Pride Before the Fall

by JoAnna Grace

  Amilynn walked off and disappeared into the crowd. She wouldn't go far, he knew. Not with him hunting a tigress.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Vivian leaned up against the guy from the band. She didn't bother with a name. He was braced against the brick wall of the club, his hands on her ass, his tongue in her mouth. Humans had a different taste than shifters, and Vivian tried hard to act like it didn't bother her. It wasn't that he had bad breath; he was simply human and her kind was not created to tangle with his.

  "Lift that skirt for me, sweetheart." The guy reached between them to his belt.

  Vivian was about to let him take her in a back alley when she came to her senses. She backed up and looked at the guy. "Shit. I don't want to do this. Sorry." She allowed the guy to pull her back.

  "Damn, girl, don't get me all hard and ready, then walk away. Come on, baby. You'll like it." He rubbed against her and Vivian was not impressed.

  "I doubt it." As she turned to head into the club, he grabbed her arm. The heat in his eyes had nothing to do with sex and everything to do with anger. Vivian looked at his hand on her arm. "You're going to want to let me go if you expect to use that hand later."

  The guy chuckled. "Oh, a bad ass, huh? That's hot." He leaned down to kiss her and she gripped his throat. Her cat needed sex or blood and now that sex was out of the question, she was going for option B.

  "Don't touch me again," Vivian hissed as the man struggled to breathe.

  "Vivian!" A voice that shot fire through her veins stopped her.

  She turned her head to see Kasey standing in the alley, fists at his side, ready to intervene. Now that Vivian's cat had a worthy opponent, she dropped the human and focused on the wolf. Scared shitless, the human went back inside muttering something about crazy bitches.

  "Go to hell."

  "I'd love for you to make me, kitty cat." He stalked over to her even as she mirrored each step.

  "What do you want, Kasey?"

  "Right now, I want to know what you thought you were doing with that man."

  "We were having fun until he got pushy."

  Kasey looked Vivian up and down. Her mass of hair was pulled up off her neck and her dress was cut low, offering up a buffet of skin he would like to taste. Miles of leg flowed out of the short red sleeve of a dress. Vivian was sex in heels and she knew it.

  "And you stopped because?"

  A stubborn chin lifted higher and she shrugged. "He's not my type."

  "Based on how you're dressed, anything with a dick constitutes your type tonight."

  Vivian's eyes went full yellow in a heartbeat. Before Kasey could stop her, she swung with a partially shifted claw, leaving behind four slashes across his chest. His shirt shredded and blood seeped onto the fabric.

  "Get away from me, Kasey, before I do something I might regret," Vivian murmured, her voice more feline growl than human.

  Kasey wiped his blood from his chest and looked at his hand. "Oh, kitten, I'm just getting started. But we should continue this foreplay in private." Wolf eyes peered right at the cat within her and the beast rose up at the challenge.

  "Sick bastard." Vivian walked back to the door of the club and put her hand on the handle. Before she could open it, Kasey had her back pressed against his chest, one arm around her shoulders, the other hand splayed across her stomach inches from her burning core. His body carried the scent of his arousal and the mating bond.

  "You know what I think, kitten?" he whispered in her ear, his lips closing around the lobe. It was all she could do not to spontaneously combust. "I don't think you really wanted the human. I think you want a wolf and it makes you insane with need." His lips trailed quickly up her neck and her knees nearly buckled from the impact. Kasey took a deep drag of the air. "There it is, I knew I could smell it. You're going to be in full heat by tomorrow."

  In the back of her mind, a bomb went off. She'd been in this position before and what happened next made her go from hunter to prey.

  "Kasey, stop!" Vivian begged. Her sudden fear made him release her body and spin her around.

  His eyebrows dipped low as he looked her over. "What's wrong? Did I hurt you?"

  Something about the way he'd held her, forced her against her will, agitated the cat and she needed to calm her down. Vivian looked up into his gray-blue eyes and the cat went still. It was as if Kasey had crawled into her head and told the tiger to sit and stay. She was tranquil just from his eyes peering into her soul. When Vivian could talk, she simply said, "We don't like being confined. He strapped us down." She begged for his compassion with her eyes. "Don't force me, Kasey."

