by Rosanna Leo
“Look,” Ryland said, stepping forward. “Mr. and Mrs. Moon, it’s time for you to leave before things get out of hand. You’ve said hello to Killian, but clearly visiting time is over.”
Mrs. Moon advanced. She looked Ryland up and down, her lip curled. “I don’t take orders from human-fuckers.”
They all gawked at her. Ryland blinked furiously, and Nina could see the only reason he didn’t go on the attack was out of respect for Killian.
Soren shook his head. “Very nice.”
“You’re one, too,” she spat. “Don’t think we don’t know what goes on here. We’ve been watching you all. You Snow brothers had better stick close to your human sluts.”
“Was that a threat?” Soren hissed.
“If you come near our mates…” Ryland added.
“And sully our hands? I don’t think so. However, there are apostles in the Alpha Brethren who aren’t as discriminating,” Mrs. Moon taunted. She turned to her son. “You are a pureblood jaguar. Your ancestors ruled this earth, prowling, stalking, taking what they wanted. You and your brothers are the last of your line. Please, Killian, don’t pollute our blood. Come home with us.”
“I never had a home with you, and I couldn’t care less about your precious bloodlines.”
“This is your last chance,” she implored. “Leave the human trash and come with us.”
“Mother, Father,” he replied calmly, his arm a vice around Nina’s waist. “Get the fuck out of my home.”
“Okay, that’s enough.” Bart stepped in and grabbed the Moon parents by their shoulders, leading them to the door.
“When the Holy Purge washes over our land,” Mr. Moon shouted, “you will regret your decision, son. As will your friends.”
“To see such pure blood tainted is a travesty, and it will distress the Great Alpha,” concurred his wife. “You’re a bad seed, Killian. I tried so hard to reform you, but I knew your heart was black when you turned Percy and Byron against us. You influenced your brothers, made them hate us.”
“No, Mom,” he said in a sad voice. “You made us hate you.”
She blanched and turned to Nina. “I will see you dead, girl, before I see you mate with my son.”
Chilled to the bone, Nina called to her. “Did you stalk my friend Janine Michaels?”
Mrs. Moon smiled. “We showed her the error of her ways.”
Nina raced forward, teeth bared. She wanted to scratch out their eyes and feel their blood under her fingernails. Killian held her back. She flailed in his arms, but he smoothed his hand over her hair.
“Don’t, baby, don’t. I don’t want you to end up with their sick blood on your hands.” He looked at his parents, his face blank, his gaze dark and cold. “The next time you show your faces around me or anyone I love, I’ll kill you.”
His father bristled but stiffened. “You’re dead to us, son.”
“I was dead to you years ago.” He turned to Bart. “Take them away.”
They left with Bart, Soren, and Ryland, shouting vitriol all the way. As their voices echoed in the woods, Nina caught a few words. Just enough to know they planned revenge.
Ignoring the foul cries in the forest, she turned to Killian. He had a hand to his head and had closed his eyes. His generous mouth was compressed, his lips no more than two tight lines of stress.
She put a hand on his face, her heart breaking. “Killian?”
He didn’t say a word but put his hand over hers, holding it against his face. He did that thing where he inhaled deeply, as if breathing her in. He did it a lot around her lately, and she fancied he liked her scent. Good. She liked his, too.
“Killian, please open your eyes and look at me.”
He did, turning to her with slow, fearful movements. The reddened wildness in his gaze frightened her and she thought for a moment she spied his sharp jaguar teeth poking from between his lips.
Part animal, she knew in her heart this was a man who would gladly kill to protect those he loved.
Her? No. She wasn’t ready to confront that particular question yet. She didn’t think her heart could take it.
Instead, she put her hand on his chest and gave it a slow rub. Even as she calmed him, her own eyes stung but she swallowed back her tears. “What did they do to you?”
“Nina, no,” he whispered. “I can’t…”
“Please, Killian. Tell me.”
