Purring with His Mate (Miracle Book 1)

by Shea Malik

  Low growls rumbled around him, making the ground shake beneath his feet. Yep, Nole was fucked and not in a good way. Not only was he going to die that day, but he suspected it was going to be quite painful.

  That’s when he heard another sound that made all the hairs on his body stand on end. Behind and slightly to the right of him, another growl, just as low as the wolves, yet meaner, fiercer rolled around them for a full minute.

  Nole desperately wanted to turn around and make sure he wasn’t imagining things, but he also knew if he took his attention off the wolves for even a second, they would use the opportunity to attack. His heart raced as he felt movement from behind approaching.

  Fur touched his fingertips, and Nole risked a quick glance down. His heart leaped into his throat as he stared at the beautiful golden brown coat of a gigantic mountain lion baring his teeth at the wolves, almost daring them to come closer. Granted, Nole was a mouse shifter and used to smaller shifters, but he still was pretty positive Edrick was larger than average.

  Of the wolf shifters getting ready to attack, four of them had shifted, and Edrick was definitely bigger than any of them. That didn’t mean they didn’t have a shot at winning. There were still ten wolves, who were obviously trained killers based on the cold, dead eyes of those in front of them.

  It didn’t help that those who were still human held enough weapons on their bodies to supply a freaking army. Until meeting these men, Nole had always assumed he’d carried a lot of weapons. Boy, was he wrong.

  Unconsciously his fingers dug into Edrick’s fur. Regret swamped him for getting his mate involved in his battle. If only he hadn’t been so stubborn and left Edrick that morning. He promised to whatever God that was listening that he would not only accept his mate but love him with every fiber of his being if they survived this.

  * * * *

  They might be outnumbered, but Edrick wasn’t worried. He and his friends had been training since they understood that one day they would have to fight their pack for being gay. Their skills were honed, making them the perfect killing machines.

  He wanted to reassure his mate, but as effective as Edrick was in his human form at killing, he was even more deadly as his animal. All he could do was stand next to Nole and hope his being there would be enough to give his mate some encouragement.

  What he hadn’t expected was the way Nole curled his fingers into his fur as if he were trying to hold onto Edrick. Nor for it to feel so amazing. Just being around Nole had his cock half hard. His mate’s touch could easily make him painfully erect, which would make fighting that much more difficult.

  That his mate was being threatened kept him from getting too hard, as the need to tear through the shifter wolves, who apparently thought the more leather they wore, the more they would look like badasses, rode him hard. If Edrick were human, he would set them straight. All that leather just made them appear pathetic.

  One even had a leather harness around his wolf. How the guy thought that was a good idea, was a mystery to Edrick. It only restricted his animal’s natural ability to move, and it offered very little protection.

  He wanted to laugh but only managed to chuff at the spectacle before him. Nole must have understood he was laughing for he yanked on his fur in a warning. His mate shook in fear next to him. Desperate to soothe him, Edrick rubbed his head against Nole’s side.

  Apparently, that was all the wolves needed to attack.

  Standing his ground, Edrick let Hudson, their expert marksman, take out two men and two wolves before they had covered half the distance. That was when Edrick sprang into action.

  Leaping, he swiped his paw at the man closest to him, slicing his throat. A bullet slammed into the man before he hit the ground, ensuring he remained dead. Shifters healed quickly, allowing them to survive even severe wounds.

  The only way to kill a shifter was to behead him, rip his heart out or shoot him in the heart or head. The only problem with bullets was, they had to be dead on accurate, or there was a chance of survival. Fortunately, Hudson never missed.

  Lucca, who had managed to neutralize the mouse shifters who had distracted Nole and Chadwick, who had been right behind Edrick as he raced to Nole, joined him in the battle. Quickly, they whittled down the numbers to two, the leader and one wolf, who seemed determined to protect his alpha at all costs, including pinning Nole to the ground, forcing Edrick to freeze or risk his mate dying.

  “I see you’ve allowed yourself to become weak,” the leader sneered with a way too triumphant smile on his face. “Mates will get you killed, something you will experience firsthand.”

