Finally reunited, Noah and his siblings are celebrating their first holidays together in two decades. Not only that, but it will be his first Christmas with the love of his life, Seth. In other words, Noah has just about everything a Jaguar shifter could need. In fact, he’s so happy that it almost doesn’t matter that his sister is fighting with her wolf shifter boyfriend, two of his brothers are at odds because one shot the other and their city has been hit with one of the worst blizzards in Michigan history. Everything changes though, when something from the past comes back and threatens to ruin the holidays, forcing Noah and his siblings to realize some issues aren’t behind them like they’d all hoped. Then when one of his brothers, Andrew, pulls a vanishing act, they all have to act together or risk losing him forever. Will Noah be able to get over his problems in time to save Andrew, or will this Christmas be the last one either of them ever live to see?
The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage the electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated. This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. A Shifter Christmas Copyright © 2010 Stephani Hecht ISBN: 978-1-55487-745-4 Cover art by Martine Jardin All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher. Published by eXtasy Books Look for us online at: www.eXtasybooks.com
A Shifter Christmas Lost Shifter Book Eight
By
Stephani Hecht
Dedication To Grandpa Bucholz
Chapter One “If I’m a good boy, will you take me to see Santa?” Noah
asked as they walked into the crowded mall. Andrew paused only long enough to shoot back an irritated glance. Something Noah noticed his brother did with alarming frequency whenever they hung around. “Mitchell made me swear to keep an eye on you and make sure that you stayed out of trouble. Somehow I don’t think letting you grind on Santa’s lap is on our leader’s list of approved activities,” Andrew replied in a cool, clipped tone. Andrew’s gaze swept the interior of the large shopping center as he pulled his ankle length, black trench coat closed a bit. Noah didn’t want to contemplate the weaponry his littermate probably had tucked away in the pockets. Andrew loved his knives and guns and didn’t go anywhere without at least a half dozen of his babies within easy reach. The guy probably slept with a Glock under his pillow. A few people passing by shot Andrew wary looks as they gave him a wide berth. Not that Andrew had a huge build or anything. He was thinner than most of the soldiers in the coalition and only stood a couple inches taller than Noah. However, Andrew managed to shoot off a don’t-fuck-withme vibe that both humans and shifters heeded. “Who said anything about grinding on Santa?” Noah replied as he tried to assume his own tough-guy pose. He failed miserably, probably because he wore a red 1
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puffy coat and a tight as snot Lady Gaga tee. He did earn a wink from a passing man though. Not that he had any interest in flirting back since Noah was madly in love and happily mated with Seth, one hell of a sexy Tiger shifter. “Not even I’m twisted enough to try and give Santa a lap dance,” Noah protested. Before Seth, he did like to play around, but now nobody could tempt him to stray, even a guy in a red suit. “If you sit on Santa’s lap, I’ll take a picture and post it on your Facebook page. You can use it to replace the profile picture of you dressed in all leather and doing obscene things to that teddy bear,” the third member of their litter, Keegan, teased as he came up and fell in step with Noah. “It was your mate, Carson, who dared me to put that up in the first place,” Noah pointed out. Keegan threw his hands up in the air. “He dares everyone to do stupid stuff like that. You’re the only one whoever takes him up on it.” Keegan unzipped his brown, leather coat to reveal the very sensible, blue sweater he wore underneath. Noah wondered, not for the first time, how the most vanilla member of their litter ended up mated to a Goth, IT, Cheetah shifter who had an attitude bigger than the Flint River. “It gives Carson something to live for besides you and his computers,” Noah defended. Keegan cocked a brow. “And here I thought it was because you could never refuse a dare. “ “I can so.” Even Andrew paused long enough to shoot Keegan a look of disbelief at that claim. Damn, you run naked around the parameter of the compound one time and they want to slap the label of daredevil on you. So maybe Noah’s lack of discipline had gotten him in a few pickles in the past, that still didn’t mean he could change 2
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who he was or anything. No more than Keegan could stop being smart and Andrew could stop being so menacing. Keegan gave him a playful punch. “Don’t get that look on your face.” “What look is that?” “The one where you start to doubt yourself. I like how spontaneous you can be. Before you came back home, things were so dull at times I was tempted to run around in the nude, just to get some excitement.” Noah laughed. While he had just as little in common with Keegan as Andrew, Noah felt way more comfortable with the intellectual one of the litter. Keegan wasn’t just intelligent either, he had a smart-as-shit IQ, plus a photographic memory. Where Noah realized he should have felt awkward and dumb around Keegan, instead he felt as if they’d been close all their lives. That said something since they’d only been reunited a little under a year ago. He tensed up as they walked deeper into the mall and the crush of bodies grew. Since Christmas was only a couple of days away, it appeared that they weren’t the only ones who waited until the last minute to shop. He tried hard not to gawk in wonder at the huge trees, red tinsel and other various decorations surrounding them. Growing up, there hadn’t been very many holiday celebrations and he still couldn’t get used to all the cheer. Going by the expression on Andrew’s face, he didn’t feel any more happy to be surrounded by the Christmas spirit. He even transferred some of his scowls to the decorations as if their mere presence offended him. Going by what Noah knew about his brother’s past, he hadn’t celebrated the holidays as a kid either. Ah, finally something we share in common. Only Keegan acted thrilled. He smiled as a sparkle came to his amber-colored eyes. He pointed to a six-foot red figurine. “Look, a nutcracker!” 3
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“Ouch, that sounds like it would hurt,” Noah quipped without missing a beat. He’d never been one to let any opportunity slide by where he could shoot off a juvenile comment. Andrew’s lips twitched, but he didn’t outright smile. Noah still considered it a victory though. The only time he’d ever seen Andrew laugh had been when he was around his mate, Vapor. Even that was rare since Andrew and Vapor were both the quit, broody, could-be-a-meanie types. As if sensing Noah was thinking about him, Andrew shot off a dirty look. “Remind me why we allowed Keegan to talk us into coming here again?” Noah dodged an employee holding a bottle of cologne, barely avoiding getting sprayed. Even so, his heightened feline sense of smell still revolted against the artificial scent. He let out a round of sneezes before he was able to respond, “Because Keegan said we have to buy Mitchell the bestest Christmas present ever because he’s our leader and big brother.” “That’s not exactly what I said,” Keegan pointed out, his face way too serious. “Excuse me. I don’t have an idiotic memory like you.” Noah reached over and fingered up a pile of fake snow fronting a display of wallets. “That eidetic memory,” Keegan corrected, just like Noah knew he would. Even after such a short time, Noah already knew the best way to set off Keegan’s buttons. Something he didn’t have any clue of, or the guts to try, with Andrew. Noah ducked his head slightly so he could discretely study Andrew and Keegan, trying for the millionth time to justify how they could be related to him. While they were all from the same litter, Andrew and Keegan had speckled, brown hair, where Noah had black. While they changed into 4
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normal jaguars, he shifted into a black one. It didn’t help him feel like he belonged any more to know that many feline shifters considered black jaguars to be defective either. Noah knew full well that if he wasn’t the younger brother of Mitchell, he would have trouble finding acceptance in the coalition. “Stop it. You’re fine the way you are,” Keegan said in a low voice. It didn’t surprise Noah that Keegan read him so easily. Noah gave him a small smile of thanks. “You didn’t say that the other day when I laughed during shooting practice.” Keegan pulled a face. “Well, did you have to yell fire in the hole every time I picked up a gun?” Noah nodded, the entire time striving to keep a straight face. “It was my moral obligation to protect innocent bystanders.” Andrew walked several paces ahead of them. While his gaze moved side to side as he constantly scanned their surroundings, he seemed oblivious to Keegan and Noah’s conversation. “I’m not that bad of a shot,” Keegan protested. “Really?” Noah didn’t try to hide his sarcasm. “Is that why you took out a security camera last week?” “The bullet just grazed it.” “Maybe, but you were still nearly fifty feet off the target.” Keegan shot him a rude gesture before stopping to admire a kiosk with sunglasses. Andrew immediately stopped and backtracked a couple steps, showing he wasn’t as unaware of their activity as Noah first thought. “We have to get Mitchell something really special,” Keegan stressed. “How about a new gun,” Andrew suggested in a coldstone serious tone. “He already has a ton of those. I was thinking of 5
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something more heartfelt and personal.” Keegan turned back to Noah. “Do you have any suggestions?” Keegan was actually asking him to add his two cents? Wow, maybe Keegan wasn’t that smart after all. Noah forced himself to keep a straight face as he thought of all the ways he could answer that question, most of them not fit for mixed company. Noah shrugged. “I was going to get him and his mate a double-headed dildo, but if you insist, I guess we can go for something more traditional.” An elderly lady who had been standing nearby let out a horrified gasp. She stared at Noah as if he were some perv with a trench coat and nudie fetish. Noah gave her a tight smile in turn. Keegan muttered under his breath, “Why me?” Andrew just cocked a brow at Keegan. “I don’t think they carry that type of product here,” Andrew finally said as they watched the woman scurry away. “Damn,” Noah drew out slowly. “I guess we’ll have to just settle for a fruit basket then.” “That’s not personal at all,” Keegan argued. “We’ll put a Jaguar and Wolf Webkinz in with it,” Noah suggested. Since Mitchell’s mate, Dean, was a Wolf shifter, the idea wasn’t entirely crazy. Or at least Noah believed that until he caught the incredulous look Keegan tossed at him. “Please tell me you’re kidding.” “Maybe,” Noah, hedged, cringing at the slight lilt to his tone that was sure to give his half-fib away. “How about a gift card?” Andrew put on a pair of the sunglasses and held his hands up in a whaccha-think gesture. Noah wrinkled his nose and shook his head. “They look 6
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too much like what the Ravens wear.” “A gift card isn’t personal at all. Come on, guys, think harder. This is going to be our first Christmas together as a family and it has to be perfect,” Keegan admonished even as he handed Andrew another pair of glasses to try on. “Okay, how about we buy him and Dean a weekend away?” Andrew suggested as he put on the new glasses. He stooped a bit and studied himself in the mirror. “Do you think he’d like that?” Keegan asked, hope lacing his voice. Andrew turned, a droll smile on his face. “I think he would love to be able to get away from it all for a couple days.” “Why, does he seem overly stressed out?” Noah asked, his gut clenching in worry. He looked up to Mitchell and the mere thought of his brother being unhappy didn’t settle well. “No, but if you were him, wouldn’t you need a break from the three of us?” Andrew asked pointedly. “You keep acting like a frat boy on crack. Keegan nearly caused a riot the other day when he showed up at the shooting range. Then I had that little incident where I punched one of his generals and knocked the guy out.” “That was pretty bad of you,” Noah agreed, deciding to ignore the whole frat boy jab. Andrew curled up a lip. “The asshole shouldn’t have disrespected Mitchell.” Okay, maybe Andrew did have a point there. However, Noah couldn’t ever see himself going so far. That is if he had the capabilities. Despite all the extra training sessions Seth put him through, all Noah managed were the most basic of moves when it came to fighting. The only thing that allowed him some pride was the fact he quickly was becoming one of the better marksmen in the coalition. 7
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“Not everyone ran away when I showed up at the firing range,” Keegan defended in a slightly hurt tone. Andrew paid for his glasses before shooting Keegan a sideways glance. “You’re right. Branson stayed around for a while. Of course, that may be because he’s blind. Once he caught your scent though, even he motored.” Keegan didn’t argue, instead grumbling, “What the heck is a blind guy doing at a firing range anyway?” “Rumor has it, he was trying to find one of Noah’s old buddies.” Andrew ducked down and stared at his reflection again. That perked Noah up. Before he’d come to live at the coalition, he and a group of his friends had banded together in order to survive. All misplaced shifters of various breeds, they’d been tight until they’d been attacked and held captive for a year. While they’d all been rescued and lived nearby, Noah didn’t see a majority of them that often. “Who exactly was he looking for?” he asked as he watched Andrew continue to primp in the mirror. “The Hawk.” Andrew started to run his fingers through his hair. The act showed a vain side of himself that Noah had never seen before. “Gage?” That was interesting. Since Gage had suffered through some crazy shit, even before that year of captivity, he hardly ever drew attention to himself. Noah would be surprised if the Hawk spoke more than a handful of words in the time they’d known each other. “Yeah, that would be the one.” “What could Branson possible want with Gage?” Andrew shrugged. “He said something about the Hawk stealing an item from him.” “That doesn’t sound like Gage at all. Before we took him 8
A Shifter Christmas
into our group, he almost starved to death because he refused to take food from the store.” “I may have been able to tell you more, but Branson ran off because by that point he’d caught a whiff of Keegan’s scent.” Keegan started to cuss him out, but Andrew didn’t pay any attention. Instead, he stooped more and lowered the glasses, his gaze seeming to fixate on something reflected behind them. A prickle went down Noah’s spine as he felt the near overwhelming urge to turn around. At the same moment, his body froze in fear of what might be there. “Andrew?” Keegan whispered, his voice trembling slightly. Then it hit Noah—the sweet, cloying scent that haunted his nightmares. A soft sound that he refused to admit was a whimper rushed past his lips. A cold sweat broke out over his body as he fought to impulse to drop to the ground in the classic coward fetal position. Ravens! The birds were mere feet away, despite the fact they were in the middle of a mall packed with human witnesses—which must mean that they were desperate. That in turn could only mean Noah and his brothers were in deep shit.
