Mating Instinct (The COMPLETE Ridgeville Series)

by Kyle, Celia

  A quick knock interrupted their glare-down and Ian trudged toward the front door. The locks gave way with a few flicks and then the door swung wide to reveal…

  “Andrew!” Gawd. If she had to be kept on house arrest, even if it was for her own good, at least she’d have a friend with her. She rushed forward and wrapped her arms around his neck in a fierce hug. “Thank God you’re here. I’m so bored.”

  Her friend raised a single brow. “You became bored in all of twenty minutes?”

  Carly narrowed her eyes. “I hate you.”

  “Naw, you love me.” He grinned at her, but it didn’t quite meet his eyes and she knew she was partly responsible for that look.

  They’d been Tweedledum and Tweedledee for so long, the last six months had to have been hard on him. When Carly hadn’t been mooning over her mate, or railing against him for his slutty behavior, she’d been holed up with Maya and eating enough ice cream to fill the ocean. Thank God for shifter metabolism. At least she hadn’t gotten fatter than she already was.

  She looped her arm through his and tugged him toward the hall and Neal’s bedroom. Not the best place to take another male, but she wanted to talk without her brother nearby.

  “Carly…” Ian’s voice trailed after them.

  She ignored him. The best part of being the buck’s sister was that she could resist his growls. Hard to fear a man that she’d seen naked since she was three.

  Two steps into the bedroom, she kicked the door shut.

  “Save me.” She stumbled toward the bed and pretended to faint, falling onto the soft surface with a bounce.

  “Carls…” A frown marred Andrew’s sweet, little boy face. The man was nearing thirty and still looked fifteen.

  She stared at the white popcorn ceiling. “I know this isn’t funny. It’s dumb and scary and did I tell you I’m pregnant?” She waved a hand. “Never mind, you probably know already. I smell different, apparently.” Carly stacked her hands behind her head. “So, who do you think wants to kill me?”

  For a while, Andrew didn’t say a word, but she didn’t rush him. He was a thinker and tended to work things through in his head before voicing his ideas. Seconds ticked by and finally he lay down next to her, shoulder to shoulder, hip to hip. He shifted and wiggled a little next to her, probably getting comfortable, but still he remained silent.

  “Who wants to kill you? Hmm…”

  She tilted her head to the side and nudged his head with hers. “Yeah. I think it’s that Naomi bitch. The growly guys think its Freedom or HSE, but I still vote for the skinny whore.”

  Andrew wiggled again. Sometimes the man couldn’t get comfortable.

  “No, I don’t think its Naomi. Though she could be involved somehow. There could be more at play than they realize.”

  “No? You think she’s had help?” That wasn’t something she’d ever considered, but Carly couldn’t discount her friend’s opinion.

  “Maybe…” He sighed and turned toward her. “You know I love you, Carly, right?”

  She internally winced, knowing that the love he confessed was romantic and not friendly. “I know.”

  “Good, because I love you and I’m doing this for you. You’ll see, it’ll be so much better this way.” A sharp pinch hit her, the stinging hint of pain emanating from her forearm and she winced. “All along, it’s been me.”

  Well, that sucked. She’d totally kick his ass…the second she woke up…

  * * *

  What could have been minutes, or hours, later, Carly awoke.

  Mostly.

  Maybe.

  A piercing throb invaded her head, pounding in time with her heart, but she couldn’t let the pain overtake her. Nope, she had some business to attend to.

  Namely, kicking Andrew’s ass.

  She slitted her eyelids, taking stock of her position. She was in a small, one-room cabin, arms tied behind her back and a cloth over her mouth. How trite. Really? Andrew couldn’t have gotten a little creative with the kidnapping? Whatever. When she planned an abduction, she’d go all out with the secret holding location. Something super advanced and technology-y.

  Further inspection of the room revealed the skinny psycho bitch (aka Naomi) tied similarly to her along the opposite wall. Her eyes were wide, the whites nearly glowing in the dim interior, and her nostrils flared with each quick exhale. She huffed and puffed like a freight train, and Carly could smell her panic, the acidy tang flicking her nose.

  Blech.

