by Unknown
Instead of trying to stop his invasion, she had prodded him to succumb to his aggressive nature. Remembering her fervent responses, his cock stirred to life again. Unbelievably, he wanted to roll her over and take her again.
Shaking his head to clear his mind, he gently got up from the bed. This time he’d go out for a run instead. Shifting would free his mind of his problems, giving him a clear shot at deciding the best course of action from here.
Despite everything they had been through together, she still thought to leave him. Maybe he’d just tie her to the bedposts and sexually torment her until she admitted she had feelings for him.
She won’t leave me. I won’t allow it. Satisfied that they’d work it out, he left the room with quite the wicked grin spreading across his face.
* * * *
The crisp mountain air ruffled Lucas’ fur as he sprang across the stream. The freedom and power he experienced in his animal form exhilarated him. Due to the harsh terrain of the Dragon, there were few humans who ventured off the nearby mountain road, leaving Lucas and his clan free to roam the land as they saw fit. It was rare anyone from outside his clan tried to harm any of them. But occasionally one of their kind would be spotted and reported, but with no evidence it got chalked up to the smaller native bobcat.
Mountain lions, cougars, and panthers were all considered extinct east of the Mississippi except in a small region of Florida. Little did they know. The other two clans living in the Dragon, while only separated by a few miles from each other, kept to themselves as much as possible. Although the wolves had a thing for stirring up trouble.
In the two decades Lucas had served his clan as Guardian, only a handful of its members had tried to break the laws and mate outside. All who did were banished. Once gone from the clan, their psychic powers would diminish until after about three years they would completely disappear. Leaving them to live out the rest of their extended lives as humans.
Just like—
Lucas stopped in his tracks. The wind carried a familiar scent to his nostrils. One he hadn’t scented in these woods in a very long time. A low growl reverberated in his chest. Adrenalin coursed through his veins and his hair stood on end. Snarling, he turned to face the intruder.
“Hello, Lucas.” The man chuckled nastily. “Surprised to see me?”
Lucas quickly shifted back to human form. Startled confusion gave way to white hot anger as he looked upon his older brother, Malcolm, for the first time in five long years.
“What the hell are you doing here? You know I have the authority to kill you no questions asked for returning here without permission,” he spat.
“Careful, brother. Considering what you’ve been up to the past twenty-four hours, I don’t think you’ve got the right to judge me any longer.”
Shit, he was right. Mating with Kira was just as bad as Malcolm’s crimes, at least according to the Council. In Lucas’ eyes there were shades of gray not simply black and white.
Still, he and Kira weren’t going to be risking clan exposure to mortals anytime soon. Unlike Malcolm, they honored those rules and traditions and were willing to put their lives on the line for those beliefs.
“What do you hope to accomplish by coming here today? Haven’t you done enough damage already?” Lucas had no evidence that Mal was responsible for his kidnapping but his showing up here seemed like questionable timing and he wasn’t sure how to handle it.
“I want my abilities back. No longer being able to shift has long term repercussions I don’t think anyone here was aware of. Unless of course you’ve turned into a sadist bastard who enjoyed seeing others suffer.”
Lucas snorted. “Fancy talk from someone always working his next scheme no matter who suffers for it. Besides, you look perfectly healthy to me.” In fact he looked remarkably just like the day he had left the Dragon. Big, strong, and cocky.
“You don’t get it do you?”
“What the hell are you talking about, Mal? We didn’t do anything to your abilities. There’s no psychic link anymore, big deal. You don’t need telepathic power to live out a normal life.”
For some weird reason, that made Malcolm laugh. An evil sounding laugh, but a laugh nonetheless. “Still a blind slave to the Council, huh? Guess you’re never going to learn.”
Malcolm’s mocking tone raked over his skin. Lucas’ arm shot out and grasped Malcolm by the neck, choking him. Mal grabbed his hand but didn’t pull himself free.
