Slade

  Valiant growled again. “Fine. I won’t harm the woman. Move so I can smell her.”

  Brass turned his head. Trisha looked into his intense features. She didn’t want Brass to move and she sure didn’t want Valiant near her. He terrified her. Brass’ gaze softened.

  “He just wants to smell you. I know him. We were reared inside the same testing facility and we shared time together right after we were freed before they sent him and the others like him away from all humans. He gave his word and he’ll keep it.”

  Trisha had to fight down panic. She did trust Brass and he wouldn’t allow anyone to hurt her. “All right.”

  Brass stepped a few feet from Trisha, leaving the path to her open. She leaned back against the wall, staring at the frighteningly large man who stared back at her. His dangerous-looking sharp teeth showed and he appeared enraged still. Trisha’s heart pounded as he stalked closer, the way a predator would. He was one.

  “Don’t scare her, Valiant,” Brass rasped. “It’s okay, Trisha.”

  She nodded but didn’t take her focus from the male advancing slowly toward her. His eyes were really beautiful as he drew near but definitely not human-looking in any way. They were cat eyes, comparable to perhaps a lion, because he sure didn’t look similar to any house cat she’d ever seen, that was for sure. His eyelashes were a reddish color that matched his hair, abnormally long and lush. He took another step closer. She stiffened but lifted her chin. She was certain Brass would fight to protect her if he thought Valiant posed a danger to her.

  Valiant suddenly crouched down on his hands and feet. It looked strange when he inched forward, his intense gaze fixed on her. He drew so close she could feel his hot breath through her shirt over her stomach. Trisha lifted her hands very slowly and pushed the backs of them against the wall near her head to avoid accidentally touching him. She was afraid it would set him off if that happened. He inhaled when he moved closer and nuzzled her stomach with his face, burrowing between the bottom of her shirt and her pants to reach her skin. She made a soft gasping sound, never expecting him to do that.

  “Easy,” Brass crooned. “You’re scaring her and don’t you dare shove your nose lower.”

  Trisha’s stunned gaze flew to Brass’. He shrugged. “Some of us…hell, never mind. You have been around enough animals to know some breeds shove their noses in the crotch area to get aquatinted with people.”

  Valiant suddenly backed away and straightened to his feet. His focus remained on her stomach while he frowned. He looked really unhappy.

  “She smells different.”

  “How?” Brass seemed very calm.

  “Not quite full human but not quite us. It’s only noticeable when you are against her skin.”

  Brass hesitated before he looked at Trisha. “Mind if I?”

  Trisha shrugged. “As long as you don’t sniff lower.”

  He grinned. “You are no fun, Trisha.”

  His grin faded when he stepped in front of Trisha and bent until his face pressed against her neck. His nose touched her skin and he slowly inhaled, then did it again. He lifted his head, frowned, and dropped to his knees. He reached for her shirt and pulled it up to reveal a few inches of her stomach. He put his nose against her there and inhaled three times until he moved back and stood. He faced Valiant.

  “You’re correct. It isn’t noticeable unless you are close to her skin over her lower belly. It’s that faint.”

  “She really is carrying a baby from one of us?” Valiant appeared calm now. His voice was deep, kind of rough, as if he’d spent a hundred years smoking or otherwise damaging his throat, but he wasn’t growling anymore.

  “She is.”

  Valiant nodded. “I can’t believe you would mate with a human. What were you thinking? They are so fragile I’m surprised she isn’t broken. You could have at least found a normal-sized one who is sturdier. You must really restrain yourself. What is the enjoyment of breeding if you have to worry about damaging her?”

  Brass blushed a little. “The baby isn’t mine. I’ve never bred her. I’m her friend and I’m one of the three men Justice asked to protect her.”

  Valiant snapped his head toward Trisha and growled. “There is an existing facility for breeding experiments? She volunteered for some doctor to put our sperm inside her?”

  “No.” Brass moved, stepping between Trisha and Valiant again. “They bred naturally, of their own free will. It was a surprise for all of us that she got pregnant. We didn’t think it was possible.”

  Valiant sighed. “You can move. I won’t harm her.”

