“Interesting,” Miki muttered. “I bet if you looked at her high school notebooks they’re covered in that stupid Van Halen logo, too.”
Angie chuckled as one of the salesgirls returned with a dress for her. “How about this?”
Taking the dress by the hanger, Angie looked at it carefully. Dark red and backless, she debated whether to get it for Sara’s party. She knew Nik would love her in it.
Christ, how pathetic am I?
“What do ya think, Mik?”
“What do I think? I think that lion females are really lesbians and the males are used strictly for their sperm.”
Angie’s head snapped up. “Miki!”
She gave that damn innocent smile. “What? It’s just a theory.”
The she-wolves looked down at the floor to hide their laughter while the lions glared. Well, most of them glared. One just grinned. Angie didn’t have time to analyze that, instead grabbing Miki by the scruff of the neck and dragging her past the staring wolves and lions toward the dressing room.
“I swear, Kendrick. I can’t take you anywhere.”
“Don’t blame me ’cause these bitches have no sense of humor. And you know I’m right.”
Angie found the dressing room. Since it was still relatively early, there were very few customers and she had a feeling she’d have the place all to herself. Good. She hated fighting with a bunch of bitches over some space.
Still gripping Miki by the neck, the pair walked around the corner into the enormous room, separated into eight big dressing rooms. Busy trying to figure out which room to grab, Angie slammed right into a woman.
Dianne Leucrotta stepped back with a curse. They looked at each other and Angie almost winced at what she saw. A deep jagged gash slashed across the woman’s face. From one temple, across and under her lip. And unlike Nik’s wounds from the toilet and even her own, Leucrotta’s still hadn’t really healed. And Angie wondered if they ever would.
“Wow, I totally fucked up your face.” Then Angie punched her. Leucrotta grabbed her nose and stumbled back away from them. Angie pushed Miki back and punched Leucrotta again.
“Jesus, Angie!”
“Get Sara.” She grabbed the hyena by the hair and slammed her face first into one of the dressing rooms.
It wasn’t until someone kicked his legs that Nik woke up. Alek, snoring beside him, his head resting on his shoulder. Ban snoring on the other couch, the noise rivaled only by the dog.
He looked into the impossibly cranky face of Zach Sheridan. “Y’all get food?”
“We had a full refrigerator before you three got here.”
“Where I come from, we don’t let the refrigerator get empty.”
“Where you come from, you marry your sister.”
Before Nik could rip the man’s head off—literally—Alek snapped awake. “Your sister’s here?”
Snarling like a rabid dog, the wolf stomped off.
Alek winked, gave an evil chuckle, and stood up to head to the kitchen.
Nik really did have the best family.
“You have no idea how happy I am that you’re here, Ms. Leucrotta. You’re exactly what I needed to make this day perfect.”
As she threw Leucrotta to the floor, Sara and Victoria stormed in, Miki right behind them. They stopped and stared at the bleeding Leucrotta on the floor.
“Jesus, Angie,” Sara groaned in exasperation. “I thought you worked this out in therapy—and what is that smell?”
Victoria’s head tilted to the side. “Hyena.”
Sara growled. “This is her?” Sara looked at Angie. “The one that came after you?”
“Yes. Notice the Louis Vuitton–damaged face.”
Miki grinned. “Nice, Santiago.”
Leucrotta tried to push herself up off the floor, so Angie slammed her back down with her foot. She really did like how these shoes looked on her.
“I was thinking, instead, of the two of you coming up with a truce. Maybe we could involve all three.”
Angie felt the air change, the tension build, and she knew Leucrotta was shifting right under her feet.
Miki, snatching the .45 out of its holster and pulling the slide back, snarled, “You shift, bitch, and it will be the last thing you ever do.”
Leucrotta let out a breath and the air surrounding them returned to normal. She’d stopped the process.
Victoria looked at Sara. “I am really starting to like your friends.”
The male wolves watched as the tigers proceeded to eat and eat and eat, clearing out most of the new groceries they’d brought into the house.
