"If you like." Calum ran his finger down her pink cheek. "Being asked to mentor is an honor, so if there is someone you would—"
"No," she cut him off. "I promised Jamie we‘d learn together. Having the same teachers is only logical."
"Indeed." Logical. Bugger it, he hoped she liked him and Alec as more than just instructors.
He wanted her in his life, in his arms, arguing with him over politics, brightening his days. Yet, she‘d spoken no words of affection—and they weren‘t permitted to do so at this point. "I‘ll wake Jamie, and we‘ll get started after breakfast."
"Start this morning?"
Her nervous expression brought a smile to his face. She wasn‘t nearly as blasé as she tried to appear. "Yes."
*
Fucking-A, the air in the tunnel was freezing. Vic shivered even more, knowing the next step would be to take her clothes off.
"Strip," Calum said, and Vic choked on a laugh.
"My clothes go…?" She looked around the dark cave. No furniture, no closets, no hangers.
"Here." Alec took his shirt off and stuffed it into the wall where cubbyholes had been carved out of solid rock. Some had clothing in them already.
"Got it." She stripped, feeling her skin flush despite the chill. Yeah, okay, they‘d seen her naked—hell, had kissed most of her—but still, there was something different about getting all bare-ass in the daylight. In front of both of them. She shook her hair to veil the front of her.
Jamie had no problem with modesty and shimmied out of her clothes without a second thought. Guess shifters must be used to being naked. Hell, if they went out on a hunt, the cave must look like a nudist colony. Weird.
Alec grinned, obviously aware of her reluctance. "It‘s best to strip before changing. Gets expensive otherwise, since you‘ll end up bursting the seams. But having the clothes rip is good.
They‘ll fall off and not leave you all tangled up."
"Unless you‘re wearing elastic." Calum‘s smile flashed. "When we weren‘t much older than you, Jamie, Alec forgot to remove his clothing. Rather than changing back, he tried to claw his stretchy body shirt off. I think he still has the scars."
Vic snickered, and Jamie laughed.
"Thanks, brawd." Alec rolled his eyes. "Needless to say, Mr. Careful never forgot to strip first."
Jamie shoved her shoes into her cubby and turned. "I‘m ready to trawsfur, Daddy." Her chin rose as she tried to look brave, but the quaver in her voice betrayed her nervousness.
"Me, too," Vic said. At least her voice didn‘t shake. Much.
Calum glanced at Alec, and Vic felt a tingle along her skin as Alec blurred, then reappeared as a massive cougar, his fur so golden it almost shone. His eyes were slightly lighter, almost matching the paler fur on the insides of his ears.
"God, you‘re pretty," Vic said involuntarily and could swear the cat smirked at her words.
It—he padded over and rubbed his jaw over her bare hip making her shiver. Sure she knew it was Alec, but...that was a very big mountain lion.
"Behave yourself, brawd."
With a low feline chuff, Alec moved away to crouch at the tunnel entrance.
"Victoria, is the door clear in your mind?"
"Yes." It glowed even more brightly today.
"Good. After you trawsfur, find the portal again before you do anything else. It doesn‘t look the same from the other side, and you need to be able to jump back quickly if needed."
Jamie nodded. "It‘s scary when you can‘t see the door."
"So it is. For today, you will stay with me and Alec. We may shift back a time or two to point something out." Calum tilted his head at Vic. "Trawsfur."
Open the door. Step through. A tingling ran over her skin, starting at her toes, ending at her scalp. Her balance ruined, she fell forward, and stared at her very own fuzzy paws. Cool. As she sniffed the air, a sense of belonging washed over her, being held and loved and never abandoned.
To her regret, the feeling dissipated like mist in the wind.
Alec padded over and butted her in the shoulder. The breeze wafted his scent toward her—a cat scent, but very, very male. She sniffed and found herself rubbing him, cheek to cheek. Damn, he smelled good. Pure testosterone.
Pulling herself together, she saw Jamie and Calum had shifted. She simply stared. Calum had darker fur than Alec, almost brown, and his eyes were a golden brown. Instead of just being lighter, his muzzle looked as if he‘d rubbed it in snow, making her want to smile.
