Dark Truth

by Lindsay McKenna

It was Ana’s nature to trust people she’d known a short time. All her life, she’d been a decent judge of character. She had always chalked it up to gut instinct, but with Juan’s explanation, she wondered if the mother jaguar might have given her something extra, a deep instinctual knowing. With Mace, she certainly felt an inexplicable connection that defied all logic. Sitting and sharing with him felt natural. Her heart told her he could be trusted with anything she ever revealed to him. But Ana wasn’t sure she should surrender all her secrets. He was terribly handsome and she was drawn to him like a proverbial magnet. What woman wouldn’t be? He was intelligent, compassionate and apparently single.

  Right now, however, she needed a friend, someone with whom she could discuss these surprising developments. She sensed Mace wanted to be her friend. Deep down, she had to admit she wanted to be more.

  This isn’t the time for a relationship, she scolded herself. Her father was coming to see her tomorrow. This was life and death. Leaning on Mace any further would only put him in danger. So many times in the last hour, she’d nearly spilled the truth about Victor. She knew Mace would want to protect her, would insist upon it. He had rescued her a few times already.

  But Ana had to handle Victor alone. She didn’t want to, but she had to. All the close calls out in the jungles of Belize had taught her that she could take care of herself even in highly dangerous situations.

  Here, she was staying in a hotel. People would be around and she could call for help. Of course, because he was a sorcerer, he could trap her when she was at her most vulnerable. He could always find her….

  Ana took a deep breath and focused on the present, on Mace. The restaurant was crowded, and since Mace knew the owner, he had requested a quiet table alone on the second floor. Ana nudged the bones of her fresh trout, wishing she had more of an appetite.

  “What an unbelievable story, Ana,” Mace murmured as she finished her tale. He was tired after a long day out in the field, traveling between two sites by helicopter. A day in mud and water, plus problems with the drill rig, had taken its toll on him. But no matter how drained he was, being with Ana reinvigorated him. In the low light, with her hair soft around her face, Ana looked enticing, more so than he wanted to admit. She wore casual pants and a white shirt, with a purple-and-fuschia silk scarf draped around her neck. Her small gold earrings accented the golden tones of her skin and shining eyes.

  There was nothing he didn’t like about Ana, he realized. On one level, Mace felt utterly defeated. No one had trained him to deny his male needs in a confrontation with the Daughter of Darkness. How could they have?

  It was up to him to rein in his hormones. But what about his stupid heart, which had been pining away all day for just a look at Ana? And what about his feverish dreams of making love with her?

  With a sigh, she said, “I can’t believe I was living so close to a jaguar.”

  “I can’t believe that, either,” Mace growled. Staring down at his half-eaten trout, he recalled from his training that jaguar guardians were powerful spirit guides only for Warriors for the Light. Never would a jaguar work for the Dark Forces. So what the hell had Ana been doing with a jaguar at her side? Quite literally, living with one? Frowning, he forced himself to finish his meal.

  “I’ve studied jaguars for years,” Ana said softly, sitting back in the chair. “There are few incidents in Belize where they have harmed a human. But…to live with one?”

  “Surely you had someone looking after you during that time, even if Señor Sanchez or his wife didn’t know about it.”

  “I had dreams, Mace, right after I was adopted. I dreamed of turning from a human being into a jaguar, and back into human form again.” Ana glanced at him to see if he believed her. Mace’s eyes were narrowed on her speculatively.

  “Go on. What happened?” he urged, his voice low.

  “This is going to sound crazy, I know, but these dreams, or whatever you want to call them, continued. They continue to this day, Mace. I see myself shape-shifting. That’s what my adoptive mother called this magical process. She said that, with time and training, the medicine people of her nation can do this sort of thing.” Ana splayed her hands. “And one time, well, the dream became a reality. I have never told anyone this, not even my parents. I was too scared.”

  Frowning, Mace stared at her long, beautifully formed hands held over the table. “What happened?”

  “Well, the first time occurred when I was in Belize, watching the jaguars for scientific purposes. I was on the jungle floor, tracking one of my jags, when I saw a poacher stalking him.” Ana pulled back her hands and tucked them beneath the tablecloth. Looking down, she whispered, “I felt such terror, such rage that this hunter might kill one of my jaguars that I…” Her voice died away.

