Pride Mates

Chapter Nine

Liam was wrenched out of sleep the next morning by Kim banging on the attic door and shouting his name. His instincts had him on his feet and wrenching open the door before his brain even knew he was awake.

He found Kim in the hall, her eyes blazing, in a big black T-shirt with a Guinness logo on it. Kim had obviously slept in the rumpled T-shirt, which she must have found in Liam's dresser drawer. Liam knew she'd be warm and very naked beneath it, and then he realized he was naked himself, prepared to shift.

One part of him was shifting already. "Gods, Kim, why are you out here yelling like a banshee?"

Kim held up a small bit of satin fabric, her eyes wide with fury. "Who packed this? It was a man, wasn't it?"

"Probably. Why?"

She shook the red satin patch. "This is a thong. Have you ever worn a thong? Do you know how it feels to have a string up your ass all day?"

Liam sensed the rest of his family listening: Connor sitting up in bed behind him, Sean in the hall below, Dylan behind him in the same clothes he'd worn last night, which meant he'd slept next door.

"What's wrong with a thong?" Liam asked her. "I bet it's sexy on you." He pictured it, and immediately clamped down on his imagination. Gods.

"Oh, right," Kim said. "I'm standing in a courtroom, trying to think on my feet while the prosecution is laughing its butt off at me, but that's all right-- at least my underwear is sexy."

Liam leaned on his arm, trying hard not to laugh. He heard Dylan retreat, quietly, into his bedroom. Sean, too, departed, chuckling. Connor folded his arms around his knees, watching this female display in puzzlement.

"Why do you have them, then?" Liam asked.

"Friends buy them for me, all right?" Kim snapped.

"And you hang on to them?"

"I don't want to hurt their feelings. They think they're doing me a favor."

Liam let his grin break through. "They think it's a favor to let you...how did you put it...wear a string up your ass all day?"

Kim rolled her eyes. "Never mind. I'm taking a shower and going home. You got rid of the feral Shifter, so it's not like he's coming back. I'll be perfectly safe."

Liam felt Connor's tension behind him, his troubled worry. Liam relaxed his stance to try to convey to Connor that everything was under control. Right. "Kim, love, I'll make you breakfast, and you write out a list of what you need. I'll send someone 'round to retrieve it all for you. Someone female this time. How will that be with you?"

Kim planted her fists on her hips. She shouldn't have done that; the movement thrust out her breasts and let the T-shirt outline her nipples. "Are you still insisting that you won't let me leave?"

"Not yet. It's not safe."

"It's perfectly safe. The feral Shifter is dead, and you had the lock on my door fixed. Make your damn pancakes if you want to, and then I'm leaving. I won't tell anyone what happened last night or repeat what you told me about the Collars. I know how to keep a secret, all right? And you can just get over it."

She stomped back down the stairs and slammed her own door so hard the sturdy walls rattled. Liam sensed her beneath the boards at his feet--her rage; her frustration; her warm, pliant body filling out his shirt. Her closed door would be no barrier to him if he chose to charge in and confront her.

Connor was watching Liam with concern. "What are you going to do?"

He meant, was Liam going to subdue her, and would he hurt Kim doing it? Connor was young, still uncomfortable with his own instincts, not yet certain where he fit in the clan and pride hierarchies. Things were more difficult for him than they had been for Liam or Sean, because Connor had grown up a captive Shifter, and boundaries were fuzzier now than they'd been in the wild. Connor didn't yet understand when you showed dominance and when you tolerated, and what you tolerated. Plus, he'd been raised by mateless males and had never seen an example of an intimate relationship.

Not that anything Liam had with Kim was going to be straightforward. Educational, maybe. Straightforward, no.

Liam tamped down his own instincts, dousing the pheromones that were putting Connor on edge. "What am I going to do?" He shrugged and headed for the attic bathroom. "What she asked me to. I'm going to make her pancakes."

