by Celia Kyle
“Wait.” She placed her palm on his chest and pushed him back down. Okay, maybe he wasn’t as strong and recovered as he thought. “Ares and Daddy are interrogating him. Or they were supposed to. DoPE agents showed up a while ago. I’m not sure what’s happened since then.”
If they took his prey… “I’ll kill them all.”
Those delicate fingers stroked his skin, and the cat slowly calmed until the growling turned into a soft, rumbling purr. “Maybe later. Right now you need to finish getting healthy.” The aroma of her sorrow tainted the air. “I almost lost you. I just found you and I almost lost you, Braden.”
“Shhh…” He forgot his need for retribution beneath the weight of her pain. “I’m right here. I’m harder to kill than some human with a knife.”
“A poisoned knife.”
Fucking pussy human. “A poisoned knife. I’m not going to die on you.” He nuzzled the top of her head. “We have to finish our mating, huh?”
Veronica sniffled. “You… when you were…” Her grip on him tightened. “In the forest, you said your tiger wanted me to pull its tail.”
He closed his eyes, remembering his tiger’s overwhelming craving to have her pounce on them, to tug their tail and solidify their mating. Their souls would connect, and the final connection would snap into place.
Did his tiger still feel that way?
Yes, it purred. It purred, snarled, and growled, making sure he understood its deepest desire. She was a strong female, a stronger wolf, and would make the perfect mother for their cubs and pups. Hell, the cat even accepted the fact their children might howl instead of purr.
“He—we—still do. More than anything. It wants to climb on the altar and complete our mating.”
“Yeah?” Her smile blinded him with its intensity, the scent of her pure joy washing over him in a wave of sweetness that had his tiger purring in pleasure. She was what he wanted until the end of time.
“Yeah,” he murmured. “But first…” First he had to carve up a particular human. “First, I need to talk to Ares.”
Chapter Twenty
Anticipation thrummed in Ronnie’s veins. Once Braden woke, he’d quickly regained his strength. A few rare steaks, another nibble at her wrist, and then he was upright. Upright and striding through the house in a loose pair of shorts and nothing else. He would have left the room naked. His focus was on getting to the meeting between Ares, Walter, and the DoPE agents.
“DoPE had nothing to do with tonight’s events,” Cadman’s voice was smooth.
They came around the corner and she quickly surveyed the room, noting the agents stationed throughout the space as well as the handful of sentinels that created a half-circle behind the two alphas. She opened her senses, searching for others that might linger and discovered tigers and wolves were positioned in other places too. The alphas went to the meeting with a small group, but that didn’t mean those were the only males ready to defend their leaders.
“Rest assured, we’ll put the agency’s resources at your disposal.” He shook his head. “That Peter would—”
“Who?” She drew everyone’s attention, but she only had eyes for Cadman.
“Braden’s attacker.”
She preferred simply calling him the human.
“He said he heard you howl just before he attacked. That he would interfere with a mating…” He feigned surprise as he focused on her father. “She howled for him. That means they weren’t mated when your group assaulted those humans.” He gave a sad sigh as if he regretted his next words as he turned to Ares. “I’m afraid we’re going to have to discuss those events again. If they weren’t mated at the time, then your males made an unprovoked attack on those men.”
“Cadman,” she murmured, stepping away from her mate as anger and rage took over.
The human turned his attention to her, a smile splitting his lips. “Ronnie. I’m happy to see you’re unharmed.”
She let the wolf come forward, allowed the animal’s anger about recent events take over and stretch to fill her human skin. The she-bitch slunk into every inch of her, from nose to toes. She didn’t stop until she stood mere inches from him, the male still seated. The beast slipped fur through her pores and lengthened her fangs, ensuring she looked as deadly as the emotions consuming her.
She leaned down, moving slowly, and placed her hands on the arms of the chair. Cadman eased away from her, sitting back the closer she came until the furniture didn’t allow him to go any farther. Her prey was caught. “Cadman.”
