Snake Snack

by Lisa Oliver

  “I’m not living as your pet.” Simon could feel his scales starting to form up his arm and he pushed his snake back. It was so tempting. One shift and Theodore would be dead on the ground, but Simon could imagine Darwin’s face if he learned the babies were gone and he couldn’t do it. “I’ll never get hard with you. I’ll vomit every time you get close. Within a week, I’ll be dead and what have you achieved? A fucking murder rap hanging over your head.”

  “You really believe in fated mates?” Theodore came closer and Simon’s snake wanted to bite. “You honestly believe in all those fairy tales?”

  “Fated mates are real. I knew the moment I scented Darwin he was mine. There will never be anyone else for me and without him, I die. It’s not a fairy tale and because you drugged me and kidnapped me, taking me away from my mate, my death is going to be on your head.”

  Simon hoped his words were getting through. Shifting would have to be his very last option but he wasn’t going to be some sex toy or whatever else Theodore had planned for him. Now he had his sweet Darwin, he’d rather die than let an arrogant lion get near him.

  But Theodore tut-tutted and shook his head. “I’m older than you by a good fifty years. I’ve never met my mate so why on earth would I believe you’ve got yours?”

  “Because you can tell by my scent I’m not lying. Use your nose, man.” Simon wanted to gnash his teeth, scream and shift. His snake hated being tied up and wanted to get to Darwin. This lion was in his way. He fought with his breathing, begging his snake to stay back. Darwin will never forgive us if something happens to the babies. Our babies. Because, yes, for the first time, Simon felt a glow of protectiveness about his little ones too and it seemed his snake half picked up on his new feelings because he backed off.

  Theodore started pacing the floor, allowing Simon to look around. They were in a bunker of some sort and he stuck out the tip of his tongue cautiously, trying to pick up any familiar scents. Without knowing how long he’d been drugged, it was hard to pick up on where they were, but Theodore mentioned a plane coming. Simon couldn’t hear any sounds of a town nearby which ruled out Jackson airport. Surely that meant they couldn’t be far from Arrowtown?

  His eyes widened as he saw the hint of a tiny pink nose pushing under a large wooden door, followed by a body he recognized and loved. The mouse was doing his best to climb the door and Simon could only guess he was aiming to grab the key. He must have back up.

  “Why don’t you let me go?” He said quietly, drawing Theodore’s attention back to him. “You know I’m mated. I love my mate. I’m going to die anyway. If you let me go now, then you can disappear. We’ll forget this ever happened.”

  “It’s too late for that.” Theodore scowled. “Someone might have seen me drag you out of the pub.”

  “I can just tell them you were helping me outside. The town knows about my pregnancy and there were a lot of people in that bar. The room was hot so going out for fresh air is perfectly logical.” Simon bit his lip. Darwin reached the key. But as soon as he got it out of the lock, it would fall to the ground and Theodore would hear it. Darwin must have come to the same conclusion because he slowly made his way down the door again. But instead of disappearing under it, he skirted around the edges of the room, heading in Simon’s direction. No. No. No. No. No.

  “Please let me go.” That was as close to begging as Simon was going to get and it was only because Darwin was in incredible danger. If Theodore scented him in the room then he was a dead mouse.

  “You beg so nicely.” Theodore stood in front of him. “Why couldn’t you be mine?”

  “You’ll find your own mate one day and then you’ll understand how I feel. Touching another when you’re mated is just not an option.” Simon almost bit his tongue. Darwin had changed direction. He wasn’t heading for Simon, he was sitting behind Theodore, eyeing his pants. If Theodore stepped back…. “Having a mate is better than any pet could be. They fill your soul in ways you couldn’t imagine and the sex is out of this world. You’ll know what I mean when you scent your own. Your animal half comes alive. All your lion will want is to….”

  “Aargh. What the hell?” Theodore stepped back slapping at his pants. “There’s something…fucking hell.” He cupped his balls, his knees folding as he hit the ground. All Simon could think was Darwin would be squashed. Planting his feet firmly on the ground, he lurched up, the chair still stuck to his ass, his shoulders screaming with pain as he lowered his head and barreled forward. The back of the chair hit Theodore in the chest, sending him sprawling. Just then, there was a huge crash and the wooden door splintered and Simon sank back. The cavalry had arrived. Simon had never been so glad to see his friends in all his life.

