The Jaguar's Arranged Mate: A Paranormal Shifter Romance (12 page)

“You sure you want to do this? There’s no going back.” Lisa had never sounded more serious.

Miera took a deep breath, eyes closed. She wanted to marry Beric, even if their wedding would never be for love. With time, anything could happen.

So long as they lived long enough.

Eyes open, she nodded. A smile came easily to her face for the first time today. “Yes, I’m sure.”

Lisa nodded back. “All right then.” She twirled around and started her slow procession down the aisle.

Inside, the warehouse was brimming with more flowers. All of the seated were-jaguars stood the moment Miera came into view. She had always assumed her father would be the one to walk her down the aisle, but she couldn’t see him anywhere, and she had had the nagging feeling all along that he wouldn’t walk her ever since he’d learned about her pregnancy.

On her first step, she almost stumbled, her kitten heel snagging on the green rug they’d laid on the floor to look like grass. A hand caught her elbow, and she glanced up to see her father standing beside her.

Tears sprang to her eyes.

“Don’t you dare cry,” he said gruffly. “Now isn’t the time for tears.”

“Not now,” she agreed.
Not yet.

Arm-in-arm, they walked together down the aisle. Miera leaned heavily against him, the weight of everything nearly enough to crush her. She knew that the fate of everyone here rested on her shoulders, and Beric’s, and the alphas, and the council to be formed, but it felt as if she, alone, bore their fate.

“Don’t slouch.”

She glanced up at her father.

Before she could whisper anything back, he added, “How you stand affects how you project yourself, your image, and how you think. You can do this, Miera. You can help to save us.”

“You really think this can work?”

Her father couldn’t stand any straighter. He had brought her to the front by now, and he kissed her cheek. Then he shook Beric’s hand and gave her over to her future husband.

She’d been so wrapped up in her thoughts that she hadn’t even looked at Beric, but there he was, wearing a dark forest green suit that strikingly matched the floral, earthly motif. His hair was slicked back, and, best of all, he was wearing a smile.

Taking a cue from her father—standing tall—and from Beric—smiling—Miera squeezed Beric’s hand.

Love or not, they were going to be wed.

*

There couldn’t be a more troubled or beautiful bride. Watching her walk down the aisle beside her father was almost painful. From the excited whispers and smiles of the gathered guests, Beric assumed they didn’t notice the tightness of her lips, the worry in the faint lines around her eyes, and the way she clung to her father. Her dress could not be more perfect. It suited her, and it greatly concealed her condition. The flowing skirt reminded him of his dream, and he shifted slightly to look at the were-jaguar who would marry them to prevent himself from growing hard and embarrassing them both.

He quickly shook her father’s hand and held onto Miera. The ceremony itself, Beric honestly didn’t pay much attention to. He wanted it over with. He wanted his people safe. For some reason, he felt on edge, and the smile he had been wearing for Miera fell away.

The pastor finally declared them ready. This ended the first part, the human part. Now, the were-jaguar part.

For the first time since the ceremony began, Beric released his hold on Miera, and they walked to separate partitions on either side of the warehouse. Away from prying eyes—Lisa helping Miera—the couple disrobed and changed into their were-jaguar forms. They walked back toward each other, in sight of everyone. Nips and small bites and one long scratch and that was that.

A simple process, really.

“I now pronounce you were-jaguar and wife.”

Cheers erupted. Beric didn’t know what to think, how to feel. Step one was done. Now for the council—

The warehouse doors banged open, and the applause and shouts of well wishes transformed into screams. The stench of blood and death filled the air, and sprays of life liquid squirted everywhere. Beric moved to stand in front of Miera, but she was already lunging forward and engaging a foe. She was savage, ferocious even, and Beric stood there a moment, watching her fight. It was almost graceful, so powerful and dominating. There was no better fighter than a pregnant were-jaguar, he couldn’t deny that, although he wished Miera wouldn’t endanger herself.

Snapping out of it, he darted forward and found a Brutal Claw who was slashing at two Blood Roses. Half of the Brutal Claws were in were-jaguar forms. The other half had weapons of all kinds and were busy using them on the helpless guests. Blood Roses and Teal Warriors alike were cut down in the act of shifting.

It was chaos. It was pandemonium.

It was death.