  * * * * *

  Kasey had never known a heart could literally break until that moment. He strapped us down. Vivian didn't need to explain.

  Running his knuckles down her neck he promised, "I would never hurt you, kitty cat." Kasey tilted up her chin so she had to look at him. "Our animals chose each other and the longer we deny them, the more hostile they become. You know that. It's why your cat's so on edge."

  "You don't want me here, Kasey. I'll bring you and your Pack nothing but troubles and war. Trace's men are still searching for me, for my Pride. They won't stop until we're dead."

  Kasey leaned down and softly kissed her lips. The action was so unexpected that Vivian didn't bother pushing him away. That was his plan. Those lips had taunted him in his dreams and now he could taste them, experience their satin caress against his own. The flavor was so rich and decadent that he knew he'd never crave anything more.

  "Stop."

  Unfortunately, Vivian wasn't getting as drunk off their kiss as he was. She pushed him back slowly and made direct eye contact. "Don't do this. Your wolf is confused and doesn't know what he wants. I promise, if you step back and really think about the consequences of... me, then you'll know this will never work." She backed away slowly.

  "Vivian," he called as she walked away. But she never looked back. The wolf begged to follow, stalk his mate. But she needed time.

  On his way home, he called Sampson. If anyone could find out what had gone down in Nevada, it was his brother-in-law. Kasey wanted every detail about the Nevada alpha, Trace, and exactly how he could defend his Pack from him.

  "You're sure about this, Kasey?" Sampson asked. "She's a hot woman. You're sure you aren't confusing the need to get laid with—"

  "Have you ever known me to think with my dick?"

  "Well, uh, no. But the right woman can mess with your head."

  "Exactly: the right woman. I caught her scent, Sampson."

  "We're wolves, of course you—" He paused, finally understanding what Kasey was talking about. "Oh. That scent. How strong?"

  "I'd say a couple days at best."

  "That puts you on a deadline, brother. You're both going to be miserable if she's not with you."

  * * * * *

  It was late when Vivian finally returned to the Pride's apartment. She'd run as far and fast as she could from Kasey. The taste of his kiss still lingered on her lips, and all she wanted to do was hide from the world. Now she was exhausted and knew there were four people awaiting an explanation of her disappearance. When a person had a bounty on their head and they don't return home, it makes for a stressful situation.

  All four of her Pride-mates were up. When she opened the door, a snow leopard leaped into her arms. Melissa must have been worried if she'd shifted. Vivian petted her and held her close. "It's ok, sis. I'm fine. I'm sorry to have scared you."

  Where did you go? I've been so worried! Melissa chastised her even in animal form, batting a sheathed paw at her face.

  Amilynn grabbed her arm. "What did he do to you? I knew that bastard was going to cause trouble the moment I saw him in that club. You want me to pay him a visit?" She was so angry her eyes glowed cat and her voice lowered.

  Vivian shook her head and cast a glance to Ty, the only person who knew that Kasey had claimed her. His lips were pursed, his jaw tense. To Ami, she said, "No, Amilynn. If anything, he save
d a human from getting his balls handed to him. I wasn't thinking straight and I needed some air."

  "V, what's going on with this guy?" Conall pulled her into his arms. "Why does he have this obsession with you?"

  "Tell them," Ty rumbled quietly.

  "It doesn't matter."

  "Yes, it does," he growled at her. Melissa shifted back to a human and put her arms around Ty's neck, nuzzling her face in his shoulder to calm him down. "He's her mate and she's denying him."

  All eyes turned to Vivian. She glared at Ty for opening his mouth and he looked away. Ty was dominant, but no match for the female alpha. She was now a bug under a microscope. Conall and Amilynn paled like they might be ill. Ty looked remorseful for letting the cat out of the bag. But Melissa's eyes filled with moisture.

  "Is this true?"

  "It doesn't matter. It's not as if we can stay here. If Trace finds us, if he finds out that I've mated to some wolf, he'll bring the entire Nevada army here to get us. I won't be responsible for the ramifications of that. Nothing changes. We still move on after a while."

  "But V." Amilynn's voice was nearly silent. "Your cat, she'll go insane without her mate. Especially when you come into heat."