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Chapter Two Noah
finally forced himself to slowly turn and face the approaching threat. A half dozen Ravens in human form slowly walked toward them. Dressed in head-to-toe black leather, all the men had pasty white complexions and greasy looking dark hair. Dark, soulless eyes glared at the felines, leaving no doubt that they weren’t coming to have a nice chat. “What do you think they want?” Keegan asked. “Me,” Noah answered with unwavering certainty. While he’d been captive, the leader of a flock of Ravens had taken a sadistic interest in Noah. Even after he’d been rescued and taken into the fold of the feline coalition, the Raven continued to try and get Noah back. Last Noah heard, the bounty for his recapture had reached six figures. “They can’t have you. Not when I’ve almost gotten used to listening to you yammering all the time,” Andrew growled as he moved around to stand in front of Keegan and Noah. The Ravens stopped when they were a few feet away from the felines. Andrew’s hands were limp by his sides, but the tense way he held his body let Noah know that he was ready to spring into action. “Liam, it’s been a while,” Andrew called in a falsely cheerful tone. 10
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Noah heard that, during his criminal years, Andrew used to deal with Ravens, but until that moment, he’d never seen his littermate call one out by name. One of the Ravens gave Andrew a tight nod. “Just give us the Black Jaguar and we’ll leave you and the other cub in peace,” Liam said. “I can’t do that, Liam. Noah’s under my protection and you know how territorial I can be when it comes to stuff like that,” Andrew replied, his voice smooth, yet cold at the same time. Liam gestured to either side of him. “Come on, do we really want to fight this out with all these innocent bystanders? One of the humans might end up getting hurt in the process. You know how fragile and easily broken they can be.” “That comment was a bit redundant,” Keegan pointed out in a low tone that only Noah could hear. Noah looked around at the numerous shoppers, his stomach dropping in dread. Liam may be a homicidal jackass, but he did have a very valid point. If they did start fighting, someone could get hurt or worse. Noah didn’t know if he could live with that on his conscience. “If you’re so worried about the people getting broken, then maybe you better leave,” Andrew countered, his upper lip curling up in a brief sneer. “We’re not leaving without the Jaguar. He’s worth a lot of money.” Andrew flexed his fingers, but made no move to pull out a weapon. “Whatever it is isn’t enough payment for the hurt that will be coming your way if you try to get through me. Turn around and go back home.” Liam snarled, his expression managing to look repulsive instead of intimidating. “And is he worth you or the other one getting hurt? You know what he is.” 11
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“Yes, my brother and that’s all that matters,” Andrew returned, his stance tightening even more. Noah wanted to duck his head in shame and selfloathing, but didn’t dare take his gaze off the Ravens. When he didn’t think it could get worse, the damn bird had to keep talking. “Do you know what he used to be? A whore who would suck any guy off for a couple bucks. Then when we had him, our leader used him and his ass in every way possible. He’s useless, weak, trash, not even worthy to breathe the same air as us.” Bile churned in Noah’s gut as every single word hit him like a physical blow. He wanted to scream that he’d did what he had to in order to survive while living on the streets. That when he’d been a captive, he’d never willingly allowed Declan to touch him. That every encounter between them had been against his will. His gaze slid over to Keegan and he realized he couldn’t allow either of his brothers to get hurt just to protect his sorry ass. Liam had been right about one thing…he was weak and thus worthless. Fear made a soft whimper bubble past his throat. Even though there was nothing he dreaded more than the thought of being under Declan’s care once more, Noah didn’t see any other way around it. He would just have to pray that this time the Raven killed him off quickly instead of keeping him around to play. Even as that hope passed over his mind, Noah pushed it aside. For Declan to offer such a huge bounty that could only mean he wanted to keep his purchase around for a long, long time. The scars on his legs began to throb, their presence a constant reminder of all the times he’d been forced to his knees to perform vile acts. Worst of all, if he were taken, then he’d probably never 12
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see Seth again. That hurt—even more than the promise of torture. He loved his Tiger shifter more than anything. Crazily enough, Seth loved him back, in spite of knowing everything about Noah’s past. The thought of not being able to ever take comfort in the strong arms of his mate made Noah want to break down like some nancy. Then he directed his gaze one more to Keegan and that gave Noah the bit of strength he needed. While he may fear Declan, Noah’s love for his brothers was greater. So, yeah, he could make this sacrifice for them. Taking a deep steadying breath, he started to move forward. Quick as a whip, Keegan’s hand lashed out and grabbed Noah’s arm. “Don’t even think about it,” Keegan growled. For the first time ever, Noah saw an angry glint in his easy-going littermate’s eyes. Keegan’s hold on Noah’s arm grew so hard, it induced a bit of pain. Keegan mouthed, Please, a small flicker of panic passing over his face. Noah realized he couldn’t refuse. He gave a small nod and took a step back. At that same moment, Liam raised his arm. Noah let out a cry of alarm when he saw the Raven had a Glock and it was aimed directly at Andrew. Noah surged forward, this time to help, but Andrew moved quicker. As Liam fired, Andrew delivered a hard roundhouse kick to the Raven’s hand. The bullet went wide, hitting a nearby display window. All hell broke loose along with the glass. People screamed and began to run, one of them slamming into Noah. He fell down hard onto the scuffed, white tile, his cheek connecting with the floor in a painful smack. Shaking off the stars, he quickly scrambled to his feet. “Stupid, birds. They never know what’s good for them,” Andrew snarled, his voice barely audible over the chaos. 13
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He flipped his hands into a half-circle, twin blades descending from the sleeves of his coat. Giving the weapons a full swing, he crouched into a fighting stance that would make Uma from Kill Bill proud. Despite the danger, Noah gave a hysterical laugh at that thought. “This way!” Keegan yelled, pointing to an unmarked doorway. Andrew nodded to show he heard, but never turned his back on the Ravens. They quickly made their way to the door and burst through. It led to an employee’s only hallway that appeared to run the length of the mall. Noah breathed a sigh of relief when as he noted it was blessedly empty. Keegan paused long enough to slap a fire alarm that was on the wall. A shrilling bell sound filled the air, the sound sharp and offensive to Noah’s shifter ears. “Sorry,” Keegan apologized. “It’s just the best way I can think of to get all the humans to evacuate.” Andrew jerked his head toward the direction of the far side of the hallway. “Let’s get the fuck out of here. The Ravens will be following us any minute.” He paused long enough to retract his blades, then handed Keegan a gun. Since he was under strict orders from Seth and Mitchell to never leave headquarters unarmed, Noah already had one tucked inside his puffy coat and he took it out, his gaze resting wearily on Keegan. “Are you sure it’s a good idea to give him firepower?” he asked Andrew. “Hey, I’m not that bad,” Keegan protested. Before Noah could laugh at that comment, the door burst open. Liam and his posse came piling into the hallway. Keegan let out a soft sound of shock, his heart jerking in his chest. Andrew just gave a wicked grin. “Yum, looks like our lunch just delivered itself.” 14
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And yet everyone said that Andrew’s friend, Shane, was the psycho. At that moment, Noah could have argued his brother was fighting for the title. “Ew!” Keegan wrinkled his nose. “I’ve eaten Ravens before and I don’t recommend it. They have a terrible aftertaste to them.” Despite the healthy dose of fear shooting through him, Noah laughed at the comment. Unfortunately, the Ravens didn’t see the humor at all. They all brought up their guns and aimed them at the felines. “Buzzkills,” Andrew drawled as he reached inside his trench coat and pulled out not one, but two guns of his own. One thing Seth had pounded into Noah’s head was shoot first and make sure said shot counted. He squeezed off a round, grunting with satisfaction when his bullet cleanly sliced through a Raven’s skull. “Nice,” Andrew praised. “Now I want you to take Keegan and get the hell out of here.” Keegan and Noah exchanged looks, not needing words to communicate. Noah shook his head. “We’re not going anywhere.” They all took cover in various doorways. Andrew fired off a couple shots, forcing the Ravens to likewise take cover. He glared at Noah. “I can take care of myself, but not if I have to worry about you two. Now scat.” “Pack stays together,” Noah argued, reciting the phrase his buddy, Ranger had told him many times over. Andrew rolled his eyes. “Packs are wolves, not felines.” “It still applies to me,” Noah persisted. “Me, too,” Keegan added. He glanced down at his firearm and frowned, shaking it as if there were a faulty part in it. “Release the safety,” Noah suggested, gently. A commotion on the opposite end of the hallway diverted their attention. Noah cursed when he saw a fresh group of 15
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Ravens coming. “Great now we’re boxed in, “Andrew yelled. He looked at Keegan, “Call your mate and tell them to send in reinforcements, STAT.” “Okay, although they probably already figured out something is going on. Carson monitors the human’s police and EMS communications.” “What are you going to do?” Noah asked Andrew. Andrew just gave him one of those grins. Noah noticed that he still wore those stupid sunglasses. Even with the tension and fear, Noah found himself smiling back. Strangely enough, at that moment, he’d never felt closer to Andrew. “Liam, since you wouldn’t listen to me, you’re going to be the next to die,” Andrew sang as he pushed himself away from the doorway. The Ravens fired in earnest, the smells of gunpowder and fear lacing the stale air of the building. The gunfire came quick, but Andrew moved faster. He somehow dodged all the bullets, moving with a fluid grace that made Noah gasp in awe. Andrew stopped within inches of Liam. He gave a wicked smirk as he extended his hand, his fingers curled into a fist. “Look what I have for you.” He stretched out his hand, palm out. Liam’s eye’s bugged out at the sight of a small grenade. Against all laws of physics, Andrew moved even quicker than before. He shoved the explosive into the Raven’s mouth, then kicked the man hard in the center of the chest. Liam stumbled backward. Andrew moved out of the line of fire just in time. Noah pressed his body tight against the door right before an explosion ripped through the air, ittybitty Liam pieces covering the walls and ceiling. Noah tried not to gag, but it proved hard. Even though 16
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he’d seen a lot of twisted things, he’d never seen a Raven turned to shrapnel. Keegan appeared to be a little green around the collar, too, his eyes wide with horror. He mouthed, Wow. Andrew wasn’t finished though. He grabbed his guns again and popped off two shots, immediately dropping a pair of Ravens. Recovering from his shock, Noah took out another. While that did even the odds up some, there was still the group of newbies and they were fast approaching. “This way,” Andrew called, nodding to an exit door on the other side of the pile of Raven bodies. Noah and Keegan left the safety of cover and ran. Just as they were jumping over the Raven pile, things became one giant cluster fuck. A hand reached down and snagged Noah’s ankle. He let out a cry of shock as he came back down hard to earth. One of the Ravens who must have just been clipped, rolled and tightened his grip on Noah and wouldn’t let up. Noah found himself pinned, his stomach pressed into the cool tile. The Raven climbed up his body, then whispered in his ear. “You’re going to be my bitch, too, this time.” Fear clawed at Noah’s chest as he found himself transported back to that dark time of captivity. A ripple of energy started to dance up his body and panic mixed in with that fear as he realized he was about to shift. “No, no, no…not now!” Noah yelled at his Jaguar, but it was too late. Unwanted and uncontrolled, he shifted into a Black Jaguar. Right in the middle of a fucking mall. Sure they may be in relative privacy, but humans could be coming in at any second. Then they’d find themselves not only confronted with a bunch of corpses, but one giant kitty cat. One guess who’d they blame for all the carnage, too. 17
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Noah closed his eyes and tried to will himself back to his human form, only to have himself remained furred up. Great! If he could, he would have let out an impressive string of curse words. All he could manage in his current state was a growl. “Andrew, behind you!” Keegan shouted as he raised his gun. Another Raven had been trying to sneak up and get the drop on Andrew. Keegan fired. However, since they were still smack dab in the middle of the cluster fuck, Keegan hit Andrew instead of the enemy. Andrew yelped as he went down, a blossom of blood appearing at his right calf. Since Noah still hadn’t managed to shift, he decided to make the best of a sucky situation. With a snarl, he launched himself at the sneaker. The Raven’s scream cut short when Noah sank his teeth into the man’s throat.
