“You’re not going to get out of my hair. All Mori has to do is to call Preston and tell him to come home,” she said. “I’ve already told him that. Tell Preston to come home and that’s enough.”
“Do you think Preston is your son?” I asked gently and took a step towards her.
“No, he’s my son’s mate. They’re just having problems. You know how young people are. They never know what’s good for them.”
“They’re not mates, Miss Claudis or is it Ms. ?” I asked her.
“Miss is fine,” she said. “And they are, sweetheart. I know it’s hard for you to hear that you don’t know everything but they are mates! If they weren’t Preston wouldn’t have gotten pregnant.”
Yeah. She was at the very least delusional.
“Miss Claudis,” I sighed, trying to sound more like Granddad Cromwell than I ever had in my life. “I understand the mix up but even if you’re right, do you think blowing glass windows to smithereens is the proper way to go about things? What if you’d harmed the baby? That’s your grandbaby in there!” I whispered the last part as if the act of being pregnant was somehow something you shouldn’t speak out loud about.
Something thumped against the trapdoor, and she startled back. Only the trapdoor was open. Someone was pounding their fist or something against the magic over the empty space.
“TEDDY!” Mori shouted.
I wanted to tell him to be patient but a second later a strange head popped out of the hole followed by a broad hairy pair of shoulders and an even hairier chest.
“Venal! You’re grounded!” Sharon growled. “You go sit on your time out chair right now!”
“Mom,” he said but never got to finish his sentence because I tackled her. She grunted and tried to twist in my arms and buck me off her, but I had her in a bear hug. Sharon tried to headbutt me but the back of her head only collided with my collarbone. When that didn’t work she dug her claws into her hardwood floor and growled her son’s name.
“TEDDY!” Mori yelled and I opened my mouth to tell him I was a bit busy at the moment. Only a second later, someone bit my shoulder as a weight thudded down on top of me.
Under me Sharon let out a grunt, but I didn’t let go of her. Instead, I brought out my wings fast and hard, slapping the biter in the face. He grunted as someone clawed their way out of the trapdoor, but the biter was on me again. This time he went for the side of my face and didn’t flinch away when I slammed my head into his. He let out a deep throaty laugh and my dragon’s muscles coiled. He’d shift any second now and have a double bear sandwich. Fuck him and her and this fucking house – fire shot out off my mouth, catching the arm of the lopsided sofa.
Sharon shrieked under me. Venal – the biter – tried again but I snapped at him catching a chunk of his ear in my mouth and tugging with all my might. He pulled away, snarling and growling, but the piece of his ear I had ahold of stayed inside my mouth. Sharon muttered a spell but couldn’t get her words out properly. I clamped a hand over her mouth swung one of my legsout to trip Venal as he turned on Mori. He bit into my toes. Pain seared through my leg and I kicked him viciously – once, twice, three times in the head before the fucker finally let go. That shit hurt worse than when Dern shot me.
Sharon bucked again, I hated myself for being off guard as she managed to flop me off her. She headed toward the door and Venal headed toward Mori. Sharon Claudis was dangerous but Venal probably had a good hundred pounds on Mori. It’s hard to cast spells while someone’s trying to bash your face in. I swore under my breath as the shebear slipped out the front door. I took that rage out on her son as I crashed into his back, smacking him to the floor next to Mori. My friend smelled shaky as he always did when Dern yanked him out of his body. I smacked Venal’s head into the floor – only once – to get my message across.
Mori hit the floor next to us and I managed to slide a hand under him just in time before his head smacked into the hardwood.
“What the fuck is wrong with you?” I growled in Venal’s ear. “That bitch had you locked in the basement too, huh? And you still do this shit?”
“She’s my mum,” he managed to spit out despite the blood specks flying from his mouth when he spoke.
It would’ve been easy to snap his neck and go after Sharon. Except, I didn’t want Mori’s niece or nephew to look at me one day and ask me why I killed their sire. Had having Zinnia made me soft? I hoped not for all our sakes.
I held Venal Claudis down on his mother’s living room floor until the guards showed up. They were so fucking slow. Silent minutes ticked by and Venal and I had nothing to talk about. Slowly, Mori came to and muttered something about how he took it back. He took it all back. He didn’t want this jackass anywhere near his brother. He went on to mutter aboutwhich body parts he’d cut off with a rusty spoon if Venal went anywhere near anyone in his family again.
I almost didn’t relinquish Venal to the guards. It would’ve been too easy to pop his scruffy head off his hairy shoulders and end his part in this. My dragon savored the idea, rolling around thoughts of what bear would taste like going down his gullet.
“Give ‘em here,” Canton said.
Canton was a rabbit shifter with a reputation for kicking more ass than anyone thought a rabbit could. He played a huge part in the war that freed the Wildlands and allowed established territories to expand into once hostile areas. I wanted to fight him too. Rabbit stew was tasty after all but Mori needed a doctor, and I had a feeling the GGB wouldn’t be so willing to lend up medical services if I killed Venal and then gave one of its most upstanding citizens a hard time.
“Go on, get up, Teddy,” he said, poking my side with the toe of his work boot. “Budge off him at least. Then if you’re nice, I’ll tell Philip to come look at your toes. Son of a bitch tried to take ‘em off!”
I rolled onto my back next to Mori, moving slowly so that I could keep my wings out. Canton yanked Venal to his feet. He smiled at me, revealing several teeth that had been knocked out and were only starting to come back in. Canton grabbed his arm and shoved him at a guard that smelled like a raccoon shifter.
“Before you ask, everyone knows who you are,” Canton chuckled, squatting down next to me. “We got calls from folks up and down the street saying Teddy Moonscale knocked down the door at the Claudis place. Everyone’s looking for Sharon but you’re more noticeable. Don’t worry. Someone spotted her on the way out but I have a feeling she slipped them.”
“She did,” a tall bear shifter, wearing a cowboy hat grunted. “I’m going to look at Mori first. He might lose a toe but I don’t want an angry call from Xenos.”
“Do what you want, Philip,” Canton shrugged and sat down on the floor next to me. “Mate expecting?”
“Yours?” I blinked up at him.
