by Ashley Shay
Everything seemed hyperalive, and Carly realized she had an adrenaline buzz going as she felt her limbs twitching with excess energy. On the floor, Viper had his sister down and was going for the kill. His fangs, dripping poison, edged closer and closer to the female’s body. When he finally struck, sinking his fangs into the female’s body, Carly knew she needed to do something. For some unknown reason, she was positive she could stop him. In fact, she thought she might be the only one who could. As anger flooded her senses, lightning-fast chemicals ripped through her, turning her blood to fire.
I’m changing. Getting stronger, more powerful. I’m turning into something that can kill the snake. But what?
Carly felt as if she were in the throes of a fever, and she shuddered as her body melted toward the ground. As she transformed into a long, bullet-like shape, a brindled, bristly coat of thick fur covered her skin. The snake slithered backward several feet, his dark, empty eyes watching her warily. Then it undulated under the desk. She had one moment in which to make sure her family was safe before she finished this for good.
She twisted her body to find that the female snake had transformed back into her friend. Rosa lay still, and Carly saw pinpricks of blood on the side of her neck.
“Holy fuck.” Tyler’s voice. She caught a glimpse of him standing in the doorway, transfixed as he stared at her, Cougar beside him.
“Check on Rosa,” Tyler said. “She looks hurt.” He rushed to Lucia. “Is Suzie okay?”
Lucia cuddled the kit closer. “She will be buena, pronto. Mi gatita es muy fuerte. Very strong. An alpha, like her papa.”
Carly saw Tyler run his hand over his kit’s soft fur. “Take her out of here. Call Shane and Dusty.” He took a step closer. Cougar grabbed his arm and held him back. She wished they would take themselves out of harm’s way too, but she couldn’t worry herself about her mates right now. She had work to do. She’d been handed a problem only she could resolve.
She heard Cougar say, “Let her go. She can handle this.”
“What the hell is she?” When she heard the awe and shock in Tyler’s voice, she allowed them to capture her attention for only a moment longer because she wondered that same thing.
“Our little mate’s had some secrets,” Cougar said.
“Or maybe she didn’t know,” Tyler said.
“Isn’t she beautiful?” She heard the appreciation in Cougar’s voice and loved him all the more because, though she felt powerful, strong, and in control, she didn’t feel beautiful.
Tell me, Cougar. What am I?
“She’ll always be beautiful,” Tyler said.
Thank you, my alpha.
“And she’s probably as surprised as we are,” Tyler continued, “but what is she?”
“A mongoose,” Cougar said. “And the perfect addition to our family.”
A mongoose. No wonder I could feel this shifter so powerfully. I couldn’t have asked for a better form, even if I do feel like a weasel. Now I need to kick some serpent ass.
Her senses, already heightened, shot into overdrive as she focused on the object of her fury. Her nose twitched, and her whiskers vibrated, testing the air for the scent of its prey. Tail flicking back and forth in a furious rhythm, her short, sharp claws dug into the carpet as she lowered her body and stared beneath the desk at her target, her eyes drilling into his.
The snake darted out and rose high in a column, a blistering-fast black tornado. It swayed in a hypnotic rhythm, trying to steal her resolve, but she knew she held the power. She leapt high into the air and hurled herself toward the snake with the speed of a runaway train.
She curled herself around his body, winding down his length like an acrobat on a pole, her fur sliding over his scales as she plotted her tactics. She nipped at his body, her sharp teeth sinking between the scales to graze his muscles. She struck over and over, her teeth sinking deep, trying to inflict as much damage as she could while she wore him out. The viper dropped to the floor, undulating wildly, trying desperately to pull away from the teeth locked inside it. They curled around each other and rolled across the carpet, their bodies twisting and spinning in dizzying spiral. With a burst of strength, he yanked away, a large chunk of flesh tearing from his body.
Once again he rose high, fanning his neck, trying to intimidate her. She would have laughed if she could have. Instead, she rattled her throat and huffed out sharp puffs of air to let him know what his future held. He hissed and spit, swaying, then flashed toward her. She stood her ground and fluffed up her fur. She watched as its open mouth streaked toward her. The venomous fangs caught on a tuft of fur but missed their mark. Twice, three times, the snake tried to strike, but each time, she darted and spun, avoiding the sharp teeth.
