A Matter of Pride

Chapter Seven

Dante and John Crow. Two bastards she wished she’d never had to see again. The brothers grinned at her through bloodied teeth and licked their lips free of Dean’s blood.

She glanced at his unconscious body as the Hunters dropped him on a tarp. One of the men threw jeans, shoes and a shirt at her. “Change.”

Everyone waited to see her react, and she refused to give them more of a show than she had to. With a feline shrug, she shifted back into her human form and took her time dressing, aware of the lingering stares. She had little fear they would molest her, not when Lex had made it more than clear that she belonged to him and him alone. But she had no idea what they might do to Dean if she disobeyed.

Once dressed, she walked when they said walk. She paid little attention to Dean, pretending he was of no consequence. A few Hunters dragged him on the tarp toward their destination, wherever that might be. She kept a deliberate lid on her fear and worry and sauntered with the group, pretending to be merely annoyed by their interference.

“Lex’s lackeys, back again.” She curled her lip at the cats who had yet to turn back to human. “I can’t believe he’s wasted so much effort on little old me.” She preened and walked past Dean’s still form. A glance at the Hunters on either side of them didn’t help her calm, but she forced herself to memorize faces and scents.

With three cats left and ten Hunters in their party, she felt less than confident about escape. She’d have to stall until Quince showed up with his troops.

If he showed up.

They still had Monty and the pride for backup, but when and if the pride would find them remained a huge question.

Dear God. Dean, wake up.

The Hunters dragged him over several small rocks and upraised roots that had to hurt. He didn’t stir.

A Hunter looked back at him. “Think he’s dead? That’s a lot of blood loss.”

One of the Hunters dragging him shook his head. “Nah. He’s a tough fucker. Heart’s still beating. I checked his pulse before he knocked off. He’s good. Just beat up is all.”

Beat up? Dean had so many gouges in him he looked like a battered and stained throw rug. He’d done more damage than she might have thought to their enemy, but with so many Hunters armed and dangerous, he couldn’t have won no matter how many cats he knocked down. No one could have.

Another cat joined them from the woodline, and the group stopped. Her heart raced when she saw Jeremy, the cat Dean had attacked in the cave. He shifted into a man’s form and accepted the clothing one of the Hunters handed him.

Confused but refusing to look afraid, she ignored him while paying strict attention to everything he said and did. Had Quince been playing her all along? Had Joy’s bracelet been a ploy? An innocuous detail to get her to trust him?

“Well, well, the pretty lady and her dickhead boyfriend. Nice to see you again.” Jeremy and the others laughed and continued to walk toward the mountains, in the direction she and Dean had originally intended. Night had fallen between one minute and the next.

The full moon hung over the cloudless sky, giving the evening a deadly beauty she felt all too well.

“Cat got your tongue?” Jeremy teased and kicked at Dean’s still form. He kept a keen eye on her, no doubt wanting to see her reaction.

“I’m tired of talking to assholes,” she drawled.

His eyes narrowed. “That so? Didn’t seem too upset about that one shoving his dick inside you. Nope. Seemed like that’s one asshole you actually like.”

She scoffed. “Please. A Chastell? He’s a means to an end.”

“Yeah, well, that end isn’t happening anytime soon,” Jeremy sneered at her. “In case you’re hoping for a rescue from those fucking wolves patrolling the area, forget it. They’re chasing their own tails further east—we created a little distraction sure to keep the dogs busy. And Quince? That asshole’s just as stupid as you and the Cougar Falls pride. Lex knew something was off about him weeks ago. Not like Ronnie’s death wasn’t a major indicator we had problems.”

A month ago, Ronnie and a few cats from the Miami pride had tried to grab Stacey and her sisters. After kidnapping Gabby and hurting Miles, they’d had the audacity to strike at the Catamount Ranch. And they’d died while doing it. Ronnie, Lex’s brother, had been only one of the dozen casualties.

“I didn’t think Lex would care. Ronnie was like the rest of us. Worth less than nothing to our estimable pride leader.”