He stared at her for so long, he might have been a statue. Only his quiet breaths served as indications he was alive. He blinked a few times and the red began to slowly disappear from the whites of his eyes, making him appear more in control of his emotions.
She reached for his hand, so large and hot, and kissed it. “Please.”
He put his hand around the back of her neck and pulled her in, kissing her forehead. Dropping another soft kiss on her nose, his face relaxed and he led her into the bedroom. He sat at the edge of the bed and she sat next to him, curling into him as if she always belonged at his side. When he put an arm around her, she sighed.
For the first time in a while, he smiled. “I feel like I can tell you anything.”
“You can. I’m here.”
“I don’t want to make you sad. My friends here at the Ursa know some of the story, but even they don’t know everything.”
“You have to tell someone and I need to know.” Even though his story would likely change her, break her, she needed to hear it from his lips. She’d wanted to know what made him tick. Well, this was likely the ticking time bomb of his life, and if she had anything to do with it, she’d help him dismantle it.
“Okay,” he said, his chest rising and falling on a deep breath. “I need you to know, too.”
* * * *
Killian struggled in his bonds as his mother whipped Percy and Byron. Red welts erupted on his brothers’ backs as the lash met with their young skin again and again. The boys, only thirteen, bit back their cries of pain and hunched over the backyard fence. They linked hands, seeking comfort in the horrific moment.
Even as children, the boys hadn’t ever played in their backyard, never wanting to be in the presence of their whipping post.
“Mom, stop, please,” he cried.
She let her whip fly again and Percy finally let out a crazed shout as the weapon opened up a scab on his back.
“Killian,” she said, her voice ever calm. Fifty lashes at a time and the woman never even broke a sweat. “Your brothers need to learn their lesson. We do not question authority in this family. They didn’t attend church this morning and now they must accept the consequences.”
He wracked his brain for what to do. If he tried to persuade her to let up, she’d only get madder. If he bit his tongue, he’d only feel guiltier. And either way, they still got whipped.
“You call it church,” Byron countered, saliva dripping from his open lips. “We call it…”
“Hell,” Percy stammered.
Without batting an eye, Mary Moon let the whip crack against Byron’s tender back. He wailed in agony.
“Mom, please,” begged Killian. “They’ll attend the Alpha Brethren meetings. All of us. I promise. We won’t skip out anymore.” He choked back the bile in his throat. “We’ll pay homage to the Great Alpha.” Tied to another fencepost, he wriggled in his bonds, hoping his dad wouldn’t notice as he viewed the proceedings from inside. His father stood in the den, observing, drinking coffee as if he hadn’t a care in the world while his sons were bloodied and broken.
His mom had always been the heavy in the family. Killian didn’t recall much about his early life, but he’d always known his mom was nuts. He saw his friends’ moms. Mary Moon was nothing like those ladies. From an abusive family herself, her parents had belittled her all her life, even into her adulthood. Proud jaguar shifters, all of them, his grandparents called her names, compared her to her more successful sisters, and beat her down as long as she’d lived in their house. Even after she’d married hi
s dad and had kids, the grandparents regularly called to insult her. In their eyes, coddling a child served no one. They’d believed in doling out harsh doses of brutal truth.
He had vague recollections of one particular evening. After a conversation with his grandparents, one that had left his mom in tears, she had gone to their house for a visit. A couple hours later, she’d come home.
Years later, he’d heard the rumors. He’d always thought his grandparents died in a car accident, but people around him whispered about his mother. His aunts said she’d killed her parents. Apparently, their car had been discovered at the bottom of a gorge, with them inside. Someone had tampered with the brakes.
No one confronted his mother. It seemed to him she’d begun attending church services right around that time. When regular denominations didn’t seem to help her, she’d sought out churches on the fringe. Soon afterward, she’d discovered the Alpha Brethren. Something in August Crane’s angry message spoke to her and she’d begun bringing her husband to the meetings.
