Shadow Mated (Ouachita Mountain Shifter Book 5) (10 page)

Chapter Ten

The next afternoon Gash sat in his office staring blankly at his wall of monitors. After today, he wouldn’t be spending his nights holed up here keeping watch. He was moving in with Bailey and setting up a portable monitoring system that he could use from his laptop. That way he could sleep in her bed at night—
their
bed—and if there were any security issues he could still deal with them.

But soon, there was going to be a lot less to worry about. The threats to Ouachita wouldn’t be a problem for long.

Gash tapped his fingers along the desktop. There was nothing interesting happening on the screens, but even if there was, it wouldn’t have held his attention. Not with what he had to do.

Adira’s plan was an approach he hadn’t thought of before. A plan that wouldn’t have been possible, but was now that the Sorcera had pledged to protect Ouachita.

Gash was sure they wanted something, just like the bears had, but so far they seemed only interested in serving justice. They were almost vigilante in their quest. The way the three had laid out their plan… it was crafty and ruthless and pretty damn brilliant.

The witches seemed innocent enough—and in many ways, probably were—but when it came to battling evil, they were as cutthroat as the clan he’d grown up with.

Honestly, they scared the shit out of him.

The desk phone rang, and he picked it up to answer, “Yeah.”

“Call for you,” Layna said. “And it doesn’t sound like a friend, if you know what I mean.”

“Got it. Send it through.”

Gash waited for the connection to switch over, expecting to hear his brother’s smooth snarl on the other end. This made things easier, Felix calling. Because Gash had been building up the balls to dial his brother all morning.

But it wasn’t Felix’s voice that came through the receiver.

“Gash, you there, asshole?”

It was Rigor. The man and his Junkyard Dogs had been doing dirty deeds for humans almost as long as Felix had. But unlike Felix, Rigor wasn’t a mean-ass motherfucker. Not truly. Even still, he would sacrifice his morals willingly to get what he wanted. And what he wanted was the revenge Gash had promised him.

“I’m here.”

“It’s time to pay up. I want Aaron Redman, and I want him now. Felix is on a tear over what I did. Furious at me for letting you go. He’s threatened my dogs, threatened my family. My business. Now, I made a deal with you, spare your life for Redman’s, and I’m not waiting any longer.”

“It’s only been two days,” Gash argued. “I don’t have a clue where he is.”

“Don’t give a flying fuck,” Rigor roared. “I don’t have time to hold your goddamn hand. Find him. Or my dogs are coming for you.”

Gash ground his teeth at the threat. But the truth was, he’d never hand over Redman. Not now, when he had Bailey. She saw good in him and he wanted to live up to it. The beef with the human responsible for killing Rigor’s female wasn’t Gash’s business. It was Rigor’s battle to fight.

The sound of heavy machinery could be heard in the background. Rigor loved his Junkyard. Loved his dogs. Gash knew it was true, even if the man had done awful things. Rigor was more like him than Felix. And that meant… there was a chance for redemption. Maybe he only needed an opportunity to start over fresh and right his mistakes.

“I won’t give you Aaron Redman,” Gash said. “I won’t hand you a human to hurt. You’ll have to find your revenge on your own if you need it that badly. But I will do something else for you. And I think after it’s all said and done, you’ll find we’re even.”

Heavy, furious breaths registered through the phone line. “You’re backing out of our deal?” Rigor barked.

“I’m offering you a new one. And trust me, you’ll want to take it.”

“What I want to do is reach through this phone and rip your throat out.”

Gash leaned back in his chair, staring at the monitors. In the kitchen, one of the witches, Mirena, was talking to Bailey. His mate smiled at the female, chatting about something while she assembled a pan of lasagna. Using her hands, Mirena created some form of magic that had Bailey’s eyes peeling wide. Seconds later he saw that all the utensils from the counter were standing on end, dancing like a scene right out of a Disney movie—not that he’d ever seen one until last year when he’d learned Bailey’s favorite movie was Beauty and the Beast. He’d borrowed it from the collection Layna had on hand for guests, and watched it in his room with the sound turned almost all the way down so no one would know.

