Denying Dare (5 page)

any situation where he would feel comfortable letting her

go back to the brutes who had kidnapped and beaten her.

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Denying Dare

Amber Kell

There was silence between them, a heavy sensation

with none of the easiness of moments before. Finally,

Steven broke the stillness. "I've upset you," he said in a

quiet voice.

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because it's wrong to throw a fragile female

human to a pack of mutant wolves who can snap her neck

like twig. Cindy is a sweet, beautiful girl who doesn't

deserve that fate."

Steven gave a low growl. "When it comes to the

safety of my mate, I'd sacrifice the whole fucking world.

Those damned wolves could break into the club and harm

you. I don't care how pretty she is, if it's between you and

her there is no contest."

He shouldn't be flattered. He really shouldn't.

Luckily, a red car they'd identified as the owner's peeled

through the gates at that moment, distracting them from

their talk.

"Here we go," Steven said, pulling away from the

curb and positioning them a few cars back. "Let's see where

this guy is going."

Dare sighed. Pushing Steven's ruthlessness to the

back of his mind, he focused on the car up ahead.

Steven weaved in and out of traffic, expertly

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keeping far enough back that the other man didn't spot

them. When the red car pulled off the street and headed to a

rougher part of town, Dare felt a rush of excitement.

"Where do you think he's going?"

"Hopefully to meet with those mutant bastards."

Steven flashed a quick look at Dare. "If we find out he's

meeting with them we'll call the others for backup. You are

not to go in there at all."

"I'm not going to sit back while you face those

things," Dare said in a low voice. "I might not be a wolf but

I'm not a wimp. I'll be your backup."

"Babe, you're a bartender not a fighter," Steven

protested, "and as your mate it's my job to protect you."

Dare rolled his eyes. "I'm a white tiger. I have a

better chance of getting you out of there alive than any of

the others. The odds of me taking out a mutant are much

better than yours."

"I know, but that doesn't mean I have to like it."

Steven frowned at Dare. "I want to wrap you in bubble

wrap and keep you safe. I don't want you rushing into a

room of psychopathic mutant werewolves. You may be

bigger, but if there are enough of them they can take you

down like they do in the wild. These are beings with no

remorse. They have already kidnapped and beaten up a girl

just to get a chance at Silver."

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"I know," Dare said, growling. "I've seen how

dangerous they are. Which is why you're not confronting

them by yourself." There was no way he was letting the

wolf face the mutants on his own.

They said nothing else as they followed the other

car down a series of narrow alleys, almost losing him when

he made a particularly tricky turn. Trying to stay a safe

distance away was a complication with the route they were

following. Eventually, the car pulled up beside a

warehouse. It looked abandoned. Windows were broken on

the upper stories and the building was a grim, faded grey as

if the spirit had been sucked out of the place years before.

Richard got out of the car and headed towards the building,

not bothering to look behind him. Either the man was

confident no one bothered to follow him or he didn't worry

about being caught.

Steven unbuckled his seatbelt. "We need to find out

what's going on in there. I'm going to go see what I can

hear. Stay put. If they grab me, call Parker and Dillon.

Don't come inside until you get backup." Steven gripped

Dare's chin turning the other man to face him. "Look at me.

Don't you go in there without the others. I want you to

promise me."

Dare felt his eyes shift and his fangs drop down. "If

they take you, I make no promises. I'll call the others, but I

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will come and protect what's mine. If they grab you there is

no way I'm leaving you alone."

"I just knew you were going to be difficult." Steven

pulled out his cell. Pushing a few buttons he spoke in the

receiver. "Parker, it's Steven. We followed Hale to a

warehouse on Brenner Street. We think he's meeting with

the wolves. I'm going to go and see what's inside and verify

who he's meeting with. Dare is in the car and I would like if

it you could send a couple more people for backup. I can't

count on Dare to stay put."

He listened for a while before laughing. "Yeah,

that's what he said."

After a few more words he hung up. "Parker and

Dillon are on their way."

Dare nodded. "I'll wait here as long as I can."

Steven laughed. "My curious kitty." The wolf

leaned over and placed a kiss on Dare's cheek. "Stay put,

puss, I'll be right back."

* * * *

Steven looked around as he approached the

building. Even if the other man wasn't meeting the wolves,

there was no good reason for a businessman to go to an

abandoned warehouse in the middle of the night.

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Inspecting the large building, he searched for a

good spot to look and listen. There were some broken

windows up above that might be useful. He just needed to

get up there without making a bunch of noise.

A wooden barrel about twenty feet from the

entrance caught his eyes. It looked aged, but strong; it

might hold his weight.

Deciding to chance it, he hopped on the barrel and

used it to leap onto the roof. He landed quietly, almost like

a cat, he thought with a smile. For the first time, he

wondered if Dare was appalled to be mated with a wolf.

Would he have preferred his own kind? Steven had to pull

back a snarl as he thought about his mate in another's

hands. Too bad. If his sexy man wanted another feline, he'd

just have to get over his disappointment. No one else was

going to touch his weretiger.

Stepping carefully across the metal roof, Steven

slowly shuffled to one of the many shattered windows,

crouching at the frame. Richard Hale stood in the middle of

the room, a dozen mutant werewolves surrounding him.

