Captured by Two Alphas [The Alpha Legend 1] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)

by Tara Rose

  Landon nodded.

  “Do you think we should risk taking Saffron into town? I don’t want to leave her alone again. I don’t feel as secure about that as I did yesterday.”

  Landon glanced at her hair. “She could wear a hat. And if we dress her in baggy clothes, she might not stand out. As long as no one looks too closely into her eyes.”

  Nevada shook his head. “No. It’s not a risk we should take.” He rose and retrieved his cell phone, then began to send a text. “I’m asking them both to come up here. It’s not like there’s no one to man the tent for a few hours. I don’t think we can just wait this out another day.” He glanced at Saffron. “The Rosens and your uncle don’t know where you went, but that doesn’t mean they won’t come wandering around here.”

  She finished chewing her food and swallowed, then nodded. “I agree. I’ll go along with any plan you come up with.” She had no idea what would happen, but they were right. She couldn’t simply stay here. Humans might not be able to detect this cabin, but leopards could find it. And if her uncle or the Rosens got close enough to Nevada or his family, they might recognize their nature. She wouldn’t do anything to put them in danger. Whatever happened, she needed assurances that they would be safe.

  Chapter Eighteen

  An hour later, Saffron sat across the table from Mason and Mancie Ruiz, along with Landon and Nevada. When Nevada’s mother and grandfather had walked into the cabin, Mancie’s sharp gaze had swept across the dying embers in the fireplace, the unopened sleeping bags in the corner, the three backpacks on top of the bed that Saffron had tried her best to fix so that it didn’t look as though they’d all spent the night in it, and then had finally settled on Saffron.

  When Mancie smiled, Saffron had finally let out the breath she’d been holding. Mancie wasn’t stupid. She obviously knew her son had spent the night with Saffron, and that Landon had stayed here as well, but Saffron wondered whether Mancie knew both men had had sex with her.

  “Tell me again where your village is in relationship to here.” Mason was drawing a crude map on a legal pad that Mancie had gone back to her house to get, right after Saffron had told them what little she knew about the company her uncle had kept. Once Nevada had revealed to Mancie and Mason that he suspected it was the League of Exitium, a fact which until that moment, Saffron hadn’t realized Nevada had kept from them, both Mason and Mancie had launched into what Saffron could only call battle mode.

  Instead of fear in their eyes, as she would have expected to see, she watched determination and logic come over their faces, and right now they looked no more worried than as if they were planning out where to place certain merchandise inside their tent. How did they keep such a calm demeanor? The more the group talked, the more Saffron found herself listening to every little sound outside, as if her uncle or the Rosens were simply going to walk up to the front door and knock any second now.

  “And you never saw any of the rituals?” Mancie’s question snapped her back to the present.

  Saffron shook her head. “Never. Topaz told me to stay out of sight when they were in the house.”

  “Did you hear anything?”

  “Chanting, but I couldn’t make out the words. And the smell of burning animal fat was almost always in the house. I think they made candles out of it.”

  Mason and Mancie exchanged a glance, nodding. “That sounds right,” he said.

  “Should I have told you my suspicions yesterday, Grandfather?” asked Nevada.

  Mason shook his head. “It wouldn’t have changed anything.” He picked up his cell phone. “If they’d been able to track her yesterday they would have been here already. You’ve done no harm.”

  “Who are you calling?”

  “Drake Jargonian.”

  “Who is that?” asked Saffron.

  “They’re a tribe of jaguars who live in Utah, just across the state line,” said Mancie. “Nevada and I have stayed with them many times before.”

  “The first time I met them I was thirteen,” said Nevada. “Although, I only vaguely remember that meeting, to be honest. I was still shell-shocked at the amount of time we’d spent traveling by then.” He was smiling as he said it, but Saffron couldn’t help but wonder what Nevada really thought of the strange life he’d led for the past eighteen years. At least she’d had the same home, as frightening as it had been at times.

  “They are part of a larger group around the country who hunt the League of Exitium members,” said Mancie. “They’ll be very interested to know about your village, Saffron.”

  Mason must have reached Drake, because he greeted him by name, and then he took the phone outside to continue speaking. Mancie gathered up the papers they’d both drawn and written on. “You’d best pack quickly.”

  “Excuse me?” Nevada stared at his mother as if she’d just told him to eat the furniture.

  “You are going with her, aren’t you? They will keep her safe. We can’t do that here. Surely you know that.”

  “I know, but…” Nevada looked stunned, and Saffron watched, fascinated as he and Mancie seemed to communicate without words, the same way she’d watched him do that with Landon. “How will I protect you if I’m gone?”

  “Your grandfather can do that, and so can almost every man in this village, Nevada.” Mancie covered his hand with one of her own, and cut her gaze toward Saffron for a few seconds. “I’m not blind, you know. Go with her. She needs you. This is only temporary. Once these members of the League are found and killed you can return home.”

  She glanced at Saffron. “And you will then have to decide where you want to live, and with whom, because you certainly can’t go back to your village after that.”

