us. They knew we wouldn’t harm them if they breached the territory they gave us. Nothing is as defenseless as a pregnant female. I know the scent of one well but this one smells different. I couldn’t detect a difference until I pressed my nose against her skin. It must because she is barely pregnant. When the months wear on it will probably become easier to notice from a distance.”
Slade stormed out of the gate toward his Jeep. His anger knew no bounds. Someone should have told him that Trisha had been sent to Reservation because she carried a New Species baby. The Jeep engine roared to life and Slade punched the gas. The tires squealed in protest but he didn’t care about the noise. Now things were making a lot more sense. He was killing mad.
* * * * *
“Someone is coming fast,” Moon yelled in warning. “It’s one of our Jeeps.”
Brass threw down his cards and flashed a grin at Trisha. “It’s about time they sent those supplies.” He glanced at his watch. “They are actually half an hour earlier than they estimated on the phone.”
“I’m starving. I hope they sent some good food.”
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“I’m sure they did.” Harley winked at her. “A pregnant mamma should eat lots of junk food. I call dibs if they send any candy bars. I love those things.”
“I’m the pregnant one.” Trisha laughed. “That means I get first dibs on everything.”
“Meany.” Harley stuck out his tongue, tossed down his cards and stood. “I better help carry things inside. The faster we get it put away, the faster we can get to the goodies they sent.”
“It’s Slade,” Moon yelled seconds later. “He is really coming fast.”
“Shit,” Brass sighed from the doorway. “He’s very angry. I can see his teeth bared from here.”
“Why?” Confusion gripped Trisha. “It wasn’t our fault that Valiant attacked.”
Brass turned at the door. “You might want to go upstairs, Trisha. I think it might get ugly.”
Trisha frowned and rose from the couch, walking to the door instead. She pushed Brass out of her way and stepped out onto the porch to watch the Jeep with Slade came to a sliding halt by the cabin. Slade left skid marks as he locked up the vehicle to stop it.
It didn’t take hyper senses for Trisha to smell burned rubber as Slade turned off the Jeep engine and leaped from of the driver’s seat. He reached Moon first and snarled at him.
“Move.”
Moon didn’t budge. “Is there a problem?”
Slade lunged. He grabbed Moon by his vest and shoved him hard, out of his way, and advanced. Fear grew instantly inside Trisha after realizing Slade seemed beyond pissed. She actually backed up and bumped the cabin wall next to the doorway. Brass sprinted suddenly, going down the porch stairs, and met Slade head-on.
“You allowed Valiant to touch her?” Slade yelled. “He’s unstable and could have killed her.” Slade decked Brass in the face with his fist.
Brass landed on his ass. He growled and tried to climb to his feet but Slade turned, throwing a kick to Brass’ chest. It knocked Brass flat onto his back on the grass. Slade snarled, showing teeth, as Harley inched toward him.
“Stay out of it unless you want me to kick your ass too. This is between us.”
Harley stopped, lifted his hands and backed up. “Okay.”
“Stop it,” Trisha demanded. She tried to rush down the stairs to reach Brass, worried he’d been hurt badly, but Harley grabbed her arm to prevent her from leaving the porch.
“Stay out of it,” Harley ordered softly. His arms locked around Trisha’s waist gently. “You could get hurt. Sometimes our males fight to blow off steam. This is about dominance and we can’t interfere.”
Trisha was stunned. It wasn’t sane and it sure wasn’t something she wanted to stand by and watch. They needed to stop. Someone could get hurt. Harley refused to release her though when she struggled.
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Brass rose to his feet. He growled and launched his body at Slade. In horror, Trisha watched the men go at each other. She’d never seen two New Species fight before. It looked to be a combination between a dog fight and a no-holds-barred kickboxing match. It became clear within minutes that Slade was the better fighter. He punched Brass in the face and threw a kick that sent Brass sprawling onto his stomach. Brass groaned but didn’t get up. Slade panted, obviously still enraged.
“You thought you could protect her?” Slade snarled. “You can’t even protect yourself against me.”
Brass lifted his head, looking a little dazed, and blood smeared his mouth. He turned his head to glare at Slade. “Someone had to try to protect her.”
“Well, you can’t.” Slade marched toward the cabin.
Moon had edged around the fighting men until he stood guard at the bottom of the porch steps, blocking Slade’s path to Trisha. Harley suddenly released Trisha and leaped down the porch steps to stand next to Moon. Both men appeared tense.
“Move,” Slade snarled, stopping just feet from the men.
“Why? You are upset and aren’t being reasonable.” Harley kept a calm tone in his voice. “You hurt Brass over being angry with Valiant. We didn’t know he was here or Brass would have gone to talk to him before he picked up
