Page 20 of Crush's Fall

“Saaaammmmeeee,” April dragged out and nodded. “What animal would you want to shift into? I’m thinking I would want to shift into a tiger.”

“That’d be the shit,” Lucifer agreed.

“Then you could join the Claws, Sugar,” Siren said with a grin.

“What?” Lucifer’s eyes were wide again. “Are you telling me…”

Siren nodded. “Your woman isn’t just a badass who could kill you with her bare hands. She’s a pussycat that could remove your balls with her claws. Congratulations.”

As they left Lucifer to come to terms with that bit of information, April asked, “The Claws are tigers?”

“Well, not all of them, but the club is calledthe Tiger’s Claw.” She pondered that, and a realization popped into her head, when she remembered the wolf tattoos she had noticed on the boys in the room while they waited. “Oh! Rebel is a wolf, isn’t he?”

Siren’s brow furrowed as he continued carrying her across the space. “Yes. Why?”

“I don’t know how they’re related, but those boys are related to him, aren’t they? They’re wolf-shifters too, right?”

“Yes. I wouldn’t call them boys, though. Young men? Yeah. You’re only a few years older than them, Sugar.”

That bit of news shocked her. She’d place them in their mid-teens, but she guessed it made sense. They were malnourished.

As they continued across the space, April finally looked around. And she regretted that decision with every fiber of her being. Blood and parts of bodies were everywhere.Gross! She was just glad the Howlers MC was on her side.

April returned her gaze to Siren, not wanting to take in any more blood and gore. There was a tenseness to him she suspected had nothing to do with her. She didn’t question how she knew that. Instead, she cupped his face in her hands and waited. Siren looked at her and forced a smile.

“What’s wrong?”

“You were kidnapped because I didn’t keep you safe.”

April narrowed her eyes on him. If they were mates and were in it for life, she wasn’t going to let him get away with hiding his worries from her. It was her job to support him and help him through. And she was going to do that, whether he wanted her to or not. “We’ll return to that bullshit later. What else is bothering you?”

She watched as he visibly swallowed hard. “Dragon. He was protecting Axle… got shot… in the gut. It’s bad.”

CHAPTER NINE

Lucifer

Whilewaitingfortheother van to arrive for transport, Lucifer was leaning back against the outside wall of the warehouse. He was trying to stay out of the way of the Howlers, especially with Siren doing his best to stabilize Dragon in the back of the van. He watched as April hobbled over and settled next to him, playfully bumping into him with her shoulder.

“Hey.”

“Hey.” He playfully bumped her back.

“You good? You look a little freaked still.”

A little freaked? Yeah, he was more than a little freaked, but he was also in awe. Sure, he briefly thought about the friends he had made and what they were capable of, but he was really focused on Crush and what she looked like shifted into a tiger.

Pushing that aside to answer April, Lucifer quietly chuckled. “Nope. What else exists? I mean… it’s kind of cool, but my brain’s having trouble accepting it.”

April giggled. “Well, you better figure it out. If you want to be with Crush, and we both know you want to be with her, you can’t avoid it.”

Lucifer grinned. He knew he was obvious with his desire for Crush, but he didn’t give a fuck. He wasn’t one for hiding his truth if it wasn’t essential to keep him alive. If he wanted something, he was honest about it. And he wanted Crush like he wanted his next breath. “I don’t know what it is about her, but I can’t function when she’s around.”

April giggled again.

“I see her, and all my blood shoots to my… Well, you know. I won’t say it. Siren would literally tear me apart.” Lucifer looked over at her and grinned again. “Do you think he’d kill me if I started calling him a pussy?” When she began to laugh loudly, drawing the attention of the men milling around the parking lot, Lucifer added, “I mean… heisa pussy.”

Tears of laughter gathered in the corner of her eyes. “Death wish,” she choked out as he watched her try to get her laughter under control.

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