Pure and utter carnage.

There were so many of them, far too many for them to be counted. While Beric had thought it possible that the Brutal Claws would attack shortly after the wedding, that they had dared to immediately after left him trembling with rage. He struck and slashed and bit and suffocated Brutal Claw after Brutal Claw, brutal himself, almost blinded by anger. How could they think this was acceptable? How could they continue to persist on killing their own kind just because they were members of another pack?

He had just killed another one and was looking around to find Miera when a blow to the back of his head made his vision turn spotty. Beric whirled around to face the foe, but before he could lunge forward to counterattack, someone yanked hard on his tail. His nails scraped against the warehouse floor near the green rug. He kicked one of his hind legs to try and free himself and ducked his head to avoid a blow from the first attacker.

Although he had killed several Brutal Claws already during that battle, not one had been an easy mark, and these two were even stronger than the others he had faced. He was taking more of a beating than he was giving one back. For every slash or bite he got in, they landed five more, and soon, he was beaten down, bruised, and bleeding.

Dimly, through a swollen eye, he spotted Miera finally. She was fighting three Brutal Claws by herself. Everywhere he glanced, Teal Warriors and Blood Roses were overwhelmed.

What could they possibly do to stem the tide?
Have I gained a wife only to lose her minutes later? Or will she be the one to survive and be the widow?

Or will we all die?

More than anything, Beric wanted to live, to fight, to maybe even love… but his body and strength were failing him. Another savage blow to his head, and he staggered to the ground, spent, waiting for death to come.

CHAPTER TEN

Beric Noca’s life flashed before his eyes, focusing mostly on the last couple of weeks. He had met Matthias
Artemis
of the Blood Roses, and the were-jaguar had essentially proposed for his sister, Miera
. As she and Beric were both heirs to their packs, they could join together and try to unite their people against the vicious Brutal Claws.

Despite learning Miera was pregnant by another and realizing that his future eldest son or daughter would not be able to be his heir, Beric had found it in himself to still marry her.

And they had, just a few minutes ago. As soon as they had finished the ceremony, the Brutal Claws had finally struck. The warehouse the Blood Roses had transformed into a luscious garden for the wedding was now soiled by blood and gore and death. He and the other Teal Warriors, and Miera and the other Blood Roses, were all fighting as best they could, but they had been wholly caught unawares despite their patrols and guards, and many had already fallen.

Two Brutal Claws had targeted Beric, and they had already gained the upper hand. Three were fighting his pregnant wife. His one eye was swollen, and the back of his head ached from a brutal blow. He was on the ground, and he didn’t know if he had the strength to get up. If he didn’t, he wouldn’t
last much longer, but he almost couldn’t bring himself to care. Just a moment of rest more… Although that moment could turn into the rest of his life…

A flash of light streaked toward him. A claw. Despite how heavy his arm felt, he brought up his own claw just in time to block the blow. Somehow, he forced his legs to cooperate and labored to his feet. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the second Brutal Claw lunging. Beric held his ground against the first then jumped to the side so the leaping Brutal Claw smashed into his pack member instead of Beric. The two of them turned on each other, tussling and fighting, and Beric rushed away as fast as his bruised and bleeding body would allow. If they ended up killing each other, so much the better. The Brutal Claws had no love for anyone, and that seemed to include themselves.

Now, where was Miera? He was slowly feeling less pain. Adrenaline, maybe? He hoped that was the case and not something more serious, but he didn’t have time to slow down. If he stopped once more, he might not re-enter the battle again, and he couldn’t afford that. Maybe he’d actually be able to help her. He had to try, even if it cost him his life.

Beric stumbled over the body of a woman wearing a dress. Obviously a wedding guest. Her glassy eyes stared up at him unseeing. How many of their people had died already, would die before the day ended?

Swallowing hard, he continued searching for Miera. There was a pile of bodies. He walked around it in time to see Miera, resplendent in her fighting style. You really didn’t want to mess with a pregnant were-jaguar. They made for the fiercest of warriors, even if they weren’t normally violent when not pregnant.

And she had always been a fighter, or at least he suspected that of her. There was a lot about her he didn’t know yet, including who was the father of her unborn child.

Before he could reach her, she killed a Brutal Claw, the last of the three who had been attacking her. Without hesitating, she glanced around for another foe and took off, forcing Beric to follow.

