Be Were (Southern Shifters) (9 page)

Chapter Ten

Not ready to explain herself, Niki hurried down the stairs. Outside, she found the entire group plus Rafe and his off-the-wall mate waiting for them. Bhric leaned against Dean's dark green SUV with his arms crossed over his chest and sunglasses hiding his eyes. To everyone else he looked casual, but Niki sensed the tension vibrating just underneath the surface. Unleashed he would make a formidable opponent. At the moment she was glad he wasn't on the wrong side.

Greer and Robert stood next to their bikes not far away, as did Calder, who in the light of day, looked bigger than his damned Harley.

"What are they doing here?" Dean asked from behind her.

Niki turned to see Dean indicating Rafe and Kitty.

Bhric shrugged. "She's tenacious. You want her out of your business? Good luck with that."

"We weren't planning to take anyone along on this trip. In fact, I need to borrow a bike for us."

Bhric stood to his full height and Niki's animal tensed, going on alert. "You're taking her with us?"

"I'm not leaving her here."

Niki bristled at the way they talked over her. Who the hell did they think they were? "Don't talk about me like I'm not standing right here." She stepped forward and moved toward Bhric. "Anyone who thinks they can leave me behind like the little woman can challenge me right fucking now."

Dean growled and Bhric raised his hands in surrender. "Fine. Not my call."

"Damn right," she said.

"Unfortunately, there aren't any extra bikes. If everyone is going then you should take the Jeep and the wolf with you."

Niki started to open her mouth and let loose when Kitty stepped forward holding a white box in front of her. Again, Dean reacted and stepped in front of her.

"Relax," Kitty said. "I come bearing breakfast."

Niki couldn't see Dean's reaction but the smirks on both Rafe and Bhric's faces indicated he wasn't happy. Seems these idiot males took entirely too much pleasure when the females didn't behave as expected.

"We don't need—" Dean started.

"Whoa." Niki shoved him to the side. "Speak for yourself. I'm starving." She sniffed the box. "Blueberries?" she asked hopefully.

"Yeah, we stopped at Mia's bakery in the village and she had these blueberry muffins fresh made."

Niki lunged for the box and tore into it. Her stomach rumbled as she plucked the biggest one from the box and peeled the wrapper from the bottom. She and Dean had a lot more on their minds than food, so they hadn't thought about eating, until food came into view and then bam. Starved. She took a huge bite and savored the burst of fresh blueberries. "Oh my goddess," she moaned. "These are so fucking good."

Laughter burst out around her and she realized all eyes were on here and most of them were quite amused.

"Hello. Pregnant." She took another bite and tuned them out. She might have to rethink her attitude toward the scarred feline. Bringing blueberries bought her a lot of goodwill as far she was concerned.

"So are we going or what?" Niki asked. "Cause if we're not, I'm going back inside to find some milk."

"Depends on whether you're done having an orgasm over those damned muffins," Dean said.

Niki looked up with her mouth stuffed with the fruity treat. They were all still staring at her, their looks intense.

Uh oh.

"Yeah," he said. "Your little display is affecting everyone."

She focused on Dean and breathed deeply. He wanted her and damn it was strong. "Crap." She shoved the rest of her muffin back into the box. "Let's go. Now."

Niki scooted behind Bhric, opened the door of Dean's SUV and slid into the driver's seat, waiting for the others to follow suit.

"What are you doing?" Dean popped his head in the open window.

"That sounds like an unnecessary question," she said. "If it's not abundantly clear: I'm driving." Her mood had gone south after humiliating herself. This pregnancy was really getting on her nerves. It made her act beyond strange. Dean shot her a harsh look, accompanied by one of his sexy low growls probably meant to intimidate her, but made her hot instead. This was going to be one long trip...

#

Dean opted to go with the flow for now instead of poking at his feisty mate. Not only did he feel the need to protect her, he also desired her happiness. His beast pushed for it, in fact. Had to be that one-quarter bear talking. Besides making him larger than the average shifter, it was well known a bear's instincts about protecting its cub and its mother were an extremely high priority. He opened his passenger door and slid in next to his riled up woman.

Rafe appeared at his window. "We'd like to help," he said.

"We're good on this trip. But Bhric mentioned you have a doctor."

"Simon, my beta. I can bring him by later."

Dean nodded. "That would be good. Thanks."

Before anything else was said, Niki started the vehicle and headed down the gravel road. He frowned. Damn stubborn woman.

"What?" Niki asked in irritation.

"Rafe may not be a hybrid, but he is an alpha of his pack. Under normal circumstances, what you just did would be considered an extreme insult.

"Did you want them to tag along or not? Half a minute more and they would have been crawling into the backseat. Isn't it enough we have a motorcycle gang following us?"

Dean looked in the side mirror and saw three motorcycles not far behind. "Bhric isn't the kind of man who asks for permission. He'd rather ask for forgiveness later."

"I don't even think it's a good idea
we
are going. The last thing we need is a small army to announce our presence. That'd be overkill on a job like this. If we must do this, then let's get it over quickly."

"Then what?"

"Then I figure out who in my family has betrayed me. After that, I'll decide a course of action. I like facts and plans. Not going off half-cocked."

Dean leaned back and pushed his fingers through his hair. "And that's what you think this is? A bunch of males going off half-cocked?"

She didn't answer but the smirk on her face said it all.

"Why are you so sure someone in your family is responsible? Aren't there any other
possibilities? You're quick to judge them."

