Lost Roar (6 page)

He groaned and grabbed for her hair, but just as she was about to wrap her lips around him, he pulled her away.

“No, I want to be inside you.” He lifted her, flipped her to her back and lay between her thighs on his belly, pressing his nose into her sex with no warning.

His hot breath, lapping tongue and low growling combined as the ultimate aphrodisiac, and she gripped his dark hair and held on tight as she gasped and bucked. His tongue stroked deep and lapped at her. He was cheating just like she did. His beast was in for the mating, just as hers was.

She trembled when he moved up her body, and she tasted the tang of herself on his lips and tongue. His cock pressed against her and she tried not to tense. It was a matter of holding onto her self-control as he worked inside her and ran into the barrier.

Nissy met his gaze and Brax was not surprised. He shifted his weight to his elbows and stroked the back of her neck. She wondered why he was using the calming stroke until he shifted his hips forward. “Son-of-a-bitch!”

He winced. “I won’t tell my mother you said that. It is technically accurate but not flattering.”

She snorted and waited while the firebrand inside her didn’t seem inclined to injure or maim. The throbbing pain eased after a few minutes, and she was shocked that he could hold onto his control. “Why not just let go?”

“Because as much fun as it would be, I want us to join together. It is important.”

Brax watched her features, and when her pain eased, he shifted his hips back and slid them forward. “How was that?”

“Do it again, or you will get claws in your butt.” Nissy grinned, and she welcomed the thrusts as they grew deeper with every retreat and return.

They rocked together with the scent of her blood in the air. It increased their frenzy, and finally, she shifted to canines and bit his shoulder as carefully as she could.

He responded with a hard bite to her shoulder that locked him in place while his snarling groan and shudders gave indication of his release.

Nissy let him go and carefully licked her lips before she returned and cleaned his wound. “Sorry.”

He laughed and was doing the same on her shoulder. “Sorry as well.”

When they were done, sticky and firmly mated, she sighed in relief. “Now, no one can pry us apart. We are legal by every council.”

Brax laughed and removed himself from her body, carrying her to the bath with ease. The huge tub filled quickly, and he made a quick call to housekeeping for the bed so that it would be made again before they returned.

She cleaned off at the sink before she stepped into the tub, and while the heat shocked her sensitive flesh for a moment, it started to relax her muscles a moment later.

When Brax slipped into the bath with her, he tugged her over and started to rub her shoulders. “So, what is the deal with a lioness and a roar?”

“Oh, that. Well, it is said that a lioness can’t defend herself or her people if she isn’t whole, so missing my roar is a rather big deal.”

“Can you just do voice training?”

“No. It was a reflex throttled down by constant pain. I don’t know what would bring it back, but something, somewhere might. I am willing to keep looking.”

Brax worked on the knots in her shoulders. “Are you sore?”

“No, a simple shift should fix the worst of it.”

“Good. We have an assignment.”

She splashed in the water and stared at him. “When? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because, we had to obey the technicalities, and now that we are official, other species will sense it.”

He had a point, but it was still annoying.

“What are we going after?”

“If nothing else comes up that takes precedence, would you believe that it is an armadillo loan shark?”

“It figures that an armadillo would want to be a shark as well.”

Brax laughed and worked down her back until he reached her butt. “You have a great ass, but you carry a lot of tension here.”

“I carry tension in my ass. Good to know. So, on our assignment. What should I wear…and how do we get there?”

“As soon as you get a good night’s sleep under you so we can start fresh in the morning, I will give you the transport briefing.”

He laughed, and sure enough, she yawned now that her discomforts had been reduced. “Fine. But tomorrow, I am going to be full of questions.”

“And I will answer every one, but for now, I just want to hold you close in a tub full of bubbles.”

Nissy would give him twenty minutes and then her pruney fingers would drive her out of the tub. For now, the cuddling was nice. She hoped he kept up the cuddling.

Curled together in bed, she smiled. “So, what do I need to know about our first target?”

