Iron Master

by Jennifer Ashley

  Fae and Shifter were supposed to be completely different, so boasted the Fae, the Shifters animals far inferior to the perfection of the Fae.

  Bullshit. Peigi was a beautiful woman, Reid a man, didn’t matter which side of the genetic coin they came from. They fit together, they felt, they needed exactly the same. As Reid needed her now.

  She was everything to him, a balm to his soul. Reid had gone from lonely guilt to being at ease with himself for the first time in decades, all because of this woman.

  Peigi made a noise in her throat. She slid her hands down his back, and his thoughts fled. Sensation took over—her fingers at his waistband, her breasts against his chest, her spectacular kiss he hoped would never end …

  Wanting gouged him, the longing that woke him in the night. He’d be hard, the enraging frustration that she was just down the hall, quietly sleeping, destroying him. She’d make a soft sound, as though enjoying her dreams, her skin scented with the winter tea fragrance.

  Stuart imbibed her fragrance now as he kissed her, their mouths fitting exactly as he drank her in …

  “Oops.” Dimitri’s good-natured voice broke through the fire. “I’ll j-just … wait inside.”

  Reid heard Dimitri’s footsteps retreat. Again, Peigi didn’t jump away, or gasp, or act ashamed. She pulled back a tad and brushed her fingers across Reid’s cheek, her eyes shining.

  “I guess we’d better go,” she whispered.

  Shit. Reid reluctantly released her, and Peigi turned away without awkwardness, as though they’d merely been chatting. Reid caught her hand. Peigi glanced back, inquiring.

  “Later.” Reid coughed, his voice hoarse. “We’re going to talk.”

  “Of course.” Her smile blossomed. “We’ll have a nice discussion.”

  He couldn’t tell if she teased or was serious. Peigi surprised him with her humor but it sometimes left Reid baffled. Dokk alfar could be wild partiers, but Shifters infused everything with teasing that bewildered him.

  Peigi’s fingers drifted from his and she walked into the house, her body swaying in her natural gait. When the door closed, Reid turned to the railing and leaned heavily on it, dragging in breath after breath. His cock was rock hard and not about to go down anytime soon.

  “Son of a bitch,” he whispered, a growl of frustration escaping.

  Wind chimes rang and the rose vines vibrated, Reid could swear in sympathy.

  Peigi hadn’t packed party clothes, not that she owned any, but it didn’t seem to matter at this Shifter club. Her jeans and sweatshirt weren’t out of place, she saw as they walked in.

  Most Shifters dressed casually, though a few Shifter women wore slinky dresses or skin-tight pants. The only people who truly dressed up were the groupies, in their fake ears, painted on whiskers, and clothes that bared skin. A few had tied on tails, though they had to hold them up to dance on the crowded floors.

  Dimitri had driven them to New Orleans in the semi, which they’d parked several blocks away, approaching the club on foot. The four had decided, after a confab, that if Shifter Bureau or police lurked, they’d quietly go back to the house, but if not, the three Shifters would put on their fake Collars and blend in with the others.

  No official-looking guys were hanging around, so on went the Collars. Other Shifters would know they were Shifter without any problem, and not having Collars would attract attention. Peigi wanted to have fun tonight, not be noticed.

  A large Lupine Shifter guarded the door. “Angus, my old friend,” Dimitri called out as they approached.

  Angus, who wore a scowl over wolf-gray eyes, unbent a little and greeted Dimitri with a Shifter hug, Jaycee likewise. On their way from the house, Jaycee had told Peigi and Reid the entire tale of how Angus had helped her rescue Dimitri last year.

  Angus had a mate, she’d related, a fox Shifter. Peigi hadn’t known fox Shifters existed, but obviously they did, though they were extremely rare. She was there tonight, the red-haired young woman emerging from the darkness inside the door, greeting Jaycee with a warm smile and a delighted hello.

  They embraced, the smaller woman nearly engulfed by Jaycee. The woman emerged without harm and hugged Dimitri, then turned an interested face to Peigi.

  “Angus told me you were coming,” she said to Peigi as she led them deeper into the club, Angus returning to his door duty. “Well, Angus said maybe three words about it, which is all I had time to pry out of him. I’m Tamsin, by the way. Angus’s mate.”