She didn't answer right away as she turned on the two-lane highway that crossed over the mountain and headed west. "You're right," she said. "I am quick to judge. It's a skill I've honed to a fine edge over the years. Quick yet thorough decisions mean the difference between success and failure. If I can't rely on my own ability to make a good choice in a crisis then I'm doomed."

He didn't know what to say. She called these people her family, yet her internal code was all about being alone, only protecting herself. "Have you ever trusted anyone?" Maybe it was a shitty question to spring on her, but damn. Her idea of family made no sense.

Niki drove through the hairpin turns of the last of the dragon tail, as this stretch of road was called due to its many dangerous curves. "Trust is dangerous, Dean. It gets people hurt. I see it all the time."

"Is that a no?" he asked.

She didn't turn and glance at him. She kept her eyes on the road. He took her continued silence as his answer. He got the impression she wasn't used to being questioned. At least not by someone outside her family. Whatever that meant. His head still spun every time he thought about her being the product of some genetic experiment, or what kind of childhood that had meant for her. Raised to be a killing machine. It was alarming to know the rumors about white cougars had barely scratched the surface.

How would that affect our child? There was so much to work out between them. Not the least of which included his riff with his brother. He couldn't prove his ability to raise a family if he couldn't fix this situation between him and Bhric.

The neutral zone sat in the middle of the North Carolina mountains, the most beautiful area of the country as far as he was concerned. Thick forests of pine made the perfect cover for a shifter on the run. The current blanket of snow changed the landscape, making it more of an adventure.

Niki turned onto the larger highway, quicker to access Pickwick land, leaving clan grounds behind. The moment the tires hit the super roadway, Dean's cat started to bristle. Some rare shifters were suited to the modern amenities of city life, but he wasn't one of them. In that respect, he and Niki had more in common. He dealt with the smattering of humans that occupied his bar, but he preferred the company of shifters. It was too much damn work to be constantly on guard and keep his beast from being revealed. Not to mention the woods. He never wanted to be far from where he could run and roam freely.

Dean closed his eyes and savored the companionable silence between them, pushing out thoughts of where they were headed. The calming effect of her presence on his cat amazed him. After the fallout with his brother he'd doubted his ability to trust another female, yet here she was. Her arrival in his life had put a lot of things in perspective and he'd realized what a huge mistake he'd made with Brenda. It was easy to see the differences. The other woman had been beautiful no doubt, but she'd never roused the animal like Niki did and the difference astounded him.

He felt the cat inside stretch and then recede. His contentment had not been at this level since his mother died and he and his brother had to start their lives over in a new place. With his thoughts lost in the past, their peaceful ride ended quickly when Niki turned off the highway onto a much smaller stretch that wound around the lake. After several more miles, she turned onto an unmarked dirt road that barely accommodated his vehicle. With no visible residences and overgrown shrubbery it looked like a rarely used area.

"This is as close as we can get on wheels," she said. "After we stash the vehicles we'll have to make the rest of the trip on foot."

"Do I want to know how you know this area so well?" he asked.

She shrugged. "Probably not."

Layers. The woman had them in spades and he looked forward to taking the time to learn them all.

With the sun barely visible through the trees now, it would soon be dark. They'd have the cover they needed to make their way onto the semi-protected pack land. They'd had very few guards when he'd recovered Niki from this area, but that stunt may have left the wolves on higher alert.

Niki stood on the brakes and swerved off the road.

Dean jerked forward. "What is it?"

She killed the lights and engine before she spoke. "They're closer than I expected." She lifted her head and her nose flared. "Maybe half a mile."

He opened his door and slid out. He signaled to his brother to park on the other side of the SUV to keep the vehicles hidden from the road.

Niki stepped up next to him. "I don't like this. Too many people means too many things to go wrong. It's hard to keep the scope of the job narrow."

"This isn't just some job." He was getting annoyed that she didn't get the driving need to do this. "They're going to be expecting us and you'll be surprised how effective Bhric and his crew can be." The one thing he didn't doubt about his brother was his commitment to retaliation. He'd seen it in action more than once. "If we'd tried to leave them behind they'd have followed anyway. At least this way we all work together without any wildcards throwing things out of whack.

"If you say so." Niki turned around and started pulling off her shirt and pants. Underneath she wore a black brief tank top and matching shorts. He swallowed, hoping his brain would reengage soon. She looked stunning standing in the setting sun. Her skin glowed and she might as well have been naked considering how his body reacted.

Before he could recover,
the other three shifters joined them. They took one look at Niki and turned away. "We're going in ahead. We'll try the building where they kept Niki captive first. Meet us at the edge of the woods behind the main building.

Dean nodded and the three men disappeared into the woods.

"You trust them?" she asked.

"Yeah, I guess I do. If I didn't trust him he wouldn't be here."

"So before we go in there I have to ask." She looked determined with her arms crossed and the rest of her body rigid.

"Okaaay." He wasn't sure what was coming.

"Tell me about your animal. He's strong inside you, but he's different and I can't put my finger on it. A little wolf, a lot of cat and something else..." She leaned forward and sniffed him, putting her curves well within reach. He smelled her too. Exotic, curious and aroused. Damn what a combo.

"Bear." Might as well put it out there.

She reared back and locked gazes with him. "Seriously?"

"Surprised?"

Niki took another step closer and pressed her nose against his side, his stomach, his chest and ended at his crotch.

"Jesus hell, Niki. What the—?"

His cock twitched with her face pressed so close to it. The beast roared to life, urging him to take his mate. They both wanted her more than breath. But Dean couldn't have her right now. They were already trespassing on Pickwick land and Bhric and his crew were waiting on them.