The Lynx Who Claimed the Sun (12 page)

After that, Corbin’s mother didn’t protest further. She seemed to have forgotten about Corbin and Preston altogether. For that reason, Corbin was glad when they reached the main building and found his dad waiting, with Skylar by his side.

“Bella, how nice of you to join us,” Garth said.

Skylar and Byron exchanged a look Corbin didn’t really understand, and then Byron averted his gaze. Skylar took Corbin and Preston’s hands and began to usher them away. “Let’s go, boys. Your parents need to talk now.”

Corbin went without comment. He still felt odd about participating in his mom’s capture, but remembering the evil way she’d boasted about hurting Nicolas made him feel better. He only hoped that she did indeed know something and the hummingbird would be returned to them soon.

* * * *

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Garth entered his office, with his friend dragging Bella along behind him. As the door closed, ensuring their privacy, Garth grabbed her by the shoulders and stared into her eyes. “Where is Nico? What have you done to him?”

“I haven’t done anything to your whore,” Bella spat back.

Garth wondered how he could force her to tell him what she knew. He didn’t have to come up with any plan. Byron helped him out.

“Just tell the truth.” Shivers went down Garth’s spine at Byron’s tone. “We wouldn’t want your children to hear you screaming.”

It was always a wonder to hear Byron speak like that. The shark had never used that tone on Garth, and yet, he still wanted to expose his neck and do whatever Byron asked him to. It was almost like a hypnotizing force that only Byron had.

Predictably, Bella wasn’t immune. “I–I didn’t do anything. It was…the hummingbirds.”

“The hummingbirds,” Byron repeated. “Which ones? Who?”

Bella took a deep breath. “Remember my sister? Well, she had a boyfriend, an ocelot living in Mexico. I went there to visit her and ran straight into a guerilla war. Oddly, the hummingbirds were winning, and I ended up a captive.

“I’d randomly told my sister you’d hooked up with a hummingbird named Nicolas, and when we were caught, they found out. They started asking questions. I was afraid. I had to tell them everything I knew about Nicolas and his friends.”

She stopped, as if having trouble speaking. “What else?” Garth prodded.

“They came here and brought me along. They had me contact the kids to make Nicolas’s life difficult.” She shrugged. “It was no hardship to me. I didn’t know what they wanted with him, but I figured they’d eventually go away once they were done with Nicolas.

Then, one day, they just left. I’m guessing they took your little whore with them.”

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“I need names, places. Where were you exactly? Who did you talk to?”

“I never heard family names. There was a woman named Valentina and a man with her. He was the one who mentioned her name while I was present. They didn’t introduce themselves or anything like that.” She paused, as if deep in thought. “They kept referring to Nicolas as Nico-Chi. As for the place, I can draw you a map if you like. I don’t think the ocelots will be very helpful, but they hate the hummingbirds, so they might point you in the right direction, anyway.”

“In the rainforest, then.” God, Garth had been so close to his mate and failed in finding him. “Hurry up and draw the map. We leave tonight.”

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The jungle was hot and oppressive around Garth. He wiped his brow with a cloth, wishing he could simply change in his second form and be done with it. His beast wouldn’t feel much more comfortable in this environment, but at least he’d release some of the tension inside him.

Of course, he couldn’t shift, for two reasons. The first one was that he needed to carry his backpack of supplies and he would never be able to do that in lynx form. More importantly, their ocelot guide was already very jumpy around Garth and his company. Like Bella had said, the ocelots weren’t very welcoming or open to strangers, but some coaxing from Byron’s part led them to agree to supply them with a guide up to the borders with the hummingbirds’ lands. From there, they were on their own, since the ocelots didn’t know what lay beyond those borders, either.

In spite of the fact that he didn’t have his mate’s exact location, Garth still felt a bit optimistic about this. He could sense that with every step he grew closer and closer to Nicolas. The rainforest was, indeed, labyrinthine, and he’d never have found his way on his own, but with the help of the ocelot guide, they were getting there.

