by R. E. Butler
“Okay,” Gretchen said.
Honor felt anything but optimistic at this point. The closer they got to Ashland, the stranger she felt, as if her cat were prowling in the recesses of her mind. She couldn’t imagine what was aggravating her cat. She wasn’t used to hearing much from her, frankly. She’d always heard that females didn’t have to shift much because they were naturally aggressive. Unlike the males, who shifted once a month because they were weak-willed and emotional.
Maybe she needed to shift. Or have a good tumble in the sheets with a random male.
Either way, she couldn’t wait to get home and put the pride male bullshit behind them all. Tanya and her females could get on board or they could get the hell out and make their own way in the world. Honor silently vowed that this was the last time she’d stick her neck out for Tanya or her followers.
She had the rest of the pride to think about.
And herself.
Whatever the night brought, by dawn tomorrow she’d be on the way back home and could focus on the future.
* * *
Wyked sat in the family room of the boarding house on one of the three large couches. They were waiting for night to fall so they could go out hunting. It was the last time that Jilly would hunt with the pride until next summer when they returned. She’d wanted to spend the day with the pride and her family, and Wyked and Fate had given them space to be together while they helped the clan start to prepare the RVs for travel.
The clan hadn’t been on the road for three years. Most clans were nomadic by nature. Their cats just liked to be on the move. Wyked hadn’t minded settling down in Ashland for three years to wait for Jilly to come of-age, but now that they were drawing closer to the time when they could leave, he was certainly ready.
He’d grown up on the road. In summer and fall they traveled along the northern part of the US, and in the winter and spring they stayed south. He’d been home schooled, as had every other clan member, learning not only what was required to receive a diploma but also skills that would be useful to the clan. All panthers learned a trade, and Wyked and Fate had followed in their father’s footsteps and learned masonry.
He enjoyed it, and it brought in good money for the clan. He was also one of the clan protectors, which meant he trained so that he had the skills to protect his people, even though he damn well hoped that it never came to that. The clan hadn’t been involved in a war in decades, not since before he was born. What had happened before had been when the clan unintentionally passed through another clan’s territory and that leader had taken offense. Mostly, he was thankful that he had the skills to protect his mate if necessary, and someday, when they had cubs, he’d teach his sons how to protect their mates, too.
After spending most of the day changing the oil on the RVs with his father and other clan members, he’d cleaned up and found Jilly watching TV with her cousins. Treasure was there, too, sitting with Brian and Kevin. The house was slowly filling up, as nearly all the pride members were coming over to hunt with Jilly for the last time. The woods would be filled with cats.
“We’ll go out tomorrow to get you a phone,” Jilly said to Treasure. “I already talked to Lisa and Rhett. When you pick out your phone, we’ll get it set up on their plan so you can talk and text.”
“And video calls, too?” she asked.
Jilly nodded. “Plus, you can download apps and games.”
She lifted a phone to show Jilly. “Kevin let me borrow his so I could text them both on Brian’s phone.”
Jilly pressed her lips together to hide her amusement. “How do you like texting?”
“My thumbs hurt.”
“It’ll get easier,” Kevin said. “You’re still learning.”
“And autocorrect doesn’t like me.”
“It doesn’t like me either,” Sam quipped from one of the other couches. “It’s always changing what I want to say.”
Rue walked into the family room. “I know we’re going hunting in a little while, but does anyone want a snack before we head out?”
Jilly looked at Wyked, and he felt like he could read her mind. “If only,” he murmured.
“Are you psychic?” she asked.
“Just with you, and just with sexy stuff,” he promised.
“I was also thinking that we only had to wait three years,” she said, tilting her head toward her cousins and their dragon mate.
He hummed in agreement. Treasure was only twelve, which meant six long years before she was an adult. Depending on what they did with their futures, like going to college or for job training, they might end up waiting longer to be mated. But as he watched the young trio, with Treasure as the center of Brian and Kevin’s world, he knew that just like he hadn’t minded waiting for Jilly, they wouldn’t mind waiting for Treasure.
