by Jools Louise
Ethan let out a primal roar, shifting into his jaguar form and lunging at Lance, his powerful jaw opening as he took Lance to the floor. His massive canines latched onto Lance’s jaw, crushing with punishing force and shattering bone quickly. His lethal claws ripped at Lance’s flesh, tearing off strips of material and skin simultaneously until Lance was a bloodied mess on the floor.
“Easy, there, Ethan,” John said carefully, his voice calm.
“I’ll warn Lex,” Scotty yelled, reaching for the phone to call the doctor. “We need to get Lash to the clinic. He’ll need surgery.”
“Ethan, we need to get Lash to the clinic,” John said soothingly. “We’ll deal with this idiot,” he continued, jerking his chin at Lance’s body. “You go be with your mate.”
Lash’s brethren came down the stairs, their eyes wide, their faces grey with shock. “We’ll take him,” Slug said, each of them taking a corner and lifting Lash, then hurrying out of the café. Ethan let out a final snarl of rage, then leaped after the wolverines, his long tail twitching angrily.
“I called the sheriff as well,” Scott said, eyeing Lance’s corpse with disgust.
“Good,” John said, looking around the silent café. Their customers had expressions of mutual anger as they stared at the wolverine on the floor. “Sorry about the mess,” he said to everyone. “We’ll take care of it soon.”
A couple of construction workers spoke up, regulars to the café. “Don’t worry about it,” the first declared. “That idiot had it coming.”
“I’m not sure what he thought would happen,” the second man said, shaking his head. “Waltzing in like he owned the place and attacking his own brother…what a moron.” As one, everyone turned their attention from the scene, and went back to their beverages.
* * * *
Alfie sat in the medical center’s main ward, surrounded by friends and his mates. There was only one patient in here—Lash. The young wolverine was unconscious still, his injury serious enough to require emergency surgery. An injection of extra wolverine blood from his brethren had enabled him to begin healing quickly, but he still hadn’t come around from the anesthetic. The wound had been deep, making it too dangerous for him to shift. Now it was a waiting game.
“Why do you think Lance came back?” Ethan asked for perhaps the hundredth time. Nobody had an answer yet.
“Lance will have been sent to be the fall guy,” Charm replied after a long pause, his voice quietly matter-of-fact. Alfie and the others sent him a startled glance. The thought that the wolverine clan’s elders had sent one of their own children, knowing he would probably die, was abhorrent. Family was important—children even more so. Lance had been an arrogant creep, but if he had been used as some kind of bait, or cannon fodder, what was the purpose?
“They want to start a war,” Rage continued, his multi-hued Mohawk quivering slightly, his pale gold eyes hard as gemstones. “Wolverines are arrogant, volatile, and extremely ambitious. Our numbers have declined immensely, mainly because our clans are constantly warring. The elders in particular want nothing to do with any other shifters, preferring to think of themselves as the superior race.” He stared at each person in the room in turn. “Lance will be turned into some kind of martyr…he’ll live on as a poster child for whatever campaign they come up with to create division among our ranks. They will be back.”
“I thought they had been arrested,” Ethan said, frowning.
Slug let out a humorless laugh, and fixed his dark eyes on the shifter. “Our kind have connections you wouldn’t believe. Often we’re used to guard prisons or other high-security installations. Wolves are the same way. If the wolverines can start a war, they’ll try to paint Lance’s death as an attack on the canine species…despite the fact that we were attacked first—twice.”
“If they succeed in starting a war, they’ll undermine everything we’ve achieved since we took out the cult,” Mason said with a hard edge in his tone. “The federal government is not going to stand by while we engage in a turf war. We have a lot of supporters, but also a large number of dissenters who don’t want us to have any rights—or any right to life at all.”
“Do we need to form our own council?” Jay asked.
“We need to let our friends in Washington know what’s happening,” John replied, who had been sitting quietly, listening to the conversation. “We carry on as usual, building the town, and offering sanctuary to newcomers—whatever the species.” He emphasized the last word with a sneer. “We are all one kind, we share the same virus, which allows us to share our souls with our animal brothers and sisters. There’s no way we’ll let a bunch of up-their-own-asses political dinosaurs destroy what we’ve achieved.”
