At least she hadn’t lost her mate, and the wounded were still alive. There was more hope than there’d been when seven guards had been killed on Marcus’ watch.
Chapter Fifteen
If he kept getting hit in the head, something bad was going to happen. That was the first thought Dallas had when he came to, his arms and legs bound uncomfortably.
“You’re more my usual type,” a smooth voice said.
Dallas opened his eyes and his entire brain protested. Ow. The man looking down at him was devastatingly handsome, and so closely resembled Tiago that Dallas’ heart did a frantic little dance.
The man—Butler, it had to be—felt along Dallas’ head to the knot at the right side.
At least it hadn’t been the left again. Dallas grimaced, which only made his the pain worse. He reached for Tiago mentally and felt him awake and watchful. “You’re okay?”
“Other than a headache, yes. Be careful. He is without a conscience.”
“Nothing to say?” Butler pressed against the knot. “The blond was a keeper. I’m not certain about you. Possibly, though you smell like him.”
‘Him’ being Tiago. “You’re a jaguar shifter,” Dallas said, stalling because the asshole truly unnerved him. There was something in his eyes that decried Butler having any humanity.
“So you saw. You’ve been fucking my offspring, not that it matters to me. Just thought you should know the potential for familial relations.” He pushed even harder on the lump. “I do like to watch people suffer. The older I get, the less reason I see to restrain myself from such pleasures.”
“So you kidnapped me, Tiago, and Maarten just to get your rocks off?” Dallas asked.
Butler smiled without any trace of joy. He ran his hand around to cup Dallas’ neck. “I am a very powerful, wealthy man. I don’t like problems. I don’t like it when other people fuck up my business, either.”
“Oh, the drugs,” Dallas got out before that hand tightened on his throat. “Tiago! He’s choking me!” Not completely. Dallas could get some air in, but it was frightening as hell to be unable to move or shift and have his air supply restricted.
Butler tutted. “Not the kind of drugs any of you are thinking. There are plants and substances that can only be found in the rainforest. People pay…millions, Dallas. Millions for a single plant they hope can cure them. What’s the price of a human life?” Butler laughed. “I could tell you. Show you the deposits. It is unfortunate that other jaguars are infringing on my territory.”
“Even your own son?”
Butler looked amused at that. “He is nothing more than an accident. I hadn’t intended to breed with his mother, but she was in season and I thought I’d give it a try. Do you know, mating as jaguars is actually quite violent. That part I liked. Not enough to risk more spawn.” He flicked a glance at Tiago. “There’s a lack of room in the rainforest for self-righteous fools and myself. I’ve already taken care of the other two males. I have no compunction about doing the same with him.” Butler tightened his hand even more then loosened his hold. “Breathe.”
Dallas stubbornly tried not to.
Butler applied pressure again. “Your choice.”
Tiago’s fury burned hot into Dallas.
As quickly as he’d begun to choke Dallas, Butler stopped. “You simply aren’t the challenge he was. Did Maarten survive the toxin?”
“Yeah, he’s good as new. Didn’t even need your cure,” Tiago answered, while Dallas took great, gulping breaths.
“I don’t believe you,” Butler said with no hint of irritation. “He would have died without it. Now I’ll have to find another means of controlling your kind.” He tipped his chin at Dallas. “What I used on Maarten has a different effect on jaguars. I’ll show you in just a minute.”
Fear streaked through Dallas. “No, don’t— How can you be such a heartless monster?”
Butler tapped him on the nose, like a father doting on a child. “I suspect you know the answer to that. I’m a sociopath. All jaguars are, for the most part. Solitary, unless we want something. Do you think Tiago cares for you?” Butler smirked. “Don’t. He’s not capable of it. We are more beast than not.”
“You’re wrong about Tiago,” Dallas said angrily. “You don’t know wolf shifters, either.”
“What’s to know?” Butler quipped. “I had Dirk by the balls because he had a nasty habit he needed fed. Did you know that jucjic is an extremely addictive substance? It was so easy to introduce to Dirk, and after that, he was my bitch, as the kids like to say. Then Ryder had to ruin it all for me. You know what the great thing is about jucjic?”
