Pride Mates

by Jennifer Ashley

  “So you won’t take your Collar off again,” Kim said. “End of worry.”

  “But Fergus was right. We need to be free of the Collars someday. He was in too much of a hurry, but he wasn’t wrong.”

  Kim balled her fists. “Make up your mind. Do you want the Collar on or off?”

  “Shifters are getting stronger, love. We were dying off before, which is why we needed to capitulate with the humans and take the Collars. To let us live again, regroup, regain our strength. When we’re powerful enough again, we’ll rid ourselves of our chains, and be who we are supposed to be.”

  “And you think I have no place in that world?”

  “No.” Liam stood with his hands on his hips, his body still, eyes dark.

  “You’re lying to me,” Kim said.

  “I’m not.”

  “I’m not as good as you are at reading body language, but even I can tell you’re coming up with excuses for sending me away. You think it’s for my own good.”

  Liam whirled suddenly and punched the headboard. It cracked, wood splintering. “You’re maddening, Kim, did you know that? Of course it’s for your own good. You have your career, your life, your pretty house, your friends. I want you to have that. Find yourself a normal man, not one who might go crazy on you, not one who has to pretend to be a bar manager while he runs Shiftertown. Go home and be human.”

  “Just like that?”

  “Yes. Go, Kim. Please.”

  “Doesn’t it matter that I love you?” she asked, throat hurting.

  “Yes, that matters. It matters a lot.” Liam reached across the bed and touched the bruise on her lip. “And it’s all the more reason I want you gone. I need to know I can’t hurt you, ever again.”

  Kim stood still under his touch, her heart constricting. She’d broken up with men before, had sometimes done the breaking herself. She recognized Liam’s look, the implacable expression of someone who’d made the painful decision to walk away and wouldn’t be talked out of it.

  “I don’t want to go,” she said. Kim knew how pathetic she sounded, but she couldn’t stop herself.

  “It makes me glad that you don’t want to.” Liam touched her lip once more, then took up his shirt and boots from the floor. “But it’s all the more reason you need to.”

  He gave her another long look, as though he were memorizing her, then turned and walked out. He shut the door behind him, and a few minutes later, the front door’s banging shook the house. Kim heard his motorcycle rev, heard its throb as he drove off down the street, the noise dying into the distance.

  Kim stood by the bed for a long time, staring at the closed door. Tears choked her throat, but her burning eyes wouldn’t shed any.

  She heard the others downstairs, talking, their voices inquiring. Wondering where Liam was off to? Or had he told them he was sending Kim home?

  Suddenly she wanted nothing more than to get out of there. Kim dressed with numb fingers, packed what things she’d brought here, and carried them down to her Mustang.

  The last thing she saw as she backed out of the Morrissey driveway was Connor standing under the glow of the front porch light, his arms folded, a look of vast sadness on his face.

  Kim arrived at her office early the next morning, dressed in a conservative gray suit.

  “No Shifters today?” her secretary asked innocently.

  “No, Jeanne.” Kim’s voice had gone cold and hard, the take-no-shit defense lawyer returning. “No more Shifters in the office. Sorry.”

  Jeanne, used to years of Kim’s ups and downs, smiled at her. “Too bad. He sure was hot.”

  Kim had to admit that yes, he sure was. Her gut was so churned up that she didn’t know what she was feeling. Loss, pain, sorrow, anger. Liam had thrown her out. That hurt. But hadn’t Kim told Liam repeatedly that she couldn’t stay? She wasn’t certain who provoked the most anger, herself or Liam.

  Once at her desk, Kim immediately dove into Brian’s case. Arguing with the prosecutor’s office helped keep her thoughts from Liam—from the traumatic fight in the warehouse, from the amazing sex afterward.

  She worked all day, her businesslike suit and panty hose more confining by the hour. She’d gotten used to loose skirts and sandals far too quickly.

  The next day wasn’t any better, though the monotony was interrupted by a call from Silas.

  “I talked to Liam,” Silas told her. “He’s agreed to let me interview him for the documentary, and for the feature stories for the newspaper. He’s going to show me around Shiftertown himself.”

