King Cave (45 page)

“West, stop!” Jack ordered harshly.

West’s claws disappeared, but he bared his teeth at Clyde. Clyde huffed at him, but when no other attack came, his head began darting between Ezra and Bonnie, his huge paws pattering in place on the table. He appeared anxious, especially when he glanced away from them to West, then back to Bonnie, making a whimpering sound in his throat as he danced around.

“Oh, Jesus,” Ezra muttered under his breath quietly, then more loudly, “Just behave.”

Clyde’s chest heaved as he hopped to Bonnie. He flat out threw himself on top of her, lying on her haphazardly and nuzzling his head against hers when she grunted. He kept this up until she quieted, lying her paw on top of his head, their noses together. When her eyes closed, Clyde’s gaze left her face for a heartbeat to narrow at West before it found her face again, and closed peacefully.

“What in the world?” Pearl muttered in awe.

Ezra sat down slowly, reaching across the table to pet their now sleeping forms. “Our lions don’t hate each other. Or us.” He ran a finger over Bonnie’s small head. “They’re friends.” He paused, then said quickly, “I think Clyde was afraid West was going to hurt her.”

Um, yeah. I didn’t need to scent the air to know that was a blatant lie.

That was Clyde jealous.

“Well, at least the male’s…” King Nelson’s jaw gently shut as West bounded forward and butted his head against Ezra’s face.

Ezra froze, but all the cub did was nuzzle his head against Ezra’s cheek twice before bouncing to me and rubbing his furry back under my chin where I had leaned over to pet Clyde and Bonnie, then bounce to Pearl and flop down in front of her, again staring at Buttercup.

Jack blinked. Blinked again. Then snatched West off the table, saying, “I’m going to take him to the bathroom to clean his ear off.” I was pretty sure I had never seen him move so quickly without actually running.

Into the silence I cleared my throat. “Why didn’t the current Kings get an animal as Prodigies?”

Cahal answered, “Because it means you four will be the Rulers before the war technically begins.” His gaze traveled to King Venclaire as he raised a questioning eyebrow.

I swallowed hard. War wasn’t that far off.

King Venclaire stood and glanced at King Fergus. “Should we wait for Jack to return?”

King Fergus nodded.

King Venclaire began pacing at the far end of the table, ignoring how Buttercup growled at his movement, as he waited for Jack to return.

A quick peek at Ezra didn’t help, because his gaze was hooded and not on my face. He had rocked back onto two legs of his chair and was balancing effortlessly with his arms crossed as he stared covertly at my cleavage, my leaning position over the table giving him an excellent view. Too bad I hadn’t planned it that way, but maybe I should have. Well, at least right now I had gotten the outfit right.

“Is that a new dress?” King Kincaid asked skeptically into the somewhat hush, as the Elders and Kings had begun talking quietly amongst themselves.

My gaze snapped to him. “Yep, you like?” It wasn’t normal Shifter wear. He may not approve.

He eyed it. “Can you shift easily?”

Ah. The main concern. “Yes, it’s more functional than my normal clothes.” I pulled back the coat, showing my side. “It has a side zipper so I can remove it easily, and I’m not wearing anything under it.” I shrugged. Easy shifting.

Thump.

King Kincaid had been in the process of nodding in approval, but everyone went quiet as their attention turned to the Vampire across from me.

Ezra had toppled back in his chair to the floor.

I couldn’t see him because of the table, but from the ground I heard him mutter, “Fucking shit.” He blurred, and he was on his feet, brushing off his clothes. He waved a negligent hand, not looking at anyone. “Just lost my balance. I’m fine.” He sat his chair to rights.

“You sure, son?” his dad drawled lazily.

Ezra did glance at him. His gaze was blank. It would have been perfect if his cheeks weren’t flushed. “Yes. I’m fine.”

King Venclaire’s lips twitched. “Perhaps you should sit in your seat correctly from now on.”

Ezra grunted, his fingers tight on the back of his chair.

“So, what have we heard…,” King Kincaid began asking, and I tuned him out.

