Fighting for her Mate: Shape Shifter Paranormal Romance (Sassy Mates Book 5) (13 page)

TWENTY-FIVE

Raymond’s sexy hot girlfriend straddled him on the bed and kissed him. She worked her sweet tongue along his jaw to his ear. She stuck a sloppy lick over his ear canal then bit down on his lobe, causing a bit of pain.

“Hey, baby. I know you like it rough and raw, but dial back on the teeth there. Just tongue me, baby.”

Her hot hand slid across his forehead then back over his head. Wet kisses returned to his lips at the same time another bite stung his ear.

“Babe—” her tongue dipped into his open mouth and snapped out like a tease. Again, and once again. Her nails scratched down the side of his face and his ear stabbed with pain. Ray was losing patience. “Okay, woman.”

His girlfriend looked at him and yipped.
What the hell
? She licked his nose and gave a tiny bark. Her breath smelled like a dog’s.

Ray’s eyes opened to see a tiny snout and blue eyes staring at him. The little pup licked his nose again and sat on his throat, her tongue lolling to the side. Next to his ear, another furball growled and yanked his lobe with sharp canines. Tugging and twisting in his hair told him where the third pup played.

“What the hell? Y’all can’t transform yet. You’re too young. Even I know that.” He thought about his dream with his girlfriend French kissing him, then eyed the pup’s tongue lolling out. He jumped off the bed and ran for the door. Ray ran the opposite direction of the miscreants. He had to scrape his tongue and brush his teeth, at least twice.

This was so not his gig. He had nothing against rugrats and ankle biters, except they were a pain in his ass. A loud crash came from the other room and Ray was on his feet instantly. He hurried down the hall. “Hey, whatever you’re doing, cut it out. I ain’t cleaning no messes around here.”

He stopped in the entrance to the kitchen. Ray noted one of the furry behinds had a diaper on with duct tape still around the waist. That little one sat on top of the refrigerator next to a cookie jar and stared down at the open fridge door below him. Shit.

Ray glanced lower to see a pair of hind legs and wagging tail sticking out between the fridge door and its frame. How the furry little monster got the door open was beyond him. The tail disappeared and the door closed. Shit.

Ray hurried to get the crotch fruit out of potential danger. He pulled the door open and bent down to find the kid. He heard a scraping sound above, and then felt a heavy pain shoot through his head and knock him to the floor. For fuck’s sake!

Laying on his back, he gazed up to see the pup wearing a diaper with his head dangling over the front side of the fridge, tongue hanging. Ray rolled his head to the side to see the ceramic cookie jar in pieces. The little shit pushed it off the top onto his head. Who did this wise, diaper-wearing ass think he was?

A muffled bark came from inside the fridge. The biggest of the twat goblins scurried to the fridge. He lay on his back and put his paws under the door and pushed until the door opened. The one inside was leaning on the door also, and when it swung opened, jumped from a wire rack with a Ziploc back of fried chicken in her mouth. Shit.

On the way to the floor, the package wedged between two bottles of salad dressing in the door shelf. Her teeth held onto the plastic as she dangled. Her body weight stretched the bag until it tore and chicken splatted on the floor. Dinner was served.

Still laying on the floor, Ray rose to his elbows to stare at the mess. A sudden sharp pain shot from his groin to his stomach. The crib-midget on top of the refrigerator had jumped, landing on his balls, then scurried to the food the other two partook.

Ray curled into a ball on his side and growled through his teeth. The littlest ankle biter looked at him and cocked her head. She sank her teeth into a fried drumstick, dragged it toward Ray, and set it in front of his face. She then scooted it against his mouth with her head. The little princess sat and peered at him for a few seconds, then she leaned forward, licked his eye, and frolicked back to her brothers.  

The smart pup with the diaper jumped onto the cabinet and bumped his head against the sink faucet handle, making the water run. He lapped at the flow as the other two joined him. They pushed each other and splashed around, creating a mess. Ray climbed to his feet to put a stop to it.

The largest of the cute demons fell against the backsplash and wedged himself between the wall and separate handheld sink sprayer. His big belly pushed against the sprayer, streaming water in an elegant fall over the basin to the floor. Shit, now there was water everywhere for Ray to clean. Shit.

Ray reached for one of the wet rats as she twisted her body to shake off the water on her coat. He squeezed his eyes closed and turned his head away. When he looked back, all three were disappearing down the hallway. Shit.

