***
Nae flipped over. Bright light poured over her face, and she blinked several times before fully opening her eyes. She rose up on her elbows and swiveled her head, searching the room for her missing bedmate. The sun’s beams bled through the sheer curtains which billowed in the soft breeze, blowing through the screen. She fell back against the pillow and wiped a hand down her face. All the debauchery of the previous evening hit her like a punch to the gut. She was in deep trouble, and she only had one person who would actually believe her. Shay would know how to extricate her from the situation she’d gotten herself mired into.
When she swung her legs off the bed and planted her feet on the floor, she groaned as she stretched the sore muscles of her calves and thighs. Her hand grazed the bite mark at the hollow of her throat, and she flinched. Somehow, she’d dropped down the rabbit hole and landed in a world which was as far from wonderland as it could get. Hell, the animals she found herself surrounded by probably ate the damn rabbit. Dragging the sheet off the bed, she wrapped it around her and left the room in search of her clothes. Voices bantering back and forth reached her as she maneuvered around an overturned hall table. She listened for El’s voice, when she didn’t hear it, she crouched down to pick up the heavy lamp laying at her feet. Cautiously, she eased up to the edge of the wall.
“We can hear you stumbling around back there. Come on out. No one’s going to hurt you.” It was Gunter’s voice.
Nae dropped her arm but held on to the base of the fixture as she stepped into the great room. The heads of three people turned and stared up at her expectantly. She knew two of them, and the one guy she didn’t know winked. Her lips inched up at the corners.
“Ya know if El catches you flirting with his woman, he will hurt you.” La eyes widened, and she exaggerated her blinking as she took on a look of innocence.
“Shut up La it was a ‘hey, how are you, welcome to the family, get comfortable’ wink.” The unknown man answered before adding, “I’m Aristotle by the way. My buds call me Ari.”
Nae lifted the lamp. “Nice to meet you.” She angled her body in Gunter’s direction. “Where is El?
“Don’t know. We thought he’d be here.” Gunter’s gaze drifted to her neck before he lifted his eyes to meet her stare. “Being newly mated and all.”
Nae clutched the sheet tighter in her fist. The flush of heat started at her neck. “Woke up alone. Sorry, I can’t help you.”
Gunter rubbed his chin. “We can’t find Trace either.”
“Who is Trace?” Nae lifted her shoulders.
La leaned back in the cushions. “You met him, my brother from another mother and daddy, too. Come to think of it. Ya know tall, silent, and brooding.”
“Ohhh. Yeah, no I got nothing.” Nae pressed her lips together. “Regardless since you’re here I need a lift to the airport.”
“Why?” Ari cocked his head.
“To take a flight.” Nae dipped to put the lamp down. “I need to go home.” She waved her hands. “All of this is beyond my realm of… Hell, I want to go home.”
Ari’s eyebrows came together. “I wasn’t asking why you needed a ride. Your SUV is parked in the driveway.”
“Oh. Well then, it was great meeting you all.” Nae backed up.
Gunter cleared his throat. “As entertaining as it might be to watch El finally lose it, this isn’t the time to push his buttons.” He leaned forward on his knees. “Get dressed. I bet El and Trace are probably at the bar. You can work out your issues with El, and then maybe the rest of us can get down to business.”
“I think I like my original plan.” Nae lifted her chin.
“It wasn’t a request.” Gunter rose and took a few steps in her direction before stopping and smiling. “We’ll wait right here for you. El would murder me if I let something happen to you.”
Nae pursed her lips. “Sure, let me get my clothes.” She shuffled deeper into the mouth of the hallway before turning her back and seeking out the bedroom she’d shared with El.
She pressed the door shut with a soft click, flipped the tiny switch in the middle of the knob, and then turned around to survey the room. Sunlight poured in from the single window, brightening the area. The night stand was on its side, and the contents littered across the floor. Linear black marks marred the walls where the metal headboard had gouged the surface. The mattress was lying cockeyed, off the box spring and half on the floor. Long multiple slits split the tufted material at awkward angles. The fabric had curled away from the cuts to expose the cotton padding and springs. Bedclothes were in a tangled heap and partially hung over the footboard. A touch of blue in the corner caught her eye. She dropped the sheet and rushed over to pick up her jeans. Her phone tumbled out of her pocket, and she swiped her finger over the blank screen.