  Ana risked a look at Mace. She found his eyes focused on her, as intensely as a jaguar’s would be when hunting a quarry. Again, she felt a moment of distrust. Perhaps he was only showing interest, she decided. That thought gave her the courage to go on.

  “Something so weird happened,” she admitted, holding his sharp gaze. Leaning forward, she lowered her voice even further. “I remember feeling a whirling sensation…. I felt such protection toward the jaguar and such anger toward the hunter who was going to kill him. I felt heat and dizziness overtaking me, Mace.”

  Ana pointed to the top of her head. “It was as if some invisible weight or energy other than my own was slipping around me, like you would pull a glove over your hand. As this happened, I lost my balance and nearly fell to the ground. I remember gripping a nearby tree to steady myself. And I felt this downward, anchoring sensation as this…thing, this energy…slipped around me. My rib cage became longer and wider, I saw my vision shifting, my sense of smell increased a hundredfold. And—” Ana held out her hand and stared down at it “—my hand was no longer my own. Instead, I saw a beautiful gold paw with black spots, and the claws of a jaguar.”

  “And then what happened?” Mace’s mind was tumbling in shock. A select few knew the process of shape-shifting—it was secret and sacred information. Ana could not fabricate her experience. It had really happened to her; she had morphed from human to jaguar form in a moment of great danger and stress. If a person had not been trained, the change would happen automatically, and there was no control over the process. Mace had been trained, and could stop himself from morphing, but Ana had no such background.

  As he stared at her in utter disbelief, Mace realized she was not Tupay at least. No Tupay could ever shape-shift into jaguar form. They certainly had the ability to change into other animals or beings, but never this cat. The jaguar nation worked only with Warriors for the Light. How he wanted to believe she was destined for good and not what he had to destroy. The skeptic in him had to keep a distance, stay alert. The sad fact was that, properly trained, Tupay could also possess another person’s body. They could slip their astral energy into an unsuspecting human and share the space with them, one of their favorite ploys. And when a Tupay exited the possessed body, the person instantly died.

  Would Ana do such a thing? Why? Mace wanted desperately to ask, but didn’t dare give himself away.

  “What else?” he demanded in a choked tone.

  “You’re looking at me like I’m loco.” Her expression was one of anxiety mixed with confusion.

  Shrugging, Mace lied, “No. That’s not it. Among the Incas, shape-shifting was a skill. They revered the jaguar as sacred, as being from the Light. I don’t think you’re crazy, Ana. You may be from that bloodline and not know it. You may have that skill through genetic inheritance. Who knows?”

  Mace really didn’t know. His confusion was deep as hers, but for other reasons.

  Relief flowed through Ana and she sighed. “I’m so glad you don’t think I’ve lost it, Mace. And thank you for that information. Juan Sanchez said the Incas revered the jaguar as sacred. He told me that the Inca’s jaguar warriors were specially trained so that they could shape-shift.” Ana smiled with uncertainty. �
��I guess I’m learning one puzzle piece at a time about myself.”

  “What did you do when you became a jaguar?” Mace asked.

  “I felt myself hurtling toward the hunter at a gallop. I heard myself growling deep in my throat. I startled the hunter and he screamed. He dropped his rifle and ran away. At the same time, the jaguar he’d been stalking ran off in another direction, because of the sudden commotion.”

  “And what did you do afterward?”

  Shrugging, Ana said, “I stood there panting. The next thing I knew, I felt that same dizziness, that spiraling feeling. Seconds later, things changed, I changed. I could actually feel whatever it was coming off me, like peeling off a tight glove. It was such an odd feeling.” Ana gave him a searching look. “You seem to know a lot about shape-shifting.”

  Mace tried to sound casual. “Not really. I’m familiar with the local legends about it.”

  “You know more than I do,” Ana murmured.

  “Did it ever occur after that?”

  Taking a deep breath, Ana said, “It has triggered four times, Mace. And every time it does, it scares the hell out of me. I don’t know what’s happening or why. And I can’t control the process. I feel so helpless when it occurs.”

