by Tonya Brooks
"After."
Jett led his mate into his bedroom, and she stared at it in open mouth shock. That was understandable since his bed was actually a ten by ten sunken pit filled with purple velvet cushions that dominated the space. His pride were lounging among them and looked worn out from trying to entertain the crying cub.
"Ah-choo." Aylese sneezed, and the furball whirled toward the sound. Before anyone could stop him, the cub had clawed his way out of the bed and made a mad dash for his mother. The slick wood floors and lack of traction had him sliding sideways, claws extended and digging gouges as he tried to find purchase.
Jett scooped him up before he crashed into them and placed the cub securely into his mother's arms. His son proceeded to climb up to her shoulder, licking and nipping every inch of flesh he could reach as she hugged his furry little body. For the first time in his life, he knew what it meant to be envious.
"Hello, sweetheart," his mate crooned and buried her face in the cub's fur. "Yes, I missed you, too. Were you a good boy?"
Vivica snorted and muttered, "More like a demon spawn."
He shot her a warning glare as Jolene said, "The poor little thing hasn't stopped crying. He should be worn out, but he refused to go to sleep."
"Were you naughty, Justis?" His mate asked in a sing-song voice that should have sounded ridiculous, but he found himself smiling because it was just so fucking sweet. His heart seemed to swell with some heretofore unknown emotion as he watched her begin to rock his cub while saying nonsensical things to him.
Within a matter of minutes, the exhausted cub was asleep, safely cradled in his mother's arms. It was a beautiful thing, he realized. To witness a love so pure between a woman and her child. His mate was an excellent mother, and he'd happily give her as many cubs as she wanted. And anything else her heart desired.
"Ah-choo!" She placed a tender kiss on the cub's head and smiled at his pride. "Thank you for taking care of him," she told them gratefully. "Justis can be quite a handful."
"He's precious," Jolene replied with a wistful smile.
"He is," she agreed and adjusted the cub's position when he shifted back to his human form. Then she turned to face Jett with a frown and said in a tone far too serious for his liking, "We need to talk."
They did.
Preferably without distractions, so he suggested, "Leave the cub here so he can sleep." His mate looked torn before she nodded confirmation and walked over to the bed to hand the sleeping baby to Jolene. Jett led her into the dining area where she shot his plan for a nice, romantic dinner straight to hell.
"Thank you for taking care of Justis, but I'll be taking him with me when I leave," she informed him.
"The hell you will," he countered, incensed at the idea of her leaving.
"I cannot in good conscience leave him here," Aylese denied. "This is no place for a child, and you're obviously not fit to be a father."
That comment stung even if it was completely accurate. The Palace was an entirely unsuitable environment to raise a cub in. Even he knew that. And Jett wholeheartedly agreed that he had no idea how to be a father, but that didn't mean that he wasn't willing to try. And it hurt that she wasn't even willing to give him a chance.
"Nothing is more important to me than the happiness and well being of my cub and his mother," he assured her a bit stiffly.
As if realizing that she'd hurt his feelings, his mate's expression softened, and she laid her hand on his arm in a conciliatory gesture. Her gentle touch soothed his hurt feelings and the beast inside of him. His cat ached to feel her hands against his fur as much as Jett wanted them on his naked flesh.
"I'm sorry," she said in a contrite tone. "That was terribly rude, and I shouldn't have said it. My only excuse is that I haven't been myself lately. Please believe that I only want what's best for Justis."
"I never had a doubt about that, love," he assured her with a smile of pure pride. "My cub couldn't have a better mother."
"Mother?" She repeated blankly before her cobalt eyes grew round and her mouth fell open. Obviously, he had said something wrong because her eyes narrowed and she snatched her hand away. "You think I'm his mother? Jesus Christ. How many women have you slept with that you can't even remember which one of them had your child?"
