“Dylan, Liam.” Ben nodded at them. “Tiger. How you doing, big guy?”
“My cub, Seth, is beginning to talk.” Tiger’s pride beamed from him. For a man in a leather jacket that stretched over a huge but tight body, with a face that terrified many, he looked almost sappy.
“Beginning to, he says.” Liam Morrissey approached the porch. He spoke with an Irish accent that Ben suspected he exaggerated. “Seth said his first word a few weeks ago and hasn’t ceased gabbing since. He’s under the bad influence of my nephew, who hasn’t stopped talking in twenty-three years.”
“How is Connor?” Ben liked the kid, who would soon be as intimidating and terrifying as Liam and Dylan, if genetics ran true.
“Oh, he’s getting by. He’ll be approaching his Transition soon, I’m thinking. A bit early for a Shifter, but the lad has always been precocious. The shite will hit the fan then. Maybe we can all move in here, and leave Connor the bungalow.” Liam ran a thoughtful gaze over the house.
Dylan hadn’t spoken at all. It was Liam’s way to chat and put people at their ease before Dylan got down to business. Tiger … well, Tiger always did his own thing.
“This is Rhianne,” Ben said before Liam could wind down and let Dylan take over. “Rhianne mac Aodha. Daughter of Lady Aisling.” And don’t you forget it.
Liam chuckled. His handsome smile and blue eyes usually had ladies melting. Another reason, probably, that Dylan had brought him along.
Rhianne had stiffened, her hand clenching Ben’s. Her first taste of Shifters likely wasn’t what she’d expected. If she’d been told they were the hoch alfar’s tamed beasts, she must be in for a shock. Shifters had never been that, no matter what the hoch alfar thought.
“We know who she is, lad.” Liam put a hand to his chest. “I’m Liam Morrissey, my lady, at your service. The quiet one is me dad, Dylan, and the seriously quiet one is Tiger. We call him that because, you know, he’s a tiger.”
“My mother has mentioned him.” Rhianne’s voice was a bit hoarse, but she held her head high, determined not to be intimidated. “And Dylan Morrissey.”
“May we speak?” Dylan indicated the porch. The three Shifters had halted at the bottom of the porch steps, being familiar with the house and its arbitrary obstructiveness.
“Come on up.” Ben led Rhianne to the porch swing. “Let’s see how far it lets you go.”
Tiger, who never hesitated over anything, climbed the stairs without impediment. He gazed down at Rhianne for a time while she, brave lady, met his eyes. Her hand squeezed Ben’s, and he squeezed back, there for her.
Tiger’s brows came together. “You are troubled.”
“You think?” Ben spoke before Rhianne could. “She’s been abducted, held prisoner, threatened, yanked here without anyone asking if she’s okay with it, and now being given the eyeball by you three.”
Tiger sent Rhianne a slow nod, as though she’d answered herself. “The trouble is deeper. Dylan is not your leader.”
With that pronouncement, he moved to the end of the porch and lounged against the railing, positioning himself to be the lookout.
Liam glanced uneasily at the porch ceiling as he mounted the steps. He carefully didn’t touch the railings. When Dylan’s foot brushed the bottom stair, the house trembled. The shutters banged and the rose vines rustled ominously.
“Maybe you should stay down there, Dad,” Liam said quickly.
Dylan halted in irritation. “I’ve slept here many a night,” he reminded the house. The shaking and banging ceased, but when Dylan put his boot back on the step, it began again.
Dylan growled, his eyes becoming the flat, slitted eyes of the wild cat. But he withdrew his foot and remained on the ground. The house settled down, emitting a creak that sounded a little bit smug.
Liam kept to the third step of the five, resting one arm on the railing. Ben made a show of settling Rhianne on the porch swing, plumping the pillows around her before taking a seat next to her. Not only did they sit hip to hip, but he’d be able to jump in front of her if one of the Shifters decided to try anything.
“So, what’s this about?” Ben asked.
Dylan kept his lips firmly closed, his intimidation tactic. Tiger likewise stayed silent, but that was just Tiger.
Liam had ridden along to be the mouthpiece of Dylan, Ben decided. Though Liam was his own man—if he didn’t agree with his father, he wouldn’t back him.
“This is about a Tuil Erdannan coming through a Fae gate close to Dad’s and my territory.” Liam held up a quick hand. “Not to worry, lass. We don’t see you as an enemy. But ’tis a strange thing.”
Ben scowled. “Stop trying to sound like a leprechaun. What do you want, Liam?”
Tiger turned slightly, just enough to watch Ben. While Dylan might be in charge and a huge badass, it was Tiger Ben needed to worry about.
Liam grinned, ever affable. “Sorry.” The accent faded somewhat. “You’re welcome to stay with the Austin Shifters, Rhianne, who will defend you to the death. Or here, in the house with a big personality. Or …” Liam rubbed his chin. “You could do us a massive favor.”
Rhianne had edged closer to Ben, her warmth spreading over him. Ben started to answer, but Rhianne cut in, her imperious tones worthy of her mother.
“What sort of favor?”
Liam’s blue eyes glinted in the September sunshine. “I hear a hoch alfar lord with the peculiar name of Walther le Madhug is trying to woo you. If you let him … you could become our inside man, so to speak.”
Ben was on his feet, rage lifting him. “Are you shitting me? That asshole stuck her in a dungeon, for fuck’s sake.”
Tiger straightened to his full height as Ben felt the thing inside him coming to life. Tiger’s golden eyes fixed heavily on him, his rumble a warning.
“I know, I know,” Liam said placatingly. “He’s a shitbag of the highest level. But think about it. Le Madhug is one of the top hoch alfar, and we know they’re planning hard to re-enslave the Shifters. It would be a temporary thing, lass. We’d extract you if it got too rough. You’d be in contact with us or Ben the whole time.”
Rhianne rose beside Ben, and her hand sought his again.
“How do you know all this?” she asked Liam. “I mean about Walther kidnapping me and wanting to force a marriage? I’ve never met you people.”
Ben liked the imperious lift of her chin, her natural arrogance rising as she beheld Liam and Dylan. You go, sweetheart.
Liam shrugged. “Your mum told Jaycee you were coming, asking her to inform those in power here. Jaycee told her fearless leader, Kendrick, and Kendrick called Dad. Shifter information network, best in the universe.”
He waited for Rhianne and Ben to laugh, but both remained impassive. Liam sobered.
“Your mum also charged us to look out for you,” Liam went on. “Her words about any hair on your head being harmed and what would happen to us if they were—” He broke off and flinched. “Let’s just say I’m glad she didn’t come with you.”
Ben glared at him. “What did she say about you asking Rhianne to go back to that hoch alfar bastard?”