All Kitten Aside: BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance (Paranormal Dating Agency Book 11) (14 page)

THIRTY-TWO

Andi winced and jerked her arm from Mrs. Steel’s grip. “Let go of me before I shred your expensive dress, lady.”

Mrs. Steel released her grip. “Don’t you dare touch me. I am Rochelle Steel, alpha wolf—”

Andi hissed, taking a step back and eyeing the other woman as what she was, the enemy. “And I’m an alpha lioness. Would you like to place bets and throw down right here, right now? Lion against wolf. Should be a pretty good fight.”

When they reached the front door, Rochelle opened it and pushed Andi outside, following behind her.

Once again, Rochelle grabbed her left arm but Andi’s fingers on her right hand turned to claws and slashed away at the unwanted hand. “Don’t fucking touch me, lady. Or you’re going to learn the hard way how to wipe your ass with no hands.”

They were at the back of the house, by the pool and spa rooms. “Listen to me, you little bitch,” Rochelle glanced down at her bleeding hand and then growled at her. “I don’t want you anywhere near my son. He will not ever mate you, a filthy cat.”

“But Mrs. Steel,” a sly grin crossed her face and she let her face shift just slightly into her lioness to show the woman she wasn’t intimidated, “I guessed the right number. So by the rules, I win.”

A slap stung her cheek and whipped her head to the side before she saw it coming. Point for the shady as fuck wolf bitch. That wasn’t happening again.

“Don’t be snide with me. Now, you are going inside to tell Kasen and everyone there that you’ve changed your mind. Then you’re leaving. I don’t ever want to see your face again. Understand?” She gave Andi a big shove, away from the house, from the light and safety.

“Yeah, I heard you,” Andi said. “But see,” she took a step forward, bracing her legs and meeting the other woman’s angry gaze with her own. “What I’m actually going to do is go inside and tell Kasen and everyone in the room that I’m in love with your son.”

This time, Andi was ready for the attempted hit on her face. And so was her lioness. Borrowing strength from her animal, she dug her nails into Rochelle’s forearm, stopping the hit and watching the woman’s face contort with the pain inflicted.

“What are you doing?” Rochelle squeaked. “Let go of me!”

Andi let her loose and got in her face. She wasn’t one to be fucked with. This might be an alpha wolf, but Andi wasn’t going to let some woman try to tell her about her love life, not when she’d almost given it all up.

“Now you listen to me,” she hissed, her animal in full control. “Your son and I are mates. There’s no doubt about it.” Rochelle’s face paled. “That’s right, Mrs. Steel. Our animals chose each other. Shifter law forbids anyone to separate a shifter couple. You don’t want to disobey the law, do you?”

Rochelle stepped back and laughed. “You stupid cat! Who do you think killed your pussy men? They went down like shit to the sewer. So easy.”

Andi froze. She couldn’t believe the confession. Wait, yes she could.

“And I really wish you would’ve drowned in the river. That would’ve made this so much easier,” she growled.

This crazy bitch! She tried to kill her. Andi didn’t even know why. “Made what easier?”

“Your death.” A wolf paw, claws extended, swiped the air toward her face. Andi dropped to her knees, then body tackled the woman, slamming her to the ground. She rolled off and shifted into her lioness. Looking through her animal’s eyes, she saw a huge wolf standing, lips pulled back exposing jagged teeth.

Andi hissed, showing off her impressive set of chompers. She sat back on her haunches teasing the wolf, forcing them to make the first move. Fighting wasn’t her idea of how to settle things, but sometimes, shit just hits the fan a certain way.

The wolf’s rear leg muscles tightened. She was going to jump. So would Andi. Both sprang up and collided in the air, paws slapping at anything solid. On the ground, again, they circled. Andi lunged closer, swiping claws across the wolf’s face. It howled with pain, jumping back. The pure hate shooting from the wolf’s eyes was enough to send a chill down her lioness’s back. How could anyone hate another person that much?
She doesn’t even know me
.

The wolf charged her straight on. No more playing around. Claws found purchase and ripped both lion and wolf fur. Blood made the grass slippery. The wolf’s snout snapped to the side and crunched down on one of Andi’s paws. Bone crushed before a claw swiped the attacker’s face to force her to let go.

Andi retreated a few steps. That fucking hurt. She needed to shift to heal, but the second she did, the wolf would be on her and would snap her neck in one bite. The wolf seemed to be smiling, becoming too confident. Andi sat back more, whining, pretending to be more injured than she was. The wolf seized the opportunity to pounce.

