Chapter 2
Two weeks later Connor and Jack’s operation to run the Falwell Pride out of town was coming to an end.
Not because they’d given up, but because it was becoming increasingly difficult to find members of the Falwell Pride who wouldn’t simply slink away after giving a less than convincing performance of standing up to them.
Most of the town folk who’d lost access to their businesses, had seen those businesses returned to them with the promise of continued support from Connor and his people.
But quite a number of them knew that Connor wasn’t alone.
When they passed Jack or any of his people on the street, they always smiled and often paid for their lunches, or drinks or whatever it was they were in the process of purchasing despite objections from Jack’s males.
They all knew that it wouldn’t be much longer before Jack and his people headed back to wherever they came from and wanted to show their appreciation while they could.
Jack knew it as well, so with that in mind he and his males made a pointed effort to flush out the last of the Falwell Pride that insisted on maintaining a hold on the final remaining business under their control — the single barroom left in the sleepy little town.
Niko, Tate, Slade, Zev and half a dozen more of the Laighin Pride strode up to the front door of the crowded honky tonk, filled with a lot of the young people of the town and the surrounding areas.
“They have no idea of how the world works. They think it fucking owes them; the whole damn generation thinks because they breathe they deserve rewards for it. They don’t give a damn about anything as long as they have somewhere to drink and party.
They’d sell their own souls if that was all they ever had to do,” Zev said.
“And the Falwells are playing into it by inviting them right into the middle of exactly what they want to be doing. Falwell is getting support from the younger people by tempting them.”
“It’s like the spider inviting the fly into its home,” Slade said.
“Let’s pay them a visit and see if we can stir up some shit,” Niko said.
“They’re just going to play victim and have the damn kids outraged because we’re being mean to their friends,” Slade said.
“Wonder how they’d feel if we just allowed the bastards to overrun their town and make their families homeless, if they’re even allowed to stay here.”
“Oh, they’d be crying and begging for somebody to help them, then,” Tate said.
Niko strode up to the front door and yanked it open, stepping inside with the others right behind him.
As the others spread out behind him, he looked around the place and smiled — while most of the locals were scattered about, and made up about sixty percent of the clientele, the balance were shifters.
In fact, it seemed as though the entire staff of the barroom were shifters, too.
The music pounded in their ears, the cigarette and cigar smoke burned their eyes, and the males inside the bar pretended not to see them while the women cast flirtatious glances their way before focusing on the males they were already standing with.
Niko grinned. He held his fingers to his lips and emitted a long sharp whistle so loud that it cut through the music. “Turn that fucking music off!” he bellowed.
Several of Falwell’s lions who were obviously there just to hang out, stood from their seats and took a few steps toward them.
Tate glanced at Niko who was standing right beside him. “They’re not even coming at us. Just standing up like a silent dare.”
“Bet I can make them come at us.”
“Same,” Tate said. Tate was a big male, and set out right through the crowd, more than half a head taller than every other shifter there, and even taller than that in comparison to the humans.
He snarled and bumped his shoulder against anyone who stood too close as with every step he took he closed in on the D.J.
’s set up in the corner. He reached over the electronic set up and snatched the power cord out of the wall.
“Hey!” the D.J. screamed.
“We told you to turn it the fuck off!” Tate barked out, shoving the table hard enough to send the electronics on it sliding to the floor.
“Here’s the drill fuck wads! We are on a mission to run all the pussycats out of town.
If you’re a Falwell, or a member of their Pride, you’re a pussy.
Or maybe a pussycat. Any Falwell. Blood Falwell, and Pride Falwell, you’re all fucking pussies.
And since I’m tired of having to hunt your pussy asses down and beg you to fight as you’re fucking running away, I decided to come out to the only place you have the balls to be in anymore, and ask why you run like cowards whenever we put in all the time and effort to hunt your asses down. So, why is that?” Niko demanded.
Low rumbles, snarls and growls buffeted them from around the room as the members of the Falwell Pride took offense to his accusations.
