by Jools Louise
“I’ll come with you,” Alfie said firmly. He had shifted, too. “Two cats against a wolverine. How hard can it be?”
Slug sent him a dry look. “Sweetie, even one wolverine can be a whole mess of trouble. I’ll go with you two, the rest of the guys can go check out the bed and breakfast.”
Ethan shifted back into jaguar form and Alfie back to his leopard. Slug, letting loose a rebel yell, shifted into his wolverine form, snarling excitedly, and they all fled into the woods, making a sweeping circular route to get back to the bed and breakfast. If anyone had decided to accompany Rage’s brother, they’d most likely use the woods for cover.
* * * *
Rage strode angrily through town, imaging the worst. His brother, Rash, had been here before, accompanying Lash’s brother, Lance, and Charm and Slug’s sisters. All were vicious, selfish, and greedy. Lance had even stabbed his brother in a fit of petulant anger, and had ended up ripped to shreds by Ethan. Rage felt a smile of pride lift his mouth, cutting through the irritation he felt that his family were still being dickheads. Ethan was shy, quiet, and often timid, but when it came to defending his mates, he’d shown a surprising fortitude. Rage smiled more widely, remembering, just that morning, watching Ethan nail Lash’s ass, all dominant predator, leaving Lash in a mess of cum on the sheets, exhausted and utterly sated.
“You’re thinking of Ethan again, aren’t you?” Lash asked, smirking at his lover.
Rage grinned back, nodding. “I can’t seem to concentrate on anything else, buddy,” he retorted. “The sight of our sweet, innocent, and mild-mannered mate going power-top on you will give me wet dreams for months.”
Charm laughed at that, clapping a hand on Rage’s shoulder. “Babe, I’ll second that,” he said, pressing a kiss to the side of Rage’s head, right where the tattoo of a fierce dragon had been inked. All of them had the same tat, in the same place, except Charm’s was obscured by his spiky hair. On the other side, a tattoo of a wolverine was drawn, fangs and claws at the ready.
“Heads up,” Lash warned, looking ahead, and they all followed his gaze. Sure enough, they saw Café Anglais with a crowd of people outside. Shouting was coming from inside the café, John’s voice the loudest.
Exchanging glances, the three wolverines stepped up their pace, running toward the furor. They brushed past several interested bystanders and into the warmth of the shop, staring in amazement at the sight of Douglas, his fists clutched to Rash’s shirt, and Rash dangling a foot off the floor as Douglas snarled into the unfortunate wolverine’s face.
“You fucking dare to come here again, after what you tried to do to my brother’s mate?” Douglas shouted, his fangs out and his claws digging into Rash’s chest.
“That wasn’t me!” Rash yelped, looking terrified. “That was all Lance’s doing. I had nothing to do with it.”
“You were there! You were part of the whole plan to hurt your own brother and his friends. What the fuck? Did you think we’d welcome you with open arms? You left my brother and his mates, and all those others, to starve to death. You’re a fucking bastard.” Douglas shook Rash as though the wolverine was a rag doll, and Rash’s head lolled back and forth helplessly.
“Put him down, Dougie,” Rage said quietly as he stepped forward after pausing in awe at Douglas in full predator mode. “Let me talk to him.”
“Just what I was trying to do,” John drawled, his demeanor showing his more lethal side.
“Wasn’t that you I heard yelling just now?” Charm asked drily.
“I tried talking first, then this darling man simply said the most stupid thing, and I admit, I snapped,” John said, shrugging indolently, a smirk on his face.
“What did you say?” Rage asked his brother, who was still in Douglas’s grip.
Rash’s pale gold eyes, the same shade as Rage’s, shot angry sparks at Rage as he stared at his brother. “Father wants me to negotiate with you,” he snapped, looking furious. “He said if I didn’t get the answers he wanted, he’d make you all pay.”
“Really? And how does he propose to do that?” Rage asked, almost casually, flexing his claws. “Or perhaps he thinks you’re a liability and is willing to sacrifice you, just as Lance was sacrificed.”
Rash showed a healthy dose of fear at the reminder of Lance’s demise. “Lance was stupid,” he said, trying to recover some semblance of control. “I’m here to negotiate, reasonably, to our mutual advantage.”