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Chapter Three Keegan had been right about one thing—Ravens tasted like
crap. Noah let go of the limp body and desperately tried to do the whole blah! blah! motion only to find he didn’t have the coordination to do so while in his feline form. He did manage a few hacking noise that sounded suspiciously like a housecat trying to bring up a hairball. All in all, not one of his prouder moments. “Well, this little shopping trip has turned into one of the biggest FUBAR situations I’ve ever been in,” Andrew observed dryly as he glanced down at his bleeding leg. Jaguar Noah nodded in agreement, probably looking like a demented cartoon character. Another wave of Ravens burst through the nearest door— the one they’d been running to before Noah went all animal. Andrew let out an interesting string of curse words before he sprayed the area with gunfire. “Go back out into the mall,” he ordered, shooting Keegan and Noah the barest of glances. When they hesitated, he added, “I’ll be right behind you, I promise. If you think I’m going to play hero while bleeding, you’re both as crazy as these shits.” Ah, what about me being in my Jaguar form? Noah replied, via mental link. 19
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“Can you shift back?” Keegan asked, lifting his own gun. Andrew paused in shooting long enough to reach over and snag the weapon from Keegan’s hands. I’ve been trying, but I just can’t, Noah explained. If Jaguars could blush, his face would have been painted red. Most breeds of shifters didn’t have their first transformation until around their twenty-fifth birthday and even then, they had little control of their animal sides. Noah gave an internal snort. Knowing Andrew, he could probably shift at the blink of an eye. There didn’t seem to be anything Mr. Perfect Soldier couldn’t do. He probably pissed bullets and slept with a dagger in his hand. “He can’t go out there in his feline form. The humans will see him,” Keegan protested. Andrew squeezed off a few rounds before spinning around and taking out a pair who’d managed to get within a few feet of their rear. “We don’t have any more time to dick around. Go! We’ll just have to hope that most of the humans ran when they heard all hell break loose.” Keegan muttered something that sounded like Mitchell, wouldn’t like this. Before he pushed open the door leading to the mall. Noah lopped after him, his paws clicking on the tile. Just as promised, Andrew soon followed, not before throwing another one of his grenades behind him. A muffled boom sounded, followed by several cries of pain. As anticipated, the mall now appeared deserted. All that remained were some discarded shopping bags, scattered display items and a shoe. I thought grenades made a bigger explosion, Noah observed as he leapt over the now-tipped over sunglass kiosk. “It’s something Owen made special for Andrew. They’re pretty damn efficient, too,” Keegan supplied. “Yeah, the Raven I blew to bacon bits would agree,” Andrew added, a proud smirk playing on his lips. 20
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Keegan glanced back over his shoulder, before rolling his eyes. “Why are you still wearing those glasses?” “Because I paid for them,” Andrew replied simply, as if that answered everything. The sound of the door crashing open behind them made all three of them jump. Andrew took point, leading them to the right, down a wing of the mall. They were met with an armed team of human SWAT members, all decked out in black and guns drawn. Keegan let out a yelp. Andrew smiled. Noah jumped in fear right before his body took over and shifted back. He quickly scrambled to his feet and offered a feeble wave. One SWAT member let out a loud groan before he lowered his weapon. “Fucking shifters! I should have known.” “Do you have any idea how much it’s going to cost to clean up the mess those three pitiful excuses left?” the human commander screamed, his red face inches from Mitchell’s nose. As ordered, Noah sat on the couch, wedged in between Keegan and Andrew. They hadn’t even had a chance to clean up or see to Andrew’s wounds, instead immediately being summoned to their older brother’s office. At first Noah had been pissed, thinking that Mitchell didn’t care about Andrew’s gunshot injury. Once they settled onto the couch and the human military asswipe came in, he realized the order had come not from Mitchell, but from the humans the coalition worked for. It took a lot of money to run the coalition. In order to supplement their income, Mitchell and his soldiers worked for the government, doing jobs that would damn near be impossible for humans to pull off. Since shifters were faster, stronger, and in Noah’s opinion smarter, they made a 21
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fortune hiring out their skills. The government and various police agencies were among the handful of humans who even knew about the existence of shifters. Since most shifters had no use for humans and didn’t trust them, they kept to themselves and didn’t generally reveal their animal forms in public. Unlike Noah who’d gone all cat in the mall. “They were attacked and did what they had to in order to escape,” Mitchell countered in cool, clipped tones. The look of pure fury he fixated on the commander sent a shiver of fear down Noah’s spine. While Mitchell had the same hair and eye color as Keegan and Andrew, that’s were all the similarity ended. Built like the MMA fighter, Thiago Alves, he looked as if he could squash any human without even straining himself. Not only that, but Mitchell carried himself like the leader he was, his body posture and aura just screaming Alpha. “They should have sacrificed themselves before putting the public at risk,” the commander replied. Noah studied the name affixed to the man’s uniform, Smithfield. How perfectly normal and human sounding. As a rule, shifters didn’t use last names. It was just as convenient to refer to each other as Jared the Panther from Mitchell’s coalition or Fagan the Wolf from Chris’s pack. The commander’s appearance even came across as plain and dull, current hissy fit aside. In fact, he kind of reminded Noah of the guys he used to service back in his street living days. The puny human who needed to abuse the rent boy in order to feel like he was a true man. “I hope you did not just suggest that my brothers actually allow themselves to be captured by the Ravens. I’m sure you know what they’re capable of,” Mitchell took a step forward. Noah held in a grin when he saw the human retreat a bit. “You can’t allow your personal feelings to get in the way 22
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of your military operation. Besides, even if they had taken that one,” the man gestured dismissively to Noah, “it’s not like they wouldn’t do anything to him that hasn’t been done before. My sources tell me that he used to charge twenty bucks for that kind of treatment.” Carson, the coalition’s IT and communications expert, glared up from his computer screen. His eyes appeared nearly black due to the eyeliner he wore and a lock of dark, hair fell over his forehead, adding to the whole I-don’t-givea-fuck-what-you-think vibe. “Please tell me I can kill this asshole or at least maim him enough to shut him the hell up.” Noah jerked in surprise. While he expected Carson to jump to Keegan’s defense since they were mates, Noah never imagined the snarky Cheetah taking offense on his behalf. Carson took his glare away from the human long enough to give Noah a lazy wink. “Carson,” Mitchell warned in a low voice. Noah noticed he didn’t go so far as to order the shifter to stand down. “Come on, Mitchell, you know how yummy jerk is and we do need something for our holiday dinner.” Carson blinked innocently. Well…as innocently as someone like him could. Not that any shifter, save for Jackals and Hyenas, regularly ate human flesh. The mere thought of it turned Noah’s stomach, but the commander didn’t know that. The commander shot a nervous glance at the felines, but didn’t relent in his ass chewing. “Do you know how many people witnessed your brother shifting? It’s already hit the internet.” Oops, there went the theory that all the shoppers had evacuated. At least one must have been cowering somewhere when the brothers had been trying to make their 23
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escape. Carson held up a finger. “That’s true. The video already has thousands of hits on YouTube. Congrats, sunshine, this is the second time you went viral.” “Thanks?” Noah replied for lack of anything better to say. He looked up from under the fringe of his bangs at Mitchell. Worried about letting his brother down, Noah gnawed on his bottom lip as his chest grew tight. Maybe the human was right and he should have turned himself over. Noah couldn’t help but wonder if that’s what Mitchell would have done had he been placed in that position. He shrank back into the couch. While having Keegan and Mitchell so close gave him a small measure of comfort, what he really needed was Seth. But Seth was back at the mall, helping with the cleanup and Noah hadn’t been given a clear ETA as to when he could expect him back. As if sensing his discomfort, Andrew put a hand on Noah’s arm. “You made the right choice. Mitchell wouldn’t have wanted it any other way,” Andrew whispered. While Noah appreciated the concern, it did shock him that Andrew was the one delivering it. He glanced down at Andrew’s wound, frowning when he saw the bleeding had started anew. “You should ask Mitchell to excuse you to go the infirmary,” Noah whispered. “It’s not that bad. Believe me, I’ve had much worse.” Andrew smiled, or at least tried to. Noah could still spot the flash of pain passing over the Jaguar’s gaze. “Why don’t you just shift and heal it that way? I know you can control your transformation much better than me,” Noah urged. “And give the human asshole the benefit of seeing a sideshow act?” Andrew shot the commander a murderous glare that almost rivaled what Mitchell gave. “I’d rather bleed to death. 24
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“But you’re hurt,” Noah protested, softly, worry making him nearly forget the confrontation still going down just feet from them. “I’m not leaving Mitchell alone to answer for my actions. As soon as things are cleared up and that jackass goes home, then I’ll go to my room and shift there,” Andrew assured. Noah nodded, far from convinced. He decided he’d give it five more minutes before he forced the issue. While he had no aspirations of being able to manhandle Andrew alone, perhaps with Keegan’s help they could manage. The human continued with his rant. “You have one who couldn’t fight a sick puppy. Another who’s a menace every time he picks up a gun. Then the third who’s so dangerous he ought to be locked up.” Andrew pointed a finger at his own chest and mockingly mouthed, Does he mean moi? Carson gave him a grim nod in return. That combined with the stress of the day, pushed Noah over the edge. He laughed. Desperate to cover his fuckup, he coughed, but he could tell he didn’t fool anyone when the commander turned his full fury on him. “You think causing thousands of dollars in damage is amusing? Or the fact that we have to find a way to explain this all away to the public? Of course maybe I’m just expecting too much from a stupid whore,” the man thundered, his face growing red once more. Mitchell let out a low growl while Andrew fingers dug into Noah’s arm. Something clicked in Noah, the undeniable urge to resort to his snide sense of humor whenever he felt cornered. “Why are so fixated on my past career? Are you hoping that maybe I’ll drop to my knees and suck off your cock? Because if that’s the case, then you may as well forget it. My boyfriend is the jealous type and he already hates humans 25
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enough as it is, without needing another reason to rip your throat out. Of course if you’re that hard up for a hookup, I’m sure I could call one of my old contacts for you.” Noah punctuated his speech with a smile he knew was wicked. The commander’s eyes flared before he lunged forward and backhanded Noah. After that, things went down so quick, Noah almost got vertigo. Mitchell yelled and rushed forward, but Andrew was quicker. Shifting into his Jaguar form, he leapt at the commander and pinned the man down to the ground. “God, no,” the commander breathed as he found himself face-to-face with a very angry, vicious animal. Noah gasped, both in shock and pain, and from fear of how Mitchell would react. He glanced up at his leader and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the approval stamped on his brother’s face. “You should know better than to piss off of us animals,” Mitchell chided. “Call him off,” the human pleaded, his voice pitched with terror. “No, don’t. Please, stop. Get off the man, Andrew,” Carson deadpanned with a bored expression. Mitchell moved closer, but only so he could glower down at the man. “Know this, we work for you humans because we choose to, not because we have to. Nod, if you understand the difference.” The human nodded, a whimper passing from his lips. He cried out when the Jaguar dipped its head down and licked the side of the man’s face—almost as if sampling to see if he would make a tasty treat or not. Mitchell continued, “Now you’re going to go back and tell whoever it is you answer to that while we regret the incident, there is nothing we would have done differently. It’s not just because they’re my brothers either. I would 26
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expect any of my felines to fight back. The day we start surrendering to the Ravens is the day we lose this war. You better pray that never happens either, because if they beat us, you can sure as hell bet they’ll see humans as their next biggest threat. Trust me when I say you don’t want to be on their radar either.” Mitchell nodded and Andrew gave one last huff, then moved back. At the same time, he shifted back into his human form. The transformation was so seamless that Noah felt a stab of envy. While he could control his shift enough so it didn’t hurt like a mother fucker anymore, he still didn’t have the ability to change without even thinking about it like Andrew could. “You ever lay a hand on my brother again, I’ll slice you open and then stake you out in the yard for the Ravens to pick apart,” Andrew threatened in a voice so cold ice nearly formed on the walls. “I’d suggest you get out of here as fast as your stubby legs can carry you,” Carson advised with a raised brow. The commander nodded once before he retreated, giving Andrew one last horrified look. He slammed the door hard behind him, causing Noah to jump in alarm. Keegan rubbed Noah on the back. “Are you okay?” “Yeah, I’ve suffered worse before.” Noah raised a hand to rub his cheek. While he’d die before admitting it aloud, the man had packed a pretty good wallop for being human. Already the beginnings of a headache were starting to build up. Noah wanted to find a corner to crawl into so he could lick his wounds, then forget this whole day had ever happened. Mitchell came over and gently tilted Noah’s head to the side. The leader’s eyes narrowed as he studied the injury. “That jackass had no right, even if you did get lippy with him.” 27
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“He started it,” Noah countered, realizing how childish he sounded. The corners of Mitchell’s mouth kicked up into a smile. “I suppose he did. Why don’t you go to the infirmary and have Jacyn give you some ice for that.” Noah shook his head. “If I did that, then Jacyn would probably have to do a bunch of tests and create a fuss over me. You know how overprotective he can be sometimes.” He glanced over at Andrew, a warm feeling going through him before adding, “I guess all my brothers can be that way.” Mitchell ruffled his hair. “Fine, but promise me you’ll take it easy today.” “It was just a slap. Andrew was hurt much worse.” “Yeah, he was.” Mitchell gazed at Andrew, pride shining in his eyes. “You did well out there today.” Andrew blinked a few times in shock. “Thank you.” “The only mistake I could see you made was giving Keegan a gun,” Mitchell added, as he gave Keegan a playful punch to the arm. Keegan nibbled on his bottom lip. “I’m really sorry about that.” Andrew rolled his eyes. “Yeah, somehow a my bad doesn’t quite cover you nearly blowing off my kneecap.” “I didn’t mean it.” “Do you know how much it hurts to get shot?” “Well no, not really.” Keegan started to fidget with his fingers. “Don’t worry, you’re going to make it up to me,” Andrew promised darkly. Keegan swallowed nervously. “How is that?” Andrew gave that blood-chilling smile of his. “I’m taking over your shooting lessons and trust me, it’s not going to be fun.” 28
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Noah almost felt bad for Keegan until he realized that this may end up being the best thing that happened to the pooras-piss shooter. Maybe Andrew could succeed where so many others failed. “By the time I’m done with you, not only will you be able to handle a gun, but you’ll actually be able to hit what you’re aiming for.” Carson snorted. “I’d just be happy for him to not accidently maim innocent bystanders.” Noah bit the inside of his cheek to hold the laughter in. The last thing Carson needed was any kind of encouragement. Keegan’s mouth opened, an outraged sound squeaking out before his eyes grew dark with anger. “You’re supposed to be on my side.” “I am, that’s why I’m begging you to take Andrew up on his offer. I and all your brothers have tried to teach with no luck. Hell, even Cassie made an attempt before she gave up in disgust.” “What makes you think Andrew will have any better luck?” Keegan tossed back angrily. “Because he’s stubborn enough not to give up until you know what in the hell you’re doing.” Andrew laughed. “What’s more, I’m not taken in by your charm, so when you pout, I won’t give a damn. Not with the memory of you shooting me still fresh in my head. And just remember one thing, payback is a bitch.” Keegan turned to Noah. “There’s no way I’m going to get out of this, is there?” Noah took one look at Carson, Mitchell and Andrew’s determined faces and shook his head. “You’re stuck with Andrew as your new teacher. Good luck, I have a feeling you’re going to need it.”
