by PJ Schnyder
She gave him the jab-cross-hook-cross combination he’d finished teaching her a moment before and spoke. “If a man is all alone in the woods…” She danced around, her weight forward on the balls of her feet, as he circled and held the gloves out for a front kick, “and there's no woman around to hear him…” She gave him the kick with a resounding thwack to the gloves. “Is he still wrong?”
“Ha!” A female instructor snickered, having overheard. “Always liked that one.”
Adam scowled at his colleague and his spunky new student equally. Mackenzie blinked her big brown eyes then stuck out her tongue at him again. Somehow the childish gesture had a completely adult kind of effect on him. He didn't bite back his comment in time. “Better keep that in your head or someone will give you something else to do with it.”
Those dark brown eyes widened even more, if they could, and she bit her plump lower lip for a second before her eyes sharpened with mischief. She snapped her teeth at him. “That's why you're supposed to be teaching me self defense.”
Adam felt things down low tighten when she snapped her teeth. His cat liked the way she wasn't so damaged she couldn't play. Trying to hide his response from her became a challenge through the class, and he gave thanks she hadn't learned to interpret scents well enough to smell his arousal.
Of course, the rest of the class had no such problem. Luckily, the pride was close knit. No one would give him away to Mackenzie until she could figure it out for herself.
“So what did you think of the class?” He offered her a hand towel and a bottle of water as they walked over to where her father waited.
Her face flushed from exertion and her dark chocolate eyes sparkling from activity, she gave him a grimace. “Interesting. I kinda suck at it.”
“Yeah.” Nick rose from his seat on one of the chairs in the waiting area to give her a hug. Adam noticed her father moved slowly to give her time to prepare for the gesture. Humans moved slower than shifters, but not that slow. Adam guessed the family had suffered a lot of heartache watching what psychological damage had been done even after she had physically healed. Her father smiled at her, tender and affectionate. “But, not so bad. It's a new thing. You aren't supposed to be good at it right away. It'll give you something to work on. You like working on things.”
Mackenzie smiled softly in response, patting at her neck with the hand towel.
Nick turned to Adam. “Are all the classes like today?”
Adam nodded confirmation. Her father loved her, but it obviously tortured the man to stand by and watch her struggle to rebuild herself. “Warm ups first and then moving through drills. There's always a couple of new drills and a review of drills the class already knows.”
Nick grunted and nodded. “Any sparring?”
Adam noticed the man managed to convey a whole range of meaning with as little as a grunt and a nod, but he understood. Fresh from her ordeal, close contact engagement would trigger worse memories in Mackenzie than the brief panic attacks he'd seen in the past day or so.
“Not in the blend classes.” He answered honestly, making sure she’d know what might come later on down the road. “If Kitten here stays on for the more specialized classes, there could be some sparring, but only after a pretty good chunk of time. She'd have gained a lot of skill and confidence by then.”
Nick considered for a moment, dipping his chin low and drawing his eyebrows together. After a moment, he nodded again, satisfied.
“Should we head back now?” Mackenzie lightly bumped her father's side with her shoulder, her hands on the towel draped around her neck.
An improvement. She hadn't been comfortable with small gestures the day before.
“It's about time.” Nick agreed with his daughter, nudging her back with his shoulder. They stood like that often, shoulder to shoulder, leaning into each other.
It seemed to Adam they communicated much more than what they said. He felt a little left out, but before he could decide what to do about it, she turned back to him.
“I'd like to keep attending classes.” Her smile shot a spear of light through his heart.
He returned the smile. “We'd be glad to have you. Next blended class is in two days. In another week or so, we should have the dojo put back together again properly. In the meantime, I'll meet up with you to show you around the town.”
"Sounds good." Already looking outside, her sharp eyes scanned the area, as if looking for ghosts.
He fought the urge to offer to walk her home, but held his tongue. Her father could be there for her. In a short time, Nick would be going back to the city, and Adam wanted her to have as much time with him as she could. It would be better to let them go on their own.
