Pride Mates

by Jennifer Ashley

  “It will be all right, Liam.”

  Liam gave her a hint of a smile. “I wish I could believe that, love.” And then he was gone.

  Kim tried to concentrate on work but found her attention wandering to Shiftertown. She had much to catch up on, phone calls to return, reports from her investigator on Michelle’s ex to go through, letters to compose. But she worried about Michael—had he merely wandered off or had something more sinister happened? Was he exploring some place exciting to small Shifter boys; was there another feral Shifter on the loose?

  Liam hadn’t been gone an hour before she was on the phone to him. He told her, his voice warm as ever, that he had nothing to report. Apparently, Michael’s mother had stepped inside for a minute, when his little brother had come running to the front porch to tell her that Michael was gone. Early searches had turned up nothing. All Shiftertown was now about to start a serious one.

  Kim heard the worry in Liam’s voice. This happening, on top of his fight with his father and Fergus’s threats, couldn’t be easy on him.

  When had she started caring so much? Her fascination with Shifters, her first attraction to Liam, her growing physical need for him had blossomed into something much deeper. It was more than the mating frenzy Liam kept talking about. There was something about Liam that made her want to be near him, to hold him when he hurt, to laugh with him when he was happy.

  She squeezed her eyes shut. Damn it all, I’ve fallen in love with him. When did I get so stupid?

  Kim tried to return to work. She couldn’t bother Liam; he’d have his hands full. But she couldn’t help calling him back as she ate lunch at her desk. Nothing, Liam reported.

  He sounded even grimmer. Kim assured him that she was all right—no need to worry about her. He told her to take care, warmth in every word. When Liam said the trite phrase, he really meant it.

  Kim called Liam back at two, but he didn’t answer.

  Leave him alone, she told herself. He’s busy doing his job.

  To think she’d once assumed his job was managing a bar.

  By three, Kim couldn’t take it anymore. She packed her briefcase and told Jeanne, her secretary, that she’d work the rest of the day at home.

  Kim hurried out into the parking lot to nearly run into Abel, who was returning from a day in court. “Kim,” he said.

  “Hey, Abel. I gotta go. See you tomorrow.”

  Abel stepped in front of her. He was perspiring, his face red and shiny above his tight suit coat. He looked furious, which meant he must have lost his case.

  “I heard that you dumped me for a Shifter.”

  The boy wonder had finally caught on. “That’s none of your business. I have to go.”

  He stepped in front of her again. “Where to? Your Shifter? That stinking animal you dragged in here? You’re screwing him, aren’t you? You’re screwing an animal.”

  Kim rolled her eyes. “You were always so clueless.”

  “I’ll have you fired. I’ll get you disbarred.”

  “It’s not against the law to go out with a Shifter. Or even to go to bed with one. Grow up, Abel.”

  Kim tried to go around him again, and again, Abel barred her way. After meeting Fergus, Abel frightened Kim about as much as a gnat, but she wondered what he was going to do. Deck her in the parking lot? Great PR for the law firm.

  “Would you get out of the way?”

  “Were you doing him while you were going out with me? Tell me the truth. You were already screwing him then, weren’t you? You were double-dipping.”

  “Obviously you want me to say yes.”

  “Shifter-whore,” Abel said. “I’ll tell everyone I know that you’re nothing but a Shifter-whore.”

  “Abel, you moron…”

  She broke off as two Shifters materialized on either side of Abel. Fergus’s thugs—bald Tattoo Guy and Military Man. Their Collars glinted in the hot sunlight. Military Man wore sunglasses and looked like the Terminator.

  “Everything all right, Ms. Fraser?” Tattoo Guy asked.

  “Everything’s fine. I’m heading to my car.”

  “We’ll walk you there.”

  Kim’s heart started to pound. “No need, I can make it.”

  Military Man stepped to block Abel, while Tattoo Guy motioned for Kim to go. “Want us to teach him some manners?” Tattoo Guy asked her.

  “No, leave him alone,” Kim said. “He’s just a dickhead.”

