by Lynn Hagen
“He’s no longer a part of this clan,” Clint said. “He’s a nomad.”
The look of surprise flitted through Jesse’s eyes so fast that Clint almost thought he’d imagined it. To be labeled a nomad was the worst punishment a shifter could be given. Nomads had no clan, pack, pride, or leap to back them. They were out in the cold.
There was a leap of leopards to the north, but they were rarely seen by anyone, and Clarence knew better than to go to them for safe haven. They would tear him apart if they got even a whiff of his presence. Same with the lions to the west. Their king, Dominic, would slowly torture Clarence for stepping into their territory.
“Still,” Jesse said, “he’s one of yours. Leaving those bodies is challenging me to defend my territory, Clint.” Something moved behind Jesse’s blue eyes. “But I tell you what. All will be forgiven if you bring him to me.”
Clint’s anger shot through the roof. “You want me to hand my flesh and blood over to you?”
Jesse bared his canines. “You just said he’s been labeled nomad. Why do you care what happens to him?”
He shouldn’t. Clarence had been nothing but a pure asshole since as far back as Clint could remember. He’d been a lousy father, a bastard toward his lovers, and a dark and demented son of a bitch who possessed a wicked, murderous soul. But…damn it, Clarence was still Clint’s father, and if anyone doled out his punishment, it would be Clint.
“I’ll give you twenty-four hours to bring him to me, then all bets are off.” Jesse headed toward the driver’s side of his truck, then stopped and turned. “I know you have a pregnant mate. Think about the future of your clan, Clint. Is Clarence really worth dying over?”
Clint stood there and watched as Jesse navigated the road until his taillights faded into the darkening woods.
The strong odor of wolf dissipated. Jesse’s pack had retreated.
“No,” Trigger said. “Clarence ain’t worth dying for. We should hunt him down and hand him over and be done with this.”
“I’ll hand him over,” Clint snarled. “But it’s gonna be me who kills Clarence.”
“Are you trying to start a war?” Trigger asked. “Come on, Clint. Get past the fact that Jesse just commanded you to do something and think. Dane is carrying your cub, and if the rest of us find our mates, do we really want to raise our families in the middle of bloodshed? You yourself said you wanted peace. This is your chance to have it, our chance to have it.”
“It’s not right, Trigger. That’s our father, and if he needs to be put down, then that’s our responsibility, not Jesse’s.”
“Jesse’s pack might be small, but they’re strong, and just this side of crazy,” Trigger said through gritted teeth. “I’m not one to back down from a challenge. You know that. I’ll throw down with you, but not over that piece of shit we call our father. I say we grab his ass and hogtie him in the back of your truck and send him to Jesse with a fucking bow on his head.”
Trigger always gave sound advice whenever Clint was conflicted. Now was one of those times. Clint struggled with what to do. He still firmly believed Clarence was his responsibility and that he had a duty to rip the bastard’s twisted heart out.
“Gather everyone and have them meet me at my house.” Clint left Trigger standing there. He needed time to think. Clarence had killed humans—more than likely innocent humans. That wasn’t their way. But Clarence’s sickness had progressed even further now, and Clint knew he couldn’t be reeled back in.
Bobby Ray looked toward him as Clint cleared the trees and headed to his cabin. When he stepped onto the porch, his brother asked, “What’s going on?”
Clint told him and Wade about his conversation with Jesse.
“Hand him over,” Bobby Ray said through gritted teeth.
“No.” Wade shook his head. “Clint’s right, Clarence is ours to deal with. If anyone is going to kill him, it should be his own family.”
And how fucked-up did that sound?
Clint left Bobby Ray and Wade arguing on the porch as he went inside. He found Dane in the kitchen, eating a bowl of ice cream. His gaze dropped to Dane’s stomach, and Clint’s heart clenched. His brothers weren’t the only ones in conflict. A war was raging inside Clint. Part of him wanted to hand Clarence over and wipe his hands of the whole situation. The other part wanted to put Clarence in the ground himself because of the pain and suffering he’d put them through.
