Perfect Mate

by Jennifer Ashley

  Nell’s palm sweated where she clutched the phone. She knew Cormac had heard every word, Shifter hearing being what it was—not that Brody was being quiet.

  “Don’t worry yet,” Nell said. “There’s no reason anything should have happened.”

  Even as she said it, her heart squeezed with fear. Human hunters were allowed to hunt and kill un-Collared Shifters for bounty, and sometimes they didn’t bother checking whether the Shifter they’d caught had a Collar or not.

  Then again, most hunters went out to the wild places, where feral Shifters were more likely to be found eking out an existence. Hunters didn’t hang around parking lots of dance clubs in the middle of the city.

  “Who’s there with you?” Nell asked.

  “Jace, for now. Looks like Graham and that girl he likes, plus a couple of his Lupines. I don’t see anyone ranking except Graham and Jace.”

  “Well, don’t raise the alarm for now. We can’t start a major panic and then find out Shane’s in a broom closet making out with his latest conquest.”

  “I know. But I thought I should tell you, even though I know you’re . . . busy.”

  “I’m not writhing in a naked sexual frenzy, Brody.”

  “Goddess, Mom, please don’t talk about naked sexual frenzies. I’m upset enough about Shane without that picture in my head.”

  “Tough. I have a life. But my cubs come first. I’ll be right there.”

  “No, no.” Brody’s words came in swift distress. “You don’t have to. I’ll find him. Don’t interrupt your date. I just thought you’d want to know.”

  “Why do you assume I’m on a date? I could have dumped Cormac by the side of the road and be home alone in a bubble bath.”

  “I know you didn’t, because I saw how you were looking at him when you two were dancing.” He raised his voice a little. “Good job, Cormac.”

  Cormac leaned over Nell’s shoulder. “Thank you. I’ll come back with her. I think you’re right that we need to find Shane.” He looked at Nell, his blue eyes close. “Even if he’s only making out in a broom closet.”

  “No, really . . .” Brody began.

  “We’re coming,” Nell said firmly, and clicked off the phone. She looked up at Cormac, who hadn’t moved an inch. “Sorry.”

  “You’re right. Cubs come first.”

  “Shane’s a hundred years old and bigger than I am. When am I going to believe he can take care of himself?”

  Cormac slid an arm around her waist. “Not until he’s taking care of you.” He kissed her cheek. “Come on. I’ll drive you down.”

  Chapter Six

  A light snow had fallen while they’d been in the cabin, and white dusted the roads. Cormac took it slowly, the narrow ribbon of road with its hairpin turns and no guardrail at times heart-stopping.

  They made it back to the main road, the snow vanishing as they wound down to the desert floor. The air was still cold when they made the turn to 95, but less icy.

  The parking lot at Coolers was still full. The place closed at two, and it was one thirty, but Shifters would linger until the last minute, before taking their party back to Shiftertown.

  Brody came out the front door when Cormac pulled up before it. The bouncer—tonight a large Lupine who worked for Graham—watched as Brody half-dragged, half-helped Nell from the truck.

  “I seriously can’t find him, Mom. And yes, I checked the broom closets.”

  “I never saw him leave,” the bouncer said. “Ma’am.”

  “Let’s not panic,” Nell said, adjusting her wrap. “We’re talking about Shane. He’s not stupid.”

  She walked inside past the bouncer as Cormac roared off to park the truck. The club was still going strong—plenty of dancers, loud music, and Shifters at the bar.

  After the safe, snug cabin alone with Cormac, the weight of all the people crashed into Nell’s senses. Too many sights, scents, sounds. She wanted to find a nice quiet den somewhere and hole up to think about what had just happened with Cormac.

  She kept walking, scanning the dark crowd, hoping she’d spot her tall oldest son dancing in slow interest with a female. She knew that Brody would have been thorough, though, or he wouldn’t have called.

  Nell smelled wolf before she saw him—Graham, the leader of the large group of Lupines who’d joined their Shiftertown in November.

