by Tara Rose
She’d always done that. Whenever Saffron felt afraid, Topaz would sit with her and tell her a story. It hadn’t taken Saffron long to realize that the stories had a second purpose. They were filled with tales of bravery in the face of adversity, or determination to reach a lofty goal, but they were also meant to give hope to a frightened girl who found herself in an untenable situation.
Once Saffron’s true nature had begun to emerge, Topaz almost never left her side, as if the danger had increased for both and the older woman had known it. Saffron had asked her more than once why the two of them couldn’t simply run away, but Topaz had merely shaken her head, her green eyes filled with sadness and regret. “There is no place to go, child. We belong here, with our own kind.”
Saffron wondered what Topaz would think of her now? She’d not only run away from her own kind, but she’d allowed herself to be captured by a cougar shifter and a human. Perhaps it was just as well that Topaz couldn’t see her right now. She’d be so disappointed.
As Saffron lay in bed and listened to the sounds of birds and insects outside, her thoughts drifted from Topaz toward her two captors. Nevada was obviously an alpha. She recognized them immediately among her own kind, and she didn’t imagine a cougar was any different. He couldn’t be much older than she, if his looks were anything accurate by which to judge, but his aura projected a maturity and wisdom beyond his years. What kind of a life did he lead up here in the mountains? And why was he so aligned with a human who worked as a line technician for Notus?
And what about Landon? Was he a shifter? She didn’t think so, and Nevada hadn’t treated him as though he were, but there was something not quite human about him. How had he become such an ally and friend to these cougar shifters? Mancie had talked to him as though she’d known him all her life. Everyone she’d glimpsed outside in the village had seemed to know him equally well. Who and what was he?
She turned onto her right side so that she wasn’t lying on the chains and closed her eyes, picturing both men. They were so handsome and charismatic, but what did that matter? They didn’t believe a word she’d said. She was their enemy, and she didn’t even understand why. They’d mistaken her for someone the Rosens had sent, but why? What business had they with the Rosens, and how did they know of them?
They’d never actually said they didn’t know them. When she’d tried to ask if they were in league with them or with the people her uncle knew, they’d accused her of stalling. Hot fear raced through Saffron as she realized they could be in league with either, and they were now on their way to find her uncle. Then again, it didn’t seem as though they knew him. But what if they did, and they simply hadn’t told her that? Even if she couldn’t shift yet, Nevada could. He might be on his way right now to reveal her hiding place.
She was dead. Trapped, chained, and waiting to die.
Saffron struggled to keep breathing as she rose and walked around the cabin again, trying both doors and each window a second time. She opened the small closet and cupboards in the kitchen, searching for hidden panels or trapdoors, but there were none. She had nothing to do but wait. Wait until Nevada or Landon returned with either her uncle, the Rosens, or worse.
And when they took her back to her village, she’d have no choice but to mate with Marc and Jake. They wouldn’t kill her. The rarity of her bloodline was why they wanted her. And if she refused to willingly give her body to the two brothers, they’d simply take her by force. They were stronger, and there were two of them. She was no match for them.
Saffron returned to the bed and curled up into a ball, unable to stop yet more tears from coursing down her cheeks. Her life as she’d known it was over.
Chapter Five
Nevada and his mother pored over old documents inside Mancie’s modest home. His grandfather, Mason, would know where to find what they were looking for, but both had agreed not to bother him unless it was absolutely necessary.
Mason was in the Legend of Sleepy Cat Peak tent in downtown Passion Peak, where he was every day of his life, selling merchandise with the gold and brown Sleepy Cat logo on it to residents and the few tourists the town had, and telling the legend to anyone who would listen. Now that there was snow in the mountains, they’d have visitors who had come to ski roaming the town, even though the closest ski resort was ten miles away.
Passion Peak drew some tourists regardless of that distance because of the Belle Meade Hotel. It was perched on a slope overlooking Apache Street and Mystic Ridge Enterprises, the sheep ranch owned by the Alvarado family. It catered to the winter sport crowd and offered daily free shuttles to the slopes during peak season. The room rates weren’t cheap, but they were still far less expensive than hotels closer to the slopes, so they were always booked from mid-October until the snow melted in the spring.
But right now, Nevada was looking for something specific in his mother’s home. Something that would tell him whether Saffron was lying through her pretty white teeth, or truly in danger like she said. “It was in The Alpha Legend book. Remember when I asked you about the stones?” he explained. “The incantation was next to a picture of leopards. I asked Grandfather about it one day, and told him I was going to take a leopard jasper, labradorite, and lepidolite stone to school for show-and-tell. He then me never to talk about those stones in school. That’s the book I’m looking for.”
“I know exactly which book you mean, Nevada, and I remember that conversation because it was one of the key reasons your grandfather and I took you out of the public school system shortly afterward. But I don’t know where the book is right now. I haven’t seen it in years.”