Jeremy shrugged. “Who’s to say? I do as I’m told. Just like you will.” He kicked Dean again, laughed with the Hunters, and moved ahead.

Stacey fumed. Just as soon as she could, she planned to slap Jeremy around with claws outreached. If he thought Dean had been brutal before, wait until he tangled with her.

They walked through the night and camped in the woods hours later. No one hurt her or touched her. One of the men threw a blanket at her, so she didn’t freeze through the night. Dean stirred once or twice, but he didn’t make a sound. She thought she’d seen his golden eyes glowing in her direction, but she was afraid to check on him and bring him undue attention.

The next morning, after they took care of some basic needs, they headed out again. The men shared strips of jerky and trail food, but she turned her nose up at it, maintaining her queen of the manor façade.

“Please. I’ll eat when I have a decent cut of venison or beef in front of me. Not before. And I’ll use plates and silverware. Not my hands,” she said in disdain. The three cats remained feline. They snarled at her but didn’t move any closer.

“Can’t wait to see Lex plow that one. Maybe a cock in her mouth will shut her up.” A Hunter leered at her.

Jeremy laughed. “I doubt it. But it would be fun to watch.”

She refused to cringe at the thought. If Lex put anything near her mouth, she’d bite it off. Then she’d tear into him and take pleasure while he bled to death. She’d never been so angry at anyone before, but Lex had attacked her, her family and now by extension Dean. Her mate, hers to protect even if he didn’t know it, and he lay unmoving on the tarp.

“Get the cat up.” One of the Hunters noted Dean had woken.

Thank God.

A man moved forward to kick him from the tarp when Dean swiped out and caught his claws in the man’s leg. The Hunter screamed and yanked back while the others laughed at him.

“Stupid. You get too close, that’s what happens.” To her horror, another Hunter shot the screamer in the head.

Dean shook loose and stood, wavering.

“Move it, Chastell, or I’ll do to you what I did to him. You’re baggage at best. But if I determine we don’t need you too, I’ll drop you.”

This one sounded quieter but more authoritative than the others. It was the first time one of them had actively taken charge.

Stacey turned to him. “You. What’s your name?”

“Ted. Why?”

“You seem to be in charge.”

Jeremy’s lips tightened, but Ted nodded. “I am. So you keep your mouth shut and do what you’re told. You’re Lex’s problem. Trust me when I say you don’t want to be mine.” He looked to be in his mid-forties, with graying hair, a muscular build and hard, murderous eyes so light they looked wolfish.

“Fine. But could you answer some questions for me?” She walked with confidence to his side and did her best to showcase her natural beauty. Ted might not want to deal with her, but given enough provocation, he might.

“Speak.” He nodded to the others, who prodded Dean to move. “You fuck around, the cat dies. You get me?”

She shrugged. “Do what you like. He’s not my concern.”

Ted frowned at her.

“What?” She gave a light laugh. “I’m sure you’ve heard about me by now. I’m beautiful, bitchy and have an instinct for self-preservation. I don’t like Lex because he doesn’t appreciate me. I like strength and power. And that cat has neither,” she said with scorn.

Ted didn’t say anything, but he didn’t object to her walking next to him. Thankfully, his attention had moved from Dean.

She heard the others taunt him and heard some roughhousing, but if Dean could walk, his injuries couldn’t be too bad. She hoped.

“Tell me where we’re going,” she demanded.

Ted glanced at her but kept walking. “We’re meeting Lex where we agreed. Now how many of Quince’s cats are out there—and the pride? How many of them are coming?”

Jeremy answered, “Quince has no idea we’re here.”

She turned to him. “I thought you were supposed to be keeping an eye on me.”

“I was.” Jeremy grinned, the prick. “But I told Quince you and Dean were headed south. That you had a plan to trap Lex and had lied to him. He’s there with two dozen idiot cats, sitting ducks for Lex’s attack.” He smiled at her, his eyes flat, evil. “Oh, and don’t worry. Your family is being taken care of as we speak. After today, the Catamount Ranch will be under new ownership.”