“What’s wrong, Mal, Cat got your tongue?” His brother had some nerve showing up here and insulting him. Lucas was spoiling for a fight and as far as he was concerned, Malcolm had arrived just in time to give him one. “Have you come to try and take the big bad Guardian down? Fine. Let’s go.”
Still Malcolm didn’t pull free from Lucas’ grasp. He was pulling at Lucas’ hand but not hard enough to break free.
“I—I can’t. You’re choking me.” Malcolm’s face turned a nice shade of red as if he struggled from Lucas’ grip. Lucas let go of Malcolm and turned his back, walking away. His brother had changed and it wasn’t for the better. Malcolm disgusted him.
“Lucas, for God’s sake, listen to what I am telling you. My extra strength is gone, I can’t shift anymore, and I think I might be dying.” Lucas stopped dead in his tracks.
“Don’t bullshit me, Mal. What do you really want?” he replied in a low, frustrated voice. He’d had enough with the lies. And has much as he wanted to make Malcolm suffer for everything he’d done, he couldn’t bring himself to do it.
“I need your help. You can help me get back what I’ve lost and in return I will help you save your mate. But we have to hurry or it’ll be too late.”
Lucas’ blood ran cold at the distinct scent of truth coming out of his brother’s mouth.
* * * *
Kira leaned back in her chair, relaxing and soaking up the sun. She had awoken to an empty cabin again and, after a quick shower, decided she needed some fresh air.
Mulling over all the events of the last few days, Kira couldn’t believe that she was mated and in love. What a mess she’d gotten herself into. What had Lucas meant about what happens when his race mates? Would something happen to either of them when she went home? When she left, would she be able to adjust to the loss of her powers?
So wrapped up in her own personal demons, Kira failed to sense someone approaching.
Until a deck board creak behind her. Kira twisted around and found Lara looming over her. The smile on Lara’s face twisted Kira’s stomach into knots. Before she was able to say or do anything, Lara flung an energy ball straight for Kira’s head.
Fighting panic, Kira dove to the ground, barely evading the deadly strike. Her heart raced. Fortunately, she’d been trained to handle this kind of attack and instinctively went into attack mode. Kira mentally pushed Lara across the deck into the rear wall of the cabin, momentarily knocking the wind out of the other woman.
“What exactly is your fucking problem? This is getting so old.” She was sick and tired of this witch popping up to cause trouble over and over. “What do you want from me?” Her jaw clenched, her eyes narrowed slightly as she stared down at the prone witch.
“I don’t care one way or another about you. I have a job to complete here. Then at least one of the Gunn Guardians can pay for what they did to me.” Her lips were twisted in a nasty, angry snarl, but something else wavered in her eyes for just a second, sadness maybe, and then it was gone. Replaced by the blood red color of rage.
“What did they do to you? And what does it have to do with me?” Kira scanned the surrounding area for her options. The deck was flat and open but if she could make it off the deck without being blown up she could take cover in the tree line surrounding the cabin. Before she got a chance to make a run for it, three more energy balls whizzed by her head.
Fuck, that was close!
One way or another this bitch is going down. Just as soon as I shove one of those energy balls down her goddamn throat.
&nb
sp; Kira mentally pushed again at Lara but she got nothing. After the last psychic push Lara had erected a shield around herself. Now Kira’s only option was to get the hell off the deck and make a run for it. The next energy ball Lara threw, Kira mentally pushed it to a nearby wooden table. On impact the table burst into flames, distracting Lara for a split second. Kira ran, her feet pounding against the wood and off the deck where she practically dove into the nearby tree line.
Lucas! Where the hell are you? I’m on the run from Lara and headed in a south, southwesterly direction from the back of the cabin. She frantically tried to touch Lucas’ mind with all they power she had.
I’m almost there, baby. Just a few miles away. There’s an unmarked densely covered path that will lead you straight toward the river. Follow it. We’ll meet you there. Hurry.
Unbelievably, having him in her head soothed and centered her. Her focus seemed sharper and her body surged with power as she ran as hard as she could, her feet pounding the ground as fast as her heart raced.