  Edrick stared at the wolf who had one paw on Nole’s throat, claws just piercing the skin. The scent of his mate’s blood had Edrick’s cat hissing as rage consumed him. Hudson hadn’t taken the shot he easily could have to kill the wolf for fear the creature’s claws would rip Nole’s throat out. Another thing a shifter didn’t recover from.

  Focused on his mate, Edrick watched in horror as Nole’s hand slowly made its way down to his hip to pull out a very sharp looking knife. He needed to distract the wolf or Nole’s actions would be noticed. In his mountain lion’s form, that would be hard to do.

  “Now, tell your shooter to get down out of that tree, or I’ll have Octo drive further into your mate’s throat until he’s coated in blood,” the leader said, even as he pointed his gun at Edrick’s head.

  Edrick may not be able to communicate to his men in his shifter form, but the advantage of training together since the age of five, they didn’t need words. Edrick glanced from Nole’s hand that gripped the knife, to Lucca, and gave a nod.

  Lucca gave an imperceptible nod as he acknowledged seeing what Edrick had. “Fine,” Lucca spit out. Then he glared at Edrick. “I told you we should never have come after the mouse. I mean, you’re a cat. What the hell were thinking that you could mate with a such a lowly creature?”

  Both the leader and the wolf stared at Lucca in surprise, but it was all the distraction Nole needed to lift the knife and slam it right onto the wolf’s paw, severing it in one clean swipe.

  At the same moment that the knife separated the wolf’s paw, Hudson fired, and a bullet slammed into the wolf, leaving a hole right between its eyes. The leader snarled before opening fire, but Edrick had already leaped toward the man, slamming into him and dragging him to the ground with his teeth embedded in the man’s throat.

  CHAPTER 8

  “I’m impressed, shorty,” the man who had distracted the wolf leader said as he rolled the heavier than fuck wolf off Nole. “I had no idea a mouse could do anything more than cower in fear.”

  Nole glared up the handsome man. “Don’t call me shorty,” he spat out. What in the fuck did these cats eat that made them so drop dead gorgeous? Not that it mattered, but it didn’t seem fair that so far all of them had been at least six foot, with more muscle than seemed possible on a body.

  “Watch it, Lucca, Edrick doesn’t like it when you tease his mate,” Chadwick joked.

  Speaking of Edrick Once on his feet, Nole glanced around for his mate. “Edrick,” he cried out when he saw the big cat lying in a pool of blood with the leader of the wolves lying dead under him.

  Please let it be the wolf’s blood; he prayed over and over again as he rushed to his mate’s side.

  No matter how hard he pushed, he couldn’t get his mate’s heavy body turned so he could check out the injuries. Thankfully, Lucca and Chadwick rushed over to help him.

  Ice formed in his veins as he saw three bullet holes in Edrick’s thick fur as blood poured from the wounds. “Shit,” he cursed. “Does anyone have a med kit?”

  They all looked at him as if they’d never heard of such a thing. Sure, shifters might heal quickly, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t die. With enough blood loss, it was entirely possible, and Edrick appeared to have already lost too much. He needed to get these wounds stitched so he could stop the bleeding.

  He pointed to the group of rocks he’d tried to use a
s shielding. “My bag is tucked into the back of the rocks - go get it.” His tone was demanding, not allowing for any argument.

  Thankfully, the men didn’t offer any. Chadwick raced to the rocks and quickly found Nole’s bag. No words were said as they watched Nole work on Edrick, which was good. Nole didn’t need the distraction. He was going to save his mate, come hell or high water.

  Except there was too much blood blocking Nole from seeing the extent of the damage. Frustrated, he growled as he shoved his finger deep into the gaping bullet hole. Wiggling it around, Nole worked to figure out where all the blood was coming from.

  If he didn’t find it, Edrick wasn’t going to survive, and that just wasn’t acceptable to Nole. He may not have wanted a mate, especially one that was a cat shifter, but now that he’d met Edrick, he had to admit the man intrigued him. Not only had Edrick been nice even when Nole had been his usual snarky self, but he’d given Nole the space he’d requested.