It didn’t flash on. She rubbed harder and realized it was completely dead. Tossing it to the floor, she lifted her jeans up and stuffed one leg, and then the other into the denim pants. She spun in a circle looking for her blouse. Fuck it. She ran to the closet and snatched it open. A few suits hung in the back along with a couple of club vests, T-shirts and polo’s filled the front in a myriad of colors. She yanked a shirt off the hanger and hurried to put it on. One way or another, she was getting the hell up out of there without the goon squad on her heels.
Tiptoeing to the door, she placed her ear on the wood and listened. Boisterous laughter confirmed her jailers were still in the house. Careful to skirt the various items on the floor, she made her way across the room to the window and said a prayer it would open. She fit her fingers beneath the ledge and heaved. No movement. Nae reared back and studied it. She struck the heel of her hand on her forehead, and then reached out and flicked the latch on top of the pane. The glass went up smoothly. A few taps at the corners of the screen, and the panel popped out, dropping into the shrubbery below before she could catch it. The faint metallic bang made her glanced over her shoulder at the bedroom door. When nothing happened, she sat on the window sill, pulled her legs in tight against her, and worked her way around to face the outside.
She jumped.
The iron frame of the screen crumpled under her feet and thorny branches scratched her arms as she pushed through the foliage behind the flower beds. She leaned forward to check the house’s entrance and sighed in relief when no alarms were raised. A hasty look around and she found her truck a couple of feet away from her, parked in-front of El’s vehicle.
She took off running.
Her steps thundered in her ears as she moved from grass to the cement pad adjacent to the house. She rounded the back of her SUV and skidded to a stop. Gunter leaned on the door smoking his cigar.
He pulled the brown wrapped tobacco away from his lips and blew a ring of smoke above his head. His eyes crinkled at the corners. “Took you long enough.” He chuckled, and then yelled out. “Let’s get going, I got El’s mate out here.”
“How?” Nae shook her head.
“I’m a Hyena. I got a good nose and great ears. I have been around a long time. El’s father was my best friend.” He pushed off the truck and gripped her by the elbow. “I hate chasing folks, so can we make this easy on all parties involved and just go to Trots?”
“Wait you’re not a lion?”
“Hell no. They can be obnoxious.”
Nae dug her heels in as he started to drag her along. “Hold on!” She wrenched her arm from his grasp. “Exactly how many species of you are there?”
La swept by them, stopped, and turned. “There are quite a few of us. Wolves, bears, big cats even snakes. I hear there are some gators and boars down South, but I haven’t met any.” She shrugged. “Oh, and there are rumors that dragons reside up North somewhere, but I don’t know how true that is. I have hung out with a couple of witches though. Those chicks were awesome!” She spun around and continued to the Jeep.
Ari passed on Nae’s other side. He held two thumbs up. “It’s shifter’s nation baby.” He strolled around the grill of th
e vehicle.
Gunter took a deep draw off his cigar before tossing it to the ground and stepping on it. “Will everybody get into the fucking jeep?” He enfolded his fingers around Nae’s wrist. “El should have explained all this to you. Listen, don’t pay La and Ari any attention. They’re still young.”
“Hey, I’m almost twenty.” La called from the backseat.
Gunter opened the door for Nae. “Like I said, young.”
Nae met Gunter’s stare and tilted her head. “So, tell me exactly how many of you are there?”
“That’s subjective. Are you referring to our pride, or in general?” He showed a hint of fang when he smiled. “Here’s how I see it. Human evolution went one way. Animal advancement took another bend in the road. Imagine every predator you can. Now, visualize half of those species being able to hold a human form.”
Her mouth dropped.
“Yeah, it’s a daunting picture, which is why very few of you are even aware of our existence. With regards to our tribe, as El’s mate, you are second only to him in our hierarchy. A word of advice, keep a weapon on you at all times, and I ain’t talking about some dinky metal rod either.” He angled his hand at the front passenger seat.