Dana Bell - Cynful

He screeched to a stop right outside of Living Art Tattoos, just remembering to turn off the engine before he was out of the car, Micah hot on his heels.

“Are you going to tell me what’s going on?”

Julian ripped open the door to LA, ignoring the startled look on Cyn’s face. “I think your father is trying to kill my mate.”

Cyn damn near jumped out of her skin as Julian raced into the shop, a strange man hot on his heels. She crouched, her claws extended, ready to defend her mate from danger. Julian shouldn’t even be out of bed, let alone running anywhere. The doctors still hadn’t cleared him to do anything more strenuous than eat a sandwich and pee.

In two strides Julian had her in his arms, his face buried in her hair. “You’re all right.”

She allowed her claws and fangs to recede. Julian would never hug her in front of a dangerous stranger. “Jules?” He was shaking like a leaf. She tugged on his braid, stroking his back when he shuddered. “What’s wrong?”

The relief in his silver gaze was overwhelming. “Nothing, I just had a bad feeling.”

Cyn froze. Tabby had once told her that Julian’s bad feelings were almost as good as a prophecy. Something was about to go down, and her mate was smack dab in the middle of it. Without letting go of Julian, she pointed toward the stranger. “Does he have anything to do with it?”

Julian loosened his hold on her and turned to look at the stranger, keeping one arm around her waist. “Yes, but not the way you think.” He nodded toward the stranger, but she could tell Julian was uneasy around him. “This is Micah Boyd, Alpha of the Marietta Pack.” Julian tugged on the end of his braid. “He’s here to hunt down his Outcast father.”

She absolutely hated it when Julian lied to her. “Sure he is.”

“His father, Dennis, is the one who Outcast Tabby. One of Micah’s first acts as the new Alpha was to Outcast him. He’s been gone from Marietta for two years now. He also wants to reinstate Tabby’s position in her birth Pack.”

Tabby had told her a long time ago that Outcasting was a huge deal to Packs and Prides. She remembered Tabby’s constant skittishness, her fear that Max would drive her from Halle without any warning, simply because he could. An Outcast had no one they could rely on, nowhere they could turn to for help. Outcasting was supposed to be used for those who committed a crime against Pack or Pride, but Alpha Boyd had used it to hurt a little teenaged girl who’d never done anything wrong other than dare to be different. Tabby still carried the emotional scars of having lived her life in her Wolf form for eight years. Only now that she’d been accepted into both the Halle Pride and the Poconos Pack did she finally feel she had a safe harbor. “You think your father is capable of seeking revenge?”

“I wouldn’t put it past him.” Micah was staring at them, looking utterly confused. “Can someone please tell me what the hell is going on?”

“Someone’s been trying to kill us.” Cyn didn’t see any reason to beat around the bush. If it really was his father doing these things, Micah deserved a shot at him. “One of Max’s Pumas has already died.” She still felt guilty as hell over losing Marie, even though there was nothing she could have done to save her. It was stupid, but that didn’t stop her from wanting a do-over. If she hadn’t gone to give Marie the earring, perhaps Marie would have survived.

“Why would my father be trying to kill you? If he was going to go after anyone I’d think it would be Tabby.”

“ ¿Está loco en la cabeza? ” Both men were looking at her like she was the one who was loco . She shrugged. “He’s one wave short of a shipwreck.”

“Tabby and Alex are still in the mountains?” Julian was still tugging on his braid, his gaze glued to the front door.

“I think so, yes. Why?” She blinked. “Shit. If it really is Alpha Boyd, and he’s after Tabby—”

“—and Tabby isn’t here—” Julian darted a quick, horrified glance at her before plucking his phone from his pocket.

Cyn pulled her cell phone out and quickly dialed. Gabe answered on the first ring. “Cyn, my guys just radioed me. Who the hell just ran in there with Julian?”

“Tell them to stay calm. Alpha Micah Boyd is with us out of Marietta. He thinks his father is the one who’s been targeting us.” She began to pace, her Bear restless and ready to tear someone apart. “Dennis Boyd is the one who Outcast Tabby all those years ago, and now he’s been Outcast for his crimes. We think he’s going after her.”

“Calm down. They aren’t alone. I’ll warn my men to keep a lookout. You three need to sit tight. If Dennis Boyd is in town, he might decide to take out his son instead of running after Tabby. Stay there where you’re being watched over, got it?”

“Will do,” Julian said loudly, replacing his phone in his pocket. “Rick is aware of who we think the shooter is. He’s going to take Tabby and Alex on a little hiking trip to see if she can catch his scent. Hopefully they won’t find anything.”

She growled at him. “We need to protect Tabby.”

Julian’s silver eyes glittered. His Bear was close to the surface. “No. We stay put, like Gabe told us to.”

She opened her mouth, ready to argue, but closed it when she saw the way he was still shaking. “What happened? What has you so scared?” Hell, the way he was reacting, her Bear was trying to scramble its way out. She’d seen him silly, scared, upset, even angry. But this was the first time she’d ever seen him terrified.

His lips compressed, his jaw clenching so hard she could feel the pain of it.

“Jules? Just tell me. I’ll find out anyway.”

He sighed and leaned against the counter, his arms folded over his chest. He refused to look at her. “I had a vision.”

“A bad one, I’m guessing.” Whatever had scared her mate so badly would be dealt with. She didn’t even realize her claws had extended until they dug into her palms.

“I need you to stay safe.” He finally looked at her, those bright, beautiful eyes of his dull with pain. “I can’t…” He bit his lip and turned away again.

Shit. This was worse than she thought. She barely noticed Micah watching the two of them closely, her attention centered solely on Julian. “Tell me about the vision.”

He ignored her, staring out the front window at the dark street. He was so tense she thought he might shatter with a breath.

She took a step toward him, needing to soothe him. “Julian, tell me so I can deal with whatever—”

“No!”

She gasped as his power rolled over her, the strength in him stunning her. She hadn’t realized how strong he was until her Bear bowed her head in submission, accepting Julian’s right to rule her actions. She would’ve been pissed as hell if his fear hadn’t been steamrolling over her, nearly dragging her to her knees.

“I cannot lose you.” He was practically panting, his eyes wild with fear.

She had to force herself to walk toward him. It was like being thigh high in the ocean, trying to force herself to move forward while the waves of fright kept pushing her back. She could barely keep her balance, both emotionally and physically. “You aren’t going to lose me.”

“I can’t.” Her beautiful lover began to cry, and Cyn knew she wasn’t going anywhere. Not when his vision was affecting him this badly. “I waited so long for you. I can’t lose you now.”

“Shh.” She reached up and brushed away a crystal tear, the heavy weight of his fear receding at the touch of his skin under her fingertips. “I’m not going anywhere. Not without you.” She hugged him tight, almost crying herself as he shook in her arms. His tears were wet against her neck. “You need to tell me about this vision of yours, okay? So we can both be safe.”