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Chapter Four After he managed to escape Mitchell’s office, Noah took a
quick shower before retreating to the small resource room. When he’d come to live with the coalition, Mitchell had put Noah in charge of organizing and cataloging the mass amount of books that dealt with all things shifter. At first Noah assumed the assignment been given out in pity, but he soon found he had a knack for the job. He’d grown to love being able to retreat to the tiny room and get lost in the numerous research books. Noah realized he wasn’t the smartest shifter around. Heck, he hadn’t even graduated high school since he ran away from his last abusive foster home at a very young age. Even if he did have a diploma, he still wouldn’t be able to compete with some of the other geniuses in the coalition like Keegan or Owen. Still, as Noah held those books and drank in the information about the different shifter breeds, their societies, rules, governments and history, he felt a part of him come to life. One that had remained stagnant before. His latest book dealt with Eagle shifters, a particular point of interest since one of his post-coalition friends was that breed. Now at the point of extinction, there were only a handful of known Eagles alive. They were so rare they were worth millions in the slave market. Noah let out a low whistle. No wonder Mitchell had tucked Riley away in a 30
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secret location. A rustle at the door made him look up in alarm, his body instinctively crouched into a fighting stance. Even after living in safety for nearly a year, his heart always lurched when someone snuck up on him. Instantly he was taken back to a time when a sound like that would herald a beating or worse. He let out a slow sigh of relief when he saw it was Andrew. “You scared me,” Noah admitted, since Andrew undoubtedly smelled the spike of anxiety rolling off him. “Sorry, I just stopped by to talk to you for few minutes.” Andrew walked the rest of the way in and leaned over to stare at Noah’s book. “Wow, this look absolutely boring.” Noah shrugged. Now that he was alone with Andrew, all the comradely feelings they’d shared earlier seemed to have evaporated, leaving behind the same old awkwardness. He realized that Andrew shifted his gaze up, his eyes seeming to study Noah in a strangely assessing manner. “Don’t ever do that again,” Andrew finally said, his voice hard. “Do what?” Noah scrambled to remember all the mistakes he’d made in the past few hours. While there’d been a few doozies, he couldn’t come up with one in particular that would account for the glare Andrew was gifting him with. “You were going to go with the fucking Ravens,” Andrew accused. The hard edge of fury made Noah flinch. “I didn’t want them to hurt you or Keegan. Plus, I was worried about the humans getting harmed,” Noah defended, his gut clenching in the way it always did when someone he cared for got angry with him. Andrew moved in even closer and put a hand on Noah’s shoulder. Giving him a not-so-gentle shake, Andrew said, “I 31
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wasn’t there when they rescued you, but I heard about what Declan did to you. How you barely lived through it. Do you honestly think you’ll survive if he gets his claws on you again?” “No, I don’t,” Noah replied honestly. That earned him another shake. “Then why in the hell did you start to move forward to surrender to them?” “I already told you. I did it to protect you and Keegan.” “Do I look like I need your protection?” Noah jerked, surprised at the raw hurt in Andrew’s question. Andrew was never one to show emotion to anyone, save for Vapor and maybe Owen. To see him displaying it at that moment caused Noah regret. As if reading his mind, Andrew added, “Look, I know I’m not the best one at sharing my feelings. I’m not like you and Keegan when it comes to that. You don’t know how much I wish I were though. Maybe then you would have realized how much it would have killed me if something happened to you.” “I’m sorry,” Noah croaked. Andrew didn’t appear to hear the apology though, too caught up in his rant, “Did you ever stop to consider how you dying would affect Keegan, Mitchell, Cassie, Seth…or me?” “I’m sorry,” Noah repeated, blown away by Andrew’s admission. “Before I moved to the coalition, I’d always felt like something was missing in my life. No matter how close I was to Owen and Shane, there was this void, an empty ache in my chest. Once Mitchell found me, I thought I’d finally filled it by finding my family. Then today I realized that wasn’t entirely true. Sure, I missed Mitchell and the others, but they weren’t the pieces of me that were lost. It was you 32
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and Keegan.” At a loss for words, Noah nodded. He could relate though. There were numerous times as a child that he’d find himself yearning for something that he just knew he’d had at one point. Many nights as a child, he woke up, his hands sweeping the empty bed for something that was missing. Now he realized it was Keegan and Andrew. “I read that littermates often share a deep connection. It’s strongest with Wolf, bear and feline breeds,” Noah recited. Then came the biggest shock of all, and considering the events of the day, that said a lot. Andrew reached out and pulled Noah into a tight hug. After a moment, Noah returned the embrace with the same fierceness. “Okay, I promise never to do that again,” he agreed. “Thank you,” Andrew breathed, still holding Noah. “But you have to return the favor. No more telling me and Keegan to run while you stay behind to fight.” When Andrew tensed, Noah pulled back so he could look him in the eyes. “Keegan and I may not be a ninja like you, but we can handle our own in a fight.” Andrew gave a crooked smile, the move making him look much younger and approachable. “Just so long as I don’t give Keegan a gun again.” “I still don’t know what you were thinking when you did that.” “Yeah, that may not have been my smartest move today,” Andrew admitted with a chuckle. “So, does that mean you promise?” Noah prodded, not about to let the subject drop until he had the answer he wanted. After a moment, Andrew nodded, “I swear it won’t happen again. Even if that does make us sound like we’re the next Musketeers. All for one and that kind of crap.” Noah wrinkled his nose. “After today, I’d say we’re more 33
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like the Three Stooges.” They were still laughing when Seth walked in. As soon as Noah caught the familiar spicy scent that marked his mate, his heart thudded with excitement and a tingle went up his body. Everything else forgotten, he turned his full attention to Seth, drinking in the hard, dominate image he presented with his short, white blond hair, icy-blue eyes and tight, muscular body. Noah licked his lips as he continued to study Seth, leaving no detail missed. Seth still wore his uniform of black fatigues, showing he’d come straight to Noah after getting off duty. Noah could more than appreciate that kind of eagerness. He even bounced a little on the balls of his feet, totally at ease for the first time since the Ravens had intruded on his day. “Hey,” Noah said, his gaze still eating up Seth. “Shouldn’t you be resting?” Seth demanded as he moved in and pressed a soft kiss to Noah’s lips. “I was too jacked up after the fight.” Noah ran his tongue over his mouth in a desperate attempt to catch any lingering taste of his mate. Now that the last of the adrenaline from the fight had left his body, Noah needed something to center him. He couldn’t think of anything better than some hot, messy sex with Seth to do just that, either. “How is the cleanup going?” Andrew asked. Noah nodded, like he was into the conversation when he all wanted was for Andrew to leave. Seth stood only a couple feet away and Noah wanted nothing more than to throw himself at the Tiger and lick every inch of him. “It took us forever to dig out all the Raven chunks in the walls of that hallway,” Seth informed them, the smile on his face saying he didn’t mind it too much. “What in the hell possessed you to put it in his mouth?” Still only halfway listening, Noah contemplated where 34
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he’d begin his lick fest. Hmmmm…so many choices, all of them better than the last. Maybe he’d start with Seth’s neck and work his way down to his chest. Or perhaps he’d just do away with foreplay and go directly for his mate’s thick cock. “Well, I would have shoved the grenade up his ass, but I didn’t have time,” Andrew drawled in return. “Yet, everyone says Shane is the vicious one.” Seth’s grin showed he was merely teasing. The name Shane snapped Noah out of his steamy musings quicker than a cold shower. Just the mere thought of the Leopard shifter made most of the coalition glance around wearily as they wondered if the psycho could be near. Noah had seen hardened soldiers run from the room at first sight of the man. “Hey, Shane would have stayed around and taken pictures,” Andrew countered. Noah couldn’t tell if his littermate was kidding or not. With Shane, one could never be sure. Although Noah had only met the Leopard a few times, he still got shivers whenever he thought back to the shifter’s cold, dead stare. It was as if someone had clicked the off switch to his soul or something. Andrew hooked a thumb to the door. “Well, I think I’m going to see if Vapor is back, too.” Once Andrew left, Noah pushed all thoughts of Shane to the back of his head and got back to the matter at hand. Or better yet, getting his hands on his Tiger. Noah launched himself at Seth. Wrapping both his arms and legs around his mate, Noah captured his mouth in a heated kiss. Seth moaned, his lips immediately parting in blatant invitation. Noah took advantage, sweeping his tongue inside to capture the taste of his man. His cock swelled to life, pressing against the fly of his jeans. Noah whimpered as he started to thrust forward in a 35
