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He knew that sound. That was an angry feline shifter. Like, really angry.
They came around a haphazard stack of empty pallets, and Ginger held up a hand to stop him, but his feet were frozen in place anyway.
“Don’t get too close,” she said softly. “That just seems to agitate him more.”
Quinten followed the chains bolted into the walls of each side of the corner down to where they connected to the thick leather collar around a naked man’s throat.
A very attractive and very pissed naked man.
He was half crouched, but Quinten got the feeling he’d be lower if the chains allowed it, and that infuriated him for some reason. There were half-healed bruises and cuts all over his body, like he’d recently fought for his life, and he saw fucking red. What the hell had happened to this guy, and how had he ended up in Quinten’s warehouse?
Glowing golden eyes snagged and held Quinten’s attention as the world tilted around him.
Slowly, the man pulled his lips back, baring his long, perfectly white fangs, and Quinten’s dick fucking twitched.
What. The. Fuck.
Chapter Two
It took longer than Quinten would admit for him to realize Ginger was talking to him, gesturing expansively and clearly agitated.
“But whenever we get any closer, he… Well, he doesn’t like it,” she finished, and Quinten nodded along, understanding the gist even if he’d missed most of the words.
Tearing his gaze away from the shifter’s hypnotizing eyes, he turned to Darius. “Do we know him?”
The wolf was scenting the air, brows furrowed, but he shook his head right away.
“What is he?” he asked, his attention sliding back to the man despite his best efforts. Not only was he healing from injuries, but Quinten could see his ribs and collarbones too well for his liking. He knew—from growing up with Liam and spending more time than was probably wise as an adult around shifters—they burned a ton of calories, especially when they changed forms. Whoever had left this guy for him hadn’t been taking care of him.
“Jaguar,” Darius muttered, stepping forward to get a better look with his good eye.
The man immediately pressed into the corner of the warehouse, making a low growling sound that raised the hair on the back of Quinten’s neck, but Darius ignored him. The wolf lowered himself to the cat’s level and audibly inhaled.
“What is it?” Quinten asked.
“Magic,” Darius grunted, easing closer still. He was within range if the jaguar decided to strike, but the filthy man just pressed back farther, eyes barely slitted open and looking like he wanted to sink into the wall. “The collar’s covered in it. Or made from it.”
Ginger started forward, but Dominic stopped her, grabbing her upper arm. Sighing, she didn’t try and get away, just turned and met Quinten’s gaze. “Maybe that’s why he hasn’t said anything. Maybe he can’t?”
Jaw tightening, Quinten studied the feline for a long moment. Despite the grime and injuries, he truly was beautiful, his cheekbones works of art. His lips were chapped and their pinkish color dulled, but they were lush in a way that kept drawing his attention. If he were a better man, he would probably feel bad about that.
He glanced around at the small group of his men gathered behind him. “Are we sure we don’t know him?”
Everyone shook their heads, the shifters looking a mix of pissed and curious.
“Can we remove the collar here?” he asked, turning back to Ginger. She was plucking at her lip, staring at the cat, her husband glued to her side.
“I don’t think we should try,” she finally said. “We could do more harm than good if I try to break it without understanding exactly what its purpose is and what it’s made of.”
Quinten held back a sigh. “Dare, break the fucking chains. I don’t want to keep standing here. This whole situation feels…”
“Fucked-up,” Dominic muttered when he didn’t finish his thought.
But that worked.
Darius nodded and stepped over to a wall, reaching up to grip where the metal links were anchored. Quinten glanced back at the jaguar and got caught in his glowing stare once more. Instead of watching the wolf, his eyes were transfixed on Quinten.
He looked… surprised?
