Gator's Challenge (16 page)

A
s he emerged
from the elevator shaft, it took only a quick glance to see nobody was in sight. Wes immediately sprinted for the hall. How frustrating during the seemingly interminable climb to hear the signs of a fight and yet be so far.

But he’d arrived, and as he bolted toward the corridor past the nurses’ station, he skidded to a halt as he spotted a naked and bloody Melanie racing up the hall, one scaled cub boy on her hip, the other loping on all four, his yellow eyes ablaze.

Behind them galloped a monster. Holy fuck, what was that?

Part bear, part bat, part insanity. Whoever and whatever it was, Wes had to stop it.

“Shoot it!” she screamed.

As if he had a gun hidden on his naked ass. “Get into the elevator shaft. I’ll slow it down.” Because killing a thing that size might prove a little challenging.

Challenge?
His inner beast perked.
We are stronger than Andrew.

This was Andrew? How did his beast know?

As Melanie raced past him, she confirmed it. “Andrew’s taken some kind of drug. Whatever it is, it’s made him hard to hurt. And huge.”

Great. A really big challenge for this gator.

Ready
?

Stupid question. His gator surged forth, pushing Wes out of the way, wanting this fight, wanting to test himself in this battle of will and strength.

At the sight of his gator, a gator that seemed larger than even Wes recalled, the charging monster slowed and halted. At the junction of hall and reception area, Andrew paced, head low to the floor as he circled slowly, his nose twitching as it tested the air.
Snuffle
.
Snort
.
Grunt
.

Wes didn’t know what the monster did, but he also didn’t want to spook it quite yet, so he didn’t move from his spot in front of the elevator shaft. Melanie needed time to get down with her boys to safety. She was going to get that time.

And maybe a new fur rug.

His slitted eyes tracked the mutant bear as it crept closer. The reach on those paws was insane, the clawed tips rendering them even more deadly.

The leathery wings at its back fluttered, but given their stunted size, Wes doubted they provided any real use.

He heard excited yells from the shaft at his back. The echo moving upwards from some place low. Melanie and the boys made good time in their descent.

They’re safe.

Time for him to deal with Andrew and then join them.

Wes opened his mouth wide in invitation. Then clacked it shut. Snap. The message was clear.
Come and get me, asshole.

Andrew lunged, but Wes was ready for it. He scuttled to the side and whipped around, jaws chomping at a hairy hindquarter. A major roar erupted as he scored a bite.

Wes sidestepped as Andrew whirled and slammed a fist down. Smash. Smash. Left fist, right fist. Both cracking tile.

Before Andrew could pull upright, Wes darted in and grabbed hold of Andrew’s wrist. He locked his teeth around it and tried not to gag on the hairball in his mouth. Ugh.

A normal creature would have freaked and tried to pull free. Normal being the key word. Andrew was way past that point, and he proved freakishly strong. The Andrew monster lifted his arm and dangled fucking Wes from it. Shook him, too.

You are not getting rid of me that easily.
Wes held on tight, even when he got slammed into the wall alongside the elevator shaft.

That smarted.

So he bit harder, feeling sinew and flesh tearing, the acrid blood of his enemy coating his tongue. Revolting and definitely not the yummy flavor of something freshly hunted. The blood tasted wrong, and that was the reason why Wes finally relinquished his grip. He wanted to spit the foulness from his mouth. Needed to rid himself of the vile taint that numbed his tongue.

Andrew took it as a sign he won. The mutant freak pounded his chest and roared. Enamored of his supposed superiority, Andrew never looked down. Never saw Melanie as she reached from the elevator shaft and grabbed his leg for a yank.

She didn’t have enough weight to make it work, and before Andrew could react, Wes propelled himself forward as fast as he could.

Smack. He plowed into Andrew’s hairy legs, and the teeter turned into a totter, and then gravity gave them a hand.

Down the shaft Andrew fell, bellowing, his stunted wings flapping, arms and legs pedaling. None of it helped.

Thunk
.

The sound of Andrew’s body hitting the elevator roof made the whole shaft tremble.

Speaking of tremble, he could see Melanie’s arms shook where she held on to the lip of the door. Quickly, Wes shifted shapes, determined to grab her. A quick roll on the floor and he snagged her wrists before she went elevator shaft diving.

Their eyes met.

“Hi,” she said.

Happiness at her safety flooded him, but the only thing he could think of saying was, “You were supposed to escape with your boys.”

“Daryl has them.”

“And he let you come back?”

“In his defense, I didn’t tell him I was. They were all kind of distracted by the helicopter outside filming them.”

Shit. The news chopper. Not good. Not good at all. “We need to get out of here before that news clips hits the air.”

