Shelly Laurenston - The Mane Squeeze

As soon as the earrings and shoes came off, he knew it was a brawl.

A brawl he wanted no part of. Especially when hed been trying to sneak out. And one of the hardest things for someone like him to do was sneak anywhere. Yet he couldnt walk away, he couldnt turn his back. This was his friends wedding, and he wouldnt let a couple of cats ruin it because they couldnt hold their liquor or their predatory instinct to maul. But maybe, just maybe, if he defused this fast enough, he could still make it out without being caught. The key was to prevent an audience. No audience, no witnesses, and sneaking away could continue.

There. A goal. He liked goals.

And with that goal solidly in mind, Lachlan Lock MacRyrie walked through the trees surrounding the Long Island, New York, property that held his friends wedding. Hed never been to a wedding at a castle before but it fit the style of the bride, who brought geekiness to a whole new level. In fact, she was the one whod told him to go. Wait. That wasnt right. She didnt tell him to go. Shed told him to, Make a break for it! Before the hounds of darkness come for you and destroy our plans to release our people from their enslavement! Go, Lachlan MacRyrie of the Clan MacRyrie. Go! And dont look back, my friend! It would seem strange to those who didnt know her, but Lock knew it was simply Jessica Wards way of saying, Could you look more miserable? Just go already!

Hed never been so grateful, although it wasnt Jesss fault he was having a miserable time. He did a little better at full-human events since he mostly received the shock and awe reaction. But among his own kind, the reaction was much lesswelcoming.

Not exactly surprising, though, when the predators knew what he was. Knew that he could shift to a ten-foot, fifteen-hundred-pound, silver-tipped grizzly bear whenever the mood struck him. How did they know? Because from early childhood, shifter parents taught their cubs and pups to recognize a few things: the cackle of a hyena, the roar of a male lion, the howls of nearby wolves, and the scent of a grizzly. For the first three on that list, the directions were simple: If you hear one of those and were separated, call for me. Right away. But when it came to the grizzly, the directions were much morespecific: When you catch that scent, go in the opposite direction. If you stumble across one, do not wake it up. If you do wake one up, pretend youre dead or climb into a tree. High into a tree. And if you get between a sow and her cubspray.

Tragically, Lock couldnt even argue that any of what the other breeds said was false, although it was perhaps blown a bit out of proportion.

In the end, though, none of that mattered, because he didnt like parties, detested weddings, and being trapped in this tux was annoying him beyond reason. Normally, to save his sanity, he wouldnt even attend something like this, but he couldnt miss Jess Wards wedding. A more amazing woman, shifter, and friend a man could never hope to have, and thats why Lock was going to undertake the painful task of getting between two snarling females before they started tearing into each other. He was almost on them, was only a few feet from getting past the trees and between them, with luck before blood was spilled, because nothing attracted shifter attention quicker than the scent of fresh bloodand, of course, two drunk chicks fighting.

Yet before he could take those last steps, she was there, shoving the two females apart before theyd made contact. With her fangs out, a low and deadly growl rolling past her lips, she held her arms out from her body to keep them separated.

A mixed breed, some lioness had sneered about her earlier in the evening when this feline had passed. The more politically correct term was, of course, hybrid. A ridiculously gorgeous hybrid, too, whom Lock had first caught sight of at the ceremony. At the time, hed felt someone staring at him, but that wasnt unusual. People stared at him all the time. Yet when hed finally glanced over his shoulder, out of mere bear-curiosity, to see who it waswell, hed looked right at her. And, for the rest of the eveningthrough the synchronized wild dog dancing, the county-wolf line dancing, and the incessant conga lines led by some annoying male lionLock had watched her any time shed come into his line of sight.

It was hard not to watch her when she was wearing that deliciously thin sleeveless black gown, equipped with only two little strings tied around her neck to hold the delicate material up, displaying the shoulders of an Olympic swimmer, while the thigh-high slit slightly off to the side revealed the legs of an Olympic gymnast. Or maybe he was fascinated by that striking face with those almond-shaped, bright gold eyes; the small nose that made him think of a house cats muzzle; those full lips that made him think of nothing but hot, sweaty sex; and those almost razor-sharp cheekbones that made him think she might be nothing but trouble.

Was it really any surprise hed been unable to look awayor that hed spent most of the evening thinking about asking her if she wanted a drink? Yeah, hed thought about it. He was a bear and bears were notorious thinkers. Theyd study, theyd think, then theyd move. Unfortunately hed never found the chance to move. Not with her flitting all over that reception. Not that she was being social, though. She wasnt. He watched her talk to a few people, but mostly she seemed to be on the hunt for something or someone, her gold eyes ever watchful, ever scoping out a target. He was surprised the Marines hadnt recruited her. Theyd snagged Lock right out of college and placed him with the Shifter-only Unit. He could easily see her as one of his teammates. Then again, probably not a good idea. He wouldnt have gotten much done if he was busy staring at her all day.

Cut this shit out right now, she snarled at the two females. Her voice was low, a little rough. He liked it.

Back off! one lioness said. This whores mine.

Whore?

Thats it! The hybrid let out a breath, lowered her arms to her sides. That is it. Whatever Roxy ONeill told you, its a load of crap.

How do you know?

Because I do. And if you werent on your fifth martini and you on your seventh Long Island iced tea, you dumb bitches would know that, too.

Watch how you talk to me.

I would, if I thought you had a brain in that fat lion head of yours. Does she really think this is helping? But you dont. So cut this shit out right now or

Or what? the other lioness demanded. What are you going to do about it, rescue kitty?

The first lioness laughed and suddenly the two enemies had bonded over a new target.

The hybrid knew it, too. He could tell by the way her body stayed relaxed, but her gold eyes sharpened. This wasnt her first time in a fight and she wouldnt feel bound by shifter-etiquette to fight with only her claws and fangs. Hed bet cold cash that she was armed. Not with a guntoo noisybut with something sharp that could be quickly used and tossed away before the cops came.

The two She-lions were up against something they simply couldnt handle. Something deadlier than a mere feline or hybrid. They were dealing with a Philly girl. Or, as Lock also liked to call them, a Pennsylvania Pain in the Ass.

As a Jersey boy whod spent many a childhood summer at the Jersey Shore with his vacationing parents, and then as a bouncer during the summer months when he was big enough to pass as legal, Lock had dealt with more than enough visiting Philly girls to last him a lifetime. Hed never known anyoneregardless of breedwho liked to argue as much as the Philly females. They couldand wouldargue over