Noah (Rise of the Pride, Book 10)

by Theresa Hissong

  “Watch out!”

  Taze’s sharp command sent Noah back to his right mindset, using the cuffs he’d been given to clasp her hands behind her back once he rolled the female to her belly. He closed his eyes tight, fighting the urge to release her. His panther was snarling and clawing at him from the inside. Taze quickly put on the collar. He was fighting the same instincts. “If you shift with that collar on, you will die.”

  “I’d rather be dead than be this…this animal!” she cried.

  Taze called for pickup and gave the location of the male he’d been chasing. “I tied him up and left him in the alley a block over.”

  Once the female was inside the van, they picked up the other guy and left on foot to find Lucky and Storm. They had lost the ones they’d chased and were pretty pissed off about it.

  “We have to do paperwork,” Taze deadpanned as he twirled car keys around his finger. “We better get going, because I think we need to have a discussion with Talon as soon as we get home.”

  “She almost had you,” Noah pressed. “You can’t show weakness toward the enemy even if it’s a female.”

  “You have no room to talk,” he sighed. “Fighting with my panther is painful.”

  The male was correct. Fighting the natural protectiveness of his beast made every inch of his body sore. Werepanthers lived by their code. Noah and Taze got a taste of what they were dealing with. The others would understand, but would Evie be able to apprehend a female rogue, knowing she would have to use the same collar on them as the werewolves had done to her that night years ago?

  “Talon wants to see you in his office,” Kye announced as he came in the front door. Evie had just finished her shift at the gate and wanted nothing more than to take a hot shower and snuggle on the couch with her mate. “He’s calling a pride meeting later tonight.”

  “Why does he want to see me?” Fear tingled her spine when Kye’s eyes softened. She knew whatever her alpha had to say wasn’t going to be good. “Kye, tell me.”

  “He wants to meet with the Protectors before he goes before the pride,” he replied, pulling her into his arms. She sighed heavily and melted into his embrace. “They found female Gadaí last night, Evie.”

  “Damn it!” She tensed up. “I’d hoped the speculation was just that, but I guess anything can happen.”

  “Talk to my brother,” he urged. “Hope and Jade will meet you there.”

  “What about Calla?” she asked as she reluctantly pushed him away. Gods, why were the shifters doing this? Was the money worth tarnishing their species?

  Kye just shook his head in sadness. The female had refused training for almost a year now. No matter how many times the females had begged her, she wouldn’t show up. The last few months, she finally started telling them to leave her alone. It broke Evie’s heart, because Calla had been her best friend after they’d bonded over their abductions. Now, they were lucky to grab an afternoon lunch once a month.

  “I guess I better go,” she replied and grabbed her gloves from where she’d just set them on the side table by the front door. “I’ll see you at the meeting.”

  Talon would call a pride meeting in the back of his home whenever the pride needed to be informed of things. She had been privy to everything that had happened since the day they were discovered several years ago. Now, she was a Protector, and Evie was honored to be asked to care for her pride. It was the least she could do for all of the care they’d given her after the Guardians and her alpha had rescued her and Liberty that night.

  She didn’t waste time heading to the alpha’s home. When she arrived, June, the young cub’s caretaker, was cleaning the playroom since all of the children had been picked up by their parents. With a wave, she carried on through the sunken living room to the hallway leading to Talon’s office. She didn’t need to knock, because the door was already open wide with Jade and Hope waiting inside.

  “Alpha,” Evie nodded, refusing a seat offered to her. She wanted to stand, seeing as Winter, Noah, Storm, Taze, and Lucky were standing at attention behind him. “Sorry, I’m late.”

  “No, you’re not late. Everyone just arrived,” Talon promised, standing from his seat. “Now that we are all here, we need to talk to you three about what happened last night.”

  “Last night, I encountered a female Gadaí,” Noah began once Talon nodded for him to speak. “She was fast…feral. She really had no idea what she’d been turned into. She was freaked out because she was being controlled. When she tried to tell us about the alpha or anything in the organization, her voice would freeze up.”

  “Did you get her?” Hope blurted, her eyes narrowing. “Did you get her help?”

  “Yes,” Noah promised, his eyes casting to the side at the other Guardians. “She’s in Colorado with the alpha there.”

  “What else?” Evie spoke up. From the sideways glances the males were giving each other, she knew that wasn’t all the information they had.

  “There was another female,” Storm announced as he stepped away from the wall. “I chased her several blocks before cornering her in an alley.” The male stopped to take a deep breath. At that moment, his face fell, and Evie saw the torment in his features.

  “Storm, what happened?” she begged. The worst of the worst went through her mind, and she locked it down, praying she was wrong.

  “It’s hard…so hard to catch them,” he stammered, his eyes glowing amber. “She was so tiny…just a female. I was hurting her as I tried to cuff and collar her.”

  Evie closed her eyes for a moment at the mention of the collar. She had firsthand knowledge of the device. It kept shifters from shifting, and she knew the Guardians were using them, but it still tickled that part of her mind that hadn’t quite dealt with her kidnapping.