“Do we go public? Let the world know what these idiots are trying to do?” Jay asked, frowning thoughtfully. “Like the cult, they will go about this using sneak tactics, create division by undermining our intentions. If they paint us in the same colors as the cult, as though we’ve formed our own cult, we become targets ourselves.”
John stared at his brother, green eyes widening. “I think that’s something that deserves some serious consideration,” he said.
“That’s something the elders would definitely try to do,” Slug cut in. “If they could put us in the same league as the cult by suggesting we’re nothing but savages bent on forming a special kind of elitist club, then our supporters will turn against us.”
“Then I think it’s time to bring the town of Sage into the world, celebrate who and what we are,” Alfie said, a smile growing on his lips. “I say we start a new tradition—a carnival. We do an official opening ceremony for Sage, invite dignitaries and locals, and anyone else who wants to visit, and show everyone, publicly, what we’ve achieved. We show the history of this town, warts and all, and put the cult firmly where it belongs—as the bad guy in all this. If we do this well, we can divert attention away from what the wolverine elders want to achieve, before they’ve even gotten properly started. Going public puts them in the shade—and hopefully that’ll be enough to keep them at bay. We’ll be the light.”
“Have I told you how much I love you, lately?” Mason asked, lifting Alfie right out of his seat and placing him on his lap, kissing him passionately.
Alfie giggled, then moaned when the kiss deepened.
“Hey, what about me?” Jay complained.
“This is a hospital, guys,” John said, sounding shocked, but with a shit-eating grin on his face as he looked at his brother. “Poor Lash will wake up thinking he’s entered a bordello or something.”
Jay flipped John off, then reached for Alfie, grabbing him from Mason, then kissing the smaller shifter with the same vigor.
“Get a room,” Lash said drowsily from the bed, amusement in his voice. “You have a really nice bed for all that malarkey.” He smiled, eyes closed, when three shifters flipped him off succinctly. “Yeah, whatever kiddos, just quit slobbering over each other, otherwise you’ll send me into back into a coma.”
“Are you okay?” Ethan asked, standing and stroking a gentle hand over Lash’s brow. The man’s warrior plait was loose, and his hair flowed over the pillow in a waterfall of dark brown, his tattoos glaring from each side of his head.
Lash opened one eye, blinking blearily. “Hey, babe. I feel like someone stabbed me.” His smile gentled as he looked at Ethan. “Thank you for being so courageous. My brother was always a prick, I just never thought he’d stoop so low.” Lash looked sad, and turned his head away.
“Your brother seems like he was raised by fools,” Ethan said, turning Lash’s face back toward his. “He grew up brainwashed into thinking he was better than everyone else. In a funny kind of way, if he hadn’t sold you out like he did, outing you to the elders, you would have ended up like him—a complete loser. Instead of a caring, sexy man with a huge amount of artistic talent.”
They stared at each other for a moment, before Ethan leaned in and captured Lash’s lips with his, groaning softly as they kissed for th
e first time.
“Aww, that’s so sweet,” John said as the kiss went on and on. “Careful you don’t split your stitches, wolvie.”
Lash eased back from Ethan, his hand cupped around the back of the man’s head, his fingers gripping the long strands of hair that flowed around Ethan’s face. “John, you’re just jealous because no one here wants to kiss you,” he retorted, grinning at John’s mock-offended look.
“Not true, wolvie,” John replied. He grabbed his brother in a headlock, ignoring the fact that Alfie was in Jay’s arms, then pressed a smacking kiss on the man’s nose. “You see?”
Jay gave a low growl, his hands full of Alfie, and glared at the impertinent Brit. “The only thing you’ll be seeing in a moment, is my boot connecting with your bloody ass…right before I call your mate and tell him what you just did.”
John laughed outright, not intimidated a bit. “Sweetie, he already knows I’m flaky…and if you think you can connect with my ass, you’ve got a surprise coming.” John turned, dropped his pants, and mooned to the room before darting out of the door. “Come and get it, bro,” he yelled after him, laughing maniacally.