  "Enough!" Vivian commanded in a booming voice.

  The entire Pride took a step back.

  "I will deal with the wolf. But this conversation is over. Nothing changes. You are my family, not some wolf with a hard on. Nothing fucking changes. And if any of you approaches him, I will be eternally pissed. Now leave me alone. I'm going to bed." Vivian knew even as she slammed the bedroom door that she'd made her sister cry and hurt her entire Pride. She fell into the bed and covered her face with a pillow, wishing she could cry like a normal female. Instead she held everything in and it made her cat claw at her insides.

  * * * * *

  Melissa, Ty, Amilynn and Conall sat in their living room contemplating what Vivian and Kasey mating meant. Leaving the area was not an option. They had to settle here, stay where her mate was.

  "I know she said not to interfere," Conall whispered. "But this is a big deal. We can't let her sacrifice her mate."

  "What can we do?" Amilynn bit her nails nervously. In her head she replayed Kasey's words to her at the club. I know you better than you think and you deserve much more than to be some bastard's plaything. You're too good for this kind of rebellious behavior. Maybe there was more to this wolf than she initially assumed? "Vivian will walk away from him in a heartbeat if she thinks we're in danger."

  "I need to talk to him." Melissa wrung her hands. "He needs to know what he's up against."

  "Can you get her in?" Conall looked at Ty. The shadow was capable of much more complicated tasks.

  "Not a problem," he said, taking Melissa's hand. "I'll do some recon tomorrow."

  CHAPTER NINE

  Vivian tossed and turned, caught in her usual nightmare. Once again, she'd been trapped in that cold metal container. The scream she heard was painfully recognizable. Vivian had grown up with that voice.

  "Stop! Please! No, don't hurt him! Trace, I'm sorry! Oh God, please don't kill him. I'll do whatever you want!" Melissa pleaded for the life of her mate as Trace's men beat the hell out of Tyrone. Vivian fought against the lock on the container. It was too small for her to shift into tiger form. Trace had been smart in his planning. But he hadn't taken into account the bond between Vivian and her sister.

  Melissa screamed out again, and the agony in that sound went right to Vivian's bones. Melissa fell silent and it was enough to make the cat take control. Had Trace just killed her sister? All forms of human thinking fled. The tiger ruled her mind—a pissed off tigress who wanted to protect her blood. There wasn't a cage in the world that could keep her away. The moment Vivian shifted, the cat used all its magic-driven strength to push the cage door until metal creaked and bent in ways it wasn't supposed to. The cage door burst open and out came a raging beast.

  Trace had Melissa strapped naked on her back to a raised platform. He used the table for his torture. Vivian knew it well and hell would freeze before she allowed him to hurt Melissa like he'd hurt her.

  Over in a corner, Ty was chained by his wrists to the wall. If his blood hadn't been so familiar, she never would have been able to identify him.

  "Stop her. Kill her if you must." Trace demanded of the few men in the room. Only his inner circle knew of his perversions. Most of them had helped violate her. It was their reward. Vivian had been the prize on several occasions. The tiger remembered every face and took great joy in ripping them to pieces.

  The four men had come at her at once, intending to overpower and subdue. It didn't work. The cat had free reign and Vivian's human mind was cut off. Blood and body parts littered the floor of Trace's torture room.

  When Amilynn and Conall reached the chamber, Vivian had Trace pinned to the floor. His lion form was massive, a great predator. But he'd grown lazy and Vivian had been preparing for this day for months. Massive claws gripped at her shoulder blades, but the tiger didn't feel it. All it concentrated on was the faint, slowing thud of a pulse from the lion beneath her. All she could taste was his blood flowing through her mouth as her massive jaws wrenched down harder on his jugular. Only when the tension in his body went slack did she let go. The lion lay still.

  A gunshot sent her back into action. Amilynn had put a bullet in the temple of one of the men still breathing. She then went back to trying to free Ty from his chains. His limp body fell to the ground and Amilynn cursed, her arms struggling to catch her brother.

  "I've got Mel," Conall said from across the room.

