A Matter of Pride

Chapter Five

Monty swore under his breath as he stumbled over more crap in the cluttered cabin Dean should have cleaned out last month. Lazy-ass cat had a true gift for avoiding hard labor, though the ladies seemed to love him, and he constantly got away with pulling pranks any other Ac-taw would have been skinned for even trying.

Like pretending to be in love with Joy to make Gabby jealous? They’d all laughed it off. Fixing Grady’s cards on poker night so he’d have to dance to some stupid tune in front of Gabby? He’d been too easily forgiven. Convincing Ty to write Help Me on the bottom of a groom’s shoes on the guy’s wedding day, so that everyone could see when he knelt in front of the congregation? People still complimented Dean and Ty on the gag, and it had been Monty’s idea.

He swore again and righted himself as he stumbled over the firewood that should have been stacked behind the cabin. Instead it lay in a heap by the unused fireplace. Monty sneezed and took a good look around him. Set up high in the mountains away from everything, the cabin had the solitude he craved. A little polishing and the place would clean up nice.

Some rumbles and snarls filtered through the woods, and he moved to the side of a window, automatically bracing himself for danger. Old habits were hard to break, and the gun in his hand appeared as if by magic, because he hadn’t felt himself take it from the back of his jeans.

Monty reached out with his wolf senses and smelled cats on the wind. He opened his mind and heard the psychic speak of their kind, like the flutter of wings through the pure forest air.

“I told you, it’s this way.” Dean.

“I still don’t see anything.” That was Stacey Bermin. She had the husky voice of a sultry cat with the lethal attitude of a cobra about to strike. Pretty, but cold. Personally, Monty didn’t understand what his buddy saw in the woman, aside from her stunning looks.

Like her brother, she thought herself better than everyone in Cougar Falls. Though she’d been nice to Sophie, Monty’s favorite wolf in the world, he knew given enough time, Stacey would turn ugly. The minute she did, he’d show her why cats might be king of the mountain, but wolves ruled the forests of Montana. No one screwed with Sophie if he was around.

“Honey, you’re too busy looking at my ass to pay attention to where we’re going,” Dean sighed. “Don’t fret that pretty head. I’m in charge now.”

“God help us,” she muttered.

Monty had to grin as he tucked the gun away against the small of his back. The pair argued almost constantly. Yet Monty had always noticed his friend watching her walk away from each of their parries with more than annoyance on his face.

“He’s here. I can smell him,” Dean said in a low voice.

“Eau de dog,” Stacey huffed. “At least it’s not raining. I can’t abide wet dog smell. It lingers in the pores, you know.”

The little witch. Dean snickering didn’t make him feel any better, either.

When they moved through the open back door and didn’t even look guilty upon seeing his scowl, he fired back, “Well, well. The kitties in need of saving? Stacey, Dean. Nice to see you could make it without breaking a nail.” He included Dean in on that one, pleased when the cat exposed a fang and twitched his nose—the cat’s equivalent of giving him the finger.

“Yeah, yeah. Look. Lex’s cats have been spotted a half day south of us. And Quince, another cat, is here with two dozen others intending to take him out. A power struggle in our own woods.”

“Here?” Monty hadn’t seen them on his way, and he’d been looking.

“Here.” Dean’s whiskers flexed as he looked at Stacey, a gesture she returned. “Quince is apparently some rebel dickhead from Miami. He’s pledged Stacey his undying loyalty if she’ll play bait and lead Lex’s cats out here, away from the pride. The guy plans to take care of Lex himself.”

“Right.” Monty wasn’t buying it.

Stacey growled. “That’s not what he said. He isn’t interested in us. The Bermins, I mean.”

“Just Joy,” Dean snorted.

“He wants to get rid of Lex and take over the pride. I’d rather deal with Lex myself, if you want the truth. But I also want what’s best for the pride, and at this point, Quince is our best option. I’m willing to let him step in, at least for now.” She stood close to Dean, so that when they padded on their feet, they touched. Their connection practically lit up the entire room. The scent of two cats in tune, their scents nearly close enough to be mated, swept over Monty’s enhanced senses. The body language couldn’t be ignored either. The cats leaned toward each other, and he could all but see them curling their tails together.

Christ, just what they needed. Pride trouble, Dean and Stacey hooking up and the eventual fallout when Miles found out and Burke recovered from a massive coronary. Life in the pride was never dull. Fun, confusing and always something to talk about, but not boring.

Monty couldn’t wait to get back and share his news with Joel and Grady. He’d put a hundred down on Dean wooing Stacey by summer’s end. The cat had apparently worked his magic, to the benefit of Monty’s wallet. Maybe he’d cut Dean in on a few bucks. Besides, he was fun to tease. Unlike his brothers, he didn’t yell or lash out. He got even in other ways, and it was a constant challenge to stay a step ahead of him.