Several hanging plants tried to stop their progress, but Garth and his party removed them with their sharp machetes. The insects were harder to dissuade. However, shape-shifters didn’t much care about bug bites beyond the fact they were annoying. No animals made their appearance, and slowly but surely, the group progressed through the wet jungle.

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At last, the ocelot guide stopped. “I’m not going any further,” he said in broken English. “This land is unmapped by my people.”

“All right,” Garth replied. “Thank you. Let’s go, everyone.”

They left the ocelot behind and began to advance on their own.

Everyone was silent, aware of the high stakes of their expedition. At one point, Brody, Soren, and Liam made their way to Garth’s side. “I think I noticed something in the trees,” Brody whispered.

“The hummingbirds,” Liam added.

Garth gave the werewolves a barely perceivable nod. He’d noticed it, too. They were being watched. The hummingbirds were remarkably well camouflaged, but while they could trick Garth’s sight, his other senses told him where his enemies were. Still, he felt a touch reassured that the werewolves had realized it as well. He was glad they’d insisted on coming along. Nicolas meant a lot to all of them, and Garth trusted that with the help of their friends, he’d be able to recover his mate.

They kept on walking, pretending to be unaware of the hummingbirds’ scrutiny. With every second that passed, Garth got more and more nervous. What were they waiting for? Why weren’t they attacking?

All of a sudden, Garth froze in his tracks. He shared a look with the werewolves, who looked just as apprehensive as he felt. Secure in his knowledge that something was wrong, Garth knelt in the grass, grabbed a nearby twig, and tossed it in front of him. Hundreds of arrows clouded the sky and spikes shot from the trees. Had they not felt the traps, they would have been killed.

He wasn’t really surprised about the presence of the traps. The ocelots had mentioned the practice was quite common in the area.

Their guide had taken them around the ones placed by ocelots, but had pointed out other shape-shifters used them as well, including the hummingbirds.

With the traps disarmed, their enemies saw no reason to remain in the shadows. Garth and his friends ducked as bullets swept over their
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position. They managed to find refuge in the heavy foliage. Without waiting for one single moment, Garth dumped his pack and his clothes and changed into his feline form. He had guns with him, of course, but the rainforest was the turf of the beast. He could fight better in this shape.

He knew the hummingbirds would be used to striking back against felines and other carnivores, but the silent ferocity with which they did so still surprised him. They were protecting something or someone, he realized as he dodged an expertly thrown dagger.

Decision coursed through him. These warriors might be entirely justified in guarding their land, but Garth couldn’t care less. He wanted to get his mate back, and he would go through anything or anyone to do so.

His body went into battle mode, and he shut down his emotions, much like he’d been doing these past weeks to simply survive. He climbed into the trees where their attackers were hiding and leaped toward his opponent. They went down through the vegetation and hit the ground, with Garth on top of the hummingbird. The man seemed dazed at the counterattack—the ocelots must have a different style of fighting—and Garth took advantage of the fact. He shifted back into his human form and with a few well-applied punches, knocked the other man out.

All around him, there were other people fighting. Chaos reigned for a few moments until at last Byron took control of the situation.

“Stop!” he shouted.

Everybody froze. The air became charged with electricity. Byron looked angry, angrier than Garth had ever seen him. “You will show us where Nicolas Shields is,” he said, his voice strikingly calm. He picked up one of the hummingbirds and gave the man a penetrating look. “Won’t you?”

To his credit, the man didn’t immediately reply. When Byron shook him, the hummingbird seemed to snap out of his daze. “I’m not
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afraid to die, monster,” he told Byron. “I will go like a warrior, not a traitor.”

Garth was disturbed by the words. He could hear the fanaticism behind them, as well as the disdain. The word traitor unsettled Garth greatly, since he had the impression the hummingbird was referring to a specific person, most likely Nicolas.

Byron didn’t look put out by it, though. He seemed to make a decision, and all of a sudden, he allowed his power to flow over them.

It threatened to choke Garth, even more so than when Byron had done similar things in the past. He now knew that his friend had never truly shown the full extent of his abilities. In all his time with the Cunningham family, Garth had never figured out why Byron’s power was so much greater than that of Heathcliff or any other shifter he’d encountered. It was a mystery, a secret everyone seemed to fear.

