The Link That Binds (7 page)

“Don’t make me out to be some ignorant cub, Link.” Solomon sneered at him and Link barely managed to hide a cringe. “I consider myself a pretty good judge of character and while I might not particularly like you, you are far from being directly evil. Besides, Leo told us how pissed off you got when Mika injected your little supernatural blend into him. If you were a true fang banger, that shouldn’t have bothered you.”

Far, far too perceptive.

“I can help you, Link, and you won’t have to hurt people for what I ask in return.”

There.
For a second he’d thought the shifter had appeared genuine, but as he’d suspected there was always a catch. “And what would that be?” Link bit out, letting the acid hang on every word.

“Jace,” the shifter stated simply before downing his second drink with a pleased rumble.

Frowning, Link asked, “What does he have to do with any of this?”

“Earlier today you may have noticed some… erratic behavior on Jace’s part, not including the damage to your family jewels.”

“I’m not quite sure
erratic
covers it, but yeah, I
noticed
.” Link wouldn’t be forgetting
any
of Jace’s behavior anytime soon, judging by the dull throb behind his jeans, which he wasn’t quite certain was all due to Jace’s attack. Despite the violence, Jace was somewhat of a lewd being and the man could definitely kiss.

“I’m most likely going to get my ass handed to me by Jace for letting you know this, but Jace has gone into heat.”

Link’s shock was sidetracked as Trey, who’d been taking a sip of his own drink at the time, sent liquid flying across the bar as he nearly choked.

Feeling his cheeks heat up as the meaning of what the pride leader had said began to sink in. “So? That’s not my fault.” He practically hissed.

Cat shifters going into heat hadn’t been included in Link’s knowledge of shifters. The thought of
Jace
being in heat though… did males even go into heat?

Solomon chuckled bitterly, “Actually, it’s
all
your fault.” At what was probably an even more confused look from Link, he continued with an exasperated sigh, “You’re his mate, dumbass. It’s because of you that he’s in heat in the first place.”

Link’s face had drained of pretty much all color at Solomon’s statement. He might not know how feline shifters, even the males, went into heat, but he did know about mates.

The thought that he might be Jace’s mate was ridiculous… except Jace had definitely acted strange and what Solomon told him made the whole thing seem plausible.

Then again, Link could probably name a dozen drugs that would cause the same effects. Of course, doing something so elaborate seemed a bit extravagant in ways of setting up a trap…

How in the world he’d allowed himself to be persuaded to be brought along with Solomon to their lair, or whatever, was beyond him. He had to admit curiosity probably had a play in it, but this wasn’t really rational thinking.

Solomon had a regal, no-nonsense aura about him and watching him as he drove, Link had to admit the guy was pretty damn hot too. His hair was like Jace’s, near white-blond, but the man had quite a bit to go on size-wise, even making Link feel slight.

Apparently catching him staring, Solomon cleared his throat. “You should know that you’ll be a dead man if Jace catches you staring at me with interest showing so blatantly, even if you both happen to share similar tastes.”

“Just admiring the view,” Link drawled. “Besides, I haven’t quite decided if I believe you yet. For all I know, Jace’s hyped up on some homemade shit.” Link snorted.

“Unlike you, Jace actually uses his abilities to do good things in life. More into the healing part of things, not the deterioration of mind and body,” Solomon commented back.

“What? Jace is your tribe’s medicine man or something? Or maybe some kind of shifter shaman?” Link quipped sarcastically, who the hell knew what kind of hoodoo these yahoos were into.

“Well, I don’t know about him being a shaman, he does have an MD though,” the pride leader muttered, clearly getting annoyed by Link’s continued arguing.

Surprised, Link didn’t really know what to say. He’d been studying to become a doctor himself before dropping out his second year, deciding to get a degree in biochemistry instead… he’d often thought about going back to medical school, but had never really gotten that far seeing as Mika had
recruited
him before he had a chance to do so.

First he’d been fascinated, vampires existing, organisms that sustained their living by feeding off blood was a fascination that had soon ended. Soon but still too late.

