Chapter Eight
The door slammed opened. The sound of Tessa yelping woke Henri up. A man she wouldn’t have recognized burst into the room. Henri knew him though. Stevie Parker, a lean and powerfully built horse shifter. He worked with Henri at the security company. He had short, black spiky hair that didn’t look like it had seen a brush for a long time, and eyes so blue that could have been cut from a diamond. He wore a black t-shirt and jeans. He’d just come in from the night shift.
“What is it?”
“We’ve got guests.” Stevie glanced between Henri and his mate, as if he was trying to figure out how much he could say. “It’s Boyd.”
Henri swore as he got out of the bed, not bothered by his nakedness, and started to pull on his discarded clothes from the night before. After he’d retrieved a t-shirt from his chest of drawers, he made to leave. Tessa stopped him with a small hand against his chest, worry in her eyes.
“Who is Boyd?”
“Nobody.” He didn’t want to tell her the truth, that her being attacked might have been the ploy of a fox shifter desperate for power. Boyd wanted to draw out Henri’s crew. Tessa was just an accident, something he hadn’t anticipated.
The Tessa before might have taken his answer at face value, but she wasn’t the same woman as she had been. She stopped in front of him and placed her hand on his chest, but she still stopped short of meeting his eyes. “I might still be new to this, but you keep talking to me about being mates. Do mates lie to each other?”
He glanced over at Stevie. “I’ll be there in a minute. Get the kids out of the way. I want the fighters out front with me. Is Jo still here?” The other man nodded. “Make sure she stays. If this all goes to hell, we’ll need her here.”
Henri waited until Stevie left before he turned his attention back to his mate. “You’re right, I shouldn’t lie to you, but there isn’t much I can tell you yet. I thought we would be able to have this conversation after you shifted for the first time, when we had more time to connect the dots. I didn’t think Boyd would try and pull this crap so soon.”
She wore the bedsheets as a makeshift dress, her dark hair falling across her shoulders. Damn, she was beautiful. “Who is he?”
“A fox shifter.” Damn, how much should he tell her? She cocked an eyebrow, and he fought against the urge to smile. His mate had found her spark. Tessa might have doubts that they were destined for each other, but he had none. “It’s possible the man who attacked you works for him. Since he died it’s possible Boyd will try and use it’s an excuse to try and start a war.”
“I thought the guy was a random thug?” She frowned.
“We discovered the was connected to a very dangerous man. He has been on our radar for a while.” He didn’t want her to worry. Boyd had come to his compound. Henri had the advantage being on home ground. There was also a chance the fox shifter wouldn’t start anything today. He might wait. It was possible.
“Boyd?”
Henri nodded absentmindedly. “Nobody wants to risk war. The world doesn’t understand shifters, and if we stay in the shadow we’re left to our own devices. In a war, there aren't any winners, but Boyd is bad news. I don’t think he’ll worry about it like I would.”
“You’ve met him before?”
“I’m in charge of this district, but there’s a council I answer to.” She frowned, and Henri explained. There was no point in keeping it a secret. Tessa was as much a part of the world as he was. “They are a group of people who mostly consist of representatives from each pack. They pass laws, but it’s the people who rule the district who police it. Boyd wanted to move here, but I vetoed the idea. There was something about him I didn’t trust. He didn’t like that.”
“So, what are you going to do?” Her eyes were wide and her fear palpable, a sour taste against his tongue, one that he wanted to chase away with everything that he had. She twisted her fingers together, and he reached out untangling him. Raising them to his lips he kissed the tips of her fingers. The fear in her eyes faded as her breath caught.
“I’m going to protect what’s mine.
****
After Tessa had gotten dressed she walked after him. Over the last day, she hadn’t seen anyone else who lived in the compound, but now the compound was alive with people. Men were running in every direction and doors were opening and closing. Tessa caught glimpses of worried women and curious children. Henri pushed a door open in front of her and walked into the sunlight.