As if he sensed Clint’s turmoil, Dane set the bowl aside and curled his arms around him. Clint held on to Dane, inhaled his sweet fragrance, clung to his warmth, and tried to take solace in his embrace.
“That bad?” Dane asked.
Clint rested his cheek on Dane’s head. “It’s not good.”
“What can I do?”
“Exactly what you’re doing.” Clint hugged him tighter. He loved having someone at his side now. If Dane hadn’t been a factor in all of this, Clint would’ve told Jesse to shove his demand up his ass. Instead, he’d hesitated to think the situation over.
Did he really want to risk his clan’s future? To live in bloodshed for the rest of their lives because of Clarence?
“Then you can hug me as long as you need to.” Dane placed a kiss on Clint’s chest, right over his heart.
Clint pulled back, cupped Dane’s face, and kissed him so softly, so slowly that the fire inside of him for his mate roared to life. He took Dane’s hand and led him upstairs, needing desperately to take comfort in Dane’s body.
Chapter Eight
Dane groaned as Clint inched inside of him. They were lying on their sides, and Clint was behind him, holding Dane’s leg up. Dane dug his fingers into Clint’s upper thigh as Clint’s cock stretched him wide.
He wanted to ask what had happened with the wolf, but Clint didn’t seem to be in a talking mood. If he needed Dane’s body as an escape, Dane would gladly help him out.
When Clint was fully inside him, he rolled Dane onto his hands and knees. Dane stared out the window at the breathtaking view as Clint alternated between fast and slow thrusts. Just as Dane thought he’d shatter with his orgasm, Clint pulled back, only to take him to the edge of the precipice again.
It was sweet torture, and Dane loved it. He bounced backward, meeting Clint’s thrusts as men’s voices drifted up to them. Dane finally realized Clint’s brothers were in the house.
He glanced over his shoulder, but Clint’s fingers tightened on his hips. “They won’t come up here,” Clint said.
That wasn’t reassuring. Dane wasn’t a quiet lover, and he would be mortified if they heard him screaming Clint’s name. “Why the hell are they here?”
Dane’s cock started to soften as his anxiety grew. But Clint moved faster, driving harder and deeper, making Dane forget what they’d been talking about.
Clint changed the angle of his thrust, and his cock hit Dane’s kill zone. Dane’s softening cock hardened again as Dane whimpered and mewled. He scratched at the bedding, rocked backward, then wrapped his hand around his cock and jerked, desperate for his release.
When Clint bit his shoulder, Dane cried out, his seed erupting as his orgasm ripped through him. Clint’s cock throbbed inside him, then Clint released his hold, licking at the wound as he eased out of Dane.
It had been short and quick, but Dane had no complaints. He loved every second his mate was inside him, no matter if the sex was fast or slow, five minutes or an hour.
Clint got up and returned with a wet cloth and cleaned Dane before he got dressed. He didn’t say Dane couldn’t come downstairs, so Dane dressed as well and joined the men below.
Bobby Ray grinned at him and Dane blushed. He stuck his tongue out at Bobby Ray before taking a seat on the couch. Walker dropped next to him, winking at Dane before turning his attention to Clint.
Dane felt like a pocket-sized midget compared to these men. They were all muscular and tall, yet Dane felt as if he were in the safest place on the planet when they surrounded him like this.
“By now I’
m sure Trigger has told everyone what happened between me and Jesse.” Clint crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. “I’m opening the floor for your thoughts.”
When everyone stared at Clint with stunned expressions, Dane slowly held his hand up, as if he were in class.
Clint smirked. “Yes, Dane?”
“I have no idea what’s going on. Can someone fill me in?”
He listened as Clint told him what took place and about Jesse’s threat. Dane’s stomach rolled at the thought of wolves attacking them. He’d grown very fond of the Rising brothers and didn’t want to see any of them hurt.
Especially Clint.
“My vote probably doesn’t count,” Dane said as he glowered at Clint, “but even after what I’ve seen and heard about your father, I wouldn’t know what to do if I had to make this decision about my own father, even though he was pretty bad, too.”
“That cleared things up,” Walker teased. Then faint wrinkles formed between his eyes. “What about your dad?”
