Page 12 of Big Top Bear Raid (Wolves of Stone Ridge #64)

THEY HADN’T HEARD OR seen hide nor hair of Lawrance or Steele for three days.

Zion did his best to ignore that fact so he could enjoy their crawfish boil.

They were at the home of Manon Lemelle and his human mate, Chris.

True to the Cajun wolf’s promise, he had produced an authentic recipe, and the smell of the spicy seafood filled the air, making Zion’s mouth water.

While the crawfish boil was in celebration of the breaking of Acadia’s bespelled status, the act had actually taken place the prior day behind their A-frame home.

Acadia had been staying there with Eurik after Urskin had given him leave to shift at will while back at the circus.

His cousin had endured the agonizing process of Urskin casting the removal spell on him.

When the warlock had read over the spell provided by the horseman, Death, they’d actually seen the man’s dark skin pale.

Urskin had looked around their assembled sleuth and had softly asked.

“You really went through this?”

When they’d all nodded solemnly, he’d whistled in obvious amazement. Then Urskin had focused on Acadia and warned him.

“Prepare yourself, Acadia. When they told you it would be agonizing, they weren’t whistling Dixie.”

Acadia nodded, his expression just as serious.

“I understand.”

While Urskin had begun preparing his supplies, Congo had rested his hand on Acadia’s shoulder.

“Lie on your stomach.”

Most likely due to his cousin’s confused expression, Congo had softly told him.

“Easier to curl into a fetal position that way.”

After blowing out a harsh breath, Acadia had nodded and obeyed their alpha.

Zion recalled screaming until his throat had gone hoarse when he’d gone through the process, and he hadn’t stopped the tears as he’d listened to his cousin’s cries.

He’d clung to Wraith, tears slipping from his mate’s eyes, too.

There hadn’t been a dry eye in the group by the time Urskin finished the spell, although the warlock had forced his voice to remain steady as he’d chanted. Even their shih tzu, Jasmine, had howled along with Acadia.

Still, as painful as the process was, Acadia had agreed with them once it was complete.

Any price to remove the compulsion and pain spells from them was worth paying.

Just as they had after the rest of them had gone through the process, they’d gone on a short celebratory run after it was complete.

They’d all teased Valentine that it was good he hadn’t gotten hit that time.

Then they’d shared what had happened on the last run, and how Valentine had first recognized his mate, Stone.

Not surprisingly, Acadia had claimed.

“I would’ve been happy to have been hit by a truck if it led to meeting my mate.”

Valentine had laughed and patted Acadia on his shoulder. “Right?”

“You okay, Zion?”

Wraith asked, drawing him out of his thoughts as he settled in the chair next to him. Holding out a fresh beer, he stared at him with concern.

“What’s on your mind?”

After taking the bottle of beer, Zion switched it to his other hand so he could thread the fingers of his right hand with Wraith’s now-empty left.

“Just feeling a little overwhelmed, I think,”

Zion admitted quietly. He gave his mate a small smile before allowing his attention to stray to Acadia. His cousin was definitely on the slender side, but he looked good for having been a captive for over a year and a half.

“Still can’t believe Acadia’s alive. That he’s here with us.”

Zion felt Wraith squeeze his fingers, and he returned his focus to his wolf.

His mate had been so sweet, so understanding, over the past few days.

Wraith had understood that Zion had needed to spend so much time with Acadia and his sleuth during the day.

At night, they would retreat to Wraith’s home, and his mate would blow Zion’s mind with pleasure, sending him into blissful sleep every evening.

Never did his wonderful, caring mate make him feel guilty for his needs or as if he had to choose between time with Wraith or time with Acadia.

Instead, he would hang out on the deck with them, either in human or wolf form.

Wraith never appeared to feel slighted when Zion and his sleuth-members regaled each other with stories, catching Acadia up and re-establishing their bonds.

Wraith could also be found on his phone quite often, keeping them abreast of what was going on with the circus and Ringmaster Goldsteen.

The human was charged with falsifying permits for exotic animal use and extortion, as well as a few other things.