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desperate attempt to find some relief. Even though they’d just started, he already felt desperate and ready to beg. All the events of the day left him wired and ready to blow in more ways than one. He didn’t worry too much, if there was one thing he knew about Seth, it was that he would always take care of his mate. **** Seth savored every eager whimper and sigh that came from Noah. The noises making his body hard with arousal despite the fact he should be dead tired from the cleanup mission. Not for the first time, he marveled how just the simplest of touches from the small Jaguar never failed to set him off. All he’d have to do it take one look at those big, doe eyes, feel the silkiness of Noah’s dark hair, experience the press of his mate’s thin, yet muscular body against him and Seth was a goner. “I was so worried when the call came in and I realized it was you in trouble,” Seth confessed between kisses. “I’m okay,” Noah assured him as he started to grind his hard cock into Seth. Seth groaned as the movement sent shockwaves of pleasure along his own shaft. “With the way you keep finding trouble, I swear I’m going to put you in a bubble and throw away the key.” “Then we would never be able to fuck. What fun would that be?” Noah teased, his tone as brazen as ever. Some felines may have been put off by a mate who was so flirtatious and sensual. Cute, sexy and very comfortable in his skin, all Noah had to do was walk through headquarters and the heads of both sexes turned to watch the show. So it would only be natural for Seth to feel a bit of jealously. He didn’t though, because he knew they could look and lust 36
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after Noah all they wanted, but it was he who held the Jaguar’s heart. He and he alone was the one who could tame Noah. Seth walked them forward until they reached the front of the desk. Noah’s allowed his legs to slide down, but still blessedly kept his body pressed to Seth. Smiling to show his approval, Seth reached between them and started to fumble with the button and zipper to Noah’s tight-as-hell jeans. “I don’t think Andrew locked the door behind him,” Noah said, tilting his head back. The sight of his mate’s exposed neck brought up a low rumble of victory from Seth. He dipped his head down and slowly licked up the expanse of flesh, savoring the warm taste of his mate. “Now that’s just a shame about the door. Someone could come walking in at any moment,” Seth crooned before he gave Noah’s throat another lick. Seth took a piece of skin between his front teeth and sucked. While the entire coalition knew who Noah belonged to, Seth wasn’t above leaving behind a love bite or three to mark his territory. Noah hummed, his hand threading through Seth’s hair. “They could catch us doing all kinds of wicked things.” Noah gave a sly smile as he ran his tongue over his lips. “Not that it wouldn’t be the first time.” Seth had discovered a voyeuristic side to him when it came to Noah. The younger shifter brought out a whole new daring part of Seth that he’d never tapped into before. Just the other day, Brent had stumbled across the pair of them going at it in one of the compound’s storerooms. Seth wouldn’t ever be able to forget the look of pure shock that’d passed over the smartass Jaguar’s face. Noah wore a dark blue shirt that buttoned down the front. Not bothering to take the time to remove it properly, 37
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Seth just grabbed the halves of the garment and pulled. Noah let out a small gasp as he looked down. “You are so buying me a new shirt, now.” “I’ll buy you ten of the damn things if that’ll make you happy.” Seth bent down and licked one of Noah’s nipples. “You’re probably going to have to go shopping on your own though. I’m pretty sure I’m banned from the mall now,” Noah said right before he let out a loud cry of passion. Seth already managed to undo Noah’s pants earlier, so it was just a matter of sliding them down in order to get to the Jaguar’s cock. Still sucking on Noah’s nipple, Seth reached down and wrapped his fingers around Noah’s shaft. Precum already leaked from the top and Seth gathered some of it up. Bringing his fingers up, he rubbed the stickiness across Noah’s plump lips. Noah’s pink tongue darted out to lick the cum off and Seth moaned. His cock jerked as he recalled all the dirty things Noah had done in the past with that particular part of his body. Seth knew all he’d have to do was snap his fingers and Noah would drop to his knees. Noah loved to suck Seth’s cock and he never passed up an invitation to prove it. But at that moment, Seth wanted to show Noah how much he cared for him and he could think of one good way. Seth went down to his knees and gazed up from under his lashes at Noah. The younger man was arched slightly against the desk, the shirt gapping open just enough to show off his bare chest. A lock of his dark hair fell over his passion-infused eyes, making him look all the more decadent. Never had he appeared more beautiful. “Fuck, you should see how perfect you look right now,” Seth declared before darting his tongue out to swirl around the head of Noah’s thick cock. 38
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The salty taste of precum exploded in Seth’s mouth, making his own dick jerk in response. He ignored his own need at the moment, too determined to see that Noah found his pleasure first. He parted his lips and took in all of Noah’s length in one move. Noah let out a sob, his hands dropping to white knuckle the edge of the desk. If Seth could have, he would have smiled at the reaction. He’d always loved how Noah never held anything back while making love. Seth used every trick he knew and some he made up on the fly to bring Noah to the edge. Sometime during it all, Noah’s hands ended up caressing the back of Seth’s head, his fingers lightly massaging Seth’s scalp and leaving behind tingles of pleasure. When Noah tried to thrust his hips forward, Seth reached out and stilled him. Noah let out a whimper of displeasure, but obeyed Seth’s silent command. As a reward, Seth shifted his hand to Noah’s balls, gently messaging them. At the same time, he pulled his lips back, running his tongue along the underside of Noah’s dick. Noah let out another whimper, this time his fingers pulling at Seth’s hair. “I don’t want to come until you’re inside me,” Noah pleaded. That was a plan Seth could get behind. He stood up, his hands already undoing his own pants. He lowered them just enough to free his cock, before he used his arm to sweep all the books off Noah’s desk. They fell to the floor in a quick, succession of loud thuds. Noah’s eyes grew wide as he stared at the damage. “You know we could have—” The rest of whatever Noah was going to say got cut off by a yelp of surprise as Seth picked him up and all but threw him on top of the desk. Seth lifted one of Noah’s legs and frowned when he saw he wore one of his many pairs of 39
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high-top Chucks. “These are such a bitch to take off,” he complained as he started to unlace the blue and black plaid shoe. “I like them though,” Noah replied. That was pretty obvious, given all the sets that littered their bedroom floor. Noah had more shoes than all the rest of the coalition combined. Since Seth didn’t feel like wasting any more time, he only took off a single Chuck, tossing it to the side. It made it so he could only free one of Noah’s legs from his pants, but it would do. “I have lube in the drawer,” Noah panted, his hand stretching out for the top of the desk. Seth reached into his own front pocket and pulled out a small foil package. “I brought some.” Noah gave a lazy smile. “I like it when you come prepared.” “Put your legs over my shoulders,” Seth ordered as he opened the lube and squeezed it over his fingers. Noah scrambled to obey, his jeans hanging from one of his legs. It looked a bit awkward, but Noah didn’t complain. Seth smiled down at him.“I heard you got lippy with one of our military contacts today.”He ran a lubed finger around the tight opening of Noah’s ass, making the Jaguar suck in a sharp breath. “He was being a real jerk,” Noah moaned as Seth penetrated him with the finger. “I also heard that Andrew nearly ripped out his throat for hitting you.” A rush of anger went through Seth at the thought of the man harming Noah. “Yeah, I found out today that Andrew is kind of protective of us.” Seth added another finger, gently sawing them in and out. “The human is lucky I wasn’t there. I would have probably killed him.” 40
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“Then it was a good thing you weren’t in the room. Mitchell already had enough of a mess to clean up.” Seth thought back to the destruction at the mall and his gut clenched. Had it not been for Andrew, Seth knew he could have very well lost Noah. The thought of his sweet, gentle mate being at the mercy of Declan again made Seth weak kneed with fear. “I couldn’t survive if I lost you,” Seth admitted as the pulled his fingers free and used the rest to the lube to slick up his cock. Noah’s gaze softened. “I feel the same way about you. Do you think it’s easy for me when you have to go out on missions? I worry every moment you’re away.” Seth paused long enough to press a tender kiss to Noah’s lips. Then he lined the tip of his cock to the opening of Noah’s ass and slowly pressed in. “I promise, I’ll always come home to you.” Noah moaned, his eyelids fluttering closed. “I love you so much.” As always, those words never failed to stun Seth. The knowledge that someone so pure…so good, could care so much for him, made him happier than anything. “I love you, too.” “Show me,” Noah demanded, a soft smile playing on his lips. So that’s what Seth did. At first he moved with slow, even strokes so they could savor each caress and thrust. Then as the pleasure built, he grabbed Noah’s hips and started to pound into his mate so hard the desk moved. “Come for me,” Seth growled. Noah let out a loud yell and did just that, thick ropes of semen hitting Noah’s stomach and chest. Relieved that his mate found his pleasure, Seth threw back his head and let his own orgasm claim him. He gasped out Noah’s name as 41
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his cock jerked, then shot off. They stayed that way for a few moments, until Seth grew soft. He pulled out and used his tongue to clean off Noah’s chest and stomach. The entire time, Noah tenderly ran his fingers through Seth’s hair. Only after every drop of cum had been licked clean, did Seth stand and pull up his pants. He helped Noah to his feet. Gently tucking Noah’s cock in, Seth zipped up his pants before capturing his mouth in a hot kiss. “Don’t ever scare me like that again,” he ordered when they broke apart. Noah grinned. “I’ll try my best, but I can’t make any promises. I always seem to find trouble.” Seth kissed the top of Noah’s head before bringing him in for a tight hug. Yes, trouble and Noah did seem to go handin-hand. It was something that both amused and terrified the hell out of Seth.