  “Haven’t seen him,” Graham said before Nell could speak. “We’ve all looked. Brody’s pretty sure he didn’t leave with a woman.”

  “What if he left with a man?” the young woman who’d walked up to Graham’s side asked. She had brown hair in a French braid and wore a dress similar to Nell’s, except it was bright red. Graham slid an arm around her waist, and the Lupines who had approached with Graham subtly widened the space between themselves and the young woman.

  Graham answered, “If you mean Shane decided he’s gay, I doubt it.”

  “I meant, maybe he didn’t necessarily leave for nookie,” the girl—Misty—said. “People can talk to each other without having sex.”

  Graham grunted a laugh. “People, sure. Shifters, not always. Mating frenzies hit hard.”

  Misty shrugged. “Still, you should find out who he was talking to before he left. Maybe he went off to another bar to play pool with someone.”

  Brody heaved a long sigh. “I thought of that. I’ve been asking. No one noticed. I didn’t notice.”

  Nell sensed a tingling warmth at her back, and she looked over her shoulder, expecting Cormac to be right behind her.

  No, he’d only walked in the front door. Holy Mother Goddess. She felt his presence all the way across a crowded room, over blaring music, and above the scents of Shifters who’d been sweating on the dance floor. Nell was aware of every step Cormac took from the door to her, the tingle growing the nearer he came.

  Bad sign. Very bad sign.

  Cormac stopped an inch behind Nell and slightly to her right, his warmth encompassing her. His position would let him easily move in front of her to block an attack by Graham, or swing around to guard her back if necessary. Protective and efficient.

  The significance of his stance wasn’t lost on Graham, who raised his brows and looked at Cormac then Nell with new assessment.

  “Get them to close the club a little early,” Cormac suggested. “Easier to look for Shane if the place empties out.”

  “You want to tell Shifters and Shifter groupies that they have to go home early?” Graham asked, his voice a grating rumble. “You value your life?”

  “If they think Shane might be in trouble, they can help,” Cormac said. “Recruit them to look.”

  Nell adjusted her wrap, Cormac making her too warm. “Shane will be so embarrassed.”

  “Better embarrassed than dead,” Cormac said. “Did anyone call Eric?”

  Brody shook his head. “I didn’t want to bother him if it turned out to be nothing.”

  Graham glowered down at them, but he didn’t growl that he was as good as Eric, that they didn’t need the Feline. The fact that Graham didn’t snarl and complain worried Nell. When things mattered, Graham took the chip off his shoulder and got the job done. Which meant that Graham was concerned about Shane too.

  “I got this.” Jace, Eric’s full-grown son, pushed past them and wove his way to the sound system. A moment later, he was standing on the small stage, microphone in hand. The music died away, the lights came on, and Shifters and humans looked up from the shadows, blinking.

  “Hey,” Jace said.

  The Shifters began to growl and mutter, but Jace stared back at them without worry. His stance was as easygoing as his father’s, and his presence started to fill the room. Nell felt it as the Shifters quieted, watching him—the need to notice this man, young as he was, and find out what he wanted them to do.

  “I’m looking for Shane.” Jace’s tone said both We’r
e all friends here and Shut up and listen at the same time. “I want everyone to look at the person beside them and check that it’s not Shane. And then leave—slowly. And if you see Shane on your way out, tell him his mom’s looking for him.”

  Soft laughter rippled over the crowd, but they obeyed him.

  Jace had them filing out without rushing or snarling. Nowhere did Nell see Shane.

  Once the club was empty, and the humans who worked there started closing for the night, Jace returned to Nell. “We can sweep the place for scent now.”

  He broke them into several groups—Graham with Misty to check the front, the Lupine bouncer to help Jace check the far reaches of the parking lot. Brody would take the rooms inside the club, and Cormac and Nell would check outside the back door.

  “He’s going to be challenging his father for leadership one day,” Graham said as Jace took off to search. He showed his teeth in a cold smile. “I want to be there to watch.”