  Nevada leaned over and embraced his mother, and Saffron had to blink back tears. She didn’t remember her parents or Topaz’s husband. How blessed he was to have grown up with his mother and grandfather in such a loving household. Chaotic with all the traveling, but not scary and uncertain as her life had been after her parents died.

  She glanced at Landon, who looked a bit lost and confused. They stared at each other, and Saffron knew she had to say something. She couldn’t leave him behind. Surely Nevada didn’t want to either, did he? “What about Landon?”

  Nevada released his mother’s embrace and addressed his friend. “Can you get time off work? Say you have sick relatives out of town or something?”

  Landon’s face brightened up. “That’s a good idea. Any clue how long we’ll be gone?”

  Mancie shook her head. “No. But their village is only two hours away. It’s not an easy ride, but if you have to return to your job before Saffron and Nevada come back, you can always stay here with us if necessary.”

  “Thank you, Mancie.” Landon rose and dug in his backpack, taking out his phone. “I’ll be right back.”

  He walked outside, and then Nevada reached into his backpack and handed a pocketknife to Saffron. “I meant to give this back to you earlier. How long will it take you to pack?”

  She smiled. “About thirty seconds.”

  * * * *

  Nevada’s truck was bigger and newer, so they decided to drive it instead of Landon’s. During the drive, Landon and Nevada argued about so many scenarios in which Landon could return to retrieve his truck as well, that by the halfway point, Nevada almost turned around so that Landon could go back and drive it to Utah as well.

  Saffron kept quiet and inhaled the cool October air, turning her face toward the sun. It was so wonderful to be outside again. She knew their bickering back and forth had nothing to do with Landon’s truck. They were worried and afraid for Nevada’s village and she understood why. It was difficult enough to leave your home and set out for the unknown, but they were leaving theirs knowing that everyone they knew and loved could be exposed to an evil society that would kill them if given the chance. Even knowing that jaguars were on their way now to Saffron’s village wasn’t enough to totally ease their concerns.

  Mason had come back into t
he cabin and told them that jaguars would be coming to their village as well, to stay and help keep an eye on things. Others would comb the woods between the cabin and Saffron’s village, looking for her uncle, the Rosens, and any League of Exitium members who might also be searching for Saffron.

  Mason explained that there had long been rumors of the League having a contingent somewhere northwest of Passion Peak, but that the jaguars hadn’t been able to locate it. Now they’d be able to, thanks to Saffron. She couldn’t help but marvel at the strange set of circumstances that had led her to Nevada and Landon, and knowing that she’d helped this group of jaguars locate more members of the League gave her hope that what had started out as something horrible and frightening would end up doing good in their world.

  When Mason had finished speaking with Drake, he’d given the phone to Saffron and asked her to speak with him. He was the head of the village where they were going. Drake had asked her detailed questions about her uncle and the Rosens, including hair and eye color, and anything else she could remember, and finished by telling her not to worry about the cougars. He’d assured her that they would be in good hands.

  Saffron didn’t say so out loud, but she sure hoped Mr. Jargonian knew what he was talking about. If anything happened to Nevada’s family or the others in the village, she’d blame herself.

  “It should be just over that rise,” said Landon, glancing again at the map Mason had drawn them. Landon had tried to bring up Google maps on his phone, but the cell service where they drove was almost nonexistent, and he’d finally given up.

  Saffron had suggested that she or Nevada could shift, and then their sense of direction would get them to where they were going, but Nevada hadn’t wanted to stop unless it was absolutely necessary. Saffron had suggested it for two reasons. She’d also been hoping to see his animal form, but then decided this wasn’t the right time to have a conversation about that subject. And he was right. They needed to get to where they were going, where they’d be safe.

  The map had proven just as useful as any instincts she or Nevada had, and as they topped the next rise Nevada had to slow the truck down because their way was literally blocked about five hundred yards ahead by five jaguars, standing across the road. Saffron stared at them with her mouth open. Who were these beings that were bold enough to shift in daylight and block an oncoming vehicle? Drake hadn’t been exaggerating, apparently.

  If these were the kind of people he’d sent to Nevada’s village, they were in very capable hands. And her uncle, the Rosens, and the League of Exitium were in big trouble. For the first time since she’d slipped out of her house while it was still dark the previous morning, Saffron felt that she might be okay after all.

  One of the cats approached the truck, rose up on his hind paws, and literally poked his face in the window until it was inches from Nevada’s. His yellow eyes held an intelligence and ferocity that sent shivers down Saffron’s spine.

  “We are Nevada Ruiz, Landon Sterling, and Saffron Estampado,” said Nevada. “Drake Jargonian knows we’re coming.”

  The cat nodded, just as a human would, eyed Saffron and Landon for a second, and then moved off the truck and stepped away from the road. The cats ahead of them parted, and Nevada drove slowly past them.

  “That was weird,” said Landon quietly. “Saffron, I’ve asked Nevada this dozens of times, but I wonder if it’s the same for leopards. When you’re in animal form, can you understand everything a human says to you? I mean, do you recognize speech patterns and body language, just as you do when you’re in this form?”

  “Yes. In fact, it’s enhanced in my leopard form. The only thing I can’t do is speak in my human voice, of course. But I can nod, like that jaguar did, and I can gesture in ways I would do as a human.”

