by Kate Rudolph
Showtime.
She was in the middle of the shapeshifters territory, running, and carrying their most prized possession. This shit was going to be tricky. She had to make it into the forest bordering the property and a mile away before they caught her.
Mel dropped all pretense and sprinted, covering the grass of the yard and diving into the woods. She trusted her body to find the right path, avoiding fallen branches and vines. Of course this would have all gone a lot faster if she could have covered the distance in her other form, but then she would have no way to carry the gem. She’d briefly considered holding it in her mouth, but the risk of swallowing it was too great.
The forest was eerily silent around her. But then again lions were chasing her, she’d barely be able to hear them when they caught up. She didn’t look behind her, instead looking up at the thick branches overhead. If she were going to catch someone, she would pounce from above. But she was a leopard. That was her style. Luke’s pack was made of lions. Who knew how they would act? This wasn’t the savanna.
Her heart labored in her chest, pumping so fast that she could feel the pulse in her temple. But she covered the mile and found the little charm buried under the dirt. It resonated with the magic in her concealment charm. She pulled the concealment from the bracelet she wore and grabbed the small canvas bag with the Scarlet Emerald in it and buried both of them underneath a small layer of dirt. Krista would be able to come back for it and the charm would keep the gem hidden from the werecats.
Breaking into Torres’ house wasn’t that hard. Stealing the stone had been even easier than she expected, but now came the part that made this job so damned difficult. Once a shapeshifter got a scent, he didn’t forget it. She would be a marked woman in this territory for as long as Luke Torres ruled, maybe longer. And that was if she could get out.
Her car was hidden another two miles away, and she had no idea what connections Torres had to local law enforcement. She and her team had taken every shortcut possible to get this thing done, and now she was going to pay the price.
Mel felt rather than saw the first cat. It was a prickle at the nape of her neck. She picked up her pace, changing to an all-out sprint. She made enough noise to scare every small animal in a half-mile radius, but speed was now more important than stealth.
A roar sounded far behind her, and she wanted to freeze in her tracks. The alpha knew and now he was after her. She should have been scared, but Mel smiled, feeling the thrill of the hunt. Even if she was the one hunted, that alpha was a worthy opponent. And no matter what happened to her, she’d already beaten him.
Mel couldn’t run any faster. There was a simple limit to how fast two legs could carry any one person, and she was there. It would take too long to shift and gain speed. That lion’s roar told her she was in trouble, but she didn’t give up. Escaping would be nearly impossible, but she’d been in impossible situations before. She always came out of them, somehow.
This time, though, it looked like she would need to find another way. A lioness landed behind her, claws digging into the dirt just feet from where she’d been a moment before. Mel skidded to a stop. She couldn’t outrun a cat, not on two legs. Probably not even on four. Outrunning a shapeshifter in her own territory was a fool’s errand.
Fight or surrender?
She knew what she was supposed to do, but her claws pricked at her fingertips, dying to be let out. She could take one cat. Even in human form. But the saner part of herself argued. It wouldn’t just be one cat for long, and the fight would delay her.
“Damn it!” Mel turned around, her hands raised.
A golden lioness crouched before her, ready to leap up and subdue her. Mel bowed her head, keeping the animal in her sight. “I surrender myself to the Alpha’s mercy.” The words burned her tongue, but ritual words held power. They were important. Now this lioness couldn’t kill her, not if she thought that honor was important. There was only one man who could do her harm now.
Luke Torres.
LUKE HAD THE ACCOUNT from Maya. They’d been able to reconstruct the exact path the thief had taken, captured her both on video and by scent. And yet no one could remember seeing her when she came in. A dozen people in the house and she had walked off with the proverbial crown jewels.
He walked down two flights of stairs, into a sub-basement that shouldn’t have existed. It was a tiny room, really, with just an overhead light and no furniture. They called it the Cage, but the name didn’t ring true. There were no bars here, just a steel door with a handle on the outside. The only other way in the room was through a five inch wide vent in the ceiling. No creature that Luke knew of could fit through it, at least nothing that could also look human. And this woman definitely looked human.
Though he found that he missed the red hair.
He let the steel door close behind him and studied his captive. Not many people threw themselves on the mercy of an alpha. In some territories it would be suicide. In others, it would be worse. Especially for a woman as beautiful as the one reclining against the stone wall. At the moment her beauty was mostly a remembered thing. She wore all black clothing which disguised her figure and yet gave her plenty of range of motion, and covered her face with a balaclava. In any other circumstance, his cats would have stripped her of the mask, but as it was, no one could touch her.
No one except for him.
That shouldn’t have excited him. He wasn’t that type of man, but Katie – or whoever she was – had been haunting his dreams. The things he could do to her now...But he wouldn’t. There were lines that a man didn’t cross.
He studied the thief. For all that she sat in a cell, she seemed relaxed. Though in her line of work he doubted that this was her first time in a cage. She had one leg drawn up with an arm resting on her knee. Her head was tilted back against the wall. And yet her eyes studied him with a calculated coldness. Then they darted away, taking in the rest of the room.
“How many ways out do you have?” He found himself asking.