Kim descended to the kitchen, showered but still irritated. Liam's friends had packed not only the underwear she never wore, but also her shortest skirts and lowest-cut tops, a garter belt, and a bunch of stockings. Nothing remotely comfortable, not even shorts and sandals for surviving Austin in the summer.

She paused at the kitchen doorway, surprise cutting through her annoyance. Liam in a tight T-shirt and jeans, spatula in hand, glared at a griddle full of pancakes. Behind him in the narrow kitchen, Sean scrubbed dishes in the sink.

Every woman's dream--two gorgeous men in the kitchen, cooking and cleaning.

Dylan sat at the table, tipping his chair back on two legs while he watched a sports report on a television that had to be twenty years old. Connor sat next to him, flipping through a car magazine. The air was somewhat tense, as though words had been cut off when they'd heard her coming.

Something else wasn't right about this domestic picture, apart from tall, muscular men working in the kitchen to fix her breakfast. Kim realized that Connor didn't have his nose in the Internet or a video game or a cell phone. Nor did he have an iPod glued to his ears.

Were those more technologies forbidden to Shifters? Or could the Morrisseys simply not afford them? She knew that Liam had a job, which he seemed to take casually. What about Sean and Dylan? Did they work? They seemed in no hurry to rush to an office. Abel was always out of bed as soon as the alarm went off, through the shower and into his suit and tie in fifteen minutes. "Come on, honey, we're going to be late." No time for pancakes, coffee, or a chat, never mind a morning cuddle.

Liam took a plate from the stack next to him and flipped pancakes onto it. "These are done. You're supposed to have the table ready, Connor." Liam smiled at Kim, but something in him seemed subdued, the sparkle that had been in his eyes earlier that morning gone. What was going on?

Connor hauled his tall form out of the chair and shuffled to the kitchen. When his body filled out, he'd be as muscular as his two uncles and Dylan. He looked unfinished right now, like a young horse, all arms and legs. But he was handsome enough, probably already drove girls crazy.

"I'll help," Kim offered. She took the bottles of syrup Connor had snatched out of the cupboard and carried them to the table.

Dylan rose. "Sit down, Kim. You're a guest."

Kim opened her mouth to say, No, guests are allowed to leave, but she shut it again. There was plenty of time to argue, and besides, the pancakes smelled terrific.

In any case, she had no intention of arguing with them. She'd simply get into her car and leave.

The pancakes tasted as good as they smelled, tangy, sweet, and laced with cinnamon. Damn Liam for being so gorgeous and skilled at cooking too.

"Did you sleep well, Kim?" Connor asked her around a mouthful.

Kim had fallen into a heavy sleep and dreamed about two things--being attacked by feral Shifters and kissing Liam. Both experiences had been intense.

"Sort of."

"Liam didn't," Connor said. "He thrashed all night. The springs on my extra bed squeak something awful. Drove me mad."

"I wasn't used to the bed," Liam said, sitting down next to Kim with his pancakes.

For a man who'd slept restlessly, especially after claiming to be in excruciating pain, Liam looked damn good. His face was freshly shaved, his hair still damp from his shower. She smelled soap and shaving cream on him, which sent her imagination into the shower with him, his body dripping wet and soapy.

Dylan, on the other hand, looked extremely pissed about something. He glowered as he ate, hunkering over his plate. Sean went through his pancakes quickly, without speaking, and returned to the kitchen for more dish scrubbing.

"Do you always make Sean do the dishes?" Kim asked. "Seems unfair."

"We take it in turns," Liam answered. "It's Sean's day to do the washing up."

"Mine tomorrow," Connor said glumly. "I swear I'm taking a mate as soon as I'm of age, so I don't have to do it anymore."

Kim ate her last mouthful of pancakes and wished for more. Screw eating light; these were good. "That's going to be your offer, Connor? 'Marry me so you can clean up after me, my two uncles, and my grandfather'? I'm sure every woman would jump at that."

At the sink, Sean laughed. Liam smiled, but distractedly. Connor frowned as if she'd given him something new to think about, but even his enthusiasm was dampened.