“Then what are you waiting for?” She smirked.

“For you to move that sweet ass out of the way.”

In the end, he helped her with that ass, her adrenaline finally having peaked during the battle. She clung to him, arms and legs wrapped around his body as he clambered down.

As he neared the bottom, they couldn’t help but note the body atop the elevator, a body now shrunken and pink skinned again. The body also wasn’t quite dead. The chest rose and fell, and a wheezing rattle whistled through Andrew’s lips.

As Melanie and Wes hopped onto the roof of the elevator cab, Andrew opened bloodshot eyes. “Fucking bitch. I should have killed you when I had the chance.”

“That would have taken balls.” Melanie glanced at Andrew’s groin. “And we both know how lacking you are in that department.”

“My father will kill you for this.”

“Your father hasn’t been seen in days,” Wes reminded. “He knew the end was coming and got out.”

“Liar.”

“Doesn’t really matter, does it?” Wes crouched down on one knee. “You’ll be dead in a matter of minutes. You lost.”

A chuckle rattled from Andrew’s broken body. “Did I really lose? My legacy will live on in my creations. Even you can’t escape the taint, gator. It runs in your veins now and in that of your sons.”

Wes assumed Andrew spoke to Melanie, and yet why did the man never break their stare?

“Stupid fucking gator. You still don’t get it, do you?” Andrew’s attempt at another chuckle turned into a wet cough. Blood filmed his lips. “The boys are yours. And you never even knew it.”

With that final shocker, Andrew died, his eyes staring sightlessly above.

Wes might have died a little in that moment, too.

Holy fuck, I’m a dad.

Snap. His chin hit the top of the elevator as he slumped forward.

W
hat’s wrong with Wes
?
A flutter of panic swept Melanie as Wes keeled forward moments after the news he was actually the father of the twins.

Mine and Wes’s. How could I have not guessed?
Then again, why would Melanie ever have thought them anything other than Andrew’s, given the elaborate hoax her supposed husband perpetrated all those years.

If Andrew wasn’t already dead, she’d kill him again.

Or maybe she should thank him. At least her sons wouldn’t have to grow up thinking their dad was a psychotic murderer. Now they could have a dad who was just a psychotic gator.

The mind-blowing reality would have to wait, though. Something ailed Wes. He’d yet to move since he’d plunked face-first.

Please let him be okay.
She sank beside him on her bare knees and turned him over to check him for signs of injury. She didn’t see any obvious wounds, only a few bruises and scratches. Had someone poisoned him? Those crazy doctors were pretty liberal with their use of drugs and needles.

She cupped his cheeks, reassured that he at least breathed. “Wes! Wes!”

As she shouted his name, his eyes fluttered open, the ridiculously long lashes framing them so beautifully. “Angel? Is that really you? Am I in heaven?”

“No, you idiot. You’re still on the elevator giving me a scare. What’s wrong with you?” Please let it be something not fatal. She didn’t think she could handle losing Wes again.

“I’m a daddy,” he uttered with incredulity.

She blinked at his words. “Yeah. You’re a daddy. To twins terrors, I might add. But I asked you what’s wrong with you.”

He repeated himself. “Fuck me, I’m a daddy.” With that, he closed his eyes again.

He’s freaking out because he’s a father?
She gaped at him. She also slapped him.

That got him wide-awake and glaring. “What did you do that for?”

“You’re a daddy. Get over it. No need to go all fainting princess on me.”

“I am not fainting. I am merely resting my eyes and processing events.”

“Well, process them later. Weren’t you the one saying we had to get out of here? I’m expecting the cops will show anytime now. I don’t know about you, but I’d rather not explain why I’m naked and covered in blood.”

“There’s no way we’re going to be able to keep this hidden,” he said, scrambling to his feet. “If they even taped half of what happened, there are going to be questions. Lots of them.”

She couldn’t help but agree. “The kitty is out of the bag, and I don’t think there’s any hope of stuffing it back in. But that doesn’t mean we should stick around and wait for shit to happen. I, for one, don’t want to get stuffed back into another cage.”

“Good point. Let’s get out of here.”

She could have snorted as he suddenly went from Mr. Limp Noodle to Mr. Decisive. Wes shoved Andrew’s body to the side, away from the opening. He leaped down first, took a peek, declared, “All clear,” and then held up his arms for her.

Unnecessary. She could have jumped down on her own, but she did appreciate the gesture.

His callused hands caught her around the waist as she hopped down through the opening. He lowered her slowly, letting her body rub against his during the descent. She couldn’t help a shiver of desire. Nothing like skin-to-skin touch to remind her she lived.

Wes clutched her close and buried his face in her messy hair. “Is it wrong to want to hold you forever and keep you safe?”

