A Totally Bound Publication
Renounced
ISBN # 978-1-78430-354-9
©Copyright Bailey Bradford 2014
Cover Art by Posh Gosh ©Copyright December 2014
Edited by Rebecca Douglas
Totally Bound Publishing
This is a work of fiction. All characters, places and events are from the author’s imagination
and should not be confused with fact. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, events or
places is purely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any material form,
whether by printing, photocopying, scanning or otherwise without the written permission of
the publisher, Totally Bound Publishing.
Applications should be addressed in the first instance, in writing, to Totally Bound
Publishing. Unauthorized or restricted acts in relation to this publication may result in civil
proceedings and/or criminal prosecution.
The author and illustrator have asserted their respective rights under the Copyright Designs
and Patents Acts 1988 (as amended) to be identified as the author of this book and illustrator
of the artwork.
Published in 2014 by Totally Bound Publishing, Newland House, The Point, Weaver Road,
Lincoln, LN6 3QN
Totally Bound Publishing is a subsidiary of Totally Entwined Group Limited.
Warning:
This book contains sexually explicit content which is only suitable for mature readers. This
story has a heat rating of Totally Burning and a Sexometer of 3.
Southwestern Shifters
RENOUNCED
Bailey Bradford
Book ten in the Southwestern Shifters series
Nothing is as simple as it seems—or as safe.
Dallas Smith just wanted a nap in the hammock but he ends up being abducted by a jaguar
shifter named Tiago. They have a distinctly different take on several subjects, and Dallas is
shocked to learn just what Tiago really is.
Tiago thinks the wolves in the rainforest are an invasive species that need to leave.
Meanwhile, there’s a threat to the rainforest that no one saw coming. Marcus Criswell has
had more losses in the past year or so than he can deal with. He has to, though, because he’s
the Alpha Anax of the North American packs. The only reason he’s in South America is
because his guard was kidnapped, but now Keegan is safe.
There’s still the matter of the man who tried to abduct Keegan. He can’t go unpunished.
Then another shifter goes missing—Dallas, gone from the hammock in a heartbeat.
And on top of that, Maarten is missing.
It just got hotter than hell in Brazil.
Dedication
To the friends who have helped me through the past five years. Some of you I’ve known all
that time, and others I’ve met more recently. I love you all. Thank you.
Trademarks Acknowledgement
The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of the following
wordmarks mentioned in this work of fiction:
Spam: Hormel Foods, LLC
Lycra: Invista
Google: Google, Inc.
The Matrix: Warner Bros Pics
Every Breath You Take: Sting
Who Can It Be Now?: Colin Hay
Xanax: Pharmacia & Upjohn
Rambo: Orion Pictures
RENOUNCED
6
Chapter One
A fitful sleep was worse than no sleep at all, Marcus decided as he forced himself to
open his eyes.
“Coffee,” Nathan muttered beside him. “Ugh.”
Marcus snorted and propped his back against the headboard. “Food would be good,
too. We’ve got a manhunt to get started on, and considering that we won’t be alone for who
knows how long…” Marcus waggled his eyebrows. “Sex, maybe…if you’re up to it.”
Nathan growled a little, rolled over, and poked him in the belly. Not with a finger,
either. “What do you think? And since when do we have to be alone to get off together?”
Marcus ran his hands down the firm planes of Nathan’s back to the plump mounds of
his ass. He gave it a squeeze as arousal raced through him. “Well, fucking…”
“Yeah.” Nathan nipped at his collarbone.
Marcus shivered and parted his legs in invitation. They wouldn’t be having anal sex
around anyone else, but shifters weren’t repressed. If any of them wanted to get off, and the
time was right, then more power to them.
It was just that Marcus was a bottom, and being a gay Alpha Anax, ruling over all the
North American shifter packs, was hard enough on a straight person. Add in gay and more
hate came his way. Pile on people’s preconceived notions about tops and bottoms, strengths
and weaknesses, and both he and Nathan knew it was best to keep that part of their sex life
private.
“But there’s always other things we can do,” Nathan mused as he began to nibble his
way down Marcus’ chest.
Marcus’ reply was sucked away by a gasp when Nathan bit his left nipple. At the same
time, Nathan plucked and rolled the right tip between his fingers, and Marcus forgot about
anything else but the way Nathan made him feel.
And the way Nathan felt. Marcus touched him everywhere he could reach, but really
loved burying his hands in the cool, long red hair that was free from the usual braid Nathan
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7
kept it in. Soft and glossy, it hung past Nathan’s ass when unbound. His pretty hair was the
envy of many shifters, male and female.
Marcus bunched it in his hands, not quite tugging, but holding on as Nathan worked
his nipples over. A moan slipped out, then a second when Nathan sucked firmly.
Somewhere overhead, the steady, loud thumping of a headboard told Marcus he and
Nathan weren’t the only couple getting busy. He smiled when he thought of Keegan mated
to Olin. Keegan needed someone to help him unwind.
Nathan pinched his nipple harder and Marcus’ attention snapped fully back onto
himself and his mate.
“Yes,” he hissed to Nathan.
Nathan left love bites all the way down Marcus’ torso. The ones on his belly made
Marcus squirm since he was ticklish at times, especially when there was more sensation to
whatever was happening on his stomach or ribs.
Laughing wasn’t going to happen, though, because Nathan also cupped Marcus’ balls
and kept rolling them in hand.
“Hold the headboard,” Nathan advised. “Don’t want to break the wall.”
Marcus opened his fists and released the silky strands of hair. “Sounds promising.”
Nathan smirked at him. “I’m not promising. I’m telling you. I’m going to fuck you,
hard.”
Jesus, the man still turned him into a puddle of want in a heartbeat. Nathan knew it,
too. No doubt he felt it through their mate bond, just as Marcus felt Nathan’s love and
adoration, his want and need.
Nathan loosely held the base of Marcus’ dick then licked over the head.
Marcus slammed his hands against the headboard. The loud thud would have been
heard throughout the house.
Marcus didn’t care. He turned his face into his right arm and bit it, muffling the low,
guttural groan that was torn from him when Nathan took half of his length in.
Wet and warm, Nathan’s mouth was perfection around Marcus’ cock. Nathan
manipulated Marcus’ sac—rolling, tugging, pushing. He bent his legs and planted his heels,
the better to thrust up.
RENOUNCED
8
When he slid the tip of his dick right into Nathan’s throat, Nathan let go of Marcus’
balls and instead rubbed over his asshole.
Marcus couldn’t have been still had his life depended on it. He writhed, head thrashing,
unable to keep back the hungry sounds escaping him.
Nathan pressed two spit-slicked fingers into him. There was hardly a burn—Marcus
was used to rougher sex. Gentle wasn’t in most shifters’ natures. Their beasts demanded a
part in the breeding as well, so it was more common than not to have scratching, biting, and
animalistic sex than sweet and tender—though that could happen.
But not this morning. Nathan sucked on Marcus’ cock until Marcus was too close to
release. Every time Nathan swallowed around his tip, Marcus shuddered and ground his
butt against Nathan’s probing fingers.
When Nathan finally eased them out and ended the blow job with a lewd lick over
Marcus’ slit, Marcus was one stroke to his shaft from coming all over the place.
Nathan pressed his legs up and further apart.
Marcus pointed his toes as he spread. “In—”
The rest of his demand was cut off as Nathan smoothly rose up and filled him with hot,
hard cock. Marcus curled up and was rewarded with a kiss that stole what little of his breath
he had left.
Nathan plunged his tongue into Marcus’ mouth with the same masterful skill he thrust
his dick into Marcus’ ass. Pleasure turned rapidly into ecstasy that rebounded from every
nerve ending in Marcus’ body.
He held onto Nathan where he could, their skin—slick with sweat—making for a
slippery grip. Marcus arched his neck, needing more, even though he hated tearing his
mouth from Nathan’s.
Then Nathan rumbled, and a sharp, stinging pain shot out from Marcus’ shoulder,
where it met his neck. Nathan bit him, and Marcus couldn’t even shout as his cock spurted,
spilling his load between them.
Nathan rutted harder then drove in so deep Marcus could feel him everywhere. The hot
jets of cum marked Marcus inside as surely as Nathan had marked him on the outside.
Afterwards, Nathan sprawled out, halfway on Marcus. “Need coffee,” he muttered.
Marcus did too. “Shower first.” He winced, a little stiff still. “This bed sucks.”
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9
“Mattress is lumpy,” Nathan agreed. “Smells like mold, too.”
Marcus sniffed. Now that Nathan had pointed it out, the scent seemed to fill his nostrils
with its cloying odor.
“We’ve got to call Dana and see if she’s found anything out about that Robert Butler.
I’m betting the answer is no. There’s got to be a crap load of Robert Butlers in the world.”
Nathan got up and walked to the bathroom.
Marcus rolled out of bed and followed him. “True, but how many in this part of Brazil?
Maarten may have information for us as well when he arrives.”
They didn’t speak while going through their morning routine.
“Keegan and Olin,” Nathan said a moment later as he started the shower. He scratched
his jaw and yawned. “What do you think about that jaguar Keegan and the others have
seen?”
Marcus shrugged. “I think it’s not my concern unless it’s involved in all of this. I find it
hard to believe there’d be another breed of shifters—but then again…”
Nathan scowled at him. “Then again what? You can’t just stop there.”
With that cocked hip and irritated expression, Nathan was sexy enough to get Marcus
aroused all over again. Unfortunately, they had a lot to do. “Then again, the North American
packs have always been very insular. They hadn’t been encouraged to think beyond
themselves by the previous Alpha Anaxes. It’s always just been about us, our own kind.
There’s a lot we…I…don’t know about the world, and ruling out anything like other breeds
of shifters seems hasty.”
“So why’s the damned thing popping up?” Nathan asked. He got in the shower and
hummed. “Oh yeah. God, this cold shower is just what I needed. The humidity here is
awful.”
“We’re too used to the arid desert we live in.” Marcus joined Nathan in the shower. “As
for the jaguar, maybe it’s not used to us, either. Could just be a cat that’s not sure what to
think about the wolves in its jungle. All I know for sure is, as long as it stays away from me
and mine, it can do whatever it wants.”
* * * *
RENOUNCED
10
The sounds coming from Keegan and Olin’s room sent Dallas as far away from it as he
could get. He didn’t consider himself a prude at all and was a complete believer in to each
his own and everything like that, but he was positive that was the whack of belt on skin, or
some other heavy instrument of pain being used.
That kind of rough play scared him. He’d had a lover smack his ass once while they
were fucking and it had totally thrown Dallas out of the mood. He’d tried to cover it with
louder moans until he’d received a couple of even harder slaps, then it had all kind of gone
to hell from there.
As he sprinted past Marcus and Nathan’s bedroom, he heard more smutty noises. They
at least just sounded like they were fucking, which was all well and good.
Except people were getting laid and he wasn’t, and that kind of sucked the big green
weenie.
Dallas’ left temple throbbed, and he stopped in the kitchen, cradling his head in his
hands.
“Are you okay?”
He peeked through his fingers at Zoe. She was standing at the stove, cooking what
looked to be eggs.
Dallas sniffed. His ability to scent was off and he grimaced. “I can’t smell right.”
Sissy Dee walked into the kitchen—he’d heard her footsteps and turned to see who was
coming in. Sissy patted his shoulder, a sympathetic look on her usually scowling face. “You’ll
be fine. That hit to the head you took messed things up with your senses. I’ve heard of it
happening before, but everyone I know that’s experienced it recovered after a couple of
weeks.”
“Weeks?” Dallas squeaked, letting go of his head. “But— But I’m a shifter! We heal fast
and…weeks, really?”
“At least you’re still cute,” Sissy said, giving him another pat before sauntering over to
the table. “Maarten will be here soon, and he’s bringing groceries for at least one good meal.
Once he’s here and we’ve gone over the plans, we’ll be heading out. Since your sense of smell
is fucked up, Dallas, you stay with the two guards I’ll leave here. It’s better that you aren’t
trying to hunt when you can’t even smell right.”
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Dallas gawped at Sissy. Honestly, let the woman fuck you once with a nice fat dildo, and she
thinks she’s your boss.
“Close your mouth, hon,” she chided.
Dallas did, only to open it up again as she narrowed her eyes at him. He wasn’t going
to give up and let Sissy order him around. “I don’t have to listen to you. I’m part of Marcus’
pack, and Keegan’s his captain.”
“He’ll tell you the same.” Sissy lit up when her mate entered the kitchen. “Juanita, you
look lovely this morning. I’m the luckiest gal in the world.”
He was going to have to take his arguing to Keegan—or Marcus. Maybe even Nathan.
Sissy and Juanita exchanged a long, loud kiss.
Dallas groaned. “Gawd, all you mated pairs are all lovey-dovey.”
“Jealous?” Juanita asked, her accent making the word thick and sexy.
“A little, except for the whole vagina and boobs part,” he admitted.
Zoe snorted and threw a spoon at him. Dallas caught it easily.
“At least your reflexes are quick,” Sissy pointed out. “We all know your aversion to our
parts. It just so happens, we don’t care for yours either.”
Dallas would let that go, because what he and Sissy had done once hadn’t really
involved their genitals touching. Just her, him, and that big dildo. They’d both been bored
and curious. Although, he did know other guys who’d put out for Sissy in such a way before.
It didn’t matter now. Sissy was mated and happy.
Juanita’s brother, Guillermo, joined them in the kitchen. At that point, Dallas sprinted
for a chair since there was only one more left. He’d give it up if he had to. Until then, his
happy ass was going to sit.
“Y’all don’t get too used to me cooking,” Zoe groused, loading up the toaster. “I’m not
domesticated, just hungry, and anyway, this is all I can make. Scrambled eggs and toast.”
“I can make bacon or sausage,” Guillermo offered.
Zoe scoffed at that. “None in the fridge. I looked. Three times.”
Guillermo got up and strode to the cabinets. He opened them then crowed as he took
out two cans. “There is Jia canned beef and pork! I love this stuff!” He held the cans out to
Zoe.
Zoe took one and wrinkled her nose. “Uh. This looks a hell of a lot like Spam.”
RENOUNCED
12
“What is Spam?” Guillermo asked.
“A question we all would like to know the answer to,” Dallas contributed. “But I’m
hungry enough to eat anything.”
“No more capybaras,” Olin said from the doorway.
He did look a little gray when he spoke.
Keegan rolled his eyes and nudged Olin to enter before following the shorter man in.
Keegan seemed to be a little stiff in his movements.
“It tasted good.” Dallas wouldn’t think about it beyond that. He ate things in his wolf
form that he’d never touch in human form. Though he probably wouldn’t eat the canned
meat product were he to turn into his wolf now, come to think of it.
“Earth to Dallas.” Keegan was standing right in front of him.
Dallas blinked. “Oh. I was thinking about capybara and Spam.”
“That’s a disgusting combo.” Olin leaned against the counter, arms crossed over his
chest. His blue and purple tipped blond hair was kind of neat.
Dallas wondered if he could pull that look off. His faux-hawk was all…limp.
“Anyone have any ideas about the drugs and this Robert or Roberto Butler?” Sissy
asked without any beating around the bush. “The lady said Roberto, then Robert, so I don’t
know for sure which he uses. Mary-Jane will be trying to get more info out of her, I’m sure.”
“Mary-Jane?” Dallas knew he couldn’t be the only one thinking about that name.
Sissy flicked him an annoyed look. “Believe it or not, her parents didn’t have a clue
what else that means. They weren’t raging potheads.”
Olin snickered. “I think raging potheads is an oxymoron. Everyone I knew that smoked
was pretty damned un-raging.”
“Whatever. The point remains the same. Mary-Jane’s parents never left the pack
property without their Alpha Anax’s orders to do so. They didn’t know they were naming
their kid after pot, therefore, they didn’t.” Sissy took the glass of juice Juanita handed her.
“Thanks, babe.”
“Maybe we’ll learn something from Dana when she returns my call.” Keegan huffed.
“Actually, I think she was on the phone with Marcus, so probably we’ll hear whatever she
has learned from him.”
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13
Outside, the morning sunrise was accompanied by a sound that sent shivers down
Dallas’ spine. Not quite a roar, but a plaintive, feline sound that conveyed irritation
nonetheless. If not irritation, some kind of emotion.
Oh, look at him putting human emotions on a damned cat.
“That’s the jaguar,” Olin muttered, rushing over to the window. “I swear that fucker’s
stalking us.”
Dallas shivered again.
RENOUNCED
14
Chapter Two
His rainforest was being invaded by even more wolves, Tiago mused as he stretched
out on a thick limb. The marsh deer he’d dined on earlier was making him feel lazy and the
sunlight tempted him to sleep. Maybe he would, just for a little while, though he suspected
the wolf shifters would be heading out soon. Following them was imperative. Wolves had
caused too much trouble for him and his fellow native rainforest dwellers. Like any invasive
species, they screwed up the ecosystem, which was why they would have to go.
Tiago purred and reveled in the sunlight leaking through the dense greenery above
him. It warmed his fur, his body, in a delightful way.
There had been wolves in the rainforest for some time now. Decades, that he knew of.
No other shifters native to the area seemed concerned about it, but Tiago was. The drama
that had occurred over the past week was just more proof to him that the wolves had to go.
Gun fights, crashed planes, drugs—Tiago smelled them and he knew. Something bad was
going on, and it was time to clean up the rainforest. People had already done too much
damage to it as it was.
Tiago had been watching the local wolf pack for a long time. It wasn’t in his nature to
act rashly. Otherwise, he’d have jumped in to defend the little human, Olin, when he’d been
surrounded by killer wolf shifters a few days ago. Tiago still didn’t know if he’d have been
able to keep from intervening had Olin’s lover not shown up. Keegan. Tiago learned a lot
from listening. The wolf shifters were loud and careless, almost as bad as humans were at
being cautious. They had no idea just how acute his senses were. Tiago was exceptional and
well aware of it. All of his kind were.
And he was irritated, because one of the wolves made him hard, made him ache to fuck
and mate. Tiago didn’t want a wolf. He wanted another jaguar, but that never worked out
well. As solitary as they were, it wasn’t unusual for one male jag to kill the other in a
territorial spat, even if they had affection for each other.
Tiago would have to settle for some native species. The idea of keeping a wolf as a lover
was ludicrous.
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15
Although, if he fucked the one he wanted, then he’d be over it. Over him. Tiago
considered the idea. He could nab the man, or even seduce him in human form. Tiago was
attractive in that shape, too. Perhaps that would be the wiser option. Tiago could fuck Dallas
until he was done with the wolf shifter. Surely it’d only take a few times. Tiago rarely wanted
more than that from any of his lovers.
He let his eyelids fall almost completely shut. The vacation house the shifters were
holed up in was full of windows, so he had seen quite a few interesting things going on. It
was his luck that the curtains hadn’t been fully pulled in the one room, and hadn’t been
closed at all in the other. That was how Tiago knew the powerful wolf shifter with the white-
blond hair liked to be fucked by his little lover, and Keegan needed pain with his sex.
Tiago wondered if all the wolf shifters were like those two pairs, with the smaller men
taking the lead in the bedroom. His fur rippled as he shuddered. Tiago sometimes got rough
while having sex in his feline form—it was part of being an animal, after all. As a human,
however, he had never struck a partner. He liked to be in control in either form.
Which brought up the whole size thing, because Dallas was smaller than him. Slighter
of build, certainly, and shorter. As much as Tiago wanted to fuck him, he’d never let Dallas
hit him or command him.
He tried to shrug it off. There was no need to fuck Dallas anyway. It was just an urge, a
desire, and Tiago could control it. He needed to concentrate on finding out what the hell was
going on in his rainforest.
Really, it was too bad jaguars were so territorial. Tiago would have liked to try to gather
the native shifters up and address the issue of invading shifter species—he could just image
the bloodshed that would follow. Tiago snorted softly. Perhaps his kind were a bit too
animalistic.
After almost an hour of dozing lightly but never really drifting off to sleep, Tiago heard
the sound of strident voices. He flicked his ears and raised his head when he recognized the
voice of the man he’d been lusting after. Dallas. These wolf shifters have the oddest names. Tiago
mewled the name out softly. What would it sound like on his human tongue?
* * * *
RENOUNCED
16
“I don’t see how staying here is going to help anyone,” Dallas argued, though he tried
to keep his tone reasonable. It wouldn’t do any good to throw a tantrum and would, in fact,
work against him. “If I stay, so do two guards and those guards might come in handy for
y’all. If I go, I promise I won’t be in the way. My senses might come back full-force any
minute. I feel like I’m being punished for being hurt,” he added with a hint of petulance he
couldn’t quite tamp down.
Keegan frowned at him. “Dallas, you aren’t a guard. You’re soft, and I don’t mean that
bad.”
“Because there’s a good way to be soft in this scenario,” Dallas scoffed. “I can fight. I’m
not helpless.”
“We don’t know anything about this person we’re hunting other than that he’s a drug-
dealing would-be murderer and kidnapper.” Keegan ran one hand through his hair as he
spoke. “Dana couldn’t find any information on him. We don’t have contacts here other than
Ryder’s pack. There are the other wolf shifters outside of Brazil, and their packs, and one
more on the other side of the rainforest, but none of them knew anything about Robert
Butler. He could have an army of his own, and I’m inclined to think that’s the case,
considering he had our jet hijacked and there were how many people waiting on that
runway, armed to the teeth with guns and knives?” Keegan shook his head. “It’d be best to
let the guards handle this—” He snapped his mouth shut.
Dallas felt Marcus’ presence before he turned and watched the Alpha Anax enter the
living room. Marcus looked stern and powerful, even with the soft blond curls that hung past
his shoulders. He looked like a Greek god or one of those marble statues carved centuries
ago, except Marcus had all of his parts. And he was more muscular. And clothed.
Marcus stopped in front of Dallas.
Dallas had known Marcus for years. He wasn’t nervous to stand before Marcus, or to
wait while Marcus studied him. Dallas stood tall—as tall as he could at five-seven, anyway—
and didn’t fidget.
He also smiled, not having to fake it, either.
Nathan chuckled as he joined Marcus. “You are always so upbeat, Dallas.”
“Thanks.” It even came natural to him. “I don’t see the point in dwelling on bad stuff.”
He let his smile broaden. “There’s too much good going on.”
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Nathan shook his head just a bit but didn’t appear to be disagreeing.
Dallas thought he was more amused than anything else.
Movement caught Dallas’ eye. He went back to watching Marcus, who raised a hand up
and cupped the left side of Dallas’ head. Marcus stroked his thumb over Dallas’ temple.
“How do you feel?”
Smug probably wasn’t a wise answer, though Dallas did dart a glance at Keegan. “Fine.
I think my senses are a little screwed up, but I can still help. If nothing else, I can keep some
of the guards from getting cold at night.” He waggled his eyebrows.
Marcus snorted at him. “That’s not an argument in your favor, Dallas. Distracting the
guards.” Marcus tutted but Dallas could see that the man was trying not to grin. “You’re a
distraction when you want to be, and you know it.”
“Even when you aren’t trying to be,” Nathan added.
There was no reason for Dallas to take offense, so he didn’t. He was, after all, an
unrepentant flirt, and he liked sex, a lot. A lot, lot. “Well, when you look like this.” Dallas
fluttered his lashes and gestured at himself.
Marcus did laugh then. He stopped rubbing Dallas’ temple. “You’re one of my pack.
You aren’t going to be left behind.”
Dallas whooped and flung himself at Marcus for a hug. As soon as he let go, Dallas
went after Nathan. “You guys are the best!” So what if he was informal as all get out with the
Alpha Anax and Nathan? Dallas knew they were shifters just like the rest of them, first and
foremost. They weren’t deities, despite their perfectly sculpted physiques.
“We’re never going to hear the end of this, Sissy,” Keegan warned.
Dallas did a little shimmy and wagged a finger at Keegan and Sissy both. “That kind of
admission is enough for me,” Dallas said, before he calmed himself down.
Marcus placed a hand on his shoulder. “Pack sticks together. As long as Dallas isn’t
wounded so badly that he can’t travel, he’s coming with us. It doesn’t matter that he’s not a
guard.”
Which was a nice way of saying that Dallas wasn’t a skilled fighter, not any more than
an actual wolf would be. If he was honest with himself, a wolf was probably way more
skilled than he’d ever be. Dallas was truly more of a lover. That whole pain thing was a huge
deterrent to unpleasant physical altercations.
RENOUNCED
18
“I just thought he’d be safer here.” Sissy held up her hands. “I was wrong.” She pointed
to Keegan. “He agreed with me.”
Keegan stiffened his spine like someone had shoved a hot poker up his backside. “My
priority—”
“Is doing your job, which entails following your Alpha Anax’s orders,” Nathan
finished. “So yeah. Leaving Dallas behind isn’t happening. He’s not disabled, and if this
Butler guy sends people back this way, two guards might not be enough, so everyone’s
sticking together.”
“We could send him back to Ryder,” Keegan argued. “He’d be safe there.”
Dallas’ cheery disposition was taking a hit. He glared at Keegan. “Do you just not like
me anymore? Is it something I’ve done?” Dallas had made a pass at Keegan on the jet but
that was before Keegan had met Olin, his mate. Dallas had known when he’d agreed to be
the steward for that flight that part of his job would be to loosen Keegan up.
Not that Marcus had said any such thing. Dallas just took it upon himself to make sure
he did everything he could to keep his passengers happy. If they were sexy male passengers,
Dallas liked to see if they were interested in some in-flight fun once he’d finished his work
duties.
Keegan gave an exasperated sound and came as close to losing his temper as Dallas had
ever seen. “It isn’t that at all, Dallas. This is about me being able to do my job in the most
effective manner possible. I’ll have to make sure you’re being protected as well, since you
haven’t recovered all of your senses.”
“They aren’t completely gone, and Marcus already said I could go. You should quit
arguing with the Alpha Anax, right?” Dallas beamed at Keegan. “You know, with Marcus
being the boss and all.”
Keegan growled and Dallas ratcheted up his smile. He patted Keegan’s arm. “I won’t
take it personally if you don’t.”
“Of course I won’t.” Keegan didn’t look thrilled, but that was okay.
Sissy nodded at him. “You won this round, kiddo.”
A victory dance would not go over well, so Dallas settled for a somewhat dignified
departure from the room after thanking Marcus and Nathan once more.
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The borrowed clothes he’d found in the closet were chafing him and he wanted to see if
there was anything else he could find. Someone would be strapping packs onto them. But
would there be room for clothes? A few, certainly, in case someone had to approach a village
or people. It was nothing new for shifters to see each other naked. Indeed, it inspired loyalty
to see someone like Marcus, who led the North American packs, naked and so buff it was
mind-boggling. It had to deter many would-be challengers, too. One look at all those muscles
on muscles Marcus had would surely make a shifter rethink fighting him for position.
Nathan wasn’t a toothpick, either. He was a stocky little guy. Shorter than Dallas.
Maybe five-seven wasn’t super-short to humans. Shifters tended to be over six feet tall, male
and female alike. There were exceptions—him, Nathan, a few others.
Dallas was short, and he was very thin by shifter standards. He didn’t let it bother him
much. He was a happy, easy guy who liked pleasing others. Most people found that hard to
resist.
In the tiny guest bedroom, Dallas dug through the closet. There were a few boxes of
clothing in there, and while he wasn’t a thief, he wasn’t against borrowing things. He’d either
send money or the items he borrowed back to this address, depending on the state of the
clothes he took.
The shorts and T-shirt he currently had on were too big. He’d just grabbed the first
things he’d seen earlier. Now he took a little more time and finally pulled out two pairs of
Lycra shorts and two crop tops. They were women’s clothing, according to the tags. Dallas
doubted anyone would notice since the shorts were solid black and so were the shirts.
After he put a pair of the shorts on, Dallas jogged over to the dresser with a big mirror
above it. He stood up on his toes and checked out his dick and balls, then smirked. The
shorts emphasized his private parts very nicely. He spun around and peered over his
shoulder at his butt. Yup, Lycra was definitely his new best friend. His ass was his best
feature, and it looked pert and perfect in the shorts.
Dallas decided to ignore his own lack of muscular definition and sparse body hair. He
slipped a tank top on then carried his other outfit with him to the living room. “Is there room
for these?” he asked, holding up the little scraps of fabric.
More than one jaw dropped as several guards turned to look at him.
RENOUNCED
20
“What?” Dallas asked them. It wasn’t like a lot of them hadn’t seen him naked already
when they’d had pack runs. Marcus’ guards had. Dallas realized half the guards there
weren’t from Marcus’ pack but from Ryder’s. “Oh. Hey.”
A couple of them looked promising, he decided—the man with the dark hair, pretty
skin and green eyes, and the one with sandy blond hair and brown eyes. Both were definitely
appreciative of his outfit, and both were standing beside each other. Oh man, if he was lucky,
they’d both want to play with him—at the same time, even.
Dallas didn’t do coy. He strolled past everyone else, heading right to his potential
sexual partners. “I’m Dallas,” he began, his voice dropping to a more sultry register than
usual. “You two are—”
“Interested,” the dark haired one answered, his thick accent sending a pleasurable throb
of desire through Dallas. “I am Davi, and this is Ramon.”
Ramon nodded but didn’t speak. Instead he looked Dallas over hungrily.
“How long before we leave?” Dallas asked, as he handed the clothes over to Davi.
“Soon,” Davi answered, a smile playing around the edges of his full lips. “We will have
to stop and rest sometime.”
Dallas winked at him. “Yes we will, and I can sure help you two get a good night’s
sleep.” Dallas gave them a little wave then left the room. He wasn’t normally a tease and
didn’t think he was being one then. The guards had jobs to do, and he wouldn’t be
interfering with that.
The front porch was calling his name. Dallas stepped outside and grimaced at the
humidity. He felt like he was melting, not sweating. There was a hammock twenty feet or so
away from the house. Tied between two palm trees, the hammock was shaded and
irresistible.
Dallas was careful. He looked the area over for several minutes, listened, sniffed and
did everything he could to ensure his own safety. Even with his senses messed up, they
weren’t totally gone.
The sand was warm beneath his feet. “Ohh, instant pedicure! Well, almost.” He wiggled
his heels every time they came down. If he were lucky, the skin there would be soft as a
baby’s bottom.
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“That’s just a weird saying.” Dallas rolled his lips in and silently chided himself.
Talking to himself was a habit he’d had ever since he could remember. As an only child, he’d
been lonely a lot, even being surrounded by pack members. A lot of shifters weren’t fond of
runts.
The hammock consisted of a multi-colored rope. Dallas might have liked to see if he
could figure out how it made in case he had the urge to try to create one on his own when he
was feeling crafty, but time was short and he wanted to flop down in that thing for a few
minutes. He did, careful not to tip himself over.
“God, this is the life,” he whispered, barely managing to keep his eyes open. “Mm.
Yeah.”
The slight sway of the hammock, the breeze chasing the sweat from his skin, the smell
of the ocean and the sound of the waves all conspired to tug him down into a nap. That was
his theory, anyway, as his eyelids slid shut.
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22
Chapter Three
What a delightful find. Tiago sauntered toward the figure in the hammock. He knew he
only had a few minutes before someone came outside looking for Dallas. After all, the wolf
shifters were planning on setting out to find the same human Tiago wanted to track down. If
he was lucky, he’d get rid of the wolf shifters and the drug runners all at once. How, he
didn’t know. He’d figure something out.
For now, he wanted to get closer to Dallas. The pull was irresistible, coming from the
core of Tiago’s being. He had to admit, he’d never been so attracted to someone before. Odd
and disappointing that it’d been a wolf shifter that had caught his eye so firmly.
It had to be the tiny, tight black shorts and shirt. Dallas was thin but he was displaying
a nice package into those shorts, and his lean chest—Tiago was entranced, that was all it was.
He had always had lovers big and muscular like himself, even the females he’d bred with to
help propagate their species. Not that that was going so well.
Tiago pushed aside thoughts about extinction and let his mind focus on the form in the
hammock. Dallas had thin legs and smooth knees that Tiago wanted to nibble at. He had a
thing for knees. Dallas’ weren’t knobby, for all his thinness.
There wasn’t much body hair on the man, either. That was another one of Tiago’s turn-
ons. He was hairless on his torso and legs, including his groin. Why he had armpit hair,
Tiago had no idea. It was just the way his kind was made.
Dallas didn’t even have a treasure trail peeking over the waistband of those shorts.
Tiago licked his muzzle as he silently approached his prey. Jaguars were apex
predators—nothing topped them in the food chain. They could and did stalk their food with
a skill no other creature had.
While Dallas wasn’t food, he was being hunted.
Tiago knew he wouldn’t be heard, and the breeze was carrying his scent off rather than
to Dallas. There was nothing that should alarm the man snoozing in the hammock.
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Keeping a close eye on the house as well as Dallas, Tiago crept forward. A small voice
in his head was screaming at him, asking him what in the hells did he think he was doing.
Tiago had no answer for that voice. He’d never been so driven to another man before.
Here he was, risking life and limb, all because he had to be closer to Dallas. It was
insane, and yet he kept heading for Dallas rather than turning tail and running to a safe
distance away.
Tiago’s cock was half-hard, too, which wasn’t enjoyable in his shifted form. It certainly
wasn’t usual, either. Even a female jaguar in season didn’t cause the kind of internal turmoil
he was experiencing. Hot, cold, tense, jittery—Tiago had so many things going on with his
body, he couldn’t pinpoint just one sensation.
But he could keep his paws moving as he flicked his gaze from the house to the figure
sleeping in the hammock.
Dallas’ soft breaths aroused Tiago even more. What is wrong with me? He should be able
to leave instead of taking such a risk. There were predators not more than fifty feet away.
They weren’t apex predators.
Tiago was, and wolves wouldn’t intimidate him. They might outnumber him, but he
wasn’t worried. The rainforest was his home, and he knew parts of it that no one else ever
would.
I can take Dallas to some of those places. Take him there, seduce him, mate with him until he’s
out of my system. One night, two days, I can catch up with the wolves at any time. They are slow,
cumbersome beasts.
It was a flimsy, crazy plan.
Tiago couldn’t shake it. His heart grabbed onto it—or at least his libido did, his cock
firming up the rest of the way. It was bizarre to be aroused by a human in this form. Tiago
wondered if he’d be as turned on if Dallas was in his wolf body.