But she moved faster than him, as if the few cuts she had were nothing, and he labored a little. If he hid and waited a good twenty minutes, he would heal a little and be that much more ready to fight, but how many more of his people could be killed in those twenty minutes? No. He couldn’t even consider it.

He lost sight of her, but then her roar sounded. He turned to watch as she came clear across the room to the aid of a Teal Warrior. Why was she in such a rush to save him? She was bypassing others who could use her help, including her own Blood Roses…

Could that Teal Warrior be the one who had impregnated her? No. The first time she had visited their compound had been after their engagement. And Charles was proficient at making blades, so he didn’t often draw patrol duty. He hardly ever left the compound. There had been no way for them to meet.

But, still, jealousy burned in him. Someone else had known her far more intimately than he did.

Yet.

He savagely attacked the nearest Brutal Claws as if he hadn’t been injured at all earlier in the battle. With precision, he cut a bloody path over to the two of them. A huge monster of a were-jaguar was fighting Miera and Charles. His massive claws stretched toward Charles in what would have been a death blow…

Only Miera jumped into its path.

The terrible strike caught her neck and shoulder. She tumbled to the ground. Charles had immediately lunged at the Brutal Claw, and his claw caught the Brutal Claw right beneath his eye. With his other claw, he slashed open his enemy’s throat. A strangled cry eked out, and the Brutal Claw tumbled down, a puddle of blood quickly forming beneath his fallen form.

Beric ignored the battles around him, bypassing those who would try to lure him into fights. Within seconds, he reached Miera’s side. She hadn’t moved since she landed from the attack. What worried him even more was that she hadn’t even tried to break her fall.

He shifted into his human form so he could cradle her to him. At least she had not sustained a blow near her torso at all. The baby was hopefully fine, but what about her?

“Miera… Miera… please… open your eyes…” His voice was almost too loud for him to bear.

She didn’t respond, didn’t stir.

Maybe she didn’t hear him. The din of the battle was so deafening and furious, with bangs and snarls and roars and cries of the wounded and the shrill shouts of the dying. Chairs were being knocked over and thrown, wooden shards flying everywhere. The place was a den of death.

“Miera,” he whispered. She felt so light in his arms, too light.

He glanced around wildly. Although he hadn’t been willing to hide away to find time to heal for himself, for her, he would do anything, especially when he witnessed a Teal Warrior deliberately turn away from a Blood Rose pleading for his aid. Their wedding was supposed to have been only the first step in bringing the two packs together. They were not one yet, and if Miera were to die, the two sides might never join together. Without the Blood Roses, the Brutal Claws would make short work of the Teal Warriors. Even combined, the two might not be enough against the most vicious pack there ever was.

If only Andreas the Bloodthirsty, their alpha, were here. Beric would take him on… and be killed. There was no way he’d be able to take on their alpha, not while wounded and distracted by the carnage and Miera.

There had to be a place where he could try and buy her some time to heal. He glanced around and spotted the pile of bodies he’d passed earlier. There should work. Trying not to think about how he could leave her there if she should die, he carried her over to it. He was bleeding onto her, and some of her blood was smeared onto him, but he didn’t care.

As gently as he could, he laid her down on the floor, attempting to ensure she would not be visible by any of the were-jaguars, whether friend or foe. He tore strips of clothing from the dead were-jaguars—since he was naked, and his wedding suit was probably ripped and tarnished by now from the fighting—and used them to bind her wounds.

She didn’t stir the entire time he moved her.

He placed a hand on her chest. He couldn’t really feel her chest rise and fall, but his hand
was
moving, so she was still breathing, however faintly.

Beric turned around, crouching, retaking his jaguar shape. He would be better able to protect and defend her in this form, considering he didn’t have a weapon on hand.

Unfortunately, it didn’t take long for a Brutal Claw to approach. The five minutes it had taken Beric to tend to Miera had given his body a little bit of time to heal—all weres healed much faster than a human would—and his fury helped to fuel his body all the more. He and the Brutal Claw went a lot of rounds, biting and slashing and clawing at each other, but eventually, his body even more bloodstained now, Beric was victorious.

