The Maverick Pride Tales - Chapter 45: Chapter 45

“Elissa? What are you doing here? I thought Hunter told you to stay home. Especially with Reg out checking the perimeter with him,” Jessica said, exasperated at finding her pregnant sister-in-law out without a guard.
“Yeah, well, this cub of ours needed his mama to stretch her legs. Seriously, I was going stir crazy by myself at the Pride House. Uncle Uzzi finished his interviews with everyone yesterday, and he left this morning for some other business.”
“He did?”
“Yeah. I swear that old Witch is holding back on me. He would not tell me anything about the matches he has lined up, but he promised to come back in a few weeks. Anyway, I wanted to come on over to grab some of those Kisses by Kylie panties to surprise Hunter with,” the Nari grinned wickedly.
Jessica snorted and walked over to the rack of delectable lingerie to show Elissa the new designs Kylie had been working on for the upcoming holiday season.
“These are full bodied and comfortable,” she said, stopping when the Nari screeched excitedly.
Elissa waved a pair of crotchless blue panties and Jessica suppressed a shudder. She never, ever, wanted to picture her big brother’s sexy time activities. Like ever.
Serious yuck.
“These are awesome. My mate will go crazy and look, easy access for tongue or cock,” purred Elissa with one hand on her slightly swollen abdomen.
“OMG! Lissa, please, I just ate,” Jessica replied, making mock barfing noises.
“Is that Elissa? Hi, girl! You like them?” Kylie called out.
The blonde she-Cat wandered out of the backroom with a measuring tape around her neck and a few sewing needles sticking out of a bob in her hands. Her wireframed glasses were perched on the end of her nose and her brown eyes sparkled with delight at the prospect of pleasing a customer.
Jessica smiled. She was happy for Kylie and couldn’t wait for her lingerie to really take off. Jess was both proud and happy to be the first shop to carry her amazing creations so far.
“Hell yeah, Ky. I love them!”
Elissa gushed and swept across the room to hug the budding designer. Jessica laughed at Kylie’s expression. She wasn’t used to being manhandled and Elissa sometimes forgot her Alpha Shifter strength.
The little bells that hung over the front door jingled, announcing the arrival of new customers as Jessica watched Elissa drag Kylie to the back room.
She was in the middle of an enthusiastic tirade about nursing bras and, from what Jessica heard, wanted Kylie to make her a few custom improvements to the ones she’d been trying out.
Poor Kylie, once Elissa had something on her mind, there was no getting around it until it was all said and done. Jessica smiled and turned her attention to the new arrivals, her mind on the two females. She should probably call Brayden to let him know where they were, after she dealt with her customers, of course.
“Good afternoon, welcome to Jessica’s Closet,” she said, the familiar greeting dying on her lips.
Jessica’s smile faltered as she took in the three huge men who’d slithered into her store. One breath told her they were Shifters, Tigers like her, but not of the Pride.
The streak.
Her she-Cat snarled, and she straightened her shoulders. Jessica fought back the fear that threatened to make itself known. Eyebrow raised, she placed her hands on her hips.
“What do you want?” she growled.
The young males all looked at each other nervously. They had expected her to cower in fear, but they were about to be disappointed. Jessica was no damsel in distress, and these young fools were going to have to learn that the hard way.
“She’s a Tiger, man, but she stinks like a fucking Bear,” one snarled.
He was the shortest one there, his wild eyes looked at her disgustedly and he wrinkled his nose. She barely stopped herself from hissing at him. How dare he speak of her mate that way?
“This must be that fake Neta’s sister,” another replied.
The male was dirty, dressed in a t-shirt and ripped jeans. His greasy blonde hair stuck up like he hadn’t seen a brush in weeks as he strutted forward. All three of them smelled like dirt and grime and bodily functions. The strength of the stench made her want to gag.
He must be the leader, she mused.
All of them had the same unkempt, disheveled look to them. Their clothes were damp, and their shoes covered in mud. They must have come through the forest. She smelled their fur on them and wondered if they’d carried their clothing with them somehow. Then she noted the backpack on the shortest one.
