Noah (Rise of the Pride, Book 10)

by Theresa Hissong

  He had so much hatred inside him when it came to the wolves. Their hazy yellow eyes bored into his brain when he had paused the footage they’d sent over to the pride’s secure email. The male had blatantly stared directly into the camera, taunting the authorities. He knew the humans couldn’t catch him, but he didn’t know that the pride was now on the good guys’ side. Taze wanted this male’s blood, and he would stop at nothing until he found him.

  The wolves had hurt Calla when she’d been kidnapped. The female still wore the scars of their abuse, and that alone sent him to volunteer for the job.

  He wanted to avenge her.

  Even if she didn’t want anything to do with him or her training, Taze would make each and every one of those Gadaí pay. His revenge would be sweet with each one he took out. He didn’t know what the males who’d kept her caged looked like, and even though they were dead by the hands of his pride, Taze wanted to kill them all…make them pay for the sins of their species.

  “You need to keep focused,” Storm Cooper, one of the older Guardians, ordered as he came to Taze’s side.

  “I’m soooo focused,” Taze reminded him, scanning the area where the wolves had last been seen. They were at the gas station where the most recent burglary had taken place only an hour before. The human police were inside, getting the rest of the information they needed to help the Guardians solve the case.

  “Avenging her could get you killed,” Storm guessed, making Taze’s beast push for release.

  “What I do is none of your business,” Taze warned. He was already on edge, and his beast was poised for a fight. If he didn’t get his hands on a wolf in the next hour, the Guardian would be good enough to work off some steam. His panther snarled in agreement.

  “Put your fangs away,” Storm growled. “Taking your anger out on one of your brothers isn’t going to make you feel any better.”

  Taze bristled at the comment. He knew damn well he would feel better after throwing a few punches. “I beg to differ, Storm.”

  A large hand wrapped around his arm, jerking Taze up against the big, blond Guardian. His eyes were glowing as he bared his fangs. “I will not put up with your fucking attitude. From this moment on, you are to conduct yourself as a Guardian would. Do not ever forget you are expendable. I can, and will, request you are removed from rotation. You won’t be able to make a difference for her because you’ll be stripped of your Guardian status before you take your next breath. Do you understand me?”

  Taze’s eyes matched the seasoned Guardian’s, but he didn’t fight back. Mentioning Calla calmed his beast, but only a little. He still wanted wolf blood, but the male’s words took a lot of steam out of his fight. “I understand.”

  “Good,” Storm growled, releasing his hold.

  “I’m sorry,” Taze replied, manning up enough to admit when he was wrong. He valued his position, and he respected Storm. He’d been around a long time, and he’d been through everything with Calla and her brother.

  “Man, I get it.” Storm deflated, his shoulders dropping. “I want to kill those wolves all over again for the things they did to Calla, Evie, Malaki, and our alpha’s mate.”

  Taze nodded in agreement as he started walking. Storm followed him down the street, but it was done so in silence. It was time they work together to eradicate the threat, and they’d do it together.

  For Evie.

  For Malaki.

  For Calla.

  For Liberty.

  Landon’s heart ached for Evie. He’d recently found out about her abduction when she was just a teenager and the effect it’d had on the entire pride. She was one of the strongest females he’d ever met, but he could relate to her fear more than he wanted to admit.

  His own worries over the new threat to the area had made him a little more cautious when he was alone. The thought of another attack on the pride sent chills up his spine. Hadn’t they had enough already?

  Landon had no doubts about the Guardians and Protectors abilities to keep them safe, but with any threat, you never knew when you’d come up against an enemy. Cole’s military career had taught him all about the bad of the world, and he had shared his knowledge with Landon after they’d reconnected. Cole was very adamant about being aware, but the night Landon was abducted by the cartel, he wasn’t paying attention. That one mistake will live with him for the rest of his life.