Niko noticed one of the human females eyeing him seductively as she remained draped all over one of the Falwell Pride males, who was snarling at him, but hadn’t bothered to stand up yet.
“Baby, if you quit hanging all over the everybody else in this damn place, I’d take your interest seriously and take you out back to show you what a real male can do for you.”
“Fuck you!” the male she was hanging all over snapped, getting to his feet.
“Damn, I thought that was a male. That’s an ugly female,” Niko said, grimacing as he focused on the male. “Oh, wait. Is that one of the pussycat Falwells? I think it is. My bad, pussycat. I thought you were a female,” Niko said with a laugh.
The male started toward him with a growl.
Niko grinned at Zev who stepped up beside him. “Told y’all I’d get them fighting.” He turned his head to the male advancing on him, followed by another half dozen or so, as the women and the locals in the crowd moved out of the way and cowered toward the back of the room.
Tate intercepted the locals as they got to the back and hustled them out of the side door.
“You people have a nice night, now, and choose your fucking friends better in the future,” he said as he rushed them out of the door then pulled it closed and locked it, while the sounds of flesh on flesh and roars of warning began to fill the place.
“You hear that little girl-like snarling and growling, Zev? Sounds like a bunch of pussycats having a bitch fit,” Niko taunted as he threw a punch that connected with the nose of one of the males that was stupid enough to run right at him.
He hit him so hard his nose crumbled into his face, and the male went down immediately.
“I hear a bunch of whining, not sure I’d call it snarling or growling,” Zev answered, cracking his knuckles after taking out another.
“I hate whining,” Niko said as he stepped forward and threw another punch, knocking out another of the Falwell Pride with a well placed undercut.
That was all it took for the remaining males in the bar to jump into a full blown melee with Tate fighting his way toward Niko and the rest of his crew from the opposite side.
After a few minutes of fairly vicious fighting, Slade picked up one of the males and tossed him through a window where more snarls and growls could be heard as Jack and Connor and their males and men took care of them where they landed outside.
Tate paused for a split second, then nodded to himself and threw two more through the same window.
It was only a short while before Jack and most of those who were guarding the outside to take care of any of the shifters that tried to slip away, got bored and joined the fight inside.
As the fight carried on more people ended up escaping through the windows by choice, not even waiting to be thrown through them. Even the front door itself had been knocked off its hinges, and more of them got out that way while Niko and the others were busy fighting.
It soon became apparent that those who’d made it out of the bar, and even been cast out of the bar, weren’t making an effort to come back in to help their Pride mates, despite the fact that Jack and the rest of his people weren’t outside anymore to intercept them.
Slade pulled a punch he was planning to hit a Falwell with when he realized it was Jack leaning over another male on the ground as he beat him mercilessly.
He looked around the room and noticed there were not more Falwell males actively involved.
Some were lying on the floor, a few were moaning as they tried to drag themselves toward the windows and the front door, but none were still actively fighting. “They’re done!” he shouted.
Niko dropped the male he was repetitively hitting and looked around. He let out another sharp whistle, causing those who hadn’t already stopped for lack of opponents, to look around themselves.
“There are still some of them alive” Tate yelled.
“Let them live. Let them go back and tell Falwell that it’s not worth it if we say it’s not going to happen,” Jack said.
“You hear that, fuckers?” Slade yelled.
A couple of Jack’s people kicked the males writhing on the floor to make sure they were paying attention.
“You will leave this town. You will tell Falwell that it’s not worth it, because we will be here every fucking time his people show up.
Not this town, not ever. It’s Jared’s, and his friends and I will protect it like he’s still alive because he still should be.
Get the fuck up, get the fuck out, because whoever is still lying here in five minutes has chosen to die rather than leave this town,” Jack announced.
Niko walked over to where the door used to be and whistled again. “Hey, let ‘em leave! Jack’s sending a message!” he yelled at Rance and those still outside with him.
“Come on! We can just send one back!” Rance yelled back.
“This makes no sense,” Jack said.
“What do you mean?” Zev asked.