2: Leer - Pack Takeover (6 page)

He didn’t say anything for a long time. I thought he’d fallen back asleep.

So, when he said quietly, “Did you forget what I told you earlier?”

Yeah, I did. I asked, “What?”

He said, “I told you--I’m gonna get you pregnant tonight.”

I laughed--but the laugh kinda broke off in the middle. We hadn’t used a condom. My lips twisted a little oddly, I’ll bet. A fleeting sense of worry crossed my features. I had to ask, “You’re that sure of yourself, huh?”

He reached up and rubbed his eyes, saying, “I could smell you from a mile away.”

I grunted. Honestly, I thought--
fucking rude
.

There was a noise outside. Nothing, really. Probably a tree branch bumping the wall or something. But Leer sat up instantly. His nose sucked in on the sides. His golden eyes seemed to laser around the room.

I said, “There’s a tree that--”

He held out a hand. That’s all it took to make me shut up and crawl up closer to his shoulder and back. I, too, peered around in worry. Funny how that happens. One person acts spooky and everybody gets keyed up?

Except Leer isn’t the kind of guy that gets worried about nothing. He can smell trouble--like he smelled me--from a mile away.

A protective arm sort of circled backward around me, while he listened. Nothing more.

I dropped a kiss on the back of his shoulder. Then I laid my head there and closed my eyes. I thought,
you are definitely my hero--come to life
.

He started to relax again. Probably due to my hands slipping up and around his body, slithering over his skin, just enjoying the feel of flesh to flesh. Honestly, at the time I thought it was because it was pretty new to me. Okay, totally new. But now I know that it was even more. My body was metamorphosing. I was totally unaware of it, but inside of me, there were changes happening. My own pronounced pheromones were just the beginning.

You see, breeder-kin mature into shapeshifters.

Yeah, there’s a surprise. How’d ya like to get to your twenty-something birthday and get that rude awakening with no warning?

The thing is--nobody wants to talk about it. With the nut cases in society, most breeders just think they’re going bonkers. People close by usually assume they’re doing drugs. What, with any mention of heightened sensual perception, isn’t that the first thing you think of?

So it’s no wonder they distance themselves from friends and family. It’s kind of instinctive, I guess. Most are loners to begin with. Or outsiders, I guess, is the better word. Some are more pack-oriented from birth. Even start gangs and clubs when they’re young.

Let me get back to what was going on between Leer and me. He really had come to put a mark, or a claim on me. With my scent wafting on the wind, I was about to bring in all the dogs--literally. The only way to tamp down my scent was to cover it--with his.

As you can see, he was doing a pretty good job of it.

Oh. I wanted to explain this--Garou mate with each other all the time. They have babies. Those--pups--are born in litters that, well, look like little wolf cubs. It’s easier on the bitch to do it in full canine form.

It makes sense. Who wants to cough up six babies--human style--in one night? Not me! So, more than anything, the shifting into wolf form is a self-protective thing that happens. But it’s genetically directed.

Breeder-kin don’t usually get that lucky. Breeders like me are born human, live human all their lives. They
usually
only morph after their first breeding season. And that’s only in cases of extreme emotional tension--like to defend their young.

That whole deal consists of some pretty horrific bone-popping and stuff like that. They call the shift form ‘crinos’. The beast within.

So, I’m cuddled up to the back of Leer--already having forgot the ‘get me pregnant’ thing. I can keep my head better now--when I’m with him. But that first night, I was messed up.

Curling like a kitten. Purring like one, too, practically.

We heard another thump.

Leer peeled my hands loose and twisted toward me. Very slowly, like I was retarded--I think he knew what effect he was having on me--he explained, “I’m not the only one of my kind who was looking for you.”

“You’re not?” Okay, curiosity was definitely running my libido. I felt the twinges of excitement and hope. I tried to tamp them down with a frowny face. “That’s not good, is it?”

Chapter Six

Leer explained, “The pack…well…it’s going through some rough times.”