“What does he want?” John asked, ever so softly. Rage shot him a wary look, seeing that John was angry as hell. It was a sight Rage had rarely seen in him…like the last time the wolverines’ families had paid them a visit, or he and his brethren had admitted what their families had done to them.
Rash’s gaze went to John, and he physically flinched from the feral look in John’s eyes.
“He wants to use Rash as a distraction, so the rest of these idiots can burn down the town,” Ethan said from the rear of the shop, coming in through a back door that led to a backyard that backed up to a patch of waste ground before fading into the woods behind.
Everyone looked in his direction since he was buck naked and had his clawed fists wrapped around an older man’s throat as he dragged the man into the café.
“Father,” Rage said, looking sick. Behind Ethan, Slug came in, as well, holding a second man. “Uncle,” Rage said, staring angrily at Slug’s father.
There were sounds of a battle raging outside, snarls and screams and shouts of several combatants fighting.
“Alfie and his mates are taking on the others out there,” Ethan explained. “Mason, Jay, my dad, Mick, and Zack. Sheriff Pace is on his way.”
Rage felt a little better, since all those mentioned were pretty good to have around as backup.
“Why don’t you just leave us alone?” Rage asked his father, unable to understand the wolverines’ continued harassment.
“You don’t understand, do you?” RJ said, curling his lip into a sneer. “You’re all an embarrassment to our families. We have a proud heritage that’s been tarnished by your actions. Mates should be male-female partnerships, not mass orgies. Disgusting behavior. Your ancestors would turn in their graves.”
“And yet our grandparents left their estates to their disgusting grandchildren and nothing to you,” Slug retorted. “In fact, if I remember correctly, when the wills were read they named all of you, and our brothers and sisters, as those that absolutely had no right to any of that money. The only reason you’ve ever been interested in us is because of that inheritance. Then you saw a way to get rid of us and place the blame on someone else. If you were a man, you’d have done it yourself instead of hiding behind a mad preacher and a bunch of hybrid morons.”
RJ shrieked out his rage and shifted, the sudden move wrenching him from Ethan’s grip. Claws out, he attacked Slug and Rage, his own son, who shifted, as well. The fight was vicious, with fur flying everywhere. Slug, with his father still held firmly, stepped back to give Rage more room.
Ethan let out a cry of distress when Rage was knocked aside with a brutal side-swipe and flung several feet across the room, crashing into a table. Then Ethan found himself on the defensive as RJ went for him, as well. Naked, and in human form, Ethan was defenseless, but he shifted quickly, his jaguar four times the size of the wolverine. He roared out in anger, glancing at where Rage lay still and bloody on the floor.
Lashing out with his claws, Ethan tried not to do any permanent damage to the wolverine—this was Rage’s father, after all. The man made it virtually impossible, and Ethan had trouble defending himself. A second later, two large snow leopards joined the fray. The one with green eyes let out a spine-chilling snarl as he leaped onto the wolverine, his heavy jaws clamping down on RJ’s neck while the leopard with turquoise eyes went for RJ’s throat. Wolverines had thick fur to protect them, but RJ was no match for two angry snow leopards defending their town. Within seconds RJ was dead, and the leopards both looked at Slug’s father, who looked fearful, but not cow
ed, as he sneered at the pair.
“That’s right, prove what big men you are,” the man said, sounding petulant. “Big, strong felines, needing two of you to take on one wolverine.”
The green-eyed leopard padded forward, then rose onto its hindquarters, staring balefully into the idiot’s eyes, who was now looking far more scared at the sight of the bloody muzzle close to his throat. Roaring right in Slug’s father’s face, the big shifter seemed to grin when the acrid scent of urine followed the power play.
“I don’t think John needs help,” Slug drawled, grinning at the snow leopard, who chuffed agreeably, his eyes still fixed on Slug’s terrified parent. Slug looked with disdain at his father, Steven, who had treated Slug abominably over the years. “John’s more than capable of disposing of vermin all by himself.”
“How dare you?” Steven raged, apparently forgetting his proximity to John’s grinning maw. “RJ is a respected member of our clan, a leader among our people.”
