The Wolf Fount (14 page)

She went limp, her hind paws just touching the carpeted floor. Her ears were back and she was panting. But she obeyed, not having a choice. “Lucas is going to let go of you and you will be still.”

He nodded at Lucas, who slowly lowered her to the floor and released his hold. Morgan stood there, her sides heaving. Her narrowed eyes didn’t move from Cal’s. He frowned and she cringed, but continued holding his stare. That wasn’t normal.

Shit, had she actually gone mad? It was rare, but did happen. Cal racked his brain while watching Thane kneel beside her. The were-liger smoothed her ruff, removing the marks of Lucas’s grip and moved onto running his hand over her back.

Morgan was tensed, and Cal had no doubt that if he released her from the command, she’d attack him again. Her panting was slowing though, which meant Thane’s attempt to calm her was beginning to work. Which was fantastic, but Cal honestly didn’t know what to do next.

T
he anger she felt was allowing Morgan to maintain her stare into Calhoun’s eyes. She didn’t know what the son of a bitch had done, but she was physically incapable of moving. Thane’s purring and gentle strokes smoothing the raised fur on her back were beginning to have an effect.

For a few seconds, Morgan felt terrible about trashing the were-liger’s apartment. All he’d done was stop her from hurting Jana, and then himself. He’d released her the second she’d begun crying, and had tried to comfort her. She wasn’t sure exactly what had happened next, other than a red-hot rage flooding her. Couldn’t remember if she’d hit him, or exactly when Thane had disappeared behind a closed door.

Morgan did remember finally beginning to calm down and realizing she’d totally lost it. Then the door had opened, and Calhoun was there, reeking of sex and multiple women. Cue losing it completely, again.

She felt her lips drawing up and back, baring her teeth, and watched Calhoun’s eyebrows rise.
Bastard, I’m going to find a way to rip your smug face clean off
.

Because seriously, how fucking dare he spend all that time with her and jump straight off into fucking other women the same night he’d kicked her to the curb?

A growl crawled out of her throat. Morgan felt the man who’d pulled her off Calhoun edge away. Thane stayed where he was, ceaselessly purring and stroking her back.

“Well, you are presenting me with one hell of a problem.” Calhoun’s eyebrows had lowered to scrunch together. “I can’t have you tearing up the place, or my people.”

Fuck you
. It was getting easier to react in spite of his order to be still. Morgan illustrated that by snapping at him, her growl deepening.

He stepped closer, dropping to one knee before her. “Morgan, I don’t like forcing anyone to behave. Agree to calm down so we can discuss what’s going on.”

Oh, you don’t like it, but you sure haven’t hesitated
. She drew in a good, deep whiff, and sneezed in his face. Calhoun closed his eyes. “Nice.”

He wiped the sneeze spray from his face and opened his eyes. “Come on. I’m sure you have a perfectly legitimate reason to be angry, but it’s not fair you’re taking it out on others.”

She did feel a little guilty about that. It wasn’t as though she’d really intended to hurt Jana, just scare her. But him... Morgan eyed Calhoun’s throat.
I’m good with taking it all out on you
.

“If you don’t calm down, I’m going to have to stick you in an isolation room until you do. You’ll stay there however long it takes.” His eyes had turned orange, the gold spinning around his pupils. “Don’t force me to be the bad guy. I may not like it, but I can absolutely be one.”

Every inhale brought more of his scent into her lungs. Not just his, but the sex smell and scents of other women. Three other women.
How do I know that?

Morgan shook her head and sneezed again.

“D
amn it.” Cal wiped his face again, hearing her growl resume. He glanced at Thane, but the were-liger was focused on Morgan. Lucas raised his hands and backed farther away when Cal switched his attention to the smaller man.

“Do not look at me. It was one thing when I thought she was beating the hell out of Thane. You’re on your own now, boss.”

“Remind me to demote you.” Cal scowled when Lucas laughed, but met Morgan’s glare with one of his own. “Listen ...”

If not for Thane’s quick action, her jaws would’ve closed on Cal’s throat as she lunged forward. Cal fell on his ass, jerking away from her, and blinked while the were-liger stood, holding her draped over one arm. Morgan dangled like a puppy, her eyes mere slits and ears pinned flat.

She should not have been able to throw off his command to be still.
What the hell is going on here?

Without a word, as usual, Thane ambled down the corridor. Morgan twisted in his hold, to keep Cal in sight as long as possible.

“Where is he taking her?” Lucas offered him a hand up.

Cal took it. “I don’t know, but I’m going to find out.”

They both followed at a distance, until Thane entered an elevator. After trading a look, the two slid into the elevator and kept to the side. Morgan’s growl filled the small space as the doors closed, her eyes fixed to Cal’s. Down they went. Cal checked the control panel to find the were-liger had chosen the lowest level.

The level the few unstable Weres were kept.

Does he think she’s lost to us
? Cal checked Thane’s profile, but couldn’t tell if that were the force driving his actions.
Maybe he just wants to show her what will happen if she doesn’t settle into her new self
.