Then he started speculating on the possibility of inter-species sex. Could a jaguar fuck a
wolf? Why not?
So many dirty thoughts that he’d never been faced with before.
And how was he going to run off with Dallas?
That question halted him not a foot away from the hammock.
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24
Tiago raised his head and sniffed, taking in Dallas’ spicy scent. There was a hint of
something dangerous to it. Tiago put it down to the man being a wolf shifter.
He moved a little closer and peered at Dallas’ face, studying the smooth, pale skin that
looked as if he’d never have to shave—high cheekbones, the pointed chin and full lips. Dallas
had the longest, thickest lashes Tiago had ever seen. They weren’t black, but a deep, rich
brown that reminded him of a chocolate bar blended with chilies he’d once had.
Then those thick lashes parted, and Dallas gave a startled gasp before sucking in a
sharp breath.
Tiago knew Dallas was going to scream, and he couldn’t let that happen. He reacted on
instinct, the need to preserve his own life taking over. He was an apex predator, yes, but he
was greatly outnumbered, and while he’d thought he could handle that in theory, the reality
of him facing a pack of wolves at any moment was suddenly something slightly
more…worrisome. Tiago jerked back but couldn’t leave. He lurched forward at the same
time Dallas started to sit up, and his head slammed against Dallas’, stunning them both.
Tiago shook it off easily and thought Dallas would, too.
Except he didn’t. Dallas’ eyes widened then rolled back in his head. Tiago panicked,
fearing he’d killed the man. It wasn’t until he saw the flutter of pulse and the rise of Dallas’
chest that Tiago didn’t fear he’d shatter into a million tiny pieces.
Something was really wrong with him. He shouldn’t have such feelings.
He shouldn’t have them any more than he should be biting at the shirt. Tiago bunched
most of the material in the front, catching it between his teeth. A tug, and he had Dallas out
of the hammock. The sand was a softer landing than rocks or hard-packed earth would have
been, so Tiago didn’t feel too badly about the impact.
He had to run and make his escape before anyone came out of that house. Tiago was
uncatchable on his own, but burdened with the weight of his slight prey, he would be
moving slower.
So why didn’t he simply leave Dallas there?
Tiago growled, unable to answer that question as he made off with Dallas into the
forest. The wolves would come after him, he knew that.
They wouldn’t find him.
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Tiago veered right toward the river that ran fast and deep through the jungle. Dallas
moaned and Tiago’s pulse accelerated. He wanted to tell Dallas to trust him, which was
crazy. At this point, Tiago wasn’t certain he could trust himself. What he’d just done was so
out of character that he couldn’t comprehend it, nor could he deny it. He was, after all,
dragging an unconscious man.
The river wasn’t far away. It wound throughout the rainforest, turning and even
bypassing itself at some points. Tiago reached the edge of a cliff above the water. He let go of
Dallas and sniffed at him. Dallas was alive, now scraped from being dragged, and still out of
it.
What the hells have I done? Why am I standing here with this man, preparing to run off with
him? Run farther off. He will wake up and hate me, and I will do what?
Tiago couldn’t figure it out, not at all. Yet he also couldn’t leave Dallas. He stood on a
cliff, looking at the river running below. Tiago was torn, his rational brain telling him what
he was doing made no sense at all, but every instinct in him argued with that voice and told
him that Dallas was his.
Since he’d never been possessive of a lover before, the primitive urges only added to his
confusion. He simply didn’t know what he should do.
It was the sound of shouting, then barking and howls, that spurred him into action.
Tiago took a mouthful of Dallas’ shirt again and lunged off the cliff. Once his paws were
clear of the ground, he shifted, immediately wrapping his arms around Dallas as soon as he
was able.
They hit the water and sunk deep. Even so, Tiago’s feet never touched the bottom. He
kicked until they surfaced. Tiago sputtered and used one arm to get them moving. When it
occurred to him that Dallas had neither awakened nor sputtered like he had, fear sparked
sharp and immediately in him.
* * * *
“Maarten’s about twenty minutes away,” Ryder said as he came into the living room.
Marcus nodded. “Good. We really need to get moving. Who is going back to your
pack?”
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26
“Guillermo, Sissy Dee and Juanita. They’ll keep everyone in line until I return.” Ryder
sat down on the arm of the couch. “Sissy wasn’t happy about it, but Keegan’s your captain,
and there is no need for him and Sissy both to be out here. Plus, I trust Sissy with the pack.
She won’t try to steal it from me.”
“She’s a good captain,” Marcus agreed. “She—” He stopped as a fissure of unease
rippled through his awareness.
“Marcus? What is it?” Ryder asked.
Nathan shushed him.
Marcus turned his head until he was looking out of the front door. He stood up when
he saw the empty hammock. “Where is Dallas?”
“He’s in the—” Nathan darted around him. “Dallas?” he called out as he stepped onto
the porch. “Dallas!”
Marcus ran past him and knew before he reached the hammock. “The jaguar!” He could
smell the cat and see the drag marks.
“Dallas!” Nathan shouted again. “There’s no blood,” he said, as he slid to a stop by
Marcus.
Marcus growled.
Nathan yelled for Ryder to get everyone out there immediately.
Waiting for backup might have been wise, but Marcus wasn’t going to let one of his
pack members get eaten by a goddamned cat. Marcus shed his clothes and shifted. He knew
Nathan was right there with him as they took off, running through the rainforest.
The jaguar’s scent was heavy, very musky, almost bitter and easy to follow.
Behind them, Marcus heard the howls and yips of his and Ryder’s guards. He debated
silencing them and sending them back. The racket was going to alert the jaguar to the chase.
It probably already had, so there was no point in stopping the hunt now. Marcus was
furious at himself for letting Dallas get abducted, and he was more certain than ever that the
jaguar wasn’t just a cat. Though he hadn’t believed there to be any other kind of shifters in
the world, he should have known better. It was the height of ego to think that only wolf
shifters would exist.
And now he would wonder what other kinds were out there—later, after he’d caught
the jaguar and got Dallas back.
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Marcus saw the upcoming cliff, heard the rushing water below, and his stomach
cramped. He had failed.
“You didn’t fail. We will find him.”
Nathan’s reassurance didn’t help.
Marcus stared down at the river. He couldn’t see beyond the curve of it some two
dozen yards up. Loping in that direction, he followed the bend of the river from up above for
as long as he could, but eventually the ground dropped away too sharply and at an angle
opposite of the river. Without leaping into the water, Marcus couldn’t follow it easily.
He still might have tried had Ryder’s strident howl not brought him up short. Marcus
sent a prying inquisition to Keegan, and got the answer from Keegan’s thoughts.
Goddamn it! Marcus spun around and almost plowed into Nathan. Marcus shifted and
waited for the arrival of the others. Nathan shifted as well, and they stood, leaning on one
another, drawing comfort from each other’s touch.
“We’ll find them both,” Nathan murmured as Ryder, Keegan and the rest of the guards
came running toward them.
Ryder shifted and stormed over to him. “We have to go, now! I will not let that fucker
hurt Maarten!”
“How do you know Robert Butler has him?” Marcus asked. All he knew was that
Maarten had been abducted. Just like Dallas was taken. Are the jaguar and drug dealer in
collusion?
Ryder slammed a fist against the nearest tree. “That bastard called me and told me he
had Maarten. That’s how.”
“We will find him,” Nathan said.
“You’re damn right we’ll find him,” Ryder shouted. “I will find him! He’s my mate.
He’s my mate,” Ryder finished brokenly, shoulders hunched as he hung his head. “I can’t
lose him.”
“You won’t.” Marcus looked back down at the river. He hated the decision he was
about to make, but it had to be done. If Ryder lost his mate, Ryder himself would die, and the
South American packs would be thrown into turmoil. Dallas had no mate, and while Marcus
believed every member of his pack to be important… Two men’s lives depended on finding
RENOUNCED
28
Maarten alive, at the minimum. If territorial wars broke out because the Alpha Anax of South
America died, many, many more lives would be lost.
“Marcus.” Nathan touched him, just a hand to his forearm, maybe not much of a caress
but one that Marcus badly needed nonetheless. “We have to get Maarten back.”
Marcus gave a curt nod. “Gather everyone back to the house. We’ll leave immediately.
The kidnapper?”
Ryder understood the unasked question. “He said he would contact me with his
demands at midnight tonight. Maarten’s phone was left in the car he was driving. Dylan and
Cressida went to retrieve it since Butler said he would call on it tonight. It’s a satellite phone,
top of the line. Works anywhere.”
Marcus was going to have to let Dallas go, for now at least.
“Send someone else. Guillermo and another of Ryder’s guards, since they live in this rainforest.
Ryder was going to send Guillermo back anyway.”
Nathan’s advice was sound. Marcus walked to Ryder and put his hand on Ryder’s
nape. He waited until Ryder looked him in the eyes. “We will get Maarten back, and end this
business here. Butler is a dead man. I won’t let you down, Ryder.”
“I can’t—” Ryder’s breath hitched and his eyes teared up. “I can’t even hear Maarten. I
haven’t since I felt a moment of shock, or more like he was startled, then nothing. It hurts, so
bad. I am so afraid for him.”
Marcus pulled Ryder into a hug. “I bet they tranquilized him. Been there, had it done to
me. One moment I was alert, the next I wondered what stung me then I was out. He’s still
alive. You would feel it if he wasn’t. That may not sound comforting, but it is true. When
Maarten wakes up, the bond between you two will kick in again. If Butler doesn’t know
about it, then you’ve got an element of surprise in your favor.”
Plus, Marcus was going to kill the son of a bitch Butler. He’d caused trouble and hurt
people Marcus cared about. He’d attacked Marcus’ pack. Such actions were untenable and
demanded retribution.
Marcus would serve it out.
“Guillermo, and one other of your guards, can you have them resume the search for
Dallas?” Marcus asked when Ryder had taken a steadying breath.
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“Yeah, yeah I can. I’ll send him and Vero. They’ll find him.” Ryder straightened his
shoulders and looked around until he spied two wolves. “Guillermo, Vero, come here,
please.”
Marcus stepped back, standing beside Nathan again. Handing over the search for
Dallas rubbed him the wrong way, yet it was the right thing to do. Putting the life of any
member of his pack in strangers’ hands wasn’t something he had ever believed he would do.
Granted, he did know Guillermo somewhat. Still, he wanted to take care of Dallas himself,
and it made him feel like utter shit to categorize the importance of the missing men.
No, he wasn’t doing that. Both Dallas and Maarten mattered. To lose either one would
leave a scar on his soul that would never heal. Dallas was a smart, funny, giving person who
always did anything he could to help others. He was valued every bit as much as Maarten
was.
But Marcus could only search for one man at a time. He would have to trust in
Guillermo and Vero to do right by Dallas.
“Find him,” Marcus ordered, not giving a shit that the two shifters were loyal to Ryder,
not him. “Alive. Don’t fail.”
“What about the jaguar?” Guillermo asked.
Marcus hardened his heart. “Kill him.”
Beside him, Nathan tensed. “Maybe—”
“No. He kidnapped Dallas. He must have hurt him, too. You can see where Dallas was dragged.
He didn’t fight. Dallas would have fought if he’d been able to. I have no mercy for anyone who harms
my pack. No mercy at all.”
Nathan bit his bottom lip, and didn’t argue, but his disapproval seeped into Marcus as
they shifted and ran back to the house.
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30
Chapter Four
“Gaw. My head,” Dallas whined, scrunching his eyes shut even tighter. “Ow. Ow ow
frickin’ ow.” The concussion was still screwing with him, which totally sucked. He was a
shifter and should have been completely healed, senses and all, despite what Sissy or anyone
else said.
Apparently his little nap in the hammock hadn’t helped at all. He still had a headache,
and he was so tired. The weak feeling was unnerving. Dallas struggled to open his eyes. He
shouldn’t be such a weakling. It was no wonder his dad had been so ashamed of him. No one
liked having a runt for a son.
And crickets on a stick, his thoughts were everywhere. Why was he even going back to
the past? That didn’t do any good at all.
A soft, snuffling sound from by his head made Dallas shiver. Warm, moist air gusted
over his cheek and neck.
Dallas became aware of the comfortable, solid bed beneath him.
Alarm shot through him. “What—?” He forced his eyelids up only to see so many spots
blinking in his vision that his head spun. “Oh geez.”
One thing was clear, vision or not—he wasn’t in the hammock. Whatever he was lying
on felt nothing like the rope swing he’d gone to sleep on.
Dallas moved his hands. One landed on something soft yet firm, and very much alive.
The other hit solid rock. “What the hell?” He blinked and started to sit up, his head spinning
or maybe it was his brain twirling in his skull. Dizziness was one of his least favorite things
to experience in the whole world. He gripped the living thing and willed his vision to clear.
It did and Dallas found himself in a cave behind a lovely waterfall. “Oh man, that’s
beautiful,” he murmured, forgetting for a second that he had a hold of something alive.
Until that something alive rumbled at him.
Dallas yelped, jerking his hand back as he whipped his head around to see the large
black jaguar beside him. “Oh, oh,” he kept repeating, his heart pounding so hard he feared it
would burst.
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The jaguar was huge, with black fur and, now that he could see, darker black rosettes
buried in its coat. He, along with everyone else, had thought the cat was solid black. It
wasn’t.
The jaguar snuffled at him, staring with unblinking golden eyes—flecks of green, amber
and brown dotted the irises.
Dallas quickly assimilated his surroundings. His fear became manageable as he did so.
“You aren’t going to kill me.”
The jaguar blinked then, slowly.
“Why don’t you shift?” Dallas asked. Surely the jaguar was a shifter. Otherwise, why
would it have dragged him off? And who would have made the—he glanced down—mossy
bed he was lying on? That wasn’t something that could be done without opposable thumbs.
Strangely enough, the chill left Dallas in small increments as he looked at the jaguar.
Some parts of him grew warmer than others.
Which was when he realized he was completely naked. “Hey! Where are my clothes?”
He gave a thumbs up to the jaguar. “You dirty, dirty boy.”
That got him a growl or yowl. He wasn’t sure how to categorize it.
The jaguar stood up and Dallas gulped. It really was huge.
Not only did it rise onto all four feet, it kept going and in less than a second, the jaguar
was a man.
Dallas’ mouth and throat went dry as his dick grew erect. “Oh. Damn.” He swallowed
and reminded himself not to let his tongue hang out as he lusted over the gorgeous man.
“You are…”
Long, black hair hung to the man’s hips. He was tall, with a very broad chest and wide
shoulders, and a slender, tapered waist. There wasn’t a single hair anywhere on his body
besides his armpits. Not his chest, belly, or his groin.
Dallas’ eyes might have bugged as he took in the thick, veiny cock curving up to the
man’s navel. Ruddy brown with a darker purple crown, it would stretch a man so wide he’d
barely be able to stand it.
Dallas clenched his ass. “Um. That’s… Who are you?” he got out, even as he stared at
that cock and the plump, hairless balls beneath it.
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32
Those were some really nice thighs, too. The man didn’t have skinny legs like Dallas
did. They were all muscular and defined.
“Tiago.”
Dallas’ gaze shot up to the man’s. “Huh?”
He huffed and spread a hand over his chest. “I am Tiago. You are Dallas. Now we can
fuck.”
Dallas was easy, that was a fact. He liked making people happy and a lot of time that
meant sexually too because hey, there were lonely guys who were so glad to get some. If
Dallas could make them feel better by bending over or sucking cock, what was the harm in
it? Most of the time he enjoyed it. If not the sex itself, the knowledge that he’d made someone
else happy, at least.
But this was different.
“How did I get here?” Dallas asked suspiciously.
Tiago loosely gripped his own dick and began to stroke. “I brought you. For this.”
Dallas clenched his butt again. He was harder than he’d ever been, his cock aching,
even, yet he didn’t like the idea that he’d been kidnapped. At all. “How?”
Tiago’s skin darkened on his cheeks. He narrowed his eyes at Dallas. “I— You started
to wake up. I didn’t want you to shout. There is only one of me and many of you.”
“Answer my question,” Dallas demanded. He pinched the tip of his cock. Be-fucking-
have, you stupid stump! The last thing we need is to be getting turned on like this by a guy who’s
abusive and psychotic. I can’t even have Stockholm Syndrome yet! I just woke up.
Tiago narrowed his eyes even more. “I would prefer not to.”
“I bet you would prefer that,” Dallas muttered. “Did you hit me?”
Tiago blanched. His poor face was running a gamut of colors. “I—I didn’t mean to—I
was in my jaguar form and I don’t even know why I—You were—” He sputtered and finally
groaned. “Gods!”
Dallas touched his temple. There was a small bump right where his first injury had
been. “You smacked me in the head, you asshole.” He wasn’t feeling so much like a people
pleaser right then.
“I didn’t mean to!” Tiago growled and began to pace. He couldn’t go far, which made
watching him kind of uncomfortable.
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Dallas was going to get dizzy all over again. “Explain to me how you accidentally hit
me in the head then. Did you accidentally drag me here, too?” He winced when he looked at
his knees. “I’m all scraped up. You want to fuck me after hitting me, kidnapping me,
dragging me who knows where, stripping me naked—”
“The clothes tore!” Tiago said, pointing at him. “I did not remove them for voyeuristic
purposes. After I pulled you from the river, the clothes were useless. We hit some rocks, the
thin material was shredded. It hid nothing. I tried not to hurt you.” Tiago ran his hands
partway through his hair, stopped, and gave both handfuls a tug. “I don’t even know why I
had to have you! None of this makes sense. I should be tracking the drug dealer and
planning to rid my homeland of—” Tiago snapped his mouth shut, his teeth clacking
together audibly.
Dallas started to ask him what he’d been about to say, but a startling idea occurred to
him. He didn’t have Stockholm Syndrome. He was attracted to Tiago very much, despite not
knowing him, despite being abducted and walloped upside the head. There was a possibility
this was more than just a sex thing.
Feeling like he’d swallowed a net full of butterflies, Dallas said, “Explain to me what
happened. Everything. Why I’m here, especially.”
“I don’t know,” Tiago said after a long moment during which he glared at Dallas. “I
want you. I…wanted to get closer to you. You were sleeping. I knew there were many wolf
shifters in the house, so I was very careful. I only wanted to see you, but you opened your
eyes—”
Dallas remembered that now.
“And you were going to scream.” Tiago shook his head. “I could not fight them all and
survive. I meant to run. I started to. Stumbled, lurched forward. I had to stop you from
alerting them.”
“By kidnapping me?” Dallas pressed. His cock was still as hard as the highest quality
steel.
Tiago’s panicked expression was fleeting before he slipped into a neutral one. “I don’t
know what to tell you. It was impulse. I have never carried off a lover before.”
“I’m not your lover,” Dallas said, needing to push Tiago. “I still have a major issue with
you hitting me. How many of your exes have you hit?”
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34
“None,” Tiago snarled. “I do not abuse my lovers! I wouldn’t do such a thing. It was an
accident, I tell you.”
Dallas touched his temple and raised an eyebrow at that.
Tiago sighed and finally quit pacing. He sat down on the ground as if the hardness of it
didn’t bother him at all. “It wasn’t intentional. I suppose, somewhere deep inside, it could
have been a survival instinct. Stop the prey from alerting others to my presence. I was
disoriented. I have never been so drawn to someone.” He pushed two chunks of hair behind
his ears and looked at Dallas. “I saw you, yesterday, and before. I could not stop watching
you. You are beautiful, in this form and the other, and I hate that I like your wolf. I don’t
want to. Your kind doesn’t belong here.”
Dallas had been feeling flattered and leaning more than a little to putting out for
Tiago—until that last bit. “My kind doesn’t belong here? Then maybe I should get out of this
damned cave and leave you alone. You, honey, are one fucked up, hot mess.” Dallas pushed
to his feet. “Figures the sexiest man I’ve ever seen would be a total head case. Bigotry comes
in all flavors,” he added to himself. “My kind. Whatever.”
“Wolves aren’t native to this area,” Tiago said, and that might have been desperation
making his voice sound higher-pitched than the deep rumble it had been before. “They are
an invasive species, and the rainforest is being destroyed by such things! Our ecosystem—”
Dallas held up a hand. “Stop. I am leaving. So help me, if you try to hit me, I’ll… I’ll…
I’ll do something!” Probably scream so loud he burst both of their eardrums.
Tiago frowned, his thin lips thinning to a narrow line. “No, I wouldn’t hit you again,
but you can’t just leave. I— What is wrong with me? This….keeps happening!” He waved his
erection at Dallas. “And you! You, too. You protest that I am all these horrible things, yet
your body is calling to me.”
“Well, my body doesn’t rule my mind, dude. Bodies are just things, and they react,”
Dallas continued. He didn’t even know what he was saying at this point. Logical arguments
weren’t cutting it. “Whatever! So my dick is hard, so what? I can control myself. You aren’t a
nice man at all, which is too bad because you’re really hot, but I guess it’s no surprise. A lot
of the hottest guys are total jerks. Stalk me, hit me, drag me to some beautiful cave with a
waterfall and think I should let you fuck me because you… You what? You what?” he
shouted, completely befuddled and angry and so horny he didn’t know if he could walk
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away. “I don’t understand what you want from me or why you want me in the first damn
place!”
Tiago, instead of getting angry, smiled and looked every bit as confused as Dallas felt.
“You have a strength I didn’t suspect.”
Well, that was the wrong thing to say. Dallas planted a fisted hand on one hip and
glared. “What the hell does that mean? You know what? Don’t even answer. I’ve been the
runt all my life. I was the picked on one not only from my litter, but from my pack because of
it. My mom coddled me and my dad didn’t know what to do with the weak little gay boy he
had for a son. All he probably ever wanted was a good ol’ butch boy he could hunt and run
with, but he ended up with me and my sisters. Though, okay, Agatha is really muscular
and—” He reined himself back on track. “And it doesn’t matter. You’re just another one.
Another one who thinks I’m the runt and weak. I’m not weak just because I’m skinny and
short and like to make people happy, you asshole!”
Dallas pressed his other hand over his mouth. He hated calling people bad names. He
hated being angry. He hated feeling hurt, especially when he didn’t know why he felt that
way.
He spun around to leave, determined to ignore his raging hormones and let his temper
guide him.
“Please don’t leave.”
Three words. They shouldn’t have had any power at all, yet they stopped him in his
tracks. Dallas stood six feet away from possible freedom. “I am not having sex with you. Not
after what you said about my kind. I would have maybe, before that, but I can’t stand
bigotry.”
Tiago sighed loudly. “The rainforest is being destroyed, Dallas—by men like the one
your pack is hunting, Robert Butler, and by companies, corporations, seeking to profit off of
it. They don’t care about the damage they cause, the wildlife they force into extinction, the
plants that will never be found anywhere else. It is only money and greed that drives them.
This place is getting smaller, and to bring in a species that doesn’t belong will take a toll on
it.”
“You’re still arguing about ‘my kind’ not belonging here.” Dallas took another step
toward the waterfall. His heart slammed against his ribs. Pain that wasn’t exactly physical
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36
spread throughout his body. He took a second step and it got worse. “Oh. Shit.” This could
not be happening to him. No way, no how. He scrambled for something to say. “Ryder’s pack
has been here for decades, maybe longer.”
“Not many decades in this rainforest,” Tiago responded. “Oh shit what?”
“All of this, everything.” Dallas meant to sound angry, but he was tired, confused and
scared. “The wolf shifters aren’t hurting anything. They hunt, yes, but they don’t exceed their
needs, and there aren’t a lot of them anyway. They aren’t hurting anything. You’re being a
jerk. And you hit me—and kidnapped me, and made the worst proposition to me ever, and I
am easy, Tiago, so if you insulted me enough that I won’t fuck you, that should tell you
something.”
Tiago made a very loud, grumbling noise that might have been a snarl. “There is
nothing easy about you that I have seen. You argue and you think, and you do not just bend
over for me. You have gotten angry and what do you mean, ‘easy’?”
“I mean I have sex with lots of men,” Dallas replied. He managed another step, then
another. He stretched his arm out and stuck the tips of his fingers in the waterfall. “They
want me. They feel bad, sad, depressed or just horny, even curious. I’m down with it. I get
off on making them feel good. Sometimes I don’t even come, and the guy doesn’t even
notice.” Gods, why was he telling Tiago any of this?
“I don’t understand. I don’t understand why I want to find these men and hurt them
all,” Tiago mumbled. “I do not. Get. It.”
Dallas hung his head and let his arm drop to his side. His wolf was howling at him, and
it wasn’t in agreement with his head. It was all for what his dick wanted.
Because the fact was, Fate had royally screwed up. Dallas closed his eyes. “Damn it.
Damn it all, Tiago. I can’t be your mate.”
Never had he experienced so many tumultuous emotions. Tiago sat watching Dallas,
admiring his slender form, even while he tried to rationalize why he shouldn’t want the man.
Being called a bigot was a slap in the face Tiago had never expected. Then there was the
hitting accusation. “It was an accident. I don’t even know why it knocked you out.”
Dallas peered over his shoulder at him.
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Tiago nodded. “I was startled when you opened your eyes. I jerked back, stumbled, I
don’t know how. We hit heads. My skull is pretty hard in either form. I shook it off. You
didn’t, and I couldn’t leave you there.”
“Why not?” Dallas asked.
That was the question Tiago had been asking himself all along. “I don’t know. I
couldn’t understand why I approached you in the first place. Why I feel like if you leave
now, you’ll rip out a part of me. That, especially, I don’t understand. We are strangers. We—”
“We are mates,” he heard in his head. In Dallas’ voice.
Tiago blinked, then blinked again. Dallas was still looking at him, so Tiago knew the
man’s mouth hadn’t moved.
“What?” Tiago managed to scrape out.
Dallas groaned and turned to face him. “Mates. Mates mates mates mates, damn it! What
the hell, Fate? You give me a mate who hates me and my kind?”
Tiago had never swooned in his life. He wasn’t about to do so then, even if he did
suddenly feel swimmy. “Explain what you mean, please.”
“Oh my gawd, really?” Dallas huffed and rolled his eyes, then promptly whimpered
and cupped his temple. “You had to hit me right where that psychotic hijacker did. My head
hurts. Don’t you have destined mates?” He covered his face with his hands.
Destined mates sounded very serious. Very serious. “Ah. No?”
Dallas peeked at him through his fingers. “Don’t do this to me.”
“I haven’t done—” Tiago caught himself. “I mean, I did. Obviously. This mate business,
though, I didn’t do it. We don’t have mates. Jaguars are solitary creatures. We fuck and move
on.”
“Think to me,” Dallas demanded. “Do it. I reached you through the mental bond
destined mates have. Fated mates. Call it what you like, we were apparently made for each
other.”
Tiago was suddenly afraid to try. He knew he’d heard Dallas in his head. Even so, it
didn’t seem nearly as scary or prophetic to hear him as it would if Tiago could speak to
Dallas the same way.
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38
But he’d never been a coward. “My full name is Tiago Henrique Silva de Souza. I was born
in nineteen eighty-three. I am still considered a young one. Jaguar shifters can live for a very long
time.”
“So can we. If we aren’t shot, hit by a car, killed by another wolf or shifter, things like that. There
aren’t many diseases that get us. And we are conversing, telepathically. Shit. We really are mates.”
Dallas burst out laughing. “Ah, dude. You’re stuck with one of them and I’m stuck with
someone who is a great big, bigot! Someone messed up. This can’t be right.”
“I am not a bigot,” Tiago tried again. The mate part he would have to deal with later.
And he wasn’t even going to think about the whole telepathy thing. “I am not. What I have
said, any ecologist will tell you—any environmental specialist. I am not objecting to the
existence of wolf shifters or humans, but of the introduction of them to this area.”
“Wolf shifters aren’t newly introduced,” Dallas argued. “That pack has been here for a
long time.”
“Not in rainforest years.” Tiago shook his head. “I have seen them build homes and
install electronic equipment, traipse through and destroy plants without thought or care. For
everything brought in, something is lost. I am afraid, Dallas. I am afraid that my home will
be taken from me.”
It was his biggest fear, and he’d admitted it to a virtual stranger. Tiago would have
been astounded, but after Dallas’ revelations, he was just tired—and still horny.
There were other emotions he would have to deal with later. Dallas’ story about his
upbringing was going to haunt Tiago. Dallas might not think much of him, but Tiago
believed Dallas to be a fine man.
“My full name is Dallas Edmond Tearman,” Dallas said. He swallowed and looked up
at the ceiling of the cavern. “I’m twenty-nine. Not old in wolf shifter years. I think maybe
instead of trying to run Ryder’s pack out or whatever you might be planning, you should try
talking to them. Educating them. Forming an alliance, maybe. I’m not sure if you’re a nice
person, and I have a problem with that. I can’t stand bigotry of any type. I don’t see how we
fit together.”
Tiago felt Dallas’ anguish and confusion. It was the oddest thing. Every molecule in him
wanted to sooth Dallas and ease his troubles. Again, nothing Tiago had ever felt before.
And he didn’t want Dallas to leave. If he did, Tiago would have to follow him.
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Gods, Dallas was right about them. Jaguars didn’t have destined mates, but wolves did,
and apparently, that trumped Tiago’s shifter nature. All of his bitching about invasive
species, and Tiago was affected in a manner he never would have suspected possible.
He was well and truly involved in something he had no control over.
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40
Chapter Five
They found Maarten’s car fifteen miles from the beach house. The small beater vehicle
smelled of humans and of Maarten.
“I’ll kill all of them,” Ryder vowed, clenching his fists against his denim-clad thighs.
They’d had to run as humans, unable to find sufficient cover as wolves. “I don’t care about
the why of any of it. Robert Butler is dead. The same goes for anyone who had a part of
taking my mate.” He closed his eyes and bowed his head. “I can feel his heartbeat.”
Marcus cupped Ryder’s shoulder. “Maarten’s smart, and he’ll get through this. We’ll
find him, soon.”
“At least we know Butler doesn’t have a plane,” Nathan said. “He has to be traveling by
car since he destroyed Marcus’ jet. I know yours went missing before you ever got here,
Ryder, but—” Nathan stopped, his eyes widening. “Maybe we should get to the airport.”
“Because there’s no proof the private jet belonging to my pack was ever crashed,”
Ryder added. “Butler got here quickly.”
Marcus checked the car out again. “The keys are gone. Shifting is out of the question,
and we aren’t very fast in our human forms. If they’re planning on escaping using a plane,
we won’t be able to catch them in time.”
“We might,” Ryder snapped. “You don’t know what could happen. Standing here
wasting time isn’t going to help.” Ryder gestured to his guards. “Let’s go.”
Marcus was used to taking command, leading the way in everything except the
bedroom with his mate. Stepping back, allowing Ryder, as Alpha Anax of South America, to
take his rightful place in this endeavor, was proving difficult.
Marcus vowed to himself to do it, though, and only protest if he truly believed he had a
better suggestion for doing things. He’d have to make sure it wasn’t just his pride speaking
up, either.
“He’s doing well,” Keegan said, jogging to Marcus’ side. “I can steal a car. That’s one
thing I learned in my misspent youth.”
Marcus nodded. Whatever would get them to the town the fastest. “Tell Ryder.”
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* * * *
One minute he’d been driving along, singing about being fancy, and the next he was
groggy, a stinging in his neck preceding that sensation.
Maarten woke up knowing exactly what had happened to him. Motherfuckers. Ryder will
kill you all. He opened his eyes to total darkness. A cloth covered them. The small, tight space
he was in had to be a trunk, and he was being jostled regularly, enough so that it’d helped
wake him from his drugged stupor.
His wrists were bound with what felt like multiple cuffs behind his back. Not only that,
but his arms were bent up, with his hands between his shoulder blades. It was a very
uncomfortable position. Shifting was out, then. He’d wrench his arms and shoulders out of
socket at the least. A wolf’s arms didn’t bend that way.
But he had his link to his mate. Maarten’s heart thumped heavily as he reached for him.
“Ryder!”
A wave of relief washed over him. “Maarten! Where are you? Tell me so I can—” Ryder
didn’t finish the thought with words. Instead, images of violent promises flashed through his
mind.
“I’m in a trunk. I think. I can’t shift. My hands are cuffed behind me in a weird way. I should
have been paying more attention. Too cocky, thinking these humans wouldn’t dare to come at me in
broad daylight. Jesus, I was stupid.”
Ryder’s snarled refutation of that claim warmed Maarten but he didn’t believe it. He
should have felt himself being watched. No, he’d been too busy thinking about Ryder and
jumping his bones when they got together, too occupied with singing a mindless song and
seeing his friends Marcus and Nathan again. Gods, he was a fool.
“Stop it,” Ryder demanded. “That kind of thinking won’t help you at all. Try to concentrate
on anything you can to clue me into where you are. Smells, sounds, anything.”
Maarten closed his eyes—stupid since he was blindfolded, but it helped him
concentrate. His ears felt weird, and his ability to scent was being screwed with by
something odiferous close to his nose.
“Ear plugs,” he realized. “I have plugs in my ears! We wondered if this guy knew what we
really are, and he must, because my arms are cuffed in a way that makes shifting impossible, my senses
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are all blocked. There is something that smells strongly of chemicals and citrus in front of my face. An
air freshener, perhaps. Whatever it is, it’s all I smell.”
“Okay, so Butler knows we’re shifters—or at least suspects that you are. What he doesn’t know
is we have a bond he can’t break.”
Maarten could tell Ryder was trying not to panic. Even so, he heard the traces of it in
Ryder’s thoughts.
“He can’t find out about that. I’ll track you through it. I can feel you, Maarten. I will find you.
Aidan found Zane when Zane ran from him. No one can take you from me, not for long.”
That was possibly the most romantic thing Ryder had ever said to him, and it was silly
to get teary-eyed over it considering the circumstances. Good gods, he was a man, not some
emotional teenager.
“Did you see any of them?” Ryder asked.
Maarten felt even more like a failure. “No. I was driving, the window was down. The AC in
the car didn’t work. It was so humid and the breeze was nice but not enough. I slowed down at a curve
in the road, then my neck stung and I knew what had happened before I passed out. They used a dart
gun, a tranq gun, whatever you want to call it. They weren’t close to me.”