  “That’s great.” It really was great. Trust Liam to begin his rule of Shiftertown by doing what Fergus would have loathed. But Liam wanted the world to stop fearing Shifters, to move toward freedom. Showing the world what Shifters truly were was a first step.

  A few weeks later, Kim’s hard work and persistence finally paid off. With her tip on the jealous ex-boyfriend angle, her investigator had found out Michelle’s ex had been boasting that he’d brought the Shifters to their knees and about his obsessive behavior toward Michelle before her death. He’d started calling her “the fucking Shifter-whore who’d got what she deserved.” That was enough for police to reopen the case and bring the guy in again for further questioning. He’d been reluctant to talk about Michelle at all, until the detective revealed evidence of photos on the young man’s digital camera of Michelle lying strangled on the floor. A vitriolic confession came pouring out. Michelle had betrayed him—with a Shifter. Michelle should die, and the Shifter should be ripped apart. If there were any justice in the world, he’d be given a medal for ridding the world of filth.

  After that, it wasn’t too difficult for Kim to get the prosecutors to dismiss the case against Brian, who was released to a surge of publicity. Kim walked with him, under the scrutiny of black camera lenses the day he was freed, to where Sandra waited in her old car. Mother and son had a tearful reunion, but Kim could see Brian’s grief over Michelle. Sandra had confirmed that Brian had been prepared to take Michelle as his mate, and her loss was hard for him. He’d truly loved her.

  After seeing Brian off, Kim returned to her office and went to see her boss.

  The head of the firm was a large man with graying hair and pictures of his wife and four children on his desk. “Good work, Kim,” he said, a man who rarely praised. “But I doubt we’ll be getting any more Shifter cases. People wanted Shifter blood, and we just made the prosecutor’s office look stupid.”

  Kim shrugged, not caring about the damned prosecutor’s office right now. “It doesn’t matter. I came to tender my resignation.”

  “What?” His thick brows shot up. “Why? You’ve just won the biggest case of the year.”

  “I’m contemplating a business venture of my own. Human advocate and legal liaison to Shifters in the Austin–San Antonio area. Want in?”

  Her boss sat there with his mouth open, then moved his nameplate from one side of his desk to the other, which he did when he got nervous. “Are you crazy, Kim? You’re a good attorney. One of my best. You’re on your way to a terrific career. You throw in with Shifters and you’ll be finished.”

  “Shifter-human law needs to be reevaluated and changed,” Kim said. “It will be a challenge, something to live for. You could make your mark as a champion of Shifter rights. You love defending people’s rights.”

  He glanced at the photos on his desk. “But Shifter-haters can be dangerous, and I wouldn’t be risking just myself.”

  Kim nodded, understanding. “Well, I don’t have anyone but myself to risk. I’m tired of living an empty life, so I’m going to fill it doing something crazy like helping Shifters wade through the morass of law. Jeanne’s agreed to go with me. She’s training as a paralegal, and she’s excited about getting a chance for more experience.”

  “She’s as crazy as you are.”

  “Maybe,” Kim conceded. “But that’s what we want to do. Thanks for taking me on when I was a green law-school graduate.”

  “No pr
oblem,” her boss said faintly. “Good luck.”

  Kim dragged in a breath as she left her boss’s office, the words Good luck ringing in her head. She knew she’d need it.

  Kim spent the next weeks cleaning out her office and finding space to rent for her new office, a tiny one with enough room for herself and Jeanne. The others in the firm agreed with the head, that Kim was crazy. Some admired her; some openly castigated her, Abel in particular.

  Kim ignored them and bought office furniture. Jeanne was an enthusiastic partner and even helped take Kim’s mind off her sorrows for five minutes now and again.

  The first day Kim spent at her new office, Silas e-mailed her some video files for the Shifter documentary he was working on, asking for her feedback.

  Kim played the files, her heart aching. There was a lot of footage of Liam smiling his warm smile and speaking in his deep Irish lilt, telling Silas what he wanted the world to know about Shifters. Dylan spoke too, giving the same details but in a different enough way that it didn’t sound as though they’d worked it out beforehand. Kim knew they had. She also knew exactly what they had decided to leave out.

