“So not Wolf, Bear or Puma.” The men exchanged worried glances. “The college?”
Cyn winced. “What other types of shifters are there?”
“Lots and lots.” Julian sighed and sat next to her, still in the seat closer to Gabe, but it was an improvement. Not overprotective my well-padded ass. “There are Lions, Tigers, Bears, Pumas, Wolves, Foxes, Coyotes, you name a predator and odds are good they’ve got shifters.”
“You mean there might really be Alligators in the sewers?”
Every shifter in the room stared at her like she was nuts. Alex actually looked insulted. “Limit that pool to mammals, please.”
“Like werebats? Or wererats? Oh! What about—”
“No.” Julian sounded stern, but he couldn’t completely hide his amusement from her. “There are no werebats, wererats, weremoles, werevoles or werehamsters.”
“And thank God for that.” Alex shuddered in disgust. “Seriously. Werehamsters?”
“What about weredolphins?”
“N— actually, now that you mention it, I’m not certain. I’ve never met one. Have you?”
The others shook their heads. “They’re a legend,” Tabby added.
“Sort of like wereorcas. If they did exist they’re more than likely extinct now. None sit on the council, I know that much.” Alex replied. “None of this has anything to do with you having your face smashed. Did you get a look at your attacker?”
Julian growled under his breath. “Good question.”
“Nope. Shadows, shattered glass, pain. Tabby with a lime green Mohawk in Wolf form. That’s about it.” She shrugged; there wasn’t much more she could add. She didn’t have the nose Tabby did. “There was a blur as one of them ran away. I could barely see it, though.”
Gabe stroked his jaw. “Cheetah, maybe? I hear they can be pretty damn fast.”
“I did get a scent of cat shifter in that alley, and it wasn’t of the local variety.” Tabby exchanged a worried glance with Alex.
“Could be.” Alex was at Tabby’s side again, his arms around her protectively. He cradled her close, his huge hands resting naturally over her belly. “We need to figure out what the hell is going on.”
“Before someone gets seriously hurt.” Gabe took out his pad and pen.
“Someone was seriously hurt. Cyn’s jaw was broken.” Julian’s anger didn’t affect the gentle way he stroked her shoulder.
Gabe peered at her face in concern. “Shit. Are you all right?”
“Yeah.” Cyn patted Julian’s knee. “Super Bear fixed me up.”
Julian stared at where her hand rested on his knee. “Why yes, of course you may.”
Before she could ask what he meant Julian had her in his lap, and looking mighty smug about it too. “I didn’t ask to sit in your lap.”
“Yes you did. You patted my knee and said let me sit in your lap.”
She stared at him while behind her the hyena twins began to laugh. “You are so full of it. You know that, right?”
He grinned. “Yup.”
“Well. That’s good. So long as you’re aware of it.”
Gabe choked out a laugh and closed his notebook. “Okay. I’m going to go sniff around the parking lot, see what I can find. Ladies, please. For the love of all that is holy, be careful. Someone is out to get you, and until I catch them you’re vulnerable.” Gabe ignored Alex’s rumbling, warning growl and pointed toward the front door. “Park on the street if you can, under bright lights. Gentlemen, keep an eye on them—and yes, that’s an order from Halle’s Second.”
Julian stiffened. “Is it an order from one of the Northeastern Hunters?”
Gabe nodded firmly. “Yes. It is.”
Cyn gasped as Julian’s fangs descended. Her sweet, funny teddy bear morphed into a lethal predator, right in front of her eyes.
Since when were fangs hot?
If those sons of bitches came near his mate again Julian would rip their arms off and heal the holes shut. After all, it would be hard for even a Cheetah to run down a human woman if it only had two legs.
“Oh my God! What happened here?”
Glory stepped into LA Tattoos, her eyes darting between all of them. Her gaze kept returning to Julian’s mostly white hair and obvious fangs, her skin paling as the implications hit her. “Who’s hurt?”
“No one, not anymore.” Cyn rubbed her jaw, and Julian bet she could still feel the painful blows like an echo. She took a deep breath and filled Glory in on what had happened.