“That man is nuts,” Lash drawled, wincing as he laughed. “Are you just going to take that without retaliating?” he asked Jay, who growled again, and released Alfie. Shifting quickly, he took off after his brother, yowling in challenge, the entire room erupting with laughter at the snow leopards’ antics.
Alfie went over to Lash, his expression growing serious. “How bad are the elders? Why are they doing all this now?”
Lash looked at Alfie, sighed, then replied, “Because we survived,” he said, gesturing to the other wolverines. “We know what they tried to do, we know they betrayed us, we know their dirty little secrets. They worked with the cult, but also, they have an agenda…to start a civil war among the shifters. Feline versus canine. They’re sneaky, ambitious, and are prepared to do whatever it takes to come out on top of the pile once the dust settles.”
“I think a carnival would be a really great idea,” Slug interjected, smiling slightly. “We could have some sports events, kind of like a mini-Olympics—shifter style. Not feline versus canine, but mix it all up.”
He shrugged, flushing a little when everyone started at him in awe.
“We need to plan this,” Alfie said excitedly. “I’ll get the Young Guns onto it, and Joe and his crew, and…shit we need to take this to Washington, don’t we?” he asked, practically bouncing in his pink Vans.
“I reckon you need to come with me, lover,” Mason said, a glint of lust in his eyes as he watched Alfie. “I have a contact sport I’d like to discuss with you.” Alfie sent him a dry look, dropped his pants, and then mooned his lover. Shifting, he followed Jay from the ward, yowling for Mason to chase him.
“Got get ’im tiger,” Rage chuckled, laughing louder when Mason shifted as well, gave a chuffing roar, then leaped after his mates.
“Those boys are definitely nuts,” Lash sighed, closing his eyes, and sinking into sleep again.
Ethan realized he was alone with the wolverines for the first time, and stared at his mates curiously, and not a little nervous. “This is going to get ugly, fast, if we don’t nip it in the bud, isn’t it?” he asked, his voice quivering a little. He’d had enough evil in his life…he wasn’t sure if he could take any more.
“Baby, we’ll fight our elders to the death if they lay a hand on anyone in this town,” Charm said intensely. Ethan shivered at the promise in Charm’s sherry brown eyes. He shivered again as Charm got to his feet, and moved closer, stalking Ethan. Slug and Rage did the same, surrounding Ethan, their arousal heavy on the air. Ethan licked his lips, tilting his head as Slug moved in behind him, his lips sliding seductively along the curve of his neck. Charm moved to Ethan’s right, his fingers gliding skillfully along Ethan’s taut abs, moving down and cupping Ethan’s burgeoning cock. Ethan trembled, gasping at the intensity of his mates’ attention. He’d never been the focus of such powerful personalities, certainly not like this. In the tunnels, when the wolverines had been guards, they had never touched him like this, never made him feel like his skin was super-heating and his cock would explode so quickly.
Rage moved to the front, cupping Ethan’s chin and tilting his head up. His champagne eyes glittered with desire, and he dipped his head, slanting his lips over Ethan’s in a kiss that was so tender, so loving, that Ethan melted on the spot. He could literally feel his legs shaking, and his hips began to hitch, grinding his ass against Slug’s hard rod behind, and thrusting into Charm’s exploring hand.
“Fuck, baby, you kiss like a dream,” Rage whispered, licking a long trail around Ethan’s moist lips, then diving inside to sample the treasure trove inside.
“He tastes so good,” Slug murmured, gripping Ethan’s hips in his strong hands, and rubbing his body sinuously against Ethan’s back. “I want him in our bed, I want his cock in my mouth.”
Ethan whimpered at the image that entered his feverish brain. The thought of having these four sexy, badass men making love to him, giving him their full attention, had his libido soaring even more. With a gasping cry he came right then, moaning as Rage dropped to his knees, then unzipped Ethan’s jeans, and lapped at the splashes of cum still erupting from Ethan’s jerking dick. Charm followed suit, sharing spunk-filled kisses with his lover, lapping at Ethan’s softening cock and balls until he was a quaking mess, the only thing holding him up was Slug’s body behind him.