  Brass stepped away from Trisha. Trisha met Valiant’s gaze. He stared at her but he didn’t appear angry anymore. He looked slightly confused. He sighed again.

  “You can stay, human. Just you. Don’t bring any of your human friends or family. I’d eat them for dinner.” His gaze returned to Brass. “I’ll spread the word in the zone to make sure no others come to bother her.”

  “Could you help us protect her? Please keep an eye out for any humans lurking around and make sure they don’t get near her.”

  Valiant smiled, showing his sharp teeth again. “It will be a fatal mistake on their part if any humans are stupid enough to come out this way.”

  Brass visibly relaxed after Valiant walked down the stairs. He smiled at Trisha but it looked a little forced. Moon and Harley rushed up the stairs seconds later. Harley was bleeding and held a wet rag to his forehead. Moon’s clothes were torn.

  “No one warned me that Valiant was here. He’s the meanest and most deadly of our kind. I would have gone to see him before I brought you here if I’d known. Anyone else we could handle but he’s…” Brass shrugged. “One mean son of a bitch.”

  Trisha moved now that her terror retreated. She walked to Harley. “Bend down and let me take a look at that.” She glanced at Moon. “Are you hurt?”

  “I’ll live. I know how a football feels though when it’s thrown and it ruins that sport for me.” He turned and headed downstairs.

  Harley leaned down a little and removed the wet rag. Trisha examined his wound and softly cursed. “You’re not going to need stitches but I need to clean and bandage it.”

  “Fuck.” He blushed. “I mean darn.”

  Trisha chuckled. “Cuss away. I would have said worse if someone did that to me. What did he hit you with?”

  “The door.” Harley’s gaze fixed on Brass. “You might want to call and order a new one. Valiant tore that one off the hinges and threw it at me. I tried to dodge the thing but the corner of it struck my forehead. The coffee table didn’t make it either. On a high note, we no longer have to chop wood if Trisha wants a fire tonight. We can just use the fifty pieces of coffee table on the floor.”

  Brass sighed. “I’ll call for a first-aid kit too so Trisha can bandage your boo-boo, Harley. Do you mind, Trisha? We still don’t have a doctor at Reservation.”

  “Just get me what I need. Do you need me to give you a list of supplies?”

  “No.” Brass didn’t look happy. “I’m sure what we keep inside our first-aid kits will have everything you could possibly need. I guess I’ll go downstairs to evaluate the damage and afterward, I’ll call the front office and inform them of what we need.”

  “Thank you.” Trisha smiled at Brass. “For everything.”

  “Hey,” Harley groaned. “I took a door to the head. Where’s my thanks?” Trisha laughed and reached out to touch Harley’s arm and give it a slight squeeze. “Thank you.”

  “She touched me.”

  Harley stuck his tongue out at Brass, teasing him, and made Trisha laugh.

  “Don’t you have something to do?” They could be childlike but she appreciated their playful traits.

  “I’m on it.” Brass walked downstairs. He muttered the entire way down.

  Trisha had Harley sit on the bed. “What did he say?”

  Harley grinned. “Something about having to eat crow when he calls and Slade finds out there has already been a pr
oblem here when we just arrived.”

  Trisha walked inside the half bath and grabbed a hand towel. She returned to the bedroom to apply a new wet compress to Harley’s bleeding head, holding it there. Brass wasn’t the only one who dreaded how Slade would react when he found out there’d already been an incident at the cabin.

  Chapter Fifteen

  “Valiant?”

  Slade was so mad he saw red. He stood at the gate of the house that Valiant had been given. Slade heard a door slam and seconds later the mostly naked Valiant casually strode down his porch steps to approach the gate.

  “Slade. Why are you out here? You could have called if you needed something.”

  “What were you doing?” Slade opened the gate and stepped inside. He was ready for a fight if Valiant got pissed about Slade entering his yard without permission. “I was told you didn’t hurt the woman but I swear to God if you had, I’d kill you myself. You were out of line going after her,” he growled.

  Valiant crossed his arms over his chest. “I smelled a human. That cabin isn’t far enough away and I was pissed. Justice said that no humans were allowed here.”

  “Well, you went through two of our people to reach her so you knew very well that she was supposed to be here. That cabin isn’t inside your personal territory. You had no authority to attack our own people.”