“Now he’s deceased,” Slug replied curtly, showing no emotion as he stared his father down, inches away from the man who’d made his life a living hell for years before throwing him to the side for the sake of a few extra baubles and a nice car. “I’d be careful if I were you, father dearest. John here is particularly partial to wolverine for lunch…and he sometimes becomes unhinged when he smells blood.” Slug sent John a deadpan look, which was returned with a toothy sneer.
“I’ll take care of things now,” Sheriff Pace said as he ran inside the café, looking with distaste at the dead wolverine on the floor and the blood still covering Jay and John’s snow leopard muzzles. “I take it you two did this?” he asked, sounding irritated.
John yowled in agreement, then swiped a long tongue over Steven’s startled face before hopping down onto all fours and padding through the café and downstairs to the staffroom to shift and change.
“He likes you,” Slug drawled, smiling wickedly at his father, who looked furious. “I wouldn’t try anything, Daddy,” he added when Steven looked as though he might try to run for it. “That’s Jay, John’s brother…and he’s as loco as the other guy.” Jay chuffed and grinned, showing his full set of fangs, sitting on his haunches as he stared at Steven, as though daring the man to make a move.
“If you’ve had enough fun,” Pace said dryly, walking up to Slug and reaching to take Steven into custody. With a roar of rage, Steven swiped out, his claws suddenly extended, and ripped deep into Pace’s abdomen, practically disemboweling him. Screaming in pain, Pace dropped to the ground, holding his guts in, blood spewing everywhere.
Seconds later Jay pounced and ripped at Steven, slicing straight through his jugular, while Slug twisted his father’s head in his fists. Between the two of them, they ended Steven’s miserable life and flung the despicable creature to the floor.
“Get Mick,” John shouted urgently, running upstairs from the basement. “He’s the only one in town who can save Pace. He’ll have to convert Pace to change him.”
“Pace!” Zack screamed as he came in from the rear of the building looking bruised, battered, and terrified as he stared at his husband writhing on the floor.
Dropping to his knees, Zack cradled Pace’s head to his chest, his hands helping to keep Pace’s intestines from falling out all over the place. The wound in the sheriff’s abdomen was severe, and without urgent attention, he would die. Zack had tears flowing down his face, and he looked distraught. “Don’t you fucking die on me,” he cried, stroking his husband’s face.
Just then Ethan leaped forward, in jaguar mode, and sank his teeth into Pace’s neck, then shifted back to human form, flicked a vein, and dripped his blood right into the open wound.
“What the hell?” Zack yelled, startled.
“I have the same kind of virus that Mick has,” Ethan said quietly. “I’ve never told anyone because that would have opened up a whole slew of problems I just don’t need.” He sent Zack a steady look, which had Zack nodding in acknowledgment. “If the cult had ever found out, I’d have been treated far worse than I was…and I was treated appallingly as it was.”
“Watch out!” John said, pulling Ethan away quickly as Pace screamed out again, his joints beginning to pop. The shifter strain, placed directly into the open wound, was acting quickly.
Within a few minutes of excruciating pain, Pace shifted for the first time, his animal form a large black jaguar that snarled at everyone but Zack, who still sat nearby, looking shell-shocked by the swift turn of events.
“Well, fuck,” John said, sounding irritated and amused at the same time. “I bet in this mood, he’ll be even more of a bitch to deal with.”
Pace snarled right back, his long tail twitching. His green eyes were bright as emeralds in his black furry face, and his fangs gleamed brightly.
John, despite the two bodies lying on the floor nearby, suddenly grinned his devilish grin, in full wind-up mode. “Now you have no excuse. I’ll tell Alfie that you’ll be taking part in the Shifter Games, shall I?” he chuckled, winking at the sheriff.
With an angry growl, Pace leaped up, forgetting he had four legs instead of two and a nasty wound in his belly that was already healing rapidly, and promptly collapsed with a faint sigh, unconscious.
“Perhaps you could wait until my husband’s healthy before you sign him up for the long jump,” Zack said dryly, rolling his eyes and looking pale. He crawled forward and lifted Pace’s big head into his lap, stroking the soft fur gently, his hand shaking a little in reaction to how close he’d come to losing his beloved mate.
