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Coti allowed his powers to rise, forming his katanas. “Did you soak up how to use these?” he asked NeNe just before the barrier went down. At her nod, he handed her a set, then created another. “Stay by me. If you have to shift, do it.” Looking into her mind, he double checked to make sure the knowledge was there, satisfied that she was prepared.

“If you’re focused on me, you’ll get hurt or worse. Trust me, I’m not stupid,” she said with conviction.

Through their link, he could see she was ready for battle thanks to Creed and him. The blast echoed around them, followed by a silence that was almost deafening. As if in slow motion, the shifters in the center of the track turned as one, facing the threat. Coti pointed one of his katanas at Mac. “You’re dead,” he growled.

Mac’s eyes widened for only a moment. “Kill them all.”

The shifters who came at them were slow to change from man to beast, their animals misshapen. Several what the fucks were growled out from his fellow brothers, but none hesitated to take the animals out.

Coti took a hit from the side, bumping into NeNe who was busy slicing the arm off a bear. The huge beast roared, his face coming too close to his mate’s twisting body. Before Coti could intervene, NeNe flipped backward, slashing upward as she went, coming back to make a clean slice, taking his head. The huge animal lay with his innards out, his head feet from him, while NeNe prepared for the next attack. Goddess, she was amazing.

“You might want to take that one out, he looks to be getting up.” NeNe pointed at the one who’d bumped into him.

“Shit!” Coti shoved his sword into the animal’s chest. The thing had clearly been damaged by one of his brothers.

He and NeNe continued forward, keeping in their human forms. He lost count as to how many animals had fallen. A sadness welled within him at the senseless loss of life. The bastard that was Mac had turned the humans into something they shouldn’t have been. A growl split the air, but he and NeNe were busy with a group of men who were born not made.

“Hello, bitch. You really should’ve chose our side. We’d have treated you like a queen.” A huge mountain of a man said, spitting on the ground.

NeNe rolled her eyes. “Oh, and as the queen would I have been passed around to all of you to fuck?”

The three men laughed, elbowing each other. “You’d have liked it.” one of the men said, grabbing his dick.

“See, there’s not even a VDL, which means I most assuredly wouldn’t have,” NeNe laughed.

At the narrowed eyed stares, Coti knew things were going to go south, fast. “That would be visible dick line, which none of you have,” Coti informed them, pointing his sword in the general direction of their crotches. “I have a proposition for you, boys. You can walk away and promise to be good little bear cubs, and we’ll let you live another day. Or, you die.”

He made sure his tone suggested the latter. These men would’ve gladly taken NeNe against her will, brutally. For that alone, they deserved to suffer.

As one, they attacked, their focus on his mate. Big mistake. NeNe ducked, her elbow slamming into the side of one of the men. The force of her blow sent him into Coti. Using his feet, he kicked him backward, the sound of ribs cracking made him smile. He stalked the man, intent on killing him quickly.

“Gotcha.”

Coti turned to see Mac dragging NeNe by the hair.

He twisted the man’s neck, killing him quickly then was up and chasing Mac. The other two men moved to intercept him, shifting into their bear forms. Coti tossed one of his katanas at the one who’d spoken first, embedding the sword deep into his chest, the tip coming out the other side. The other sword went flying, taking out the bear’s right eye and continuing through the back of his head. Coti didn’t stop to see if they fell or not. Mac was fast, even though he was dragging a struggling NeNe. The scent of Dark Fae hit him.

“Creed,” he yelled. The other man was halfway across the football sized area, but Coti knew he’d hear, or at least, he hoped like hell he did. If Mac had the help of the evil ones, he’d need more than himself to defeat the bastard.

His beast rose, roaring out in denial. Coti shifted to mist, moving faster than he could as man or wolf. The scent of NeNe’s fear hit him but mixed in with it was also determination. What was she doing? He had a feeling his mate was allowing herself to be taken. “When this is over, I’m going to tan her damn hide,” he promised.

“Good luck with that,” Creed said, invading his thoughts.

Instead of debating with the man, Coti grunted. “Can you smell the evil?”

A moment passed, then Creed was the one to grunt. “Yep, stinks worse than that one time my father had a horde of Krumkin Demons fighting over dinner.”

Coti had no clue what a Krumkin Demon was and was sure he didn’t want to know. As the son of Satan, Creed had seen and experienced things none of them would want to. “I’m assuming that’s pretty bad.”

“Yep. Come on, looks like he’s hiding in one of those rail cars. They must’ve figured you boys were allergic to silver or some shit since that thing is coated with it.”

Coti saw NeNe and Mac heading for the last car, her little body struggling behind his, the scent of her blood hitting him like a bomb going off. He lost the ability to stay in his current form, dropping to the ground behind them, startling Mac into releasing NeNe.

“Hey, asshole, why don’t you pick on someone your own size?” Coti cracked his knuckles. He moved forward intent on taking Mac’s head off.

“Coti, he’s got my mom,” NeNe whispered scrambling to her feet.

He pulled her next to him, eyeing the bastard up and down. “So, I’ll kill him and get your mother out of here.”

