Shifters of Grrr 1 (32 page)

“I like you,” Kurt said. “You do- did- your job, made the program look effective. I have a nice set up there- the children benefit and I can use the organization to take care of some side transactions for friends of mine. The problem is that my friends don’t trust my guarantees that you’re a man who keeps his mouth shut. So I have problem.”

“What happened to Thompson?” Jelal asked.

“The accountant?” He shrugged. “Shit happens, is what happened. I hate to have to do this, but...”

He sighed. Jelal moved, diving off the porch with reflexes he didn’t know he still had, just as the Director’s hand grazed his thigh. He stood as Jelal rolled to his feet, whipping around to face him. Jelal’s eyes narrowed on the syringe in the older man’s grip.

“I wanted this to be easy on you- this chemical would have put you to sleep in about sixty seconds. You wouldn’t have felt a thing. But now we have to do it the hard way.”

“This whole meeting is devolving into a B movie script,” Jelal said. Kurt frowned at him, no longer looking quite so genial. His eyes flicked over Jelal’s shoulder and the ex-athlete cursed- Jelal didn’t know if he should look or if the man was actually trying to trick him. The click of a firearm convinced him it wasn’t a trick.

“Shoot him.”

The gun fired. Jelal dived forward, again with a speed he couldn’t attribute to years in football. It wasn’t until he felt the stickiness at his shoulder and heard the snarl of a wolf that Jelal realized he’d been shot.

Of course, as soon as he realized, the graze began to hurt like a bitch. But there was no time. He ran at his former boss, crossing the few feet in seconds and leaping at him in a tackle that took them both down on the porch. Jelal grabbed Kurt’s wrist as he brought him down, crushing the bones with a strength he didn’t have time to question. Kurt yelled, and Jelal heard the rapid firing of at least two other guns, shouts and howls, the awful sound of fangs ripping into flesh. Jelal grinned, pinning Kurt to the porch with a knee and an elbow, his other fist aiming for the Director’s jaw. Jelal hit Kurt hard, and he went limp, syringe rolling uselessly from his fingers.

***

Boone wanted to kill Kurt. The rage in his mate’s eyes was enough that Jelal thought, for a split second Boone would take Jelal down trying to get to his prey. As he was talking the wolf down, a man dragged Lora into the clearing. She wasn’t struggling much, just snarling with ill temper. Her eyes lit on Jelal and the snarls turned to furious curses.

Boone strode towards her, striking her face with the back of his hand. The man let her go and she dropped to the ground, head lowered, shoulders bent downward.

“You tried to have my mate killed!” Boone roared.

Jelal flinched, feeling the heat of Boone’s anger wash through him. He wondered what the pack must feel, looking at their stony faces as they left the gunmen where they were and came closer.

“I should be your mate,” she said. “I’m the strongest here- and I will never leave you. What do humans know about loyalty and pack?”

“That’s not your call to make,” he replied, anger coalescing into an awful ice. “And for your crime against me, you are banished. You only live because he didn’t die. Now go.”

She gasped, eyes widening, color draining from her face. “Boone-” 

Jelal barely recognized her voice, no stronger than a reedy whisper. She looked at him, shock stripping her of anger until she was nothing more than the teenager he remembered. Jelal sighed.

Boone’s head whipped around at the noise, eyes narrowing. “Jelal, don’t you dare.”

“Boone.” If Boone couldn’t hear the resignation in his voice,
Jelal
could. “She’s a strong Beta, and this is the first time she’s done something stupid.”

He stared at Jelal, disbelief in his expression. “Trying to get us killed so she could be my mate is
stupid
? Are you insane?”

Jelal folded his arms, meeting Boone’s expression with his own. “Dude, she’s a girl. Girls are emotional. You have to expect behavior like this every once in a while. She didn’t cause the root problem- she just shamelessly took advantage of it.”

Boone closed his eyes briefly, muttering under his breath. Jelal waited, saying nothing further.

“Alright,” he said, turning back to Lora. “My mate is soft- like a teddy bear. But he isn’t
your Alpha
so he can afford to be. You are no longer my second. And I don’t want to see your face- but you aren’t banished on pain of a gruesome death.”

The grudging reprieve made Jelal smile. “You’re so sweet, Boone. Now let’s go home.”

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Other Titles

Red Moon Mates Series

The Alpha’s Mate #1

Sneaking into enemy territory behind my Alpha’s back in order to prevent a war she wants, I come face to face with Marsalis, the enemy Alpha, himself. Only, when I’m caught spying Marsalis takes me to a back room and instead of an interrogation, we realize we are actually mates.

Alpha Takes Beta #2

The dynamic enemy Alpha Marsalis has captured me as his mate and now wants me to give my loyalty to him. To prove myself I am required to face him in the challenge circle. But when my Alpha appears to give her consent for the mating, I know she has another, sinister plan.

