Changing Times (9 page)

Opening the closet door so forcefully that it bounced off
the wall, Carly dove in. She moved several boxes, muttering under her breath.
Finally
!
She jerked a small box out with a satisfied crow.

“I don’t think this is what Dad meant when he said I might
need this thing.” Carly laid the pistol on the bed, trying to remember what she
had done with the ammunition.

Snapping her fingers, she grabbed the gun up and went across
the hall. “Where is that damn lockbox? I know it’s in here somewhere.” She
tossed things aside in her rush.
Finally
! Carly’s fingers trembled as
she loaded the weapon that had belonged to her grandfather. Her father had
insisted on giving it to her when she decided to return to New Orleans.

Carly had only fired it twice but she remembered enough
about it to load it with hands that only shook a little. She went back
downstairs with the pistol tucked securely in her hand. Listening for any
noise, she paced between the kitchen and the living room as she waited for
something to happen.

The darkness had just begun to lift. Tony stopped just at
the edge of the front steps to sniff of the air around him. His keen cat eyes
narrowed as he sought out who had come to try to harm his woman. The man knew
she wasn’t really his, but the cat had already claimed her—scented her as his.
His nose told him that Micah stood guard at the back door.

He could hear Carly inside the condo and hoped she’d have
enough sense to stay put. Another sniff and he growled low in his throat. She
had a gun. Foolish human. He’d told her that only silver would stop one of his
kind. He made a mental note to get her a supply of silver bullets. Tony
swiveled his head to the left as he focused on the row of hedges that separated
Carly’s condo from the property next to it. There was definitely a creature
there.

Tony crouched down low as he stepped off the small landing
and into the shadow of the building. He stayed in the shadows as he slunk his
way to the corner of the house. He could smell the intruder. It was definitely
canine and male. But the scent markers were unfamiliar.

This was not Slade. He’d sent someone else to do his dirty
work. Tony narrowed his eyes so that the faint light still in the sky wouldn’t
reflect his eyes to alert whoever was in the hedge. He sensed Micah moving up
on his left. Tony slowly gathered his body into a crouch as he prepared himself
to spring. His tail twitched in anticipation as his quarry moved. Bunching his
muscles, he waited for the exact moment the intruder sensed that they were
watching.

There was a brief movement in the hedge and Tony leapt
forward. He felt more than heard Micah moving up on his left as he landed on
the back of the smaller animal in the hedge. They struggled in the bushes. Tony
growled and the wolf answered him as the two of them fought. Viciously sharp
canine teeth sunk into his foreleg, sending searing pain up his arm. Still, Tony
grabbed his assailant just below the neck rather than snapping him in two. Tony
didn’t want to kill him—he only wanted to find out who this shifter was.

Once Tony held the stranger under his claws, he glanced over
at Micah to see him regain his human form. A strange wrinkling of Micah’s aura
told him what was about to happen. Tony watched as the wolf beneath his paws
changed to a startled man. The surprise on the now-naked human male’s face made
Tony grumble in his throat. Only he and a few others had ever seen this unique
ability of Micah’s—this skill from Micah’s grandfather’s side of the family was
feared by other shifters. All shifters inherently mistrusted anyone who could
control the forms of others. But Tony knew that Micah was judicious in his use
of this rare power. He trusted Micah to only force the change when absolutely
necessary.

Tony held his feline form and kept his grip on the other
shifter. He heard Micah moving closer and growled low in his throat as the man
below him continued to struggle. Tony flexed his claws on the man’s shoulders
as Micah stepped in to try to identify him. Tony’s snarl kept the other man
from bolting.

“Cutter. Tony, this is Cutter Bristol. Slade is not going to
be very happy with you, Cutter. You’ve screwed up…again.”

“Fuck you, Micah.” Cutter’s voice sounded like he was
talking through a mouthful of ground glass. Tony growled low in his throat and
applied pressure to the man’s back. The swift intake of breath was the only
indication he gave that he was experiencing any pain at all.

“Interesting tattoo you have there, Cutter. Is that new?” Micah
indicated the tattoo on the back of Cutter’s neck which was eerily familiar.
Tony looked closer, realizing that the mark bore resemblance to a swastika. The
shifter didn’t move or say anything. He simply stared at them. “So, Cutter,
Slade has you doing his dirty work these days? Curtis would be so proud.”

