Claiming His Fire (23 page)

Without pause, I lined him up and slid down, groaning at the way he stretched me, loving the way he filled me so completely. Every inch of me tingling from the bond we’d formed only moments before.

“Good,” I whispered, licking my top lip and working my hips in a slow circle. “Then your ass is mine tomorrow night.”

He gripped my hips, arching into me. “Every night.”

“Greedy man.”

He opened his eyes, staring up at me, completely open and honest. “You like it.”

I leaned down again, swiveling my hips as I gave his plump bottom lip a nibble. “I love it.”

The K-zoo denhouse looked like a chaotic mess when we rolled onto the lot, but the energy was lighthearted and fun. Human and shifter alike walked the lot, grabbing food, taking part in a little easy drinking. We had about an hour before the various segments of riders would start the last half of the journey to Chicago. Plenty of time to have a drink before hitting the road again, especially for the shifters in the group.

“Want a beer?” Phoenix asked as he set his helmet on the seat of his bobber.

“Yeah, that’d be great.”

“Cool.” He whistled, drawing the attention of a youngish looking man. “Yo, Spank. Grab us a couple of bottles, all right?”

“Sure,” the kid said with a shrug. “Be right back.”

I glanced from one to the other. “You know him?”

“Sort of.” Phoenix grinned, looking just a bit wicked. “Just…don’t shake his hand.”

I had no time to ask what he meant because Rebel and Beast walked up, full of smiles and good attitude.

“Good ride, guys?” Rebel asked, his eyes inspecting us.

“Yeah, of course.” Phoenix smiled and crossed his arms. “How’s the bagger been handling?”

“Like a dream,” Rebel said, glancing at his huge ride. “She’s like a mattress on wheels.”

“Speaking of mattresses,” Phoenix said with a smirk. “I hear Miss Scarlett hasn’t been spending a whole lot of time at home the past few nights. Do I need to have a talk with you about your intentions for my almost sister-in-law?”

I sat back against my XA, crossing my booted feet at the ankles. “So she likes hanging out with me. And?”

Beast joined Phoenix, the two grinning. “And…how’s that going for you?”

I raised an eyebrow as Rebel busted up laughing. “Are we really about to do this?”

Beast and Phoenix looked at each other and nodded in unison before turning back to me. “Yes. We are.”

Spank ran up and handed me a beer before disappearing back into the crowd. I pointed the bottle at the two shifters trying to bust my balls.

“You two are a couple of gossips.”

Before they could answer, Gates came storming up, a worried frown on his face. “Anyone seen Princess?”

“Yeah,” Beast said, pointing toward the denhouse. “She said she was headed inside to use the restroom.”

“Oh.” Gates glanced in that direction, his frown not disappearing. “Thanks.”

As Gates left us behind, the joking started again. All three guys trying their best to wheedle secrets about the fire witch out of me. Not that I was telling them a damn thing.

“C’mon, man, you’re newly mated.” Beast smirked, and I knew whatever was coming was going to be bad enough to never repeat to Scarlett. “I know exactly how a newly mated wolf feels. But we’re all curious… How hot does that fire magic make her? What level of burnt is your dick right now? Slightly pink, or charred and crispy?”

I groaned as the guys laughed, cutting up and using me as the butt of their jokes. Not that I minded. I’d take any ribbing necessary as long as it meant my mate was in my life.

“You know,” said Klutch as he joined us, his fiery red hair a standout in the crowd. “Turnabout is fair play. What about you, Phoenix… What’s it like getting it on with a siren?”

Phoenix’s face went slack before his cheeks ruddied. Blushing. The kid was blushing. That alone was worth all the hassle they’d given me.

“Are you fucking blushing?” Beast asked, howling with laughter.

“You just…don’t…the one time.” He blew out a breath, glaring at Klutch. “Don’t let her sing near the water. Trust me on that one.”

Our laughter boomed, the only thing that could have interrupted it being the growling of a very pissed off Gates. He stalked to us, his eyes wild, fingertips curled in a way that meant his claws were coming out. Ending the easy vibe we’d been enjoying. Each of us tensed, sensing his upset, his fear.

“She’s not in there,” Gates said, shaking his head. “She’s near, but my mating bond to her is…”

“What? What’s wrong with your bond?” Rebel asked, suddenly serious. It was easy to forget at times with how close we all were, but Rebel was the president of our group. If anything happened to one of us, technically, he was responsible. That was a heavy weight to carry, one he took seriously.

