by Fel Fern
“Lex,” Nix interrupted.
“Yeah?”
“Looks like I’ll be seeing you in Leopold City.”
“You don’t want to hear the rest of the information?” Lex asked, sounding a little more concerned.
“Tell it to me when I get there.”
Nix paid for his beers, mounted his bike and steered it to Leopold City without another thought. Emotions he thought long dead stirred inside him. He felt like a dead husk suddenly given life. Vengeance fuelled his body once again, and the thought of stopping to eat or rest seemed like an unnecessary waste of time, although from what Lex told him, it seemed the Blue Bastards were going to hole themselves up in Leopold City for quite some time.
The sane part of his mind told him Lex was right and he was acting recklessly, but the last ten years of his life felt like he was chasing the ghost of blue devils. Some irrational part of Nix reasoned if he didn’t go now, he was going to lose their trail again.
Nix needed this and wanted this more than he realized. Without the Blue Bastards, his life held no meaning. It was a depressing thought, but an alarmingly true one.
Chapter Two
Entering the highway leading to Leopold City, the silence of the empty dessert road disappeared, giving way to the noise and pollution of urban living. Nix had driven by this city a couple times in his travels, but he’d never given it a passing thought.
The city didn’t stand out, but it wasn’t all that bad either. Leopold City, along with the neighboring Dark City a few miles from it, formed one of the few cities where the supernatural and mortal world didn’t clash. From what Nix heard, while it wasn’t all peachy, the two sides had a beneficial business arrangement. Both sides kept to their own side of the fence, and dealt with their own when their own did something on the bad side of the law.
Nix pulled out the scrap of paper from the inner pockets of his jacket and glanced at the darkened lights of the garage in front of him, frowning. Lex had given him the address of her apartment some time back, but he’d hastily scribbled it on a tissue and lost it along the way. The only address he had was the address to the local business Lex’s pard ran.
Lex wasn’t answering her cell either. She was probably busy running errands, but maybe one of the wereleopards working at the garage knew where she was.
Ignoring the “Closed” sign hanging out front, Nix pushed his way in.
“Hello? Is anyone here?”
A warning growl from somewhere in the garage, and seconds later a grease-stained man rolled from under one of the cars. Inside him, Nix’s wolf opened its sleepy amber eyes with interest.
Standing now, Nix saw the man, or rather the wereleopard, was almost as tall as he was, although he packed lean muscle and had none of Nix’s bulk. He was young, perhaps probably in his late-twenties, and had short-cropped blond hair and sharp, suspicious blue eyes.
“You don’t smell like the local werewolf pack. Are you a customer? Can’t you read the sign outside?” The man asked, crossing his arms.
He appeared less aggressive now, after establishing Nix wasn’t part of the local wolf pack, but no less friendly. The name on his stained overalls read “Eli”.
Something strange stirred inside Nix. He was overcome by the strange urge to come closer, let his wolf rub its fur against the little cat, and maybe suck the salt on the young man’s neck for a start. A nice little tender spot, Nix decided, not marred by grease or oil. He could see his spiritual beast, too, a fine, lean-bodied leopard looking at him with obvious and unconcealed interest. After that sweet spot, he could move on to—
What the fuck’s wrong with me? Over the years, Nix had been attracted to both men and women, other shifters and humans, but all they were to him were a quick distraction. The way he was reacting now, panting and lusting after this young leopard, reminded him of a young unmated werewolf. What the hell?
“Hey, Eli. No, I’m not a customer, but I’m looking for someone. I’m an old friend of Lex Marsden—you know where she is?”
Suspicion coloured Eli’s eyes again. “What do you want with one of our pard enforcers?”
Enforcer, eh? Lex certainly has been busy.
The door to the air-conditioned office opened, revealing a woman, a heavily pregnant female, Nix noted, sniffing the air. All thoughts of Lex fled from his mind. The smell of sweet feline musk mixed with something like cinnamon negated all his senses, heck, even his brain.