Ray turned the water off and went after them. He wondered how the babies morphed into their wolf souls so quickly. Science speculated that nature suppressed the instinct until babies were old enough to comprehend the alter self. Maybe the little mutants were older than Rahound told him.

He stepped into the living room. Mid-stride, a blur ran past his feet. He tried not to step on it and stumbled to his knees on the hard tile floor. Shit, that hurt. A growl reached his ears and he turned to see white fluff in the air floating to the floor. One of the semen demons whipped a small sofa pillow around in its teeth, gnashing and growling. The material was torn, shooting stuffing into the air with each thrash of the pillow.

Ray sighed and crawled toward the sofa. His hand came down on something squishy and he saw the used rubber he flung from the couch earlier. His arm flew up, shifting his balance sideways and he hit his head against the coffee table. Fluff rained over his face causing him to sneeze.

Two of the crotch fruit chased each other. Ray’s stomach happened to be in their path. The diaper devil jumped over him, but the bigger bastard launched too early and landed its back end on Ray’s solar plexus. Air whooshed from his lungs.

He rolled over to catch his breath, his nose brushing against the rubber condom. His head shot back as the two boys ran over his skull, one getting its belly stuck on his ear, legs too short to continue. Ray jumped to his feet, face in a snarl. “Okay, enough of this shit. Everyone settle down.”

The three tiny hoodlums stopped and looked innocently at him. Yeah, right. He wasn’t that much of a sucker.

Standing, looking as angelic as possible, one lifted his leg next to a plant. Ray dove for the twat droppling. “Oh, no you don’t.” The little one barked, laughing puppy style, and zoomed away. Ray chased the pee-er around the coffee table. He reached down to scoop it up and slammed his jaw on the dark wooden top. Unfortunately, his tongue happened to be between his front teeth at that time.

He fell into a chair in front of the window and howled with pain, a coppery taste coating his mouth. A big ripping sound came behind him and he looked over his shoulder to see front paws with claws out sliding down the curtain panel. That side of the metal curtain rod snapped and hurtled toward his face. Shit.

His eyes rotated toward the other side of the room, where Diaper Butt had batted off the lid to the aquarium and proceeded to fall into the tank reaching for an angelfish. Shit, shit.

The third sniffed around a plant again. Real shit.

TWENTY-SIX

Midnight at the field of good and evil. Caleb snorted as he stood beside Ellie along the edge of the Scenting field. Evil didn’t begin to describe his asshole uncle.

The cool air was as still as the creatures of the forest. The proverbial quiet before the storm. And what a storm was in store for this field. Last he was here, Marco and Kelly were taking the first steps to starting a new life together. Now, he was here to end one.

Ellie squeezed his hand. She was beside him and he felt empowered. He was stupid to think he was protecting her by not letting her help him in the battle against Rocco. She had been attacked multiple times by rogue wolves. Encouraging her to train in self-defense with Mike was one of the smartest decisions he’d ever made. Or had Ellie made that choice on her own?

Didn’t matter. What did was what he had learned by keeping her away: without his partner by his side, he would never be complete. There would always be something missing from him. They were born to be together, born to guide and love their people as true leaders should.

They would turn the Rahound pack around. Together, they could heal the damage done to the members and gradually bring back those who escaped to other packs. He had a great mentor to help him along. Ellie’s dad, Tristan, was the perfect example of a husband, father, and alpha.

Caleb wished his father was still alive to offer advice. He wondered how everything would be if his father hadn’t died in the wreck. Tristan and Barbara lived, why couldn’t his father have? He was a strong alpha. All he had to do was shift once to heal enough to live.

Caleb shook his head to clear those thoughts from his mind. He loved Ellie, her parents and her brothers, even though they were sometimes overprotective of their little sister. But that was okay. He was, too.

On the other side of the clearing, Rocco and a few of his enforcers walked out of the dense woods. Behind them were a handful of men and women—the Rahound council. The council took their place in the center of the field between the two groups.

The time had come.

Caleb said, “I was beginning to wonder if you’d show, Uncle.”

Rocco’s sneer was evident even at this distance. “Don’t be so eager to die, boy.”

Ellie squeezed his hand again and he smelled her fear. He took her into his arms and kissed her. “Don’t worry, sweetheart. I fight with you in my soul which gives me the strength to overpower anyone. Except your dad, maybe.”

Rocco grunted. “Such sweet words, Romeo. Now get out here so we can get this over with. I got shit to do, women to fuck.”

Caleb turned toward the field and gave a quick nod. “Let it begin, Uncle.
According to tradition
.”