Steven bit back a growl at their appearance, his wolf half

rebelling against the unnatural sight. Confronted by the

horror for the first time, his stomach churned. Alesandro

and Calvin had tried to explain to him what the creatures

looked like, but even their description fell short of the

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horrors in the warehouse.

Dirty, matted hair covered their naked chests and a

pair of denim pants was their only clothing. Elongated

snouts sprang from humanlike faces, while jagged teeth

jutted from their jaws like those on a wild boar. Feet too

misshapen for footwear were bare, exposing clawed paws.

Fuck, how many of them were there? Cindy could

only recollect two or three during her abduction. There

were at least a dozen mutants milling below. Was this the

entire force, or just the tip of the iceberg? Were there

dozens more hiding somewhere?

Steven scooted closer to the edge of the window in

time to see the largest mutant hand over a suitcase to Hale.

"That's the last of it," the monster said in a gravelly

voice pitched so low Steven had to lean carefully over to

hear. "Make sure the poison makes it to the alpha. Since we

failed with Silver, his pack will be too vigilant. Kill Madros

and make sure the evidence points to the Moon pack. If

they fight among themselves we'll have less to do when we

take over." The malicious smile was frightening. Shit, they

were smarter than they looked. Now the Moon pack had

two jobs: to find out where the mutants were

headquartered, and to alert the other alphas of the pending

danger. He'd leave the warning to Silver and Anthony. If

anyone could get the other packs to talk, it would be those

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two.

En masse, everyone left the warehouse. Steven

stayed still and quiet, not wanting to draw their attention.

He hoped his mate was as wise. It was a while before he

heard all sounds fade.

Slowly rising, he bit back a shout of pain as he

straightened and a leg cramp bolted up his thigh.

A low whistle sounded below him like a person

calling their dog. "Here, boy. Here, boy." Dare's voice

sounded below. Stephen was going to kill him.

Soundlessly, he crept to the end of the eaves, spotting Dare

directly beneath him. Without thought, he leapt.

A soft
oof
came from the feline as he hit the asphalt.

Dare made a nice surface, he thought dreamily as he heard

the air leave the weretiger's body.

"Hi, honey. You called?" he asked with a teasing

smile.

Instead of growling at him like another wolf would

for daring to tackle him, Dare gave him a delighted smile.

"So I did." His big kitty wrapped Steven in his arms and

damn if he didn't feel completely, totally cherished. In that

moment he didn't care if the world was overrun with

mutant werekin as long as his tiger was safe.

"I adore you," he choked out over the ball of

emotion filling his throat.

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Dare grinned.

"Let's get the hell out of here. We need to go see

Silver."

"You're on top," his ever helpful mate said, with

another breathtaking smile.

Steven held back a sigh. He would have to turn in

his manly card if he were caught sighing like a love-struck

fool every time his mate smiled. There was no question the

weretiger was a beautiful man; Steven was a fool to have

ever wanted him to be anything other than what nature

created.

"So I am," he agreed. Placing a quick kiss on his

mate's lips he rose to his feet and offered a hand to help

Dare up. "Come on, beautiful, let's go talk to the alpha."

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Amber Kell

Chapter Three

Silver threw his glass across the room. It made a

satisfyingly crash as it hit the wall.

"You know, when I do that you call it a snit,"

Anthony said from his seat on the couch, sipping red wine

from a crystal glass.

Dare watched the alpha go from intense fury to

amusement in the space of a second.

"That's because I know it makes you angrier when I

say you're having a snit," the alpha said with a toothy

smile. "And you're beautiful when you're angry."

Leaning down, the alpha gave his mate a kiss so hot

Dare could swear he felt the heat from across the room.

Parker cleared his throat. The alpha pair broke

apart, both of them with high color on their faces.

"Sorry," Anthony said with a blush.

Silver stroked a hand over his mate's brilliant blond

head. "Never apologize for loving me, sweetness."

"Can we focus on the problem?" Parker said, a

touch of impatience in his voice. Despite his tone, the wolf

was careful to keep his gaze averted, not wanting to trigger

his alpha's dominance. He was impatient, not stupid.

"Silver and I will go and talk to the other alphas,"

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Anthony announced.

"
I
will go and talk to the other alphas." Silver said.

"
You
are not to go near them."

Anthony stood up, his eyes flashing. "Are we mates

or not?"

There was a stampede to get to the door. Dillon,

Parker, Dare, and Steven rushed out of the office, slamming

the door behind them.

Parker let out a deep breath. "Shit. I hate it when his

eyes do that lightning thing."

Dare nodded his agreement. "I adore Anthony, but

sometimes he's freakin' scary."

"I'll get everyone something to drink." Dare headed

for the bar, quickly filling glasses with ice and soda and

bringing them back to the table. The men chatted while

they waited for their alphas.

"So what does everyone think Alesandro will do

with Calvin?" Dare asked.

"I heard they got back together," Dillon said with a

smile.

"Is Calvin going to be converted? I can't imagine

what it would be like to be a vampire," Dare said, his eyes

bright with interest.

"And you never will," Steven growled.

Dare shouldn't find that so hot, he really shouldn't.

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"I think they're going to wait until Cindy is out of