Funny how he already looked forward to the next time he'd see her.
Chapter 3
The taste of her blood lingered on his tongue and he knew he could find her.
Mackenzie was his. She didn’t belong to humans anymore, and she would find no solace with the weak shifters who had dared to give her sanctuary. With the blood bond between them, she had no place on the planet to hide. Wherever she ran, he would find her.
Loneliness shrouded her heart, he sensed the way every beat echoed in empty space. Lonely and confused and waiting for him. All females played the game…find me, catch me. She tested his skill, his love, to see if he could come and claim her. She knew he loved her. After all, he had made her.
He would pass her test. A pride full of spotted weaklings barely presented a challenge.
Although pitiful as they might be, he knew the weak could still overcome a warrior if their numbers managed to overwhelm. He approached with caution, skirting the territory and making plans. Remaining hidden became child’s play as he counted their sentries, timed their patrols. With his allies, infiltrating their land would pose no issue.
He had a few presents for his Mackenzie, and a few tricks to set her off balance so she would be grateful to fall into his arms.
When she realized she had no place to turn, she would come to him. After all, she was his.
Chapter 4
“What is this place?”
Adam grinned as he watched her stare around with those large, liquid brown eyes framed in long, long lashes. Such an interesting mix, Mackenzie. One moment a cautious, serious girl having seen too much, suffered too much. The next moment, she approached life as new and curious as a kitten, ready to experience everything for the first time.
“The communal kitchen and store.” He headed for the food service counters. One served various tender cutlets grilled or breaded over rice, another offered sliced meats in sauces and yet another had various types of noodles in different types of savory broth. Each counter had a menu posted with clear pictures of the offerings. “The Sentinels and Enforcers are on duty in rotating shifts around the clock. We don’t always have time to cook but can always come here to eat or get something wrapped up to take back to our lairs if we don’t feel social. The food service is available at all hours, quickly served but not fast, if you get my meaning.”
“Sounds like you’re on the job all the time.” Nick watched all of the predators around him. Human, Nick seemed aware of his vulnerability. He hid it well, and no scent of fear gave him away, only caution. Since most humans either succumbed to fear or walked arrogantly without it, Adam decided Mackenzie’s father had wisdom to find a middle ground.
“We take the protection of the pride seriously. There’s full coverage around the clock, every day. Junior and retired soldiers supplement both Sentinels and Enforcers in every shift, too. There will always be someone ready to meet whatever comes up.”
“Good to know.” Nick gave the questions a rest for a while, his eyes on the shapeshifters around him, and on the way his daughter reacted to the surroundings.
“This is where the grocery store is, too?” Mackenzie craned her neck to look over at the half of the building stocked with groceries. The other half opened onto an area with tables and chairs set in groupi
ngs of two, four or eight. Around the perimeter of the seating area, counters provided food service.
“Like to cook?” asked Adam.
Nick snorted, one of those elusive smiles spreading across his face. In answer to Adam's questioning look, he gestured at the grocery area. “She's been cooking since childhood, for her brother and sister, too. Her mother and I work late.”
She nodded slowly, a few strands of dark hair falling across her cheek. “I cook some. I’m not great, but I used to cook at home most nights. Mom and Dad work hard for us, so it’s the least I could do.”
Nick slipped an arm around her shoulders and gave her a brief squeeze, letting the solid contact settle her nerves. “Your cooking is great.” He paused. “Can't cook for less than sixty people though, you're going to have a lot of leftovers around.”
“Dad!”
Adam didn’t miss the way her father had redirected her mood. He grinned. “Any of the juveniles would love to help you out with leftovers. You can do most of your grocery shopping here or have them run the groceries for you if you're cooking for them. There’s also one or two specialty stores in town like the coffee shop and bakery.”
