by R. E. Butler
“Holy shit, you’re gorgeous,” she said. “You’re the prettiest shade of blue. I didn’t even know that blue tigers were a real thing, I thought they were a myth.”
She shook her head and grasped him behind the ears, pressing her forehead to his. “My beautiful mate. So sexy in his human form, so lovely in his shift. Our kids are going to be stunning.”
He could have stood there letting her pet him all night. It felt so good to be adored, when in the past his shift had been a source of emotional pain for him. He’d always been an outsider, but with Genesis he was at the epicenter of their family, with her by his side. The wolf growled knowingly.
She scooted back slightly and kissed his snout, and then she shifted. Her human curves were replaced with her compact lynx form. Her fur was pale gray, and the long black stripes of fur down her mane made her look fierce. She placed one of her huge paws on his shoulder, her claws sinking slightly into him for purchase, and purred loudly, blinking sand-colored eyes at him.
When she gave him a gentle nudge toward the woods, they headed into the darkness. He paused just inside the trees and opened his senses wide, searching for anything out of the ordinary. If he were by himself, he would have just gone for a long run and not worried about what was around him. But with Genesis, he wanted to ensure that no harm would come to her.
He could sense nothing but the woods, and he relaxed fractionally as he nudged her gently with his snout and began to walk. She moved silently alongside him, her nose twitching as she scented the area. His legs were longer than hers, and he shortened his stride so they could move together through the woods that were now home to them both.
He watched her lazily chase rabbits, knowing full well that she could catch them if she was inclined. She turned around, letting a rabbit scamper off, and closed the short distance between them. If she could grin in her shifted form, she was surely doing it right them. Her body practically glowed from happiness.
There was a whooshing sound, followed by a thud as a small canister landed between them. She reared back and hissed in alarm. He didn’t know what the object was, but his beasts were growling in worry. Leaping over the canister, he tackled Genesis, rolling her away as it exploded behind him. His beasts rioted as his senses were completely incapacitated. His vision was blurry, his hearing was gone, and he felt as if all his joints had come unhinged with the force of the blast. Struggling to climb over Genesis to protect her, he howled as her limp body was lifted from the ground by her two back legs. He could see a four-wheeler and a male in a mask sitting on it. The male carrying her sat down behind the driver and hoisted her over his shoulders, grasping her paws to hold her.
A pair of boots appeared in his vision, and he had just a moment to gaze up through bleary eyes at a tall, older male, before a furious howl filled the air. The male disappeared as Veron, shouldering Genesis, grabbed the older male by the throat and threw him aside.
Jair struggled to move, and just managed to get up onto his feet before his head spun and he fell, everything going dark.
* * *
“What the ever-loving fuck happened here?” an echoing voice demanded.
Jair felt hands on him, trying to rouse him. Pain seared through him, and he whined, prying his eyes open and forcing himself to move through it. Genesis had been taken. Hadn’t she?
His eyes burned as he blinked, trying to dispel the blurriness.
Veron leaned over and stared at him. “Everything’s okay. Can you shift?”
Pushing at his beasts, he forced himself to shift into his human form. The shifting helped to heal his injuries. He could hear and see clearly, and although he still ached from the blast, he could get off the ground. His first priority was Genesis.
Veron offered his hand and helped him up. “We were in the bar when Felix called to say something was suspicious. We alerted Bhric and got here as fast as we could.” Around them, Felix and the crew stood, their faces streaked with worry and anger.
Bhric leaned against a tree, his arms crossed, three unmoving males at his feet.
Felix said, “I saw two sets of four-wheeler tracks, and I followed them. I shifted into my human form just before they tossed the bomb at you two.”
Genesis was still unconscious in her shifted form. Jair fell to his knees next to her and ran his hands lightly over her form, checking for injuries. “I think she’s just unconscious. I can’t scent any blood from injuries,” Veron said.
“I took the brunt of the blast,” Jair said. He lifted her gingerly into his arms and she made a whimpering, pained sound but didn’t wake.
“Does she have a problem we need to know about?” Bhric asked, looking pointedly at the males on the ground.
“I don’t think so. She was exiled from her chain.”
“They don’t have identification on them, but they’re lynxes,” Veron said.
He wanted to take her home, but he needed her to wake up to identify their attackers, if she could. He had a strong suspicion that she knew who they were. Curling her close, he buried his face in her furry throat and said, “Wake up, sweetheart, please.”
Chapter 10
Genesis’s head throbbed and her body ached. Her mind was muddled and she couldn’t remember why she was hurt or what had happened. The last thing she remembered was running in the woods with Jair and then…nothing.
Her cat woke up suddenly as fear and dread slithered through her. Someone was holding her tightly. She couldn’t smell anything but sulfur, and her vision was blurry. What had happened to Jair? She jerked her body to roll away from whoever held her, and heard a hiss of pain that was very familiar. Jair!
Her vision cleared and she saw that she’d struck her mate on the chin with her claws. He pressed his finger to the small, bleeding cut and gave her a wry look. “Sorry, sweetheart. I should’ve been watching your claws.”