She’d had enough of playtime. It was time to end the game.
She flew toward him, her mouth wide, her sharp teeth ready to pierce and grip. She saw a momentary glimpse of fear in Viper’s eyes as she caught the snake between her teeth, biting hard and deep. She began to shake her head, flinging him back and forth. She felt Viper losing his strength as the flow of blood in her mouth slowed. She kept up her assault until she felt no movement or pulse at all. With a final snap, she severed the head from the body and dropped her enemy to the ground.
Mission over, her body cooled rapidly, her heartbeat dropping to a normal rhythm. She saw a shimmer cover her form then felt a pop and a twitch, and suddenly, she was standing in front of her new family, naked. She blushed as her mates’ gazes took in every inch of her. Rosa came toward her, seemingly oblivious of her own nakedness, and wrapped a blanket around Carly’s shoulders. She saw her new friend had a deep gash along the arm as well as the puncture wounds in her neck.
“Are you okay?” Carly asked.
Rosa smiled. She swept a hand down her arm. “Sí, these are minor wounds. And this…” She touched the fang marks on her neck. “The venom paralyzed me for a few minutes, but I think I have a partial immunity since we share genetics, as much as the idea sickens me.” She kicked at the dead serpent on the carpet. “Psychotic bastard.”
Lucia came bustling back into the room. “They…are coming,” she wheezed. She stared at the headless snake and made another sign of the cross. “El diablo está muerto. Gracias, querido Jesús.”
Carly saw the furry bundle in Lucia’s arms start to squirm. Carly moved forward and gathered the wiggling kit into her arms. She rubbed her tummy gently. “How’s my little kitten? You seem a bit better.”
The kit nuzzled into Carly, licking her hand. Bright green eyes gazed up at Carly adoringly as the kitten let out a tiny meow. Carly didn’t see any evidence of concussion. Suzie seemed focused and alert, but she’d been unconscious for at least a few minutes. She felt the kit’s limbs, and though nothing seemed broken and Suzie never protested or cried out in pain, Carly knew she’d feel better if they took her future daughter to the ER and had X-rays done.
My future daughter.
Tyler wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “I know you’re worried, but she’ll be fine. She’s already begun the healing process, and it will go much quicker if she stays in cat form.”
“But she should go a hospital just to be sure. So should Rosa.”
“They’ll both be fine. They’re tougher than they look. Most shifters are.”
Tyler scooped the kit up and lifted his daughter over his head, shaking gently. Suzie let out a funny little growl then a tiny little roar. He passed her off to Rosa, who started toward the door. Lucia waddled next to her, and Carly heard Lucia say, “Una mangosta?”
“Sí,” Rosa said. “A mongoose.”
Lucia chucked. “I felt something about her when she arrived. Something muy especial a esa chica, pero que es muy extraño. Very strange indeed. Una mangosta! Ha!”
Carly smiled and glanced at Tyler. “Strange, huh?”
“Well,” Tyler said with a smirk, “you have to admit a mongoose shifter is a bit unusual, even if this were fiction.”
“Especially coming ou
t of nowhere like that,” Cougar said. “You’re pretty handy in a fight.”
“Ever thought of working for Homeland?” Tyler asked. “We can always use a woman with your talents.”
“We?” she asked.
Her big, strong alpha wrapped his arms around her and leaned his forehead against hers. “I might have been wrong to give up what I love. I’m thinking now that I have a strong beta, and an even stronger mate, I can go back and do what I do best.”
“Kicking ass?” she asked with a laugh.
“That’s part of it, but…” He gazed at her seriously, and her heart sped up at what he might say. He glanced once more at the serpent on the carpet. “I’m afraid to say this, but I think this is just the beginning.”
“So do I,” she whispered.
* * * *
“At least Homeland didn’t take the whole goddamn day clearing things up,” Tyler said.
Cougar nodded. “Not much to clear up. Just the dead carcass of a serpent shifter.”