Not wrong, and it did all kinds of crazy things to her heart. She hugged him. “Let’s plan on hugging like this again later. Naked. If you’re good,” she teased, and that was if they got out of here. Let her promise be the incentive he needed to get them to safety because, even with Andrew dead, they weren’t out of the woods and safe in the bayou yet.

Emerging from the elevator, she noted a large sports utility vehicle out front. Her brother leaned against it, wearing only track pants while talking to another big guy, also only in pants. Being raised as a shifter meant she knew not to stare at all the bare flesh, and they extended the same courtesy. She exited and caught the T-shirt he tossed at her.

“Where are the boys?” she asked as she tugged the fabric over her head.

“Safe thanks to their most excellent uncle.” Daryl growled. “What happened to stay put, don’t move? I turned my back for one freaking second and you were gone.”

“Wes needed me.”

“Did not,” Wes refuted. “I had things perfectly under control.”

“Whatever.”

Daryl clapped his hands. “Argue about it later and get in the truck. We’re about to have company. Someone called in the media and the cops and anyone else who ever wanted to join a three-ring fucking circus.”

“I can’t leave without my sister or brother,” Wes announced, yanking on a pair of gray track pants.

“Where are they?”

Just as Wes pointed to the building housing Parker, an explosion trembled the ground underfoot and the windows blew out. Smoke immediately followed, as did more explosions as, one by one, the buildings imploded.

“Move!” Daryl yelled, shoving her toward the truck.

She understood his haste. If someone had set off bombs to get rid of evidence, then the medical institute would probably go next.

Sliding into the backseat of the truck, she didn’t make it far before little arms, poking from oversized shirts, grabbed at her.

“Mama!” the twins yelled, crushing her in their exuberance. She loved it and squished them right back.

My boys. They’re safe.
Tears pricked at her eyes.

“Move over, angel. Make room.” Wes climbed into the back seat with them, and he’d no sooner shut the door when the SUV sped off, Daryl in the passenger seat, a stranger at the wheel. Just in time, too. The biggest explosion of all made the whole world vibrate, and something hit the top of the truck hard enough to leave a dent.

“Fuck me, that was close,” Daryl exclaimed.

“Yup,” said the fellow behind the wheel.

“Who are you?” Wes asked, grabbing the T-shirt Daryl handed him from the bag he pulled it from in the front.

“Our driver is Boris,” said her brother. “Dude with the big rack.” To which Boris grunted.

“Thanks for coming out.”

Melanie could have screamed at the polite exchange. “Say thank you later. I want to know what’s happening.”

“What’s happening is the end of shifter civilization as we know it,” Daryl announced.

“What do you mean the end?” she asked, and Daryl hesitated as he shot Wes a look.

Her brother sighed. “You want to explain it, or shall I?”

“I’ll do it.” Wes angled his head to face her. “Remember, angel, how we talked in the elevator shaft about how the cat’s out of the bag? When Daryl says it’s the end, what he means is our old lives are gone. We can’t go back to Bitten Point, angel. None of us. What just happened back there? It’s not going to get swept under a rug or ignored. People filmed us. Hell, we’re probably being followed right now.”

The warning saw her hugging the twins tighter. “So, what do you think is going to happen? Are we going to get hunted down?” Treated like animals instead of people?

His expression bleak, Wes shrugged. “Maybe. Depends what kind of spin the press puts on our existence.”

“Where are we supposed to go?”

It was her boys who answered, “On an adventure.”

Their optimism put some things in perspective.

I’m alive. They’re alive.
They might not be one hundred percent normal, but they were her babies.
Mine and Wes’s.

In a day filled with danger and surprises and death, it turned out the boys hadn’t lost a daddy. They might have gained a real one.

If a certain gator was up to the challenge.

She didn’t get to talk to Wes until after the boys were tucked into a motel bed, exhausted by their ordeal. She slipped through the connecting door, shutting it softly, to find a freshly showered Wes watching the television. His face was grim.

“How bad is it?” she asked.

“Take a look.” He gestured to the screen, and she couldn’t help but wince at the footage being shown. Animals tearing into each other. Men shooting beasts. Men shifting into animals. Then back. She could only watch in stunned silence.

Even over the stutter of the helicopter blades, she could hear the sounds of screaming, guns firing, and animals snarling. It sounded like a full-on war. And, in a sense, it was. A war to free themselves from the tyranny of a few who thought they should change the status quo. But what would the humans see? Think?

They will see us as monsters.
Shiver.

As if sensing her turmoil, Wes wrapped an arm around her and hugged her close. “No shoving it back into a closet now. For better or worse, shifters have been outed.”