  “What does it feel like to shift?”

  She turned in her seat to face the back where Landon was sitting, so that she could look into his eyes. What must his life be like? Knowing he was born to shifter parents but would never possess any of the transformation powers they must have had? “It’s like someone is running a small electrical charge through my body. It doesn’t hurt. It tingles, I guess is the best way I can describe the physical sensation.”

  “What are you thinking when you do it?”

  “I’m concentrating on what I look like as a leopard. And it just happens. The first time I did it, I didn’t know I had until Topaz held up a mirror. I was so afraid that I shifted back to human form without even trying to.”

  Nevada chuckled. “I had a similar experience. Scared the shit out of me the first time it actually happened. I told my mother I was never doing it again.”

  Saffron frowned as memories washed over her. “I told Topaz just the opposite. I wanted to stay in that form as much as possible, but she warned me not to. That was the first time I found out how rare I was, and that there were people who would hurt me simply because I was melanistic.”

  Landon reached though the seats and massaged her shoulder. “It’s going to be all right, Saffron.”

  “I hope you’re right. Because it’ll be my fault if anything happens to that village or Nevada’s mother.”

  Nevada shook his head and gave her a stern look. “No, it will not be your fault. We’ve been living on borrowed time. We’ve always known that. The League has existed for centuries. They have always been a threat to our kind. You did not bring this down on our heads. Please don’t believe that you did, Saffron.”

  She stared at this man whom she’d known for no more than thirty-six hours, unable to comprehend how such an insignificant amount of time could have had such a profound effect on her life. She had to have been right about him, and she had to have been right about Landon as well. If these two weren’t her mates, then her mate didn’t exist.

  Chapter Nineteen

  The village was at least ten times larger than Nevada’s, and was teeming with golden-haired people whose eyes were either a deep green, like her own, or almost yellow in the sunlight. They all seemed to glow with an aura that Saffron found almost unsettling. Their power must be great to give off light in such a way, and to have such an emotional effect on her. The only jaguars Saffron had ever heard of lived east of her village.

  According to what little Topaz had told her, those jaguars kept to themselves, fought with other tribes as a matter of principle, and it had been several of their pack who had killed her parents. Did these jaguars know of them? Would they be able to tell her anything more about how or why her parents had been killed?

  Drake was tall and charismatic. Saffron found it difficult to look away from him. He greeted them warmly, shaking hands with both Nevada and Landon, and remarking on how pleased he was that Nevada was back in their village. Drake shook her hand as well when Nevada introduced her, which was considered a sign of great respect in her village when done to a female. It wasn’t something she was used to.

  He walked with them through the streets of the town, which were mostly brick or cobblestone, and Saffron was amazed to see how many of the homes were also brick or even stone. Only the most powerful people in her village had a home made from anything other than wooden planks. Her uncle had a brick home, and so did the Rosens, but they were two of only a few in town.

  She spotted familiar sights, such as extensive gardens and tents set up, selling fruit, vegetables or other goods. She wondered if the items were bartered, as they were back home, or if the people here used money. Her uncle had money, and over the years, Saffron had never been sure where it had come from because he didn’t have a job, as Landon did. Was it the same here?

  Did certain people hold power and fear over the rest of the village as her uncle had done? She hoped not. She’d traveled a good distance from home and had gone through so much in the past day and a half. She didn’t want to find herself hiding in a place that was no less frightening or uncomfortable than her home had been. On the heels of that thought came guilt. These jaguars were offering them shelter and protection. She should be g
rateful for that, not dwelling on what might or might not be true of their dynamics.

  “What do you think of our town?” Drake asked Saffron.

  “It’s very pretty.”

  “But something is troubling you.”

  She cut her gaze sharply toward him. Apparently they all could read her thoughts. “I was thinking of my uncle and everyone else back home.”

  “Surely by now you realize that there are those who would exploit your kind and use them for evil. It matters not that you are a leopard, that Nevada and his mother are both cougars, or that we are jaguars. We are all cats, and we believe in helping each other, regardless of species. That is the core reason we fight the League of Exitium. They seek to destroy, while we seek to preserve.”

  Saffron smiled. Her earlier fears were groundless. Drake had just proven that in five sentences. “Thank you for letting us stay here.” She then asked Drake if they used money or a barter system in the town.

  “Both, actually. Several of our residents have jobs in nearby towns, so money is circulated among all our residents. But I’d say most of the trade within the town itself is done though a barter system. Is that what you’re used to?”

  “My uncle had money, as did a few of the other powerful males in the village, but I don’t know where they got it from. No one worked among humans that I’m aware of.”

  Drake frowned and nodded slowly. “I’m not surprised. Humans pay a lot of money for animal pelts.”

  She stopped walking as her stomach contracted in fear. What?

  “You didn’t know that.” Nevada’s gentle voice broke through the sudden wave of nausea that washed over her. It wasn’t a question. Rather, his tone implied he had assumed she knew already. She shook her head.

  “It’s common practice for the League to skin their victims before burning the bodies as a sacrifice,” said Drake. “There’s quite a lucrative market for the pelts.”