The woman smiled and Luke felt his heart thump. She didn’t try to hide behind a smile - she let the predator shine through. “There is only one door.” Her voice was lower than it had been at the bar and he wondered if this was what she really sounded like.
“One door out of this room, yes. But I’m sure you’ve accounted for that.” He almost took a step towards her, but he held himself back. There were only four feet between them already, no need to close the distance.
“You would think.”
Luke slid down to sit against the door. It felt wrong to tower over her. “I take it your name isn’t Katie.” He felt ridiculous talking to a masked woman, and there was no way it could be comfortable to sit with that thing on her face. Luke leaned over and grabbed the balaclava, pulling it off of her and revealing brown hair and the rest of the face that he thought he knew so well. He remembered the green eyes, but without the red hair, they looked duller. And she’d covered the dusting of freckles on one cheek when they first met. But her face wasn’t lopsided, if anything he liked it better. He felt himself smile. “Would you care to enlighten me?”
She opened her mouth but bit back whatever she planned to say. It was never a wise move to lie to the man who held ultimate power over life or death. “Mel.”
It was a start. “Is there anything to go with that?” There had to be hundreds of Mels in the world, with no last name, no full name, he didn’t know if his security squad could find out more about her.
But she only smiled. “I’m Mel,” she said the words as if explaining to a child that the sky was blue.
“I’m Luke, but you already knew that.” If they were explaining the obvious, he figured he’d play along. “Why did you ask for mercy?” He didn’t have all night, though if he let himself forget he might stay talking to her for far too long. The ground was more comfortable here than he remembered.
Mel swallowed and looked away, this time Luke was sure she wasn’t planning an escape. “My mom always told me
never to fight lions. I don’t know if she was being metaphorical.” A strange expression crossed her face, fondness and regret. “I didn’t even know what metaphorical mea...” She shook her head and flattened her expression. Mel took a second and then looked over, her eyes shining bright, “You have a reputation as a man of honor.”
Luke’s inner lion preened. But this wasn’t the time to bask in compliments. “And a man of honor wouldn’t execute a thief?” The words tasted like ash on his tongue. He couldn’t even conjure up an image of her death, though he should have been reveling in plans of vengeance. Strange, and he had no idea why.
“Not without a trial.” She curled her arm up so that her elbow was positioned on her knee and rested her head on her hand. “So are you honorable, Mr. Torres?”
“My sister might argue the point.” He didn’t want to talk about his sister with this woman. He had no reason to, but he couldn’t stop himself. “Do you have any?”
Mel’s eyebrows shot up and she almost recoiled. He only noticed it in the bunching of the muscles of her neck. She didn’t answer for over a minute, he didn’t think she would. But his Mel was full of surprises. “I suppose I don’t,” she said quietly.
Luke leaned toward her. He told himself that it was so that he could hear her clearly, but he could hear a possum dart through the forest from five hundred feet away. He didn’t play foolish games, not even with himself. But he also didn’t pull away. “You just suppose?” She smelled like the forest, mud mixed with sweat. He hadn’t ever realized how alluring that was.
Mel angled her body towards his and looked at his lips while she spoke. Luke would have looked away from her face to keep himself under control, but something kept his gaze trained on her. “No, no sister. No family at all.” Her hand reached up and brushed away some of the hair that had fallen into his eyes.
Luke hadn’t realized that he was within touching distance. He grabbed her hand and pulled it down in front of him. The hands of a thief shouldn’t have been so delicate. He traced the thin line up the center of her palm and felt her hand contract at the contact. But he only pulled her closer. Her hand was only inches from his lips when she jerked it back.
Then Luke did back up. He stood, forcing himself backwards across the room and putting as much space in between them as possible. What the hell was he thinking?
“Where is the stone?” He demanded, his voice unforgiving.
“I don’t have it.” She spoke so quickly that he knew she’d been anticipating the question.
He knew that Maya had caught her before she could make it anywhere and there had been no other scents to report. No one else was on his property with her. She had to be lying. “Stand up,” he commanded.
Mel stood up with a bright smile. She moved languidly, stretching as she straightened to her full height. That night at the bar he thought she was much shorter than him, but now the height difference didn’t seem as great. She could look right into his eyes while barely tilting her head. “Are you going to pat me down?”
That had been the plan, but looking at her, Luke reconsidered. Because he really, really, wanted to get his hands on her. He kept his distance. “Am I going to find anything if I do?”
She grinned, he could see the girl she must have been at some point. Bright, happy, and full of mischief. “What kind of thief would I be then?” She let her response sink in and changed the subject. “Was it the girl that tipped you off?”
Luke’s brow furrowed. “Excuse me?”
Her eyes narrowed and she leaned in a little. “By my count I should have had at least thirty more seconds. A blonde girl saw me, did she tell you? Or was my estimate just off by that much?”
There were plenty of blondes in the pack, but only one who was in the house at the time. Luke advanced on Mel, slamming her against the wall and pinning her hands with his own. “You go near her, and I will kill you, do you understand?” He growled it, inside he roared.