Fear hit her hard. Joy, Melissa, Amy. Miles. And what about Rachel and Julia and their babies? The friendly pride who’d taken her in as family and offered her protection? She had brought this danger to them.

“Oh yeah. You might not care for the cat, but you sure as shit care about your family.” Jeremy nodded. “Lex was right about you.”

“I have something called loyalty.” She couldn’t help her throaty growl. “And I won’t hesitate to cut your throat and watch you bleed out when I’m free.”

Ted laughed. “Gee, Jeremy. I don’t think she likes you much.”

The other Hunters chimed in.

Jeremy’s mirth left him. “I don’t give a shit. She’s Lex’s problem. Not mine, or yours,” he warned.

Ted sobered and turned his pale gray eyes on Jeremy. “Don’t threaten me, boy. I’m here because I have a hankerin’ to kill. Just be glad I’m not aiming my rifle in your direction. Me and the boys don’t miss.”

The cats closed in to cage Jeremy. But were they offering protection or ganging up on him? Stacey didn’t care. She only knew she liked the dissent between Jeremy and Ted. Now how to use that to her advantage?

She could feel Dean staring at her, could feel his distress and wanted badly to end it. But she refused to give the others leverage over her. They would hurt Dean, and she’d crumble. Princess Stacey needed to be strong, because she knew Dean would risk life and limb to save her from harm. And she’d be damned if she’d lose him to this trash. She emotionally distanced herself to keep a clear head. Emotion muddied the waters, and she couldn’t afford the distraction.

She turned to Ted again. “So what is Lex offering you that I can’t better?”

He gave her a considering stare. “What have you got?”

Dean couldn’t believe the woman was ignoring him and trying to wheel and deal with the devil. He limped along, hurting like a son of a bitch, and she trotted next to a fucking Hunter, flirting and simpering over everything the bastard said.

He fumed, wishing like hell he didn’t have doubts about her. She had to be acting. Despite what she’d said about not caring about him, she didn’t want him hurt. He didn’t think.

God. How could he love the woman and not trust her? Hadn’t he admitted he’d always known she wasn’t telling the truth? Those flashes of vulnerability that hinted at the real woman beneath the glossy veneer were real. He’d seen them. She didn’t like his past with other women. She lit up like a firecracker when they touched. Physically, emotionally, they meshed. Hell, he still scented her all over him.

“I don’t know. She said he’s nothing, but they smell bonded,” one of the cats near him commented on a common Ac-taw pathway.

“Sex will do that. Come on. You really think she’d turn down Lex, our pride leader, for this dirtbag?”

The third cat, the one he’d wounded, agreed. “Look at him. He’s a piece of shit barely holding onto a touring company that caters to humans. Why would she want this when she could have Lex?”

A legitimate question, and one that hurt to think about. She’d made no bones about wanting to go back to Miami. And it would kill Dean to leave his home, everything he loved. But for Stacey, he’d try. He’d probably hate every second of it, but he’d pack up in a heartbeat for her. Dean had more going for him than jokes and the ability to track. He was smart. He’d never had the urge to see more than Cougar Falls. But for Stacey he’d travel. He’d help her, learn to dress right, try to fit in with her friends and family down South…

Fuck. Who was he kidding? Their relationship had been doomed from the start. And what relationship did he think they had? They’d fucked, and it had been brilliant beyond comprehension. But other than that, she hadn’t acted much like she liked him. Now in danger, she put distance between them, not wanting to be held back by him.

He fell into a blacker mood as they spent the morning walking through the forest. The cats continued to prod him, talking about her life in Miami with the hottest designers, the rich and famous. She’d apparently dated a movie star a few months ago. A few CEOs, some foreigners with money, rich assholes in Miami. Yet Lex put no stock in her human conquests because he knew she’d mate a cat, eventually.

Was that why she had no Ac-taw lovers? Not because she was lonely, but because she’d been forbidden by Lex? Had he completely misread the situation?

A Hunter motioned with his weapon for Dean to stop, but Dean didn’t feel like stopping. He wanted a reaction from Stacey, something to let him know she remembered he was there.