  She said the words proudly. Tamsin had a pointed face and tawny eyes a similar color to Jaycee’s, but those eyes held a quick dart that spoke loudly of fox. Tamsin grinned at Peigi, as though understanding her curiosity.

  “We both have histories,” she said, slipping her arm through Peigi’s. “And I’d love to get to know you, and your dokk alfar friend, but first, we’re gonna dance the night away.”

  She pronounced dokk alfar exactly right, earning a startled glance from Stuart. Tamsin didn’t seem aware she’d done anything unusual, and herded them toward the dance floor.

  The club rose three stories, balconies ringing each floor. Each level was full of dancers and tables, waitresses hurrying up and down the iron staircase with trays of drinks.

  The human groupies stared with interest at Peigi, very obviously a bear, and Dimitri, with his red hair and gray wolf’s eyes. Jaycee earned a lot of attention from the men, and everyone’s gaze went to Stuart, trying to work out what he was. Stuart was the only one not in a Collar, and Peigi watched the humans conclude that he must be human too.

  The Shifters, on the other hand, scented Fae. They came alert, rising stiff-limbed, menace in their eyes.

  Tamsin kept hold of Peigi and slid her other arm through Stuart’s. “Don’t worry about them,” she said loudly over the music. “You’re under Angus’s protection.”

  Shifters heard her loud and clear. They subsided, if not happily. Angus must be widely respected.

  “And mine.” A tall black man broke from the crowd, a bottle of beer in his hand. “I’m Reg. Welcome.” He nodded at Peigi and then Reid, and turned to enfold Jaycee and then Dimitri in a Shifter hug.

  “See?” Tamsin said. “Reg is Angus’s best friend and the second of his Shiftertown. We’re one big, happy family. Well, it’s neutral ground anyway. Dance and have fun.”

  Tamsin released them with a grin then walked off with Reg, talking at him a mile a minute.

  “She’s interesting,” Peigi said to Stuart.

  “And smart,” Stuart said. “I watched her note the position of every single Shifter and their proximity to us before she made her announcement that we were friends of Angus. She knows how to plan. I’d like to have a conversation with her about it.” He sounded admiring.

  “How about we dance instead?”

  “Ah.” Stuart glanced at Dimitri and Jaycee, who had already waded into the crowd. They began dancing very close to each other, moving to the thumping beat. “I don’t dance.”

  “No?” Peigi swayed to the music, unable to help herself. The bass vibrated her body, urging her to join it. “Is it a dokk alfar thing?”

  “It’s a Stuart Reid thing. When dokk alfar dance, it’s a performance, not personal. And then it’s pretty crazy. Sometimes nude.”

  Peigi laughed in surprise. “I dare you.”

  Stuart shook his head swiftly. “No way in hell.”

  “I so need to see that.”

  “Uh-uh. Not tonight.”

  Peigi took his hands. “I get it. You’re shy. Okay, no nude crazy dancing. How about I dance, and you stand with me. Just shuffle your feet every now and then so people think you’re catching the groove.”

  Stuart got that expression on his face when he wasn’t sure she was joking. Peigi loved to mess with him—he brought out her sense of humor like no one else.

  The music swept her up, and Peigi danced.

  The release was incredible. Peigi’s body remembered moves from long ago, when she’d been young, happy, certain her l
ife would work out. Just past their Transitions, she and her friends would go to clubs and concerts and let themselves go. This was before Shifters were outed, and she could party to her heart’s content.

  Peigi whooped as her cares fell away, the years of worry, restraint, and downright terror. She’d lived in constant fear that one of Miguel’s un-Collared Shifters might decide to kill one of the women, the cubs, or her.

  She remembered the day she’d been rescued, Miguel fleeing, the warehouse where she’d been confined blown to smithereens. Reid had stood firmly as the warehouse went up in flames, his strong body silhouetted against the chaos. He’d escorted her to the plane when she could barely move, making sure no one was left behind.

  Because of this man, Peigi could rest easily and dance like she didn’t have a care. Because of a Fae, who understood her.