  Landon sat on the couch in Noah’s living room, holding his head in his hands. He couldn’t smell things in detail like the shifters could, but Noah’s natural scent was all over his home. The tiny cottage he’d had built was nice and inviting and everything Landon would want for himself should he decide to move out of his brother’s place. The alpha had offered Landon the ability to stay on the pride’s land for as long as he’d like, and he’d taken Talon up on his offer as soon as the words had left the alpha’s mouth. There wasn’t another place he wanted to be.

  Maybe he just felt more at ease with the shifters? Maybe he wanted to be close to his brother?

  Maybe he just wanted to be near Noah?

  Before he could put a lot of thought into that question, the front door opened and Noah stepped inside, closing the door behind him.

  “Is she okay?” Landon asked as he came to his feet.

  “She will be,” Noah replied, removing his jacket. “Evie is stronger than even she knows. Once she lets go of what happened to her, she will move mountains for our species.”

  “It’s hard to let go,” Landon mumbled after a long pause. Noah’s shoulders slumped slightly as he rounded the couch, coming to stand in front of Landon. The shifter was a few inches taller than him, and he had to tilt his head to look into Noah’s beautiful, icy blue eyes.

  Landon inhaled deep when the scent Olivia had called his mating scent crossed his nose. He remembered the talk he’d had with his brother and his mates after he and Noah had locked gazes after dinner. Noah ran away that night, but now…now they were alone in his home.

  “You will overcome everything that was done to you, Landon,” Noah promised, and Landon wanted to believe him. He wanted to latch onto those words and make them happen immediately even if he knew that ending wasn’t anywhere within reach.

  “I hope so,” he said with an exhausted sigh. “Like Evie, I have good days and bad.”

  “I promise things will change.” Noah moved closer, and Landon wanted to touch him with an ache he couldn’t even describe. As it was, Noah was too close to Landon…too close for a shifter who was unmated.

  With a frown, he glanced at the small space between them. “You’re awfully close. Doesn’t your kind shy away from touch?”

  “Mmhmm,” Noah hummed, his icy blue eyes darkening. Landon saw a few tiny flecks of amber seeping into the blue as Noah’s scent strengthened.

  “Your scent is strong,” Landon blurted, immediately regretting his words.

  “It’s a mating scent,” Noah replied. “Do you know what that is?”

  “Yes,” Landon replied with more certainty in his voice than he felt. “Olivia and Dane explained everything to me.”

  “And what did they say?” Noah continued with the questions, but his eyes were on Landon…his eyes, his jaw, his neck…everywhere. Heat billowed inside the pit of Landon’s stomach; his cock twitched with awareness.

  “They said it was a shifter’s way of laying claim to their mate,” he answered, feeling the heat from Noah’s strong body.

  “No one knows,” Noah whispered. “I’ve kept it a secret for a very long time.”

  “That you’re gay?” Landon pressed, needing to know the answer. The fact that Noah was expressing himself so easily made Landon beam with pride that the shifter was trusting him with his secret.

  “Yes,” Noah sighed. “My mother knew, but no one else.” They stood frozen for several minutes. Each male calculating the other’s reaction to the knowledge that they both now shared.

  “Oh, Noah.” Landon wanted to hold him, knowing the death of his mother was another awful traged
y that had befallen the panthers in recent years. “You can’t live forever with that secret. It will eat you alive.”

  “They’ll know soon enough.” Noah closed his eyes. “I’m not ashamed. I just haven’t told them.”

  “You need to tell them,” Landon urged, still frozen to his spot. If he couldn’t touch Noah, having him intimately close would have to suffice.

  Landon wasn’t sure what would happen if Noah actually touched him skin to skin. Would he even know if they were fated to be mates?

  Dane and Cole had told him exactly what they’d felt when they touched. It was more than an electric pulse. They both had a hard time explaining the difference between when they’d touched and when each of them had touched Olivia. The males contact wasn’t as strong, but the animal that lived inside them knew immediately.

