So he let go of the control on his cat.
Solid black fur erupted over his skin, and a few seconds later, his perspective changed as he landed on four paws. He shook his tattered clothes free and took advantage of the seconds of shock from his shift. He aimed for the neck, but Dumber recovered too quickly and dodged, so the claw swipe only grazed the skin instead of causing the damage they’d hoped.
All three backed up briefly, moving around him, obviously reevaluating. Quincy’s tail twitched and ears flattened as he considered the cats still in human form in front of him. He couldn’t hold back the growl in his throat completely, but he managed to subdue it a little. He didn’t need to alert the entire neighborhood and bring humans into the fight.
The only warning he got next was a quick glance Dee gave to Dumber. It wasn’t quite enough—or they just worked together too much and too well—because though Quincy managed to dodge the worst of their fists and feet, he couldn’t avoid them entirely.
In jaguar form, however, he could jump better than them, so he managed to leap clear, though the only direction he could to go was farther into the alley. Not that he should be going out of the alley in that form, or naked if he shifted back. Damn the secrecy laws, right then. Damn them to the underworld.
With a soft growl, he prowled to one side, then the other, looking for any opening he could. But it seemed they’d had enough of waiting for him. It did take them longer to shift than it took Quincy, just long enough for him to get a good swipe at all of them, but not enough to do any more real damage. And before he was ready for it, he faced three huge spotted cats.
Fucking hell. I really should have stayed in the hotel.
He briefly considered trying to jump for the fire escape, but he’d have to shift back first, and as fast as he was, he didn’t think he had time.
Dee, Dumb, and Dumber apparently were tired of playing with their prey. They moved in at once, and despite his best defense, Quincy knew he wasn’t getting out alive. He didn’t understand why they’d kill him, had been so sure they’d were there to take him back, but in the end, it didn’t matter.
He swiped, used his teeth and claws—front and back—dodged, did everything he could think of, but three against one—even against a tepey-sa, was too much. He lost track for a moment of claws and teeth and flying fur, of growls and the alley. He could fight, but he didn’t like to, and right then, he sincerely regretted not practicing more.
He also regretted not spending more time with Miles.
A final harsh set of claws nearly slicing open his underbelly sent him crashing to the ground. He tried to stand, but one of the cats—he couldn’t tell them apart in that form—stood on his hind leg, and the excruciating pain nearly drowned out the loud crack! of his leg breaking. They weren’t satisfied with one, though. They made sure there was no way he was getting up anytime soon.
As Quincy lay struggling to breathe through wetness in his lungs, they shifted back. Dee crouched over Quincy, reaching out, and petting his head. “This was just a warning. You will come back. You will take your place. And you will cooperate. Or next time we won’t go so light.”
Quincy was glad he was in cat form and unable to speak. He didn’t know what he’d have said back, but whatever it was would only have earned him more broken ribs or something possibly worse. He could do nothing but lay there, fight to breathe through the pain, and watch them climb the fire escape and disappear over the rooftops.
He stared at the moon, struggling for the strength to shift, which would start his healing. He was positive they hadn’t left him for dead. They knew he’d heal. It would be excruciating until he did, but he’d heal. No, they wanted him scared.
All it did was piss him off.
HE DIDN’T remember closing his eyes, but he wished he had. He might have avoided a whole mess of trouble when he opened them again.
He couldn’t have been out too long. The moon hadn’t gone very far; maybe an hour at most had passed. He struggled to move, and that’s when he realized he was back in human form. Better if someone found him, at least as far as secrecy was concerned, but he healed better in cat form. Shifting once to human, then back to cat would have been even better, but that obviously wasn’t happening.
Quincy took a quick inventory. His legs were both still broken, as was one of his arms. He was sure at least half a dozen ribs were broken as well. He groaned as he tried to move again, but nothing seemed to be obeying his orders.
A siren’s wail split the night, much too close for comfort, bringing a curse from Quincy. If someone saw him and called an ambulance… how the fuck was he supposed to handle this? He needed to get going, get away.
He closed his eyes and tried to summon his jaguar, but he was too injured and they were both too exhausted. Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck. With a long groan, then sharp cry, he managed to get himself onto his back, only to see the huge still-bleeding gashes across his chest and stomach. He couldn’t even look at his legs. He could feel well enough how bad they were.
Bastet, give me strength. Thoth, I need your wisdom.
Neither deity seemed willing to listen. Unlucky day, indeed.
A moment later, the lights from the ambulance filled the tiny alley as it came to a stop at the end. Paramedics Quincy couldn’t quite make out—his glasses, he was sure, were shattered and lost by now—jumped out of the vehicle and ran to the back. Bastet, what do I do?
