A Matter of Pride (8 page)

He swore again and righted himself as he stumbled over the firewood that should have been stacked behind the cabin. Instead it lay in a heap by the unused fireplace. Monty sneezed and took a good look around him. Set up high in the mountains away from everything, the cabin had the solitude he craved. A little polishing and the place would clean up nice.

Some rumbles and snarls filtered through the woods, and he moved to the side of a window, automatically bracing himself for danger. Old habits were hard to break, and the gun in his hand appeared as if by magic, because he hadn’t felt himself take it from the back of his jeans.

Monty reached out with his wolf senses and smelled cats on the wind. He opened his mind and heard the psychic speak of their kind, like the flutter of wings through the pure forest air.

“
I told you, it’s this way.
” Dean.

“I still don’t see anything.”
That was Stacey Bermin. She had the husky voice of a sultry cat with the lethal attitude of a cobra about to strike. Pretty, but cold. Personally, Monty didn’t understand what his buddy saw in the woman, aside from her stunning looks.

Like her brother, she thought herself better than everyone in Cougar Falls. Though she’d been nice to Sophie, Monty’s favorite wolf in the world, he knew given enough time, Stacey would turn ugly. The minute she did, he’d show her why cats might be king of the mountain, but wolves ruled the forests of Montana. No one screwed with Sophie if he was around.

“
Honey, you’re too busy looking at my ass to pay attention to where we’re going,
” Dean sighed. “
Don’t fret that pretty head. I’m in charge now.
”

“God help us,”
she muttered.

Monty had to grin as he tucked the gun away against the small of his back. The pair argued almost constantly. Yet Monty had always noticed his friend watching her walk away from each of their parries with more than annoyance on his face.

“
He’s here. I can smell him,
” Dean said in a low voice.

“
Eau de dog,
” Stacey huffed. “
At least it’s not raining. I can’t abide wet dog smell. It lingers in the pores, you know.
”

The little witch. Dean snickering didn’t make him feel any better, either.

When they moved through the open back door and didn’t even look guilty upon seeing his scowl, he fired back, “Well, well. The kitties in need of saving? Stacey, Dean. Nice to see you could make it without breaking a nail.” He included Dean in on that one, pleased when the cat exposed a fang and twitched his nose—the cat’s equivalent of giving him the finger.

“Yeah, yeah. Look. Lex’s cats have been spotted a half day south of us. And Quince, another cat, is here with two dozen others intending to take him out. A power struggle in our own woods.”

“Here?” Monty hadn’t seen them on his way, and he’d been looking.

“
Here
.” Dean’s whiskers flexed as he looked at Stacey, a gesture she returned. “
Quince is apparently some rebel dickhead from Miami. He’s pledged Stacey his undying loyalty if she’ll play bait and lead Lex’s cats out here, away from the pride. The guy plans to take care of Lex himself.
”

“Right.” Monty wasn’t buying it.

Stacey growled. “
That’s not what he said. He isn’t interested in us. The Bermins, I mean.
”

“
Just Joy,
” Dean snorted.

“
He wants to get rid of Lex and take over the pride. I’d rather deal with Lex myself, if you want the truth. But I also want what’s best for the pride, and at this point, Quince is our best option. I’m willing to let him step in, at least for now.
” She stood close to Dean, so that when they padded on their feet, they touched. Their connection practically lit up the entire room. The scent of two cats in tune, their scents nearly close enough to be mated, swept over Monty’s enhanced senses. The body language couldn’t be ignored either. The cats leaned toward each other, and he could all but see them curling their tails together.

Christ, just what they needed. Pride trouble, Dean and Stacey hooking up and the eventual fallout when Miles found out and Burke recovered from a massive coronary. Life in the pride was never dull. Fun, confusing and always something to talk about, but not boring.