“Shut up, traitor. You don’t know what you’re talking about.
Things changed after you left. Curtis would have had you as Alpha if you hadn’t
left. But you did leave so you don’t get to say anything about the pack. Now
Slade is my Alpha and I answer to him.”

Tony tightened his grip on Cutter, causing him to inhale
sharply again. Tony could smell the blood welling out of the other man’s
shoulders where his claws were holding him. He snarled again as the warm
coppery smell rose to meet him. Tony could feel the “other” waking, he knew his
animal was closer to the surface than ever before.

The tension in the man under him increased. Micah moved again,
ready to intervene. Micah pivoted at the sound of a door banging open behind
them. Tony knew it wasn’t another shifter coming up behind him, knew it was
Carly.

“Get back inside, Doctor. We’ll handle this.” Micah stared
down at her completely unconcerned with the fact that he was standing in Carly’s
front yard as naked as the day he was born.

“What are you doing? That man is bleeding. Can’t you stop
him?” Carly gripped the old pistol but her attention was riveted on Tony and
the man he pinned to the ground. Tony’s rear claws had dug furrows in the
ground beside the man, his forepaws clutched at the man’s shoulders where blood
welled. Tony’s teeth grazed the other man’s throat. The horror in Carly’s face
turned to anger.

“Let him go, Tony. Let him go. He’s just a man. You’re
hurting him.” Her voice shook.

“Doctor, you must go back inside now. Let us do what must be
done.” Micah took his attention off the man briefly but it was long enough for
the other man to regain his ability to shift. A flash and a shimmer sparkled
behind him as Cutter found his animal again. Then it was a flurry of teeth and
claws as Tony and Cutter started fighting in earnest.

Micah scooped Carly up as though she were a child and ran
toward the house with her.

He pushed her through the door and growled at her, “Stay inside.
Lock the door. Do not come out until we come for you.”

As soon as he heard the lock click, Micah jumped off the steps
to run back toward the other two men. He knew better than to try to get between
them. Micah could smell the blood. He could hear the two of them growling and
the sounds they made as one or the other sustained an injury.

Tony outweighed Cutter when in animal form but Cutter had
much more experience in fighting. In a pack you didn’t get anywhere unless you
could fight. If you were interested in getting anywhere, that is.

Tony still ripped into Cutter, but pain had to be hampering
him. Micah could see blood where Cutter had bitten deeply several times and
Tony’s sides heaved like a bellows. Cursing under his breath, Micah took a step
forward then stopped. Tony would win if he didn’t let Cutter have the edge of
Tony worrying about the woman.

“She’s safe, Tony.” Micah chanced speaking.

Tony looked up at the sound of Micah’s voice. Cutter took
advantage as he bit savagely into Tony’s shoulder, twisting his neck to pull
fur and flesh out. Tony yowled, releasing Cutter. Relinquishing his hold on
Tony, Cutter scrambled out from underneath him and took off, crimson dripping
from his wounds. Tony started to give chase but Micah’s voice called him back.

“Let him go. I know where to find him.” Micah watched the
big cat as he limped back toward him. The serpentine movement Micah had always
associated with big cats seemed accentuated in Tony. Tony limped to a halt in
front of Micah. He panted open-mouthed before sitting down to lick over the
spot where Cutter had bitten his shoulder.

The wound was deep but not life-threatening. Blood mixed
with the black fur on Tony’s shoulder where Cutter’s teeth had ripped into his
flesh. Micah knew that type of injury, had sustained a few in his time. It
would ache, even after Tony healed it by shifting a few times. Twisting his
neck, Tony cleaned the jagged edges, hissing softly when he hit a particularly
painful spot.

Micah could see the muscle just at the deepest point of the
bite. Fur matted under the flow of blood as Tony cleaned the spot. Finally the
bleeding subsided enough for him to turn his attention to his other injuries.
Another similar bite marked the back of Tony’s neck. The tentative movements
told Micah that Tony had strained several muscles.

He also knew Cutter would be in worse shape because Tony had
bitten him very deeply several times as well as gouging him with those sharp
claws. A wolf couldn’t match a cat in that department. Tony’s head suddenly swiveled
toward the house. Carly stood on the steps.

“
Stupid
human,” Micah barely got the words out before
Tony coiled his muscles and bounded past Micah. He stopped right in front of
Carly and roared. Carly jumped and pulled the trigger of the pistol. The shot
rang loud as the bullet plowed into the ground. All three of them could now
hear sirens.

