The Jaguar's Arranged Mate: A Paranormal Shifter Romance (8 page)

“Mm.” He lifted his head off the grass to try and kiss her, but she turned her head to the side so his lips brushed against her cheek instead of her lips. “Playing hard to get, are you?”

She giggled and jumped off of him, tearing across the clearing. “If you want me, you’ll have to come and get me.”

He climbed to his feet and chased after her. She was fast, despite being barefoot. Her dress swirled around her legs.

A dress. He had never seen her wear one. Again, he realized this was a dream, but he didn’t care. His desire for her felt so real, and his cock was straining against his zipper. He had to have her, dream or not.

Damn her, though, she was too fast for him. Whenever he reached toward her, she slipped out of his grasp, always moving, not keeping still long enough for him to grab her.

“I almost think you don’t want to get caught,” he grumbled, stopping and standing still.

“Oh, you’re no fun. Don’t you know that the thrill is in the chase?” She twirled in a circle, her arms outstretched. “Besides, if you want something badly enough, you’ll do anything to have it, right?”

He did want something badly enough. Correction.
Someone
badly enough. When she paused her twirling and blew him a kiss, his cock jumped.

Suddenly, he was running so much faster than her, and he yanked her to his side. “I’m not letting you go,” he whispered in her ear.

“Not until you have your way with me, I take it.” She grabbed the top of his shirt and ripped it in half.

Damn, that was sexy.

He picked her up. The skirt of her dress was long but flowy so she was able to wrap her legs around his waist. She tossed back her head, giggling, and he leaned forward to kiss her long neck. She was so sensual, and she wasn’t even trying, he could tell.

Beric brought her back to the middle of the field and laid her down in a bed of wildflowers. For a moment, he just stood there, staring down at her, soaking in the lovely sight. She looked like a model with her hippie dress and all of the flowers.

“Do you like what you see?” she asked with a twinkle in her eyes.

He nodded, unable to speak.

“Come here,” she whined, waving him closer.

Beric chuckled. “Why? Don’t like having to wait some for what you want?”

“You chased and caught me. Now have me,” she grumbled.

“Is that an order?”

Something wicked flashed in her eyes. “I didn’t think you would like to listen to orders.”

He placed his knees on either side of her hips. “It depends on who’s giving the order.” He kissed just to the left of her lips. “If it’s my father, then no, I don’t prefer to.” He kissed just to the right of her lips. “But if you’re the one issuing orders… I just might be willing to obey.”

Before she could respond, he kissed her thoroughly. She gasped, parting her lips, and his tongue entered her mouth. This kiss wasn’t like their previous ones. This one was all about claiming and fighting for dominance.

It only served to increase his desire for her.

It set the tone for their sex… no, for their love-making.

Again, he was reminded that this all was a dream when he realized Miera wasn’t pregnant. Her belly was completely flat, she had curves in all the right places, and her body responded to his every caress. And she didn’t just lie back and accept what he had to offer. No, she gave as she took, and he found himself wishing it could always be like this, just the two of them, away from all of their problems and troubles.

But that could never be.

When Beric woke, he was rock hard. He had only slept for an hour, just a quick nap. He had been putting in a lot of hours on patrol lately.

It plagued him that he wanted her still. Lust, was that all he had for her? But if so, why did it bother him so much that she had been with someone else? It wasn’t as if he was a virgin himself, so he shouldn’t hold that against her, but for her to have not been careful enough to not become pregnant… She was the heir of the Blood Roses. She had a duty to attend to. Doing whatever she wished, whoever she wished, well, she didn’t have that luxury.

He shouldn’t be worried about this so much. He should just let it roll off his back and marry her and be done with it. The only thing that really bothered him was that the child would be heir. His child, if he ever had one, wouldn’t be. She had taken that from him.

Beric stretched. It was his turn for patrol. Most of his watches lately had been along the fence, inside the compound, but now that it was late afternoon, the patrols were moved outside to try and ensure a peaceful night.

The other guards were already waiting for him when he approached the front gate ten minutes later. He nodded to them, glad to see their weapons. His father had decreed that no group smaller than ten were allowed to go patrolling. Before the Brutal Claws had snooped around, they hadn’t even needed patrols. Just a guard at each gate.
Simpler, easier times.

Every time he patrolled outside, he could feel his fury well. He blamed himself for Matthias’s death. How couldn’t he? The were-jaguar had died so Beric could live. While his most recent dream had been more than pleasant, nightmares plagued him ever since the were had been murdered. He still couldn’t fathom how the Brutal Claws had ambushed them.

“Stick close together,” he commanded, taking point. “I don’t have a good feeling right now.”

“Neither do I,” Sam said. He was an older were-jaguar, one who didn’t trust anyone. He tended to swing punches or lash out with claws first before asking questions. Hot-tempered, but a fierce warrior.

“They haven’t killed anyone in a day,” Lionel said. “Maybe they’re moving on.”

Sam snorted. Lionel was far too naïve and green, and Beric had half a mind to send the nineteen-year-old back into the compound, but he didn’t. If anything, he wanted extra men with them, not less.

“Moving closer toward us is more likely.” Beric stared Lionel down. “Be at the ready.”

The teen nodded. “I-I will be.”

“Good. Let’s move out.”

Beric led the way for the first few yards, but Sam quickly overtook him. Beric allowed it, only because he couldn’t be killed, not until after the marriage at least. Yes, it was still on. For his people’s sake and her people’s as well. Not for her. Not for him.

The sun splashed oranges and reds across the sky as she sank lower and lower, readying for slumber. They had made several treks around the perimeter by now, widening their distance from the compound with each loop. Now, they were at least three miles away.

“Another few loops?” Sam asked.