“Now the question is, how did they figure out you were with us?” Ryder silently cursed
himself, though Maarten heard it through their link. “Of course he knew. He had the jet hijacked.
He’s been watching us. He knows we’re shifters, but he only knows what he can see. We’ll need to
discern how many others he has told.”
Maarten took comfort in Ryder slipping into analytical mode. He tried to relax his
muscles as he was bumped around in the trunk. He’d be bruised all over by the time they got
wherever they were going.
That was okay. As long as he was alive, he could handle bruises and horribly sore
muscles from being bound so atrociously.
Ryder would find him.
Maarten couldn’t have slept had he needed to. The drugs in the dart he’d been hit with
had worn off completely by the time the car came to a stop. Maarten guessed they’d been
driving for almost three hours since he’d come to.
He was drenched in sweat, and dangerously close to overheating. The trunk was very
hot and he was dizzy from it.
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Only Ryder’s constant thoughts and reassurances had helped him to remain calm.
Dying of heat stroke was a very real risk and a terrifying one. Maarten found that locking his
mind firmly with Ryder’s and letting his breathing slip to a slow, deep state, helped
somewhat.
The trunk was opened from the outside. Maarten didn’t even have the strength to yelp
when his arm was grabbed and jerked. Hot, agonizing streaks of pain burst out from his
shoulder and elbow.
“I thought you might be dead,” a man said drolly. “I’m quite pleased that you aren’t.”
Maarten grunted, the best he could do considering his arms were about to be yanked
off. That was what it felt like as he was hauled up out of the trunk.
“Hmm. The restraints have worked well. Get the bar, and we’ll make some adjustments
there.”
Maarten knew the man speaking was Robert Butler. He had a slight northern accent, as
if he’d come from Maine or Rhode Island, somewhere like that—cultured, too, at least to
Maarten’s ears.
A hand gripped his chin forcefully.
“My, you are a big man, aren’t you? You’ll come in handy once I’ve convinced you to
work for me.” He clenched Maarten’s chin tighter. “I am assuming your boyfriend wants you
back. He will have to learn to do without you or come to my flock. No, pack. That’s what
you’d call it.” A deep, rich laugh followed. “I am, after all, the alpha here. Clearly.”
Maarten tried biting his tongue but it didn’t work. “No, you clearly are not. You are
simply a dishonorable man who— Umph!”
That wasn’t a fist slamming into his stomach. It was much larger and harder than a
human hand.
Maarten’s breath whooshed out of his lungs as he started to double over.
“Leave him alive, at least barely,” Robert Butler ordered. “Not comatose, but I am fine
with him wishing he were dead. After you’re done, chain his arms to the bar.”
Hearing what was planned for him added to Maarten’s anger and fear. He couldn’t
draw a deep breath, and he scrambled to keep in touch with Ryder, who was shouting at him
in his head.
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But the next blow was even worse than the first, and Maarten felt something crack
inside him. A rib, he thought, as his knees hit the ground.
After that, he couldn’t keep track. His entire body shrieked with pain as he was beaten
until finally unconsciousness carried him away from the torture.
* * * *
The next time Maarten woke up, he was chained to a wall somehow, his arms stretched
out parallel to the ground. Again, he couldn’t shift, not without seriously harming himself.
His legs were splayed open as well. He was wearing his pants, so that was something.
Everything hurt, and he couldn’t move his head. That sent a jolt of panic through him.
Maarten snapped his eyes open and saw nothing at first, only darkness. Slowly, his eyes
came into focus and he could make out a brick wall across from him.
There was no light on, but he could see. His senses were all functioning, and they
kicked in at once. He heard voices coming from another room, smelled spicy food and rank
men, and the trace of a cologne that was actually quite nice. He saw the bare wall but
couldn’t turn his head. Before he could freak out over that, he realized a band over his
forehead kept him from being able to move. He was strapped to the wall with enough metal
and restraints that he was lucky he could breathe.
Maarten reached for Ryder. “Ryder? I…” His mind blanked on a wave of relief as
Ryder’s presence flowed into him.
“I’m here, babe. I’m here. I’ve been with you through it all, and I promise you, they will die
slowly.”
“I don’t care if they die at all. Find me. Find me, Ryder. I can’t move. I can’t move at all and I…
It’s horrible, a nightmare I’ve had before. Like this Butler saw into my mind and pulled out the one
thing that I’ve always feared.”
“You’ve never cared for restraints,” Ryder acknowledged. “I didn’t realize you were this—”
“Scared,” Maarten interjected when Ryder hesitated. “This scared of being paralyzed,
unable to move. I can’t stand it. I saw a shifter friend of mine fall and break his neck. He didn’t die
quickly. With his healing abilities, he should have, but even those abilities weren’t enough to repair the
damage done to him. It took him weeks to die. He couldn’t heal, and the medical advances used on
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humans aren’t available for us. It was horrific. Then when Luuk was overthrown, I was restrained
once.”
It’d been terrifying, to be so helpless. Another shifter had bound him, and like this
Robert Butler, had done it in a way that Maarten hadn’t been able to escape. It’d been a very
bad night for Maarten. “I can’t stand this. It’s worse than the heat in the trunk.”
“You can stand it, because I’m coming for you, Maarten. I feel you, in my heart, in my soul, my
mind. I know which direction you’re in. I can tell that I’m closer with every mile we drive. We found
the abandoned car. I saw… I saw your blood on the ground, smelled it, raged at the knowledge that
you’d been hurt so much. Marcus had to calm me. I almost shifted right there in an alley in Macapa. I
love you, Maarten. Stay with me, slip further into my mind and away from yours and the fear you are
tangled in. Come to me.”
“I will.” But something potentially important niggled at his brain. “Butler, his voice has a
faint Northern accent, almost undetectable, like a long time ago he might have came from Maine or
Massachusetts, maybe Rhode Island. He talks like he’s smart, too.” With that thought, the last of
Maarten’s strength waned and he couldn’t resist the escape. Maarten let himself drift,
snuggling into Ryder’s warmth, leaving behind the pain as he slipped into something that
wasn’t quite a sleep. He was going to be with his mate. Nothing was stopping him.
* * * *
Marcus waited for Ryder to speak.
“He’s awake now, but he’s hiding in me,” Ryder said. “I don’t know if that makes
sense.”
“It does,” Marcus acknowledged. “The bond between mates is capable of many things,
even leaving one’s corporeal body behind, in a manner of speaking. His body is still there,
still with him, but he’s bringing most of his heart and soul over to you for safekeeping.”
Marcus smiled slightly. “Sounds melodramatic and romantic, and to some extent, it is the
latter, but it’s also something that happens only in extreme circumstances. He must be very
afraid. Or very hurt.” As much as he hated to add that on, Marcus had to. Honesty was
important to him and to Ryder as well.
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“He is hurting, yes. They beat him, Marcus. I know you can”—Ryder spared him a
quick look of apology—“understand that, having been abducted and held prisoner for
months as you were.”
Yes, months during which he’d been starved, beaten, taunted, threatened and so on. He
understood. Many times he’d thought he would die. Sometimes he’d even wanted to. Nathan
had saved him from all that.
“He’ll get past this,” Marcus said. “Maarten may joke and seem as if he hasn’t got a care
in the world, but he is fiercely loyal, and smart, and strong. Robert Butler has no idea what
he’s done.”
“I wish we knew what that bastard looked like.” Ryder tightened his grip on the
steering wheel.
“If Dana can’t find a photo of him, it’s because there isn’t one to be found. Olin searched
as well,” Keegan added from his third row seat.
Olin leaned forward. “Granted, a cell phone isn’t the best search instrument, but I did
also email someone I trust at the security company I work for. She couldn’t find anything on
Robert Butler, either. I think it has to be a fake name. Cynthia, the co-worker I contacted, is
checking on names of drug dealers in Brazil. She’ll be sending me info any moment now, I’d
think.”
“Maarten didn’t see the man’s face. He was still blindfolded when they took him from
the trunk.” Ryder smacked the steering wheel. “A northerner, Olin. Maarten said his voice
sounded like someone who’d once lived in Maine or Rhode Island, Massachusetts,
somewhere around there, but had almost lost that accent. Cultured, which could mean Butler
is educated—or just acts like it. Anything else, Maarten?”
Ryder frowned then nodded. “Doesn’t think Butler is old or even middle aged. That’s a
guess, though.”
“It’s something more to go on,” Olin replied. “Apparently there are a fuck-ton of drug
dealers in Brazil, big ones. Jesus, I didn’t realize. Guess I’m not as hip as I thought I was.”
“Drugs do little to nothing for shifters, so it isn’t something we keep track of either,”
Keegan said to his mate.
Marcus focused his attention back on Ryder. “Do you want me to drive?”
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“No. I can feel which way Maarten is. This is easier.” Ryder slanted him a sardonic
look. “Is it driving you nuts letting me lead?”
Marcus shrugged one shoulder. “I won’t lie and say it feels natural, but I am a
reasonable man.” Then he added a smile that was more teeth than sincerity. “As long as
you’re doing what I think you should be doing.”
Ryder chortled. “Well, I’m surprised you’ve admitted it, though I shouldn’t be. I’m
secure enough to admit that I’ll listen to any advice you have. You have more knowledge
than I do about everything shifter related. I’m not a cocky fuckwit—most of the time,
anyway.”
Marcus had chosen well when he’d pushed Ryder to take over the South American
packs. It wasn’t that Ryder was in his pocket, so to speak, but Ryder was fair, and smart, and
he had a good heart along with a spine of steel. He was made to become the Alpha Anax
somewhere, and it sure wasn’t going to be North America, where Marcus ruled, or Europe,
as Luuk had no intention of leaving his position as Alpha Anax. The same could be said of
the AA of every other continent.
And now it could be said of Ryder as well. He was securely invested in his pack
placement.
If he lost his mate, all that would change.
Marcus was worried for his friend and for the stability of the packs under Ryder’s care.
“Can you tell how far away he is?” Nathan asked, yawning afterwards. “All this riding
is making me drowsy.”
“Not far,” Ryder answered. “At least he wasn’t flown somewhere. I feel like he must be
in Cayenne. That’s in French Guiana, and it… It fits in here.” He tapped his chest. “It’s not
huge, but still Cayenne’s a big enough place to have plenty of hiding spots. I don’t think
Butler is going to hide in a small village. He’ll want the pretense of safety a larger area will
give. I suppose he could be in São Paolo, but no. Maarten is closer than that.”
Marcus trusted Ryder’s instincts. Just as if Nathan had been taken from him, Marcus
would know how to track him. He’d feel Nathan in his core. Nothing would keep him from
finding his mate.
Nathan placed a hand on Marcus’ nape. The comforting touch was perfectly timed.
Marcus reached over his shoulder and cupped Nathan’s hand. He patted it, then let go.
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48
“We’ve heard nothing from Guillermo and Vero yet?” Marcus asked, though he knew
the answer.
Keegan cleared his throat. “No. I did ask them to contact me since they’re looking for
our pack member, but I haven’t received any information at all. I would try calling them, but
should a phone ring at an inopportune time, it could have deadly consequences.”
Marcus knew that. He was just worried about Dallas. “Of course.”
Keegan’s phone rang and the atmosphere in the car immediately became tenser than it
had been. “Yes, Dana?”
Not about Dallas, then. Marcus wished he was sitting with Nathan instead of in the
front passenger seat beside Ryder. He wanted to press close to Nathan.
“Soon,” Nathan whispered, touching him again.
Keegan asked Dana about jaguar shifters.
Marcus listened, but couldn’t make out what Dana said.
When Keegan hung up, he grumbled, “What a frustrating waste of time. She found
nothing about jaguar shifters, nothing about drug dealers that helps us—nothing, period. I
can understand the shifter thing, I guess, since you can’t Google and find us. Lots of rumors
and crazy theories, but not us.”
“Why wouldn’t it be the same for the criminals?” Nathan inquired. “Think about it.
They sure as hell don’t want their names out there.”
“Right. Makes sense.” Keegan didn’t speak again.
Marcus rested his head against the uncomfortable seat. He closed his eyes and tried to
still his mind and worries. What would come, would come, and he was going to have to deal
with it.
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Chapter Six
So far, Dallas hadn’t made it past the waterfall. He’d tried, but his feet were
uncooperative and he knew the mate bond was already tightening between him and Tiago.
Tiago, who didn’t want Dallas’ kind there. Wow, Fate must really hate Tiago to saddle him
with me. Dallas wasn’t going to even consider what he might have done to get sentenced to a
lifetime with a man who didn’t like what he was.
Tiago kept watching him with those pretty, hungry eyes.
Dallas glanced at the waterfall again. It was growing dark outside. Soon the cavern
would be pitch black. With his senses screwed up, would he even be able to see? Dallas
shuddered at the idea of being enveloped in darkness.
Movement caught his attention. Tiago stood and stretched, displaying his perfect body
right in front of Dallas. Tiago’s thick cock hadn’t gone totally soft. Dallas’ mouth watered as
he looked at it.
Tiago huffed and lowered his arms. He ghosted a hand over his length. “If this is not to
change between us, why do you refuse to let me have you?”
“Let you—” Dallas could out-huff Tiago any day. “You do understand it works both
ways? With my kind,” he stressed those three words and watched Tiago flinch. “We mate for
life. I won’t want anyone other than you and while yeah, I love to get fucked, every now and
then I’d like to mix it up and fuck you, too. You’ll be it, all I get until I die, and it damned
well better be the same for you. Man, if destined mates only works on my end, and you can
go around screwing everything with a hole… Just, no. No way.” Gods, that would be
horrible! He’d never be able to handle it.
Tiago tossed his long black hair. “How am I to know what will happen to me? I told
you. Jaguars don’t have mates. We just have sex. Others annoy us after a short period of time.
I am trying here, Dallas. I feel the…the tug inside, and I can’t leave you here and I don’t think
I can let you leave—not without following you. What do you want me to do? My head and
body are at odds. You come into my life and everything is altered, and I want to understand,
and I want you, and I don’t want to want you but then I do and—”
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50
“Fuck it,” Dallas snapped as he stood up. “I’ve had sex with guys for way less reasons
than this.” Tiago was his mate. Maybe, instead of fighting it, giving in was the way to go—
for both of them. Sex could be the gateway to learning about each other. It wasn’t an unusual
method for mates to take.
Tiago was frozen in place as Dallas stomped over to him. Well, stomped at first. The
rock beneath his heels caused him pain with every angry step though, so he had to switch to
a normal walk.
He stopped when his toes touched Tiago’s. “You’re confused, upset, angry? So am I.
But I know what’s happening in here is right.” He touched his chest, also brushing the back
of his hand over Tiago’s skin.
Tiago wasn’t the only one who shivered.
“Destined mates are made for each other. That means this isn’t wrong, and we are each
other’s missing half. You aren’t going to fuck anyone else. It would kill me if you did. It’s an
unacceptable thing and you won’t even want to. Neither will I. That’s how this works.” He
had to believe that, because anything less would break him. He felt the bonds tightening.
“You went through a hell of a lot of trouble to get me, Tiago. Now what are you going to do
with me?”
Tiago hissed and narrowed his eyes.
Before Dallas knew it, Tiago had him by the back of his head, and had his other arm
around Dallas’ hips.
Dallas clutched at Tiago’s shoulders and came up onto his toes.
Tiago growled as he lowered his mouth to Dallas’.
There was full-body contact at the same time that their lips touched.
Dallas cried out, the sudden, overwhelming flood of desire almost knocking his feet out
from under him.
The hot, hard stab of Tiago’s cock would surely brand him.
Tiago slid the hand on Dallas’ hip around to his ass and he kneaded Dallas’ cheek. At
the same time, he licked Dallas’ lips then pushed his tongue past them.
Dallas mewled and raised a leg up, intending to hook it around Tiago’s hip.
Instead, Tiago held him tighter, and began to lower them to the soft mossy bed he’d
made earlier.
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Dallas might have swooned. He was being held by his strong, sexy mate, laid out on a
bed made just for him, just for this purpose.
Tiago kissed him voraciously, as if he couldn’t get enough of Dallas.
Dallas knew the feeling. He parted his legs when his back touched the moss.
Tiago settled into place between them, never once breaking the kiss. He suckled on
Dallas’ lips as he began to rut, sliding his dick alongside Dallas’.
Dallas’ body was going into sensual overload. Every place Tiago touched him was
unlike any other man’s touch had been. It was erotic and perfect and so pleasurable that
Dallas couldn’t even comprehend it. His body was pinging, shooting bolts of bliss
throughout. His skin was extra-sensitized, making every drag and rub seem magnified.
And he could only let his body take over. Whatever disagreements or things he didn’t
like about Tiago ceased to matter. This wasn’t a meeting of the minds. It was two desperate
bodies driven by instincts so old as to be unnamable.
Dallas thrust up, clutching, clawing, gripping Tiago everywhere. He managed to get
two handfuls of hair and held on as he writhed.
Tiago growled and scraped very sharp feline teeth down Dallas’ neck.
Dallas arched for him. His tits burned, his balls ached, and his ass was entirely too
empty—and he wasn’t going to last.
Tiago bit without warning, sinking his long canines in deep.
Dallas’ shout rang out in the cavern as he came, his orgasm twisting out of him with an
almost violent wrench. Dallas squirmed and stiffened, rubbed and cried out as his climax
went on and on.
At some point he shuddered and became aware of Tiago licking the bite mark while
still thrusting against him.
Tiago came up to his knees, rumbling, his eyes lit with such want Dallas expected to be
singed from it.
“Over,” Tiago demanded, his fangs still out, lending an extra harshness to the word.
Dallas started to roll.
Tiago grabbed him and flipped him instead.
“Tia—ohh,” Dallas moaned as his cheeks were pushed apart. “Yes, please,” he begged
when Tiago’s hot breath gusted over the small of his back. “Uhn.”
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52
“Please what?” Tiago asked.
Dallas could feel the moisture from Tiago’s exhalations and knew the man was
tormenting him on purpose. It made Dallas’ dick twitch with excitement. “Lick my ass. Rim
me. Eat me. Shove your tongue so far in me I can taste it.”
That last part might have been overkill, but Dallas was out of his head with need,
despite just coming. He needed his mate to fuck him.
Tiago nipped him on the butt. “Such dirty talk. I like it.”
Dallas had done it before. Rarely, but he had. It’d never been like it was with Tiago.
Usually it was something he used to hurry along the guy he was with, get him off and on his
way.
But with Tiago, it was all simply the truth.
“Good. I’d like it if you’d get me wet and ready for that big dick of yours.”
Tiago cursed and bit his ass harder, not enough to break the skin, but Dallas felt it, that
was certain.
“I don’t like pain,” Dallas got out before he lost his nerve. Honesty—he believed in it a
hundred percent.
“Not going to hurt you,” Tiago muttered. “Gods, your ass… Raise up for me.”
Dallas got his knees under him.
Tiago caressed his buttocks. He licked from the top of Dallas’ crease to his hole, then
further still until his tongue teased Dallas’ balls.
Dallas grabbed at the moss, needing to hold onto something.
His cock seemed like a much better option, so he moved a hand down to grip it.
Tiago licked him up and down, over and over until Dallas was ready to scream.
“I need—”
“I know,” Tiago said before sucking on Dallas’ ring.
Dallas thumped his forehead against the moss. “Oh gods, oh fuck, oh gods!”
Tiago blew on the wet skin then lapped at it until Dallas would have sworn he could
feel every molecule vibrating there.
Then Tiago lipped his asshole before pushing that slick tongue into Dallas.
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“Ungh,” was supposed to be fuck yes but Dallas’ tongue and brain miscommunicated.
He tipped his butt up more and whined when Tiago began tongue-fucking him like it was
the only thing each of them wanted.
It wasn’t. Dallas wanted that big dick splitting him in two.
Tiago licked him until Dallas was shivering constantly, need rampant in him. “Please,
please, please,” he begged, rocking back against Tiago.
Tiago reached under him and pinched one of Dallas’ nipples.
Dallas yelped from surprise, not pain, and when Tiago did it again, Dallas moaned.
“Soon, baby,” Tiago promised. He worked that one tit as he resumed tonguing Dallas’
hole.
Dallas hadn’t been rimmed all that much. Most of his sex had been for others, not
himself. He’d purposefully kept it that way, instilling, he knew, a distance between him and
those guys. It was easier to let himself be used than to trust in someone and end up used.
Dallas had maintained control of the encounters that way.
He wasn’t in control now. Tiago owned him and played him perfectly.
No one had ever spent so long preparing Dallas. He’d been fucked hard and angrily,
slow and desperately, with no concern for himself, not really.
Tiago worshiped his ass, loving that little hole and encouraging it to loosen for him.
When Tiago pushed slick digits into it, Dallas keened, so ready for more than that.
The care Tiago was taking with him was undoing him more than the act itself.
Tiago licked his hole again then rubbed his cheek against Dallas’ butt. “You are divine,
my sweet.”
Dallas would have rolled his eyes had anyone else in the entire world said that. With
Tiago, the words came out as if he weren’t even aware he’d spoken them. They simply
escaped from his subconscious and out to sprinkle themselves all over Dallas.
Tiago must have had something more than spit on hand, because the easy glide of those
digits deep into Dallas wasn’t done on spit alone.
Dallas arched and purred when Tiago caressed his prostate. “Ohhh, nice,” he managed,
the words thick on his tongue.
Tiago chuckled and stroked him again.
Dallas’ eyes rolled as Tiago pressed another finger into him, stretching his ring.
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Dallas hummed his approval, wiggling his butt. He’d had to quit jacking himself some
time ago or he would have come and he wanted to wait to shoot again until Tiago was inside
him.
If Tiago didn’t hurry up, that might not happen.
Tiago fingered him faster, leaving off teasing his gland. He pushed in with sharp, quick
movements that pumped more and more pleasure into Dallas’ ass.
Then there was nothing, Tiago taking those digits out.
Dallas shivered with anticipation, knowing what was going to be filling him next.
Tiago’s cock was broader than his fingers had been. Tiago held onto Dallas’ hips. “All
of me.”
“Yes,” Dallas agreed.
Tiago’s grunt turned into a shouted curse as he thrust his cock in fully.
Dallas’ ass lit up with a hot ache that quickly morphed into perfect ecstasy.
Without hesitating, Tiago fucked him—hard, fast and deep. He held onto Dallas with a
bruising strength, and while Dallas didn’t like pain, Tiago’s grip didn’t hurt, and he liked
knowing he’d have marks.
Tiago began cussing with every shove in. “Fuck. Fuck. Fuck!” He slammed his hips
against Dallas’ ass, driving in with a desperation that was palpable.
Dallas felt it in his mind, through the link they had. Tiago’s need rammed into him just
like his cock was doing. Dallas’ own pleasure was doubled, tripled, grew and flowed back
into Tiago, only to return again and again.
He wasn’t going to survive it. Such rapturous feelings had to destroy a person.
But that was why some referred to an orgasm as a little death.
It was a bit bigger than that.
Dallas shattered inside as Tiago rode him. Without even jacking his own shaft, Dallas
came again, cum spurting from his dick as if he’d not had a release in years.
Tiago folded over him and roared as his spunk filled Dallas’ ass.
Dallas would have collapsed but his knees were pinned beneath them both. When
Tiago stopped shuddering and grinding against him, he helped Dallas to stretch out on his
side.
Tiago panted for several minutes.
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Dallas knew how he felt. He couldn’t catch his breath either.
Eventually, Tiago pulled him into his arms.
Dallas rested his head on Tiago’s chest, and slung one arm and leg over the big man.
“It will always be like that?” Tiago asked later.
Dallas opened eyes that had drifted shut. “I’ve heard it is, even when taking it slower.
Mates just do it for each other. No one else will.”
Tiago grunted.
Dallas wondered if that meant he was okay with their situation or not. Honestly, Dallas
didn’t know if he was okay with everything. Then again, he didn’t have a choice. He could be
angry that Fate had paired him up as it had, or he could trust in what had been chosen—who
had been chosen—for him.
At some point, he became aware of anxious thoughts seeping into his mind—worries
over home and destruction, death and loneliness that were not his. Instead of getting angry,
Dallas told himself to listen. He and Tiago were two different people, very different in some
ways. To bridge the gap between them, someone would have to bend.
Dallas was flexible, but he had his limits. Tiago would have to adjust his thinking as
well. Sex could only go so far toward making them the kind of mated pair Dallas had always
dreamed about being a part of.
Where was the line in the sand for each of them?
That was the question Dallas fretted over until he fell asleep.
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Chapter Seven
Maarten had never been in so much pain in his life. His muscles and bones ached from
being pinned to the wall. Chained.
“I could take you down for a little while.”
Maarten opened his eyes after a struggle. His lids were crusty and he couldn’t rub at
them.
He saw a man who was devastatingly handsome, with dark brown hair and vibrant
green eyes. While not as muscular as Maarten, the man was still nicely built—and tall.
He could have been a model, an actor, a god—but he was a drug dealer wearing
expensive clothes and smirking at Maarten.
“Good morning, Maarten. You don’t seem happy to see me at all.” Butler turned and
gestured to one of his men. “Henri, bring Jackie and take Maarten down. I’m sure he could
use a break.” Butler faced him and smiled. “You have figured out who I am. Robert, or
Roberto, Butler. I am aware that you know this. That name will do you no good whatsoever.”
His lips curved up even more.
Maarten refused to speak. The asshole was trying to bait him. What was the point in
that? Maarten couldn’t fight him.
Robert Butler walked up to him and pressed right where Maarten’s ribs throbbed. He
leaned in, hard. “Sore?” he asked, something very much like arousal flaring in his eyes.
“Does this hurt?” He shoved with more force.
Maarten tried not to make a sound. He bit his tongue so hard he tasted blood.
Robert’s smile grew even bigger. “Nice.” He drew back his hand then slammed it
against that same spot.
Maarten coughed as his breath left him.
“Your kind heal fast. I know that much.” He hit Maarten again. “Demons.” He leaned
closer. “That’s what I tell them you are, but I know. I know.”
Maarten’s side flared with streaks of pain.
Robert drew back his fist again.
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Maarten flinched and Robert laughed.
“I had an agreement with the former, hmm, shall we say, leader of the pack?” Robert
chuckled and backed away. “Then he was gone, and the people of his I used to deliver my
products began to ask questions they shouldn’t have. I lost a lot of business because of your
boyfriend. I don’t appreciate that at all.”
If he was waiting for Maarten to comment, he could stand there until the world ended.
Robert Butler did wait for a solid minute then with a smile that gave Maarten the
creeps, he stepped back and let his men approach Maarten.
“If you do anything stupid, I’ll make certain your boyfriend and his companions die
before they reach us here.”
That got Maarten’s attention.
Butler nodded at him. “Yes, I know exactly where they are. I didn’t even bother doing
more than sending a text to Ryder to tell him I’d contact him at another time instead of
calling him. What was the point? He’ll be here soon.” Butler looked him over. “You must
have a tracking device on you somewhere. Or is it in you?”
Maarten closed his eyes. He was passing everything along to Ryder.
“We should have stripped his clothes off. Go ahead and do that before you take him
down. Easier that way,” Butler added.
The clothes were cut off him.
Maarten regretted the loss of the sweet, bright green jeans and his neon orange thong.
“Even dresses like a fag,” one of the men muttered.
“None of that nonsense,” Butler said firmly. “We don’t tolerate it.”
“But I—”
A sudden yelp had Maarten opening his eyes. A man—presumably the one who’d
made the crude comment about Maarten’s clothes—made a gargling noise as his throat was
slit. Blood spewed out and the pungent scent of death filled the room. A second man grunted
and let the lifeless body drop to the floor at Maarten’s feet.
Butler wiped off the blade of the knife he was holding. “I can’t tolerate such stupidity.”
He tucked the knife into his sleeve and arched an eyebrow at Maarten. “Surprised? Very few
people are all good or all bad. Even your beloved boyfriend must surely be an ass at times.”
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“Not a drug dealing, kidnapping, murdering ass,” Maarten finally said, his voice so
rough as to be unrecognizable to him. He was thirsty and miserable, and Butler was an idiot
to compare himself to Ryder.
Butler gave him another of those weird smiles. “Sadist. You should add that to your list
of my faults. I do try to keep that contained to willing partners, however—with the rare
exception of enjoying a prisoner’s pain. Besides, we can’t all be the good guys, can we?”
Maarten didn’t get a chance to answer. At that moment, his arms were unchained and
the pain caused upon having them moved was unlike anything he’d ever felt before.
Butler liked to see people hurt, he was enjoying himself for certain when Maarten
bellowed as stiff muscles were forced to move.
“Very nice,” Butler murmured. “Very nice indeed.”
Maarten blacked out for a moment when the rest of the restraints were undone. He
woke up on the floor with one man aiming a wicked looking gun at him. Maarten could see
that it was loaded with darts attached to vials of gold liquid.
The dead man was gone and a middle-aged woman knelt, scrubbing the floor. As far as
Maarten could tell, Butler wasn’t in the room anymore.
“Ryder?”
“We’ll be there soon, Maarten. Olin is checking into some things. He thinks Butler had people
spying on our pack all along. This guy was able to shut down Keegan and Olin’s phones, so he has
power, money, access to equipment and—or
—
people who can do things like that for him. He’s not some
stupid, small time criminal like I first thought. And he knows where we are, so we can’t sneak in yet.
Soon, but not yet.”
Maarten trusted his mate. “I’ll just wait here for you then. Be careful.”
Ryder’s amusement was slight but there. “Yeah, wouldn’t want you to run off—unless you
can, then do it.”
“I can’t even stand up.” Maarten was so weak it was pathetic. Between the dehydration,
the beating, and being pinned like a bug to the wall, his strength was gone. “Thirsty,” he
complained out loud.
The man holding the gun shook his head. “Señor Butler said nothing for you.”
Butler didn’t want him to regain his strength. That was one thing, but, “I will die if I
don’t get a drink.” Eventually, he would. Not right away. There was no need to say as much.
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The door came open.
Maarten knew it was Butler just from the way the energy in the room ramped up.
“Now, I do think you’re exaggerating.” Butler grinned as he strolled over. “Zito, you
can step back. The tranq gun is quite effective at a distance, remember?”
Zito, the man holding the weapon, took a step back. “He is fast.”
Butler chuckled. “Not now he isn’t. He’s hurting and thirsty. Luis, bring a half-cup of
water from the yellow jug in the refrigerator downstairs. The rest of you may move back as
well.”
Maarten tried to move his arms. The pain was incredibly sharp.
Butler squatted beside him. “There are snipers outside, waiting for your friends to
arrive. I’m sorry, your boyfriend and friends. I wouldn’t want to negate your relationship.
You…” Butler stared at him, taking a slow perusal of Maarten’s body.
Did he hesitate over Maarten’s private parts? Maarten thought he might have but
wasn’t certain.
“You fascinate me,” Butler murmured. “Strange, because men hardly ever appeal to me
and when they do, they’re much more flamboyant—more flamboyant than bright green
pants and orange underwear. It’s usually the makeup and, well, the swish, as I call it.” Butler
laid a hand on Maarten’s side, on the very spot he’d been punched earlier. “I do like the way
you flinch. Such a strong, silent type. If it makes you feel better, I wouldn’t rape you. I’m not
that kind of monster.” His mouth kicked up in a grin on one side. “Just a common drug
dealer, not a sexual predator. However, if you decide to try something different than your
usual fare, I’d be interested in exploring your potential as a sub with you. Or just fucking
you, though I will warn you—there will be pain involved.”
Maarten had to work very hard to keep the disgust from his expression as he listened to
Ryder rant in his head about how he was going to kill Butler.
“Just something to think about. No need to answer right now.” Butler ran his hand up
to just under Maarten’s pec. “Ah. So tempting, but there’s the line I won’t cross.” Butler
stood, taking his creepy touching with him. “You look so repulsed, and how odd that such
an expression also turns me on. You are very unique, Maarten. I intend to have you, so start
thinking about the best way to capitulate to me while maintaining a semblance of that pride
and distaste.”
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“You’re fucking warped,” Maarten couldn’t help but utter.
Butler nodded. “That I am.” He met Luis at the door. “Oh good. Set it on the floor about
four feet from his left hand. If Maarten wants a drink, he’ll find a way to get it. Of course, if
he tries to attack or turn into a demon, shoot him with the tranquilizer. But…” He looked at
Zito. “There are cameras in here, and if I see that you simply panic and fire, I will eliminate
you like I did your brother for his comment.”
Zito nodded. “Yes, I understand.”
Butler left the room and Maarten found himself being watched by six very nervous
men. He knew the names of two of them and from that, he could perhaps begin to work on
them. Not if the other four remained in the room. And not if they all kept looking at him like
he really was a demon. Butler had them all brainwashed.
Now that Maarten could smell again, he scented a great deal of fear, some anger,
blood—because scrubbing the floor hadn’t rid the room of the smell of that or death—and a
rich, pungent odor that belonged to Butler. He also knew each man’s individual aroma.
Whatever Butler wore for cologne was unlike anything Maarten had smelled on a man
before. He suspected pheromones were used in it because it appealed to his wolf’s nose.
It did not make him want Butler. “He’s such a weird mix of bad and not exactly evil.”
“He’s a sociopath,” Ryder growled. “If he isn’t, he should be.”
“But he has a point. Most people aren’t all bad or all good. I still think he needs to die, mind you.
I’m just saying, he’s not simply one thing—a drug dealer.” Maarten wasn’t defending Butler,
more like defining him. It would be easier if the man were truly evil incarnate. It didn’t
matter that he wasn’t.
Maarten tilted his head and spied the cup. It was out of reach, and he was going to have
to roll and reach for it. The imploring look he sent first to Zito then to Luis got him nothing
but scoffing laughter.
“Fine, then.” Maarten remembered the whole demon thing and grinned to himself. “I
will pox every one of you. Imagine the things a demon can make go wrong.”
Someone whimpered. Maarten tried not to gloat. He did some whimpering of his own
as he forced himself to sit up. He was short of breath just from that small movement. His ribs
were definitely cracked. In a couple of days he’d be fine, as long as he was left to heal.
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Maarten inched toward the cup. He was so thirsty he couldn’t stop his hands from
shaking. He lifted the cup in both hands, trying so hard not to spill a drop. Butler intended to
keep him weak and wounded. He knew that. A half cup of water wasn’t nearly enough to do
him any good.