Obviously one of Carly’s neighbors had called the police
during the fight. There wasn’t any more time for foolishness. Tony shook and
changed. Picking Carly up, he took her inside, leaving Micah to follow and close
the door.

Tony carried Carly into the living room, yanked the pistol
out of her hand and threw it across the living room. He tossed her on the couch
then grabbed her shoulders in a fierce grip. He glared at her with eyes still
gold and his voice growled out.

“Have you completely lost your mind? Don’t you understand
what could have happened to you? We have fangs, Carly. Fangs and claws and
human flesh is too frail to stand against them. You never should have come
outside.” He gave her a slight shake.

Carly didn’t even have time to draw a breath before he
kissed her. Tony took all of his anger, all of his fear and all of his
frustration out on her in that kiss. His mouth was hard against hers as he
sucked her lower lip into his mouth. He felt himself grow hard knowing she
could feel him pressing against her stomach.

“Damn you, I could have lost you.” Tony growled as he kissed
her again, just as fiercely as before.

Micah cleared his throat. He had managed to pull his jeans
back on before he heard a car pull up out front. “We have company.”

Tony’s head whipped around, his body still reacting to the
fight and the fear of losing Carly. He suddenly realized what he was doing. He
levered himself up off Carly, knowing nothing he could say would matter at this
point. He picked up his pants and flipped his hair over his shoulder.

Carly pulled herself to an upright position on the couch
with a dazed expression on her face. Tony jerked at the sight of the dark stain
on her shirt. Immediately he moved back toward her, noting her small move away
from him. It hurt, but he knew it was best that she feared him. She had to fear
him to be safe.

“Are you hurt?”

“What?” Carly looked up at him in surprise.

“There’s blood on your shirt. Are you hurt? Did he hurt you?”
Tony had his hands on her shoulders again. Carly shook her head slightly.

“No, it’s yours. You’re bleeding.” She reached toward his
arm where the blood still seeped from the bite he’d sustained.

Tony shook her hand off as he pulled his shirt on. “Go
upstairs and get a clean shirt.”

When she simply stared at him, Tony growled and pulled her
to her feet. “Go, Carly. Now. That’s the police pulling up outside. Get out of
that shirt or there will be more questions than any of us want to answer right
now.
Go
!”

Carly ran up the stairs to change out of the shirt. She
stared at the red stain for a moment then threw the bloodied shirt in the
trash. Her hands shook so she took several deep breaths to calm herself down.
Carly heard the doorbell as she came to the top of the steps. Micah opened the
door to the two uniformed officers just as Carly started down the stairs.

“No, Officer, I don’t know what was making all the noise. It
came from the hedge out there. Dr. Chambers and I had stepped outside but we
didn’t see anything. We were just about to call you when we heard the sirens.” Micah
glanced over his shoulder at Carly. “This is Dr. Chambers. It’s her condo.”

“Ma’am. Are you okay? One of your neighbors was a bit
concerned, said she thought you might be having some trouble.”

“No, thank you. Everything is fine. I heard something
outside but I have no idea what it was. I think it might have been some of the
feral dogs that are left from Katrina.”

“Do you mind if we take a look around, Doctor?” One of the
officers stood on the top step, already shining his flashlight into the hedge.

“No, of course not.” Carly stuck her hands in her pockets to
keep the men from seeing them shake. Micah gave her a slight nod of
encouragement. There was no sign of Tony. Micah stepped aside as the first
officer came into the house. Micah made sure he kept his hands in plain sight
as the two police officers looked around the living room and kitchen.

Carly glared at him for a moment as she asked with her eyes where
Tony was. Micah simply glanced up at the roofline of the condo. The second
officer was walking around in the yard with his flashlight sweeping in front of
him.

“Martin? I’ve got some blood out here.” The officer who had
been inside immediately joined his partner outside. The two of them swept their
flashlights over the ground under the hedge. One of them went down on one knee
as he pulled up a patch of hair. “Dog. Looks like it was a couple of animals.”

“Doctor, we had a report of a gunshot. Did you fire a
handgun?” The older officer was looking at her again. Carly spared Micah a
brief glance before she nodded.

“Yes. I wasn’t sure what was in the bushes. I thought firing
the gun would scare whatever it was away.”

“Doctor, you do know there’s an ordinance against firing a
gun inside the city limits, don’t you?”

“Well, I guess I wasn’t thinking too clearly. It sounded
like they were tearing each other apart.” Carly smiled slightly as she met the
officer’s eyes.