Denying Dare (6 page)

school and starting a life of her own. I heard Alesandro tell

Anthony they wanted to cement their relationship before

they went any further," Parker offered, taking a drink of his

soda.

"That's a good idea," Dare said with a sidewise

glance at Steven. "Mates should get to know each other

well before making any irreversible decisions."

Steven opened his mouth to speak when the alpha

pair entered. Anthony's lips were pouty and Silver had a

definite bite mark on his throat. "Anthony and I are going

to go warn the other alphas. Parker, you and Dillon stake

out the construction owner's house tonight. See if anyone

shows up there. Dare and Steven, I want you two to go

back to the warehouse and look for clues. If they meet there

regularly, they probably live close. I can't imagine it's easy

for them to get around looking like they do."

All four men nodded and went their assigned ways.

Dare left with Steven hoping in his heart they could

find a way to stop these creatures.

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Chapter Four

The warehouse was echoingly deserted as Steven

followed his mate's fine ass into the abandoned building.

The scent of wrongness filled his nose as soon as they

entered. A low growl sounded to his right. He glanced at

his mate and saw Dare's eyes had changed, the pupils

elongated, the iris's glowing.

"Keep it together, babe," he said in a low voice. "I

don't have any clothes for you to change into."

"I know," Dare's voice was deeper than Steven had

ever heard before. He could tell his mate was having

difficulty not switching to his tiger form with the scent of

so many mutants in the air.

Steven's eyes swept the warehouse. The thick dust

showed multiple footprints from earlier, but nothing else he

could see. He slowly released his humanity, his eyes

shifting to their sharper wolf form. Inhaling deeply, he

sneezed, his eyes watering from the combined scents of

dust, mouse droppings, mold, and a strong scent of the

other creatures.

The smell of something twisted and unnatural had

overwhelmed all the other scents before.

"You can't miss that scent trail," Dare said beside

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him.

"Let's follow it. Silver said they couldn't be too far

from the warehouse."

"I'm not sure that's such a good idea. What if they

find us first?"

"Then we'll have to be careful. I don't want anything

to happen to you." That was the prime thought in Steven's

mind. Nothing could happen to his mate. "I'll call the others

and let them know where we're going."

"All right." Dare waited until he'd made the phone

call before they continued tracking the stench of mutant

werewolves.

The smell led them out the other side of the building

and through a handful of abandoned warehouses that

looked empty from the outside and felt hollow within. As

they moved down to where the river flowed wide and high,

just over the ridge where they crossed, unease churned

Steven's stomach. If the mutants had hidden this long, he

wondered, why would they leave such an obvious path

back to their hideout?

Dare's nose twitched. For a moment Steven thought

he saw a shadowing of whiskers. "What's wrong, kitty?"

"I don't like this."

Steven froze where he was. Cats had good instincts.

"What is it?" Did Dare sense the same trouble making his

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spine itch?

He didn't get another word out before a sharp sting

pierced his arm. His vision went blurry as he reached a

hand towards his lover. Blinking, he watched a silvery dart

embed itself into Dare's arm.

"No," Steven whispered. He knew he would be fine

if they captured and tortured him. He was tough. The

thought of the same people tormenting his gentle mate was

a pain greater than any he'd felt before. Dare might be a

large weretiger but he had a kind soul. He blinked again,

trying to see what was happening, but his muscles were

frozen and moments later his vision went black.

* * * *

Steven came back to awareness on a tide of pain.

Fire seared across his back. He gritted his teeth to hold

back the scream trying to burst out. He wouldn't give them

the satisfaction of either making him beg for relief or cringe

from pain. Stretched and bound above him, with cold,

heavy chains, his arms burned from the strain of supporting

his entire weight. The tips of his shoes barely brushed the

ground. The position afforded him no traction and served

its purpose of keeping him off balance. With the way the

chains were wrapped around his wrists there was no hope

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of shifting to get out of their tight hold.

Knowing he was only putting off the inevitable,

Steven opened his eyes, pleased when his vision cleared

after only a moment. A large mutant wolf came to stand in

front of him, a beast so tall he met him eye to eye even

though Steven hung suspended a good foot in the air. The

creature's yellow eyes were narrow, mean, and the mutant's

expression of deep-seated hatred sent him into a cold sweat.

He made a silent prayer that his lover escaped even as he

knew, deep inside, he hadn't. If Dare had escaped, Steven

would already be free. His tiger-love wouldn't leave him to

be beaten by mutant werekin. He knew that bone deep.

Now, he could only hope that Dillon and Farro discovered

where they went and came to their rescue before it was too

late.

"So you've decided to wake up." The mutant's voice

was so low it was almost subvocal. Steven could feel the

vibration in his chest. He watched with morbid fascination

as the creature walked closer.

What had created these things?

He knew his revulsion showed on his face but he

didn't try to stop it. There was no reason to be polite. These

creatures were as ugly inside as they looked on the outside.

Cruel, perverse creatures that should never exist outside of

a horror movie, they were a crime against nature. It didn't

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reassure him when he saw the bullwhip in the monster's

hand.