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Chapter Five Seth gave Noah another kiss, not wanting their encounter
to end any time soon. Content and happy with the knowledge that Noah was safe in his arms, he cherished those moments even more than the mind-blowing orgasms. A soft knock on the door made them break apart. Noah gave him one more smile before calling, “Come in, it’s open.” “I know, I just wanted to make sure you were done fucking,” Shane announced in a bored tone as he walked inside. As always, as soon as the Leopard’s scent hit Seth, his hackles rose. It wasn’t as if Shane looked dangerous, quite the opposite. With curly sandy brown hair, big doe eyes and the softest features, he looked almost angelic. Even his build tended toward the small and slender side. He stood shorter than Noah and didn’t tip the scales at much more than one hundred and fifty. However, Shane happened to be the poster boy for the old cliché of looks can be deceiving. Under all that cute as bugness lurked a psycho that would make even Hannibal Lector shudder. Of course Noah had a smile for the little crazy. “Hey, Shane. What can I do for you?” Shane’s gaze flicked from Noah to Seth, almost as if he were sizing them up as potential threats or maybe targets. In 43
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the end, however, Shane returned the smile, if the expression on his face could even be called that. While his lips did curl up, the ice never left his eyes. “I heard that you were the one to come to when it came to information on other species of shifters,” Shane replied, stepping closer. Seth’s protective instincts kicked in, making him place himself between his mate and the Leopard. Shane tilted his head to the side. “I would never harm Noah.” “Really?” Seth replied, not bothering to mask the disbelieving tone in his voice. “Of course not. Andrew likes him and he would be sad if Noah were hurt,” Shane replied simply as if that explained everything. Seth noted that never once did it seem to occur to Shane that the real reason he shouldn’t hurt Noah would be because it was wrong or immoral. God save them from Leopards. Seth wanted to believe that Shane’s mental condition wasn’t the norm, but when it came to Leopards, nothing could be further from the truth. That particular breed of feline had the notorious reputation of being batshit crazy and homicidal. “What kind of shifter did you need information on?” Noah asked. “Snakes. More specifically, Cobras.” Shane kicked one of the buttons scattering the floor, a small frown playing on his face. Seth barely noticed, his blood having turned to ice at the word Cobra. If there was any shifter more feared than Leopards or Ravens, it was Cobras. Not only were they fast, but their bites contained venom nearly a hundred times stronger than their normal animal counterparts. “You lost all your buttons,” Shane observed as he eyed up 44
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Noah’s gapping shirt. “If you want, I can sew those back on for you.” “Ah, that’s okay. Seth already said he’d buy me a new one,” Noah hedged, pulling the shirt closed. “Are you sure? I used to do all the sewing for me, Owen and Andrew,” Shane pressed as he continued to stare at Noah’s chest. Seth had to repress a growl of jealously. If Shane had been capable of any kind of emotion, it would be tempting to say he was flirting with Noah. Seth moved closer to his mate and glared at the Leopard. “Why do you need to know about Cobras?” “Oh,” Shane blinked a few times. “Because I have to kill one.” Noah let out a gasp. “What did you just say?” “I. Have. To. Kill. A. Cobra,” Shane replied, carefully enunciating each word. “Why?” Noah demanded, his eyes wide. “Because he’s been very, very naughty and Mitchell needs him taken care of.” “Since when do you work for Mitchell in that capacity?” Seth demanded, more than a little surprised their leader would unleash something as dangerous as Shane out into society. “Since Vapor decided to retire from the assassin gig and settle down with Andrew.” Shane knelt down and picked up one of the books. “I still don’t understand why Mitchell would want you to kill a Cobra. What exactly did the snake do?” Noah persisted, just like Seth knew he would. “You probably don’t want to know,” Seth advised him. Cobra kills were always sick and demented. Shane ignored Seth’s warning and plunged ahead, “It attacked a family of felines and ate the parents.” 45
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Noah turned several shades paler. “Are you serious?” “Yeah, and it did it in its animal form, so it swallowed them whole and slowly digested their bodies.” “But it left the kids alone?” Noah pleaded. Shane shrugged. “Well, sure. The kids didn’t have enough meat on their bones for it to bother with.” Seth closed his eyes and groaned at the totally blasé way Shane delivered that bombshell. God, that kid was seriously messed up. According to Mitchell, he was semi-reformed, too. It made for a terrifying thought of how Shane had been before his months of therapy and intense training under the pair of Panthers who’d taken him in. Seth had only tangled with Shane once, pre-reformed and it had ended with Vapor shot and several Ravens being killed. “I think I’m going to be sick,” Noah whispered, his hand going to his gut. Shane shook his head. “Not until you answer my questions. Once you’re done, you can go and puke you’re little heart out.” “I would think you’d already know the weakness of all the shifter species,” Seth said as rubbed a comforting palm down Noah’s back. “I mostly do, but not many who’ve fought with Cobras made it out alive. So, information on how to bring them down is pretty scant. I was hoping that something in one of these old books would help.” “Why doesn’t Mitchell just send in a team and blow it up?” Seth asked. Surprisingly it was Noah who answered. “Because Cobras have even higher developed senses of hearing and smell than other shifters. It would be able to detect a group of felines coming its way and escape.” Shane gave a wolfish smile. “See, I knew Mr. Smartypants could help me out.” 46
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Noah shook his head. “I’m not smart, Owen and Keegan are.” “I went to them first and neither one of them could tell me squat about Cobras. They both said that you would be the one who would be able to help.” A small smile played on Noah’s lips. “Really?” “Do I really look like the type who would give out false compliments in order to brush someone’s ego?” Shane quipped, doing that tilting thing with his head again. “Not really,” Noah admitted. “So, tell me what you know about Cobras,” Shane prompted once again. “They’re hard as fuck to kill and they like to play with their food before they eat it,” Noah said. “Ah, that sounds just like me.” Seth wasn’t afraid of many things, but even he got a shiver as he Shane spoke those words. The hard glint in the Leopard’s eyes just screamed that he didn’t make idle claims. At that moment, Seth almost pitied the Cobra. “Yeah, I heard that about you.” Noah grabbed a book from one of the numerous shelves and opened it. Shane moved around to stand behind Noah. While the defensive part of Seth rose up, he squelched it, realizing that Shane merely wanted to read over Noah’s shoulder. Not only that, but for some reason, Seth had the feeling that Shane had really meant it when he claimed he’d never harm Noah. They were all silent while Noah leafed through the book until he found what he was searching for. “Here, I thought I remembered reading this passage about Cobras.” Seth moved in closer, his eyes narrowing as he studied the page. “What does it say?” “Not much. Just that Cobras like to use their venom to take down their prey before they go in for the kill and that 47
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they can do it even in their human form.” “Ew, that’s pretty horrifying,” Seth declared, his stomach rolling at the thought of a creature like that even existing. He said a silent prayer of thanks that Cobra shifters were rare. He couldn’t imagine a world populated by hundreds of those monsters. Noah read for a few more beats before continuing, “It does have a part where the writer theorizes that Cobras may have a vulnerable spot in the back of their necks.” “Why is it only a theory?” Shane wondered as he moved in so close he was nearly riding Noah piggyback style. “Probably because every moron who dared to test it died in the process,” Seth drawled as he reached out and pulled Noah closer to him. While he may not think Shane meant any harm that still didn’t mean Seth liked the guy practically rubbing up against Noah. “Yeah, well now that’s going to change because I’ve never failed to eliminate one of my targets.” Shane grinned, showing how damn proud he was of his homicide record. Noah settled deeper into Seth’s chest. “Have you told Andrew about your new job?” “You mean me going out to kill the Cobra?” “About you being an assassin, period,” Noah hedged. “What business is it of his?” “He considers you a brother and worries about you.” “I’ve told him plenty of times in the past not to waste time worrying over me. If he doesn’t want to follow my advice, then I can’t help it.” Shane moved closer to the book and began to read, a clear dismissal of the subject. But Noah being Noah couldn’t let it go. “He’s going to be pissed at Mitchell for giving you the assignment.” Shane glanced up, his face screwed in annoyance, the first real trace of emotion Seth had seen from the Leopard. “Why? It’s not like Mitchell can let a threat to his coalition go 48
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unanswered. If that Cobra isn’t taken out, it’ll only be a matter of time before another family is attacked.” “But why does it have to be you who goes out?” “Because I’m good at what I do and I have no family to leave behind if I don’t make it back.” Noah shook his head, his voice breaking with bewilderment. “But aren’t you afraid?” Shane blinked a few times as if the question confused him before answering with a curt, “No. Don’t you get it?” “Get what?” “I don’t feel anything, ever. Fear, love, hate, anger— they’re all just words for me.” “But I thought you said Andrew is like a brother to you.” “Yes, but that doesn’t mean I love him. I just care what happens to him. Do you understand the difference?” Shane asked, no anger in his voice. “I guess, but it sounds like a real lonely way to live,” Noah observed softly. “Lucky for me I don’t suffer with that emotion either.” Shane then turned around and walked from the room. Noah gaped at the door for a while before he tilted his head back to look up at Seth. “I feel so sorry for him.” “Who, Shane or the Cobra?” Seth asked, echoing his earlier thought. “Shane of course. He has to be so lonely.” “You heard him, he doesn’t get lonely,” Seth replied, tightening his grip on Noah. He leaned down and buried his nose in the crook of Noah’s neck. Breathing deep, he savored the way their combined scents lingered on his mate’s skin. As always it sent a primal thrill of ownership through Seth since it served as a way to let others know who they belonged to. “Still, everyone should have someplace to go on Christmas. I’ll bet Shane doesn’t even have that. You know 49
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those Panthers he’s been living with?” “You mean Dumb and Ass?” Seth asked, using the nicknames for Kevin and Jared, a mated couple who’d taken in Shane. “Trevor told me they were going out of state for the next couple of weeks. So Shane doesn’t even have them.” “Is Trevor still living there, too?” “No, Kevin thought it would be a good idea for Trevor to live somewhere else until Shane was stabilized.” Noah rubbed his cheek against Seth. “Good luck with that, I don’t think Shane is ever going to be normal.” “I don’t either and it’s going to break Andrew’s heart when he finds that out.” “I would think Andrew should know that better than anyone.” Seth reached into the opening of Noah’s shirt and began to caress his warm flesh. “That’s just it though. Andrew is so close that he can’t see the truth.” “Let me guess, those books have also told you all about Leopards,” Seth surmised grimly. Noah sighed. “Yeah, and they all said the same thing. There is now way to change a Leopard. At least not completely. Do you think that’s why Mitchell made him an assassin?” “Yeah, if Mitchell’s anything, he’s practical. He using Shane’s best assets for the good of the coalition.” “By making him into a little Dexter?” Noah made a soft noise of disgust. “That seems so harsh.” “It’s better than the other option.” Seth couldn’t bring himself to say the word exterminate aloud. Not when Noah seemed to have a sentimental side as far as Shane was concerned. “That’s true. I just wish there was something more I could 50
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do to help them out.” Seth smiled, touched at how tender Noah’s heart was. With the crappy life he’d suffered though, Noah could have easily turned out jaded and bitter. Despite all that, however, Noah remained sweet and caring. “I know one thing I can do,” Noah declared, getting so excited he bounced on his feet a bit. “I’m going to invite Shane to our family Christmas dinner. That way he won’t be alone at least one day.” “Oh, boy,” Seth groaned. “I’ll make sure to tell Cassie to hide all the sharp knives and send out a memo that it may be a good idea for everyone to wear a bulletproof vest. With Shane around, we’re all going to need them.” “Don’t you think you’re being a bit melodramatic?” “Babe, did you forget that the first time I met Shane he took not one, but several shots at me?” Seth arched a brow. Noah blushed. “Oops, I kind of did. That still doesn’t change things though. He’s coming to dinner, even if I have to drag him there myself.”
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Chapter Six
“D
id you guys see how it’s snowing like crazy?” Noah asked as he flopped down on the couch in front of the Christmas tree. Seth’s brother, Owen glanced up from the ornament in his hands. “Yeah, the timing couldn’t suck more either since it’s Christmas Eve. Have you heard from Seth yet?” Noah frowned. “No, but he should be home any minute. Mitchell promised not to keep him away from me on Christmas.” Owen’s mate, Garrett, came in and handed an ornament to the young Tiger. “Don’t forget this, babe.” A huge smile spread over Owen’s lips as he glanced down at a white bulb that had been painted to look like a cat’s face. “Like I could ever miss this one.” Noah tried not to roll his eyes since he was pretty certain he and Seth had their sappy moments, too. It grew harder to be understanding when Owen and Garrett started to kiss and make boo-boo noises at each other though. Owen looked a lot like Seth, Noah thought as he watched the Tiger make out with his Hawk. Although, Noah couldn’t see Seth putting red and green highlights in his hair or piercing his nose like Owen did and somehow he didn’t see Seth spending hours cooped up in a lab like Owen either. Noah craned his neck to look out the window, frowning 52
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when he saw how thick the snow was falling. It had progressed from a mere storm to a full-out blizzard. He frowned, worried that Seth might get snowed in somewhere and not be able to make it back in time for Christmas. The last thing Noah wanted was to be separated from the man he loved on the holidays. “I’m sure he’ll make it back,” Owen said, interrupting Noah’s concerned musings. “Carson told me that this could be the worst blizzard to hit this area in years,” Noah fretted as he got up and walked over to the window. Pressing his palm against the cool glass, he wondered where Seth could be and if he were warm. Maybe Owen and Garrett weren’t the sappy ones after all because Noah would have done anything to have Seth in his arms at that moment. “He’ll be here,” Owen stressed, his face full of understanding. It dawned on Noah that Owen probably could relate. Since he never went on missions either, he would know how it felt to have a mate going off into dangerous situations all the time. Cassie’s shrill scream made them all jump. “You stupid wolf! What in the hell where you thinking?” Owen and Noah exchanged surprised looks before they rushed into the kitchen to see what was going down. When they saw their petite sister squaring off against the local pack leader, Noah wasn’t overly shocked. Cassie and Chris had been dancing around their attraction for each other for a while. One minute they’d be madly in love, the next at each other’s throats. Just last month Cassie had gotten so mad at Chris that she’d tossed a Scorpion shifter into his sports car. Since that particular species wasn’t known for their brains, it had remained trapped there until Chris unlocked his car in the morning. To say the Wolf hadn’t been pleased with his 53
