Spider Sense - MM
Author: Charlie Richards - MM
Date: 2012-08-16T00:04:29+00:00
Keywords: mm
Description: On the road: Sometimes the 8-legged freaks are the good guys. Haben Bello heads for Kansas to help his old friend, Wes. The human attorney deals with child custody in shifter-human cases, protecting shifter secrets. Wes needs help uncovering the true motives behind a young boy’s mother who suddenly wants custody after she’d given up all rights to him twelve years before. When Haben meets the boy’s human foster father, Lou Reynolds, he realizes the man is his mate. Lou is still coming to grips with the fact that shifters exist. It’s one thing for his son to be able to turn into a lion, but a sp
Publisher: eXtasy Books

On the road: Sometimes the 8-legged freaks are the good guys.

Haben Bello heads for Kansas to help his old friend, Wes. The human attorney deals with child custody in shifter-human cases, protecting shifter secrets. Wes needs help uncovering the true motives behind a young boy’s mother who suddenly wants custody after she’d given up all rights to him twelve years before. When Haben meets the boy’s human foster father, Lou Reynolds, he realizes the man is his mate.

Lou is still coming to grips with the fact that shifters exist. It’s one thing for his son to be able to turn into a lion, but a spider? Lou may be able to accept Haben the man, but can he learn how to accept Haben the tarantula? And what about when Haben’s job in town is done and he decides to move on? Lou has a son and can’t just up and leave to join Haben on his nomadic travels. Can Lou trust Haben’s insistence that he’s willing to turn his life upside down, adopt a lion shifter cub, and settle down after nearly one hundred years of freedom?

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This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Spider Sense

Copyright © 2012 Charlie Richards

ISBN: 978-1-77111-279-6

Cover art by Angela Waters

All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.

Published by eXtasy Books

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Spider Sense

Kontra’s Menagerie: Book Five

By

Charlie Richards

To my masseuse, LaNae. For making it possible to sit at my computer without pain in the joints when I rise. Bless you!

Chapter One

“Can you believe how many of our buddies are finding their mates?” Vail’s voice came through Haben’s phone. Though it sounded a bit disjointed through the speaker phone, Haben knew the exasperation in Vail’s tone wasn’t imagined.

Haben glanced up and exchanged a look with Terence. He knew the lion shifter was thinking the same thing. Vail talked a good talk, but if he ever crossed paths with his mate, he’d want the man. Haben tried to keep the envy out of his tone when he replied, “Give mine and Terence’s congrats to Eli and Sam.”

“I will,” Vail replied.

“When are you headed out this way?” Terence asked.

Vail laughed. “What’s the matter? Don’t like Haben’s company?” the wolf shifter teased. “He normally knows how to use that big dick of his.”

Terence rolled his eyes, and Haben shook his head. The only time Vail had seen Haben’s dick was when they shifted. At a hundred-and-eighty-two-years of age, Haben often felt like a grandparent to most of the others in his pack. Many of them were, at most, a third of his age. Even Kontra was only one-hundred-and-twelve. Haben had been alone so long he often wondered if he should just find a man he could be happy with and stop looking for his fated mate. But hope burned eternal, and Haben kept searching the world.

“As if you have any experience with Haben’s dick. We all know he doesn’t want your white cock up his black ass,” Terence growled back. “Now answer the damn question.”

Haben rolled his eyes, remembering the first time he’d shifted with Kontra’s gang. Vail, the resident playboy, had commented about never fucking an African American. Haben had shot the wolf shifter down and none too gently. Fortunately, the rest of the guys had laughed, and after a startled few seconds, Vail had joined in. After that, everyone had shifted and gone for a run.

After a dramatic sigh, Vail replied, “We’re heading out tomorrow afternoon. It took a day longer than planned to prepare Eli’s mate for the road, what with Sam getting kidnapped and all.”

Haben dropped his hand from where he’d been rubbing his temple. “What?”

He could just imagine Vail waving a hand in dismissal as he said, “Some idiot working for the damn scientists the wolves here are fighting caused some trouble, but they got it straightened out. Sam’s fine,” he assured. “We’ll see you by the end of the week.”

“All right,” Haben replied. “We’ll see you soon.” He picked up the phone from the picnic table, disconnected the call and shoved it into a pocket. After looking around the rest stop, he stood up and stretched while eying Terence. “An hour to Salina, then I need to meet with Wesley. If you don’t want to join me in the meeting, you don’t have to. You can find a motel to hole up in or a bar or whatever.”

Haben knew Kontra’s decision to send Terence with him wasn’t a slight against Haben. One of their old gang members had headed off for what was supposed to be only a couple days detour to visit his sister for a while. He’d never made it. The horse shifter had lucked out, finding his mate, but he’d ended up injured and in the hospital. Kontra had ordered everyone to travel in pairs wherever possible from then on. Still, he didn’t know if the lion shifter really wanted to be involved with helping one of Haben’s old friends, so he gave the guy an out.

Terence held his gaze for a few seconds before smirking. “I don’t mind joining you if you don’t have a problem with it. I don’t want to step on your toes, but I don’t really feel like lying around either.”

“Sounds good,” Haben replied, stretching one last time. He strode back to his bike. “Let’s go see what Wes wants.”

He settled his helmet on his head and brought his Harley Soft Tail roaring to life. After giving his fellow biker a nod, Haben led the way out of the rest stop parking area and back onto the road. The miles disappeared quickly under the wheels of his motorcycle. The green grass and rivers made for pleasant scenery. Soon he spotted a sign for Salina.

As he turned off the highway and headed through the business district, the changes to the area reminded Haben that he hadn’t seen Wesley for a number of years. Thinking back, he was surprised to realize it had been nearly twelve years since he’d passed this way.

That had been for Wes’s sixtieth birthday. It was still hard for Haben to wrap his mind around the fact that his human friend was nearing the end of his life.

Locating a spot near Wesley’s firm, he parked and locked up his helmet. Terence lifted a light brown brow in question, and Haben shrugged. “Haven’t been here in years,” he explained. “Don’t know the area anymore.” A glance around showed the old business district was still in good repair, but they were on the edge of it, so better safe than sorry.

Terence grunted his acknowledgement and locked his saddlebags. Haben led the way down the street, checking street numbers as he went, and stopped in front of a brownstone turned office building. The red brickwork was still in decent shape, the windows were clean, none of them boarded, and everything that needed paint had a fresh coat of dark green. Inhaling, Haben realized he could still smell the acrid scent of the paint, telling him it had been done within the week.

He gripped the door handle, pressed the thumb lever, and pushed. Terence followed him up the stairs in the foyer to the second level. Haben swept his gaze over the doors and saw his old friend’s office hadn’t moved. Smiling, he strode to the door and knocked.

“Come!”

Pushing the door open, Haben grinned. He glanced around the room, took in the empty reception desk and the open door in the back, and headed that way. Stopping in the doorway, his heart constricted as he took in his old friend. Haben wasn’t certain how he kept his grin in place, but he managed it.

Wesley stood and grabbed a cane in one bony hand, looking every one of his seventy-two-years. His thin gray hair was cut short, showing off his bald head. Age spots dotted Wesley’s thin skin, and reading glasses perched on the end of his hawk-like nose.

The human limped around the desk, his free hand outstretched. “Haben! You made it. Thank you so much for coming,” Wesley greeted. His voice was soft with age, but the man’s green eyes were bright with the keen intelligence Haben knew still existed in the man’s brain.

He ignored the man’s hand, opened his arms, and wrapped Wesley in a hug, careful not to squeeze too tightly. “Hey, old friend,” he murmured thickly. Haben leaned back and cupped Wesley’s cheek, feeling suddenly nostalgic. “You know I’d always drop anything for you.”

Wesley laughed, his eyes dancing with amusement. “Ah, you old charmer. We both know I’m not what you wanted.”

It was true, sadly enough. Haben dropped his forehead to Wesley’s and sighed. Pulling away, he nodded and let his old lover go. He was right. Wesley had grown up with shifters, had understood mates, and he hadn’t been Haben’s. Too bad, because Wesley was an amazing man, and in Haben’s own way, he’d loved him.

Stepping back, Haben relegated the past to just that, his past. He waved toward Terence, and saw many questions in the lion shifter’s eyes, but Haben had no intention of answering them. “This is Terence Williams, a friend who’s agreed to help me on this trip.”

“A friend?” Wesley said, a speculative look on his weathered face. He held out his hand to Terence.

“Nice to meet you, Wesley,” Terence said, taking the human’s hand and giving it a quick shake.

Haben chuckled. “He really is just a friend, you old coot. Sit down there before you fall down and tell me what’s going on with you?”

Wesley cackled, as only an old man could. He winked at Terence and moved around his desk. “Okay, okay. Always spoiling my fun,” Wesley grumbled good-naturedly.

Haben couldn’t help but laugh. Gods, he’d missed this man. “I’m just tired of having to bail your ass out of jail,” he teased right back.

That had Wesley pausing, a far-away expression crossing his face. “You were right there with me a time or two,” he said softly. “I remember.”

“I was, at that.” Haben leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “Now, then, what’s got you so up in arms that you’re dragging me back to this Podunk town?” he asked, winking to soften his words.

Wesley laughed, knowing he meant no offense. “I’ve got a shifter problem I need you to check out.”

“Oh, yeah?” he asked, his curiosity piqued. “What’s up?”

“There’s a lion pride living fifty miles northwest of here,” Wesley said.

Haben wondered how long they’d been there, but held his peace.

Wesley winked. “Almost fourteen years,” he said, as if reading the tarantula shifter’s mind. “When they first moved in, one of their lionesses took up with a human male. They had a kid together. She thought it was fully human, so gave away all rights at birth.”

Terence actually rolled his eyes. “Damn lionesses. Don’t know anything. Let me guess—she’s changed her mind now that he’s fourteen and has shifted for the first time.”

Wesley pointed at him, but looked at Haben. “You’re friend’s good, but he’s got the age wrong.” Wesley looked at Terence. “The boy is twelve and a half,” he said. “He just shifted three weeks ago. I have no idea how his mother found out, but Vivian wants Damon back.”

“By the gods,” Terence whispered. “He’s not yet thirteen?”

Haben frowned. “Does that have some relevance?”

Terence nodded quickly. “Oh, yes. Lions are pretty uniform. They’ll normally shift for the first time, between fourteen and sixteen, maybe even as late as mid-seventeen,” his friend explained.

Haben still didn’t understand the significance and made sure his expression showed that.

Terence shook his head and leaned close. “The younger the age a lion shifts, the stronger he will be, because the cub has more time to develop its skills,” he explained.

The old human’s white brows creased. “Skills?”

Running a hand through his honey-brown hair, Terence nodded. “A lion shifter pride’s hierarchy is based completely on strength. Even if you’re the mate of the alpha, either male or female, you still have to fight for your rank. Those on top don’t have to do shit.” He shrugged. “Those on the bottom, they get all the shitty jobs.”

“How do you know all this?” Wesley asked, frowning.

Terence grinned at the old man. “I’m a lion. I shifted when I was fifteen.” He leaned back in his chair and threaded his fingers together. “Since I’m gay, they didn’t like me much. I got into plenty of fights,” he added ruefully.

“Oh, now that’s understandable,” Wesley said, nodding.

Haben cleared his throat. “I’m assuming the boy’s father isn’t too pleased with the mother trying to come back and take him away, after all this time.”

“The father is dead,” Wesley replied bluntly. “The boy was adopted by the father’s lover. Lou Reynolds has been guardian over that boy for five years now. Damon is like Lou’s own son. And you’re right,” he said, pointing at Haben. “He is not pleased that the mother is trying to take him.”

Uh, oh. This could spell trouble. Haben frowned. “Did he know about shifters before Damon shifted? It didn’t happen in a public place or anything, did it?” he asked urgently.

Wesley shook his head. “The boy’s biological father, Jay, well, he tried to explain shifters to Lou. But, well…” The old man shook his head. “Without proof, Lou says he didn’t believe his lover and just humored him. He’s convinced now,” he finished dryly. Wesley met Haben’s gaze. “And the change happened in the safety of their living room. That boy will never forget the first time he saw Captain America.”

Terence’s snort of laughter mirrored how Haben felt, although he kept his response restricted to a smirk. Wesley also smiled and gave Haben a hopeful look. “Will you go to them? I explained shifters to Lou, but I think it would settle some of his tension if he knew some shifters are willing to help, too.”

He understood the request, but that didn’t mean he had to like it. He exchanged a look with Terence, who lifted one shoulder in a negligent shrug. Haben sighed and nodded. He’d never been able to deny his ex-lover anything—it didn’t matter that it had been almost fifty years since they’d been intimate. “Yeah, Wesley. I’ll meet with them. Did you want to set something up?”

Haben should have known better. He really should have, but Wesley still took him by surprise by standing and grinning. “Well, I’m headed over there now to have supper with them. You should come with me.”

His words may have sounded like an invitation, but Haben knew they weren’t. He looked at Terence. “You up for visiting?”

Terence grinned. “And miss a home cooked meal? Not a chance.”

He followed Wesley’s hobbling figure out of the building. His friend surprised him again when he accepted Terence’s offer to ride behind him on his Royal Star Venture S. Terence gave Haben a wink, promised to be careful with him, then tore off down the street.

Haben chuckled as he followed.

Chapter Two

Lou stirred the spaghetti sauce simmering on the stove and hummed distractedly. Damon was busy finishing his homework. School had started again, and his son was none too pleased at having to drop out of football until they could get a handle on what was happening to him. He’d always been bigger and stronger than the other boys, but it had gotten to dangerous levels. Lou knew Damon hadn’t meant to break that boy’s arm when he tackled him, but they couldn’t let something like that happen again.