Oh. Fuck. Jett thought that he had seen his mate pissed before, but right now she looked and sounded absolutely livid. With a fiery temper like that he had to wonder if she had a little dragon shifter in her. If she did, he'd be singed to ash in a minute because the woman looked ready to breathe fire.
Before he could form a response, because really, what the hell could he say in his defense, she sneezed and tore into him again. "Just to be clear," Aylese snapped and waved a hand between them. "There has never been, nor will there ever be, anything even remotely sexual between us."
He opened his mouth to vehemently protest that statement, but she cut him off with an announcement that shocked the hell out of him. "My sister is the mother of your child," she informed him bluntly. "She's the one you slept with. And in case you don't remember, her name is Harper Stone."
Jett was drawing a blank. He had no idea who Harper Stone was, but at this point, the last thing he needed to do was admit it. Not that his mate's opinion of him could sink any lower, because… Fucking hell. He'd slept with her sister. He had long ago discovered that women were awfully touchy about things like that.
A change in topic was needed, so he held up both hands in surrender. "You can yell at me after dinner," Jett informed her. "Right now you need to eat and build your strength back up. Justis needs you healthy." His mate looked as if she wanted to argue the point before she finally conceded with a curt nod and sat down at the table.
Now that he'd managed to buy some time, he might have a chance of coming up with a suitable defense. And figuring out who the hell her sister was. Fortunately, he knew just the man who could give him the information that he needed. "The staff will serve you, and I'll be back by the time you're finished."
"Ah-choo!"
***
Ryker didn't know when he'd been more amused.
Seeing his normally unflappable brother this agitated was a rare occurrence. Jett hadn't stopped prowling and growling long enough to realize that he was no longer alone. Since he'd been summoned in the middle of a winning hand of poker, the lion shifter wasn't in the mood to enlighten him either.
He sauntered over to sit on the sofa, lifted his feet atop the coffee table, stretched his arms out along the back and just enjoyed the spectacle before him. If this was what having a mate did, then he was glad that he'd never come across his. Then again, a woman like Aylese just might be worth the aggravation.
Deciding to be merciful, he drawled, "Are you going to pace or get to the point?"
Jett whirled to face the lion shifter and demanded, "How the fuck do you know my mate?"
"Aylese Delacort, better known as the Purity Princess is the CEO of Purity Pharmaceuticals. If you'd attend the damn fundraisers you would've met her before now because she's FERAL's largest benefactor," Ryker informed him dryly.
F.E.R.A.L. was an acronym for the Foundation for Endangered and Rare Animal Lives. Jett, Ryker and four other werecats had recognized that not only were their respective animal species on the decline but so were their shifter species. They had formed FERAL to help protect and promote the continuation of both.
"I saw her a few months ago, and the woman was not pregnant, Jett. She can't be the cub's mother," he added hesitantly.
"She's not. Harper Stone is," the other man practically snarled, and it was obvious that his cat was very close to the surface.
Ryker's brows rose at that startling announcement, and then the full implication of the situation hit him. He whistled softly and said, "You are so screwed, my friend."
"Ya think?"
"I know," he confirmed seriously. Aylese would never even consider dating a man that had slept with her sister, much less mate with him.
"My mate is
furious with me right now," Jett imparted. "She's threatening to leave and take the cub with her because she thinks I'm not fit to be his father."
This was not good. "Did you explain the situation to her?" He queried.
"Explain what?" The jaguar shifter demanded in frustration. "That I don't know her sister? She's already accused me of sleeping with so many women that I can't remember who they are so that would go over like a ton of lead."
Ryker pulled out his phone and Googled Harper Stone. Dozens of pictures of her being hauled away in handcuffs and a couple of mug shots came up. He chose one, rose and handed the phone to his brother. "Recognize her?"
The other man studied the picture intently before shaking his head. His expression grim, Jett replied, "Other than a resemblance to my mate, she doesn't look familiar at all."