Kira. Stay safe, baby.
She ran, enjoying the flow of power through her when suddenly she was jerked from the path. Someone grabbed her arm and yanked her down as she passed. Stubby fingers dug into the flesh of her arm, pushing her to the ground face first. The sheer force of being grabbed from a dead run and then flung to the ground caused a sharp wave of nausea to rise in her throat. Gasping for breath, she took in deep gulps of air in the hopes of finding her equilibrium fast. She yanked her arm out the grasp, swiveling quickly onto her back to get a good look at who had grabbed her.
Realization dawned as the true betrayal in this scenario sank in. “Lawrence, what the fuck are you doing here?” Hell, was there any chance she was wrong about him? She rubbed her arms furiously, trying to ease the ache from his surprisingly strong grip. “You could have hurt me.” Despite the nausea threatening to take her down again, she sprang up ready to run. “We’ve got to get out of here now. There’s a crazy assed black witch trying to kill me. We have got to hide from—” the words froze in her throat as she spotted his weapon.
“You’re not going anywhere.” He leveled a gun at her chest to make his point abundantly clear. “I’ve had enough of this crap. I should have known that if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself.”
Something clicked in Kira’s mind. Her stepfather stood before her holding a gun on her, not the least bit surprised to hear about Lara. For years he’d made her skin crawl and now she knew why.
Pure evil could only hide so long before revealing itself. All along he had wanted her out of the way one way or another. The way he had treated her mother all these years wasn’t enough. He had finally come for her.
“Why are you doing this? What do you want from me?” She took a step back trying to put a little distance between herself and Lawrence’s gun.
“Don’t be a stupid little bitch. You know exactly what this is about.” He raised the gun a little higher. “Power. You have more than you deserve and I want it.”
“What the hell are you talking about? How can you take my powers from me? I’m mated now. Killing me only takes them away from me.”
“Come on, girlie, I thought you were brighter than that. Don’t be so narrowminded.” When Kira failed to respond he continued. “The black witch you already mentioned. Why else would I need a witch to help get rid of you?” he replied.
At the mention of her, Lara burst through the trees, stopping just shy of plowing over Lawrence. With her eyes blazing red and hair standing on end, she looked more like a woman gone way over the edge than a criminal partner.
“’Bout time you showed up. I guess you still can’t even handle one little girl,” he sneered at Lara. He might be using Lara to take care of some dirty work, but he clearly thought her less than dirt. “Can you put a spell on her to prevent her from using her psi powers? I can feel her connection with that cat and if we don’t break that fast we’re going to be having a nasty little party here before we’re ready.”
Lara’s expression was thunderous towards Lawrence and Kira held her breath, waiting to see what she would do. She prayed for a break.
To her surprise, Lara didn’t move like she’d hoped. Instead, she did a quick chant and with a simply wave of her hand Lucas disappeared. Blocked from Kira’s mind. She was on her own. Panic like she’d never known welled up in her throat, threatening to choke her. Remember your training. Remember your training. Stay calm.
“It’s done. I’ve temporarily bound her powers. It’s now or never because that spell won’t hold her long. You do know what will happen when you kill her, right? With their powers now bound together, if one dies they both die. It’s what makes them so powerful together.”
Kira gasped. That couldn’t be right. She refused to believe such nonsense. Probably just the ramblings of a crazed witch hell bent on killing her.
“I could care less about her shifter. If he had followed the rules set up ages ago, he wouldn’t be in this mess.” Turning his gaze solely to Kira, he tightened the grip on his gun. “You’re coming with us right now. I need to take care of this without any more interruptions.”
Kira thought desperately for another solution. If they got her away from here, it would be all over for her.
Where the hell was Lucas?
Well, if she couldn’t reach him mentally why not take the good oldfashioned way? Kira opened her mouth and released a bloodcurdling scream.