Would that Monty could be so carefree. “What else, Stacey?”

She explained what she knew.

“So that’s it? Quince, two dozen of his cats, Lex and more cats?”

She didn’t answer right away, and the hair on the back of his neck stood on end. Monty could almost smell the trouble coming for them.

Dean rubbed his head against hers. “It’s okay, Stace. We’ll take care of this. Don’t worry.”

She didn’t tell him to add a Y to the end of her name, the way she usually did, and right then, Monty saw Dean’s future like writing on the wall. He started to laugh. “You are so gone it’s pathetic.”

“Not another word, wolf.” Dean lunged, grabbed Monty by the arm with his teeth and dragged him to the back door of the cabin before letting go. “Stacey, stay here. I need to talk to Monty for a minute. Don’t worry. He’ll play ball.”

“He’d better.” Stacey shook her head, sat and began cleaning herself. “Friggin’ canine.”

Monty deserved a little fun. Especially after being forced to leave Sophie behind in town, at the mercy of the chaotic wolf order. The damn gray wolves had been sniffing in her direction lately, and he didn’t like it. But was he back home, taking care of his…ah…friend? The hottest she-wolf he’d seen in ages? Nooo.

Once outside and away from Stacey, Dean changed back to his man’s form.

Monty bared his teeth at Dean in a parody of a smile. “So you banged Princess Kitty, eh? Didn’t think you had it in you, hillbilly.”

Dean swore. “Fuck off, Monty. I didn’t bang anyone.”

The annoyance on Dean’s face was worth the fist Monty was surely going to take. Usually Dean rolled with whatever female wanted some action, joked about it later—with said female—and didn’t let anything ruin his good mood. Dean Chastell had to be one of the mellowest, most fun-loving cats Monty had ever met.

This tension in his buddy promised a helluva good time.

“So was she any good?” Monty wiggled his brows. “Think she’ll want the taste of a real man, now that she’s had an inferior pussy?” Oh yeah. Dean’s eyes stared to turn, and the rage gave his scent a touch of musk. “You know, once they go wolf, they never go—”

And there went his jaw.

The stupid wolf kept laughing, despite the punch to his face. Stacey poked her head out a few times, frowning as she stared from him to Monty.

“Fuck me, but you hit like a pussy too.” Monty spasmed with laughter.

“Shut up. I’m serious, Monty. We have trouble close.”

The wolf settled down after a minute, rubbed his chin and grinned up at Dean with ice blue eyes that never quite contained the predator within. “So some rogue cats are dancing around the woods. Didn’t we teach them a lesson a month ago?” Back when they’d routed the cats who’d kidnapped Gabby and shot Miles, killing Lex’s younger brother in the process.

“Yeah, but we’re now in the middle of two sets of enemies. Lex, the number one asshole. And Quince, number two. According to Stacey, he’s got a thing for Joy.”

“Oh hell. I like her.”

For the first time, it bothered Dean that Monty didn’t like Stacey.

“Stacey’s not so bad.”

“Not if you’re fucking her,” Monty muttered and ducked the punch Dean couldn’t help throwing. “I’m kidding, I’m kidding. She’s okay, I guess. Just high-maintenance. You sure you know what you’re doing?”

“What do you think? I had to call you out here for pretend repair work. I’m hiking through the woods with a woman who goes on regular spa treatments and considers a long walk a trip to Macy’s make-up counter. And I’m seriously considering staying feline just so I can watch her get naked when she’s tired of going around four-footed.”

Stacey snarled from within the house, her growl low enough to carry.

“Dangerous, that one.” Monty shook his head, and Dean had to agree.

He’d completely lost his ability to reason. He should have been telling Monty to go back and get the pride involved. Dean should have packed Stacey up and gone home. Her brother and sisters should have been forewarned that danger had come. But he wanted to make her happy. He respected her decision to take control of the situation and meet the enemy on her terms…so long as he could keep her safe.

“Dean?”

He shook his head. “Right. So I need you to take word to Burke without letting anyone else know. Stacey said Quince thinks someone’s been watching the pride. They’re reporting back to Lex.”

“So he knows you two are out here.”

“Probably. But another fly-by would give us better information to work with.”

Monty nodded. “I’ll talk to our raptor friends for some intel. Far as I know, there are a few campers in the woods nearby, but not many. All human, no Ac-taw.”

“There’s that at least.”

“But you said Quince has cats in the woods. We haven’t spotted them. And our wolves in the area haven’t smelled them either.”

“Our wolves?”

At Dean’s confusion, Monty explained, “I have a few friends I asked to lend a hand—not just any wolves from the order. We have you covered for a mile in every direction. No way are there Ac-taw nearby, not unless they’re using something to mask their scent.”

“Could be Hunter’s mist. That stuff can knock out scent.”