Kyle had disappeared, as Urskin had sent him to the Circle of Mages.

The circus folk had rallied around a human named Chance, naming him their new ringmaster.

They’d moved on quickly, disappearing in the night.

According to Sasha, a zebra shifter and Chance’s mate, the zebras were all legal and extremely well cared for.

They hadn’t known Acadia was a bear shifter or that Lawrance and Kyle were warlocks, the pair having hidden their activities from the zebra shifter, just as the zebra shifter hid her scent from...everyone.

She’d claimed she did it because they traveled so much, and she never knew if she would be passing through other shifters’ territory.

They’d disappeared with the troupe, and Alpha Declan had allowed that matter to drop.

According to Wraith, Detective Mathers had worked with Alpha Declan and Urskin to make everything appear in order with the circus leaving, sweeping anything paranormal under the rug.

“When I got the beers, I checked with Manon.”

Wraith lifted their twined fingers and pressed a kiss to Zion’s knuckles.

“It’s going to be another twenty minutes before the first pot of crawfish is ready.”

Wraith was referring to the six massive pots holding the boiling crawfish.

While many of the wolves didn’t plan to show up to Manon’s feast, since they respected that this was a bear celebration, it still took a hell of a lot to feed a group of bear shifters.

Zion’s mouth watered a little, and his stomach grumbled a bit.

“Would you like to go for a walk while we wait?”

Wraith glanced pointedly at Zion’s stomach while grinning.

“Don’t worry. I’ll have you back in plenty of time.”

Zion realized what Wraith was really asking for—a little time alone together.

“I’d like that.”

Zion rose to his feet, drawing Wraith with him.

“I know we haven’t been getting a lot of alone time right now.”

“And I understand why,”

Wraith assured as they headed across the backyard toward the trees. Manon’s home was like many of the wolf shifters, backing up to the national forest on one side and other wolf shifters on either side of him.

“Things will settle soon enough.”

Smiling warmly at Zion, Wraith added.

“You’re part of a sleuth, just like I’m part of a pack. I’ll never expect to have you all to myself all the time. We have jobs, family, lives.”

With a shrug, he stated.

“That’s just life in a pack. We’ll find a balance.”

“I know.”

Zion smiled at Wraith, appreciating that his mate understood. “Still.”

He chuckled softly as he shook his head.

“When Alpha Declan told us that he might be interrupting the time we got to spend on our mating, I don’t think that was what he meant.”

Zion used his beer to indicate where Acadia stood with a few others, including Gage. His cousin and Wraith’s friend had really hit it off.

Wraith laughed, tipping his head back and filling the area with the sounds of his happiness.

“Probably not.”

With a wink, he tugged him deeper into the trees.

“Come on. Let’s find a secluded place to make out like randy teenagers.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

Zion would be happy to get on board with that.

“Lead the way.”

Zion happily followed as Wraith led between trees. The chatter of those at the crawfish boil fell away, the thick trees cocooning them in the sounds of nature. His focus fell to Wraith’s backside, and he felt his prick twitch.

Just the sight of Wraith’s body and the feel of his hand in his own sent a surge of lust through him. He peered at his mate’s ass and smiled. As they moved, Zion noticed the almost imperceptible hitch in Wraith’s step, reminding him of the prior night’s activities.

Not only did my mate finally allow me to possess him, but he’d begged me for it.

His mate, in the throes of needing, shouting his name while his hard cock leaked his fluid on his chest as Zion thrust in and out of his chute, pegging his prostate each time, had been beyond anything Zion could’ve possibly imagined.

Lying together afterward, sweaty and sated, Zion had loved the way Wraith had cuddled up to him and laughed.

My mate told me he would want to do that again...often.

Perfect.

Then Wraith had proven his word by riding Zion’s cock that morning.

“Are you staring at my ass?”

Wraith peered back at him, a grin curving his lips.

“Of course.”

Zion saw no reason to hide that fact from his mate. Waggling his brows, he teased back.

“You can’t blame me.”

