By the Tail

“Yes.” He paused, his heart still aching from the loss. It seemed like only yesterday and not five months ago that his mentor and friend had been killed. “I found him bleeding to death in the Glades. I did my best to help him through, you know, to peace. But it was hard. Lex hurt him bad.” He knew she saw his anger, but she didn’t do more than nod. “Before he passed, he made me promise to infiltrate Lex’s command. The only way to take him down, because Lex had become too powerful, luring the others with promises of wealth, women, sex, anything they wanted. And he could and did deliver.”

She frowned. “He was such a prick.”

“Yeah.” He sighed. “I gave Michael steady progress reports for that last week he lingered. Then he died.” Quince tried to shrug off the emotional wound. “I made a promise, and I kept it.” He prided himself on always keeping a promise.

“But you didn’t tell Miles.”

“I couldn’t. Your brother is—was—my best friend. I know him as well as you do. He’s a hot head, and he has no patience unless it involves dollar signs. Yeah, he’s brilliant at business—not so great when it comes to dealing with stupidity. And Lex was a dumbass. Strong and mean, but deep-down stupid.”

“You got that right,” she muttered. She looked at him with what he hoped was the beginning of trust. “I still don’t understand why it took so long to break Lex down.”

“Your family was never that tight with the inner workings of the pride. You focused more on business and blending in with Miami society. Lex had his select circle so tight and twisted that they wrestled control of our finances before I could intervene. We need that money to survive.” Especially in Miami, where life didn’t come cheap.

She took another sip. “So what happened then?”

“I spent most of my time finding others like me, loyal to Michael. Guys like Jace and Ellis. Rain, Dana, Willow, Oliver. Between the seven of us, we started gathering others in secret. Trying to take back control. It took a while, because Lex had been planning his takeover for a long time before he actually did it.”

“I didn’t realize.”

“Not many did. He seemed like a good guy at first, remember?”

Charming, handsome, popular with women and men alike. And then he’d shown his true colors when anyone dared question him.

Quince continued in a low rumble, “To make a long story short, I did my best to prevent him and his idiot brother from raping and hunting humans in the swamps. That took time and effort away from corralling him. So much energy spent on damage control until two months had passed with Lex still in power. Then I had to make my move. I got in thick with him, and yeah, I had to do some things I’m not proud of to show my loyalty.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Like beating up Mr. Jeffries and nearly scaring Maya Shields to death?”

“Yeah.” He blew out a breath. Two of his biggest regrets—public spectacles of clear abuse. But it had been either push them around or see them killed. They’d healed from the few bruises he’d landed, and they’d since accepted his apologies.

“So what about you trying to put a move on my sister?”

He frowned. “What are you talking about?”

“Miles told me you wanted Stacey, and when you couldn’t have her, you decided to push her at Lex to punish her.”

“That makes no sense. For one, I hated Lex. I didn’t wish any poor woman on him. And two, your sister annoys the shit out of me. No way I wanted her.”

“She’s pretty.”

“So?”

Joy just looked at him.

“Fine. Every guy who sees your sister wonders…” He cleared his throat. “But I got over that years ago. Stacey’s so…Stacey.”

A smile curved her mouth, and he breathed an inaudible sigh of relief.

“Anyway, so now you know.”

“Do I? What about you showing up when they shot Miles and kidnapped Gabby? Or when they nearly got Stacey and Dean?”

“I just told you. I was trying to put out fires. Do you have any idea what Lex almost did? He sent me to spy on you guys for him. Hell, I could have taken any of you from Cougar Falls before you knew what had happened. As it was, I fed what information I could to sources in town. How do you think so many Shifters arrived to help you guys out at the ranch? Or how there wasn’t a total massacre before you saved Stacey? Lex wanted to use Hunters and rogue Ac-taw to kill the Chastells and that wolf living with them. I slowed him down.”

She had to remember him and his group arriving at Chastell Tours to prevent an all out war on the Chastells and their gray wolf just a month ago.

“Oh yeah. You did, didn’t you?” She gave him a look he couldn’t read. Did she believe him or not?

Parched, he took the drink from her hand, downed it, then handed the plastic cup back.

“Better?” she drawled.

“Yeah. Thanks. That’s it.”

“Not exactly.”

He groaned. “Ask. I’m an open book.” After that incredible time together in the spa, he’d do whatever she wanted for another shot at her.

“So now, going home. You said Lex’s guys are still making problems? I hadn’t noticed that the last time I was back.”

“For all of two seconds,” he added under his breath. “We routed most of the idiots. A bunch died the last time they tangled with Hunters.” Hunters—humans who knew of Ac-taw and wanted nothing more than to kill them. “Right now, Greg Ayers and Darren Watson are making the most noise about wanting me out of the picture.”

She nodded absently. “You know, technically, we shouldn’t even have a pride. None of us are lions. Panthers are solitary creatures.”

He chuckled, glad she referred to them as panthers. A good sign. Though their species of Ac-taw had a lot of different names—cougar, panther, catamount, puma—the Miami pride often referred to themselves as Florida panthers. Unlike the cougars in Montana. “Don’t be too literal. Pride is just a term that applies to cats. God forbid we call ourselves a pack.”

She scrunched her nose and stuck out her tongue. Joy was beautiful and funny. Damn, she made his heart race. Wondering if he’d be pushing it, he nevertheless covered her hand on the seat rest between them. Mine, his cat snarled, and he inwardly agreed.

She blinked down at it, then at him. But she didn’t pull her hand away. “What do you want from me, Quince?”

He thought about the ugly little bracelet she’d given him when she was sixteen, the one he’d kept all these years because it had been from her, snug in his front pocket. How much he loved her, wanted her. And he realized the truth wouldn’t set him free at all. He’d spook her away if he moved too fast. He needed to seduce her into accepting his claim. Slowly. Like easing a wild bird with calm words before he pounced.

“Honestly, Joy?”

She nodded.

I love you. “You’re sexy, smart, and when you aren’t trying to go for my throat, you make me laugh. I thought we could try dating, maybe. And I’d like you to be a strong presence in the pride. We need worthy females to rebuild.” At her dark look, he hastened to add, “Not for breeding. I mean, to show others we have a solid team of cats down South. That we’re not all assholes but good people.”

She stared at him. “Oh.”

Was that a pleased Oh or a disappointed Oh?

He gripped her fingers, conscious of her smaller size and softness as compared to him. “Well?”

“Dating, huh? I guess we could try that. See how it goes,” she said, sounding cautious. “Don’t get your hopes up for a commitment though. I’m too young to mate. Too much to see and do before I settle down.”

He swallowed his disappointment, more determined than ever to show her how ready she could be—with