“Uh, Ronnie, I—”
“I’m going to say this once and you’re going to listen. Do you understand?” The wolf would only give one warning. She’d been attacked on the side of the road, been subject to this male trying to lock up her mate, and then someone nearly killed him. The animal had been pushed far enough, and if he kept going…
Well, he’d started this fight.
She’d end it.
Permanently.
No one moved or breathed. The DoPE agents tensed at her approach, but even they froze.
“Ronnie—”
“Braden was my mate the second I caught his scent. He was mine the first time I heard his voice. The first time we touched. Mine the first time we kissed.” The scent of Cadman’s fear teased her wolf and she kept the reins tight. “He was mine when he stopped me from being kidnapped. You want to put a human label on it?”
“You can’t intimidate me. I’m—”
Ronnie grinned. “I already am. But you didn’t answer my question. Do you want a human label for your reports? You always bitch about them, remember? The paperwork and pencil pushing? I have one for you.” She bared her teeth, showing off her fangs. “Mine.”
“Ronnie,” her father murmured, the warning and request lingering in his tone.
Ronnie, back off.
Ronnie, you can’t kill him.
Ronnie, Ares would be pissed if you got blood on the carpet.
Nah, that last one would be Zoe’s, and she could practically hear her best friend in her head.
With a huff, she pushed upright but remained in place, staring down at the human. “I’m gonna be the bitch the alphas can’t be. They have to play well with others for the good of pride and pack. I’m just a lone female who’s gonna recap for you, Cadman. You found out about tigers, and they declared themselves to DoPE. Five DoPE agents then tried to kidnap Claire. Four died, and one of your men succeeded in claiming her.”
“They were rogue—”
“I’m not finished,” she snapped. “DoPE agents broke into my home at the Lakes and shot me with a wolfsbane dart—”
“They couldn’t have been mine. We would never—”
“Their exact words were: General wants her howling for someone before the end of the week.” She glared at Cadman. “What’s your rank now? General, right?”
“It’s a title many men carry, and not just those in the United States. I’m sure there are—”
“And then I landed at the Den and three men come after me. Two died. One lived and was sent to the local trauma center. You showed up trying to take us in any way you could.” She curled her lip. “What would have happened to me behind bars, Cadman? What would have happened to Braden, Murphy, and Gannon?”
This time the male stayed silent. Ronnie was on a roll. “And then the human—the one who barely clung to life when he left the Den—shows up with a poisoned blade. He looked damned good for a man who was supposedly in ICU. Came here talking about someone giving him a shot, that he’d be strong like a shifter.” She sneered. “You can pretend all you want, but we know you’re involved in this.”
“You have no proof.”
God, practically an admission of guilt. “I know. My wolf knows. We’re not idiots just because we share our bodies with beasts. We’ll play well with others—with DoPE—because we have to, but don’t for one second think I trust you.”
Cadman snorted. “You think your opinion is so important? That you speak for pack and pride?”
She smiled widely, showing off all of her teeth. “Of course not. I’m just a wolf living in a pride, after all. I’m no one, as far as the leadership is concerned. I can say what I want and suffer no consequences. I can say you’re a dirty asshole, but I’m just one voice.
“Except, as the mate to the national tiger second, and daughter of the wolf national alpha, I can speak into important ears. They may behave well with others right now, but it doesn’t mean they always will. If you’re involved in our recent troubles—if—I recommend you rethink your strategies. You're lazy, it’s too messy, and you’re going to make an indisputable mistake. You should just give up.”
“Or?”
“I shouldn’t have to explain shifter justice.”
He narrowed his eyes and pushed to his feet. “Is that a threat?”
Ronnie remained in place. She wouldn’t be intimidated by a human. “No, simply a reminder.”
Suddenly the scent of Cadman’s rage exploded from him, the aroma bowling over her like a tsunami, and she realized he’d kept a tight lid on his emotions until that moment. But her words had broken that control.