Few were ever ready to see tigers feed when they were truly hungry. And the Vorislav boys were mighty hungry.
Conall watched Ban finish off a plate of fried chicken legs. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything as disturbing as what I just witnessed. And I’ve seen Miki dance.” He looked at Zach. “If they stay for Sara’s party, we’re going to need another cow for the barbeque.”
Sara crouched beside Leucrotta. “You’re probably wondering why we haven’t killed you yet.”
“Although we’re sorely tempted,” Victoria added. She’d taken over Angie’s spot after dispatching her females along with Sara’s she-wolves to go deal with any lurking hyenas. Plus she seemed to really enjoy having her foot in the back of the woman’s neck. Much more pressure and Angie figured she just might snap the bone.
“See, this is the deal,” Sara continued. “We could kill you, but then this would keep going on. And we’re tired.”
“But you can’t be trusted.”
“Exactly, Victoria. A stereotype again hyenas, true. But we have no choice but to note past behavior. And this past behavior forced us to turn to each other to create a truce.” Sara stood up and preceded to move around the room. “See, before, you guys could keep having all that fun at our expense because we were killing each other anyway.”
“But we’ve created a truce that applies to the Cat Nation.”
“And most of the Packs. Although, if I were you, I wouldn’t approach the Víga-Feilans. Even though they’re not our friends, they’re really mean on principle.”
Sara stood over Dianne Leucrotta now, staring down at her. “And do you wanna know what this truce means to you?”
“Ooh! Let me tell her,” Victoria begged mockingly.
“Oh, Victoria, please be my guest.”
Still not moving that well-placed foot, Victoria crouched down. She dug her hand into Leucrotta’s brownish-gold locks, brutally yanking her head back. “It’s simple. You fuck with us—any of us—and you’ll have every cat, every canine within the U.S. and Canada coming after your hyena ass.”
Sara crouched down again. “But the beauty part—we’ll make sure to take out a few Clans on our way to you. When they find out this is all your fault, those hyenas will turn on you. There’ll be no place safe for you. No place safe for your family, friends, any of ’em.”
Leucrotta didn’t answer, merely stared at the pair.
Sara looked at Victoria. “I don’t know, Vic. I’m not sure she’s hearing us clearly.”
“I think you’re right.”
“Fine.” The two women stood. “Deal with it, Mik.”
Miki stepped forward and for the first time Angie heard Leucrotta’s voice…as she begged for her life.
“Wait. Wait!”
“Too late.” Miki aimed the gun at her face.
“No! No! No!”
Victoria ground her foot into the back of Leucrotta’s neck. “I don’t think I heard the right words,” she bit out between gritted teeth.
“We’ll stop. I swear it.”
Victoria looked up at Sara. “What do you think, Sara? You believe her?”
After a pause. “No. Miki take her.”
“No! I swear! I swear!”
The women glanced at each other. Finally, Sara looked at Angie.
“What do ya think, Santiago?”
Fighting the smile of pride she had for her
friend at the moment, Angie nodded in agreement. “I say we give her a shot.”
“Cool!” Miki aimed her gun again.
“I meant a chance, psychopath.”
“Damn.”
Victoria removed her foot from Leucrotta, but before the hyena could stand, Sara again crouched in front of her, both her hands buried in the woman’s hair. She pulled her head back, their faces so close they could have been lovers.
“Listen to me carefully. If anything else happens to my friends, there is no place in this universe where you’ll be able to hide…” Sara’s voice dropped impossibly lower, “…from me.”
With that, Sara stood, dragging the woman with her. She put her on her own two feet. Pale, shaking, completely terrified, it seemed amazing Leucrotta hadn’t pissed on herself.
Sara stepped back and Leucrotta moved toward the exit.
“Oh.” Leucrotta’s whole body clenched in fear at Sara’s voice behind her. “And one more thing…”
Slowly, Leucrotta turned. “Yes?”
