Coti's Unclaimed Mate

by Elle Boon

  Coti stared after the two craziest men he’d ever met, then looked at Damien and Lucas. “Thanks for coming.”

  Lucas nodded. “When this is over, we’ve gotta talk.”

  “It’s never a good thing to hear those words coming out of anyone’s mouth, let alone one of you,” NeNe said.

  Damien bent until he was eye level with NeNe, making Coti’s beast rise. “Easy, cousin. She’s more than shifter,” he stated.

  “We’ll talk about it later. For now, let’s go before those two get us all killed.”

  “Nah, they’re likely to fit right in, until they don’t want to.” Bodhi moved around them. “However, it’s best if we don’t let them try it.”

  The humans from before, who’d manned the entrance, slept inside their pickups or outside in tents. Coti shook his head when he noticed the mound of liquor along with the stench of drugs. “How is it the law hasn’t come out here to at least check on this shit?” He nudged a beer bottle with his boot, keeping NeNe close to his side.

  “I saw a few local officers at the races. Maybe they pay them off.”

  Her nonchalant tone didn’t fool Coti. “I’m sure there’s more you’re not telling me,” he growled.

  She blinked up at him. “You guys are removed from a lot that’s going on that doesn’t directly involve you and your people. If you have money, you can do just about anything you want and get away with it.”

  Coti stopped walking, planting himself in front of his mate. “You’re one of us, too.”

  “Now I am, but only a couple weeks ago, I was on the outside looking in. I was this close to being gone.” She held her thumb and finger an inch apart.

  His wolf pushed forward, making his voice sound deeper. “I’d have hunted you to the ends of the earth.”

  “You were still in denial, remember?” Anger and hurt rolled off her.

  He wanted to deny her words, but she was right. “I’m sorry.” He couldn’t say anything else.

  She pulled his head down, kissing him with the kind of passion he was coming to expect. “You’re forgiven. Let’s go kick some baddies asses.”

  Several of the wolves groaned at her words. Coti bit her lower lip, licking over the wound before setting her back on her feet. “Damn, I’m a lucky motherfucker.”

  “Don’t you forget it,” she agreed.

  NeNe was having third and fourth thoughts when they tromped through the campground. The others called it a compound, but it appeared more like a huge camp for fuckups. Like a traveling circus, except there weren’t any fun rides for kids. Now that she knew it was a shifter encampment, she understood how they’d been able to get everything in place without an issue. The huge track they used for quarter mile races was one of the main event areas with the octagon cage fighting on the other side. Mac, the leader, had his platform seating area directly in the middle of both, raised up high enough he could overlook the entire place without having to get down. She shivered at the thought of him and his enhanced hearing and sight.

  “What’s wrong?” Coti asked, pulling her closer to him.

  “I was just thinking about the times I’d thought I was out of Mac’s eyesight or hearing. When in truth, I probably wasn’t. More than likely, he heard Gracie and the others tormenting me and heard about my plans to leave after my last night. I’m betting he knew those bitches were going to fuck me up.” Her bear flashed images of the women bleeding beneath her claws.

  “Makes sense. If you were injured, you’d probably agree to a turning. In his fucked-up head, since he’s the alpha here, if he turns you, then you’re his by right and might.”

  She rubbed her hand over the mark Coti had made, glad the gruesome one Mac had inflicted had been repaired by her mate’s bite. “I’d like to rip his balls off and shove ‘em down his throat.”

  “Ah, another blood thirsty female. I love it. Alright, children, looks like it’s gonna be a rumble.” Creed pointed toward the area where races took place.

  “Why aren’t they rushing us?” NeNe asked.

  Creed pointed at his head. “I’ve cloaked our presence. Figured we could get the lay of the land first, make sure there’s no surprises like the last time.”

  Blinking, she wondered what he was referring to, but none of the men said a word.

  “I feel Dark Fae here, but I can’t pinpoint where,” Lucas stated, putting his hands on his hips with a scowl on his face.

  “What’s a Dark Fae?” NeNe asked.

  Creed walked back to her, shaking his head. “Hold please,” he said, then touched her forehead.