“I don’t know.” Gates shook his head, looking around the crowd again. “But something isn’t right. I can feel it.”

The first ring sounded from Rebel’s pocket, the rest of our phones echoing in a chorus of alerts. Text messages, emails, voice mails. The phones of every shifter in the group came alive within two seconds of one another, sending my thoughts spiraling, my stomach dropping into a pit of dread.

“What the hell,” Rebel said, reading his screen. His face fell, his eyes going wide as he looked up to the rest of us. One by one, we each read our message or listened to our voice mail.

Crash, the leader of the K-zoo den just under Rebel’s level of authority, raced up, interrupting our stunned silence. “Shit, Rebel. The president’s home is under attack.”

“Full-blown SOS at Merriweather Fields,” Klutch whispered, the wonder in his voice something we all had to be feeling. “I don’t think that’s ever happened before.”

I swallowed hard, my every thought focused in over a hundred miles west of where I stood. It took huge, brass balls to attack the home base of the NALB president. The very building where Scarlett and her sisters were supposed to be finalizing carnival plans for the end of the ride.

“Where are the girls?” Phoenix asked. I dragged my attention to his face, the two of us probably looking like carbon copies of each other. Pale, scared, the reality of the situation hitting us hard.

“They’re at Merriweather,” Rebel whispered. “They were staying there for lunch with Blaze’s mate, Moira, before heading over to the fairgrounds.”

“Motherfucker,” I hissed, dialing Scarlett’s number.

Suddenly Gates roared, a sound there would be no way to truly explain to the humans who turned to figure out what had made it. A sound that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

“She’s gone.” He stalked toward his bike. “The bond is fading, but I can sense her fear. Someone’s taken her.”

“Toward Chicago?” Rebel asked.

“West,” Gates said, his eyes unfocused as he stared toward the highway. “So far, I feel her going west.”

Rebel grabbed Crash by the arm. “I need the keys to a war wagon. Now.”

Crash nodded once and yelled, “Spank.”

The boy appeared, looking terrified.

“Get me the keys to the Suburbans. And move your ass.” Crash turned back to Rebel as the boy ran off. “What else?”

“Grab every hanger-on you can find and have them keep this party going. When it’s time to leave, they need to lead the ride to the fairgrounds. Keep it slow. I don’t want a single human to figure out there’s a problem.”

“On it.”

“We’re heading to the Fields now,” Rebel said, gripping the keys to his bagger. “Get every Feral Breed member out there. Our president is in trouble, along with our mates. You tell those fuckers they’d better ride hard and fast; we’re two and a half hours away and they need us.”

Spank appeared, holding two sets of keys in his hands. “Gray and black.”

“Thanks,” Rebel said. He grabbed the set for the gray and tossed it to Gates, handing the black ones to Crash. “Gates, Klutch, and Beast will head after Kaija. If it takes you to the Fields, so be it. If not, do what you have to do to get her back. Call in for whatever help you need.”

“No,” Beast said, taking a step back. “I’m sorry, brother, but I can’t. Calla and Aliyana are at the Fields. I won’t be able to think clearly knowing they’re in danger.”

Gates stared at his brother, growling, crazed-looking, before he sighed and nodded. “Understood. Go get my niece.”

Beast hugged him hard, whispering a few quiet words in Spanish before racing for his chopper, not bothering to toss on his helmet.

“Numbers,” Rebel yelled, catching the attention of another denmate. “You go with Gates and Klutch.”

The three men disappeared, following Spank to the side lot where the war wagons—two giant SUVs with tinted windows, stocked to the roof with weapons and medical supplies—sat parked.

Rebel gave one last look over the lot before shaking his head. “The timing makes me think they planned this, knowing the Breed would be busy with the rides to Merriweather and the celebration for Blaze’s birthday.”

I swung a leg over my bike, dialing Scarlett again, ready to roll but holding out hope for an answer. “Scarlett hasn’t texted for a few hours. Have you heard from Charlotte?”

Rebel glanced at his phone. “Yeah, she texted me like forty minutes ago talking about some big freak-out Amber had.”

A chill crept down my spine, a sense of foreboding worthy of the air witch herself. “What kind of freak-out?”