Maarten still wanted it ferociously.
He brought the cup to his lips and almost wept with relief as the wetness spilled into
his mouth. The bitter, acrid taste and scent registered right after, and by then it was too late.
Maarten swallowed compulsively and screamed as agony ripped through him.
“Ah, so that does work,” he heard seconds later as he lay curled into a fetal position,
shaking, convulsing, waiting to die.
Ryder was shouting in his head, telling him to hold on.
Maarten didn’t know if he could. He had thought the pain was bad when he’d been
taken down, but it was nothing like what he felt now. His insides were hot, his tongue thick
and swollen, his throat the same. Each breath was a battle.
“Hmm. It might be too effective. Damn. Bring some clean water in. Damn it. Damn it!”
It brought him no comfort that Butler sounded almost as upset as Ryder.
* * * *
“There are types of datura in Brazil, yes,” Olin said, reading off his phone. “One kind is
locked up and controlled because it’s dangerous. There are other forms.”
“You have one of the pills,” Marcus murmured to Ryder. “Is it with you?”
“No, goddamn it!” Ryder snapped.
“What pill?” Olin asked. “What’s in it? What are you talking about?”
“Nothing that I can share with you,” Marcus replied.
“Well fuck you too,” Olin muttered. “Jerk.”
Marcus was tempted to snap at the man but there was no point. Everyone was
frustrated, and Olin didn’t know why he wasn’t being told about the small capsule that
contained some of the powdered remains of what was said to be the first shifter. It was
powerful medicine, too powerful for word of it to get out. There were also a limited supply
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of the things, and they were to be used sparingly. “If it was datura in the drink, it must not
have been much at all.”
Ryder glared at Marcus. “It was enough to make Maarten wish he was dead. He is in
agony.” Ryder slammed the car into park and shouted at the top of his lungs.
For a moment, Marcus feared the worst, but Ryder pounded on the steering wheel and
ranted.
“He can hardly breathe and he’s terrified, and I’m not there!”
“Then get there,” Marcus snapped at him. “Now!”
“There are snipers. They know where we are.” Ryder got out of the car.
Marcus, Nathan, Keegan and Olin did as well. The guards following them in the other
vehicles also got out.
“Stay back,” Marcus told them. “Keegan, if you would explain to them what’s going
on?”
Keegan and Olin left to speak to the guards. Olin sent Marcus a look letting him know
Olin wasn’t letting go of feeling slighted.
“He’s going to be difficult,” Nathan said.
“Yes.” Marcus took Ryder by the wrist. “You have to calm down.”
Ryder jerked his arm back. “Don’t tell me what to do, Marcus. Not now. This is my
mate who’s suffering!”
“And you must be clear-headed and putting him first, not your goddamned temper,”
Marcus replied, showing a bit of his own anger.
Ryder sneered, and Marcus prepared for a fight. It would be a waste of time, but if
Ryder didn’t get his shit together then it was going to happen.
Fortunately, Ryder slumped against the car. “I can’t think straight, Marcus, not when
he’s hurting. I have to get to him.”
“Alive,” Marcus added. “You have to get to him alive. That means taking a moment to
plan.”
“Right.” Ryder’s shoulders curved even more. “I’m not good at this. I should step—”
“Stop it, right now,” Nathan chided. “There’s no time for self-pity. Your mate has been
taken and that is understandably causing turmoil. I can’t imagine being in your shoes, so
don’t start making judgments on yourself now.”
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Ryder nodded jerkily. “Okay. Yeah, okay.”
Marcus waved Keegan and Olin back over. “Maybe we can figure out how they’re
tracking us and slip past them.”
“They’ll still know we’re coming,” Ryder said. “It’s a moot point now.”
“No, it isn’t. They’re expecting humans to approach. I don’t give a fuck that it’s in the
middle of one of the biggest cities in Brazil, we’ll shift and take them on as wolves, if that
gives us the upper hand.” Marcus knew it was a risk, a big one, but Maarten had to be freed.
The sooner it was done, the better for all of them, and Marcus could go after Dallas himself if
he was still missing after this.
“I’d say ditch the phones,” Olin began with. “I’ve been using Juanita’s since mine
keeled over in the plane crash. I’m leaving it here. Or better yet, we should put them in the
trunks of the vehicles, leave the keys in the cars and—God, I can’t believe I’m saying this, but
let me—two other of your weakest links drive the cars. We’ll get lost and take our time while
y’all get to Maarten. Also, I’d suggest ditching all jewelry and clothing if it’s come from the
pack property. I don’t know what may have been bugged to begin with. I never checked.”
“You’re not a weak link,” Marcus told Olin, beating Keegan to it. Then again, Keegan
likely told Olin that in his mind. “You’re new to being one of us, which doesn’t make you
weak at all.”
Olin gave him a petulant look. “Nope. You’re not making up for the pill shit. I’m still
mad.”
“Do you have relatives in Texas? Someone by the name of Gabe, maybe, as a cousin?”
Marcus asked. “You remind me a lot of him, and I believe he’s a native Texan. You two could
be long lost something or anothers.”
Olin’s expression went from petulant to disdainful. “Texas, phftpt! My family had
better sense than to have anything to do with that state, and I doubt this Gabe guy is
anything like me.”
“You do realize you’ve just committed a hanging offense by mocking the Lone Star
State. Any native Texan will recognize you as a criminal on sight. As for Gabe, I think you’d
be surprised. He’s as snarky as you are, and he’s deadly with a spatula.” Marcus stopped
joking then. “Ryder, how does that sound?”
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“Good. Let’s do it.” Ryder stood up straight again and tugged at his shirt. “All my
clothes were from the beach house.”
“There were no bugs there, I’d think, but if you want to be extra safe…” Olin flapped a
hand at him.
“We’re in Rio. How many people will notice wolves, do you think? Wouldn’t it be
better to have Keegan borrow another car or two? We could get close to the place then get
out,” Nathan mused. “Also, for what it’s worth, I think the clothes from the beach house will
be fine. There is no way Butler could have known we’d end up there.”
“True.” Olin stepped back. “I was just seeing who all I could get naked.”
Marcus left his phone and wallet in the trunk of the car. He couldn’t assume his phone
was safe as Keegan’s hadn’t been. Nathan put his in with Marcus’, and it was decided that
the drivers would be the pack members who only had clothes from Ryder’s pack with them.
“The mansion is about five miles from here. We could run, but it will attract attention
and we don’t want that. Same reason we aren’t going to shift. Yet.” Marcus wiped at the
sweat on his brow. It was barely morning and already hot. The humidity was what got to
him. New Mexico had temperatures from hell sometimes, but it was arid.
Brazil was going to make him melt.
“All right. I’ll be back in five minutes or less.” Keegan jogged off.
Olin smiled fondly. “My mate the car thief. My heart goes pitter patter.”
A ringing sound came from the trunk.
Ryder ran over to it. “That’s my tone. Could be Guillermo or Vero. It is one of them.”
He opened the trunk and grabbed his phone. “Guillermo, did you find him?” Ryder
asked before he even had the phone to his ear. He tapped the screen and Guillermo was on
speaker.
“We think so. The jaguar took him to a cavern behind a waterfall. His scent ends there,
and unless he can escape from another exit, he will still be in the cavern.” Guillermo took a
quick breath then continued, “Vero and I haven’t found any other trace of the jaguar, and we
were lucky to have picked up the trail several miles down the river. He could have escaped
too easily.”
“Did his scent change?” Ryder asked.
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“Something changed,” Guillermo answered. “We, uh. We heard moaning when we
neared the waterfall. For now, we have backed off. It, um…doesn’t sound like anyone was in
pain, either.”
“What?” Marcus snatched the phone from Ryder. “What are you implying?”
“S-sir?” Guillermo stuttered.
“He’s saying they were fucking,” Vero said in the background. “Loudly.”
Marcus didn’t know whether he should be glad for that or angry. He was leaning
toward the latter. “Are you certain? And was it consensual?”
“I don’t know, sir. We will check—”
“Just stay nearby and watch them,” Marcus ordered. “Do not interfere unless you
believe Dallas is being harmed. We won’t have our phones on us. Keep yours on silent but
check it frequently. I will call you when we have Maarten back.”
Guillermo cleared his throat. “Will that be soon?”
“Damn right it will,” Ryder snapped.
Marcus ended the call after making sure Guillermo and Vero would follow his orders.
He tossed the phone in the trunk then locked it up.
Keegan pulled up in what looked to be a decrepit van. “Everyone load up. Sirs,” he
added to Marcus and Ryder.
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66
Chapter Eight
Tiago still hadn’t decided what to do when he woke up the next morning. He liked the
way Dallas fit against him. He really liked the sounds Dallas made, the way his body
clutched so tightly around Tiago’s cock when Tiago was fucking him.
Which reminded him. Dallas had mentioned he would want to top at some point.
Tiago clenched his buttocks. That had always been no man’s land for him. Maybe he’d
been kind of ignorant in his thinking that it also was a sign of weakness for a man to let
another fuck him.
Sweet baby Jesus, he really was a bigoted jerk.
“Told you,” Dallas said. “I am not a weakling because I take it up the ass. I don’t take it
up the ass because I’m the runt, either. I take it because I like it, and admitting to something
that feels so good when others look down on you for it… That takes real strength.”
“You are very smart,” Tiago murmured. He wasn’t a hundred percent convinced that
he could change his own way of viewing things. What he did know was that he would have
to try.
Because he’d dreamt of Dallas all night. He’d heard Dallas’ dreams as well, had lain
awake while Dallas’ hopes and hurts had slipped across from Dallas’ subconscious to his.
Jaguar shifters might not have mates, but wolves did, and Tiago felt that pull just as
Dallas did. Whether it was because he experienced what Dallas did through their bond or
because he was actually feeling it himself, Tiago wasn’t sure. It’d be nice and easy to blame it
all on Dallas, yet Tiago couldn’t do it.
Not when he realized he’d been so very lonely before, and while he had assumed he
always would be—as was the nature of his beast—now he might not have to be. If the bond
was as strong as Dallas said, then even the jaguar would have to accept and even want Dallas
to stay.
There was still the issue of him being a different breed of shifter.
“An invasive species,” Dallas all but hissed. “Right. How could I forget? It’s fine to fuck
me. Right. Weaker one and—”
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Tiago smashed his mouth to Dallas, since the man was trying to get away from him.
Tiago couldn’t let him go and hurting him seemed very wrong. Gods, the wolves have this, and
camaraderie. I have no one.
“You have me, you big, stubborn jerk!” Dallas’ thought burst into Tiago’s mind.
Tiago clung to Dallas, feeling lost and found at the same time.
The fierceness of the kiss changed to something sweeter, softer, with Dallas rolling on
top of him and wiggling seductively.
Tiago ran his hands down to Dallas’ pert butt. The cheeks fit perfectly in his palms. He
kneaded and squeezed that taut flesh, pulling each globe aside and exposing Dallas’ hole to
the cool breeze slipping past the waterfall.
Dallas’ eyes looked wild with need as he raised his head, panting. His gray eyes were
almost entirely pupil now, the irises a thin ring around the expanded blackness. “Tiago,”
Dallas rasped, driving his hardened cock against Tiago’s stomach.
Tiago saw the bite mark he’d left on Dallas. “I hurt you.”
Dallas scrunched his face up in an expression of confusion. “What?”
“The bite.” Tiago left off playing with Dallas’ ass and instead touched the mark, tracing
the bruised area with one fingertip. “It hurt you. I hurt you.”
Dallas beamed at him. “That’s the mating bite. It’s a turn-on. Believe me. Made me
come so hard I saw stars and entire universes.” He dipped his head down and licked Tiago
in basically the same spot, right beyond where neck and shoulder met. “I want to mark you.”
Tiago gulped. He wasn’t a coward. “While…while you—”
Dallas snorted. “No, I’m not asking to fuck your cherry ass, but while we’re having sex,
yeah. Man, if I could suck your cock and mark you at the same time, that’d be so hot.”
“Mark me there?” Tiago’s voice hit a high octave it’d not visited since he’d been going
through puberty.
“Not there. Now, sheesh.” Dallas pushed himself up until he was sitting astride Tiago’s
belly. “Huh. I wonder what would happen if we did that. Would you become part wolf
shifter too?”
“Do what?” Tiago was freaking out. He didn’t think he cared for the direction Dallas’
thoughts were taking. “I’m a jaguar, not a wolf. I don’t want to be a wolf!”
“But you want to belong.”
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68
Tiago gave him an arch look. “Not if it involves biting there. Maybe not even without
the biting. I don’t know what I want!”
“Me.” Dallas bobbed his head. “You want me.”
Tiago figured that went without saying, considering the state of his turgid cock.
Dallas slid down, dragging his behind over Tiago’s groin. He kept moving.
Tiago’s breath shortened as his gaze locked with Dallas’.
Dallas turned around. “This work for you?”
Having not been the most reciprocal of lovers in the past, Tiago was nervous and
fiercely hiding away in his mind that this was something he’d not tried before. “Yes.”
Dallas kneeled with his dick and balls above Tiago’s head. “We’re not even height-wise,
so if you can curl up a little…”
Tiago tightened his abs.
“Pillows would make this so much easier, but just for a little while, I want this.” Dallas
didn’t wait any longer. He took a hold of Tiago’s dick and drew the tip right into his warm,
wet mouth.
Tiago’s lips parted on a gasp.
Dallas took advantage, thrusting his cock in a few inches.
It was an automatic reaction to suck. Tiago had given head before. That wasn’t new to
him. Doing it while someone else sucked his dick? That was so distracting he knew he was
going to mess this whole thing up.
“No you won’t. There’s no such thing as a bad blow job. Most of the time.” Dallas added a
warning about teeth, then he swallowed Tiago’s shaft in deeper.
Tiago quit worrying as his arousal spiked higher. He grabbed onto Dallas’ hips and
licked eagerly along the hard column of flesh in his mouth. Pleasure shot up Tiago’s body
from his dick, and ricocheted all the way down to his toes. They curled as he tried to fuck
Dallas’ mouth and suck that tasty cock at the same time.
Tiago teased a path down Dallas’ crack until he could push a fingertip into his hole, still
slick with the oil from the choquatta plant. It was better than any store-bought lube Tiago
had ever found.
The idea that his cum might still be inside Dallas as well was more erotic than anything
else Tiago could think of.
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He pushed the tip of a second finger in, and Dallas moaned around his cock. Tiago
sucked harder and tried twisting his fingers around to give Dallas’ hole a good rub.
Dallas retaliated by taking Tiago’s length into his throat and swallowing.
“Dallas!” Tiago yelped when he turned his head aside, Dallas’ wet dick slapping
against his cheek.
Dallas chuckled, dragging his mouth back up Tiago’s shaft. He tongued the slit then left
off trying to kill Tiago with sheer pleasure. “Too much? Close?”
“You know I am!” Dallas could see into his head, after all.
“Can I mark you, like you did me, while I ride you?” Dallas asked.
“I am not a complete idiot.”
Dallas smirked. “Was that a yes or a no then?”
Tiago rumbled at him.
Dallas giggled—giggled, like he was a giddy teenager—then he repositioned himself so
that he once again sat astride Tiago’s stomach. “First, another kiss.”
It was more teeth and need than any kiss prior. Tiago split his lip in his eagerness.
Neither of them paused. Tiago pushed his tongue into Dallas’ mouth, claiming it for his own.
Dallas didn’t give in. He thrust back in return, challenging Tiago for supremacy.
“Equality. That’s all I want.”
The thought eased into him from Dallas.
Tiago didn’t get a chance to reply because Dallas reached behind to fist Tiago’s cock. At
the same time, he ended the kiss.
Dallas rose up, scooted back, then sank down on Tiago’s dick.
Tiago dug his heels into the moss and rock beneath him. He grabbed onto Dallas,
holding his slender thighs. “Dallas. Please.”
“Yeah.” Dallas undulated and took Tiago’s shaft down to the base. “Oh. Oh sweet hell,
nothing’s better than this.”
With soft, hot inner walls clamping around his length, Tiago wasn’t going to last long.
He sat up and tipped his head to the side, offering Dallas the one thing he’d asked for.
Tiago was scared and excited.
Dallas leaned forward and kissed him again then he began to ride Tiago, rising up
halfway and gliding back down.
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70
The steady pace was perfect, allowing Tiago to feel every second, every centimeter of
Dallas’ warm grip.
When Dallas licked at his neck, Tiago didn’t startle.
“Do it,” he mumbled, his groin tightening as his balls drew up. He wanted to
completely lose himself in this man. Tiago jutted his hips, adding more force to the fucking.
“Ah, gawd,” Dallas drawled. He slipped a hand between them to jack himself off.
The next instant, he bit.
Tiago understood immediately what Dallas meant. Tiago shouted, perhaps a curse
word, perhaps Dallas’ name, he wasn’t certain. All he could do was come, and come, and
come while Dallas rode him and bit him, sucked and fucked Tiago until there was no
strength left in his body.
Dallas’ spunk spread between their stomachs before Dallas raised his head, ending the
bite.
Tiago shook so hard his teeth clacked then he flopped back, boneless, or near to it.
“Fuck.”
“Ungh.” Dallas sprawled on him.
Minutes later, Tiago felt the juices leaking down onto his balls. It tickled, and he
squirmed.
Dallas groused and crawled off him. “Need a bath, toothpaste and a phone.”
Tiago didn’t like that last one at all. “We can stay here for a few days. I can show you
the jungle—”
“Marcus is my Alpha Anax,” Dallas said firmly, propping his head up on one hand. “I
swore fealty to him when I was still a kid. He’ll be worried, and I can’t let that continue.
Marcus is a good man, a great leader. He’ll be blaming himself for me being taken.”
“He wasn’t watching you,” Tiago dared to say.
Dallas sat up and glared at him. “I don’t need a babysitter. For your information, I’ve
been all over the world, and had more lovers than you, I’d bet. I have a black belt in karate.
Well, almost a black belt. I just have to practice a little more. That’s not the point. I don’t need
a babysitter. That’s the point, and it’s a courtesy to a man I admire to let him know I’m not
dead.”
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“You admire him.” Tiago wasn’t jealous. He didn’t know Dallas enough to be jealous.
He wasn’t the jealous type anyway. It was just that he didn’t like Marcus since he was the
leader of the wolf shifters and—
“You’d do really well to stop that train of thought before I derail it the hard way,”
Dallas said in a low, angry voice. He got up and took a step back. “You know, I don’t think I
can do this. I’ve had enough of people looking down on me for being a runt. I don’t need a
mate that will do it. There has to be some way to break this connection. After all, your kind
don’t have mates.”
Tiago hadn’t felt such panic in possibly ever. “Dallas, wait, I—”
But Dallas didn’t wait. He turned and dove, slicing through the waterfall.
It was a thirty foot drop to the river below. Tiago knew because he’d been here before,
and he’d also carried an unconscious Dallas up the narrow path that led to the cavern.
Tiago hesitated. He should let Dallas go. Dallas needed things he wasn’t certain he
could give.
“Like respect?” Dallas thought snarkily. “Believe me. I am aware.” A splash sounded.
Tiago slid as he ran to the waterfall. He couldn’t find his equilibrium, and he tumbled
out, flailing, head narrowly missing the ledge as he went down. He saw Dallas swimming for
shore, then to his utter horror, two men ran over to greet him.
And Tiago hit the surface of the river, belly first, before sinking into its depths.
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72
Chapter Nine
The mansion was in a somewhat heavily populated area. Despite the size of the home
itself, the yard was minute—nicely landscaped, but small. Marcus spotted the snipers easily.
There were four—one stationed on each corner of the rooftop.
“Where’s Olin?” Marcus asked Keegan.
“About three blocks away. He just made a wrong turn.” Keegan grimaced. “I hope
they’re buying this.”
“Whoever this Robert Butler is, he knows about shifters, but not everything. The fact
that neither Olin nor Dana have been able to find anything on him makes me wonder if he
isn’t one of some sort himself.” Marcus had been considering that for a while.
“Another kind?” Keegan frowned.
“Maarten knows we’re here. He’s conscious, just barely. They’ve been pouring water
down his throat with a straw, trying to flush the poison out. Someone is coming with
something called nalmeti root that is supposed to counteract what he was given in the first
place.” Ryder curled his hands into fists. “I’m going in for him.”
Marcus didn’t argue. He would be tearing down the fence and anyone who got in his
way to get to Nathan. Ryder had showed impressive restraint.
They moved beside the next house over and stripped off their clothes. A line of shrubs
ran along the front, sides, and backs of the homes, as well as a high metal fence.
“Ryder. If we wait until the person bringing the root, the snipers might be distracted.
And,” Marcus added, “that root might be what Maarten needs to survive.”
About that time a shiny, bright blue little car came zooming around the street corner. It
braked to a noisy halt at the gate to the mansion where Maarten was being kept.
“Good timing.” Ryder shifted.
Marcus checked that the snipers were looking at the car. They weren’t well trained, not
in his opinion, because all four of them turned to aim their weapons at the vehicle.
And at that moment, Keegan gasped.
Marcus saw Olin turning onto the road.
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As a distraction, it was perfect.
Marcus shifted, as did Keegan and the others. They ran for the back of the fence, which
seemed the best idea, considering the snipers and armed guards were running for the front.
There were cameras, of course there were. Keegan whipped in front of Ryder and
yipped, the sounds barely audible.
Ryder bared his teeth, but Keegan stood firm.
Keegan shifted again and picked up a handful of rocks. “Learned this from Aidan and
Zane,” he said quietly before accurately tossing a rock and knocking one camera aside so it
wasn’t going to be viewing them. “One more.” Keegan knocked the second camera away
from them. He dropped the rest of the rocks and reverted to his wolf form.
The fence was high but no problem for any of them. They cleared it, with Ryder taking
the lead. Marcus and Nathan ran side by side behind him. It still seemed bizarre—and yes,
wrong—to be following someone else.
Marcus told himself it was a great lesson in humility. He ignored Nathan’s mental
laughter.
Ryder leaped onto the small concrete porch that was probably the help’s entrance. He
drew a deep breath through his nose.
Marcus did the same, catching the faint scent of humans. No one was in the immediate
room on the other side of the door. There were no suspiciously strong aromas, either. No one
was fucking with them. Yet.
Ryder returned to his human shape and tried the door. “Locked. Of course.”
Keegan loped over and soon stood naked instead of in fur. “I can pick it. I just need
something—”
“Fuck that.” Ryder put a palm to the glass pane and pushed. It gave way, slicing his
hand as it did so. Ryder ignored that and reached in to unlock the door.
“If they have an alarm, we’re fucked,” Keegan said.
“No. I’m getting Maarten and that root.” Ryder opened the door and entered.
“Marcus, let me go with him,” Keegan began. “Your safety—”
Marcus hadn’t shifted, neither had Nathan. Marcus snapped at Keegan. It was one
thing to be the captain of his guards, and another entirely to be overprotective.
Keegan understood him and stepped aside.
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Marcus leaped inside with Nathan. They avoided the glass and ran, following Ryder’s
scent now that he was out of sight.
That didn’t last long. They caught up with him in the large dining room. Marcus and
Nathan skidded under the table with him a second before armed men came running through.
One of them shouted something in Portuguese, Marcus assumed.
Marcus sent up a silent prayer that Keegan and the others would all survive. Keegan
was smart and deadly, he reminded himself. Just as Keegan needed to have faith in him, he
needed to have faith in Keegan to use his training wisely. When he didn’t immediately hear
gunfire, relief washed over him.
Ryder, once again in wolf form, darted out from under the table. Marcus and Nathan
were on his tail. It wouldn’t take Butler’s men long to come running back that way, looking
for intruders.
For a drug lord—or whatever he was—Butler didn’t have as many armed guards as
Marcus would have suspected. He’d watched too many movies, he supposed.
“Or they’re all in the room with Maarten, waiting for us.”
Nathan’s contribution could prove accurate.
Marcus hoped not. “Surely Maarten would warn Ryder.”
“If he’s awake,” Nathan tossed out. “And coherent.”
“I hope Keegan is making sure someone gets that root.” Marcus leaped halfway up the stairs.
“Should have told him so.”
Nathan assured him that Keegan would think of it.
Marcus wondered if that meant Nathan believed Keegan had more sense than him.
“Stop it. He’s in charge of shit like this!” Nathan snapped mentally. “It’s a different thing
altogether, plus he wasn’t allowed to come with us. He’ll be useful however he can.”
Marcus decided to quit letting doubts get in his way. He was a good leader, a good
person. Sometimes he considered leaving his position as the Alpha Anax of North America,
but he wasn’t certain he could ever do it.
Now wasn’t the time for any of his issues. Marcus pulled his attention to the situation
he, his mate and friends were in.
Ryder turned a corner and a loud, fierce growl was the warning that people were
ahead.
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Marcus and Nathan barreled around the corner and saw Ryder charging an armed pair
of guards.
Marcus shifted into his human form, and did so noisily, yipping, then cursing. He
narrowly avoided being shot, thanks to Ryder taking both guards down by slamming into
their legs.
The fight was brief and bloody. Ryder dispatched the first man while Marcus broke the
second’s neck. Marcus took both weapons from the dead men. He stayed upright and ran
along with Ryder and Nathan in their furry forms.
The next guards he shot—clean, quick kills. Ryder stopped at a door and shifted.
Marcus raised both weapons. He heard the slight whistling sound and shouted,
“Duck!” as he proceeded to do just that.
The dart went over his head. Marcus spun and fired several shots down the hall but the
man who had held the tranq gun had already scampered into a room and slammed the door.
“He has to be taken care of, or else we’re likely to find ourselves darted at the worst
possible time,” Marcus whispered.
“Like there would be a good time for that? Ever?” someone asked through the door.
“Really, I doubt that would be the case. You are aware you are preventing this man in here
from getting the medical care he needs? What a shame.”
Ryder shouted and Marcus knew the man they were hunting had to be a shifter. He
shouldn’t have been able to hear Marcus whispering otherwise, not even with listening
devices.
Ryder rammed the door with his shoulder. “Open this fucking door!”
“I think…not,” the man who had to be Robert Butler replied. “Seems a good way to get
myself killed.”
“Argh!” Ryder hit the door again. It held.
“It’s not going anywhere,” Butler taunted. “I have these great metal bars across it, and
the door itself is steel, except of course for this little opening here.”
Butler must have been talking about the slit about five and a half feet up.
“This is all very simple,” Butler was saying. “You took my drug runners away from me.
I want them back. Since I suspect they’re dead, that means you, Ryder, can take over where
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Dirk was once my right hand man. Of course, I can’t simply trust you like I did your
predecessor. Did you kill him, Ryder?”
“No,” Marcus said firmly. “That would be me, Butler. What kind of shifter are you?”
“Figured that out, did you?” Butler chuckled. “My… I see I went after the wrong wolf
to control. Is the little red-headed man yours?”
“Fuck. You. Asshole,” Nathan snarled. “Step out here and say that to my face.”
“Ah ah, I’m not stupid, just blunt. You are short.”
Nathan canted his head. “I can kill him. I won’t feel guilty.”
Marcus knew better. “What do you really want, Butler?”
“Control,” Butler answered. “As I had with Dirk. Perhaps I want this man in here with
me, too. Would that require the death of Ryder?”
Marcus grabbed at Ryder when he went for the door again. “Stop. That’s doing no good
at all.”
Ryder slapped the door. “You stupid bastard. If you kill me—”
Marcus gave a sharp shake of his head. Knowledge was power, and Butler had no
knowledge of many things that existed for the wolf shifters.
“Maarten would never have you,” Ryder finished with.
“If he even survives. I suppose I should admit that the brugmansia was a mistake. I
didn’t think it’d do anything. Wolfsbane, really? How clichéd.”
Marcus guessed the brugmansia was a form of datura, or related to it somehow. He’d
have to educate himself on it, that was for certain.
And he was done with this talking through the door shit.
Marcus stepped back and pulled Ryder with him. He gestured with his head and hoped
Ryder got it.
“What is that I’m feeling?” Butler asked. “Like a wave of electricity or energy. Or—well
fuck me, I’m about to find out.”
Marcus charged not the door, but the wall, with Ryder hitting it beside him. Plaster and
drywall were easier to break through than steel.
“Ah! Shit!” Butler shouted. “Stop or I’ll—”
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Whatever else he intended to say was drowned out by the rending of the wall. Even the
two by fours bracing it snapped. Pieces from the ceiling rained down on their heads. Marcus
and Ryder shoved through it all.
“Maarten!” Ryder cried out.
Marcus saw Maarten on the floor, curled into a smaller ball than should have been
possible.
He also caught a glimpse of a black jaguar leaping out of the window. “Son of a bitch!”
Marcus reached the window in time to see Butler disappear around the side of the
house. “Jaguar shifters are apparently bad news.”
“That’s what he is?” Nathan nodded. “Oh. He is. Why doesn’t he reek like the one that
took Dallas?”
“There’s something here muffling his natural scent.” Marcus sniffed. “Pheromones.
And I bet the vents have some kind of odor neutralizer coming through them.”
“He’s not the same jaguar that took Dallas, right?”
Marcus turned and found Keegan standing on the other side of the torn out wall.
“I heard y’all talking,” Keegan offered by way of explanation. He glanced to his left.
“Right through here, Zoe, Olin. They have the root and the guy who knows what to do with
it.”
Ryder looked up from Maarten, whom he was cradling partially in his arms. “Hurry
them the fuck up!”
In short order, an older, white-haired man who was thin as a rail and not more than five
feet tall shuffled in. He said something that Marcus didn’t understand.
But Ryder did. “I don’t care who ordered it. If it will undo what’s been given to my
ma—Maarten, then give it to him!”
The old man took out a knife and began carving up the root. He peeked away the dirt
and dark outer layer to expose a bright white pulp beneath. Then he waved the thing at
Maarten and Ryder took it from him.
“If this makes him worse…” Ryder didn’t have to say anything else. His meaning was
quiet clear.
The old man didn’t seem scared. He babbled and made ‘hurry up’ gestures with his
hands.
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Ryder rubbed the exposed root over Maarten’s lips. When Maarten parted them, Ryder
slid the tip of the root in. “Suck,” he ordered.
At first nothing happened. Maarten didn’t even appear to be doing what Ryder had
told him.
“Come on, honey,” Ryder urged. “Come on. For both of us.”
It was the impetus Maarten needed. He wouldn’t want his mate to suffer and die,
which was exactly what would happen to Ryder if Maarten didn’t survive.
Maarten closed his mouth around the root. A squeaky sucking noise followed.
“Yeah, keep at it.” Ryder slipped more of the root in.
The old man cackled and clapped.
And Maarten shook so hard his back popped. He uncurled himself from the fetal
position he’d been in. His eyes opened and he gasped as he spat the root out—or tried to.
With Ryder holding him in place, Maarten had to turn his head as he coughed and hacked,
after which he vomited for half a minute.
“God. That has to have cleaned him out,” Olin muttered. “Ew.”
Maarten swiped at his mouth and chin. “Get me out of here.”
Ryder loosed something very close to a sob. “I am. Gods, honey, don’t you ever scare
me like that again!”
“We should leave,” Keegan suggested. “I don’t know how many guards might still be
here.”
“You didn’t kill them all?” Marcus asked, surprised.
Keegan pursed his lips for a second. “We killed all of them we saw. Doesn’t mean
someone might not have called for backup.”
“Good point.” Marcus found the old man staring at him. “Yes?”
After a round of speaking so quickly Marcus couldn’t even decide if it was gibberish or
actual words, the man stood on his toes and touched the tips of his fingers to Marcus’ brow.
“Says he’s blessing you because you’re the one,” Ryder interpreted.
Olin snickered. “Now we’re all going to call you Neo like Keanu Reeves in The Matrix.”
But Marcus felt the warm, sure flow of power from the old man’s fingertips. It wasn’t a
dark magic being granted him. It was, as Ryder had said, a blessing.
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Marcus had no idea what the whole ‘one’ thing was. Probably had to do with him being
the first gay Alpha Anax.
“Thank you,” he told the old man when he was done. He shook his hand and gestured
to Zoe. “Can you and someone else escort him out. Make sure he doesn’t get hurt?”
“Sure thing.” Zoe called out for assistance. A second later she was leading him away.
“That was odd,” Keegan said, staring at Marcus’ brow. “He didn’t do anything that
hurt?”
“No, actually, I feel better than ever.” Marcus’ forehead tingled. He touched it. The skin
seemed warmer and softer where the old man’s fingertips had rested. “He wasn’t doing
anything bad.”
“I could feel it, too.” Ryder got to his feet, assisting Maarten up as he did so. “It was like
a healing or… Well, a blessing. Nothing negative to it.”
“What was he saying?” Marcus asked. “Besides the part about me being the one?”
Ryder shook his head. “I didn’t listen to all of it. I was concentrating on Maarten. You’re
the one, and you’ll know what you have to do, but it’s not soon. I might have half or all of
that wrong, mind you.”
Marcus decided to let it drop. “Let’s get out of here. We still need to find Butler. Maybe
if we get Dallas back, his jaguar stalker will come for him. We can get some answers from
that cat. Surely he will know of other jaguar shifters here.”
They quickly exited the house as Marcus mulled over the situation with Dallas.
He’d try not to challenge the one that had taken Dallas, though he couldn’t promise
himself that he wouldn’t. Despite what Guillermo had said about the sounds he’d heard
coming from the cave where Dallas had been kept, for all anyone knew, what had happened
wasn’t consensual—or it had been coerced, with Dallas fearing for his life if he didn’t give in.
Dallas was a pleaser, which was something else Marcus had to remember. If he could
make a man happy or feel better about himself with sex, then Dallas was open to it. Not a
bad quality and it didn’t make Dallas a slut like some others had whispered. No one should
be judging Dallas—the man had a good heart.
Also a cautious one, using sex as a buffer to keep a distance between him and others. It
hadn’t escaped Marcus’ notice that, while Dallas had many sexual encounters, he’d had no
long-term relationships.
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Knowing Dallas’ past as he did, Marcus wasn’t surprised by that. He could also see
how Dallas could be manipulated sexually. If the jaguar shifter had done such a thing…
Nathan nudged his hip. “Could be that they are attracted to each other. What then?”