  “What did she do, Storm?” Jade asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

  “She bested me,” he admitted with a heavy curse. Evie’s eyes were wide with a big ole, “What the fuck?” whispered for good measure. Storm was as big as, and as strong as, Savage. “I had her, but my beast…it just wouldn’t let me hurt her anymore. She was crying and begging for me to stop as I wrenched her arm behind her back. When I loosened my hold, she got out from under me and jumped the fencing. She laughed all the way down the alleyway, too.”

  “They know how to get to the males,” Talon said as he took over the meeting. “The alpha, Holden Manzelli, is training them, ordering them to act this way if they’re caught.”

  “Where do we come in to this?” Jade asked, but Evie saw the fire in her eyes. They all knew what Talon was going to say, and it was what the female had been wanting since she came to the Shaw pride.

  “We need you out on the streets,” Talon began, but held up his hand for silence when Jade began to speak. “You will be assigned with two Guardians, and you will only be in charge of rounding up the female rogues. Your mates are going to have my fucking head over this, but it has to be done.”

  “Um, alpha?” Evie said, raising her hand a little. When Talon nodded in her direction, a small smirk raised the corner of her lip. “My mate is all for me joining in on this war.”

  “So is mine,” Jade agreed.

  “As well as mine,” Hope chimed in as she came to stand at Evie’s side. “We’ve trained for this, and now it’s time to help.”

  Talon accepted their vows with the smile of a leader. He was proud of the things the females had done since Evie started training with Ranger all those years ago.

  “When do we start?” Hope asked.

  “Tomorrow night at ten,” Talon replied. “I will let you know who to pair up with at that time.”

  Evie turned to leave as soon as Talon dismissed them. All three females filed out of the office with their heads held high. She was smiling ear to ear when Jade whispered, “It’s about fucking time.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Talon peeked out the living room window as he waited inside for his pride to gather at the circle. The Guardians were feeding wood onto
two large bonfires on either side of the area where his pride would stand and wait for his announcement. He’d made the decision to send the Protectors out with the Guardians without the approval of their mates. From the females’ words, their mates were going to stand behind them one hundred percent. He hoped they were right, because he was certain they’d lose their minds if one of them came home hurt from capturing those female rogues.

  “Are you ready?” Liberty asked as she came to his side. His mate’s warm touch to his arm grounded him, leveling out his worry for the males and females waiting outside to hear what he had to say.

  “As I’ll ever be,” he sighed and turned for his queen. “I love you.”

  “And I love you, too,” she smiled. “You’re doing the right thing. The females are strong and will be great warriors.”

  They walked hand-in-hand out to the platform at the circle they used for each Solstice and Equinox meeting. It was well below freezing, but the fires built by his Guardians were warm enough to keep his pride comfortable.

  His eyes scanned the crowd and landed on the Protectors. He searched for the fourth one, but she was nowhere to be found. A frown furrowed his brow as he searched some more. Liberty squeezed his hand in support when his eyes fell upon Taze, and the male shook his head sadly, letting the alpha know the female wasn’t there.

  “I have gathered you here today to inform you of a new threat to the area,” he began. The crowd hushed and each pride member focused on him. Liberty stepped aside so he would be the center of attention for his people.

  “As you all know, we have been working with the humans’ FBI, because there have been a rash of thefts, kidnappings, and violent actions in the Memphis area by rogue shifters.” Talon held his hand up to hush the crowd when they all gasped and began to ask questions. He sent out a wave of calm with his magic and waited for them to quiet. “From our history, we call them the Gadaí, but I assure you we will not let them win this time. We will be working with the humans to stop these packs and prides.”

  Talon nodded toward the Protectors, silently asking them to step forward. “In our searches, we have found female rogues. These females are brainwashed by the alpha running them to use their sex against the Guardians. Because of that, I have asked our Protectors to go on rotation with the Guardians to apprehend the females.”

  The crowd surged. Males called out in shock. Talon felt his beast prowl to the surface. He would do something he’d sworn he’d never do if the pride didn’t take the news well. He would order them to accept the females going out to fight this new war.

  “There has been a housing unit set up in Colorado for the Gadaí who are caught. An alpha is there to give them new blood. From the first few rogues we’ve sent there, the news has come back great. They have changed with the new alpha, and they will be rehabilitated and sent to packs or prides that will accept them. As of right now, we know of no werewolf packs that are, dare I say, good? Prides are starting to open their doors for the ones who are ready to be put back into society. They also have a choice to stay in Colorado to help build a new life with the Jackson pride alpha.”

  Talon felt the unease from his pride, but he knew they would follow whatever he said, regardless of his magic. However, he was about to send his females out to fight. That could go either way. If the Protectors were hurt or killed, Talon would have to live with that guilt for the rest of his life.

  “Hope, Evie, and Jade will be working with several Guardians to round up the females and get them to the plane to Colorado,” he stated. “This is their only job. I will not put the females in harm’s way, nor will I allow them to be alone with these rogues. I know they will do as I’ve asked of them for the sake of our pride.”

  No one said a word. Not one of his pride disagreed with him. He said his goodbyes and sent the pride back to their homes. The Guardians followed him into his home, filing into the office when he took his seat. The last ones in were the three females.