Wesley was coming over that evening. He’d said he knew some shifters, someone other than those associated with Damon’s mother, and maybe they’d be willing to talk to Damon, help him get control. He hoped so. Lou also hoped it wouldn’t take long for Wesley to track his friends down. He said the man was a nomadic sort, always traveling.

His son’s snort came from the doorway. “Did you make enough?” Damon asked.

He turned around and grinned at the boy. Wow, he really is growing like a weed! “Well, spaghetti makes great leftovers,” he pointed out.

Damon groaned. “I hate leftover spaghetti,” he whined.

“It’s for me to take to work, and quit your belly-aching,” he admonished. Lou glanced at his watch. “Uncle Wesley should be here soon. Set the table.”

Without a word, Damon went to the cupboard and pulled out dishes. Lou watched for a moment, then turned to the oven and pulled out the garlic bread. Damon really was a good boy, but it was a trying time for both of them.

His deceased lover had given Wesley the honorary title before he’d met Lou. A pang of regret hit when he thought of Jay, Damon’s biological father. He’d been dead for five years now. The lonely ache left by his passing wasn’t always that bad, but Lou could really have used his lover’s help. Jay had tried to explain shifters to Lou, but he hadn’t believed him. Woo boy, he believed him now. Having his adopted son turn into a lion cub, in the middle of their living room, was a real eye-opener. He’d do anything to protect Damon, even from his own mother. The woman hadn’t wanted anything to do with him all his life—how dare she try to take Damon now!

The doorbell rang, yanking him out of his thoughts before he could get too worked up. “Will you get that?” he called to his son.

He heard the scuffing of socked feet on carpet as he pulled the bowl of salad and the pitcher of iced tea out of the refrigerator. Setting them on the table, Lou listened as Damon greeted Wesley. His brows rose when he heard a second voice greet the boy, then a third. That last one was raspy and deep and sent a shiver down Lou’s spine. He’d had lovers since Jay had died, but none had made his pulse race from just a few words. With everything going on, it was not the time for complications!

“Dad! Uncle Wesley brought guests,” Damon called. He reappeared in the doorway. “We need two more plates,” he said, as if Lou couldn’t see that for himself.

Lou nodded and smiled at his son. “Will you take care of that, please?” Damon moved to obey, and Lou strode toward the strangers. He watched his son for a second, smiling fondly. Jay would have been proud. Damon was such a good kid.

The taller of the two had honey-brown hair, brown eyes and stood about six foot three. He was good looking, muscular, and looked startlingly similar to Damon. He fought back a gasp as he realized the man must be a shifter—a lion shifter. He shot a questioning look toward Wesley as his pulse picked up, this time not due to lust like a few moments before.

“Hey, easy now,” the second man said, stepping close and resting a hand on Lou’s shoulder. “We’re not here to harm you or your son. We’re here to help.”

This man was the one’s whose voice sent chills down Lou’s spine. And now, with him so close, Lou wanted to step into the embrace the African American offered. His dark, swarthy skin made Lou’s fingers itch with the need to touch. The man was close enough to smell, and his earthy masculine scent filled Lou and soothed his senses even as it enflamed them. He just knew if he stepped forward, the man would wrap him in his arms and they’d fit together perfectly. He’d never considered himself short, standing at five foot ten, and this guy was just a few inches taller than him. It’d be perfect.

“Dad?”

Damon’s concerned, one-word question cut through Lou’s lusty thoughts. He jerked back, breaking the contact. Oddly, Lou missed the way the man’s thumb felt when he’d slipped it under his shirt and rubbed reassuring circles over his collar bone.

That knowledge had him backing another step and pasting a false smile on his lips. “Welcome. I didn’t realize Wesley was bringing others, but there’s plenty. I hope you like spaghetti and meatballs.” He knew his voice sounded higher than normal, but Lou couldn’t seem to calm himself.

“I’m sorry, son,” Wesley said. “I should have called. From your reaction, I’m sure you’ve figured out that these two men are shifters.” The old man lifted a hand, palm out, in placation. “Calm down. Haben spoke the truth. They’re here to help.”

Haben. The man whose touch feels like heaven is Haben.

Forcing that particular thought aside, Lou nodded and let out a slow, deep breath. Feeling a bit more centered, he looked over at the men and smiled. “Right. Sorry. It was just a shock.” He held out a hand to the first one, “I’m Louis Reynolds. Everyone calls me Lou. Nice to meet you.”

The taller man took his hand and replied, “Terence Williams. Nice to meet you.”

Releasing Terence’s hand, he gathered his courage and offered his own to the African American. The man’s black eyes glittered with heat and he gently clasped it into a firm hold. “I’m Haben Bello,” he murmured, his deep voice once more going straight through Lou. This time, when he touched the man, Lou’s dick reacted almost instantly, hardening in his jeans. Haben’s grip tightened just a bit as he stated, “You and I have much to discuss.”

Then the man released him, and Lou wanted to protest at the loss of Haben’s touch, which made no sense whatsoever. He didn’t even know if this guy was gay. He was a shifter who was supposed to be helping him and his son.

Wesley cleared his throat, drawing Lou’s attention. The aging man had a pleased gleam in his green eyes that Lou didn’t understand. “This old-timer is definitely ready for some of your famous spaghetti and meatballs,” he said. “And is that garlic bread, I smell?”

Lou had to clear his throat before he found his voice. “It is. Come, have a seat everyone,” he said, motioning them into the room. He was pleased to see Damon had completed setting the table, and he headed into the kitchen to get the spaghetti. When he turned around, he nearly jumped out of his skin when he discovered Haben standing directly behind him.

Haben grabbed the bowl of sauce with one hand and Lou’s arm with the other, keeping him from toppling over and saving the food. “Easy,” he crooned. “I just wanted to know if I could help with anything.”

He licked his lips, then noticed the way the bigger man’s eyes narrowed. Haben seemed to follow the movement of Lou’s tongue closely, and he saw the shifter’s nostrils flare. Okay, so maybe the guy is gay after all. At least, he seems attracted to me. “Sure,” Lou whispered, releasing his hold on the bowl. “Take that out, and I’ll get the noodles and bread.”

Nodding, Haben did as instructed. Just like the last time, when the man released him, Lou immediately wanted the contact back. Shit, this is weird!

Haben placed both hands on the bowl and left the kitchen. Confused, Lou shook his head, grabbed the bowl with the bread and the one with the noodles, then followed Haben to the dining room. Everyone was seated. Lou saw the only plate setting left was between Haben and his son. After placing the food on the table, he took his seat. The table was small—a round four-seater, and someone had brought in an extra chair from the office. Everyone dug in, and the table fell into silence as they focused on eating.

There wasn’t much room between them, and through the course of the meal, Lou found his leg bumping into Haben’s time and time again. The contact sent tingles through his thigh straight to his groin, causing his dick to remain at half-mast with no hope of deflating any time soon.

When the pace of consumption slowed, Lou looked across the table at Terence and said, “So, you’re a lion shifter, like Damon?”

Terence glanced at Haben and Wesley, then nodded. “I am.” He turned to Damon and said, “If you’d like, I can teach you how to shift swiftly and painlessly.”

“You mean it doesn’t have to hurt?” Damon asked in surprise. The boy peered around the table and saw both Terence and Haben shaking their head. “Cool! Can I, Dad?”

The excitement was written all over his son’s face.

Lou nodded. “Of course. As long as it doesn’t interfere with your school work,” he admonished.

“It won’t,” Damon promised.

“I’m sure Wesley has already mentioned it,” Haben said. “But it’s important that you don’t tell anyone or show anyone your ability to turn into a lion.” His expression was grave when he leveled his stare on Damon. “No matter how cool you think it is. Although we consider our ability to turn into an animal a gift, others don’t see it that way. Humans like to experiment on what they don’t understand.”

Damon scowled and cocked his head, as if thinking about Haben’s words.

“It’s for your own safety, son,” Wesley added.

“Yeah, okay,” Damon replied, though a bit sullenly. Lou made a mental note to talk to Damon again about this and stress its importance.

Lou looked at Haben. “So does that mean you’re a shifter, too?”

Haben nodded. “Yes.”

“Are you a lion?” Hadn’t Wesley told him that shifters banded into herds and prides and stuff? Lou tried to remember.

“No,” Haben replied. “I am not a lion.” He paused, and Lou wondered for a second if Haben was going to tell him. Licking his lips, Haben smiled, though it appeared forced. “I am a tarantula. A Goliath Birdeater.”

“A tarantula! Cool!” Damon crowed. “Can I see?”

Lou frowned at his son. Could someone ask a shifter to change just to see?

This time, when Haben smiled, it was much more convincing. “During the course of your practice, I’m sure you will.”

“Is that something I can watch?” he asked without thinking.

Haben turned to look at him and gave him a lascivious grin. He leaned close and murmured, “As long as you don’t have a problem with nudity. We shifters aren’t real shy.”

Lou’s face burned and he tried to stammer an answer, but his tongue seemed stuck to the roof of his mouth. Just the thought of seeing Haben naked had his dick standing at attention. “Sorry, handsome,” Haben crooned, leaning closer still. “Didn’t mean to embarrass you.”

To Lou’s eternal shock, Haben closed the distance between them and pressed a soft kiss to his temple, right there in front of everyone!

“Oh,” he murmured, feeling those firm lips against his skin. He turned, what he was going to say he wasn’t sure, but he never got the chance.

Haben cupped his jaw in one calloused hand and kissed him. It wasn’t just some chaste peck. The man—shifter—took advantage of Lou’s open mouth to slip his tongue in deep. Probing his mouth, Haben swirled Lou’s tongue with his own, coaxing him to join in the erotic dance of lips, and tongue, and teeth, and mouth.

He gave in to his desire and kissed back. Lou took control of the kiss, because if there was something he liked more than cooking, it was kissing, and a man who knew how to kiss was worth his weight in gold. And Haben knew, oh he knew. They tilted their heads, deepening the contact and Lou found himself the aggressor. Haben let him into his mouth, curling his tongue around Lou’s, stroking the sensitive appendage.

A wolf whistle cut through Lou’s haze of lust. He snapped his head back and stared into Haben’s glittering black eyes. His breath came in ragged pants that matched Lou’s. Some perverse pleasure filled Lou when he realized he seemed to affect Haben just as much as the shifter affected him.

Then he remembered where he was and who he was with, and the heat of embarrassment slammed into him. Lou jerked out of Haben’s arms and off his lap. How the hell did I end up there? Haben rose with him and took a step toward him as he back-pedaled. Lou held up a hand, swinging it between them as if that would really do anything if the man pressed. It seemed he had no self-control where this guy was concerned. One touch and he was done for.

His gaze swung to his son. Damon’s mouth was open in shock and his face was bright red, but from embarrassment or anger, Lou didn’t know.

To his relief, Haben gave him space. “I’m sorry,” Lou whispered, glancing around the room. “I don’t—I don’t know why I…” He shook his head, trying to clear the last of the lust clouding his brain.

Haben sighed. “I told you we had things to discuss.”

“What things?” he snapped, becoming frustrated. It didn’t miss his notice that Wesley and Terence wouldn’t meet his gaze. “What the hell is going on?”

“I hadn’t wanted to tell you like this,” Haben replied. “But it seems we can’t keep our hands off each other, and I really don’t want to try,” he admitted. Looking Lou in the eye, the shifter stated, “You’re my mate, Lou.”

“Yo—Your mate? What does that mean?” Lou sputtered. Could his life get any weirder? Not only did he have a shifter for a son, but now he was practically attacking some stranger in front of said son.

Terence sighed and leaned back. “Do you want us to leave?”

Haben shook his head. “No, this is something that affects all of us,” he said, “and it is information Damon will need to know.”

His son frowned. “What’s going on?”

“Now, you all don’t panic,” Wesley ordered firmly. “This is nothing bad. In fact, I’m happy for you. You couldn’t find a better man than Haben.” The old man winked at Lou. “In or out of the sack.”

Lou frowned. “Huh?”

“Not helping, Wes,” Haben said, lightly smacking Wesley’s arm. The African American sat back down and motioned for Lou to do the same. After a moment’s hesitation, he did. “Okay, where to start,” Haben mused softly.

“How about explaining what you meant?” Lou snapped.

Haben lifted his hand and nodded. “Fate gives one mate to each shifter, designed to complete and complement him or her. We search our entire lives for that special someone, Lou,” Haben said softly. “And we live a long time, and there’s no guarantee that we’ll find them—but if we do, we do everything we can to take care of them and please them, in every way possible.”

“Okay,” Lou said, drawing out the word. “That wasn’t quite what I expected,” he admitted. “You’re essentially saying that you think I’m your soul mate and you want to make me happy?”

Haben nodded and his earnest black eyes met Lou’s. “Yes.”

“Why do you think this?” Lou asked. Not that he minded Haben wanting to please him—the man was fucking hot—but it seemed just a little too coincidental.

The shifter sighed. “I understand your reticence. Really, I do,” Haben said. “One thing you need to understand is shifters live longer than humans.” His gaze switched to Damon. “Sorry, kid, but you just got your life extended by a few centuries.”

“I did? That’s so cool!” Damon replied immediately. Then he frowned. “But what about Dad? Will he live longer, too?”

Lou was about to say, no, that he wasn’t a shifter. Then he was going to give Haben a piece of his mind for dropping that little bombshell on his son, but he didn’t get the chance.

“Actually, yes,” Haben revealed, interrupting him.

“What?” Lou whipped his head around to look at Haben. “But I’m not a shifter.”

“Once I claim you, your life will extend to match mine.” Haben’s lips curved into a slight smile. “I’m already almost two centuries old, sweetheart, but that’ll still give us a couple together.”