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surprise would have been an understatement. The anger between Cassie and Chris just served as a mask for their true feelings for each other though. Ever since Mitchell had taken Chris’s younger brother, Dean, as a mate, the families had been spending a lot of time together. It hadn’t taken long for everyone to realize that Cassie had fallen for Chris. The brown-haired, muscular wolf shifter seemed equally as taken by Cassie. The fact that the two fought like—snicker—cats and dogs, only made things more interesting to watch. “What did he do now?” Noah asked in a bored voice. Not even something as entertaining as a Cassie smack down could distract him from his worry about Seth. Cassie held a small black box in her hand. She threw it at Chris’s chest before yelling, “The jerk bought me an engagement ring.” Mitchell and Brent came in just as she made that announcement. Brent smirked as he watched Chris fumble to catch the box. “Hey, Cas. I thought chicks wanted diamonds.” “I’ve already told the idiot several times I won’t marry him,” she fumed. “Why not?” Noah asked, equally as curious as Brent. “Because…” she trailed off before shooting a guilty look in Mitchell’s direction. “There you go again!” Chris threw his arms up in disgust. “Every time I ask you that same damn question, you refuse to answer. Damn it, woman, I love you and want to spend the rest of my life with you.” “Oh, I’m sure your pack would just love you bringing home a cat as your mate,” Cassie scoffed as she crossed her arms over her chest. “I happen to think you’d make a great mate. Ever since I took on the new pack near here, I’ve had trouble keeping 54
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them in check. I need a strong co-leader, which I know you can be. I’ve seen the way you handle your brothers and the soldiers in the coalition. You don’t take any shit.” Her eyes rounded as a flush spread out over her cheeks. “So, you want to marry me so I can spank your naughty wolves?” Chris growled low in his throat. “Is that all you heard? Or did you miss the part where I said I love you?” For the first time ever, Noah actually saw Cassie retreat a step. He instinctively knew it came from fear of the question and not that Chris would harm her. “Of course I heard that part.” “Are you going to try to deny that you don’t feel the same way about me?” Chris demanded in a hoarse voice. This is intense, Brent mouthed to Noah. Noah nodded in return. A part of him felt like he should vacate the room to give the couple some privacy, but his feet seemed rooted in place. “You know how I feel about you.” Cassie brought a hand to her chest. “I want to hear you say it,” Chris ordered as he stepped closer. She flicked a worried glance in Mitchell’s direction before whispering, “I love you, too, you stupid wolf.” “Then why won’t you marry me?” When Cassie just shook her head, Owen butted in, “If you don’t tell them, Cassie, then I will.” Cassie never moved, tears streaming down her face. All the other felines gaped at Owen. Mitchell recovered first, “Tell us what?” Owen mumbled an apology to Cassie before saying, “She thinks it’s her responsibility to produce an heir for the coalition.” Mitchell’s mouth parted in shock, another first for Noah. 55
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Brent asked, “Where would she get a crazy idea like that?” “Hello!” Cassie said. “It’s not like you or Mitchell can get knocked up. I’m the only left who can have a kid.” “I would never expect you to give up your happiness for something like that,” Mitchell cut in. “What other way are we going to get an heir? We can’t very well use any artificial methods since they don’t work for shifters,” she argued. Noah nodded in understanding. He’d read somewhere that the only way for shifters to reproduce was the old fashioned way. Despite numerous attempts, there’d never been a successful case of artificial insemination. “I told you I’d look for a way to overcome that,” Owen protested. “I know you did, sweetie. But until then, I know my duty to the family,” Cassie soothed. “Bullshit!” Mitchell barked, making everyone jump in surprise. “I never asked this of you.” “But—” Mitchell cut her off with a slicing motion of his hand. “All I ever wanted was for you to be happy. The only way you’re going to do that is by marrying Chris.” Her bottom lip quivered. “I don’t want to let the coalition down.” “Let me worry about the damn heir and for once, just worry about yourself. Cassie, you’ve already done so much for us. We want you to have some of the same happiness we’ve found with our mates.” “He’s right, sis,” Brent added. “You and Chris belong together.” Cassie glanced over at Noah. He nodded his agreement. “I know the rest of the family will want the same thing for you. Cassie, you deserve this.” 56
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Chris went down on one knee, flipped open the box, then took her hand. She rolled her eyes. “Please, don’t get romantic on me now. We’ve managed to make it this far without falling into that trap.” He ignored her. “Marry me, Cassie.” She glanced once more at Mitchell who smiled in return. Cassie looked down at Chris and said, “You’re annoying, bossy and a dork, but God help me, I do love you. Yes, I’ll marry you.” The front door thunked opened as Andrew burst through, Keegan literally in tow. Andrew had a firm grip on Keegan’s ear and led him around like a naughty schoolboy. “Great! Where did he shoot you this time?” Brent demanded, although Noah detected a hint of a smile on his brother’s lips. “I didn’t shoot him this time, I swear,” Keegan protested, still in a half-crouched position. “Although I did almost hit the target this time. I was only off by a few feet.” Despite the pain he must have been in, he still shot off a beaming ain’tya-proud-of-me grin. Mitchell let out a long sigh. “Is it too much for me to ask that we at least try to have a normal Christmas?” Andrew gave an outraged laugh. “Oh, I don’t know. Is it too much to ask that you be truthful with me?” Noah’s stomach dropped. There could be only thing that could have pissed Andrew off this much. He must have found out about Shane’s new job. “How does me lying to you have anything to do with Keegan?” Mitchell nodded to Andrew’s hand, which still had a firm grip on Keegan’s ear. “I’m going to shift and bite your ass,” Keegan threatened, wincing when Andrew gave him a firm jerk. “No, you won’t. You hate the sight of blood,” Andrew 57
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countered. “Do not.” “Then how come you always run from the room whenever someone gets injured in training? You’re worse than a little girl who spotted a spider.” Brent smirked. “You would think that given all the injuries Keegan’s been responsible for, he’d be used to blood.” “Not helping,” Mitchell snapped. Brent shrugged, but didn’t look too apologetic. Mitchell glared at Andrew. “Fine, if I can’t get a straight answer from you, then I’ll ask Keegan.” “Okay,” Keegan replied as he shuffled his feet around, no doubt trying to find a more comfortable position. “Are all felines like this?” Chris asked as he stared at his future family by marriage. Noah wondered if the guy was having second thoughts. “Pretty much,” Brent drawled. “Why is Andrew mad?” Mitchell asked Keegan, his tone so calm it sent shivers down Noah’s spine. He’d only seen his brother pissed a few times, but he could tell the Jaguar was well on his way to being damn angry. “I may have slipped and told him that Shane has a new assignment within the coalition,” Keegan admitted. “How did you find out?” Noah asked, debating whether or not if he should intervene and try to split his two littermates apart. Then Keegan let out another hiss of pain and Noah moved forward, gently putting a hand over Andrew’s fingers. That’s all it took. Andrew glanced his way and immediately let Keegan go. Keegan ducked behind Noah before answering, “I may have seen the order while I was in Carson’s office.” “Shit,” Noah breathed. 58
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“I didn’t tell Andrew what the job was though,” Keegan defended as he rubbed his ear. “And that ticked him off a bit, I’m guessing.” Mitchell sighed as he ran a hand through his hair in frustration. Andrew waved. “Hello! I’m standing right here. Now will someone tell me what in the fuck is going on? I deserve to know what you’re doing with Shane.” Noah fidgeted as he watched Mitchell curse softly again. The silence stretched for so long, the tension nearly crackled. Finally, Mitchell said, “He’s working as an assassin.” “You mean…for you?” Andrew asked in a small voice. It killed Noah to see his normally so self-assured brother so…lost. He moved forward to touch Andrew again, this time his hand going to his littermate’s shoulder. Andrew tensed, but didn’t pull away. “How could you do this to me?” Andrew whispered, his hurt gaze locked on Mitchell. “It has nothing to do with you, I swear,” Mitchell protested. “Bullshit!” Andrew argued. “Both Owen and Shane have everything to do with me.” “He didn’t have a choice,” Brent interjected, his tone soothing like one would use with a hysterical patient or something. “That’s such a copout,” Andrew sneered. “In this case, it’s not. Kevin and Jared are good, but not even they can totally reform a Leopard,” Brent continued to console. Andrew was having none of it though. “Like Shane can help that he’s a fucking Leopard. If you can accept me for being a former thief, then why can’t you accept Shane for being a little eccentric?” “It goes beyond just being eccentric and you know that,” Mitchell cut in gently. 59
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“Besides, there have been plenty of good felines who’ve worked as assassins before. Vapor was one before he met you,” Brent added. Andrew scrubbed his hands over his face. “That was different. Vapor did it because it was a job and nothing more. Shane will…”He trailed off, a soft sob erupting from his chest. That almost made Noah want to cry. When Andrew had first been brought to the coalition, he’d been bruised, scared and nearly broken. Not once had he come this close to breaking down though. It showed how much the turn of events really affected him. “Shane will enjoy it,” Noah finished for him. Andrew nodded and allowed Noah to bring him in for an awkward hug. Just as abruptly, Andrew pushed away and sniffed, his face clearing of emotion. “I’m going to my room to crash. I’ll see you guys later.” Without making eye contact with anyone, Andrew left the room, an awkward silence settling in his wake. “Oh, Mitchell. Wasn’t there something else you could have done?” Cassie asked, tears pooling up in her eyes. “Believe me, nobody wishes I could have more than me,” Mitchell replied. “I guess this isn’t exactly the happy Christmas you were hoping for,” Noah quipped. Brent got an uneasy look on his face. “Yeah, and it’s about to get worse. Before all the drama went down, I was coming in to give you some bad news.” Noah’s heart thumped. “Is it Seth? Has he been hurt or something?” “No, it’s not anything that bad.” “Then what is it?” Noah demanded, anxiety still ripping through his body despite Brent’s assurances. “Seth’s team is trapped by the blizzard and they won’t be 60
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able to make it home for Christmas.” Disappointment slapped Noah, taking away any shred of holiday cheer he’d been clinging to. Cassie let out a soft sound of consolation as she rushed over and wrapped her arms around him. Noah allowed himself to take comfort in her embrace even as he told himself it was stupid to be this disappointed. In the end, he gave up trying to convince himself because, right or not, it just wouldn’t be Christmas without his mate.
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Chapter Seven The next morning, Noah laid in bed and ran his hand over
the empty pillow next to him. Off in the distance, he could hear muffle voices and other noises that let him know the rest of the family was up, but he was loath to join them. He just didn’t want to face a tree, presents and all other kinds of Christmas junk without Seth at his side. They haven’t been even able to talk on the phone since Seth hadn’t been allowed to take his cell on the mission. Noah knew he should get over it. After all, he’d spent plenty of Christmases alone. Just last year, he’d been in a cell, halftortured to death and serving as Declan’s bitch. Noah should be happy that he was free and with his family. While he was thankful for those things, he still wanted Seth home and with him, not off God knows where. As sappy as it sounded, this was supposed to be their first Christmas together. A soft knock brought him out of his depressing thoughts. He sat up and made sure the covers covered him before calling, “Come in.” Cassie peeked her head in the door. “Have you seen Andrew?” “Not since last night. Isn’t he in his room?” “No. Vapor said he woke up this morning and discovered Andrew was gone.” 62
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Shit, this was not good. The last time Andrew ran, it’d taken months to track him down. If there was one thing Andrew was good at, it was disappearing. Even worse, Declan and his Ravens could still be out there and after the beat down Andrew had given them, they’d be hungry for his blood. While Andrew proved he could more than handle his own in a fight, not even he could take down a whole flock. “Okay, give me a second to get dressed and I’ll help find him,” Noah said, his own problems fading to the back. “What if we can’t find him,” Cassie worried before she gnawed on her bottom lip. “Vapor will be able to track him down,” Noah replied with a certainty he didn’t truly feel. “I’m really worried about him. He looked so upset last night.” Noah silently agreed with her He didn’t dare say such aloud, however, since Cassie already looked ready to cry. “He couldn’t have gotten too far. Not with the blizzard.” What he didn’t add was because of that same damn snow, it was going to be even harder for them to find Andrew. **** Shane shook the snow off his cloak before shutting the door behind him. As always, when entering a building, he swept the interior with his gaze. Not that here was much to see at headquarters. Since it was Christmas, the place was mostly deserted. That suited Shane just fine. On a good day, he didn’t like dealing with others. So after his cluster fuck of a mission, the last thing he wanted was to have to pretend to be normal and interact with anyone. If he had his way, he wouldn’t even be there. He’d 63