While she cozied up to Dr. Death and his Hunter buddies, he was nursing a bullet wound in his thigh and lacerations all over his bloodied body. Though he’d begun to heal, he’d need to shift back and forth to speed the process. And these assholes had made it clear he was to stay a cat.

“I said stop,” the Hunter warned.

Others watched him. Dean didn’t care. He waited for Stacey to turn away from dickhead Ted. When the Hunter near him aimed in his direction, he pounced.

He knocked the gun aside and raked claws down his face, enough to scar, but not kill. The cats shoved him on his ass and mauled him once more, but he tuned out everything but Stacey, needing to see her reaction.

She screeched, and everyone around them froze. Marching over to him, she stopped with her hands on her hips. “I am trying to have a conversation with Ted. Would you please shut the fuck up?” Then she kicked him, actually kicked him in the arm, the only spot not covered by a bruise, before turning back to Ted, muttering under her breath.

“I’m sorry,” she said when she reached him and curled her hand around his arm. “You were saying?”

Dean slumped under the angry felines clawing at him. How had he missed that she didn’t care? He knew she disdained the Hunter, but to survive and protect her family, she’d play nice. Dean wasn’t family, as she’d so unkindly reminded him. She’d kicked him.

Yet… He inhaled and still smelled her on his fur, under his skin, embedded in his heart and soul. Talk about a curse.

He let the others bat him around before succumbing to his wounds and unconsciousness once more. Apparently Stacey would have the last laugh, because the town man-whore had fallen for an icy princess way out of his league. But hey, if this kept up, she’d soon have her wish, and he’d be out of her life, permanently.

Stacey coolly flirted, keeping Ted at arm’s length as she discussed a monetary bribe and the possibility of hunting down Ac-taw she considered enemies. It took all her considerable skill and acting talent to keep her focus on Ted and not Dean. The scent of his blood had her back up, and she reminded her cat that they were playing with their prey right now. They had to string him along, enough so that he’d lower his guard. Then she’d kill him and the others without a qualm.

She didn’t intend to wait for Quince, who was likely no longer coming. Whether she could believe Jeremy or not, she didn’t know, but he’d joined in with the others to punish Dean. He was a dead man walking. Period.

She let the anger and fear flow away, reminding herself she was a princess, needy and used to being fawned over. Then she let the scent of impatience and nobility bleed through her pores. Best to keep the cats on their toes as well. The assholes.

Ted studied her like a newly discovered species. She’d learned he had an impressive resume when it came to hunting. But he leaned more toward wolves than cats. “You really don’t care about the cat?” His watchful gaze didn’t miss a trick.

“I won’t say he hasn’t been fun. A pleasant diversion.” She shrugged. “I’m not completely heartless.”

Ted grunted.

“But I have more important things to worry about than the people in hickville. I mean, Cougar Falls.”

“And that would be?”

“Me.” She gave him a bright grin, one that had him blinking. Thankfully. “I am a commodity, Ted. My designs are world-renowned. My family and I make millions, much of which the pride would like to siphon away,” she said in a quieter voice. “I admit I’m not fond of Hunters, because I like the skin I’m in. Furry or fleshy, it’s mine. And I love life.”

“I see that.” His thorough study missed nothing, and she thanked the idiots for not including a bra with her wardrobe. Anything to distract these men worked for her. Had they been smarter, they would have included a woman or two to even the playing field. But most Hunters, like Lex and his ilk, believed women to be too soft to endure.

Underestimation worked to her advantage, however, so she encouraged Ted to think what he wanted.

She shrugged, knowing the shirt bunched over her breasts, her nipples obvious against the flannel, since the weather had turned cold this morning. “I have money and I’m not afraid to use it.”

“Just money?”

“And my body. It’s good. I’m firm, young and beautiful. What’s not to like?”

Ted nodded, not smiling. “You’re awfully sure of yourself.”

“In some respects, yes. I want to live, and I particularly want Lex to suffer.”