  Tattoo Guy shrugged as if he didn’t care one way or another. Abel beat a retreat into the building, and Kim started for her car, which was only a few feet away. The two of them fell into step beside her.

  “When Shifters don’t wear Collars,” Tattoo Guy said, “assholes like that will be wetting themselves to be nice to us.”

  Sure. Kim quickened her pace, but she reached the car without incident. The two men didn’t try to grab her or drag her off; in fact, they acted more as though they were protecting her. Whose side were they on? Military Man opened her car door for her, shutting it again once she was settled. “Drive carefully, now.”

  “Right,” Kim said as she started up.

  “Hey, no one messes with our females,” Military Man said. “You’re Liam’s now.”

  She wasn’t sure whether to be reassured or irritated. “Thank you, gentlemen,” she said. “I appreciate your help.”

  She firmly rolled up the windows and backed out of her parking space. The two followed her to Shiftertown on their motorcycles, keeping pace with her, again, protectively.

  Kim was halfway to Shiftertown when Tattoo Guy’s words struck her. When Shifters don’t wear Collars. What the hell did that mean? He’d said the words as though it was a real time to come, not wishful thinking.

  Kim gripped the steering wheel and kept driving. She’d have to ask Liam whether the man was simply blowing off steam—if Liam would ever answer his damn phone.

  Chapter Twenty

  Liam walked around the next block of derelict and empty buildings. The brick walls were battered and worn, and rotted boards covered broken-out windows.

  A place like this might attract a curious kid who’d decided to head out on his own. Liam remembered how he, Sean, and Kenny had liked to explore the ruins of castles—Ireland was full of them—crumbling stones barely held together of some long-forgotten keep. Did they care that it was dangerous, that they could get trapped, buried, crushed by unexpected rock fall?

  Not really. They were Shifters. Tough, dangerous, bold.

  “Bloody stupid,” Liam said under his breath. No wonder their mum had raised hell with them.

  He turned a corner between buildings and heard Michael crying.

  The sound came from the warehouse beside him, the wide door covered with planks of old wood. Liam kicked apart the wood, mildewed and rotted, and it broke easily.

  The warehouse inside was dim, the concrete floor pitted and covered with dust. A metal door made of new, shining, solid steel, gleamed in the wall to his right. Its handle was wrapped in chains and padlocked. Banging came from behind it, along with two voices—Michael’s high-pitched wail and the shouts of a man he didn’t recognize.

  Liam’s nostrils widened as he took the scent of the air. Nothing but terror from Michael and the man behind this door, overlaid by the decay of the building. Even if this was a trick to trap Liam for some reason, it was certain that the prisoners hadn’t padlocked themselves into the room from the outside.

  Liam wrapped the hem of his shirt around the padlock, let his hand shift to strong Shifter claws, and broke the lock. He swung the door open, backing up quickly when a wave of fetid air poured from the tiny room beyond.

  A man rushed out and collapsed on the floor outside his makeshift cell, breathing hard. His hair was tangled and matted, and his clothes were rank. A Lupine, by his eyes and smell, but Liam didn’t know him. Michael rushed out behind him, his hands manacled, and Liam gathered the boy up in his arms. Michael clung to him, soaking up all the comfort he could.

  “
How did you get locked in there?” he asked Michael.

  “The bad man brought me.”

  “What bad man, sweetie?”

  “A Feline captured me.” The man on the floor glared up at him with bloodshot eyes. “Like you.”

  “Which Feline? Fergus?”

  “No. That wasn’t his name.” The stranger pushed himself to his feet, screwing up his eyes against even the dim light. “Oh, yeah, Brian. That was it.”

  Liam’s blood froze. “Brian.”

  “That’s what he said. Then this morning, some other Feline opens up the door and throws this little guy in with me. I’m glad you came when you did. I was getting hungry, and the Feline said I wasn’t allowed to eat.”

  The Shifter’s gaze moved to Michael. The boy wasn’t timid, but when those bloodshot Lupine eyes landed on him, he backed away fast until he crouched into a dusty corner. “Something’s wrong with him, Liam,” Michael whimpered.