"Not surprising," he admitted. "She's the black sheep of the family from what I've heard. Harper has a habit of jumping head first into one cause or another and worrying about the consequences later. Been arrested a few times for unlawful protests, demonstrations and such. She's an activist do-gooder, and her antics drive Aylese crazy."
"Which does nothing to explain how a woman I've never met had my cub," he bit out and resumed pacing.
"Have you considered asking her?"
"I would if I knew her," Jett snarled.
"I meant Aylese," he corrected. "She's the one who showed up on your doorstep with a baby in tow. A baby that belongs to her sister. She has to know something."
The other man paused his relentless prowling and frowned in concentration. "She was going to leave the cub with me," he recalled. "Because she said she needed psychiatric help."
"No doubt due to witnessing the cub shift," he deduced since the woman obviously did not believe such a thing was possible. Most humans didn't.
"Why the hell would she want to leave him with me?" He demanded in agitation. "Where the fuck is his mother?"
"All questions that only Aylese can answer," Ryker pointed out. "So why don't you go ask her?"
"Because she was practically breathing fire when I left," he admitted with a baleful expression. "Thought she was gonna go full-on dragon."
Ryker's expression became thoughtful as he considered that. "I've often wondered if she had a bit of fae blood. Never considered dragon shifter, though."
Now it was the other man's turn to look curious. "What made you think she was fae?"
"Her scent is… indescribable," he said for lack of a better word since the scent was like nothing he'd ever smelled before.
Amber eyes glowed as Jett bared his teeth and snarled, "She smells like mine."
A knock sounded at the door before it opened and Jolene poked her head in. "Sorry to interrupt, but we're gonna crash unless you need us."
The jaguar shifter whirled on his pride member to demand, "Who's watching the cub?"
"His mother said she was taking him home," she imparted as if he should have known that.
Jett skewered Ryker with a look before saying, "She wouldn't."
The woman he knew most certainly would take her nephew and leave without a word if she thought it was in the child's best interest. "She would," he confirmed and hastily followed his brother out of the office.
***
Just as soon as he left, Aylese went back into the room with the odd sunken lounging area and collected her nephew. There was no way in hell she was leaving Justis in this den of iniquity. Or with that man. Jett Black was obviously worse than his less than stellar reputation if he didn't even remember the women he'd slept with.
After thanking the group of stunningly beautiful women once again, she went to her room just long enough to locate her purse. As she'd hoped, the bedroom across the hall from hers overlooked the front of the house. She slipped out the French doors and looked up and down the empty driveway for her car.
Determining that there must be a parking area, she pressed the lock button on her key fob and heard the sound of her horn beep. Following the driveway around a bend in the direction of the sound, she was so focused on looking for her car that she didn't see the shadow until it separated from the darkness.
Jesus Christ, not the jaguar again!
Aylese breathed a sigh of relief when the shadow stepped into the light, and she realized that it was only a man. The sense of unease returned and was magnified tenfold when his voice slithered across the few feet that separated them. "Well, now. What have we here?" He asked. "A woman and a baby. Just what I was looking for."
The slightly sinister tone matched the lascivious expression on his face as he looked her up and down. The hair on the back of her neck rose, and she tightened her hold on Justis instinctively. "I was just leaving," she said and took a step to the right.
He moved with her, the smile growing more menacing as he shook his head. "The only place you're going is with me," he informed her.
"The hell I will," she denied and turned to run back toward the house. The man caught her and yanked her back against his body. One strong arm clamped around her waist like a manacle while the other hand wrapped around her throat with a bruising grip. Sheer terror filled her as a scream was choked off in her throat.
"I'm getting paid to take the brat back alive," his oily voice whispered in her ear. "No one said you had to be."
The brat? Someone was paying him to take Justis? Over her dead body! She tilted her chin down and then slammed her head back into his face as hard as she could. Pain exploded and stars danced before her eyes, but the unmistakable sound of cartilage breaking was worth it. The man bellowed with pain and let her go.