  The tigress leaped onto the table and over the body of her sister. No one was touching Melissa. In the cat's eyes, everyone was enemy. Even Conall, her dear friend, was a threat in that mental state. Vivian swiped at him with massive claws and bared her teeth.

  "Shit!" Conall yelled. "Vivian, you've got to let me untie her. Can you understand me? Ami! She's gone under. I don't think she knows what I'm saying."

  "She knows," Ami said walking up with gun raised. "Vivian, I'm going to shoot your ass if you don't let us get to Melissa. Do you hear me? I'll bust you right in the goddamn ass-end and you won't be able to walk for a month. Get off her so we can help."

  Dominance. Vivian understood this. She hissed even as she knelt down beside Melissa. Amilynn kept her gun pointed at Vivian's rear while she and Conall started loosening the ropes around Melissa's legs and arms. Mel was sedated, the syringe still lying on the table. Amilynn was checking for a pulse when Vivian hissed at her again.

  Ami slapped Vivian on the nose. "Don't you hiss at me, bitch. You want me to bust you in the face instead?"

  "God, you've got balls, Ami." Conall muttered under his breath. He kept his eyes on the angry feline hovering close as he slid pants on Melissa's legs.

  "She knows I'll shoot her. And I know when she gets back in her own head, she'll thank me for it."

  Vivian woke up in frenzy. Her tank top was soaked with sweat and the covers were on the floor. She put on her house shoes and walked to the open window. Working at the clubs had their days and nights switched. The sun was about to set and the world was bathed in burnt gold.

  Only one thing brought on her nightmares. Vivian was about to come into heat. Unlike their natural counterparts, shifter females only came into heat twice a year. It was painful for the unmated. Like the tigers in the wild, she would need to copulate multiple times over a period of several days.

  "Damnittohell," she muttered to herself. Why now? Why here when Kasey was so close? Why couldn't it wait until she was miles away?

  "Couldn't sleep?"

  Vivian turned to see the co-star of her latest nightmare. Melissa's hair was pulled back into a ponytail, making her look innocent and young. Vivian gave her a smile and opened her arms. "Bad dream. Come hug me."

  Melissa wrapped her arms around Vivian's waist. "I'm sorry. Can I do anything?" Her contact helped the tension seep from Vivian's muscles. Mel's scent grounded her
and reinforced that her little sister was alive and safe.

  "You're doing it." Vivian pulled Mel closer. "I wish I could scrub my brain with bleach, you know?"

  "Yeah, I know. I also know what brings on these nightmares." Melissa looked up into Vivian's hazel eyes. "You should go to him."

  Vivian retreated and shook her head. "No. Absolutely not." Her words to her sister held harshness intended for someone else, anyone else but sweet Melissa.

  "V," she whispered. "He's not like Trace. He won't do those things to you."

  "How do you know? He's an alpha, isn't he?" Melissa flinched at her sister's angry tone. "I'm sorry." Vivian ran her hands through her hair, pulled the mass up off her neck to cool off.

  "It's the fever, V. What are you going to do?"

  Vivian avoided Mel's gaze. "I'll find a place to hole up for a while."

  "Please don't do that," Melissa begged, remembering the last time they'd found Vivian five days into her heat in an abandoned hotel. "Conall coul—"

  "Hell no." Vivian shut that thought down quickly. It was hard enough to be in heat around him with their past. Letting him service her would only dredge up bad memories. "What are my options, Mel? I can't stay here. Conall and Amilynn go bat shit crazy. He can't have me so he ruts after her like some horny teenager. She beats the crap out of him for a few days, and then gives in. You and Ty don't leave your apartment and God knows I don't want to think about that."

  Melissa giggled. Vivian cracked a smile. "Keep it to yourself. You mated people are disgustingly cute and you make me want to barf."

  Melissa hugged her sister's waist again. "You could be too, you know."

  "Don't go there, Mel. I can't let myself get swept away by some fantasy. Even if that fantasy's kiss is perfection," Vivian said, remembering the texture of Kasey's lips. She shook it out of her mind. "It'll never work, not with an anvil hanging over my head."

  "But it can—"

  Vivian grabbed Melissa by the shoulders and looked into her naive blue eyes. "What do you think Trace will do to Kasey when he finds out we're mated?"