Dallas grunted, the best he could do when he wanted to cuss Butler out.
“It works on humans, too, and only I know which plant it is. Oh, I know the name sucks, but, eh.” He waved that off. “I was stuck trying to come up with something appropriate, and in the end it doesn’t matter. One dose, and I’ll have what I had with Dirk. I should have given it to Maarten, but he really was…interesting. I hated to turn him into an addict. Hindsight’s twenty-twenty, and I do like to discover new plants and uses for them. I know how to easily kill your kind. Really not a very durable species.”
Butler sat back and watched him.
Dallas realized they were in some kind of vehicle, a non-moving one. They were in a camper-type enclosure. He could smell exhaust fumes and gasoline.
He could smell Butler’s sweat, and Tiago’s fear for him.
Dallas was almost amused. It’d taken a hit to the other side of his head to get his senses to function correctly? It’d figure to work that way.
“He’s wrong. I’m not like him.” Tiago was worried Dallas would believe Butler, but he shouldn’t have been.
“I know you’re not, Tiago. Maybe a lot of other jaguars are—I wouldn’t know—but you aren’t. Don’t let him fuck with your head.”
Butler frowned. “What is happening?”
“Nothing besides me contemplating which way I’ll watch you die,” Tiago answered. “Does he suspect we are talking telepathically?”
“It’s possible. Sometimes I can tell when others are doing it. There’s almost a shimmery current of electricity in the air. We should stop.” Dallas hated to but it was safer.
Butler narrowed his eyes at Tiago. “You can’t get out of your bindings to kill me. I can see that my genes didn’t do more than make you attractive.”
“I can get out of these and tear you apart,” Tiago threatened. “You know nothing about me.”
“I know plenty, idiot,” Butler said in a perfectly normal tone. “There’s no need for me to list it off. You can’t shift in the restraints. Your shoulders and knees would be destroyed. I’ve enjoyed ensuring that’s the result. And I’ve wasted enough time on you both.”
“Why do you keep going after Ryder?” Dallas asked, pushing and hoping to stall whatever plans Butler had in store for them.
Butler shrugged. “The wolves make excellent drug runners, and once they’re addicted and basically my slaves—ah, no basically about it. I have some very potent herbs that ensure it—they can do the gathering of the plants I need and spare me the time and sweat. Plus, I really want to kill him for ruining my set-up. Dirk was such an easy bitch to control until he went all insane over his position with the pack. More stupid shit I couldn’t care less about. Now, as I said, I’m done here, except for deciding whether I should keep you alive after I kill him.” Butler kicked Tiago in the ribs then did it again. “Ah, there. Sounded like something broke.”
Tiago wheezed but didn’t speak.
Butler ground the tip of his boot against the spot he’d kicked. “Do you think if I did it again, I could puncture a lung?”
“If you kill him, I’ll die anyway,” Dallas shouted, tears leaking from his eyes.
“Oh, don’t be so melodramatic. You’re one of those kinds.”
Tiago’s pain was sharp. He tried not to let Dallas feel it but it came through their link anyway. “Guess I see where I go
t that stupid way of thinking from, Dallas.” Though raspy, Tiago’s voice didn’t break.
“You understand that there are them—and us,” Butler said approvingly. “Except it’s me—and them. You being them, of course. Did you get a thrill out of this sweet boy’s adoration?”
“He’s not a boy,” Tiago ground out. “He’s my mate.”
Butler laughed at that until Dallas thought he’d completely lost it. “Your mate? You aren’t a wolf, Tiago. You fuck and leave. It’s what we do.”
Tiago’s smile wasn’t friendly looking at all. “You think so? You’re the ignorant one. Take me or Dallas outside. Hold up fingers or anything you want where the other of us can’t see. Whisper something. Then come ask what you showed or said.”
“Sounds like cheap parlor tricks,” Butler said but he didn’t sound convinced.
“If it’s true, you’d have a weapon to use against the wolf shifters,” Tiago continued. “Control one mate, control them both.”
“You’re telling me this because…”
Tiago’s feral expression should have made Butler run. “Because I’m going to kill you before you can use the knowledge anyway.”
