Jaguars' Reward [Impulse 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (17 page)

“We just might get to find out. They’ll probably want to boast about it.”

“We’re half an hour away. Call all the available men in who aren’t on patrol, Vadim. Get all the women together in the cellar at the Cat’s Whiskers
.
Full siege conditions.”

“Giron just called Zayd,” Vadim said tersely. “They’re not waiting for dark. They’ve already started swimming ashore.”

“Shit! Okay, get them to the children’s park. You know what to do. Try and hold them off until we get there to back you up.”

Vadim felt his body itching to shift—a sure sign that a fight was in the cards.

“We need to get you to the Cat’s Whiskers,” he said to Talia. “You’ll be safe there with the other women. The cellar’s impregnable.”

“Not a chance. I got you into this and I want to be there to see it through.”

“We don’t need to be worrying about you.”

“I can take care of myself.”

“Against a pack of kick-ass wolves.” Vadim shook his head. “I don’t think so.”

“We’re wasting time. Wilson won’t walk into Impulse as a wolf. While he’s still in human mode, I might be able to get through to him.”

“Let her come,” Zayd said. “They won’t hurt her. It’s us they want.”

“Okay, come on.”

Vadim wasn’t happy about it, but there was no time to argue. Besides, for some weird reason beyond his understanding, having Talia with him seemed like the right move. They made their way quickly across the thin strip of land to the Cat’s Whiskers
.
Talia’s inability to breathe the air didn’t slow them as much as Vadim had supposed it would, presumably because her anxiety overcame the discomfort.

Chantal greeted them at the bar along with Layla, Mikael’s mate. Chantal and Layla were efficiently herding a procession of women and children into the cellar.

“Just in time to join us,” Chantal said to Talia, sounding perfectly unconcerned by the imminent attack. “It’s very cozy down there.”

“Thanks, but I’m needed here,” she said.

Chantal blinked but didn’t argue. “It’s a bit archaic, us women hiding away, but we can’t shift and we’d make easy targets. We understand that, and it’s the only reason why we allow ourselves to be hidden away like fragile flowers.”

Talia managed a weak smile. “I guess that makes sense.”

The bar was now crowded with all the available male shifters. Giron joined them.

“How many have gotten in by land?” Vadim asked.

“Hard to say. A dozen at the most.”

“Okay, close the bridge down. Say there’s a gas leak or something, and don’t let anyone in unless we know them.”

Giron disappeared to ensure that order was carried out and returned moments later. “All done,” he said.

“Okay, we’re going for the kids’ playground,” Vadim said. “I still want to take Wilson on myself, but I suspect this show of force means they won’t take that risk.”

They headed out the door at a trot, Talia struggling to keep up.

“I hadn’t noticed the rise in the ground before,” she said, panting as they reached the playground. “I thought the land here was dead flat.”

Vadim winked at her. “You’d be surprised how many secrets this little corner of Florida has buried away.”

Zayd glanced up at the darkening sky. “The damned rain had just better hold off.”

“It will,” Vadim said. “The wolves conjured up this weather to keep inquisitive souls inside. But they won’t want it to rain on this particular parade any more than we do.”

“Yeah, I guess not.”

Vadim stood in a half acre of open land littered with kids’ climbing frames, swings, and other stuff designed for use by kittens of all ages. He had twenty male shifters standing in a loose circle around him, grim-faced, awaiting instructions. Twenty more were holding the perimeter of Impulse, away from the immediate action. Others still were in less conspicuous locations. All of them knew what they had to do even though they couldn’t pheromone updates for fear that their communications would be intercepted by the wolves. The only upside was that the same premise applied to the invaders. Besides, cell phones worked just as well and the wolves swimming to shore wouldn’t be able to keep them dry. Score one to the good guys.

“They’re coming,” Zayd said softly.

“No moves unless they attack first,” Vadim said tersely. “Let’s see what their demands are first.”

