by V. A. Dold
His robe slipped from her shoulders, revealing the intricate tattoo on her back of some beautiful bird he couldn’t name. The long tail feathers curled around her hip and back in, under the curve of her left buttock. He wanted to trail his tongue along that tail and see where it ended.
“I’ve been meaning to ask you about your tattoo,” he said, tracing a finger along the realistic feathers.
“A few years ago, when I first decided to fight back against my mother’s controlling ways, I had this tattoo done. It’s both a ‘fuck you’ to her and a symbol for myself. It reminds me that I can rise up like the phoenix from the ashes and be a completely new woman. When I’m feeling depressed, I look at it with a mirror and remind myself all I need is the willpower, and I can do anything. Even defy her. Plus, wearing a revealing shirt to show it off around her friends is an added bonus.”
“Please let me be there the next time you do that,” he begged like a little boy.
“It’s a date,” she grinned and kissed him. “Now, let me get dressed.”
She stepped away from him to pick out a T-shirt and jeans. She was cleaning today, so nothing fancy.
When she bent to step into her satin thong, he nearly spit his coffee across the room. She shimmied the scrap up her legs, the elastic molding her ass like a lover while a single strip vanished from sight between her rounded cheeks.
“Dammit, Julia. I’m going to have a raging hard-on all day, thanks to you, and you know I can’t shift well yet,” he accused. “I don’t need to stand fully naked in front of the guys with…this.”
She glanced slyly over her shoulder, batting her long lashes. “Perfect. I want you imagining me naked all day while you’re out doing manly stuff. That way, you’ll be looking forward to seeing me tonight instead of thinking about any old girlfriends.”
“I don’t have old girlfriends, and Stefan is going to have a field day with this,” he whined, indicating his pelvis.
“I’m sure you’ll live.”
Thomas dropped his head back, praying for strength. Blood pulsed in his groin as the memory of their encounter in the kitchen played in his mind like a movie. He struggled to swallow on a dry throat. Well, hell if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.
Stepping up behind her, he nuzzled her neck before kissing his way to her earlobe. His palms skimmed down her arms, over her hips and dipped between her thighs. Julia moaned, her soft body leaning against him, molding to his hard chest.
I am imagining you at my feet, with your luscious lips stretched around me.
I know. She turned in his embrace, her eyes drinking him in. Her arm snaked up around his neck to pull him to her lips. She drew his tongue into her mouth, sucking it like it was his dick.
His breath left his lungs in a rush when her warm, soft hand wrapped around his girth and stroked from the tip to his balls. His eyes fluttered shut as she cupped his balls with her other hand, rolling and caressing gently.
She fondled him like a pro, using just the right pressure and hitting all his trigger spots. Luckily, she had a T-shirt at hand. When he exploded, still held in her grip, she caught his release in the soft cotton fabric.
Thomas’s knees threatened to buckle. He stood quivering, waiting for blood to return to his brain so it would function again. Before he could jump-start the section of his brain that controlled speech, she kissed him one last time and finished dressing with a knowing smile playing on her lips.
With still unsteady hands, he pulled his jeans over his hips and fastened the button.
When he was finally able to form words, all he could say was, “Wow!”
“I’m glad you liked it. Plan on round two later,” she said and licked her lips suggestively while staring at his cock. “I might even get on my knees.”
“Dang it, woman, stop doing that!”
Chapter Sixteen
A half-hour later, the roar of their outboard motors was loud in the still morning air as the parade of boats sped toward The Backwater bar. The women were armed with brooms, buckets, and mops while the men carried no weapons at all. Once they shifted to wolf form, they were the weapons. And besides, they would have no way to carry one except in their jaws.
Thomas offered his hand to Julia and helped her from their boat. Secretly, he prayed the electric tingle he got each time he touched her would never fade away.
One by one, each man who was mated helped his woman from the boat and held her close for a sweet goodbye.
