Rogue Shifter [High-Country Shifters 3] Read online

  * * * *

  As soon as Amy stepped outside into the bright evening light, Cavon showed up right behind her. It was a little unsettling how these men were able to move so silently. Maybe he wouldn’t help Malik, but she’d be terribly upset if anything happened to his brother while she did nothing. At least she could call 9-1-1 if things got out of hand.

  “They’re in the alley,” he said.

  “How do you know?” From the front of Gardners, she saw no one.

  He tapped his head. “Sixth sense.”

  “Ah, because you are a lion shifter, you have GPS on other shifters. Is that it?”

  He quirked a brow as if he’d never heard of GPS. “I guess so.” He slipped a hand around her waist and pulled her tight.

  His hold felt more like he didn’t want her racing into the mess than it felt like someone wanted to hold her close. No one was on the street, but that didn’t surprise her, given the part of town they were in. Other than Gardners, there weren’t many other shops, at least none that a tourist would visit.

  Growling sounds came from around the corner. Cavon tightened his grip. “Let’s not get too near. We don’t want to distract Malik.”

  That made sense, but she had to see if he was okay. “You’ll help if need be, right?”

  He smiled down on her. “Don’t worry, little one, Malik won’t get a scratch on him.”

  Something weird was going on. This fight went beyond protecting her. These men seemed to have an issue between them.

  When they got to the corner, she peeked in to the alley and sucked in a breath. Two wolves were facing Malik, who was leaning back against the brick wall with his arms crossed over his chest and with one foot over the other.

  She tugged to go to him, but Cavon held tight. “Just wait.”

  Her mind couldn’t comprehend what she was seeing. Two men had followed Malik outside but were nowhere to be seen. In their place were two wolves. “Holy shit. Are they the two men?” Ohmygodohmygodohmygod. Shifters really existed.

  “Yup.”

  She kept her voice to a whisper. “Then why isn’t Malik shifting?”

  “He doesn’t need to.”

  Malik shook his head. “You guys are so slow. Don’t you got any moves faster than that?” They snarled and Malik laughed. “Is that really all you got?” He held up his hands in a claw position. “Grrrr. You sound like pups.”

  Crap. He was goading them. Why?

  Cavon leaned over. “The wolf closer to us is spitting mad. He’s telling Malik that if he were a real man, he’d shift back.”

  Two things bombarded her at once. “You can understand growl talk?”

  Cavon clamped his hand over his mouth to contain his laugh and nodded. Once he settled, he bent closer. “Shifters send their thoughts telepathically so we can understand each other, though sometimes things get lost in translation between different species.”

  That boggled her mind. “So Malik thinks he can win against two animals?”

  “If he shifted, he could easily take down three wolves, and probably four, even if he had a bum leg.”

  The tension in her shoulders lessened.

  Malik pushed off from the wall. “Come on, guys. You need to show me something. Let me hear a real snarl.”

  The wolves let out an ear-piercing sound. She jumped back and slammed against Cavon’s chest. He wrapped his arms around her body and pulled her tight. “Shh.” Cavon’s lips pressed against the top of her head.

  Malik smiled. “Is that all they taught you in wolf shifter school? You two should go back to Anterra and get properly trained. Now scoot.”

  When she regained her breath, her gaze caught sight of someone standing at the end of the alley. She prayed the bystander didn’t freak and call the cops. It might have been hard to explain what was happening. The too-skinny kid with the light brown, floppy hair didn’t look to be much older than eighteen. Unless she was bad at judging people, he didn’t seem like he’d ever won a fight in his life either.

  “Skelak.” Cavon’s voice lowered.

  “Who’s that?”

  He rubbed her shoulder. “Sorry. It’s not a who, it’s more of a what. It’s just a bad word in Anterra.”

  She twisted in his arms and looked up. “You’re upset because we have an interloper?”

  “He’s another shifter.”

  That wasn’t good. “Wolf?”

  “No, lion. I don’t want Malik to get distracted.”