Wraith laughed again.

“Nope. I can’t.”

Then he pivoted and grabbed Zion’s upper arms. He found himself turned and manhandled, his back slamming against a tree, with Wraith’s firm body pressed against his own. Staring up at Zion with lust filling his deep brown eyes, Wraith murmured.

“But you’ll have to wait a few days to have it again. Not used it, yet.”

“I can wait however long you need,”

Zion reminded, wrapping his arms around Wraith’s body. He dipped his head and pecked a kiss to Wraith’s lips.

“As long as I get to hold you, to touch you. That’s all I’ll ever need.”

“Perfect,”

Wraith whispered, leaning his full weight against Zion’s larger body, trusting him. His lips were soft against Zion’s as he murmured.

“I’m so damn blessed to have—”

“You let him have your ass?”

Zion wanted to snarl upon hearing the all-too-familiar voice...so he did. Snapping his attention to the right, he spotted Stephan standing there. Curling his lip, Zion growled and sneered at the wolf shifter interrupting them.

“What the fuck are you doing here?”

Wraith demanded, voicing the question Zion wanted to know.

“You gave him your ass?”

Stephan repeated, his features darkening and twisting with rage.

“What I do with my mate is not your concern,”

Wraith declared, easing away enough to straighten.

“Again, what the fuck are you doing here?”

Growling, Stephan declared.

“I’m here to collect you, Wraith,”

making no sense to Zion at all. His eyes narrowed as he focused on Zion.

“It seems you’ve created some enemies.”

Then Stephan grinned, his expression one of deranged delight.

“How lucky for me.”

Stephan looked over his shoulder, and Zion followed his gaze.

To his shock, he spotted Lawrance sauntering from between a few trees.

The warlock paused and leaned on one, his hand within the flap of his open jacket, obviously prepared to act.

Zion readied his body as he tightened his hold on Wraith, refusing to allow his mate to put very much space between them.

The wolf was his mate, and he would find a way to protect him, damn it.

Growling low in his throat, Zion cast his angry glare on Lawrance, considering him the bigger threat.

“Let Wraith go, bear,”

Stephan snarled, taking a step toward them that he probably meant to be menacing, but came off sulky, as if he was a spoiled child.

“I’m tired of seeing your hands on him. Wraith is mine!”

“And we’re back at this again,”

Zion muttered, scowling at Lawrance.

“And you’re happy to help this moron?”

Lawrance scoffed as he withdrew a pouch.

“Oh, I don’t care about this wolf’s mental health issues.”

He shrugged negligently, and he even ignored the glare Stephan cast over his shoulder at him. As the warlock opened his pouch and poured a light pink powder into the palm of his cupped hand, he claimed.

“But his knowledge of where you’d be this afternoon was useful, so when he called and left a message for me, I decided to use his obsession.”

Lawrance grinned widely at him.

“I’ll take you and, by extension, the rest of the bears, and start a new gig, and he can have the wolf.”

Switching to a chant, Lawrance lifted his hand and focused on Wraith. Between one breath and the next, he blew the dust at them, then started chanting again.

Zion stepped forward, putting his leg between Wraith’s.

Then he pivoted, putting his back to the warlock and his spell.

He felt the effects of a compulsion spell slam into him, and he grimaced as the tingles that ran across his scars seared him before it dissipated.

Damn, that had been fucking strong.

That made sense, considering he managed to enthrall entire crowds.

Lawrance roared.

“Give the wolf to Stephan and come to me,”

obviously expecting to be obeyed.

“Not happening,”

Zion declared, snarling as he eyed them both.

“How?”

Lawrance demanded, his eyes widening with his shock.

Before Zion even had to think about answering, the blue glow of a spell wrapped around Lawrance. His arms were snapped to his sides. His legs jerked together. A second later, Lawrance toppled to the ground.

Zion winced upon hearing the crack of Lawrance’s head hitting a tree root.

“Oops,”

Urskin commented without any hint of remorse as he stepped out from behind a tree. Frowning down at Lawrance, he declared.

