Page 10 of Big Top Bear Raid
“Are you a switch?”Zion asked as gently as possible, rubbing up and down Wraith’s arm.“When I mentioned it back at the barbeque, I felt your tension and scented your unease.”After a second of hesitation, Zion offered, “It’s been a while for me...uh...doing anything, actually.”He fought down a wave of embarrassment and continued, “But, uh, I don’t mind receiving.I enjoy both ways.”
Wraith’s brows shot up, his surprise more than evident.“Really?”
Zion chuckled softly.“Yeah.”Fighting down a blush, because he knew nothing should be embarrassing when discussed between mates, he admitted, “I can’t wait to feel you sliding inside my body, taking me, owning me.”
Sucking in a sharp breath, Wraith offered him a feral smile.“Well, then.”His tone took on a husky quality.“Why don’t we move this party inside?”
“I would say you better get used to always being the bottom, but you’ll never get the chance.”
Upon hearing the angry voice, Zion snapped his attention to the right.He growled upon spotting Stephan standing at the mouth of the garage.Zion eased from Wraith’s hold, pivoting to face the angry wolf shifter.
“Stephan, we’ve already talked about this.Zion is my fated mate.”Wraith’s tone came out soft yet forceful.“Go home before you get into more trouble.”
My sweet mate is trying so hard to keep this dickwad out of trouble.
Except, Zion could see the maniacal gleam in Stephan’s blue eyes, and he knew it wouldn’t work.He sort of wondered what the hell was wrong with the man.Finding one’s fated mate was sacrosanct with all paranormals.Why would this shifter jeopardize not only his place in his pack, but also his life?
Because there was one thing that being in the clutches of the witches had taught him...and that was how to fight.
Zion used his grip on Wraith’s waist to hold him in place as he pivoted and stepped toward the irrational wolf.Easing slightly between the pair, he growled low in his throat.The move and noise drew Stephan’s attention, just as Zion had hoped.Zion took in the way Stephan’s lip curled even more, deepening his sneer.
“You have five seconds to clear out,” Zion stated, knowing the directive would piss the man off further.He needed to provoke him, to have the other shifter make the first move.Zion wanted to clearly be defending his mate.He didn’t want the wolf whining about getting his ass handed to him after the fact.“You’ve already been warned.”
While Zion had no clue what Alpha Declan would have said to Stephan, he knew the manhadbeen spoken to.The alpha and beta had arrived to their meeting in the study a good ten minutes after his bear sleuth.It had given them time to eat...while making Zion’s prick hard as a rock.
Stephan lunged and roared, “Wraith’s mine!”
It snapped Zion out of his thoughts.
Zion heard Wraith snarl, “No,” even as he stepped forward to meet the challenge.He ducked under Stephan’s wild haymaker, swung his bent arm up, and caught the other shifter’s elbow.Using the male’s momentum, Zion spun him around, placed a hand on his back, and shoved him right back out of the garage.
He didn’t like the confined space.His bear instincts called for more room.
“Son of a bitch,” Wraith snarled from behind him.His mate’s voice grew louder, telling Zion that he was hurrying toward them.“Cut it out, Stephan.”
Stephan completely ignored him.The wolf shifter kicked off his shoes and began to shift.Seeing the fur sprouting on Stephan’s arms as the changing wolf shifter shoved off his sweatpants, Zion shrugged out of his leather jacket.
“He’s after me, Wraith,” Zion told him, sparing a glance over his shoulder at his mate.“Stay clear.I’m just gonna subdue him.”
“I’m calling—” Wraith began, his phone already in his hand.
Before Wraith could finish his sentence, Stephan was charging, and Zion faced off against him.The urge to call to his bear surged through him, but he resisted.Zion didn’t truly want to maul the moron, even though he knew it would be oh-so-satisfying.
Plus, with Zion’s bear claws, it would be so easy to gut the bastard, killing him.
I don’t need another death on my conscience if I can help it.
Instead, Zion spread out the jacket he still held.He used the thick leather motorcycle jacket as a sort of blanket.When the wolf leaped at Zion, he pivoted out of the shifter’s way.At the same time, he wrapped the jacket around Stephan’s head and shoulders and followed him back to the ground.Zion straddled the wolf’s back and used his greater weight, even in human form, to keep him on the ground.
With his head covered, Stephan could twist and snap all he wanted, but he couldn’t get free.
“Zut alors.” A Cajun-accented voice Zion recognized came from behind him and to the right.“I step away to take a piss, and when I get outta da john, dis dumbass is gone.”Enforcer Manon stalked toward where Zion continued to hold down the struggling wolf.The clearly angry Cajun thrust a hand through his red hair in agitation.“You already in trouble, Stephan, and you pull dis stunt.”Manon stopped and knelt next to Zion, reached under his leather jacket, and gripped the still struggling wolf.Stephan’s animal immediately stilled due to whatever hold the enforcer had on him.“Shift now, Stephan.”
Immediately responding to Enforcer Manon’s dominance, the wolf Zion held began to change.As soon as the male was halfway back to human form, Zion pushed away and rose to his feet.Pivoting, he focused on Wraith, finding his mate on the phone.
“Yes, Alpha Declan,” Wraith was saying.“Enforcer Manon is here now.”With a wince, he stated, “Guess Stephan slipped away while he was in the bathroom.”
Manon sighed deeply as he muttered, “Gonna get razzed somethin’ fierce by da guys for dis,” as he shook his head.Since Stephan was done shifting, the enforcer removed the jacket and tossed it to Zion, who caught it easily on reflex.The enforcer’s slate-gray eyes were dark with anger even as he stated, “Thanks for subduing him.You injured?”