  She thought she heard Coti yell no, but her mind was immediately swamped with knowledge. Images flowed into her along with years of life she had no way of filtering. Her head felt full, yet her bear and the other that seemed to reside within her soaked up the knowledge, taking it in and settling.

  “You’re better prepared, yes?” Creed stepped back, his left arm out.

  She looked to see Coti pushing against an invisible wall. “Yes, thank you. Can you let him go?”

  Creed looked over at Coti. “You gonna play nice?”

  Coti flashed his teeth that didn’t look wolfish but had fangs. “I’ll fucking kill you if you hurt her.”

  “Blah blah blah, heard that one before. Clearly, I’m still here, and now, your female has the knowledge she needs to be an asset instead of a liability. You’re welcome.” He released the invisible hold he had on Coti.

  NeNe placed herself between the two men. “I’m fine, truly. Strangely, I actually feel better. Remember all those questions I had?” She waited for him to nod. “I don’t think I have anymore. At least not about what I am or how to be the new me. Thank you, Creed.”

  “See, she’s smart. I already said you’re welcome.” Creed turned and walked away as if he hadn’t a care in the world.

  “He’s not a shifter, is he?” she asked Coti.

  Her mate looked up at the sky. “Goddess no. He’s most definitely not a shifter. Come on, that’s a discussion for another day.”

  “How do we want to do this? Surround them and then have Creed do his thing so they know we’re here?” Xan asked.

  “That seems like a bitch move. I say we do like in the old days. We’re pack, we go in as one and slaughter them all,” Turo growled.

  Joz sighed.

  NeNe blinked at the iridescent black scales flickering over her friend’s skin. Damn, here she thought she was a badass apex predator. Joz had her beat if she was a kickass dragon.

  “I’m going to keep the humans asleep even if they’re on the enemies’ side. We don’t need to bring that type of attention down on us.” Creed pointed to the right where tents were set up. “There’s a couple dozen in there. We’ll take care of them afterwards. I don’t feel anything below us, so looks like it’s go time, kids.” He clapped his hands twice; the boom sent a blast of wind toward the area, making dirt and debris fly at the shifters who were gathered.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Coti allowed his powers to rise, forming his katanas. “Did you soak up how to use these?” he asked NeNe just before the barrier went down. At her nod, he handed her a set, then created another. “Stay by me. If you have to shift, do it.” Looking into her mind, he double checked to make sure the knowledge was there, satisfied that she was prepared.

  “If you’re focused on me, you’ll get hurt or worse. Trust me, I’m not stupid,” she said with conviction.

  Through their link, he could see she was ready for battle thanks to Creed and him. The blast echoed around them, followed by a silence that was almost deafening. As if in slow motion, the shifters in the center of the track turned as one, facing the threat. Coti pointed one of his katanas at Mac. “You’re dead,” he growled.

  Mac’s eyes widened for only a moment. “Kill them all.”

  The shifters who came at them were slow to change from man to beast, their animals misshapen. Several what the fucks were growled out from his fellow brothers, but none hesitated to take the anima
ls out.

  Coti took a hit from the side, bumping into NeNe who was busy slicing the arm off a bear. The huge beast roared, his face coming too close to his mate’s twisting body. Before Coti could intervene, NeNe flipped backward, slashing upward as she went, coming back to make a clean slice, taking his head. The huge animal lay with his innards out, his head feet from him, while NeNe prepared for the next attack. Goddess, she was amazing.

  “You might want to take that one out, he looks to be getting up.” NeNe pointed at the one who’d bumped into him.

  “Shit!” Coti shoved his sword into the animal’s chest. The thing had clearly been damaged by one of his brothers.

  He and NeNe continued forward, keeping in their human forms. He lost count as to how many animals had fallen. A sadness welled within him at the senseless loss of life. The bastard that was Mac had turned the humans into something they shouldn’t have been. A growl split the air, but he and NeNe were busy with a group of men who were born not made.

  “Hello, bitch. You really should’ve chose our side. We’d have treated you like a queen.” A huge mountain of a man said, spitting on the ground.