Monty couldn’t wait to get back and share his news with Joel and Grady. He’d put a hundred down on Dean wooing Stacey by summer’s end. The cat had apparently worked his magic, to the benefit of Monty’s wallet. Maybe he’d cut Dean in on a few bucks. Besides, he was fun to tease. Unlike his brothers, he didn’t yell or lash out. He got even in other ways, and it was a constant challenge to stay a step ahead of him.

Would that Monty could be so carefree. “What else, Stacey?”

She explained what she knew.

“So that’s it? Quince, two dozen of his cats, Lex and more cats?”

She didn’t answer right away, and the hair on the back of his neck stood on end. Monty could almost smell the trouble coming for them.

Dean rubbed his head against hers. “
It’s okay, Stace. We’ll take care of this. Don’t worry.
”

She didn’t tell him to add a Y to the end of her name, the way she usually did, and right then, Monty saw Dean’s future like writing on the wall. He started to laugh. “You are so gone it’s pathetic.”

“Not another word, wolf.”
Dean lunged, grabbed Monty by the arm with his teeth and dragged him to the back door of the cabin before letting go
. “Stacey, stay here. I need to talk to Monty for a minute. Don’t worry. He’ll play ball.”

“He’d better.”
Stacey shook her head, sat and began cleaning herself.
“Friggin’ canine.”

Monty deserved a little fun. Especially after being forced to leave Sophie behind in town, at the mercy of the chaotic wolf order. The damn gray wolves had been sniffing in her direction lately, and he didn’t like it. But was he back home, taking care of his…ah…friend? The hottest she-wolf he’d seen in ages? Nooo.

Once outside and away from Stacey, Dean changed back to his man’s form.

Monty bared his teeth at Dean in a parody of a smile. “So you banged Princess Kitty, eh? Didn’t think you had it in you,
hillbilly
.”

Dean swore. “Fuck off, Monty. I didn’t
bang
anyone.”

The annoyance on Dean’s face was worth the fist Monty was surely going to take. Usually Dean rolled with whatever female wanted some action, joked about it later—with said female—and didn’t let anything ruin his good mood. Dean Chastell had to be one of the mellowest, most fun-loving cats Monty had ever met.

This tension in his buddy promised a helluva good time.

“So was she any good?” Monty wiggled his brows. “Think she’ll want the taste of a
real
man, now that she’s had an inferior pussy?” Oh yeah. Dean’s eyes stared to turn, and the rage gave his scent a touch of musk. “You know, once they go wolf, they never go—”

And there went his jaw.

The stupid wolf kept laughing, despite the punch to his face. Stacey poked her head out a few times, frowning as she stared from him to Monty.

“Fuck me, but you hit like a pussy too.” Monty spasmed with laughter.

“Shut up. I’m serious, Monty. We have trouble close.”

The wolf settled down after a minute, rubbed his chin and grinned up at Dean with ice blue eyes that never quite contained the predator within. “So some rogue cats are dancing around the woods. Didn’t we teach them a lesson a month ago?” Back when they’d routed the cats who’d kidnapped Gabby and shot Miles, killing Lex’s younger brother in the process.

“Yeah, but we’re now in the middle of two sets of enemies. Lex, the number one asshole. And Quince, number two. According to Stacey, he’s got a thing for Joy.”

“Oh hell. I like
her
.”

For the first time, it bothered Dean that Monty didn’t like Stacey.

“Stacey’s not so bad.”

“Not if you’re fucking her,” Monty muttered and ducked the punch Dean couldn’t help throwing. “I’m kidding, I’m kidding. She’s okay, I guess. Just high-maintenance. You sure you know what you’re doing?”

“What do you think? I had to call you out here for pretend repair work. I’m hiking through the woods with a woman who goes on regular spa treatments and considers a long walk a trip to Macy’s make-up counter. And I’m seriously considering staying feline just so I can watch her get naked when she’s tired of going around four-footed.”

Stacey snarled from within the house, her growl low enough to carry.

“Dangerous, that one.” Monty shook his head, and Dean had to agree.