“You’ll really live that long?” Lou asked, his jaw sagging open.

Haben nodded. “So will you, if you’ll let me claim you,” he replied softly.

Lou took a deep breath. This was really important to the man. He didn’t have to know Haben well to realize that. He bit his lower lip, trying to decide how he felt about it all. Confused, to be sure. Overwhelmed, definitely. Excited? Yeah. And flattered. With his small belly, love handles, and short brown hair, Lou didn’t think he was much to look at. To have this sexy, muscular guy want him with such intensity flattered Lou’s ego.

It didn’t help Lou’s thinking process when he saw how Haben stared at the lip he was gnawing on. “What, uh, what does claiming entail, exactly?” he finally asked nervously.

At that, Wesley grinned really big and Terence actually glanced at Damon then quickly away and blushed. Haben’s expression as he met Lou’s gaze could only be called one thing, smoldering.

“Maybe we should discuss that at another time,” Haben recommended.

“Uh, okay,” he replied.

“What?” Damon cut in.

Lou looked at his frowning son, but had no idea what to say to the boy.

Terence patted the boy on his shoulder. “We’ll explain once you’re a little older,” he promised.

“Let us help you clean up,” Wesley said, drawing everyone’s attention.

That sounded like an excellent distraction, Lou decided.

Chapter Three

Haben watched Terence and Wesley leave. His pack-mate promised to drop his old friend off at home. Wesley had offered an air mattress or couch, but Terence had graciously declined. At six foot three, the lion shifter didn’t find most couches very comfortable.

“Have a seat. Make yourself comfortable. I need to check Damon’s homework, then I’ll be back,” Lou told him.

He nodded and settled on the sofa, a glass of iced tea clutched in his hands. Haben tried to focus on his plan for tomorrow. Wesley had told him he’d send a letter to Vivian, letting her know she had no legal grounds to see Damon without Lou’s permission. They both knew that wouldn’t be the end of it, but it would give Haben the opportunity to slip into their compound. As an arachnid, he didn’t have much of a scent, and what little he gave off would be easily masked by Terence’s lion smell.

Wondering how the lioness had even found out Damon had shifted made for scary thoughts. Had someone seen? Did Lou have a peeping tom? Had Damon told someone? Had she actually been keeping an eye on the boy? Was there a spy amidst Lou or Damon’s friends? Thinking of all the possibilities had Haben’s mind bouncing and he leaped to his feet to pace.

“Hey, you okay?”

Lou’s soft question interrupted him a few moments later, and Haben swung around to face his mate. My mate, Gods that still sounds so odd to me. He smiled at Lou and nodded. “Just thinking.”

“About what?” Lou leaned his butt against the arm of the sofa.

This wasn’t really the conversation he’d planned to have with his mate, but at least Lou was willing to talk to him after his display at dinner. He’d practically mauled the man in front of everyone. Shaking his head to clear his wayward thoughts, he said, “I’m just wondering how Vivian knew Damon had shifted. Wesley told us it happened in the living room. Did he shift again at some point—maybe in front of people?”

Lou frowned. “Not that he’s told me. Maybe when Terence starts training him, your friend could ask. He might feel more comfortable sharing shifter stuff with him instead of me,” he added thoughtfully.

Haben cocked his head. “He seems like a good kid. Do you think he’d keep things from you?”

Sighing, Lou rolled his shoulders. “About anything else, I’d say no, but, after everything that’s happened? Maybe. This is a big adjustment—for both of us.”

“And I’m just complicating things,” Haben muttered.

Lou’s brows shot up and he leaped to his feet. To Haben’s surprise, Lou took his hand and squeezed.

“Hey, I didn’t say that. I admit, this is a lot to take in, but,” he paused and shrugged before adding, “I’d really like to get to know you. See where this goes.”

His hand tingled where his mate held him. Haben brought Lou’s hand to his lips and gently kissed the palm. “Where this goes is to a permanent partnership, Lou,” he whispered, liking the shiver his kiss and rough admission caused in the other man’s body. “I’ve searched too long and hard to find you to just let you go.” Shaking his head, Haben continued, “I know that sounds a bit like a stalker, but I know we’ll never find this level of attraction to another.” He smiled at Lou’s confused look of disbelief. “I know you’ll need time to understand, and I’d like to give that to you, but resisting you is difficult.”

“What if I don’t want you to resist me?” Lou whispered.

Haben groaned and gave in to the desire coursing through his system. He grabbed his mate’s hip with his free hand and yanked his body close, bringing their pelvises crashing together. The contact against his half-hard dick had him instantly firming. His mouth hovered over Lou’s and he forced himself to give his mate one more chance to turn him away. “If we start this now, we won’t finish until we’re in your bed, naked, sweaty, and with my spent dick in your ass.” So it was more of a premonition than an out, but it was the best Haben could do.

Lou moaned so sweetly, then tipped his head and closed the distance between their lips. Haben let go of Lou’s hand and wrapped his fingers around his mate’s slender neck, cupping his skull. Taking control, Haben tilted Lou’s head. He nipped Lou’s lower lip gently, then soothed the sting away with his tongue.

Lou hissed, and Haben thrust his tongue into his mate’s mouth. He growled at the human’s minty taste, which told him Lou had brushed his teeth not too long before. It was thoughtful of him, but he’d enjoyed the man’s natural taste. Of course, it occurred to him that because Lou had brushed his teeth, he’d expected to at least make out with Haben.

That sent a soft growl of excitement rumbling from his chest. One last thought managed to surface in his brain and Haben brought the kiss to an end with a groan. Resting his forehead against Lou’s he whispered, “Is Damon still up?” He’d already given the kid one shock today.

“He’s in bed but probably not asleep yet. We just need to be quiet,” Lou replied.

“Quiet. Right,” he growled. “I can do that.”

Lou snickered. “You sure?” he whispered against Haben’s lips.

“Sure, sure,” he responded absently.

He slid his hand under Lou’s shirt, massaging the muscles along his human’s back. He pressed his erection against Lou’s stomach, feeling a bit of give and loving the sensation. He had to work to keep the moan at a low volume. Okay, so maybe being quiet would be a little tough. Haben couldn’t remember the last time he’d fucked a man when another was in the house. The kind of men he met at bars weren’t really family men.

“Bedroom. Now!” Lou gasped.

Haben was glad it wasn’t him who’d suggested it. He was nearly two centuries old, but he felt like a randy teen around his mate. “Lead the way.”

Releasing Lou proved to be difficult, but Haben did it. He kept one hand clasped tightly on one of Lou’s as the human led them silently up the stairs into a loft style bedroom. A California king bed only took up about a quarter of the room. There was a desk in one corner with a laptop on it, a couple of nightstands, a dresser, and two doors were on the left wall.

Before he could ask about them, Lou was easing his t-shirt over his head. Haben went with it, lifting his arms and letting Lou pull the shirt off him. He stayed his soon-to-be lover’s hands and worked the buttons of Lou’s shirt. He only bothered with the first couple at the top before yanking the tails from Lou’s jeans and helping his mate out of it. It was better than he imagined. The soft pudge of Lou’s stomach called for his kisses, but Haben resisted and focused instead on his jeans.

He shoved the denim down Lou’s hips, followed quickly by his boxer-briefs. Lou’s engorged shaft bounced up, smacking him in the stomach and smearing it with pre-cum. Haben wrapped his hand around his mate’s short, thick erection, gratified by how Lou’s breathing hitched when he pumped the swollen dick.

Jacking Lou’s dick, he watched the wide slit in the red, swollen head ooze a drop of pre-cum. Haben dropped to his knees, unable to resist the siren call to taste his mate’s flesh and fluids. Hands landed on Haben’s shoulders as he leaned forward and lapped up the bead of clear liquid. His mate’s taste washed over his tongue.

Haben moaned and sank down on Lou’s dick, sucking the head gently, working the sensitive bundle of nerves under the head. A soft mewl of pleasure came from above, and Haben looked up at Lou through his lashes. Lou’s eyes were at half-mast as he stared down at Haben with undisguised desire, his teeth capturing his kiss-plumped bottom lip to keep his more vocal cries inside.

He knew it was necessary, but Haben sure wished it wasn’t. There was nothing better than listening to the sweet moans and cries of a lover and he wanted to discover every sound Lou could make. He sucked his mate’s dick until Lou tugged painfully on his short, black curls. He released his lover’s dick and sat back on his haunches.

Grinning up at Lou’s panting form, he whispered, “Need something, sweetheart?”

“You,” Lou gasped. “You, in me.”

Liking the sound of that, Haben groaned and leaped to his feet. By the time he managed to strip off his jeans, Haben looked up and found Lou lying across his bed, a bottle of lube clutched in one hand and two fingers of the other hand buried in his hole. It was the most erotic sight he’d seen in over a century, and Haben had to grip the base of his dick tightly to keep from coming right then.

Once he felt in control, Haben let out a low growl and prowled to the bed. He climbed onto the mattress and peered through his lashes as Lou stretched himself. From the way Lou whimpered and trembled, Haben knew his mate was close. He reached up and gripped the base of Lou’s dick firmly. The man’s eyes, desperate and wide, snapped up to stare at him.

“No coming until I’m buried balls deep in your tight ass,” he ordered.

Grunting, Lou nodded quickly. “Please. Now, please,” he whined.

“I thought you’d never ask,” Haben moaned.

He gently pulled Lou’s two fingers from his ass, making him mewl so beautifully. Taking the lube, Haben slicked up two of his own fingers and slipped them into Lou’s channel. The muscles immediately clamped down on his thicker digits. He pumped them in and out slowly, stretching his mate. Seconds later, he slid a third inside.

Lou bit his bottom lip, holding in his moan. Haben saw the desperation in Lou’s expression. The human gripped the back of his thighs and spread himself open, begging with his eyes for Haben’s cock. Unable to deny what they both so obviously wanted, Haben pulled his fingers free, slicked up his dick with the rest of the lube on his fingers, and lined up the head to Lou’s twitching entrance.

His mate opened his mouth as if to say something, but Haben didn’t give him a chance. He pushed forward, and the head of his thick erection was clamped in glorious heat and pressure. Panting softly, Haben thrust slowly, steadily, until Lou’s rectum encased his entire length. Buried balls deep in his mate for the first time, Haben paused and stared down at the amazing human Fate had made just for him.

He took his lover’s mouth in a slow, deep kiss, dipping his tongue into Lou’s mouth again and again. Keeping the tongue action going, he gently eased his dick halfway out of Lou’s chute, then slid back in him.

Haben continued the controlled thrusts, changing the angle of his hips with each one. When Lou moaned into his mouth and his body bucked, Haben knew he’d found the man’s sweet spot. Noting the location, Haben picked up the pace of his thrusts, making certain to hit that spot each time.

The sensation of Lou’s clenching channel squeezing him, massaging his dick, had Haben’s balls pulling tight in no time. Finally, Haben broke the kiss. He raised his head just enough to stare down at Lou, enjoying the soft mewls escaping his parted lips. Lou’s lids were at half-mast, and Haben saw his blunt nails digging into the backs of his thighs as he rocked his hips to meet each thrust.

Shifting his hands to Lou’s ass, Haben urged his mate to rest his legs over his shoulders, where they naturally slid to the crook of his elbows. He lifted Lou’s hips higher, the new position allowing him to penetrate deeper. Immediately, Lou stuffed a fist in his mouth to muffle his screams.

A feral growl rumbled through Haben’s chest as his strokes sped up. He pounded into his mate, his cock sinking deep into the tightness of Lou’s body. He watched Lou’s eyes widen. The man’s body tensed and jerked. Lou whispered his name just as his chute clenched and the human’s cock shot.

Haben froze, his dick held in the vice of his lover’s body. He watched Lou’s erection expel streams of creamy seed across his belly and chest. Haben’s balls were pulled so tight they ached and his dick throbbed in Lou’s channel as he struggled to hold his own orgasm at bay, not wanting to miss one second of his mate’s blissed-out expression. The flush on his chest and neck made him appear to glow.

Leaning down, Haben swiped his tongue through the seed pooled on Lou’s chest, scraping a nipple in the process. His mate moaned and jerked, and Lou’s ass massaged him one more time as a dribble of warm cum hit his chin. The eroticism was too much, and Haben lost it.

His orgasm roared through him. His penis erupted deep in his mate. His hips jerked as Haben plowed Lou’s ass twice more, coating the human’s rectum with more of his essence with each stroke. Then he froze as he buried the last stream of seed as deeply in his mate as he could get. His body sated, aftershocks of the most intense orgasm in his life twitched through him. Haben gently eased Lou’s legs to the mattress, then wrapped his arms around him and rolled onto his back, sprawling his lover over his chest.

“That was amazing,” Lou mumbled against Haben’s chest.

Haben grinned and kissed Lou’s sweaty temple. “You are amazing.”

Lou turned his head and looked up at him, a sleepy smile on his face that Haben knew he could quickly grow to love. He knew they needed to get cleaned up, but for the moment, he just wanted to hold his mate. Haben smiled at his lover, happier than he could remember being in a long time. Giving Lou a wink, he whispered, “I told you I could do quiet.”

Lou snorted with suppressed laughter.

Chapter Four

“Be careful,” Haben warned as he stripped down and prepared to shift. “You’re walking into the lion’s den.”

Terence snorted. “I bet you’ve been waiting forever to say that.”

Haben chuckled as he kicked off his boots and reached for his jeans. “It still applies.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll be safe. I can charm the ladies when I need to,” Terence replied, winking.

“Good,” Haben said, stripping off his jeans. “Kontra would have my hide if anything happened to you.”