‘Cause Ezra was beginning to agitatedly remove his robe with movements that were just a touch too quick. I barely withheld my grin, watching him. I knew exactly what he was doing. The man had just fallen out of his chair at my words, and now he was trying to even the score, since he had embarrassed himself. It wasn’t my fault that saying I was wearing no underwear had made his concentration falter.

But his body still had its normal impact on me. He wore a thermal white shirt, a pair of holey blue jeans that hugged his hips, and a belt with a black buckle. Simple, and quickly thrown together since he had been working that morning, the combination hugged his hard body to perfection, his mocha skin gleaming.
Lord, have mercy.

And the fucker went and turned around, sauntering to the bar to grab a drink. And the back half of his clothes molded just as perfectly as the front did. His back muscles moved under his white thermal like a cat’s — the Vampire’s Vizoac was a great representation — and his ass tightened with the movement, those long, defined legs hardening with each step.

Just. Not. Fair.

“Close your mouth,” Pearl whispered down to Buttercup.

Knowing it was meant for me, I did so as I made myself turn away from the sight. A little out of sorts, I tentatively reached a hand over Buttercup’s head. Pearl held her breath as Buttercup sniffed my hand then lifted and jumped into my lap, rubbing against me.

“Remarkable,” Pearl murmured, sounding awed again and reaching out her own hand to Clyde and Bonnie. Gradually, she lowered it, petting them in soft strokes. Waking slightly, they both sniffed, their noses moving against each other’s before they fell back asleep. “It’s just remarkable.”

“Yes, it is,” Ezra said softly, moving between Antonio and myself to rest a hip against the table, only inches from me. He rested his coffee on the table and bent over me with a hand extended toward Buttercup. She sniffed it, and when she didn’t bite him, Ezra’s hand joined mine in petting her, repeatedly and deliberately brushing against mine. Buttercup ate up the attention as Ezra’s fingers grazed under my wrist, making my pulse jump.

Our hands moved away from each other’s as Buttercup hopped onto the table and sniffed at Bonnie and Clyde, circling them to lie at their heads, curling around them. I watched with amusement as Bonnie swatted Buttercup’s wayward paw off Clyde’s shoulder, almost lazily, before putting her paw back on Clyde’s head, not seeming to mind Buttercup lying against her. Clyde made a grunting noise, but readjusted so Buttercup wasn’t touching him anywhere else.

Pearl blinked, then snickered quietly. “Oh, that’s precious.”

Ezra grunted, his own body angled possessively next to mine.

“He’s all cleaned up,” Jack stated, all business, as he hurried into the room.

West was clean, his fur around his ear matted with water. Anyone with half a brain would know Jack could have done that from his chair using his magic, but the Kings and Elders weren’t paying much attention as they continued their conversation. Jack set West on the table, who gazed up at him with pleading eyes. Jack considered the sleeping cubs, then nodded with approval. “As long as you behave.”

West’s nose crinkled, but he bounded over to the cubs and, not going anywhere near Bonnie, he curled up around Buttercup, resting his head on her flank and tossing a few paws over her and Clyde. They both grunted, but didn’t move. In fact, Buttercup lifted her face and licked West’s bum ear a few times before lowering her head. Then they were all adorably asleep.

“I wonder,” Antonio whispered quietly, reaching out a hand.

Cahal’s attention went to him. “What are you doing?”

“Testing a theory,” Antonio answered calmly.

I watched in horrified fascination as Antonio’s fingers inched closer to Bonnie.

Cahal reached across the table and grabbed his wrist, eyes flashing. “It won’t work, and you know it.” He shoved Antonio’s wrist back at him. “Let them rest.”

I blinked because Antonio rarely ever did anything without caution. “Maybe he’s right.” I paused. “Bonnie might not attack him.”

Cahal turned heated eyes on me. “Not forgetting Jacobs, she also scratched King Kincaid.”

That stopped me, even as Ezra re-positioned himself to cut off my view of his dad. I sat mute for a moment, then peeked around his hip to Cahal. “You’re right.” She probably would attack Antonio if she had attacked King Kincaid.