  There was footage of how the Shifters lived from day to day, shots of Michael playing in his front yard. Michael was photogenic, and his cuteness radiated from the screen. Silas also showed Connor and his friends kicking a soccer ball around the backyards, Connor talking about his love of “football” and what a fan he was of the Irish national team.

  Silas didn’t show only sparkles and smiles, however. He talked to Shifters about the darker side of their lives—the high death rate of Shifter children, which had started to come down only in the last decade, the low fecundity of the females. He talked about how the different Shifter species didn’t get along “in the wild” but had made concessions to live together in harmony. Ellison was particularly eloquent in that segment, looking handsome with his big cowboy hat and wide smile.

  A group of Shifters did a Collar “demonstration,” which proved that Collars worked well, and Silas showed a meditation by some Shifter parents for children they’d lost.

  Kim viewed the files again and again, pausing on Liam’s smile, his blue eyes assuring the viewers that Shifters were little different from humans.

  She watched the recording far too often. And far too often, she opened her cell phone and looked at Liam’s number, wondering if she should tell him all the things she’d decided.

  “Call me anytime, love,” he’d said, when he’d programmed the number into it weeks ago.

  Damn Shifters.

  In the cool of late September, Kim came home from her new office on a Friday and spent the weekend packing.

  Sunday afternoon, she put everything in her car that she could fit. She’d get help with the rest. She closed the trunk, started the car, and drove back to Shiftertown.

  Chapter Twenty-four

  Liam knew the car was Kim’s without looking up. He crouched in the driveway beside his motorcycle, wrench in hand, completing a few tweaks to his bike.

  He’d ridden this motorcycle to the posh neighborhood north of the river every night for the last two months, cutting the engine before he reached the hill above Kim’s house. He’d sit there for a long time, the bike silent between his legs, watching her lighted bedroom window. When the light went out, Liam would kiss his fingertips to it, then coast back down the hill and ride home.

  The hole in his heart wanted to close in hope as she stopped the Mustang and climbed out. She wore the high-heeled sandals he liked, ones that made her bare legs sexy as hell.

  He watched the legs out of the corner of his eye as she strode up the driveway, letting her scent flow over him as she walked past him.

  Walked past him?

  Liam looked around to see Kim shove a cardboard box at Connor, who’d bounded out of the house.

  “Will you carry that in for me?” Kim asked Connor sweetly. “Put it anywhere. I have a couple more in the trunk.”

  Kim returned to the car, again moving past Liam without speaking to him. She reached through the open passenger window, giving him a view of her nice ass, and pulled out an overnight bag.

  “Hello, Sean.” Kim smiled as Sean came out of the house behind Connor. “Can you grab the suitcases in my backseat? They’re heavy.”

  She waltzed up the driveway, a determined smile on her face, bag slung over her shoulder.

  Liam wiped his hands, stood, and planted himself in her path. “And what would you be doing here?”

  “Moving in. Don’t worry, I’ll pay for my share of the groceries.”

  Kim started to go around him, and Liam stepped in front of her again. “Why?”

  “Don’t argue with her, Liam,” Connor said, carrying the second box from the trunk. He rubbed Kim’s shoulder as he went past her, like a cat to a litter mate. “She’s back to stay, where she belongs.”

  “She belongs with her own kind,” Liam said sternly.

  “Not anymore,” Connor said. “We need her, Liam, you especially. You’ve been pissed off for weeks. Don’t mess this up.”

  Sean, Liam’s dear supportive brother, didn’t offer any comment. He silently removed Kim’s suitcases from the backseat and carried them inside.

  Liam’s breath hurt. Gods, Kim was beautiful. Her dark hair looked shinier than ever, her eyes a deeper blue, her full breasts making his hands itch to cup them. If he did that right now, he’d leave greasy handprints on her pretty white shirt, and wouldn’t everyone laugh?

  “Why, love?” he asked. “Why are you back to tear out my heart?”

  She smiled. “It’s got nothing to do with you. I want our kid to know its father, and when it first changes into a wildcat, he or she will need someone who knows what to do standing by.”