  Stymied, Mace wanted to tell Ana everything, but he couldn’t. Not until he figured out what was going on and why a Tupay such as Ana could shape-shift into a jaguar. No one had educated him on this nuance, and it was a damned important one. He had no one to ask, either. “I—I don’t know of anyone around here who can help you with this.” Another lie. He caught the distraught look on Ana’s lovely face and his heart tore. “But I’ll keep a lookout for a Quero priest or priestess. I know they have jaguar shape-shifters among them. If I find one, I’ll let you know.”

  Ana brightened. “That would be wonderful. Thank you. I’ve been too scared to share this with anyone, Mace. I guess I’m entrusting you with my deepest, darkest secret. Thanks for listening and not judging me.”

  Mace was getting sucked in deeper, with no hope of escape—and no answers, either. “You can tell me anything, Ana. I’m your friend. I won’t ever laugh at you. Over the years that I’ve been down here, I’ve discovered that life is pretty mystical for many people in South America. The Indians on this continent never gave their magical world away, unlike others who think the rational and logical mind is the answer to all of life’s experiences. No, magic exists, Ana, and you’ve stepped squarely into it. I believe what you’ve told me.”

  The look she gave him flooded him with heat and stirred his lower body to life. Her emerald, slightly tilted eyes were the eyes of the jaguar, no question. And he hungered to make Ana his mate, as only a jaguar could.

  Yet Mace had to suspect that she was adroitly luring him into her web of danger, then death. It was a game, he warned himself. A deadly one. As much as he was drawn to Ana, there was no way he could see her as the woman of his dreams.

  Through his parents, Mace had received the finest training known to the Warriors for the Light. He had purpose here. Somehow, he had to find answers to these troubling issues by remaining close to Ana.

  “I know you believe me,” she whispered. “As Juan told me the story, I felt like I was in the middle of a fairy tale, not real life. But it was my life he was talking about, Mace. I must have lived with that mother jaguar, been cared for by her.”

  “It was real,” Mace agreed. Tomorrow, he’d find Señor Sanchez and look into the old farmer’s story. The field was close enough to the drilling project that it would take only an hour or two out of his day to check it out.

  Stifling a yawn, Ana straightened. “Listen, I’m really tired. It’s been a long, emotional day for me. Thanks for dinner, Mace, but I’ve got to go to bed before I fall over.” She placed her napkin on the table and gave him a sleepy smile. His dark expression brightened as she did so.

  It was so easy to like Mace. More and more, Ana wanted to snuggle into his arms and find out how strong he was, and how well he kissed.

  That mouth of his was a beacon to her, and she didn’t try to fight her growing attraction. She’d found out earlier from talking casually with the woman owner of the restaurant that Mace was single and had no present relationship. She’d volunteered the information to Ana. Relieved, Ana allowed herself the private pleasure of simply absorbing Mace’s sunny energy, which throbbed so vitally around him. And unaccountably, his energy lifted her spirits.

  Mace rose to his feet. “Let me walk you to your hotel.” He glanced down at his watch; it was 9:00 p.m. “This time of night, it’s wise to have an escort if you’re a woman,” he confided, pulling out enough soles to pay for their meal.

  “Sure,” Ana said, hitching her knapsack over her left shoulder and heading for the wooden stairs.

  As they walked up the street, past bars loud with music and filled with tourists, Ana absorbed Mace’s closeness. With the thought of Victor around somewhere, the feeling that he was near, she was glad to have Mace’s company on the way to her hotel.

  The clouds had lowered and lamplight from the merrymaking reflected from them. Clouds were a common nighttime phenomenon in a jungle. Yet she ached to see stars. In Arizona, the night sky was alive with their sparkling beauty.

  “What are you doing tomorrow?” Mace asked her.

  “I don’t know. I thought I might nose around town here and ask about this hunter. Maybe some locals know of him.” Ana didn’t like lying to Mace, but she had to. Her stomach clenched in terror just thinking about Victor showing up. And the possibility that he might try to kill her. She wanted to talk to Mace about that, but compressed her lips. For now, Ana forced herself to enjoy these precious moments of peace.

