Claws (11 page)

He saw the flame in his peripheral vision and turned his head. Staring into that side of the room was like looking into one of those amusement park funny mirrors. Everything shimmered. A funny smell reached him and he knew exactly what it was.
Oh shit
.

The gas ignited.

A fireball blew the house apart, flinging him backward. Splintered wood rained down on him as he was thrown from the building. Pieces of his home lay scattered around him. Smoke flooded the area around him, clogging his nose and burning his throat with every inhale. He lifted his head and dropped it as spikes of pain rushed through his brain. The soft grass tickled his neck. He knew his eyes were open, but his vision was filled with shapeless colorful blobs. Moaning was coming from somewhere. He closed his eyes and grunted against the piercing aches his body suffered as he tried to roll over. Disjointed thoughts tumbled through his mind. Had Tim discovered his plan and decided to strike first? Dust choked him and he dropped his head to the side. Nausea threatened to overtake him as bile climbed up his throat and darkness encroached on his blurred sight.

A roar sent the birds chattering in the trees.

Etienne pushed his foot on the brake at Loubel’s home, Bayou Faux Frere. The truck skidded to a stop, sending rocks flying as Etienne popped the gear into reverse as the end of the road loomed ahead. The trucks front end pushed into the thick reeds. They were the only thing keeping his vehicle from continuing into the water. The tires spun, creating a cloud of red dust. They finally took hold and the truck went careening backward. Etienne stomped on the pedal and the four by four jerked as they came to a stop.

Armand turned in his seat, his eyes wide and his breath coming out in short pants. He took a deep breath. “What the fuck is wrong with you?” he yelled.

“Did you feel that?” Etienne checked his mirrors.

“I felt nothing but the beat of my heart as you tried to kill us.” Armand yanked the lever, shoved the door open, and jumped out.

Etienne looked up as birds en mass exodus flew from the trees and took to the skies partially blotting out the late-afternoon sun. His pocket buzzed. He stuck his fingers into his jeans side pocket and withdrew his phone, sliding his finger across the screen without bothering to check the ID.

“Baby, when I get a hold of you we are going to have a long talk about the proper etiquette of an Alpha mate. Where the hell are you?” He spoke through clenched teeth.

“I didn’t realize you felt so strongly about our relationship,” Garmin replied sarcastically.

“I don’t have time for this…” Etienne yanked the phone from his ear.

“Wait—hey…boss?” Garmin’s voice drifted up from the cell.

“Garmin, you have three seconds. Make them count.”

“The convoy is safely in Betaille. We are parking in front of your house bu—ahhh—no one’s here except a few old ladies and the kids. Where is everybody?” Confusion marred the lieutenant’s voice.

“Percel’s not there?” Etienne tapped down the panic starting to well up in his gut.

“Nope. It’s it looks like a party was started but there are no revelers in attendance.”

“
Son of a bitch
!” Etienne yelled. “
Fuck, fuck, fuck
. Just keep them good ole boys from Volkshire busy. We’ll get there as soon as we can.”

“You got it, Etienne.” The line went silent.

Loubel jumped over the railing of his houseboat and landed on the hard-packed earth. He had his phone to his ear and nodded his head to Etienne and Armand. The two deputies he’d had follow him pulled up in the cruiser and exited the car. Everyone surrounded Etienne.

They looked at Loubel as he ended the call. He shook his head as he met Etienne’s gaze. “I got a hold of Marree. She said most of the women are sitting on Fish Tail Road. They are waiting for your cat, Mais, and couple of Wolverine sentries to bring the poachers to them.”

Etienne added to Loubel’s news. “Percel has gone missing.” The men groaned. “Yeah, so we need to handle this now. Loubel, does Marree know where the four went?”

Loubel shrugged. “All she could say was they went south.”

“A lot of damn good that does me.” Etienne combed his fingers through his hair. “Okay fellas, check the Natchez and Dog Ear Bayous.” He watched as his men undressed and shift into gators as the dove into the water. “Loubel, you and Armand take my truck and get to the women. Send the ladies home, and then see if you can pick up a scent on Mais or the wolverines and follow it. One more thing, our time has run out. The Council’s committee is here.”

Armand cocked a brow. “Now that’s an interesting twist. What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to find my mate and make sure that she’s all right before I make it a point to spank that ass.” Etienne yanked the t-shirt over his head and toed off his boots. “Remember, don’t get too close to Sint. If Percel has shifted and is in the area, you don’t want him to think you’re a threat to his mate. He will gut you.”