  NeNe rolled her eyes. “Oh, and as the queen would I have been passed around to all of you to fuck?”

  The three men laughed, elbowing each other. “You’d have liked it.” one of the men said, grabbing his dick.

  “See, there’s not even a VDL, which means I most assuredly wouldn’t have,” NeNe laughed.

  At the narrowed eyed stares, Coti knew things were going to go south, fast. “That would be visible dick line, which none of you have,” Coti informed them, pointing his sword in the general direction of their crotches. “I have a proposition for you, boys. You can walk away and promise to be good little bear cubs, and we’ll let you live another day. Or, you die.”

  He made sure his tone suggested the latter. These men would’ve gladly taken NeNe against her will, brutally. For that alone, they deserved to suffer.

  As one, they attacked, their focus on his mate. Big mistake. NeNe ducked, her elbow slamming into the side of one of the men. The force of her blow sent him into Coti. Using his feet, he kicked him backward, the sound of ribs cracking made him smile. He stalked the man, intent on killing him quickly.

  “Gotcha.”

  Coti turned to see Mac dragging NeNe by the hair.

  He twisted the man’s neck, killing him quickly then was up and chasing Mac. The other two men moved to intercept him, shifting into their bear forms. Coti tossed one of his katanas at the one who’d spoken first, embedding the sword deep into his chest, the tip coming out the other side. The other sword went flying, taking out the bear’s right eye and continuing through the back of his head. Coti didn’t stop to see if they fell or not. Mac was fast, even though he was dragging a struggling NeNe. The scent of Dark Fae hit him.

  “Creed,” he yelled. The other man was halfway across the football sized area, but Coti knew he’d hear, or at least, he hoped like hell he did. If Mac had the help of the evil ones, he’d need more than himself to defeat the bastard.

  His beast rose, roaring out in denial. Coti shifted to mist, moving faster than he could as man or wolf. The scent of NeNe’s fear hit him but mixed in with it was also determination. What was she doing? He had a feeling his mate was allowing herself to be taken. “When this is over, I’m going to tan her damn hide,” he promised.

  “Good luck with that,” Creed said, invading his thoughts.

  Instead of debating with the man, Coti grunted. “Can you smell the evil?”

  A moment passed, then Creed was the one to grunt. “Yep, stinks worse than that one time my father had a horde of Krumkin Demons fighting over dinner.”

  Coti had no clue what a Krumkin Demon was and was sure he didn’t want to know. As the son of Satan, Creed had seen and experienced things none of them would want to. “I’m assuming that’s pretty bad.”

  “Yep. Come on, looks like he’s hiding in one of those rail cars. They must’ve figured you boys were allergic to silver or some shit since that thing is coated with it.”

  Coti saw NeNe and Mac heading for the last car, her little body struggling behind his, the scent of her blood hitting him like a bomb going off. He lost the ability to stay in his current form, dropping to the ground behind them, startling Mac into releasing NeNe.

  “Hey, asshole, why don’t you pick on someone your own size?” Coti cracked his knuckles. He moved forward intent on taking Mac’s head off.

  “Coti, he’s got my mom,” NeNe whispered scrambling to her feet.

  He pulled her next to him, eyeing the bastard up and down. “So, I’ll kill him and get your mother out of here.”

  In her memories, when they’d bonded, he’d only seen glimpses of a woman NeNe referred to as momma. Other memories showed NeNe as a young girl, wishing her mother was there, and deep sadness, but he’d assumed she’d died. Not once had he imagined she’d been taken by this bastard.

  “He says she’s a shifter now, but he won’t help her unless I go with him.” Her voice quavered.

  Through their link she felt a tug. “Do you feel your mother, armina?”

  “I felt drawn here from the very beginning. Something called me here, but I didn’t know what. There was always a tug that kept me here even when I knew I shouldn’t,” she answered.

  “You can scent a lie. When he spoke, did you smell truth?”

  “Yes,” she said.

  The conviction made him nod, knowing he would do anything to help her save her mother.