Cahal nodded once and gestured at the slumbering cubs, turning his glare on Antonio. “Just let them sleep while they can.”

Antonio watched him with a cocky expression, giving him a blatant ‘fuck you’ glance, before turning his attention away. Though, he didn’t reach out again to pet Bonnie, apparently thinking better of the idea.

Seriously, I had no clue how those four had managed to be Rulers together, every single one of them constantly bickering with each other. I perused all four of my besties and thanked God that I had the relationship I did with them. Pearl smiled at me as she petted the cubs, Jack also smirking as he petted them, and Ezra began doing the same. I place my hand next to theirs and joined in loving our affectionate cubs.

“Could you repeat that, please?” Jack asked for clarification.

Ezra stopped secretly massaging my feet under the table, where I had placed them on his lap, sitting across from me again. “You want us to do what?”

“Are you crazy?” I asked in disbelief.

“It is pure chaos out there for any Mys,” Pearl expounded.

The Kings stared at us with stoic faces, none of them cracking.

King Venclaire continued his pacing, but stated — again — calmly, “You will each be traveling separately, with only one Elder of your choosing, to the new Prodigies. They need to be brought here for their safety.”

We stared, the four of us not believing what we were hearing.

“It’s the way it has always been done,” Elder Jacobs clarified. “Be happy you’ll have an Elder for company. They’re only allowed during unfriendly times.”

“The way things have always been done is archaic,” I said heatedly, not wanting any of us out there, much less with only one Elder per ‘retriever’ against all the hostile Coms.

King Kincaid’s expression cracked so he could glower. “You know not what you speak of. You are still too young and inexperienced to have an opinion on that.” He growled at me. “So keep your fucking mouth shut before you embarrass yourself.”

My wolf snarled at him, tired of his demands. Yes, the majority of the time he acted as more of a father figure, but there were plenty of other times he acted the righteous King. “Kiss my ass.” My mouth snapped shut.

Not soon enough.

“Oh, Christ,” Elder Merrick breathed.

Everyone in the room got a first-class view of what happens when two alphas lose it.

King Kincaid stood from his seat, leisurely taking his jacket off, then vaulted over the table at me, not backing down because I had pretty much challenged his authority — in front of a power group. I grunted as his massive shoulder hit me square in the chest. My chair toppled backward, taking us both to the ground as his fist swung at my face too fast. Jerking my head to the side, I managed to take the blow as it glanced off my cheekbone, instead of hitting me squarely on my nose. Fury ripped through me as I cried out, pain throbbing at my cheek.

“One of you stop him!” Pearl shouted. “He’s going to hurt her.”

I lifted my legs and thrust with all of my Shifter strength as another fist aimed at me. He flew straight up in the air, not touching me this time. He grunted as his back and head slammed into the ceiling, and I jumped to my feet, whirling and kicking out as he fell. My blow landed smack in his gut, and I watched as if in slow motion as he bent over my leg before the force tossed him through the air and across the room, slamming into the bar. The harmony echoing throughout the room was a combination of shared growls.

And the goddamn man stayed on his feet when he landed, charging at me again. I crouched and sprung at him, letting my nails shift to claws. He saw that and quickly did the same. We met somewhere in the middle of the room with fists and claws and legs being thrown, all our shots missing their marks as we each evaded the other.

“Goddamn it,” Jack shouted. “You are the fucking Kings and Elders! Get in there and stop this! If he hits her, he could kill her!”

And he did hit me right then as I paused, distracted by Jack’s words. I took a brutal blow to my ribs, feeling and hearing at least two crack as his foot connected. I choked in agony as he followed through, flinging me through the air. My right shoulder and head crashed against the rock wall, and my vision went to a black void of oblivion.

When I blinked my eyes open, I was lying on my stomach. I quickly re-positioned to my hands and knees at hearing footsteps pounding toward me, only to fall again as I screamed from the sharp stabbing in my ribs and shoulder, tears instantly flowing down my cheeks. But he didn’t care, grabbing my throat and jerking me into the air with one hand. I grunted a high-pitched sound as my body straightened out, and I instantly grabbed his wrist to take some of the weight off my neck.