Instead of letting off a snarky remark, Terence remained quiet. Haben glanced at his friend, who had a vacant look on his face. “Hey,” Haben said, trying to get his attention. “Everything okay?”

Terence seemed to come out of a trance. He took a deep breath, shook his head, and focused on Haben. “Yeah, sorry. I just thought I smelled—” He shook his head again. “Never mind. Let’s get this done with.”

Haben eyed him for a moment longer, but whatever had caught Terence’s attention seemed to have dissipated. The man pulled on his helmet and opened his saddlebag, motioning Haben to get inside. Removing his underwear, Haben folded his clothes and tucked them into the hard-sided containers. Taking a step back, he let out a breath then let the shift take him.

The world expanded, changing colors and shapes as his eyes reformed and split into eight small orbs ringing his head. Mandibles grew at the sides of his mouth. Mild stabs of pain shot through his mid-section, telling him his additional four legs were forming. His body hardened and reshaped. Within a moment, Haben’s foot-and-a-quarter wide body crawled across the ground.

He was larger than the average South American Goliath tarantula, complements of his shifter DNA. His venom could paralyze, and his exo-skeleton held the strength of body armor. He clambered up the side of Terence’s idling motorcycle and crawled into the saddlebag with his clothes.

He could still detect his mate’s scent on the fabric. His animal wanted to track the human down, sink his fangs into him and claim him. His human side held him in check. Cuddling in afterglow, the two of them had talked. Haben had explained how claiming worked as well as why they didn’t need condoms. Lou had been intrigued by the idea of the claiming bite, but worried how it would appear to Damon if Haben moved in so soon after meeting them. Haben had told Lou he’d give him time. He prayed he’d be able to.

The rumble of the motorcycle slowed, then the engine cut. Haben quickly spread his legs wide to keep from being thrown sideways when Terence leaned the bike on its kickstand. He sensed the vibrations of people speaking more than actually making out the words. The plastic saddlebags were too thick for him to know who was speaking, but Haben assumed it was Terence and another lion.

He felt the saddlebag shift as the clips were unclasped. Looking up into Terence’s smiling face, he waited for information. His grin carefully in place, the lion shifter reached into the saddlebag and made a big deal of looking for the file he’d brought.

It gave Haben the chance he needed to crawl under Terence’s coat undetected. He heard Terence mutter, “Three males on the porch. None of them like me much.”

That didn’t surprise Haben. No pride wanted a strong lion invading their territory and possibly taking their lionesses. And it wasn’t like Terence could tell them he was gay, because then they’d kick him out or beat him. This way, at least, he had twenty-four hours to complete his task and leave pride territory before he became fair game.

Terence strode up several wooden steps, the thump of his boots telling Haben that they were on a deck. To his amusement, Terence kept up a running commentary, telling those around him of the places he’d been and how they compared to the rooms they passed through, the foyer, the hallway, the den. He declined a cup of coffee, assuring his hosts he’d only be there a few minutes.

He dropped to one knee next to a low-slung sofa on the pretense of tying his shoe. Haben took the opportunity and crept under the couch. He listened as Terence greeted a newcomer.

“Who are you?” the female snapped.

“I’m Terence Williams. I’m with a local courier service. Our client, Attorney Wesley Lynch, has a letter for a Ms. Vivian Kox. Are you Ms. Kox?” Terence responded politely.

“Yes. What does that old fart want now?” the woman replied irritably.

Haben could just imagine Terence’s big, fake grin as the lion shifter said, “I’m sorry, ma’am. I’m just the courier. If you could please sign here so my boss knows Mr. Lynch’s papers have been delivered, I’d sure appreciate it.”

The scratches of a pen on paper vibrated the sensitive hairs on Haben’s legs.

“Thank you, ma’am,” Haben said congenially. “You all have a pleasant day.”

“Wait,” Vivian called, her tone dropping to a purr. “You don’t have to leave right away. I haven’t seen you around before. Why don’t we get to know each other? Maybe have lunch?”

Terence and Haben had planned their visit carefully. Terence had assured Haben that a meal would never be missed by a big cat shifter. It seemed his friend was right. Everyone in the house would either be in the dining room and kitchen or out hunting live game. After that, many cats liked to take an afternoon catnap. It would make it easier to find out the woman’s plans if he could figure out which rooms were Vivian’s and find a hiding place. As a private detective and an arachnid, Haben had the patience of Job. He could wait for hours for some nugget of information.

Haben didn’t hear Terence’s refusal, but he sure heard Vivian’s muttered, fucking fag as she slammed back into the house. Seconds later, Terence’s Royal Star roared to life and the sound of a motorcycle rolling down the driveway signaled his friend’s escape. He fought back the sigh that wanted to escape, uncertain who was still in the room.

Carefully, Haben maneuvered to the edge of the couch and peeked around the room. No one was in sight. He took a chance and hurried as fast as his current anatomy could carry him along the edge of the room. Still pressing his luck, Haben climbed the wall. He preferred a bird’s eye view, and Terence had known it. That was why his friend had commented on the massive moose head hanging on the wall at the west end of the room over the fireplace.

He made it up the side of the stuffed head just as Vivian came striding angrily back into the room. With her was a man, and although telling the ages of shifters was tough, from the way the guy deferred to her, he must have been younger. Both carried large plates of food.

They sat on opposite ends of a leather couch. “I have a job for you,” Vivian stated before taking a bite of what smelled like chicken cordon blue. Haben wondered absently if these guys hired a chef.

The man glanced around uneasily, as if making certain they were alone. “I don’t think we should discuss this here,” he answered, showing more backbone than Haben had initially given him credit for.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Vivian replied, waving her fork in dismissal. “Everyone else is in the mess hall.”

“What if someone saw us?” asked the man.

Vivian smiled coyly at her lunch companion. “Don’t worry, Ricardo. I dropped a few rumors that we’re sleeping together, so if anyone saw us leaving together, well…” She didn’t finish her thought. Instead, Vivian lifted one shoulder and made a humming sound.

The man, Ricardo, froze—his spoon halfway to his mouth. The scent of the young man’s arousal was unmistakable. “Y-you said we’re sleeping together?”

Giving him a smile Haben thought looked more calculating than sweet, Vivian set aside her half-eaten meal and slid closer to Ricardo. “Would you like that?” she asked softly, as if a shifter wouldn’t already know the answer from just the guy’s scent.

Haben tried to keep his disgust to himself, knowing strong emotion carried their own scents. He had no desire to get trapped in here with a pride of lions. He watched Ricardo’s breathing speed up, his pupils dilate his tongue slowly lick his lips. The plate clutched in his left hand shook slightly, so the young lion shifter set it on the arm of the couch.

“Yeah. Who wouldn’t?” Ricardo replied. Haben figured the guy was going for a nonchalant tone, but all he came off as was needy.

Vivian reached over and slid one finger along the fly of the guy’s pants, tracing the clearly defined erection beneath the material. Ricardo hissed and his hips jerked under the caress. The woman leaned close, her plump red lips a hairs breadth away from Ricardo’s. “I think that can be arranged,” she murmured. “You just have to do something for me, first,” she coaxed seductively.

If Haben had been straight, the arousal and pheromones in the room probably would have been enough to give him a boner even in shifted form, if spiders had cocks, which they didn’t. As it was, all he wanted was to pounce on the pair and freak the woman out as only a massive spider could. Then he’d shift and knock some sense into the man.

Instead, he got to watch the mistress manipulator, Damon’s mother, convince the hormone-driven lion to agree with anything she wanted. Her hand on Ricardo’s crotch, Vivian massaged the man’s dick through his slacks with what Haben knew from experience was way too little force to be anything but a cock-tease.

“I want my son here, with me,” she murmured against his lips.

Ricardo was too busy thrusting his hips into her carefully controlled caresses to respond.

“Together, you and me,” she breathed. “We’ll train him. Damon is a powerful shifter. You know he’s only twelve and already shifted twice.”

“Twice,” Ricardo managed to gasp.

That was news to Haben. So the cub had shifted more than just the one time in his living room. He’d have to find out when, where, and with whom and fast.

“Mm hm,” Vivian crooned. “Just think. In a couple of years, he’ll take over the pride under our control, doing everything we want him to,” she finished.

From the way Ricardo grunted, she must have increased the pressure of her strokes through his slacks.

“So you can do that, right?” she pleaded. “You can bring Damon here, so we can train him, together?”

Ricardo’s glazed expression told Haben exactly how far gone the man was, and he’d seen enough. Haben took a few steps backward, descending the moose’s head to block out the view of Vivian stroking Ricardo’s cock through the material of his kakis. He didn’t hear the rasp of a zipper, but seconds later, the distinctive grunt and growl of a man coming told Haben that Ricardo had gotten off. Evidently, the man really, really wanted Vivian. It made Haben wonder if it was just young lust, or if Ricardo thought Vivian was his mate.

Either way, when he heard Vivian and Ricardo kiss, followed by Vivian’s whispered promise, “Let me know when you’ll bring Damon to the clearing and I’ll give you something even better to moan about,” Haben knew he had to get out of there. He needed information on Ricardo, the clearing Vivian had mentioned, and how Ricardo planned to get close to Damon.

Terence would be waiting at the rendezvous point, a cluster of trees on the south border of the lion’s territory. If Haben didn’t show within twenty-four hours, he was given instructions to contact Wesley, then Kontra. He wasn’t to contact Lou until they had something concrete to tell him. He’d gotten quite the glare over that one from his friend, but he’d just shook his head and told him when he found his mate, he got to decide how to handle dangerous situations between them.

He waited until he heard the man pull himself together before crawling up the moose head and peering over the edge. The room was empty. Leaping from the nose of the beast, Haben landed gracefully on the arm of a chair. He crawled to the back and leaped again, this time landing on the window sill.

Looking through the window, Haben made out the shapes of lions lounging on the deck. A breeze heavily scented with cat vibrated his leg hairs. He turned and spotted an open window. Crawling along the wall, he made it to the open window.

Two cats lounged within ten feet of him. He paused, but apart from the occasional flick of their tufted tails, the shifters didn’t move. Terence was right. Lion shifters really did like catnapping after lunch. He wondered idly what kind of work they did to enjoy that kind of freedom.

Creeping out the window, slowly and steadily, Haben climbed the wall. He headed toward the roof, his eight eyes allowing him to see just about everything going on around him. Spiders didn’t have great vision, but it was more than enough for his needs. One of the cat’s jaws opened in a massive yawn, but then he settled down without ever opening his eyes. Haben started moving again.

He made it to the roof after nearly ten nerve-racking minutes. Haben let out a relieved sigh at feeling the rough roof tiles under his slender feet. After a moment to steady his nerves, he made his way around the roof, searching for a place that would afford enough cover for him to safely cross the lawn. He circled all the way around but didn’t find what he wanted. Hunkering in the scant shade provided by a chimney, Haben settled in to wait until nightfall.

Crawling across the lawn, Haben made it to the relative safety of the trees. The trunks and leaves cast deep shadows he could use to hide in if need be. Haben looked forward to getting to Terence then to Lou. He wanted to hold his mate again, touch him, feel him.

Thoughts of claiming his mate distracted him. The burning pain of claws raking across his back jerked him out of his musings. His thick plating protected him from being sliced to ribbons, but it still hurt like hell. Haben leaped back, avoiding the lion’s next strike, then jumped onto a tree trunk and climbed. He was an excellent jumper, and as long as he could stay ahead of the cat, he could leap from tree to tree. With his focus on getting to Terence and not the pain radiating through his body, Haben scuttled forward.

Chapter Five

Lou waved to his son. Damon waved back then climbed into his best friend’s parent’s car, disappearing from sight. Sighing, Lou watched the station wagon back out of his driveway and drive away down the street.

He crossed to the end table and picked up his phone. Still nothing. He’d left three messages on Haben’s phone, and he hadn’t heard back from him once. If he didn’t know Wesley never would have allowed a dishonorable man into his home, Lou would have been certain Haben had used all that shit about mates just to get into his pants.

“Yeah, but you know that’s not it,” he mumbled.

Lou couldn’t remember the last time he’d had a date on a Friday night, and he knew he shouldn’t feel so alone now. Problem was, he did, and he knew it was all Haben’s fault. He’d known the shifter less than twenty-four hours and, somehow, the guy had totally gotten under his skin. Which didn’t bode well, because what would happen when this case was done and the nomadic man moved on?

A pounding on the door made Lou jerk around and he found himself almost running toward it. A quick peek through the peephole showed Terence’s stressed face. Lou yanked open the door. Terence rushed in without invitation and asked, “Where’s your bedroom?”

Lou pointed toward the loft. “What’s going on? What’s wrong?”

Instead of answering his questions, Terence headed toward Lou’s bedroom and ordered, “Grab towels, warm water, bandages, your first aid kit if you have one and get up here.”

That was when he realized true concern filled Haben’s friend’s eyes. Just who the hell was injured? He scrambled to obey, hurrying to snag the requested items. Short of breath, Lou hustled up the stairs. He spotted Terence leaning over the bed. When the shifter stepped back and turned toward him, Lou nearly screamed and dropped the basin of water.

On the bed, nestled in a cocoon of bloody towels that Terence must have had tucked under his coat, rested a massive, dark brown spider. The body of the arachnid had three long, oozing slices across the abdomen that looked suspiciously like claw-marks. Blood saturated the fabric wrapped around the bulging ass-end.

He must have made some strangled sound, for the creature turned to face him. It lifted its front legs off the bed, making even more blood gush from its wounds.

“Shit, get over here,” Terence snarled. “He needs you.”

“H-h-h-he—what?” Lou stuttered, managing two steps toward the massive spider before he stopped again.

“Damn it,” Terence snapped. “Maybe bringing Haben here was a mistake. After last night, I thought you’d understand!”

