The Jaguar’s Arranged Mate

“Stay away from the baby,” Beric growled.

“Why?” Charles asked innocently.

“He needs to…” Beric shook his head. He didn’t want everyone to know how weak and frail the baby was. “Have you seen the baby?”

“Yes.”

“When?”

“When Miera brought him out,” Charles said easily.

But Beric knew that was a lie. Charles hadn’t been in the crowd.

“You saw him in the hospital, didn’t you?” Beric demanded.

“He isn’t in a hospital,” Charles chided.

“The makeshift one,” Beric growled.

“Temper, temper. You know that’s not a good trait for an alpha to have. Why, what would your father say?”

“He would say I should rip out your throat.”

“For what?” Charles blinked and shrugged. “I never realized you were such an angry were-jaguar before. You had better be careful. Anger can make one stupid.”

“Or it can open one’s eyes.” Beric still couldn’t piece together how Charles had been the one to meet up with Miera that time, but he knew the were-jaguar had to have been Charles.

“Ah, so you finally pieced it together. Yes, the baby is mine. I got Miera pregnant. How does that make you feel, knowing she had been with me? That she contemplated leaving everything and everyone behind to run off with me?”

“She didn’t.”

“Only because of her duty to her people. Which is the only reason why she married you. She doesn’t love you. She doesn’t want you. She wants her freedom, and I can give that to her.”

“No you can’t. You can’t give her anything. She would never leave her people—”

“Exactly. She would never leave them. So she’ll either be stuck here, for the rest of her life, chained to your side out of duty, or…”

“Or she’ll die at the hands of the Brutal Claws.” Beric felt more and more uneasy as their conversation went on. Although the sun was hours from setting, this portion of the compound was dark and isolated. No one else was nearby.

“No, no, no.” Charles sighed and shook his head as if he was talking to an ignorant child. “I thought you were smart enough to figure it all out by now. You see—”

“You’re the traitor. You’re the one who engineered the attacks, told them when to come, where to climb, and all so you could survive.”

“Not just me!” For once, Charles’s feathers seemed ruffled, but then he smoothed back his hair and seemed to regain his infuriating calm. “Me, and Miera, and our baby. The three of us will be the only survivors. The Brutal Claws have promised to allow us the freedom to go off and form a new pack. We’ll have more babies, so many babies, and life will be perfect.” Charles’s teeth turned into fangs. “But you aren’t welcome. And that’s another promise I worked out with the Brutal Claws. That you are mine to kill.”

“I don’t think so.” Beric shifted easily, enjoying the feeling of his body changing shape into his sleek jaguar.

The two met in a clash of fangs and claws. Vicious slashes left red streaks of blood on their fur. Charles, despite needing Miera to rescue him, proved to be more than a capable fighter. In fact, Beric had his hands full. Charles was fighting as if he was possessed. Actually, he almost fought as savagely as a Brutal Claw, tearing and ripping into Beric.

The blows they exchanged were enough to seriously wound the other, but neither slowed their frantic pace. No way would Beric be bested. He had to survive. For his people, for his wife, and for his son.

Miera had held him, the baby. He should have asked to hold him too. The baby might not have his blood, but the baby was still his.

Charles would not supplant him in their lives. He would be the victor.

But as the battle wore on, blood streaking from his numerous wounds, his head pounding, his ears ringing, he could no longer be certain that victory would be his after all.