  “Darwin,” he called. “Darwin, where are you?” He searched for movement in Theodore’s pants but he couldn’t spot a wiggle. “Get Darwin,” he gasped as Ra broke the chair and chains that were holding him. Rubbing the ache from his shoulders, Simon was frantic to find his mate.

  “Where’d he go? We were waiting for him to get the door unlocked.” Ra looked around the room.

  “He bit that asshole. I think he’s caught under those pants.”

  “The things I do for friendship,” Ra grumbled as he flicked out his claws. Rocky and Cam were holding Theodore down, not that the man was struggling.

  “Don’t touch him.” Liam jumped forward, putting himself between Ra and Theodore. “You can’t hurt him. Please. He’s my mate. Please don’t hurt him.” With that the kindly lion took one more anguished look at Theodore’s slacken face and disappeared out of the room, Lucien hot on his heels.

  “Well that’s just complicated the situation.” Rocky banged Theodore’s head on the ground. “Get the man’s pants off and find your mate. After that….”

  “After that we let him go,” Simon said firmly. Liam was one of his dearest friends and Simon couldn’t imagine what the poor lion was going through now. “He won’t dare show his face in Arrowtown again and now you’ve scented your mate, your pet keeping days are over. Isn’t that right, Theodore?”

  “Just get that thing, whatever it was that bit me, out of my pants. You won’t see me again.”

  Taking Theodore at his word, Simon ripped the man’s fancy suit pants, searching for any bulge that didn’t belong. There was nothing around the man’s ball area, except some blood and a nasty bite. Simon wasn’t sure if he should feel proud or fucking pissed off about his mate getting so close to someone’s genitals. Finding nothing in the pants, he worked his way down Theodore’s legs, feeling around his boots.

  “I found him.” Simon carefully plucked his mate’s limp body from the side of the boot. “You could’ve fucking told me he was there.” A glare at Theodore would be wasted and Simon focused on his mate instead. Darwin’s eyes were closed and his breathing was shallow but he was breathing and that’s all Simon cared about.

  “Come on, mate,” he crooned softly. “Open those tiny eyes of yours.”

  “Your mate’s a mouse?” Theodore sounded incredulous. “You threw over a life with me for a rodent?”

  “He forced you to your knees, didn’t he?” Rocky snarled. “You’re just lucky he couldn’t carry a knife with him or you’d be as dead as the snake he killed a couple of months ago.”

  “My balls still hurt.”

  “Yeah, well, you won’t be using them again either.” Rocky yanked on Theodore’s hair and dragged him from the room. Cradling Darwin in his hands, Simon stepped outside, filling his lungs with the night air.

  “Your turn to see a doctor I think,” he said softly as he tried to get his bearings.

  “Come on, I’ll drive you. I want to get back to Seth.” Ra slapped him on the shoulder causing Simon to wince. “You should get Doc to check you out too. It’s not far. We’re just outside the town limits. This is an abandoned airstrip old man Trotter used to use for crop dusting apparently. Cam recognized the road and remembered the bunker. Rocky was able to track your scent all the way from the pub despite t
hat asshole using a car. It was a rental he got off Trent. I imagine Trent’s in there now getting him to settle the bill before they let him go.”

  “He’s one deluded lion all right. I sure hope Liam will get through this.” Stroking Darwin’s soft fur, Simon climbed in the front of Rocky’s wagon.

  “We’ll talk to him later. He’s always wanted to find his mate and I don’t like the idea of keeping mates apart, but after what Theodore did to you….”

  “Yeah, it’s a fucking messy situation all right.” Vowing to talk to Liam at his earliest opportunity, Simon kept his eyes on the unconscious mouse cradled in his hands. He prayed Darwin would wake up so he could cover his face with kisses and then smack his ass. Please be all right. Please….

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Darwin groaned and stretched as he woke up; immediately wishing he hadn’t moved. Every bone and muscle in his body ached. “Did you get the number of the truck that hit me?” He muttered, his nose letting him know Simon was close.

