“Thanks, darlin’.” She kissed his cheek and walked over to the door, opening it and letting the other She-wolves out. Then she shifted, shook off her clothes, and followed them outside.
“You sure are good with cats—for a canine.”
Dez sat down on the couch opposite Smitty, her son asleep in her arms.
“Not as good as you, my sweet Dez.”
“Well, darlin’, you lack the equipment for that.”
He laughed and the boy in his arms laughed with him.
Smitty looked down at the toddler in his lap and grinned at him. “You really are cute for a Shaw, ain’tcha?”
In response, the boy threw back his head and howled again. Seemed he liked doing that a lot.
Unfortunately, the snarl of rage behind him suggested to Smitty that Brendon Shaw did not agree.
Smitty smiled up at the male lion standing behind the couch—seething. “Hey, Shaw. Nice house you’ve got here.”
Arms crossed over that massive chest, the lion looked down his nose at Smitty as only a cat could. “What else have you taught my son? How to chase his tail? Lick his ass?”
“Nah, I stuck with the cat basics. Park lazy ass under tree, sleep twenty hours, eat all the food after the females do all the hunting, take a few minutes to roar, then sleep another twenty hours.”
When the cat flashed those fangs, Smitty was smart enough to shut the hell up even while Dez burst out laughing.
Sitting out here on the porch, staring at the snow, Jess asked Johnny her usual litany of questions. How was school? Did he like it? Was he getting along better with the other pups? Did he need new boots? A new violin? Exactly how much did those Stradivarius ones cost? And how exactly did he get past the killer orc on level fifteen without having the plus-twelve dexterity magick armor?
She really never stopped talking, his Jess. Of course, none of them did. Even the males talked—constantly. Johnny liked his quiet time. He liked to sit and think. Just be. He didn’t think the wild dogs had it in them to just be. They either slept or talked. No in between for the wild dogs.
But they were his, weren’t they? His family now. His Pack. True, when he shifted he was already about two times bigger than the biggest wild dog, but that didn’t change what he knew.
He was home.
Johnny turned to the woman he’d come to quietly care so much about, silently debating whether he should actually tell Jess that when she suddenly sat up straight in her chair. Her eyes scanned the woods; her ears twitched.
She’d heard something she didn’t like. Wild dogs had killer hearing. They should. When shifted, they had the biggest ears imaginable considering their slight size.
Jess growled, her gaze locked on the forest in front of them. “I want you inside, Johnny.”
Christ. He was seventeen tomorrow. Maybe it was time to start treating him like an adult. “Yeah, but—”
“Now!”
Startled by Jess’s yell, Johnny headed into the house. As he went in, a majority of the Pack adults ran out, already shifted. The adults who stayed behind shifted and stood on the porch or directly in front of the house. A few took up positions in the back.
Johnny knelt on the couch with the other pups and watched through the big picture window as the adults charged off into the woods.
“Someone,” Kristan muttered next to him—smelling delightful as always—“is going to get their ass kicked.”
Sissy Mae got her teeth in the deer’s neck and flipped over, taking the animal with her. Ronnie Lee wrapped her jaw around the throat and crushed the windpipe. It eventually stopped moving, and the She-wolves settled down to enjoy an early lunch.
They didn’t plan to linger. They’d crossed into wild-dog territory, and although Sissy didn’t really worry, she still knew in her gut that her brother had come here for another shot at Jessie Ann. She wouldn’t ruin that by embarrassing the dogs on their own property.
So when Ronnie Lee lifted her head and scented the air, Sissy assumed it was the dogs coming to investigate. But then she caught the scent, too, and heard the sound. That laugh-howl. Her head snapped up and she saw them come out of the trees. Not a full Clan, only about ten, but enough to cause a problem. She snarled and the She-wolves left off their meal, surrounding it. The hyenas came for the food. But they’d have to fight for it. Sissy Mae Smith didn’t give up her kills to anybody.
She stepped forward and snarled, and the hyenas dodged in and out, making that annoying sound that set her nerves on edge. They were looking for a way past the wolves to get to the deer. Sissy glanced at one of the younger She-wolves and sent her off to round up the males.
Focusing back on the hyenas, Sissy pulled her lips back, baring her fangs. One of the hyenas danced close and Sissy leaped forward, her teeth just grazing the hyena’s jaw. It jumped back, surprised by the aggression but not ready to back off yet.