Loubel groaned. “I hate it when shit like this happens.”

Armand turned his gaze on Loubel. “You make it sound like this craziness occurs often.” His voice held a thread of amusement.

“Never a dull moment in Betaille.” Etienne kicked off his jeans and ran for the water, shifting as soon as he hit the surface.

He used his tail to propel him forward, swimming past the underwater debris that clogged the inlets bottom. This was his world and in it, he was master. He knew the bayous, inlets, and tributaries like the back of his hand. If he remembered correctly, there was a little used dirt road not far from where the ladies were. That path had to lead somewhere and it would be a perfect place for someone to hole up and do a little hunting since it had been empty for Goddess knew how long. Etienne came to a narrow levee. Water poured off his ridges of in his skin as he crawled from the murky depths to cross the thin strip of land.

A fisherman fell out of his chair, crab walking backward to escape him. Etienne knew what he looked like in his animal form. Twenty-five foot long and almost two thousand pounds, he was a sight to behold and used to enjoy scaring the hell out of folks that went hunting out of season. There was no time to play now. He turned his massive head toward the guy. Flushed, bright eyes filled with fear, the man’s mouth formed an
O
. Etienne opened his jaws and snapped them closed. He watched a wet spot form on the fella’s crotch. Too bad he didn’t have the facial muscles to smile. Scrambling down the other side of the small dam, he slid into the water and swam off. Left alone too long his Sasha could get into all kinds of mischief.

If anyone laid a hand on her, there would be hell to pay.

Sasha prowled the tree line, passing Mais. Dusk was falling and the burning embers of smoldering shack made the fading scenery look like it was ablaze. One man lay on the shore, his prone form half in the gently lapping water. He was the one that had been preparing dinner. He’d groaned for a while but now he was silent. She had the wolverine sisters watching him. The other guy struck her as more dangerous with the supersized handgun strapped to his waist and large-caliber rifle that was sitting a few feet away from him. The blast had knocked him out and she and the girls went in and took the bullets out the weapons. Once he came to, the chase would begin. They would herd the men toward Sint and the mad shifter housewives. Until then, she, Mais and the wolverine sentinels would wait it out.

“Oh my Goddess, let’s just kill them and I’ll tell mom it was an accident,” Mais complained.

“No, I promised Sint retribution.” Sasha turned to look at the boar shifter.

“I think the skinny one that got blown into the reeds is dead.” Mais chuckled.

“One less idiot to chase down. Before we go we’ll slide the body into the water. Give the gators a decent meal.

“They eat good around here as it is. That body might not disappear fast enough. Etienne will be furious and we’ll have more law agencies climbing up our asses.”

Sasha listened and watched the shadows lengthen over half her body. “And here I thought Betaille was this sleepy little animal haven.”

“Please, I thought you folks in Volkshire did your homework. Our little town is currently being investigated by several government agencies including the ATF and Homeland Security. The only reason nothing has happened yet is because Etienne has some powerful friends that owed him favors and the locals are just scared of Daddy.”

“Really.”

“Oh yeah. We have a different set of rules down here and a few of the bodies we thought were taken care of popped back up. The humans got involved.” Mais shrugged. “Needless to say, somehow we need to get the bastards off our back and I’m thinking that idea was running through several Alpha’s heads when they agreed to this alliance. If we didn’t need you, Dad would have strung you guys along for a while to appease Tee before turning you down.”

“That’s interesting, why are you telling me all this?” Sasha narrowed her eyes.

“You’re Etienne’s mate, you lucky girl. Once that happened you were fully accepted as a member of Betaille. We don’t keep secrets from each other. Only the outside world.”

“I don’t think my bosses know about all your problems. You do realize the position this puts me in?”

“That’s why I only told you a few of the simple secrets. Being the daughter of the Alpha, I can fill you in on some doozies. I’m just interested to see what you do with what you know. Make no mistake, Etienne’s mate or not, if you do anything to hurt this town or the people I love, I will make sure it’s the last damn thing you do.” Mais looked past Sasha’s shoulder. “I think our guy is waking up.” She smiled widely and pushed off the tree. “Time to play.” She shifted into a razorback boar the size of a small pony. A thick strip of course red hair ran down the middle of her back and her tusks curled around her mouth.