There was something sweet about the wait.
And good rewards did come at the end of it.
“I’m going to see what Mom’s put out for dessert,” Jilly said.
Wyked and Fate followed her into the kitchen, where a small crowd gathered around the island.
Holden, one of Melody’s uncles, came over to Wyked. “How did it go today?” Holden, and his brother Jackson, were mechanics in town. They’d brought tools for the clan to borrow.
“Pretty good,” Wyked said. “I only swore a couple of times.”
Jackson laughed. “I think it’s a requirement to curse when you’re working on a vehicle.”
“Just don’t think you can bring those curse words into our RV when we have babies,” Jilly said. “I don’t want to have to write down curse words as their first words.”
“Promise,” Wyked said. He kissed her cheek and whispered, “I love hearing you talk about babies.”
She grinned and blushed. “Me too.”
Callie joined them with her mates. “Are you still up for babysitting tomorrow night? Ethan made reservations for dinner at seven, so we need to leave at six thirty.”
“You bet,” Jilly said. “Where are your kids?”
“At Lisa’s. She volunteered to watch all the pride kids. Scarlett and Melody stayed to help, and Hunter and Micah are standing guard.”
“Oh my, that’s a full house,” Sam said, joining them.
“Lisa spoils our kids rotten. They never want to go home,” Eryx said with a smile.
“Family’s supposed to be like that,” Jilly said.
Callie’s eyes got glossy with tears suddenly. Eryx and Ethan both put their hands on her shoulders and asked what was wrong.
“I’m just…I’m going to miss you, Jilly. I remember the first time I met you and you were still under the thrall of the females’ poison. You were so cold and distant, and I couldn’t believe that you’d been raised by a wonderful male like your father and turned out so awful. Now that you’re not poisoned and your emotions are back to normal, we’ve had three wonderful years of getting to know you.” She sniffled and brushed at the tears on her cheeks. “It’s not long enough. Three years is not nearly long enough.”
Through their connection as mates, Wyked felt Jilly’s sorrow as she hugged Callie, and Sam, Rue, Lachlyn, and Cris joined her. The females all cried together, and the scent of sorrow and pain filled the air.
None of the males made any move to comfort their females, knowing that they needed this time to vent their feelings.
When the hug finally broke several minutes later, the males were ready with napkins to hand to their mates. Jilly gave Wyked a watery smile.
Callie sniffled and blotted at her eyes. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make everyone sad. This was supposed to be a happy occasion.”
“It’s happy and sad,” Sam said. “I’m going to miss you terribly, Jilly, but the time will go by fast, I know it. Then it’ll be summer, and we’ll be together again.”
“I’m going to miss you all, too,” Jilly said. “The pride’s been home for me for so long. I’ve cherished this time we’ve had together.”
John cleared his throa
t. “No more tears. Let’s go out there tonight and enjoy the hunt. I get to hunt with my daughter for the last time for a while, and I want this time to be a celebration.” He looked at Jilly and said, “I love you, honey. You’re the best daughter a father could ask for.”
Jilly hugged him tightly. “Thanks, Daddy.”
“Anytime,” he said, kissing the top of her head. He looked at Wyked and Fate and mouthed keep her safe. Wyked nodded, and Fate did, too. They would always keep Jilly safe. She was the most important person on the planet to them.
The conversation changed to the hunt as the tears were forgotten and the date of their departure was pushed to the back of everyone’s mind. For now, they were going to enjoy the night. When the snacks were gone, the pride headed outside. Wyked and Fate saw their parents as they crossed into the yard along with Hanai and several other clan members to join in the hunt.
“Thanks for inviting us to the hunt,” Dag said as he shook John’s hand.
“You’re welcome. We couldn’t ask for a better night.”