On the monitor, spoons twirled, knives weaved, and tongs did jumping jacks, all with a flick of Mirena’s hands. Bailey’s jaw dropped, but then she tossed her head back in a laugh before wagging her finger at the witch. So gorgeous when she was happy.

The witches were the answer to the Alley Cat problem. A problem for Ouachita as much as it was a problem for the Junkyard Dogs.

“I can get Felix and the cats out of your hair,” Gash offered. “For good.”

Rigor scoffed. “Even if you could kill your brother, you couldn’t take them all out. This is a losing battle, and not beneficial to me in the least.”

“I’m not talking about killing them.”

Rigor went quiet, thinking.

“You want to get out from under the human mob’s control? You want to run a towing business, and move on from all this shady shit? For your family? Because if you do, I have an answer.”

“And if I don’t?”

Rigor wasn’t Ouachita. Gash would have to speak his language. “If you don’t, I can still get the cats out of your way. You could peddle your muscle without any competition. Imagine the kind of money you could bring in without having to cut it two ways.”

The line was quiet for too many breaths.

“You think you can take down the Alley Cats.”

“I
know
I can.”

More heavy silence.

“Fine,” Rigor snapped. “But when you fail, I’m killing you
and
Redman.”

Gash wouldn’t fail. He had witches in his corner, two badass bears who could definitely hold their own against any Alley Cat, and a crew of werecats he loved enough to fight hard for.

***

Right now, Felix is the cat and Ouachita is the mouse. What you’re going to do, is change that. Instead of waiting for him to show up and hurt your people, you call the shots. Bring him here, and we’ll take care of the rest. Tell him you’re surrendering in exchange for him leaving your clan be. He’ll come. And when he does… his darkness won’t stand up to our light.

Adira’s words rolled through his head as he fingered the screen of his cell phone.

Gash knew it would work. Felix thought so little of him, thought he was weak, always had. He’d be expecting Gash to trade his life for Bailey’s safety. And he’d promise to leave Ouachita alone in return, but the reality would be horrific. Felix would bring every cat under his rule, and annihilate them while Gash watched.

That’s what would happen if they didn’t have a plan. But they did, and it was sound, and he had to trust it.

He dialed the number his brother had called from and waited.

“Gash,” Felix murmured. “Brother. Good to hear from you.”

The words didn’t sound pleasant coming across the line.

Grinding his jaw, Gash forced himself to sound desperate even though his cat bucked the idea of bowing to Felix in any way. “I’m ready to return home.”

There was a beat of shocked silence. “Home. Oh, you mean here. With the Alley Cats.”

“Yes. I want to make a deal. I return, do everything you want, and you leave my mate alone.”

“Hmm,” Felix drawled. “No. I don’t think that’s a fair trade, brother. See, you’ve caused me a lot of trouble and I’m just not sure having you back here would make up for it. You have to pay the price and the price is steep. A life.”

“Then take mine, not hers.”

“A worthy one. The price is a worthy life. Not yours. Yours ain’t worth the shit on the bottom of my boots.”

Fuck. This wasn’t working how he’d hoped. He needed Felix to take this bait. Gash’s mind raced with options, something that would intrigue his brother enough to get him here.

He landed on an idea, but even saying it out loud made his stomach lurch.

“How about a whole clan of lives?”

His offer was met with silence. Dead air. And that’s how Gash knew he was on the right track.

Finally, Felix murmured, “I’m listening.”

“I can give you the Ouachita clan to do with as you please. All except my mate. You let her live, and you can have all the others.”

“Why would I want that?” Felix asked, but Gash could tell he’d hooked him. He could practically hear the insidious wheels turning in his brother’s mind.

“Slave labor. Use them to barter. I don’t know, but I bet you could figure it out. Do we have a deal? Will my mate be safe?”

“The entire Ouachita clan, huh? How many?”

“Nine.” He left out the human mates and Josie, and counted the bears. “One’s a doctor,” he added, hoping it was enough to sway Felix. “She’d be invaluable to the Alley Cats.”