The four Morrisseys were certainly wound up this morning. The worst tension was between Liam and Dylan--and Kim gave herself three guesses what they'd been fighting about.

Kim set down her fork. "Let's keep this simple. I'm going to go upstairs, get my stuff, and leave. I'll call you and let you know what's going on with Brian's case--keep you in the loop. I promise. And I won't reveal anything I learned about feral Shifters, Collars, or your werewolf neighbor in glittery shoes."

Dylan looked up from his meal, his eyes dark but tinged with red. Despite his handsomeness, he was damn scary, and Kim again realized why humans sought out Liam instead of his father.

Liam shot Dylan an angry glance, but when Liam spoke to Kim his voice was gentle. "You need to stay a little longer, love. A few more days at least."

"No." Kim wiped her mouth and put down her napkin. "I have a job and a life. Tomorrow is Monday and I have to be at my office, where I work to earn my living. Remember Brian and his case? You do want me to get him free, right?"

"You'll go to your office," Liam said. "I'll go with you."

"Oh, right. A Shifter walking the halls at Lowell, Grant, and Steinhurst. I don't think so."

"It's that or you don't go at all."

Kim shoved back her chair and stood up. "Listen, Liam, I didn't ask to be dragged into your problems. I didn't ask for that--thing--to attack me. I'm real sorry I found out about the Collars, but all I want to do is get Brian released and back home to his mother. You don't seem to remember that I'm on your side."

Liam had gotten to his feet with her. Connor watched, worried, and Sean turned from the sink, scrub brush dripping.

"It's not up to me, Kim," Liam said.

"You're damn right it's not up to you. It's up to me." What was the matter with them? "Y'all are Shifters. You could be arrested for kidnapping me or holding me hos-tage--hell, for even talking to me sharply. They'll do to you what they're doing to Brian. A sham of a trial and an execution."

Dylan finally spoke. "We weren't planning on telling anyone. Or letting you tell anyone."

Kim's heart beat faster. Yep, Dylan was the scariest one in this room, all right. Her powers of argument died under his red-tinged stare. The feral Shifter who'd attacked her now seemed like a puppy dog compared to Dylan.

Liam's voice went hard. "Dad, you promised this was mine to handle."

"Aye, but you're not handling it," Dylan answered. "You know what you have to do."

"Let me do it then. In my own time."

"No, you need to do it now. It's the only way."

Kim backed up a step. "Do what now?"

Liam wouldn't look at her, while Dylan glared and Sean turned away. Connor had his mouth open, clearly not knowing what they were talking about, either.

"Do what now?" Kim repeated.

If she ran for the door, would she make it? How fast could Dylan, Liam, and Sean move? Liam didn't look ready to spring, and neither did Dylan, who sat loosely, but these men weren't human.

What was the matter with her? Yesterday, she'd been nervous about coming to Shiftertown and talking to a Shifter who wasn't behind bars. Then Liam had looked at her with those Irish blue eyes, and she'd melted. She'd even slept in their house without putting up much fuss. She'd done everything on their terms, and Kim never did anything on anyone's terms but her own.

Now she was reminded of how dangerous Shifters were. She'd blithely walked into their lives, and she knew they wouldn't let her blithely walk out again.

Kim balled her fists. "Liam, please reverse the scent-marking. I don't do the dominant-submissive thing."

"Kim."

Oh, damn, even him saying her name made her want to flow to his lap and put her arms around him.

"What?" she growled.

"The scent-marking is for protection, not subjugation. Besides, you're less submissive than the highest alpha female I've ever met."

"Oh, sure. You're telling me that Glory is submissive?"

Dylan rumbled, "She's not an alpha. She's fairly far down in her pack."

The surprise of that stopped Kim's speech for a moment. But only a moment. "That explains why she puts up with you. But not me. I'm out of here. I'm sorry, Liam, but you're going to have to trust me."

Liam stepped around her to cut off her retreat. No, she wouldn't have made it to the door. His hands went to her shoulders, and she found herself pinned against the nearest wall.