As ideas went, it wasn’t a bad one. Thane had spent a few years down there, right after he’d physically recovered enough to be dangerous. Not that he’d been dangerous; the were-liger had required a gradual introduction to everything. No one had figured out how long Thane had been imprisoned and he didn’t have any memories of his life before. His memories of his imprisonment weren’t exactly coherent.

It was a mystery Cal wasn’t sure would ever be solved.

M
organ wasn’t struggling because she couldn’t. Her thwarted attempt to attack Calhoun had sapped the small amount of defiance she’d gathered, leaving her nothing but the ability to glare at him now. Even so, she realized that his scent overpowered the other two men’s in the confined space.

Something about it hurt and she rejected the thought that it was because he smelled of other women. Why should that hurt her? Piss her off, sure, but not
hurt
. Calhoun was nothing to her, except a temporary sex partner, oh, and of course, her current jailer.

Hatred felt better. She glared at him.
I fucking hate you and will find a way to make you pay for this shit
.

The elevator finally stopped and the doors opened. Curiosity proved stronger than her need to keep her eyes glued to Calhoun’s and Morgan turned her head. The corridor outside was rock.

What the hell
?

Thane carried her out. She understood what the place was in short order. There were animals down here, imprisoned behind clear walls in caves. Halting before one, he let her have a good, long look at the beast behind it: a lion who seemed to have gone insane. The lion threw itself at the wall, snarling, spraying saliva everywhere as it clawed and pounded.

Morgan whimpered in horror, unable to look away or close her eyes. Thane reacted by adjusting his hold, gathering her in both arms. He’d stopped purring when the elevator doors had opened, but began again. After a few moments, he moved to another viewing window and she saw a wolf.

The wolf didn’t attack the window. It wasn’t doing anything except sitting in the center of its cave, staring off into space. For some reason, that seemed worse to Morgan than the lion’s mindless attack.

Movement called her attention back to Calhoun, who walked up to the window and put his hand on it, staring at the wolf. She felt a surge of something unexplainable, instinctively knew it came from Calhoun, but whatever it was had no effect on the staring wolf.

The next area was empty and a chill made her shiver.
Are they going to leave me down here
?

Being stuck in Thane’s apartment and being trained didn’t seem so bad now. In fact, it was probably the only way she’d ever have a chance to escape this place. Morgan closed her eyes and turned her head to rest her muzzle on Thane’s shoulder. He responded with a gentle squeeze and turned to walk back to the elevator.

Right now, the were-liger felt like her only friend. Not that he actually was, but that could change. She could see to it that it did.

C
al kept his eye on Morgan on the elevator ride up. She’d gone boneless, her eyes closed, head resting on Thane’s shoulder. The were-liger’s show and tell effort had apparently borne fruit. Relieved, he decided Thane should continue to be her caretaker, since he seemed to understand how best to handle Morgan.

By the time the elevator stopped, Cal was already rearranging who’d train her in his mind. No women—there was no way to guarantee Morgan wouldn’t flip the fuck out if another woman were placed over her even temporarily. It’d been a long time since he’d had to deal with a Were as dominant as Morgan seemed to be.
I’m rusty. That’s why she was able to ignore my command for a minute
.

Looking from her to Thane, he didn’t think the were-liger would mind. Thane was softly purring, his expression content as he held her limp body.
In fact, it might be as good for him as it will be for her
.

Even better if they developed a strong attachment, because that would remove the potential headache Morgan could be for him. Cal smiled for a second, imagining her running wild among the men. He didn’t think Morgan would ever prove easy, as far as fitting in, especially being strongly dominant, but surely having someone like Thane completely to herself would work out.

And the were-liger certainly wouldn’t mind that aspect. Thane hadn’t had many playmates; lion and tiger females tended to feel a slight aversion to him. His lack of speech intrigued the odd human woman, but few humans could be trusted with the truth and eventually, Thane’s silence began to creep them out. Only a few of his female wolves had proven willing to occasionally keep the were-liger company.

Of course, it would mean doing without Thane on missions for a while, but Cal thought that was just as well. For all his size and ferocity in battle, the were-liger was a gentle soul who didn’t enjoy violence or killing. He was loyal and Cal didn’t want to trade on that loyalty constantly. There were plenty of other Weres better suited, mentally and emotionally, to hunt and fight.

They reached Thane’s apartment and waited outside while he carried Morgan in. Lucas raised his eyebrows. “I’d better call housekeeping, get people in there to clean up and replace stuff.”

“Yeah, do that. Tell them to be quiet and not to send any women.”

“She’s going to be a lot of trouble, boss.”

Cal shook his head. “I think she got the point about what being a lot of trouble will mean. Thane seems to have a grasp on how to handle her. He’s in charge.” He immediately filled Lucas in on the changes to be made on her training roster. “And I’ll be around, if she goes ballistic again.”