A group of men sauntered up to the playground. Talia tensed when she saw who was leading them and Vadim knew he’d lost her attention. A tall, good-looking man in his midforties with a full head of silver-gray hair and piercing gray eyes offered her a full-wattage smile. He exuded charm and confidence, like he knew he had the upper hand.

“That’s Wilson,” Talia said out of the corner of her mouth.

Vadim nodded. He’d never met the guy but recognized him from the Internet intel they held on him. He watched Wilson cast a scathing glance round the group of feline shifters gathered there with Vadim. It became apparent that they were comprehensively outnumbered as more and more wolves joined Wilson. Giron’s estimate of the number who’d sneaked in overland had obviously been off. This wasn’t looking good.

“Ah, Mr. Vadim Fyre, I believe,” Wilson said with an arrogant sneer. “I thought you had an appointment elsewhere.”

“I heard you were planning to come to me, so I hung around.”

“Talia, my dear, come here.” He beckoned to her, seemingly expecting Talia to comply with the authority in his voice.

She tensed and took a step forward, thought better of it, and moved back again.

“In your dreams, buster.”

A fleeting scowl graced Wilson’s features. “Oh, I’ve had many erotic dreams about you. You have no idea.”

“Thank God for that.”

“Don’t blaspheme, Talia. It doesn’t become you.”

Talia lowered her eyes to the ground. “Sorry,” she said meekly.

“That’s all right. You’ve had a difficult time of it. But I’m here again now and everything will soon be all right.”

Vadim understood what was happening. Wilson thought he still had control of Talia’s mind. Vadim and Zayd had unblocked it, but they had no idea how deeply seated Wilson’s control of her actually was. They hadn’t thought to delve that deep. Vadim sensed she was fighting Wilson, but did she have the strength to overcome his influence? Vadim willed her to stand firm.

“Your mother sends her love,” Wilson said in a hypnotic voice that Vadim could see was getting to Talia. “She’s very happy with her new gentleman friend.” He paused. “For as long as I wish her to be.”

“The bastard!” Zayd hissed beneath his breath. “He’s manipulating her by demonstrating his power over her mother.”

“She’s fighting him,” Vadim whispered back.

“For how long?”

“We’re about to find out.”

This was weird, to put it mildly. As a human, Talia shouldn’t be anywhere near the front line of a shifter fight. And yet Vadim had allowed her to come without putting up any objections. Had Wilson somehow inveigled him into doing so? It didn’t seem credible, and yet he’d managed to get a bunch of his people past Vadim’s guards. Talia was wavering beneath the focus of Wilson’s considerable power. What the fuck was his interest in Talia? Vadim had no idea but wasn’t prepared to let the situation slip any more out of his control than it already was, what with him and Zayd being the only two alphas present.

“What can we do for you today?” he asked.

“I’m glad you raised that subject,” Wilson responded. “But in actual fact, it’s rather more a case of what we can do for you. As you can see, we have you substantially outnumbered.”

Vadim glanced around, doing what he could to hide his disquiet when further shadows emerged from the edge of the playground. The Impulse shifters were now outnumbered at least three to one.

“You’re forgetting one small thing, Wilson. Impulse is our territory. We can still beat you hands down.”

“We’d be happy to put that theory to the test, but I have an alternative suggestion that will save a lot of bloodshed, mostly yours.”

“I’m listening.”

“You leave Impulse to us. Oh, and leave Talia behind as well. That’s nonnegotiable. She’s destined to be my mate.”

His words seemed to jolt Talia back to reality. She made a scoffing sound at the back of her throat. “Get real!”

“Sorry,” Vadim said easily. “No can do.”

“Oh, I think you can. I’ll even let you take all the women and children you have hidden away beneath the Wolves’ Den
.
Oh, sorry, you know it as the Cat’s Whiskers
,
but it’s about to have a change of management.”

“You realize Talia has shifter blood.”

“Yes, that’s what we agreed she would tell you.”