The big man rose and snatched the cleaning supplies from Lou’s unresponsive hands. He returned to the hairy eight-legged animal’s side and set to cleaning the wounds. It didn’t escape Lou’s attention that the creature’s focus still seemed to be on him. The eight eyes were large enough on the animal’s head to reflect the light. It was crazy, and wild, and freaked Lou the fuck out. He backed toward the stairs.

The spider took several steps toward him.

“Damn it, Haben,” Terence growled. “Stay still!”

Lou’s heart rate tripled. That’s Haben? Really? Lou knew Haben had told him he was a tarantula shifter, but in his heart of hearts, Lou hadn’t believed him. How could a man turn from a vertebrate to an invertebrate? For that matter, how could a man turn into an animal at all? It was too much to process. Lou’s breaths came in short, panicked gasps. He turned and fled down the stairs.

There were two bedrooms downstairs. One was Damon’s room, and the second was his office. His blood pounding through his veins, Lou grabbed a beer and fled to his office, closing the door behind him. He heard muttered comments from Terence upstairs, but couldn’t make out the man’s words. Instead, Lou sat in the room, his beer clutched between his palms, and his head dropped between his knees. Staring at the floor, he struggled to breathe. Seeing his son turn into a lion cub was one thing, but believing that massive tarantula on his bed was his lover was something completely different. Wasn’t it?

Lou wanted to rewind his day. He wanted to leave the house with his son. Maybe find a bar. Go to a movie—anything but be where, if Terence was to be believed, his shifter lover was upstairs bleeding and he was too much of a coward to face his fear of spiders and make sure Haben was all right.

The appearance of Terence in the doorway pulled Lou out of his despondent thoughts. “I-Is Haben okay?” he whispered.

Terence sighed and nodded. “He will be.”

“Can I see him?”

The question surprised both of them. Was he really ready to see Haben as a spider again? When Terence shook his head, rage tore through him, answering the question for him. Lou leaped to his feet. “Come on, man. This was a fucking shock! Surely you must realize that! He’s my mate and I want to see him!”

Terence raised his hands, his eyebrows ratcheting up to his hairline. He scoffed and muttered, “I sure hope you’re this fired up when you finally see him.”

“What do you mean?” Lou snapped.

“I mean, you can’t see Haben because he’s not here,” Terence told him.

“What?” he whispered. He dropped back into his chair and placed his head in his hands. The fact that his mate would leave had never occurred to him.

Shoving a bronzed hand through his hair, Terence replied, “You ran away. You rejected his animal. Haben didn’t take it well. I had to practically tie four of his legs together to get him to stay still long enough to bandage the damn lion swipe that tore his back open.”

He shook his head. “I tried to get him to stick around, give you some time, but he took off.”

Lou jumped up again and his knee slammed into the desk. His beer spilled across the piece of furniture, but he couldn’t have cared less. “What do you mean?” Thunder rumbled, making him twitch. The rain that had been threatening for days finally pelted the windows. Something akin to panic filled him. “He’s out in this? Where would he go?”

Terence lifted a shoulder in a shrug. “I don’t know,” he admitted. “Maybe to Wesley’s?”

“Shit,” Lou moaned. I’ve totally fucked up.

Sighing, Terence dropped a hand to his shoulder and squeezed. “Give him some time. Maybe he’ll return.”

Three hours later, Terence left for his hotel, but Haben was still missing. Pain, even deeper than when Jay had died, tore through Lou—shocking him with the intensity of his feeling for someone he’d only known a day. Thrusting up the window in his bedroom, he howled his distress to the rainy night, screaming for his lover.

* * * *

His animal had brought him back. Haben understood that. He couldn’t just leave his mate without a word, even if Lou couldn’t accept his spider. He knew Terence was trying to help by taking him there and tucking him in to his mate’s bed. Being surrounded by Lou’s scent should have relaxed him and made him easier to work on. Instead, it had backfired. Lou had freaked out, and all Haben wanted to do was run.

He had for a short bit, but now here he was, outside Lou’s home. He tucked his small body under the eaves of his lover’s shed, trying to stay out of the rain. He watched Terence leave, his rain slicker tucked close. The front porch light was left on, but the living room and kitchen lights flicked off.

The bedroom light came on, and Haben imagined Lou wandering around his loft, getting ready for bed. Maybe taking off his clothes and getting ready for a shower. He sighed, wishing he could be there with him.

Suddenly, the bedroom window slammed open and Lou’s head appeared. Haben crept forward for a step, but stopped when he felt a drop of rain hit his leg. Lou just hung there, half in and half out, his head getting soaked as he looked around the small, lighted back yard. After a couple of minutes, he threw his head back and called something.

The rumbling thunder made it hard to make out. The vibrations of that and the rain messed with the hairs on his legs. It had taken him years to learn the skill of understanding as a spider under his parent’s pain-staking tutelage. Haben crept forward, braving the rain. Lou called again, and he realized his mate was screaming his name.

When Lou’s head whipped around, Haben noticed at least some of him was under the shed light. He froze. Would his mate run again?

Lou squinted into the light. “Haben?” Lou called softly. “Is that you?”

The man sounded almost hopeful. Haben wondered what would happen if he went to Lou now. With only one way to find out, Haben slowly crept forward. Haben moved all the way into the light. Pausing, Haben looked up at his mate. He couldn’t make out Lou’s expression, not with his already poor eyesight obstructed by the rain. Since Lou remained where he was, Haben moved forward again.

“Haben?” Lou asked again.

There was no way for him to communicate with him in this form. He didn’t relish the idea of standing naked in the rain, but he didn’t see any other choice. Normally, a shift didn’t hurt. The change was a part of them. Unfortunately, with the massive lacerations on his back, it did. His body thickened, four of his legs disappeared, and his body reshaped to human form. The scrapes on his back pulled at the butterfly stitches Terence had placed on him, and as soon as he was able, Haben groaned.

“Haben?”

When his mate called once more, he lifted his head from where he knelt. Finding his voice, he rasped, “Lou.”

“Shit, Haben,” Lou said. “Get in here!”

Lou’s head disappeared from the window. He would have thought he was being rejected again, except the light came back on in the kitchen almost immediately and the back door opened. His mate stood highlighted in the entry.

Uncertain of his welcome, even with his mate’s words fresh in his mind, Haben stayed where he was. Lou stared at him for a second, then lifted his hand, palm up. Still he stayed motionless. Finally, Lou murmured, “Please, come in. I’m sorry about what happened before. It was just a shock. I mean—” He waved the hand he held out vaguely, obviously searching for words. “I mean, I know that you said you turned into a spider, a tarantula, but it’s still a shock seeing you in that—form.”

Haben could understand that. Shifting wasn’t always easy for a human to accept. Slowly, he rose, letting the downpour wash the mud from his legs as he made his way toward Lou. It didn’t escape his notice that his mate’s gaze kept straying downward. The closer he got, the more blood flowed in that same direction. By the time he reached Lou, Haben’s cock stood at half-mast.

Lou swallowed hard, then reached out and grabbed his arm and pulled Haben into the house. His lover closed the door, and Haben heard the click of a lock. Lou grabbed a large towel lying on the table and wrapped it around Haben’s shoulders.

Rubbing Haben’s shoulders in silence, Lou went about the business of drying him. Haben hissed when he rubbed across one of the scratches. Lou jerked his hand away. “Sorry,” he whispered. He lifted the towel and grimaced. “These need to be cleaned again.”

“They’ll be fine,” Haben assured. He really wanted his mate to return to rubbing his body.

“No, they won’t,” Lou insisted. “Come with me.”

Lou took Haben’s hand and tugged. Haben went with him, liking the fact that his mate seemed to care so much. He followed Lou upstairs. He tried not to look toward the bed where he’d experienced one of the most pleasurable nights of his life. Lou led him, instead, into the bathroom.

He stood patiently as Lou turned on the shower. He adjusted the temperature, then changed the showerhead to a mist setting. Haben tried to keep his growing desire under control when Lou slipped off his boxers and t-shirt. His body nearly vibrated with excitement when he saw his mate’s nakedness.

Evidently, Lou seemed to know what he was thinking, because he frowned at Haben and shook his head. “No,” he said firmly. “Your wounds come first.”

Haben briefly wondered if he could change his mate’s mind, but decided to go along with him, for the time being. He nodded and held his arms out from his side. “Do what you will with me,” he murmured.

Lou’s normally pale skin flushed red, telling Haben he wasn’t the only one whose mind was in the gutter. Shaking his head, Lou gripped Haben’s shoulders and maneuvered him into the shower. Haben faced the wall, his back under the misting spray. He laid an arm across the shower tile and rested his forehead on it.

He stayed still and let his mate work, shivering under his ministrations. Lou’s fingers carefully pressed against the sensitive skin on his back then followed by the smooth wetness of a soft cloth. His cock filled the rest of the way as Lou cleaned first his body, then his wounds. Even the scrape of the soapy cloth across the gashes didn’t deflate his erection.

“What happened out there today?”

Haben figured he should have expected the question. After all, this impacted Lou’s life, too. He explained about sneaking into the lion’s home and hiding in the den. He explained overhearing not only the conversation between Vivian and Ricardo, but their mention of Damon shifting more than once. With a shiver that threatened to wilt his erection, Haben even told how Vivian was leading Ricardo on with seduction.

“I’m going to skin that boy alive when he comes home tomorrow,” Lou snapped. For a second, his ministrations became a bit harsher. Then Lou seemed to remember himself and his strokes softened.

Haben lifted a brow and glanced over his shoulder at his naked mate—his wet, naked mate. He licked his lips, then gave himself a mental shake. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, he told me he only shifted the one time,” Lou replied gruffly. “Why would he lie to me?”

Turning, he gripped Lou’s shoulders, unable to help but caress the soft, wet skin under his thumbs. “He’s young, and inexperienced, and this is all new to him.” He grimaced. “He probably wanted to show off his cool new abilities to his friends. What he did was wrong, yes, but he didn’t know that. He didn’t grow up around shifters and doesn’t know what they’re capable of.” He leaned forward and rested their foreheads together. “Besides, we can’t do anything about it now, anyway.”

Lou nodded. He lifted a hand and placed it on Haben’s chest, making the shifter tingle where they touched. “We should really dry off so I can bandage those slices,” he whispered.

“In a minute,” Haben whispered. “First, I want to take care of something.”

His mate licked his lips. “What?”

“This.” Haben cupped Lou’s jaw and took his mouth in a deep kiss. He probed deeply with his tongue, licking the roof of his mate’s mouth. Tangling their tongues together, Haben took mastery of his mate’s mouth. He pressed Lou’s body against the shower wall, gratified to feel his mate’s erection pressing against his own. His body ached in a new way, and his desire to see his mate fall apart for him overrode everything else.

Insinuating a hand between them, Haben gripped both their dicks. Lou moaned into his mouth, and he swallowed it down. Sparks shot through his own body at the feel of his mate’s smooth, hard erection pressing against his own as he stroked them slowly. He looked down at their dicks, loving the contrast of Lou’s pale stalk and reddish cap pressed against his dark-skinned erection. They were so different, but Haben knew they were made for each other.

It didn’t take either of them long to be panting into each other’s mouths. As he came, shuddering and grunting, Haben felt his mate jerk. Their cum mingled on their chests and stomachs as they climaxed together, clutching each other tightly.

After several minutes of listening to their panting breaths and the soft patter of water pelting them and the walls around them, Lou dropped his head against the tile and sighed. “Fuck, I’m going to miss you when you leave.”

Haben froze. From how quiet the words were whispered, he didn’t think Lou had meant for him to hear them. His mate thought he was going to leave him? Shit—had he not done a good enough job explaining things? Evidently not.

He lifted his head from where it rested on Lou’s shoulder and stared down at him. “I’m not leaving you, Lou. Ever,” he vowed. At Lou’s knitted brow and confused look, Haben went on. “The only way I will ever leave, is if you make me.”

“Bu-But your life?” Lou whispered. “Your friends?”

Haben shook his head. “Come on,” he said softly, urging his mate out of the shower. Drying the man gently, Haben told him, “They’re my friends, but you are my mate.” He smiled down at Lou. “I have been searching for you for over a hundred and fifty years,” he admitted. “I would rearrange my entire life to be with you.”

Lou’s eyes became so large, Haben felt certain they’d pop out of his head. “But-but why? Why would you do that?”

Haben’s gaze dropped to the towel he rubbed across Lou’s smooth flesh, taking a moment to organize his thoughts and formulate an answer. “It’s probably a little hard for you to imagine,” he answered softly. “What we said about shifters living a long time is true. Shifters know they have a soul mate out there somewhere. Some people give up searching, and settle down with someone they can love. Some forever play the field. But I couldn’t, and didn’t want to do either of those things,” he admitted. “I needed to find you.”

Pulling him close, Haben tucked his mate’s head under his chin and nuzzled the top of his head with his cheek, enjoying the feel of Lou’s silky brown hair. “It’s why I joined up with Kontra and traveled the country-side. He and I, we were looking for the same thing,” he explained.

“You were?”

“We were,” Haben confirmed. “We were both looking for our mates.” Gripping the back of Lou’s head, he urged the human to tilt his head back. Haben looked into his mate’s wide-eyed gaze. The blue eyes were filled with wonder. “I found you, my Lou.” He brushed a gentle kiss across Lou’s lips. “And I have no intention of letting you go.”

He watched Lou nibble his bottom lip, and Haben tried to be patient as he knew Lou processed his words. Finally, Lou licked the plump, swollen flesh and Haben could resist no longer. He gently pressed his lips to Lou’s and took his mate’s mouth in a slow, thorough kiss. He slipped his tongue into Lou’s mouth, twining the two appendages, tasting the man’s unique masculine flavor.