“Are we okay for tonight?”

“More than okay. I’ve yet to hear anyone make the connection to Bitten Point yet. Some of those who didn’t budge from town say no one’s come around. Whatever things Parker and Andrew did to set up the company didn’t leave a trail, and your brother and the others made sure to obscure license plates before the invasion.”

“Does this mean we can go back home?”

“Maybe. I’ll know more in the morning. We can decide then.”

She ran a finger down his chest. “We?”

He caught her finger and held it. “Angel, I—”

Stupid man thought he was going to talk, and not to say the right things, judging by the serious look on his face. She wasn’t about to let him ruin what they had, not this time.

She put her finger against his lips. “Shh.” She replaced that finger with her lips, brushing them against his.

He held himself stiff at first, but she knew his weak points.
I am his weak point.

She murmured, “Kiss me. Make love to me. Touch me, Wes. I want to feel alive.”

What man could resist that plea? Wes didn’t even try. With a groan of surrender, he tumbled them back on the bed, his lips taking aggressive control of her mouth. Commanding her lips to open. Dueling with her tongue for dominance.

How she loved this side of him. All man.
All mine.

It was past time she showed him he wasn’t the only one with a need to taste things. She pushed him onto his back and straddled him.

His big hands spanned her waist, and his heavy-lidded eyes perused her. “You are so beautiful,” he murmured.

“And you’re obviously still under the influence of drugs. My hair is a mess, I’m wearing a man’s T-shirt, and I haven’t managed to shave any important bits in days.”

His lips quirked. “And yet, you’ve never looked sexier.”

He drew her down for a kiss, a slow, sensual teasing embrace that had her fingers digging into his chest and her sex heating. She squirmed atop him, feeling the hard ridge of his erection beneath the fabric of his pants.

Pushing away from him, she sat up and gripped the hem of her shirt. She yanked it over her head, baring herself to his view, wondering if he would care that her breasts hung a little heavier and that her curves were a little more pronounced.

“Fuck me, angel,” he breathed, the reverence in his tone clear, but even more telling, in the thickening and pulsing of the cock underneath her.

He likes what he sees.

Nothing like a man’s admiration to make a woman want to preen and purr. She arched her back. “Wanna taste?”

With one arm anchored around her waist, he sat up while, at the same time, leaning her back to give him the right angle to tug a nipple into his mouth.

Sweet heaven. The molten tug of his mouth against her nub made her pussy clench. It felt so damned good. He sucked her nipple into his mouth, swirling his tongue around it.

She might have whimpered when he let go, but then she moaned as he grasped the other nipple with his lips and gave it the same torturous attention.

Yes!

He spent a few minutes playing with her breasts, teasing them in turn until she panted and squirmed atop him.

But he wasn’t the only one who wanted to play.

She shoved him back down and ordered him to, “Lace your hands behind your head.” Her turn to lick something.

Getting to her knees, she crawled backwards, letting her lips tease the taut flesh of his chest, moving lower and lower until she reached the waistband of his pants. Her teeth grabbed the material and tugged. Tugged and got caught on his erect cock.

Grrr
. Yeah, she growled with impatience as her fingers had to tug the fabric over his erect shaft. Freed, his dick bobbed upright, long, thick, and oh so yummy looking.

She gripped it, and he hissed. She shot him a warning stare. “Don’t move those hands.”

He growled back.

Her laughter vibrated his cock as she took him into her mouth. Mmm. The salty drop at the top flavored the big bite. How she loved the feel of him in her mouth. She worked her lips up and down the length of him, tasting every inch, loving how he pulsed at her sucking. How his breathing came harshly at her bobs up and down.

But as much as she wanted to taste all of him, she needed him inside her tonight. Needed that close connection she felt with Wes every time their bodies joined so intimately.

It took only a little maneuvering to position her over his cock. She lowered herself slowly onto it, head thrown back as she took him deep, deeper, until all of him was buried.

Slowly, she rotated her hips, grinding herself on him, pushing until the tip of him hit that sweet spot inside.

He helped her find that rhythm, his hands on her hips, the firm feel of them on her skin so nice. Together they rocked, her pleasure coiling tighter and tighter until, with a scream she had to muffle, with a bite to her lip, she came. The pleasure rolled through her, leaving her limp, so limp she collapsed on his chest.

But Wes held back. He didn’t come. He rolled them until she was under him, flat on her stomach. He yanked her ass into the air, exposing her to his view. She clutched at the comforter as he entered her slowly from behind.

Inch. Another inch. A slow, torturous invasion. She could have screamed as her still pulsing flesh stretched to accommodate him once again. Only once he was fully seated did he stop being so damned gentle.