Once the animal was in the air, Andi shot forward, staying low to the ground. She rolled enough to scrape a claw down the length of the wolf’s belly. Andi sprang up after the wolf passed overhead, twisted in the air, and came down on the wolf’s back, her jaws locking around the neck.

And then it was there. The tickle sensation in her head that signaled the other animal wanted to talk.

“Bitch, I’ll kill you!”
were the first words to come to her mind.

If she could have, she would’ve rolled her eyes. This woman still didn’t want to admit defeat. “
Uh, excuse me, but whose jaws are wrapped around whose neck, here?”

The wolf tried to shake her off its back. No use. She had her three legs securely locked to the ground, her one broken paw was useless. Nobody was going anywhere.

“Mrs. Steel, since you confessed to killing my men, tell me why. What purpose did it serve?”

The wolf remained silent. Andi bit down harder, her lioness enjoying every second of the other woman’s pain. She hadn’t forgotten that slap.

“Okay, bitch. The purpose was to scare you off. If you were busy searching for the killer, you’d have no time for my son.”

“So a promising young man was killed just because you wanted to keep me busy.”
Andi wanted to scream at the idiocy of it all. “
Next time you want to keep me busy, buy me a fucking jigsaw puzzle. You killed the only family of one of my elders.”

“Like I give a shit.”
The words were stone cold and angry. Fury made her jaws tighten further. Her fangs punctured the first level of muscle and tissue in the wolf’s throat. Blood seeped into her mouth. Yuck.

The wolf heaved for breaths.
“If you’re going to kill me, get it over with, pussy. If not, get off.”

“You’re not leaving, nor am I killing you. You murdered two innocent lives and will suffer under formal shifter law, going through the proper channels to make sure you die. No getting off on good behavior.”
She growled to remind the other animal who was in control.
“Now, start your shift to human, and I’ll let you go.”

The wolf snarled at her, but the animal did as told and shifted. Andi released her hold and followed suit, but wasn’t fast enough to shift her hands. Kasen’s mother bashed her elbow into the side of her lioness’s head then hightailed it into the dark night. Fuck.

THIRTY-THREE

The world spun for a few seconds. She could throw up any time now. There was no use in going after the wolf. She had such a head start that Andi could walk into an ambush the woman setup. But she could get the last word. “You can’t hide, Steel. They will smell you wherever you go.”

Relieved, Andi staggered toward the house. She’d never been this exhausted in her life. When she looked toward the lit backyard, to her surprise, she saw everyone was coming out the back porch door. They must have heard the fighting. Kasen, beach towel in hand, ran toward her. Yeah, a cover-up would be nice in front of thirty people.

He wrapped her in the towel and his arms. It felt so good, so safe. His features were feral with his wolf. He was pissed. “Did my mother hurt you? Are you all right?” He pulled away to look for injuries.

She shook her head as he came close. “She bit down on my cat’s arm, but it mostly healed in my shift. When we get back to the house, I’ll shift again.”

Kasen leaned into her and held her gaze captive with his own. “You’re going to be doing more than shifting, babe. Tonight is the night I take the woman I chose to my house and make her mine for always.”

Well, shit, with all this fighting stuff she forgot about the reason she was here. She stopped and hugged him again. “Kasen,” she cleared her throat. Damn. This was hard. She’d fallen for him hard and fast and now realized denying it had done nothing for them. He’d been right. They were meant to be. Their strength and commitment to each other and their families would only ensure things worked out. Why hadn’t she seen that before? “I’m sorry for being so damn stubborn all this time.”

“Hmm. Being a little rough on yourself?” His hands rubbed up and down her back.

“I deserve it. I got it in my head what I thought was best and it was totally wrong. You are perfect for me.”

He gave her one of those panty-melting smiles that made her girl parts slick. “And you’re perfect for me. I’ll forgive anything now that I know you’re mine and will always be mine.” He laid a hot, passion-starting kiss on her. Holy fuck. Her knees were getting weak. He pulled away before she passed out. Lord have mercy. They walked along the hedges in the backyard toward the pool and spa rooms. She hadn’t realized how far from the house his mother had taken her. The woman could have killed her and dragged her body into the woods.

She should have paid more attention. Thankfully, she’d been a match for the wolf, but she could have been killed. Especially with how viciously that woman wanted her out of the way. Shaking off the fear now that she was in Kasen’s arm, she focused on the happenings in front of her. “Why is everyone outside?”