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planned on retreating to his small apartment, but Noah insisted that Shane show up for their stupid family dinner. Shane curled up his lip. Really? Who actually did that kind of thing in real life? It shocked him that Owen and Andrew were actually going along with the farce. If Shane knew one thing about family, it was not to trust them. His own father had been trying to kill Shane from the moment of his birth, seeing his newborn son as a threat. Shane let out a soft sound of disgust. It took a sick fuck to try to off one’s own son. If not for his mother intervening, Shane would have died the same day he’d been born. Instead, he’d been sold off to Edward. Living with that prick hadn’t exactly been all roses and tulips either. Shane glanced down at himself, dully observing that streaks of blood covered the front of his black pants and shirt. That could prove to be inconvenient. While he’d gotten dirty in the line of duty, he somehow didn’t think Mitchell would appreciate him showing up to the dinner table in his present condition. Maybe Shane would have been in a better mood had his mission been a success. But since he was having one of those kinds of days, the whole thing had been fucked up from the start. Not only had the Cobra slipped away before Shane arrived, but the dick had left two dead bodies behind. Something that Shane really hadn’t felt like dealing with. He’d been further inconvenienced by the Rattlesnake shifter the Cobra had left behind, too. Unlike the feline victims, the snake had been very much alive. He’d been a wily shit, too. It’d taken Shane at least five minutes to eliminate that threat. “Fucking snakes. I hate them,” Shane muttered under his breath as he climbed up the stairs leading to the Jaguar’s dwelling. When he went inside and found nobody home, Shane 64
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didn’t let that bother him. He just used the opportunity to take a shower and borrow some of Owen’s clothes. While a white t-shirt that read Spiders rule. Others drool wasn’t exactly his style, it beat running around, sporting dried blood. He was just doing up the fly of his borrowed jeans when a soft noise alerted him he wasn’t alone anymore. Not bothering with shoes or socks, he followed the sound into the kitchen. A smile came over his face as he saw who it was. Trevor! How perfect! The same sweet little Trevor who everyone had been trying to keep him away from. Shane leaned against the doorway, looking his fill. He had to admit Trevor was a fuck-me dream come alive. Thin and tall, he had dark hair that flopped over his aren’t-Iadorable green eyes. He stirred something on the stove, his teeth gnawing on his plump bottom lip. Shane licked his own lips as he wondered what it would be like to take the Panther, pin him down and fuck the living snot out of him. Shane ran the palm of his hand over his hardening cock, a soft moan slipping from his mouth. It’d been a while since he’d had anyone and the need to dominate someone else was screaming to be fulfilled. Trevor and his sweet ass would fit that need quite nicely, too. “Are you going to stand there staring at me all day, or are you going to come in?” Trevor asked, never looking up from the stove. Shane started, stunned that Trevor sensed his presence. That had to be a first since he’d mastered stealth down to an art form. More than once his life had depended on that skill and before just then, it’d never let him down. “Where is everyone?” Shane asked, ignoring Trevor’s earlier question. “Andrew took off, so they all went to find him.” Trevor brought the spoon to his lips to sample whatever he’d been cooking. It must have met to his satisfaction because he gave 65
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a small smile before turning off the stove. “How long ago did they leave?” Shane asked as he moved in closer to get a better look at Trevor’s body. The Panther must have just gotten off duty because he wore a black uniform. Shane couldn’t help but notice how nice Trevor filled it out. He may have been thin, but he was far from emaciated. “They all took off about an hour ago. I volunteered to stay behind and start dinner.” “How nice of you.” Shane smirked before he hopped up on the countertop. Trevor cocked a brow. “You don’t sound too concerned about Andrew.” Shane shrugged. “He won’t go far.” “Because of the blizzard?” “No, because he can’t stand to be away from Vapor. If I know Andrew, he just got pissed about something and needed some place to cool off.” “Okay, if you say so.” Trevor handed him a knife. “If you’re going to stay, make yourself useful and cut those veggies for the salad.” Shane stared down at the knife. Nobody had ever willingly handed him a weapon, too afraid the loony, psycho would use it on them. Yet Trevor gave it to him without even a second thought. Damn if that didn’t make Shane even harder. He glanced up from under his lashes, enjoying the smooth, sensual way Trevor moved around the kitchen. Crap, the guy was sexy and he wasn’t even trying. Shane chopped up the vegetables, all the time his gaze tracking Trevor’s every move. Fuuuuuck, no wonder they always said Panthers were the best lays. All he had to do was watch the way Trevor’s lips moved when he tasted things, how tight his ass looked when he bent over or how 66
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skilled his finger appeared while working and Shane grew hungry for something other than food. When Trevor darted into the pantry, Shane didn’t hesitate one breath. He sat down the knife and followed. Trevor stood on tiptoe to look for something on one of the top shelves. He turned his head and gave Shane a sly grin. “Hey.” Shane paused, once more surprised by the brat’s reaction. Most people cowered whenever they found themselves in an enclosed space with him, yet Trevor acted like it was nothing. “You’re not worried about being in a small room with the crazy Leopard?” “No, in fact I was hoping you’d follow me in here.” Trevor turned away from the shelf so they were fully facing each other. There was no mistaking the large bulge pressing against Trevor’s uniform pants. The Panther didn’t seem the least bit embarrassed by it, instead letting out a low moan as he ran a hand over it. Shane blinked, realizing he’d lost complete control of the situation. Another first for him. He’d never had anyone so blatantly proposition him this way before. He’d heard that Trevor liked to play around, but not many were willing to take on someone like Shane. For the first time in forever, Shane felt a genuine smile come over his lips. “You do realize that I’m going to fuck you,” he said, wondering if that blunt statement would shock Trevor into acting more like the others. Trevor bounced a little on the balls of his feet before he shoved his hand down the front of Shane’s pants. His fingers immediately found Shane’s cock. Fisting it, Trevor gave him a squeeze before saying, “I’ve always wondered what your cock would look like.” “Funny, I don’t recall us ever talking before now.” Shane 67
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groaned, damn Trevor’s fingers were talented. Just as he suspected. “Let’s just say I’ve been watching you from afar.” “Well, if you’re that interested in my dick, then why don’t you get a closer look?” Shane put his hand on the top of Trevor’s head and pushed him down to his knees. He waited, half-expecting Trevor to balk at the porn line order. Trevor just looked up at him with a smile, before he began to undo Shane’s fly. It was only a matter of seconds before Trevor had his pants open and Shane’s cock blessedly free. “Nice,” Trevor praised before he parted his lips and took Shane in. Shane bit back a moan, determined to maintain some control of the encounter. If Trevor wanted to hear him make any happy noises, then Shane was going to make him work for it. It was damn hard though. Trevor’s mouth proved to be as talented as his fingers. Hot, wet and decadent, Shane could have enjoyed it all day long. Then Trevor looked up with those sexy-as-sin green eyes of his and Shane realized he was a fool for thinking he could have any control at all. Fisting his hand in Trevor’s soft, dark locks, Shane growled, “Damn, you’re good at this.” A gleam came over Trevor’s gaze, as if to say, Of course I am. Did you expect any less? Shane gave Trevor’s hair a healthy tug. “You’re also extremely vain.” When Trevor hummed around his cock, showing how much he liked the added pain, that moan finally escaped past Shane’s lips. Damn, just when he didn’t think things could get any hotter. He gave another tug, this one a silent order for Trevor to stand. Trevor gave Shane’s cock one parting lick before he 68
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rose to his feet. When he moved in for a kiss, Shane put a staying hand in the center of his chest and ordered, “Drop your pants and turn around.” Trevor let out a soft whimper, before he rushed to obey. He only paused long enough to pull something from his front pocket. As he passed it over, Shane glanced down and saw it was a small tube of lubricant. “Sorry, even if you’re hot, I’m still not letting you take me without lube and a ton of prep,” Trevor announced with a sexy smile. He dropped his pants, then turned around, his hands gripping one of the shelves. Shane looked stupidly at the tube for a few moments, before the sight of Trevor’s sweet ass snapped him out of it. If Trevor wanted to be prepped, then Shane was only happy to comply. He squeezed a very generous amount of the lube onto his fingers, wrinkling his nose at the slimy consistency. A certain spot on Trevor’s neck called to Shane and he couldn’t resist pressing a kiss to it before he moved his fingers down and began to slick Trevor’s hole. At first it almost felt clinical to Shane, then Trevor started to let out the sweetest of moans as he rocked back against Shane’s hand. “You like that?” Shane asked, cringing a bit at the wonder in his voice. “Yeah, I’d like it even more if you curled your fingers a bit,” Trevor panted. Shane complied and Trevor let out a short cry, his head titling back against Shane’s chest. His mouth was slightly parted as if in invitation and Shane answered, pressing their lips together. It made it so Trevor had to crane his neck some, but he didn’t seem to mind, especially when Shane took out his fingers and pressed his cock inside instead. “Do me hard. Like you really want it,” Trevor murmured against Shane’s lips. 69
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That comment seemed a bit off, but Shane didn’t complain. Instead, he began to pound into Trevor, just the way he asked for. Trevor let out a long moan as his head fell back against Shane’s shoulder again. It didn’t take long before Shane could feel the pressure building up. Determined that they’d come together, he reached around and began to stroke Trevor’s cock. It took only a few passes before Trevor yelled and hot spunk shot over Shane’s hand. A primal thrill went through Shane as he watched the look of pure bliss pass over Trevor’s face. Slamming into him one last time, Shane allowed his own orgasm to overtake him. He groaned as his cock pulsated within the tight walls of Trevor’s ass. It must have been way too long since his last fuck because it felt to Shane as if he came forever. By the time he’d finished, all he could do was allow his head to drop to Trevor’s shoulder while they both sucked in gulping breaths. “Was it everything you thought it would be? You know, fucking a Leopard,” Shane asked once he could talk again. Trevor shrugged, “Pretty much.” Usually at this point of a hookup, Shane would be pushing his partner aside and walking away. Yet, he found himself wanting to hold Trevor for just a bit longer. The urge was so strong that when Trevor moved away and started to get dressed again, Shane was hard pressed to keep his sound of disappointment in. Trevor started to leave the pantry, but paused at the doorway long enough to say, “We better get back to cooking. The others will be home soon.” Shane could only nod in return. For the first time in his life, he found himself not wanting to be alone. He wanted to grab Trevor, take him home and never let him go again. 70
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He instantly pushed those thoughts away. Leopards didn’t take mates. Besides, who in their right mind would want to be stuck with a crazy fuck like him?
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Chapter Eight They found Andrew at a Denny’s restaurant. It was a true
testament to how crazy their family was that nobody even raised a brow at that fact. They all just silently approached the table and sat down. For the longest time Andrew didn’t say anything, just stared down at his cup of coffee that looked a hundred years old. He didn’t even speak when Vapor reached out and gently took his hand. Noah exchanged worried glances with Keegan. Noah felt an overwhelming urge to do something…say something to make things better. His heart stuttered as he realized just how much he’d grown to care for Andrew, despite how different they were. Andrew finally looked up, his gaze locking on Mitchell. “I’m sorry.” “You have nothing to apologize for,” Mitchell answered. “It’s just after the way you saved me, Keegan and Noah, I’d hope you could do the same thing for Shane. I know he may seem scary and a bit loony, but I know he’s also caring in his own way. I’d hoped that maybe he could have a normal life like the rest of us,” Andrew said earnestly. Noah had to swallow against the lump in his throat. At that moment, he’d give just about anything to make Andrew’s wish come true and judging by the expression on 72
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Mitchell’s face, he would have, too. “This is the best way I could think of to still control him. He’ll be able to be who he is, but still live within the coalition,” Mitchell explained. Andrew nodded. “It’s better than what he had before when we were under Edward’s control.” “But you still wanted him to find his own happy ending,” Mitchell surmised. “Yeah, and now I know that’s never going to happen.” Noah couldn’t take it anymore. He had to at least try and make things a little better for Andrew. “You never know. Things could change. If Shane can care for you and Owen, then maybe someday he’ll be able to care for a mate of his own.” “Maybe” Andrew whispered, but the look on his face remained doubtful. They stayed at the restaurant for a while before they finally all went home. As they walked in, the smells of cooking hit them. Brent immediately went off to investigate, while the rest of the family settled around the tree. Despite finding Andrew, Noah still remained down. He pulled his knees to his chest while he watched everyone open gifts. After a while, even that became too much and he closed his eyes. “Don’t I get a kiss hello?” Seth’s voice asked. Noah opened his eyes with a gasp as he looked up. Seth stood in the doorway to the living room and he’d never looked better. Noah let out a yell of excitement before he sprang from the couch and rushed to his mate. Throwing his arms around Seth, Noah said, “I thought you were trapped by the blizzard.” “As if I would let a little snow keep me from you on Christmas,” Seth murmured into Noah’s ear. 73
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“I can’t believe you’re here,” Noah declared as he stood on tiptoe to give Seth a kiss. Seth returned it before saying, “Of course I’m here. Where else would I be on Christmas but with the man I love?” As Noah gave Seth another kiss, he said a silent prayer of thanks. Not just for Seth making it home, but for everything that’d happen in the past year. While at one time, Noah may have been a street rat, all that had changed the day Seth kicked down the door to Noah’s cell and rescued him. Now Noah had a family, plus a mate he loved more than life itself. Despite everything in his past and with all the worries in the future, nothing else mattered so long as he had Seth by his side. “Merry Christmas, Seth,” Noah whispered. “Merry Christmas to you, too, brat. This is only the first of many that we’ll spend together.” Noah smiled, that promise was the best Christmas present he could ever receive.
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About the Author Stephani Hecht is a happily married mother of two. Born and raised in Michigan, she loves all things about the state, from the frigid winters to the Detroit Red Wings hockey team. You can usually find her snuggled up to her laptop, creating her next book. Contact her at: Email Address:
[email protected] Twitter: http://twitter.com/StephaniHecht FaceBook: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?ref=profile&id=110 9353859 MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/stephanihecht Blog: http://stephanihechtauthor.blogspot.com
