Lynx Northern Shifters 3

understand that.”
Jonah stepped forward. “I’ll kill him, not you.” The words were like a gift that everyone in the room
understood and this time Kingley’s flinch was obvious. Jonah’s mouth curved sardonically. “If you ever
contact Trey again, or harm these wolves he’s talking about, I will find you. And if, somehow, I can’t get
near you, another shifter will. We’re a stealthy bunch. You will never be safe if I decide you need to be
eliminated.”
Kingley blinked once, and Trey waited for a counterargument, something that would bind Trey and
Kingley together.
There was only silence. And with something like amazement, Trey realized it was time to go. “Watch him,” Trey told Jonah. “I think there’s a gun in the desk and he was reaching for it.” Jonah nodded. “I’m watching.”
Trey retrieved rope and a gag, and they tied up a now-silent Kingley. It was an odd way to say
goodbye after twenty years, but Trey didn’t want any more conversation. Kingley had always managed to
run circles around him when it came to words.
He looked one last time into Kingley’s eyes and they were blazing.
Trey put his face right in Kingley’s, this one last time. “Stay away from me and mine, Shaun. This is
your last warning.”
Kingley blinked one final time before Jonah’s hand was on Trey’s arm, leading him out the back door. Evading the guard as they exited the house took no effort. In the small copse of the woods they
embraced wordlessly but then something within Trey let loose and he pulled away to shake the lynx
roughly. “You fuckhead , Jonah. He could have killed you.”
All Jonah did was shush him with pets and kisses as he said, “We don’t have a lot of time.” “I didn’t want you to ever get near this shit again.” Somehow Trey couldn’t stop himself from
delivering this furious lecture, though he knew they had to shift and get out of here. This naivety of Jonah’s
scared the shit out of him. He couldn’t afford to have anything more to do with his old life if it was going to
bring Jonah’s lynx nature to the fore, prowling in here to rescue Trey. Next time, people might bring Jonah
down—and eviscerate him. The idea was simply unbearable.
Jonah grabbed hold of Trey’s face, cradling him in his hands, reminding him that his lover was warm
and alive and smiling, right in front of him. “Listen to me, Trey. It’s over, okay? You can scold me later.” “I’ve lost it. I can’t do this anymore .”
“I know.” Jonah smoothed hair off Trey’s forehead. “So you’re not doing this anymore. Now, shift.”
~ * ~
    Jonah lay on top of him, almost squeezing the air out of his chest, yet the pressure of his body on Trey’s gave him such pleasure. While Trey had trouble admitting it to himself, this was perhaps what he loved most, lying beneath Jonah’s hard body.
    Jonah pressed a palm against Trey’s rough stubble, and Trey responded. He didn’t purr like Jonah sometimes did, but Jonah sensed his reaction and smiled.
“Who said you’re a whore for punishment again?”
Trey turned into Jonah’s palm, in part to avoid his gaze, then murmured, “You know who.”
“What did Quinn mean by that?”
“He thought I was too hard on myself and my body. But he didn’t know I was a werewolf.”
“So were you punishing yourself by continuing to work for Kingley?”
The post-sex glow began to fade and Trey became disgruntled. “Don’t psychoanalyze me for God’s sake.”
“Well, that’s my theory. That or you were happy to get away from me.”
Trey gripped Jonah’s arms and moved quickly to flip them over, so he was on top now. But his anger simply disappeared as Jonah grinned up at him. “But I think you missed me.”
To Trey’s horror, his eyes welled up.
“Jesus, Trey,” and Jonah pulled him down into a hug. “I think you’re a big softy who got the shit beat out of him too young and for too long. But now you’re with me and we’re going to live a very sedate life while I study math and you…”
Trey pushed back and pounded the cot beside them. “You could have been killed .”
Jonah wasn’t cowed by the outburst. “Yes, I think you’ve mentioned that once or twice.”
“You don’t understand how close you came. If Kingley had realized at all that you weren’t human…”
“But he didn’t, did he?”
Trey shook his head and gave up trying to explain.
“I think, Trey, that your life may have been in danger a time or two over the years.”
Jonah, as