In her memories, when they’d bonded, he’d only seen glimpses of a woman NeNe referred to as momma. Other memories showed NeNe as a young girl, wishing her mother was there, and deep sadness, but he’d assumed she’d died. Not once had he imagined she’d been taken by this bastard.

“He says she’s a shifter now, but he won’t help her unless I go with him.” Her voice quavered.

Through their link she felt a tug. “Do you feel your mother, armina?”

“I felt drawn here from the very beginning. Something called me here, but I didn’t know what. There was always a tug that kept me here even when I knew I shouldn’t,” she answered.

“You can scent a lie. When he spoke, did you smell truth?”

“Yes,” she said.

The conviction made him nod, knowing he would do anything to help her save her mother.

“You two done with the chit chat. You want to save your bitch of a mother, you come with me alone. If not, she dies.” Mac shrugged, his bear form rippled beneath his skin.

The last thing he could do was allow his mate to go off with the other male. “You know I can’t let her go without me.”

Mac inhaled, no doubt searching for his mating mark. “I’ll erase you from her the same as you did me. Besides, it’ll be a family reunion.” He whistled, like one would do to call a pet.

Two men Coti recognized ambled out from behind Mac. Their black eyes belying their humanity had been replaced with bears. “It’s time you came home, girl,” NeNe’s father growled.

NeNe’s spine stiffened when her dad and brother lumbered out. They smelled like bear and drugs, just like the other shifters they’d encountered. Behind them, she could hear roars and screams as her pack battled. She wasn’t sure where Creed had disappeared to, but she’d felt him before Coti had dropped to the ground. She was glad Mac hadn’t realized Coti was anything other than a wolf. “Oh, is this home now, daddy? Last I checked it was a trailer on the other side of town. Of course, this tin can might be a step above that piece of shit.”

Her father lunged forward, hatred burning in his dark eyes. Mac held out his arm, clotheslining him. A roar broke from her dad. The fierce sound of an angry grizzly in a rage coming from a human male was all kinds of weird. “Yikes, you should get that checked out.” She motioned to her dad on the ground twitching.

Mac held up a device, laughing when her father stopped moving. Her brother moved forward, glaring at her. “You’re nothing but a whore, you know that?” He lifted the older man off the ground.

“Your opinion of me doesn’t mean dick. How does a son let his mother suffer?” Her bear growled, thick black claws burst from her fingers.

“Enough, you come with me, now, or I give the signal for Gracie to kill your mother. You remember Gracie, don’t you?” He smirked.

Rage burned through her at the mention of the other woman’s name. “She touches my mother, I’ll kill her. No, scratch that. I’m going to kill her regardless of what happens.”

Mac laughed. “I knew you’d be a great bitch for me. Let’s go.” He held out his hand.

She looked at the big palm held out, then at a silent Coti. Their connection was oddly quiet. “I trust you to get me out of there,” she whispered.

When he didn’t respond, she touched his face, shocked at the strange coldness. Turning toward Mac, she walked around him. “Touch me, and I’ll cut whatever appendage you’re using to do so, off.”

He grabbed her arm, unaffected by her threat. “Did you see how your supposed mate just stood there? If you were mine, I’d have battled to the bloody end before I allowed my female to walk away with another. That’s the difference between a mangy wolf and a bear.”

The cold man who stood so still was a shell. She didn’t know what Creed and Coti were up to, but she knew he wouldn’t allow her to walk into danger alone. A soothing presence spread throughout her mind. The words ‘Mate’ reverberated in Coti’s voice, giving her the strength to allow Mac to lead her through the maze of rail cars.

Her mother had left when she’d been a toddler. NeNe had very little memories of her except she cried a lot, which had made NeNe sad. Then one day, she’d left and not come back.

“Here we are.” Mac lifted the flap of a large tent.

She smelled Gracie and the other two females along with her mother and a male.

Gracie stared at her, a smile playing at her lips. “Oh, you come back for another round?”

NeNe let her bear push forward, the long thick claws extending. “You want to play, puppy?” Three wolf bitches against one bear didn’t seem like a fair fight, but NeNe felt sure she could take them all.

“Why did you make her a bear instead of let one of us turn her?” Gracie snarled at Mac.

Mac was across the space and lifting the woman into the air by her throat. “You don’t question me, ever. Get your skanky asses out of my sight until I call for you,” he roared.

She would’ve laughed had her attention not have locked onto the couple in the corner. The big man crouched in front of her mother, his eyes wary. “What’s going on?” His deep voice rumbled through the room. “You said you’d let her go, if I did what you asked.”

“I need her for one more thing, then you both can go.”

NeNe heard the lie and wondered if the other shifter could as well. “You need my mother to lure me here, then what? You going to kill her?”

Her words had the shifter protecting her mother growling louder. “Over my dead body. We’ve given you what you wanted.”

A moan came from the cot on the floor. “Alaric, what’s happening?”

“You both have served your purpose.” Mac motioned to someone behind him.

The acrid scent hit her. A Dark Fae was helping him. The thin man moved forward, reminding her of the guy from the Poltergeist movies. With blurring speed, she placed herself between him and her mother. The animal within her allowed her to use the other being’s powers, knocking the man backward.