Marcus was trying to keep an open mind about the jaguar species of breeders. He
ignored the inquisitive look Keegan shot his way as they all reached the back fence.
“I don’t know if I can shift,” Maarten said. “Not yet. I’m… Gods, everything still hurts.”
“I’ll get the car and bring it to the back gate. There is one, you know, right there.” Olin
pointed. “Keegan can get the other vehicle, and Yolanda is waiting in the other car. I just
need to get to the phones and call her so she can help with pickup.”
“Be safe,” Marcus said before Olin and Keegan left.
It was only a minute before Olin pulled around in the car, with Keegan following in the
van.
Marcus gestured to the van. “You and Maarten get in there. It has more room. We’re
going to have to dispose of our phones completely now and get new ones. It won’t do us any
good to get back in these vehicles if we’re carrying around phones that are being tracked.”
“I hate programming a new phone,” Nathan groused. “We have to let Dana know.
What if we just get a couple of temp phones and use them for all of us for now?”
“Should work.” Marcus and Nathan joined Olin and Keegan in the car as Olin asked
Zoe to drive the van.
“I’ll sit in the back with Nathan,” Marcus offered. “You can sit with your mate.”
Olin gave him a suspicious look. “I’m not done being mad at you.”
Marcus shrugged. “You’re not the first—or worst—person I’ve pissed off.”
That seemed to irritate Olin even more, which—while juvenile of him—made Marcus
happy. Sometimes he had to let go and just be a man instead of the leader of many packs.
Snarking back and forth with Olin made him feel like one of the guys—a rare enough
experience for Marcus.
In the back seat, Nathan leaned against him. “So what now?”
“Now we ditch the phones, grab a couple of new ones, then we get back to Ryder’s
pack lands after we meet up with Guillermo and Vero, and rescue Dallas.” Marcus tapped
Keegan’s seat. “We should check our phones before we leave them.”
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Keegan got back out and opened the trunk. Marcus took his phone when Keegan
brought it to him.
“Ryder’s got a missed call and a voice message from Guillermo,” Keegan told him.
Marcus nodded. “I have one from him, too.” Excitement and unease battled in his gut.
It had to be about Dallas. Marcus pressed the voicemail arrow. His relief at hearing Dallas’
voice was powerful. He had a soft spot for the man.
“Marcus, it’s Dallas. Guillermo told me about Maarten. Gods, please let us know when
you get him back. I know you will. Um. Sorry to bug you. I just didn’t want you to worry. I…
Please don’t kill the jaguar shifter. Tiago, that’s his name. I’ll explain when I get back.
Guillermo and Vero are going to take me to Ryder’s. Hopefully I’ll see you there.”
“Bug me,” Marcus murmured, shaking his head.
“Dallas doesn’t like to be trouble for anyone,” Nathan said. “I bet he’s been worried
about stressing you out the whole time that he’s been missing.” Nathan scratched his chin.
“Huh. He didn’t sound terrified or hurt, either. Makes me think you have the answer to the
question about what kind of sex went on with him and the jag.”
“The mind can be an odd thing, protecting a person by masking events from the past.”
Marcus knew that. He’d only just stopped having nightmares about his own time in
captivity. They’d started up again after years of nothing, then had ceased in the past month
or so. Marcus put it down to stress and the loss of so many of his guards a year ago when
Dirk had attacked the compound.
“Talking to him face to face will tell more than a voice message does,” Marcus added.
He sent a quick text to Guillermo’s phone, telling him that they had Maarten and that all the
phones might very well be compromised. “Did Ryder tell Guillermo to ditch his phone?”
Marcus asked Keegan.
“I’ll go check.” Keegan jogged off and returned less than a minute later. “He was
waiting to see if you wanted to reply. He’ll call Guillermo now and tell him.”
Marcus handed his phone to Keegan. “I liked that phone.”
Keegan took it. “We’ll have to find better ones that can’t be hacked or tracked or…” He
shrugged. “I’ll just take care of these. Olin, care to help?”
“Sure. I like stomping on thousands of dollars’ worth of technology.” Olin rolled his
eyes and got out. “Actually, I do.”
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Five minutes later, they were finally on the road. The phones were shattered and had
been left behind in tiny pieces.
“I’ll stop somewhere that sells pre-paid phones,” Keegan said.
Olin glanced at him. “It’s a fiercely competitive market here. Shouldn’t be hard to find
something decent.”
Marcus rested his head on the back of the seat and sighed when Nathan snuggled up
against him. He wanted to go home, take Nathan to their big bed in their nice, chilly
bedroom, and make love with him for hours. It seemed like the past year in particular had
been very difficult, with little time to unwind. It was all part and parcel of being who and
what he was, but Marcus could still yearn for a break now and then.
“Maybe things will calm down after this,” Nathan thought to him. “We could get together
with Gabe and Mika, have a weekend get-away, if Aidan and Zane will keep an eye on things. Mm. We
could do that then spend a few days in Gila, just running and being carefree. What do you say?”
“It sounds perfect.” And Marcus doubted it would happen. He was less willing to step
away from his packs now than he used to be. There were too many things that could happen,
and his mind spun out worst-case scenarios at a disturbing rate when he really thought
about taking a few days off.
“Even the president and other world leaders take vacations, sugar,” Nathan whispered.
Marcus knew that. He didn’t want to argue and wasn’t going to be persuaded, even if
he wanted to be.
Nathan rested a hand on his stomach, rubbing lightly. He didn’t push or nag. He
simply accepted Marcus and loved him. That was better than any vacation, any day.
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Chapter Ten
Dallas was aware that Tiago was following them. The jaguar made no secret of it.
Guillermo and Vero weren’t thrilled, but there was little they could do. Confronting Tiago
wouldn’t get them anywhere, and Dallas had asked them not to.
“You and him?” Guillermo asked, his cheeks turning ruddy.
Dallas gave him an innocent look. “Me and him what?”
Vero snickered.
Guillermo glared at him then grumbled about ungrateful shifters.
Dallas was fairly sure Guillermo wasn’t really mad, but he didn’t know Guillermo well,
so he could have been wrong.
Guillermo was a good guy, unlike his power-hungry, murderous brother Dirk. Dallas
hated thinking about Dirk and the pain he’d caused—not only to Marcus and the pack, but to
others as well. He’d been a sick fucker who had raped and killed and done whatever he
wanted with no regards for others. How he could be related to Guillermo and Juanita was
beyond Dallas’ comprehension.
“He is going to follow us the whole way back,” Guillermo said after a few hours. “I do
not like that.”
“He already knows where the pack lives,” Dallas told him. “He’s been watching it for a
while. If he wanted to kill everyone, don’t you think he’d have done so already?”
Guillermo glanced over his shoulder. “I don’t know what to think, other than I wish I
had some catnip. It could be entertaining to watch a jaguar get stoned.”
Tiago roared, though it was more of a rough, almost hacking sound than not.
Dallas mused over whether or not catnip would have an effect on a jaguar. “Not sure
that would work, even if he wasn’t a shifter.”
“I still can’t get over there being other types of shifters,” Vero said, joining the
conversation. “My family has lived here for generations, and never have I heard of any other
breed of shifters. It’s very strange.”
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“Jaguars are solitary animals. In any form,” Dallas added. “They don’t have packs or
even friends or family, as far as I can tell—not the adults, anyway.”
Guillermo frowned. “That sounds very lonely and sad, actually.”
“It does,” Vero agreed. “I can’t imagine not having family—or pack. I wouldn’t want to
live in such a way.”
“Guess it’s just their nature,” Dallas murmured. As such, he was hoping the mate bond
would be severed without killing them both. Right now, he wasn’t feeling the pain of
separation much. Then again, Tiago wasn’t far behind them. For whatever reason, he was
following them. Dallas kept his thoughts firmly locked down so Tiago couldn’t reach him
mentally. He didn’t even know if Tiago was trying.
And he didn’t know if the mate bond was going to grow or shrink or what. He
wouldn’t, not as long as Tiago kept following them.
Dallas stopped walking and spun around. He addressed Tiago, who was less than fifty
feet behind them, not even bothering to hide as he stalked them. “Stop it! You go back to
whatever you were doing before you were doing me!”
Guillermo coughed and Vero sputtered.
Dallas ignored them. He stood in a stare-off with Tiago. Finally, he had to turn away.
He lowered his mental walls long enough to shoot Tiago a thought. “Go back to your plotting
on how to rid the rainforest of us invasive, lesser species.” He slammed the walls back up. Tiago
probably hadn’t heard him anyway. Mates couldn’t share thoughts unless they were both in
the same form. Tiago was still a jaguar, and Dallas was a man.
“You, ah…?” Guillermo looked at him expectantly.
“What are you, a prude?” Dallas asked him. “Fine if you are, unless you were going to
ask about my sex life. Then that’s just a great big, none of your business.”
Guillermo blushed.
Vero snorted. “We heard you and him.” He tipped his chin toward Tiago. “We should
shift. I’m over this two-footed trekking.”
“Sounds good to me.” Dallas let the shift come over him, as did his fellow travelers.
They took off running, and it felt so good to stretch and work his body in such a way.
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Dallas didn’t relax into it. He kept his guard up mentally for fear that Tiago would slip
in, which was stupid, because what did he have to fear from that? He didn’t know, yet
couldn’t help himself. His emotions were a mess. He wasn’t being logical at all.
When they arrived at the river again—Dallas thought it was the same one and it just
wound all through the rainforest—Dallas was the first to leap off the cliff. Judging from
Guillermo and Vero’s startled yelps, they hadn’t expected that.
Soon they joined him in the river, and as much as Dallas tried not to, he listened for
another splash. When it didn’t come, he looked back. Tiago was nowhere in sight.
His heart ached. Dallas ignored it. Tiago didn’t want him, not really. Dallas wouldn’t let
the breaking of their bond kill him. He’d be stronger than that.
* * * *
Tiago was impressed by his mate. Dallas was strong and stubborn and determined. He
wasn’t scared of Tiago, and he wasn’t going to compromise his morals for Tiago, either.
Tiago got that. Now.
Just like he understood that being apart was going to result in an actual physical pain.
He wasn’t thrilled about that at all.
Nor was he happy with the easy way Dallas and the other two wolf shifters talked and
traveled. Tiago had only had that kind of comfort when he’d been a child, being raised by his
mother.
Once she’d pushed him out of her life—as all jaguars did their young—he’d been on his
own. At least she’d waited until he was sixteen and had given him a human upbringing to
equal his jaguar one.
That was more than she’d had, she told him. Her mother had brought her up as a jaguar
only then had left her before she had reached adulthood in that form. As a two-species
creature, they matured at neither a human nor jaguar rate. At sixteen, Tiago had been mature
enough as both to survive. It’d been difficult, but he knew he’d had a better start than many
of his kind.
My kind. There I go again. He didn’t know how to change the way he thought.
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Tiago poked at Dallas’ mind and met the same nothingness he’d reached all day. For
one moment, when Dallas had turned around and looked at him, Tiago had felt a surge of
hope that somehow they could work things out. Then Dallas had shouted at him, and they
hadn’t been kind words, either.
Even so, Tiago couldn’t back off. There was an invisible string tugging him along
behind Dallas. He didn’t even want to fight it.
When Dallas shifted, Tiago’s jaguar purred with approval. Dallas was a beautiful gray
wolf, with eyes that matched his coat perfectly. Tiago wanted to slink up to him and mount
him, after knocking the two escorts away. Guillermo and Vero. Assholes. He’d heard Dallas
address them by their names. Tiago thought he would just call them Ass One and Ass Two
instead.
He was—and gods, he hated to admit it—jealous. They were able to talk to Dallas, to
walk and run with him, whereas Tiago had been told to fuck off, basically.
Never mind that it was his own fault. He couldn’t do it.
Dallas never looked back at him after the dressing down.
That hurt. Tiago hated it. He plodded after Dallas, and watched with pride when his
mate soared off the cliff down into the river. The water there was plenty deep, and Dallas
would be just fine. For one second, it looked like Dallas was flying, that long, lean body
stretched out to embrace the air.
Then he went down, and the other two wolves had conniption fits. Tiago scoffed at
them as he backed away. He had an idea. Being obvious had done nothing but make Dallas
mad. It was time for Tiago to let his animal nature take over. He would let his jaguar truly
stalk his prey from here on out.
The pain of separation couldn’t be Tiago’s alone. Dallas would have to feel it as well.
Tiago was going to put an end to their misery. He would find a way to make Dallas see what
he meant about the rainforest being invaded by species that didn’t belong there.
You’re being an asshole again. Tiago ignored the internal voice chiding him. It wasn’t
thinking about how the rainforest was being made smaller every day, how diverse it once
was but wouldn’t be for much longer, given the way it was being plundered.
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You still don’t have to be an asshole. Dallas said, educate the wolf shifters. Maybe you could
even become friends with them. You don’t have to use a jaguar’s nature as an excuse to keep from
being hurt.
Tiago snarled at that voice and told it to fuck off.
Ah, you’re still a scared little boy crying because his mother abandoned him. You don’t want to
give anyone the chance to hurt you like that again. Yet you ran Dallas off, and now you’re chasing
him. Think about that.
Tiago hadn’t cried when his mother had left him. His conscience or subconscious or
whatever the hell was yammering at him was wrong about that. He wasn’t going to count
the nights he’d awoken with wet cheeks. That wasn’t crying. He’d had no control over that.
Tiago followed the river for a way, staying out of sight. He wondered if Dallas truly
thought he’d given up. There was no need for him to tail them so closely. Tiago knew where
Ryder’s pack lived.
Every now and then, he tried to feel out Dallas. The mental link was always shut down
tight.
After Tiago had caught his dinner and eaten it, he kept moving. He suspected the
wolves would bed down for a few hours and sleep. He wouldn’t. A plan was forming, and
he needed to get ahead of them to implement it.
* * * *
Knowledge of the plants that grew in the jungle helped Tiago greatly. He was able to
hide his scent once he’d shifted. As he waited the next afternoon, the need for Dallas
continued to grow stronger. Dallas had to be feeling it, too. Tiago couldn’t be in this alone.
He’d better not be. After all, it was the wolf shifters that had the mating bond, not his—Tiago
cut that thought off.
No more them and me. Their kind and my kind. That was one realization he’d reached
during the long, lonely night as he’d made his way to where Ryder’s pack lived. Without a
doubt, he was going to have to change his way of thinking. Ideas he’d taken for
granted…emotions and fears he’d kept buried… All of those were going to have to be taken
out and examined, checked for authenticity. If they were truly justified things, he would keep
them.
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But if they were weapons and tools to keep his heart and feelings safe from harm, Tiago
would have to learn to work past them. The idea was daunting. He didn’t know if he could
do it.
Yet he was certain he didn’t want to be without Dallas. Whether it was some
supernatural bond that made it so or not, Tiago didn’t care. And he couldn’t shake the guilt
he bore for having wronged the man.
It wasn’t until evening began to darken the land that Dallas and the other two men
arrived. Tiago scented them before he heard them. Excitement raced through his veins, along
with trepidation. He couldn’t screw up again.
His first glimpse of Dallas convinced Tiago that Dallas was hurting from their
separation. He was still a beautiful wolf, but Dallas moved slowly, as if he were worn. There
was none of the exuberance he’d displayed as he leaped off the cliff yesterday. Even his
pretty gray eyes seemed dulled, and his paws barely left the ground as he walked.
Tiago watched from the branch he was perched on. He would’ve liked to have entered
into the pack grounds, where the huts and buildings were, but cameras had been installed
some time back and Tiago couldn’t find a way around them.
So he waited on a tree branch, hidden somewhat by leaves but not fully. He had
covered himself in the scent of his surroundings, crushing leaves from plants and rubbing
them all over his skin. If he shifted now, the odor should stay on him.
Tiago was his jaguar a moment later. He moved along the branch until he was hidden
better. He couldn’t see through the leaves and limbs now, but that was fine. He could hear
Dallas, smell him.
And Tiago was about to rely on their bond. He wanted Dallas to come back to this spot
once he’d shaken Guillermo and Vero off. Tiago hadn’t been able to reach him mentally. He
was still going to try.
Instead of begging, Tiago simply sent out the thought that Dallas should come back
there when he was alone. He didn’t know if it would work. If not, then cameras be damned,
Tiago was taking on the pack to get his man.
Dallas slowed down by the tree Tiago was in. He heaved a loud breath and shivered
before shaking out his fur.
Yips back and forth seemed to settle some question then the three wolves moved on.
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Tiago waited. He saw the other shifters return, the white wolf with his red fox-like
mate. Perhaps he was a fox. Tiago didn’t know. One man in particular seemed ill, and was
carried by Ryder. That would be Ryder’s mate then, Maarten. Watching them, Tiago thought
he could detect the bond between them, just as he could the white wolf and his mate. What
has happened to Maarten? Ryder seemed very dour, anger and fear pouring off him.
Tiago took no pleasure in the men’s suffering. He watched until they were ensconced in
their dwellings. Then he waited some more.
He was tired and over-stimulated at the same time. He needed Dallas. He needed him
and would do anything to get him back. When it seemed that his plan wasn’t going to work,
Tiago knew he was going to have to take a huge risk.
At least it was dark, though the cameras might have infrared capabilities, so darkness
wasn’t necessarily cover.
Tiago had been watching them over the past several hours. Some of the cameras were
fixed, unmoving, but others pivoted to span a wider area. There had to be a weak spot,
somewhere he could slip by.
He found it almost an hour later. One of the moving cameras went still, and the red
light on it blinked out.
It was as good a chance as he’d get. Tiago jumped from the branch and, keeping his
belly low to the ground, crept around the sight of the other cameras. He bypassed them and
aligned himself where the non-functioning one was aimed.
Quick as a thought he ran, his nose unerringly finding Dallas’ scent. That there were
other cameras only registered as lights flicked on around him. Motion sensors, and he’d set
them off.
Gods, he was smarter than that. He knew there was more to the security there than a
few damned cameras.
But his desperation to reach Dallas was greater than his common sense and self-
preservation instincts, apparently.
A large, white wolf came right at him without warning.
Tiago felt the power of it. He’d known Marcus was strong, that he was truly an alpha
through and through. It was still jarring to have a wave of that power slam into him.
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Tiago wasn’t without his own abilities. He deflected what could have been a
debilitating supernatural blow. He suspected Marcus was holding back, for which he was
moderately grateful. Tiago didn’t care to know the full scope of the man’s strength.
“Stop!”
That was Ryder’s voice, tearing through the night.
Tiago saw the shifters running out onto porches. Shit, he’d been so careless! Another
way he was acting out of character, but at least now he knew why.
Just as he knew this plan wasn’t going to work. He couldn’t get to Dallas before the
wolves reached him.
Tiago pivoted and leaped, even as he heard barks and growls.
Let the wolves chase him. They’d never catch him. The rainforest was his home, and he
knew it like they never would.
But how far could he go before the need to be with his mate pulled him back? And
what would happen if he stopped running and turned to fight for the right to see Dallas?
It would come to blood, to fighting, Tiago suspected. There was only one of him,
however, so he was going to have to come up with a plan to encourage the wolves to leave.
He’d prefer a way other than a violent one.
The image of Dallas dead, his skull crushed by a powerful jaguar bite, caused Tiago to
stumble. He growled in frustration with himself.
The wolves were fast, he’d give them that, but they couldn’t climb trees, and there was
the possibility that they weren’t familiar with jaguars.
No more than he was familiar with the wolves. Then again, he had been watching the
pack he’d discovered for a while now, and Dallas had shared some of their history with him.
Tiago dug his claws into the dirt and pushed off hard with every bound. He was fast,
and he was the top predator, so running from the wolves went against his instincts, but he
reassured himself he wasn’t fleeing in fear.
It was wise to retreat when refusing to do so wouldn’t get him what he wanted. All it
might get him is dead.
Tiago would have too many battles on his paws if the wolves caught him.
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That image of Dallas popped up again. Tiago yowled and ground his teeth hard enough
to make his head ache. His instincts warred with the need to escape that he’d just had a
decent grasp on.
He should turn, fight, tear the wolves into shreds. Show them now who the rainforest
belonged to, that they weren’t the biggest bad asses in the land.
I’m outnumbered, he reminded himself, and it was that kind of thinking that had
alienated Dallas from him.
But he was big, really big for a jaguar—not short as full-blooded ones were.
No, confronting them was foolish. Tiago lowered his head and ran faster. He’d had a
lead on the wolves, but it sounded like they were closing the gap. Tiago leaped onto a tree
trunk. He used his claws to anchor him then he powered his way straight up the trunk.
Gods above, he’d been treed like a kitten chased by dogs.
Tiago turned his head and spat at the damned beasts. One of them shifted, the powerful
white wolf who, as a human, had many muscles and tumultuous pale blond curls. Marcus.
“Stop!” he shouted.
Tiago rolled his eyes and went back to climbing the tree. Like he was going to stop
because some fool yelled at him to?
He ignored the second command and the heavy wave of power that seemed to chase up
after him. Tiago was strong, too. And he was a native.
Though he did admit he’d have to reconsider fighting the blond. Chances were that
neither of them would survive a battle, and that would benefit no one. Certainly not Tiago,
anyway.
Thirty feet up, a thick branch veered out to the right. Tiago climbed onto it and kept his
body low as he worked his way down it. Here he was, climbing like a monkey, about to—
Tiago bunched up his muscles then sprung, leaping across the distance from one tree to the
next. He wasn’t overly fond of such maneuvers, but it beat the alternative.
“Goddamn it,” he heard the man beneath him bellow. “Everyone, back away.”
Tiago grinned, glancing down. His cockiness cost him as he misplaced his left front
paw, hitting air instead of wood.
“Rowar!”
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His jaguar version of fuck rang out as he scrambled to keep himself in the tree. Falling
wouldn’t kill him. It’d just hurt like a mother when he hit the ground. Then there would be
wolves all over him. He only wanted one wolf touching him.
Tiago ended up clinging to the thick branch from the underside of it, his back parallel to
the ground. How undignified. Grr. He began to inch his way around, only to almost slip again
when a sultry voice distracted him.
“Marcus, can you, um… Please, can we not do this? It seems barbaric,” Dallas
explained. “We’re in Tiago’s territory. He must be freaking out over wolves and humans
being here. In fact, I know he is.”
Tiago twisted his head and was able to look at Dallas. Upside down, certainly. Still, the
man was gorgeous.
“I only want him to shift and talk to me,” Marcus said in a clear, strong voice. “Explain
to me why he thought he could abduct one of my pack and try to keep him.” The man
moved closer until he was standing almost directly under Tiago. “I have no intention of
doing anything more than just meeting you, man to man, and getting an answer for that.”
Man to man. Yes, I’ve seen what men have done to my kind, and to my homelands. Tiago
pulled himself upright on the limb. He bared his teeth at Marcus. Did the man think him a
fool?
Then again, Tiago hadn’t known much about wolves at all until he’d found some in the
rainforest. He snuffled and flicked his tail.
“I thought we were the only ones. There are no records, of course, not specifying what
we are,” Marcus was saying, staring at him. “So I supposed it could be something that was
once well-known—or maybe not. Either way, I’ve never heard of other breeds of shifters.
Now I’ve seen two in the past twenty-four hours. One of them, I will kill. You, however, are
debatable.”
“Um, Marcus? I know we didn’t get to talk since I was asleep when you got back, but—”
Dallas bit his lip and glanced at Tiago.
Marcus didn’t answer, his focus also on Tiago. “It will depend on you.”
Tiago’s laugh sounded kind of like he was hacking up fur.
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Marcus got the message, narrowing his dark eyes. “There aren’t any other kinds in
North America. I’d have heard of them. I’m still not worried about the outcome, should it
come down to you and me.”
Wolf shifters were arrogant. Tiago recognized that and knew it was also one of his own
vices. He’d be willing to bet there were at least a few feline shifters in North America. Other
jaguars, surely. There used to be, though he could see how no one else would be aware of it,
as jaguars were very solitary creatures.
Marcus’ red-haired lover joined him and Dallas beneath Tiago.
“Nathan,” Marcus began.
Nathan thinned his lips and sent Marcus a look that clearly told him it’d be wise to
discontinue with whatever he’d been planning to say.
Then Nathan glanced at Tiago. “Maybe he’s scared. There are a bunch of us, after all.”
Tiago could drop down on that little man and squash him in a heartbeat.
Nathan didn’t smirk or seem like he was boasting. In fact, his statement really came off
as if he were just stating a fact.
Regardless, Tiago knew he was being goaded. He wasn’t stupid, nor was he a complete
slave to his ego. His pride could take a few hits. Anything to get him Dallas.
But damn it all, he wanted to show the wolf shifters that they were the fools here.
And yes, that he wasn’t scared of them, even though he was outnumbered.
There is the bad thinking again, you fucking fool. Why not just run off and leave Dallas, if that’s
the way you’re going to be?
There was a flicker of jealousy he wanted to ignore. The closeness of a pack was
something he would never know. It was appealing to that scared, abandoned part of him,
even as it terrified that same part.
The idea of knowing there was a support group, people who would be there for and
beside him-- yes, Tiago definitely was envious of that.
Dallas stepped closer to Marcus. “Alpha Anax, listen to me. I—”
Marcus arched an eyebrow at him. “I only want to talk to him.” He gestured at Tiago.
Dallas seemed to shrink a little. “I know, and I’m sorry. It’s just—” He took a deep
breath then looked at Tiago. “Doesn’t this feel wrong to you, at all? We’re in his territory, you
know, like if someone came onto your pack lands…”
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Marcus grunted. He linked hands with his lover and the two of them seemed to make
some sort of silent exchange.
Tiago’s gaze was inexorably drawn to Dallas. He wanted that bond back, that closeness
he’d so carelessly damaged.
The man’s warm gray eyes were focused on him in return. “Marcus, Tiago is my mate.”
The admission shocked Tiago as much as it seemed to everyone else. Even Dallas
blinked as if he couldn’t believe he’d said that.
“Your mate.” Marcus’ voice was flat, yet carried an anger that was unmistakable. “Then
why are you not with him?”
“Because—” Dallas began.
Tiago dropped down from the limb, landing very close to Marcus and Nathan. He
shifted and stood tall as he looked at Marcus. “That is between Dallas and me.” Tiago’s pride
was pounding at him. He didn’t want to admit how wrong he’d been to anyone, but he
would to his mate.
Marcus surprised him with a hard, quick shove that sent Tiago stumbling back. “Let me
tell you something, fucker,” Marcus growled out, clearly losing his grasp on his temper. “I
have fucking had it with assholes messing with my pack, hurting the people I care about and
am sworn to protect! I will kick your ass from here to Argentina and back if I have to in order
to make you treat Dallas right.”
“Marcus,” Nathan said urgently, tugging at Marcus’ shoulder.
Marcus ground his teeth.
Tiago heard him do it, saw the flex of his jaw. It didn’t take an informal knowledge of
Marcus to know that the man was close to a breaking point and when he snapped, it would
likely be brutal.
Perhaps being on the receiving end of that would be unwise. Tiago still couldn’t just
capitulate. He was careful to keep from holding a defensive posture as he asked, “So you’re
his parent figure? I must ask for your permission to date Dallas? It’s a little late for that.”
Nathan stepped back.
Tiago braced himself for a fight.
Dallas shouted and ran between him and Marcus. “No! He doesn’t know our ways,
Marcus!”
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“He’s about to learn one of them,” Marcus snarled, advancing with one quick step and
pushing Dallas aside.
Tiago blocked the first swing and ducked the second. Marcus was fast, much faster and
stronger than Tiago had thought him to be. Tiago was going to have to fight dirty. He
grinned.
“Stop it! Now!”
That command, by Nathan, brought them both up short.
Nathan marched right between them, much as Dallas had, but he braced both hands on
Marcus’ chest and addressed him. “That’s enough. This isn’t helping. You have to stop and—”
Whatever else he said was probably shared silently. After a moment, Marcus gave a
clipped nod and the cold look he sent Tiago promised another uninterrupted round, should
Marcus deem it necessary.
“We’ll discuss this in the morning, if Dallas wants us to wait that long,” Marcus
growled out.
Tiago arched an eyebrow at the wolf shifter.
“Tiago.”
Dallas said his name quietly, and it went straight to Tiago’s heart, chasing off the anger
and cockiness Marcus had brought out in him.
Was his mate going to give him a second chance now?
He still couldn’t feel Dallas’ thoughts.
But Dallas took his hand. “Come on. We’ll talk.”
And Tiago let himself be led back into the wolf’s den.
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Chapter Eleven
“Marcus, you have to—” Nathan stopped and exhaled with undisguised exasperation.
“Ugh! Okay, that’s not the right way to say it. You are entitled to feel what you feel. It’s
understandable that after all the stresses of the past year—hell, the past decade or more—that
you’re overburdened. You can’t show weakness in front of anyone, even in front of me it’s
hard for you. You say you’re past your abduction, but the nightmares started again. You’ve
bulked up more than I’d ever have thought possible, Marcus. You’ve got muscles stacked on
muscles, and those muscles are working out lifting the ones on top of them!”
Marcus almost chortled at the exaggeration. He wasn’t that big yet.
“Yes, you are.” Nathan strode from the window over to the bed where Marcus sat
propped against the headboard. “You are, and you know it—and you know why.”
Marcus tightened his lips against speaking.
Nathan sat by him and caressed Marcus’ chest. “These muscles are hot—don’t get me
wrong—but when we met, you were so thin, and I loved you then, too. Not at first, I won’t
lie. I was freaked out and you know that. But it didn’t take long before I thought…look at
this incredible, strong man.” Nathan stopped his hand over Marcus’ heart. “Here, where it’s
most important, is a core of strength and just goodness unlike any I’ve ever seen before. You
can bulk up and it won’t change this good, kind, wise heart. It won’t alter the brilliant mind,
the soul that blesses my life every moment of every day. It won’t make you any less
vulnerable in the places that truly matter.”
“It mattered when I was gutted,” Marcus said bluntly, not to hurt his mate. He did have
to bring up the point as it had a bearing on their conversation. “When I almost died, this
body would have failed me if it hadn’t been for that pill. So I want to be stronger, Nathan. I
need to be stronger and not just physically, but yes, that way also. I can’t let fear keep
preying on me. I can’t doubt myself all the time or often. I can’t…” Marcus sighed and his
anger and defenses deflated then fled along with his exhaled breath. “I can’t keep carrying it
all. I feel like I have to be this perfect, indestructible, almost emotionless being. Even
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laughing freely around others, it’s like, I wonder if there are pack members seeing that as a
weakness now.”
“Fuck them if they do,” Nathan rumbled. “Seriously. Fuck them. Marcus, all you have
to be is you. It was more than enough to make you Alpha Anax. You’ve led the packs for over
a decade and done so with a fairness no other Alpha Anax ever has. You are still also only a
man, not a god. Don’t hold yourself up to unattainable status. Don’t expect perfection when
you know it doesn’t exist.” Nathan straddled his legs and cupped Marcus’ face in his hands.
His intense gaze burned through Marcus. “It’s okay to break down, Marcus. It’s okay to let
yourself mourn and be afraid. You don’t have to do it in front of the whole pack, but you can
do it here, with me—with your friends and your brother. It isn’t a sign of weakness to mourn
the loss of people we care about, not in private or in public. You want to unite our people?
Show them how much you are like them. Putting yourself on a pedestal isn’t going to
achieve the unity you want for us.”
Marcus squeezed his eyes shut, as he tried to compose his thoughts. “I’m not putting
myself on a pedestal, I—” Frustrated, he growled when he couldn’t find the words to express
himself. He couldn’t even do it mentally, because he wasn’t sure what he was feeling or why
he was feeling it.
“Marcus.”
Nathan said his name so tenderly, it made Marcus’ eyes burn with the threat of tears.
Soft, sweet touches of Nathan’s lips against his began loosening the knot of tension and
frustration inside Marcus.
Marcus unclenched hands he’d fisted unconsciously. He smoothed his palms up
Nathan’s back, pushing the thin shirt up as he did so.
Nathan settled more fully on his lap, his ass on Marcus’ cock.
Marcus remembered the one time Nathan had bottomed, back when they’d first met.
Nathan had bitched the entire week afterwards.
“Not the entire week,” Nathan murmured before kissing him deeply.
Nathan kept his hold on Marcus’ face, gently stroking his thumbs over Marcus’ cheeks.
The kisses were weakening Marcus, his muscles and limbs softening, even as his dick
grew erect.
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Marcus brought his hands around to tug at the silky hair in Nathan’s armpits. He didn’t
pull hard, only let Nathan feel that he was there.
Nathan’s sharp inhale and shiver told of his approval.
That, and the flood of need that washed over Marcus from Nathan.
Nathan’s nipples were taut, begging for attention. Marcus plucked at them as he sucked
on Nathan’s tongue.
The rub of Nathan’s bottom was driving Marcus quickly to a release he wanted to draw
out. Nathan felt so good on him, so good kissing him and touching Marcus’ face.
Those pert little tits were sweet, too. Marcus kept at them as he returned Nathan’s kiss.
He pinched and rolled the tips until Nathan was squirming and had to turn his head as he
panted.
“Fuck, Marcus,” Nathan gasped out. “Fuck. Fuck me.”
Marcus froze mid-pinch. “I-I—”
Nathan whimpered and undulated on him. “You don’t have to. I can strip you down
and make you scream for me, fuck you until you come apart again and again. That’s what we
can do. We—”
But Nathan wanted something more. It wasn’t the first time lately that Nathan had
brought it up, either. It was just the most blatant he’d been about it.
Marcus remembered the nipples he held and gave them a twist.
Nathan moaned and arched his back, pushing into the sensation.
Why did Nathan want him to top?
“Because I want all of you. All of you, Marcus, but not if you don’t want it. I get it if you don’t.
But if you’re open to it, if…if…”
“As long as it isn’t because you think I need some sort of intervention.” Marcus sat up and let
go of the left nipple. He sealed his lips around it and scraped his teeth over the tip. “As long
as it’s because you want me.”