Julia pressed closer to Thomas, breathed warm air across his neck, and whispered, “Don’t forget, I have plans for you tonight.” She gave his ear a long slow lick, smiling to herself as she felt him grow hard against her hip.
“You’re an evil woman,” Thomas growled, bunching a fist full of hair in his right hand and dragging her lips to his.
“I try,” she breathed between kisses.
Lucas walked past and waved for them to join the group gathering in the yard behind the bar.
Thomas let Julia precede him and promptly gave her a swat on the butt for her naughty behavior.
She threw her head back and laughed. Goddess she loved teasing this man.
As the men talked quietly in smaller groups, Julia moved to the edge of the trees. One of the faeries was waving her arms to get her attention.
“Good morning, Princess Julia,” the faeries said and curtsied. “Are the men going after the bad shifters today?”
“Yes, they are.”
The little faerie stood a little taller, pride radiating from her tiny body. “We watched over your establishment all night. No one has come near it.”
“Thank you, Petunia. I appreciate the care and concern you have shown to both Tommy and me.”
Petunia blushed and whispered, “Prince Tommy is so handsome.” The little bit of a faerie dragged out the word ‘so’ like a giddy teenager with a crush.
Lucas looked over the crowd of volunteers and mentally chose teams. Then he considered the women, should he leave protection behind at The Backwater or not?
“Before I put you into teams, I’m wondering, does anyone feel we should leave a protection detail behind for the women?”
All the mated men immediately voiced their opinion, not wanting their mates alone at the bar, but the women felt differently.
El raised her voice first. “I think as shifters ourselves, we’re able to handle anything that arises. Between myself, Rose, Emma, Julia, and Krystal, we can keep Anna safe and out of trouble.”
Nods and murmurs of agreement were heard from all the women.
Isaac turned to Emma. “I don’t like it, but it’s your call.”
Emma gave the women a good, hard look. “I think we will be fine. Besides, in about six hours Jack and Michael will be here.”
Cade squeezed Anna’s hand. “I will abide by your decision. Please, make sure it’s a safe one.”
“I agree with El. We’re more than capable of taking care of ourselves for a few hours.”
It was plain as day which men were mated with women staying behind by the scowls on their faces. But the king and queen along with their future queen had made a decision, and they had to live by it.
“All right, I’m going to split you into three teams. Isaac, Marcus, Charles, Logan, and I are team one. Cade, Simon, John, and Etienne, you are team two. Thomas, Stefan, Quin, Rémi, and René, you are team three.”
The women kissed their mate’s goodbye while the men reassembled with their teammates to await further instructions.
“We will spread out from the water’s edge near the bar and work our way into the forest. Keep in mind, these backward-thinking swampers are experts at hiding. Isaac, would you like to tell everyone about your meeting with Queen Lilli?”
Isaac stepped to the front of the group next to Lucas. “Lilli has asked to be present at the swampers’ executions. She has every right to locate and kill these animals herself, and I was more than happy to agree with her request. As
such, once the swampers are apprehended, I will call Lilli to join us before I mete out the justice they deserve.”
All of the men agreed, Lilli was being more than fair and should be in attendance.
“Go to your positions and shift. Isaac will signal for us to begin.”
Thomas led his group to the far right of the line. Isaac was center, and Cade was on the left.
In the blink of an eye, Thomas found himself surrounded by wolves as he attempted to shift for a second time. Stefan chuffed at his naked, very erect condition, earning a growl from Thomas and a smack on the head from Isaac’s paw. Three times the charm and Thomas was ready to kick swamper ass.
Wolves of every color slipped into the trees sniffing, searching for a trail to follow.
Julia ushered the women into The Backwater. The reaction of gaping mouths and wide eyes was universal as the women saw the empty space for the first time.
“Damn, they really did a number on the place,” El grumbled.
“You should have seen it yesterday.” Julia sighed as she held back tears.
Emma put an arm around her shoulders. “We’ll have it better than new in a jiffy.”