  Valiant shrugged, saying nothing.

  “I’ll kill you if you go near her again,” Slade threatened with a snarl. “Are we clear? I know you are friends with Tiger but damn it, I won’t permit you to hurt that woman. You stay away from her and don’t go near her again. Do you understand me? You are not to touch one hair on her head.”

  “I won’t go near her. I already discussed this with Brass. She’s one of us as far as I’m concerned.”

  Slade glared at Valiant, slightly confused by the other man’s remark. “She’s not one of us but she’s a good friend to Species. She works for us. Justice and I trust her.”

  “She’s one of us now, isn’t she? I smelled her myself. She was very brave and didn’t even scream when I scented her stomach.”

  “You what?” Slade exploded. “You got that close to her? You touched her?” He advanced.

  Valiant growled and sank into a crouch. “Stop or we will fight.”

  Slade halted his angry approach but he almost shook with fury. “You touched her?”

  “I kept my word to Brass and didn’t hurt her. I wanted to scent her when he told me the news because I didn’t believe him. They both agreed to allow me to get close to her. It wasn’t an attack.”

  “He allowed you touch her?”

  Slade would kick Brass’ ass at his next stop, the cabin. Valiant was unstable and anyone with a brain shouldn’t have let Valiant anywhere near Trisha. If he’d been there, he would have killed the big Species for even trying.

  “I didn’t believe she was pregnant. Now I know she is.”

  Shock tore through Slade. “What?”

  Valiant slowly straightened from the crouch. “Pregnant. Didn’t someone tell you? The woman is carrying a child. That is why Brass brought her here to safety—from humans.”

  The anger seeped out of Slade and pain tore through his chest instead. Trisha is pregnant? His knees felt as though they were going to collapse under him. His heart pounded and the rage started to seep back into him. She’s pregnant! A haze of emotions gripped him, mostly murderous ones, that some guy had touched what was his. The idea of anyone doing that nearly sent him over the edge of insanity.

  “Justice ordered them to bring her here to protect her from her people. Justice thinks when the humans find out she is carrying a mixed breed they might try to harm her. I have to agree with him. Humans are erratic and hostile for stupid reasons. There’s something about her scent against the skin that makes her different. It must be the baby inside her, changing her chemistry.”

  “The father is New Species? Are you sure?” Slade ground out the words, his bitterness and rage growing by leaps and bounds.

  “Scent her yourself. She smells different. Human and of us faintly but enough that I am sure. I have smelled pregnant human women when the military assigned a bunch of them to bring us food and supplies where they kept us. They knew we wouldn’t harm them if they breached the territory they gave us. Nothing is as defenseless as a pregnant female. I know the scent of one well but this one smells different. I couldn’t detect a difference until I pressed my nose against her skin. It must because she is barely pregnant. When the months wear on it will probably become easier to notice from a distance.”

  Slade stormed out of the gate toward his Jeep. His anger knew no bounds. Someone should have told him that Trisha had been sent to Reservation because she carried a New Species baby. The Jeep engine roared to life and Slade punched the gas. The tires squealed in protest but he didn’t care about the noise. Now things were making a lot more sense. He was killing mad.

  * * * * *

  “Someone is coming fast,” Moon yelled in warning. “It’s one of our Jeeps.”

  Brass threw down his cards and flashed a grin at Trisha. “It’s about time they sent those supplies.” He glanced at his watch. “They are actually half an hour earlier than they estimated on the phone.”

  “I’m starving. I hope they sent some good food.”

  “I’m sure they did.” Harley winked at her. “A pregnant mamma should eat lots of junk food. I call dibs if they send any candy bars. I love those things.”

  “I’m the pregnant one.” Trisha laughed. “That means I get first dibs on everything.”

  “Meany.” Harley stuck out his tongue, tossed down his cards and stood. “I better help carry things inside. The faster we get it put away, the faster we can get to the goodies they sent.”

  “It’s Slade,” Moon yelled seconds later. “He is really coming fast.”

  “Shit,” Brass sighed from the doorway. “He’s very angry. I can see his teeth bared from here.”