“Eli, is something going on?” She crept closer to them, waddling a little awkwardly. Like Eli, she looked like she was in her late-twenties. Her strawberry blonde hair was pulled into a ponytail, leaving her features clear. Concerned, huge light brown eyes looked from Eli to Nix.
“Get back in the office, Jen.”
Nix was unsure why he stepped forward suddenly. Eli snarled again, but Nix only offered her his arm.
“Oh, thank you, but I can walk perfectly well.”
“Fuck, Jen. You can’t just let some stranger, let alone some big hairy werewolf biker, get close to you.” The protective instincts coming off from the wereleopard made Nix wonder if Eli was Jen’s mate, but their cats told him they weren’t.
The two beasts looked on hungrily at each other just as his wolf looked at them longingly, as if there was deep chasm each of them had to cross.
“Eli, you’re overreacting again, besides I don’t sense any malice from him.” Jen finally looked at Nix, and the sudden weight in her eyes staggered him.
They were exhausted eyes, haunted eyes. They told Nix while Jen’s body was young, the soul it contained was old.
“Oh, sweetheart,” she whispered, slender fingers moving past his leather jacket to touch his inked arm. “You’ve been through hell haven’t you?”
Her words reverberated through Nix and hit him like a wrecking ball. Those eyes, Nix thought shakily, saw far too much. Hell, he usually wasn’t that transparent.
She let out a breath, and Nix sensed her cat stretching, daringly rubbing against his wolf. The two beasts sniffed and scented each other, eager to explore and play. He swallowed, unsure what was happening.
First Eli, and now Jen? What the hell? Nix hadn’t been able to get some sleep and feed his body the minimum nourishment it required. Perhaps he was imagining all of this.
“I was telling Eli here I’m an old friend of Lex’s,” Nix said, finally getting his brain back. He reluctantly let go of Jen’s arm, and their two beasts unhappily untangled from each other.
“You know Lex?” Jen looked thoughtful, giving him another sweeping glance.
Nix felt naked under her gaze.
This woman is dangerous. I can’t stay too close to her.
“You must be, Nix.”
It was his turn to look surprised. “You know me?”
“I’m a good friend of Lex, and she’s mentioned you here and there.”
“Yeah? Anything good?” Nix asked, wondering why the hell he was flirting when he had important things to take care of, like finding his wife and kid’s murderers.
“Well, she’s told me some interesting stories—” Jen halted midway, then clutched at her stomach. Her face looked constricted with pain.
Nix quickly took her arm again, keeping her balanced on her feet.
“Jen, what’s wrong?” Nix asked.
“Just the baby kicking,” Jen murmured. “I just need to sit down for a while. Oh.”
Both Nix and Eli looked down to see her water had broken.
Seeing Eli’s panicked look, Nix quickly took control of the situation. “Eli, you have a car?” At his nod, Nix continued. “Get it started, we’re going to the hospital.”
Nix had to give Eli some brownie points. He didn’t protest. Eli simply took one of the keys hanging from the wall by the cashier and ran out to the garage.
“Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing,” Nix said.
Without waiting for Jen’s reply, he carefully lifted the pregnant woman in his arms and carried her out. She let out a breath, and wrappe
d her arms firmly around his neck. Oh God. Jen smells divine.
“This is rather dramatic, being carried by a werewolf biker. I never imagined giving birth like this.”
Nix had to grin at her. “Making jokes while in throes of pain, eh? Your mate must be one lucky bastard.”
She flinched at his words, and Nix suddenly wished he hadn’t opened his damn mouth. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have said anything. I didn’t mean to discomfort you. It’s really none of my business.”
Jen let out a bitter laugh. “It doesn’t matter. He ran out on me months ago. Without Eli and the pard, I don’t think I could’ve made it this far on my own.”
“Why are you telling me this?” Nix asked. They were out on the sidewalk now and Eli had opened the door of his beat-up but perfectly running black Mustang.
“I don’t know, but it feels right doesn’t it?” Jen smiled tightly at him, squeezing his arm. Then she looked at Eli. “I want Nix to come with us.”
“Jen, I don’t think that’s— “ Eli was cut off when Jen let out a little scream.
“Shit. Come on, we better get to the hospital,” Nix interrupted.