  While carnivores were all about having fun with the panic stricken prey, herbivores were just turned off. Actually, the feeling made Carly’s rabbit run as far away as she could, not wanting to get caught up in a predator’s blood thirst. Cause as sure as God made dandelions, a carnivore saw panicking prey as a tasty meal.

  Carly was not a tasty meal. Nope. Never. Unless it was Neal and he was between her thighs…

  A shuffle to her left drew her attention and she watched a body in the shadows move around the kitchen. Based on the size and build, she figured it was her kidnapper, Andrew.

  God.

  Andrew.

  He’d been her best guy friend for what seemed like forever. He was always at her side, all smiles and laughs, and he’d gotten along famously with Maya and Beth.

  And he wanted her dead.

  An ache built in her heart, filled it with pain and anger.

  He’d killed Beth.

  Shot at her.

  And now, he’d filled her with drugs.

  What would come next?

  A whisper-soft whimper from Naomi drew his attention and Carly trailed after him with her eyes. The man she thought she knew spun on his heel and stomped toward his other captive, pulled his leg back and let it fly. Naomi’s muffled cry filled the room and a flare of compassion flickered to life. The woman was probably involved in Andrew’s plot in some way, but humans were delicate and Carly could only imagine the damage he’d just done.

  Well, this had been what he’d meant by ‘mostly’. Naomi had to have been involved in some way.

  “Stupid bitch. Be quiet. I want my mate to sleep a little longer.” He was crazy. Certifiable. “She’ll need her rest before we get rid of that little brat she’s carrying.” His attention strayed to Carly and she couldn’t keep still any longer; she opened her eyes and growled low, hissed at Andrew. “Ah, sweetheart, don’t be like that.” Her friend approached, boots clunking and thumping against the wood floor, and squatted before her. “I forgive you for mating with that cat. At first I wanted you dead for betraying me, and my new friend agreed. He told me how to do it all, showed me where to go. Gave me my first opportunity… I tried again, but then the bullets didn’t hit home and I changed my mind and decided to keep you.” He licked his lips and she could sense the nervousness building in him. “I just need to convince him that it’s better if you live. Right. Better…”

  Her ex-friend stroked her head, fingers sifting through her hair, and she jerked away from his touch, glaring. If only looks could kill… “Aw, dear heart. Don’t be that way.” He traced the line of her nose and tapped the end. “I’m sure I can convince him to be happy with Naomi’s death. After all, a human dying at the hands of a shifter is sure to put the government in an uproar. Now she can die instead of you…” A disgruntled yell came from Naomi and Andrew stomped toward to her, reared his leg back, and delivered a fierce kick.

  Leaving the other woman groaning, he came back to Carly. “Now, where was I? Oh.” He looked thoughtful for a moment, a soft ghosting of regret passing across his features. “I am sad about Bethy. She was such a sweet girl.” He rolled to his feet and placed his hands on his hips. “But that can’t be helped. Except, then it all got so mucked up.” He rubbed his brow. “Naomi saw me shoot at you, you know. I got my hands on her and then I kept watch on the lion’s house. It was so easy to get you out once most of them left. So easy…” Andrew jerked his head, shaking it quickly and then seemed to refocus. “So we’ll leave her in your place. It’ll be perf
ect… I hope he doesn’t make me keep with our original plans, though.” His fingers settled on his temples and he massaged his forehead. “I hope… I hope… I hope…”

  Asshole. Demented asshole. Asshole, motherfucker, cocksucker, piece of shit—

  The rumble of an approaching engine drew his attention and Carly strained to hear what the hell was going on.

  She poked at her internal rabbit, the near-feral animal aching to rip out Andrew’s throat, no questions asked. She did her best to soothe the bunny’s ruffled fur, assure her that they’d taste his blood, but first they needed to figure out all of the players in the game. Who he fuck was ‘he’?

  Sure, she had jealous Andrew in front of her, but this new arrival, Andrew’s mysterious ‘friend’… that had her worried.

  If it’d been Neal and the rest of the big, bad leaders, they wouldn’t have driven right up to the front door, which meant this guy…he was yet another piece of the fucked up puzzle.