Jamie bounced around her father on her little paws, batting at his tail, then noticed Alec and Vic. She sprang between them, shoving and rubbing.
Calum followed and… Oooh, Calum smelled as good as Alec. Different though. Could a scent be less…friendly and fun? But richer? Deeper? Vic felt her tail swaying with delight. She rubbed muzzles with him and actually licked his jaw to savor him more. He laid a huge paw across her shoulders, holding her in place as he rubbed her with his cheeks and chin. When he was finished, their scents mingled so thoroughly she couldn‘t tell where hers began and his ended. And she was purring.
Jamie bounded over to the entrance and out, then Alec and Calum. As Vic stepped from the cave, the mountain called to her, a force pulling at every cell. Run. Hunt.
Ahead the others disappeared into the forest. Vic let her instincts take over and sprang after them, catching up easily. As long as she didn‘t think about it, four legs worked even better than two, and the feel of the wind ruffling her fur was a sensuous delight. She caught a scent, something rustled in the brush, and suddenly she was chasing a rabbit. Part of her screamed,
„wait, no,‘ and the rest of her saw food.
Food?
She halted so suddenly her paws skidded in the snow. Jesus, she‘d almost killed Thumper for breakfast. Major ugh.
Calum‘s deep chuckle sounded behind her, and she wanted to cringe. Please tell me he didn"t see me tearing after a damned rodent. She turned.
Back in human form, he leaned against a cedar, arms folded across his chest. She couldn‘t look away. He was gorgeous, all muscle and dark skin, and an um-hmm…well-endowed male package.
Involuntarily, her belly inched lower to the ground, so her hips rose higher.
His lips curved, and heat flashed in his eyes. "Don‘t tempt me, Victoria. Unfortunately, we‘re here for lessons only." He knelt and beckoned with two fingers. "Come."
He‘d put no power into his voice, but she sprang to his side instantly anyway, and he still smelled so good she had to rub her muzzle against him. He stroked her head with his warm hand, and the sensation almost mesmerized her. Her front paws started stepping up and down.
"Being an animal is overwhelming," he said, the richness of his voice soothing. "You must strengthen the part of you that is human, so, if needed, you can overrule the wildness." He scratched around her ears, up under her chin. Her eyes slitted closed in pleasure.
"However, rabbits are good to eat, and part of the joy of being an animal is the hunt. And the kill. It‘s permitted, cariad." The hint of laughter told her he‘d seen her sudden halt. Dammit.
Jamie and Alec loped over to join them, Alec‘s ears forward, his tail in a question mark.
"Victoria found a rabbit," Calum explained. "Ah, I do need to caution you—we‘ve found trespassers in our mountains, setting animal traps. The traps are of an illegal type—quite nasty with metal teeth—and we might have missed finding some. Be cautious."
His serious gaze went from Vic to Jamie, and then he smiled. "That said, off with you. Alec and I will follow."
Jamie bounced forward, rose on her hind legs to bat at Vic with her paws, and sprang away, obviously inviting a game of tag. Vic leaped after her, and they chased each other up and down the slopes, through snow drifts, and over icy streams. Finally, in a sunny clearing they stopped.
Sides heaving, Vic felt her blood pulsing in her veins. She felt joyously alive.
Something snapped in the woods behind them. With a snarl, she
turned and leaped in front of the smaller panther, ready to protect her.
At the edge of the clearing, Alec and Calum, still in cat form, froze. Alec‘s ears twitched at Calum, and the two panthers settled quietly down where they were.
I"m an idiot. She shook her head and shifted back to human. Hey, it got easier with practice.
She walked over to the cats, shivering as the cold mountain air hit her bare skin. "Sorry, guys. I don‘t know why—"
Alec shifted, then hugged her. "You were just protecting her, Vixen. Your heart and your instincts know she‘s your cub."
Jamie trotted over and stropped herself against Vic‘s legs. One little panther, so cute she should be outlawed.
"Mine, huh?"
"Apparently." Alec nuzzled her neck and kissed her cheek. "There‘s nothing quite as distinctive—or dangerous—as a mama cat defending her baby."
"Yeah, I guess." Her words might have been nonchalant, but not her feelings. Every time she looked at the little panther, her heart surged with love, with the need to protect. And she couldn‘t resist bending to hug Jamie, rubbing her face in the warm fur. Yes. Mine.