  “Try Theodore Western slapping you in your mouse form.”

  Fuck. Memories flooded back, Darwin lurched up, his aches and pains forgotten. “Are you okay? Did he hurt you? Are the babies all right? Is that asshole dead?”

  “Shush.” Firm hands guided him back down on the bed. “You gave me one hell of a scare. No getting out of bed until you’ve shifted again. Farriday’s orders.” Darwin’s eyes scanned his mate. Dressed in sweat pants that barely covered his growing belly, Simon looked the same as he always did to the casual observer. But there were stress lines at the corner of his eyes and his goatee-surrounded lips were thin and tightly pressed together.

  Darwin settled back on the bed. At least Simon held his hand. “I was worried about you. I couldn’t shift. I’d have been naked and weaponless against a lion shifter. I’m not stupid.”

  “So you ran up the guy’s pant leg instead and bit his balls. Darwin, you could’ve been killed.”

  “It worked, didn’t it?” Darwin didn’t know what Simon was so upset about. He was never going to forget the pleading in Simon’s voice to be let go, or the horror he’d felt in seeing his mate detained. “I promised the guys if the key wasn’t a viable option, I’d cause a diversion. Rocky and Ra had their ears plastered to the door the whole time. But we didn’t know if that asshole had a gun or a knife at your throat or…or….” Tears flooded his eyes and Darwin couldn’t stop them. He remembered his anger and panic; how he’d evaded Ra’s fingers as a mouse and got under the door. Seeing his mate bound and helpless. Darwin coughed as a sob forced its way up his throat and then it was as if he couldn’t stop shaking, tears pouring down his face. Only Simon’s arms were grounding him.

  “Hush, hush, it’s okay. I’m okay. The babies are fine and the Doc says you will be too once you’ve shifted. Everything is going to be all right.” Simon’s voice was soothing but it was at least another five minutes before Darwin could get himself under control.

  “Tell me he’s dead.” Darwin brushed his hands across his face.

  Simon hung his head, shaking no.

  “Why? For fuck’s sake! He drugged and kidnapped you. He deserves to be dead or at least locked up.”

  Simon’s eyes were always dark but in this instance Darwin would swear they were black. They fitted with the bleakness of his expression. “Theodore is Liam’s fated mate. It’s unlikely they’ll ever get together; the asshole took off as soon as his plane arrived. Liam begged Ra not to kill him and none of us, not even me, had the heart to go against his wishes.”

  “Oh no.” Darwin closed his eyes, his heart breaking over what Liam must be going through. “Liam deserves so much better than that asshole.”

  “That’s not what the Fates think, obviously.” Simon’s voice was quiet and his scent was tinged with sadness. “Liam will never get another chance at a mate and as for Theodore, I’m guessing he’ll regret his decision to leave the first time he gets a boner. They’ve scented each other which is one step short of a full mating. Apparently, Liam had some sort of crush on Western when they were in the same pride. He wasn’t old enough to know Western was his mate, of course, and the guy never gave him the time of day, but Liam crushed on him hard.”

  “What will happen to Liam? How’s he holding up?”

  “He claims he’s fine. He came to me and apologized, can you believe that? Said I had every right to want Western dead, but his lion just couldn’t allow it. He won’t talk about it. He’s vehement about not leaving this pack or his brother and as Western said he’ll never come near Arrowtown again so I can’t see how they could ever get together.”

  “If anyone deserves a sweet mate it’s Liam. How could the Fates…you know what, it doesn’t matter. We’ll just have to make sure we’re there for him in any way we can be.” Darwin looked up to see Simon watching him gravely. “I love you. Are you sure you’re okay?”

  “The doctor checked me out when he’d finished with you. Apart from my blood pressure which was understandably high this time, me and the little ones are fine. You shifted from mouse to human as he was examining you, which was a good thing because I don’t think Farriday’s dealt with a mouse before either.”

  “And Cam? Shit. The bar. How long was I out? I need to call and see when he needs me for work.” Darwin reached for his phone which Simon or somebody had left on the bedside cabinet.

  “The bar is already cleaned and open for business. The townsfolk rallied round, pissed at what the sheriff did and calling for Quincy’s blood for bringing in outsiders,” Simon grabbed Darwin’s hand, preventing him from picking up his phone. “You have a week off. You can call him after you’ve shifted, eaten and made love to me.”