The full moon was bright and high in the sky, lending a pale silver glow to the world. He inhaled deeply, his cat anxious to shift and hunt with their mate. He loved to see her in her shift. She was a stunning mountain lion, lean and powerful, and her fur was the color of wheat. A perfect complement to their solid black coloring.
“Remember the territory markers,” John said. “And don’t wander off alone.”
Treasure joined them and said, “I’m going to shift, but I’ll stay in the yard since my mates can’t shift yet. I haven’t seen your cat. Can you show me?”
“Sure,” Jilly said.
Everyone moved away to find some privacy to shift. He, Jilly, and Fate found a patch of darker shadows away from the others and stripped.
“If I catch the biggest deer, what do I win?” Jilly asked.
“What do you want?” Fate asked.
“Um,” she rolled her eyes as she straightened, her beautiful body bared just for them. “How about I don’t have to do the dishes for a week.”
Wyked’s brain stalled, and his cat filled in with a purr.
She laughed. “Maybe I don’t have to do dishes ever if I just stand in the kitchen naked?”
Wyked grabbed her around the waist and kissed her. “I’m totally okay with that.”
“Good hunt, sweetheart,” Fate said.
She kissed Wyked once more, and then she moved to Fate. Wyked took the opportunity to shift, letting out his panther. The shift came over him swiftly, and he stretched fully, digging his claws into the ground. Jilly dropped to her knees and cupped his head.
“I love your fur, Wyked. And I love you.” She kissed his nose and scratched him behind both ears until a purr stuttered in his chest. With a laugh, she changed forms, going from beautiful human to gorgeous mountain lion swiftly. Once Fate had shifted, the three of them padded back into the yard, which was filled with mountain lions, black and albino panthers, two bears, a wolf, and a pink and blue dragon. Jilly padded over to Treasure and let out a loud purr to show that she was happy. Treasure was sitting on her haunches, her tail curled around her clawed feet, with Brian and Kevin both resting a hand on her.
“Have a good hunt, Jilly,” Brian said.
“If we didn’t say thank you for bringing our mate home with you, thanks,” Kevin said.
Treasure reached a clawed hand out and scratched Jilly behind the ear, eliciting a purr from her. Then she lifted her head and opened her mouth. There was a clicking sound from her throat, and then she blew a stream of fire into the air.
“That means ‘good luck’ in dragon,” Brian said.
Jilly and her mates joined the rest of the pride, and with a happy roar, she headed into the woods. Wyked and Fate flanked her, moving at her pace as they wove their way into the woods that belonged to the pride. Although a part of the night had been sad, Wyked was excited for the hunt. He felt certain it was going to be a good night.
Chapter 13
Fate loved being in his shift with Jilly. The pride hunted on the full moon even though big cats weren’t tied to a moon cycle with their shifts. The tradition had started with Callie, because as a wolf, she was compelled to shift on the full moon. Panthers usually shifted whenever they felt the urge, but since they’d been in Ashland, they’d been shifting on the full moon, and he thought they might continue with the new tradition even when they traveled.
Although he liked Ashland, he was thankful that Jilly had wanted to join the clan. Panthers liked to roam, and he was no exception. He was excited to show Jilly the world of his people and how traveling kept them close together as a group. They had places they stayed for a few weeks at a time, and then they’d pick up and move when the time was right. He couldn’t wait to show her where he’d grown up on the road, staying at all the different RV parks and campgrounds in the south for the winter and spring.
Jilly darted to the side with a happy growl, and he and Wyked followed, allowing her to take the lead in chasing whatever game she’d heard. There were so many cats and other shifters in the woods, he was pretty sure the deer were long gone by this point. It would be hard for a deer to miss the sheer number of predators in the woods. But sometimes the best part of shifting was just communing with the group.
Jilly was swift in her shift, but he and Wyked had no trouble keeping pace with her. They’d hunted together before, so it wasn’t a new experience for any of them. But he and his brother had grown up learning how to hunt, and since Jilly left home at sixteen to live with the females, they’d never taught her anything about her shift. She’d been almost like a new shifter when they met, still learning to listen to her cat and trust her natural instincts.