Even as children, Killian and his brothers rejected the insane messages of the Alpha Brethren right away. Their corporal punishments then began.
She sauntered over to Killian. “Is that right? You won’t skip out of the church meetings anymore?”
He nodded, eyeing the whip. Bits of his brothers’ skin clung to it. “I promise.”
“You won’t reject the Great Alpha so you can toy with your human whores?”
“I don’t have any human girlfriends, Mom. I wouldn’t lie.” He hadn’t. Although he dated, even at fifteen, Killian knew bringing a human girl home was basically a death sentence.
“I’m not sure I believe you, Killian,” she purred. “You’ve disappointed me before.”
“Not again, I swear. Just let Percy and Byron go.”
She didn’t spare the bleeding boys a glance. “They’re strong shifters. Their scars will disappear in no time.”
True. Shifter wounds might heal quickly, but they’d likely never heal from the internal damage. His own wounds healed every time she whipped him, but that didn’t mean he still didn’t feel each lashing. “They’ve had enough for today. Can’t you see that?”
Her eyes flashed. “Don’t tell me what I should see. I’m not done punishing your brothers.” She looked at his worn T-shirt, the one with the holes in it. The human kids at school teased him when he wore it because it was so old. However, with his parents always at prayer meetings, they often neglected to buy clothing for their children. “I can, of course, give you the rest of their punishment instead.”
“Killian,” Percy hissed.
“Don’t,” said Byron.
He looked at his brothers, the boys he’d defended time and again. He’d defended them in school when a human bully teased them for being so close. It had given Killian tremendous pleasure to set fire to the bully’s shed, the one that housed his bicycle.
And ever since setting that fire, he’d waited for the chance to unleash hell on his parents. At fifteen, he was as big as his father, although not as strong. One more year, and he’d legally emancipate from them and take his brothers with him.
He just had to get through one more year.
“I’ll take their punishment.”
His mother’s grim smile would have made him cry in the past. Today, he felt nothing.
She untied his bonds. “Turn around and take off your shirt.”
As he pulled the old T-shirt over his head, he ignored his brothers’ quiet sobs. He turned to face the fence and braced himself on it.
“May the Great Alpha forgive you your sins.” Crack.
He buckled but bit his lip so he wouldn’t cry.
“May the Great Alpha save your shifter soul and show you the light.” Crack.
Killian bit down so hard, he tasted blood. He looked over toward the den window. His father, face blank, took another sip of coffee.
“Pray to the Great Alpha.”
“No,” he moaned.
Crack. Crack. Crack.
“Pray, Killian.”
One more year. And one day, I’ll watch them burn in Hell.
Crack.
He let out a shout. “Great Alpha…please…forgive me.”
She whipped him that day until he collapsed, his only comfort the cool grass beneath him. She left him where he fell for the rest of the day. At night time, Percy and Byron snuck outside and carried him to his bed, where they took turns scraping blades of bloodied grass out of his wounds.
Chapter 8
NINA gawked at Killian, tears streaming from eyes that burned. She couldn’t seem to catch her breath, and yet she must still be breathing. Trying so hard to be strong for him, she’d managed to hold back the tears throughout his story, but when he’d finished, her emotional dike collapsed under too much pressure.
How could two human beings terrorize their own children?
Well, of course, they weren’t human. But Killian and his friends had shown her shape shifters weren’t savages. Differences aside, they were people with emotions and dreams and hopes.
The Moons had demolished Killian’s hopes. Or had they? Could she salvage the remains of his dreams? She certainly wanted to try. “I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t be. It wasn’t your fault. See? I knew I’d upset you.” His deep voice, flat as he’d told his tale, now lilted with emotion once more. Because he was concerned for her. Amazing.
“Did you emancipate from them in the end?”