"And you're going to have to trust me," he said.

This wasn't fair. He smelled too good. His blue eyes held the hint of red that Dylan's did, but she sensed that Liam was holding himself way, way back.

For one giddy moment she wondered what it would be like if he let loose. Would he press her to the wall, cover her with the weight of his body? Watching him lean around the bedroom door frame this morning, stark naked, had made her breasts ache and her thighs grow damp.

I have lost my mind.

The moment hovered, Liam towering over her, Kim's knees wanting to bend. She could slide down Liam's body and press her face to the front of his jeans. Wouldn't that be nice?

"Ow!" Connor shouted. He folded over, arms around his stomach.

"You all right, Connor?" Kim asked worriedly.

"No. Crap." He moaned in sudden pain.

"What's wrong? Are you sick? Geez, Liam, what did you put in the pancakes?"

A plate shattered on the kitchen floor. "Shite," Sean whispered, and at the same time his eyes flooded with pain.

Liam shoved Kim from him. "Kim, get away from us. Now."

All four Morrisseys started growling, eyes changing. Connor moaned pathetically.

Kim didn't know enough about Shifters to know what the hell was the matter with them. Were they shifting? Or sick? Sean slid to the kitchen floor at the same time Liam fell to his knees. Dylan got out of his chair and tried to go to Connor, but he collapsed before he made it to his grandson.

Liam raised his head, lips peeling back from fangs. "Go!" he shouted at her. "Run!"

Kim didn't waste time arguing. She fled through the kitchen, wrenched open the back door, and ran outside into hot, humid Austin air.

She could leap into her car, roar the hell out of Shiftertown, go home, and change all the locks. Move. Quit her job, never see Shifters again. They could keep her clothes; she didn't like most of what they'd packed anyway.

When she reached the bottom of the porch steps, Connor started screaming. The anguish of it made Kim stop, turn back. Connor was the youngest, the weakest of them, and whatever was happening hurt him most of all.

Kim ran back up the steps and into the house. Connor's keening split the air. Dylan and Liam were both crawling toward him, and she realized that they were trying to touch him, these people who comforted each other with bodily contact.

"Liam, what can I do?"

Liam cranked his head around and looked up at Kim. His eyes were bright red. "No, Kim. Get out."

"I can't leave you like this. How do I help you?"

Liam couldn't or wouldn't answer. He managed to reach Connor, who screamed even louder when Liam touched him.

Damn it. Kim didn't know enough about Shifters--she who'd thought she'd researched everything about them. This could be anything from their Collars going wrong to some kind of weird virus.

"Hang on. I'll be right back."

She had no idea if Liam heard or understood. Kim ran out through the kitchen again and headed down the dirt path to the house next door. She banged on the back door, cupping her hands to peer through the window.

"Glory?"

She heard nothing, and for a few seconds she feared that Glory, too, writhed on the floor, moaning. Maybe everyone in Shiftertown did. Shit.

Glory wrenched open the door, as tall and stunning as she'd been the night before. She wore a hot-pink halter top that clasped her throat and hid her Collar, skin-tight black leather pants, and pink spike-heeled pumps. Not an alpha, my ass.

Glory was breathing hard, as if she'd been working out, but there wasn't a drop of perspiration on her face, not a hair out of place. "What?"

"There's something wrong with them. Something Shifter-wrong. You have to help them."

Glory jerked her gaze to the Morrissey house. "With Dylan?"

"With all of them. I don't know what's happening."

Without a word Glory stepped past her and hurried down the porch stairs. Kim had to jog to keep up with the woman's long stride, and this with Glory wearing mile-high shoes.

Glory shoved open the back door of the Morrissey house as though she belonged there. She stopped short, and Kim nearly ran into her. Liam had his arms around Connor now, but Connor still keened with his heart-breaking wail.

"What's wrong with them?" Kim shouted.

"I don't know. I've never seen this before."