  Part of her felt bad for Naomi. Almost. Okay, mostly. The woman had been at the wrong place at the wrong time and now she’d suffer for that simple twist of fate.

  Rabbit now playing her part, Carly strained to hear, but all she could catch were the murmur of voices; the newcomer’s was soft and deep, cutting off Andrew whenever he uttered a sound.

  A heavier tread entered the one-room cabin and Carly felt her first wave of fear as the man’s scent was carried on the cool air of the AC.

  Polar bear. Big, short-fused, evil polar bear. They were notorious for killing first and not asking questions later.

  Fuckity fuck fuck.

  Carly rolled back a bit, struggling to see the new arrival. She didn’t have to wait long. In moments the huge man came into view and, oh shit, she was totally dead.

  He was taller than Alex—wider, too—with muscles that had muscles that had muscles. Dressed in all black from head to toe, he looked like a man most would run from without hesitation. He had a wicked long scar running from hairline to collar bone, the wide swath of his white injury simply adding to the air of danger that surrounded him.

  For the first time in her life, she felt pure terror; the fear pounded through her blood stream until she couldn’t breathe.

  The newcomer squatted before her, his long black hair falling forward as he stared down at her tied form. “Hello, pretty. You’ve caused me a bit of grief, you know. You were supposed to die tonight, but I can see that Andrew had a bit of trouble doing his job.” He reached behind him, hand out of sight for barely a moment, before it returned with a ten-inch knife, the sharp blade glistening in the dim light. “It’s not a problem, though.”

  * * *

  Neal was ready to tear his hair out. They’d just pulled into the parking lot when he got the call.

  Andrew had taken Carly right from underneath their noses.

  Pressing the ‘end call’ button on his cell, he wasn’t surprised when his thumb cracked the screen.

  “He’s got her.”

  The males stomping across the graveled parking lot of Honey’s Bar stilled and turned back toward him.

  Alex was the first to speak, voice deadly. “Who’s got whom?”

  “Andrew.” The lion surged forward, stalked him just beneath his skin, muscles and bones bunched in preparation for a fight. “Ian and Devlin let him in because he’s her friend and part of the warren. And now he’s kidnapped her.” The cat wanted to tear something to shreds. Preferably the male who had dared touch what belonged to him. “The male snuck her out the window and shoved her into his car. Drove away before they even knew she’d been abducted. Ian is researching the rabbit’s assets to see if there’s somewhere he’d take her. Somewhere…”

  “It’s not just that bunny, Neal.” The voice came from the darkness, but he recognized the male with ease. He’d been ‘vacationing’ in Ridgeville for the last six months or so and was a well-known tracker for the council, a man who went after feral shifters and dangerous Freedom members.

  He was also one of the most dominant and dangerous males he’d ever met. The guy had been nice enough during the visit, but this was something…different. Dominance, anger, and power radiated from the male in giant waves that he couldn’t help but recognize.

  The tiger was pissed.

  “Ricker.” Neal tilted his head to the side, not anxious to anger the man. He heard a murmured echo of the tiger’s name from those behind him and assumed the others were mimicking his movement.

  The cat stalked forward, feet not making a sound on the loose gravel, body moving like the ultimate predator, and Neal couldn’t suppress the slivers of fear that entered his blood. This man could end Neal within the blink of an eye and there were whispers that the male wouldn’t hold an ounce of remorse for the act.

  “I know who has her and I know where she is.”

  “Where?”

  “Who?” Alex’s voice drowned out his.

  “One-room cabin near Crest Lake. As for who, it started with her friend, Andrew, but it’s truly…” The tiger’s eyes, deep golden amber, bore into his. “Alistair McCain.”

  * * *

  Oh shit, oh god, oh shit, oh god… The blade inched closer and closer to her face and she couldn’t do a damned thing about it. Honestly, she wasn’t all that concerned about him slicing the vulnerable skin and leaving her with scars… Nope, her biggest worry was that he wouldn’t stop there.

