Once in his cell, Jared shifted back to human form and realized that he was covered with blood. He wasn’t sure what was his and what was theirs. Dizzy from the blood loss, he dropped onto his bunk and passed out. He came awake when Brain and Pinky dragged him out of his cell and through the halls to the boiler room.
“You will never do that again.” Brain promised as Pinky tossed a chain over a thick pipe above and tethered Jared, with his hands over his head and his ribs stretched painfully. “We’ll make sure everyone knows what you are. You think you’re a target now? You ain’t seen nothing yet, Panther.”
Jared couldn’t see what Pinky was doing behind him, but he could smell hot iron. “They attacked me.”
“And you killed them all! Seven dead inmates! We can’t just tell the press that a panther broke in and slaughtered them. We’re going to teach you a lesson.” Brain growled.
Jared felt the chains tighten, lifting him until his toes barely touched the floor. White hot heat hit his back. He growled at first and then screamed as it burned through his skin, filling the air with the cloying smell of cooking meat. The searing pain made his body jerk reflexively and caused sweat to bead on his skin, the salt of it stinging as it trickled over the burn. Laughing, they choked him with the collar, tightening it until he could only breathe in short gasps and he was trapped in human form.
“That should do it,” Pinky grunted.
“Leave him there and make sure it takes.” Brain shoved a mirror in front of Jared’s face as Pinky held up another to show Jared what they’d done. They had branded him with a Sainday mark. The mark that told anyone who saw it that his blood was tainted with demon, making him something to be shunned, feared and hunted.
His pain turned to rage. From that day forward Jared’s life in prison went from hell to a hell that put Dante’s Inferno to shame and made it seem like a Disneyland ride.
Serra leaned back in the seat, watching street lights and cars pass by the window. The police scanner buzzed, crackled and spit out calls that needed answering, but to her, it was all background noise. The Asylum’s neon sign glowed on the horizon, growing larger. Pops was going to pitch a fit and gods knew Momma was going to hit her with another round of her being an embarrassment to the Mangus name. Sighing heavily, she twisted the steel cuff on her wrist. The chain to its twin tinkled merrily against the ripped thighs of her jeans. Yeah, neither of the ‘rents were going to be happy.
The turn signal ticked loudly, indicating that her reprieve was at an end. Unless she turned on the charm and got to talking her way out of this, she was screwed. The scenery slowed to a crawl as the squad car pulled up to the back loading dock of the nightclub.
“So... Which of you wants to tell Pops about this?” Forcing a smile, Serra leaned forward in the seat, her fingers sliding through the metal mesh that separated her from the two officers in the front seat. Joe turned his head, closing his amber eyes and sighing. Serra laughed at the look of doom and gloom on his handsome face. If the fox wasn’t a cop and didn’t smell like... Well, a fox, she would have taken him up on the multiple offers he’d made to rock her world over the years. But he was, and he did, and they didn’t need the law sniffing around the nightclub any more than it already did on the regular.
“Why do you insist on doing this to us, Kitten?” Joe’s voice was a quiet, smooth rumble. His eerie yellow eyes met her baby blues. “I thought you liked us. Well, me at least. No one likes the human.” He tilted his head toward his partner behind the wheel.
Matt rolled his brown eyes, growled under his breath and slid the gear shift into park. “The human can hear you, fuck you very much. And, not it.” He rubbed his tightly cropped dark hair with his hand and turned in his seat to look at Serra. “I was happier not knowing that you all existed. Fuck me for trying to help.”
Serra laughed. She did like the human and his dry sense of humor. That and that he was one of the rare few that knew about her kind and kept his yap shut, but was always the first to pick up a call when they needed him to. Like the time she’d fallen into the leopard exhibit at the zoo. Matt had been the first to show up and get her back to her parents. She couldn’t imagine the paperwork he’d altered or palms he’d had to grease to make that happen.
“You’ve got to stop setting your dates on fire, Serra and for fuck sake, pick a better quality of male!”
“It was just his eyebrows,” Serra smirked and shrugged. “He had it coming.”
