Echoes of Fire (The Mercury Pack #4)(24)

“Oh my God, enough with how cute she is,” griped Nick. “I still say pallas cats are weird-looking.”

Jesse smiled at Nick. “You can at least respect how smart, elusive, and adaptable they are. They’re one of the oldest shifter breeds, but they’ve managed to immerse themselves so fully in the human world and blend so perfectly among them that humans don’t even know their breed exists. That’s no simple thing.”

Zander rubbed at his jaw. “I think there’s only one pallas pride in the whole of the United States.”

“The Olympus Pride,” said Bracken with a nod.

Zander’s brow lifted. “You’ve met them?”

“No, my dad once met their Alpha, Vinnie Devereaux.” Just thinking of his father gave Bracken a pang in his chest, but he went on, “My dad said he’d never seen a friendlier-looking guy in his life. Said Devereaux made him think of a laid-back, charming, ever-helpful town sheriff. The reality? The cat’s a ruthless, cunning bastard who could cause a bloodbath in a nunnery.”

“I’ve heard about Devereaux from Cain,” began Ally, “but I didn’t know he was a pallas cat. Just that he smuggles money through the antiques he sells in his store. The extremists don’t know he’s a shifter, so they use him for that. He then passes their info to Cain. Not that I’m saying Devereaux’s a good guy. Cain was clear that the Devereaux family was better off left alone. Maybe that’s the pride Madisyn came from. If so, it wouldn’t surprise me to hear she voluntarily left it.”

Bracken would certainly find out for sure later. He had many questions for his mate.

Jesse folded his arms. “You know, back to the subject of the sows, I originally thought that they’d lay low. But I’ve got the feeling that even though the sows hit back at her by mowing down Bracken, they may not easily walk away. She didn’t just piss all over their egos; she made a mess of the ringleader’s face.”

Zander gave a slow nod. “Every time the bitch looks in a mirror over the next week while she waits for the wounds to heal, she’ll remember what Madisyn did. It’ll become more and more of a fine idea to strike again.”

Instincts nipping at him, Bracken looked at the computer monitor and said, “Play it again, Derren.” He watched closely a second time as the bears confronted her, and he knew his suspicions were right. “Madisyn lied.”

“Lied?” echoed Shaya.

“There was more to it than a simple confrontation over some guy she was dancing with. I don’t see bitchiness or jealousy on the faces of any of the sows.” They looked serious. Sober, even. “This was about something else.”

“Like what?” asked Derren.

“I don’t know.” But Bracken would find out.

Nick scratched at his jaw. “You could be right. In any case, we need to know exactly who these bears are and what clan they’re from. I’ll ask Donovan if he can run the images through facial-recognition software. In the meantime, someone needs to talk to Madisyn and ask her what’s going on.”

“I’ll do it,” offered Eli.

“No,” said Bracken. “I will.” His tone was hard, insistent, and left no room for negotiation. His pack mates eyed him oddly.

“Something you want to tell us, Brack?” asked Nick, and it was clear that the Alpha suspected that Bracken was—at the very least—sleeping with Madisyn.

“She’s my mate.” His statement was followed by a shocked silence.

Shaya’s brows hit her hairline. “Your mate? Madisyn?”

“Yes,” he replied simply.

Derren pushed to his feet and tilted his head. “Are you sure? I mean, you’ve known each other for years, but you’ve never been anything but . . . well, I wouldn’t even say friends.”

“I’m sure.” Bracken crossed his arms over his chest. “We had an unguarded moment last night, and I felt the bond. I was in too much pain for it to take hold, though. My brain just couldn’t take the intensity of it right then.”

“Damn, this is big news, Brack,” said Zander. “How come you didn’t tell us before now?”

“I wanted to give Madisyn the chance to share it with Dawn and Makenna before Shaya shared it with Taryn. And don’t even try to tell me you could have kept it a secret,” he told Shaya.

The Alpha female tried to look offended. Then her shoulders sagged. “Okay, it wouldn’t have been easy, but I’d like to think I’d have kept it to myself.” Her mate snorted, so Shaya slapped his arm.

“Congratulations on finding your mate.” Zander clapped him on the back. “Have you claimed her yet?”

Bracken shook his head. “It won’t be easy to coax her into accepting my claim. Madisyn has more boundaries than most. And let’s face it, I’ll be hell to deal with. As a dominant female, she’ll find me a trial.”

Jesse snorted. “Madisyn can handle you just fine.”

Nodding, Shaya patted his arm. “It’ll all work out, Bracken. It has to. She’s yours.”

“Well, this explains why she was so quiet last night,” Ally mused. “I thought she was just shocked after seeing you get hit by the car. How are you planning to move forward?”

“Put in the time and effort to get to know her. Build something with her.” Make her feel secure and safe with him. “She wants to be certain I want her, not simply the mating bond.”