I still didn’t get the whole wolf thing at the time. I tried to pay attention, really I did, but my fingers kept straying back to touch him. Every time he’d loosen his grip--he’d have to recapture them. I think he was having a hard time focusing too.

“There’s no order right now.”

“Chaos.” I said it like it meant something. It came from nowhere.

Leer’s body jerked as soon as I said it. Briefly, fear glinted in his eyes.

Chaos wasn’t just any wereman. He was clever, thorough and--psychic. He was trying to talk to me. I don’t know how he managed to center in on me at that exact moment. I guess my stars were lining up in the sky above me--creating an arrow that pointed downward.

“What did you say?”

“Chaos.”

Leer said, “Block your thoughts, Kayty. Block them quick.” He got up on his knees, dragging me against him, willing me to block out the menace that I didn’t understand.

I squealed a little when his fingers bit into me.

He said, “Shh.
He’ll
hear you.”

I distinctly heard
him
say--in my head--“I’m coming for you…Kayty.” I’m sure my eyes went wide and my mouth dropped open, because Leer definitely panicked then.

Rising off the bed, with me against his front, he said, “Try, Kayty. Don’t listen.”

But I couldn’t help it. I heard Chaos say, “It won’t be long. And then I’ll show you what a real--”

Leer shook me.

I whispered, “He’s coming.”

“What else did he say?”

“He’s going to show me--”

Leer groaned. He yanked me against his chest and held on, like he was sure he was going to lose me.

I struggled to get free. To breathe. “What? What does he mean?”

“Kayty--there’s going to be a fight.” He tried to reassure me, “I won’t let you go easily.” Maybe he was trying to reassure himself, too. His fingers were plying the flesh on my shoulders, expressing his own tension. He looked around the room. He asked, “Is there any place you can hide?”

I gulped. He was scaring me. I asked in a stutter, “Un--under the--the bed?”

Visions of Chaos dragging me from under the bed, possibly hurting me--ran through his head. He told me later.

“Or--the closet?”

Too late. Chaos arrived.

Believe it or not, I smelled him about the time Leer did. Our noses went up.

I panicked, went to grab something to put on. I never got it over my head.

Without a sound, Chaos entered my apartment. The only way we knew was by scent. He stinks like urine. Not a bad scent, as weremen go. Just not--what I like best. I think it was musky. A lot of bitches go for Chaos--big time. So, it’s just me. Probably breeder genes gone afoul.

So, Leer was standing in the center of the room. Kind of keeping me behind him--where the corner, two solid walls--were the only thing behind me.

I was wrestling with my stupid T-shirt. Damn thing was inside out and tangled up. And I was panicking so bad, because Leer was afraid. I could smell that more than anything. Well, not afraid, exactly.

His fists were alternating between flexing and clenching. His jaw was tight. He was watching the windows and the door, his gaze darting around. Not that I saw
that
much. I got behind him and fought my shirt, bound and determined to get some clothes on before we were found.

Leer glanced back at me and whispered, “Pants. Gets some pants on.”

I slipped under his arm, slid the closet open as quietly as I could. I should have thought of that earlier. Chaos didn’t care about my breasts. He just wanted to get up inside of me.

I slipped some jeans from a hanger. No panties. I’d never gone without panties before. I yanked the jeans on fast.

Chaos was in the living room. His scent was so strong that I blinked a few times, shook my head to clear it.

Leer didn’t miss a thing. He growled, “Get behind me.”

I grabbed a shirt from the closet. You know, one that wasn’t all wadded up. And I kinda jumped to get behind him, like he told me to do. The hanger swung, thumped and fell to the floor. With the shirt clutched against my front, I squealed--because Chaos was in the doorway.

He was in human form, thank God. I think if I’d seen him in crinos--or wolf form first--I’d have passed out. Now that he was there, he didn’t look so scary. Looked a lot like Leer, in fact. I remember thinking that. Big mistake.