By the look on Lawrence’s face, she half expected him to shoot her on the spot just to shut her up. Instead he raised his arm and cold cocked her with the butt of the gun. As she crumpled to the ground in agony, everything around her faded away in slow motion. She’d failed.
* * * *
Kira’s screams reverberated through Lucas’ head. He heard them mentally as well as physically. The pain of her fear ripped through his body as skin gave way to fur. His shift was instantaneous as well as uncontrolled.
He and Malcolm had been searching the area near the river for her when she screamed. With barely a glance to Malcolm, he sprinted after her. Blood thundered through his body as he raced to find her in time.
If she’s hurt someone would die, slow and painful.
Lucas burst through the trees to find Lawrence dragging his unconscious mate by the hair. With blind fury in his mind, he leapt across the clearing to get to her before her stepfather had a chance to react. In one vicious move, Lucas sank his razor sharp teeth into Lawrence’s arm and, with the sickening sounds of bones and cartilage popping, he crushed the man’s arm, leaving it useless and unable to maintain a hold on Kira.
His bloodlust far from sated, he turned his attentions to the witch. She lifted her chin, meeting his angry gaze straight on as he stalked towards her. Electricity sparked from her fingertips as she prepared to strike at him.
She chuckled.
“Fine by me you sick son of a bitch. You can be the first to pay. You Guardians judge innocents without a care to the consequences. Without a shred of proof. Now the not so innocent judges you.” Her eyes glowed red as she prepared for battle. “Today you die for your crimes as a Guardian.”
Flinging her right arm at him, an energy ball came straight at him. He easily avoided it by jumping out of its path. Too late, he realized his move left Kira exposed. Lara threw another ball at Kira, aiming for her heart. Lucas lunged across Kira to protect her just as the damaging energy hit his hind leg. He crumpled to the ground in front of Kira’s body, still trying to cover her.
He wasn’t dead but the damage was done. He couldn’t move. His flesh and fur burned in white hot agony as his body shifted back to human form. A raw and primitive grief for Kira consumed him as he watched helplessly as Lara prepared her final blow.
Rubbing her hands together, she created a blast the size of a bowling ball. This one was strong enough to go through both of them at the same time if he wasn’t mistaken.
When her arm cocked to deliver the final blow, she crumpled to the ground. M
alcolm was left standing behind her holding a large tree branch he’d used to strike her down.
“About damn time you showed up.” Lucas’ tongue was heavy with sarcasm he didn’t really feel. In reality he was grateful to once again have his brother’s help.
Malcolm strode over to Lucas and surveyed the damage. After a few painful pokes and prods that must have satisfied him, he turned back to check on the others.
“What the hell? Where did she go?” Malcolm snarled.
“She’s worse than a cat with nine lives. Looks like she’s disappeared on us again.” Lucas groaned. He hated loose ends.
Again.
“She’ll be back. It sounds like she has a plan for us. Whatever she thinks we’ve done, she’s pissed.”
Chapter Nine
Lucas felt Kira watch him pace. The thought of nearly losing her in the woods while he was out goofing off still tormented him. His brothers had recently finished with their questioning in the council chambers and now they all waited to hear their fate. To say every minute was nervewracking was a massive understatement.
“Lucas, you’re making me nervous.” Her voice held a slight tremor when she spoke.
“I’m tired of waiting. It’s taking them entirely too long to come to a decision. What more do they need. We answered every ridiculous question and then some. This is not a hard decision.” He stared at the chamber door, willing someone to walk through it.
“You would never last five minutes in the military with your attitude.” She laughed and the soft lilt of that sweet sound relaxed him a fraction. “Seriously, sometimes I think the entire military philosophy is built around hurry up and wait.”
“That’s not very logical.”
“You have no idea.” Again she spoke with a high voltage smile that lit up her face, transforming what could very well be a very bad day into a beautiful one. He was a damned lucky bastard to have her.
Desire arced between them as he stared down at her. They should be off alone somewhere doing what newlyweds do instead of wasting their time here on a group of grumpy old men steeped in traditions that no longer applied. He started toward her.