“I’m sorry,” Ethan stammered, suddenly uncomfortable. “I just knew I had to help him. When John called for Mick, I knew I needed to do something.”
Zack smiled gently at Ethan, patting his shoulder. “Ethan, honey, you sure as hell don’t need to be sorry. You just saved this old grouch’s life…and mine.” Zack stared down at Pace, his expression enigmatic. “If Pace died, I don’t know what I’d do…I spent so long waiting for my mate, and now that I’ve found him…” he trailed off, choking back a sob.
Ethan felt his heart clench, knowing how Zack felt. He’d known his mates for a while now, but only recently had gotten to see under their gruff, aggressive exterior to who they were beneath. He knew that he loved his badass lovers and felt bad that they had lost so much. Their families were a bunch of psychopaths, judging by their past performance.
Hearing a low whimper, Ethan turned his gaze to where Douglas still had hold of Rash, Rage’s brother. The wolverine was sporting a strange expression on his face. It was a mixture of relief, fear, longing, and something like hope. Ethan frowned as he stared at the young shifter.
“I’m sorry,” Ethan said, and meant it. “I didn’t want for this to happen to your family. They gave me no choice.”
Rash seemed to collapse in Douglas’s arms, looking nothing like the arrogant creature who had stalked into the café just a few minutes ago. Ethan remembered the man from his last visit, and had noted he had seemed to fade into the background, as though he really wasn’t wanting to be there.
“They’re dead,” Rash said redundantly, shuddering. His face wore bruises, as though he’d been beaten. Ethan had thought it was a ruse, and perhaps it had been, by RJ and Steven. But Rash suddenly looked like a forlorn, distraught young man who had seen his world torn apart.
“Come on,” Douglas said, patting Rash’s shoulder gently. “Let me get you a soda from the store.” He tugged gently on Rash’s arm before leading him from the bloody remains of his uncle and father.
Ethan thought he saw a smidgen of something more than sympathy in Douglas’s gaze and wondered at it. Douglas was young, and although he acted all worldly wise, he’d still been a victim of the cult for most of his life. No matter that they had used him to service their clients in a sexual way. Douglas was still, in a lot of ways, an innocent. Ethan breathed a sigh of relief when he saw a familiar figure striding after Douglas and Rash, a guy named Ellis Hawkwing, who had Native American heritage a
nd had worked construction in the town. The man now owned a small gift store selling arts and crafts, handmade by his people. Ethan saw the look of pleasure on Douglas’s face when he spied Ellis…and one of wistfulness on Rash’s.
Ethan tilted his head, studying the trio before they were out of sight.
“I’ll keep an eye on him,” John said softly, and Ethan jumped, startled at the man’s presence right behind him. For once, the big Brit didn’t make a snarky comment but patted Ethan’s shoulder gently. “That boy may or may not be a concern,” John added. “I’ll see if Jace can take a trip into town, see what the guy’s hiding. Or maybe Aaron can figure it out.” John frowned thoughtfully. “I somehow think that the wolverines aren’t quite finished with us just yet. They have an agenda, and they’ve already proven how devious and evil they can be.”
“I’m sorry that we brought our troubles into your town,” Slug said somberly, staring down at his father’s corpse, his dark eyes swirling with unnamed emotions. “I really thought that we’d stopped their shenanigans.” He shrugged awkwardly.
“Don’t you blame yourself for any of this,” Ethan said fiercely, walking over to his mate. “You’ve done nothing wrong. Maybe when we first met you acted badly, but I couldn’t be more proud of what you’ve all achieved. Don’t let their poison hurt you anymore. I don’t want you to even think like that again.”
Slug looked grim for a split second longer as his gaze lingered on the remains of his father. Then his mouth quirked into a tiny grin. “This discussion would probably be more comfortable for you if you wore clothes,” he said, reminding Ethan that he was still standing stark naked, right in the middle of Café Anglais, with half the town peering in.
Flushing, Ethan shot John an embarrassed look, which John ignored. “Here,” John said. “I brought you a spare pair of pants and a shirt to wear from downstairs.” Handing them over, John gestured for Ethan to head upstairs, which the embarrassed young shifter did, fairly rapidly.