Rebel shrugged. “Something about the carousel Dante requested for the carnival.”

“Motherfucker,” I hissed, starting my bike. “Amber said to stay off the carousel during one of her visions, something about smoke.”

“Shit,” Rebel said, running a hand roughly over his head. “We need to go. Head out, I’ll catch up.”

I nodded, images of flame-tipped dark hair sprawled across my chest making my heart hurt and my gut clench in fear. Thank God I could feel her so I knew she was at least alive. I just needed to get to her. To keep her safe.

“The Cleaners will be there,” I said, ready to make a call for the girls.

Rebel shook his head, looking angry and frustrated. “I know where your head is, but that’s a no. Their job isn’t to save our mates or our brothers. They’re all about Blaze. Our mates are unprotected.”

My growl came up hard and fast, more of a tiger’s roar than a wolf growl as my frustration crested. Over two hours…too far to do much more than hope she could handle herself enough to hold out for me. Rebel’s eyes went wide, but he didn’t comment as my arms darkened with stripes, my tiger claws punching through my fingertips.

I pressed redial for Scarlett’s number one more time as I hefted the bike to a full stand. Phoenix and Rebel raced for their own rides, heavy bootsteps breaking through the jovial sounds of the crowd of people who had no idea our worlds were collapsing. I cursed as Scarlett’s phone went directly to voice mail, ready to throw the fucking phone in the woods. “She’s not picking up.”

Rebel shook his head, his own phone in his hand as he mounted the blue and white bike he’d had designed when he met his mate. “Neither is Charlotte.”

“Zuri either.” Phoenix started his engine, ready to roll. “Or Calla.”

My stomach sank, knowing how much was on the line. “They’re all there. Even Amber, Jameson, and the Appalachian shifters. Omega Kalie was still in the infirmary last time I talked to Jameson.”

Rebel smashed his fist into his thigh and hissed, “Goddammit. Ride…now!”

I nodded and kicked off, pulling out onto the highway heading west, clinging tightly to the hope that my girl could defend herself if need be. She had her sisters, and they had their magick. But Calla and Charlotte were human; they had no special skills to fight off a wolf shifter ready to take them out. Plus there was a baby added into the mix—technically a shifter, but too young to be more than an easy target for an enemy. Thankfully, our girls were close, tight. They’d keep each other safe for as long as they could. But with one pregnant and another with a small baby to guard, their options would be limited. We needed to bust ass to back them up.

Just under two hours later, we screamed off the tollway and onto the road that would take us to Merriweather Fields. This was a relatively residential area, with houses and small businesses lining the streets. On a normal day, we’d cruise through at a calm thirty-five so as not to ruffle the locals’ feathers.

This was not a normal day.

I took the exit ramp at ninety-five, revving hard for the straightaway after the loop. Phoenix rode right on my tail, Rebel leading the way. They had to be just as worried as I was. Even though I could feel Scarlett, knew she was alive and the general area of where she was, the worry over how much trouble she was in consumed me. I needed to get to her, to drive faster, to figure out a way to teleport. I needed to be by her side.

We were rolling toward the river we’d need to cross to reach the road that would take us into the downtown area of the little city Merriweather technically occupied when a sharp tug inside my chest made me look south. Toward the woods. Toward the river as it curved through the trees.

Toward what looked like a water spout wrapped in flames swirling between the leafy canopies.

I stared for about two seconds, Scarlett’s own words from our date coming back to me.

“If you ever see what looks like a water tornado on fire, you can trust it’s Zuri and me screwing around.”

Somehow, I doubted they were screwing around, but that was definitely my mate and her sisters.

Without conscious thought on the matter, I leaped for the trees. My bike fell and skidded down the road, sparks flying and metal screeching as the engine continued to rev. I didn’t care. All thoughts were gone, all focus handed over to pure animal instinct.

I shifted in midair from human to beast, rolling through the change with practiced ease. Landing on the grass at the side of the road, I raced ahead without pause, stripes out and a roar booming from my mouth.

My tiger had taken control.

I felt more than saw Phoenix and Rebel behind me, their canine energy slightly at odds with the feline power flowing through me. But it didn’t matter, they didn’t matter. All I could see, all I cared about, was moving faster. Getting to the base of that water spout. Getting to my mate.