Dane patted Walker’s arm. “We don’t have enough time for me to crack that book open.”
Walker smiled. “I really do like you.”
“Because we both have fucked-up dads?”
“Naw,” Walker said. “Because you’re just too damn adorable.”
Dane rolled his eyes. “You can call me sexy, lazy, overweight, pregnant, or bitchy, but not adorable.”
Walker chuckled. “If I called you sexy, Clint would reach down my throat and rip my balls out.”
A beard with no mustache was an odd look, but Walker pulled it off. He was also even better looking when he smiled. It made his gray eyes softer.
“You know my opinion,” Bobby Ray said. “Hand that monster over.”
“I agree,” Duane said. “He ain’t worth a war.”
“Same here,” Trigger said. “And I want to be there when Jesse rips his fucking throat out.”
“This is in-house,” Wade argued. “We handle our own.”
“He’s right,” Walker said. “If Clarence really killed those humans, we should put him down, not the wolves.”
“We don’t even know if what Jesse is saying is true,” Wade added. “Did he bring proof with him, or just accusations?”
“He didn’t bring anything with him but his pack,” Trigger said. “I smelled those mutts hiding in the woods.”
“I saw a few,” Duane said, “but I didn’t engage.”
“His pack and our clan are the same size,” Walker said. “If Jesse wants a fight, neither side is outnumbered.”
“Hold on.” Dane held up his hands. “Stop for a second and weigh the pros and cons here. This house is divided and you guys need to come together on this, not make the division wider.”
“There’s one thing we all agree on,” Wade said with anger in his gray-green eyes. “Clarence is an abusive, cutthroat, coldhearted bastard. He takes what he wants and does what he wants, regardless of the consequences. He needs to be put in the ground.”
No one argued with him.
“So the only question is who does it,” Dane summarized. “It’s kind of cold talking about your own father’s death.”
“That’s ’cause you don’t know what he’s capable of,” Wade snapped.
“Watch your fucking tone,” Clint warned. “Bark at my mate again and we’ll take this outside.”
Wade looked at the floor. “Sorry, Dane.”
Dane started to say it was okay, that the situation was already heated, but the look in Clint’s eyes as he stared at Wade kept Dane’s mouth shut. He might feel as though he was part of the family, but in truth, he really didn’t have a say in this. Clarence wasn’t his father.
He curled deeper into the couch, keeping quiet as the men argued.
“Enough!” Clint finally pushed away from the wall. “Dane’s right. We have to come together on this. I could make the decision myself, but I don’t want us divided. The time for tyranny is over. I’m allowing you all to have a say, but that doesn’t mean the final decision isn’t mine to make. This is my clan now, and I have to decide what’s best for it.”
The room grew as quiet as a tomb.
Wade growled. “Fine, kill Clarence and hand him over. Whatever happens, you know I’ll fight beside you.”
“Same here,” Trigger said. “I don’t like the fact Jesse gave us an ultimatum, but whatever you decide, I’m down for it, bro.”
Walker finally relented, making them all agree on what they were going to do. Maybe. Dane didn’t know this family well enough to assume anything, but the thought of going to war with wolves scared the bejesus out of him.
“First we need to find Clarence,” Bobby Ray pointed out. “We haven’t seen him in four weeks. No telling where he’s hiding out.”
“The old cabin,” Trigger said. “It has to be. No one in their right mind would harbor him.”
“Then you check the cabin,” Clint said. “But don’t let him know you’re there if he’s staying there. Get your ass back to me and we’ll all go after him.” He turned to Bobby Ray and Duane. “You two go into Grizzly Ridge and see if he’s hiding out there.”
“In town?” Dane’s brows shot up. “But a Rising hasn’t been in Grizzly Ridge in forever.”
“Desperate times, babe.” Clint looked at Wade and Walker. “You two comb the forest and see if you can’t pick up his scent.”
“That’s a lot of forest to cover,” Walker said. “I’m willing to bet the wolves are searching for him as well.”