  Although, apparently, he had Nole followed, but still, even that Nole couldn’t blame him for. Mates were considered sacred. Letting one just walk away would have been impossible for most shifters. Even Nole had been having second thoughts as he’d searched for a new place to hide out. He might not admit it aloud, but Nole would have returned to Edrick eventually.

  Now that he was ready to accept that he’d found his cat shifter mate, Nole wasn’t about to let the man di…

  There!

  Nole’s hand brushed over the ragged edges of a shredded artery. Pinching the ends with his fingers, he stared hard at Lucca and Chadwick, along with another man walking toward them, carrying a long-range rifle. “One of his arteries has been hit. I need to sew it back together, or he is going to bleed out. Which one of you isn’t squeamish and can help me?”

  It was the newcomer who answered. “I’ve learned enough first aid to offer some assistance, but you’re going to have to guide me through what you need done.”

  Nole gave him a curt nod. “In my bag is a scalpel. We need to open him up a little further so I can see to repair this. Since my fingers are pinching off the artery, you’re going to need to make the cut. Do you think you can do that?”

  The cat shifter didn’t answer, just fished through Nole’s bag until he found the small med kit Nole had in there. Pulling it out, he laid it on the ground and opened it up. Scalpel in hand he glanced at Nole and waited for his instructions.

  “Carefully, but quickly, I need you to make an incision two inches wide right where the bullet hole is. Just don’t cut my hand.” Nole prayed the man didn’t end up making things worse. It was always a risk having someone inexperienced assist him, but with Nole’s hand already busy, doing the incision himself was impossible.

  Please, let me save Edrick.

  “Wait, do you even know what in the hell you’re doing?” Lucca asked before the other member of their team made the incision.

  This was so not the time for twenty questions. His fingers around the shredded artery were the only thing keeping his mate from certain death. “I’m a doctor and a vet,” he answered without elaborating before turning to the man who was going to help him. “Now make the fucking cut.”

  The man gave a curt nod, took a steadying breath, then did exactly as Nole had instructed. To be honest, he was impressed at how well the shifter did. “Good. Now I’m going to need my suture kit.”

  As if he’d done it a hundred times, the man pulled out exactly what Nole had needed. “My name is Hudson, by the way.”

  Surprised, Nole stared at the man for a moment.

  Hudson shrugged. “I figured if we’re going to work together, not to mention live together, since you’re Edrick’s mate, you might as well know my name.”

  Nole gave him a nod of acknowledgment.

  “It’s time to get to work, Hudson. I hope you’re ready.” Truthfully, Nole depended on it. For not saving Edrick wasn’t an option.

  CHAPTER 9

  Fire raced along Edrick’s veins. Sure, he was being burned alive, he desperately tried to claw his way to consciousness. But the pain was just too intense to allow him to focus.

  “Shh,” the sweetest voice Edrick had ever heard whispered against his ear. “You’re going to be fine. You just need to let your body heal.”

  A hand ran first along his forehead, instantly soothing his cat, who had been fighting to wake up. Then that hand traced a path down his cheek before soft lips touched his. “I’ll keep you safe. Just sleep.”

  A part of him wanted more of that sweet kiss, but he was just too tired to not to succumb to the darkness that was once more trying to drag him into bliss.

  * * * *

  “Shouldn’t he be healed by now?”

  The harsh tone of Lucca’s voice forced Edrick to become once more aware of his surroundings. Struggling to open his eyes and find out what had his best friend so angry, Edrick fought the fog that surrounded him in a soupy quagmire.

  “He lost a lot of blood.” The soft melody of his mate’s voice was like a balm to Edrick’s soul.

  Wanting to touch Nole, he tried to move closer to the beautiful sound but found it impossible to make his body respond.

  “His body is going to need time to replenish his blood. Until then, sleep is what he needs most.”

  Not sure what Nole was talking about, Edrick once more tried to open his eyes. One lid cracked the barest amount, but it was enough to take in his disheveled mate. Concerned at the dark circles under those chocolate brown eyes, Edrick tried to open his mouth, but again, found his body just wouldn’t cooperate.

