Page 5 of Courted by the Sabertooth (Mori’s Mementos #3)
Beal
Moonscale London
A less stealthy hunter might’ve waited until the search for the ‘Monster Cat of London’ was called off before returning to the city.
Only, dragon shifters were searching high and low (mostly low) for a giant cat.
So, I dressed up as I’d seen Raiel do. I wore jeans and a shirt with shiny buttons.
I wandered the streets as the sun sank low in the sky, pretending to window shop.
Some of the displays were truly lovely but none of it held my attention.
To onlookers I was another tourist wandering aimlessly despite the monster cat warnings, but I was following the scent trail of a beaver who suggested it would be easier to kill my mate than to con him out of the cash.
A few people had stopped to sniff me but I smelled like any other big cat shifter in London and the guards were on the search for a wild cat.
My cat daydreamed about gnawing on a fatty beaver tail.
I had to remind him that the tail was the best part of the beaver, hence why we were going to give it to our mate to eat.
Something happened while we were away. He’d tripped and fallen or something.
I saw the blood when I passed by his house earlier.
It wasn’t ‘life’ blood but still I made my way to the hospital and eavesdropped until I caught wind of what I needed to know.
They’d found the cheetah alive but in shock.
My mate was being kept overnight for observation to satisfy his rich but somewhat sick mother.
I made a note to bring something healthy for her the next time I crossed the barrier between worlds.
Some Liver Cat Grass should do the trick.
Hopefully. I’d do anything to keep Nic happy.
He was the man I’d spend the rest of my life with after all.
Most of my clan had no clue why I wandered back over to Earthside.
I wasn’t willing to share the knowledge of Nic with everyone.
I hadn’t even swung by the Raven’s Perch to share the news with Raiel even though I knew he was working this evening.
If he knew what I was up to the dragons might get mad at him too and none of us had time to stop and descale dragons right now.
I was in the middle of a courtship hunt with the true-mate I’d claim soon.
It was easy enough to find Chard as the moon rose in the sky and the hour turned to one in which all good people were asleep, working, or at least at home away from the likes of the scum of Earthside like Chard.
He played a poker game, in which he cheated, and all the players snorted green powder up their noses.
Then he took his ill begotten gains and headed on his way.
I stalked him from the shadows as he hummed to himself.
An hour or so into following him, Chard stopped and picked up a long metal bar from behind a dumpster.
Then continued on his way. He soon came across a wolf shifter pacing back and forth under the fake-light glow of a streetlamp.
The wolf was a beta shifter who had neither the Alpha/Omega Gene to ensure speedy healing. Yeah, Chard was in for it.
“Have my money?” the beaver grunted out.
“I’m working on it, Chard. Really, I am,” the wolf said, a whine to his words.
He smelled like acrid, anxiety sweat and fur as Chard tapped the crowbar against his palm.
Why didn’t the wolf just eat the beaver?
It would’ve made his life so much simpler.
That was unless someone bigger than them both were at the top of the food chain or whatever illicit activity they had going on.
“Tops wants his money,” Chard said. “I want my part of it too. You’re putting us all in a tough spot, Lensy. I’m gonna have to break some bones.”
“Can’t you stand up to him? Aren’t you his lover? That’s what they’re saying downtown,” the wolf said and I almost flinched. He was taking a jab at the man with the crowbar.
Chard shrugged and thought about it for a minute still tapping the metal bar against his palm. “I don’t think FWBs really do each other those sorts of favors. Plus, I want my fucking money.”
He swung his bar low, aiming for the beta wolf’s knees and I pounced. Metal sparked as it slapped against the sidewalk and Chard’s forehead thumped against it. The wolf growled, his eyes squeezed shut.
“RUN!” I hissed at him and took a mock swipe to get him to move.
Chard struggled underneath me, letting out a string of curses that would’ve made my mother blush. He was strong for a rodent and bucked his hips like he was trying to hump the ground.
“His tail. He’s used to thumping his tail at opponents,” my cat said, chittering inside my thoughts as he poked at the back of Chard’s head with his curved teeth, trying to convince him to shift.
We couldn’t claim a tail that wasn’t out.
Chard rolled us over and we rolled with him, ending up on top again.
He growled and cursed at me before grumbling that he thought Jon was full of shit. He wished Jon was full of shit.
“If you’re after a cut of the money, you have to talk to Tops! I’m not in charge!” he said, his words becoming frantic.
Inside my cat’s inner sanctum I laughed as his panicked scent spread out.
He bucked one more time, kicking his feet and trying to twist around to bite my arm.
Then his beaver had enough. Fur sprouted from his hands and his face.
My cat moved fast making the world a blur of motion as our prey shrank down underneath him.
He grabbed the tail by its fatty base with his claws and ripped.
The beaver ran but his tail stayed with us.
He squeaked and cried out like Death’s hunting hounds were on his heels.
I sank back into the shadows, carrying the fatty beaver tail in my mouth.
My cat wanted a nibble of his prize, but he wanted his mate more.