Jace being a doctor, though, wasn’t something he’d expected.

“I’ve also slept with him on several occasions,” Solomon added, ripping Link from his thoughts.

Link found himself glaring at the man he’d recently been admiring. “Not like I figured Jace to be much of a saint in the first place, so why tell me?” he seethed.

Taken off guard by the anger rushing through his veins, he found he had to bite back a growl of his own. The thought of Jace being with somebody else left a bad aftertaste in Link’s mouth. Jace was
his
… or at least if what Sol said was true.

“Several reasons actually. Mostly because I cherish Jace a great deal and, if you end up breaking his heart, I’ll be one of the kitty cats tearing your carcass limb from limb even after you’re dead,” Solomon growled.

Link unintentionally shivered at the ice cold sneer he got from Solomon. No matter what the man might be, Link did not want to be the target of his anger. Also, it wasn’t often he met someone with a cold enough tone to make
him
shiver.

“As for the other part, stuff like this is murder on a relationship if discovered later on. The whole
honesty, don’t you trust me, how could you
crap that is likely to transpire in those situations can’t always be rectified. The least I can do is let you and Jace try to work things out on your own terms, giving you equal footing at least.”

“You’re just full of generosity, aren’t you?” Link growled and rubbed his temple when his right eye started twitching. He hated when that happened. It meant Sol had struck a nerve.

“Always,” Solomon smirked, “and depending on how long it takes for you to get your head out of your ass, I will tell Jace everything about your darling Debbie and why you’re working with Mika in the first place,” he warned.

“How the fuck do you know about them!?” Link snarled, cursing himself for not managed to sneak a gun in with him.

Raising an eyebrow, Solomon whistled. “Them, huh? I hadn’t quite reckoned with there being a
them
.”

Fuck!
Solomon had tricked him?

“I heard your barkeep mention someone called Debra, figured she was your girlfriend or something. Guess I undershot it a bit.”

Before Link could strangle the man for what he knew, the car stopped and the window on Solomon’s side went down, revealing another attractive man with short brown hair and a golden gaze turning to scrutinize Link. “Hey…” the man said, “aren’t you…?”

“I’ll fill you guys in later; just leave it for now, Kett. And no running to your brothers to blab about it either. Don’t think I didn’t notice you taking over as the pride gossiper when Jace was away.” Solomon scolded the pretty man who straightened, looking thoroughly offended.

“I’m not gonna tell,” the young man objected, but a soft pink blush still colored his cheeks.

Liar, liar…

One thing was sure though, while Link might not entirely trust these guys, they sure had a helluva nice assortment of men. He also couldn’t help thinking Jace still happened to be the prettiest and definitely the most enticing of the bunch.

After the window closed a large iron gate opened, a small blue spark telling Link the gate, as well as the entire fencing, appeared to be one live wire. Beyond the gate, the view actually made Link gape.

So far there was no sight of a building; instead they kept driving along a dirt road, disappearing into what looked to be a whole frickin’ forest inside the fence. Not that trees were lacking in general around these parts, but he could have sworn some of those trees looked to be pulled straight out of the jungle, mixed in with large oak trees and ferns, it was rather breathtaking.

“I’ll give you to the end of the month.” Solomon interrupted by saying, “That’s how long you’ve got to tell him before I do.”

“Just who the fuck do you think you are? And what makes you think I’ll even be here for that long?” Link argued.

Bad enough having Mika pinning him down for drugs without being pushed around by an oversized tabby to boot.

“I’ve got a hunch; let’s just leave it at that. And the end of the month should be enough time for you guys to figure things out, one way or the other,” Solomon drawled, having lost interest in Link’s arguing.

“Right, so you guys are just going to keep me locked up then, is that it?”

“Good god, you’re paranoid.” Solomon snorted. “Although… I
did
suggest that Jace have you thrown in a cage as retribution for his little vacation. Apparently
he
thinks that would be somewhat barbaric. So you’ll be free to come and go as you please… I’m going to have you followed though, don’t really trust you. Not yet anyway.”