“What!” Talia cried, looking bewildered.

“It’s killing you, ain’t it,” Wilson taunted, ignoring Talia’s interruption. “You want her so much you can’t think straight. We were counting on that to get us past your defenses. Leave it to an attractive woman to distract an alpha.” Wilson leered. “You can’t think about anything other than sinking that puny cock of yours into her sweet cunt, can you now? But you can’t—won’t—do it because you’re a slave to duty and can’t take that risk.”

“Nor can you.”

Wilson chuckled. “Oh, but I can. I implanted that business about having shifter blood in her subconscious so that you wouldn’t risk despoiling her. That’s my privilege.”

“And she has no say in the matter, I suppose.”

“She knows, deep down, that I’m the only man for her.”

“That’s why she looks so happy to see you,” Zayd said.

“She will be when things are restored to normal.”

Vadim looked at Talia, who still appeared dazed and hadn’t said a word for quite a while. Could it be true? Was she pure human? Her mind
had
been tampered with, but Vadim had sensed shifter blood in her when she first arrived. This was getting odder by the minute. Wilson certainly appeared desperate to have her for himself.

“If she’s so important to you, why risk sending her here? You had her at your mental mercy in Venice, which is just about the only way you’d get her to have anything to do with you.”

“Ah yes, I could have bent her to my will, but I couldn’t keep her a mental slave indefinitely. I figured she probably wouldn’t manage to kill you, although one could hope.”

“You were more likely to kill her, throwing her off that boat.”

“Not a chance. Not with you riding to the rescue.”

Vadim sent him a damning glance. “You seem to rate my powers very highly.”

“I never underestimate an enemy. That’s the surest way to an early grave.”

“And so you sent Talia here to kill me, never expecting her to succeed, and so why—”

“I figured she might just fall for your particular form of feline charm. Women tend to for some reason that escapes me.” He gave Talia a long, considering glance. “It seems I was right about that. And so here’s the deal. If Talia agrees to remain here in Impulse and voluntarily mate with me, I’ll allow all of you pussycats to leave and none of us will lay a paw on you. In other words, I won’t kill you if she agrees to stay.”

Vadim threw back his head and roared with laughter. “Nice try, but no dice.”

“Seems to me you don’t have a lot of choice.”

“Sure I do. You and me, Wilson. We fight to the death for Impulse. No one else interferes.”

“No thanks.”

“You’re turning down a fight?” Vadim narrowed his eyes. “I didn’t have you pegged as a coward.”

“I hold the upper hand. Why would I want to fight when it’s unnecessary?”

“Come on, Wilson. You know I’m weaker than you are.”

“What I know is that you’re stalling for time, waiting for Rafe and the other alphas to get back here. But it won’t work. You have one minute to decide. Cede Impulse, walk away, leave Talia with me, and you all get to live your miserable lives out in peace.”

Talia grabbed his arm. “Do it!” she said urgently. “He means it. I’ll stay.”

“Like hell you will!”

“Vadim, I need to do this for you.” She glared intently at him. “You know why.”

“And I love you for being prepared to make the sacrifice, but—”

“Sacrifice has nothing to do with it. You know I can overcome him physically anytime I like when he’s in human mode.”

“Not before he messes with your mind and gets you into bed,” Vadim snarled.

“That ain’t gonna happen.”

“No, it won’t, because you’re not going with him.”

“But Impulse, I can’t be responsible for your losing it.”

Vadim winked at her. “Just trust me.”

“Time’s running out,” Wilson said in a singsong voice. “What’s your decision?”

“Thanks, but no thanks.”

Wilson shrugged. “It’s your funeral.”

“Perhaps, but not today.”

At a signal from Vadim, all the Impulse shifters moved into the center of the circle. The wolves closed in on them, crowding them, grinning because they thought they’d won the ultimate prize of Impulse without any blood being shed. So much for not underestimating the enemy, Vadim thought with a wry smile.