  “I’ll make sure you have a front-row seat,” Nell said. “For now, can we find my son? I hope we do embarrass him. He can work it off for the next twenty years.”

  Cormac said nothing as he led her away to start their search. Nell found his silence comforting. No condescending reassurances—no We’ll find him, don’t worry. Cormac knew they wouldn’t have emptied out the club to comb it for scent if everything was fine.

  The hall that led to the back door behind the kitchen was full of conflicting odors. The human workers and many Shifters had been this way, and one of the humans had dragged a large amount of garbage out here.

  Cormac opened the heavy back door and led the way outside. The frigid air struck Nell, seeming even colder after the overheated club than it had on the snowy mountain.

  Plenty of people had come this way as well, including the human with the garbage. The scent trail of bathroom and bar trash blazed brightly to the Dumpster, so brightly that Nell had to turn away from its obvious path and concentrate on the less intense scents.

  Cormac crouched down and examined something on the broken asphalt. A feeble light above the back door didn’t help much.

  “What is it?” Nell asked.

  “Not sure.” Cormac stood up and scanned the now mostly empty parking lot. “I’m going to go bear. I can scent better.”

  “Makes sense.”

  “Want to join me?”

  “No,” Nell said. Her bear wasn’t as sensible as Nell in human form, at least when it came to males. She might find Cormac irresistible and do something stupid like agree to curl up with him for the rest of her life. “I can think better in this form.”

  “Suit yourself. But I bet I’d love your bear.”

  “Don’t say I’ll be sexy.”

  Cormac’s grin widened. “I’ll keep it to myself then.”

  He toed off his boots as he spoke, then stripped out of his leather coat and shirt beneath. He didn’t flinch from the January air, but unbuckled his pants and slid them off, letting his underwear follow.

  He was breathtaking. Nell didn’t pretend not to look as Cormac straightened to his full height under the yellowish glow of the back-door light. Shadows played on his tall, naked body, and the light glistened on his unshaved whiskers and dark hair. He was a beautiful man, full of strength.

  Cormac stretched his arms above his head, and let his bear take over.

  ***

  Cormac always wondered how humans could stand seeing the world from only one perspective. Maybe that’s why they had such short lives, and why so many lived those short lives in misery. Wouldn’t hurt humans to be able to see things from an animal’s point of view once in a while.

  The power of the bear flowed through him, giving Cormac confidence in strength. He was very aware of Nell standing near him in her slinky dress under the weak light. Aware of the warmth of her, and the scent of a woman who’d found pleasure this night.

  The light haloed her, as though the Mother Goddess touched her. His bear didn’t feel the erotic connection to her as he had in human form, but Cormac saw to the heart of her—a strong woman who’d endured much and yet never let it break her.

  He wanted to spend the rest of his life with her.

  But if something had truly happened to Shane, Nell would spend the rest of that life grieving. Cormac could not let that happen.

  He butted Nell with his head, and she gave his back a stroke. She didn’t hide what was in her eyes, which she tried to do when they were both in human form. She was scared, and she was vulnerable, but she was also determined.

  Cormac put his head down to sniff what had puzzled him. At Nell’s feet, the patch of asphalt had long since broken and never been repaired. In the dry gravel, he’d scented a drop of something he couldn’t place.

  His bear nostrils widened as he sniffed, and gravel dust went up his nose. He sneezed, but in that moment, he understood the scent.

  Tranquilizer.

  The tiniest drop, which might have fallen from a hypodermic. A shot from a tranq rifle might be heard, even over the din of the club. But someone coming up to an unsuspecting Shane and sticking a needle into him—that would make no noise. The perpetrator could have done it in the hall, or right here outside the back door.

  And then what? Cormac lifted his head and scanned the parking lot. Once that human or Shifter had tranqued Shane, he or she would have to lug Shane’s unconscious body out to a vehicle to get him away. Someone would have seen him do that.

