by Cara Adams
Oliver grabbed his thick coat and changed into heavy boots, putting on a second pair of socks first, then headed out to the storage barn. He set aside another two days’ worth of food for the two men and another carton of bottles of water and was trying to think if he should collect anything else when Frank arrived.
Frank walked over to the shelves and added a Louisville Slugger to the pile. “You can go in as a panther, but I’m getting old and want some protection.”
“You aren’t that old, but I like the way you think. Go for their legs though, not their heads. We don’t want to kill anyone.”
“Sam’s head’s in such a mess a good bang on it might knock some sense into him. But yeah, there’re enough stupid panthers in jail already without me joining them.”
Oliver had no trouble finding his way out to where the rogue panthers were camped, driving his car off under the trees just before the dead tree Josh and Pete had laid across the track to block it off.
Oliver showed Frank where he hid the car key under a nearby piece of dead wood then stripped and transformed into his panther. Frank zipped up his coat and picked up the Louisville Slugger, then they walked silently through the trees and undergrowth.
Oliver appreciated his heightened senses. Everything was brighter, sharper, when he was in panther form. His hearing was more acute and his sense of smell much better. Everything was clear, crisp, vibrant. He paced ahead of Frank, watching for any signs that someone other than Josh and Pete had been here, but there were no fresh tracks, no fresh scents that shouldn’t have been there.
Cautiously, he led the way to the campsite, sliding under a low-hanging shrub that would offer him protection but also, hopefully, a good view of anything happening. He couldn’t sense the other panthers. They must have been well hidden indeed.
Frank commando crawled in beside him then used the baseball bat to part the leaves just enough to give them a good view of the campsite.
The leader of the rogue panthers had been boiling water on the fire, his boots resting on the stones of the fire pit and a mug in his hand. As he poured the boiling water into it, Oliver could smell coffee. There was no sign of cream or sugar, so either they were in the mug already or the rogue was drinking his coffee black.
Sam came out of the tent, his arm by his side, almost hidden behind his leg. What are you hiding, Sam? This doesn’t look good.
The rogue looked up and asked, “Want some coffee, Sam?”
Sam ignored the question, saying, “I need to tell you something. I’ve been trying to decide what to say, how to say it, for days.”
Well, that fits with Josh saying he seems unsettled.
The rogue got up and grabbed another mug from a big tub of things beside the tent. He added some coffee then came back to the fire, poured boiling water into the mug, and said, “Here you go, Sam.”
Petulantly Sam threw the mug onto the ground, spilling the drink and leaving the mug to roll several feet away. “I need to tell you something.”
“There’s only the two of us here, Sam, and I’m listening.”
“I’m your father.”
“What!” David jumped out of his chair, his face white, his hands shaking so much his coffee was slopping out of the mug.
“You can’t have Leticia because I’m your father, which means she’s your sister. The fucking bitch was only a half-blood. She didn’t even tell me until after you were conceived.”
“Are you telling the truth? Is that why you’ve been staying here? To tell me you’re my father and I can’t have my half-sister? Fine, so I’ll take one of the cougars. Fuck, I might take them both. Why did you leave my mother in the first place? In fact, when did you leave my mother? I always thought her husband was my father.”
“I thought she was a panther. She never told me different. And then I found out she was a filthy half-breed. You’re a filthy half-breed. I should have stayed until you were born so I could kill you then. But I’ll get rid of you now for good.” Sam jumped up, pulled a huge knife out from the back of his jeans, and raised his arm to stab the rogue leader. The younger man rolled to the side, throwing his mug of coffee in Sam’s face as he did so. Oliver burst out from hiding and raced across the campsite to stand in front of Sam, snarling.
Sam wiped his face on his sweater while the leader, sounding much younger and more like a confused teenager, started shouting, “I’m not filthy, and I’m three-quarters, which is close enough.”
Sam screamed, “You’re not a full panther. Anything less than a pure-blood is an abomination. Your mother lied to me.” Sam dodged around Oliver and launched himself at the leader, his knife slashing this way and that.