  Peigi danced close to Stuart and rested her hands on his hips, swaying against him. In spite of claiming he couldn’t dance, Stuart too caught the rhythm, keeping it slow, moving with Peigi in a circle that was all their own.

  His scent was of the earth and fresh wind, which never failed to make her blood tingle. While other Shifters smelled Fae when he came near them, Peigi was only aware of Stuart. The thought that other Shifter females in this bar might wake up to the fact that he was desirable made her growl.

  Stuart moved smoothly, his body melding with hers, the music rendering the two one. Peigi rested her head on his shoulder and breathed out, touching him with her warmth.

  Stuart gathered her close, unaware of what she did. Peigi would explain later, but the Shifters around them would know he was under her protection. Mine.

  The other Shifters got the message. By the time the song segued into another, the Shifter women around them were alert, but backing off.

  Peigi expected Stuart to want to sit the next song out, maybe have a drink. She smiled as he pulled her close again, and they continued their slow dance in the middle of the tumult.

  When they finally left the club, which kicked Shifters out before their curfew so they could get back to their Shiftertowns on time, Dimitri and Jaycee were giving Reid strange looks.

  Jaycee started to speak, but Peigi shook her head imperceptibly, and Jaycee closed her mouth. Dimitri appeared to be suppressing laughter with effort.

  Reid had no idea what Shifter thing they were discussing with their body language, but he’d have to ask Peigi later, when they reached the house and before she bedded down for the night … Or maybe they’d take a walk under the stars. They could talk, he could ask, and they could kiss, finishing what Dimitri had interrupted.

  “How about we ditch these and go to another club?” Dimitri tapped his Collar as they reached the semi, dark and alone on a side street. “Bars stay open for a while longer.”

  Reid had no intention of spending his time with Peigi trying to shout to her over extreme music while people around them got drunker and drunker. He’d seen enough of what alcohol and late nights did to people when he’d been a cop, and didn’t want Peigi around that.

  “Mind if we head back to the house?” Reid asked, as though he didn’t care what any of them did, really. “Peigi and I want to get an early start to head back to the cubs.”

  Dimitri pulled keys from his jacket pocket. “Can you drive a rig?”

  “I can, in fact.” Reid had driven as a trucker undercover once. He’d enjoyed it so much he’d toyed with the idea of giving up the police and hitting the road. Too bad his obsession with finding his way back to Faerie had stopped him.

  “All right then.” Dimitri tossed him the keys. “Jase and I will find another club. She can’t get enough of the dancing.”

  “Don’t have much opportunity,” Jaycee said, leaning into Dimitri. “And once this cub comes, we’ll be home all the time.”

  “Yeah, that will suck.” Dimitri’s smug expression betrayed the lie.

  “How will you get back if we take the truck?” Peigi asked in concern.

  “Let us worry about that. We have a lot of friends.” Dimitri pulled Jaycee to him and they began to walk away, Jaycee waving her farewells. Soft clinking sounds told Reid they were pulling off their Collars.

  Watching them, Reid wondered what it would be like to kick back and have friends and family, a simple existence. To hell with missions, obsessions, and high Fae czul who ruined his life over and over again.

  For the joy of it, he drew Peigi to him and kissed her.

  She softened in his arms, rising on tiptoe to kiss him back. Her warmth surrounded him, soothed him, spread contentment through him he’d never felt in his life.

  Reid parted her lips, letting the kiss turn deep. Peigi quietly laced her arms around his neck, relaxing against him. The New Orleans street grew quiet, Jaycee and Dimitri long gone, the tourists seeking other parts of town. Peigi and Reid were alone in the night, a moment for the two of them to kiss, touch, explore each other and the needs they’d bottled up for so long.

  Peigi’s mouth warmed him in the night, her hands roving his back. Reid slid his hand up her waist and cupped her breast, feeling its weight through her jacket and sweatshirt. Peigi made a noise in her throat and the kiss turned a little bit wild.

  Reid’s only warning was the smell. A foul odor assaulted him, and he pulled away from Peigi in time to see her eyes fill with terrible fear.

  Shifters melted from the shadows to surround them, most in human form, but some as animals—wolves, a slinking shadow that might be a leopard, two bears. No Collars glinted on their necks.