“Mmm.” Her attention focused on the food service counters. Several hours had passed since the coffee they’d shared that morning, and Adam knew she must be hungry.
“You hungry already?” Nick asked and Adam heard the worry in his voice. She’d probably been eating a lot more than she used to, something her father wouldn’t understand.
“A shapeshifter burns calories at a higher rate than humans.” Adam explained in a matter-of-fact tone, to reassure her father, and to warn her. “We eat often and in greater quantity. A hungry shapeshifter is bad news.” And she wouldn’t have known yet to eat enough to satisfy her hunger. The human doctors probably hadn’t known the fact to tell her before she’d left the city. “Her appetite is a good sign, actually. Loss of appetite would have had me worried.”
Mackenzie's father nodded, the tightness in his face clearing. Nick flattened his hand against her shoulder and gave her a gentle shove towards the food service counter. "We should get you fed, then."
As she approached, one of the juveniles straightened behind the counter. Adam hung back casually to see how she reacted to Liam.
“New to River Gap?” Liam gave her his friendliest tone. One of the older juveniles, on the brink of becoming recognized as a man in the pride, he stood an inch shy of six feet tall, a good six inches over Mackenzie’s petite stature. He gave her a slow, smooth smile with a twinkle in his dark blue eyes. Even though he had some filling out to do, Liam had popularity covered, with no lack of female company, and a lot of practice wooing shapeshifters and human girls alike.
She gave him a sweet, shy smile, nodded and then asked in a wry tone, “Is it so easy to tell?”
“We’re pretty close knit here in River Gap. Everybody knows everybody.” He shrugged, spreading his hands open in front of him. Adam didn't miss the way her eyes dropped to Liam's hands. “But we’re all friendly. What can I get you?”
“What’s good?” Mackenzie tilted her head to one side with an engaging look Adam found fascinating. Liam proved even more susceptible. Adam watched as the juvenile’s interest focused more tightly on her while he launched into a discussion of the dishes served at his counter, drawing out Mackenzie’s preferences. A good tactic, learning the tastes of a particular female, one Adam himself had taught the boy to help him in his romantic relations.
Watching them interact, Adam noticed an air of patience about her. She humored the juvenile. Even though Liam made his play for her interest, she definitely kept control of the conversation. She proved to be more than the boy could handle, and Adam was inordinately pleased.
Still, she had an open and inviting personality. Those eyes of hers sparked with life and her plump lips curved in a ready smile lighting her entire face. Something in the way she held herself, shoulders relaxed and head tilted to one side, disarmed him. She had a way of getting into a man’s comfort zone before he ever realized she was there. And once there, it was hard to imagine her not.
Resolutely, Adam buried the feelings he didn’t want to identify. She was his student and his charge. He’d decided to keep it simple. The last thing she needed from him was the pressure of his interest. A lighter set of encounters with juveniles like Liam would ease her into life in the pride without the tension. Besides, she’d walked through the door only a day before.
“There’s a bonfire tonight.” Liam continued to coax her. “It’s a good time. There’s music and dancing, some stories by the fire. You should come.”
Hesitation. “Oh, I don’t know.”
“Aw, come on.” Liam gave her his best smile, one he used to melt even older women into his lap.
Mackenzie bit her lower lip as she considered. Adam sensed Liam’s beast rising to the surface. Not that he blamed the boy. Mackenzie’s lips were a temptation, sweetly curved, and a plump invitation for the kinds of kisses that could leave a man drowning.
“Maybe,” she said finally, with a touch of reluctance.
But, Liam pounced on it like a surrender. “Then I’ll look to see you there. Promise me a dance.”
Adam bit back a growl. He wanted her to interact after all. He wasn’t going to swat the boy for flirting. Liam gave her the normal give and take, ease of conversation Adam wanted to get her comfortable with amongst the shifters.
She only laughed and reasserted her earlier answer. “Maybe.”