He peeked around the tower of dead bodies. The battle was still ongoing despite massive casualties on both sides.
Don’t the Brutal Claws care that theyre dying, too?
They had the numbers to be able to sustain the toll, but still.
How dare they! How did they get in? Our patrollers, the fence…

Beric’s chest felt as if it was going to explode. All of their careful plans to reinforce and increase the height of the fence had been for nothing. The Brutal Claws had found a way inside their compound anyhow.

We’re doomed. Whether or not we survive this battle doesn’t matter. We will fall. It’s only a matter of time.

He let out a low roar that voiced all of his despair and sorrow, rage and the desire to continue fighting fleeing him.

*

The sound of a mournful roar aroused Miera. She opened her eyes. Why did her head feel so heavy? Why did she feel as if it would be smarter not to move?

For a moment, she glanced around, trying to get a better bearing on her surroundings. Nothing looked familiar. Why was she in her jaguar form? Where was she? Breathing hurt, but even so, she inhaled deeply. The stench of blood and dead bodies filled her nose, and she gagged. She turned her head to the side and vomited.

Her hearing was off. She had heard the roar, but everything sounded muffled, like from a tunnel or very far away. What was going on? Something was very wrong. Although she didn’t really want to move, she forced herself to inch away from her puke.

Immediately, a shadow covered her vision, and she looked up to see Beric. She howled at him.

He nuzzled her. The concern in his eyes terrified her, but seeing him unlocked her memories. They had married, and the Brutal Claws had crashed it. She had been fighting like a madwoman, not feeling scrapes or bruises or cuts, but then she had seen Charles, and she had to go and help him. That was when she’d been attacked and wounded so severely.

Someone had bandaged her wounds. Beric. A rush of warmth spread throughout her body, and she shifted to her human form to be able to communicate easier. “Beric—”

He shifted immediately and kneeled in front of her. “Miera.”

“How… How are we doing?” She almost didn’t want to know the answer.

“Not good.” He grimaced. “Badly, actually. We’re trying our hardest to hold on, but they’re fierce.”

“We have to… We have to do something to change the tide.” She tried to sit up.

Beric immediately moved to help her. “I know, but how?”

“You’re hurt too.” She reached toward his shoulder.

“I’ll be fine.”

“Me, too.” Somehow, she was feeling better already. Still incredibly sore, but her vision was focusing better, her hearing perfect again, and her body didn’t quite hurt her as badly as it had when she first came to.

“You need to rest.” He frowned.

She glowered at him as she brought herself up and stood. Her head felt woozy, but she remained upright. “I will not allow myself to be sidelined while my people are fighting for their lives.”

He stood too, glancing around, most likely to make sure no one was heading in their direction. “My people are fighting too, but we can’t go out there. Not without a plan.”

“Any ideas?” She leaned back slightly and felt something solid behind her.

Beric grabbed her shoulder and tugged her forward. “That’s not a wall,” he said softly.

Miera slowly turned around to see the solid mass was actually a pile of bodies. Her stomach churned, and she fought back the urge to be sick again.

“Just relax,” he said calmly behind her.

Eyes wild, she glanced around to see the destruction. Their people were holding their own as best they could, fighting back, but their foe was fierce and wild, savage even. Given the huge size of the warehouse, the wedding had housed a ton of were-jaguars, and at least half of the guests were still standing.

The other half, though…

“A plan,” she snapped. “We have to think of something.” She brought up her hand and touched her neck. The cloth Beric had tied there was soaked with blood. Miera slipped her hand beneath it. The wound was hardly bleeding now, but the gash would need a fair amount of time to close up and heal. If she jarred her neck to the side, she had a feeling it would start gushing again.

“I’m trying to think.” He glanced around too.

She followed his gaze. A back door, not too far away from where they were currently standing. No one was near it.

A plan formed in her mind. It was a terrible one, horrible really, but it might be the best way to save the most amount of people. “We need to try to slip as many of our people away. They can come here and then go on to the back door.”

“And get reinforcements, weapons…” Beric was nodding and already started to move away.

She grabbed his hand and yanked him back. “No. They can flee to wherever is safe.” Those on patrol and the guards at the gates had to all have been killed. The mental image of the whole compound being attacked, that those who hadn’t come to the wedding were already dead, made up her mind for her and tightened her resolve. The Brutal Claws had to be stopped, at any cost.