“I wonder why he never shifted back,” Tyler said.
“Didn’t have time. Carly decapitated him before he knew what was happening.”
Tyler and Cougar watched their mate frolicking in the pool as they played another game of basketball. Gabe and Shane were doing their best, but Carly, Suzie, and Dusty were kicking their asses. He glanced over at Cougar with a grin. “She’s something else, isn’t she?”
“She is, bro. She is.” Cougar turned his bottle of Shiner up and drained it. “The cub showed what she’s made of today too.”
Tyler nodded in agreement, pride swelling inside him until he thought he might explode. “She’s alpha material.”
Cougar gave him a sidelong glance. “Meaning?”
“Is there any reason we can’t rethink all the old-school protocols?”
Cougar’s brows lifted. Then his forehead furrowed with a slight frown. He raised his bottle to his lips then made a face when he found it empty. He slowly put his empty on the table, leaned down, never taking his eyes off Tyler, and reached into the cooler for another. Tyler could see he’d flustered his youngest brother with his statement, and he was willing to give Cougar a few moments to come to terms with the idea.
When Cougar straightened, he twisted the cap off the bottle and took a long swallow. Even that wasn’t enough. He stared for another moment, taking deep breaths. “You’re serious.”
Tyler nodded.
“You really think any pride is willing to accept a female leader?” Cougar asked.
“I’m not sure about that, at least not yet, but we have a few years before it becomes an issue. Have you ever heard of a cub, any cub, acting the way she did?”
Cougar shook his head. “No, a kit’s instinct is to run.”
“And yet she didn’t. Suzie displayed all the protective instincts of an alpha, putting herself right in the line of fire to protect two adult pride members against a formidable adversary. Little thing put up a helluva fight Carly said.”
“Of course she did, sir. She’s a Lucas.”
Tyler turned to see Tomcat 6 approaching with a bouquet of flowers and a large gift box with holes punched near the top. Based on the soft mewing coming from inside the box, it appeared Suzie was getting her greatest wish fulfilled today.
Tyler nodded toward the flowers. “I’m assuming those aren’t for me.”
“No, sir. Not unless you like roses, sir.” Tomcat 6 grinned. He patted the box gently. “I have a little something for Suzie, too, if you don’t mind. Lucia said you were all a bit busy and asked me to pick it up for her.”
“She did, huh?” Tyler smiled when he heard the mewing get louder. “Suzie’ll be tickled. I’ll have to give Lucia a nice fat bonus for thinking of her.”
“Seems fair, sir,” Tomcat 6 said with a smile.
“You’re off duty, Robb. No need to call me sir.”
“Mr. Lucas, then.”
Tyler slapped the man on the shoulder. “I think in private you can call me Tyler. I have a feeling we’re going to be seeing your ugly face around here a lot.”
“I hope so, sir. But I’m not entirely off duty yet. I spent the afternoon in Catamount with some of Homeland agents. We found Jorge Alvarez’s dead body, not surprisingly given what we know now. He was also missing his thumb, which explains why Viper gained fairly easy access to the place. With the ID and the print, there was no reason to suspect anything at all.”
“I’m glad to hear there was at least a logical reason,” Tyler said.
“And there weren’t slipups in the security,” Cougar added.
Tomcat 6 nodded. “This plan was in the works for quite some time. Apparently Alvarez managed to fool all of us. We found evidence on his hard drive that he’s been on Viper’s payroll for over a year at least. Viper was merely biding his time in the event Alvarez was needed.”
“That’s a lesson learned the hard way,” Cougar said.
“Yes, sir,” Tomcat 6 said.
Tyler turned to Cougar. “So what’s the next step?”
“We’re going to have to redo all the background checks, investigate everyone we can’t pin as original families or long-term Catamount residents. And given what we know now, by long term, I mean we should go back at least five years.”
“Damn. That sounds…” Tyler scrubbed at his cheeks. “I don’t like violating the privacy of our colony members, showing a distrust of their integrity. We’re family here, aren’t we?” None of this sat well with him.
“Sure, we’re family, but it can’t be helped,” Cougar said. “Not when the security of the entire pride is at stake. Alvarez slid under the radar, and we almost lost our females. All of our females.”
