Shifter Magnetism (12 page)

Nic tried to walk slightly in front of her, but she wouldn’t let him. He wouldn’t be taking any strikes meant for her today. She stopped when he did, about a meter from Manuel.

Nic clenched and unclenched his fists. “Where is my mother?”

Manuel narrowed his eyes as he regarded Nic, and the contemptuous slant to his mouth turned cruel. “You’re a wolf. You could have tracked her. You know this meeting between us is long overdue.”

“You don’t have to do this, Manuel. I’ve never made a play for your pack. All I want is to leave here safely with my family.”

“You should have thought of that before you began disobeying direct orders. Including consorting with witches.” Manuel’s gaze fell to Leila briefly before returning to Nic. “I formally challenge you, Nic Lobo. Before witnesses, I ask for no interference from pack.”

“Challenge accepted.” Nic grabbed Leila’s arm and guided her to the side of the circle of shifters that had grown around them.

“Leila, you may not enter the fight to attack Manuel. Stay out here, safe, until this is over. If I don’t win, get my mother out.”

“Win. I don’t want to answer to this guy in any way.”

Nic grinned at her, then held her close for a quick, bruising kiss. He let her go and walked slowly back out to the center of the circle, shedding his shoes, belt, and shirt on the way. Manuel did the same until both men faced each other barefoot and in their boxers.

Manuel was larger than Nic, bulky where Nic was more sleekly muscled. A day or so ago, she would have been much more horrified by this display of barbarism. Now she simply wanted Nic to wipe the floor with the guy, grab his mom, and take Leila somewhere so she could sleep. She’d had a tiring day.

The two men circled each other.

Leila expected the crowd to be loud and boisterous, but they were eerily silent. Across from Leila stood Manuel’s mate. Outside of clenched fists, she looked as expressionless as she did when they’d first walked up. Leila didn’t understand how she did it as Leila’s heart felt as if it were jumping out of her chest.

Both men suddenly ran at each other, fists up. Manuel hit Nic in the jaw, and Nic responded by returning the favor. They pounded on each other, though Leila could see Nic blocked or dodged most of the blows. Each strike rang out clearly in the silence. It was plain to see that, despite the difference in their sizes, they were evenly matched when boxing. Nic was slightly more skilled, yet Manuel seemed to have an edge on brute strength.

Then Manuel grabbed Nic about the neck in what Leila thought was a choke hold. Nic twisted and was suddenly free. He turned his entire body and kicked Manuel in the chest. The shifter slid across the space and landed at his mate’s feet. He stood quickly and ran back at Nic. One second he was a man, the next he was a large brown and black wolf. Nic shifted form before Manuel reached him and moved, twisting to the side. Manuel connected a claw strike with Nic’s back right leg.

Leila tensed at the first appearance of blood and the first sign Nic might be hurt. She forced herself to watch as the two wolves bit and swiped at each other, each trying to strike a mortal blow or force the other into submission. Nic struck out at Manuel’s flank, raking a bloody gash across his side. He continued the attack, clawing and biting at vulnerable points along the other wolf’s injured side, weakening him.

Leila instinctively looked to the wounded wolf’s mate. Mary wasn’t there. Leila glanced from face to face in the crowd, but the woman wasn’t among them. Had she left, escaping once she saw her mate losing? Leila brought her focus back to the men. They rolled together now, each trying to find a new place to hurt the other. The crowd was quiet and still around them. A flash of reddish fur caught her attention.

A reddish-brown wolf wound its way through the legs of the crowd, eyes on the battling wolves. Something was wrong. Could that wolf be Mary? Whoever it was, she was dangerously close to entering the circle. What if she intended to attack Nic if he won? He would be vulnerable and unprepared for the sneak attack.

Leila moved toward the reddish-brown wolf. She stayed out of the circle and kept to the ring of spectators. She never took her eyes off the red wolf, though.

She wasn’t surprised when, the moment the snarling stopped in the circle, the wolf sprang forward. The new wild part of Leila took over, forcing her legs into a run and jump. She felt the shift take her midleap. She hit the red wolf, knocking it to the side. Leila clamped her jaws over the wolf’s throat and used the hold to keep Mary pressed to the ground. The wolf struggled, and Leila’s teeth sank in deeper, drawing warm, salty blood.