Sara glanced at her friend. “Angie?”
Angie stepped forward, slamming her fist into Leucrotta’s face. The hyena’s head smashed into the mirror behind her, destroying it as her body dropped like a ton of bricks. She probably wouldn’t be moving for several long minutes, giving both Pack and Pride time to get out of the store and avoid a full-on confrontation. And Angie still owed the bitch for her ruined Louis Vuitton bag.
Sara smiled. “You always had the best right hook.”
“Remember that boxer I dated? He taught me that—and not to use my teeth during blow jobs.”
Miki locked her gun, shoving it back in its holster. “Well that was information I could have lasted a lifetime never knowing.”
They all stared at the television. Twenty male shapeshifters quietly watching The Howling.
“If shifting was always that painful,” Conall muttered more to the couch he lay sprawled across than to anyone else, “I’d never do it.”
“Who put this piece of shit in anyway?” Zach demanded.
“No one. It’s on cable.”
Zach lifted his head off the floor. “Then why the fuck are we still watching it?”
Conall pointed across the room. “Because the remote is over there.”
They all looked at the simple electronic device. At the moment, it looked miles away.
“Well who the fuck put it way the hell over there?”
Ban’s hand shot up. “Sorry. That was me.”
Zach laid his head back on the floor. “Damn hillbillies.”
“We prefer the term redneck,” Nik muttered.
They all fell into another sleepy silence, until Alek’s head snapped up. “Y’all smell that?”
Conall jumped up as the banging on the door started. By the time he reached the hallway, they all stood behind him. He pulled the door open and six Pride males pushed past him. Big. Well-dressed. Boring.
“Where are they?” the lead one roared.
Zach crossed his arms in front of his chest. “Where are who?”
The lion, fangs bared, stood in front of Zach. He was taller than the wolf, but Nik was impressed the Alpha didn’t back down. Instead, Zach looked kind of amused.
Ban nudged Nik. “Look, it’s the pretty kitties.”
One of the lions glared at Ban. “And look what we have here…alley cats. Why am I not surprised to find them hanging out with the dogs?”
Alek growled low, but Nik kept him under control with a hand on his shoulder. “Now, now, Alek. You should never attack a man brave enough to wear those shoes.”
“Where are our females?” the leader demanded again. “I got a call saying they were coming here.”
“Coming here?” Zach shrugged. “Sorry, don’t know anything about it. But tell me, do you lose your pussies like this all the time?”
Fangs burst from gums and bodies began to shift. The lion tackled Zach the wolf. Conall, shifting quickly, went after them. Nik watched another lion go for Conall, and his Southern sense of honor wouldn’t allow some lion pricks to abuse his hosts, so he shifted and threw himself at the big gold beast. But his weight shoved them all through the open door and out onto the stairs.
They fell in a mass of snarling, snapping claws and fur. He felt fangs sink into his hind leg, but it lasted only a second as Ban grabbed the lion by the scruff of the neck and tossed him away.
Nik landed on the back of another lion, pushing him off Zach. They rolled a few feet trying to get a good hold, but instead crashed into a gorgeous set of legs.
“Dude! The new shoes!”
Nik and the lion looked up to see a group of women calmly watching them. In fact, someone had pulled out a bag of chips and started sharing.
Angie reached down and brushed the top of her shoes. “Do you have any idea how hard it is to get cat hair off anything?”
She shook her head, grabbed some shopping bags and headed toward the house. “See you ladies later. I’m exhausted.” She turned on those gorgeous heels. “And don’t forget. All of you are coming to Sara’s birthday party. Right?”
A small woman, who smelled like lion but based on her clothes and height alone simply couldn’t be, nodded. “Absolutely.” She looked at Sara. “Perfect time to solidify the truce, don’t ya think?”
“Sure. Whatever. Wanna see the bikes?” Sara walked off toward the garage, female lions and wolves following behind her.
Miki started to follow, but Angie called her from the front door. “Get your ass up here, Kendrick.”