When he finally broke the kiss, Haben found the look of wonder and lust on Lou’s face a turn-on like he’d never felt before.

“Are you going to claim me?”

Okay, maybe that was the biggest turn-on. Lou’s whispered question sent Haben’s dick to full attention in a matter of seconds. He fought through a shuddering breath and whispered, “Is that what you want?”

Chapter Six

When Lou swiped his tongue over his lips, he sure liked the way Haben’s lust-glazed focus dropped to his mouth, so he did it again. Haben’s breathing hitched. His lover’s grip on his hip and neck tightened for a couple of seconds before he relaxed it again. A thought occurred to Lou. “Will it hurt?”

Haben lowered his head and rested their foreheads together. “I’ve heard from mated shifters that it’s actually extremely pleasurable,” he whispered. “Be warned,” Haben continued, “if we mate, you have very little chance of getting rid of me.”

Lou liked the sound of that—a lot. He still wasn’t certain he’d be able to get close to Haben when he turned into that huge fucking spider, but he was willing to try. Even though he’d just met Haben, he felt like he’d known the man forever. The shifter was kind, attentive, and thoughtful. Sure, it’d be an adjustment for Damon, but the boy was old enough to handle a change. Although Lou wanted his son to be happy, and wanted to consider the boy’s feelings, he couldn’t let Damon’s possible reticence stop him from grabbing some happiness of his own. He ought to latch onto Haben and hold on with both hands!

“I understand it’s a big decision,” Haben murmured. His grip loosening as Haben put a bit of space between them.

Snapping to attention, Lou focused on Haben and saw the concern in the bigger man’s expression. God, the man was willing to go against his instincts and wait! But Lou didn’t want to wait. “I want you,” he stated. “I want you, and I don’t want you to ever go.”

Haben shook his head. “I’m not going anywhere, Lou. I just want you to realize we don’t have to bond right now, either. I-I can wait.”

For just a few seconds, Lou saw the battle raging in Haben’s eyes. The shifter wanted him with such a primal intensity Lou was surprised he didn’t vibrate with it. Mine! All mine! His shaft tapped against his stomach, reminding him of what their serious conversation had interrupted.

Tilting his head up and rising on his toes, Lou brushed Haben’s lips with his own. “Claim me, Haben,” he ordered softly, breathing into his mate’s mouth.

Haben groaned. His lips pressed to Lou’s and his tongue demanded entrance. Lou felt himself being devoured by Haben as he took him with a desperate intensity. Lou wrapped his arms around Haben’s broad shoulders and held on tight, riding the heady waves of pleasure caused by kissing this man. Haben wrapped one arm around his ass, gripping his cheek tightly, and lifted. Haben’s other arm wrapped around his back, supporting him. Instinctively, Lou wrapped his legs around his lover’s strong hips, impressed with Haben’s strength.

Lou knew he was no light-weight. He enjoyed food just a little too much, and didn’t work out enough to get the extra weight off. He’d never had a lover who could lift him in his arms before. It was thrilling, and exciting. The world around him seemed to whirl as Haben began to move, and Lou clutched tighter to his lover. With each step Haben took, Lou’s dick rubbed against the man’s abs. The friction sent sparks of pleasure through his body and Lou mewled excitedly into their kiss.

Lowering him to the bed, Haben somehow managed to keep the kiss going as well as the contact between them. Their leaking cocks made the space between them damp, and Lou rutted against the man, mindlessly enjoying the sensations created.

Finally, Haben broke the kiss, gently sucking on Lou’s bottom lip for a few seconds. The pulls seemed to transfer straight to Lou’s balls, making them tighten. He opened his eyes wide when he realized he was about to come like a horny teenager. He moaned, helpless to stop the cresting wave of ecstasy.

Haben growled, then his weight was gone, only to be replaced by a hot, wet mouth around his dick. Clutching the comforter under him, Lou’s body bowed as he shouted his release to the rafters. Lou’s cock pulsed, spraying streams of seed into Haben’s waiting mouth, and his lover sucked them down. He milked Lou’s dick with his tongue, massaging the heavy vein running along the underside. Lou grunted and his shaft squirted one more shot as he settled back onto the mattress.

The other man gave him only a second’s reprieve, just long enough to lean over and grab the lube from the nightstand. Then Haben’s big hands were on Lou’s hips, flipping him onto his stomach with an ease that caused a shocked squeak to escape him.

“Shhh, my mate,” Haben murmured gruffly. “Gonna make you feel so good,” he promised.

“Already do,” Lou snickered.

Lou could hear the warm tones in his lover’s voice, indicating a smile curved Haben’s lips when he teased, “Oh, yeah?” Haben urged him onto his knees.

“Mm-hmm,” Lou moaned at the feeling of being so exposed, then sighed at the way Haben rubbed his sides, massaging his love handles before spreading kisses all over the extra skin.

“So beautiful. So sexy. Love your body,” Haben crooned.

Lou didn’t know how to respond. He wasn’t cut or ripped or even in shape, especially compared to Haben, but right then, with his mate’s hands on him, he felt beautiful and sexy. All because of Haben and the way he touched him with such wonder and appreciation—with love, maybe? He hoped so, because Lou knew he was well on his way to loving Haben.

Haben gripped Lou’s cheeks and spread them. Lou moaned and spread his legs wider. Burying his face in his arm, he arched his back, presenting himself to Haben’s view as best he could.

“Nice,” Haben growled. “Gods, you’re amazing, Lou.”

“You make me feel amazing,” Lou whispered, surprising himself by revealing that.

“Mmm, good.”

Haben’s broad, wet tongue scraped across the sensitive flesh of his hole and sent heat and sparks through Lou’s system. “Oh!” He gasped and moaned. He rocked back into the amazing ministrations of Haben’s appendage, and goose-bumps broke out over his flesh.

It had been so long since he’d had anyone rim him. It wasn’t something he felt comfortable asking for from a casual hook-up. The last time had been with Jay, but it hadn’t felt like this. Jay had done it to please Lou, but he hadn’t been into it. Haben was into it, sucking the ring, then nibbling it and pressing his tongue into Lou’s chute and swirling it around, soaking the sensitive inner tissues.

A few moments of that had Lou’s dick hard and weeping, swinging between his legs as Lou rocked and shuddered. “Please,” he found himself begging. “Please take me. I need you inside me. I need to feel you.”

The tongue was immediately replaced by two well-lubed fingers. Haben speared him, but Lou’s focus was on the heavy shaft he felt rubbing against the inside of his thigh. He remembered how large Haben was, and craved that big dick filling him, with every fiber of his being.

“Now,” he ordered. “Do it now. I’m ready.”

Haben moaned. “Don’t want to hurt you, sweetheart,” he replied, his voice deep and gruff with passion.

“You won’t,” Lou assured. Nothing, not even a little pain, was more important than getting the cock leaking down his leg inside his ass. “Make me yours.”

Those must have been the magic words, because Haben pulled his fingers from Lou’s ass and replaced them with the head of his erection. Lou groaned as Haben pressed forward, popping his cap past his guardian muscle. He couldn’t stop the moan, loving the feeling of Haben’s dick splitting him open. Haben froze. Beyond words, unable to explain the true nature of his noises, Lou did the only thing he could to get his need across.

Lou pushed out and rammed backward, impaling himself on Haben’s erection.

Haben howled and grabbed Lou’s hips in a bruising grip. “Lou!”

He loved the feel of Haben’s naked cock filling his ass. Humming with pleasure, Lou held still and just let himself feel the dick stretching him. He felt so complete. “Needed you,” he finally whispered. Looking over his shoulder, Lou saw the strained expression on his lover’s face and realized the struggle Haben was having to remain still. Not needing or wanting that, Lou smiled and clenched his ass muscles rhythmically, massaging the dick buried inside him.

Haben’s eyes widened and his gaze snapped to Lou’s. His lips curved up into a feral smile and Haben let out a snarl. “Mine!”

With that, his control broke. Haben jerked his hips back then thrust forward again. The way his stroke nailed Lou’s prostate sent electric shocks throughout his system and Lou screamed his pleasure. The big man behind him wrapped his arms around him and hauled Lou upright, pressing his back against Haben’s chest. Lou lifted his arms over his head and wrapped them around Haben’s neck, opening himself to his lover.

Haben wrapped his hand around Lou’s shaft, giving his throbbing organ delicious friction. Between the thick erection driving into his ass over and over like a piston, and the rough jacking on his dick, Lou’s orgasm approached incredibly quickly. The tingles at the base of his spine felt amazing. His balls ached with the need to once more expel his seed. Lou tried to hold on, but he knew it was a losing battle. Something about Haben just flipped all his switches, and Lou loved every second of it.

“Gonna-ugh!”

Lou couldn’t even finish his sentence before his dick exploded and cum flew in streams across the comforter. Haben’s low growl sounded behind him, vibrating his back. Haben’s lips pressed on his neck, then sharp teeth that felt like fangs sank into the fleshy part of his shoulder. The pain of the bite morphed into the most intense pleasure Lou had ever felt in his life. An orgasm from nowhere tore through him. Lou screamed. White spots danced behind his eyes. His dick sent even more seed sailing through the air.

“Haben, love, oh…” Lou lost the ability to speak as pleasure swamped him, sinking him into a dark abyss of bliss.

* * * *

Haben held his mate tightly. After he carefully extracted his teeth and licked the bite wound closed, he tucked his face against Lou’s neck and just breathed in their combined scents. The feeling of completion, of oneness, knowing he’d never be alone again, was everything Haben thought it would be. Tears threatened, but he forced them back. After nearly two centuries, he’d claimed his mate. He knew that Lou still struggled with the whole shifter thing, but Haben felt certain they could work through anything. Even if the idea of being a parent to a boy he didn’t know scared the shit out of him.

Smiling, Haben carefully pulled his softening prick from his lover’s ass. Lou muttered in his sleep, making Haben grin. He thought it a pretty good accomplishment to have given his mate so much pleasure he’d passed out. Haben eased Lou onto the bed, careful to avoid the wet spots. It took him a few seconds to find his legs before he made his way to the bathroom.

He sighed, unable to remember ever coming that hard. He couldn’t wait to do it again. But his mate obviously needed rest, and so did he. The scratches on his back were beginning to itch, telling him they were healing. Gods be praised for speedy shifter healing.

After cleaning himself and Lou, Haben crawled into bed and curled himself around the smaller man. He absently massaged the slight paunch at Lou’s stomach, loving that the man wasn’t a stick, or a twink, or even heavily muscled. Lou was perfect just as he was. And he was all Haben’s.

With that thought in his mind, Haben let sleep crash over him.

Chapter Seven

The trill of a phone pulled Haben from sleep earlier than he wanted. He didn’t recognize the ring tone, and when Lou grunted and reached for the cell on the nightstand, Haben realized it was his mate’s phone ringing.

“Yeah,” Lou answered sleepily.

“Oh, Lou! Thank God you answered! We’re so sorry. We didn’t know!”

Haben’s shifter hearing made out the panicked female voice on the other end of the call. Both he and Lou jerked to a sitting position.

Lou rubbed his temple and blinked, obviously trying to get his brain to work. “What? Fiona, please calm down. What’s going on? What’s wrong?”

“We went out for breakfast at Grandma Rosa’s Pancake House, and Damon went to talk with Mr. Falko. We only looked away for a moment, but when we turned around, they were both gone!”

“Shit,” Haben snapped. “Who’s Mr. Falko?” he asked as he flipped the covers off them and climbed from the bed.

“His math teacher,” Lou whispered.

“Ask them if they’re still at this restaurant.” Haben instructed his seemingly paralyzed mate.

“Are you still at the restaurant?”

“Yes,” Fiona answered. “The police are here. I’m so sorry, Lou!” the woman wailed.

Knowing the hysterical woman’s cries weren’t helping calm his lover, he gently took the phone from Lou’s trembling fingers. Haben lifted it to his own ear. “Fiona? My name is Haben Bello. I’m bringing Lou to you. I need you to take several deep breaths and work on calming down,” he instructed. “We’ll want to know everything when we get there.”

Not giving the woman time to answer, he disconnected the call and tossed the phone on the bed. He knelt on the bed and wrapped his arms around Lou. “Keep it together, my lover. We’ll find him. We know who wants him, so there’s little question of who took him. They’re taking him to that clearing Vivian mentioned. We’ll find it, then we’ll have grounds to get a restraining order. Kidnapping is a federal offense,” he pointed out. Tipping Lou’s head back, Haben took in the human’s dazed expression. “We will find him,” he said again, more forcefully.

Finally, Lou let out a shuddering breath and nodded. “Kay. Let’s go.”

He pulled away and strode to the bathroom. Haben let him go, figuring he needed a few minutes. Spotting one of his saddlebags on a chair in the corner of Lou’s room, Haben was grateful his buddy had enough foresight to leave some of his stuff. He strode to the bag, opened it and found his cell phone right on top.

He grabbed it and dialed Terence’s number. While it rang, Haben pulled clothes from the bag, finding jeans, shirts, and underwear. Damn, he really owed the lion shifter.

“It’s about damn time you called. Do you know Kontra and Payson have been riding hell bent for leather all night to get down here?” Terence snapped, foregoing a greeting.

“Shit, I’m sorry,” he said. Tucking the phone between his chin and shoulder, he pulled on his underwear.

“You better be! You have your phone so I’m assuming you—”

“Shut up for a second,” Haben interrupted. “I am sorry about that, but I have a new problem.”

“No surprise,” Terence muttered. “It never ends with you.”