A large crowd of people waited outside. Tessa spied Jo standing on the sidelines and went to stand next to her. She looked worried, but still flashed her a smile before turning her attention back to the circle. Henri faced off against a man that Tessa had never seen before. Bright red, brushed back hair revealed an angular face. There was something almost animalistic about him, but she could recognize that fox in him. He wore a black suit. If he hoped that it would give him an air of respectability, it failed. Sure, it was a nice suit and it fit him well, but Boyd was scary. As if he knew that Tessa was looking at him, he frowned at her before a smile, cold and calculated, crossed his face.
“What are you doing here, Boyd?” Henri asked. He folded his arms and glared.
“I want to know why you killed one of mine.” He crossed his arms. If the man was trying to look intimidating he failed. He just didn’t compare opposite Henri.
Henri smiled. “He was in my area, going after what was mine. You know the rules of the pack. If you don’t tell your packmates, that's your problem, not mine.”
“It was a human run business. You have jurisdiction over shifters. You had no right to kill him.”
“A shifter who tries to kill a human brings a lot of curious eyes and questions we can’t afford to answer.”
Boyd hadn’t come alone. There were at least ten people behind him. All of them were huge. Were they all fox shifters? Tessa doubted it. Most of the shifters fitted an image, a reflection of their animal. These guys were too big, like bears. Hired thugs? “Not my fault that he got a little out of hand. You know what new shifters are like, harder to control until they’ve gotten their first kill.”
“That says more about you and your lack of power than his.”
Boyd looked at her again, and her skin crawled. “You know that she belongs to me, right?” he said, almost matter of fact, like he’d asked for Henri to pass the sugar. “Female fox shifters are rare.” Another smile twisted his lips. “I know a lot of men that would be very happy to see her.”
Henri stepped forward and placed a hand on his chest. “She’s not leaving with you.”
The other man glanced down at Henri’s hand, but her mate didn’t move it. There was a stare off, which Boyd lost as he stepped away, laughing. “You want war because you won’t give her up? I’m in my right to demand whatever I want since you killed one of my men. Hand her over and I’ll walk away now.”
A growl rumbled through the air. “She’s mine. “
Boyd breathed in deeply and sighed. “Wow, she must be good if you’re claiming her after one night.” Could he really smell what they’d done the night before? Did everyone know? “I wonder if she’ll have the same effect on my men. You know how hard it is for our kind to have children. She’ll have to do it with several of them.” He grinned at her. “To make sure it takes. I hope you’re strong enough to take several lovers.” Boyd laughed. “Lovers is probably the wrong word.” He glanced at Henri. “Fucked regularly. Shifters can take a lot of punishment. You’ll heal.”
He was trying to get Henri to lose his temper. At least that was what Tessa thought. She touched her stomach and fought against the urge to be sick.
Henri snarled. “Are you deaf? I said no.”
The fox shifter cocked an eyebrow. “No?”
“You’re on my property, and I control the district. I made no move to hide the fact I killed your pack member. If you want his body for burial, we still have it and we’ll gladly hand it over. I also have tapes from the bar complete with audio. If you want to take this further, I can make sure the council leaders get them.” Boyd flinched. “How many towns and cities have you been kicked out of now, Boyd? Can you risk being kicked out of this one?” The men behind him all shared a look. “If you want to fight, then we’ll fight, but it’ll be one on one. If you think you can beat me, in an honorable fight with witnesses, then let’s do this.”
Henri pulled his top off. The sun caught powerful muscles, and she couldn’t help but look at him. He was hers. She would stand by him in whatever decision he made. The voice that filled her with doubts was silent for the moment.
Henri could beat him. Tessa knew that, and he’d been clever about it. If there hadn’t been any witnesses, Boyd could have forced an unfair fight, one that her mate might have lost. Now they were at a stalemate.
And Boyd knew that.
“This isn’t over.” The fox shifter snarled at Henri before he turned and stalked away. “You’re not fit to control the district.”
“And I guess you want to take over? I’ll be waiting if you when you think you can take me in a fight.”