“Yeah. But where would the cats pick that shit up? Only Hunters carry the stuff.” Monty frowned. Dean knew the wolf had experiences with Hunters he’d never shared. Like the others in the pride, he was dying to know where Monty had been during his years away from Cougar Falls. “Either Quince has connections with Hunters, or he lied and he’s not out here protecting Stacey like he said he would.”

“But we met Jeremy. I tagged him and I scented him. He’s real and not a cat I recognize. He’s got to be from Miami.”

“Could he have belonged to Lex?”

“Who knows? He said he was with Quince. Why lie?”

“Well then, I don’t get it. But I don’t like it either. We need more help on this. Fucking Hunters,” Monty growled.

Stacey pushed her head out the door. Her ears were back, her eyes narrowed. She opened her mouth and licked at the air.

“Get back inside,” Dean snapped, worried, confused and angry, because he had a feeling Stacey had lied to him. And that hurt more than anything.

“I would hope you’d be smart enough to realize you can’t boss me around. You’re not my pride leader. And you’re not my brother.”

She put his back up, no two ways about it. That bitchy tone did its job. He wanted to snap back at her, right after he kissed the condescension off her snotty face.

“Nope,” Monty answered for him. “Not your brother, kitty. Even in a hickville like Cougar Falls, we frown on incest.”

She blinked at him in confusion, and then her ears twitched and her cheeks scrunched, as if they had turned a delightful shade of pink. “Up yours, wolf.”

Monty chuckled again. “Oh yeah, this is gonna be fun. After we deal with this mess, you two are fair game.”

Stacey glared at him. “Now I can see why everyone considers you a pain in the ass.”

“A badge I wear with pride.”

Dean was surprised to sense Stacey’s amusement. The more time he spent really seeing her, the more he realized she wasn’t as stuck up as she appeared. Or as much as she wanted people to think she was.

“Yeah, well. Just be careful. You never know what else is out here in the woods.”

The somberness of her words struck Dean. It struck Monty too, because his eyes narrowed. “Something else you’d like to tell us, Stacey?”

“I just— Hell. Quince told me the reason he really wanted to oust Lex from the pride was because Lex had dealings with Hunters. But he never told me they’d be out here.”

Monty and Dean froze. “Hunters?” Dean asked.

“I don’t know.” She sounded miserable. “Something Jeremy almost said in the cave made me think there might be Hunters nearby. Quince told me I’d be the bait to lure Lex out here. But it’s Saturday afternoon and no sign of Lex or any cats, period. Supposedly Lex’s thugs are south of us, but Quince’s guys should be all over the place. How are we not smelling them?”

“There are a few humans in the area,” Monty said slowly. “Maybe Lex’s real team isn’t Ac-taw at all. His cats south of us could be a distraction.”

“The Hunters could be working for him, close enough to grab her and we’d never know it until it was too late,” Dean murmured.

Monty nodded, his expression grim. “If he’s using Hunters, I need to get us backup right away.”

“But you can’t let them know we’re on to them if the Hunters are for real. Hunters endanger not only Stacey, but the entire town.” Dean shook his head. “Stacey and I will keep them busy out here. Make sure you’re not followed and get us help. Be careful, Monty. With all these invisible players, it’s a nightmare. Whose side they’re on, only they can say.”

Stacey tried to add, “But Quince—”

“Is a dick who used fear to coerce you into doing what he wanted. He should have come to us for help,” Dean said.

“Coerce?” Monty blinked. “Big word, cat.”

“Fuck off and fetch us some help, Scooby.”

“I’m going to Scooby your ass when this is through,” Monty muttered. “I have a bone to pick with Grady for that stupid nickname. Scooby is a damn dog. I’m a wolf.” He put his pistol on the ground before lifting his T-shirt over his head. He toed off his boots and started on the snap of his pants before Dean stopped him.

“Whoa. Hold on.” He didn’t like the fact that Stacey had yet to blink.

“For God’s sake.”

“Wait a minute,” Dean growled. “Stacey, turn around. Do it.”

“This is stupid,” Monty said.

Considering Ac-taw always saw each other in various states of undress, Dean knew his behavior was irrational and territorial, but he couldn’t help himself.

To his vast satisfaction, the stubborn female listened to him. She took her sweet-assed time doing it, but that she turned around at all told him she felt a hell of a lot more for him than lust. She barely took orders from her brother. The sex must have softened her attitude toward him. Good to know.

Monty stripped naked and turned.

Dean waited until Monty had completely shifted. He found Monty’s radio and a collar stuffed into his jeans pocket. He attached the collar to Monty’s neck and strapped the radio to it, wishing he’d had the foresight to have done the same to the radio he’d left in the cave. Then he stashed Monty’s clothes and gun out of sight.

“You get help. Stacey and I will be around. Have one of the raptors close, would you? We’ll use him to keep in touch, since I left the radio behind.”