  One of the bears morphed into a huge man with mottled brown hair. One side of his face was scarred with old burns, and Stuart instantly recognized him.

  Shifters grabbed Reid before the bear-man seized Peigi by the hair, yanking her head back.

  “Hey, Peigi,” he growled and then smiled, showing pointed teeth. “Remember me? Your old mate?”

  Chapter Nine

  Reid fought with fury, but the Shifters were strong and numerous. And they seriously stank.

  “You’re not my mate,” Peigi shouted. She wrenched herself from the bear’s grip, tears glittering on her face. “My friends blew your compound all to hell. I considered that a break-up.”

  “That’s not how it works, baby.”

  Peigi balled her fists. “We never had the sun and moon, Miguel.” She punctuated her next words with competent punches at the bear-man. “I. Am. Not. Your. Mate.”

  He deflected her blows with some difficulty. “Name’s not Miguel anymore. It’s Michael.”

  She stopped. “Right, you changed it in Mexico, to blend in, you said. Because you’re an idiot.”

  Reid continued to battle. The Shifters were strong but Stuart knew how to fight dirty. The leopard went flying, yowling as it struck a brick wall. Reid got a kick into the wolf’s gut, and both elbows into the Shifters in human shape. Some were clothed, some naked, but Reid didn’t soften his blows for an opponent with bare skin. They’d just have to suck it up.

  Miguel—or Michael—had his arm around Peigi’s neck. She fought him hard, kicking and punching, her vehemence obviously surprising Michael. He must have expected the weak and willing mate he assumed her to be, not the kick-ass woman who pummeled him with all her bear strength.

  Reid fought his way to them. He’d break Michael’s neck, then he and Peigi would jump in the semi and blast their way out of here.

  He briefly toyed with the idea of teleporting Michael away, possibly releasing him off the edge of a cliff, but that would leave Peigi to fight the other … ten? … Shifters on her own. Reid didn’t hear Dimitri or Jaycee running back to help—Michael must have waited until the two were out of range to spring his trap.

  Reid could teleport Peigi to safety, but only if he could get his hands on her. That would leave Dimitri’s truck abandoned, but Peigi was far more important.

  Reid kicked and punched, backhanded and kicked again, trying to throw off the horde to reach her. Peigi shouted at Michael, spewing him with plenty of foul wor
ds as she punched him again and again.

  Out of the corner of his eye, Reid saw the flash of a huge black wolf running down the deserted street toward them, and the brighter smudge of a smaller animal behind him. Nice of them to try to help.

  Almost there. Reid kicked the leopard again, dislodging its claws from his flesh. The leopard bounced back, as leopards did, but it didn’t matter. Reid only needed an opening.

  He threw himself through the gap the tumbling leopard had left and launched himself at Peigi. He wrapped his mind over the first place he could think of, closed arms around Peigi, and willed himself there.

  Michael’s giant hands grabbed Reid’s shoulders at the same time, and he felt the drag of the man’s weight through the ley line and un-space, all the way to the haunted house.

  Peigi tried to scream as darkness and nothing squeezed her, but no air would come. She felt Reid’s protective arms around her, but she also smelled the stench of Miguel-Michael, and knew he was along for the ride.

  The haunted house loomed before them. Before Peigi could register it, they were inside, flying through the hall to the parlor as though they were insubstantial, coasting on a blast of wind.

  The house shook, shutters banging, the furniture jostling, the vines outside rattling so hard they almost drowned out the wind shrieking under the eaves.

  Peigi heard Michael say, What the fuck? the words filled with fear.

  A door appeared in the paneled wall, growing and forming before her eyes. She and Stuart and Michael zoomed toward it, passing a startled Ben, the three of them still incorporeal, like the ghosts people believed inhabited this house. The door banged open, revealing a blackness deeper than the most moonless night.

  Stuart’s muscles bunched, as though he tried to stop their mad flight, but to no avail. The three of them tumbled into the doorway, an icy chill freezing Peigi to the bone.

  Peigi landed on something hard. The pure darkness vanished, dissolving into gray daylight and thick mist. She found herself lying on ground covered with dead leaves and pine needles, Stuart and Miguel more or less on top of her.