  Lucca stepped closer to Nole, towering over him with his hands curled into fists. “He better wake up.” The threat in Lucca’s voice had Edrick’s hackles up.

  A low rumble rolled out of his chest in warning.

  Both Nole and Lucca turned to face him, but Edrick was already fading from that brief show of aggression.

  “Edrick,” Nole said hopefully, as he bent closer and placed a soft kiss to his lips.

  Heaven. That was the last thought Edrick had as the darkness surrounded him once more.

  * * * *

  “Stop threatening me, or I’ll cut your fucking balls off, got it?” Nole was getting sick and tired of Edrick’s friends’ posturing. He’d warned them how close Edrick had come to dying, yet they all had felt he should have healed within an hour of Nole stitching him up.

  If they didn’t stop, he was going to bitch slap each and every one. And he was going to start with Chadwick, who not only threatened him but kept referring to him being a mouse like he was shit on the man’s shoes.

  Chadwick stood close enough to force Nole to have to tilt his head back and look up at him. Asshole. Then the man had the nerve to lean over, accentuating the fact that Nole was shorter than him. “Try it, and I’ll feed you to the snakes.”

  Narrowing his eyes, he glared up at Chadwick. “I’d like to see you try, pussy.” He found the nickname had a way of pissing Chadwick off like nothing else did.

  Chadwick growled down at him. “Call me that again, and I’ll hogtie your ass and turn you over to your colony wrapped in pretty ribbon for them so that they can shut you up once and for all.”

  A hand was suddenly around Chadwick’s neck, and the man lifted several inches off the ground. There was a promise of death in Edrick’s eyes as he snarled at his friend. “Talk to my mate like that again, and being called a pussy will be the least of your problems.”

  Stunned that his mate was not only awake but able to lift Chadwick off the ground, it took Nole a moment to come out of his daze and stop his mate. “Edrick. Stop.” Nole reached out and touched his mate’s arm. “Chadwick and I were just blowing off steam because we’ve been so worried about you.”

  When Edrick didn’t look any closer to releasing his ever-tightening grip on a nearly passed out Chadwick, Nole tried begging. “Please, I need you to put him down so I can make sure you’re really okay.”

  It was something Nole had been doing every five minutes for th
e past four days. He couldn’t help it. The need to be sure his mate was alive and mending was a compulsion that just wouldn’t go away, even now that he was awake.

  Thankfully, that did the trick.

  Edrick opened his hand, and Chadwick dropped into a heap on the floor coughing and gasping for air. But Nole only had eyes for Edrick. In the next heartbeat, he was pulled into Edrick’s embrace and his lips taken in a kiss that had his toes curling and his cock thickening.

  That he was so easily picked up and cradled against Edrick’s hard body didn’t even irritate him. For the first time in his life, Nole had to admit that he enjoyed being smaller, just so that he could be in his mate’s arms.

  “No. Really. Don’t mind me,” Chadwick grumbled. “I just can’t breathe. What does that matter?”

  Both Nole and Edrick growled in their throats at being interrupted, but neither of them broke the kiss. He didn’t know about Edrick, but for Nole, he was damn sure that not even the house falling down around their ears would have stopped him from trying to get closer to his mate.

  It wasn’t until a door slammed closed, indicating Chadwick had blessedly left them in peace, that Edrick broke the kiss. “Strip,” he ordered, even as he ripped off the boxers Nole had put him in for modesty’s sake.

  Edrick’s friends had laughed at Nole’s need to cover his mate up from their gazes, but he didn’t care. They may have grown up together and seen each other naked thousands of times, but that didn’t mean Nole wanted his mate on display for anyone but himself.

  And what a mouthwatering body it was, too. Nole couldn’t help but stare as Edrick removed his boxers to reveal his hard, thick cock. Nole licked his lips as he thought about having that in his mouth.

  “Don’t say I didn’t warn you, my little mouse,” Edrick murmured.