She could kill the wolf, snap its neck as its punishment for trying to interfere. The blood coated her mouth, and she shook the other wolf a little. Then she felt a gentle hand on her fur.

“Let her up now, Leila.” Nic was using his alpha voice on her again.

Leila raised her eyes to his. He was back in human form. Behind him, the brown and black wolf lay quietly in the dirt. Slowly, she released the hold she had over the reddish-brown wolf. She brushed against Nic’s legs but didn’t change back. She wasn’t sure how to. Calming her breathing wasn’t working, and she didn’t have any clothes.

“Bring my mother.” Nic’s voice was full of command. She felt it under her skin just like when they’d been in the parking lot of her building.

Everyone in the clearing waited while Jake split from the group and strode to the largest house. The wolf Leila had taken down crept close to the alpha wolf, whimpering and nudging him. He rolled up sluggishly and sat. He didn’t acknowledge her efforts, nor did he change back to human form.

Jake returned with Ana Lobo. The older woman ran and hugged her son. She looked down. “Leila? You’re beautiful.”

Leila nudged her hand in gratitude.

Nic raised his voice. “I accepted your alpha’s challenge and won. As his mate attempted to attack me, my mate subdued her. You can sense she is an alpha female. She is also a witch.”

He paused while murmuring swept through the crowd.

“I won’t give up my mate for any reason. I have won the title of alpha. Any who don’t like it, feel free to leave.”

She watched as Nic turned his hard gaze on each of the people standing in the crowd and watched as every eye dropped. Then, with one arm around his mother and a hand in Leila’s fur, he walked through the crowd toward one of the smaller houses. He allowed them both to precede him inside before closing the door firmly behind them.

NIC LOOKED AT his mother. “Are you hurt, Mamá?”

“No, Nic. I’m fine. Find Leila some clothes. The pack won’t leave you alone for long. You’re the new alpha, and they will need to know what to do next.”

Nic hadn’t wanted to be the new alpha. He wasn’t even sure he had the temperament for it. He did know some of the pack had given up mates because of prejudice. That wouldn’t happen any longer. Mates should be together. He looked down at Leila, his hand still clutched in her fur.

He led her to his bedroom and let her fur go. She walked around sniffing.

“If you want to regain your human form, you’ll have to force the wolf back.” He went to his dresser and took out a T-shirt and a pair of sweatpants. At least she could roll them at the waist to make them fit properly.

He turned at her first whine and came down on his haunches before her. She paced, tail tucked against her body and head moving from side to side. With a small
yelp
, she crouched low to the ground as the change began. Fur receded even as her body contorted and elongated. It took longer than it would for another adult shifter, and Nic remained still and silent in an effort not to distract her.

By the end, she knelt on the floor, panting, gloriously naked and grubby from rolling around in the dirt with Mary. “Thanks. Is it always so hard to change back?”

Nic helped Leila to her feet. “It will get easier each time you do it. We should shower and change. My mother is correct. Soon there will be shifters at the door wanting to know what my first orders are.”

There wasn’t any time to take advantage of his mate in the shower. They washed quickly, and the first knock came just as they both finished putting on pants. It was Jake. He’d been Manuel’s third behind Nic. Since Nic had spent most of his time on police affairs, Jake had actually been acting second. Everyone else’s place in the pack would sort out as dominance challenges happened. For now, each member would take over the tasks of the shifter one step higher than them.

Jake’s posture was rigid, though his expression gave no hint to his emotions. “Manuel has decided to remain in the pack. Mary is gathering their things now. Your mother is directing the move here. We can send some people over to the alpha female’s home to retrieve her things.”

Nic turned to Leila and smiled when she simply stared back at him. “He means you. You’re the alpha female.”

Her eyes widened to a comical degree. “Oh. My name is Leila, and no, thank you. I need to go through all my things to see what I’m keeping at my place.”

Panic gripped Nic, and he quietly breathed through it. At least she hadn’t balked at staying with him for the moment. “We’ll leave Leila’s things for now. What else is on the agenda?”

“You already have petitioners. Those who wish to speak with you about their mates have already requested audiences.”

