by Lauren Dane
“Yes?” she asked.
“What are you doing to my family?”
“This again? I’m beginning to get so bored with you, Ramon. You don’t like me. Point made. What else is there to add that’s not clichéd and tedious?”
He growled and she raised a brow his way. It wasn’t that she was afraid of him, but that she hated having to do this because she hated harming Max.
“Doesn’t it matter to you that this hurts Max? That it hurts your aunt and uncle, who’re doing their best to lead this jamboree in such troubling times? Do you have no shame?” It bothered her, this sort of thing. Not that she expected everyone to like her, that wouldn’t be normal in any family. But this faction in the jamboree didn’t seem to care how much damage they did, they didn’t even seem to think about the repercussions of what they did. And that was dangerous.
“He’d be better off without you anyway. I’d be doing him a favor.”
She didn’t bother with her snort of derision at this statement. He needed a spanking, and Max had stressed over and over that she had to give one to make a point. So she spooled up her energy, letting him see it, hoping he’d back off. But he seemed too stupid to get it and fear.
“Don’t use your filthy magick here, witch.”
This, of course, was the worst possible thing he could say. It pushed many of her buttons and had her fisting her hands to keep from popping him one.
“Some mouth you’ve got on you. I’ll use my magick anywhere I please. I don’t need your permission. I outrank you. Now back off.”
He moved so fast she would have missed it were she not a shifter as well. But she was and she saw the razor-sharp claw coming at her face and jerked to the side as she brought a warding hand up, sending her energy through it, enough to lift him from the gorgeous hardwood floor. And enough that when she let go, he clattered down, the breath whooshing from his lips.
It was then Max let his presence be known with a snarled growl. Then he reached down, grabbed his cousin by the scruff of the neck and hauled him up the steps before tossing him out the front door. Kendra watched in awe at how Max moved, as he followed his cousin, getting close enough to own the other man’s personal space. “You’re barred from jamboree gatherings for sixty days.” He hauled off and punched his cousin square in the face. “That’s for showing claw to my wife.” He punched him again. “And that’s for being so stupid you’d do it after you were warned.”
It was at that point she noticed they had an audience. She’d knocked Ramon on his ass in front of pretty much his entire family and none of them seemed mad. Not even Beth, who shrugged and walked away.
“Kendra, would you please come up with me?” Max asked, or well, he sounded like he asked, but she knew she needed to speak to the alpha pair about what had happened.
But he didn’t take her directly to the office. He hustled her down a long, quiet hallway and into a room that still scented strongly of him.
“This is your old room.”
“Are you all right?”
She looked around at the space that, despite several decades of his absence, retained his presence. “I’m fine.” She turned, looking up into his face, treasuring it already. “Are you mad?”
She found herself on her back, on his bed, Max looming over her, the light of passion in his eyes and a very ready cock pressing against her mound. Then she smiled. “You’re a filthy boy.”
“You have no idea what it does to me to see you like that. Tough. In charge. Owning your role.” He said it, but the words were nearly a snarl as desire overtook him. He needed her so badly he couldn’t see straight.
“Then take me,” she whispered and he knew she’d felt the blast of his want through their bond.
And he drowned in her, taking, giving, consuming her, giving over to the near-narcotic effect she had on him, on his cat. Sure in the knowledge as they slid skin to skin that he’d found home.
“Wow.”
She spoke from where she’d burrowed into his side, something else about her he adored. She sought him out, taking comfort from his body. It meant everything.
“Glad you’re not mad.”
Even without seeing her expression, he knew she teased, a smile on lips that would be kiss-swollen.
“I’m mad at him. At the situation. It’s a waste of time better spent on other things. But it’s not about you.”
“This sucks.” She paused and started to laugh. “Not this part, this part’s pretty awesome. But I think I’ve had my fill of family acting like they’ve lost their damned minds. I hate that it hurts you. I’m sorry for that. Sorry I had a part in it. If it would be easier, I can stop coming to these things.”
He growled, pinching a cheek of the ass he could write epic poems to. “Not yours to make up for. Now, let’s get dressed and set to rights. I was with my father just before you arrived. He says he’s got something to tell us.”
“Oh great. So everyone’s gonna know we came up here and got it on. Icing is that your parents will know.” Blushing, she headed toward the bathroom. “You ripped my hose.”
“Yeah. Well, you’re going to need to carry around a change of such things. Or I can tuck them in a drawer or my pocket.” He leered as she disappeared into the bathroom.
“Or, you could control your lustful impulses.”
They both laughed at that.
By the time he’d gotten himself dressed and straightened, she came out looking beautifully unmussed, though it would have been impossible not to see the glow she had about her. “Don’t need hose anyway. Your legs are perfect.”
She smiled, flattered. “Thank you for saying so. But they’re cold. In case you haven’t noticed, it’s April.”