Again, she felt that weird feeling rising through as a sense of love and protection blanketed her. "What the hell is that feeling anyway?"
Calum shifted to human and rose to his feet. "What?"
Straightening, she waved a hand at herself. "That feeling. It‘s not…me."
Frowning, Calum took Alec‘s place and put his arm around her waist. "Ah, that one."
Vic waited, then prompted him with an elbow into his stomach. He grunted, though she knew she hadn‘t even dented his rock-like six-pack.
"You should have let her eat the rabbit," Alec said. "Women get testy when they‘re hungry."
Calum moved Vic‘s elbow from his ribs. "Impatience is not a virtue, Victoria."
"Neither is stalling."
"What you‘re receiving is your connection to...the being we call the Mother, short for Mother Earth. Gaia?" He waited for her puzzled nod. "As descendents of the Fae, we apparently...hmmm, feel her presence more strongly than the humans, especially when in animal form."
"I‘m not a furball right now."
"Ah." Calum stroked her cheek with his knuckles, his gaze warm. "She is also very fond of mothers."
Mothers? Oh. "Um. Okay, then. So how did you know what I felt?"
One side of his mouth tilted up. "As Cosantir, I am bonded to the earth. To Her, although most of my power comes from Herne." He caught her blank look. "Herne the Hunter? God of the Animals?"
She rolled her eyes to cover her discomfort. Not only new shapes but a different religion too? Then again, she‘d felt that surge of warmth, of...love. Hard to discount that one. "Is that why you could make that wussy bear-guy turn back to human even when he didn‘t want to?"
Calum nodded, then glanced at Jamie. "Unfortunately, with a first trawsfur, forcing the shift makes matters worse. The youngling will lose all connection to the door, and if they cannot shift every month—" He looked away.
Something horrible must happen. She reached for Jamie, needing to feel her warmth.
Change the subject. "What happened down there when you made that guy shift?"
Alec snorted. "He wanted to win Farrah‘s affections—or at least her attentions. Battling another is a time-honored method of scoring, so to speak. But crippling your rival is forbidden."
Well, hell, they were more aggressive than off-duty soldiers in a bar.
"Speaking of fighting," Calum said, "I want to teach you two some techniques."
Hey. She was a damn good fighter. "And what exactly do you think I need to learn?"
"We‘ll start with how to use your hind claws to disembowel your opponent," Calum said in a dry voice and shifted.
Oookay. Vic closed her mouth and followed suit.
*
"It‘s Swane," came the voice on the phone.
Vidal had anxiously waited for word that they‘d captured the girl. He‘d told Swane he wanted to be there when they contacted the girl‘s werecat father. But all yesterday—nothing.
"Why the hell didn‘t you call?"
"It was a total cluster-fuck. The little bitch turned into a cougar. Clawed the shit out of me.
I‘m calling from the fucking hospital."
"Have you got her?"
"Hell no." Swane swore foully for a full minute. "She tore out of the house and ran into the forest. I was bleeding like a stuck pig, so I sent back-up and stayed with the van. Two of my men followed the cat up a trail."
"Well?"
"The cop showed up, then the kid‘s dad. They changed into fucking cougars. Both of them."
"What happened to your men?"
"Don‘t know. No arrests. Jail‘s empty. They haven‘t called in. I haven‘t seen them anywhere. I figure they‘re lion fodder."
Vidal dropped into the chair. He‘d known the shapeshifters were dangerous. But to have his hopes flattened so thoroughly. Depression rolled over him, blackening his thoughts. "It‘s hopeless."
"Those fucking creatures have killed my men," Swane snapped. "They‘re not going to get away with it, even if I have to take some explosives in there and flatten the town."
Chapter Twenty-one
"Vicki?" Her freckled face worried, Jamie looked up at Vic.
"What is it, munchkin?" Vic walked down the sidewalk, eyes alert for any problems.
Nothing. A few kids on their way to school. A man burning leaves. A fire salamander joyfully danced in the bonfire. "Is something wrong?"
"Not…exactly." Jamie chewed on her lower lip. "See, I owe you for saving me, and I‘m not sure how to repay you."