“I know.” She shrugged. “The one bonus is Logan can decorate any way he wants now.”
“Why is he decorating your bar?” Rose asked.
“I’m selling out to him and living with Tommy at the plantation. It’s too far to travel by boat each day to continue operating it myself.”
Squeals of excitement echoed in the empty space as the women welcomed Julia and started cleaning. Well, all except Anna. Seated on the only chair, that was still in one piece, she acted as lookout in case of trouble.
Sweat poured off Julia as she scrubbed the back bar prep area. Every surface needed to be wiped and sanitized before it could be restocked with bottles and glassware.
Standing straight to stretch her back, Julia arched to relieve the ache. She took this little stretch break to check on the others. Everyone worked diligently, talking little. The chatter had died off two hours ago.
As she reached for her spray bottle, Anna shouted an alarm.
“What are you doing here?” she yelled at whoever was docking a boat. “You can’t be here!”
Emma stopped sweeping. “Who’s out there, cher?” she called.
Anna was shaking like a leaf. “Tim,” she squeaked before she disappeared from their view.
The men had been systematically searching in a grid pattern for the past four hours when Logan caught a trace of lingering scent. All fourteen men took turns learning the scent and searching for the path the swampers had taken. As Thomas stepped forward to give it a sniff, Petunia and Tulip hovered before him, waving their arms to get his attention.
“We know where they are,” Tulip whispered.
Thomas couldn’t speak to them in wolf form, so he shifted back to human. “Where?” he whispered back.
Petunia waved for him to follow her into thick cover hiding a game trail. He stayed in human form while the others followed as wolves. They worked their way through alternating heavy cover and soggy ground for over a mile until she stopped at the base of a large cypress.
“Why are we stopping?” Thomas wondered.
“They are here,” Petunia whispered, pointing at the tree.
Thomas looked left and right, then leaned closer to the tiny faerie. “Where?”
“Here,” Tulip pointed as she landed on the huge trunk.
When Thomas continued to look confused, Petunia landed next to Tulip with her hands on her hips. “Can’t you see the door?”
That’s when he saw a thread-thin crack in the trunk that, when followed, was shaped like an arch.
“Do you know how to open it?” he asked the faeries.
Petunia giggled while Tulip rolled her eyes. “Of course.”
She tapped a dark patch on the trunk, and the arch fell open.
“Damn,” Thomas breathed. “We would have never found that.”
The space would never accommodate a human, so he shifted back to wolf while the others began to file through the hole and into a tunnel.
Etienne crossed his arms and glanced at Isaac. “Call me when you either find the little bastards or reach the other end, and I will join you.”
Isaac’s wolf nodded and slipped through the opening behind the last wolf.
The tunnel ran just under the surface for a city block or so before it exited another cypress. Isaac lifted his nose to the breeze to locate Etienne’s direction, and then sent Rémi to fetch the vampire. The others spread out in teams again to locate the swampers trail. By the time Etienne rejoined the search, a fresh scent had been discovered. And based on the strength of the scent trail, the swampers had just passed this way.
The wolves silently crept along a well-established game trail until voices broke the serene atmosphere.
“I would have paid good money to see the look on that bitch’s face when she saw her house,” one man bragged.
“Yeah. Me, too. Dumb skank should have accepted what I had to offer. Having the Benevolent Sovereign order the strike right after she attacked us was perfect timing. Not that I wouldn’t have retaliated, but this way it was sanctioned,” Blade agreed.
Lucas signaled for the teams to fan out for the attack. They needed to take them alive for Queen Lilli, if at all possible.
The five swampers sat around what looked like a makeshift camp, unaware danger lurked in every direction.
Isaac used his ability to communicate with all of his subjects to issue the command to attack.
Surprised shouts and squeals were heard as thirteen wolves, and one very pissed off vampire leapt into the camp. Immediately the swampers shifted, ready to fight to the death.