“Lawrance, as punishment for your crimes, which are too numerous to even bother recounting, your powers will be stripped.”

Urskin leaned down and slapped a pair of cuffs on his wrists, identical to the ones he’d used on the apprentice.

“Condemned to live the rest of your life as a human after restitution to the shifters has been complete.”

Even as Lawrance’s mouth opened on a silent scream, a number of wolves streaked between the trees. They circled Stephan, forcing him away from Zion and Wraith. Manon appeared in human form, anger apparent in the way he glared at the other shifter.

“Stephan, for the crime of coming between fated mates, you are hereby named rogue,”

Manon declared, stalking closer. He paused next to Wraith, who Zion just couldn’t release, yet, and glanced at them before refocusing on Stephan, who was shaking his head and sputtering denials.

“Stephan, in conjunction with that crime, you injured one of our enforcers while escaping the pack house. You are sentenced to death.”

“No, wait,”

Stephan cried, shaking his head and waving his hands.

“That’s not—”

Manon didn’t give him time to keep denying.

At his nod, a lean gray wolf lunged forward.

The shifter slammed into Stephan, wrapping his jaws around the male’s neck. His momentum sent them both to the ground, where the wolf jerked away from Stephan, ripping out his throat.

Blood sprayed across a tree trunk, and the light faded from Stephan’s blue eyes.

“Come here, Kajika,”

Jared crooned from where he leaned against a tree. He held up a bottle of water.

“Shift and wash out your mouth.”

An instant later, Head Enforcer Kajika stood where the gray wolf had been and stalked toward his mate.

Zion jerked his attention away from the pair. Especially when they started making out.

A low rumbling filled the air as Congo appeared, flanked by the members of their bear sleuth. All the other brown bears were already in their animal forms. His alpha stopped a few feet from Lawrance and stared down at him with disgust.

“Don’t drain his magick just yet,”

Congo requested, turning to eye Urskin.

“Just remove anything from him that’s poisonous to shifters.”

His smile turned feral.

“We’d like the sport.”

Urskin seemed to understand what Congo was requesting—to have the right to avenge their fallen and abused. He nodded once, then went to Lawrance’s side and knelt. Urskin rifled through the other warlock’s pockets, quickly removing a number of items.

After straightening, Urskin stated.

“We’ll make certain he can’t coerce anyone into helping him escape into town.”

Congo growled as he began unbuttoning his jeans.

“He won’t get near enough to anyone to try.”

Then his alpha started to shift.

Zion turned his focus to Wraith, but he didn’t even need to ask. “Go,”

Wraith urged softly before pecking a kiss to his lips.

“I’ll see you at home in a little bit.”

Home.

Zion sure liked the sound of that.

After one more kiss, Zion stepped away and began stripping. By the time he’d finished his shift, the others in his sleuth had already left the area. He looked back at Wraith, who stood with the rest of their mates, and chuffed.

Wraith smiled and nodded, then made a shooing gesture.

Pivoting on his paws, Zion bounded after his sleuth-mates, tracking them by scent.

Time to go hunting.

A FEW HOURS LATER, the moon hung high overhead as Zion padded in bear form toward the back deck where Wraith sat, swinging in a hanging rocker, waiting for him.

While he climbed the steps and shifted, his mate rose and crossed to him.

As soon as Zion could stand, he pulled Wraith into his arms, reveling in the way his wolf clutched him right back.

Catching Wraith’s lips with his own, Zion plundered his mate’s mouth, relishing his slightly spicy flavor mixed with his own unique taste.

Breaking the kiss, Zion licked his lips.

Wraith chuckled, holding him close.

“Welcome home, my bear.”

“Thank you, my wolf.”

Zion grinned.

“You taste really good.”

With a wink, Wraith told him.

“That’s the crawfish. They were delicious.”

He slowly lowered his arms from where they’d found a place around Zion’s neck.

“Come on. I saved you a potful.”

“Yum.”

Zion followed Wraith into their home, relaxing in contentment.

No one would ever hurt his mate or his family again.