The one on the right sniffed and smiled. “Hello, little red. Don’t bolt on us. We’re not werewolves. Smell.”

She just stared at them, terrified. They obviously believed she could tell what they were if she sniffed the air. Her mouth opened but nothing came out.

The one on the left frowned. “I don’t think she can. Smell the humanness of her?”

“I mostly can’t get over the stink of dog, Mark.”

The other one snorted. “Damn, Adam. They do reek.”

Mark cocked his head, held very still, while regarding Shannon. “I’m Mark and this is my brother Adam. We’re puma shifters and we’ve come to save you from the mangy mutt holding you hostage.”

“Please leave,” she managed to get out. “I don’t need to be saved.”

Adam made a face. “Brainwashed maybe?”

“Or stupid. Maybe she’s so human she’s useless to us.”

“No. Try to get past the reek of dog. Smell that? She’s in heat. She’s coming with us if she’s blooded enough to have that trait.”

The other brother laughed. “Cute.”

“She’s good looking. That’s a plus.” Adam took a cautious step forward. “We’re not going to hurt you. We’re taking you home with us.”

Shannon backed up, trapped inside the kitchen, and shook her head frantically. “No. Leave me alone.”

Her instincts were failing her. The urge to climb didn’t hit her and when she tried to rush at the counter to get over it, speed didn’t kick in, the way it usually did. One of them grabbed her as she struggled to scramble over the top. His hold around her waist hurt when he shook her and hissed.

“Don’t fight.”

“Let me go!” She kicked at his legs and clawed at his skin on the arm securing her.

He turned with her suspended in his arms. “She’s going to fight. Do it.”

Mark moved in front of her and she watched in horror as he drew back his fist. She tried to twist in Adam’s arms to avoid the blow but pain exploded into the side of her head. She didn’t even get the chance to scream.

Chapter Twelve

“Anton? Wake up, damn it!”

The familiar voice had him struggling to fight off the groggy haze that engulfed him. A hand slapped his cheek and his eyes opened. He stared into his cousin’s face, inches above his own. Brand frowned.

“What happened? Why did you kill a human?”

Anton tried to think around the fog inside his head. A dead human? What the hell? He realized he lay sprawled na**d on a cold, firm surface, and when he turned his head a little, he recognized one of the holding cells in his father’s basement.

“I…what happened?”

“Fuck if I know.” Brand gripped his arm and shoulder, forcing him to sit up. “I came here to talk to Uncle Elroy, found the front door locked, which was weird since it’s always open, and tried the basement door to make sure everything was cool. Instead I only smelled blood and death when I came inside. I found you passed out cold, locked in this cell. Did you go nuts? There’s a dead human two feet from us. Did you two fight?”

A face surfaced in his memory. A woman, a pretty one, with long, curly red hair and bright blue eyes. His heart raced and he remembered everything as it clicked into place.

“Help me up.”

“I’m trying. I’m not sure if I should have unlocked the door or not. Are you nuts? Did you have some kind of breakdown?”

“My mother is going to kill my father and Grady. She’s gone after my woman too.”

“Shit.” Brand gasped, struggling to help Anton up. “So you killed the human trapped in here with you?”

“My mother did it. She used the blood scent to lure me inside the cell.” He got to his unsteady feet, swayed, and knew he’d fall on his ass if his cousin’s arms didn’t support him. “She drugged me.”

“I can tell.” Brand had to half drag him outside the cell. “What do I do?” He helped Anton into the apartment area of the basement.

“There are drugs stored inside the cabinet by the cells. Find a green shot, not a red one. Give it to me.”

Brand dumped him on the couch and darted back toward the cells. Anton gripped his head, the room spun a little, and he fought to remain conscious. It seemed to take an eternity before Brand crouched before him, holding up a green syringe.

“This one? What the hell is it?”

“Naloxone. We keep it and narcotic sedatives here. Shoot me directly in the vein with it already. It will counteract the other.”

“Sounds dangerous. Let me call for help.”

“No time. It works lightning fast.” Anton tried to reach for the syringe but his hand missed by inches, his equilibrium off. “Fuck. Just stick me.”

“Fine.” Brand used his teeth to tear off the plastic tip from the needle and stuck it in the big vein at the bend of Anton’s elbow.

Within a minute his sluggish body responded. The drowsiness vanished. He took some deep breaths and focused on the task at hand.

“What do you want me to do?”

“Get me a phone.”

Brand withdrew a cell phone from his back pocket and held it out. Anton grabbed it, careful not to crush the thing in his hand since anger was pumping him up, and dialed Rave’s number. He got the machine.

“Pick up, Rave. It’s an emergency. Stop f**king and grab the phone.”

Seconds later an out-of-breath Rave answered. “This better be super important.”

“Mom is going to kill Dad and Grady,” he spoke quickly. “And she’s sent someone after Shannon. Maybe more than one. They are going to be pride. Get to my apartment and protect my woman right now. Our mother drugged me and locked me up. Brand is with me. I’ll call everyone else. Get to Shannon now!”

“Is this a joke?”