Eli nodded curtly and had the car moving in no time. Nix sat in the back, unsure how he’d gotten himself in such a position.
“Breathe in and out. Relax, baby. That’s good,” he told Jen’s pained face.
She clasped his arm tightly, listening to him intently. Fuck it. Her vulnerable scent was driving Nix mad. He growled. Every inch of his instincts screamed he needed to protect Jen and the cub she was carrying.
“Is everything alright back there?” Eli asked from the driver’s seat.
“Yeah, I know what I’m doing, Eli. My wife went through the same thing with my kid,” Nix said.
“Does your wife know you’re sniffing around female leopards?” Eli asked pointedly.
“My wife and kid are dead. Been dead for a decade,” Nix said quietly.
Jen grew still on his lap, and when she squeezed his arm he had a feeling it wasn’t because she was in pain.
“I’m sorry,” Eli said, sounding like he really meant it. “Hospital’s not far.”
“All right, Eli. Get us there.”
Chapter Three
True to his word, Eli got them to the nearest hospital in no time at all. Since Leopold City’s supernatural and mortal denizens were well integrated, Eli quickly found a medically trained shifter doctor to tend to Jen. Doctor Lillian Farr, as it turned out, was also a wereleopard who was part of the Leopold Pard, so Jen was in good hands.
“Only family is allowed,” the nurse said in annoyance as Eli and Nix attempted to follow the gurney Jen was in. “Are both of you family?”
Nix stopped in his tracks. So did Eli.
“Thought so. You two can wait here. We’ll take care good care of Miss Rhodes.”
Nix and Eli slunk back to the waiting room like defeated dogs. Since Eli looked more worried than ever, Nix got them both a cup of coffee from the nearby vending machine.
“Here you go,” Nix said. Eli numbly accepted the cup.
“Thanks, man.” Eli didn’t protest when Nix’s hand lingered on his arm or even when his fingers began stroking his tanned skin thoughtfully.
The gesture seemed to calm Eli down immensely. Nix could see Eli’s leopard curling lazily against his wolf, tail flicking to and fro. It was a strange experience, to see two different animals settling against each other like that.
After a few minutes of silence, Eli spoke. “Hey, Nix? I’m sorry for acting so suspicious. The pard’s been through a lot of shit lately, and our king and enforcers always said to be on guard. Since you’re Lex’s friend and you helped us through this, I guess you’re alright.”
“And you trust me, just like that?” Nix couldn’t help but tease.
Eli frowned. “I don’t trust you. I just said you were all right. Get your damn facts straight.”
That was good enough for Nix. “So what’s between you and Jen?”
Eli crossed his arms. “Diego, Jen’s mate, is my older brother. I don’t know what made him decide to leave her and I don’t fucking care. If he can’t take care of his mate, then I will.”
“Because you feel responsible?” Nix prodded.
Eli’s eyes flared with anger. “Jen’s not a responsibility. She isn’t some chore or some kind of obligation. She’s…” Eli faltered, unable to continue or perhaps, Nix thought, he didn’t and couldn’t admit the truth. He clearly cared for Jen more than a friend, but Nix wasn’t about to step into a landmine. This was the end of the little side trip fate unexpectedly threw him in, or it should’ve been.
Eli’s words puzzled him, because Nix could understand what the young leopard felt toward Jen. Sitting with Jen in the car, Nix had been overcome by a strange, fierce animal protectiveness for Jen—a feeling he hadn’t felt since he’d laid his eyes on Georgina decades ago.
“My turn to ask questions. Why are you looking for Lex?” Eli asked.
“Personal reasons.” When Eli snorted, Nix went on. “She has some information I’ve been looking for for a very long time.”
Nix noticed the way Eli was looking at him changed. “What, something on my face?”
“Nothing. Just that your tone and face became fucking shit-assed scary when you said those words. Must be some serious shit, huh?”
Nix was about to say it was none of his business when the waiting room suddenly grew loud and rowdy.
“Eli, we just heard. What happened?” asked a worried-looking couple Nix guessed was from the pard.
