Prey (7 page)

She slid her palms up the planes of
his chest. What did Shay like to quote? In for a penny, in for a
pound. She sighed. Shay was going to kill her. Cupping his jaw, she
slid a hand around his head and threaded her fingers through his
hair.

She pulled his head down
to hers and reached up to press her lips to his. He traced his
fingers over her shoulders and skimmed his knuckles down her side.
El cupped her butt cheeks hefting her up. She wrapped her legs
around his thighs and brushed her mouth against the scruff on his
chin. She hit the back wall with a
thump,
and he pinned her with his
body. He pushed his hands under her shirt and burrowed under her
bra to grope her breasts. Her nipples tautened under his caress. El
fitted his dick at the zenith of her thighs.

The idea that she was probably
building off her first colossal mistake flitted through her mind.
However, when she was in El’s presence, she simply couldn’t find a
reason to care. She focused on him and the things he was doing to
her body.

Nae trailed her digits down his back
and shoved them into his waistband. His tattered jeans fell away
and she dug her nails into his bare ass. He growled low in his
throat. The sound reverberated through her as she pressed her
tongue in his mouth.

“
Goddess, but I got enough
of seeing your bare ass when you were a cub. I see you’re all
right.” It was the voice from the older man she’d met last
night.

El angled his head and broke the kiss.
He looked over his shoulder. His tone was gruff. “Gunter, I don’t
know what you’re doing here, but you need to leave.”

“
I have intel, and we need
to talk.”

She raised her head and stared over
El’s shoulder, watching the older man turn and stroll down the
hall.

El groaned. He pulled his hands from
under her shirt and moved back.

She slid her legs down to stand. “Be
honest with me El, what exactly is happening here?

He trailed his fingers down her cheek.
“I am Chieftain of the Toevlucht Pride. We emigrated from Africa
over eighteen years ago. I’ve claimed you as my mate, which now
makes you the highest ranking female in the pride. Everything else
is a formality that I’ll explain later. Right now, I have duties I
must attend too.” His smirk was wicked. “But since my woman
stripped me first, I have to get dressed. Later I’ll take you to
get your SUV.”

“
But—”

He pressed a finger to her lips.
“We’ll figure it out. You have my word.”

Nae pushed his hand away, “I’m being
punked! That’s it right.”

He shook his head, and his hair
brushed his shoulders. “Goddess, but I hope our cubs have your
sense of humor.” El bent and pulled his pants up before reaching
out and placed his finger under her chin to close her
mouth.

Chapter Six

Ellory pushed the door completely open
and climbed out of the old car. He was accustomed to finer
establishments, but his clan was broke, so even he had to make
sacrifices. It was a means to an end, much like staying in the
decrepit room which wasn’t fit for the family of cockroaches that
resided there. He stuffed the fifth of whiskey in his back pocket
and stalked to his motel room. He glanced around at the discolored
paint and cracked glass in his window. The air conditioner kicked
on, and the pane rattled above it. He dug out the key attached to
the large triangle of plastic with the number nine on it and stuck
it in the keyhole.

That was something else he held
against El. His brother was sitting on money, and lots of it, if he
wasn’t mistaken. While the other half of his people were barely
getting by, so many injustices. Eldridge had the pride fooled. He
sat on his ass and made all the members work and pay into the tribe
coffers. Hell, he wasn’t even an effective warrior. His only claim
to work and leadership was arranging lucrative contracts every
couple of months. He should know. He’d had people watching and
reporting Eldridge’s movements for about a year. The man would
leave for a few weeks and then reappear as if he’d never been
gone.

Ellory stepped into the room and
glanced around looking for anything amiss.

The lamp attached to the wall, between
the full size beds, gave off a dull amber glow. Outdated bedspreads
in washed out colors covered the mattresses. Bold striped wall
paper, which was slowly peeling down from the ceiling, gave the
place a circa seventies feel. Nothing appeared out of place. Ever
since his arrival a few weeks ago, he’d only allowed the maid in
when he was there. He stomped over to the desk and slid the half
empty bottle into a drawer along with his car keys. He tapped on
the button which would make the TV come on as he passed it on the
way to the bathroom; the evening news filled the room.

He’d scouted the area and knew there
was only one payphone in the three mile radius. It was located next
to a dilapidated old corner store which had seen better days. The
place was boarded up, but surprisingly, the phone still worked.
Ellory washed his hands and grabbed a hand towel off the hook. He
threw the terry cloth on the vanity and grabbed his room key. There
was a diner on the route to the phone. He could stop there and get
a nice rare steak. Something he could tear into. All he’d had for
the last couple of days was the occasional rabbit. Those damn
things didn’t have any real meat on them. He didn’t dare take down
anything larger. El’s patrols would have spotted larger kills, and
more than once he was sure he spotted the eagle gliding in the
sky.

Not much longer, having his son come
over as backup would be icing on the cake. Kaseo would be his
enforcer in case one of El’s orphans decided to try and take his
place. He could also romance the bird and keep her off her guard
until all the plans were in effect. Kaseo could slip right into the
Pride and be his eyes and ears; he was no longer sure he could
trust Reese. Ellory skulked down the busted and weed ridden
sidewalk.

Perhaps it would be better if he
brought all his people over at once and completely infiltrated the
Toevlucht Pride. His original idea was to bring his clan over in
small groups until no one remained in Africa. The few shifters he’d
brought with him had already established themselves in different
facets of El’s pride. They funneled important information which had
helped him form educated decisions. El wasn’t the only one who
could formulate and execute a plan. At the moment, Reese was his
only loose end. He probably should have put down the bastard weeks
ago.