“I wanna go—”
“No. Because apparently we have no impulse-control during this breeding process when it comes to that mouth, now do we?”
Stomping around the male lions, wolves, and tigers at her feet as if they were stuffed toys, Miki headed up the stairs. “I can’t tell you how much I hate that fuckin’ psychotherapist voice you put on.”
“Well, when one is dealing with a nut…”
The door slammed shut behind the two human females while the shifter females disappeared among the motorcycles.
The males stared at each other, eventually withdrawing claws and fangs from vital organs. A little blood spilt but not much.
Nik wondered what they’d do next. Fighting seemed kind of wrong now that the females had a pact. But he didn’t have to wonder or worry long. A small group of deer ran past heading deep into Pack territory and they all took off after them, leaving him and Conall.
Conall, not about to leave his pregnant mate alone with lions swarming over his territory, turned and trotted back to the house. Nik, however, had no such worries. Angie seemed to have quite a way with handling cats. Hell, she handled him, didn’t she?
No, he had other plans for the delectable Ms. Santiago. And they definitely involved those shoes.
Nik padded around to the back of the house. She’d left the window open, so he took a step back and jumped. He cleared the windowsill easily, landing without making a sound.
He turned toward the bed and she was already there. Waiting for him. Naked. A sheet pulled up between her legs and covering her chest.
And the shoes. She still had on the shoes.
She watched him quietly, inhaling a deep breath. When she released it…it came out as a sigh.
He growled. Teasing hellcat.
Angie watched tiger-Nik stand at the foot of the bed, staring at her. When she’d sighed, she’d thought for sure he’d shift and tackle her by now. But he didn’t, he just kept staring. Yet once again the mere thought of Nik was making her all squirmy and hot.
Then Nik did something he’d never done before around her. He closed his eyes tight, bared his fangs, and stuck his tongue out. It had to be one of the top five most ridiculous things she’d ever seen and she would have laughed, but Nik’s head dipped down, flipped the sheet up and he crawled under it and onto the bed.
She felt his furry head rub against her leg, then slowly move up. Drawing his long body against hers. But as he moved up her
body, he shifted and Nik’s rough fur turned into hard flesh. By the time he pulled himself out from under the sheet, he was back to being human and looking as gorgeous as always.
He kissed her nose, her chin.
“What,” she asked carefully, “was that look on your face just before you got under the covers?”
“I was tasting your scent. It’s just a thing tigers do.”
“Eeeew.”
He took the sheet wrapped around her chest between his teeth and tugged it down until her breasts were bare. He nuzzled one and licked the other.
“So tell me, sugar. What have you been up to today?”
“I think I saved the world…and I bought new shoes.”
“A girl who knows what’s important. I do like that.” He kissed the valley between her breasts, easing himself down her chest.
Angie stretched like a big lazy cat, her hands grasping the headboard. “Do you like my shoes, hillbilly? The salesman said I looked fabulous in them.”
“Oh, yeah. They’re nice. Now let’s see if they look any better on my shoulders…”
Chapter Nineteen
“Forget it.”
“Come on, Zach. For me. Please?”
“No. Way.”
“Then do it for Sara. It’s her birthday.”
“Not if her life depended on it—and it doesn’t.”
Angie looked at Nik. He smirked and she knew he wouldn’t be any help.
“Please. Just put it on. It will not only be a gift for her…but for you. Trust me.”
“You know, compared to her…” He glanced at Miki, who immediately gave him the finger, “…I actually like you. But this…this is asking too much.”
Well, cajoling wasn’t working with the wolf. “Put it on, or I get the bat.”
Zach looked down at her. “I’d take a bat to the head any day over this.”
Angie growled. Damn, uptight, pain-in-the-ass wolves.
Nik had never seen a man fight so hard not to put on a cowboy hat. And Angie had tried everything short of oral sex. Of course, if she’d done that, he’d have to kill Zach and every wolf within a three-thousand-mile vicinity.