Oliver ran around to the side, ready to leap for Sam’s knife hand when he got the opportunity.
Frank had appeared silently, standing slightly behind Sam, the Slugger raised high, but Sam kept trying to get closer to the rogue leader, knife slashing this way and that, as the leader rolled and danced, trying to move away.
He’s got some guts anyway. He hasn’t just run as far and fast as he can.
Sam threw the knife straight at the rogue leader. Oliver sprang at the rogue’s hips, trying to knock him out of the way. He saw the baseball bat descend out of the corner of his eye as he leaped but didn’t know what happened until Sam screamed.
Oliver had landed on the rogue’s legs, the knife well to the left of them both. The rogue appeared unhurt, just knocked to the ground by Oliver. He shook himself and stood, turning to look at Sam.
Frank looked a little sheepish. He held his hands in the air in supplication and said, “Oops.”
Sam was lying on the ground, the discarded coffee mug by his foot, a foot that seemed to be facing the wrong way.
Oliver transformed. “You broke his leg?”
“He fell over the mug.”
“Uh-huh. Suuure he did.”
The rogue scrambled to his feet. “Who the fuck are you?”
“Your brother-in-law, apparently.”
“What the hell is going on here?” asked Pete, racing into the clearing.
“I wish I knew,” muttered Oliver, running his hands through his hair. Okay, he was the Dom and the leader here. It was time for him to start acting like it. “Where’s Josh?” he asked Pete.
“He’s on break. Likely asleep.”
“Wake him up and tell him to come here. Frank, find some rope and tie Sam up. I don’t trust him even with a broken leg. Foot. Whatever.”
Oliver turned to the rogue panther’s leader. “Who are you? What’s your name? Where’s the rest of your pack?”
“My name’s David. Jim’s in jail along with a few idiot humans. No one’s got enough money to post bail for them. Drew and Charlie haven’t been here for a while. I reckon they’ve left, along with most of the humans. I’d been alone for a couple days before Sam turned up. Is he really my father, or is that just another lie?”
“I have no idea whether he’s lying or not, but it does make sense in a twisted kind of way. He wouldn’t want his son and his daughter mating each other. Why were you trying to steal our women? Why didn’t you just find a woman you loved and marry her like a normal person?”
“How could I do that with no job, no money, no status? My pack had no female shifters, so I had to steal a woman. Besides, once any female shifter learned I was a pack leader she would be happy to mate with me and be the leader’s wife. A leader has to have a mate.”
Oliver shook his head. This man has serious delusions, but now’s not the time or place for in-depth questioning. Besides, Omar and Larry will want to be present for that.
Frank had stretched Sam out on the ground and trussed him up most efficiently. That was one thing about living in a BDSM community. Everyone was mighty good at tying knots.
It was damn cold standing here naked. As soon as Josh appeared, he’d go get dressed. “I’m sorry, David, but we’re going to have to tie you up, too. We’ll be dismantling your campsite and taking you and all your gear back to our com
munity. Frank, you’re obviously good with ropes. Can you do that?”
“I don’t see why you have to tie me up. I can’t stop so many of you, can I?”
“Call it insurance. Ah, Josh, good to see you. As soon as David’s tied up, go get Omar’s truck and bring it here. You men can put our two guests in the backseat and fill the bed with all the equipment. I want everything dismantled and taken back to Carnal Connections. Absolutely not so much as a nail left here as evidence,” said Oliver.
“What about the knife?” asked Frank.
“Good point. Bag it in case we need it for Sam’s fingerprints. That should get him sent back to jail if we need to get rid of him. I’m going to get dressed then I’ll move my car to your campsite. I need to talk to Omar and Larry, and after that I’ll start packing up all your gear. Meet me there when you’re done here.”
Although what the hell I’ll say to them is a good question. Oh, by the way, I’m bringing your greatest enemy back with me and he’s Leticia’s brother. Oh, yeah, that’ll go down well. Not.