Right then and there, Garth could understand why.

The hummingbird went ashen and started rambling in his own language. Garth didn’t understand much, but he thought the man had started to address Byron as Huitzilopochtli. Byron took it all in stride and repeated his question regarding Nicolas’s location.

This time, the hummingbird was much more receptive. “Of course,” he said. “We realize you probably wanted him earlier, but he fled and we only found him now.”

Byron didn’t comment, maintaining a somber silence. Garth wisely kept his mouth shut as well. It was only when the hummingbird spoke again that he could not manage to remain quiet.

“We will send a message ahead to get him ready for you,” the helpful man said.

“No!” Garth shouted. When the hummingbird gave him an alarmed look, he hastily added, “He is not to be touched by anyone else than our lord.”

Byron’s lips twisted into a barely visible smile, but it disappeared at once. “It’s not necessary,” he said. “Just take us there.”

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Thankfully, the hummingbird group obeyed and nothing more was said. Those who’d shifted during the battle, including Garth, retrieved new outfits from their packs and dressed. They started walking once more, this time following their unlikely guides. It was only at that moment that Garth finally took in the peculiarity of their appearance.

All of them, with no exception, had huge noses.

Garth wondered if this was something typical to hummingbirds.

Once again, he wished he’d been able to find shifters of this species in Los Angeles. Other than what he saw here, he had no standard of comparison. But if he judged by this group, Nicolas, with his cute button nose, was obviously the odd one out. Could he have been persecuted because of this difference?

It was entirely possible and not unusual among shape-shifters, or humans for that matter. Those who were different were always treated like crap. To a certain extent, Garth himself had suffered from this, being at the receiving end of many insults from other felines. But he’d had his kits and many friends to help him out. Nicolas obviously hadn’t been so lucky.

At this point, Garth couldn’t fix the past. He only hoped they would reach their destination before it was too late.

* * * *

Garth pressed his lips to Nicolas’s, groaning lightly as their
mouths made contact. “Love, you taste so good…”

Nicolas wrapped his arms around Garth, pulling his lover closer.

The feel of Garth’s erection against his ass aroused him beyond
measure. He wanted to feel the lynx’s prick invade him, to have that
delicious length breech his ass. God, only Garth could make him feel
like that, like he was in the center of the sun, showered by the warm
rays. He burned inside out from the heat of Garth’s passion.

Garth lifted Nicolas in his lap, and as the lynx’s hands travelled
over his naked skin, Nicolas buried his face in the other man’s neck,
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breathing in the deep scent of man and power. It was something he
valued more than anything, that unique aroma. He’d never
experienced lovemaking through all of his senses, and it made him
drunk with anticipation.

Garth kneaded Nicolas’s naked buttocks, his strong fingers
reaching between the ass cheeks and to Nicolas’s fluttering hole. As
one dry digit rubbed against the opening, Nicolas gasped and pushed
himself down in a futile attempt to take it in.

Garth tsked and kissed the hollow of Nicolas’s neck, a
particularly sensitive spot. “Be patient, love,” the lynx murmured
against his skin.

Garth flipped him on all fours, and Nicolas accepted his mate’s
desires, positioning himself to receive Garth’s cock. He wiggled his
ass, wordlessly demanding what he needed, what they both needed.

For his effort, he got a slap across his ass.

Oddly, it didn’t hurt. Instead, the pain pooled straight into his
prick, making him want Garth even more. A cry-chirp escaped
Nicolas, and he couldn’t help but beg, “Please, Garth.”

Once more, his mate spread his ass cheeks, but this time, it wasn’t
a finger that teased Nicolas’s hole. Instead, Garth’s feline, raspy
tongue swept over his crease. The sinful caress almost triggered his
orgasm. It felt so good to have Garth’s mouth exploring his innermost
recesses. When Garth touched him like this, he wasn’t afraid of
anything anymore. He truly felt that he’d given Garth every inch of
his body, and his soul and mind wouldn’t delay in following. It
comforted him, because he wanted to share every secret he had with
Garth, to tell the lynx how much love existed within him.