“Right.” Butler examined his fingernails before buffing them on his pants. “I’m not worried about that coming to fruition. However, it might be useful to see what you think you’re going to be able to do. I’ll even take Dallas outside and leave you in here. Because as I’ve mentioned, you can’t escape your restraints.”
“I’m glad you believe that.” Tiago was trussed up like Dallas, with his arms bent up behind his back. His legs were folded and crossed in a way unnatural to jaguar or wolf. Shifting would indeed cause serious damage to his body. Tiago didn’t seem the least bit concerned.
“That’s because I have this covered. Trust me. I do.” Tiago sent the thought as Butler hefted Dallas to his feet.
“Short and sweet. I still say you’re a boy, not a man. Age isn’t what matters in that regard.” Butler dragged Dallas out of the camper.
Dallas hit the ground painfully hard. It jarred his entire body.
Butler grabbed a handful of Dallas’ hair and proceeded to use it to haul Dallas out of sight of the vehicle.
“You disappoint me, not even whimpering,” Butler complained, giving Dallas’ strands a harsh tug. “Now here’s what you can show Tiago. Not that I believe you.” Butler took a vial out of his pocket. It contained a clear liquid with tiny white particles floating in it. Butler leaned close and whispered in Dallas’ ear. “It will either make you my bitch—and wouldn’t that be fun?—or it will kill you. Only I know which one.”
“Doesn’t sound fun at all,” Dallas informed him. “Let me see how they work on you first.”
Butler’s chuckle held a disturbing warmth. “There’s the kind of spirit I like in a man. Women, too. Easy is so boring.”
Dallas had been easy for a long time. He wouldn’t have called himself boring.
“Now, you wait right here. I’ll go see what Tiago has to say.” He lifted a radio off his belt. “Rudi, Scott, have you got what I told you to get for me?” Butler paused a dozen feet away. “Rudi? Scott?”
Nothing but static greeted him.
“Fuck!” Butler ran to the camper and jerked Tiago out of it. “You are not worth this kind of trouble.”
Tiago turned onto his side and to Dallas’ horror, began to shift. His muzzle developed first, and with an agonized yowl, he bit down on Butler’s ankle.
Butler’s scream echoed throughout the canopy. He toppled down as bones crunched between Tiago’s teeth.
Dallas knew jaguars frequently killed their prey by biting through its skull. He couldn’t imagine that kind of jaw pressure, but Butler was feeling it.
Tiago jerked his head and blood sprayed everywhere as he took the foot off completely.
Butler had the vial in hand and was trying to open it.
“Don’t let him get that on you,” Dallas shouted. He didn’t know how the shit worked and didn’t want to find out, not on Tiago.
Tiago reverted back to fully human form, shaking and moaning. He hadn’t completed the shift. It had still hurt him tremendously.
And he’d slipped a hand free of the cuffs.
Dallas rolled, not having any other way to try to get closer.
Butler groaned and cursed, then dropped the vial to grab at his leg. He was losing a great deal of blood, yet not as much as he should be, considering he’d had his foot bitten off.
As Dallas watched, Butler shifted, flashing a deadly yellow gaze his way.
“Shit.” Dallas stopped moving.
Butler licked his bleeding stub and growled, never taking his eyes off Dallas.
But it was Tiago he slapped with razor sharp claws, tearing through the muscles of his chest.
“Stop it! You fucking asshole, stop!” Dallas shouted, choking on a sob. “Leave him alone!”
Butler sliced Tiago’s cheek open from ear to the edge of his mouth.
Dallas yelled and started shifting. If he broke in half, it was still better than lying there and doing nothing while his mate was killed.
The pain was unlike anything he’d ever felt. The screams and shouts seemed to multiply as they came out of him.
“Dallas! Please, please stop. Stop! They’re here.”
Tiago’s pleading sent Dallas into a tailspin. He pushed his wolf back down, refusing the change. There was damage done to him regardless. His shoulders and knees in particular felt warped.
Growling and snarling right beside him had Dallas opening his eyes. Despite the hazy vision caused by pain, he made out the white wolf and the jaguar locked in a deadly embrace.