  “Malik needs to take care of those two animals in front of him first.”

  He kissed her forehead. “He doesn’t want to hurt them.”

  “Oh.” That put Malik in a different light.

  Malik waved a hand. “Look guys, unless you’ve got reinforcements, I’m getting out of here. Next time, bring some muscle with you, okay?”

  Cavon chuckled. “Those two don’t know how to react. Should they call Malik’s bluff or stalk off?”

  Now that she knew no one would get hurt, she was almost enjoying the show. “How smart are wolves?”

  “We’ll know in a minute.”

  As soon as Malik turned to head down the alley, the two wolves trotted off. They did have some sense after all. She hoped the other lion shifter was far away by now or those two wolves might want to take it out on the kid.

  When Malik reached them, he focused only on her. “Sorry about that. You shouldn’t have had to witness their bad behavior.”

  “Why not? You were awesome.”

  He lifted his head and laugh. “I was, wasn’t I?” He waved a hand as if to erase his slightly egotistical comment. “Let’s go back inside and dance.”

  She remembered when they were here three months ago, they’d gone line dancing. They might have been wonderfully graceful when they were lions, but as cowboys, these two had a lot to learn. She, however, loved to dance. She thought it her civic duty to help these two lost souls. “Sure. Let me show you how it’s done.”

  The waitress rushed over to them as soon as they entered the dark cave. They hadn’t paid, and the woman was probably in a panic. Amy stepped between the woman and Malik. “We were just getting some fresh air. We can settle our tab now if you want, though I imagine we’ll have some more beers at some point.”

  The woman’s shoulders relaxed. “That’s okay. I’ll keep the tab running.” She had to shout because the music was quite loud.

  Cavon grabbed her hand. “You going to show us what to do?”

  With a smile on her face, she spread her arms wide and barely managed to get her hands around their sides. “Come on.”

  The line dance they were doing was a fairly common one, but if Malik and Cavon hadn’t done a lot of it, they wouldn’t even know the difference between a kick-ball-change and a grapevine step. This was going to be some challenge. So as not to get in other people’s way, they stayed on the perimeter where she told them to copy what everyone else was doing.

  “Watch me for a moment.” She kicked with her right foot, stepped back on it, then rocked forward onto her left. “It’s called kick-ball-change. Got it?”

  They both puffed out their chests. “Can a lion roar?” Cavon said.

  She had a lot of comeback lines for that one but decided to hold off until she saw what they would do. Cavon got it right on the first try, but Malik had to start and stop a few times. By the time the song ended, she had tears of laughter in her eyes from having to help them.

  “I think I need a drink. Any strong man want to buy me a beer?” She wanted to salve their wounds somehow.

  “I will,” they both said at the same time.

  Malik pulled Lara’s credit card out of his pocket. “Only I have money.” He waved the plastic in Cavon’s face.

  Cavon grinned, shoved his hand in his pocket and whipped out a wad of cash. “So do I.”

  She didn’t need them to one up each other. “How about I buy the next round?” She pulled them both over to the seating area. As they got near, she spotted the same floppy hair kid she’d seen
at the end of the alley by the front door. She nodded toward him. “I think you have an admirer, Malik.”

  He turned around. He must have used his telepathy skills because the kid stepped outside. He faced her. “I’ll be right back.”

  Cavon and she took a seat. “What was that about?”

  He shrugged.

  At least she knew not to be worried. Both were lions. “Question for you. If there had been, say, six wolves, would Malik have shifted?” She wondered how far he’d go to keep his identity a secret.

  He smiled. “You’ll have to ask him.”

  “Aargh.” Why did they have to be so secretive?

  * * * *

  When Malik didn’t sense any shifters around, he walked up to the kid. “You wanted to see me?”

  The scrawny kid held out his hand. “I’m Jeremy. Man, dude, you were amazing.”

  “Thanks. I’m Malik. All it takes is a little training.” And about twenty years of practice.

