Xan's Feisty Mate (8 page)

Kellen nodded. “
We are definitely dealing with a professional hunter, or someone who has been trained on how to evade our kind.”

Trepidation sent anxiety through Xan. If the ones who had attacked the club a couple weeks back and nearly wiped them out were behind this, and now backed by humans who didn’t have a qualm about using guns and the like, they’d need to call in reinforcements. Not to mention they’d all need to change their own security measures. When they fought other wolves, there was an unwritten rule of conduct. A line wolves didn’t cross, and that was you didn’t bring a gun to a fang and claw fight.

“
I’m calling a meeting with the MC. You go back to your mate. We’ll meet at the club in an hour, so no time for any bowchicawowow.”
Kellen raced off, silent as the shadow he became.

The need to raise his head and howl a warning to all nearly overrode common sense.

On the deck, the hair on the back of his wolven body stood on end. Xan darted to the front of the wraparound porch before shifting. He didn’t know if it was a real threat, or his imagination, but until they knew for sure, he was taking every precaution. Shifting to human once he reached the front door, he punched in the code, keeping his body in place so anyone watching, even with a high-powered scope, couldn’t see.

The scent of cinnamon and syrup wafted through the air. His stomach rumbled. He smiled as he saw a barefoot Breezy by his six-burner gas stove. Yeah, he could get used to seeing her there. The image of her pregnant with his son popped into his head.
Whoa, slow your damn roll, son.
Xan wasn’t sure he’d make a good father. His vocabulary alone wouldn’t be conducive to child rearing, let alone the danger hanging over their heads. He’d never allow her out of his sight.

“What’s put that look on your face?” Breezy pointed a spatula at him.

He shrugged. “Just thinking.

Her husky chuckle floated between them. “Maybe you shouldn’t do that too often. It looks like it hurts.”

Xan eliminated the space between them in a few short strides. “Bella, you know what happens to bad girls who sass their mates?” He nipped her neck. “They get fucked. They get fucked hard.”

She shivered in his arms, tilting her head. “That doesn’t sound like a punishment.”

“Gods damn it woman. I’m hungry for food and you.” His stomach made another loud rumble.

“How about if I feed one hunger, then we take care of another.” Her eyes held a promise he hated to deny.

“Kellen’s called a meeting of the entire pack. We’ll have just enough time to eat and head to the club.”

She sucked her bottom lip between her teeth. “You found something out there, didn’t you?”

There was no use lying to her, especially when her safety was at stake. He nodded.

“Come on. Feed me, woman.” He grabbed the plates and set them on the breakfast bar, pulling out forks and glasses along with the gallon of milk. She raised her eyebrows.

“Hey, I’m no male chauvinist.” As he passed behind her, he couldn’t help but kiss the bewildered look off her face. She tasted even sweeter than the scents coming from the cooking.

“You sure we don’t have time for a quickie?” Her eyes softened.

“Don’t tempt me. Kellen would kick my ass.” He reached for the plate she’d heaped with the pancakes.

When they finished, he helped load the dishwasher, then led her out to his garage. He wanted to ride his Harley with her snuggled against his back, but felt they’d be too exposed, opting for the large Knight XV Urban Assault vehicle he and Kellen had both paid a mint for. His was painted a platinum color, while Kellen’s was all black. They were made of steel and aluminum and were bullet proof. He had no clue they’d need the magnetic bomb detector on the underbody, when they’d bought them over a year ago. The biodiesel engine they’d been assured along with all the other modifications, could survive an apocalypse. The hefty price of four hundred and fifty grand was a kick in the nuts, but they’d handed the cash over without batting an eye, much to the suppliers shock.

“What the heck is that thing?” Breezy pointed at the vehicle he led her toward.

He explained about his baby. Yeah, he was a guy and liked his toys. “It’s a modern day tank for civilians, only it has a V-10 so I can pretty much outrun anything.”

She stood outside the passenger door, trying to see inside. He shook his head and disengaged the locks, then helped her get inside. With the large tires and lift kit she’d have a hard time getting in by herself.

“Damn, look at the inside. I think we could live in here.” She ran her hands over the leather.

That was the point if it came to the apocalypse, or running over humans out to destroy them. His face hardened. “We could do a lot of damage from in here, too.” He put his sunglasses on before backing out of the garage, wishing he knew what they were up against.

