The first few times he’d shifted, the experience had been terrifying. Bones broke and reformed. Muscles stretched and twisted in weird ways until he came out on the other side in an entirely new form with new abilities, strength, limitations, and even instincts.
But it was a hell of a rush.
Behind him, he could hear a strangled squeak from Blondie, but the sound was suddenly muffled as if he’d placed his hand over his mouth. For now, Baer couldn’t think about it. He had to concentrate on taking care of the pestilents.
Muscles bunched and tensed as he crouched just a second before launching himself from his hiding place. He leaped over tables and chairs, the pads of his paws barely touching the furniture. He flew through the air toward his targets. The pestilents screamed and tried to raise their weapons in time to protect themselves. They were too slow.
Baer let his too-human brain retreat while the instincts of the cougar took over. Claws sank deep into weak flesh, tearing apart bodies. He bit down on the throat of the female pestilent and shook his head, snapping the creature’s neck. Baer dropped the lifeless body and jumped away from his prey as the male pestilent fired wildly at him while trying to crawl away. His sweaty blond hair hung loose in front of his eyes, and more sweat trickled down his lean face. The second the gun was out of ammo, he pounced, ripping the life from his would-be killer.
Pestilent blood coated his tongue and Baer gagged, even in the cougar’s body. So much for yummy pumpkin doughnuts and fresh coffee. That would have been better than this endeavor. He got only the taste of rancid meat. But if it got them another of their missing brothers safely to the plantation house, he’d take it.
Hurrying behind a table, Baer quickly shifted into human form before sliding over to where Blondie was hiding. Baer lifted his shirt to his mouth and hastily wiped away the blood from his face and across his tongue. God, he needed a drink. A fucking drink of anything.
“What-what-what the hell…?” Blondie panted. He looked like he was just a second from running out of the place screaming. Not that Baer would blame him.
“I’ll explain on the way, but I’m a Weaver just like you. We need to get you to the plantation, where it’s safe.”
“Like me?” he gasped.
“Yeah, but it’s better if we get out of here before the cops show up. They always make things more complicated.” Baer grabbed Blondie’s arm and helped him to his feet. To his surprise, the man didn’t fight him but accompanied him out of the blood-splattered bakery and to his Jeep. A sort of dazed expression filled his face, but at least he wasn’t denying it all. Not like Grey had.
Of course, seeing Baer shapeshift into a cougar had to be pretty damn convincing.
Jumping into the Jeep, he fired up the engine while Blondie pulled on his seat belt.
“I’m Wiley Stuart, by the way,” his companion said. “What about my car?”
“Baer Manning, and we’ll return for it when things settle down,” he said with a grin. He started to shift the vehicle into drive but paused and cursed loudly.
“What’s wrong? Are there more?” Wiley twisted around in his seat, staring out the rear window.
“No. I never got the damn doughnuts. The guys are gonna be pissed.”
“Well, it wasn’t your fault. They attacked.”
Baer grinned easily at Wiley. “Plus, I’m bringing home an even bigger surprise. They are going to be so excited to meet you!”
Chapter 2
Welcome wind came in through Wiley’s open window as Baer drove like a bat out of hell. Wiley braced his hands on the dash, working to keep himself from being thrown into the man as he took a sharp right after barely stopping. These back roads were familiar, but he had no idea where they were going—didn’t really care either. This was too damn exciting.
He looked out at the passing scenery, the leaves just starting to turn colors as Georgia welcomed the onset of fall. He’d grown up here, and fall and winter were his favorite seasons.
The sweat coating his skin quickly dried in the breeze, providing a temporary coolness that helped to settle his rattled nerves. He cautiously lifted one hand to pull at his damp T-shirt.
His brain was locked in an endless loop of Holy shit! That was insane! Who the hell robs a bakery? But then, Baer seemed to know who those assholes were. They didn’t seem interested in the register, and not once had those crooks demanded money from the customers.
When that shotgun had gone off, he’d thought he was dead for sure. Adrenaline and fear had raced through his body, coating him in a cold sweat.
But instead of dying in a freak bakery robbery, he was in a Jeep with the sexiest man alive. A real live superhero!
Not only that but the man was fucking built. He was taller than Wiley—which, face it, wasn’t hard since Wiley barely topped five seven. Not that his height really made a difference. It wasn’t like Wiley would be climbing the man like he wanted to.
Baer had thick arms and shoulders. His thighs filled out his jeans in a way that made Wiley’s mouth water. And holy hell, he smelled good. Better than those stupid doughnuts, which he swore he was never eating again. Baer’s presence filled up the front of the Jeep. Wiley took in a deep breath and held it, hoping to keep some of that essence in his lungs.
Silly? Maybe, but Wiley was just so overwhelmed by everything he’d seen. The man had turned into a cougar, for fuck’s sake. He’d ripped through those strange people with guns like they were nothing. And then he’d flowed back into human in the blink of an eye.
This was like every one of Wiley’s dreams come true. Like every one of his stories had come to life.
He looked at Baer as he concentrated on driving. The man had nice, big hands. Wiley shivered as wicked images of those hands running along his body danced through his poor brain. He couldn’t help it—something about the man called to him on a deep level he’d never felt. It was like he automatically knew he could trust Baer with his life. Was this the bond or whatever the man had spoken about? Something about him being a Weaver.
Baer glanced at him, one corner of his mouth turning up. “Surprised? Confused? Scared? You know I wouldn’t hurt you, right?”
“Mostly surprised and confused. Nowhere near as scared as I probably should be.”
Baer grinned at him. “I’d never hurt you. You’re one of us. It will all make sense to you soon. You’ve stumbled into a world that’s pretty damn unbelievable, at first. But it’s also special—this brotherhood. Wait until you meet Clay and Grey. You’ll love them. Oh, and Dane. He’s not technically a part of the brotherhood; he’s Clay’s boyfriend, but he’s just as cool. You’ll also meet the goddesses.”
Wiley’s breath got caught in his throat and he coughed. “Brotherhood? Goddesses? Wait…goddesses?”
Baer chuckled. “Yeah, and they’re a trip. Each one of them holds our magic until we arrive, but we’ll go into that more when we’re there. The brotherhood was pulled together to fight those things that were at the bakery. We call them pestilents.”
He curled his lip. “Awful name.”
“But it fits. You noticed how rank they were, right?”
Wiley hadn’t noticed that, but then, he’d been overwhelmed by being caught up in a battle with supernatural elements. It was like something out of the comic books he worked on. Excitement thrummed through his veins, and he rubbed his hands down his jean-clad thighs as they started perspiring. “I did see they weren’t quite human. One of them had glowing red eyes. What are pestilents, exactly?”