“We ran out of green Skittles.” He kept his arm around her shoulder to keep her close. “I came out of my half-drunken stupor enough to realize what my mother’s intentions were dragging you outside. I’m so sorry, Andi. A few of the girls and I heard her confess to the killings when we came out the back door.”

She sighed. It was a waste, but it was over, and nothing she could do but learn from it. She glanced at his face, loving every line, then her lips tipped down. “I couldn’t kill her. You know I never intended to.” She swiped her tongue over her bottom lip. “My lioness wanted to, but it isn’t my place to make that call. I planned to bring her inside and get her to speak to you. She got away from me, though.”

He cupped her face in his hands and placed a soft kiss on her lips. “No need to worry about that. When my security team saw what was happening, they radioed those stationed in the forest to keep a heads up and bring her in alive.”

“Thank goodness. There was no way I’d catch her. She got me good upside the head when I was shifting.”

From the back porch, one of the ladies waved something in the air. “Kasen, it’s Spike on your phone.” They were just now getting to the back side of the spa rooms. And her slow stumble/walk wasn’t helping them get there any faster.

“Tell him I’ll call him back,” he growled.

The woman flinched. “He says it’s an emergency.”

Kasen groaned but snarled again. “I said I’ll call him back!”

The woman held the phone to her ear. She glared daggers at him. “Hey, now. I’m just the messenger. He says it’s life or death this instant.”

“Well, shit, Spike!” One of the men hurried their way.

He kept a distance and glanced at Kasen with genuine concern. “I’ll walk her in, alpha. You take the call. I’ll just run over and get her a blanket.”

Kasen considered him for a moment, his face tight. She wondered if he’d growl at the guy but he didn’t. He gave a sharp nod and the guy ran to the house. Then he turned to face her. “You okay with someone else helping for a second?”

“Kasen,” she grinned at his soft tone like she’d fall apart at any second. “I’m not a baby. I can handle this. Go on. Spike sounds serious. I’ll wait for the guy.” He gave her another mind-muddling kiss and ran around the pool. Andi stood on the tile floor in front of the spa rooms. Actually, a spa pampering would be great tomorrow. She’d ask Kasen about it. Maybe they could do a couple—

From the hedges, a dark wolf darted out toward Andi. It was Kasen’s mom. Oh, come on! She so wasn’t in the mood for more fighting. Andi stood in the open, nowhere for her to hide but the spa rooms, and she’d never make it to one in time. Realization set it. She’d have to kill this bitch or die trying. After all the shit she and Kasen had been through, he’d never want her if she killed his mother. What man would?

The wolf leapt toward her face; Andi fell to the ground and covered her head. She tried to get to her feet to run, but her body wouldn’t obey her brain’s commands. Her lioness needed more time to recuperate. Shit was going to go down hard. She got to her knees. The lioness was still unresponsive.

The wolf landed behind her and now made its way to her. She sat up straight and tall, once again asking her lioness for help. She was born an alpha. If need be, she’d go out like an alpha. Trying to shift her hand into a paw, she stared into the wolf’s eyes. The same hatred as before. Maybe more if that was possible.

The wolf opened its mouth to take a chunk out of her. Kasen and the other guy were on a full out run toward her. They were too far away to save her. From the side of the closest spa room, a golden blur whipped forward. The wolf was gone, and water splashed her from bodies diving in.

Swirling on the deep end of the pool, the torrent water and the night hid what was happening below the surface. Gold and black twisted and turned around each other. The little light that shined from the house showed the dark floating liquid in the water to be blood. It came to the top and spread.

The thrashing water slowed, waves rippling less and less. The gold and black glided toward the steps of the pool. From the water, a huge lioness dragged out a black mess of fur and dropped it deck side.

Andi was too exhausted to think or react to what she witnessed. Kasen had her in his arms, all of them watching the lioness shift and turn away. From four to two legs, the woman stood. Andi gasped.

Shantelle stood with her back to them, then walked through shadows toward the driveway and parked cars. Over her shoulder, she said, “Shifter justice for my grandson has been delivered. It is done. I’ll tell Naya that you’re staying with your mate tonight and will be home tomorrow to properly introduce him to the community.” Andi thought she saw the old woman wink at her.

Yes, tomorrow she would introduce her mate to the pride. Damn, if Gerri wasn’t right again. She worked miracles.