“Well, isn’t this interesting?” he said, tilting his head to the side, his words came out a hiss.

She felt the shifter behind her moving but didn’t take her gaze off the man or Fae. Where the hell was Coti? Her eyes caught Mac moving, his hulking size eerily quiet as he tried to sneak behind them.

“Others are coming.” The man her mom called Alaric shouted, his warning came before she smelled them. Mac had clearly called the bitches back along with a few others. Fucking great. He needed the cavalry for little ole her and the shifter protecting her mom.

“If you call me kicking your ass interesting, then yep, interesting it is,” she agreed, drawing his attention away from the couple. A shift to the left showed her Mac was moving in.

“Alaric, is anything keeping you from fighting?” she asked.

“Not anymore.”

She wanted to look back and see what her mother looked like. The urge to do just that almost had her missing the hand moving back and forth, weaving a spell she was sure. “Yo, Creed, a little help here,” she yelled.

“Got him,” Creed called, snatching the little man out of the air.

NeNe covered her mouth at the sight of Creed’s hand entering the tent through a hole, his huge red face smiling like a kid on Christmas Day. “Um, thank you.”

“Aw, would you look at that. I didn’t even have to say you’re welcome first. Be back shortly. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” He stood up from his crouched position, making her spin around on a gasp. “Oops, forgot to tell you not to look down. I guess I should’ve said not to look up. My bad.”

She laughed, then the sound froze in her throat at the sight that met her eyes. Mac and Alaric were facing off. Although Alaric was big, Mac held a woman in front of him. NeNe knew without a doubt the woman was her mother. She also could tell she was a shifter, and she was pregnant. By whom was the question she didn’t have an answer to. If Mac felt it was his right to claim any female in his clan, then he would no matter if they were mated to another. Of that, she had no doubt.

“Mac, you really don’t want to do that?” Coti said, coming up beside her.

The sound of her mate’s voice gave her strength.

“Why is that? You wipe out my clan so now you going to offer me a way out?”

NeNe’s mother opened her eyes, dark brown orbs of fury stared at her. She gasped, wondering why there was so much hate and rage directed toward her. “I’m going to take my breeders and leave. That’s right, little girl. Your mama’s a breeder, just like you were meant to be.”

Alaric growled, his wolf rippling over him, white fur coating both arms. “My mate is not your breeder, you sick son of a bitch. You kept her drugged, forcing her bear out so the human side of her had no respite.”

She stared at Alaric, then at her mother. “How long?” she whispered.

The man didn’t pretend to not understand. “He grabbed her over twenty years ago. Your father took the money he offered and walked away. I assume he thought he’d never see either again.”

Mac laughed. “Your father was a dumb ass then, and is an even bigger one, now. He offered you up on a platter. It was fun to watch you, a little human in the middle of predators, while your mama was so close to you.”

Her mind worked furiously, wondering why he was standing there talking. His Dark Fae was taken, yet he acted as if he had an ace in the hole. “He’s got a plan or another weapon,” she warned Coti.

The ground shook beneath her feet. “Is that an earthquake?”

Mac tossed his head back, bellowing out a laugh. “You threw in with the wrong side.”

As soon as he finished speaking she heard Kellen yell. The battle that seemed to have ended began again outside the tent. Only this time it sounded as if they were surrounded.

“You didn’t think I was that dumb, did you?”

Coti grinned. “Pretty much.” He nodded toward her mother.

The crazy look disappeared, her mom blinked then she smiled showing huge bear teeth. Her nails were long black claws. NeNe blinked, shocked that Mac didn’t seem to notice the woman he held was partially shifting in his hold.

“Jules,” Alaric whispered.

Mac heard the whispered name, but it came too late, her mother reached behind her with one clawed hand. The roar Mac elicited as she ripped at his groin had the men in the space covering their own anatomy.

Jules didn’t stumble away as Mac released her and fell. Her hand fell to her side covered in blood. She locked eyes with NeNe, a tear fell from one eye then the other. “Renee?” she asked.

Nobody called her by her full name. She’d been NeNe since she started school. However, she heard the longing in her mother’s voice. “Mama,” she whispered.

Uncaring they were both a little battered and bloody, NeNe wrapped her arms around the woman she’d thought left her all those years ago. “Oh god, you’re so thin.” NeNe held her mother tighter.

Alaric came to stand behind her mother, his hand resting on her back. “She’ll get stronger,” he assured them.

The sound of battle stopped outside as a sonic boom rent the air.

“Creed,” Coti said.

Kellen and Xan walked inside with several others following, their faces hard. “Tell me he’s dead.” Kellen asked.

Coti pointed to the side and a still breathing Mac. “Not yet, but I think he wishes he were.”

Alaric moved in front of Kellen, stopping him from reaching Mac. “It is my right to end his life for touching my mate.”

“And you would be?” Kellen asked, pinning Alaric in place with his stare.

Alaric looked around the tent, his eyes falling on Coti. “I’m Alaric Chlodwig.”

“What the fuck?” Coti growled.