  Liam stopped. “Kid?”

  “A little half-Shifter boy or girl. I don’t know which; haven’t had an ultrasound yet.”

  “Ultrasound…”

  Kim laughed in true mirth. “You knocked me up, Liam Morrissey. Now you have to live with the consequences.”

  Connor came running out of the house, whooped, and punched the air. “Kim’s pregnant! Woo-hoo!” He hurtled toward Kim, caught her in a hug and swung her off her feet. “I’m going to be a cousin!”

  Connor’s shouting drew people outside. Glory emerged first, sauntering down her porch stairs, her tight leopard-print pants startling. Dylan strolled out behind her. He’d moved in with Glory the day after Kim left, further emptying the house.

  “Did I hear that right?” Glory called. “You’re up the spout?”

  Kim drew a breath once Connor finally put her down. “Confirmed by my gynecologist last week.”

  Liam kept wiping his hands on the rag. “I thought you took contraceptives.”

  “I was coming up on the end of my dose, and we had a lot of sex, Liam, if you recall. And maybe Shifter sperm are livelier than human’s.”

  “Shite,” Liam said around the lump in his throat.

  More neighbors emerged onto front porches, and Ellison came around from his backyard, shirtless, his jeans covered with dirt and grass stains. When Ellison understood what was going on, he put his hands on his hips, threw back his head, and howled. Answering howls came from up and down the street.

  Great. How long before the news reached the other side of Shiftertown? Five minutes? Two?

  “I’m staying, Liam,” Kim said. “Whether you like it or not.”

  “Gods.” Liam threw down the oily rag and caught Kim in his arms, damn the stains. He crushed Kim against him, lips finding her hair, her face, her mouth. “I love you, Kim. Don’t ever leave me.”

  “That’s the idea.”

  “I need you.”

  She rubbed his cheek. “I know.”

  Liam had driven her away to keep her safe, most of all from himself. But having her in his arms again, smelling her, tasting her, hearing her voice—it broke him, defeated the beast inside him. The feral in him crumpled as surely as Fergus had crumpled under the Guardian�
��s sword.

  Liam held her tighter. “You’re all mine.”

  “You betcha.”

  Liam touched his forehead to hers. “I love you so damn much.”

  Kim grinned at him. “And I adore you.”

  Liam gave her a long, heartfelt kiss. She got into it, sliding her arms around him to cup his butt, snaking her fingers into his back pockets. She was a loving, warm, sexy woman. How’d he get so damn lucky?

  Liam eased back from the kiss, licking the light bruise he’d already put on her lip. He’d learn how to be gentle with her, tender. And then he’d be wild. The sparkle in her eyes told him she wanted it both ways.

  As soon as he raised his head, they were hit by the family. First Connor, still shouting, throwing his arms around both Liam and Kim. Then Sean, laughing, catching Liam in a bear hug, rubbing Kim’s shoulders and kissing her cheek.

  Dylan, his eyes full, holding Liam hard, then Kim. Kim gasped when Glory flung her arms around her, squeezing her.

  “You did good, kid,” she said.

  And then Ellison, whooping and howling like the Lupine he was, jerking Liam off his feet in a rough embrace. “You virile shit, you. Taking the best woman for yourself.”

  “Watch it,” Glory said.

  Ellison draped his arms around Connor and Sean. “This calls for a beer.” He started with them for the house, his way of leaving Liam and Kim tactfully alone. Glory followed, after a look at Dylan.

  “Seamus,” Connor was saying. “Patrick, maybe?”

  “What are you talking about?” Ellison asked him.

  “Names for the wee one. Eoghan, maybe?”

  “Give the kid a break. Who the hell could spell that?”

  The house swallowed them. Dylan put his hands on Kim’s and Liam’s shoulders. “The Goddess bless you both.” He kissed Kim’s forehead. “Thank you, Kim.”

  He smiled and walked away. Liam watched him, his heart full.

  “Is he thanking me for getting pregnant?” Kim asked. “It wasn’t difficult, with all the sex we kept having. You did as much as I did.”