She let go of her cat and shifted, feeling herself heal as she did. The aches disappeared, and so did the throbbing in her head. Launching herself at him, she wrapped her arms around him and he caught her easily, chuckling. “It’s okay, we’re okay.”
“What happened?”
He stroked his hand down her hair and said, “What do you remember?”
“Just hunting, and then nothing.”
“Some lynxes attacked us.”
She leaned back, startled. “Lynxes? Are you sure?”
Behind them, Bhric cleared his throat. She looked over her shoulder and found the large male standing in front of a pile of bodies. Her heart leaped into her throat as she recognized them: Levi and two of his chain members.
“You know who they are?” Bhric asked, his brow arching.
Her hands tightened on Jair’s neck and he growled softly, standing and pulling her up with him. He turned her away from the scene and lifted her chin until she was looking at him. “Who are they?”
“The older one is Levi, my arranged mate’s father. The other two are from his chain.”
“Why would they have come for you?” Veron asked.
“He was pissed when I chose exile over mating him after Marco died, but I had no reason to expect him to come after me,” she said, leaning around Jair to look at the males. “Are they dead?”
Bhric nodded.
She sagged against Jair, unable to stop trembling. “Why would they come?” she whispered.
“The better question is, what do we do with the bodies?” Veron asked.
“I’ll handle it,” Bhric said. “Get your mate home, Jair. I’ll send some patrols out to make sure they were alone and to get rid of any trace of them.”
“Thank you,” Jair said, as he lifted Genesis into his arms. “Thank you all.”
“We’re family,” Veron said. “You look out for family. I’m just glad that we were at the bar when it happened, and that Felix happened to be out roaming. You’re a ways from home. Let me drive you back.”
Grateful for her mate’s friends and family, she held on
tight to Jair. He carried her to Veron’s SUV and settled her on his lap in the second row. Felix promised to check in on them later. “I’m going to see if Bhric needs help.”
“Thanks,” Jair said.
Felix nodded. “You bet. Don’t worry about work tomorrow. Even if you are perfectly healthy, it’s a trauma, and I know you won’t want to be separated. I’ll see you the day after. No excuses.”
After Felix shut the door, Veron drove them home, and when he’d parked in front of the house he said, “Do you two need me to find someone with medical training?”
Jair looked at her and she said, “I’m fine. Are you okay?”
“I’m good,” he said. Then he turned his attention to Veron and said, “Thanks, Dad.”
Genesis didn’t miss the look of surprised pleasure that passed over Veron’s face. “Take care of each other.”
Genesis opened the door and slid off of Jair’s lap onto the grass. She shivered despite the heat. Jair spoke quietly to Veron and then shut the door. Her mate gathered her against him in a tight hug and said, “Are you sure you’re okay? You were unconscious for about a half hour.”
“Shifting helped. I just…wish I knew why Levi came for me.”
“Asking your dad is out of the question,” Jair said, running a hand through his hair in frustration.
“Mona can get in touch with Geraldine. I’ll call her and ask her to discreetly reach out.”
“Let’s do that, and then I need to get you into a nice, hot bath.”
She arched a brow. “Seriously? We were just assaulted on a run through the woods and you want to take a bath together?”
He snorted, lifting her into his arms and heading to the house. “I am definitely always thinking of ways to get you into bed, sweetheart, but right now we both smell like sulfur and dirt. I’m personally exhausted as hell, and the only thing I want to do is get clean, make sure you’re really okay, and then hold you all night. Does that sound okay?”
“It sounds perfect.”
* * *
Genesis woke to the sound of low voices. She was alone in bed, and sunlight peeked around the edges of the blinds. Glancing around for a clock, she found one on Jair’s nightstand and saw it was after nine in the morning. Jair had made good on his promise to get her into a hot bath after she called Mona, and then once they’d washed each other and made sure they were uninjured, they’d tumbled into bed and promptly fallen asleep. It was the first night since they’d been together that they hadn’t made love, but she hadn’t actually cared about that. They were safe and together, and nothing was sweeter than Jair’s breath on her neck as he held her close.
She slipped from the bed, tugged on a pair of leggings and a long shirt, and headed out to see who Jair was talking to. She found Mona, Dillon, Veron, and Felix sitting in the family room. Mona stood and hurried to Genesis, hugging her tightly.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, really. Thank you.”
Mona peered at her suspiciously and then nodded. “Okay. I sent a message to Geraldine after you called. She got back to me this morning. Here’s her note.”
Mona turned her phone to face Genesis and she could see a text message on the screen:
K and Levi got into big fight after G left. L said she shouldn’t have had choice in the matter. K banished him from our territory. L swore retribution. Clearly L meant he was going to get G. I’m thankful G is safe and glad L is dead. Will alert you if I hear more. Give G my love.
Genesis’s eyes stung with tears. Jair moved to her, wrapping his arms around her. “Sorry, sweetheart.”
“How do you get in touch with her? Is it just texting? Can I send her a note?”
She shook her head. “It’s not really texting. I send a message to her through a chain of people that we know and she sends it back that way. I said it was urgent. Normally our messages take a week or better to get back and forth. I can send a note back from you, though, if you want.”