The Alpha’s Choice #3

Arthur is the best weapon his pack has. Exotic, sensual, he is sent to offer himself at the Alpha’s Welcoming as concubine for a year and a day. If chosen, he will be entitled to one Boon- and Arthur intends to be chosen. Intends to use his Boon to stop the Carbide’s from taking away the resource rich acres of logging land that has made his family rich and powerful in the territory.
 

The Alpha’s Consort #4

When Arthur doesn’t show for a meeting of pack Alpha’s, Sam and Bernard know something fishy is up- and one look in the smug face of Winsome Carbide confirms he is at the center of Arthur’s disappearance.

Alpha’s Bond #5

 
Renaldo knew his mother's reaction after the execution of her prey was far too mild- he'd been waiting for a bloody response. When his best friend goes missing, Renaldo is certain Ondira has something to do with the disappearance. When he receives a note offering an exchange- Carlos for Marsalis, Renaldo is torn. Because Carlos is not only his best friend, he is a secret Alpha.

Collaboration with Wolf Specter

Stone Prince: Gargoyle Prince #1

Sorin, official doctor of the royal Gargoyle court, is approached by a traitor in the Council and asked to sabotage valuable research that could lead to a cure for a degenerative disease culling the ranks of the royal Princes'. He 
must
 refuse- the 
Prince
 most harshly stricken is the Gargoyle he loves, Mihail. 

Mihail, rightful 
ruler of the Gargoyle throne
, is pushed aside when it is clear he has inherited a defective gene. Bred to a warriors stoicism, he accepted his fate, stepped aside, and built a life for himself as a 
billionaire corporate mogul
 in the human world. But he was never quite satisfied... especially when the male he loves is also the doctor who treats him and the current ruling Prince- who a faction in the gargoyle court want Mihail to rise up and depose. 

About the Author

Jacklyn Black is a 30-ish wife and mom of four who... yadda yadda, who gives a shit? Really? I like dirty stories and I write them so one day I can quit my Evil Day Job. Until then I just have to suck it up. Help Black Quit Her Evil Day Job by downloading more books. Or leaving a goddamn review. Shit, those are hard to cum by. Pun effing intended. Yeah, she cusses.
 
A
lot
. But back to the reviews... just think of her little hungry children.
 

Bear and Broken - Mercy May

KALVIN

The first punch that collided with my ribs was enough to send me reeling against the side of the cage. Even with the wall there to catch me, I nearly slumped to the floor of the octagon, the air having abandoned my lungs. I gasped once then forced myself back to a standing position, hands up and bracing for another blow.
 

My opponent ducked low, his lithe and muscular form crouching into the familiar stance of a stalking predator. The big cat inside him - I couldn’t tell if it was a mountain lion or a jaguar, they both stink the same - all but roared at me as he curled his face up into a snarl.
 

My own bear, disgusted by the smaller shifter’s display, force-fed its strength into my tiring muscles and demanded that I lunge at him. Fighting off the urge to give into my opponent’s game plan, I instead planted both of my feet, squared up and lowered my center of gravity.
 

No sooner had I positioned myself when my opponent dove forward, lunging at my legs in an attempt to take me to the ground. I had anticipated his movement, countering instead by ducking low and grabbing onto the Big Cat’s shoulders, slipping one leg backward, then driving the same knee into his face as I jerked his body toward the floor.
 

My knee collided with the Big Cat’s face with a resounding crunch, instantly breaking his nose and sending him reeling onto the floor of the octagon. Outside the cage, the cheers of hundreds of bloodthirsty shifters rang out, echoing around the arena. This is what they’d come to see.
 

This is what I’d come to do.

I played to the crowd a bit while the Big Cat continued to writhe around in pain on the floor. I beat my fist against my broad and muscular chest, letting my bear release its signature bestial roar.
 

This is my territory, the bear roared inside my head. I’m the alpha here.

For months, this had been my routine. During the day, I worked as a successful entrepreneur. The founder of one of the world’s most progressive and valuable start-ups, I had more money than I could ever dream of spending. More resources than any person could ever need. And the thing is, I didn’t want anything to do with any of it. It had been by fluke and my bear’s single-minded determination that I’d become so wealthy. By the time I had realized what was going on and just how much money I was making, there was no putting a stop to it. I had an image to maintain now, and that image came with some serious consequences. One of which was that I would never be able to let my true self, my bear, out into the open.
 

So at night, I moonlighted as a cage fighter in an underground shifters-only fight club. Shifters from all over the region came to duke it out inside the cage. Not for money, but for dominance. To prove to their inner beast that they and not the others were the greatest. The fights drew crowds that swelled well into the hundreds at times, every one of them a shifter just itching for their chance at dominance. Most would never make it inside the octagon, though. They were too weak. Too fragile. Meant to be subordinate and ignored.