Since they tried to kill Anthony to get to Silver and

were plotting to kill the other alpha wolves, he doubted

they were going to tell him it had all been a mistake and set

him free.

"Where's Dare?" He focused on the mutant's face

instead of the whip in his clawed hand.

"Dare?"

"The other man I was with?" It was too late now to

cover up. He was frantic to find out what happened to his

mate. What if they killed him? What if his beautiful mate

was gone and he didn't ever get the chance to make up to

him for all those nights he'd left with another wolf?

"You mean the non-wolf? He's down the hall

keeping company with my friends. What is he?"

Steven was shocked, though he tried not to show it.

It was obvious to most shifters when they encountered one

of the big cats. Maybe the mutation had more

disadvantages than advantages. But then, he wondered, if

he'd never met a weretiger, would he know the smell?

The bullwhip slashed across his back. His attention

snapped back to his captor.

"Have your attention now?" the creature growled.

"It doesn't matter what he is, we're going to kill him

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anyway."

It took all of Steven's willpower to stop the scream

building in his throat. The whipping hurt, but the threat to

his mate was more painful than a thousand whippings.

Unable to prevent it, a snarl broke free.

"Oooh. Don't like that do you. I didn't know the two

of you were so close." Contempt dripped from the mutant

as he stared at Steven with dislike. "A pair of fags. It will

be my pleasure to kill you both for your unnatural ways.

Which weak alpha do you show your belly to? Soon, we

will be the only alphas and you will all be converted or

dead."

Looking at the disgusting mutation, he was almost

certain he'd take option two. It was preferable to be dead

than to turn into the creature before him; merciless, cruel,

and a freak of nature.

Steven kept silent, watching the mutant beast and

waiting for a chance to attack. Shaking the chains only

drew laughter from the thing before him. "Who are you?

What do you want?"

His captor laughed; a low, unpleasant sound.

"That's easy enough. I'm the last thing you'll ever see and I

want your death." The mutant looked at him thoughtfully.

"I'm not going to waste time converting a fag. I don't want

you in my pack. It's best to kill you now before you become

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strong enough to be a real problem."

Steven snarled. If he got out of here he was going to

make it a priority to kill this asshole.

The deep chuckles of his tormentor stabbed at him

sharper than spikes. "What? You thought I was going to

spill all my plans like some sort of super villain in an old

spy movie. No, there's nothing I want from you, little wolf.

You're not anyone of power. Your job is to die for my

cause. Now, tell me who your alpha is so I know where to

send the body and I'll kill you quicker."

Steven saw his death in the creature's eyes. There

was no way he was getting out of here alive. The only thing

he regretted was never telling Dare how much he loved

him. As sappy as he found the pack alpha, at least Anthony

knew he was adored. Guilt rode him. A better werekin

would never have let his mate be captured.

Another bite of the whip jolted his body.

"You… are… the… most… inattentive… wolf…

I… have… ever… met." The bite of the whip followed

each word until Steven hung there, limp and gasping for

breath. He could feel blood soaking through his shirt. As a

shifter, the marks would heal before he bled to death, but

he might hope for death before the mutant was finished.

Once again, his mind went to Dare. He hoped his

sweet, gentle man passed out before his torture was

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finished. He regretted not completing their mating bond. If

they were properly bonded he could read his tiger's mind

and know how he was doing. The only thing worse than

dying in this hellhole was dying not knowing what

happened to his mate.

A loud roar echoed in the hall as screams filled the

air.

"What the hell…?" His torturer turned towards the

doorway just as an enormous tiger ran into the room. Blood

coated the fur so completely that if Steven hadn't known

Dare was a white tiger before, he wouldn't have known

then.

The mutant turned towards the sound but it was too

late for him. A gurgle, a crunch, and a gush of blood ended

his existence. When it was over, the tiger leaned back on its

haunches and licked his lips. Green eyes turned towards

Steven.

He froze.

There was no humanity in that expression. His

beautiful mate had gone feral.

"Hello, Dare," Steven said in a soothing, singsong

tone. "Time to come back to me. Come on, babe. Turn

human." It was dangerous for a shifter to stay in their

animal form too long. Especially without a mate to ground

them. A feral shifter could stay an animal forever without

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someone to pull them out of their wildness. He hoped they

had enough of a bond that he could pull his lover back.

The tiger circled Steven as if deciding what to do

with the dangling temptation.

"You don't want to eat me. I'm your mate,

remember?" Maybe, if he kept talking, Dare would find his

human half. The gorgeous weretiger should identify his

mate, even in his current condition. Steven's greatest fear

was that Dare would stay this way. They didn't have

enough of a bond yet that he could force his mate's shifting.

Maybe, if he took him back to the pack, Silver could do the

job. It hurt that he wasn't able to pull Dare away from the

edge of madness by himself. If he'd been a good mate all

along, he would've been able to. This was what he got for

rejecting the wonderful man the gods gave him and trying

to find a wolf instead.

Steven's heart pounded against his chest when the

massive creature stood on its back feet. Paws the size of

saucers planted on his shoulders. For a moment he hung

there, face to face with a man-eating tiger. Dare smelled of

blood and death, but he was still the most beautiful thing