Nic glanced at Leila. Her eyelids drooped, and he realized she’d been trapped in a cage earlier and then almost killed a man, only to return home to find all her possessions destroyed.

Leila placed her hand in his. “I’m fine, Nic. I would like to see what you’ll have to do. It might take my mind off the rest.”

Nic turned back to Jake. “Set it up in the Yard.”

Jake left, and Nic pulled Leila into his arms. “I didn’t anticipate any of this.”

She hugged him back tightly. “You have responsibilities. I understand that.” She drew back and smacked him on his bottom. “Let’s go, wolfman.”

When they walked downstairs, the house was empty. He could clearly hear talk from outside. Stepping out of the house, he stared at nearly every shifter living in their compound. Children laughed and played, running between the adults’ legs. Two chairs were set up in front of Nic’s home, where the Yard’s imaginary boundary lay. He led Leila to the seats and sat her to his left before taking the right.

Two shifters brought a chair and table and set them up to Leila’s left before Tammi, the pack meeting recorder, sat there with her laptop. Once she was ready, she gave Nic a thumbs-up and a wink. The new third, Devin, waited for his nod before quieting the crowd. The petitioners had been given numbers, and Devin called the first to come forward.

It was an older couple, Bill and Harriet Stewart. Harriet Stewart played cards with his mother every Friday night. Nic had a pretty good idea what they wanted to petition him for.

Bill did the talking. “Alpha, our son Ron mated a human woman. He was banished from the pack when he wouldn’t give her up. Prejudice against outsiders isn’t unique to the Coldwell Pack, and they are still looking for a pack to accept them. They are expecting their first pup. Ron is a master plumber. He would be an asset to the pack. We petition to have his status reinstated and to allow his mate to become a part of the pack.”

Ron was a good guy, and he’d worked at the pack-run plumbing business before Manuel had thrown him out. Wolves without packs were unstable. Nic hoped all the petitions were this easy. “If Ron and his mate wish to join our pack, they may return and file for full membership. Is that all?”

Harriet Stewart had tears in her eyes. “Yes. Thank you, Alpha.”

Nic heard five more petitions about pack members being banished for having human mates. His answer was always the same. Then there were the disputes that Manuel hadn’t been taking care of when he’d been trying to track down Nic. It took him another hour to work through them all and call an end to the petitions. He set up another session in two days.

Then, to escape, he took Leila into town to the strip mall to find some things to wear. When they returned, the shifter on guard duty informed him his things had been taken to the alpha residence. He parked behind the building and gathered Leila’s bags.

Leila regarded the house with narrowed eyes. “You get Internet out here, right?”

He looked over at her and controlled a smile.

“What? I work from home most days, and I need to stay connected to do my job.”

Satisfaction coursed through him as he realized she was planning on staying for a while. He would have time to convince her they should be together. “We get Internet. Whatever else you don’t have that you need, I’ll get for you.”

Each home came with a base set of furniture—couch, lamps, a bed, and a dresser. Pack members could redecorate as they saw fit. Nic noticed all of Mary’s paintings and throw rugs were gone. He led Leila upstairs to the master bedroom. “Good. They brought my bed over.”

“Like your creature comforts, do you?”

He drew her close and wrapped his arms around her waist. “I have good taste. I mean, have you seen my woman?”

His mate’s smile was something to see. She gently pushed her hand into the hair on the back of his head right before she pressed herself closer and kissed him. He enjoyed the feel of her mouth and tongue on his and marveled at how lucky he was to have such a feisty and responsive mate.

She’d replaced her sundress at the mall, and he broke their kiss, reached for the hem, and dragged the dress over her head quickly. He’d picked out her matching black lace bra-and-panty set and was careful while he removed it, kissing her delicate skin as he revealed each inch.

She returned the favor, removing his shirt and pants and then slowing when she slid his boxers down his legs. When she went to her knees and reached for his cock, he grabbed her.

Leila resisted his touch. “What are you doing? I want to taste you.”

Nic shuddered with desire at her words. He hauled her to her feet. “As much as I would love that, I almost lost you today. I want some time to touch you and reassure myself you’re alive.”

“We were both in danger, Nic.”