“In case you haven’t, your body temperature should be higher. Aren’t you warmer since you took on your cat?” He zoomed in, sliding himself against her, covering her in his scent.
“I am now. But we just had sex, so back off and let’s go deal with your parents.” She turned in his arms, straightening his collar and smoothing down the front of his shirt. “Handsome. Is this bad, do you think? Is there trouble?”
“I don’t know. But given the way things are going, I’d wager there’s something up, yes.”
“Jeez.”
His mother was ending a phone call as they knocked and entered the office. Max scented his father’s emotions, could feel the pull of them as they shut the door.
“I’m sorry to pull you two away, but there are some recent developments we need to discuss with you.” Cesar sighed heavily. “Thank you, beauty, for setting Ramon to rights. I’ve heard word about it. Gibson says you handled yourself well. Nicely done to ban him for a time. Perhaps with some cooling off, your cousin can find his head.”
“It’s wedged up his ass, so don’t wait too long, darling.” Imogene threw her hands up, totally frustrated. “His mother is the same. Spoiled all those boys so much they think they’re smart when actually, they got the short end of the intelligence stick.”
“I’m sure you’re right.” Cesar winked, a little bit of levity lightening the cloud around him. “And yet, I find myself here in possession of information I must speak with you about.”
Max looked to his mother, who motioned him to sit. Taking Kendra’s arm, he led her to the sofa and sat, her body against his.
“I have spoken to Gibson about this already. I apologize for speaking to him first, but it had to be done. Two years ago, Carlos began to make business decisions that I found myself questioning. Money wasn’t adding up.”
Max felt himself grow very cold and very still. He realized Kendra was not surprised and wondered why he could be so blind. She pressed into him, enough that he understood it was her way of comforting him without calling too much attention to it.
The cold eased, but not entirely.
; “I didn’t go to you with my concerns because I didn’t want it to be true and I didn’t want to involve you in something that could potentially bring a rift to the jamboree, especially without enough evidence. I spoke to Gibson. To have him look into it discreetly. I’ll have him get you the file tomorrow, but the story is that your brother began to run with some radical humans.”
“Wait. What does this have to do with embezzling money? And why the hell would human radicals want to be with him? He’s a shifter.”
His father scrubbed his hands over his face. Max noted his mother’s body language, the tension in her was anger, not pain.
“If only it was theft. If only it was simply that. At first I limited his ability to get at our resources. Shifted his job responsibilities so he couldn’t touch much. All his reimbursements have come straight to me since. I’ve said no a few times and since then, he’s been more careful. At the time, I thought that was it and relaxed a little. Gibson didn’t find any gambling debt, no evidence of a drug problem or general levels of high debt.” Cesar huffed out a breath.
“But my discomfort didn’t alleviate. It rode me all the time and I asked Gibson to keep looking. And then we found the beginnings of what we confirmed totally just this morning. The travel and the people he seemed to be hanging out with suddenly connected. He’s got all this hatred of humans but I think he hates himself more. They allow him to hang around because he’s their devil. Here’s the evil shifter, look at him, he is so dangerous he’s telling us how dangerous he is.”
Kendra shifted against him, stiffening. “And who’s worse than a shifter? A human who’d mate with one. Or who’d become one. Traitors to their own race.” Kendra spoke and it hit Max so hard he had to shove his cat back with both hands.
Cesar nodded. “I expect you’ve heard that a time or two, yes?”
Max looked back and forth between his father and his wife as the horror of it began to settle into his bones.
“My former in-laws were like that. They belong to some anti-shifter group, thinly masquerading as a religion. They said stuff like that all the time. They gave me shots. When they held me to cure me. Birth-control shots so their son wouldn’t have any devil babies. They told me if I just underwent their treatment I’d be cured and able to bear children.” She tried to stand and he turned to her.
The ice was back. These people had harmed far too many and they needed to pay for it. “Querida, don’t let them get to you anymore. You’re here with me. That’s all in your past. I’ve already had Gibson looking into it, making sure we know where they are.” He had their number and planned to make a call very soon.
“I brought this into your life.” She took a deep breath, looking back to his father. “That’s how Gibson found out, isn’t it? In some freakish convergence of all the things he was looking into, something connected Carlos with the group, or a group like the ones my ex’s family was part of.”
He sprang from the couch, needing to pace, his cat agitated and vengeful. “Is he high? Has he gone insane? It’s the only way to explain this!” Max seethed as his father motioned him to sit back down.
Cesar turned to Kendra. “This isn’t about you. Not at all. We knew he was up to something. We just didn’t have the final piece until this morning. For nearly three years he’s been going on vacations with these people. Letting them use him for propaganda. He’s been advocating the wholesale sterilization of any human women who mate with shifters. Gibson is working on it with two teams. I expect we’ll know a lot more by tomorrow morning.”
“What are you planning to do?” Max wanted to hurt his brother for even thinking of doing what he’d been doing.