Brax groaned against her neck. “Let me guess, it is after midnight?”

She grinned. “You are smart, too.”

“Can we talk about this during daylight?”

She snorted. “Fine. Hang on. I need to heal, so this will be quick.”

Nicia inhaled and shifted to lioness and back to human in ten seconds.

Brax sat up and stared. “You can shift that quickly?”

She yawned and nuzzled the pillow. “I can, but it makes me sleepy. The slow shift is better if I want to remain active.”

He wrapped his arms around her again and spooned against her. “Can you show me how to do the slow shift?”

“Sure. I can also show you how to shift just your head and hands if you don’t already know that one.”

“Who taught you this stuff?”

Nicia smiled. “My mom. She was apparently on track to rule the Sargar Pride before she was snagged. Mastering shifting was part of that.”

“Why didn’t she escape before she did?”

“Me. We were supervised when together and otherwise kept from each other. The other wives resented having to keep us apart. It cut into their time with Wells. We both got to feel the effect of that, but when we started to defend ourselves, things changed.”

“That is when you began hunting.”

“Yup. They chained me to one of my siblings, and I hunted with them tied to me.”

He scowled. “How did that work?”

“Not well, but at least two of my half-sisters were decent hunters after I got through with them. I suppose it was luck that our family was charged with security around the compound.”

He stroked her hair as she settled in his embrace.

“Nissy, I promise to tell you what you want to know in the morning. Go to sleep and tomorrow we will hunt.”

He stroked the back of her neck, and she let the memories of the past float away until she was nodding off.

If she were wearing her tail, it would be lashing in excitement.

Something had come up and now her first hunt was going to involve a bear who was distributing illegally obtained parts of other shifters for aphrodisiac and magical purposes. The armadillo would just have to wait.

“I can’t believe that a shifter would do that.” Nicia shook her head and headed back to the council building for the next step.

Brax sighed. “Oh, just because you have a second form doesn’t make you a better person. You should know that more than anyone.”

Nissy shrugged. “I still hold out hope for the rest of the species.”

“Being an asshole is not simply restricted to lions.”

“Fine. I will concede that as likely. What are we doing?”

“Well, with the means by which we return, it helps to start here. The shifter council has vehicles stashed around the continent, and they will have a transporter send us to one of them.”

“The shifter council has a transporter on staff?”

He shrugged. “They have to. We have to flit around the continent at a moment’s notice.”

“I thought there were other hunters.”

“Oh, there are, but you can’t send a hummingbird to deal with a bear. They try and match our skills to that of our prey.”

They walked into a room on the first floor and a smiling woman was waiting for them. “Where to, folks?”

The office that she was in looked very comfortable and homey.

Brax extended his phone, and the woman nodded and made a note in a large ledger. “Got it.”

She gave them a focused look and nodded. “You don’t need to change clothing. You should be fine.”

Nicia sighed. “Hello, I am Nissy. I am new.”

The transporter stopped and laughed, extending her hand. “My name is Mary. I am pleased to meet you, Nissy.”

Brax exhaled noisily and waited.

Nicia looked at him archly and snuggled up next to him. “Manners matter, fluffy. Remember that.”

He raised his eyebrows. “Fluffy?”

“I am trying out pet names. So far fluffy is in the lead.”

Mary was making noises indicating that she was strangling on her laughter. “Well, I had better get you going before the fur flies. Stand on the icon and I will send you to the matching site.”

Brax wrapped his arm around Nicia and she was forced to follow him to stand on a decorative mosaic in the floor. A mild increase of light surprised her, but they were standing in a new building when the light faded.

The empty building was cool and the air tasted different from that of the shifter council headquarters. They really were in a new place.

Braxton seemed pleased as he led her through the stone building and toward a minivan that was waiting for them. “Every building is the same. All the layouts are identical.”

“If we transport back, how do the vehicles get returned to the building?” She settled in the passenger seat and buckled up.