  Mace saw how the humidity was curling tendrils of Ana’s hair around her oval face. Her hair was long and nearly covered her full breasts beneath her snug shirt. If she was aware of her femininity, how beautiful she looked, she didn’t seem to realize its effect on him. But Mace did. Too much so. “The tourist traps would be a good place to hit.” He motioned to both sides of the street. “The people who run them have been here forever. I’ll bet they would know about this hunter, if anyone would.”

  “Good suggestion,” Ana responded. Halting at the doorway of the hotel, she turned and gazed up at him. “Thanks for everything, Mace. In my eyes and heart, you are truly a knight in shining armor.” And following her heart, she lifted her hand and slid her palm along his jaw. The dark stubble made him seem dangerous. Ana saw surprise and then heat flare in his shadowed blue eyes, and her breath hitched in her chest.

  As she caressed his cheek, Ana felt more than saw his hands lift and curl around her upper arms. She was completely unprepared for what happened next: he lowered his head toward hers.

  Automatically, without thinking, Ana tilted her face upward, her lips parting. Mace was going to kiss her. It felt so right, so needed. How did he know? All thought skittered like dappled sunlight dancing across water as Ana’s lashes closed.

  The moment Mace’s strong, searching mouth met and melded with hers, golden light burst behind her closed lids. A moan moved up from her heart and into her throat as he caressed her tenderly. His fingers dug firmly into her arms, his body strong and unyielding, and she flowed effortlessly against him. The jagged heat of his breathing danced across her cheek. His mouth searched hers with a hunger that stunned and pleased her. Mace wanted her. All of her. Ana knew this on every level of herself. As she pressed her hands against his broad chest, she could feel the heavy thudding of his heart.

  His scorching, exploring kiss made her mind melt, and an intense pleasure built within her. The fire that ignited incited Ana’s physical response, increasing her yearning for him. For all of Mace, not just his cajoling, coaxing lips. So many glittering sensations filtered through Ana in those seconds that it was impossible to process all of them. For an instant, she felt as if a bolt of invisible, white-hot lightning had struck them. Her mind exploded in a shower of golden light. She saw her body expand and become a b
illion starry particles, along with his. Then Ana felt them combine and become one. There was an anchoring, breathtaking sense of unity with Mace.

  Their mouths clung hotly, and his arms and hard male chest were all she was aware of. Yet something else, something incredible, had occurred the instant they’d come together in this unexpected kiss. Ana wasn’t sure what it was, or why. She just wanted to show him how much she desired him.

  She ached to be fulfilled by this man who had such a vital life force shining within him. She wanted to share that vigor, that bubbling joy with him, for she had a similar energy. A meeting of two equal beings, physically and in spirit… That was the fleeting thought moving through her spinning brain.

  Slowly, so slowly, Ana felt Mace retreating from her. Finally, their lips, which had clung so hungrily, reluctantly parted. Gripping his arms for stability, Ana found herself breathing raggedly. She lifted her head and almost drowned in his hooded, burning gaze.

  Once again that sense that he was a hunter came over her. She tried to explain it away. No one who kissed the way he did could be cold and calculating. She woozily told herself that he was a man hunting the woman he wanted to have in his arms, in his bed. A sweet, burning ache filled her then. It was the need for Mace, Ana realized.

  She gave him a wobbly smile. “I didn’t see that coming, Mace….”

  “Neither did I.”

  “I liked it, though.” She saw the dark confusion in his eyes. Why? The longer she probed his expression, the more she could feel his inner state. Before, he’d hidden himself and she couldn’t access his feelings.

  Had that bright light she’d experienced melded them together in a new, energetic connection? Ana didn’t know. She was sure of how her lips had throbbed with the potent power of his mouth covering hers, dominating and hungry. Her gaze rested on that male mouth of his. “You’re a great kisser, Mace.” She chuckled, feeling giddy.

  As Mace released Ana, his hands burned. He wanted her, dammit. In every possible, carnal manner a man could want a woman. But he couldn’t go there! And what the hell was that explosion of light that had fused them that way? Mace had a lot of trouble hiding his consternation. What could all of this possibly mean?