“Don’t engage if you run into any wolves,” Clint warned. “This is about who finds Clarence first. Any of you spot him, report back to me. Make sure your satellite phones are charged. You know as well as I do that reception can get dicey on the mountains.”
Dane’s cell had worked just fine. Maybe that was because Clint’s house was in a prime location, but he couldn’t say for sure.
He watched the men file out of the house. No one would be left in this area now except him and Clint. What if the wolves attacked while the other men were away? What if Clarence returned? A bad feeling crept into Dane’s stomach as Walker closed the door behind him.
* * * *
“They’re heading out,” Avery said as he stared through the binoculars. “It looks as if they took your threat seriously.”
“I still don’t trust them.” Jesse stayed hidden in the woods, downwind so the bears couldn’t scent him. Clarence Rising had been a thorn in Jesse’s side for too many years now. But he liked the brothers. That was why he’d taken pity on Clint and sold him the medication his father had needed.
But Clarence was out of control. The son of a bitch had left dead bodies in Jesse’s own backyard. No one came into his territory and killed, so Clarence had to be dealt with, and swiftly.
“Have the men track the bears,” Jesse said. “If one of them finds that bastard, I want to know right away.” He planned on staying close, keeping an eye on Clint. The last thing Jesse wanted to do was go to war with the bears, but if they forced his hand, he would.
He’d spoken with Lazarus, the leader of the northern snow leopards. Jesse’s territory apparently hadn’t been Clarence’s only killing grounds. He’d gone north and left dead bodies in his wake. Lazarus had been ready to hunt Clarence down and tear him apart, but Jesse had assured him Clarence would be handled.
And that hadn’t been an easy argument to win. Lazarus was nothing if not proud and dominant, but so was Jesse. Lazarus had given Jesse two days to bring Clarence’s corpse to him, so Jesse had given the bears twenty-four hours to bring him their father.
Jesse had agreed with Lazarus only because he didn’t want the entire mountains at war.
He was thankful as fuck that Clarence hadn’t been foolish enough to wander west into the lions’ domain. Dominic would’ve torn him apart and delivered him in pieces to Clint. Maybe that would’ve been a good thing. At least Clarence would’ve been dealt with. Then again, knowing Dominic, he wouldn’t have stopped at the father.
He would’ve wanted the sons dead as well.
This was one big pile of steaming shit, and Jesse refused to continually step in it. Clarence would die. Of that he had no doubt. But if Clint crossed him, Jesse would take the fight to his door.
* * * *
As Clint stood on the porch, the hairs on his neck stood on end. Someone was watching him. He moved farther into the yard, scanning his surroundings. He didn’t like having to send his brothers away. That left their living area defenseless.
When his phone rang, Clint nearly jumped out of his skin. Why in the hell was Dominic calling him? Clint could count on one hand how many times the lion alpha had talked to him in his thirty-two years.
“Clint Rising.”
“You’ve got big problems, bear,” Dominic said in a blasé tone. “Rumor has it that the snow leopards are ready to attack your clan. Your father has been a busy man dropping bodies everywhere.”
Clint rubbed his brow as he silently cursed. This was getting worse by the second. “Information isn’t free,” he said. “What do you want from me, Dom?”
“Nothing more than an owed favor,” he replied. “Doesn’t hurt to have a bear owe you.”
“Do you know when Lazarus plans on attacking?”
“It’s not Lazarus. Some of his leopards won’t let Jesse handle the situation. They’re hell-bent on making Clarence pay for what he did.”
Clint listened to Dominic tell him about the bodies left in leopard terrain and how Lazarus and Jesse had struck a deal. Clint couldn’t understand why the wolf would do that. Why did it matter who went after Clarence? Why had he promised to deliver Clarence’s dead body to the leopards? What in the fuck was going on?
“Word of advice,” Dominic said. “Hand that bastard of a father over and be done with this, Clint. If he comes anywhere near my pride, I’ll not only kill him, but his sons as well, and any offspring they may have.”
Before Clint could say anything, Dominic hung up. He gripped his phone so tightly that the case cracked. Was killing Clarence so important to him that he would risk going to battle with the shifters on these mountains?