* * * *
Gaynor and Ramona had finished work early as it was very quiet at the tiny boutique movie studio they worked at right now. So they had joined Leticia, Jubilee, and Autumn in the hot tub. When Leticia had asked Lucy if it was available, Lucy had said she’d be there to join them as soon as she finished some urgent typing. About half an hour later, they were all having a blast.
Autumn brought two bottles of a new type of wine and a packet of disposable cups with her. “The company I knit for wants my opinion of this new wine. I thought it might be nice if we all tried it and I can give them a group opinion,” she said, pouring cups and passing them around.
“It’ll be too bad if we all think something different, though,” said Jubilee.
“Not a problem. I’ll just give my answer.”
“Or we could do a nice spreadsheet and graph our responses,” added Lucy, grabbing a filled cup as she closed the door behind her.
Leticia watched wide eyed as Gaynor sniffed the wine, inhaling and holding the scent deep in her lungs before breathing out. Gaynor then tasted a tiny bit on her tongue before taking a bigger sip. “Wow, you really do that like a professional. What’s your opinion of it?”
“I’ve seen wine connoisseurs do that. Tastes okay to me,” said Gaynor with a laugh.
“A nice, light, dry wine,” added Ramona.
“You can tell it’s a new wine. It hasn’t got the depth of some older wines, but it’s very pleasant,” added Lucy.
“Can you remember all this, Autumn? Likely you should have brought a notepad and pen to write it down,” said Leticia.
“Nice, light, dry, pleasant, but lacks depth,” chanted Autumn.
“Very good,” praised Leticia.
Ramona jumped out of the hot tub and started opening the drawers under the sink. “Ah, here we go,” she said.
Leticia expected her to bring back a notepad and pen, but it was a bottle of bubble bath she held in her hand. Ramona upended the entire bottle into the hot tub and soon everyone was laughing as the froth built up on top of the water. Ramona scooped a few handfuls of froth out and plastered it onto the mirrored wall then carefully wrote the words “light,” “dry,” “nice,” and “no depth” in the bubbles.
“Why, thank you,” said Autumn, flicking a handful of foam at Ramona.
The next ten minutes were crazy with everyone throwing handfuls of bubbles at each other until even the floor and mirrored ceiling were coated with soapy residue. The words so carefully written on the wall were hidden by misplaced missiles and Jubilee was standing up to launch an attack on Gaynor, who had sheltered behind Lucy, when Leticia saw Jubilee’s tattoo. Jubilee’s lower thigh was surrounded by a tribal circle and from it hung a dagger. As Leticia stared at the tattoo an image formed clearly in her mind. Her father had a long knife in his hand and was about to throw it at the rogue panther with the long dirty-blond hair. Oliver, in panther form, was standing to the side and he was going to…
“No!” she screamed.
The bathroom was instantly silent. “No what, Leticia?” asked Lucy in a calm, even voice.
Leticia sank down into the water. “I don’t know. I saw…I saw my father with a knife. He was going to stab the rogue panther and Oliver was there, too, in panther form.”
“Where are they?” asked Autumn.
“Can you still see them?” asked Ramona.
Leticia closed her eyes, but nothing was there. She stared at Jubilee’s leg, but Jubilee had sat down and the tattoo was hidden by the foamy water now.
Ramona and Jubilee exchanged glances. “If anything has gone wrong Omar would know, and Larry.”
“Tor’s on shift at the hospital right now,” said Gaynor.
“So is William. There’s no one here to help him if he’s hurt.”
“He won’t be hurt. The knife wasn’t aimed at him,” said Lucy soothingly.
Autumn climbed out of the hot tub and turned on the shower. “It’s time we all got rinsed off then cleaned this room up.”
Lucy pulled the plug out to drain the hot tub, and one by one they washed the soap off themselves in the shower. Leticia pulled her towel around herself and sat on the side of the tub. She concentrated on Oliver and heard him say, His name is David. Sam’s son’s name is David.
All the blood drained out of her body and she felt sick and faint. “He’s my brother and his name is David.”
Gaynor and Ramona sat on either side of her, holding and steadying her. She looked up at her friends and said it again. “The leader of the rogue panthers. He’s my brother and his name is David.”