To his surprise, Nathan cuffed him on the arm. Hard. “You—ugh! You think I’d wait
over a decade then decide to give you a sympathy fuck, when we’ve both been very set in
our ways? Seriously?” Nathan smacked him again. “I just think once was not enough to form
a solid basis on! It hurt. I hurt and ruled out ever doing it again. That was hasty, okay? And
it’s taken me a long time to realize that, but if you hated it so bad and—”
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Marcus hadn’t hated it. He’d been nervous as hell because he was a bottom, and
Nathan fucked him so good he could never compare.
But now he’d had years of learning just how to make a bottom feel amazing, hadn’t he?
Nathan had showed him that.
“I’m not averse to trying again,” Marcus said, as he shoved Nathan onto his back.
Nathan’s eyes went wide—huge, even. The heady scent of his arousal filled the room.
Marcus almost always handed over control in the bedroom to his mate. Nathan was as
toppy as they came.
Or so he had thought.
“I am,” Nathan clarified. “You just surprised me.”
“And you liked it,” Marcus stated. “Maybe we’ve been too set in our roles.”
“We don’t have roles. We love each other and sexuality—parts of it—are fluid, I think.
We evolve as a couple.” Nathan arched one fine eyebrow. “Now, are you going to fuck me or
ride me?”
Marcus pushed Nathan’s shirt up again and flicked his nipples. “Guess.”
Nathan cursed and Marcus laughed. It’d been too long since they’d played in bed.
“Don’t you dare.”
Which of course meant Marcus did dare. He tickled Nathan’s ribs.
Nathan squeaked and bucked, kicking his legs.
Marcus grabbed Nathan’s shirt and ripped it from hem to collar.
“Holy fuck, that’s hot,” Nathan rasped. His cock tented the sweats magnificently.
Marcus ran a finger down the length of it then got out of bed. He stripped off his own
clothes and took the lube off the nightstand.
“How should we do this?” he mused out loud, raking his gaze down Nathan’s body.
“Should I stretch your tight little hole or should you?” The more he thought of it, he was
increasingly eager to fuck Nathan. He’d been considering it ever since Nathan had begun
hinting that he’d like to try it again.
“Your fingers are bigger.” Nathan held up his own and wiggled them. “I want the
whole experience.”
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“The whole experience?” Marcus grinned wickedly and tossed the lube onto the bed.
He clutched the ankles of Nathan’s sweats. “Then that’s what you will get, honey. Get your
cock out.”
With a quick jerk, he had the sweats down. Marcus threw them onto the floor then went
back and clasped Nathan’s right ankle. He tugged and helped Nathan to flip onto his belly.
Then he urged Nathan closer to the edge of the mattress. “Let’s start here. Or continue—
that’s more accurate.”
“Too much talking about not fucking,” Nathan complained.
Marcus spread Nathan’s cheeks. Fiery red hair was sprinkled down his crease and
swirled around his asshole. That tiny aperture hadn’t been fucked in a very long time and
only ever by Marcus.
“Talk about pressure,” Marcus said. He traced the pattern of the hair.
Nathan snickered. “No pressure yet, baby.”
“Baby, huh?” Marcus knew that wasn’t an endearment they used for each other, so
Nathan was joking with him—trying to keep him from worrying about sex.
Marcus wasn’t worried. He was suddenly, thoroughly eager.
He pushed Nathan’s cheeks apart again until that pink hole gaped just a little. Then
Marcus licked over it, a rough, long drag of his tongue as he tasted his mate.
“Ohmyfuckinggods,” Nathan babbled as he rocked his butt back.
Marcus squeezed his ass cheeks and went after Nathan’s asshole with a fervor that
surprised them both, licking and sucking on that most sensitive skin.
Nathan keened at one point and started jacking his dick. Marcus sent him a silent
warning not to come. He wouldn’t fuck Nathan if he did, because he’d be entirely too tight
for thick penetration then.
That or they’d have to wait until Nathan’s ass loosened up again.
“Won’t come yet,” Nathan promised him.
Marcus went back to tonguing Nathan’s hole, thrusting into it and doing his best to
trace the inner rim. He ran his hands up from Nathan’s buttocks to his back, then around to
tug at his nipples.
Nathan shook like an earthquake went through him.
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Marcus kept playing with his tits and rimming him until his own dick was leaking pre-
cum and he ached to fuck his mate.
“This way,” he said against Nathan’s wet opening. “On your knees.”
“Uh huh,” was Nathan’s reply.
Marcus hoped it wouldn’t leave Nathan as sore as he’d been when they had tried it
before. Chances were Nathan would feel him for days anyway.
“I want to,” Nathan ground out in a rough voice. “I’m not scared of feeling you
anymore.”
Marcus felt it then, Nathan’s admission that he’d insisted on topping for so long
because of his height, his size—the chip on his shoulder. Oh, he was a top anyway, but the
reasons for it were clear to Nathan and he wasn’t having it.
“Beautiful man,” Marcus whispered with something close to awe before clambering for
the lube.
“Stupid man. Took me too long to figure out,” Nathan corrected.
Marcus gave his bottom a pat. “No, like you said. We grow and change, and so do our
desires. I didn’t want to swap things up any more than you did because it feels so good to
have you fuck me. This is going to feel good, too.” He’d slicked his fingers up as he spoke.
“So good.”
The first one went in easily, but Nathan’s ass gripped it tight, rippling around the
invasion. Marcus crooked his digit and rubbed it over Nathan’s prostate.
The sound Nathan made wasn’t a word, just a blur of consonants.
Marcus grinned, knowing that pleasure well. He thrust his finger in repeatedly,
pressing his knuckles against the outer ring of Nathan’s hole. When his pucker loosened
enough, Marcus inserted a second finger and twisted his wrist around, feeling the silky hot,
clinging walls inside.
“M-Marcus,” Nathan stuttered, rolling his head on the blankets. “Gods, please!”
Marcus massaged Nathan’s gland until Nathan mewled for him, arching like a cat,
getting stroked just so. The third finger took more time to work into Nathan’s ass, but once
there, Nathan began to ride all three digits, not waiting for Marcus to fuck him with them.
“Ready, ready, ready, so goddamned ready,” Nathan flung at him.
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Marcus kissed the top of Nathan’s butt, the divots above each cheek, and the curve of
his spine. Only then did he withdraw his fingers. He lingered at the outside of Nathan’s hole,
tracing it until Nathan shuddered for him.
“Now,” Marcus said, taking a moment to lube his cock well.
Nathan pushed his bubble butt up eagerly.
Marcus pulled one cheek aside, exposing Nathan’s slick hole. He lined the tip of his
dick up to it then slowly began to sink into Nathan’s heat.
The strangled sound Nathan let loose conveyed the pleasure he felt at the penetration as
thoroughly as the sensations he shared with Marcus through their link. Combined with the
exquisite grip of his inner walls and the ecstasy Marcus was himself experiencing, it wasn’t
going to take long for him to come.
“Better make this last,” Nathan warned him. “Feels good. So good. Why didn’t I want to do
this again? Why didn’t you?”
Too many questions, as far as Marcus was concerned. Neither one of them needed to be
thinking that hard. He thrust in the last few inches and drove a gasp from Nathan.
Marcus covered him then, his chest to Nathan’s back. Nathan’s smaller stature meant
that Marcus had plenty of skin to touch. He rubbed his chest over much of it before licking at
Nathan’s neck. He nipped at the bump of spine at Nathan’s nape.
Nathan clenched his ass around Marcus’ cock. It was too much. Marcus couldn’t keep
still any longer. He bit Nathan, not breaking the skin yet, simply preparing his nape for
more.
At the same time, he pulled his hips back slowly, luxuriating in the drag of tight
muscles against his length. When the underside of his cockhead tugged at Nathan’s rim,
Marcus pushed back in, filling Nathan again.
The slap of skin on skin filled the room, along with their moans and grunts. Marcus
rolled his forehead across the back of Nathan’s head, tugged on his long braid and again on
his nipples. He tried to keep moving slowly, but the pull of release was digging in deep.
Nathan used his powerful arms and thighs to demand more, shoving his body back.
Marcus took it for the permission and demand it was. He rose up and watched as he
began fucking Nathan harder, slamming his hips against Nathan’s ass. Nathan’s butt rippled
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with each thrust, his arm moved faster as he jacked himself off. Soft groans escaped his
parted lips, and Marcus could imagine what Nathan’s expression looked like.
He was so handsome Marcus almost couldn’t comprehend it. This man was his, heart,
body and soul, as no one else ever could be. And Marcus belonged to him as much, possibly
even more.
The ties binding them together grew even tighter. Marcus covered Nathan again and
hammered into him while scraping his teeth over the back of Nathan’s neck.
Nathan’s orgasm hit first and triggered Marcus’.
The bite intensified the experience for them both. Marcus bit deep, tasting his mate’s
blood, his release. It stormed through him, tangled with Nathan’s orgasm, and rushed back
into Nathan.
Marcus thrust until his cock was too sensitive for more. He lay over Nathan, trying to
catch his breath then rolled them both to their sides. His dick slipped from Nathan’s hole and
Nathan hissed.
“Sorry. I can—” Marcus had to pause and pant for a second. “Kiss it and make it
better.”
Nathan craned his neck and tried to look at him. “Can you now?”
That sounded like a challenge to Marcus. He rolled Nathan onto his belly and parted
his cheeks. “Yeah, I so can.”
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Chapter Twelve
Now that Tiago was there, Dallas didn’t know what to say to him. Unlocking his mind
to Tiago seemed like conceding defeat, so he didn’t want to do that.
Which was stupid, because he was just hurting them both. He knew that, yet he still
kept his thoughts private and his mouth closed.
Tiago watched every move he made. Every breath I take, every move I make— Dallas gave
a mental snort and cut that song off before it got stuck in his head. He glanced at the bed in
the hut. There was a couch that he could sleep on. It was small. He was short. It worked out
well.
Dallas crossed over to it and plopped down. Then he got up and went to find a spare
blanket and a pillow. Those items in hand, he returned to the couch and started to stretch
out. He staunchly ignored Tiago.
He was being an idiot. He’d intervened when Marcus would have fought Tiago, had
been afraid for either man to get hurt. Yet now all he could do was pout?
Dallas flopped an arm over his eyes.
He was totally not prepared for the warm breath that gusted over the lower part of his
face. “What—?” Or the tongue that slipped into his mouth, the firm lips against his.
Tiago pushed Dallas’ arm aside and cradled his jaws.
Maybe this was what they needed. Talking didn’t seem to get them anywhere. Dallas
was going to have to give in anyway. The mate bond was too damned strong for him to walk
away from Tiago again.
Tiago rumbled into his mouth as if he’d heard the concession.
Dallas was lifted off the couch like he weighed nothing. He kept his eyes sealed shut
and clung to the man. There was no more fighting it—or fighting Tiago.
The bed was cool and comfortable beneath him as he spread out on it. Dallas helped
Tiago get his clothes off and only opened his eyes long enough to watch Tiago spread lube
over his thick cock.
Dallas pulled his legs up, his knees nearly on his chest.
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“Open your eyes,” Tiago said. “No hiding from me, Dallas. Not from me.”
Dallas didn’t want to cooperate, but his stupid eyelids had a mind of their own. They
popped right open and he found himself the recipient of a gaze full of affection and
confusion.
He expected Tiago to say something, but not another word passed between them as
Tiago prepared his hole.
Dallas was past the point of speaking when Tiago pushed into him, filling him in one
long, steady thrust.
Tiago murmured something Dallas didn’t understand, a language he didn’t know. It
sounded sweet, caring. Dallas wanted more words like that.
He offered his neck to his mate and at the same time, dropped every wall he’d
resurrected against Tiago.
“Dallas, Dallas,” Tiago chanted in his ear and in his mind. “Mine. Mine!”
It worked both ways. Tiago was his, had come after Dallas and been unable to let him
go.
“Yes,” Tiago said as he pumped into Dallas harder. “Yes, that’s it. I am. You are. We.
Us.”
Dallas understood that babbling. They belonged to each other and together they were
more.
Tiago cupped the back of Dallas’ head and pressed.
Dallas licked the offered skin. Tiago wanted a bite, and Dallas wanted to give him one.
As Tiago drove his hard cock in again and again, each time with more force and speed,
Dallas nibbled at the flesh against his lip. When his balls sent spunk jetting from his cock, he
bit, marking Tiago.
Tiago roared louder than Dallas had ever heard before. He ground his pelvis against
Dallas’ butt, as if trying to get more of his dick inside Dallas’ hole.
Dallas was sure he felt that rigid cock all the way up to his esophagus. Every shot of
cum warmed his inner walls more and more.
Tiago kept rutting even after the last spurt, moving slower, shallower.
Dallas eased his teeth from Tiago’s flesh then lapped at the wound.
“I don’t want to leave your body—so tight, so hot and soft,” Tiago thought.
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“Then don’t,” Dallas responded out loud. They did better when they didn’t talk
anyway.
Tiago pushed himself up on his hands and stared down at Dallas. “Then we have to
learn to talk. No. We have to learn to listen to each other. That is much harder than talking.”
Well, shit. Tiago certainly had that right. Dallas blinked at him, nodding.
Tiago smiled. “I’m not always so cocky that I can’t see when I’ve screwed up.”
Dallas was surprised by that and said so, “I didn’t expect you to be so willing to work at
this. I guess we really don’t know each other.”
Tiago eased his dick out of Dallas’ ass and moved over to sit up.
Dallas joined him, grimacing because of the uncomfortable wooden headboard behind
them. “Wish it was padded.”
“I will make you a bed as soft as you would like it to be,” Tiago offered. He held up his
hands and spread his fingers. “That’s what I do for fun. I make furniture from repurposed
wood. Someday I hope to make enough money to live off of, but for now, I’m a self-
employed accountant.”
Dallas couldn’t help it. His mouth popped open in surprise.
Tiago smirked at him. “Don’t look so shocked. I had to do something I could make a
living at. When my mother left me alone, I was sixteen and very scared. Fortunately, I found
a man who was enamored of me, but too afraid to act on it. He did at least provide me with a
place to stay and help me get an education.”
“Sixteen?” Dallas asked.
Tiago nodded, his eyes so expressive and serious. “That’s older than most jaguars when
they’re left alone. Parenting is the female’s job, and affection isn’t a part of it. She did tell me
she was set on her own at a much younger age, as was the normal thing with us. For
whatever reason, she stuck with me longer.”
“And the man?”
Tiago shrugged. “When I was older and he grew a pair, I gave him what he wanted.
Then I left, because what he wanted wasn’t what I thought it was.”
Dallas could imagine. He still prodded for an explanation. “What did he want?”
Tiago frowned. “Everything. A relationship, commitment. I was an eighteen-year-old
shifter who couldn’t tolerate another moment of his companionship. It sounds harsh, but
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that’s the way—” He stopped and shook his head sharply. “No, that’s an excuse, isn’t it?
Jaguars are loners, truly. They are very territorial—as am I. They aren’t affectionate, doing
only what Nature requires of them. But I’m not a jaguar. I’m a man and a shifter—and a
jaguar. I am all three in one, but none completely. That means if I choose to keep being a dick
about wolf shifters, then it is just that. A choice. That’s why you called me a bigot.”
Dallas couldn’t wrap his head around all of that. Yes, yes he could. “No more us and
them? Or me and them, I mean…you and them?” Boy, he was going to trip over his own
babbled words. They’d just pile up as they fell out of his mouth and onto the bed.
“Sometimes, that will be the case. It’s the way of the world, Dallas,” Tiago explained.
“Us, whoever that is, against them. In this case, it would be whoever took Maarten, wouldn’t
it?”
“Oh.” Dallas thought that over. “Yeah, but no more invasive wolves and you. You
know what I mean.”
“I won’t follow at Marcus’ heels,” Tiago said with a hint of pique.
“He’s my Alpha Anax. I told you that.” Dallas crossed his arms over his chest then
quickly uncrossed them. “What? I am defensive. I admit it. Pack loyalty is a thing with us.
Sometimes some nutbagger shifter decides he or she is going to try and overthrow the Alpha
Anax, yeah. That happens. It doesn’t turn out well for them at all.”
“What happens to them?”
Dallas sent a visual along with his explanation. “They die, unless they swear fealty to
Marcus. It’s the way it has to be. When you talk about the jaguar part of you, we have our
beastly parts as well. Some, way more than others. Violence is all those kinds of shifters will
ever understand or respect. Anything less is proof of weakness.”
“That’s the way it is with animals here in the rainforest,” Tiago agreed. He took Dallas’
closest hand in his. “But we are more than that side of ourselves. I understand I use the
jaguar nature to protect my…my emotions,” he admitted reluctantly. “I had to think fast
when you left. I followed you, yes, but I had to work through why you appealed to me so
much. It isn’t just the mate bond. You are special, Dallas.”
“I’ve been called special before, and it wasn’t usually in a good way,” Dallas joked.
“Actually, that is true. Being a runt is hard. My dad still doesn’t want to see me. My mom?
She’s fine with it, but they’re old fashioned. She does whatever Dad says. I miss her. My
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siblings, not so much. They enjoyed making my life hell. They’re actually a large part of why
I ran away when I was… Well, I was the same age you were when your mom left. I was
sixteen, and for a lot of pack members, that’s a fine age to be on your own. I was a scrawny,
scared sixteen-year-old kid who couldn’t take living at home anymore.”
“You ran away to where?” Tiago was sort of glowering at him. “That was dangerous.”
“Yeah, and it was a long time ago, so getting all grumpy over it now is pointless,”
Dallas informed him. “I ran to Marcus. That’s where. I knew we had this awesome Alpha
Anax who was also gay like me. I looked up to Marcus before I ever met him.”
Tiago harrumphed. He thumped his head lightly on the backboard. “It’s stupid to be
jealous. I’m glad you found someone to help. Does your dad not accept that you’re gay?”
Dallas laughed. “He wasn’t thrilled by it, but if I was butch like my brothers, he’d be
okay. I know that because after I came out, one of my older brothers did too. Well, about a
year later, once everyone was done freaking out over me and had accepted it. Kelly’s the
second oldest, and he’s a foot taller than me and over a hundred pounds heavier, all muscle,
most of it. Last I saw it was, anyway.”
“He sounds delightfully brave, waiting for his younger brother to bear the brunt of
breaking in the family and friends before coming out himself,” Tiago noted. “Have you seen
your family since you left them?”
“Nope.” And it hurt. “It is what it is. I get a card from Mom twice a year, telling me
who is doing what in the family. That’s it.” He shrugged. “I doubt Dad is thrilled she even
does that much, but it’d sure make them look bad to the Alpha Anax if they didn’t.”
“I’m sorry. I don’t even know where my mother is—or who my father is. They could
both be dead.” Tiago sounded so blasé about it.
Dallas asked, “Do you feel anything at all for them?”
Tiago narrowed his eyes as he stared ahead. “My father, no. He was nothing more than
a donor when my mother was in season as a jaguar. I’m going to assume he was a shifter,
too. That’s a less disturbing thought.”
“I bet,” Dallas muttered.
“My mother…” Tiago sighed. “I would help her if she needed it, but I have no desire to
find her. She did more than most jaguar shifters do for their offspring—or so she claimed. I
really don’t know if that’s the truth.”
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“You don’t know any other jaguar shifters?”
“Territorial,” Tiago reminded him. “While I’m trying to work past that, there are some
males that claim parts of this rainforest. Some are full-blooded jags. Two are shifters. I have
never met them because I respect their boundaries. I also don’t spend as much time here as
they do. One, I believe, resides in the forest permanently. The other’s scent grows faint from
time to time, so I think he must live in a village or city somewhere. Either way, we’ve never
met, and I couldn’t tell you about the females, except that they are as solitary as the males.”
Dallas touched the bite mark he’d put on Tiago. “And now you’re a part of something
that involves another man. This is permanent, what we have. I also need a pack, Tiago. I can’t
be as solitary as you.”
Tiago pulled him over. “But I’m not alone now.”
Dallas put his head on Tiago’s shoulder and cuddled up. “Now, you aren’t. You might
not have as much alone time as you’d like. In fact, I know that’s going to be the case.”
“Because you need your pack,” Tiago stated.
“I do,” Dallas agreed. He circled one of Tiago’s taut, dark brown nipples with the tip of
his index finger. The skin around that little bud puckered up.
Tiago moved restlessly, shuffling his legs and pushing his chest up in a silent demand
for more. “I might not be as averse to it as you think. Having people you can trust, it would
be…nice.”
“Nice?” Dallas plucked at the nipple.
“Ah, yes,” Tiago hissed. “Nice, if I can do it. I don’t know if that’s possible.”
“It’s possible.” Dallas slid over and licked the hard nub, then sucked on it.
Tiago held his head there. “It is. Fuck, Dallas. That feels so good.” He sounded
surprised.
Dallas applied more suction before using his teeth to gently scrape at the turgid flesh.
“Ah,” Tiago sighed. “No one has ever bothered.”
Dallas raised his head enough to say, “Now that is a shame.” Tiago had plump nipples
once they were erect. They’d be pretty under a skintight shirt. Dallas scooted over until he
was lying in between Tiago’s legs. He worked one nipple with his left hand and kept sucking
and biting on the other one.
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After Tiago began to try to rut against him, Dallas switched over. He sucked on the one
and pinched the other.
“Dallas,” Tiago rasped in a gritty voice.
Dallas grinned and bit harder.
“Dallas!”
He liked the way Tiago shouted his name. It was a sound he could and would get
addicted to.
“Just wait until I fuck you, Tiago. You’re going to love it.”
Tiago froze.
Dallas chuckled and nuzzled Tiago’s chest. “Not right now. When you’re ready. Don’t
freak out on me.”
“Oh.” Tiago’s weak laughter actually made Dallas ache for him.
Tiago had no idea what he was missing, but Dallas was also glad that he’d be the first
and only man to ever make love to Tiago that way.
“Romantic.” Tiago’s voice held a hint of what might have been longing.
Dallas looked up and saw that Tiago was blushing a dark red. He winked at Tiago.
“That’s me all right. Planning all sorts of romantic things for your virgin ass.”
Tiago’s lips quirked, and he asked, “Like what?”
“Have you ever been rimmed?”
Tiago shook his head.
“Fingered? Used a toy to fuck yourself?”
Two more negations from Tiago.
Dallas almost pitied his mate. “Why not?”
“I…” Tiago shrugged. “I always top.”
“Even when you’re alone?” Dallas slid down until his chin brushed the head of Tiago’s
dick. “You’ve never been curious?”
“Of course I have, I just didn’t act on it,” Tiago replied with a hint of testiness. “If I
wasn’t going to let anyone fuck me, why bother?”
“Oh, man. Because it feels so, so good.” Dallas licked over Tiago’s slit. “So good, stud.”
“Stud, huh?” Tiago bumped his dick against Dallas’ lips. “Suck me.”
Dallas sucked one of his own fingers instead.
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Tiago’s eyes just about bugged out as he watched. “What are you doing?”
Dallas spoke around his finger, which was interesting to say the least. “What d’ya think
I’m doing?”
“Sucking your finger to…to…put somewhere,” Tiago finished weakly. His thighs
tensed then quivered.
Dallas gave his digit one last wet lick then held it up. “And whose hole do you think
this is for?”
Tiago gulped.
But he spread those powerful thighs of his apart after only a few seconds hesitation. “If
I don’t like it—”
“You will. Oh trust me, you will,” Dallas promised him. “You have to relax and quit
worrying about it. If you’re afraid it will hurt, this single finger won’t. Consider the size of it.
It isn’t big at all. You know how much I love something a lot fatter in my ass.”
“Yes, I do.” Tiago grinned cockily. “Poke away.”
“Poke away?” Dallas almost laughed. He settled for opening wide and sucking half of
Tiago’s dick right down.
Tiago’s eyes crossed and he grabbed at Dallas’ hair.
Dallas brought his spit-slicked finger down to run it over Tiago’s pucker.
He took more of Tiago’s cock in and swallowed around the crown once it breached his
throat.
Tiago moaned and thrust a little.
Dallas used that impetus to slide the tip of his finger past the tight ring he’d been
touching.
He came back up the length of Tiago’s shaft and gave special attention to the sensitive
spot beneath the crown.
Tiago slid down the bed as he pulled his legs up.
That was what Dallas wanted—Tiago offering up his ass, his cock and balls, everything.
Dallas licked down the underside of Tiago’s dick, over his perineum, and to the pucker
he was fingering. Dallas lapped at Tiago’s hole as much as he could, making sure it was
plenty wet before he came back up to resume the blow job.
Tiago wiggled his bottom.
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Dallas got the message. He pushed his finger in and found that sweet spot inside.
Tiago’s jaw dropped and a guttural sound left him.
It was a beautiful sound. Dallas kept caressing Tiago’s gland while taking his cock in
again and again. Every time he swallowed around it, Tiago would moan or shout, and his
inner muscles would grip Dallas’ finger so tightly it made him dizzy with lust.
Tiago held Dallas’ head in place and began thrusting, and Dallas was more than okay
with that. He knew Tiago wanted more fingers plowing his hole, but without the lube, Dallas
wasn’t going that far.
He used his other hand to pinch at Tiago’s nipple. That, along with Tiago sinking his
cock in deeper than before, sent Tiago spiraling into climax.
Dallas came up enough to catch all but the first shot of cum on his tongue. He caressed
Tiago’s gland until Tiago whimpered and pulled back.
Dallas left off sucking on his dick and also slipped his finger free. He knelt and quickly
began masturbating, not far from coming himself.
“Holy fuck,” Tiago uttered, his gaze dropping to the blur of movement as Dallas jacked
off. “That’s sexy as—”
Dallas threw his head back then canted it down and groaned, watching the spunk
splatter on Tiago’s belly and groin.
The white, creamy liquid was a stark contrast to Tiago’s tanned skin. When Dallas had
pumped the last of his load out, he ran a finger through his own cum then licked it clean.
Tiago’s breathing grew louder.
Dallas glanced through his lashes at Tiago and did it again.
The third time he went for it, Tiago grabbed him and rolled Dallas onto his back.
“Tease,” Tiago accused.
Dallas waggled his eyebrows. “No, because I’ll follow through.”
He set about showing Tiago exactly how much of a tease he wasn’t.
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Chapter Thirteen
“Maarten, how do you feel?” Marcus asked, as he and Nathan joined Maarten and
Ryder at their table.
Maarten looked rough, with dark circles under his bloodshot eyes, and his face slightly
puffy. “Better than yesterday. Worse than a few days ago.”
Marcus patted his back gently. “Did you talk to Luuk? Your brother was frantic, you
know. Is he going to come down here and kick my ass?”
“He wants to kick mine,” Ryder groused, taking the lid off the tray of food that had
been brought to them. “It would suck if there was a fight between the Alpha Anax of Europe
and me, but it might happen. Then again, I’d let Luuk deck me, since I’m Maarten’s mate and
I let him get hurt.”
“Like you let me do anything,” Maarten grumbled. “I’m my own man.”
Ryder nodded. “As much as I am, and I don’t blame Luuk. I’m pissed at myself too.”
“I’m the one who fucked up,” Maarten admitted bluntly. “I wasn’t paying attention to
anything but the song on the radio and the dirty thoughts in my head. Thoughts I won’t feel
up to acting on for a few more days, I fear.”
“We’ll be all right.” Ryder brought Maarten’s hand to his lips and kissed the back of it.
“I will wait forever for you, if that’s the way it has to be.”
Maarten looked horrified. “Gods, no! I’m not going without for more than a few days. If
I’m still feeling like shit then, you’re just going to have to fuck me into better shape.”
Marcus helped himself to the rare meat and over easy eggs after Nathan fixed his plate.
“While we’re flirting, they’re taking all the food,” Maarten pouted, his bottom lip
plumping out.
Marcus hitched a shoulder at him. “You wanna get mushy, we get the food, you get
the…heh. Well, you’re not getting anything for a few days, I guess. Want some of my steak?”
Maarten shot him a dirty look. “I have a suggestion for where you can put your steak.”
“Which steak?” Nathan asked. “Because yeah, Marcus is hung and he could even put
his own steak there.”
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Ryder and Maarten both looked at Marcus.
Marcus continued eating. He wasn’t going to dispute the truth.
“That’s still a mean thing to say,” Maarten said a moment later.
“If I didn’t tease you, you’d get your feelings hurt.” Marcus held up a bite of nearly raw
steak on his fork. “You sure you’re going to pass? I got the rarest one on the platter.”
Maarten looked over the remaining choices. “Well, that’s fine. This one is almost
mooing. Wait. This isn’t beef.”
Marcus figured if Maarten was trying to gross him out, it wouldn’t work.
“You do know I ate anything I could to survive at one point? Rats, mice, bugs.” Marcus
left it at that. He didn’t need to mention that desperation had occurred when he’d been held
captive and starved for days at a time.
“You win,” Maarten huffed. “I’m not sure if I can even eat this. My throat and
stomach—” He shook his head and put the meat back on the platter.
“Some milk might help. Want me to get some?” Nathan offered. “Or call for it?”
“Calling for it would be wonderful.” Maarten sent him a grateful smile. “That root
thing I had to suck on made a huge difference. I am pretty certain I would have died without
it, but my insides feel abraded, I guess. I don’t know how else to describe it.”
“Would more of the root help?” Marcus asked.
Ryder set down his silverware. “I was wondering that myself. I didn’t bring the
damned root with me. I thought it had done enough and Maarten’s shifter nature would do
the rest.”
“I feel much better, Ryder. You know that. You were with me through the worst of it,”
Maarten said. “I think whatever that shit was they gave me in the water fucks up the ability
to heal. It would, if it were datura, or a form of it.”
“Must be a milder form, and thank the gods for that.” Ryder brushed the back of his
knuckles over Maarten’s cheek. “Even a miniscule amount of datura is deadly for us.”
Nathan returned and took his seat at the table. “Good. No one swiped my food. I’d hate
to have to stab someone with a fork.”
“You wouldn’t either,” Maarten argued. “You would lecture them and force them to
listen until you were done. Then you’d remove your fork.”
Nathan cocked his head. “I have to say, you do know me well.”
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The conversation continued in a light manner until everyone had finished eating, and in
Maarten’s case, drinking his milk.
Marcus sat back and rubbed his stomach. “That was good. Now I need to talk to Dallas.
And Tiago.” He even managed to say that calmly. “I don’t care for the jaguar shifter.”
“He is Dallas’ mate. I’d say chances are good that he had every right to run off with
Dallas.” Nathan looked at him as if daring Marcus to argue.
Marcus wasn’t a stupid man. “Which is why I’m not going to be a dick. Yesterday I
was…rash. My nerves were shot.” He glanced down at his hands and felt his face grow
warm. “I wasn’t in a good frame of mind.”
“You and me both.” Ryder sighed. “It’s been a rough couple of years for all of us.”
“It has,” Marcus acknowledged. His embarrassment faded. Ryder and Maarten were
his friends. They weren’t going to give him shit for not being perfect. If anyone had told him
he’d consider Maarten a friend over a year ago, Marcus would have thought they were nuts.
But Maarten was becoming quite a good friend and Marcus was glad of that.
“He’s powerful,” Ryder noted, tapping into one of Marcus’ main concerns about Tiago.
Marcus wasn’t certain that Tiago was much weaker than him. “Yes, another thing I’m
not thrilled about, but it’s not a pissing match to see who is the strongest among us.” Marcus
smiled. “I’m secure in my alpha-ness.”
Ryder snorted. “Yeah, same here. It’s weird to think of a different breed of shifter,
though. Cats and dogs. That’s what keeps popping up in my head.”
“I still can’t believe it. Well, I can,” Marcus corrected. “Obviously, we’ve seen two
jaguar shifters. Maybe it’s the rainforest.” He frowned then, as he considered that. “I wonder
if there are other shifters in different parts of the world? Like some sort of water dwelling
shifter.”
“Oh!” Maarten snapped his fingers. “That would be where mermaids come from! And
high in the Himalayas, the Yeti. Think of the possibilities.”
“What about Big Foot?” Ryder asked.
Nathan cackled. “Please. Everyone knows that one’s fake.”
Ryder threw a balled up napkin at him. “Asshat.”
Nathan flipped his braid over his shoulder. “You are just jealous of my fabulousness.”
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Another few minutes of chatting passed then Marcus stood up. Nathan, Ryder and
Maarten also stood.
“You know I want to talk to him, too,” Ryder said. “So whenever you’re ready.”
Marcus had no problem with that. He was, after all, in Ryder’s territory.
Ryder held the door open. “After you. Age before beauty.”
Marcus flipped him off. “Brains before dumbasses.”
It was only a short walk to the hut where Dallas and Tiago were staying. Marcus
walked up the steps and knocked on their door.
“Who could it be now?” Dallas sang out.
Marcus glanced at Nathan. “Am I supposed to know that song? Or did he make it up?”
Nathan shrugged. “No idea.”
“It’s a song,” Maarten informed them. “Gods, you two need to learn your music
history.”
Dallas opened the door. He was damp all over and wearing only a towel. The mate-bite
Tiago had given him was lurid on his pale skin. “Come in. We’ve been expecting you. Hm…
Except not this very second. Tiago’s showering. I made a mess—”
Nathan waved his hands. “Nope. Don’t want to know. This place smells like sex, sex
and more sex.”
Dallas bobbed his head. “That would be right.” He looked very pleased about it.
Marcus didn’t blame him. “I just want you to know…I’ll be calmer today, even if Tiago
tries to provoke me.”
Dallas looked at the bathroom door, then at Marcus. “Jaguars are different. They don’t
have mates. They don’t have packs or…or whatever a herd of jaguars would be called. Their
fathers aren’t fathers, just sperm donors, and the mothers only raise the children until they
can survive on their own. They aren’t like us when it comes to pack and family, not at all.
Tiago didn’t know what hit him with the mate bond. It’s been a shock to him.”
“And it wasn’t to you?” Ryder asked.
“Eh. I’m easy,” Dallas replied. “Or I was. You know what I mean. I don’t flip out over
things because I’m not that deep.”
Marcus had to correct him there. “No, because you don’t let anyone too close. You’re
not an airhead, Dallas.”
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Dallas blushed from his face all the way down to where the towel was wrapped around
his hips. “Um. I’m just going to put some clothes on real quick. And…and thanks, Marcus.”
Dallas sprinted into the bedroom. “Make yourselves at home!”
The shower cut off. Marcus sat in a chair and Nathan propped himself on the arm of it.