He’d completely lost his ability to reason. He should have been telling Monty to go back and get the pride involved. Dean should have packed Stacey up and gone home. Her brother and sisters should have been forewarned that danger had come. But he wanted to make her happy. He respected her decision to take control of the situation and meet the enemy on her terms…so long as he could keep her safe.

“Dean?”

He shook his head. “Right. So I need you to take word to Burke without letting anyone else know. Stacey said Quince thinks someone’s been watching the pride. They’re reporting back to Lex.”

“So he knows you two are out here.”

“Probably. But another fly-by would give us better information to work with.”

Monty nodded. “I’ll talk to our raptor friends for some intel. Far as I know, there are a few campers in the woods nearby, but not many. All human, no Ac-taw.”

“There’s that at least.”

“But you said Quince has cats in the woods. We haven’t spotted them. And our wolves in the area haven’t smelled them either.”

“
Our
wolves?”

At Dean’s confusion, Monty explained, “I have a few friends I asked to lend a hand—not just any wolves from the order. We have you covered for a mile in every direction. No way are there Ac-taw nearby, not unless they’re using something to mask their scent.”

“Could be Hunter’s mist. That stuff can knock out scent.”

“Yeah. But where would the cats pick that shit up? Only Hunters carry the stuff.” Monty frowned. Dean knew the wolf had experiences with Hunters he’d never shared. Like the others in the pride, he was dying to know where Monty had been during his years away from Cougar Falls. “Either Quince has connections with Hunters, or he lied and he’s not out here protecting Stacey like he said he would.”

“But we met Jeremy. I tagged him and I scented him. He’s real and not a cat I recognize. He’s got to be from Miami.”

“Could he have belonged to Lex?”

“Who knows? He said he was with Quince. Why lie?”

“Well then, I don’t get it. But I don’t like it either. We need more help on this. Fucking Hunters,” Monty growled.

Stacey pushed her head out the door. Her ears were back, her eyes narrowed. She opened her mouth and licked at the air.

“Get back inside,” Dean snapped, worried, confused and angry, because he had a feeling Stacey had lied to him. And that hurt more than anything.

“I would hope you’d be smart enough to realize you can’t boss me around. You’re not my pride leader. And you’re not my brother.”

She put his back up, no two ways about it. That bitchy tone did its job. He wanted to snap back at her, right after he kissed the condescension off her snotty face.

“Nope,” Monty answered for him. “Not your brother, kitty. Even in a hickville like Cougar Falls, we frown on incest.”

She blinked at him in confusion, and then her ears twitched and her cheeks scrunched, as if they had turned a delightful shade of pink.
“Up yours, wolf.”

Monty chuckled again. “Oh yeah, this is gonna be fun. After we deal with this mess, you two are fair game.”

Stacey glared at him. “
Now I can see why everyone considers you a pain in the ass.
”

“A badge I wear with pride.”

Dean was surprised to sense Stacey’s amusement. The more time he spent really seeing her, the more he realized she wasn’t as stuck up as she appeared. Or as much as she wanted people to think she was.

“Yeah, well. Just be careful. You never know what else is out here in the woods.”

The somberness of her words struck Dean. It struck Monty too, because his eyes narrowed. “Something else you’d like to tell us, Stacey?”

“I just— Hell. Quince told me the reason he really wanted to oust Lex from the pride was because Lex had dealings with Hunters. But he never told me they’d be out here.”

Monty and Dean froze. “Hunters?” Dean asked.

“
I don’t know
.” She sounded miserable. “
Something Jeremy almost said in the cave made me think there might be Hunters nearby. Quince told me I’d be the bait to lure Lex out here. But it’s Saturday afternoon and no sign of Lex or any cats, period. Supposedly Lex’s thugs are south of us, but Quince’s guys should be all over the place. How are we not smelling them?
”

“There are a few humans in the area,” Monty said slowly. “Maybe Lex’s real team isn’t Ac-taw at all. His cats south of us could be a distraction.”

“The Hunters could be working for him, close enough to grab her and we’d never know it until it was too late,” Dean murmured.