“Who called Glory?” Julian muttered.
“I did.” Ryan stepped into the shop behind Glory, his expression mutinous. “She deserved to know what happened.” Julian agreed with him. If they went after the human females, then Glory needed to be ready to protect herself as best she could.
Glory looked ready to come out of her skin. “What the fuck! How did this happen? Shouldn’t one of you have been here? It’s not like Ryan isn’t here trying to sniff my butt twenty-four-seven.”
“I’m not here twenty-four-seven,” Ryan replied. His tone was mild but his gaze was hot with anger and fear. “You’re not here that much.”
Julian bit back a groan. Did the man ever want to claim his mate? Maybe he was a closet masochist, because he sure liked taking a beating from Glory.
“Please tell me you’re not sitting in the bushes at night outside my apartment.” She looked horrified, and Cyn didn’t look much better. Having a possessive Grizzly hanging around outside your home was enough to put anyone off. Hell, he wasn’t certain he liked the idea either.
Ryan smiled grimly. “I have night watch.”
Julian rolled his eyes even as Alex nodded. “Tabby would kill me if anything happened to you two. I don’t care how cute you are or how much you pout, you’ve got security round the clock.”
“I agree.” Julian ignored the glare Cyn shot him. There was no way he was going to allow his mate to be in danger again. Didn’t she understand how precious and rare she was? “Who picks them up and drops them off?”
“I will.” Alex shrugged. “One of the perks of being your own boss. I can come and go a lot easier than you nine to fivers can.”
“And one of the perks of having your cousin be your boss is he understands when I take time off to protect our mates.” Ryan tried to take Glory’s hand, but she stepped away from him. He solved the problem by picking her up and holding her against his hip like a cranky two-year-old.
Yup. Glory was going to kill him. The look on her face did not bode well for the Grizzly’s health. The way she eyed her piercing gun gave him a clue as to how she’d do it.
Glory, in the tattoo parlor, with the gun.
“We just want you three to be safe while we figure out what the fuck is going on. You can’t protect yourselves the way we can, not from shifter attacks.”
“Although if it were humans bothering you like this we’d still rip their heads off and bowl with them.” Ryan swatted Glory’s hip absently when she struggled to get down. “Stay still, sweetheart. I don’t want to drop you.”
“Drop me. Feel free, you Neanderthal.”
Ryan and Glory exchanged a heated glance. Ryan shrugged. “It’s your ass.”
She landed with a shriek and a thud. “Ow.” She rolled to her hip and rubbed her ass, wincing.
“Told ya.”
“Children, play nice. Or do I have to separate you?” Julian wagged his finger at Ryan. “Stop playing with your mate, Ryan.”
“But I like playing with her, Julian. She’s so shiny and squeaks when you squeeze her.”
Glory squeaked in outrage.
Julian turned to Glory. “Please, for the love of the ancestors, be the adult here and stop torturing him.”
She crossed her arms over her chest and humphed, turning away from both Julian and Ryan. What she had against the mating he had no idea, but sooner or later the Grizzly was going to snap and she’d find herself over his knee, bitten and spanked.
He eyed her, wondering if maybe t
hat wasn’t exactly what the little brat wanted.
“Jules?”
He turned his attention back to where it rightfully belonged, on his own mate. “Hmm?”
“Go home.”
Crap. She had her cell phone in her hand. “Did you just call me out of work?”
“Uh-huh. Jamie says get some rest today, he’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Cyn, I need to work.” His ability to remain in the United States rested on his work visa, at least until he could convince Cyn to marry him. If he didn’t work, he could be deported.
She cupped his face in her warm, strong hands. Her expression was stern, but he could see the concern she felt. Her fingers stroked the white strands of his hair, reminding him of why he was so tired. “Go. Home.”
He rested his forehead against hers and brushed the tip of his nose against hers. His mother had always called the gesture Eskimo kisses. “Only if you promise to call me if something happens again.”
“Jules—”
“Yes or no, Cyn.” If she gave him the promise she’d keep it. It was getting the promise that was the hard part.
He could actually hear her teeth grinding together. “Fine. I promise.”