Fat lot of help that was. Glory strode to Dylan, who had his eyes closed, his now elongated teeth cutting his lips. Glory grabbed his shoulder. "Dylan!"

She had to shake him and yell at him before Dylan finally looked up, his eyes now yellow swimming with red. He rasped a word Kim couldn't understand, but Glory nodded. She turned back to Kim with a grim look.

"They're being Summoned," she said.

"Summoned? What the hell does that mean?"

"It means their clan leader is calling them. He's put a compulsory spell on them--they'll be like this until they reach him and he lifts it."

A spell? "I thought you said you'd never seen this before."

"I haven't. Summonings happen only about once every two hundred years, because clan leaders who use them indiscriminately don't stay clan leaders long. Shifters don't like being coerced. Fergus must want you bad."

"What, he couldn't use the phone like everyone else?"

"He did use the phone. Yesterday. He commanded Dylan to turn you over to him, and Dylan refused. So Fergus did this."

From Glory's expression, she fully blamed Kim. Glory's shirt might hide her Collar, and Dylan might claim she wasn't high in her pack, but she was still a Shifter, still strong, still deadly.

"You have to get them to San Antonio," Glory said.

"San Antonio?"

"That's where Fergus is. You have to get them to Fergus--they can't drive like this."

"To this Fergus who's demanding that I be 'turned over' to him, whatever the hell that means? Why can't you take them?"

Glory snorted. "Respond to a Summoning from another clan leader? I'm Lupine. I walk into a gathering of Felines, they'll take my head off before I can speak."

"What about my head?"

"You'll have to risk it. Fergus will expect you to come with them anyway. Come on, help me get them into your car."

"They won't fit in my car."

"Make them fit." Glory grabbed Dylan under the armpits and hauled him to his feet. The big man could barely stand, but he leaned heavily on Glory and let her drag him across the kitchen. "There's no other choice."

Glory kicked open the kitchen door. It banged against the wall and began to drift shut, small flakes of plaster floating from the ceiling.

Liam snaked one clawed hand around Kim's ankle. "No," he rasped. "Run."

The pain in his eyes broke her heart. Liam was right; she should run. She should leave the Shifters to their fate and emigrate to Australia. Kim was coldly terrified at the thought of facing this Fergus, the man who could render four powerful Shifters helpless from seventy-five miles away. But Liam's anguish kept her with him.

"Kim," Glory shouted. "Come on."

Kim leaned over Liam. "We have to go, Liam. It's the only way, Glory says."

Liam tried to speak, but his words came out as unintelligible grunts.

Glory charged back inside and grabbed Sean. Kim finally persuaded Liam off the floor, and Liam hauled Connor to his feet. Somehow, the three of them got out the door and to Kim's two-door Mustang.

Sean had already folded himself into the tiny backseat, while Dylan leaned heavily on the car. Dylan seemed the least debilitated, but he was older, probably stronger. Glory took charge of Connor, and Dylan helped her slide Connor into the back next to Sean. Dylan himself cramped in beside his grandson, leaving the front seat for Liam to collapse into.

"What the hell?" A male Texan voice reached Kim. The big Lupine she'd met the night before, Ellison, came running at them from across the street. "Glory, what's going on?"

"Summoning," Glory said tersely.

"Holy shit."

"Kim's taking them to Fergus."

"Aw, man." Ellison's light blue eyes filled with distress. "And I can't go with you, damn it. Liam's got my cell number. You call me and keep me posted, all right?"

"Sure." Kim numbly got into the car.

"Wait." Ellison dashed into the Morrissey house, then out again, carrying Sean's big sword in its leather sheath. "Take this, in case."

There was no room for it in the packed car. Kim opened the trunk and Ellison dropped it inside.

As Kim slammed her door and started the car, Ellison stepped close to Glory and put both arms around her. She leaned into him, not in a sexual way, Kim realized, but for comfort, like Sandra had with Sean and Liam yesterday.

Kim pulled out of the driveway, her fingers cold and shaking despite the July heat, and headed out of Shiftertown.