybe we should roast her and see if she tastes as good as she smells.” The oracle squawked in fear and fled to the back of her cave.
My dad didn’t appreciate their behavior and strode over to Cole. “If you’re an alpha, then it’s up to you to control your people.” Almost matched in height, they were similar enough in appearance to almost look as if they were related. My father was a couple of inches taller and had wider shoulders.
Cole’s upper lip curled derisively as he looked my father up and down. “Who are you to speak to me, human?”
“He’s my father,” I said. “So tread very carefully.” The warning was clear in my tone. I wouldn’t tolerate anyone being disrespectful to my father.
“That isn’t true,” Mason said. “I’d be able to smell it if you were related to him.” It seemed Flynn wasn’t the only one who could tell if someone was kin.
“I’m adopted,” I explained. “He taught me how to shoot and he’s a way better shot than I am.” Or he had been before I’d become a monster. I doubted there was anything on this planet that could outshoot me now. “I suggest you listen to him.”
“Surely you don’t expect us to feel fear for a mere human?” Cole said incredulously. I narrowed my eyes at his blatant snobbery.
“He’s more of a man than you’ll ever be,” Kala said in my father’s defense. “Major Levine wouldn’t have to bamboozle a woman into his bed. He’d just have to ask her and she’d go willingly.”
My dad frowned in puzzlement at first then switched his gaze to the bevy of females who were staring at Cole worshipfully. Understanding dawned and I saw a brief moment of rage in his eyes. In a move that surprised everyone but me, his fist shot forward and punched the rex in the face.
Staggering back a step, Cole snarled in anger, but Kala stepped in front of my father to shield him. “Don’t even think about it,” she said in a quiet, yet deadly tone. “If you touch one hair on his head, I swear to God I’ll tear you apart with my bare hands.”
Taken aback by her ferocity, Cole dabbed at the blood on his lip. The cut had already healed, but his pride was still smarting. Suspicious about her reasons for defending a mere man, he leaned in to sniff her. “You’re attracted to him?” he said in shock. Kala’s face reddened, but she didn’t deny it. “Why would you wish to have sex with a lowly human when you could be with me?”
“Maybe because he can’t turn me into a mindless sex slave,” she said flatly. “Been there, done that and I have no plans to experience it again.”
Realizing that Kala had been bedazzled just like the rest of Cole’s harem, my dad drew his gun. “Step aside, Kala,” he said in a serene tone that meant certain death for the werelion.
I went into action before any further blood could be shed. Plucking the gun from my father’s hand, I pushed Cole back when he lunged forward. He stumbled backwards and two of his werelions caught him before he could fall.
“The next person to open their mouth will get a bullet,” I warned everyone. I turned to my father to explain what was going on, trusting my friends to watch my back in case the lions attacked. “Alpha werelions have a longstanding tradition of bamboozling ‘lesser’ female felines and adding them to their harem. Cole added Kala to his pride for a short while, but we were able to get her back. They don’t think there’s anything wrong with treating their females this way, but we recently convinced Cole that it isn’t an acceptable practice.”
My dad nodded in understanding, but his anger remained. “Did he mistreat you?” he asked Kala.
“He didn’t cause me physical harm,” she said. She’d been covered in bite marks and scratches, but they’d been a form of foreplay and had healed quickly. “Being part of his harem meant I lived to fulfil his every sexual whim.” My dad closed his eyes and clenched his teeth hard enough that I heard them grinding together. “Don’t get me wrong,” she hastened to add, “he made sure I enjoyed it, too.”
Her reassurance didn’t help matters at all. My father clenched his fists as well as he tried to control his temper. Opening his eyes again, his gaze settled on the rex. “If you ever touch her again, I will kill you.” With that promise, he snatched his gun from me and walked away.
“Should I be worried?” Cole asked me softly. His usually smooth brow was furrowed.
“If I were you, I’d be terrified. If he decides to kill you, you’re a dead man. Not even I would be able to stop him from putting a bullet through your brain.” I wasn’t even sure I would try to stop him. I’d never be able to forget seeing Kala as a mindless puppet.
Paling slightly, Cole swallowed. “I promise we will be on our best behavior during this mission.”
Kala watched my father walk away with a wistful look. I caught a brief glimpse of her emotions and picked up on her longing for someone to love her. She’d always said that she preferred to keep her options open and that she didn’t want to be tied down. Now I wondered if that was just a smokescreen to hide her true feelings. She’d seen the happiness that Reece and I shared. Now Flynn and Sabine were a matched pair and she saw what she was missing out on. I wanted her to be happy, but I still wished she’d chosen someone other than my father to become fixated on.
₪₪₪
Chapter Thirteen
Mark crooked his finger at me and I was glad to put some distance between myself and the werecats. “I spoke to Ranger Delgado while you were gone,” he said. “He’s contacted his alpha. Her name is Leanne and she’s agreed to speak with us.”
“You mean you’re coming with me this time?” I said dourly. He looked slightly ashamed that he hadn’t accompanied me to collect the werelions. After seeing the trouble they’d caused already, I couldn’t really blame him.
“Leanne wants to meet us in person before she’ll agree to help us.” He checked his watch. “They should be waiting for us at the campsite where the succubus took one of the campers by now.” She had to live close to the remote park if she was already there.
Reece couldn’t come with me this time. One of us had to stay behind to keep the shifters from killing each other. “I wish I could say I was sorry for not going with you to Lilydale to retrieve the werecats,” he said when he joined us, “but that would be a lie.” I doubted it would be much fun babysitting our allies while I was gone, but I was sure he could keep them in line.
“They’re already being a pain in the butt,” Flynn agreed. “Let’s hope the bears will be easier to get along with.”
“Do you know much about werebears?” I asked Mark.