“Good.” He stood, pulling Cyn to her feet with him, and kissed her good-bye. He was determined to bring at least the taste of her back to his home. “I miss you already.”
She scowled, but she blushed too. She’d probably beat him to within an inch of his life if he ever told her how adorable she was. “Go!”
“Going.” He waved to Alex. “Take me home, you stud you.” He batted his lashes at Alex, grinning when Alex laughed.
“Sorry, you’re not my type. Your hair isn’t green enough. Ryan, I’ll be back in a few.” Alex kissed Tabby good-bye and gestured toward the front door. “After you, princess.”
Julian flipped his hair over his shoulder and sauntered toward the door. “My hero.”
He grinned as Cyn giggled, then tried to hide it behind her hand. It was becoming his mission in life to make her laugh.
So far, so good.
Chapter Eight
“So.”
Julian smirked into his coffee cup. “So?”
The cousins exchanged an amused glance. Gabe had caught up with them outside LA and declared he would watch the shop while the three of them grabbed a quick breakfast. It had been either that or watch while Glory eviscerated her mate with a tattoo needle. As entertaining as the second would’ve been, they’d all agreed pancakes were the better option.
Julian shrugged. “She’s mine.” Did he really need to say anything else?
Ryan snorted. “Tell me you didn’t actually say that to Cyn.”
Julian shrugged. Hell no, he wasn’t that stupid, but there was no way he was saying that in front of two Grizzlies. A man had some pride after all.
“And you lived to tell the tale?” Ryan shook his head. “Damn. Maybe I should just bare fang on Glory and see what happens.”
Julian almost choked on his coffee. “Your gonads would wind up dangling from one of her charm bracelets.”
“Ouch.” Alex grabbed the cantaloupe, smacking Ryan’s hands away. “You get the green melon thingies.”
“I like the yellow melon thingies better.”
The cousins glared at each other.
“If you two start bitch slapping each other over cantaloupe I’m not going to tell you what I learned from Chloe.”
They immediately focused on him. Alex immediately scowled, the mere mention of his cousin causing the big Grizzly’s protective instincts to go into overdrive. “Tell us what?”
Ryan’s expression turned grim. “Someone’s going to attack Glory, aren’t they?”
Julian shook his head. “If I knew why they’d gone after Cyn, I’d be able to say whether or not Glory is in danger as well.”
“Then we assume all three of them are in danger and go with that.” Alex picked at the fruit. “I won’t lose either of them; it would kill Tabby. She’s already telling the baby stories about Aunt Glory and Aunt Cyn. Some of them are even rated PG.”
“Agreed.” Ryan sat back with a grunt. He ignored the huge stack of waffles in front of him turning limp in the sea of syrup he’d poured over them. “I need to claim my mate.”
“Yeah, you do.” Alex pointed at Julian. “So do you. And you need to tell us what you learned.”
Julian sighed. He had no idea how the two of them would react to Bear’s message. “Two becomes one, one becomes three. Bear knows the way, but Fox holds the key.”
They sat there and stared at him expectantly.
Julian shrugged and drank his coffee. He didn’t have to wait long before Ryan lost patience. “That’s it? That’s why you had us get up at the ass-crack of dawn?”
He glared at Ryan, his eyes flashing silver. “You mean other than the attack on my mate?”
“Well, yeah, but… It’s eight a.m.!”
“Let me guess, long night sitting outside Glory’s window?”
“Exactly.” Ryan looked horrified. “You could have emailed me that.”
“But then I wouldn’t see your lovely face so bright and early.” Julian batted his lashes at Ryan, grinning when the Grizzly grumbled and finally attacked his waffles. “Seriously, when Bear delivers a message like that, it means he wants us to pay attention. You have syrup on your cheek, by the way.”
“How did I get stuck sitting next to you?” Ryan scrubbed the syrup away, but Julian could tell his heart really wasn’t in it. The threat to his mate was scrambling his good humor.
Alex’s focus remained on Julian. “What do you think it means? The message was meant for you, right?”
“I’m not sure.” Julian tapped his finger on the rim of his coffee cup. “But Chloe got the same message from Fox.”