That one must be the pack mule.
The third was the most muscular, but still lanky. In fact, all three seemed impossibly young. Younger than she was, at any rate.
She’d heard the term streak once or twice and knew it was used loosely by Tiger Shifter’s to describe groups of rogues who joined together for one nefarious purpose or other. Usually, to try and overthrow another male’s Pride was one such reason.
If that was their aim, they were sorely mistaken. Her brother was no chump. Neither was her mate. Either of them alone would make mincemeat of this trio.
“Look,” she said.
She wanted them to remain calm, thinking about Elissa and Kylie in the back room. The other two felines would have heard the commotion. Hopefully, they were calling Hunter and Brayden now.
“I think you should leave town before it is too late,” she warned.
“We don’t care what you think, Bear whore. Deliver a message to your brother. His time is done!”
She hissed and spun around. How had she missed a fourth rogue? The huge male was on her before she could move. His claw tipped hands wrapped around her throat and squeezed, causing her to gasp for air.
She struggled against him, clawing, and kicking, but it was no use. Either he was on something, or he was just numb to the pain she had to be causing him. Jessica fought like a hellcat. Snarls and growls filled the air, the other three Tigers shouting at their fourth, encouraging him to kill her.
She smelled his blood and knew her scratches had sliced through skin. But still, he held firm. The asshole squeezed her throat again before letting go and punching her twice in the jaw. He straddled her arms so she couldn’t scratch him any longer, but she bucked and turned, doing her best to dismount him.
Motherfucker.
Her only hope was that Elissa and Kylie would remain hidden in the back room. Of course, that was too much to ask. Just then, she heard Elissa’s laughter reach the front of the shop as she and Kylie emerged into the storefront.
“Jessica! Stop you bastards!”
Elissa’s gaze glittered with the gold of her she-Cat as she faced off against the four males who now stood in a circle around Jessica. The asshole who’d hit her had her up by the hair, the pain blinding her.
He growled, kicking her in the stomach, and she fell to the floor. Wind knocked out of her, she sucked in air. Fuck, it felt so good to breathe. But worry quickly overpowered her elation at being able to suck in air. Elissa had just put herself in danger.
“Lissa, run,” she tried to yell, but it was no more than a hoarse cry.
“That’s his bitch! The human whore the traitor took to bed. We will cleanse this joke of a Pride, starting with you,” he sneered.
“Listen up, fuckwits. I’m the Nari of this Pride, and you four have a lot to answer for,” snarled Elissa.
The pregnant she-Cat was trembling with rage, and Jessica had never been so fucking scared in her life. Kylie placed herself slightly in front of the Nari, and Jessica’s heart really threatened to stop.
She was so small. A good ten-inches shorter than Jessica, even shorter than the Nari herself. Yes, Kylie was born a Shifter, but these men were brutish and cruel.
They could hurt her. They could hurt them both. Fear almost stopped her heart, but she refused to give into it.
No!
Jessica had no intention of letting that happen. She had to protect her friend and her Nari. With no thought for her own self-preservation, Jessica got to her feet and jumped onto the back of the man who’d attacked her.
The other three males moved forward, shoving clothing racks out of the way, and stomping on them. Destruction and chaos seemed to be their aim. And didn’t that just piss Jessica off even more?
She growled and pulled the hair of the big fucker who’d tried to hurt her. One man had made it across the store to Elissa, but Kylie jumped in front of the pregnant she-Cat. The tiny blonde shoved the Nari back and loosed her claws to scratch the bigger man.
Holy shit, Jessica thought.
Kylie was small but fast and accurate with her blows at the first. Jessica tried to keep track, but she was also fighting the biggest fucker there. He pulled her hair, swinging her head around while he tried to force her from his back.
She noticed another rogue had completed his shift, but it was too late for her to act. The animal charged Jess, knocking her off of his leader’s body.