When they reached the Iron Wolves MC, the lot was full with the entire pack’s various vehicles. He was glad to see his sister’s mate had brought them in his jacked up truck. There were several other vehicles he didn’t recognize.

“Stay by my side. If shit goes sideways, I want you to shift and stay behind me.” Nothing would get through him to her.

Her spine straightened, but she didn’t speak for a minute. “I can fight, too.”

Xan lifted his arm, spanning her throat with his hand. “Nothing can happen to you.” He caressed the mark he’d made the night before. “My attention would be divided. I need to know you obeyed my orders, not because you’re weak, but because you’re strong enough to know it’s what was needed.

He could tell she struggled with the concept, but then she nodded. “If you get hurt, I’ll hurt. Don’t fucking do that to me.” Her voice wavered.

Xan nodded once, then kissed her quickly. “Come on. Let’s see who’s all here. Remember what I said.”

“Yes, daddy.”

“You can call me sir, or master.” He smiled over his shoulder, seeing a glimmer of tears in her gorgeous eyes.

She slipped her hand in his as they entered the clubhouse. The feel of eyes on them had him gathering her closer to him, her heart beating hard enough he felt it through their clothes. “It’s going to be fine, Bree.”

He wanted to just get to the killing and get r done, but this shit was a complicated business.

The first two men he saw were Shaw and Parker Mattice. He felt Breezy stiffen next to him, her soft face lined with worry. He leaned down and kissed Breezy’s forehead, he’d gut both her brothers if they hurt her.

They walked up to him as a unit, both men blond like Breezy with dark brown eyes. They were about five foot eleven, but had the muscular build of all the wolves. Xan raised his eyebrows as they stood before him, wearing identical frowns.

“What’s up, boys.” Xan met them head on.

Shaw’s eyes went to the mating mark on Breezy’s neck then his, his stance relaxing. “Congrats, man. Dad will be pleased.” He held his hand out.

Xan couldn’t resist ruffling the shorter man’s hair. “Thanks, buddy.”

Parker laughed. “You really are funny. I do like you, and think you’re good for my sis.”

Shaw gave them both dark looks. “Fuck off,” he said, smoothing his hair back.

Breezy fixed them all with a droll stare, speaking with a knowing tone. “Stop with the pissing contest boys. I will not be cleaning up any of your blood. Let’s save it for our enemies.”

Her words sobered them all.

Kellen sat at the long table reserved for the MC members. Xan took the seat to his right, placing Breezy on his lap. The alpha rested his fists on the scarred table while he waited for the others to take their seats. Xan smelled the air of anticipation in the large room. He looked for his sister and her mate Rowan. The door to the bar opened, the scent of humans followed Lyric and Rowan. Five men he’d never met before, but looked every bit as dangerous as any he’d seen, trailed behind the couple. In their eyes he saw they were prepared for anything with the squared shoulders and military looking clothes. Rowan’s Phantom team, he assumed.

Kellen indicated the other end of the table where the extra chairs were. “Have a seat, and thanks for coming on such short notice. I’m Kellen, and this is Xan my right hand.”

“These are my friends. Kayan or Kayak, Oz, Coyle, Sully, and that big bastard is Tay.” Rowan pointed to each man.

Xan looked each man over, stopping at the Polynesian one named Kayan, or Kayak. “Why Kayak?”

Kayan’s dark eyes swam with mirth. “Cause they’re asshats?” He turned his gaze on the red haired one Rowan introduced as Oz. “We call him Oz since he’s crazier than a motherfucker. How’s that for an answer. That one,” he pointed to the African American man. “We call him Coyle, cause he’s like a snake, always coiled and ready to strike. This one is Sully. He gets all down in the dumps if we don’t let him kill something, hence sully. Last but not least is Tay. He’s just Tay, cause he’d kick all our asses if we didn’t call him what he told us.” He crossed muscled arms over his chest. “You can call me Kayan, or Kai.”

Rowan started to laugh, but stopped as a knife flew through the air, embedding itself between the table where his hands were pressed. Xan growled, but his new pack member beat him to the actual punch, launching himself over the table in a blink. Kayan found himself pinned under two hundred and thirty pounds of pissed off wolf shifter.