  “In that order?” Darwin leaned up softly nibbling Simon’s goatee.

  “In that order. Now shift and I’ll grab your plate from the kitchen. Brutus has a meal warming in the oven for you.”

  “I’ll be on the bed. Don’t sit on me when you come back.” Darwin warned as he called on his mouse form. Or in it. Hmmm, Simon’s scent is concentrated under here. And there’s so much of it. Sniffing happily under the blankets, Darwin reveled in the simplicity of his animal form.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  “Damn it, how much bigger am I going to get, for fuck’s sake,” Simon grumbled under his breath as he reached for the wrench he’d dropped. In the month since his kidnapping, he’d been getting noticeably bigger every day and now even simple moves like bending over to pick up things were difficult.

  “You’re not supposed to be working. The doctor put you on bed rest. What are you doing out here?”

  Busted. “Hey, babe, you’re home early.” Simon turned to see his mate framed in the garage door. “I just wanted to tune Ra’s bike before the election tomorrow. He’s been out on it every day campaigning and you know….”

  “What I know is the doctor said if you can’t stay in bed, you should at least put your feet up. Damn it, look at your ankles. You couldn’t even put your boots on, could you?”

  No, but part of that was because I couldn’t bend down to find my feet. “I can’t see my ankles.” Simon wasn’t one for puppy-dog looks but he tried. “I’m pregnant. You’re not supposed to get mad at me.”

  “Did Ra ask you to look at his bike?” Darwin came over, rubbing his stomach. “Hi babies, are you still keeping Daddy awake every night?” He chuckled as Simon felt a ripple through his belly. The twins always seemed to know when Darwin was around.

  “And as for you,” Darwin continued, looking up and catching Simon’s smirk. “I get off work early so I can come home and snuggle with my mate in bed, and what do I find? An empty bed. Simon, what are you doing?”

  “It’s boring in bed. I tried sitting in the living room but Michael seems to think I’m his personal jungle gym and Annabelle fell asleep on my stomach. I think she was talking to the twins. Then everyone went out campaigning, even Seth and the babies. I didn’t want to go because I’m as big as a house. I had to do something. My mind didn’t switc
h off just because my belly got bigger.” Simon wasn’t aware his voice was rising until he saw the look of concern on Darwin’s face and he purposefully lowered it. “I just want to feel useful.”

  “And you are, love. You’ve been writing articles for the paper about Quincy and his lack of budgeting skills, calling the Sheriff out for not helping when you were kidnapped. You’re running the class action lawsuit against them for raiding Cam’s the night of the fundraiser. You write all Ra’s speeches and campaign material. But babe, have you even considered that we might need to get the nursery finished? You haven’t got long to go.”

  Actually, Farriday said the twins could come any day. They were growing a lot faster than he’d anticipated and Simon was running in and out of the clinic every other day. “Liam and Lucien have done the nursery. The cribs arrived this morning. They wouldn’t let me in there.” Simon found himself tugged towards the house.

  “Because everyone knows you’re supposed to be resting. Let’s have a look now and then we’ll snuggle up and watch a movie together.” Darwin could be persistent when he wanted to be and Simon didn’t have the energy to protest. He was tired and his back ached and he suddenly had a craving for pickles.

  “I need to make a detour to the kitchen.” Simon was sure he’d asked Mal to get him a couple of jars of pickles the day before.

  “You need to get to bed.” Darwin gave him a push. Well, he tried, but with Simon’s extra weight, Darwin couldn’t move him.

  “Pickles.” He headed for the kitchen and then doubled over as a spasm ran through his stomach. “Oh crap. Maybe not pickles. Ice cream? A sandwich? Gods, make it stop!”

  “Simon. Simon!” He could hear Darwin’s voice, but it was as if it was getting further and further away. The pains in his stomach intensified and all he could hear was the blood pounding in his ears. His snake rushed forward in response to the pain and he felt his scales pop up over his arms and legs. Mustn’t shift. Must…not…. Simon fell forward, unable to stop his snake from taking over. Oh…fuck…no.