“We’re just starting out, and we still have a few mountains to overcome, but so far, so good. But I still can’t believe you acted like a matchmaker.”
“Every single one of you in my crew deserves to find happiness, Seth, even you,” Ian rumbled, giving him a pointed look, causing him to shift uncomfortably. “And I don’t hear you complaining.”
“Because I’m not,” he admitted. “But doesn’t that include you, too? You deserve to find happiness with a mate just as much as we do, maybe more, and it would do Shelby a world of good to have a mother who was kindhearted. All she knows right now is that mothers are vicious and nasty to their children. You could give her that.”
Ian’s expression softened at the mention of his daughter, but moments later he had a hard, unmovable mask in place. “A mate isn’t in the cards for me. And I wouldn’t risk bringing a woman into Shelby’s life who could turn out to be as mean spirited as Farrah is. Get that pitying look off your face, Birmingham. Shelby get
s better every day she’s away from her mother and that hell on Earth tribe, and I don’t need a mate. I have all I need in Shelby, and my crew of misfit fighters.”
Eying him speculatively, and not believing for a second that Ian was fine without a mate, Seth nevertheless let it slide. This was a mountain of resistance best tackled slowly and with stealth. An all out attack would only result in Ian shutting down, and stubbornly holding tighter to the lies he was telling himself.
“Did you just come out here to talk mates, or did you need something else? I wanted to get a bit more work in before I shifted.”
“There’s more I wanted to talk about,” Ian replied, an uncharacteristically hesitant look crossing his features. “Are you sure you’re ready for this fight tonight? I can’t remember the last time you fought anyone besides us, and even then, it was never another shifter.”
“I fought those goons when we went to Canada to help rescue Cammie a couple months back, and I beat every single one I took on,” he replied shortly, a scowl forming.
“Not the same,” Ian replied with a shake of his head. “We were out in the middle of nowhere, with no human witnesses. At least, none who weren’t already in the know. It was battle, and we had no rules. You did great, but tonight, you’ll be fighting in front of a human crowd.”
“What’s your point? I fight in front of a human crowd every Saturday,” he said.
“Will you be able to control yourself when you have another shifter, who’s definitely not a friend, taunting you the whole time? Will you be able to control your animal, or handle it?” he asked with a meaningful look.
Seth stayed silent, mind whirring. He hadn’t realized anyone knew his cat was borderline uncontrollable some days, and especially so during fights. He glanced up as Ian spoke again.
“You do a good job hiding it, Seth. I’m not sure anyone else besides me even realizes it. They just think you rush your moves as a fighter, not because you’re not only fighting an opponent, but your leopard, as well. But I know you. I watch closely, and I pay attention. That’s my job as the leader of our little band of fighters.”
“He doesn’t always fight me,” he muttered, not sure what to say. He couldn’t deny any of it, because it was one hundred percent the truth.
“He does the majority of the time, and you never seem to know when he will.”
“Do you not believe I can do this, Ian? Are you trying to talk me out of it?” he asked, starting to get pissed off.
“Not at all,” Ian replied, surprise in his tone. “I know you can fight him. I know you can win. You trained hard, yesterday and this morning, and I’ve never seen you so focused and precise. But I don’t want you ignoring the reality, or what might happen tonight. I want you to go in, aware of what might happen, with every possible scenario thought through. You can do this. You can beat him, Seth. I really believe that, and I have faith that’s what you’re going to do. I just want you to go into this as prepared as you can be.”
Ian clapped him hard on the shoulder, and left the barn, leaving the door cracked open. Exhaling heavily, Seth leaned against the workbench, thinking over what Ian said. It made sense, and he found himself grateful for Ian’s visit. He’d been training hard, and psyching himself up for the fight, but he’d also been avoiding the hell out of his problems with his leopard.
The problem was, he didn’t know how to stop his leopard from taunting him, from fighting him during the fights. He’d tried before, and not only had it not stopped his animal, it seemed to spur him on, making it difficult to even keep his human skin during a fight. If he gave this thought, if he tried to talk to the cat and make him see things Seth’s way, the probability of the leopard making the fight harder was high.
And Seth had to win this fight. Had to, for Amelia, and every other woman Zane might have harassed. Zane deserved to have his ass beaten, to walk away bloody and defeated, for how he acted and the way he spoke to Seth’s mate.
Pausing for a moment, he let that sink in. She was his mate. He would forever be devoted to only her, and there would never be anyone else he was interested in. She was it for him.
Yesss, mate.
Seth paused in the act of taking his shirt off, still not used to his leopard agreeing with him on anything. But for once, he and his animal were completely on the same page. Now if he could only get his cat to understand that he couldn’t sabotage Seth tonight. He couldn’t let Amelia down. Had to avenge and protect her honor.
Won’t let mate down. Beat dickwad.
Seth froze, shirt half folded. A slow smile stretching his lips, he finished folding his shirt and placed it on the table. Looked like Cammie really was right. Amelia was doing the impossible, bringing him and his animal closer together, giving them something in common. Maybe the cat would still be a dick in other aspects of Seth’s life, but in the most important, they were on the same page.
Kicking off his shoes, he unzipped his jeans, pulling them off and preparing to shift to his leopard form. Fighting for shifters, even when they were perfectly in sync with their animals, was incredibly hard, and took massive amounts of control. Fighting amped up their natural instincts, and their animals perceived it as being in danger. The way his kind dealt with danger was by shifting. As their animals, they had more weapons at their disposal. Teeth, claws, enhanced agility, and for most shifters, a tougher skin.
Fighting recreationally as they did, in front of a human crowd, meant they had to be stronger than their animals. They had to fight the urge to shift, control the animal’s natural instincts. It made it a bit easier if they shifted before a fight, letting their animals free for a little while, but it was still by no means a cake walk.
Hunching inward, the sound of his bones breaking and reforming echoed in the air, and his skin prickled as fur sprouted. With a blinding flash of pain, the transformation was complete, happening in the blink of an eye, and Seth was standing with all four paws planted on the ground. He twitched his tail, making sure his balance was on point, and then he walked to the door and nudged it open.
Heading toward the woods, he took off in a flash, the trees blurring around him as he ran. To his surprise, he found his leopard turning in the direction of the Anderson ranch, and he forced the animal to continue their normal circuit.