“You ever toss a weapon anywhere near my mate, I will rip your fucking head from your body before you can blink.” His voice had changed from human to beastlike.

The men who’d come in with the other Phantom team members didn’t even blink or think to intervene.

“That’s what I needed to see. You kept your beast too locked down. If we’re going to help protect you and your new pack, we needed to see what we were working with.” Kayan didn’t flinch or show a hint of fear. As Xan inhaled he was shocked to find not a trace wafted off the downed man.

“Are you sure Oz is the crazy one in the group,” Xan asked pointedly.

The women in the club had all shrank back away from the violence, except Lyric and Breezy who both looked on with fascination. Lyric he understood, but he didn’t like his mate’s eyes on the other man.

He growled, drawing her attention. The little minx smiled, leaning forward and kissing his lips. “I only have eyes for you, luv.”

“Good,” he grunted.

“We done.” Kellen banged his fist on the table.

Rowan hopped off the other man, then held his hand out to help him up. “You’re such a dick.”

Kayan’s dark eyes sparked with mirth. “I’d say something, but I don’t want to draw eyes to my junk, and then have you wanting to roll around on the ground with me again.”

Chapter Six

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B
reezy shook her head at the men’s antics. “Are y’all always like that?”

Kayan shrugged his shoulders. “It’s better than killing each other.”

She stared at the red haired man, his brown eyes met hers. “Don’t believe what he says. I’m not the crazy one.” He winked. “Except that one time I jumped out of a plane without a chute. It was planned. People do it all the time, and we are trained and shit.”

“That’s called skydiving you ass. It’s done at a certain altitude, and it’s not done when we are on a perfectly safe flight that had a flight plan that didn’t include you jumping out.” The one called Tay replied.

Oz shrugged his shoulders and pointed at the dark skinned man. “He said I wouldn’t do it, and we were over an ocean. I had a plan.”

Breezy exchanged a look with Lyric who looked worried, her fear echoed in the other woman’s eyes. “You’re joking, right?”

Rowan looked uncomfortable. “We were almost at the proper altitude, and he did land in water with very little damage. Kayak saved him, living up to his namesake.”

The human emitted a growl that was almost as good as a wolf, lifting his middle finger.

“As amusing as I find your stories, let’s focus on our current problem.” Kellen brought their attention back around.

Lyric shot her mate a worried look, his head bent, their foreheads touched, and then they both closed their eyes. Breezy turned away knowing they were communicating.

Xan’s big palm rubbed her back, the scars there no longer bothering her so much. “It’ll be okay, breathe.”

She exhaled quietly, astonished at the beautiful yet harsh men who’d joined their group. Once Kellen began explaining the last couple weeks, the laughing affable men disappeared. The laughter might never have been there from the expressions on their faces.

Kayan took a seat, then the others followed suit, obviously waiting for him. Rowan’s brows rose but he didn’t say anything.

What seemed hours later, the men were still talking or coming up with plans of actions. Breezy’s ass was getting numb and she needed to potty. Lyric stood at the same time, both holding out their hands. Lyric whispered to Rowan who rolled his eyes, patting her ass as she stepped around him.

“Gotta go to the little girl’s room and get something to eat. Want anything?”

Xan reached for her hand as she passed. “Don’t leave the clubhouse.”

Breezy’s gaze went around the room. Intense would describe them all to a T. Her eyes flickered, her wolf coming to the surface, but she pushed her back. “I won’t,” she promised.

Lyric snorted. “You’re so whipped. Come on, let’s potty and let them discuss. We can stay on top of their discussion even from afar.”

She wished she was as sure as Lyric. The younger woman was every bit the alpha as her brother. They entered the large restroom, regarding each other warily. Wolves tended to be territorial in general. If Lyric planned to give her the
talk,
Breezy and her wolf would show her who was top wolf when it came to Xan.

“Relax, chick. I’m not going to want to rumble over my brother. You and he look good together and I can see you’ve mated. Congrats by the way. It’s about time y’all quit dancing around each other. I’m tired of watching a different bitch panting after his ass. Now, we just need to find a nice little wolf for Kellen.” Lyric entered the first stall.

Breezy relaxed and went into the stall next to Lyric. “You think a nice wolf would be a good idea for our fierce leader? Really?” she asked washing her hands.