Felix sighed loudly. “Fine. We have a deal. Just know that I’m going to kill you when this is all settled. You pretended to be dead, so I think it’s a fitting fate for you.”

Gash clenched his fist to pound the desk. The trap was set. And he didn’t believe a damn word his brother said about sparing Bailey. He was only agreeing because he saw value in acquiring the Ouachita clan.

“Done,” Gash agreed. “I’m betraying my clan and mate. I wouldn’t have anything to live for anyway. And Felix, bring all your people you can. You’ll have a fight on your hands with these cats.”

Felix scoffed. “I think I can handle nine chicken-shit shifters.”

“Nine mountain cats defending their home,” Gash reminded. “If you want them, bring your entire crew.”

“Yeah, I’ll take that into consideration. See you soon, Gash.”

A spine tingling whistle was the last thing he heard before the line clicked dead.

Chapter Eleven

“It’ll take us all,” Gash said. “Felix is bringing his entire crew.”

The clan meeting was tense. Bailey stood at the back of the group, watching Gash where he crouched near the fire. When there was business needing to be discussed, they always met in the woods, away from the lodge where their guests might overhear. Renner and Clara had built the fire to keep the humans warm, and Josie and Bethany passed around a tray of cookies.

Because what can make conversation of a coming battle less troubling? A chocolate chip cookie of course. What else?

“How many of them?” Magic asked. “What are we looking at here?”

Gash shook his head. “When I left, they were twenty strong. Could be more of them by now.”

Mason piped up, “We saw how easily the witches—”

“Sorcera,” Adira corrected, and he rolled his eyes.

“Apologies,” he said, his voice saccharine sweet. “We saw how easily the
Sorcera
took down seven of us. It shouldn’t be a problem if we’re all there helping.”

“Actually,” Nastia argued. “The spell we have in mind for the Alley Cats is a bit different from the one we cast on you. Yours was temporary. Theirs will be permanent.”

“Yes,” Adira agreed. “It will require more of our power. More time to take effect. And if they don’t come at night…”

She glanced at her sisters, and Bailey knew a big ‘ol whopping
what-if
was coming.

“What is it?” Magic asked, frowning.

“We draw from the stars,” Mirana reminded. “If they don’t come at night there will be no power to draw from.”

“Wait a minute,” Gash said, his face going gray. “You have no power in the day?”

“Oh, we do. As we also draw from the light within us, from the goodness we possess. Just not the kind of power we’d need to cast a spell this large.”

“Can you not channel the sun?” Mason asked. “That’s about the largest source of light possible.”

“True,” Mirena nodded. “Too large. None of us could contain that much power.” She hesitated. “Except maybe The Lightest.”

Adira was frowning, shaking her head hard. “I can’t. Not this close to the autumnal equinox.”

Layna held her hand up. “Whoa, whoa, whoa. We’re getting into all kinds of witch-talk and I can’t be the only one who isn’t following.”

“Ditto,” Theron added.

Several more hands raised, including Bailey’s.

“Adira The Lightest contains the most light magic. Nastia, the least. And I fall somewhere in the middle. Every day we get nearer to the September equinox, our power dims. If we haven’t found our anchors by then, we will go through a transformation to become dark Sorcera, or Magei.”

“You’ll become evil?” Thames asked.

Mirena met his hard gaze, but didn’t answer for several breaths. “Yes.”

“Nastia will go first.” Adira’s voice was quiet and sad. “Then Mirena, and finally me.”

Thames’s gaze landed on the red-haired Sorcera, but Nastia stared at the fire as if she wasn’t even hearing the conversation.

“But it can be prevented. Right?” Bailey asked. She liked the witches. They were odd, but like Gash, she saw good in them. “What about this anchor you speak of?”

“An anchor is something—usually
someone
—that can hold us in the light. Often a true love, or some other meaningful relationship. Occasionally it can be an object. But it’s different for each Sorcera, and sometimes an anchor cannot be found in time.”

Silence deepened among the clan, the crackling fire and music of the night forest, the only sounds.

“Then we will just have to help you find them,” Renner spoke up. He glanced at Magic, eyebrows raised, and their leader straightened.

