Mates & Allies

Colt couldn’t quite get used to the praise coming his way for the way he patched up Cayd. After being a patient for a day and a half, the wolf shifter said he had to go do something and went back to the cabin he shared with Tavin. His brother had been visiting under the guise of keeping Deke and the others informed, more often while Cayd was there and Colt had to admit he was wondering if there was something going on between the two of them. Except Tavin clearly cared about Cayd as more than a friend, and if he knew one thing about his brother, Stetson wasn’t going to walk into the middle of that at all.

He half-dozed in the camper, tired from sleeping in short shifts to keep an eye on Cayd while Deke, Tavin, and Stetson focused on trying to get information from Adam who had sadly survived. Colt hated that he was thinking that way, but damn it, the wolf had been an ass to him and apparently had been playing multiple sides, certain that one of them would get him an advantage. That he ended up wounded, without anything other than a wad of gauze tossed at him by Colt and told to “he wouldn’t die”, and interrogated at the hands of his mate was at least a little sweet justice.

He smiled as he sensed Tavo and Jett returning. Whatever had gone down at the cougar’s claw had been intense—that much he’d felt through the mating bond—but also something Jett needed to deal with on his own. It sounded as if Judah, the dead cougar shifter driving the truck, had kicked over one hell of a hornet’s nest and a lot of people were going to get stung.

He mulled over what he knew so far. Adam had been working with Judah and his claw, except Judah didn’t lead it and presumably whoever was the kingpin behind the drugs did, which made Ethan and Chumley his errand boys. Colt snorted. To think both lone wolves had thought themselves so high and mighty their shit didn’t stink, when not only did they reek, but they were errand dogs to a cat. Not that he’d ever tell Jett that. The cougar had been very kind to him even without their mate bond, and he had nothing against cougar shifters. Ethan and Chumley certainly had and that was probably where their animus against them had come from—the fact both shifters worked for one.

Adam knew little else, and Deke didn’t want to kill any more than he had to, but leaving the wolf alive held little appeal to anyone at the moment. The other cougar shifter, possibly related to Judah somehow, was more interesting because he clearly had been higher up in the food chain. He’d let a few things slip, but not enough and they still had to find out more before they could go after the shifters at the top.

Deke and Stetson were trying to get some work done on one of the cabins for the pack. His pack, Colt realized. There were rough edges to smooth out and relationships to repair, but with Cayd on the mend and Tavin letting the others know what a good job he’d done, the pack was settling down and settling in. Turned out no one really had liked Adam, and Ivory had been seen as an opportunist, so when she’d created the diversion that had allowed the cougars to move in, no one expected anything different.

Colt worried about Jett. The cougars had done a lot of bad things to the lone wolves, he was gathering. And while Jett was their mate and pack by virtue of the marks on his body, Colt also wondered how the lone wolves would accept him. So far the cougar hadn’t been around much to test their tolerance. The pack would obey Deke, and Deke said he was pack. But Colt knew first hand the poison that forced acceptance of someone could place into a pack’s veins, and once there it was awfully hard to remove.

He thought about going to tell Deke their mates were returning, but Colt also knew his alpha felt it as much, if not more, than he did through their mate bonds. Hell, Deke probably  also felt his worry about whether to tell him or not, Colt figured. He grinned. Whatever he did, it wouldn’t matter now because his mates were almost here and his wolf was running around with joy.

The camper’s door opened and Deke strode through. “Before we fuck them senseless for leaving us and then teasing us through the bonds, we’ve got to figure out what happened on their side of things. This is connected, and it’s ugly as sin.” Deke said, resting his hand on Colt’s shoulder. “Would serve them right if they walked in on us.” He lowered his lips to Colt’s and kissed him long and hard, leaving them both panting for air when Deke stepped back. “Pack business first,” he said, stepping back and grabbing a bottle of water out of the fridge and draining half of it in a single drink.

“Anything new?” Colt asked as he grabbed his water bottle before going to the couch.

“No. Truthfully, I’m hoping Jett can shake some information out of him, because I don’t think I’m getting much more.”

As if Deke’s words summoned the cougar the sound of a truck engine reverberated outside the camper. Colt glanced outside, smiling when he heard the truck stop and the slam of two doors outside. A moment later the camper door opened, and Jett and Tavo entered looking rough, but in one piece.

Tavo shut the door behind them. “It’s so good to be back,” he said with a heavy sigh that spoke to only some of the tension they’d felt through the mating bonds. “I need something to eat and drink, then we’ll talk.”

“Food first. Then talk. Then we’re going to have to fight,” Jett said gruffly as he strode toward the refrigerator.