  The Lupine moved out into the light, and Liam saw clearly that instead of a Collar, a line of blood-blackened bare skin ran around his neck. His Collar had been removed.

  “Michael,” Liam said. “Run!”

  Eyes round with terror, the boy scuttled away. Liam grabbed the Lupine by the shoulder, spinning him around. The Lupine snarled and leapt, and Liam met the attack.

  The two fell to the ground, Liam’s hands becoming claws. They fought, Liam trying to sever the feral’s spine. The feral reared up and brought down a most unlikely weapon—a hypodermic needle. Before Liam could roll aside, the feral plunged the needle into his shoulder.

  Liam fought a few more seconds, and then his muscles went slack and he couldn’t move at all. He didn’t black out, but he prayed hard in the next hours for unconsciousness to come.

  At first glance Shiftertown seemed to be in chaos. Shifters roamed everywhere in parties of two and three, calling Michael’s name. Shifters on motorcycles and in ratty cars cruised the streets both inside and on the outskirts of Shiftertown, moving slowly and peering into the shadows of every building.

  When Kim entered the Morrissey house, she realized that the searching had been organized in almost military fashion. Dylan stood alone in the kitchen, a map of Shiftertown and its environs spread across the table. A careful grid had been drawn on the map. Dylan’s cell phone was at his ear, and he marked off squares in the grid as he talked to the person on the other end.

  Dylan spotted Kim. “Kim’s here,” he said into the phone. “And Nate and Spike. Come back to the house and pick up Kim. Nate and Spike will make up another team.”

  Nate and Spike? Tattoo Guy and Military Man were dismounting their motorcycles at the front curb. Kim briefly wondered which was which.

  Dylan hung up his phone, came to Kim, and enfolded her in his arms. Shifter greeting. They’re tense; I bet they need a lot of reassurance right now.

  Kim returned the hug, squeezing Dylan hard before releasing him. “Were you talking to Liam? Where is he?”

  Dylan shook his head. “Sean. Liam hasn’t checked in.”

  “He doesn’t answer his cell phone, either.”

  “Cell phone service isn’t the most reliable around here. He’ll find a way to call when he has something to report. Sean’s on his way.”

  “I want to help.”

  “You will.” Dylan turned back to his map. “I want you and Sean to make up a team. Sean’s the strongest, next to Liam, and I don’t want to worry about you on top of everything else.”

  “Liam told me what happened,” she said in a low voice. “About you and him, and the fight.”

  Dylan turned from the map again. He didn’t look conquered. He was as tall and formidable as ever, only the touch of gray at his temples betraying that he was older than his sons. He radiated strength, competence, and decisiveness—everything you’d want in a general.

  “It’s irrelevant right now,” Dylan said.

  Meaning they’d talk about it once Michael was found. “I just wondered what was going to happen.”

  “That’s up to Liam.” Dylan looked past her, and she realized that Nate and Spike were approaching the front door.

  Kim shut up, and Dylan invited the two inside. The hostility they’d exhibited to Dylan in San Antonio was absent as the three bent over the map. Nate turned out to be the military guy, and the shaved-headed, tattooed man was Spike.

  The two Shifters left with their orders, and Dylan took another phone call. Sean approached through the backyard, and Kim went out to meet him.

  “Where’s Connor?” she asked.

  “Searching with Glory and Ellison. Dad’s putting you with me.”

  Sean looked grim, flat black sunglasses hiding his eyes, his sword hilt protruding over his shoulder. Kim knew without being told that his greatest fear was that he’d have to use the sword on Michael when and if they found him.

  “Have you heard from Liam?” she asked him.

  “No.”

  “That doesn’t worry you?”

  “It does. But Liam’s one of the strongest in the clan, and if he’s out of communication, it’s for a good reason.”

  His words made sense, and so had Dylan’s. But Kim shivered, some feeling in her gut bothering her. “We should find him.”

  “We should find Michael.”

  Kim nodded. Michael’s mother must be going through hell. Kim remembered how her own mother had sobbed uncontrollably when she’d been told that Mark was dead. Mark had lingered in the hospital all night, giving them hope he’d survive, but in the end, he hadn’t. Michael’s mother must be living through that same hell of hope.