Joe coughed to cover his laugh. “Serra....” He shook his head and tried to look disappointed in her.
“What?” She sat back in the seat, crossing her arms over her chest. “He did!”
“I know I’m going to regret asking this,” Matt winced and leveled his tired gaze on her. “But what did he do?”
Serra glared at the human. “You won’t understand.”
“Try me.”
“He called me...” She growled and curled her lip with contempt. “Princess.”
Joe erupted in a roar of laughter, drawing her glare. Matt rubbed his forehead and looked at her like she was an impossible math problem. “So you set him on fire?”
“Just his eyebrows,” she sighed back.
Matt dropped his face into his palm and groaned loudly. “Just get out.”
“But...”
"No. Zip it. Get out.” He pointed to her door.
Serra’s jaw ticked with annoyance, but she shrugged and magicked her way out of the handcuffs, leaving them on the seat and popped the lock, allowing her to open the door. “Until next time, Boys.” She grinned and shut the door, turning and bouncing up the steps to the back entrance. Gods, they were too easy. Pushing through the early evening crowd, she made her way across the floor of the club and then up the narrow staircase to Pop’s office. Matt had a nasty habit of calling Damion from a safe distance and narcing her ass out. Serra intended to cut him off at the pass.
Rapping her knuckles against the door, she didn’t wait for an invite and pushed it open. Closing it behind her, she froze when she turned and saw her father and another, not unattractive male, sitting at his desk bent over a pile of photographs. She smiled, hoping she hadn’t just stumbled into something she shouldn’t have.
Pops arched a brow, sighed and gave his head a small shake. “So the bodies are still piling up. That’s what you’re saying. Yes?”
“Yes. And Jared can’t be doing it. He’s locked up. That leaves the bitch.” Contempt dripped from the male’s voice, like honey from the comb.
Serra tried to see what they were looking at, her brow arching when she felt small claws and teeth sink into her calf. Looking down, small hazel eyes in a black face blinked up at her and purred. “And who are you, Brat?” Reaching down, she scooped up the panther cub, nuzzling him and sniffing his fur. He didn’t smell familiar. Shrugging, she hoisted him to her shoulder and stroked his fur, scratching the skin under the hair gently making him purr louder as he shoved his muzzle into her long blonde hair and batted at it.
“Then we need to get him out of there,” Damion growled. “And we need to convince Salvation. Killing her doesn’t right the wrong, and he doesn’t deserve a death sentence.” He closed the file as Serra walked closer with the cub, smiling at his daughter softly. “Hey, Munchkin. Have you met Brian?”
Serra shook her head and shifted the cub’s weight to shake the hand the bear offered. “I think I’ve seen you in the club a few times, but we haven’t met. Serra.” She smiled and bent down to kiss Pop’s cheek. “And who is this little guy?” She asked petting the cub’s back, not asking why a bear was here with a panther cub. It wasn’t any of her business, and she’d learned a long time ago when not to ask questions.
“Nice to finally meet you, Serra.” Brian nodded, recognizing her from behind the bar downstairs. “That’s my nephew, Daniel.”
Serra held the cub up at eye level and brushed her nose against his, grinning when his small stomach grumbled. “Well, hello Daniel. Are you hungry?” The cub yowled, making her
laugh.
“Why don’t you take him down to the house and get him something to eat while we finish up here Munchkin?” Damion watched her with the cub before turning his eyes back to Brian. “If you don’t mind, of course. I promise that he’ll be safe. No one will mess with him while he’s with Serra.”
Serra grinned at her father’s faith in her, and it was true. Her siblings may have bullied her when she was little but those days were over. “I’d love to. If it’s ok?” She waited for Brian to nod before turning toward the door.
“And Munchkin?” Damion’s voice dropped into the one he used when she did something wrong, making her grimace.
“Yes, Pops?” She smiled innocently over her shoulder.
“We’ll talk about your police escort, later.”