Chaos, like Leer, isn’t that big--as werewolves go. He was still an easy six-feet-six or so. But, like Leer--kinda handsome. They’re brothers, twins, but not identical. I didn’t know that then. But it makes sense that I’d find him somewhat attractive too, doesn’t it? Ya can’t help your taste in men. What ya go for is what ya go for.

So, Chaos has eyes similar to Leer’s. A golden color. His voice is more gravelly-sounding. I thought it was because he was struggling for control. Maybe he struggles all the time. What do I know?

Leer spoke first. “Chaos.” It came out soft, like he was trying to keep things calm. Soothe the beast or something.

“Leer.” When Chaos said his brother’s name, it sounded like he was sneering--but he had a smile on his face. It was downright eerie.

Chaos took a step or two into the room.

Leer said, “Stop right there.”

Chaos tsked a couple of times.

I peeked around Leer, looked Chaos up and down. His smile, when he set eyes on me, changed in a blink. Appreciation, plain and simple. Accompanied by a softness…almost sad look. It confused me instantly.

In my head, I heard him, “You are pretty.”

I didn’t think twice, I answered aloud. “Thanks.”

Leer growled, “Stop that!” He was talking to Chaos, but his arm reached out and found me behind him--kind of protectively. “Don’t listen to him, Kayty.”

Chaos took another step.

Leer said, “I won’t think twice, Chaos. Back off.”

The intruder sniffed the air. Apparently, the odor of our lovemaking pleased him--turned him on. He said simply, “You didn’t show her what a beast you are.”

Leer said, “She doesn’t understand--yet.”

I hated the fact that they were talking in circles I didn’t understand, and talking about me like I was deaf, dumb and stupid. But I knew enough not to distract Leer. Chaos had a definite wolfish thing going on. Predatory.

“There’s only one way to make her understand.”

Leer growled. “She’s mine.”

Chaos laughed, then. It was ugly, hollow, ended in a true sneering, “You’re a fool. You can’t win against
me
. I’m alpha, remember?”

Leer shivered. I saw the goosebumps rise on the back of his neck. Or maybe it was his hackles.

“The pack is coming. You can leave now and save face.”

“No.” Leer cleared his throat. “What about Tee?”

Tee, I’ve learned, was Chaos’s mate. Two of a kind, by all accounts. I believe Chaos really loved her…now that I’ve heard more about them from Leer. But at the time, Chaos didn’t flinch at the mention of her name.

“What about her?” His eyes glittered.

“You can’t have two alpha females. It doesn’t work that way.”

Silence stretched. I saw Chaos’s throat convulse in a hard swallow.

Leer said, “I’m not gonna let Tee kill her.”

That got me blinking. Panicking. Thinking I was gonna die.

“Relax.” To my surprise, it was Chaos who eased the word through his lips. And his gaze was on me, ignoring Leer…something about him made me want to slip past Leer, to take Chaos’s hand. The kin recognizing the alpha? Knowing there was safety if he said it was so? I almost moved toward him.

“I’m not afraid.” Leer put an arm out, as if he could read my mind, stopping me before I could step forward.

He was, though. But he was getting over it fast. He kept rolling his shoulders. I heard a pop or two. He warned Chaos, “Don’t make me angry.”

Chaos, clearly, had no intention but that. “I can assure you--you
will
be angry before we’re done, and in pain, if you don’t walk away now.”

“Not happening.”

“I have to do this,” Chaos said. “You don’t.”

Chaos tried to get Leer to circle, like two men in a gunfight or something. He moved a step one way, and then the other. He said, “I
will
have her before it is all said and done.”

“You can die trying…” Leer suggested awkwardly as if the next thought hit him out of the blue, “or walk away. Let me have--”

“That’s what it’s all about.” Chaos had a catch in his voice as he cut Leer off. I heard it and peeked around to see their expressions. Chaos looked ill. “You know I can’t.”