“Fuck you!” Link growled, as if the shifters were so fucking trustworthy. At least Solomon was upfront about having him followed.

“No, I believe the idea is to fuck
Jace
,”
Solomon reminded him.

Somehow, Solomon’s words made him feel like he was some sort of gigolo with Solomon his fucking pimp. Although a round or two with Jace wasn’t exactly something you turned down, mate or not.

It took a couple of minutes to drive through the enclosed forest before the heavy branches and leaves cleared enough so Link could see where they were heading. A large building met them, looking like a cross between a factory and a mansion. It definitely looked regal, but still managed to look sturdy enough to withstand a nuclear attack.

Outside were parked several identical black SUVs just like the one they were driving, along with two Harleys.

Getting out when Solomon parked the car, he waited for the man to lead the way. Link had no idea what to suspect at this place and he knew better than to stroll in like he owned it. This was feline territory, not human.

Walking up the steps, Solomon managed to step back a moment before the front door flew open and a petite young man wearing an apron burst through the doorway, giggling ‘til he noticed Link and froze in his tracks. His face visibly paled, a look of terror replacing the previously joyful one.

Only a second later a large blond covered in flour came running out the door with an identical smile. When he recognized the smaller man’s terror, he pulled the man behind him and roared.

Link could see something shift under the other man’s skin and had to fight the urge to run and take cover back in the car.

“Maddox!” Solomon called out to the enraged being. “Stand down, now!”

Maddox seemed unwilling to do anything but jump at Link and tear his throat out. His body appearing to vibrate with the desire to dismiss his leader’s order.

Only when the little guy wrapped his arms around the big guy’s waist did the shifter seem to calm down.

“Maddox, it’s all right. I was just startled, okay?” The young man soothed the large man.

With his eyes still glowing a predatory, golden color, he pulled his mate, as Link figured he had to be, from behind him and into his arms while still glaring death threats at Link.

Now that Link had a better look at the kid, his eyes went wide as he realized who he was. No wonder he hadn’t recognized him immediately though, seeing as the last time he’d seen Leo, he’d been drugged out of his mind, wearing nothing but a pair of leather pants and a collar. Now he seemed to have gained some crucial pounds and a lot healthier coloring. And he was smiling.

“What the fuck is he doing here, Sol?” Maddox growled. “He’s a fucking drug dealer for crying out loud.”

Link glared at him, but knew he couldn’t argue against what he said. After all, it had been he who’d manufactured the drugs, which were far from suitable for a human body, that the moron, Mika, had given Leo. The fact that Leo still lived, given the condition he’d been in back then, wasn’t far from a miracle in Link’s opinion.

“Leo,” Sol started, “I’m sorry I didn’t warn you before bringing him here, but I brought him for Jace’s sake.”

Maddox rumbled as he pressed his mate closer in his arms. “Hope it’s to have his balls chopped off for what he did to him. Liam’s still pissed for letting Jace get caught and I’m pretty sure he’ll want to chomp this bastard down a few inches if Jace isn’t up to it.”

Link caught Leo watching him warily, before his eyes widened and his head snapped back to look at Solomon. “He’s Jace’s mate, isn’t he?” he whispered.

Link shifted uneasily as Maddox’s jaw appeared to go slack.

“You’re shitting me?!” Maddox slipped out when the initial shock wore off.

“Easy tiger, I don’t even know if I like him yet,” Link informed him.

“Lion,” Leo objected.

“Sorry?” Link asked.

“Maddox’s a lion shifter, Solomon is the tiger,” he explained.

“Right… thought shifters gathered amongst their own, but these guys are just a mixed band of strays, aren’t they?” Link chuckled darkly.

“At least they aren’t fucking
volunteering
to be Mika’s bitch!”

Link startled at harsh words coming from the little man and, from the looks of it, he wasn’t the only one taken off guard. His face went red though when he seemed to realize what he’d said and turned to hide his face against his mate’s broad chest.