Her shoulders slumped. Crap. He already knew. “Yes, Sir.” She sighed, whispering to the cub in her arms, “Can’t get away with nothing.” She ignored the two men laughing at her as she left. She wondered what they were up to. It didn’t matter. She’d sneak in later and find out. Grinning, she nuzzled the cub and made her way down the hall to the hidden stairwell that led into the Mangus home.
Fifty years wasn’t a long time in the life of a shifter, but it was a long fucking time for one to be locked up with humans who were worse than their animal sides could contemplate being. Brian drummed his fingers against the steering wheel, watching the gate and waiting, worrying about how his brother might have changed. Gods knew he was harder and colder than he’d been when he went in but had they managed to turn him rogue? That was the question that haunted the bear. And if prison hadn’t done it, would what he was returning to push the Panther over the edge? He closed his eyes and sighed hard.
Daniel should be here, but the cub wanted no part of it. Heather had done a number on the kid, particularly where his father was concerned. Why would the gods allow a female who shouldn’t have a goldfish, to mate, breed and fuck a kid’s life like that? Not to mention Jared’s. No matter how many different ways Brian had tried to get through to the cub about his father, Daniel still bought Heather’s line of shit and blamed his father for everything she’d done and not being there to protect him.
Guilt chewed at Brian’s gut. He should have gotten to the kid quicker, but Heather took off and it had taken him years to track them down, even with his background and current connections. Anticipating insanity was a bitch, but damn if he couldn’t rock it like a pro now. Even after he found them, he wouldn’t have been able to pull the strings to get his brother out of the maximum security compound in front of him. That had taken the head of the Mangus, Morgan and Fitzpatrick clans presenting evidence to the tribunal and swaying enough of the members to vote to overturn the sentence imposed by Salvation.
Brian hadn’t expected that they demand that Heather be brought in to pay for her crimes and what she’d done to her mate, but he had trouble finding a drop of sympathy for her. The bitch earned whatever she got, as long as it didn’t kill his brother in the process. That mating shit could be tricky, and he didn’t know that he trusted that it could be undone, even by someone as powerful as Sal. Not that he would ever say that out loud around the ancient white buffalo. He liked his nuts where they were, and breathing air beat the hell out of pushing up daisies.
He forced his jaw to stop ticking. Inside he was seething over the injustice of it all, but on the outside, he sold the hell out of not having a problem in the world, stamped with his patented amused smirk. It was a survival instinct that had kept him alive and was an invaluable tool when he moonlighted for Alpha Pride. One brow quirked as gears hummed to life and the heavy gauge chain link topped with razor wire slowly began to roll open. Opening the door of the classic red Chevy pickup truck, he stepped out and leaned against the restored fender as the wind whipped his dark hair around his face. His smirk grew into a smile when Jared walked into the sunlight, squinting at the brightness and carrying a paper sack of belongings in his hands.
“’Bout fucking time. I thought you’d decided to stay.” Brian pushed off the truck and crossed the gravel drive, glancing up at the automatic rifles trained on them from the guard tower. Fuck if that didn’t squash any warm and fuzzy feelings but quick.
“No fucking way.” Jared smiled and clasped Brian’s outstretched hand, pulling him in to bump shoulders. “God, it’s good to see you.”
Brian was surprised by the arm that came around his shoulders and held him tightly for a moment but returned it, relieved. “Good to see you on this side of the fence. Let’s go before these fuckers change their minds.”
“You don’t need to ask me twice, Brother Bear.”
CHAPTER 2
Serra paused on the back, loading dock of The Asylum, still bobbing her head in time with the Avenged Sevenfold that played so loud that the patrons had to yell into one another’s ears to have a conversation. She leaned against the painted steel pipe that served as a safety rail and raised her face to inhale deeply. She purred at the clean sweetness of the spring rain, her skin itched to shift into her panther form and ghost to the hills for a run. The street lights reflected off the wet pavement like those weird fun house mirrors. She loved the spring in Sun Valley. Even when she traveled, she always came home for it.