~* * *~

Exhaustion crept into Jett’s bones like a thief, stealing his energy and making him want to curl up in a cuddle pile with his mates for days until he felt new again. Except, he couldn’t, and he knew it. His step-mother was at Judah’s claw doing all she probably could to bring him down, presumably they were working with Ivory and some of the lone wolves, and frankly, he was sick and tired of all of this shit. Maybe he’d been foolish to think that once they took out Ethan there would be some god damn peace and quiet in the desert. He had no idea that was only the beginning, and he should have known.

He grabbed a sports drink and made himself a thick lunch meat sandwich, sitting down on the couch next to Colt. “I probably smell like shit,” he said. “Let me refuel, then I’ll shower, and we can talk.”

“If what we felt through the mate bond was any indication you’ve been through hell. Eat. You smell good to me,” Colt answered.

“Want to hear what went down here while you’re eating?” Deke asked. “I hate to dump it on you, but my gut tells me it’s related.”

“Sure,” Jett said between mouthfuls.

Deke explained with Colt filling in what he knew from Cayd’s wound. Jett listened while shoveling food into his mouth. He’d eaten when he’d returned to Tavo’s house, but that really hadn’t been enough and with everything that had happened, his appetite gnawed at him.

Not just for food either. After listening to the harrowing events that Deke and Stetson had endured, not to mention just where Colt had known as much first aid as he could to patch up Cayd, he was certain all of this was related.

“I left Eduardo at the hospital,” Tavo said. “When I arrived at his house I heard sounds of a cougar fight inside. Eduardo tried to flee, and I knew we’d probably need him, so I incapacitated him in a way to make sure he’d live.”

“Bastard didn’t deserve it,” Jett said, finally done stuffing his face. “Between him and my step-mother, I’m afraid we’ve left too many enemies at our backs.” He went on to explain what he’d found, that his step-brother and a member of Judah’s claw had been at Eduardo’s house. His father and step-brother were dead, and he had no clue where Judah was.

“I think I can help you with that. There was an older cougar shifter driving the truck that Adam was in. There’s also a wounded cougar shifter with Adam in the shed. I was hoping you could get more information out of him than I could.” Deke filled in the missing parts of Jett’s story. “Sounds like you’re the leader of your claw now, if you want it. If not, I’m sure Shifters United would help the other members find new claws.”

Jett tried not to snort with derision. “What claw? Eduardo hates the mustangs. I knew that before. I never should have ignored it in the first place but also knew I couldn’t make waves in my father’s claw. Obviously that doesn’t matter anymore.” He glanced at Tavo and nodded. “I’d be well within my rights to put him down. That’s not how I’d want to run a claw, that is if I decide to take this one on.” He sighed. “The bigger question is who was working with Judah, because I don’t think he was leading that claw, and what the hell we’re going to do with them. I have no idea what my step-mother told them. I’m also sure it isn’t good.”

“We’ll figure it out. First, I’d like you to identify the body to see if it is Judah. Then we can talk to that other shifter. Once we have intel, we’ll move forward. I’d like to report to Shifters United while you’re talking to that other cougar.” Deke raked his fingers through his hair. “There are other things I want, but those will have to wait until after a meal and a rest.”

Lust surged through Jett’s body. He wanted those things too. On the drive over he’d tried not to think about walking into the camper and taking both of his mates, along with Tavo, back to the bed, squeezing them all in for a good long suck and fuck. He need them. He’d never known just how much he needed his mates until he had them. Some lone cougar tough guy he’d turned out to be. Head over heels for his ponyboy, and ready to kneel in front of an alpha wolf, or his second. His mouth went dry, and he caught a heated look from Colt that he’d let his feelings slip through the mating bond.

“Do you want me to talk to them?” Tavo asked. “While you’re looking at the body?”

A bolt of protectiveness hit Jett. His ponyboy wouldn’t be subjected to that cougar, whoever it was. And yet, that might be exactly what they need. Deke couldn’t get anything out of the cougar, and Jett suspected the cougar would dismiss Tavo as someone not important. He knew how his ponyboy worked. “Yeah. Might throw them off balance.”

“I’ll take him.” Colt rose to his feet. “I haven’t spoken with him either.”

“He didn’t give any information to me,” Deke reminded them. “I’m not opposed either.”

“You’re the alpha,” Colt answered quickly. “I’m not. And as you saw with Cayd, I have skills. I wasn’t a lap dog when I was on the streets, no matter what my brother thinks. Sure, I turned tricks, but I also cared for my own.”

The cold steel in Colt’s voice turned Jett on almost as much as the heated look he’d given. His mate had secrets and abilities. Jett was curious to find out the full extent of both.