Sherrilyn Kenyon: Bad Moon Rising

It was a harsh world they lived in and only the strongest of their species survived. If they couldn’t fight and blend in with the humans, they were dead anyway. No need in wasting their precious resources on creatures who couldn’t defend the pack.

Vane glanced over to Fang as if waiting for him to say something nasty to Keegan. Normally Fang would have some smart-ass comment about the pup, but he was just too tired to bother.

“What’s taking so long?” Fury paused beside Fang, chafing at his delay. Not quite as tall as Fang, Fury was lean and vicious. With turquoise eyes, Fury had sharp features and everything about the wolf made Fang’s hackles rise. His long white-blond hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail.

Slinging the backpack over one shoulder, Fang raked him with a sneer that said what he thought about the wolf-not much. “Locking down my bike, asshole. You want I should lock it to you so that I know it’ll be here when I come back?”

Fury’s pupils narrowed. “I’d like to see you try.”

Before Fang could lunge at him, Liam, Keegan’s much older brother, was between them. “Down, wolves.”

In true wolf form, Fang bared his teeth at Fury, who returned the gesture. At Liam’s insistence, Fury moved past him while the eight other wolves crossed the street.

He and Vane pulled up the rear.

Fang indicated Fury with a jerk of his chin. “I really hate that bastard.”

“Don’t kill him yet. He has his uses.”

Maybe. But not enough of them that Fang wouldn’t rejoice to mount Fury’s hide to his wall. Not that he had a wall, but if he did, Fury would make a nice hairy decoration.

Fang turned his attention to his brother who was about an inch shorter-Fury’s height. “So why are we really here? We could have trained the pups in camp.”

Vane shrugged. “Markus wanted us to register with the bears. Since we have so many burdened females, we might need the help of their doctor.”

Yeah, their sister Anya and half a dozen other females would give birth at any minute. Markus, the unwilling sperm donor for the three of them, had also wanted his “sons” out of his sight. Which was fine with Fang. He wasn’t exactly fond of the old fart either. He would have already challenged him for leadership, but Vane and Anya kept pulling him back.

Since Vane was an Arcadian hiding in the midst of their Katagaria pack, the last thing they needed was Fang to be leader. That would lead to uncomfortable questions such as why Vane, his elder littermate who was their father’s heir apparent and one they all knew had more magick strength than Fang did, wasn’t the one fighting for leadership. But Vane could never do that. Because pain tended to make them involuntarily shift into their base forms, they couldn’t risk Vane accidentally turning human in a fight.

It was why Fang had stayed up all night. Unconscious and badly wounded, Vane had been forced to sleep as a human. Their pack would kill his brother if any of them ever suspected Vane’s true base form.

Yawning, Fang caught up to the pack that’d been stopped at Sanctuary’s door by the club’s bouncer. Bulkier than the wolves, the bear had long curly blond hair and wore a black T-shirt with the Sanctuary logo on it that was partially covered by a worn black leather jacket.

His blue eyes carefully scrutinized them. “Pack?”

Vane stepped forward. “Kattalakis Grand Regis Lykos… Katagaria.”

The bear arched his brow as if impressed with their pedigree. Grand Regis meant that their father had a seat on the Omegrion-the council that oversaw and made the laws that governed all Were-Hunters. Since there were only twenty-three members (twenty-four originally, but one species had gone extinct), it was impressive to be one of them. “Any among you bearing the Kattalakis name?”

“Me and my brother.” Vane indicated Fang.

The bear nodded as he folded his arms over his chest and took on a tough stance. “We’re Peltiers. I’m Dev-one of a set of identical quadruplets so no, you’re not seeing double or triple inside-and stay clear of the one who looks like me dressed completely in black-Remi’s an irritable SOB. My mother, Nicolette, is the Katagaria Grand Regis Ursulan-so don’t start no shit, won’t be no shit. Quick rule rundown. No fighting, no biting, no magick. You break the rules, we break body parts and you’re banned from here… if you survive.” He passed a meaningful stare to the pups. “In short, come in peace or leave in pieces. You got it?”

Fang raised his hand to flip him off, but Vane caught his wrist before he could.

“We understand.”

Hissing from the burn Vane was putting on him, Fang twisted out of his brother’s grasp.

Vane glared at him. Keep your mouth shut and your gestures to yourself , he mentally projected to him.

I don’t take orders from bears .

No, but you take them from me. Behave, Fang, or I’ll kick your ass back to the Stone Age . Vane grabbed the sleeve of his jacket and dragged him into the bar.

Fang shoved him away. Unless he took him down with magick, Vane was nowhere near as strong as he was. “I’m not your bitch, boy.”

Vane turned on him with a look that said he was one step away from taking his best shot. “Then do it for Anya. We might need them to help us if she has problems with her litter.”

That was a low blow and it was the one thing Vane knew he wouldn’t fight against. Anya was their lifeblood. For her, they’d do anything.

“Fine. I’m just irritable from lack of sleep.”

“Why didn’t you sleep?”

I was protecting you… . Some of the wolves had been on the prowl last night and Fang had feared them stumbling over Vane’s position while he healed from his wounds and slept. So he’d stayed up to make sure Vane’s injured scent and den went undiscovered.

But he would never tell his brother the truth. It would shame Vane to think his younger brother had protected him. “I don’t know. I just couldn’t.”

“So who was she?”

Fang rolled his eyes. “Why do you assume it was a female?”

Vane held his hands up. “Didn’t know you were fond of men. I’ll file that under my special Fang folder.”

Ignoring him, Fang glanced around the infamous dark club that wasn’t overly crowded in the late afternoon. A few humans sat at tables while more played pool and video games in the back. An empty dance area was set before a stage with the name Howlers spray-painted in dark blue and white on the back wall.

Craig and Keegan pulled three tables together in a corner to accommodate the ten of them. Some of the humans eyed them nervously which Fang found hysterical, especially the woman who put her purse in her lap as they passed. Like a wolf needed money. But then, they were a rough-looking bunch. Decked out in biker leathers, each of them was ready to fight if they had to.

The only one of them even remotely clean-cut was Vane, who wore jeans with a brown leather jacket and a dark red T-shirt. That being said, he had the longest hair of any of them. But with it pulled back into a ponytail and with a clean shave, he was passable. The rest of them looked like the feral beasts they were.

Fang dropped his backpack on the floor and took a seat to stretch out his long legs. Leaning against the wall, he adjusted his sunglasses and closed his eyes to catch a combat “nap” while they shot the crap among themselves. If he could just have ten uninterrupted minutes to sit and think about nothing, he’d be a new wolf…

T here’s a pack of wolves who just came in.”

Her stomach sliding into her stomach, Aimee Peltier glanced up from the ledger where she was going over new orders. Their mother, Nicolette Peltier, froze at Dev’s dry declaration.