And, he’d be damned if he’d begrudge the boy for the brightness of the smile she gave Liam when he loaded a tray with her order. Adam even found it in him to pity the boy. Mackenzie had no idea how devastating her brilliant smile could be, walking away completely centered on her food as the juvenile wistfully watched her retreating figure.
Deliberately ordering from a different counter, Adam collected his meal. As he grabbed a pair of chopsticks, he paused and then took another pair. His student might benefit from another little lesson. Since the Cataclysmic Wars, the humans in the cities had focused a lot of their culinary practices on what had been considered Western style, using forks and knives. The shapeshifters had preserved many of the other cuisines and eating practices over the intervening time.
“Dig in.” Adam encouraged her as he and Nick joined her at the table.
Adam watched Mackenzie grab up her fork in a flash and then catch herself. With an effort, she slowly took a bite of breaded pork cutlet and chewed.
He smiled in approval when she glanced up at him. Not all new shapeshifters could control the urge to devour. Fascinated by the way her cheeks flushed a dusky rose, his fingers itched to brush across the heated skin. Instead, he tilted his head to indicate how he held his hands and watched as she noticed he wasn’t holding a fork. The pair of little sticks balanced in his hands.
“These are chopsticks,” he said in answer to the adorable look of puzzlement in her face.
Mackenzie swallowed and cocked her head to one side quizzically, studying his hand with her intent stare. “You can eat with those?”
“They’re a set of utensils used by some cultures in the old world.” Adam waved the chopsticks to one side and then the other, suppressing a chuckle as her eyes followed his hand. “We find them useful because they’re easy to carry and clean if we’re away from town for a while. In a pinch, we can even whittle a pair easier than we can make forks or spoons. They take some skill and dexterity to use.”
Full of curiosity, Mackenzie studied how his hand held the sticks and used them to pick up pieces of food or scoop up rice. Adam grinned. She looked like a kitten studying a piece of loose string. He resisted the urge to wiggle the chopsticks to see if she’d pounce and instead handed her the extra pair.
Teaching Mackenzie a new way to eat made lunch a positive experience, and a lot more interesting for Adam. The urge to fall on her meal and tear into it disappeared as the human and cat sides engaged. When she acted so cute, she made it easier
for Adam to remember his role. He was her teacher, her guardian. End of story.
“Are you looking forward to the bonfire tonight?” Even to his own ears, Adam's cheerful voice sounded forced.
Mackenzie walked at his side, silent. The energy he associated with her every move had become muted.
“I think it would be a good idea for you to join us.” He decided to press on as if her silence was normal. She had given in to a rush of vulnerable tears as she had seen Nick off at the train station. Even from a distance, Adam’s sensitive shifter hearing had heard the sobs. “We’re celebrating the birth of a new child, and there will be a lot of other children and juveniles there.”
“How would going be a good idea?” Her voice came across flat and devoid of interest, as if she didn't care about the answer. It had only taken a few minutes for her to regain the careful control she maintained in front of him and bottle up her sadness again, as if the torrent of fear and grief had never occurred, but a lifeless Mackenzie had been left behind.
“Those of us born shapeshifters learn from birth to be what we are,” he said, encouraged when she responded at all. “It would do you some good to spend some time around the young children and juveniles to see what they see and how they experiment.”
“You seem to like to toss me in with kids.” The spark of temper flared.
He continued unphased, wondering if he could fan the spark a little. “You’ll also get a good exposure to how we interact socially.”
“Families,” she began, hesitating and then trying again in a stubborn tone. “Families will be there.”
“It’s not healthy for a shapeshifter of your breed to be alone.” He insisted. “You need exposure to others, a pride to socialize with and be near. You’re a southern peninsula panther in your other form. Not so different from the River Gap Pride jaguars. It’s another reason why the Conservation sent you here. The Conservation doesn't only see to the restoration of the wilderness. It sees to the well-being of the shapeshifters living in the wild. You need the interaction and the social contact a healthy pride can give you.”
