Page 50 of Heartless

The question was barely out before Reed was stalking towards him, alpha power rising over him in a wave. “Shift, Cal.”

He’d already retreated another few steps, but now he stopped and glowered at his friend. “You force me, and I’m clawing off your balls, Marshall!” His head snapped my way. “And then I’m putting a blood claw through your lying throat, No Chance.”

Fuck that. And fuck his shady leather pants.

My hold on my cat snapped like a silk ribbon on a lion, and her anger tore down my spine. I figured I was only seconds away from losing myself to her, but instead of shifting, a growl pushed its way out of my chest. It made my throat ache, because this wasn’t my voice, and it was only partially my cat’s. For a moment I could feel Trey’s mark burning on my throat, feel his words sliding across my tongue. “Shift, macska!”

The command was so intense, black spots burst across my vision. As if by hurling my power at him, I was in danger of splitting myself in two. But my cat was in charge of this show, and she pushed me forward, head low and gaze fixed. Callum had gone completely still, except for the trembling in his limbs. And the dilating pupils in his eyes. “You’re fucking kidding me,” he muttered, just as they narrowed to slivers, and he burst out of his skin in a shower of shredded leather.

“What the fuck?”

I didn’t know if it was Reed or Charlie, because my focus was on Callum. But I had to agree.

I was sick to the back teeth of Callum as a man. But Callum the cat was a sight to behold.

Not just big, but lion-sized. My cat wanted to scoff at the comparison, but he had to be close to Trey in this form. And the fact his fur was bristling all over gave him extra inches he didn’t need. As he lowered into a crouch, his heavy head swinging slowly to take us all in, my claws slid free. I could sense my panther under my tightening skin, preparing herself for his attack.

But before he could leap at me, Theo stepped between us and gave his cousin a sad look. “Don’t make it worse, Cal.”

The sound that came out of the panther was undiluted rage, but he turned so fast he was a blur, and shot out of the cave.

“Well, shit,” Marnie muttered. “That was more terrifying than I expected.” She suddenly grabbed me, enveloping me in her crushing grip. “Are you okay? Wow, you’re trembling. Or that could be me. I was pretty sure he was going to eat one of us, which definitely wasn’t part of the plan.”

I pulled out of her grasp. “I don’t understand… What plan?” I looked at the others. “And why are you all so calm?”

“Reed had that same recording on his phone,” Marnie replied. “He showed it to us when you disappeared.”

I stared at them in shock. “So you already knew?”

Reed’s expression was as blank as usual. “There’s a surveillance camera in the mineral pool roof. I saw the feed just after the Frost Moon.”

The fact he was monitoring feeds didn’t seem to creep anyone else out, although Marnie gave him an eye-roll. “Of course, we knew you didn’t go willingly. Who walks out in the middle of the night in one shoe? I thought it was the Denners, but Liam told us you’d been with Trey Barakat.” For the first time, she looked a little uncertain. “Is he a big black cat, too?”

I nodded and looked at Theo. “You knew Callum was a panther shifter?”

“He didn’t lie about the blood vow,” he sighed. “We took it as kids, when we both worked out we were different.” He looked tired, and a little sad, and I couldn’t blame him. Being Callum Sawyer’s cousin looked about as much fun as being his mate. “Still, I should try to track him down and bring him back.”

“I can send someone with you,” Charlie said, but Theo shook his head, sliding me a glance. “I’m probably faster on my own.”

My eyes widened as I watched him leave, and the urge to go outside and see those feathers again – on a full-grown falcon shifter - was almost overwhelming. But that was something I needed to save for another day. I turned to Reed. “I have to see Jasper. I know you still have questions, but can’t they wait?”

He folded his arms, his stance unforgiving. Marnie made a rude sound, but my shoulders slumped as he said, “There’s still the issue of you lying about being his mate.”

“Who says she’s lying?” A familiar voice growled, and my poor abused heart gave another wild, hopeful thump.

Because a very shaky Clan Alpha was glaring across the cave at us all.

Chapter Twenty-Six – Jasper

Their surprise would’ve been amusing, if I didn’t feel like the corpse who stood up at his own funeral. I knew I looked like shit. I was holding onto Liam simply to stay on my feet, and every step I took was worse than a hundred hill sprints. “She’s my mate. If anyone says otherwise, they can challenge me over it.” My clan enforcer gave me the side-eye, and I amended, “Just give me a couple of weeks to prep first.”

Reed thrust his fat chin in my direction. “It’s no joke, Jay. Holland left the ice camp last week, and he’s more than likely headed here…”

“I know. Liam filled me in. I was planning on finding you and talking strategy, but I got distracted by the show.” Charlie was smirking a little, but the others looked slightly embarrassed. I settled on Marnie, who was so full of alpha power she looked like she was biting into an electrical cord. “Thanks for defending my mate, by the way. Good instincts, Alpha.”

She preened, while Reed shot me a sour look. Liam had also shared the news about their mating, and as bad as I felt, it gave me a bit of a boost to see him getting all worked up over a female. Especially since it wasn’t my female. But true to form, he wasn’t going to be distracted from the chance to talk tactics. “Are you calling the leadership? We need to think about how to handle my dad, in particular. And maybe it’s time to get a message to Marrow directly.” His gaze slid to Vail. “If he’s behind the attack on you, he knows we’ll hit back, so he’s got to try something big now. And with Vail’s birthday around the corner…”

“Reed.” My head was pounding like a bitch, and his gunfire approach wasn’t helping any. “How about you take five and grab some food? I want a briefing from everyone, but I’ve got something else to take care of first.” I looked across the cave at Vail, who still hadn’t moved an inch. “Mate, will you join me in our quarters?”

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