He was afraid of shifter justice.
He should be.
Evil eyes bored into hers. “I think we’re done here. Alphas, we expect a report on the prisoner by morning.”
“He’ll be dead,” her voice was flat.
“Are you suddenly a doctor?”
Ronnie shook her head. “No, but I know he’ll answer our questions and then succumb to his injuries, so don’t hold your breath. You might want to get his death certificate prepped. It’ll save you time later.”
Fury suffused his features, those eyes remaining locked onto hers for one second, then five, then… And then he dropped his attention to the floor. It wasn’t only wolves who couldn’t meet a dominant wolf’s stare.
Yes, he glared at the ground, but the stench of his rage whipped toward her and then disappeared as quickly as it arrived. Cadman was pissed but trying to hide it.
“This hostility is unnecessary, Ronnie.” The man pressed a hand to the center of his chest. “I swear on my office that DoPE had nothing to do with recent events and we’re working hard to discover those responsible for the attacks and the unlawful injection of shifter blood into the human.”
New tension thrummed through the room, every shifter stilling as Cadman’s words sunk in. Ronnie spoke first, her voice deadly calm. “Injection of shifter blood? Is that what you did?”
Cadman pressed his lips together until they formed a white slash across his face and another whip of anger tinged with panic smacked her. “We’ll see ourselves out.”
Cadman didn’t wait for a response and simply shuffled sideways until he was clear of her body. Then he strode to the front of the house. The DoPE entourage filed out of the room, the last male quietly closing the door behind him. Silence reigned for a moment until Braden spoke.
“That was fucking hot as hell. Made my dick hard.”
Ronnie huffed and spun, hands propped on her hips. “Really? I mean, really? With my dad right there, and my mom in the other room?”
He just grinned and shrugged. “Can’t help it, baby. You getting up in that human’s face…”
“Was stupid.” Ares’s voice was flat, and she glared at the alpha. “But fucking beautiful and gave us a lot more information about what DoPE has been up to. We’ll use that knowledge to dig deeper. Find out more.”
“That’s my girl. Always cutting through the bullshit.” Walter clapped Ares on the shoulder. “She’s amazing to take to negotiations. She gets to call bullshit without getting into trouble because she’s got enough rank to be there, but not enough to talk on anyone’s behalf. You need to cut through all the smoke screens? You take my baby girl.”
“No one’s taking her anywhere without me,” Braden snarled, silencing the chuckles the men shared.
“Well, now, Ares can give orders, and you can’t really argue since you’re not her mate.” Walter’s voice was matter-of-fact.
A rumble tore from her mate’s throat, the growl stretching through the room, and her wolf reacted to her mate’s anger and frustration, jumping forward and wanting to defend him. “We are mates. He made me howl. I’m sure the whole mountain heard.”
“Uh-huh.” Her daddy looked to her. “But did you pull his tail?”
Chapter Twenty-one
Did she pull his tail?
Did she pull his tail?
The answer was no, and it pissed off Braden’s tiger. They may not have finished their mating in the forest, but they sure as hell would now. He’d tried to drag her into the woods yesterday so they could fully mate, but she’d denied him. She wanted Braden as healthy as possible. She wasn’t going to have people say she didn’t deserve him, that she only caught his tail because he was injured.
So he waited, grumbling and growling but content because she’d stayed at his side all day.
Well, it’d been forty-eight hours since he was injured. Forty-eight hours of recovery and taking it easy.
It was time.
Or soon, at least. With a sigh, Braden leaned against the railing at the base of the stairs, half listening to the low murmurs from the women upstairs. Ares came down moments later, but the ladies were still rushing around on the second floor.
He met his friend’s gaze. “Are they almost done?”
Ares shrugged. “Apparently this is some rite of passage. I have no fucking clue. They just kicked me out.”
He ran a hand through his hair—nerves making him tremble. This would be it, their one and only shot, and they were both ready to put their faith in their animals. He just hoped it wasn’t misplaced.