“Yes,” Magic said. “You came to help us, and we’ll help you in return, the best we can.”

Bailey looked around to see everyone nodding their agreement, and her heart filled with pride for her people. A year ago, they were barely able to coexist, each werecat striving for solitude instead of communion. A ragtag group determined to break the traditions of their ancestors.

They didn’t understand the strength of family. They thought avoiding it meant they were safe, when really it only meant they were sad.

But one by one, mating by mating, they were coming together to support each other in bad times and good. They were finally a real clan with a real leader and real values.

And now they were growing. Adding to their family by new and by young. It felt good. It felt right.

She caught Gash’s eye and his harsh expression softened.

They were going to be okay. All of them. Including the witches. She wasn’t sure how she knew, she just did.

“Thank you.” Adira bowed her head in a way that Bailey thought must have meant respect. “Your help is much appreciated. Now,” she said, her face lifting to eye Gash, “this is how we’re going to beat back the shadows…”

***

Double tiger, hidden dragon. Grab the groom, and hitch the wagon.

Bubbling trouble, brewing storm. Your destiny begins to take form.

Follow the shadow to the sun. The future is already begun.

Be the light in the night, the right in the fright.

Draw on the stars, their power is sure. Draw on the animals, their love is pure.

Heed this: give as much as you take, lest the darkness be your fate.

Double tiger, hidden dragon.  Grab the groom, and hitch the wagon.

Adira read the ratty paper one last time and then shoved it into the pocket at her waist. The spell they’d used to communicate with Destiny meant something. Something more. But she couldn’t quite connect the words to their meanings. It was as though she was grabbing for a rope that was forever just out of reach.

Days had passed since they’d solidified their plan to defeat the Alley Cats. Everyone knew their role, and there was an air of anticipation as the shifters waited to defend their clan.

She and her sisters had created a spell for them so they’d be spared from the curse the Sorcera were going to cast, broad net style. Any shifter nearby who wasn’t bespelled to resist the curse would lose the ability to shift into their animal for good.

Now they were all gathered in a clearing near the base of a cliff, waiting for the sun to go down. Destiny had given Mason a message that Felix and his crew were close, but it was still at least an hour until dark.

Adira looked to the sky.

And worse, it felt like a storm was rolling in. Dark clouds built in the sky, stacking up like piles of discolored marshmallows, and in the distance, thunder could be heard.

“What if we can’t reach the mystics?” Nastia murmured.

Adira looked at the werecats surrounding the circle she’d made with her sisters. Several had taken their animal form. Others stayed human. She could see them, but a glamour spell kept them from seeing her and the sisters. The glamour was necessary to hide the Sorcera from the Alley Cats. Otherwise they would’ve been target number one. Easy prey, and simple to take out. But it left the animals increasingly uncomfortable, their senses essentially blind.

They were depending on the Sorcera, had put their faith in light magic.

She couldn’t fail them.

“Then we shall draw our magic from another source. We will find a way,” Adira insisted.

The other two nodded.

“We’ll find a way,” Mirana repeated.

The wind picked up, whipping Adira’s hair into a tangle around her shoulders. The front was pinned tightly in rolls to keep it out of her face but the force of the wind threatened to pull it loose..

“They’re close,” Nastia called. “I can feel them. The shadow clan is very dark, sisters. Very dark.”

Adira looked again to the sky. The stars weren’t alive yet, but it didn’t matter. The clouds were going to hinder them.

Gash paced nearby, brushing his palm through his hair. He’d stayed human and so had his mate, Bailey, who stood several feet away. He’d wanted her away from the scene of the battle, safe from his brother, but she’d have none of it. Nastia had brokered a compromise: Bailey would stay between the Sorcera’s mystics circle and the outer ring of shifters. She’d be the second layer in the bullseye, protecting the center in case any foes made it past the outer ring.

And then Gash had threatened the others within an inch of their lives if they let anyone through. But Bailey hadn’t heard that part.