“No.”

“Fuck!” Rave snarled.

“Go to her, damn it. She’s alone.”

“I’m going.” Rave hung up.

Brand straightened, rushed to the closet that contained an assortment of clothes and pulled some out for Anton while Anton dialed Grady’s number. Mika, his mate, answered on the second ring. “Hello?”

“Put Grady on the phone.”

“He’s in the shower. Which one of you is this? I can’t tell you brothers apart on the phone.” She laughed.

“This is Anton. Mom is planning to kill Dad and Grady. Just tell him to watch his back and protect you. This isn’t a joke. Stay there or go somewhere safe but don’t trust that bitch.” He hung up before she could react.

He dialed Von and Braden but neither of them answered their cell phones. He left them curt, detailed messages telling them what their mother had set into motion and asked them to go to his place to protect Shannon. He barely remembered to warn them that she had puma blood so they didn’t freak out when they smelled her shifter genes if they had missed hearing the rumors. He hung up and realized Brand gawked at him.

“Don’t,” he threatened. “Yes, she’s mine.”

“I heard you’d hooked up with a woman but nobody said she was a cat shifter.”

“Part.” Anton managed to stand now, his legs steady under him, and jerked the clothes out of his cousin’s hands. “She’s mostly human and it doesn’t matter to me if you approve or not.”

“I didn’t say anything negative.” Brand seemed to recover from his stunned state. “I can’t believe this is happening. I know your mom is mean and she’s done some crappy shit over the years but Uncle Elroy is her mate.”

“It seems she hates him.”

“Can’t you call your place and warn Shannon?”

“I turned the phones off.” He snarled, jerking sweatpants up his legs. “We were starting mating heat and I didn’t want to be interrupted. Mom sent a runner to escort me here or I’d still be at home. She said Dad had been severely injured. Didn’t you smell his blood inside the cell too?”

“I just assumed you’d fought with your father when he put you there. Hell of a time for Aunt Eve to pull this shit. It’s near genius. Everyone already hooked up for the heat is nailing each other and the rest of the pack is either hunting for someone to hook up with or running in the woods for the free-for-all. It’s going to be tough to track down anyone and find help. You said she sent pride after your Shannon? She had to have invited them into our territory and assured them it would be safe. Otherwise there’s no way they’d dare come here.”

“Yeah. I have no idea how many of them to expect either. My brothers have to get their messages. They’ll come. We all have to take turns patrolling. That means we check them often.” He headed out the door with Brand right behind him. “I need your help. I can’t shift yet and I need a ride home. I also need you to help me protect Shannon. We may be in for a hell of a fight.”

“You know I’d do anything for you and I never want to miss a good fight.”

Brand jumped into the driver’s side of his truck and started the engine while Anton took the passenger seat.

“Are you going to have a problem helping me protect a part-puma shifter?”

Brand threw the truck into drive. “In college, I fell in love with a spotted-leopard half-breed.” He cleared his throat. “I never told anyone that before. She just up and left me one day.”

Anton’s eyebrows shot up. “Seriously?”

“Yeah. I didn’t give a second thought to us supposedly being enemies. I just loved her, man. God, it tore my heart out when I realized she’d run out on me. I wanted to mate her but I guess she didn’t want to stand up to her family or our pack. I’ll help you protect your puma.”

“Thanks.”

Anton closed his eyes, his body finally leveling off from the drugs in his system, happy for his ability to heal quickly. The horror of the situation nearly leveled him. His mother had always been cold, remote, and not the best influence but mates didn’t kill each other. He’d believed his father put up with too much from the woman—it had always been a bone of contention between them after her poor treatment of his older half brother Grady—but she actually planned to kill two people he loved. Three. She was going after Shannon as well.

His cousin drove down the street, breaking every speed law their city held. He gripped the door as the truck took a turn too fast. He loved Shannon. No doubt about it. Somehow it had finally happened after all the years he’d tried to find a woman to mate. He’d enjoyed sex with other women but none of them had made him feel. He’d suspected he loved Shannon, had started to adjust to the idea, but now that she faced danger he knew how deeply that love ran. He’d go insane if something were to happen to his sexy little kitten.

The bar came into sight and he spotted Rave’s motorcycle parked in front of the building. Some of the tension eased. Shannon wasn’t alone anymore. Brand slammed on the brakes behind the bike and Anton jumped out before the engine died. The front door to the bar had been kicked in but he didn’t give a damn how Rave had gained entry to reach Shannon and protect her. He could replace a door but never her.

Brand was right behind him when he pounded up the stairs to spot another door Rave had kicked in. He nearly slammed into the back of his shirtless, shoeless brother, standing just inside his apartment, only wearing jeans. Rave spun to face him, snarled, and his claws shot out until he saw who ran at him. He barely missed nailing Anton in the face, his claws missing his throat by mere inches.

“I was too late,” Rave’s grim voice informed him. “The doors were kicked in. I found blood on the bed, hers by the scent, but it’s not fresh.” He paused. “She’s gone, Anton. They took her. I smell two pride males.”