  “I didn’t think you were into…” Landon paused, wiping his sweaty palms on the tops of his thighs.

  “Into men, you mean?” Noah asked, finishing the question that wouldn’t come out of Landon’s mouth.

  “Yeah,” he replied, giving Noah a once-over. He didn’t miss the bulge in his pants as his eyes traced over the shifter’s body.

  “I am,” Noah replied, his body relaxing. “I’ve never been with a female before.”

  “But you’ve been with men?” Landon asked, feeling a sense of anger roll down his spine at the thought of Noah being with someone else. He’d never been one to have a jealous side, and it brought him up short for a second.

  “I have,” Noah nodded. “I’ve had two lovers, but this was before we were outed to the humans, and they didn’t know what I was.”

  “Why haven’t you told your brothers?”

  “It never came up.” Noah shrugged and turned away. Landon watched as Noah walked over to his small kitchen and grabbed two beers from the fridge, returning just as quickly as he went.

  He popped the tops on both, and instead of handing one over to Landon, Noah set it on the glass top of the end table by the couch. Landon took a seat and reached for the beer, trying to get a hold of himself at hearing the male he’d been crushing on for the last year was, in fact, batting for his team.

  “Is this why you’ve never touched me?” Landon asked in a rush, mentally kicking himself for blurting out so many questions. It was Noah…he did that to him. The male was fascinating, and he wanted to know everything about him…his life.

  “One of them,” Noah answered, taking a seat on the recliner that was next to the couch Landon was using. He wanted the shifter to sit with him, but he knew that wouldn’t happen tonight.

  “What’s the other?” Landon pressed.

  “I need you in a better place before I make you mine,” Noah whispered, his eyes tracing the male’s sharp jawline.

  Landon gasped at Noah’s statement. He’d never in a million years thought Noah Shaw would be claiming him, but there it was in black and white. The words had left his lips and floated on the air until they slammed into Landon’s mind and soul.

  “A better place meaning my abduction?” Landon pressed once those words registered.

  “Yes,” Noah sighed, leaning forward to rest his forearms on the tops of his legs. He clasped his fingers and bowed his head. “Like Evie, you’ve both been through some traumatic shit. It’s going to stick with you, Landon, and with your scar, it’s going to take time for you to come back to yourself.”

  “My scar doesn’t define me,” Landon replied, feeling defensive. Why was Noah bringing that up anyway?

  “I know it bothers you for people to see it,” Noah began, holding up his hand when Landon began to argue. “You don’t think I noticed how you never take your shirt off. Even when we were all swimming at the pond this summer. You never even tried to get in the water. Even when you are clothed, you keep your back to the wall as if you are protecting it.”

  “It does bother me, but that’s something I have to live with, Noah,” Landon barked, feeling anger at his assessment.

  “That scar is never going to fade, Landon,” Noah continued, making him angrier that the male continued to point out his flaws. “You are human, and there is no way to make it truly disappear.”

  “Don’t you think I fucking know that, Noah?” Landon exploded off the couch, coming to stand in front of the shifter. His fists were balled at his side, the scar tingling on his back as if it knew the cartel was mocking his future…fucking it up for eternity. “I know I will have their carvings in my back for the rest of my life. They may be dead, but they won. They got what they wanted in the end. Payback for my brother busting their business. I have to live with the repercussions of that…not Cole…me! So, if I want to keep it hidden from the world, I will. Don’t try and tell me how to deal with what was done to me when you weren’t there.”

  Landon didn’t wait around for Noah to bring up anything else from that time he was held captive. There was nothing left to say, and he realized there wouldn’t be a chance with Noah because of it. He slammed the door on his way out, but he heard it open again once he reached the end of the driveway. The last thing he wanted to do was turn around. Looking at Noah again would crumble him. Instead, he took off at a run, wanting to get back to the safety of his own room where he could hide from the world again.