“I want you to act as if nothing has changed tonight. I’m sorry, I know it’s a lot to ask, especially after I’ve just told you all this. But I don’t want to tip our hand before we know more. I don’t want him to get away.” Imogene said it, her voice shaking with anger. “That is no longer my son.”
She stood and Kendra followed, putting her arm around his mother’s waist. “Imogene, I’m so sorry. I wish I could help in some way. I know what it feels like to find out someone who should love you has betrayed you. I’m sorry you have to feel it.”
His mother met his eyes a brief moment, hers was an expression filled with emotion, most of it gratitude. Christ, how did this happen?
“Is there any chance at all that this is a mistake?” He knew it was false hope, knew Gibson’s skills were unparalleled, but he asked anyway.
His father looked so very sad. “That’s why I’m asking you to act as if nothing has happened. There are pictures. Video clips even. Carlos speaking on his infection, on his curse. Hate mail with his face on it. For three years he betrayed us all, whipped up even more anger and hysteria that could have gotten any number of us harmed or killed. He’s guilty and I wish it weren’t so. You and I will hold on to that sliver of a chance that he’s involved in some super secret military operation to bring these hate groups to justice. And when the inevitable comes and there’s nothing left but total certainty, we’ll know we never totally gave up on him until we had no choice.”
“This could destabilize everything you’re trying to build. This will only make the anti-human sentiment stronger.” Kendra spoke as she squeezed Imogene’s hand one last time and returned to Max’s side.
“It can, yes, I’m afraid that’s true. Max, you and Galen need to work together on ways to move our culture forward in the wake of the devastation this will leave. I expect we’ll be challenged for leadership at least twice. I’m old, but not entirely helpless.” Cesar turned his gaze on Max and he understood the other shoe was about to drop.
“You want me to take over.”
Kendra put her head on his shoulder. Her fear jittered through her system, radiating into his heart.
“There is no one in this jamboree who could best you. You know that.” Cesar stood, strolling over to the bank of windows and looking out over the yard where family had begun to gather.
Max wasn’t vain, but he knew his strengths as well as his weaknesses. He was alpha and his father was correct. In truth, the chances of receiving a challenge would go down if Max took over. The certainty of losing and losing badly was total. Cats understood how things worked in much the same way humans did. The strong and the cunning ran things, and if they were strong and cunning enough, everyone lived well and safely.
The potential threat to his cats, to his family, had filled his system with adrenaline and Kendra spoke softly. “You need to calm or they’ll feel you and wonder what’s going on. If you’re going to take over, do it right. Do it decisively.”
Imogene’s face registered surprise and then pleasure. Max felt that approval from the toughest judge he had ever known, and it humbled him.
“You’re right, querida. Are you on board for this? If I run the jamboree, you do too. It’d be a huge commitment and there’d be cats at our house all the time. Meetings. You’d have to run a lot of meetings.”
“There already are cats at our house all the time. You have guards. Gibson practically lives with you. Um, us. This is the future. You may not have planned it this way, but it’s here and now you have to do what you’re supposed to do. I’m happy to help in whatever way I can. I only ask the space to find my father and deal with him.”
He kissed her forehead. “I’m behind you totally on that. I expect since Gibson will be so busy on this situation, we can have Jack’s people help more. I’ll make sure you get the help you need on this.”
“Akio has been keeping me updated on everything. I’ll speak with him and Jack, explaining everything. Or, well, what I can anyway. Are you all sure I should be doing this? There will be so much upheaval when Carlos is exposed for what he’s done, should we add a former human witch to the mix?”
His mother waved a hand at that. “I’ve been alive along enough to see a great many thi
ngs. Coming out to humans was the biggest and we survived it. My son’s cat chose you, your own cat chose you. You are meant to be here and meant to help Max and your cats through this. I know it.”
Kendra shrugged. “All right then. I expect I’ll need help so get ready for all my phone calls.”
His mother smiled. “Of course.”
They spent another twenty minutes discussing the transition. Max wanted his father to continue on with the day-to-day running of the jamboree. He’d done it for thirty years and had done it well, the continuity would help.
He hated this moment, hated knowing his brother was capable of such hatred against his own people, hated knowing people said these things to his wife.
But he had no room for it just then because he had to pretend everything was fine and smile as his father handed over the reins.
Chapter Fifteen
“I’m sorry you had to find out this way,” Gibson murmured as they all came downstairs. Kendra was shocked and off balance, even as she sought that calm place to pretend everything was hunky-dory.
“I understand the why, but from now on, you’ll report to me.” Max stood tall, regal, she realized, owning his role completely.
Gibson nodded solemnly. “Of course. Congratulations, and I mean that.”
“Let’s grab some food. I’m starving.” Kendra figured if they all ate, things would be less tense. Hungry shifters were a very agitated bunch.
Max grinned, taking her hand. “As always, very forward-thinking.”