“I’d like that.” She turned against Jair and closed her eyes, thinking about Geraldine.
“It’s good news,” Veron said from the couch. “It means your father didn’t send that asshole to get you. Your father was angry enough with him to sever their contact and exile the chain from his territory.”
Felix nodded. “You were the retribution, clearly, so it’s a good thing he didn’t get away with you.”
Jair’s body tensed, and she knew he harbored guilt over her being nearly taken.
“Hon, put your note in here to Gerry,” Mona said after clearing her throat.
Genesis took the phone from her and brushed the tears from her cheeks before typing, Miss you so much. Have found other half of my heart. Love you. G.
Jair’s wolfy purr vibrated against her side, and she handed the phone to Mona and looked up at him. “You are.”
“You’re mine, too,” he said.
“How about some breakfast? I brought provisions,” Mona said after pressing a few buttons on her phone and then tucking it into her back pocket.
“Sounds great. Can I help?” Genesis asked. Jair’s arms tightened around her, and she looked up at him as he made a face at Mona.
“That’s okay, Dillon will help,” Mona said with a chuckle.
“I will?” Dillon asked.
Mona just stared at her mate with an inscrutable look. He did nothing for a moment, and then sighed loudly as he stood. “Yes, dear.”
“Wow, teach me that,” Genesis said under her breath.
“Thanks a lot,” Jair said.
Dillon laughed as he passed them and followed his mate into the kitchen.
“I’m sorry, sweetheart,” Jair said, turning her to face him completely. “I’m sorry I wasn’t aware of the danger. I failed, and I don’t know how to make it up to you.”
“I don’t think you failed,” she said.
“If Felix hadn’t been roaming, by the time I came to you would have been gone. My senses were obliterated by the explosion; I wouldn’t have been able to find your scent to track you. Felix and Veron killed your abductors while I lay there unconscious.”
“You shielded me from the blast,” she pointed out.
She felt the growl in his chest and knew that he was struggling with guilt and anger. She was angry herself that the male had come for her, planning to do who knew what once he took her. He’d known just where they were, and she didn’t think it was a guess, so she suspected he’d been watching them while they were unaware.
She stared into her mate’s eyes, seeing the war within the blue and green depths.
“I forgive you,” she whispered. “Because I love you and I feel safe with you. Nothing has changed for me since we left this house to shift. You’re still my mate, you’re still the one perfect male on the planet for me. If you want to make it up to me, then you have to forgive yourself.”
His eyes brightened with emotion and he crushed his mouth against hers, sliding one hand into her hair and angling her head to deepen the kiss. The blood rushed in her ears as her cat made happy purring noises and rolled under her skin. As soon as possible, she wanted to go out in their shifts again, to see her mate’s pretty fur and to watch him stalk through the woods like the predator he was.
They both seemed to remember at the same time that they weren’t alone, ending the kiss all too soon.
“Thank you,” he murmured, easing his bruising hold on her.
She slid her arms around his neck and hugged herself closer. “For what?”
“For everything.”
Any seriousness left in the moment disappeared when Mona called from the kitchen, “If you’re done molesting each other, breakfast is ready.”
She and Jair both laughed and hugged each other once more before heading for the kitchen, with Veron and Felix close behind. Jair pulled her chair out for her and then took his seat next to her, keeping one arm around the back of the chair. She wasn’t surprised he felt the need to be cl
ose to her. After nearly losing him, she was feeling the same way. Dropping her hand to his thigh, she squeezed lightly and smiled at him.
“It’s going to be a good day.”
“Oh?” He placed his other hand on top of hers. “How can you tell?”
Glancing out the kitchen window, she saw the beautiful blue sky and the sunshine. “The sun is shining, we’re together, and someone else made breakfast. That’s the trifecta to start a good day.”
He kissed her briefly, and grinned. “Let’s start every day that way.”
“Um, no,” Mona said, the metal spoon she wielded clanging in the large bowl of scrambled eggs. “You two can make your own breakfasts from now on. I’m no short-order cook.”
Genesis laughed. “Two out of three isn’t bad.”
Chapter 11
Jair hated work. Well, that wasn’t exactly true. He didn’t mind hauling wheelbarrows full of rocks, dirt, and plants, spending hours placing pavers in intricate patterns, or digging holes in hard ground. What he hated was being away from Genesis. Even after two weeks together, he dreaded the moment his alarm went off, resenting the buzzing that snatched him from his mate’s warm embrace.
Cody, one of the crew members, stopped next to Jair and looked down at the sidewalk he was laying. “When are we going to work on your place?”
“Hmm?”
“Girls like pretty yards, right? Your place is a bachelor pad, inside and out.”
He brushed the dust from his hands on his jeans and stood. “It’s not so much on the inside anymore. She came home from shopping with Mona a few days ago, and the bedroom is now a color she refers to as ‘powder blue.’”
Cody chuckled. “I’m sure it’s no hardship to give your mate what she wants.”
It was true. She could have wanted to paint pink roses all over the exterior and he’d have been happy to hold the paint bucket. To say that he would do anything to make her smile was an understatement.