“I didn’t bother. A few months later, my mom whipped Byron to within an inch of his life for sassing her. That night, while they attended a prayer meeting, we packed our things and left. I called one of my buddies and his family took us in. If my parents even noticed we were gone, they didn’t show it.”
“I’m so glad you had a friend to stay with.”
Killian grinned. “Me, too. And I haven’t stopped bothering him since. It was Ryland’s family that looked after us.”
“Really?” Why did the idea make her want to cry all over again?
“Yup. My brothers and I basically spent our teen years hanging out with Ry and Soren. And when Ry decided to open the Ursa, it just made sense to stay.”
The next time she saw Ryland and Soren, Nina would give them a huge hug. They’d sheltered her man and his brothers and she’d be forever grateful. Come to think of it, she’d ask Killian if she could meet Percy and Byron, too. She had hugs for them as well.
“Hey,” he said quietly, wiping at her non-stop tears. He pulled her onto his lap. “I’m okay now. I won’t lie to you. I get angry. A lot. But Nina, my sweet thing, I feel so much better when I’m with you.”
“Did you mean what you said when you called me your mate?”
He frowned, clearly having forgotten that detail. Even still, he didn’t drop her gaze and the furrows on his brow soon smoothed into a look of determination. “Yes. I know it sounds crazy, but shifters know these things. When I first saw you, the jaguar inside me went on a rampage and it was because he recognized you as our mate. I don’t want to scare you away, and I know we just met, but please give me a chance to prove myself worthy of you.”
“Worthy?” Her heart hammered in her chest. Granted, she had no idea what was going on, but her heart wanted him too. She wanted him with a passion she’d never known. He intrigued her, inspired her, and made her dream. How could he ever think he was unworthy of her affections? He already had them. “Killian, you’re way past worthy in my eyes.”
He smiled, his eyes flashing in something approaching happiness. God, it was so good to see him smile again. “Is that so?”
She nodded. “I don’t understand this whole mate business, but I’d really like to learn more about it.”
He let out the breath he was holding. “That’s the best news I’ve had in a long time.”
As she let out a laugh, he tackled her and pinned her to the bed. He kissed her, long and deep, letting his tongue caress her. H
ungry, she tried to nip at it but he pulled back. He licked at her lips and she tried again, but he continued to tease her by pulling away. Just as she hummed in playful warning, he smashed his mouth against hers and took possession, driving his tongue deep into her mouth.
After maddening her with his kisses, he rose above her. She watched, completely in awe, as he tore off his shirt. As he revealed the sculpted chest that figured in her every dream, she sighed. His beauty touched her in ways she barely understood and his strength, made manifest in his heavenly body, kindled her hot fantasies.
He ran his hands up her bare legs. A low, rumbling noise sounded at the back of his throat, his jaguar’s growl. “We have unfinished business.”
Oh, thank the Lord. “Yes, we do, jaguar man.”
He considered her face and then his gaze slowly traveled the length of her body. “Hmm, didn’t I say I’d get you back for calling me a leopard before? I think now would be a good time for my revenge.”
“What kind of revenge do you have in mind?”
His gaze met hers. “Do you trust me?”
“Yes.” She trusted in him more than she trusted that the sun would set and rise the next day.
“Good. Because my revenge involves you getting naked. I’m going to have my nasty way with you, Nina.” He offered her the toothy smile of a predator. “Now, would you like to get fucked on this bed or would you prefer something a little more adventurous?”
She gaped, awash in need. His fingers tickled her thighs under her dress and she remembered he’d torn off her thong. As his fingers drew nearer to her bare pussy, moisture gathered there. One word from this man and her body responded, in preparation for his fingers, his tongue, his cock. “I like adventure.”
“Good girl.” He climbed off her and off the bed. She sat up, following his lead. She expected him to start stripping but he merely grabbed a blanket off the bed and reached for her hand. “Come with me.”
Only when they headed outside, did she wonder at his intentions. As they stood on his front step, Killian raised his head and his nostrils flared on a deep breath.