Mel didn’t look scared, she smiled, but he could feel the terrified beat of her heart with each pulse of blood through her veins. “She seemed a bit young for you. But I’ve got no beef with your girlfriend.”
“She’s not my girlfriend.” Luke didn’t mean to say it. He wasn’t going to tell Mel anything she didn’t need to know. Especially when it came to Cassie, but he didn’t want her thinking there was an entanglement that didn’t exist. He let go and stepped back. “Cooperate with my people. Someone will come talk to you later.”
He knocked once on the door and was let out by the guards.
Chapter Six
THE ALPHA LEFT MEL to stew in the cell for two full days. A guard came once in the morning and once at night to lead her down a pitch black hall to a bathroom with no windows. They offered her no avenue of escape. That was fine, really. She didn’t need one. Mel didn’t need to be given anything; she took what she wanted, and damn everything else.
The bathroom had a faucet so she tried to take in at least a few swallows of water before being lead back to her cell each time. It wasn’t enough. She didn’t know if they were planning to deprive her until she talked or what, but she knew that if they kept up like this another day she would be in serious trouble. She still had at least three days before any help came for her and she couldn’t afford to be weak before then.
If Krista came through.
No. Mel rejected the doubt. It was only the hunger and dehydration talking. This was the job, and no matter the personal shit, Krista would get it done.
Mel’s head jerked up when the door opened. She wasn’t certain of the hour, but it couldn’t be time for her guard to take her on her bathroom trip. And if it was, she was super screwed, that meant she’d lost all sense of time. Or they were staggering the rotations to encourage it.
But it wasn’t one of the two guards she’d seen before. A short Latina woman stood in the doorway, her colorful red hair held back in a braid and her outfit nearly bright enough to blind Mel who’d grown accustomed to the dullness of her cage. “The alpha has had a meal prepared for you,” the woman said. She spoke with the slightest southern drawl. “He has asked me to tell you that you are to attempt no escape and harm no one, unprovoked. Of course, if you are challenged, you are welcome to defend yourself.”
Standard stuff. As the alpha’s ward, Luke was responsible for her protection. And until he decided what to do with her, she was honor-bound to obey his commands. Lucky for Mel, she’d always been a bit short on honor.
It took her a moment to stand, and when she did the room wobbled for a few seconds. Mel clenched her teeth but concentrated on keeping everything else loose. These people didn’t get to know that what they’d put her through had any effect on her. She would not appear weak. Once the room righted itself, Mel smiled at the woman. “That sounds wonderful.” Her voice was hoarse. Nothing a little water wouldn’t fix.
Her guide didn’t speak anymore. She led Mel through the lower level and up one flight of stairs making no attempt at hiding their path, leading Mel directly to another small room set up with a cot and a table. They were still underground and there were no windows. But this room had a light switch inside the door and Mel could see a small bathroom.
What on Earth were they playing at?
“Were they fresh out of bars when you were building this place?” she asked.
The woman gestured for Mel to take a seat at the small table. There were two chairs, one facing the door, one facing the wall. The woman stood next to the one facing the wall. Wonderful. Mel’s back prickled as she left herself exposed. But she sat up straight. Especially if she was getting fed.
Mel smelled her visitor a second before her captor looked up. Heat coiled through her, making her pulse jump. This attraction to the alpha was beyond inconvenient. And frustrating as hell. If this had been any other time she could have indulged him in a bit of play and been done with it. As it was, she was completely under his power and almost wished he would take advantage of that fact.
She’d hate him for
ever, but damn if it wouldn’t be fun.
“Thanks, Maya.” He took the other seat after Maya closed the door behind them.
Mel meant to study the room, but her entire focus was absorbed by the alpha. After more than two days he looked worse for wear. Though at least he’d eaten something. Speaking of food, she could smell something warm and delicious. Her eyes followed that scent all the way to one of his hands. He set a small plastic container down and popped the lid off. It was just some rice and chicken, but Mel had to keep herself from snatching it away. He placed a bottle of water next to the food.
He sat the container down between them and waited for her to look at him. After she did, he spoke. “You’ve hidden the Emerald well. I hope you’re happy.”
It wasn’t hidden, but Mel didn’t say that. She was trying to keep her eyes off the food. If she didn’t look at it, maybe her stomach wouldn’t hurt as much.
“All I want is a direction.” He pushed the food and water across the table and Mel’s hands jerked up to keep everything from falling.
“What?”
“A direction,” Luke repeated. “I’m not going to play some fruitless game with you. I know you won’t tell me exactly where it is. But I hope you’ll indulge me in this.” He pulled a spoon out of his pocket and set it next to her food. “The food is yours either way.”
After giving it a cautious sniff, Mel dug in. She wasn’t waiting for him to change his mind. In two minutes she’d eaten half of what she’d been given and looked up to see Luke watching her. She didn’t slow.
“You’ve gone hungry before.” It wasn’t a question.
Mel swallowed and wiped the back of her hand against her mouth, clearing away a grain of rice. “I suppose everyone does one time or another.”
Luke sat on the bed, giving her the entire table to herself. “I wouldn’t have withheld food if I knew. I’m sorry.”