But no wisdom came from his patron deity, and before he could come up with anything on his own, the paramedics approached him.
“Hey, what happened here?”
Oh, I don’t know, I just got jumped by three jaguar shifters intent on taking me back to my father to take my place as heir to the leadership of our pride, which I didn’t want to do. So they beat me up and left me like this.
Instead, Quincy croaked, “Fight.”
He had to give the paramedic credit. Despite the “duh” he could see on the man’s face, it was kept unvoiced. “And what—or who—did you fight?”
“Um… don’t… know.” It was getting harder to speak, and the pain threatened to pull him under again. “Don’t… don’t need help. I’ll be—”
“Don’t even try,” the paramedic said, shaking his head.
Quincy was oddly and momentarily transfixed by the lights reflecting off the dark, shiny skin of the man’s bald head. Fuck. Not good. Bastet! Really could use some help about now….
“Can you give me your name?”
Quincy thought fast, though he guessed it wouldn’t matter if he gave his real name. The assholes weren’t going to do more to him yet. They’d left their message and would leave him to heal to follow orders—or not. And if he was going to have to go to a hospital… but was that the right thing to do? Shit. Did he have any other choice? Aside from Dee, Dumb, and Dumber, he was the only cat in town. The only one he knew of who knew anything about shifter physiology was the one person he shouldn’t see, should not draw attention to.
“Quincy,” he spat out, though his ribs hurt like hell and he was pretty sure he’d punctured a lung. He didn’t think he had many more words in him, at least for now. He’d heal, even in human form, but it would take a while and be a bitch in the meantime.
“Do you have a hospital preference?” the guy asked as they eased the board under him.
He bit his lip to keep in the scream as they shifted him. No matter how gently or carefully they did, it felt like he was being ripped apart. Bastet, let me be doing the right thing, he prayed one more time, then, before he could change his mind, said, “Presby. My… partner. Dr. Miles Grant.”
More from Grace R. Duncan
Forbes Mates: Book One
Finley Cooper is tired of waiting for his destined mate to be ready to claim him. In deference to human laws, he’s already agreed to wait until he’s eighteen. But now his birthday has come and gone—and his mate has a new set of excuses. Finley doesn’t understand it any more than his wolf does, and he’s beginning to wonder if fate mad
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Tanner Pearce wants nothing more than to claim his mate, but he worries that Finley is too young. Tanner will never forget what happened when his best friend mated at Finley’s age, only to have that mate end up feeling trapped and breaking their bond. While rare, it can happen, and the fallout Tanner witnessed as his best friend tried to deal with the break has haunted him for years.
When Finley finally has enough, he threatens to find someone who will claim him if Tanner doesn’t, and Tanner realizes he needs to come to terms with his fears or risk losing his mate forever.
Malcolm Tate hung up his flogger when his submissive sought out another Dom and landed in the hands of a serial killer. Convinced his lack of dominance sent his sub away, Mal has spent two years blaming himself for what happened. But when his best friend finally convinces him to go back to the local dungeon, Mal’s grateful. Especially when he wins beautiful, submissive, firmly closeted Kyle Bingham in a charity slave auction.
College grad Kyle hasn’t earned enough to move out of the loft his conservative, homophobic parents bought, much less to buy any of the other things still in their name. When he’s won at auction by the hot, amazing Mal, he’s shocked that anyone would want him. No one else seemed to—not his parents, his former Doms, or any of his disastrous dates.
But Mal does want him and Kyle lets his guard down, only to be outed to his parents. With his world crashing down, he must find a way to trust Mal—and their developing relationship—or risk losing everything.
Pandemus Chronicles: Book Two
When Duncan stumbles into a pharmacy in search of something to fix his broken leg, he’s surprised to find someone else there. Like the rest of the post-pandemic world, it appeared empty. Instead, he discovers Mark, a former nurse who walked away from his profession after losing too many patients to the virus. Despite swearing he’d never practice medicine again, Mark patches Duncan up over Duncan’s protests. He even finds an abandoned house in the tiny town, and they settle in until Duncan heals enough to look out for himself. Much to the chagrin of both, they find themselves caring for each other.
Duncan welcomes it, thrilled at finding someone he can trust. However, he’s well aware of the shadows in Mark’s eyes and understands Mark’s reticence as he learns the story. But as he’s starting to do things for himself again, Duncan realizes he doesn’t want Mark to leave. He’s not sure if can get Mark to let go of his fears so they can stay together and love. But Duncan’s damned sure going to try.