Ryder and Maarten settled onto the couch.
Maarten was paler than normal, and his breathing was a tad labored.
Ryder murmured quietly to him while they waited.
Marcus didn’t look when the bathroom door was opened. He gave Tiago his privacy.
A few minutes later, Dallas and Tiago came out holding hands.
Tiago gave him a cautious once-over.
Marcus tried a smile on him. He didn’t have to force it. Much. “It seems I was out of
line yesterday.” Almost an apology.
Tiago tucked Dallas under his arm, hugging Dallas to his side. “I am not used to being
around others. The power structure in a pack is bizarre to me.”
Marcus had had enough of the dancing around each other. He stood and offered his
hand. “Marcus Criswell.” He didn’t add his title. It would have made him sound arrogant.
Tiago clasped his hand and shook it. “Tiago Henrique Silva de Souza.” They both let
go. “Is there something specific you want with me now that we’ve agreed not to try to kill
each other?”
Blunt. Marcus approved of that. “Ryder and I have a few questions about jaguar
shifters, and yeah, I want to know what your intentions are. Dallas is a well-loved member of
our pack. His future is a concern to me.” He held up a hand when Tiago looked to be getting
angry. “I think there’s a difference in the way we see things, and that’s fine. I need you to try
and understand that Dallas is like a little brother to me—or maybe a son. All of my pack
members, they are family to me. So I want Dallas to be cared for, and to be happy. The mate
bond can make you do things you wouldn’t normally. Things that might lead to unhappiness
in some ways.”
Tiago sat in a chair and tugged Dallas onto his lap.
Marcus suspected Dallas was acting as a willing buffer to Tiago’s unease.
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“You are worried about him. That I can respect,” Tiago finally said. “He has already
told me that he needs his pack. I need my home, too. We will work out the difference so that
we both are happy. I wouldn’t mind seeing New Mexico for a few months at a time.”
“And I like it here, just not all the time,” Dallas added. “We were talking it over this
morning. If Ryder will let us hang out here half the year or so, we’d split it up into two or
three months at a time.”
Ryder nodded. “Done, as long as everyone else agrees.”
“It seems that problem is solved then.” Marcus returned to his seat. “Do you know of
other jaguar shifters?”
Tiago told him of two males that claimed part of the rainforest.
“Could one of them be Robert Butler? He’s been running drugs out of Brazil—and
maybe French Guiana. He had some kind of alliance with the former Alpha Anax that ruled
before Ryder took over, and he’s pissed about losing his dealers and drug runners. Sound
like any of the jaguars around here?” Marcus waited while Tiago parsed out the why of that
question.
When he saw the light of understanding in the man’s eyes, Marcus continued, “Yes,
he’s a jaguar shifter. Since they don’t have mates, he didn’t know about the mental bond
mates have. His mistake, because it saved Maarten and Ryder. Although, he did want to
keep Maarten for himself.”
“Fucker is dead,” Ryder spat. “Almost killing Maarten, poisoning him…”
Tiago waited a beat then spoke. “I don’t know the answer to that. Jaguars don’t hang
out together. We don’t associate at all, except for the ones who breed, I suppose. Even that is
a fleeting association. Same as parenting. One of them could be him, except—no, one of them
doesn’t leave the rainforest—the one at the west end of it. He stays in his jaguar form and
rules his area. The other, I can’t help you with. What did this Butler look like?”
“Very attractive, actually.” Marcus described him. “Older than you, but aging well.
Shifters tend to live longer, so there’s no telling his exact age.”
“Do they?” Tiago asked. “I didn’t know. It isn’t like there’s anyone around for me to
ask. Jaguars, I mean.”
“There used to be jaguars in the States,” Marcus said. “If there are any left, I’ve never
seen them. There’s never been any rumor of another breed of shifter.”
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“We are very much loners,” Tiago explained. “It’s doubtful any would have ever
interacted with wolf shifters. There would have been no need, unless, like me and Dallas,
they were mates.”
“Well, I think you two are making history, because surely had it occurred before,
someone somewhere would have known and passed the story down.” Marcus studied Tiago.
With long black hair and chiseled features, the man resembled Butler. Marcus quirked a
brow. “You don’t know who your father was?”
“He wasn’t a father. He was a sperm donor,” Tiago retorted. “Why are you all looking
at me like that?”
“Because you look a hell of a lot like Robert Butler,” Ryder said.
Tiago’s anger made his pupils expand. “If you’re trying to say I was wherever with
him”—he waved a hand at Maarten—“you’re crazy.”
“I am unstable at times, possibly,” Ryder admitted. “That has nothing to do with the
fact that you and Butler could be brothers—or sperm donor and son. Butler’s hair is lighter—
a brown not black—and he has it cut short. Then again, for all I know, there’s a resemblance
for y’all?”
“My mother was a blonde with blue eyes, and we looked nothing alike. At all,” Tiago
added. “I couldn’t say about any others. I told you, I haven’t been hanging around with
jaguars. We don’t do that.”
“If this guy was related to you, do you think you’d know by scent?” Marcus asked.
Tiago closed his eyes and inhaled, his nostrils flaring. “I can remember to this day the
smell of my mother, what it matched in mine, and how it differed. It’s been almost twenty
years since I saw her. There’s a chance I would be able to tell if he and I were kindred. If that
is the case, then you can rule out any other jaguar shifter in this rainforest. Neither scent is
familiar to me at all. Even if it was, what difference would it make to me? Are you concerned
that I would regret his death? Don’t be. He is nothing to me, just as he has been all this time.”
“He’d die regardless,” Marcus informed him. “We were hoping you’d have some idea
of who Butler really is because there’s no trace of him under that name. Since you don’t
associate with any jaguar shifters, you can’t answer the questions we had in mind.”
Ryder leaned forward. “Like where Butler would be hiding, and what did he give my
mate. That root helped, but Maarten is still recovering.”
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Tiago perked up. “Root? What did it look like?”
“I can do better than that and tell you the name of it.” Maarten did both, and Tiago gave
them his first sincere smile.
“I know what those are and where to get them.” He stood, bringing Dallas to his feet at
the same time. “We can go get some when you are ready. That reminds me of something I’d
like to discuss with you, Ryder, about the pack and rainforest sustainability.”
Ryder was already heading for the door, but he stopped and glanced over his shoulder.
“Leaving a smaller carbon footprint?”
“That too.” Tiago stretched, his hands touching the ceiling. “Perhaps you should stay
here, Ryder. With Maarten.”
“Why is that?” Ryder bristled at the suggestion, back stiffening and anger tinting his
tone.
Marcus knew how hard it was as an alpha to let someone else have any control,
especially when that someone was neither friend nor pack member.
“That’s a good idea,” Maarten chimed in with. “Calm down, Ryder. Tiago probably just
thought you would want to be with your mate. Marcus and Nathan can go with them, if
that’s agreeable to everyone?”
It sounded good to Marcus. It would give him time to become better acquainted with
Tiago. And there was the possibility that Ryder would agree because he wanted Marcus to
keep an eye on Tiago.
“We can do that.” Marcus gave Ryder a pointed look, knowing Ryder would catch his
meaning. Truthfully, he had to believe that Tiago was a decent person. Otherwise, he
wouldn’t be Dallas’ mate.
“Wants you to make sure I’m not evil?” Tiago guessed, after Ryder and Maarten had
left.
Marcus didn’t deny it. “He’s a good man. I think you must be, too, or else you and
Dallas wouldn’t be what you are to each other.”
“I’m trying to be a better man,” Tiago muttered. “Dallas pointed out some things.” He
didn’t elaborate.
“Dallas tends to do that,” Marcus conceded, smiling at Dallas. “You ready for a run?”
“Heck yeah.” Dallas whipped off his shirt.
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They stripped there in the hut then bounded out in shifted form. Marcus made a mental
note to make sure Olin had turned the camera back on from last night. He’d shut it down in
an attempt to draw Tiago out. It’d worked, and Olin had almost certainly reactivated it, but
Marcus would feel better once he had that confirmed.
Tiago was an impressive beast, nearly the size of Marcus. It made him a fearsome
jaguar, more so since he was a feline. Marcus felt his wolf clamoring to chase the cat, and he
scolded it to behave. Both he and the wolf knew better than to give in to such an impulse.
Tiago clearly had sharp claws.
The ground was damp from an early morning rain, which made the jungle more humid
than usual. As they ran, silence surrounded them. All the prey animals were hiding and
holding their breath, hoping to avoid detection.
Leaves slapped at them, showering water on Marcus’ coat. Not enough to cool him
down much. It was still a nice benefit of the rain.
Tiago veered to the right then came to a halt in a flower-filled spot. Sun streamed down
through the canopy. The foliage overhead was thinner than in most parts of the rainforest
that Marcus had seen. It was a meadow, he realized. All that was missing were the chirping
birds.
Tiago nudged one plant then carefully pawed at the ground until he’d exposed the
roots.
Marcus recognized the dark clump and yipped.
Tiago replied with a lazy yowl, as if to say, Duh. I told you. He pulled the plant up, roots
and all. Without further ado, Tiago sprinted out of the meadow. Something about the way he
flicked his tail seemed to be a tease.
Nathan must have thought so, too. He yipped merrily and batted at Tiago’s tail.
Tiago spun around and hissed, spewing dirty plant parts and leaves out.
Marcus snuffled, amused by the scene.
Dallas sat down and wagged his tail.
Nathan lowered his head and, quick as the fox his coloring resembled, ran a rapid circle
around Tiago. He then hauled ass back toward the pack compound.
Tiago realized he’d been challenged to a race and was losing it. He sent clumps of dirt
flying as he went after Nathan.
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Marcus figured Tiago was going to work out just fine as a part of their pack. Eventually.
A man used to being alone all his life won’t be able to change immediately.
“He’d better learn to run faster,” Nathan thought, having been party to Marcus’ own
musings. “I’m going to have too much fun playing ring around the kitty. Oh. Uh oh. You’re in
trouble. Here comes Keegan—and Olin.”
“Shit.” Marcus didn’t mind Keegan. Keegan was going to be mad as hell at him and
Nathan for leaving without Keegan as an escort. Of course Nathan just ran right past Keegan,
leaving Marcus to catch the bulk of Keegan’s ire.
Surprisingly, Keegan didn’t seem too put out with him. He and Olin merely kept pace
with Marcus and Dallas for the rest of the return trip.
Once back to the safety of the pack central, they all shifted again. Tiago and Dallas took
the root to Ryder.
Marcus asked Olin about the camera.
“It was back on a second after Tiago passed it,” Olin said with little patience. “I have to
go over this whole goddamned place and check for bugs. Everyone has to get new phones.
Everyone. Let me tell you, I’ve been bitched at more this morning than I ever have in my
entire life. I’m”—he hooked his fingers in the air—“inconveniencing everyone! Yeah, well fuck
you,” he snapped to no one in particular. “I’m not having deaths on my conscience. I’ll make
this place impenetrable—or at least unable to be accessed in any way, shape, or form without
my or Ryder’s knowledge. Ryder’s, I guess, since I’ll be moving into your place.” Olin
pointed his thumb at Marcus. “I want the best suite you’ve got, with a sex swing in it.”
Keegan sputtered and covered his face with his hands. “Olin,” he whined.
Marcus pointed at Olin in return. “You want it? Earn it. I have the best suite, by the
way. You can forget that one. The sex swing you can buy out of your salary.” Marcus gave
him a two-fingered salute. “Let’s go check on Maarten,” he said to Nathan.
“You’re sarcastic and mean,” Olin hollered after him. “I’m regretting having to move to
bumfuck New Mexico less and less. Oh, and I’m going to try to talk my brother and his mate
into coming along!”
Marcus’ pack just kept getting bigger. It made him happy, especially after the losses
they’d suffered. Those who’d died couldn’t be replaced. Marcus would never forget them.
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But he had room in his heart and life to accept changes and that included new pack
members, new friends. New chances.
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124
Chapter Fourteen
“Dana still hasn’t found anything,” Nathan said, hanging up the phone. “Olin’s contact
hasn’t found anything either. It’s like Butler doesn’t exist, which… Okay, I can see why he’d
want that. It’s just really screwing with our ability to find him.”
“If I thought he’d leave my packs alone and if he hadn’t almost killed Maarten, I
wouldn’t bother. I don’t think that he’s going to stop until he either does us all in or forces
some shifters under my protection to do his dirty work.” Ryder looked a hundred percent
perkier since Maarten had healed up completely in the past two days.
Marcus was at his wit’s end and he knew Ryder was feeling the same way. They
couldn’t get a lead on Robert Butler. Asking about jaguar shifters was out of the question.
Outing shifters simply wasn’t done. Even discrete inquiries could turn into disaster if it came
to a human’s attention. That way was off the table.
For now, Ryder’s compound was on lockdown. He’d sent orders to all the packs he
ruled over and made it clear in no uncertain terms that no one was to get involved with
Robert Butler. A long conference call with the alphas had filled them in on what was
happening and the dangers to them all.
Ryder did tell his alphas about Tiago. There was no use in not doing so. He’d already
been seen and no doubt gossiped about by many of the shifters in Ryder’s immediate pack.
Likewise, Dana had been filled in. Tiago would become known to the pack Marcus lived
with. There would be no hiding him.
They were still restricted in their search resources, even more than if they’d been after a
wolf shifter. Wolves were pack animals. The lone wolf wasn’t a common one. Therefore,
rumors tended to abound. Marcus knew he didn’t hear most of them, but other people did.
No one knew jack shit about jaguars.
No one knew jack shit about Robert Butler.
“We can go back to the mansion, house, whatever you want to call it, or send guards to
watch over it, see who comes and goes,” Ryder suggested. “It’s the only connection we have
with Butler.”
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“True enough.” Marcus looked at Keegan. “Any ideas?”
“I’ve checked flight records, airline sales, the property deeds on that place in Cayenne,
and nothing has Robert Butler’s name on it. The house?” Keegan huffed as if he’d been
insulted. “It’s registered to the alpha you killed. Dirk. No help there at all.”
“I used his name to search records, and yeah, there was a plane,” Olin said, taking over
the conversation. “It supposedly went down in the mountains hundreds of miles from here.
No wreckage was ever found. The names of the people on board were all the same—John
Doe Senior and Junior, Jane Smith and Jane Doe. Who does shit like that? At least be creative
criminals. Jesus.”
Olin continued with barely a pause. “The new cell phones will be in town tomorrow.
Mercy from Armoured is bringing them herself, so we know they won’t have been tampered
with. Of course, the way Keegan’s and my phones went dead, that means it’s not always the
phones themselves that are fucked with. This guy’s got the money and power to get to cell
towers and probably servers, at the very least. He’s someone, has to be, someone big to be
able to make himself invisible—like Jimmy Hoffa, or Elvis. You know neither of them are
dead. Well, maybe they are now, but they weren’t when they disappeared. They just had the
money and skills to go invisible.”
That took the air out of the room. Marcus gawped at Olin, as did everyone else with the
exception of Keegan, who looked amused.
“Marilyn Monroe, too,” Olin added. “So the cell phones might not be safe. We have to
just be careful with our conversation. Can’t do anything about the satellite we use. I did find
a handful of listening devices here, and I’m sure they’ve been here for a while. They’re
outdated by a couple of years. Still worked, though. I’d like to bring in a few of the people
from Armoured—”
“No,” Ryder said immediately. “No humans. We’ve had enough risks lately. We’re not
taking more. Train other guards how to look for listening devices—or anything else you need
them to do. I’ll increase your salary.”
“I wasn’t getting paid,” Olin stressed, “from you.”
Ryder gave him a narrow look. “You will.”
Olin gestured at Marcus. “I’m contracted with him first. I’ll do what I can while we’re
here, but I have to fix his security system.”
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“You could send a handful of guards back with me,” Marcus said to Ryder. “Let them
train with mine, because Olin will be teaching some of the elite ones how to be security
experts.”
“You say that like it ought to piss me off. I did read the contract.” Olin dug a thin stack
of papers from his laptop bag. “I have it right here, as a matter of fact.”
“You’re very thorough. Should I pat your head?” Marcus asked.
Olin growled as if he were in his wolf form.
Marcus had at least accomplished something today.
Ryder picked up the conversation. “I can do that. Say, six. I know exactly who to send.
Until then, we’ll just have to be extra vigilant.”
Marcus scrubbed his hands against the denim of his jeans. “I hate to leave here with this
unresolved.”
“But you’re going to have to,” Ryder said. “Trust me to take care of my packs. You
trained me for this position. I couldn’t have had a better role model.”
“Aw, y’all are so sweet.” Olin fanned himself with his contract. “It’s way too serious in
here, guys. Like y’all think we’re going to bite it or something. We aren’t, okay? Let’s just
agree on that.”
Marcus tried to explain it to Olin. “We aren’t used to this. There’s never been something
we haven’t been able to go after and fix.”
“Someone you haven’t been able to go after and kill?”
“That too,” Marcus replied to Olin. “It isn’t like we go out and randomly murder
people. We defend our lives, and those of others we are responsible for—at all costs.”
“Right. I knew that.” Olin tucked the papers away and put the strap of the bag over his
shoulder. “So when do we leave?”
“After the phones are delivered. We’re having to charter a jet, and there’s only one
company available to us for the next week. Thursday is our next chance to head home.” As
much as Marcus hated to leave business unfinished here, it was Ryder’s responsibility. To
stay would almost be an insult. And, he wanted to get home.
“I want plenty of Xanax for the flight,” Olin told Keegan. “Your method of distracting
me from my fear of flying is mind-blowing. I’m now associating the Mile High Club with
near-death experiences like crashing and having crazy fuckers trying to shoot us.”
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“Xanax it is, then,” Keegan promised him.
“They fit together well,” Marcus observed.
“We all do when it comes to our mates.” Nathan hooked his arm through Marcus’.
“Ryder, Maarten, we’ll see y’all later.”
“Sure.” Both men waved them off.
Outside, the sun seemed brighter and hotter than ever. The humidity was the same
horrible high as always. Marcus began sweating before he even took a step, and by the time
they reached the rooms they were staying in, he was drenched.
“Good thing I like a sweaty man,” Nathan said, as he pulled off his own shirt. “Well.
One sweaty man. The rest just stink.”
“I feel like I do, too, so what do you say to a shower together?”
Nathan leered at him. “You really have to ask?”
The cold water did nothing to put a chill on their libidos. Nathan had Marcus bent over
the side of the tub and was slicking his hole with conditioner before the sweat had been
rinsed off him.
“Figure I should get you dirty before cleaning you up,” Nathan informed him. “You
want fingers?”
“Dick,” Marcus requested. “Just that.”
“A little more of this, then.” Nathan applied more make-do lube. “Yeah. It’s purple, you
know.”
Marcus tried to peer at his own ass. “My asshole?”
“Well…yeah, with the conditioner on it, because the conditioner is purple.”
“Don’t scare me like that.” For a second Marcus had thought he’d gotten some freaky
jungle rot.
“Ew, no.” Nathan stopped him from thinking after that by easing into him one inch at a
time.
The burn was perfect, the conditioner a decent lube. Marcus pushed back eagerly,
wanting that sharp ache that came from Nathan filling him quickly.
“Someone’s in a hurry.” Nathan grabbed his hips.
Marcus’ pulse accelerated. That grip meant very good things for his ass.
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Sure enough, Nathan thrust in to the hilt, his balls tapping Marcus’. “Oh yeah. My
gods, Marcus. This is so…uhn.” He began fucking Marcus, deep and hard.
Marcus’ hipbones smacked the tub, thumping along in time with the sound of their
bodies meeting. His dick was pinned between his belly and the side of the tub wall. It hurt in
a way that he also enjoyed. Not usually a pain slut, that surprised him.
It also unsettled him, so he wedged a hand down there and fisted his length.
Which felt damned good, especially with Nathan driving his big cock into Marcus’ ass.
Nathan sped up his thrusts, pounding Marcus’ hole.
Marcus fucked his hand and gave himself up to the perfection that he experienced
every time Nathan and he had sex.
Brilliant white lights burst to pieces behind his closed lids as his climax tore through
him. Marcus shouted, not a word but a sound that ricocheted off the walls.
“Yes!” Nathan powered into him then stopped when his cock couldn’t get any deeper.
He clenched tightly at Marcus’ hips while he came.
“Oh gods. I can’t stand up,” Nathan said, sliding down to sprawl in the tub.
Marcus couldn’t very well turn around. The tub wasn’t that big. “You might want to
curl up into a smaller ball.”
“’M’not in a ball.” Nathan got up, groaning. “Every time. Every time I’m astounded by
how good it is.”
“Even when I fucked you?” Marcus asked, managing to get himself seated on the side
of the tub.
“Oh yeah. I’m game for more of that if you are. I wasn’t sore the next day. Much,”
Nathan added. “Just a little.”
“Maybe you’ve toughened up,” Marcus teased.
Nathan stuck his tongue out. “I’ve always been tough.”
“Yeah, you have. Strongest person I know.”
Nathan preened. “Flattery’ll get ya.”
Marcus looked at Nathan’s wet, nude body. “Oh really? What’ll it get me?”
“Anything you want.”
It was a very long time before they left the bathroom.
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* * * *
Tiago sniffed the air. “There. Do you smell it?”
Dallas tried only to be disappointed. “No, damn it all to hell and back. My senses still
aren’t up to snuff.”
“They’ll come back fully in time.” Tiago found the flower he’d caught wind of. “It’s that
small blue one.”
Dallas squatted then bent over and inhaled. “Ew. What the hell? It smells like ball
sweat.”
Tiago felt his eyebrows creep up. “I wouldn’t know. I’ve never sniffed particularly
sweaty balls.”
“You don’t want to, either, trust me on that,” Dallas muttered. “Hey. That’s the root
plant you used for Maarten, right?”
Tiago beamed his approval at Dallas. “Very good. Now let’s dig it up and take it back to
Ryder. I’ll show his shaman how to prepare it and explain its uses.” Ryder’s shaman was
woefully unknowledgeable. Tiago was willing to help him out.
“Maybe Keegan and Olin will be back with the phones by then. I’m having Irritated
Iguanas withdrawals.” Dallas swung their joined hands as they walked. “I made that up, in
case you’re wondering. I’m not big on games.”
“Hm. I can think of a few that we could play together.” They would all involve fucking
Dallas’ sweet little ass in some manner.
“You dirty man. I love it.” Dallas tugged on his hand. “We should run. Exercise, you
know. We also weren’t supposed to be out of the compound for more than half an hour. The
guards with us are about as attentive as cardboard cutouts.”
Tiago agreed. The guards didn’t seem interested in their assigned tasks. “What are their
names again?”
Dallas frowned at him. “You know…they didn’t tell us. Have they even spoken two
words to us since they met us at the entrance?”
“I don’t think so. Then again, I’ve been preoccupied.” Tiago found that happened often
around Dallas.
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“Oh, are you putting the blame on me?” Dallas added a little wiggle to his backside as
he walked.
“I—” Tiago caught a whiff of something that made his blood turn to ice. “Run!”
The warning came too late. A black jaguar—every bit as big as him—leaped out in front
of them.
“Move and I’ll kill your mate.”
The voice came from behind them. Tiago’s blood went from cold to hot in a wash of
anger.
“Crooked guards. How lame,” Dallas mumbled.
The sound of triggers being cocked silenced anything else he might have said. Dallas
rolled his lips in, clamping his mouth shut.
“Hands up,” one of the guards shouted.
Tiago raised them slowly, as did Dallas.
“Assholes,” that same man snarled, right before a whoosh sliced through the air and
Tiago’s brain seemed to explode in his skull.
* * * *
“They should have been back already.” Ryder paced on his porch. “Where are Olin and
Keegan?”
“Where are Dallas and Tiago?” Marcus asked in return. “Have you seen the guards
they went out with? Have any of them come back? I just checked Dallas’ hut and it’s empty.
There’s no new scent since they left this morning.”
“Hank!” Ryder called out to one of his guards.
Hank ran over. “Yes, Alpha Anax?”
“Who did you send out with Dallas and Tiago?”
Hank blinked a few times. “No one told me to send guards out with them.”
Ryder cursed. “Goddamn it, I told Vincenzo to get you to send the two best guards out
with them. They went to find more of that root. It could have waited!”
Bur Ryder had asked for more once Tiago had said it had many healing properties and
would be good to keep on hand. It wasn’t far from the pack holdings, either.
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“Find out which guards are missing,” Marcus ordered when Ryder seemed at a loss for
what to do.
The command kicked him back into gear. “Vincenzo, I bet, and the one he’s always
with.”
“Callum, sir,” Hank supplied. “They’re cousins.”
“Are they trustworthy?” Ryder demanded to know.
Hank took a half-step back. “My dad and theirs were all best friends and—”
“And that doesn’t mean anything to me,” Ryder roared. “Are. They. Trustworthy?”
“I don’t know, Alpha Anax!” Hank’s panic tinged the air with an acrid scent. “I don’t.
They were loyal to Dirk, but they aren’t the only ones. You know that. They swore fealty to
you. I did the same. I served Dirk. We…we had no choice.”
Ryder got in Hank’s face. “Just how did you serve him, Hank? Did you help him with
the drugs?”
Hank’s confused expression was answer enough. He still spoke. “No! I didn’t know
about that. I was just a low on the guard list. I didn’t know. Vincenzo and Callum were of
more importance.”
“And who is with Olin and Keegan? If anything happens to them—” Marcus was
stepping all over Ryder’s authority, in a way. Then again, Keegan was Marcus’ top guard,
and his friend. So no stepping after all.
“Ridley and Annie aren’t going to betray their Alpha Anax—or you,” Hank said.
“Neither will Helen or Chris. I don’t know why you’re worried about them.”
“Because they aren’t back yet, and now I find out that Dallas and Tiago were sent off
with possible traitors?” Ryder’s fury was rolling off him. “I am going to tear the guard unit
apart and vet each of you. One. By. One. I should have done it in the first place. Get me Sissy
Dee and Juanita over here, now. Guillermo, too.”
He turned to Marcus. “Sissy Dee did talk to every guard here. They all said—well, fuck
what they said. Two of them lied, at the very least.”
“You were right to trust the ones who swore to follow you,” Marcus said to Ryder,
hoping to ease his conscience. “It’s on their souls if they lied. Maybe they thought they were
helping by escorting Tiago and Dallas. Not likely, I’ll admit, but we don’t know the truth yet.
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We need to go see if we can find Dallas and Tiago. For all we know, there isn’t a problem
after all.”
“Four hours to collect a root they should have only needed half an hour to get?” Ryder
shook his head. “Fuck that.”
“Fuck what, Ryder?” Sissy Dee asked, jogging over to them. In her khaki cargos and
tank top, she looked like a fierce warrior, her muscles on display. Juanita and Guillermo
arrived with her. “What’s going on? Why does Hank look like he’s going to keel over?”
“Because he knows two potentially crooked guards slipped away out of the compound
with them hours ago to fetch something that should have only taken thirty minutes, max.”
Ryder shoved his fingers through his hair. “How did I not detect it if they’re traitors?”
“Because we aren’t perfect,” Marcus told him. “We are men, not gods.”
Sissy clicked her tongue. “Even gods weren’t perfect in some of the stories I’ve read.”
“Not helping me, Sissy. Get another three people you trust and let’s go,” Ryder
ordered.
“Yes, sir.” Sissy had Guillermo and Juanita wait there.
Marcus turned to Nathan. “Ready?”
“For a second I thought you were going to ask me to stay here.” Nathan kicked off his
shoes. “I should have known you’re smarter than that.”
“Strongest person I know,” Marcus told him again. “And where I go—and vice versa.”
“Exactly.”
Maarten was well enough to shift and run. In fact, Marcus saw no lingering signs of the
poisoning.
Ryder looked over the guards then nodded grimly. Marcus suspected he wanted to ask
if they were truly loyal, but now wasn’t the time.
“Move out,” Ryder snapped before shifting.
They ran into the rainforest, following the trail from that morning.
Five minutes out, the scent of a jaguar hit him.
Not Tiago’s scent, either.
Ryder sniffed and slapped the ground with one paw. He darted over to some leaves
and yipped.
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Marcus joined him and immediately smelled the blood. “Tiago’s. Not a lot, but he bled
here.”
Dallas had been there too, but none of his blood had been spilled.
Marcus studied the jaguar’s scent and Tiago’s. He compared them and thought they
might have a similar base.
The hair along his spine rippled. Marcus raised his head up, using his senses to check
for danger. His unease could have come from knowing Tiago had been harmed and both him
and Dallas taken off or worse, been killed.
He stood perfectly still, his gaze tangling with Ryder’s, who was similarly attentive.
Nathan was straining to detect whatever had brought the chill of unease upon them. Marcus
felt Nathan’s presence in his head, a sort of distracted sensation, since Nathan was
concentrating so hard on ferreting out trouble.
Maarten was almost certainly doing the same. The guards that were with them took
their cues from the Alpha Anaxes.
The silence seemed to swell until Marcus’ ears rang with it. He flattened his ears and
shoved Nathan to the side, every instinct in him screaming.
Then he was thrown back in time by the sound of a bullet shattering the hushed silence
that had surrounded them. More followed rapidly as Marcus and Nathan scrambled for
cover.
Marcus dove down, taking Nathan with him. His mind reeled with images of his
friends and guards dead, bullets ripping their lives away—people who had depended on
him and sworn loyalty to him. He wasn’t a hardened Alpha Anax like he’d tried to be. His
heart and soul mourned those who’d died, and being under attack again in such a similar
manner brought the wounds up fresh.
He couldn’t let that distract him or make him careless. Marcus started to spring up but
was covered by several bodies. Nathan, beneath him, was not happy about being squashed.
“Ryder’s guards—they’re protecting us with their own bodies!” Marcus shouldn’t have been
surprised. He should have known Ryder would inspire loyalty that would extend to him.
The betrayal of the other two guards wasn’t a reflection on Ryder’s skill as a leader.
Marcus still didn’t want additional deaths on his hands, nor did he want him or Nathan
to die. Ryder was alive. Marcus could feel his power.
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Bullets thudded—some dully, some loud. Marcus fought to slip out from under the
guards, not wanting to truly show his strength and hurt any of them.
Nathan needed to be able to breathe, however, so he ended up tossing one man back a
good dozen feet to the left of the gunfire.
Nathan was immediately running for deeper cover. Marcus snapped an order out to the
guards to go help Ryder and Maarten. He put enough force behind the order that none
argued with him.
“We’ll come up behind them,” Marcus thought to Nathan. “Take out the gunman or men. See
what’s left.”
“I hate guns. I hate bullets. Someone is getting their ass kicked for this.” Nathan was furious,
an anger fueled by fear. “This isn’t the same as what happened at our compound.”
“It is. We’re under attack. The difference is…this time we’re not losing so many men and
women. Ryder will, unless we can stop this.” Ryder bore guilt over the attack at Marcus’
compound, too, though he had no cause for it. Marcus didn’t want him to carry more. He
knew how guilt could fuck with a person’s head, especially a leader who took on the
responsibility for the lives of thousands.
They cut a wide berth around the area where the shooting was occurring. Listening
closely, Marcus detected two different gunmen. Two he and Nathan could handle easily.
They found them in the trees, lying on limbs not too high off the ground. Leaves had
been stripped out of their way.
The two people guarding each sniper were going to be problematic.
Nathan sent a negative thought at that. He was quick and—though he hated killing—
deadly when he had to be.
As was Marcus. “On three.” Marcus focused his mind on what needed to be done. The
two men on the ground taken out before either could alert the sniper. Same for Nathan’s
targets. It’d be tricky. “Let’s do this. One, two, three!”
Nathan and Marcus worked in tandem, down to the steps they took. The first man
Marcus approached was leaning against the tree trunk, eyes half-closed as he chatted with
the second man.
There would be no taking out one without the other noticing. Nathan would fare better.
One of his was taking a leak.
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Marcus leaped and used the weight of his body to slam into both men. Curses rang out
and Marcus expected bullets to follow. He quickly dispatched the first man then bared his
teeth at the second when that one reached for a gun on his hip.
The man whimpered and put his hands up.
A bullet hole bloomed in the middle of his forehead.
Marcus ran behind the tree the sniper was in. The way the limb was angled, he couldn’t
see behind the trunk.
Across from him, he saw Nathan shaking and dragging the second man he’d taken on.
Nathan released the body when the man was no longer alive and ran for cover, his paws
kicking up dirt and leaves.
He followed Marcus’ plan and took cover behind the tree.
Marcus and Nathan exchanged glances.
The soft thud of feet landing on the ground put an end to their moment of peace. The
snipers were quiet, but even the brush of movement was detectable to shifters like Marcus
and Nathan. They heard the scrape of clothing against bark, the shaky breaths and even, in
Marcus’ case, the frenetic drumming of a heartbeat.
The sniper’s fear came off him in pungent beads of sweat.
Marcus almost felt sorry for him. The man was going to die and the poor fucker had to
know it.
Though he was probably expecting a wolf. Marcus shifted, aware of his mate doing the
same. The snipers were moving around the left and right sides of their trees respectively, so
that Nathan’s would end up firing on Marcus, and Marcus’ on Nathan.
As if either of them were going to stand there and wait to catch a bullet.
Marcus crept around in the opposite direction, faster than his prey.
He saw the sweat-stained shirt on the narrow back. War was an ugly thing, he thought
fleetingly as he moved to reach for the man. Marcus would rather be fighting him in a ring,
face to face. Yet the use of weapons and lack of honor in that prevented him from doing so.
And these snipers weren’t concerned with honor. They were being paid to murder
innocent people.
Marcus leaped onto the man, getting an arm around his neck as he did so. The scent of
Tiago’s blood was on him. “He’d better be alive.”
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He heard the scuffle as Nathan took down his prey. A shot rang out, but Nathan wasn’t
harmed. Marcus felt him alive and strong, angrier than before.
Marcus stripped the weapon away from the sniper and took him down to the ground.
“Murdering people is not nice,” Marcus said. “It’s a blight on your soul, if you have one. This
isn’t murder. This is justice.”
Marcus ignored the elbows and kicks. He snapped the man’s neck, giving him a quick
death.
Rather than howl and let Ryder know it was safe—at least for now—Marcus and
Nathan ran back to them.