  Or would anyone have? If the tranq had only had enough juice to put Shane mostly out, then Shane would stumble around like he was drunk, not unusual at a bar, even if it took a lot to get Shifters drunk. Any observers in the parking lot would assume they were seeing a human or Shifter taking home a blotto Shane.

  Not that anyone had reported seeing them, but witnesses might have gone home before Brody had become alarmed, and therefore wouldn’t know there’d been need to report it.

  Cormac lowered his head and snuffled around again. There were many footprints and many scents, but now that he was in bear form, he could take the time to sort them out.

  Nell waited beside him while he worked. Her warmth gave him an anchor, and his human senses, buried deep, observed that the view of her legs wasn’t bad either.

  Not far from the back door, Shane’s scent suddenly unfolded from the others, a layer that smelled a bit like Nell, even more like his brother Brody. The scent held the fiery hint of Shifter bear, and a bite that was all Shane’s own.

  Now to figure out where the scent went.

  He felt Nell come alert. “Have you got him?” she asked.

  Cormac grunted. He very carefully traced Shane from the scent pool, in a line that moved from the back door toward the Dumpster. Cormac followed, one step at a time. The trail of the garbage was cloying and distracting. Cormac closed his eyes and forced himself to focus on Shane alone.

  If someone had put him into the Dumpster . . . No, the trail moved beyond that.

  A vehicle had been parked behind the garbage containers. Cormac smelled exhaust and oil, a drip of antifreeze. The car or truck had been parked here, away from the bulk of the parking lot, in a place with easy access to the alley that ran behind the club. Whether the driver had understood that stopping the truck near garbage would confuse the scent, Cormac couldn’t tell.

  Cormac inhaled at a spot on the pavement where he calculated the driver’s side door might have been, then moved from there in an expanding circle, nose to the ground. Nell walked next to him, carefully keeping her heeled shoes out of the noisome puddles around the trash containers.

  He caught scent of someone else, froze. Wait . . .

  Cormac lifted his head. The scent was familiar. Wasn’t it? No, he couldn’t place it.

  Cormac stretched his body, willed himself to rise again to his human form, muscles and sinews crackling.

  “What?” Nell
demanded.

  “Shane was tranquilized and brought out here to a car or small truck. By a human.” Cormac inhaled again. “I swear I’ve smelled the human before.”

  “Where?”

  Cormac knew what she meant. He guided her to stand where the vehicle had been and kept his hand on her arm as she inhaled. Nell tested the cold scents a good long time before she shook her head.

  “No one I recognize.”

  “But it’s familiar.”

  “Lots of humans come to this club. Maybe we brushed by them on the dance floor.”

  Cormac thought about that, playing over his scent memory of the night. The problem was, he’d filled every one of his senses with Nell, especially on the dance floor—her warmth, her scent, the feeling of her body against his.

  Cormac still scented her on himself. He took a step closer, right against her back, and wrapped his arms around her.

  “I can’t remember,” Nell said. He heard the tears in her voice.

  “It will come.”

  Cormac closed his eyes, not fighting his need to melt into her. Fighting the senses only clouded them.

  They stood together, locked as one, comfort and need twining them. Nell’s scent filled him again, covering the stench of the garbage, and everything else but Shane and the . . . Ah.

  Cormac opened his eyes. “He was here. In the club with us. The guy at the next table.”

  Nell’s eyes also came open, and she looked up and back at him. “I remember. He was sitting alone, and Shane bumped into him. Nearly spilled his beer. Please don’t tell me he’s out for revenge because a Shifter almost spilled his beer.”

  “I don’t think so. This was well planned. The guy didn’t just happen to have a syringe full of tranquilizer in his pocket.”

  “But why Shane?” Nell’s voice rose toward panic. “Or is he a hunter who’ll take any Shifter?”

  “Hunting Collared Shifters is highly illegal. Even the human cops wouldn’t look the other way for that. Too touchy.”