Aylese didn't bother looking back. She just ran like hell. The bastard was gaining on her. She could hear the thud of his footsteps getting closer. There was no way that she could outrun him in her heels, so she stopped and kicked her shoes off. "You stupid bitch," he thundered from right behind and grabbed her shoulder.
Keeping a firm hold on the baby with her left arm, she bent and snatched a shoe up with her right hand. Whirling around, she swung the sharp stiletto heel at the man behind her. He dodged the blow and shifted left, forcing her to change her stance as well. His bloody face appeared even more menacing than it had before.
When he faked moving to the right, she was ready for it and swung the pointed shoe heel at his head again. The bastard had good reflexes and ducked just in time. He grinned showing bloody teeth, and it was a macabre sight at best. "I'm gonna enjoy hurting you, bitch," he promised and lunged for her.
Aylese didn't move.
She couldn't.
Because she had seen the man coming up behind him morph into a cat. But this wasn't the cute, cuddly cat that her nephew changed into. No, this was a massive black beast with amber eyes that glowed. And teeth big enough to rip her in half. Her entire being focused on the jaguar as it bore down on them with astonishing speed.
As if it happened in slow motion, she watched as its muscles bunched and rippled before it pounced. Its massive body soared through the air with an earth-shattering roar. The big cat slammed into the man, the force of its weight taking her attacker to the ground with ease. The man screamed and flailed to no avail.
The jaguar locked its powerful jaws around the man's head and with one sickening crunch his movements ceased. She didn't have to be told that he was dead. The evidence lay unmoving before her. Except for one leg that was still twitching. Eep! The beast shook its kill savagely, and the movement stopped. Then it lifted its head and roared into the night sky.
She barely heard the dozens of roars that answered as the shoe fell from nerveless fingers and thunked against the concrete. Aylese wrapped both arms around the baby and squeezed him tightly to her chest as she stared in horror at the scene before her. Because the ferocious jaguar had just changed into Jerrett Black.
"Ah-choo!"
CHAPTER FOUR
Jett had lost complete control of his cat when he'd seen his mate in danger. The jaguar's only concern had been to protect what was his. By any means ne
cessary. The most expedient method had been to kill her attacker. Judging from the horrified look on her face, he'd screwed up again. "Aylese," he said soothingly and extended his hand toward her.
She gasped and jumped away from him, shaking her head in denial. "You… you…" she stammered on a choked sob. "He… he's d… dead."
"He is," Jett confirmed in the gentlest of tones. "He can't hurt you now, love."
"You… I saw…" Aylese drew a shuddering breath and managed to say, "You were the… the cat."
"I was. I am," he agreed. "We discussed this. I can change just like Justis."
His mate's mouth fell open as she stared down at the baby sleeping in her arms. She paled to ash and shook her head. "It's not real," she breathed. "People can't… they can't…"
"Humans can't," he clarified. "But Justis and I are werecats, love. Part human, part jaguar. We can shift between our human and animal forms at will."
"That's not… possible," she denied.
"You've seen it happen," he reminded gently.
"I'm insane," Aylese insisted and sneezed.
"No, love. You're not," he assured her calmly. "What you saw was real. You need to accept the truth and stop doubting yourself."
Her gaze drifted back to the man lying prone on the ground, and Jett moved to block her view of the grisly reminder. "You killed him," she said in a shocked tone.
"My cat did it to protect you and the cub," he confessed. "It was instinctual."
His mate nodded but didn't look convinced. "Ryker said it was tame."
"My cat would never hurt you or the cub," he assured her. "But nothing will stop him from protecting his family."
"Just like in the wild," she acknowledged absently.
"Yes, but my cat isn't wild. I can control him," Jett assured her. "I can hear his thoughts, and he can hear mine."
"But… you let him kill that man," she protested.
"Protecting our family is instinctual for both man and beast," Jett admitted and took a step closer. He was pleased when his mate didn't try to retreat again. "There is nothing that either of us would not do to keep you and our cub safe, Aylese."