But before the hyena could make another move, wild dogs burst out of the trees from the other side.
Sissy watched in fascination as Jessie Ann’s Pack went after a breed more than twice the wild dogs’ size. And hyenas had jaws that could easily crush bone.
Even more surprising, the hyenas ran off. Maybe because they were on dog territory. Maybe because there were only ten of them or they were a weak Clan. Whatever.
Once the hyenas disappeared back into the woods, the wild-dog Pack turned to Sissy and her She-wolves. Hhhm. This could prove awkward. But, again, she’d respect her brother and let this alone. Sissy looked back and guesstimated the territorial line between the dogs’ property and Shaw’s was about three miles. No big deal, they’d make that without any—
The bark cut off her thought and she turned around to see that the dogs had moved closer, barking constantly and moving out in a circle around them.
If she were human, she would have laughed. The hyenas may have run off, but not the wolves. Smith wolves didn’t run. They’d leave, but they wouldn’t run. She nodded her head, letting the dogs know without words that her Pack would leave of its own accord. No reason to make this nasty.
Jessie Ann stepped forward; her eyes locked on Sissy’s. She snarled, baring her fangs. In that split second Sissy realized Jessie Ann was unbelievably pissed off that the wolves dared to cross territorial lines.
Refusing to believe Jessie Ann would be stupid enough to challenge her, Sissy gave a warning growl. Warning Jessie Ann not to even try it. Not to even think it. She sucker punched Sissy once, but that wouldn’t happen again.Sissy motioned to Ronnie Lee, who took several steps back before turning completely around and trotting off, the other She-wolves right behind her. Sissy growled and barked one last time before she turned and slowly followed after her She-wolves. Once again, Smith wolves didn’t run. Besides, she only had to get to the territorial line between the dogs’ and Shaw’s properties.
That’s exactly what she kept thinking as she came in sight of that territorial line. Then Jessie Ann Ward dug painfully sharp fangs into Sissy’s left thigh and flung her nose over tail back into dog territory.
Smitty laughed as Shaw backed away from Ricky Lee and the moonshine-filled Mason jar.
“Keep that crap away from me!”
“Now don’t go turnin’ into a big pussy. Drink up, boy!” Ricky Lee winked at Smitty. “Trust me, Bobby Ray. We’ll turn this Yankee into a good ol’ Southern boy in no time.”
“Hell you will!” Shaw laughed.
Watching the Reed boys torture Ronnie Lee’s mate, Smitty debated about whether to get some food from the fridge or go take a nap. A good sleep often did wonders when he needed to figure out a problem. But before he could do either, the scent hit him first.
The scent of panic.
By the time he made it down the front porch stairs, a She-wolf slid to a stop in front of him. She barked and turned, running off. The others shifted and followed after her. Smitty took a second to look back at Mace standing on the porch stairs. “Stay here. Protect Erik.”
“Got it. Go.”
He did, running and shifting simultaneously. He caught up with the rest of them as they neared a ridge.
Smitty could smell they were nearing another breed’s territory. Wild dog. Jessie Ann’s territory.
Lord, what had Sissy Mae been thinking?
As Smitty and the others made it over a small ridge, they saw them. There were about three dogs to every wolf, and there were at least four dogs on Sissy.
Shaw roared in anger and charged toward the dogs tag teaming Ronnie Lee. Smitty headed right for his sister and Jessie Ann, immediately recognizing her scent and markings.
Besides, only a dog with a grudge would go after Sissy Mae the way she was. Sissy held her own, but she was weakening fast. Still, Jessie Ann kept at her. Sissy would turn and try to take a chunk out of her and Jessie would dance away from her. Then another dog would attack her flank, and when Sissy would turn to fight them, Jessie Ann would come back.
Smitty knew he had to get his sister and the She-wolves over the territorial boundaries they were mere feet from. He had to do it fast.
But the wild dogs cut in front of him, zigzagging past, blocking him. Blocking him from Jessie Ann.
Pissed, he batted the dogs out of his way, barreling through them when he could, and, without hesitation, went straight for Jessie Ann. Fangs sank past fur and into vulnerable flesh and muscle. She let out a cry of pain and twisted away from him, releasing Sissy Mae in the process. Jessie Ann jumped back several feet and stared at him. Then she tried to dodge around him to get back to Sissy. Smitty cut her off, baring his fangs in warning. She snarled back and again tried to go around him.