“When we get back to headquarters, we tell them where we left it and a local shifter retrieves it, either from the abandonment point or the impound lot if it gets picked up. It is then returned here with the keys placed…” He flipped down the visor and keys slid into his lap. “Here.”

“It seems that someone has put a lot of research into this.”

He grinned. “Trial and error. It takes a while to create a working model, but with our populations more spread out and many shifters choosing to ignore their guilds, it means we have to adapt our methods.”

Brax drove them through the strange city using the GPS to guide them to a small shop on the outer edge of town.

“Is it always this easy to find them?”

“No. I believe we got this assignment to test you.”

Nicia wrinkled her nose as she hopped out of the van. She checked her phone and saw the picture of the man they were looking for. Garret North, smuggler and seller of shifter bits.

The shop didn’t have a sign but did have an alternative medicine logo. Nicia pasted a smile on her face and went in, determined to find out where the bits and pieces had come from before she snagged him.

The scent of shifter energy smacked her the moment she entered the room. She shook her head and screwed her smile back in place as Garret rose to his impressive height from behind the counter.

“Can I help you two?”

Nicia looked back at Braxton and sighed. “I am looking for something to give to our local mage to calm his…you know. He is wearing me out trying to keep up.”

Braxton played along and looked shamefaced.

Garrett nodded. “I believe I do. It won’t be cheap.”

She shrugged. “I don’t care. I just want to walk normally again.”

He smiled and turned, reaching up and bringing down a jar of tiny shards. He used tongs to lift out a sliver. “These are quite pricy, the shards of a gemstone turtle shell.”

The scent of pain that surrounded the shards was agonizing for her. She smiled and turned her head, “How long do they last?”

“One shard placed under the skin will last for two years. Given your partner’s obvious virility, I would take ten to last for the next two decades. You might not find a supply again.”

She wrinkled her nose and said. “I will take six. Now, I am looking for a gift for my brother. He’s looking for a nice young man, and I think he needs a little help.”

She pointed to the peacock feathers in a vase. “May I see one of them?”

“You know your properties.”

She shrugged. “I have done my due diligence.” She took the feather and inhaled sharply when the familiar scent struck her. It wasn’t the scent of the feather; it was on the base where it had been ripped from the bird. This test had suddenly taken a turn that spiralled her mood into darkness.

“May I look around?” Her smile was weak. She placed the peacock feather next to the shards she had agreed to purchase.

“Of course. Take your time.”

Braxton put his arm around her, and she led him through the shop, getting sicker by the moment. When Garrett came around to show her a particularly attractive set of lioness teeth carved into earrings, she turned and struck him in the throat, sending him stumbling back into the counter.

Braxton took the hint and grabbed him, wrapping his arms around Garrett and transporting him back to the shifter council headquarters.

Nicia locked the door, bolted it and drew the shades. Inside, she collected samples from nineteen animals, all carrying the familiar scent. When she had checked everything, she grabbed the bags, lined up the two pinpoints on her hand and wished to be back at the headquarters.

Light swelled and receded. She was in the basement again with her samples and Braxton was staring at the half-shifted Garrett trapped in his circle.

Braxton asked her, “What is all that?”

“Wells.”

Garrett jerked in shock and went from half-bear to human in a second. “You know him?”

She showed her fangs, and to her shock, a growl came out. “Where is he?”

“I don’t know.” He closed down and got a little sly. “I might remember if you let me out of here.”

Braxton was staring at her. “What is the problem?”

She grabbed him and the load of contraband. She stalked with him to the entryway and closed the door. “Do you see these?”

“Of course. They are contraband stolen from murdered shifters.”

“This is the work of my half-brother, Teron Wells. These shifters were alive when they were harvested, and that peacock was alive four days ago. The feathers were ripped out of him and the flesh is still drying on the edge of the feather.”

Braxton suddenly focused on her completely, and she saw the hunter in him. “What else can you get from them?”