Isaac allowed the shift, more for the men to have a chance to avenge the attack on their family than anything else. He would let them fight it out for a bit before he forced the swampers to human form.
One swamper was spinning circles as Lucas attacked the beasts head and Marcus its flank. Lucas slashed the swamper’s muzzle with his razor-sharp fangs, sending a stream of blood down its chest and filling the air with a coppery scent. Before the wolf could recover, Marcus leapt on its back, latching onto the beast’s neck with his powerful jaws.
The rest of Team One—Isaac, Charles, and Logan had another mangy wolf on defense. Isaac crouched ready to pounce, and Charles and Logan took turns snapping at its hind legs. The second the swamper lifted its jaw high enough, Isaac latched onto beast’s neck, immobilizing the beast.
Team Two looked almost bored with their target. Four on one didn’t offer much sport. While Etienne shot stinging energy at the wolf’s ass every chance he got, Cade, Simon, and John took a bit of fur here and there with each lunging attack. Taking the wolf down would end the fight, and they weren’t ready for that to happen.
Quin, Rémi, and René kept their swamper busy and increasingly bloody while Thomas and Stefan took on Blade.
Blade lunged for Thomas’s left forepaw, snapping air when Thomas jumped out of reach at the last second. While Blade concentrated on Thomas, Stefan latched onto his right hind leg with a grip so tight the sound of bones cracking resounded in the air. When Blade reached around to rip at Stefan, Thomas clamped his jaws down on Blade’s neck. Blade tried to struggle free but quickly learned that only caused the wolf at his neck to rip his flesh further. Growling and snarling, Blade stilled, waiting for Thomas to either finish him off or make a mistake.
All the swampers were subdued except Cade’s group. They were still toying with theirs.
Charles, take charge of this idiot. I’m going to force them to shift so be ready, Isaac commanded. Then he warned the rest of the crew that the swampers were being forced to human form.
Lucas shifted, ready to grab their swamper as Marcus released the wolf in order to shift himself. The instant Marcus let go, and the shifter became human, the swamper tried to make a run for it. Lucas swept
the swamper’s legs out from under him as Marcus leapt on his back and followed him to the ground landing with an “ummph” as the air was forced from his lungs.
Isaac waited for Charles and Logan to shift before he released their swamper and forced the shift on the mangy wolf. An instant later, Isaac, too, stood in human form as Charles and Logan held the swamper securely between them.
Etienne was frustrated. He wanted a fight, and this was not satisfying his need to avenge the attack on his friends. The instant the wolves stepped away to shift, he flicked a finger toward the swamper as the poor excuse for a man took human form, shooting a bolt of energy into the man’s chest and knocking him out cold.
Quin waited for his brothers to shift before releasing their target and taking human form. Rémi and René grabbed the swamper before he could make a dash for freedom, and waited for Isaac’s next command.
The only wolves remaining were Thomas, Stefan, and Blade. Stefan shifted first and then crouched in a ready stance to allow Thomas to release Blade’s neck. The instant Blade felt Thomas’s jaws loosen he tried to attack but found himself flattened to the ground unable to move.
Thomas stood and shifted, managing to redress himself on his second try, and stood breathing heavily, glaring at Blade.
“Let me up, you fucking coward. Are you afraid to fight me?” Blade demanded, as he struggled against Etienne’s magic, which held him glued to the ground.
“I would like nothing more than to grant your wish. Alas, Queen Lilli wants to be present for your execution, so I must wait.”
Isaac spotted Petunia hiding in a bush and waved her over. Hardly able to fly from her quivering, she hovered unsteadily before the shifter king.
“Please, call Queen Lilli to us.”
Petunia curtsied and sped away.
Isaac motioned for Thomas and Stefan to pick their trash up off the ground. “Blaaaade,” he growled, his tone intentionally lethal as he dragged out Blade’s name. “You have one chance and only one chance. Who is this Benevolent Sovereign?”