“Figured you’d say that.” With evident disgust, Rocco brushed his hand through the air at the council. “Get it going.”

One of the men ceremoniously unrolled a scroll and read: “A challenge to the death for the alpha position of the Rahound Pack has been made by Caleb Rahound, son of Conly Rahound, former alpha, and accepted by interim alpha, Rocco Rahound, brother of previous alpha. Alpha Rahound, do you bring witnesses who will acclaim your worthiness?”

Behind Rocco, people poured out from the forest. Men and a few women from the Rahound pack, tough looking strangers Caleb knew to be rogues, others he didn’t know, and several vampires, including a dapper dark-haired gentlemen dressed in genuine dojo attire.

“Fuck,” a surprised and shocked Ellie and Caleb said at the same time. An alpha challenge needed only a few to verify tradition was followed. What did Rocco have planned with so many followers?

Rocco looked more than smugly pleased. “I bring witnesses who will acclaim my worthiness.” He gestured to his group. “As you see, I’m well admired.”

The council turned to his side. “Caleb Rahound, do you bring witnesses who will acclaim your worthiness?”

Behind him and Ellie, people stepped forward from the trees. In the lead were her brothers and their mates, Jaxon and his men followed. Trevan and his guys headed out with Aria and her three powerhouses. Behind them, it looked like the entire Wolfe pack had come.

To Caleb’s surprise, several pack members on Rocco’s side ran across the field to join their enemy. Their action further solidified in Caleb’s mind what he was doing was the right thing for his pack.

Rocco’s smile quickly faded. Caleb grinned. “I bring witnesses who will acclaim my worthiness.” He let his quantity of supporters speak for themselves toward his admiration.

“Challengers come forward and stand in front of me.” Both men stepped toward the center of the field, each eyeing up the other’s potential. The elite member continued. “The rule for the challenge is simple: if a challenger leaves the fighting circle for any reason, they forfeit.”

The councilman looked up from the paper. “The circle is a twenty-five feet radius from this point where we stand.” Caleb noted the distance stopped where the grass ended and the gravel parking area started. He’d have to get Rocco to the sidelines or onto the rocky parking lot. “Do you understand the rule as given?”

Both challengers said yes.

The council hurried to the top of the circle and stood just beyond the grass. One of the ladies raised her hand. “Let the challenge begin.” Her arm dropped to her side.

The two combatants circled each other. “So, son—”

“Don’t call me son. There would be nothing more despising than being your offspring. Good thing your line officially stops here.”

Red reflected in Rocco’s eyes a second before his transformation. Rocco’s wolf leapt at Caleb’s head, claws spread to rip out a huge chunk of flesh. But his target vanished and he arched as he felt a pain in his chest. Caleb had morphed into his wolf and remained underneath, claws held up to drag the vulnerable belly. Rocco’s twist upward saved his life.

Two wolves circled each other, each waiting for the opportunity to attack. Rocco swiped a paw over Caleb’s muzzle, leaving a few bleeding scratches. Rocco laughed at his cheap shot but even something so innocuous wore down the fighter.

After waiting for so long for Rocco to play his trick, Caleb attacked. He was tired of waiting for the coward. Fur flew, teeth flashed, red claws raised and slashed through the air. The battle became a blur in motion.

Groups on both sides cheered their contestant, offering advice and useless help.

The wolves broke apart, panting, circling. Rocco pushed for a telepathic connection which Caleb accepted. “Well, boy, you’re holding your end so far. How long can you last against a real alpha?”

“Uncle, I’ll let you know when I fight one.”

Rocco snapped his teeth at Caleb. He dodged the second cheap shot. “You little shit, you’ve always been a pain in my ass.” A feeling of smugness passed through the link. “Tell me, pansy ass, are you still a virgin? What
man
runs from a group of women who want to fuck? I was so disappointed in you. But you’re your father’s son. Pathetic.”

Caleb refused the bait his uncle dangled. A cool mind prevailed in the end. “What’s the plan, Uncle?”

“Ah, yes. You’d like to know that before you die. And I’m dying to tell you.” Laughter carried between the connection, only from Rocco’s side. “No pun intended, of course. My dear nephew, I intend to take your little girlfriend and treat her just as I would’ve her beautiful mother.”

Caleb’s heart stumbled. “You’re thirty years older. She’ll never agree, you overgrown piece of shit. You’re disgusting.”

“No, what’s disgusting,” Rocco began, “is all the delicious things I plan to do to her scrumptious body.”

“You will never touch her!” Caleb cut the link between the two and lunged at his enemy.