“She did? She didn’t mention it to me.” Ryan put his napkin down and picked his fork back up.
“Maybe because someone’s been a Crappy Chris lately.”
This time Ryan snorted, but didn’t respond, due to his mouth being full of waffles. But his death glare was pretty good.
“Don’t you mean Grumpy Gus?” Alex’s brows rose as he stared at the two of them in confusion.
“If I did, I would’ve said that.” Alex rolled his eyes, but let it go. “Chloe made it a point to mention that Fox was specific in that two becomes one, not two become one.”
Alex froze. “Two becomes one, with an s?”
“Yes.” Julian was worried. Alex’s eyes had turned dark brown. “Why?”
“When two becomes one, what does that mean?”
Ryan cursed softly. “Someone loses a mate.”
Julian shook his head. “The loss of a mate would mean the death of the remaining mate, remember?”
Alex grimaced. “Unless the shifter either has more than one mate, or it wasn’t a true mating.”
“There aren’t that many shifters who have more than one mate.” Ryan shoved what looked like half a Belgian waffle in his mouth.
“Wolves, Lions and Coyotes can have more than one mate. Other than that, I can’t think of any.” Julian waved their waitress over. He needed more caffeine before he dealt with everything going on. He’d have to call and leave Tai a message again. The Kermode hadn’t called him back yet. Julian was beginning to worry. Could Cyn have really ticked Tai off that much?
“You say Chloe got the message too?” Alex grinned, and it wasn’t a nice one. “Perhaps that means she’s the one who will get two mates?”
Julian shook his head. “No. I’m pretty sure Chloe isn’t the one. Neither am I.” And thank Bear for that. Julian had no need for a second mate. His Cyn was more than enough for him. Besides, once she was marked and changed her mating instinct would kick in and she’d eat anyone who came between them.
“Then who?” Ryan’s voice was beginning to rumble, his Grizzly close to surfacing.
“Two becomes one. It might not have anything to do with mates. We could be completely off base.” Alex at
e the last bit of cantaloupe, rolling his eyes when his cousin snarled. “It could mean anything, really. When two becomes one, it means they join, right? So that means that when two becomes one, they separate. So what separates?”
“Eggs. Old mayonnaise. The Schwarzeneggers.” Ryan blinked as they stared at him. “What?”
“But then one becomes three.” Julian poured sugar into his coffee, ignoring the grimaces of distaste on their faces. So he liked it on the sweet side. Did Ryan really have to gag like that?
“Could it be chemistry? Or atoms, or something like that?” Ryan picked up his own mug of pure black coffee and took a sip, sighing in satisfaction.
“It could.” But Julian didn’t think so. Something told him this had to do with shifters somehow. He just couldn’t see the connection yet. “By the way, Gabe wants us to think about the possibility that whoever is after Cyn could be associated with the people who were originally after Tabby.”
“Well, isn’t that just fucking great? I’d hoped I was wrong about that.” Alex shoved his empty plates away with a rough sigh. “Who the hell stood over my cradle and cursed me to live in interesting times?”
Ryan’s expression was distracted, as if he hadn’t heard a word they’d said. “So what else separates then rejoins, other than people and chemicals?” Ryan shoved the last of the waffles into his mouth. He’d decimated a stack that would choke a horse in four bites. Julian wasn’t sure if he should be impressed or horrified.
“Seriously, Ryan, you have mating on the brain.” Alex grabbed his own plate and attacked the scrambled eggs. “Just bite her already. It worked for me, didn’t it?”
Ryan’s eyes darted to something just over Alex’s shoulder. “You think so?” Julian smothered his laughter as he saw what, or rather who, Ryan was staring at, a bag filled with take-out boxes in her hand.
“Oh, yeah.” Alex sat back with a self-satisfied smirk on his face. “I haven’t heard a single complaint yet. Tabby recognizes who’s the boss.”
“Really?” A soft, feminine voice with a deep southern drawl caused Alex’s face to freeze. “You think you’re the boss of me, sugar?”
“Shit.” Alex dropped his fork, paling at the sound of boot heels tapping on linoleum.
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