Nevada and his mother had led a nomadic life since Nevada had been taken out of the Passion Peak school system at age twelve. That’s when he’d first begun to change, and his mother realized her son would be in danger of having his true nature exposed if left in school. She and several others in the village had homeschooled him, but his schooling wasn’t why Nevada and his mother had spent the next eighteen years moving around the country every few months, as most of the residents of Passion Peak had been told.
When Saffron had said she was a rare black panther, or melanistic leopard, her words had sent shivers down Nevada’s spine. He’d known then that he needed to leave and return to his mother’s home to find more information, and fast. That’s why he’d left her so abruptly.
“Did you take it with you on our travels?” he asked.
She shrugged. “I don’t know. I can’t imagine why I would have done so. Most shape-shifter villages have at least one copy of it, so why would I need it? And even if I had done so, we’ve never left anything behind, so it should still be here.”
Nevada sighed out loud. His mother, for all the danger she was in every day of her life, was the most unaffected person he’d ever known. Nothing fazed her. She went down into the town most days and sat in the tent on Juniper Street with his grandfather or another family member, just as if she lived there, and it wasn’t unusual for the residents to see her out and about. Nevada didn’t understand her reluctance to hide, and he never would.
“Did you loan it to anyone to read?”
“No. I’ve never given it to anyone that I remember.”
“Grandfather will know where it is. I’ll have to go into town and ask him.”
“Why is it so important, Nevada? Let that poor girl go on about her business.”
He glanced sharply at his mother, knowing it was useless to ask her again why she didn’t take any of this seriously. “She specifically mentioned the Rosens, Mother.” He lowered his voice, even though they were indoors and no one could hear them. “That can’t be coincidence. They have to be the same people who have been hunting cougars like you and Landon for centuries. That girl has put us all in danger.”
“Rosen is not an uncommon surname, Nevada. They could be a different family with the same surname.”
“Who just happen to live east of here? The distance and location fit.”
“But you sai
d she was running from them.”
“And she has an uncle who practiced rituals in his home? Rituals her grandmother told her not to watch? More coincidence?”
“That doesn’t prove anything.”
“What about the fact that she was being forced to mate with two of them?”
“Nevada, you said she didn’t recognize what you or Landon are. That doesn’t sound to me like she’s in league with anyone.”
“Then she simply hid it well.”
“Nonsense. Let her go. She’s obviously telling the truth. She did not come here seeking me or Landon.” His mother didn’t have the slightest trace of trepidation in her dark eyes. Nevada had lost count of the times they’d gone to stay with other families around the country, and each time they learned even more about the people who hunted melanistic shifters. And yet she sat here now, in the cool October afternoon, as unaffected by all this as if she lived a normal life and was simply going through the motions of her day. How did she do it?
“Why on earth would I let her go? What if she’s actually part of them and this is just a game she’s playing? As soon as I release her, she’ll return to her village and tell her uncle that you and Landon are here.”
“These Rosens are after her. They don’t even know me or Landon are here.”
“You don’t know that either of those things is true.”
His mother shook her head. “No, I don’t. I didn’t look into her eyes. But you did. You know the truth. You saw it in her. Why are you afraid to admit that? You said she didn’t hear you approach, which means she’s not very powerful or was simply distracted as she told you she was. You also said she’s still young. It’s possible she has never had someone to guide her in developing her skills.”
“She’s twenty-five. That’s not young as far as her powers go. She’s probably been able to shift since at least twelve or thirteen years of age.”
“Not necessarily. With girls the powers often emerge a bit later, and they usually keep them hidden because it’s supposed to be the men who can do this, not the women. But even if her powers had emerged that early, she may not have had a chance to use them, or have lived with someone who could show her all that she is able to do. And if she is what she says she is, they don’t want her to get away. Surely she knows that. She is no threat to us, Nevada, but you don’t know what their plans are for her. You could be exposing her to great danger by keeping her in a place where they can track her down.”
“They won’t find the cabin.”
“How do you know they aren’t following her scent right now?”
“I don’t. But I’m not letting her go until I know the truth.”
“Is that the only reason you’re keeping her locked up like a prize you won? To get at the truth? A truth you already know in your heart? Or is there a different reason, Nevada?”
He had to look away from his mother’s gaze. She had always been able to look right into his thoughts and sense them. She had the gift of visions as well, and she read tarot cards for the residents in the town. Most of them were afraid of her readings, however, because Mancie Ruiz didn’t sugarcoat them. She told the people who paid her a mere twenty dollars exactly what the cards said, good or bad.
“Yes, of course it’s the only reason.” He was a damn liar and she knew that, and he knew that she knew that, but his mother didn’t say another word. She merely rose from the table and headed for the door.
“I’ll go into town and ask your grandfather if he’s seen the book of which you speak. You go check on that poor girl. She must be scared out of her wits by now. Sending Will to watch her is like sending a rabbit to catch a coyote.”
He’d never told her who he’d sent to watch the cabin. Damn show-off. Nevada resisted the urge to toss a book at her retreating back. He’d never be able to keep anything hidden from her. Even if he were lucky enough to find his mate one day, they’d have to live miles from her or his mother would know every time they had sex or got into an argument.