His wolf blistered when more cats began crowding the waiting room, but the communal feeling of family sure felt nice. The pard bonds around the werecats were nothing like Nix ever felt before. They pulsed with warm, fierce, and protective life. It was Nix’s cue to leave.
He was about to make a quiet exit when he found a huge hand shoved against his chest and a large inked, dark-haired man frowning suspiciously at him.
“Who the fuck are you, wolf?” he demanded. “I don’t like unwanted werewolves sniffing around my pard. So if you don’t give me an unacceptable answer, we’re taking this outside.”
Nix had taken down his share of dangerous big bastards and powerful shifters in his time, but he wasn’t sure he could take on this man. From the way waves of power rolled off him, he guessed this was the Leopold Pard’s leopard king.
He was sure as hell relieved to hear the sound of Lex’s voice.
“Back off, big bro. Nix is a friend.” A slender, dark-haired woman in a leather jacket pushed her way in front of the leopard king. Looking at the man’s dark hair and gray eyes and then at Lex, Nix finally noticed the family resemblance.
“Cas, can you help me pull Lars aside?” Lex was saying.
Nix spotted a short, pretty redhead holding a baby pull the big man aside.
“You can’t believe how relieved I am to see you, kitten,” Nix admitted. “Your brother doesn’t look like he’s easy to push around.”
She grinned at him. “How the hell did you end up with Eli and Jen?”
Before Nix could explain, another large man banded his arm around Lex’s waist and pressed her to him. It was an unmistakable possessive gesture. “Hey, Nix.”
“Hey, Noah. How’s it going?” Nix greeted one of Lex’s mates warily. A lean and sandy-haired man by Noah’s side, Lex’s other mate, Mason, gave him a friendly wave.
“Oh, Noah. We’ve fucking talked about this,” Lex muttered, her tone a mix of annoyance and fondness.
“About what, baby?” Noah asked, nuzzling her neck.
Mason grinned beside him. “Oh we’ve talked about this, but Noah’s stubborn as ever.”
Seeing Lex so happy with her mates made Nix slightly envious.
“Nix is just a friend and we need to talk in private. Please?” Lex added. The “please” did it. Noah unhappily detached himself, but waved a threatening finger at Nix before he stepped away. The message was clear.
Lex led him out of th
e crowded waiting room and outside the hospital. It was quiet here, and it made it easy for Nix to clear his head and remember his purpose. She offered him a cigarette and he accepted it. They smoked in silence for a while, watching the occasional ambulance and paramedics arriving.
“So, you went by the garage looking for me?” Lex guessed.
Nix nodded, telling her what happened next, leaving out the sordid little details about his odd attraction to Eli and Jen, but Lex easily caught on.
“You stayed with them though. Why?”
“Of course I did. It’s only logical. I mean, what kind of bastard would leave a woman in distress? Hell, if I see Jen’s cowardly husband I might just give him a punch or two. And Eli appears like a capable young man, but I went with them just in case something went wrong,” Nix said, wondering why he sounded so defensive.
“Young man? Eli’s twenty-four,” Lex said unhelpfully.
“Still too damn young for me, and so is Jen.” The words were out of Nix’s mouth before he could stop them.
Lex raised one pierced eyebrow. “I was twenty-one when you fucked me, so age is irrelevant.”
“Damn it, Lex.” Nix let out a sound of frustration. “I’m fucking confused here. I came here looking to take out my wife and kid’s murderers. Why is my wolf attracted to Eli and Jen’s cats?”
“Have you forgotten?” Lex slowly blew out a smoke. “We werecats don’t mate in twos. We mate in threes.”
“I haven’t forgotten.” Nix growled. “But those mating rules only apply to werecats, right? I’m a fucking werewolf. Hell, my wolf shouldn’t be even attracted to two wereleopards in the first place.”
“Attracted is a mild word considering I could smell your scent on Eli, and I have a feeling you also unconsciously imprinted it on Jen as well.”
Nix grunted, knowing she was right. Damn. No wonder Lars was pissed. He could probably sniff the smell of strange wolf lingering on his two werecats.