  “Do any of the Guardians have an issue with my decision?” he asked, noting the scowls on a few of their faces. Especially Savage’s.

  “I would like to train them some more when they are not on rotation,” Savage grunted.

  “Do you not trust our training?” Evie asked, her face falling. After the young female’s abduction, Savage had taken to being a bit overly protective of her. When he found out she had been training, Ranger said the male had come by to watch, giving her pointers and pushing the female harder than any of the other Guardians.

  “I trust you,” he stressed. “I don’t trust the Gadaí.”

  “We are paring up with them,” Noah announced. “There will be two Guardians with each Protector. There will be rules, and those rules will be strictly enforced.”

  “We have already discussed this amongst ourselves,” Hope stated. “We are going to cover most of our bodies; gloves, scarves, long-sleeved shirts, and pants. Evie suggested face masks, or bandanas instead of scarves, as well. The only part of our body that could accidentally be touched would be our eyes. If we are only there to capture females, we should be fine.”

  “I agree,” Storm grunted. “And to Ranger, Kye, and Booth, we vow to protect your females out in the field.” All of the males who worked shifts hunting for Gadaí put their fists to their hearts as a sign of their vow. “They will not be out of our sights.”

  Talon held back a chuckle when all three of his female Protectors rolled their eyes. He wasn’t worried about their safety as much as the Guardians were. He’d seen them in training enough to know they were going to be just fine.

  Landon left the circle, stunned at the news. So, that was what everyone had been staying hush about? He knew those females were strong, and he also knew they were needed if what Talon was saying was true.

  He was shocked at hearing how the rogues were using females to do their dirty work. In the human world, he knew of some pretty tough females. When he was younger and in the wrong crowd, he’d seen some women who would break you in half if you dared cross them. He was certain Evie, Hope, and Jade were going to be just fine.

  “Hey, you ready to go home?” Noah asked as he came to Landon’s side. Once they laced fingers, he felt the mating touch and sighed. Cole had told him it would be stronger if he was a panther, and that little bit of information had been rolling around in his mind all day long. “What’s wrong?”

  “Thinking about being a panther,” Landon sighed, knowing that was what Noah wanted. He wasn’t sold on the idea yet, but he was getting there.

  “You’re still having reservations, aren’t you?” Noah asked.

  “I am,” Landon nodded. He wasn’t sure if the panther life would be for him. He had to handle domestic animals, and he’d been told most animals were skittish around the shifters because of their predatory nature. He’d been surprised because Sophia was accepted by all of the animals that came into the clinic. Maybe it was because she was a female?

  “Let’s go home, and I’ll try and convince you to let me give you my blood,” Noah teased, bumping Landon with his hip.

  “That doesn’t sound appetizing,” Landon smirked.

  “I’m delicious,” Noah winked. “You said so yourself the other morning before you left for work.”

  “Let’s go home,” Landon said, ignoring Noah’s comment. Even if the male was right.

  They’d only been mates for a week, and he’d already moved a lot of his clothes into Noah’s house. The Guardian gave him free rein over the closet, and he was able to fit his suits and work clothes in with Noah’s basic cotton shirts and denim jeans.

  As they arrived at his new home, Landon took a seat on the couch, patting the spot next to him. “Let’s talk about this.”

  “What do you want to know?” Noah frowned as he took his seat.

  Landon inhaled Noah’s unique scent and looked into the male’s eyes. How could he tell him he was unsure about changing into a panther? He could possibly lose his business, and where would that leave him?

 
“I’m concerned how this will affect my business,” Landon stated, taking Noah’s massive hand into his. He still felt the slight spark of electricity when they touched. Would it always be that way?

  “Because you’ll be a predator?” Noah asked, closing out the statement will a drawn-out sigh when Landon nodded.

  “Yeah,” Landon replied, turning so he could face Noah, his mate. “I want to be with you, but I need to keep myself in business. I hope you can understand that.”

  “I would never take your dream and hard work away,” Noah answered, his features falling. “I still want you to be like me, though. Landon, I want nothing more than to have you run with me in the woods. I want to feel your bite and know I am marked by my mate.”

  “I want that, too,” Landon replied, still feeling uneasy about making the choice. “I may change my mind later and agree to do it, but I can’t commit to it right now.”

  “I understand,” Noah replied, standing from his seat. He cleared his throat and looked away. “Would you like something to drink?”

  Noah didn’t wait for Landon’s answer and immediately went to the fridge, removing a beer and cracking the lid. Landon stayed in his spot and just watched as the denial he’d just given the male of his dreams sank in and destroyed him.

  Noah’s eyes traced Landon’s back as his mate slept soundlessly in their bed. The E the cartel had carved into his back was healed, but the scar would always remain. He knew changing Landon into a panther wouldn’t heal him, because the damage was done when he was a human.

  Landon wasn’t over his time being held captive by the men his brother imprisoned. He was better, a lot better, in fact, but he wasn’t out of the woods yet, so to speak. Noah worried about the long-lasting trauma Landon would endure because of his abduction.