  “If I’d been there, I would’ve taken the pain for you, Landon,” Noah bellowed as Landon ran away from the shifter’s home when all he wanted to do was run back into his arms and tell the male he was tired of running away and hiding from the things that were done to him.

  “I’m pulling Kye from rotation with the FBI,” Talon announced as Noah was coming out of the security room early the next morning. He was still in a funk over the fight he’d had with Landon the night before. “I want you to take his place. You’ll be working the same shift overnight. Kye will take over here.”

  Noah watched as his brother wiped a hand over his face. The lines of stress were wearing him thin. He knew exactly why Talon decided on the change, and he’d step in to his younger brother’s place without being ordered. “How’s Evie?”

  “She’s not handling it as well as we had hoped,” Talon whispered, jerking his head toward his office. Noah entered, closing the door behind him. Talon leaned against his desk. “She admitted she was having some issues being alone at night with Kye on rotation. I think it’s best we keep them both here until everyone is more comfortable working with the authorities.”

  “I agree,” Noah replied. “This is new to all of us, and I’m sure the pride is having a hard time adjusting.”

  “In the last few years, we have made ourselves known to the humans and nothing good has come of it. I don’t blame them for being uneasy.”

  “I agree,” Noah replied.

  “Do you want to tell me anything about what I heard coming from your house last night?” Talon inquired, narrowing his eyes on Noah.

  “Not really,” Noah replied. “I would like to keep my private issues private, if you don’t mind.”

  “That’s understandable,” Talon agreed, holding his hands in the air. At that moment, he turned from leader and alpha to brother in an instant. “Noah…if there’s something you need to talk about…”

  “I will come to you,” Noah promised, cutting off his brother.

  “Go home and get some rest,” Talon ordered, dropping his concerned brother look and reverting back into the alpha. “You and Taze will be partnered up tonight. I need you to keep an eye on him anyway. Storm reported that he is having a bit of anger issues over the wolves we are searching for.”

  “Understood,” Noah replied.

  It seemed like the Gadaí were stirring up emotions from the entire pride. They were still reeling from the last pack that had come through the area. Noah wanted to kill them all just as much as Taze and the others wanted, but with the government breathing down their necks for help, it was important to do everything by the book.

  Talon eventually sent Noah home to sleep for the day. Tonight, the solstice dinner and run would take place fr
om sundown to midnight, and Noah was ready for a shift. His heart squeezed at the thought of Landon joining them.

  He was human and not one for frolicking in the woods on a cold winter night. Noah imagined Landon would much rather curl up in front of a fire, soaking in the comforts of a peaceful evening alone. Noah wondered why he didn’t have a home built on the property. He knew Talon had offered, but the human male never made his decision known either way. Maybe he felt safer with his brother and mates? The thought of Landon being afraid to live on his own because of what had happened to him sent Noah’s beast into a snarling haze of anger. No one should have to live like that, especially on the pride’s land.

  Chapter Six

  Noah pulled the hood of his jacket over his head. The night was cold, and although he needed the coverage to block out the wind, he used it to hide his face and glowing eyes. Taze was in position shoulder to shoulder with him waiting for the right moment to attack. Two wolves were hanging outside of a pizza delivery place as the female employees closed for the night. They were oblivious to the dangers that awaited them in the darkened parking lot.

  “Two wolves and two human females,” Taze growled. “This isn’t going to end well.”

  “Not at all,” Noah replied, feeling his beast push against his skin as a snarl curled one side of his mouth. They were both itching for a fight, and knowing they were about to throw down in the city street only amped up his need to let off a little steam.

  “Ready?” Taze asked, shaking out his shoulders. The male’s eyes were glowing as he prepared.

  They didn’t make a sound as they crossed the street, avoiding the crosswalk at the light. Where they were, the streetlights were too far away to glow along the road, keeping them bathed in darkness until it was time to strike.

  “Gentleman,” Noah growled as they approached. “It seems you’ve gotten yourself into quite the predicament.”