  “Why?” Confusion gripped Trisha. “It wasn’t our fault that Valiant attacked.”

  Brass turned at the door. “You might want to go upstairs, Trisha. I think it might get ugly.”

  Trisha frowned and rose from the couch, walking to the door instead. She pushed Brass out of her way and stepped out onto the porch to watch the Jeep with Slade came to a sliding halt by the cabin. Slade left skid marks as he locked up the vehicle to stop it. It didn’t take hyper senses for Trisha to smell burned rubber as Slade turned off the Jeep engine and leaped from of the driver’s seat. He reached Moon first and snarled at him.

  “Move.”

  Moon didn’t budge. “Is there a problem?”

  Slade lunged. He grabbed Moon by his vest and shoved him hard, out of his way, and advanced. Fear grew instantly inside Trisha after realizing Slade seemed beyond pissed. She actually backed up and bumped the cabin wall next to the doorway. Brass sprinted suddenly, going down the porch stairs, and met Slade head-on.

  “You allowed Valiant to touch her?” Slade yelled. “He’s unstable and could have killed her.” Slade decked Brass in the face with his fist.

  Brass landed on his ass. He growled and tried to climb to his feet but Slade turned, throwing a kick to Brass’ chest. It knocked Brass flat onto his back on the grass. Slade snarled, showing teeth, as Harley inched toward him.

  “Stay out of it unless you want me to kick your ass too. This is between us.”

  Harley stopped, lifted his hands and backed up. “Okay.”

  “Stop it,” Trisha demanded. She tried to rush down the stairs to reach Brass, worried he’d been hurt badly, but Harley grabbed her arm to prevent her from leaving the porch.

  “Stay out of it,” Harley ordered softly. His arms locked around Trisha’s waist gently. “You could get hurt. Sometimes our males fight to blow off steam. This is about dominance and we can’t interfere.”

  Trisha was stunned. It wasn’t sane and it sure wasn’t something she wanted to stand by and watch. They needed to stop. Someone
could get hurt. Harley refused to release her though when she struggled.

  Brass rose to his feet. He growled and launched his body at Slade. In horror, Trisha watched the men go at each other. She’d never seen two New Species fight before. It looked to be a combination between a dog fight and a no-holds-barred kickboxing match. It became clear within minutes that Slade was the better fighter. He punched Brass in the face and threw a kick that sent Brass sprawling onto his stomach. Brass groaned but didn’t get up. Slade panted, obviously still enraged.

  “You thought you could protect her?” Slade snarled. “You can’t even protect yourself against me.”

  Brass lifted his head, looking a little dazed, and blood smeared his mouth. He turned his head to glare at Slade. “Someone had to try to protect her.”

  “Well, you can’t.” Slade marched toward the cabin.

  Moon had edged around the fighting men until he stood guard at the bottom of the porch steps, blocking Slade’s path to Trisha. Harley suddenly released Trisha and leaped down the porch steps to stand next to Moon. Both men appeared tense.

  “Move,” Slade snarled, stopping just feet from the men.

  “Why? You are upset and aren’t being reasonable.” Harley kept a calm tone in his voice. “You hurt Brass over being angry with Valiant. We didn’t know he was here or Brass would have gone to talk to him before he picked up the scent of a human. You are one of our best fighters and you knew you could take Brass alone. You could take both of us one-on-one too. We know that. But you’ll have to take on both of us at once if you wish to upset Trisha. Your fight isn’t with her.”

  Slade’s dark-blue gaze locked with Trisha’s. He panted hard and seemed so enraged that it scared her. She never thought she’d be afraid of Slade, especially after their time alone in the woods, but she’d been wrong. She was terrified of him.

  “I knew you were attracted to Justice more than you admitted to me. I would not have avoided you if I had known you were so hot to have a Species male in your bed. I thought I was protecting you,” Slade growled. “Being with one of us puts you in danger. You went through too much and I didn’t want you to be with me out of gratitude for saving your life. I knew only time would give us a chance.” He shook his head. “I could kill you. I told you that you were mine. Mine!” he snarled. “You can stay here and have your bastard but I better never see you again. You don’t have permission to leave the cabin while Justice hides you and his love child under my nose.”