Even wounded, Butler was a strong foe. Marcus had to be careful—his bite wasn’t nearly as powerful as Butler’s would be.
Butler wasn’t as mobile, which worked in Marcus’ favor. And he was taking this bastard on. It’d been Marcus’ pack members being hurt. Tiago might not have officially joined up, but he would.
“Get Tiago out of the way first, then Dallas,” Marcus thought to Nathan.
“Ryder’s waiting to leap in if you need him. This isn’t a challenge. There’s no honor here.”
Marcus understood what Nathan meant. There were rules in the ring when Marcus was challenged—strict ones that had to be followed. No blows to the balls, no having someone help fight the battle, things like that. Here, it was an all-out kill or be killed by any means. Marcus still had to be true to himself.
He circled Butler, measuring his enemy’s movements. Staying away from those long, sharp teeth was paramount. Marcus circled him again, noting that Butler kept up with him. The jaguar was tougher than Marcus had expected. He’d taken a look at Butler’s pretty face and assumed he’d be soft. Marcus really should have known better.
“I’ll lecture you about it later,” Nathan promised. “Tiago’s clear. We’ll get Dallas next.”
“He was trying to shift. Get them both back to the compound.” As if Nathan was going to leave him there.
Butler hissed at him then swiped with one big paw.
Marcus leaned back only enough to miss having his muzzle sliced open. He circled Butler a third time, moving faster.
Butler sprang at him. The jaguar was a huge black ball of deadly claws and teeth.
Marcus veered to the right and tucked down close to the ground. He felt the hair along his spine swish with the air from the missed stroke. A dodge forward then to the right again put Butler off balance.
That was what Marcus wanted. He leaped back then ran around Butler before springing over him completely. It was a risky maneuver—Marcus knew he could be gutted. And he knew what being gutted felt like.
He wouldn’t allow the possibility or the memory to interfere with his survival.
As he’d hoped, Butler had tried to reach him. With the injured back leg, it hadn’t worked so well for the jaguar. He toppled over sideways.
Marcus hit the ground and immediately spun to jump on Butler.
<
br /> Butler was fast. He was up and prepared.
Marcus saw death in the jaguar’s eyes. “Nathan, I’m sorry—”
“I’m not.” A loud bang sounded mere feet from Marcus.
Butler’s head burst open, gray matter and blood spurting out. He fell back, one eye hanging out, the other gone completely.
Marcus jerked around to find Nathan holding a weapon too huge and complicated looking to simply be called a gun.
Nathan was very pale, and his hands shook as he lowered the weapon to his side. “Enough. I’ve had enough of this. I don’t want people trying to kill us. I don’t want to do this again.” He set the weapon on the ground and gave Marcus a steely look. “But I will, for you. For our pack. I’ll become the baddest motherfucker since Rambo if that’s what I have to do.”
Marcus shifted and took Nathan in his arms. “Gods, honey. You make Rambo look like a wuss.”
Nathan laughed, and it was a little unsteady, a little wild.
“I have you,” Marcus whispered. “And I’m taking you home.”
Epilogue
Of course it couldn’t be that simple, Marcus thought later as he listened to the updates on Tiago and Dallas. Both would recover. Dallas had done some serious damage to his shoulders in particular. With his shifter healing and that root—if it helped as Tiago said it would—he’d be okay.
Tiago was going to have scars no matter what. He seemed distressed over that, and Marcus couldn’t blame him. As much as he’d like to claim he wasn’t vain about his looks, that would have been a lie. If shifters didn’t heal so quickly, stitches might have been an option. For the wounds on Tiago’s chest, they were. Those were deeper. His cheek had already begun to mend as it had shallower gashes.
“I’ll love you anyway,” Dallas whispered before passing out.
Tiago turned away.
Marcus walked around so that he faced the injured side. He waited for Tiago to look at him. “It won’t be so bad. They’ll be thin. He didn’t tear through the muscles, so your mouth won’t be pulled down. You might think I’m being harsh, but I’m not. These are facts, and it could have been much worse. You’re still going to be a handsome man.”
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