Chapter 131 Chapter 131
Calum stopped walking, keeping twenty feet between them, Leroy and his goons. He noticed Brock slowly vanishing into the crowd. Not many knew he wasn’t the complete asshole he pretended to be, so it was a wise move on his part to remove himself from the equation.
The man standing in the center of the three, snarled at him. “The green eyed one returns.”
Calum growled low as a response. He watched Leroy look him up and down, noting his state of dress and then the cocky expression turned to an apprehensive look. The man was a coward, he thought, and that pissed him off even more.
Looking around at the people standing there, Leroy waved his hands around. “Are you all just going to stand there and let strangers take over your village?”
There were a few sneering remarks and retorts that weren’t in his favor as the people slowly moved, standing more to the side nearest Calum. That left Leroy and his men standing alone.
He felt someone come up beside him. “I tried.” Jake said out of breath, “but when the clothes started coming off and they called me Jacob, I got out of there.”
“What?” Devin looked around.
“Shit,” Gage hissed.
Calum looked away from the man he was going to kill long enough to glance at Jake, he held up his hands.
“They’re pissed. All of them…” he held up his hands again.
Before Calum’s rage-clouded mind could process what he was saying, he heard a warning growl from behind him. Turning, he saw a blonde she-wolf prowling toward them. On her left was an orange tiger, ears back and teeth bared.
His heart and cat jolted in unison when a blacker-than-night female jaguar flanked Rayne’s other side. Her eyes were on him with each step she took and he couldn’t have looked away if he tried. She was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen and later, much later, he’d berate himself for not being there for her first change. His cat alerted him as soon as he could sense hers, Calum should have known it would be today.
Kelsey bounded over to Gage and rubbed up against his leg, before she moved past him to go stand between him and the alpha of the village. She emitted a low warning growl and crouched down like she was going to pounce.
Rayne didn’t pause to formally greet her mate, as she leapt past where they stood to stand near Kelsey. The growls coming out of her, if they had been directed at Calum would have made even him back off and be somewhere else.
Shaelan paused as she reached Calum and he could only nod to the questioning look in her pale feline eyes. It was her right to end this, her way. She nudged his knee with her shoulder as she moved by him. He turned, feeling nothing but awe at how graceful she was in this form. It had taken him months to master his balance in cat form to look that sleek.
“Should she be doing this on her first shift?” Devin asked quietly.
Calum watched her walk out in front of the other two women, with long nimble strides. “Are you going to tell her she can’t?”
“Fuck no. I like breathing.” He whispered.
“This is Shaelan’s to end, but he dies if he so much as touches a hair on her.” Calum snarled. He started to close the distance between them and then stopped so fast Jake walked into him. Nona and Aunt Marilyn came out of the crowd, walking toward Shaelan. From the other side her mother and Billie emerged, and a few other women. From behind them, a few jaguars with various coat colors came stalking forward slowly. All females.
“Fuck me,” Gage hissed quietly, “his ass is toast.”
“Is that a serving fork in Marilyn’s hand?” Devin inquired in a hushed voice.
Calum made a note to find out later, he wasn’t taking his eyes off Leroy as he started to walk toward Shaelan again. He knew she needed to do this for her people, for herself and her mother, but he sure as hell was going to be beside her when she did.
A large black male cat came charging out of the group, and in a few long strides Brock reached Shaelan and actually did the equivalent of a hip bump on his way by her. He headed right toward Jerome without hesitation. He knew why he was going right for him, but just as long as he saved a few hits for Calum, he didn’t care.
Jerome pulled his gun from its holster and aimed but Brock pounced and knocked him up against a tree, the gun hit the ground without being fired. The two guards came out of the crowd and put a collar around Jerome’s neck while Brock leaned his two large paws on his chest holding him in place. They clipped the electrified club to it and held him. Calum would be having a chat with them later about letting him flip the switch on it a few times, while it was still attached.
Nona nodded once to them, then turned to look at Leroy. He was down to one lackey with him now, or none, Calum thought as he was getting down on his knees, with his hands raised in the air in surrender. As least his brain worked. Now.
“Shae’s mate was going to challenge you to be alpha.” Nona said loud enough all could hear as she stopped to the right of where Shaelan paced. “To protect herself, to free us…” Nona shook her head.
“Then what?” Leroy demanded. “Follow that alliance and a stupid wolf?”
Rayne turned to face him, and emitted a growl so ferocious that all the hair on Calum’s arms stood.
“Not too smart, is he?” Gage commented.
Devin shook his head as he took a few steps closer to the women.
Shaelan’s mother went right over and stood beside her daughter. “Her mate was doing what was right. That’s what love should be in a clan.” She glanced at her daughter prancing beside her. “You are not the rightful Alpha of this clan.”
Leroy’s face went red with rage. “Who’s going to be alpha? A true blood bitch that can’t shift or her half breed daughter…”
Calum growled a long, low warning. Shaelan answered him with a soft yowl, before she bound toward Leroy so fast, no one could have seen it coming. With a leap, she knocked him down to the ground and held him there, her teeth clamped around his throat and one paw on his chest pinning him to the ground. She continued to growl without releasing him.
“Dad kind of wants him alive,” Devin said moving up beside him, “we can’t find out who has been working with him if he’s nothing but chewed up fleshy remains.”
Grunting and annoyed because he knew he was right, Calum moved to get to him before he was stupid enough to piss off Shaelan any more. He was almost there, when her mother pulled out a dart gun and shot him with a tranquilizer. Twice.
By the time Calum reached him, the man was unconscious.
Shaelan released him and sat down looking at him for a moment. She turned and looked at Calum, then took off running in the direction of the stairs. He was stunned by her speed for a second and then realized nothing about her was normal, or like any other shifter he’d ever met.
“I think your mate just became alpha of the clan … or her mother … it’s tough call.” Gage said as he smiled down at Kelsey.
“I think for our own personal safety we’ll let them decide who is alpha.” Calum said with a smirk and watched as Shaelan bounded up the stairs to Nona’s.
“Wise words.” Devin agreed.
Nona elbowed Calum, “you should go make sure she has no problems shifting back.” She shook her head, “never seen anyone just do it in a blink the first time.”
He jolted, completely forgetting again that this had been her first shift. Hell, he hadn’t been able to co-ordinate four paws to run like that until his at least his second, and here she was half was to the top of the stairs. “Shit.” He took off running in her direction.