“Yes.” Beric still couldn’t shake a sense of foreboding. Something wasn’t quite right. At least birds were chirping so there wasn’t an unnatural silence to the air, but the hairs on the back of his neck rose, and he felt as if someone was watching him.

It might have been safer for them to return to the compound immediately, but if Brutal Claws were lurking near them and they choose tonight of all nights to make a move, their failure could cost many more Teal Warriors their lives. Better to make certain everything was clear before returning to the compound for a late dinner.

The first loop was also uneventful, but on the second, Beric knew he heard something. Their group had fallen quieter and quieter with each trek around, and now they weren’t talking at all.

He held up his hand to halt them.

An arrow whizzed by, almost clipping his fingers.

And that was when all hell broke loose.

Twenty Brutal Claws descended on them. Most of them dropped down from trees, but a few were creeping up the forested hillside. All of them were in their human form and were armed to the teeth. In fact, one had a blade tight between his teeth. It struck him as curious that they weren't in their savage jaguar forms, but he couldn’t worry about that now.

Within seconds, Beric had out his gun and fired off two shots. Two-to-one odds weren’t horrible. They could manage this. They had the high ground…

But then more Brutal Claws dropped down from trees behind them. By now, there might be forty Brutal Claws there.

Uh oh.

Beric and his brothers attacked and defended themselves as best they could, but the Brutal Claws surrounded them, forcing them into a tight circle. In every direction, wild eyes stared at them. Metal flashed in the fading sunlight as their blades nicked and cut.

While his first gunshots had wounded one and killed another, and some of his men had fallen, as well, it didn’t take Beric long to realize that the Brutal Claws weren’t attacking them to kill them. They were only trying to keep them in line, to prevent their own deaths.
Is that why they’re in their human form? What do they want? What game are they playing?

Beric fought back the desire to go all jaguar on them and rip out their throats. Somehow, he managed to not release his fangs. “Leave us be,” he demanded.

The tallest of the Brutal Claws, a hard-looking man, smirked and shifted over to stand in front of Beric. “Leave you be,” he repeated mockingly. “And just why should we do that? You killed some of ours.”

“Yes, but you attacked us first. We were within our right—”

“Your right. What right do you have, boy?” The Brutal Claw brought his face within inches of Beric’s. “You can only breathe if we tell you to. You’re only still standing because we’re feeling generous.”

Beric refused to be intimidated, although he was starting to sweat. His gun was currently out of bullets, and he wouldn’t have time to reload before the Brutal Claw would kill him.

“What you really mean is that you want to make a message of us,” Beric stated as calmly as he could.

“Well… take a message back to that pathetic leader you all call an alpha.”

Beric’s fangs and claws appeared automatically at the threat geared toward his father.

“Ah, so I see I hit a nerve.” The Brutal Claw smiled. With the scar that ran jagged above and below his lips, it made for a chilling sight. “Yes, your alpha is a weak man, one who can’t do anything to stop us. Do you really think you can stand beside him and rise against us? Wouldn’t it be better to lay down your weapons and desist all forms of resistance?”

“And what?” Beric said bitterly. He could feel the rising tension brewing among his men. They were grumbling and shifting their weight, and he saw out of the corner of his eyes that a few also had out their claws or were stroking their weapons. If the Brutal Claws wanted to talk, maybe he could talk their way out of this, but if one of the Brutal Claws, or one of his men, resumed the battle, they might all fall.

The Brutal Claw smirked. The one standing beside him nudged his shoulder, and a few of the others started to laugh.

“You don’t want us to join you, that much is clear.” Beric was having a hard time talking around his fangs, but he couldn’t bring himself to rein them in.

“Why do you say that?”

“Because you wouldn’t have attacked us at all. You wouldn’t have killed our scouts. You wouldn’t have shed one drop of blood.”

“Now, now, we never met a scout we liked, isn’t that right, men?”

The other Brutal Claws cheered.

“So you can’t blame us for killing them.” The scarred Brutal Claw smiled again. “A public service, really.”

Beric couldn’t help himself. He spat in the were-jaguar’s face.

The Brutal Claw didn’t flinch as the wad of saliva dripped down his cheek and fell onto his shirt. “Is that any way to treat our hospitality? Given that you’ve obviously heard of our reputation?”

“You don’t scare me.” Beric stood straighter. He was shorter than this Brutal Claw by two inches, but he was taller than the rest of the crew at least. “Tell us the real reason why you want us to desist. Is it because you’ll find slaughtering us that much easier?”

“Do you mean to suggest that we need to cheat in order to conquer?” The widest Brutal Claw, from muscles not fat, pushed his way over to Beric. “We could kill you all without breaking a sweat.”

“You do still outnumber us,” Beric pointed out evenly.

“And we always will.” The scarred one glowered at Beric. “When we mean to fight, we fight and we kill. When we offer terms—”

“I still don’t see how our desisting would benefit us.”

“Either you desist or you die. Is that plain enough?”

“Slaves,” Lionel the teen blurted out.

Beric was so shocked his fang retracted. He shifted slightly so he could see both the scarred Brutal Claw and Lionel. “What?”

“There’s been talk… they’ve been saying… rumors that they can’t feed them all, they’ve grown too big and—”

The scarred Brutal Claw snatched Lionel by the throat and lifted him into the air, the teen’s lean legs dangling helplessly. Just by flicking his wrist violently, Lionel’s head dropped. He tossed the limp body away from them.

Beric started forward, but the Brutal Claws tightened their circle around the Teal Warriors.

“We gave you the message. You had better deliver it. It will not be any sweat off our backs to kill you all. We don’t need you alive. We don’t.”

“What is your game plan?” Beric demanded. “Kill us, don’t kill us, kill the Blood Roses, don’t kill them, or the next pack and the next… what is your end game? To have one large pack of all the were-jaguars together? For what purpose?”