Ignoring the comment, Haben went on. “Damon was kidnapped this morning from a place called Grandma Rosa’s Pancake House.” He picked up his jeans and yanked them on. “Lou and I are headed down there right now. Can you get Wes and bring him down? As an attorney, he may be able to put a bug in their ear about how he served Vivian with papers yesterday that said she had no rights to custody. In the cop’s eyes, that could be motive for kidnapping.”

“Are you sure you want that kind of heat on a lion shifter compound?” Terence asked dubiously.

Haben gripped his t-shirt tightly and grinned coldly. “Oh, I do. We need this done legally in human eyes, too, Terence,” he pointed out.

“Right. We’ll be there as soon as I can get hold of Wes. I’ll call Kontra and tell him what’s up, too.”

“Okay. See if Wes has heard of a clearing the local shifters use. Maybe he’ll know where that is.” It was a long shot. Haben’s own shifter pod had moved on. They were living in Montana, last he heard. He hadn’t really stayed in touch after his parents passed.

“Will do.”

After disconnecting the call, Haben tucked his phone in his pocket and picked up his bathroom kit. He turned and found Lou standing in the bathroom doorway, staring uncertainly at him. Haben waited until his lover put his thoughts in order.

“You’re coming with me?”

Haben crossed the room slowly, smiling his encouragement. Reaching Lou, he set his shirt over his shoulder and cupped the nape of Lou’s neck with his free hand. “Your problems are my problems,” he murmured. “There is nowhere else I’ll ever be but at your side.”

Lou sighed. His eyelids drooped to half-mast and he pressed into Haben’s touch. “Thank you.”

The heartfelt words sent a warm flush flooding Haben’s system. He dropped a quick, chaste kiss on Lou’s lips. “Get dressed,” he ordered gently. “I’ll be just a minute.”

After his mate nodded, Haben left him and headed into the bathroom to take care of business. When he got downstairs, he found Lou ready and waiting with two travel mugs full of hot black coffee. Haben took it gratefully, gulping a swallow and nearly burning his tongue off on the rich, bitter brew. Magnificent. He grunted appreciatively.

Not wanting his mate to drive in his traumatized state, Haben took the keys to Lou’s sedan, then helped him into the passenger seat. He followed Lou’s directions to the restaurant twenty minutes away. They spotted the police officers right away. A man and woman in uniform were speaking with a man, woman, and a boy who looked about Damon’s age, though a bit smaller.

Haben parked the car, gave Lou’s hand a reassuring squeeze, then followed when Lou hurried across the lot. He stayed by his mate’s side as he was introduced as the missing boy’s father. The detectives confirmed Lou’s where-a-bouts when the kidnapping took place, then they asked what Lou knew about Mr. Falko. The detectives assured him that he’d be questioned, but since no one had actually seen the man take Damon, they couldn’t just arrest him.

They even asked Lou if the boy could possibly have run away and not been kidnapped at all. That enraged Lou, and Haben held him close and crooned nonsense to him to calm him, getting narrow-eyed looks from the officers as well as Fiona and her husband. That started a round of questions about Haben and what he was doing in town. Haben answered calmly, explaining that he was looking into job opportunities in the area and had met Lou through a mutual friend. All true.

Once he was certain Lou was okay, Haben pressed a kiss to his temple and assured him he wouldn’t be far. Lou nodded. Haben knew his lover watched him walk toward the restaurant, and Haben hated leaving his mate during his time of need, but they needed information the cops weren’t going to give. He took in the scents of the area, finding plenty of fear, anger, confusion, and frustration.

The acrid stench of malice spiked Haben’s interest and he strolled around the building after the scent. He caught a whiff of Damon’s smell, having become familiar with it over the last couple of days. Inhaling deeply, he made out a second scent. Faint, but there. He’d smelled it at the lion compound. A lion shifter had definitely taken Damon.

The roar of several motorcycles caught Haben’s attention. He looked down the road and watched Kontra, Payson, Terence, and Wes drive up and turn into the parking lot. Striding across the parking lot, Haben crossed to where they were settling their bikes. As soon as the massive grizzly shifter set his helmet down, he pulled Haben into a big bear hug.

He tried not to tense, but his back really was still tender.

Kontra felt it and pulled away. Without a word, the man spun him around and lifted his shirt. Kontra grunted. “It’s healing.”

Payson snickered behind him. “I don’t know, boss. It kinda looks like he’s been putting a little undue stress on that wound.”

Haben glared at the jibing hyena shifter, but it didn’t do any good. Not that he’d thought it would. Payson continued to snicker.

“Just wait until you find your mate, Payson.”

Kontra’s deep soothing baritone settled something inside Haben. Yeah, pack was important.

To Haben’s surprise, Payson shrugged. “I already did. My hyena didn’t want her.”

“Her? How the hell did that happen?” Kontra replied, asking what Haben wanted to know.

The other man looked into the distance and frowned for a second. Then he turned and glanced between them. “Don’t know. She was cute, too. Nice big tits and ass. Blonde—I like blondes. Scent must have been off though. My hyena lost interest after only one fuck,” Payson ended with a frown.

They all knew how powerful the hyena’s sense of smell was, but no one had ever heard of the human recognizing a mate and the animal saying no. Haben set his hand on the other man’s shoulder and squeezed, hard. “Maybe she wasn’t the right one. We all just kinda figured you were gay like us.”

That had Payson grinning. “Oh, I definitely like men, but a curvy woman will do in a pinch,” he stated with a wink.

“Well, I still gotta find Tim, so we’ll keep looking for yours, too, Payson,” Kontra reassured, slapping him on the back.

That piqued Haben’s interest. “Tim?”

Kontra nodded, his eyes taking on a sad gleam. “My mate. He’s here…somewhere,” he muttered. Kontra’s gaze wandered to the clouds, as if he was scenting the wind or searching the horizon.

Haben’s lower jaw sagged open, but before he could say anything, yelling from the direction of his mate had him spinning to look. Lou was glaring at the officers as he held back a clearly angry Wesley. Haben sprinted across the short twenty foot stretch and helped Lou get his aging friend under control. “Hey, hey,” he murmured, rubbing Wes’s back. “Easy there. This is hard on everyone.”

Once Wes stopped struggling, Haben released him and pulled his mate into his arms. Lou tucked his face against Haben’s neck, shuddered once, then straightened and turned toward the detectives. “Are you sure you couldn’t at least go question her?” he asked them.

The man glared at Wes and opened his mouth, clearly intending to refuse again. The female officer beat him to it. Giving Lou an understanding smile, she nodded. “Okay. We’ll send someone out to question her. It’s an understandable possibility.”

Haben wanted to roll his eyes at the officers, but controlled the impulse. He desperately wanted to tell them everything he’d overheard, but explaining how he’d been there, without the woman or her sort-of lover knowing, would be damn near impossible.

He gave Lou’s shoulder a squeeze. “Come on, sweetheart. Let them do their jobs.” They needed to get out of there so they could start their own investigation.

Lou glanced at Haben, his brows lifted. Haben gave him a smile and nod. Turning back to the officers, Lou held out his hand. “Will you please let me know the minute you find out anything?”

After getting assurances from Detectives McCoy and Robertson that the second they discovered anything they’d get in touch, they watched the officers walk away. Lou patted Fiona’s shoulder when she started another round of apologies. Lou stopped her with a hug.

As the couple and their son walked away, the boy muttered, “Why would our math teacher take him anyway? Damon is Mr. Falko’s favorite student.”

Haben paused and turned to the boy. “Hey, do you know Mr. Falko’s first name?”

The boy faced Haben and frowned, then answered. “I think it’s Edwardo or Enrique or something like that.”

“Ricardo?” Lou muttered.

The boy shrugged, then jogged after his parents.

“Who’s Ricardo?” Kontra asked, announcing his presence.

“Ricardo is Vivian’s lap dog,” Haben replied. He watched Lou turn toward the newcomers. His brows lifted when he took in Kontra’s massive six foot six frame, black, dusty biker leathers, goatee, tattoos, and silver-tipped, dark brown hair. Most people thought the hair was dyed, but the gang new better. It was natural due to sharing his spirit with a grizzly bear.

“Nice to meet you, Lou,” Kontra greeted, holding out his hand. “I’m Kontra Belikov, a friend of Haben’s. This is Payson Garcia.” He jabbed a finger over his shoulder at the smirking red-haired man. “We’ll help in any way we can.”

After swallowing hard, Lou took Kontra’s offered hand. “Thank you,” he said as his hand was engulfed in Kontra’s massive paw.

Kontra nodded, then let go. After introducing himself to Wes, Kontra glanced back at Lou then focused on Haben. “Where do we start?”

“Well, Terence said you were looking for a clearing the shifters use. Is that right?” Wes asked.

Haben nodded.

“What about Shallows Point?” Wes must have recognized the narrowing of Haben’s eyes as confusion, for he explained, “It’s a massive clearing tucked in the oxbow of a river. Great fishing and swimming.”

Haben searched his memory for the place and slowly nodded. “Okay. Is it in lion territory?”

Wes shook his head. “No. Just on the northern border.”

He looked at his mate. Lou’s expression was so hopeful as he stared back, nibbling his lip, that Haben prayed Wes was right. “It’s worth a look.” He turned back to Wes. “You’ll have to show us the way. I don’t remember.”

Chapter Eight

Lou twisted his fingers together in his lap. He stared through the windshield, his focus fixed on the motorcycles they followed. Haben reached over and wrapped a large, warm hand around Lou’s. Lou switched the grip to one hand and twined their fingers together, taking comfort from the contact. It was such a simple thing, but his pulse immediately slowed and a sense of calm permeated him.

They traveled north out of the city, trees and fields taking over the landscape. After twenty minutes, the motorcycle in the lead, a zippy little bullet bike ridden by Payson, turned onto a dirt road. The guy glanced over his shoulder and Wes gave him a thumbs up from where he rode behind Terence.

The car rocked and bounced over pot-holes on the gravel road. Lou grabbed the handle and struggled not to slide all over his seat. Finally, the motorcycles pulled off to the side and stopped. Haben followed suit. Lou looked around, but didn’t see a river or a clearing. When he stepped out of the car, he could definitely smell water though.

“It’s a ten minute hike that way,” Wes told them, pointing.

Terence and Kontra pulled off their leathers and switched their footwear. Payson started stripping, revealing a muscular frame. “What’s he doing?” Lou squeaked.

Haben cocked his head. “Shifting.”

No sooner were the words out of his lover’s mouth than Payson’s form began to contort and stretch. Bones cracked and muscles popped. A moment later, a large hyena with greyish-brown fur and reddish spots stood where Payson had been. It stood nearly four feet at the shoulder and was around six feet in length. The funny looking beast shook out its fur, then bounced around the others until Kontra chuckled and waved the creature away. It took off into the underbrush.

It wasn’t until Haben gently closed his mouth with two fingers that Lou realized it had been hanging open. “I’m hoping that us shifting is something you’ll get used to,” he murmured.

“Wow. How many kinds of shifters are there?” Lou whispered.

Haben shook his head. “Don’t really know. There are a dozen of us in our gang and we’re all different, then I’ve heard of a few other kinds in our travels. I suppose it’s entirely possible that there are as many kinds of shifters as animals, although,” he added with a grin, “I’ve never heard of a mosquito shifter.”

Lou chuckled, trying to imagine that. Just like that, his tension eased, which he knew was exactly what his mate had been trying to do. As they hiked, Lou took in the trees and plants around him. “Won’t Payson get lost?”

“Payson has a nose better than any dog,” Kontra assured. “He’s around here somewhere.”

Huh, was that normal? Now that he was gradually accepting shifters and their abilities, Lou had so many questions. He focused at Haben, who immediately noticed and smiled at him. Tentatively, Lou smiled back. At least he had his own amazing shifter who’d be able to answer all his questions. Damon’s, too, he thought, once they located him. And not locating his son wasn’t an option.

Suddenly, Payson bounded out of the trees and stopped directly in Kontra’s path and sniffed. The big man cocked his head, then crouched down. “We aren’t alone, are we?” The hyena shook his head. “How many?” Kontra asked.

To his surprise, the hyena scratched the ground five times, paused, then scratched once more.

“Does that mean six? Or five and he has a nervous tick?” Wes asked, smirking as only an old man could.

It took a second to answer, and the hyena repeated the move. Five scratches, pause, one more. Kontra nodded. “He scents six people. My guess would be he thinks five of them are together, and one is alone.”

“Damon. Is Damon the one alone?” Lou asked, fearing they’d left his son alone in the woods.

Payson immediately shook his head.

Haben wrapped an arm around Lou’s waist and squeezed. “They still have him. There just happens to be someone else in the woods. Whoever it is may not even be involved with this,” he pointed out.

“You might be right,” Kontra said. “We’ll proceed with caution.”

They headed onward for another hundred feet. This time Payson stayed close. The sound of rushing water filtered through the trees. Kontra led the way into a clearing, revealing a dark green river that ranged from six feet to nine feet in width. The rushing water churned over rocks, creating pools and eddies. On the far side of the clearing, some seventy feet away, stood four adults and Damon. Haben must have sensed his urge to run to his son and rested a hand on his shoulder to hold him back. Lou was barely able to make out the stranger’s words and craned to hear them.

“No, you don’t understand, Clayton,” Vivian was saying to one of the men. “We’re not here to fight.”

“Don’t lie to me, woman,” a brawny Caucasian snarled. “I’m not stupid. I’ve heard for weeks your plans to take over my pride. Who is this stranger you’ve been plotting with?”

It was then Damon looked around the clearing, maybe looking for a place to hide, maybe just because he was bored listening to the adults. Either way, the second he spotted them, Damon yelled, “Dad!”

“Damon!” Lou immediately called back.