Nevada gave the other books and documents spread out before him another cursory glance, but they told him nothing he hadn’t already known. Black leopards, jaguars, and cougars were rare. The leopards were even rarer because they hadn’t been on this continent for very long. As far as he and his mother had been able to determine, they’d only been here approximately one hundred years. And because they were so rare, that made them more in demand for twisted societies like the League of Exitium, who would sacrifice his mother and Landon if they were found.
But were the Rosens she mentioned part of the League, or was their name just a coincidence? Was her uncle part of it as well? That would explain some of the things Saffron had hinted at. And if they were the same Rosens, or if her uncle was part of the League as well, his mother and Landon were also at risk. If whoever was chasing Saffron tracked her close enough to the cabin, they might discover this village as well. That’s why Nevada had to find out if Saffron was telling the truth.
He needed to know whether she was part of them, or truly being hunted by them. And, he needed to know more about these particular Rosens. He needed to know if they were the same Rosen family that he knew were part of the League of Exitium. Saffron uttering their name couldn’t have been mere coincidence. The Rosens he knew of lived east of here, and that’s where her village was.
If they were the same Rosens that meant her uncle was most likely part of the League. She said her uncle was forcing her into a marriage with two of the Rosens. There had to be a specific reason for that. Was it only to keep the bloodline going as she’d said? Or did they plan something for the cubs? The latter reason made Nevada very uncomfortable to think about, but he knew it might be true.
He uttered a sound of disgust and began to carefully replace the ancient books and parchments in the trunk from which he and his mother had taken them over two hours ago. He tried to put Saffron’s frightened face from his mind, but now of course he couldn’t. Especially once his mind had raced toward the topic of sex and mating.
He’d given into the temptation of sex once, but he couldn’t do it again. He’d made love to a woman who wasn’t his to have. It had been consensual, and she’d begged him to stay, but of course he hadn’t been able to do that. He couldn’t allow anything like that to happen again or it would mean losing the respect of his tribe. His mother had been able to keep his prior indiscretion hidden from the rest of them, including his grandfather, but Saffron wasn’t halfway across the country as the other woman had been. She was less than a mile away.
Something had shifted deep in his soul when he’d looked into her green eyes this morning. Something he couldn’t explain or understand. But he had to stay strong. It wasn’t only his mother he had to protect. He was sworn to protect Landon as well. But that might prove complicated, because unless Nevada had been mistaken, Landon had been affected by Saffron as well.
He’d known Landon for sixteen years now and had never seen him look at a woman like that, shifter or human. The man was in more danger with her than he realized. Nevada would have to stay focused for both of them.
He should have been the one to go into town, not his mother. But he knew she wouldn’t have stayed here regardless. Still, he didn’t want to simply sit here and wait for her to return. She might decide to sit in that tent all day, and then forget to ask his grandfather about the book until they were both on their way back to the village after sunset. And he couldn’t leave Saffron alone that long. He’d promised her that he wouldn’t. For all Nevada knew, Will was asleep in front of the cabin by now, and a family of coyotes howling ten feet from him wouldn’t wake him up if that were true.
What kind of a life did Saffron lead in her village? From the way she’d spoken of her grandmother, the woman had been her entire world. She must be very lonely right now as well as afraid. Nevada mentally shook away the thoughts that were dangerously close to compassion for this girl. He had to stop this. Until he knew more, he had to regard her as being a potential danger to himself,
Landon and his mother. He couldn’t let his heart or his dick get in the way of what had to be done.
His mother refused to use a cell phone, but his grandfather had one. He sent him a text, letting him know that Mother was on her way into town to ask him about a book they both needed. At the end he tacked on a quick line about going up to the cabin, and to ask his mother what that meant. Nevada didn’t want to put all the stuff about Saffron into a text message. He’d let his mother explain it.
Then he sent a text to Landon and asked him to meet him at the cabin as soon as he was done with his work for Notus today. There was nothing else to do right now, and Nevada couldn’t simply sit here and wait. He might as well go and keep Saffron company. Maybe she’d do or say something that would give him a clue whether or not she was telling the truth, until he could find that book and wait for the full moon. Then he’d use the leopard jasper stone and learn the truth about her nature.
Before he went to the cabin, he stopped at his own home and picked up a deck of cards and some fresh bread that Nikki, his cousin and Will’s sister had baked that morning. He told himself it was the right thing to do. What other reason would he have for taking it to her, after all? The bread in the cabin was probably stale by now, and might even be moldy. He was only making sure she had fresh food to eat.
He’d already closed and locked the door behind him, but as an afterthought he went back inside and grabbed a bottle of wine as well. She might like something besides water to drink. No other reason for taking it to her. None at all.
He walked slowly, enjoying the smell of pines and crisp air. The day wasn’t cold, but it wasn’t as warm as it had been two weeks ago. Nevada glanced up at the peak as he walked through the woods. The snow was visible from here, and once again he realized it wouldn’t be too long before this entire slope was covered as well. What were they going to do with Saffron if it snowed before they could discover the truth about her?