“So fucking good,” Slug complimented, turning Ethan’s head to the side and kissing him hungrily. “You’re the sexiest man we know, and you’re all ours, baby,” he said, nipping at Ethan’s lips, then sucking on his tongue. “We’ll wait awhile, until Lash is in full working order,” he said with a wink at the man lying in bed, watching the sexy show through lust-filled, slitted eyes. “Then we’ll spend a couple of days getting to know one another, what do you think?”
Ethan felt Charm and Rage zip him back up, tenderly pressing light kisses on his deflated cock, then making him decent again. He was breathing heavily, his heart racing as though he’d run a marathon. He stared drowsily at Lash, and knew that despite their rocky past, these men were everything he could hope for. He would wait willingly, because he wanted all of them, greedily and with no apologies for his greed.
“I think we may need more than two days. There’s four of you, after all,” Ethan said, smiling shyly at Lash.
Lash let out a low growl and beckoned Ethan forward. Complying, Ethan crawled onto the bed, lying curled up against Lash as he was drawn into a kiss that threatened to scorch the sheets. When the kiss finished, they were both panting hard, lips swollen and red, cocks at full attention.
“Get well soon, won’t you?” Ethan said after a minute, uttering the generic words with a slight grin and a wink.
Lash’s arm dragged him closer, nuzzling against him and sighing deeply. “Thank you,” he replied seriously. “We didn’t expect you to trust or forgive us so soon.”
Ethan cupped Lash’s face, staring in the man’s amber eyes intently. “Neither did I,” he admitted. “I thought I would be scarred emotionally, but I realized that I can’t hate you. I can hate what you did to me, and I still don’t really understand the why, but I do understand that you thought you were doing the right thing, and for that I can’t carry on with the hate.” He dipped his head and kissed Lash tenderly, instilling all his feelings into the kiss.
“Stay with me tonight,” Lash pleaded, his fingers raking through Ethan’s hair as they ended the kiss.
“We’ll stay, too,” Slug said, moving his chair closer to the bed, his lovers following suit. “I want some more of those sexy kisses.” He grinned, waggling his brows.
Ethan blushed, and snuggled in against Lash, his nose buried in the curve of Lash’s neck. He heard delighted laughter from his lovers, and smiled to himself. He wanted more kisses, too…lots of kisses.
Chapter Nine:
Shifter Style
Jay
raced after his brother, the impertinent Brit who took most things less than seriously. John was standing in the middle of the street, in snow leopard form, chuffing at him as though laughing. His deep green eyes gleamed with amusement, his large canines glistening as he let out a chuffing roar.
Pouncing, Jay tumbled John head over heels, wrestling him into submission. John’s big paws batted at him, his claws sheathed as he tried to rid himself of Jay’s heavy body. Kicking out with powerful hind legs, John soon had the upper hand, the pair of them tumbling over and over as they fought like a couple of kids.
A loud yowl pierced the air, and a small leopard jumped into the fray. Alfie had joined the fun, smacking John on the rump with one paw, nipping at his ears and tail. Yelping as Alfie’s sharp teeth connected, John defended himself by shoving Alfie away with a furry paw, only to find himself fighting off Mason as well, who leaped on him.
A whoop of joy rent the air, and one by one, more shifters joined the fun, their delight at being able to shift freely, releasing their cats of canines to play, leading to a furry frenzy of play-fighting, in full view of anyone passing through town. Wolves, lions, mountain lions, leopards, snow leopards, jaguars. They gamboled like children, nipping and pawing and wrestling until the main street looked like a furry carpet, full of shifters of all species.
“I might have known you’d be in the center of everything,” Sheriff Pace Achak drawled, wandering right into the melee, and finding the two snow leopards still playing tag wrestling. “You do realize this is the middle of the road, not a bloody zoo.” He placed his hands on his hips, staring around him in amazement.
“Uncle,” his nephew Aaron said, laughing as he walked up to Pace. “You really don’t want them all shifting back…then you’d have to arrest the entire town for indecent exposure.”
Pace looked at his nephew in horror, then glared at the snow leopard brothers who were now sitting on their haunches, wearing matching grins. “Don’t even fucking think about it,” he warned. “Fucking hell, I thought it was bad enough when it was just Joe here. Now I have more Fruit Loops than I know what to do with. You’re a bloody menace, both of you.” He sounded frustrated as hell.