“Why?”

“Because he thinks he’s better than me,” she said bluntly. “Clearly he’s not.”

Ted chuckled and seemed to relax. “Honey, I don’t trust you worth a damn, but I trust Lex even less. I think we might have a deal.” He stopped her, his grip painful. “But don’t think you’ll lead me by my dick or my wallet. I’ve hunted too many of you to be blinded by your tricks.”

“Then what do you want, Ted?”

He smiled, and she let him see her shiver. She didn’t have to act to show fear, because in that grin she saw pure evil.

“Funny you should ask.”

Monty raced to his truck and drove like a demon back to Whitefish after radioing a warning to Burke. After parking, he tore out of the vehicle and darted inside the office, intent on getting to his weapons stash before heading back out to help Dean.

He hadn’t expected to run into a horde of unfamiliar cats waiting by his desk. Six of them, looking angry and annoyed all at once. He continued to move through the door into the office while trying to figure the best way to incapacitate his enemy. He took a good look around, knowing he’d never make it outside again before they stopped him. A familiar scent gave him pause. A huge-ass cat moved, and Joy Bermin poked him in the side and stepped around him.

“Monty?” She turned and gave the giant a dark scowl. “Leave him alone, you bully.”

The big guy put his hand around her arm, and Monty didn’t stop to think. He acted. He’d almost reached Joy before a half dozen cats dropped on him like an avalanche.

“Let him up, damn it,” Joy snarled.

He continued to struggle with them when Joy’s voice intruded once more.

The cats stopped trying to hurt him and helped him to his feet, then held him back when he tried to reach the guy holding Joy.

“You’re the wolf, right?” he asked in a gravelly voice.

“Yeah, Sherlock. Joy, what the hell?”

She grunted her displeasure and elbowed the cat in the gut. “This is Quince. Apparently he’s here to save me. Hurray.”

Quince scowled down at her.

Then his name registered, and Monty froze. “Wait. Quince? You and your cats are supposed to be in the mountains right now trailing Dean and Stacey. What the hell are you doing here? And shouldn’t there be more of you?”

Quince shook his head. “Jeremy told me to meet here, that Lex was planning on staging an attack. Said Dean and Stacey would be here soon—J has a half dozen of my guys with him. The rest are staged around the ranch in case Lex jumps the gun.”

Joy looked from Monty to Quince. “I’m thinking something’s wrong.”

Monty shook free of the cats still holding onto him. “Dean and Stacey met with Jeremy earlier. He said you and the others are in the mountains, that Lex and his cats are south of the position, and that there might be Hunters around.”

Quince frowned. “That’s not right.”

Another cat spoke, “I told you he was acting weird. I think he’s been telling Lex everything we’ve been up to. We have to get out there.” He turned to Monty. “Where are they in the mountains, exactly?”

Monty would have answered when more cats poured through the back and front doors, effectively pinning them inside. Though the office had space, it wasn’t big enough to hold everyone comfortably.

Quince yelled at Joy to take cover and dove for the nearest intruder. All hell broke loose, and as usual, Monty was in the middle of it.

“Shit.” He ducked a punch and threw his own, pleased when it connected with someone’s face.

The fight broke out in earnest. Human growls turned feline, hisses and screeches filled the air. He suffered claws, bites and a few punches before the mess died down. And that’s when he realized he was no longer the only non-feline in the room.

Joel, Ty, Gerald and a few Whitefeathers from the Raptor Clan had evened the odds. When Burke rushed in moments later, Monty and the others were shoving mangled cats aside.

“What the hell? I leave you in charge out there, where it should be quiet, and everything turns to shit,” Burke growled at Monty, but the clear concern in his eyes expressed his worry.

“Told you he’s trouble,” murmured Ty, in sheriff mode. “I’ll call for help. Looks like we’ll be filling jail cells tonight.” He aimed a look at Monty. “And as usual, there’s a wolf involved.”

“Hey, don’t blame me. Blame—” Monty sought Quince. But to his dismay, the cat had disappeared. And so had Joy.