“Dumbass.” Monty’s tongue rolled out. A large black wolf with threads of gray in his fur and eyes that were Monty’s in wolf form or human, he looked oddly regal, and especially intimidating among other wolves.

“Hey, not my fault.” Dean shot Stacey a glare. “I didn’t know I’d be dealing with Hunters as well as crazy cats from Miami.”

She sat and rumbled an apology. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know either.”

He appreciated her sincerity, but he didn’t like that she hadn’t trusted him enough to tell him of her troubles earlier. They’d have to work on that. He had a few ideas about how to teach the woman to believe in him.

After Monty left, Dean transformed back into his animal spirit. He stretched and dug his claws into the ground, releasing scent. They left the cabin and he raced to a few spots to mark territory, unable to ignore the instinct.

“What are you doing?” Stacey watched with curiosity.

“Staking a claim.” On this land, and on you. He didn’t intend to let her know yet. He had to get past her emotional walls holding him out. Sex was all well and good, but he wanted more from the cocky cat. How much more he didn’t yet know and was afraid to think about, but he’d never let uncertainty stop him before. He’d get her trust, at least, one way or another. One kiss at a time.

Stacey wanted badly to argue with him—about anything—but she feared any animosity would transition into lust on her part. Who knew having sex with Dean Chastell would get her so keyed up? It was as if by giving him access to her body, she’d opened up a locked gate on her emotions. She couldn’t help looking at that charming feline face and feeling all warm and gooey inside. Gooey! Stacey Bermin, a woman who’d denied sultans and movie stars, smitten with a country boy who gave tours to hikers and fishermen for a living.

She glanced at his cat, loving his predatory stillness, the watchful gaze he kept on everything. He had muscle and stamina and a glorious coat covering said strength. Such a beautiful pelt. It just figured he’d be as handsome a cat as he was when a man.

Too bad he had the fashion sense of a lumberjack. Fortunately, the clothes he’d stripped out of at the cave were beyond salvaging—jeans and T-shirts, with the requisite flannel overshirt he’d left at the campsite with their gear. She could have wept. She was dying to put him in an Armani suit. He clearly had the looks and build to carry it off. Hell, she could have paraded him down any runway and watched the dollar signs go up as women bought the clothes, hoping to make their men look half as good as Dean.

“Like what you see?” He winked at her as they walked into the woods once more.

“I’d like it better if you just looked pretty and shut your mouth. Oh wait, where have we heard that before?”

She liked that he laughed. For all that Dean constantly annoyed her, he had a great sense of humor. How many other cats would take her constant bitchiness without either slapping at her or just finally leaving? She’d tried her damnedest, but Dean wouldn’t shake. And now she didn’t know what to do about these weird feelings for him she’d thought she’d buried years ago.

What a stupid time for a crush to grow back.

“Don’t worry, honey. I’ll take care of that sweet need you’ve got for me after we run for a while. Let’s settle in and make sure we’re dealing with nothing more than human campers before we get busy again. What do you say?”

She swiped at him and growled. He narrowly avoided her claws and gnashed his teeth at her.

“Please. Like I’m scared.” She huffed. “It’ll take a tougher cat than you to throw me.”

“I’ll throw you all right.” He mumbled something else she couldn’t make out, and they spent the next few hours giving each other a hard time as they navigated through the woods.

In the form of her animal spirit, Stacey thrived. She liked challenging Dean. They moved in concert, avoiding anything loud while keeping to the shadows of the trees. Birds chirped overhead, warning of their movements, and the rodents and small animals they encountered gave them a wide berth.

They skirted a few families and couples camping, as well as the occasional hiker, but no actual Hunters, that they could tell. They passed the scent of familiar wolves—members of the order, she imagined. But no cats, which she thought strange, especially if Quince had been honest about keeping an eye on her to tag Lex.

“Come on. Let’s take a break.” Dean bounded away from her, and she followed him into the trees. They continued for a ways until they came to a stream. The early evening sunlight filtered through the pines and danced on the rocky ground. She took a long drink of crisp, cold water and lay down.

“I’m hungry.”

“Me too.” Dean sat a few feet from her, his paws out front, his feet tucked in, looking like the Sphinx. “So, Stacey…”

“Yeah?” She waited for another smart-assed comment. From Dean she’d come to expect and even relish them. He didn’t placate her with flattery or try to coerce her into anything. He flat-out insulted her, teased her or said what he thought. Other than family—she didn’t have close friends—she’d never had anyone treat her like a regular person. Even the other Ac-taw in Cougar Falls fell all over themselves trying to please her. The men at least. The women had left her well enough alone, unlike the cats and socialites in Miami, trying to suck up for fashion advice, to grab one of the many men fluttering around her or hoping to borrow money.

“What do you do for fun?”