El’s pride consisted of youngsters
playing full grown lions and lionesses. While his part of the Pride
were older, more battle worn. With everyone in position, they could
easily overtake the tribe after he killed El. Ellory sighed. Too
bad his brother needed to die sooner rather than later. It would
have been fun to make him suffer. No, tempting as it was to punish
El, he would stick to the original strategy and switch it around as
necessity dictated.

“
Give me your money.” The
voice came from the shadows between the buildings.

Ellory stopped. He’d been so caught up
in his strategies . He never picked up on his surroundings. Ellory
raised his head and sniffed the air; human. He wrinkled his nose
when the odor of sickness reached him. “No,” he started to stroll
away.

The man moved from the darkness and
aimed a small revolver at him. “I said, I want all your money.” He
cocked the gun. “Doesn’t matter how I get it, as long as I
do.”

Ellory noticed the slight shake in his
hand and the way his eye twitched. “I don’t think so. Run away
sickly human. There are much bigger things than you that go bump in
the night.”

The fella’s hand jerked, and he
stretched his arm. “Have it your way.”

Before he could pull the trigger,
Ellory partially shifted and leapt at the guy. Using his body to
push the assailants arm away he attacked, burying his claws in the
fella’s chest as he took him down. They crashed on the cement
walkway, and a loud pop rent the air. Ellory raised his paw and
swiped at the man’s throat aiming for his artery. Blood sprayed
across the walls and his chest. A final grunt and the-would-be
thief went still. Ellory pushed up off the dead man, stood, and
waited a moment before toeing him with his boot. When the guy
didn’t move, he shrugged and turned to hike back to the motel. The
phone call could wait, but the kill had given him a serious taste
for steak, a nice bloody one. He needed a shower and a change of
clothes, and then he would go to that diner. This time he would
drive.

***

El leaned back on the couch and
studied the pictures Gunter was showing him. They were of the
hidden remains of several rabbits surrounded by large paw prints.
He’d run those forests for miles, he knew the animals and humans
who hunted there. The deep indentations in the dirt didn’t match
any paws he’d seen in the past.

“
So, we have a nomad lion
stalking our pride.” He glanced at Gunter for confirmation. Beyond
them, he could hear Nae in the other room arguing with
someone.

He’d never thought to ask if she was
single. Her scent hit him, and he hadn’t really cared. But, if she
had a man in her life, he should probably warn her that if the
bastard came around, he would make the fucker disappear. El turned
his head toward the room.

“
Get you head around tribe
business.” Gunter growled.

“
It is. I’ll take care of
it tomorrow and hunt the asshole myself.” El answered
absently.

“
You shouldn’t go alone.
Take Trace with you.”

El snapped his head forward. “At what
point did you decide I’m a weak leader, hyena?”

“
Son, this mating shit is
screwing with your head. You go and battle a young lion intent on
taking the pride from you, and if you’re not focused, it could end
badly.”

“
Pride law demands that
any lion who defeats me inherits everything as my replacement,
including my woman. No way in hell that’s going to happen.” El
leaned forward, placed his elbows on his knees, and dangled his
hands between them.

“
I do believe you
expressed those same words when your brother issued the challenge
after you’d been chosen as chief.” Gunter leaned back and pulled
out a cherry root, thin cigar. “When we left, Ellory was
still
alive
.”

“
Barely. And, I don’t
consider that losing. He was my brother; you raised us together. I
couldn’t kill him in cold blood.”

“
That was your first
mistake, cause if he had the chance … you wouldn’t be sitting here
wondering how you were going to get rid of me, so you could get
your dick wet.” Gunter chuckled.

“
That’s not something we
have to worry about, is it, since he’s in Africa? Before the
challenge, I asked him to come with us. Hell, I’ll admit I begged
him to keep our pride together.”

“
Mistake number two.”
Gunter held his fingers up. “No Alpha begs. Ellory had no respect
for you, but he was also bat-shit crazy. I backed you because you
are level-headed and damn near a genius. I knew you would lead us
into a prosperous future, but you don’t have killer instincts. You
brought this tribe far within a few years, and you have the respect
of your people. But, allow me to ask you this. What if this unknown
lion is Ellory, come back from his near death experience? Then,
what?” Gunter cocked a thick brow. “If it comes down to you or him,
he will kill you.”

“
You have so little faith
in me?” He pursed his lips before exhaling. “No matter who it is
trespassing in our territory, before they die, they will know I am
the devil and this is hell.” El stood up and moved to the window.
He knew Trace was out there, and the tiger would keep Nae safe. He
could go hunting tonight. He turned around and faced Gunter. “Has
La found Reese yet?”

“
No, but Sitka, the
lioness he rents his room from, said he sometimes goes missing for
a few days. Says she thinks he goes hunting.”

El tilted his head. “Is it possible
those are his paws?”

“
Maybe, but he’s not
around to ask, so I’d rather err on the side of caution.” Gunter
stuck the cigar in his mouth.

“
You’ve taught me well
Gunter. I won’t make the mistakes of my youth.” El smirked. “Trust
me.”

“
Don’t smile like you have
a secret and nobody else knows it. It’s not like home where you had
to fight just to make it through the day. Out here, we’re isolated.
There are no other clans to test your wits against.”

“
That’s where you’re
wrong, my intelligence is tested on a regular basis. I leave you
here to run the pride in my absence, but you don’t know where I
go.”

Gunter snorted. “Sure I do. You
arrange the dealings with our connections; make sure we get paid
for our work, assign the sentries to skill specific deals, a suit
job. Like I said, when the Goddess was giving out gifts, she
neglected to give Ellory empathy or common sense, while you were
wired with intellect and the skill to talk anyone into just about
anything.