  “You two done with the chit chat. You want to save your bitch of a mother, you come with me alone. If not, she dies.” Mac shrugged, his bear form rippled beneath his skin.

  The last thing he could do was allow his mate to go off with the other male. “You know I can’t let her go without me.”

  Mac inhaled, no doubt searching for his mating mark. “I’ll erase you from her the same as you did me. Besides, it’ll be a family reunion.” He whistled, like one would do to call a pet.

  Two men Coti recognized ambled out from behind Mac. Their black eyes belying their humanity had been replaced with bears. “It’s time you came home, girl,” NeNe’s father growled.

  NeNe’s spine stiffened when her dad and brother lumbered out. They smelled like bear and drugs, just like the other shifters they’d encountered. Behind them, she could hear roars and screams as her pack battled. She wasn’t sure where Creed had disappeared to, but she’d felt him before Coti had dropped to the ground. She was glad Mac hadn’t realized Coti was anything other than a wolf. “Oh, is this home now, daddy? Last I checked it was a trailer on the other side of town. Of course, this tin can might be a step above that piece of shit.”

  Her father lunged forward, hatred burning in his dark eyes. Mac held out his arm, clotheslining him. A roar broke from her dad. The fierce sound of an angry grizzly in a rage coming from a human male was all kinds of weird. “Yikes, you should get that checked out.” She motioned to her dad on the ground twitching.

  Mac held up a device, laughing when her father stopped moving. Her brother moved forward, glaring at her. “You’re nothing but a whore, you know that?” He lifted the older man off the ground.

  “Your opinion of me doesn’t mean dick. How does a son let his mother suffer?” Her bear growled, thick black claws burst from her fingers.

  “Enough, you come with me, now, or I give the signal for Gracie to kill your mother. You remember Gracie, don’t you?” He smirked.

  Rage burned through her at the mention of the other woman’s name. “She touches my mother, I’ll kill her. No, scratch that. I’m going to kill her regardless of what happens.”

  Mac laughed. “I knew you’d be a great bitch for me. Let’s go.” He held out his hand.

  She looked at the big palm held out, then at a silent Coti. Their connection was oddly quiet. “I trust you to get me out of there,” she whispered.

  When he didn’t respond, she touched his face, shocked at the stran
ge coldness. Turning toward Mac, she walked around him. “Touch me, and I’ll cut whatever appendage you’re using to do so, off.”

  He grabbed her arm, unaffected by her threat. “Did you see how your supposed mate just stood there? If you were mine, I’d have battled to the bloody end before I allowed my female to walk away with another. That’s the difference between a mangy wolf and a bear.”

  The cold man who stood so still was a shell. She didn’t know what Creed and Coti were up to, but she knew he wouldn’t allow her to walk into danger alone. A soothing presence spread throughout her mind. The words ‘Mate’ reverberated in Coti’s voice, giving her the strength to allow Mac to lead her through the maze of rail cars.

  Her mother had left when she’d been a toddler. NeNe had very little memories of her except she cried a lot, which had made NeNe sad. Then one day, she’d left and not come back.

  “Here we are.” Mac lifted the flap of a large tent.

  She smelled Gracie and the other two females along with her mother and a male.

  Gracie stared at her, a smile playing at her lips. “Oh, you come back for another round?”

  NeNe let her bear push forward, the long thick claws extending. “You want to play, puppy?” Three wolf bitches against one bear didn’t seem like a fair fight, but NeNe felt sure she could take them all.

  “Why did you make her a bear instead of let one of us turn her?” Gracie snarled at Mac.

  Mac was across the space and lifting the woman into the air by her throat. “You don’t question me, ever. Get your skanky asses out of my sight until I call for you,” he roared.

  She would’ve laughed had her attention not have locked onto the couple in the corner. The big man crouched in front of her mother, his eyes wary. “What’s going on?” His deep voice rumbled through the room. “You said you’d let her go, if I did what you asked.”

  “I need her for one more thing, then you both can go.”

  NeNe heard the lie and wondered if the other shifter could as well. “You need my mother to lure me here, then what? You going to kill her?”