Jules sighed. “Tersch, level down to your beast. Now.” Not yet, still hungry. Want to play. Tersch's berserker whined, even gave him a small fight about going back under, but Tersch persisted. He tucked the monster back down and allowed his beast to resurface. After letting go of Raul, he shrank a few inches to seven feet. His sharp teeth returned to normal, except for the fangs, and his muscle mass decreased considerably. Still, he was larger than the others around him, and his beast took comfort in the fact.
“That is some fucking weird-ass shit.” Raul gasped and clutched at his throat, where Tersch's fingerprints were slowly fading.
Jules crossed his arms over his broad chest. His bright gray eyes shone with hard purpose. “Raul, let's not play games. You helped Sheridan escape from Montaña's compound two months ago. You pretended to work for him then. But who have you really been working for?”
“Myself.” Raul sneered at them.
Jesse Fallon shook his head. A telepath, he could be relied upon to dig information from sources who didn't want to share. His talents came in handy, especially on cases like these. “He's telling the truth, but not all of it. Raul's in it for himself. He worked for Montaña because it was the easiest way to gain information on the asshole. He spied for someone else. And he doesn't know who he's really working for, except that he goes through Melissa. But Melissa knows the boss. Some guy she calls Lonnie.”
Jules blinked but said nothing. Yet a stillness overcame him, and Tersch didn't like his leader's sudden worry.
He took an automatic step closer to Jules, the ingrained need to protect overwhelming.
When Jules noticed, he bared his teeth in a growl. “Stand your fucking ground, Tersch. We've been over this.”
Unhappy but not willing to annoy Jules more than he already had, Tersch obeyed and stepped back. The last time he'd tried to smother Jules with protection, he'd paid for it with his ass.
“So Melissa knows who she's working for.” Jules paused in thought. He stared hard at Raul. “What about Jack?”
“Who?”
“Jack Keiser, her husband,” Hayashi clarified.
Raul shrugged. “Never heard of him or saw him till we set fire to their house.
Melissa's the only one I had contact with. She's psychic, but you already knew that.
One powerful, money-hungry bitch. You can smell it on her.”
“He's telling the truth,” Fallon agreed. He frowned, but by then it was too late.
Tersch had already moved. He'd seen the way Raul's body tensed in the moment before the rogue sprang at Jules.
Already in front of his team leader, Tersch intercepted the claws meant for Jules and took the stabbing blow into his own chest. As he did, he caught Raul's head in his hands and twisted.
The rogue dropped like a stone, and his claws left Tersch's chest in a sucking sound.
The pain was intense, but the gaping wound healed quickly. He glanced at Raul staring sightlessly from the ground, his head twisted at an odd angle, his neck broken.
“Nice move.” Morgan nodded to Tersch. “I guess I'll put out some feelers on Melissa Ramirez. I wouldn't have minded some time to dig for more answers from this one, but they never learn.” The ex-mercenary might be a pain the ass, but he was a helluva guy when it came to learning information. Between Morgan's contacts and interrogation techniques, he'd become handy to have around.
Tersch agreed, considering the dead rogue.
“I thought I told you to stand your ground,” Jules said in a soft voice, one that sent chills down Tersch's spine.
Shit. Tersch slowly turned around. “Sorry, Jules. It was instinctive.” Jules glared. “Bullshit. I told you I don't need you fighting my battles anymore.”
“Oh, this is gonna be good,” Morgan muttered to Hayashi as he crossed to stand next to his mate.
“Jules, he was just trying to help,” Fallon offered but quickly shut up when Jules shot him a hard look. To Tersch, Fallon mentally sent, “I tried, buddy. I have a feeling you’re in for it.”
“I know,” Tersch sent back. Though not telepathic, he replied on the wavelength Fallon had used.
“Come here.” Jules tugged Tersch by a belt loop on his trousers, closing the distance between them. “Need some discipline, Gunnar?” Fuck, he would have to do this now. Thoughts of Ava continued to crowd his mind, the need for sex and blood and violence an ever-present source of desire, especially after he'd walked in the footsteps of his berserker. It didn't feel as if a mating heat pressed, just the good clean scent of lust and Circ pheromones invading the space around them.
“Shit. I'm going to tie up our surviving rogue,” Morgan mumbled and quickly moved to the one on the ground still breathing. “I'll keep watch while you four…
Hell.” He rubbed his own erection through his trousers. “Too bad we can't film this so I could watch it later.”
Hayashi grinned at him. “Don't worry. I'll give you a blow-by-blow tonight.”
“You'd better.” Morgan gave him a stern look, then turned and dragged the sole unconscious Circ away.
Hayashi said to Jules, “Morgan knows what we need, and he's good with it. We haven't done this in a while. It's time, I think.” Jules flashed his fangs. “Glad you approve.” He turned back to Tersch. “But my intent isn't only to strengthen our team. Seems Tersch here still wants to play by his own rules. He doesn't seem to remember that he's part of the pack and that he's not the alpha. I am.”
Chapter Two
“Jules,” Tersch growled, but he couldn't ignore his own excitement. Now mated to Sheridan, a beautiful redheaded healer with a temper to match her fiery hair, Jules had been distracted of late. Though he'd used sex to bond Tersch to his female, Jules hadn't bonded with the whole team for a while now. Added to that, he was going to become a father, and Tersch understood why his team leader had been preoccupied.
Yet Tersch needed the belonging. Hell, they all did. Sex not only served to procreate their new species; it tied them all together, closer than family. Circs had a pack mentality, and belonging was a necessary part of it.
Sheridan, Morgan, and Fallon's mate, Olivia, knew and understood what their Circ mates needed from one another—a desire to keep each other close, sane, and safe.
Tersch knew he was the biggest threat to the others, and it shamed him. But he could only do so much to contain his berserker. As it was, the monster wanted to come back out and take part in their play. But Tersch couldn't afford to let him.
Sometimes he wanted too much pain, and the creature scared him with its appetite.
His beast, on the other hand, he could fully control. Mostly.
“Come here, Gunnar.” Jules slowly stripped out of his clothes, as did the others. Changed, their muscles bulged and expanded. Their cocks were long, thick, and slick with the natural oils their Circ bodies secreted, natural lubrication to ease the mating act and increase the probability of conception. When Tersch made a move to release his own trousers, Jules shook his head.
“What?”
“Pull them down but don't take them off. Stop when they're at midthigh, then get down on your hands and knees.”
“Come on, Jules.” Tersch was so hard, he wanted to explode. He lowered his trousers but remained standing, needing to be disciplined. Needing to be loved.
“Lesson number one. I own you. Lesson number two, I don't want to hear you.” Jules glanced at Fallon, who smiled widely. The bastards were speaking in their heads, and it didn't look good for Tersch.
Jules shoved Tersch forward. Off balance because of his pants, he landed hard on his hands and knees.