“Don’t remind me.” Tyler felt sick to his stomach every time he thought of it. The idea of Rosa, Carly, and Suzie all being stripped from their world was incomprehensible to him. He’d lost a mate before and had almost lost his daughter as well. He couldn’t go through that again.
“Viper might have been more ingenious than most, but all of it was too close for comfort as far as I’m concerned.”
“I agree, sir,” Tomcat 6 said, glancing at Rosa.
“Okay, you convinced me,” Tyler said. “Meeting tomorrow at ten with the principals in my office.”
“Yes, sir,” Tomcat 6 said.
Tyler looked over at Rosa stretched languidly on the chaise. She hadn’t given any indication she knew Tomcat 6 was on the premises, but Tyler knew her better than that. Rosa had been depressed for a few hours, debating if there’d been anything she could have done to defuse the situation her brother had created, anything she could have done to save his life. No matter what Tyler and his brothers had said, she continued to blame herself for everything that had happened. Finally, Carly had taken charge, locking Rosa in the bedroom with her. He’d probably never know what Carly had said, but Rosa had come out of the room smiling. He’d been happy to see it.
She now seemed back to herself and playing games. She lifted the glass of iced tea to her lips and seemed to be still staring at the pool, but anything could be going on behind the large sunglasses she wore.
“Go on, Robb, now you’re officially off duty. Give her the roses.”
“Thank you, sir.”
Tomcat 6 hurried to Rosa and bent down, extending the flowers with a flourish, but Tyler didn’t miss his quick appraisal of Rosa’s body and the brief look of concern on his face.
Rosa offered him her most beguiling smile and scooted over so he could perch on the bottom of her chair. He set the box down carefully, making sure it was out of the splash range of water from the rowdy horseplay in the pool.
“He’s a good man,” Tyler said.
“One of the best,” Cougar said.
They continued to drink their beer, discussing possible ways of shoring up the protective measures at both Cattail and in Catamount. The sounds of laughter and splashing filled in any gaps in the conversation.
It didn’t take long for Suzie to notice the bright pac
kage and automatically assume it was meant for her. She came splashing up the concrete steps and out of the pool, heading straight for Tomcat 6. Ty started to move a little closer so he could hear what they were saying, but apparently a long conversation wasn’t necessary. Suzie shrieked with happiness and threw her arms around Tomcat 6’s neck. Tyler watched as he awkwardly patted Suzie’s back then offered her the gift.
Plopping down on the flagstones, Suzie carefully plucked at the ribbon and pulled the lid off. After another squeal of pleasure, she lifted out a small gray kitten. She held it gently, bringing the tiny fluff ball to her face and rubbing her cheek against the silky fur.
“Look, Daddy! Look! A kitty.”
Tyler walked over to admire the new addition to their family. “I see. She’s a beauty,” he said, but his eyes were only for his daughter’s radiant smile.
Suzie scurried to her feet, holding the squirming kitten in her arms. “Easy, little Tomásina. We’re going to see Lucia. She loves kitties.”
“She has a name already?” Carly climbed the ladder and joined them on the deck.
“Yes, I like that name,” Suzie said.
“It’s a wonderful name, and Lucia will like it too.” Carly gave Tyler a heart-stopping smile then grabbed a large beach towel from a nearby chair. It had a little dark-haired cartoon character on it, but Tyler could never keep them straight. She tucked it around Suzie’s shoulders then bent down and dropped a kiss on top of Suzie’s wet head. “You may like water, my tiny mermaid, but that kitten doesn’t seem to like getting wet.”
Suzie giggled. “No, she doesn’t.” She lifted the kitten outside the towel. “But she’s going to love Lucia. Come on, Tomásina, let’s go!”
She skipped toward the French door, and Tyler listened to her delighted laughter as Carly turned back toward him. Tyler could never get over how beautiful their mate was. Encased in a sleek one-piece suit of shimmering gold, she looked like a princess from the bottom of the sea. He pulled her close, his hands stroking over her wet back. She laid her head against his chest, and Tyler let his gaze roam over the familial scene.