  “Alistair.” Andrew stepped into her line of sight. “I changed my mind. I want to keep her. We’ll kill Naomi, make it look like shifters, and then Carly and I can disappear and—“

  Her enemy—yet still somehow her friend—didn’t get the rest of his words out. Nope, not before Alistair spun on the balls of his feet quicker than she could blink and shoved that deadly blade into Andrew just below his breastbone and straight up into the man’s heart. Shock was stuck on her friend’s features, his eyes and mouth open wide. A brief look of regret flashed across his face just before the vacant stare of death took over.

  That fast. A blink. A heartbeat. That’s all it took for the male to end Andrew’s life. No hesitation, no wonder or arguing. Just death. Period. Full stop.

  The big motherfucker slid the knife free of Andrew’s body and then turned his attention back to her, wiping the blade clean on her jeans and coating her in her friend’s fluids.

  “Sorry about that, lovely. Now, let me introduce myself. I’m Alistair McCain and you are our first step to freedom.”

  Alistair McCain. Leader of Freedom and a bad-assed, ‘fuck you and die’ polar bear. Freedom’s only focus was destroying the communal structure shifters had operated under since the beginning of time. They wanted the council abolished and Alphas, Primes and all other leaders destroyed. According to them, shifters were fine on their own and they didn’t need anyone telling them what to do or how to live their lives.

  She was dead. Deader than dead. A ghost walking—er, laying. It was only a matter of time before…

  A whimper from across the room drew Alistair’s attention away from her and Carly was torn in two. She could draw the man’s anger onto herself or let Naomi suffer next.

  Decisions, decisions…

  Oh, who the fuck was she kidding. Naomi may have been a bitch, but she hadn’t done anything ‘wrong’, per se.

  Drawing one leg back, she brought it forward as hard as she could and kicked Alistair in the ass, knocking him to the floor before he could get to the evil bitch and use his Ginsu on her.

  “Fucking cunt!” The male roared and spun back to her, a pale white hint of fur covering his features, the lines of his cheeks and chin sharper than before. “Are you ready for death, little one? Is that it?” He reached for her and yanked at her gag, tugged it free of her mouth. “Will you scream for me while I gut you?”

  “Fuck you.” She spat at him, a glob of saliva landing on his chiseled cheek.

  Stupid, but at least he wasn’t bearing down on Naomi.

  “Ah, lovely, how you tempt me. Perhaps I should sample you fir
st.” The bastard grasped her chin with a bruising hold and held her still, licked her face from chin to brow. “How sweet you taste.” His voice was a deep growl and she could smell his arousal, the perverted need in him. Another lap at her skin. “So lovely.”

  Alistair released her and changed position, shifting so that she could stare into Naomi’s fear painted eyes. The human didn’t move, barely breathed, while the fucker sliced through Carly’s top, the long blade cutting through the fabric like butter. Soon, the cool air of the cabin sent goose bumps over her skin, and his next cut rendered her bra useless. Her breasts were bared to the room and she chanced a look at Alistair’s features only to turn her attention from him again.

  Lust, pure and simple.

  Depraved fucker. Just wait until she was free of the ropes. She’d let her little claws come out to play so she could slice and dice his balls.

  Yeah, that sounded like a fuck-ton of fun.

  “Look at those pretty nipples.” He grasped them between his fingers and pinched, harder and harder until tears formed in her eyes and slid down her cheeks. But she wouldn’t make a sound. No, she figured he took enjoyment in others’ pain and she wasn’t about to help him get his rocks off. He twisted, increasing the pressure, and she breathed deeply through her nose, great puffing breaths heaved in and out of her lungs while she bore the pain.

  The rabbit inside her growled and reared, chomped on air, desperate to get the male’s hands off of her. Alistair wasn’t her mate. He had no right to touch her. Ever.

  With a growl, he released her and then turned his attention further down her body, eyes resting at the juncture of her thighs. She’d die first. Truly.

  Alistair brandished the wicked blade, edge gleaming, and brought it to the button of her jeans. Again, it parted the fabric near the fastener like a hot knife through butter, the cloth melting away with barely a touch. More and more of her was revealed and she cringed when his fingers glided over the skin of her lower belly. “That’s lovely.”