Patrick has taken his acting talents from high school all the way to a role in a major television show. But as the show progresses, his life of absolute certainties crumbles when he finds himself reacting to the kisses of his male costar. He refuses to accept it, reminding himself he’s married and a father—and thus, straight.
One night he goes to drink his worries away, meets Chance Dillon, and can’t take his eyes off the man. After having a little too much alcohol, he spills his problem to Chance, who helps him realize there’s something other than gay and straight. Patrick’s new understanding of his bisexual identity helps him sleep better—until the next day, when he discovers Chance is a sound technician on the same set.
As their friendship grows and Patrick’s marriage ends, he recognizes a possibility for much more with Chance. But Patrick isn’t ready to be out the way Chance has been for so long, and when the matter is taken out of Patrick’s hands, he pushes Chance away to spare him the mess Patrick’s life has become. By the time he realizes his mistake, it may be too late.
When Kane Harris’s world turns upside down, his lifelong best friend is the only one to catch him.
Years ago, Ian Kelly accepted Kane would never return his love, since he knows Kane believes he’s incapable of it. Ian is willing to settle for what he can get—a best friend, sometimes casual lover, and occasional submissive. He’s learned he can’t live without Kane, but he can’t let Kane know. Because when, not if, Kane confirms that Ian’s love will never be returned, Ian won’t be able to take it. But when Kane loses his job and asks Ian to step up their play to help him deal, Ian’s ability to hide his feelings falters. Then Kane starts his own computer security firm and asks Ian to join him, and Ian struggles further.
It’s not until they visit the exclusive BDSM club the Iron Door that things come to a head. Kane screws up big time, and he’s afraid he can’t fix it. He’s sure he’ll lose his best friend, his Dom, his everything… forever.
Readers love Devotion by Grace R. Duncan
“Shifter fans are going to flock to this one of course, but there is so much more to the story.”
—MM Good Book Reviews
“I really, really loved this book. It was awesome… I devoured this from start to finish.”
—The Blogger Girls
“The devotion in their story was beyond and shifter fans will enjoy this story.”
—Inked Rainbow Reviews
“This is a sweet little shifter story (one of my favorite genres) and I enjoyed it…”
—Hearts on Fire
“Devotion is a gem. It’s sensual yet sweet and left me craving book two…”
—3 Chicks After Dark
GRACE R. DUNCAN grew up with a wild imagination. She told stories from an early age—many of which got her into trouble. Eventually, she learned to channel that imagination into less troublesome areas, including fanfiction, which is what has led her to writing male/male erotica.
A gypsy in her own right, Grace has lived all over the United States. She has currently set up camp in East Texas with her husband and children—both the human and furry kind.
As one of those rare creatures who loves research, Grace can get lost for hours on the Internet, reading up on any number of strange and different topics. She can also be found writing fanfiction, reading fantasy, crime, suspense, romance, and other erotica, or even dabbling in art.
Website: www.grace-duncan.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/GraceRDuncan2
Twitter: @gracerduncan
E-mail: [email protected]
By Grace R. Duncan
Beautiful boy
No Sacrifice
Turning His Life Around
FORBES MATES
Devotion
Patience
GOLDEN COLLAR SERIES
Choices
Coronation
Deception
PANDEMUS CHRONICLES
Celebrating You
Healing
Published by DREAMSPINNER PRESS
www.dreamspinnerpress.com
Published by
DREAMSPINNER PRESS
5032 Capital Circle SW, Suite 2, PMB# 279, Tallahassee, FL 32305-7886 USA
www.dreamspinnerpress.com
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of author imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Patience
© 2016 Grace R. Duncan.
Cover Art
© 2016 Reese Dante.
http://www.reesedante.com
Cover content is for illustrative purposes only and any person depicted on the cover is a model.
All rights reserved. This book is licensed to the original purchaser only. Duplication or distribution via any means is illegal and a violation of international copyright law, subject to criminal prosecution and upon conviction, fines, and/or imprisonment. Any eBook format cannot be legally loaned or given to others. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the Publisher, except where permitted by law. To request permission and all other inquiries, contact Dreamspinner Press, 5032 Capital Circle SW, Suite 2, PMB# 279, Tallahassee, FL 32305-7886, USA, or www.dreamspinnerpress.com.
ISBN
: 978-1-63476-761-3
Digital ISBN: 978-1-63476-762-0
Library of Congress Control Number: 2015921055
Published March 2016
v. 1.0
Printed in the United States of America
Table of Contents
Blurb
Dedication
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Epilogue
Exclusive Excerpt
Chapter 1
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