Smiling, Serra hefted the bag of trash from between her feet and bounced down the cement steps. The high heels of her boots clicked against the asphalt hollowly in time with the pounding music from inside the club. A glass bottle skittered across the pavement, rolling and coming to a stop near her foot as she stretched and struggled to lift the heavy rubber lid to jimmy the bag of bar trash into the dented bin. Gods, she hated being short.
Dropping the lid, she stepped back, causing the bottle to rattle, drawing her attention again. Something was off. Tilting her head to the side, she glanced into the alley, listening intently as the hair on the back of her neck prickled.
The heavy bass of Rob Zombie leached through the walls and made her doubt the sound she thought she’d heard. Maybe it was the wind? Whatever it was, it came from the same direction as the bottle. Bending down, she closed her fingers around the amber neck of the red labeled Budweiser bottle before stretching back up, to drop it in the dumpster with a shrug.
The sound came again. This time, she was confident that she’d heard it. Glancing up at the employee entrance, Serra considered going for backup, for all of two seconds. Sliding her hands into her back pockets, she slowly stepped into the darkness, scanning the shadows for anything out of the norm.
Every instinct told her to turn back, but facing the staff teasing her or her father that she was a wimpy female, kept her feet moving forward. Gods knew she’d done enough to embarrass Pops lately. Serra wasn’t willing to add one more thing to the list. Lifting her face, she sampled the scents in the air, trying to weed out anything that didn’t belong. Wrapping her arms around her middle, she drifted deeper into the mouth of the alley, shuddering and feeling like it was swallowing her.
A gust of wind, blew at her back, tossing her long blonde hair into her face. Too late, she picked up the scent of other cat shifters. Before she could turn, rough hands grabbed her, dragging her further into the shadows and choked her with something they snapped around her neck. Serra tried to ghost to safety. She yelped at the pain that radiated from the thing on her neck. Her hands yanked at it, identifying the leather, beads, and bones. She was collared!
Without thinking, she stomped her stiletto heel into the instep of whoever was manhandling her and brought up her elbow to catch him in the face. The lion’s nose exploded in a gush of blood and cussing. She spun and buried her knee between his thighs, dropping his sorry ass to the ground, leaving him there to vomit up a nut. Again she tried to ghost and again she was blocked with a sharp shock. Pushing the hair back from her face while her free hand tugged at the collar, Serra glanced over her shoulder at two tiger males that blocked her way out.
They were fucking huge, and their scent tasted like trouble. Turning to face them, she reached for he
r cell only to discover that she’d left it on the bar. Stupid rookie mistake. Her body coiled tight, every muscle demanding that she bolt. The dead end behind her left only one escape route. Through them. Her pulse pounded, and her palms turned clammy. She was fucked.
She could fight and win against one. Maybe even two. Three had her worried. Not that she’d let them know that. Serra matched every step they advanced with one of her own. Their stench of hatred and lust made her want to gag. Fuck, these were the ones she’d had Blade escort out for what they had tried to do to that poor human in the lady’s room. Shit.
Keeping her arms loose, she nodded and tried to step around the Tigers only to be blocked by the larger one. “Excuse me.” She tried with the polite before switching it up when he leered and reached for her. “Get the fuck out of my way.” Serra shrugged her shoulder out from under his ham sized hand.
The male laughed in her face. “Look at what we have here boys. The Mangas whelp.”
Serra grimaced at the term that she’d always hated and tried once more to get by them. Hands shoved her back so hard that she lost her footing and landed in a crouch, smashing one knee into the tar. She tried to shift panther. It worked as well as attempting to ghost had. She was screwed. She tried the last thing she could think of, mindlinking her family inside. She got no response. Serra was on her own. This was going to hurt.
Pushing herself to her feet, she squared her shoulders. Her face was a mask of nothing as she hid the pain that was radiating down her leg. She growled when her hair was yanked from behind, dragging her against the hard chest of a pissed off lion. A hand clamped over her mouth. Serra was lifted off the ground and pulled deeper into the darkness, kicking and stabbing with her heels until her neck was twisted so hard that tendons cracked, and she felt the bones grind, teetering on the verge of snapping.
The Mating (Black on Black, #1) Page 3