  Kim nodded. Find Michael. That was top priority.

  “It’s easy,” the feral Shifter said. “Go with it.”

  Liam gritted his teeth against profound pain. “Easy for who? Who the hell are you, anyway?”

  “I was called Justin.”

  “Yeah? What are you called now?”

  “Human names have no meaning for us anymore.”

  “Oh, for the gods’ sake.” Liam lay flat on his back on the cement floor, his limbs on fire. He felt the beast in him snarling and raging, but his body hurt so much it could snarl and rage all it wanted to. Lying still was a good thing.

  Heat pressed on the warehouse, and Liam felt the tingle of an approaching storm. He sensed clouds building, the electricity that fused the air miles away.

  “Where is the boy?” Liam asked

  “Still here.” The Lupine smiled. “I’m saving him for you, like I was told.”

  Liam then sensed Michael in the alley outside. The Lupine must have chased after him and tethered him. Liam tasted the boy’s fear on the wind, arousing both Liam’s protective nature and his innate instinct that the male offspring of another male had to be eliminated. The two feelings warred in him, escalating his confusion.

  “And why haven’t you rid yourself of me as I lay here helpless?” Liam asked.

  “I know my place in the hierarchy. You will lead us to greatness.”

  “You’ve lost it, mate.”

  “You’re the leader. I smell it on you. You defeated the only one greater than you, and now no Shifter can best you. I’m weak, but you will make me strong.”

  “Shite.” Liam’s neck felt like fire and at the same time, strangely light. Justin peeling away Liam’s Collar had been the worst agony Liam had ever felt in his life. He’d screamed as the metal had unfused from his skin, his mind clouding with nothing but pain. When the fog cleared he’d found himself flat on his back, unable to move.

  “The pain will go away,” Justin said. “And then you’ll be free.”

  “Terrific.”

  “Shifters are strong, my master. Stronger than any human will ever be. Why should we be slaves to them? When they put Collars on us, they only made us stronger.”

  Liam felt weak as a flea. “How did you figure that?”

  “You feel it, don’t you? The instincts you suppressed for so long, the strength you lost when the Collar was put on you. I bet at fi
rst you didn’t have the strength to make it through a day without vomiting. We’ve learned how to live even with the oppression of the Collars. So when they come off, the instincts pour back, your strength comes back—twenty years worth of it in one go.”

  “Bloody hell.”

  Liam knew Justin was right, as crazy as the man sounded. His strength was slowly returning to his limbs, whatever drug he’d been given starting to wear off. Liam’s sense of smell and hearing seemed sharper than ever, and the growing storm pounded at his brain.

  The heightened scent ability was a little unfortunate, since Justin hadn’t bathed in a long, long time. Justin didn’t seem to mind, but then ferals had different ideas about cleanliness. To hell with that. Even if Liam were now feral, he was still taking showers.

  Liam worked to mask his raw fear, and raw fear covered the killing instinct rising inside him. All his protectiveness was quickly ebbing. Michael was not his offspring. He should kill the cub while he could. Liam fought the urge with difficulty.

  I am so screwed.

  Liam thought of Kim, how terrified she’d be if she could know the thoughts that whirled through his brain.

  Mate. Mine.

  Liam wanted her—on her back, on her hands and knees, he didn’t care. He wanted her here so he could bury himself inside her. Over and over again until she and her sassy mouth knew who had mastered her.

  No, I’d never hurt her.

  Kim would give him children, his brain ground on remorselessly. As many as Liam wanted. Birth control be damned. He’d find some way to counteract it and never allow her to take it again. He’d lock her in the attic room of his house until she obeyed. It was big up there—Connor could take Liam’s room. And Liam would move into the master suite after he killed Dylan.

  Oh, father god, help me.

  Dylan should die. He was defeated, Liam now leader of the pride. Justin had known that without being told. Dylan should be driven out where he’d face death alone—or he could be given the dignity of letting Liam break his neck.

  Glory would mourn him. But Glory was a be-damned Lupine, and who cared how much she howled? If she loved Dylan so much, she could join him.