  “That’s what I want to ask about. Will you give me a few pointers?”

  He did want to help the kid, but he wasn’t sure he wanted to encourage him if it meant he’d get caught shifting. On the other hand, if he wanted to go against wolf shifters, then that was a different matter. “I’m kind of on a date.” Jeremy dropped his head. Only then did Malik study the boy. He had a scar that went from his wrist up past his elbow. The gouges look wolf inflicted. “You get that scar fighting a wolf?”

  Jeremy lifted his head but didn’t meet his gaze. “Yeah. There are quite a few wolf shifters in town but not many lion shifters. My dad can shift, but he won’t. Says he left when he was twenty to get a new start on life. He said Anterra was too violent.” He looked up, almost wanting him to confirm or deny the allegation.

  “Your dad’s a smart man. It is violent there.”

  “Really?”

  “That’s why I’m here on vacation.”

  The kid glanced back to the alley. “I guess that kind of sucked that you came here and got attacked by wolves, huh?”

  He had to laugh at that one. “That kind of fight I can handle.”

  Jeremy’s eyes shone. “That’s my point. You handled them so easily. I’ve had no one to train me. I heard you say those two dudes needed to go back to Anterra and get trained. Do you think I could go there?”

  That would be a big mistake. A cub like him without any training might not even make it to Taryn and Kellum’s house. Without knowing how to access the underground facility, Jeremy wouldn’t stand a chance. “I don’t think that would be a good idea.”

  “Then can you help me? Please?”

  There was no way he couldn’t give the kid a few pointers. “I’ll give you five minutes.”

  His grin came out wide. “That’s cool.”

  He nodded behind him. “Let’s go in to the alley.” He scanned the area to decide how safe it would be to shift but figured he discuss tactics without having to resort to being in lion form.

  “All right. Here’s the deal. Whether you are fighting another kid or a wolf, the principles are the same. Don’t try to learn any specific choreographed moves. The mind is not fast enough to identify every possible attack and respond instantaneously with the appropriate counterattack.”

  “My dad wanted me to take martial arts lessons.”

  He wasn’t sure what that entailed. “It’s probably better than nothing, and it might give you better balance, so I wouldn’t count it out. I’m betting you’re pretty good leaping from one rock to another, even in human form.”

  “I’m the best.”

  “Perfect. Don’t try to control your opponent by grabbing him or trying to hold him down.” That was often a big mistake since lions were larger than wolves. “Let him move uncontested. That allows you to flow around him. Then you strike from behind, preventing him from reaching you.”

  His face broke out into a grin. “Like you did with the wolves. One of the wolves jumped at you and you were able to get out of the way.”

  “Exactly. Why engage when you don’t have to?”

  “The best move was when you avoided the second one and patted his ass.”

  He laughed at that. “Yeah, that was to show him that I could have struck him if I’d wanted to.”

  “That’s so awesome. I’m going to practice that with my friends. Can you show me some other moves?”

  He could see this could go on and on. “Some other time. I have a date, remember?”

  His smile faded. “Sorry. Sure. Thanks again.”

  The kid practically skipped down the alley and disappeared. Malik shook his head. Cubs learned those tricks by the time they were eight. What a shame that his dad never thought to help out his own son. Fighting was a necessary evil, no matter which reality one lived in.

  He turned to head back into the restaurant when the clapping startled him. He stopped and for the first time noticed Amy and Cavon standing there with big smiles on their faces. Damn. He’d always detected when his brother was nearby. Was it because he’d been out of Anterra for a few days that his abilities had been affected? Or had he been so absorbed in helping Jeremy that he got in to a zone?

  He painted on a smile and jogged over to them. “How long have you two been standing there?”

  “Long enough.” Didn’t you notice us? You slipping?

  I knew you were there. His brother arched a brow. Okay, I was having a good time and I guess my radar skills were weak.

  Try nonexistent.

  Amy clasped his arm. “You were amazing.”

  “I was just trying to help out a kid who seemed lost.”