"Owe me?"
"Uh-huh. It‘s the Law of Reciprocity. Favor for favor, or favor for damage done. You know—to achieve balance between us?"
Seems like she‘d run into that rule of theirs before, and the baby was dead serious. Vic scratched her nose, stalling for time. She sure as hell wasn‘t going to put the kid in debt for being rescued. "Okay, here‘s the deal. My rules say that grown-ups protect kids."
Jamie nodded solemnly. "We have that too, but it‘s not a Rule."
"I was only doing my job." When Jamie opened her mouth to protest, Vic held up a finger.
"And it happens that I like to fight. So I think for our exchange, you should do something for me you like to do."
Jamie‘s face scrunched up, and then she nodded.
"Therefore," Vic tried to remember the words Calum and Thorson had used, "in balance, I figure you should make chocolate chip cookies, and I get as many as I want before Alec or your daddy have any."
"Or me." Jamie gave a little skip, then sobered. "The balance is fair. Accepted."
"Good deal." Relief that she‘d successfully navigated another strange shifter custom vied with sheer greed. Chocolate chip cookies all hers before the greedy bastards got to them. Score!
Grinning, Vic stopped at the entrance to the school yard. This would be the kid‘s first day back since the mess almost a week ago. Vic took her by the shoulders, studied her face. No fear, only a trace of anxiety. Okay, then. Ignoring the babble of children‘s voices, Vic ordered, "You‘re going to do fine."
"I know," Jamie said. Scowling, she kicked a lump of snow into the fence. "Only I‘ve got to make up a stupid biology project."
"You‘ll manage. I‘ll see you this afternoon." Vic watched as the kid trotted into the school yard, and her friends swamped her. Yes, the girl would manage. Smart, sociable, with a big heart, and a hell of a lot of courage. She‘d make a great Marine.
I was a great Marine. But that life had disappeared. No Marines, no Wells, and no CIA.
Firming her mouth, she turned away from the children‘s laughter and headed toward the Wild Hunt. She‘d report in to Calum who‘d had an unexpected delivery for the tavern. After letting him know his daughter had made it all right, maybe she‘d go see Thorson. Have some coffee or something.
It wasn‘t like she had anything better t
o do with her day. Or her life.
Dammit. Imitating Jamie, she kicked a chunk of snow, sending it flying into a nearby tree. A pixie clinging to a branch chattered angrily at her. Oops. She glanced up at the angry, tiny face.
"Sorry. I forgot about you guys."
After clicking its nails at Vic—was that the way a sprite flipped someone off?—it disappeared back into the branches. God, her world had gotten bizarre.
Vic walked slowly down the snow-patched sidewalks. Calum said she needed to stay in Cold Creek for at least six months, to learn shifter rules, how to control the trawsfurs, let her body adapt fully. What the hell was she going to do during that time, and even after that? Being a barmaid was fun, but not for a lifetime. It would be like surviving on cake instead of real food.
But she wasn‘t exactly trained for much. I"m a soldier, dammit!
Not any more. The gusting breeze tangled her hair, and she brushed it back impatiently. She needed to call Wells and tell him she wanted to muster out. The thought left an aching hollow in her gut. He‘d recruited her into his special undercover unit years ago, given her Special Forces training, CIA agent training. They spoke the same language of duty and honor and loyalty, and in typical Wells‘ fashion, he‘d known just what to say to get her on board. “I need you.”
Now she‘d lose him too.
Her throat somehow cut off her wind, and she stopped to breathe and look out at the snow-dusted mountains, soaring tall into the blue sky. Immovable and unchanging, so different from the weak humans below.
She inhaled, let the pain pass through her. She‘d survive, of course she would. She started walking again, trying to formulate a plan. Calum didn‘t need a full-time barmaid, so somewhere in this place, she‘d have to find a nine-to-five job. Selling cars maybe.
The thought made her gag.
Calum looked up as the door opened. Vic dropped her coat on a table and crossed the room to join him behind the bar. "Can I help?"
He studied her for a moment. "Is something amiss?" he asked.
She knelt beside the box of bottles he was unpacking and handed one up for him to put away. "No. Jamie didn‘t have any problem with returning. She was drowning in friends when I left."