The tiger assured him it wasn’t.
Well, they’d see.
“It’s not like a human marriage,” he mumbled. “She doesn’t have to put fucking goop on her face and curl her hair or anything.”
The alpha shrugged again. “Yeah, well… women.”
Braden growled, his annoyance growing by the second. Sunset had long since passed and he was still waiting for Veronica. “Dammit,” he rumbled and tilted his head back, raising his voice so he could be heard. “Dammit, Veronica. We’re gonna be fucking naked. How can it take this long to get ready?”
He just wanted to be mated. That was all. His tiger rumbled its agreement. They were over this additional delay. Naked. Shift. Pull. Fuck. That’d been the original plan.
Well, they’d talked about it—a lot—first but then naked. Shift. Pull. Fuck.
Nowhere in there was “wait for hours so she could put on eyeliner perfectly while putting long ringlets in her hair.”
What the fuck were ringlets?
“Are you kidding me? You’re kidding, right?” Veronica stomped into view and glared at him. “I’m trying to look pretty. I only get mated once in my life and—”
He didn’t let her continue. His cat was already at the surface and happy to help him leap up the stairs in two jumps. Then he had her in his arms, plump curves lined up with his hard body, and he reveled in the feel of her against him.
“Baby…” She struggled and the scent of her anger burned his nose. “I just wanna mate you. I don’t give a fuck about any of this. I care about you and me in that clearing, shifted and clashing while you try to grab my tail. None of this matters. Just you and me.” He pressed his forehead against hers and rubbed their noses together. “I just wanna mate you, baby. Just you.”
He knew the very second she gave in. She slumped forward, letting him take her weight, and he held her even tighter. “I wanna mate you, too.”
“So come with me. Now. No curlers and eyeliner. No more fussing. No more trying to make it perfect. You’re gonna be there. That means it’s already perfect.” He pressed a soft kiss to her forehead and prayed she’d give in. He knew her mother wanted to make things special, but as long as they were both present, it was already special.
Veronica reached down and twined her fingers with his, and she dropped her
voice to a whisper. “Okay, but we have to make a run for it. She’ll never—”
“Ronnie? Where did you get off to? We still have to—”
Braden tightened his hold on her hand and spun, dragging her after him. “Run!”
Her tinkling laughter chased them down the hallway, her mother’s shout and Zoe’s cackle reaching them as they took one turn and the next. He slowed when they approached one of the guest rooms at the end of the hall.
“How far can you jump?” He whipped his shirt over his head and glanced back at her. “You okay with a ten-foot drop?”
“The question is,” she released him and dropped her robe, revealing that she was nude underneath. “Can you keep up, pussy?”
She giggled again, running past him and into the room. With a growl, he followed her, tugging and pushing on his jeans until he was nude as well.
Veronica threw the balcony doors open and glanced back at him. “C’mon, kitty.”
With that, her change washed over her, a full body shudder that took hardly more than a second. The speed attested to her power and control while her size told him of her strength. She was still smaller than him in shifted form, but she was close to the size of a tigress.
She glanced at him over her shoulder, gray tail wagging and tongue lolling as if to ask him to come play with her. Then she was gone, racing to the edge of the porch and she vaulted over the railing in one leap.
“Fuck,” he cursed and let his own change rush forward, the cat’s excitement making the transition even quicker than normal.
The second he landed on four paws, he jumped into action, leaping off the railing and flying through the air. He landed on the grass with a low grunt and immediately sought her scent. The animal was ready for a hunt, ready for the chase and the battle that would end with them fully mated.
Veronica switched directions the second she hit the forest, her trail veering right for twenty feet before snapping left and going deeper once more. She wasn’t quiet as she ran, wasn’t trying to hide her movements. No, it was a rapid race past trees and over bushes, his mate fighting to put space between them. Which… wasn’t how this was supposed to happen. They were supposed to head to the altar and fight atop the age-old stone.