His huge claws dug into her back, and she howled in pain. Bloodied and hurt, Jessica stumbled, but regained her feet. She had no choice but to fight on. She would not stop. Thoughts of Brayden clouded her mind, and she cursed herself for going in that morning, despite his warning.
How could the universe finally give her a mate, only to take him away? She shook with anger and regret. She should have told Brayden how she felt.
Now he would never know just how much she truly loved the big Black Bear. Her thoughts were interrupted by the streak’s leader who stepped into her blurry line of her vision.
“I’ll show you to fuck with us, bitch,” he snarled and slapped her hard across the face.
Jessica stumbled, falling to her knees. Pain erupted across her cheek and into her eye.
Fuck. That really hurt.
“You think you can just go around fucking the Bear that took Blake’s position? You’re nothing but a traitor to our kind,” another sneered.
“You Pride Tigers think you’re so much better than us. But Blake, he was one of us. He was going to take over and bring us in, after your fucking piece of shit brother wouldn’t have us.”
“What are you talking about? Did you ever ask Hunter about joining the Pride?” she asked, though her throat ached.
“Blake told us the truth. He told us what the so-called Neta said. Now, we’re going to claim the Pride in Blake’s honor, but first I am going to teach this Nari a little lesson,” the big one sneered.
Jessica’s heart clenched. Shit. He’d made it through Kylie to Elissa. The young Tiger’s hands closed around Elissa’s arm. Her eyes were wide. The scent of the Nari’s fear made Jessica’s she-Cat roar in fury.
“Look,” she said, trying to get their attention back on her.
“Blake was a liar and an overall dickhead. You should have come to my brother. You should have asked him directly. Before touching any of his Pride, you should have done all of that. But I swear, if you touch his mate, he will not hesitate to kill you,” Jessica snarled.
While she’d been talking, she’d been calling on all her Shifter powers. She rushed the transformation and allowed her she-Cat to take charge.
Years of play fighting with her brother had made her Change one of the fastest in the Pride. Second to Hunter alone. She might be smaller than these fuckers, but she was strong, and she would not go down without a fight.
Jessica roared and watched the men pale. Only one had even started his shift, and she pinned the fucker with her jaws around his neck.
“Let Matt go,” growled the man holding Elissa by the wrist.
Jessica growled louder. She wasn’t doing a fucking thing until he released her. As if to prove her point, she bit harder, making the man whimper. His foul blood tainted her mouth, and she couldn’t wait to spit the fucker out.
“Jess!” Elissa cried out.
At the same time, her captor shoved her away and reached into his back pocket.
“Fucking bitch,” the man yelled, aiming a pistol at Jessica.
What kind of Shifter brought a gun to a Cat fight? She wanted to yowl at his lack of balls.
Weak. Pathetic.
And there wasn’t anything she could do to change the outcome of what was about to happen.
Brayden. Her Tiger cried out for her mate.
I love you, Brayden. Sorry, so sorry.
She pictured her Bear in her mind. She’d die happy with him in her thoughts and in her heart. She only wished she could see him one last time to tell him face to face.
The young Tiger squeezed the trigger and time seemed to slow down. She watched the bullet rocketing towards her until it hit her.
The impact made her fly backwards, and the scent of gunpowder mixed with a fresh spray of her blood burned her nostrils.
Fuck was she angry. Her shoulder throbbed, and she felt lightheaded. She really wanted to tear the throat out of that asshole. He wasn’t even a good shot.
Someone should tell people with guns that shooting is something that requires practice. Fucking jerks couldn’t even do that right.
Her anger was silly, she knew. She should be happy he was a lousy shot. But she was angry and hurt. She wanted Brayden. And she wanted to beat the crap out of the piece of shit who shot her.
Before she could retaliate, the doors to the shop burst open and a big, beautiful, and really fucking angry Black Bear charged the bastard with the gun.
Fangs, claws, and pure muscle slammed into the weaker male in a fury of motion that left her dizzy. Or maybe that was the blood loss.
Mate.
Jessica’s last thought was of her gorgeous mate before she let the blackness take her.