* * * *
William usually left his cell phone switched on but set to vibrate when he was on shift. He knew other nurses always turned their cell phones off, but he liked to know that if anyone really wanted him they could contact him. There was a danger of cell phones interfering with heart monitors and some other equipment, so he always turned it off if there were heart patients on his ward, but that was quite rare. Hip and knee reconstructions and broken legs and arms made up the majority of his patients, with a smattering of fractured noses, ribs, and jaws, usually from drunken fights.
Whenever he had spare time, as he did right now, he wondered what Leticia was doing. Was she with Oliver? Were they talking and laughing together? Possibly having sex? Or just not even noticing he wasn’t there as well? She’d said she’d clean his old apartment for him and he was grateful for that, but likely she’d finished that now and would be back home alone with Oliver
He knew Oliver had responsibilities with the pack, but whenever Oliver wanted to do something or be somewhere he seemed to be able to do what he wanted, so likely his job was more of a hobby, sort of helping Omar, and basically his day was free to do what he wanted. Which likely was to be with Leticia. Would they soon bond as a twosome, no longer needing him? Would he be discarded when the trail three months was over? He tried to think. Had he seen Oliver sneering at him? Ignoring him? Had Leticia seemed less interested in being with him lately? Like she was getting over him? They’d been together and she no longer cared for him? Been there, done that, and don’t want the T-shirt anymore?
Should he give up his career so he could spend every day with Leticia? But then how would they pay for the things they needed? He’d be dependent on Oliver’s charity, and that wasn’t what he wanted, either. Ugh. It was all so hard. Like his cock. It was always hard whenever he thought of Leticia. She was so beautiful, everything he’d ever wanted in a woman and then more. When he was with her he was so happy. But while they were apart he was filled with worry that she wouldn’t want him anymore. She was so stunning and he was so incredibly ordinary. And human. Not a panther or even a werewolf. Just a very ordinary man.
William was sitting in the nurses’ station at the charge desk, but all his files were up to date and most of the patients were watching television. This was the quiet time before they ate their evening meal then needed their medicin
es and to be prepared for sleep.
When his cell phone vibrated it was almost a relief. It was something to do instead of missing Leticia and wanting to be with her.
“William? It’s Larry.”
“Hi, Larry. Is everything all right there? Is Leticia—”
“Leticia’s fine. She’s been drinking wine and sharing the hot tub with a bunch of the women. Oliver’s been out checking on Sam. He tried to kill the leader of the rogue panthers and ended up with a broken ankle. Or leg. Or maybe both. Oliver’s bringing them all back here and was hoping you could pick up whatever supplies you’d need to look after him until we decide whether to turn him over to the police or send him to the hospital. Oliver said it’s all very complicated, so we need you to care for him, giving him something more than first aid to buy us the time we need to think carefully about what decisions we make so they are the right ones.”
William heaved a sigh of relief. Leticia was all right. She’d been with the women, not with Oliver. In fact it was Oliver who may have been in danger. And Sam…“If Sam was trying to kill the pack’s Alpha, he’s lucky he’s only gotten a broken leg out of it. Some packs would have damn near killed anyone who attempted such a thing. I’ll bring a splint and strong painkillers, but without X-rays I won’t really know exactly what he needs. But I can make him comfortable for tonight anyway.”
“I’ll want him to be conscious until he’s told us what he thought he was doing. After that he can sleep. We won’t be sleeping, though, until we’ve sorted this thing out. I don’t really want either of them here, but Oliver’s right. We need to get to the bottom of this entire mess.”
“Oliver’s bringing the rogue Alpha back as well? Hey, it’s a good thing you’ve got that dungeon then,” said William, his brain whirring with thoughts about what had been happening today.
“Thanks, William. My idea exactly,” said Larry, clicking his phone off.
William sat looking at his silent cell phone. Leticia had been with the women. Oliver had been out working for the pack. Dangerous work. They were not trying to replace him. His worry was all his own lack of self-confidence. Larry trusted him to give advice and help with caring for Sam.