“Very… close. Very close. Close. Very close. One, two, three, four…”

Adira twisted around to find Nastia, eyes focused on the ground, head shaking from side to side. They’d cleared the area of rocks, but apparently she’d found something her curse deemed worthy of numerating.

“Five, six, seven…”

Felines began pouring into the clearing, slinking like phantoms, leaping gracefully from high tree branches to land on the ground with barely a noise. Mostly mountain cats but there were a few more exotic shifter types. Still, no tigers.

“Ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen. Oh, so many. Fourteen, fifteen, sixteen…”

The ring Ouachita had made around the Sorcera was surrounded by werecats now. They were nearly doubled in numbers, and no doubt the Alley Cats had them beat on brutality too.

A low, strange whistle brought Adira’s attention to the trees directly to her left. A towering man stepped out from the shadows the fading light created against the cliff side. His dark hair slicked straight back from this forehead revealing classically handsome features. A straight, regal nose and full lips, cradled in a jaw that looked cut from stone.

If this was the wicked Felix, great leader of the shadow clan, she’d expected him to appear a bit more rugged. But then, hadn’t their trainers taught them ofttimes evil came in pretty packages. Sparkly paper and beautiful bows, only to cut your finger when you tried to open it.

Candy coated razors.

Poison apple.

A pretty demon with an angel face.

The whistling didn’t stop as he strolled forward, unworried. It had no tune to it. Just a combination of notes that sounded off when put together. It landed on Adira’s ears with the smoothness of sandpaper, grating her nerves raw.

And still there wasn’t a single heavenly light to be seen. No moon, no stars. Only wind and sickly green clouds.

“Brother,” Felix drawled, giving some relief from the whistling. He stared at Gash with shrewd eyes. “What is this? I thought we’d come to an understanding.”

His gaze took in the entire ring, assessing the gathering. To him and the other shifters, it would simply look like Ouachita had circled ranks to guard Gash and Bailey. He wouldn’t see that they were protecting something even more powerful. And if they could hold him off until the clouds gave way, it just might be his downfall.

“I see you brought the entire clan,” Gash said, eyeing the prowling cats.

Felix smiled but it wasn’t friendly. It was more like a shark that knows he’s found a school to feast on.

“Good thing I did, yeah? You sly cat, you told me Ouachita was only a clan of Nine.”

Gash scowled. “I like to keep you on your toes.”

“Ah, you do, don’t you? Always have.”

He jerked his shoulders back twice, like he was shaking something from his back. A conscience maybe? Adira could only hope.

“Is this your mate, Gash?” he asked, gesturing to Bailey. Crudely, he tilted his head to the side, letting his gaze roll the length of her body, measuring her up before giving her a chin shrug. “Not bad, brother. Not bad at all. A little more than a man like you needs in the hips. Don’t need all that padding unless you really intend to lay into her…”

Gash rumbled out a warning growl.

“…but I definitely didn’t expect you to manage a female so pretty.” Felix’s face turned cruel. “Not with that mark on your face.”

Gash snarled a furious sound, pressing Bailey back behind him.

Felix smirked. “But hey, some women like a man that never offers a challenge. They’ll curl up with those ugly ones because they don’t have to fight other females for ‘em. It all works out, I guess.”

A hiss blistered through the clearing, and then a high pitched roar. Bailey. She hadn’t turned but her eyes flickered dangerously.

“Or… I don’t know… maybe we could share her. Like we did our toys when we were little. That way she knows what it’s like to have a real man behind her instead of a weak piece of shit like you.”

“Don’t you
dare
talk about my mate like that!” She stepped around Gash, stomping forward as if she intended to claw Felix’s eyes from his skull.

“Bailey!” Gash warned, reaching for her but missing.

She marched forward, and he ran after her, but it was too late. Even with Magic’s panther bounding forward and snarling for her to stop, she reached Felix before Gash could catch her. A resounding smack across the other shifter’s face echoed through the circle, and when Bailey drew her hand back, blood oozed from three claw marks.

“There,” she said, huffing with anger. “Now you have a mark to match. But it doesn’t matter because what makes you ugly is what’s inside. And my mate is gold inside.
Gold
. Even with everything you’ve put him through.”