I wanted an adventure. Going to see my fox shifter friend is definitely that.
Chapter Two
Hunter
“Do you know what the Boss hates more than a liar and cheat in his employ?” I step closer to the man hanging from chains. “An abuser. A man using his business as a place to pick up women, intending to force himself on them.” I allow my jaguar to show through my eyes, knowing Robbie won’t be leaving alive. “Imagine his surprise when we dug into your life, hoping to find the money you stole, only to find the nasty things you’ve been doing to the women who come to the fights.”
“Are you going to kill me?” he asks, the tremble in his voice satisfying.
“We weren’t.” I pause and step back. “Stealing money is not serious enough for death, but that’s changed. I’m not going to kill you.” His body sags in relief. “My brother is.” I turn, holdingmy arm out. “This is Lawson. You may not have seen him yet. He has a lot of anger to let out. I love my brothers, so I thought I would give him this gift.” I walk backward as my brother takes my place. “Lawson, the Boss wants him to hurt.”
“No problem,” he says gruffly, rolling his shoulders.
Turning away, I walk to the chairs by the wall and ease onto the seat. My other brother, Bane, joins me. We watch Lawson start easy, a punch here, one there. He’s playing with him, but I don’t interfere; he needs this.
“Are we going to Remy’s after?” Bane asks.
“Yeah. I’m starving.” Remy, our fourth brother, owns a restaurant. He’s a fantastic chef.
“Good. Same.” Bane pulls out his phone, ignoring the screams from Robbie.
Leaning forward, I prop my elbows on my knees, staring at the scene in front of me, yet not focusing on the details. Lawson has been with us for four months. Bane and I have been searching for him for most of our lives. We finally found him, and now the family is whole. His anger is eating him up, so our Boss, Heath, was gracious enough to bring him into the fold. Heath owns several gyms and casinos and has recently acquired a building to host boxing matches. He gave up the business of fights months ago when he found his mate. At that time, they weren’t exactly legal. This time around, he’s doing it right, at least as legally as possible with shifters fighting. The man has permits and shit, which I never thought would happen.
We're his security, his friends, and he pays us to do anything else he wants. Our dedication and loyalty will always be with him. Heath is a snake shifter, and one of the deadliest creatures in the world. He saved us. He helped us with resources to find Lawson and Remy. I would kill anyone he asks me to, as long as he had a good reason, maybe even if he didn’t. He gave me aplace to belong, and I’m grateful. I followed him to a new town after he found his mate, Juliana. I protect her at all costs.
The world is filled with beasts who happen to be human, too. My brothers are the same. We were born part animal and can shift at will. Humans are unaware of all the species of animals that live among them. Panic would ensue if they did. They fear what's different, so we have tried to hide what we are all our lives. Somehow, we have found a community of shifters and vampires who consider themselves family. They are deeply involved in each other’s lives and protect the family at all costs. It’s odd, and I can’t say I'm close to any of them, except Heath and Juliana. Growing up with no one to depend on and suddenly having them around all the time is interesting. Heath is a very private man, and he's finally calling them friends. I don’t trust easily.
Growing up in foster care turned me into a cynical, hard man.
“I think he’s dead,” Bane drawls, not looking up from his phone.
“Lawson,” I call when I focus on Robbie. He’s a bloody mess, as is my brother. “Back off. He’s gone.” I stand slowly, waiting for my words to penetrate. “You’re fucking covered. Get cleaned up.” He growls, but steps back. “We’re going to Remy’s.”
“I’m hungry,” Lawson says, rubbing his stomach, and smearing the blood.
“I know. Shower and change. We’ll take care of the body.” He nods and walks toward the small bathroom in the corner. “Let’s get this done.” Bane follows me and helps me lower what is left of Robbie onto the floor.
“His face is shredded,” Bane says as we begin the clean up.
“It is,” I reply, and he sighs.
We don’t put into words how that isn’t good. Lawson is always on the verge of beating the shit out of everyone. He hasn’t had as much time to adjust as we have. I would hate for something toaffect Heath’s business, but I hope we have another asshole we have to kill so Lawson can work out his aggression. The offer to fight in the ring has been voiced, but my brother is afraid of the damage he would do to those who don’t deserve it.
None of us can point the finger at any of the others, though. We all have issues that have shaped us into who we are. Bane is the quiet one. Until he rips your heart out. I try to keep control, but I can be just as bad. Remy will serve you a delicious meal, ask you how it was while he slits your throat. He may wear suits to work, but they hide a deadly animal.
I love being a shifter, yet it has caused most of the horrible things that have happened to all of us. Imagine living with dozens of human children and being terrified to shift, or getting picked by a family and not being able to live as yourself. Living here, I can finally shift freely. Many of the families here have land, and before we built our house, we took advantage of it. Heath lives in the woods. There is an open invitation for anyone in the family to let their animals out. I can run with my brothers. So, killing abusers for our Boss, in exchange for living without fear, is worth everything.
As the oldest sibling, I have felt the need to take care of my brothers. Although we’re only a year apart, I feel much older than my thirty-eight years. Partly because I know I have done a shit job of keeping them safe since our parents were killed when I was eight. They were in the woods, running in their jaguar form, and ran into a couple of hunters with shotguns. Our animals are strong and agile. We're fast and can shift in an instant, but anyone will die if you take a bullet to the head. Of course, I have no idea if the story of their deaths is the truth. We don’t know whether they knew they were shifters or if they saw their bodies shift back to their human form. All I know for sure is that our neighbor broke the news gently, and then we wereshoved into foster care, not so gently. I was refused when I asked to see them.
“I hate the smell,” Bane says.
“I know. You tell me every time.” I smile slightly.
“It bears repeating.”
I shake my head, and we pour the slop down the drain.
“I’m driving,” Lawson announces as he leaves the bathroom, rubbing a towel over his shaggy brown hair, holding his bag of bloody clothes. Bane takes the bundle from him, and tosses it in the barrel.