As the night wore on and they reached the edge of the pride’s territory, they caught the scent of deer and split from the main group to chase them. It took a few minutes, but they finally saw the animals in the distance and raced toward them. The deer bellowed in alarm, crashing through the underbrush in an attempt to flee. Just as they reached them, something whizzed by Fate’s ear that sounded wholly out of place in the woods. There was another whizzing sound, and a sharp object imbedded in his shoulder.
Fate’s legs suddenly went numb, and he couldn’t feel his paws. He tumbled to the ground with a grunt as the odd numbing sensation cascaded over him, making his vision blur and his hearing fade. Pain shot through him as the numbing sensation disappeared in its wake. The pain radiated from the object in his shoulder. He let out a warning roar as he rolled to his back, unable to hold his shift.
Jilly and Wyked returned to him. Jilly shifted, her eyes wide with worry. “Fate? What’s wrong? What happened?”
Fate couldn’t answer. The pain that had exploded in him grew more intense by the second. He felt as though he were being burned from the inside out, as if someone had replaced his blood with acid.
Wyked shifted and touched whatever was in Fate’s shoulder. Fate grunted when it was removed, and through his pain-hazed vision, he could see a dart.
Jilly let out a cry. “It’s turning his skin black. Fate! Fate, can you hear me?” She pressed her hands to his cheeks and turned his head until he was looking at her, but he couldn’t answer. He could only feel the pain that ate him slowly alive.
“Help!” Jilly shouted, her voice tinged with fear. “Help! Dad! James! Somebody, please help!”
“I’ll go find them,” Wyked said. He moved, but then he grunted, and Jilly screamed.
“No!”
Fate turned his gaze to his brother and saw the same type of dart embedded in Wyked’s chest.
Wyked lifted his hand to pull out the dart, but he couldn’t close his fingers around it. He let out a painful wheeze and managed to say their mate’s name before he collapsed to the ground.
As the pain continued to pulse through him, rendering him unable to move or do anything, Fate knew that he was going to die. Someone had poisoned him and his brother, and Jilly was going to be sitting with them when they passed into th
e beyond. They were supposed to spend the rest of their lives together. Whoever had poisoned him and Wyked hadn’t harmed Jilly. He didn’t know why, but he was thankful that he was the one dying and not her.
He only wished they’d had more time together.
The sound of the pride joining them gave him some relief, to know that Jilly wouldn’t be alone.
“Daddy,” Jilly sobbed. “Please don’t let them die.”
Fate closed his eyes as his body jerked with a convulsion that was strong enough to make him feel like his bones were going to break from the force. There was a brief moment in the wake of the pain when he opened his mouth to say his sweetheart’s name, but nothing came out.
He tried to fight through the pain but failed.
“Damn it, I smell females,” John said, his voice a growl as he held up the dart.
“I’m here,” Ethan said. “Shit. We need to get them to a hospital. This is more than I can treat.”
“No, oh no, please,” Jilly sobbed. She leaned over Fate and looked into his eyes. “Don’t you leave me, Fate. Do you hear me? Please don’t leave me alone.”
He wanted to answer, but his voice wasn’t working. He wanted to hold her, but his arms were too heavy to lift. This was how he was going to die, naked in the woods, with his mate’s last image of him and his brother helpless, poisoned perhaps by the females who had returned to harm them.
Better him than Jilly.
He’d die a thousand times to see her safe.
If he could talk, he’d tell her that he loved her, that the last three years of his life had been the best. They could have been together for a hundred years, and it wouldn’t have been enough. There would never have been enough time for him to spend with her on this earth.
Love you, he wanted to say. Love you so much.
* * *
Treasure snorted out a trail of smoke as Brian and Kevin stood several feet from her. Her claws dug into the ground, the grass tearing as she made furrows in the dirt. Her tail swished behind her, and her gaze focused on the stick that Brian had in one hand.