Sasha sighed.
Decisions, decisions
. It wasn’t an earth-shattering confidence but it could easily be used to maneuver a more favorable alliance with Volkshire coming out on top of the deal. Rhys was fair as were his brothers. They wouldn’t break an agreement.

She looked into the vibrant black eyes of the beast. “I don’t think Volkshire and Betaille are that far apart when it comes to taking care of business. We all do what we have too to protect our own.” Sasha changed forms.

The hunter sat up. Weaving back and forth he groggily shook head. Mais circled him in one direction while Sasha went the other way maintaining a wide berth. They sat and watched the guy. One arm was heavily bandaged, probably from their previous run-in. He had a deep gash on his forehead, blood poured from the wound, and his brows were drawn together as he leaned forward as if he was trying to focus his eyes. Getting to his knees, he stumbled to his feet. Dust kicked up where he shuffled his steps, swinging one arm. From the foliage the husky growls of wolverines could be heard. Confusion marred his features. He called out a name. “Tim!” When he didn’t get an answer, he spun in a circle and hollered again. His eyes widened and he bent forward when he noticed the panther studying him.

Mais rose and stalked behind him coming around his side to sit beside Sasha. His mouth opened and closed like a fish gasping for air. He went for the humongous gun strapped in the holster at his side. Turning his head, he continued, watching them while loudly whispering his friend’s name. The terror in his voice spoke volumes. Sasha tilted her head and whipped her tail as she watched him fumble to free his weapon. Mais grunted and a low growl escaped Sasha’s throat in response. The poacher stumbled back and fell when he tripped over a large piece of debris. There was a hollow
thump
as his body hit the hard-packed ground. The pistol skidded over the dirt and lodged in a thick patch of grass.

Favoring the one arm, he scrambled to his hands and knees and crossed the short distance to retrieve his weapon. His sigh was audible as he turned his body and aimed. Mais rose and inched forward, jumping left then right. His hand wobbled as he tried to keep the gun pointed at her. Sasha yawned, exposing two-inch incisors. She rose to her feet and padded to stand in front of him. His breathing was erratic and sweat poured down his ruddy face to dilute the semi-dried blood. He dropped to his knees and started to cry. She watched the way his Adam’s apple bobbed before meeting his gaze. Sasha opened her mouth and roared.

So close to him, she allowed him to stick the muzzle to her chest. He pulled the trigger. Then he did it again.

Nothing happened. His hand trembled as he pulled the hammer back a third time. He put pressure on the trigger it snapped into place again.
Click
. He cried out in frustration when the pistol didn’t fire.

Splashing drew her attention to the water and the other guy came staggering out of the reeds.
Ah well, so much for dead
. She faced her enemy and thought she saw a glimmer of hope bloom on his face as the sides of his mouth inched up. Silly man, she’d rip that seed of optimism right from under him. Raising her paws she leaped at him. Her claws sliced though the exposed tendons on the side of his neck as he turned his head. He dropped the pistol, clamped his hand on the cuts, and lurched to the side, moving toward his friend. Blood drizzled from between his fingers as he tried to crawl away.

The other guy managed to get into a crawling position. He lunged forward and coughed up swamp water. Dirty liquid combined with his stomach contents pooled around him. His gut sucked in and he heaved again. The wolverines skulked from beneath low-hanging branches and flanked the guy. Their teeth barred, they walked in unison every step soundless. A cross between a hiss and a growl was the only warning before they attacked, biting into his legs and viciously swinging their heads.

Pain-laced screams rent the air and Sasha’s prey stopped short. His eyes widened at the sight of his friend being mauled. Mais took advantage of the hunter’s hesitation and charged to run her tusks through his thigh as he tried to get up.

He collapsed. Wrapping his fingers around tufts of grass, he pulled himself forward. Sasha noticed the rifle just out of his reach. She skulked along with him as they inched closer to his friend and the shore. He placed his hands on the butt of the gun and grunted as he tried to tug it to him. Curious, she waited to see what he would do. He whimpered as he rose to his knees, yanking the rifle with him. Mais had joined the wolverines in tormenting the other poacher, poking him with her tusks. Sasha chuffed, the scene reminding her of one of those cooking shows where the chef pulls a roast out the oven and sticks it with a fork to tell if the meat is done. The man covered his head with his arms and moaned as he curled into a fetal position.