At their shouts, the four shifters across the way turned around. “Is this him?” Clayton roared, stalking toward them. He grabbed Damon’s arm and marched across the clearing. “Which one is your father, boy? Who is Vivian plotting with?”

“I’m his father! Damon, are you all right?” Lou shrugged off Haben’s hand and pushed past the others, his desire to confirm that his son was okay blocking out all reason.

To his shock, Clayton launched toward him. The big brunet morphed in mid-air. Clothing fell away from a gold furred body and massive paws stretched toward him to slash and rend. Strong arms wrap around Lou from behind and yanked him out of the leaping cat’s way. A large body he recognized immediately as Haben’s pinned him to the ground. Between roars and the thud of bodies, Lou heard Damon shriek.

He turned his head and spotted his son wrapped in Kontra’s arms. The big shifter had grabbed Damon from behind, pinning the squealing boy’s arms to his sides. That didn’t stop the twelve-year-old from kicking his legs wildly, but Kontra didn’t seem to care one wit. He ran the child toward the edge of the clearing and dropped him in front of Wes. Damon flailed, but the old man caught one of the boy’s arms and steadied him.

Another roar echoed through the clearing, and Kontra spun. He morphed into the biggest damn bear Lou had ever seen and an instant later was fighting against another lion, which seemed bent on attacking Damon and Wes. Lou couldn’t take his eyes off the action as Kontra evaded leaps and blows from the lion. Even those that landed seemed to do little but irritate the massive shifter. Kontra carefully timed his counter-strike and sent the small lion flying with a single swipe of his paw.

Lou was hauled to his feet by Haben. His mate led him away from the fighting lions and bear. “Who is that?” He pointed to the smaller lion facing off against Clayton.

“That’s Terence,” Haben replied.

From his worried expression, Lou figured the fight wasn’t going well. “What can we do to help?” Terence hadn’t really struck him as an alpha.

“Maybe if we—”

“You’ve ruined everything!” Vivian’s snarled words interrupted them. “I’m going to nail your balls to the mud, human!”

Lou turned and sneered at the woman who could have been gorgeous if her face hadn’t been contorted with rage. “I wouldn’t let you near my balls if you had a sex change and were the last man on earth!”

A barking laugh erupted next to him. Lou looked to his left and saw a laughing hyena sitting next to him. Lou didn’t know where the hell Payson had come from, but he was sure happy to see him in light of facing off with a clearly irate lioness. Why couldn’t he keep his mouth shut? Right, because he hated people taking advantage of him. He really needed to learn to control himself.

“Bastard!” Vivian screamed. Her shift was slower than the others, taking a good thirty seconds. Payson took advantage and leaped forward, wrapping his powerful jaws around her arm and sinking his teeth in deep. On his right, Haben’s form seemed to sink in on itself and his clothes fell away. Seconds later, he spotted a massive spider he recognized crawling out from under the cloth.

“Haben,” he whispered. The tarantula paused and turned to look at him, its many black eyes glittering in the afternoon light. “Be careful,” he said earnestly.

Haben’s mandibles clicked once, then he turned and headed toward where Payson squared off with Vivian. Lou looked across the clearing and spotted the fourth adult lion standing silently, watching the proceedings, with his arms crossed over his chest. For the most part, the shifter seemed to pay attention only to the fight between the alpha and Terence. Lou returned his focus to his mate’s fight, just in time to watch Payson leap sideways, avoiding Vivian’s gaping jaws. Haben pounced. The spider landed on the lioness’s back and sank his fangs into her hide. Vivian roared and twisted, trying to strike at him with a paw. But Haben was too quick and was already releasing his grip and leaping away from her.

Vivian turned and prowled toward Haben. Haben skittered backward quickly, his eight legs swishing through the soft grass. With each step, Vivian seemed to become more sluggish. She crouched, then tried to pounce on Haben, but her leap came up short and she crashed to the ground. Her eyes appeared glazed before they closed.

Dropping to his knee, Lou looked at his lover in animal form. “Are you okay?” he asked. Licking his lips, he forced himself to remain still as Haben crawled toward him. The big spider stopped a few feet away, as if waiting. Lou took a deep breath and held out a hand. It took everything in him, but he managed to remain motionless when Haben reached out one front leg and tapped his palm. Then the leg moved away and Lou recognized the signs for a shift. Seconds later, a naked Haben crouched in front of him. Lou crawled forward on his knees.

Once he was close enough, he reached out and touched his lover’s face. “Are you okay?” he asked again, tracing the man’s jawline.

“I’m great,” Haben whispered, nuzzling his hand. He turned his head and pressed a quick kiss to Lou’s palm before saying. “You’d better go check on Damon. Payson and I are going to help Terence.”

He glanced the lion shifter’s way and frowned. The shifter’s hide was bloody in several places and he limped on his front left leg. Lou nodded. “Good idea.”

Lou hadn’t even straightened before Haben had returned to his spider form and dashed away. He smiled at his lover for a second, then hurried to Damon’s side. His son threw himself into his arms. “I’m so sorry, Dad!” Damon’s slender body shuddered against him, and Lou tucked the boy close.

“It’ll all be okay,” he whispered into the boy’s hair.

Once Damon got himself under control, he looked around at everyone. His eyes were big as saucers as he took in the massive grizzly bear that had knocked out the lion at some point. A shifter Lou guessed to be Ricardo lay unconscious fifteen feet away. The bear seemed to have his focus on the fourth man who was still watching the fight.

“Who’s that?” Lou asked, more to himself than anyone else.

Wes surprised him by answering. “That’s Patrick Anderson. He’s the pride beta. By intercepting Clayton’s attack on you, Terence challenged him for leadership. Patrick is waiting to either proclaim Terence the new pride alpha, or pronounce him dead.”

“What?” Lou exclaimed, unable to hide his shock.

Suddenly, a roar so loud it nearly popped his eardrums blasted through the clearing. He wasn’t the only one who covered his ears, and from the corner of his eye, he saw Wes’s jaw drop, too. From out of the trees galloped a coal black lion. Lou had never seen anything like it. The impressive creature charged toward the alpha, lowering a shoulder and slamming into him, knocking Clayton away from a downed Terence.

To everyone’s shock, the black lion crouched protectively over Terence. Terence growled softly to the lion hovering over him, and his protector chuffed back. Clayton prowled around them, snarling, warning the other beast away. It didn’t leave. Clayton charged.

The black lion crouched, then leaped, meeting him in mid-air. The black lion’s bigger body mass and delayed launch gave him the edge. He crashed into the alpha and bore him to the ground. The ebony cat’s jaws wrapped around the alpha’s neck, and showing no mercy, the beast snapped Clayton’s neck. The alpha lay dead.

Instead of acting triumphant, the black cat immediately rose and prowled toward Terence. Lou almost headed that way when the strange lion once more settled over Terence in a protective stance and growled at the nearest shifters, who happened to be Haben and Payson. The hyena laughed and yipped, bouncing around the couple, just out of reach. Haben couldn’t move quite as fast.

The beast’s paw caught one of his front legs. Haben reared back and hissed at the strange shifter. The black lion snarled again and lifted his paw, getting ready to strike at Haben again. Terence shoved to his feet. Blood oozed from wounds on his side and shoulder. He couldn’t put any weight on his right front leg, but still he managed to limp in front of the defensively positioned spider.

Terence growled and shook his head, trying to communicate with the other man. His body shuddered, and after a good thirty seconds of muscle popping, bones snapping, and fur receding, a naked Terence kneeled over a crouching tarantula. Lou knew Terence was protecting him, but that didn’t stop the spike of jealousy from coursing through him when seeing a naked man nearly lying on his mate.

“No,” Terence rasped.

The black lion reared back. If a cat could look shocked, this one pulled it off.

“Please, leave him be,” whispered the injured shifter.

At that, the black lion snorted. He turned on his haunches and took off out of the clearing. “Wait!” Terence rasped. “Please, wait,” he whispered, letting his arm fall with a whimper. But the odd shifter was gone.

Kontra moved swiftly. He helped Terence stretch out on the lawn. Lou and Damon followed quickly. Damon paused, and both men listened as Terence whispered, “Please wait.” It was a delirious plea, and even Lou wondered what had just happened.

“Is it safe?” Damon whispered.

Lou caught his son’s eye and realized he was staring at Haben in spider form. Screwing up his courage, Lou dropped to his knees and beckoned the shifter forward. Once Haben was within arm’s reach, he brushed a palm over Haben’s abdomen, surprised at the feel of the prickly hair. “This is Haben. Just like you know what’s going on when you’re a lion, he knows what’s going on when he’s a spider.”

Damon’s brows shot up. “Wow!” he whispered. He reached out and brushed Haben’s back. “That’s really cool.”

Haben shuddered, and a few seconds later, a human plopped back on his butt in the grass. “Shit,” he hissed. Then he scowled and shook his head. “Sorry,” he muttered, glancing toward Damon.

Damon snorted. “You think that’s the worst I’ve heard? You should hear Dad when the Jets play!”

“The Jets?” Haben asked softly. “The New York Jets? As in football?”

Lou’s eyes widened. “You don’t watch football?”

Haben looked around, and Lou followed his gaze, taking in the amused looks of his friends. The tarantula shifter smiled. “I guess I do now.”

“Are you okay?” Lou asked, sobering. After Haben nodded, he turned to Damon. “And you?” His son nodded. Lou glared. “That’s good—because I’m going to tan your hide. What the fuck were you thinking going off with Mr. Falko?”

Damon hung his head in obvious shame. “Sorry, Dad. He told me he had a free calculator I could use in his car. I didn’t know he’d hit me on the head and shove me in the back.”

Instantly, Lou felt remorse. He wrapped his arms around Damon and pulled him close. Kissing his head, Lou murmured, “I’m sorry, Damon. I’ve been so worried.”

His son’s chest hitched, and Lou hugged him tighter. “I’m so sorry, Dad!”

Before he could soften, he cradled his son’s face and said sternly, “You lied to me about shifting more than once, Damon. Why?”

Damon seemed to crumple. It broke Lou’s heart, but he couldn’t let his son get away with this kind of behavior. It put more than just himself at risk. “He told me he could turn into a lion, too. He showed me! I thought it’d be okay.”

Lou could understand wanting to please a teacher, or wanting to trust a teacher. A student should be able to do those things. It really was too bad Mr. Falko had taken advantage of his position. Lou nodded. “I understand, but you still shouldn’t have lied to me. You’re grounded, Damon,” he said softly. “No computer games for a week.”

Damon nodded. “Okay,” he whispered.

“Good boy,” he murmured, pressing a kiss to his son’s forehead. “Now let’s get Haben home, so he can rest.”

“Our home?” Damon mumbled. “Is he staying with us?”

Lou glanced at Haben, who currently had a torn t-shirt wrapped around his waist. “Yeah. Yeah he is. He’s going to be living with us from now on. How do you feel about that?”

Damon peered over his shoulder at Haben. “He turns into a spider, so that’s pretty cool. He’s not going to pretend to be my father, is he?” He eyed Haben dubiously.

“Well, he will have authority over you, just like Ronnie’s mom and dad do,” Lou said, naming Damon’s best friend’s parents, who he had to remember to call. What he was going to tell them, he had no idea, but he’d think of something. Refocusing, he finished, “But no, Haben isn’t going to try to pretend he’s your father.” Lou seriously hoped it was true.

“Okay, then.” His son paused and picked something up and set it on his shoulder. It was Haben in spider form. “Sweet,” Damon whispered, drawing out the word. The spider was so large it covered his entire shoulder and hung halfway down the boy’s back. Haben’s legs were carefully curled in Damon’s shirt to keep from sticking him.

Lou shook his head and smirked at the pair. He leaned close and kissed Haben’s bulbous abdomen. “Suck up,” he muttered.

Haben chittered.

“Hey, Dad!” Damon said, seemingly oblivious to the exchange going on just over his shoulder. “Can I take Haben to show and tell?”

Lou laughed. “We’ll see.”

After Kontra assured Lou that he’d take care of Terence and the other shifters, and Wes told him he’d notify the police and tell them some bullshit story he and Kontra would cook up, Lou left the others in the clearing. Contentment filled him at having his son back and his mate safe. As Lou walked out of the woods and climbed into his car, he realized his life had been turned upside down in less than two months and he wouldn’t change it for anything.

Haben shifted back to human form, grabbed a sweatshirt Lou had left in the back seat after a trip to the beach with Damon last week, and crawled into the front seat. He laid the sweatshirt over his lap and smiled at Lou.

“Hi, mate,” Haben whispered. “Hope you don’t mind. I didn’t want to walk through the woods barefoot.”

Lou grinned. He glanced back at his lounging son, then at his smiling lover. “It’s fine.” Leaning over, Lou pressed a kiss to Haben’s mouth. He pulled back and started the car, put it in gear and drove his little family home.

About the Author

Charlie lives on a mini ranchette in Utah with her husband and furry, four-legged children. She started writing fantasy when she was eight, and after stumbling onto her first erotic romance at age nineteen, she realized her true calling. She now focuses on writing erotic romance, normally of the paranormal variety, with heroes and heroines of all kinds. You can often find her curled up with her laptop and a cup of tea or glass of wine, creating her next adventure. Charlie enjoys exploring the mountains on horseback, 4-wheeler, or motorcycle. Her favorite exercise is jumping lessons with her Arabian gelding Apache or her Thoroughbred mare Repo. And she can’t get enough of sexy highlanders with their kilts and swords. Right now, she and her muse are working with dedication on her Wolves of Stone Ridge series and Kontra’s Menagerie series.

She can be reached at ch.richards2010@yahoo.com

Or visit her at www.charlie-richards.com

Table of Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

About the Author