  “I heard you tell him about strategies. That was brilliant advice, but I wasn’t sure what the kid was talking about when he said you patted the wolf on the ass. When did you do that?”

  “Before you came out before.” He nodded to Cavon. “I think after all that talking, I could use another beer.” Save me, bro.

  Cavon chuckled and tugged on Amy’s waist. “Let’s head inside.”

  Chapter Three

  Malik cocked a brow. “You want to go to an animal shelter?”

  Cavon had worried that his brother wouldn’t want to spend the day watching Amy work. “It’s her passion in life. She told me last night that she wanted to someday open a shelter for injured or abused animals.”

  “That’s noble.”

  “Cheer up. This means a lot to her.”

  After a nice twenty-minute walk, they made it to the entrance of the shelter. As soon as they walked in, Malik stiffened, but this time he couldn’t blame his brother’s reaction. Most of the animals were in cages. The majority of them were cats and dogs, though he did spot a horse.

  “I’ll go find Amy,” Cavon said. He hoped his brother could stay out of trouble for the next few minutes.

  He had to weave his way around all the cages to get to the main building. From the horrific stench, someone was lax about cleaning up the animals’ waste.

  Amy spotted him first and rushed toward him. “Isn’t this wonderful?”

  “I guess if it means these animals would be killed and are instead safe in a cage, then yes. It’s almost humane.” Not really, but he didn’t want to burst her bubble. “I’d suggest we release them in Anterra, but I know these are not wild animals. The wolves would feast on most of them within a week.”

  She punched his arm. “That’s a horrible thought.” She glanced around. “Where’s Malik? Didn’t he want to come?” Her smile faltered.

  “Are you kidding? He couldn’t wait to see what you do in your spare time. He’s here. He was so caught up in what you all have done that I couldn’t pull him away from the animals.”

  Her mouth formed a circle. “Aww. That’s so sweet.”

  Needing to touch her, he drew her near. “Let’s go find him and see what trouble he’s gotten himself into.” There was an area where some of the dogs could run free. Cavon sensed that was where his brother had gone. “He’s this way.”

  When they got past the cages, he s
potted Malik in the dog pen. He was standing perfectly still in the middle, and all of the dogs were running around in an orderly circle.

  Amy sucked in a breath. “That’s amazing.”

  “What is?” He saw nothing unusual going on.

  “Those animals usually snarl and chase and badger the smaller dogs. With Malik in there, they are all behaving. Do you think they know he’s really a lion?”

  “You’d have to ask the little ones yourself.”

  She grabbed his arm and leaned closer. “How do I do that?”

  “Beats me. I can’t talk to animals.”

  Amy’s here. You’ve impressed her. Now come on out.

  He honestly expected Malik to milk the situation a bit longer, but he waited until there was a break in traffic, jogged to the fence, and hopped over.

  “Hey.” Malik cupped her face and kissed her.

  From way she pressed her hips inward, she loved the kiss. His own cock hardened thinking about making love to her. She seemed enthusiastic last night, but he and Malik decided to take things slow. Maybe if Malik didn’t pull any stunts today or mess things up, Amy might be willing to join them in a little lovemaking tonight. He could only wait so long.

  “You were amazing with the animals.”

  How do I answer that without sounding egotistical?

  Say thank you.

  “Thank you.” Malik looked around. “I’m surprised you have time to work another job.”

  “Oh, this isn’t really another job. I don’t get paid. I just love animals and volunteer.”

  Neither of them did much volunteering in Anterra.

  Malik smiled. “That’s noble of you.”

  Laying it on a little thick, aren’t you, bro?

  Malik didn’t answer, which meant only one thing. His brother was as hooked on Amy as he was. He could only hope she liked them as well.

  She glanced at her watch. “I get off in two hours. How would you men like to come over for dinner?”

  He knew Malik wanted to. “That would be great. Can we pick up anything?”

  She shook her head. “No. I’m good. It won’t be anything fancy. How about seven?”