Two guards were wounded, one possibly mortally. “Get them back to safety,” Marcus
commanded. “Where is Ryder?” he asked of Sissy Dee.
“Here.” Ryder carried another wounded guard over from behind a thick bunch of
foliage. “Sandra’s going to need to be carried back. Juanita is fine?”
“That will require three of us, counting the other two injured, and yes, but Guillermo
took two bullets,” Sissy Dee said. The strain of another battle such as the one they’d just been
in showed on her features and in her tight voice. “Juanita isn’t going to let him die. We can’t
just leave you here. You’ll have no one—”
“I’ll have Maarten, Marcus and Nathan. Go,” Ryder ordered, handing over the
unconscious woman. “You can come back with as many men and women as you know are
trustworthy. Send someone for that root. Tiago drew a picture of it for us and wrote a clear
description. We’ll need it to help our wounded.”
“Be careful, Alpha Anax,” Sissy Dee addressed Ryder before speaking to Marcus. “You
too. We’ve all had enough of this shit.”
Marcus had always liked Sissy Dee. He’d hated to let her move to Ryder’s pack, but it’d
been the right thing to do. He patted her shoulder. “Be safe.”
At least she hadn’t lost her mate, and the wounded were still alive. There was more
hope than there’d been when seven guards had been killed on Marcus’ watch.
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Chapter Fifteen
If he kept getting hit in the head, something bad was going to happen. That was the first
thought Dallas had when he came to, his arms and legs bound uncomfortably.
“You’re more my usual type,” a smooth voice said.
Dallas opened his eyes and his entire brain protested. Ow. The man looking down at
him was devastatingly handsome, and so closely resembled Tiago that Dallas’ heart did a
frantic little dance.
The man—Butler, it had to be—felt along Dallas’ head to the knot at the right side.
At least it hadn’t been the left again. Dallas grimaced, which only made his the pain worse.
He reached for Tiago mentally and felt him awake and watchful. “You’re okay?”
“Other than a headache, yes. Be careful. He is without a conscience.”
“Nothing to say?” Butler pressed against the knot. “The blond was a keeper. I’m not
certain about you. Possibly, though you smell like him.”
‘Him’ being Tiago. “You’re a jaguar shifter,” Dallas said, stalling because the asshole
truly unnerved him. There was something in his eyes that decried Butler having any
humanity.
“So you saw. You’ve been fucking my offspring, not that it matters to me. Just thought
you should know the potential for familial relations.” He pushed even harder on the lump. “I
do like to watch people suffer. The older I get, the less reason I see to restrain myself from
such pleasures.”
“So you kidnapped me, Tiago, and Maarten just to get your rocks off?” Dallas asked.
Butler smiled without any trace of joy. He ran his hand around to cup Dallas’ neck. “I
am a very powerful, wealthy man. I don’t like problems. I don’t like it when other people
fuck up my business, either.”
“Oh, the drugs,” Dallas got out before that hand tightened on his throat. “Tiago! He’s
choking me!” Not completely. Dallas could get some air in, but it was frightening as hell to be
unable to move or shift and have his air supply restricted.
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Butler tutted. “Not the kind of drugs any of you are thinking. There are plants and
substances that can only be found in the rainforest. People pay…millions, Dallas. Millions for
a single plant they hope can cure them. What’s the price of a human life?” Butler laughed. “I
could tell you. Show you the deposits. It is unfortunate that other jaguars are infringing on
my territory.”
“Even your own son?”
Butler looked amused at that. “He is nothing more than an accident. I hadn’t intended
to breed with his mother, but she was in season and I thought I’d give it a try. Do you know,
mating as jaguars is actually quite violent. That part I liked. Not enough to risk more spawn.”
He flicked a glance at Tiago. “There’s a lack of room in the rainforest for self-righteous fools
and myself. I’ve already taken care of the other two males. I have no compunction about
doing the same with him.” Butler tightened his hand even more then loosened his hold.
“Breathe.”
Dallas stubbornly tried not to.
Butler applied pressure again. “Your choice.”
Tiago’s fury burned hot into Dallas.
As quickly as he’d begun to choke Dallas, Butler stopped. “You simply aren’t the
challenge he was. Did Maarten survive the toxin?”
“Yeah, he’s good as new. Didn’t even need your cure,” Tiago answered, while Dallas
took great, gulping breaths.
“I don’t believe you,” Butler said with no hint of irritation. “He would have died
without it. Now I’ll have to find another means of controlling your kind.” He tipped his chin
at Dallas. “What I used on Maarten has a different effect on jaguars. I’ll show you in just a
minute.”
Fear streaked through Dallas. “No, don’t— How can you be such a heartless monster?”
Butler tapped him on the nose, like a father doting on a child. “I suspect you know the
answer to that. I’m a sociopath. All jaguars are, for the most part. Solitary, unless we want
something. Do you think Tiago cares for you?” Butler smirked. “Don’t. He’s not capable of it.
We are more beast than not.”
“You’re wrong about Tiago,” Dallas said angrily. “You don’t know wolf shifters,
either.”
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“What’s to know?” Butler quipped. “I had Dirk by the balls because he had a nasty
habit he needed fed. Did you know that jucjic is an extremely addictive substance? It was so
easy to introduce to Dirk, and after that, he was my bitch, as the kids like to say. Then Ryder
had to ruin it all for me. You know what the great thing is about jucjic?”
Dallas grunted, the best he could do when he wanted to cuss Butler out.
“It works on humans, too, and only I know which plant it is. Oh, I know the name
sucks, but, eh.” He waved that off. “I was stuck trying to come up with something
appropriate, and in the end it doesn’t matter. One dose, and I’ll have what I had with Dirk. I
should have given it to Maarten, but he really was…interesting. I hated to turn him into an
addict. Hindsight’s twenty-twenty, and I do like to discover new plants and uses for them. I
know how to easily kill your kind. Really not a very durable species.”
Butler sat back and watched him.
Dallas realized they were in some kind of vehicle, a non-moving one. They were in a
camper-type enclosure. He could smell exhaust fumes and gasoline.
He could smell Butler’s sweat, and Tiago’s fear for him.
Dallas was almost amused. It’d taken a hit to the other side of his head to get his senses
to function correctly? It’d figure to work that way.
“He’s wrong. I’m not like him.” Tiago was worried Dallas would believe Butler, but he
shouldn’t have been.
“I know you’re not, Tiago. Maybe a lot of other jaguars are—I wouldn’t know—but you aren’t.
Don’t let him fuck with your head.”
Butler frowned. “What is happening?”
“Nothing besides me contemplating which way I’ll watch you die,” Tiago answered.
“Does he suspect we are talking telepathically?”
“It’s possible. Sometimes I can tell when others are doing it. There’s almost a shimmery current
of electricity in the air. We should stop.” Dallas hated to but it was safer.
Butler narrowed his eyes at Tiago. “You can’t get out of your bindings to kill me. I can
see that my genes didn’t do more than make you attractive.”
“I can get out of these and tear you apart,” Tiago threatened. “You know nothing about
me.”
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140
“I know plenty, idiot,” Butler said in a perfectly normal tone. “There’s no need for me
to list it off. You can’t shift in the restraints. Your shoulders and knees would be destroyed.
I’ve enjoyed ensuring that’s the result. And I’ve wasted enough time on you both.”
“Why do you keep going after Ryder?” Dallas asked, pushing and hoping to stall
whatever plans Butler had in store for them.
Butler shrugged. “The wolves make excellent drug runners, and once they’re addicted
and basically my slaves—ah, no basically about it. I have some very potent herbs that ensure
it—they can do the gathering of the plants I need and spare me the time and sweat. Plus, I
really want to kill him for ruining my set-up. Dirk was such an easy bitch to control until he
went all insane over his position with the pack. More stupid shit I couldn’t care less about.
Now, as I said, I’m done here, except for deciding whether I should keep you alive after I kill
him.” Butler kicked Tiago in the ribs then did it again. “Ah, there. Sounded like something
broke.”
Tiago wheezed but didn’t speak.
Butler ground the tip of his boot against the spot he’d kicked. “Do you think if I did it
again, I could puncture a lung?”
“If you kill him, I’ll die anyway,” Dallas shouted, tears leaking from his eyes.
“Oh, don’t be so melodramatic. You’re one of those kinds.”
Tiago’s pain was sharp. He tried not to let Dallas feel it but it came through their link
anyway. “Guess I see where I got that stupid way of thinking from, Dallas.” Though raspy,
Tiago’s voice didn’t break.
“You understand that there are them—and us,” Butler said approvingly. “Except it’s
me—and them. You being them, of course. Did you get a thrill out of this sweet boy’s
adoration?”
“He’s not a boy,” Tiago ground out. “He’s my mate.”
Butler laughed at that until Dallas thought he’d completely lost it. “Your mate? You
aren’t a wolf, Tiago. You fuck and leave. It’s what we do.”
Tiago’s smile wasn’t friendly looking at all. “You think so? You’re the ignorant one.
Take me or Dallas outside. Hold up fingers or anything you want where the other of us can’t
see. Whisper something. Then come ask what you showed or said.”
“Sounds like cheap parlor tricks,” Butler said but he didn’t sound convinced.
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“If it’s true, you’d have a weapon to use against the wolf shifters,” Tiago continued.
“Control one mate, control them both.”
“You’re telling me this because…”
Tiago’s feral expression should have made Butler run. “Because I’m going to kill you
before you can use the knowledge anyway.”
“Right.” Butler examined his fingernails before buffing them on his pants. “I’m not
worried about that coming to fruition. However, it might be useful to see what you think
you’re going to be able to do. I’ll even take Dallas outside and leave you in here. Because as
I’ve mentioned, you can’t escape your restraints.”
“I’m glad you believe that.” Tiago was trussed up like Dallas, with his arms bent up
behind his back. His legs were folded and crossed in a way unnatural to jaguar or wolf.
Shifting would indeed cause serious damage to his body. Tiago didn’t seem the least bit
concerned.
“That’s because I have this covered. Trust me. I do.” Tiago sent the thought as Butler hefted
Dallas to his feet.
“Short and sweet. I still say you’re a boy, not a man. Age isn’t what matters in that
regard.” Butler dragged Dallas out of the camper.
Dallas hit the ground painfully hard. It jarred his entire body.
Butler grabbed a handful of Dallas’ hair and proceeded to use it to haul Dallas out of
sight of the vehicle.
“You disappoint me, not even whimpering,” Butler complained, giving Dallas’ strands
a harsh tug. “Now here’s what you can show Tiago. Not that I believe you.” Butler took a
vial out of his pocket. It contained a clear liquid with tiny white particles floating in it. Butler
leaned close and whispered in Dallas’ ear. “It will either make you my bitch—and wouldn’t
that be fun?—or it will kill you. Only I know which one.”
“Doesn’t sound fun at all,” Dallas informed him. “Let me see how they work on you
first.”
Butler’s chuckle held a disturbing warmth. “There’s the kind of spirit I like in a man.
Women, too. Easy is so boring.”
Dallas had been easy for a long time. He wouldn’t have called himself boring.
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“Now, you wait right here. I’ll go see what Tiago has to say.” He lifted a radio off his
belt. “Rudi, Scott, have you got what I told you to get for me?” Butler paused a dozen feet
away. “Rudi? Scott?”
Nothing but static greeted him.
“Fuck!” Butler ran to the camper and jerked Tiago out of it. “You are not worth this
kind of trouble.”
Tiago turned onto his side and to Dallas’ horror, began to shift. His muzzle developed
first, and with an agonized yowl, he bit down on Butler’s ankle.
Butler’s scream echoed throughout the canopy. He toppled down as bones crunched
between Tiago’s teeth.
Dallas knew jaguars frequently killed their prey by biting through its skull. He couldn’t
imagine that kind of jaw pressure, but Butler was feeling it.
Tiago jerked his head and blood sprayed everywhere as he took the foot off completely.
Butler had the vial in hand and was trying to open it.
“Don’t let him get that on you,” Dallas shouted. He didn’t know how the shit worked
and didn’t want to find out, not on Tiago.
Tiago reverted back to fully human form, shaking and moaning. He hadn’t completed
the shift. It had still hurt him tremendously.
And he’d slipped a hand free of the cuffs.
Dallas rolled, not having any other way to try to get closer.
Butler groaned and cursed, then dropped the vial to grab at his leg. He was losing a
great deal of blood, yet not as much as he should be, considering he’d had his foot bitten off.
As Dallas watched, Butler shifted, flashing a deadly yellow gaze his way.
“Shit.” Dallas stopped moving.
Butler licked his bleeding stub and growled, never taking his eyes off Dallas.
But it was Tiago he slapped with razor sharp claws, tearing through the muscles of his
chest.
“Stop it! You fucking asshole, stop!” Dallas shouted, choking on a sob. “Leave him
alone!”
Butler sliced Tiago’s cheek open from ear to the edge of his mouth.
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Dallas yelled and started shifting. If he broke in half, it was still better than lying there
and doing nothing while his mate was killed.
The pain was unlike anything he’d ever felt. The screams and shouts seemed to
multiply as they came out of him.
“Dallas! Please, please stop. Stop! They’re here.”
Tiago’s pleading sent Dallas into a tailspin. He pushed his wolf back down, refusing the
change. There was damage done to him regardless. His shoulders and knees in particular felt
warped.
Growling and snarling right beside him had Dallas opening his eyes. Despite the hazy
vision caused by pain, he made out the white wolf and the jaguar locked in a deadly
embrace.
Even wounded, Butler was a strong foe. Marcus had to be careful—his bite wasn’t
nearly as powerful as Butler’s would be.
Butler wasn’t as mobile, which worked in Marcus’ favor. And he was taking this
bastard on. It’d been Marcus’ pack members being hurt. Tiago might not have officially
joined up, but he would.
“Get Tiago out of the way first, then Dallas,” Marcus thought to Nathan.
“Ryder’s waiting to leap in if you need him. This isn’t a challenge. There’s no honor here.”
Marcus understood what Nathan meant. There were rules in the ring when Marcus was
challenged—strict ones that had to be followed. No blows to the balls, no having someone
help fight the battle, things like that. Here, it was an all-out kill or be killed by any means.
Marcus still had to be true to himself.
He circled Butler, measuring his enemy’s movements. Staying away from those long,
sharp teeth was paramount. Marcus circled him again, noting that Butler kept up with him.
The jaguar was tougher than Marcus had expected. He’d taken a look at Butler’s pretty face
and assumed he’d be soft. Marcus really should have known better.
“I’ll lecture you about it later,” Nathan promised. “Tiago’s clear. We’ll get Dallas next.”
“He was trying to shift. Get them both back to the compound.” As if Nathan was going to
leave him there.
Butler hissed at him then swiped with one big paw.
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Marcus leaned back only enough to miss having his muzzle sliced open. He circled
Butler a third time, moving faster.
Butler sprang at him. The jaguar was a huge black ball of deadly claws and teeth.
Marcus veered to the right and tucked down close to the ground. He felt the hair along
his spine swish with the air from the missed stroke. A dodge forward then to the right again
put Butler off balance.
That was what Marcus wanted. He leaped back then ran around Butler before springing
over him completely. It was a risky maneuver—Marcus knew he could be gutted. And he
knew what being gutted felt like.
He wouldn’t allow the possibility or the memory to interfere with his survival.
As he’d hoped, Butler had tried to reach him. With the injured back leg, it hadn’t
worked so well for the jaguar. He toppled over sideways.
Marcus hit the ground and immediately spun to jump on Butler.
Butler was fast. He was up and prepared.
Marcus saw death in the jaguar’s eyes. “Nathan, I’m sorry—”
“I’m not.” A loud bang sounded mere feet from Marcus.
Butler’s head burst open, gray matter and blood spurting out. He fell back, one eye
hanging out, the other gone completely.
Marcus jerked around to find Nathan holding a weapon too huge and complicated
looking to simply be called a gun.
Nathan was very pale, and his hands shook as he lowered the weapon to his side.
“Enough. I’ve had enough of this. I don’t want people trying to kill us. I don’t want to do this
again.” He set the weapon on the ground and gave Marcus a steely look. “But I will, for you.
For our pack. I’ll become the baddest motherfucker since Rambo if that’s what I have to do.”
Marcus shifted and took Nathan in his arms. “Gods, honey. You make Rambo look like
a wuss.”
Nathan laughed, and it was a little unsteady, a little wild.
“I have you,” Marcus whispered. “And I’m taking you home.”
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Epilogue
Of course it couldn’t be that simple, Marcus thought later as he listened to the updates
on Tiago and Dallas. Both would recover. Dallas had done some serious damage to his
shoulders in particular. With his shifter healing and that root—if it helped as Tiago said it
would—he’d be okay.
Tiago was going to have scars no matter what. He seemed distressed over that, and
Marcus couldn’t blame him. As much as he’d like to claim he wasn’t vain about his looks,
that would have been a lie. If shifters didn’t heal so quickly, stitches might have been an
option. For the wounds on Tiago’s chest, they were. Those were deeper. His cheek had
already begun to mend as it had shallower gashes.
“I’ll love you anyway,” Dallas whispered before passing out.
Tiago turned away.
Marcus walked around so that he faced the injured side. He waited for Tiago to look at
him. “It won’t be so bad. They’ll be thin. He didn’t tear through the muscles, so your mouth
won’t be pulled down. You might think I’m being harsh, but I’m not. These are facts, and it
could have been much worse. You’re still going to be a handsome man.”
“Maybe even more than you were,” Nathan added, coming up to stand by Marcus.
“Remember, you’re more than your looks.”
“Nice words,” Tiago said. “I’m the one with these.”
Marcus pointed at Dallas. “You’re the one with him and with two packs willing to
support you and your mate in any way possible. Don’t waste time feeling sorry for yourself.”
Tiago sighed and actually rolled his eyes. “Fine. I will quit having my pity party
tomorrow. For tonight, let me mourn what I’ve lost.”
“Concentrate on what you’ve gained,” Marcus advised before leaving the infirmary. “I
wish Shania was here.”
“She needs to come meet with Tiago and see the rainforest, learn what he knows about
the plants here.” Nathan glanced in the direction where Tiago and Dallas were being treated.
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“Of course I’m sure Tiago will want to protect the rainforest ecology. We will find a middle
ground.”
“We will,” Marcus agreed. He waited until they were alone in their rooms before
pulling Nathan into his arms. “Are you okay?”
Nathan hesitated then shrugged. “Once Olin and Keegan got back and I didn’t have
them to worry over, it really hit me that I’d blown a man’s brains out. A jaguar. Whatever. I
killed him. I know I told you there was no honor in that fight.” Nathan shivered and pressed
his forehead to Marcus’ chest. “I meant it. I don’t know what that says about me. I couldn’t
risk him killing you, though. I’d rather have the guilt from what I did than have you hurt,
even.”
“It says that you love me, and can’t live without me,” Marcus murmured, brushing his
lips over the top of Nathan’s head. “You’ll fight for me and defend me at all costs—just like I
would do for you. Nathan, I’d kill anyone I had to if it meant keeping you safe. That’s a scary
thing to admit, but it’s true. Fortunately, I love good people and they wouldn’t ever try to
harm you. Someone like Butler? I wouldn’t have a second’s regret over killing.”
“Yeah, well. I’m going to be seeing that for a long time when I close my eyes.”
Marcus cupped Nathan’s chin. “Look at me.”
Nathan raised his head. He licked his lips as his pupils expanded.
Sex and death. Life and death. They were all intertwined. It wasn’t a morbid thought.
Many people had sought out sexual affirmation of life after a brush with death or a loss of a
loved one.
There was comfort to be had, and peace.
Marcus felt that peace as he slanted his mouth over Nathan’s. He let it flow into his
mate, seeking to ease the guilt Nathan carried.
There would be no instant absolution for it. Over time, Marcus hoped it would vanish.
Nathan clung to him, shaking at times, rubbing at others. He made those sweet, dear
sounds that Marcus knew so well.
Marcus kissed him until they were both past the trauma of the day. It might have only
been a temporary pass from it. That was okay. As Marcus led Nathan to the bedroom, he
knew they’d find in each other what they needed to move on. They had a continent of
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shifters to take care of, Marcus, as Alpha Anax, and Nathan as the guiding force that helped
Marcus keep himself together.
His clothes came off with Nathan’s help. Marcus in turn stripped Nathan and took the
opportunity to caress every bit of his body.
Nathan arched beautifully when Marcus cupped his balls, and when he went down on
his knees for Nathan, Marcus knew every horror of the day was forgotten. At least in that
small moment in time, it was just him and Nathan—and the love they had for each other.
Also available from Totally Bound Publishing:
What’s his Passion?: Unexpected Moments
Bailey Bradford
Excerpt
Chapter One
Carter tugged at his shirt cuffs. He shouldn’t have been as nervous as he was, but his
heart fluttered and his pulse raced. He touched his tie. Reassured it was straight and that he
was as attractive as possible, he entered the restaurant.
The host glanced up at him and smiled warmly. “Good evening, sir. Are you meeting
someone or dining alone?”
Carter’s cheeks warmed. “Er, meeting someone. Carter Hausemann is the name the
reservation is under. Another gentleman, Mr. Canales, will be joining me shortly.” I hope.
The host nodded. He ran his finger down a paper in front of him then checked Carter’s
name off it. “There you are, right here. Very good, sir. I’m Rogelio and I’ll be seating you
tonight. Follow me, please.”
There was no reason for him to be so edgy. He’d spoken with Eddie the night before
and confirmed their plans. Still, Carter kept thinking, what if. They didn’t really know each
other, besides having had sex a few times.
Spectacular sex. And we did talk during the hiking trip. Carter had been stunned to discover
the park ranger leading the group on the hiking adventure was one of the same men he’d
hooked up with for a threesome just a couple of days earlier—the one man he’d really been
into during that fun little orgy. Yes, Eddie Canales was everything Carter wanted in a man—
hopefully. Carter had no problem imagining the two of them hiking along the Appalachian
Trail. That was his dream vacation, the one thing he was determined to do above all else.
He’d love to share the experience with Eddie.
“You could seat us both.”
Carter turned and couldn’t keep back a smile when he saw Eddie standing there. “Hey,
you made it.” He immediately felt like a fool for saying that. My insecurity must be showing.
“You look good,” he added, before Eddie could respond.
‘Good’ was an understatement. Eddie was sexy as hell in a black suit and blue shirt. No
tie for him, which was fine. Carter liked the dressy-casual attire on Eddie almost as much as
he liked him in leather or naked. Not quite, though.
“This way, sirs,” Rogelio said. “I have the perfect table for you.”
Carter gestured and waited for Eddie to step in front of him. Eddie gave a slight shake
of his head. “No, after you.” He leaned forward and whispered, “I want to watch you walk
and see your cute ass move beneath that jacket. Think about what I’m gonna do to it, and
you, later.”
Carter sucked in a shaky breath as he flushed hot from his head to his feet. He couldn’t
meet Eddie’s gaze or else his burgeoning erection might turn into a full-blown hard-on that
even his suit jacket couldn’t hide. Carter stepped back then turned to follow Rogelio.
Rogelio led them to a table set in the back corner. They were more secluded than if
they’d been seated elsewhere, and Carter appreciated the privacy. “Thank you,” he said,
taking his seat.
Rogelio winked at him. “It isn’t always easy in this town for men like us to have a
romantic date.”
There was no point in denying that he and Eddie were on a date. Rogelio wasn’t likely
to bash them, though Carter did understand the need for discretion in Odessa. As much as
he’d like to be able to touch Eddie and kiss him if the mood struck, they couldn’t be as free in
public as straight couples could.
Eddie murmured a thank you to Rogelio.
“Mathias will be your waiter this evening. Can I start you off with one of our wines?”
Rogelio handed them a thin drink menu, followed by the larger meal ones.
Carter and Eddie took them.
Carter deferred to Eddie. “Would you like to order, or…”
Eddie grinned. “I’d really like a beer, to tell the truth.”
“Same,” Carter agreed. “What do you have on tap?”
Rogelio took the wine listings back. “We have the usual line up—Bud, Bud Light, Miller
and so on, or we have an excellent local brew, Dare’s Pale Ale. It’s been getting rave reviews.
Dare’s also has a stout that I would highly recommend.”
“I’ll try the stout,” Eddie said.
Carter preferred a lighter beer. “The Pale Ale, please.”
“Very good, sirs. Mathias will be right over with them.” Rogelio left them.
“It’s good to see you again,” Eddie murmured, his gaze burning through Carter’s
nervousness. “It might seem too soon to say but the truth is, I’ve missed you.”
That confession eradicated the rest of Carter’s unease. “It’s not too soon. I feel the same
way.”
Eddie shifted in his seat, leaning back and resting his folded hands on the table. “I
wasn’t sure. You seemed kind of uptight when I got here.”
“I was afraid you’d change your mind.” Carter rolled his eyes and groaned. “And now
you know how insecure I am. Sorry. I swear I’m not usually so immature.”
Eddie chuckled and surprised Carter by reaching across the table to hold his hand. “I
worried you’d realize I’m just not good enough for you, so let’s both admit we have faults
and let it go. You’re here, I’m here, and for what it’s worth, I can tell you I never once
thought of not showing up. You’ve been on my mind every day since I saw you two weeks
ago.”
“Oh.” Carter was so pleased he figured he was beaming. “Same. I… This starting a new
relationship thing is complicated.”
“It’ll be worth it.” Eddie released his hand and sat back just as a waiter approached.
“Good evening, gentlemen. I’m Mathias and I’ll be your waiter tonight.” He set their
beers on the table while he started naming off the specials, spending a solid minute extolling
the virtues of the aged steaks that cost a ridiculous amount of money.
Carter’s mouth watered. He was going to splurge since he’d been anticipating this date
for two weeks. “Thank you. We’d like a few minutes to examine the menu.”
After Mathias left them, Carter perused his options. “I think I’ll have the aged steak.
How about you? No pressure, of course. I just want to try it once in my life at least.” And
since they were going Dutch on the bill, he didn’t feel bad about ordering it, either.
Eddie hummed and didn’t answer right off the bat.
Carter liked the way he took his time and didn’t seem to feel rushed. He thought Eddie
was enjoying their date so far.
“I’ve had it before,” Eddie finally said. “Not here, but at this place in Indiana. It was
really good, too. So I’m hung up on ordering it or the surf and turf.”
Carter gave an exaggerated glance around them, then whispered, “You have to wonder
about the surf part of that since we’re practically in the desert.”
Eddie chuckled and closed the menu. “True enough, but I’m feeling daring tonight.”
“Daring enough to risk the chance of botulism?” Carter asked, arching a brow at him.
Eddie arched one right back. “I doubt that’d be a possibility here.”
“Probably not.” Carter had only been teasing, and Eddie’s expression let him know he
was aware of it. “I’ve really been looking forward to seeing you again. It feels kind of weird
being out like this after what we’ve done.”
Eddie’s smoldering expression had Carter’s dick firming up fully. “What we’ve done
has led us to understand we want something more. Although, I intend to be doing more of,
well…you.”
The cheesy line should have been laughable, but Eddie said it with so much sincerity
that Carter considered forgoing their date to head back to his place instead.
“We know we’re more than compatible in bed,” Eddie continued, after a glance around.
“That’s a huge thing in a relationship and so far, what time we’ve spent talking shows that
we do well there, too.”
Carter didn’t want to be a downer, but he knew how it always started in relationships.
Everyone was on their best behavior, trying to win the other person over and once they
did…people changed. He’d done it himself, back when he’d been younger. Of course, he and
Eddie were both older, so maybe they were more comfortable in their own skin so far. Plus,
they’d met at a club and immediately hooked up with a third man to have sex with. Perhaps
they didn’t have to pretend to be better than they were.
But Carter did wonder something. “How old are you?” He would have put Eddie in his
mid-thirties. “Sorry if that’s rude to ask.”
Eddie waved the apology off. “It’s not rude. Anything having to do with me is open for
the inquisition.” He winked. “I’m thirty-four. You?”
Carter’s stomach went a little jittery from that wink. On all levels, Eddie just did it for
him. “Thirty-one. Just had a birthday on the twelfth of last month.”
“Oh really?” Eddie asked, amusement lighting up his features. “Well, I think you
should get a belated birthday spa—” He cut himself off when Mathias suddenly appeared.
“I’ll have the surf and turf and another beer with it, along with a glass of water.”
They’d been so tied up in each other that neither of them had noticed the waiter
approaching. From the amusement clearly showing on Mathias’ face, Carter thought the
waiter might have heard enough of what Eddie had been saying to catch on about the
spanking. Not that Mathias knew it was more than a joke, Carter reassured himself. Only
Carter and Eddie knew he liked things rough.
“The aged steak, loaded baked potato and green beans, thank you.” Carter handed over
his menu. “I’ll probably need another beer by then too and a small glass of water.”
After Mathias left, Carter and Eddie resumed their conversation. It was a pleasant meal
and the underlying sexual tension kept Carter’s cock half-hard the whole time.
“What’s your dream vacation?” Eddie asked him at one point.
Carter didn’t have to think about it. “It’d take months to do it right, but I want to hike
the Appalachian Trail.” He chuckled and peeled part of the label off his beer bottle. “I’d have
to be financially secure enough to take a leave of absence—or retire altogether—so I don’t see
it happening for a long time. That sucks, too, because I would prefer to hike it while I’m
young and healthy, but with the economy and all, I might never get to do it.”
Eddie nodded. “I know what you mean. I’ve always wanted to hike it, too, and
Everest—that’s on my bucket list.”
“That’s mountain climbing,” Carter pointed out. “Quite different and more dangerous
than hiking a trail.”
“I think more people die while hiking than while mountain climbing,” Eddie argued.
“That could be because more people hike, sure, but we’ve had several die from heart attacks
alone. Then there’s falls, exposure, animals and snakes…” He shrugged. “I will admit that
Everest is deadlier still, and it’s a pipe dream anyway. I don’t have much experience with
real climbing, either. Not more than rock walls at the gym.”
Carter tried not to shiver. “I know it’s stupid, but the heights thing gets to me. Hiking is
different. I don’t really like trails that are on mountain ledges, though I can handle them. The
idea of climbing up a mountain, that makes my skin crawl. You’re a braver man than I am.”
“Or a more foolish one,” Eddie tucked his napkin under his plate. “Who knows? If I did
actually try climbing a mountain, I might hate it. There are lots of things a guy can fantasize
about doing that wouldn’t be so great in reality.”
“Yeah, I’ve heard that before.” Carter sipped the last of his beer then set the bottle on
the table. “This Dare’s beer is pretty good. It’s a local brewery, like Rogelio said. I wonder if
they do tours—or if it’s made in some guy’s bathroom.”
“In the bathroom?” Eddie asked, frowning as he picked up his beer. “Why the
bathroom?”
Carter chuckled at a fond memory. “I had a friend back in college, he made his own
beer for a while. He didn’t have all the equipment he needed, so he’d scrub down the
bathtub and pour the ingredients in there. The whole apartment smelled like beer. It was
crazy, but not too bad until he made the batch that exploded.”
Eddie’s eyes went wide. “In the bathtub?”
“No,” Carter said. “No…in the bottles. It was, er… Well, we didn’t get our deposit back
from the apartment when we moved out, even though we fixed the wall and ceiling. At least
the damage was only to our place.”
“Man, tell me this friend of yours didn’t go into the beer industry,” Eddie mused.
“Actually, he was studying law. I’m not sure what ever happened to him.” Carter
didn’t want to bring a depressing topic up, and admitting that his former friend had severed
their friendship over Carter’s coming out would likely do that. “He’s probably still making
explosive beer.”
This time they saw Mathias coming over to their table. “Would you like to see the
dessert menu?” Mathias asked. “Another beer?”
Carter gave the barest shake of his head.
“No thanks,” Eddie answered. “Dinner was excellent and we’re both pretty full. Do you
know anything about the company that makes this beer? It’s damned good stuff.”
Mathias preened a little as he picked up Eddie’s empty bottle. “All I know is that it’s
awesome beer. The Pale Ale is my favorite, actually. I’m not man enough for the stout.” He
grinned and set the bottle back down. “I think the restaurant owner is friends with the guy
who makes the beer. Or maybe they’re friends now because of it. I’m sorry I’m not being
very helpful, but I’d bet you can Google it and find out anything you’d want to know.”
“Of course, Google knows all,” Carter agreed. “I would seriously be lost without it.”
He’d look the microbrewery up and see if they did tours. It’d be an interesting date for them
to have.
“If you’ve got the bill ready, I can give you my card,” Eddie said.
“And mine,” Carter added. He raised a hip so he could remove his wallet from his back
pocket. “Here you go,” he said to Mathias a moment later, while handing over his credit
card.
“This was a nice splurge.” Eddie ran the toe of one shoe along the side of Carter’s ankle.
“It won’t be the highlight of this date, however. I want to take you home and fuck you until
you scream.”
Carter wanted that too, so badly that he had difficulty swallowing around the lust that
welled in him. “Me too,” he rasped, pressing a palm over his erection. “You’re staying with
me this weekend, right?”
“I am,” Eddie agreed. “That was the plan and I sure as hell am not going to alter it.”
“Oh good.” Carter didn’t know why he was so worried that their budding relationship
was going to fall apart. Had he worried so much over previous ones? He didn’t think so.
Eddie had already come to mean more to him in the short time they’d known each other than
had most of Carter’s exes. Part of that might have been because Eddie knew and accepted a
fact that those exes hadn’t been able to.
Carter wanted a polyamorous relationship, an exclusive one wherein he and his
partners loved each other and were faithful. That concept had been horrific to any of his exes
he’d broached it with, but Eddie was different.
And he gave Carter hope.
About the Author
A native Texan, Bailey spends her days spinning stories around in her head, which
has contributed to more than one incident of tripping over her own feet. Evenings are
reserved for pounding away at the keyboard, as are early morning hours. Sleep?
Doesn’t happen much. Writing is too much fun, and there are too many characters
bouncing about, tapping on Bailey’s brain demanding to be let out.
Caffeine and chocolate are permanent fixtures in Bailey’s office and are never far from
hand at any given time. Removing either of those necessities from Bailey’s presence
can result in what is known as A Very, Very Scary Bailey and is not advised under any
circumstances.
Email:
Bailey loves to hear from readers. You can find her contact information, website and
author biography at
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