by Lacey Thorn
“You’re running new tests?” Abby asked at the same time.
“Gideon rewrote some of the code,” Diane answered. “He said we were searching for the wrong things.”
Abby took him by surprise when she threw herself against him and hugged him. “I’m so glad you’re here,” she gushed. “Now, like Diane said, what the hell does it all mean?”
He stared at her warily until she backed up an inch, but if anything, it only made her grin wider.
“The tests you run repeatedly are on four main blood samples, but you waste time running them independently. I labeled them A, B, C and D for this particular test since I wanted to run them against each other simultaneously.” He pointed to a line of data. “This is where you see the feral virus show up in all four samples. This one is lighter as it is weakest in subject A. Subject B has the strongest dosage. And samples C and D are showing similar readings.”
He moved down and pointed at another spot. “Here is where you see the results pitted only against previous blood samples from the same subject. This shows that while the virus is weakest in A, it is newly introduced and will continue to grow.”
“That’s you,” Diane said, and Gideon nodded.
“I’m subject A. Subject B has the strongest, but the virus is decreasing. I’d say within a few weeks, he’ll return to normal.”
“Logan?” Clara asked.
“Zane,” Gideon answered.
“Now subjects C and D are both maintaining similar levels of the virus in their systems,” Gideon said.
“Wait! What?” Clara asked. “Which one is Logan?”
“Will this test even work on Logan?” Diane asked. “He’s fully human?”
Clara and Logan were closer now, peering over his shoulder at the screen.
“It will,” he said, giving them a strange look. Were they really that clueless? “Logan is D. C belongs to F. Dockery,” Gideon said as he skimmed through the rest of the information.
“That’s Finn,” Diane said. “Why is Logan maintaining a steady level of the virus? It should be flushing out of his system faster. There’s nothing for it to attach to in him.”
Gideon shook his head. “The dormant shifter DNA in his blood will keep it steady until he either merges with his beast or something else changes.”
“Dormant shifter DNA?” Logan said. “There are no shifters in my family.”
“Your DNA says otherwise,” Gideon stated.
“Wait a minute,” Diane argued. “The Professor and I looked. We saw nothing in his blood that made us think he was anything but human.”
“Hey, I’m right here,” Logan reminded them, passing Regan off to Abby. “What makes you think differently?” he asked Gideon.
“Like I stated earlier, they’ve been running the wrong tests. I’ll have to run a few more on just your blood to get some more definitive answers. But I can say with absolute certainty that somewhere in your family tree shifter DNA was introduced.”
“How is that possible?” Logan asked and Gideon noticed the way Clara automatically stepped into her mate, wrapping her arms around his waist while he put his around her shoulders. They were a unit. It was good to see.
“It’s not unusual,” Gideon told them, pushing past them to move across to the other side of the room. He didn’t like having others closed in around him. He needed his space the same way he needed fresh air. “Not all of us grow up knowing who or what we are.”
Abby laughed. “Yeah, we know all about that. Neither Tah nor Reno knew they were shifters at first.”
“You awoke the beast,” Gideon said. “I’ve heard. And Reno’s mate brought out the tiger in him. It happens that way sometimes. I’d guess Clara’s mating with Logan has aided in bringing his recessed DNA out more, but there could be other factors.”
“Such as?” Clara asked.
“Close proximity with a pride of several shifters,” Gideon said.
“But I’ve been with Tah and Reno a long time,” Logan argued. “And Zane, Murphy and Kenzie.”
“I’m sure that’s played a part,” Gideon said. “But once again you’re asking the wrong questions.”
“What should we be asking?” Diane spoke up first.
“If Logan’s beast will emerge or not,” Gideon said.
He saw Logan tense and the way Clara soothed her mate by rubbing her hand up and down his chest.
“Will it?” Clara asked.
Gideon shrugged. “I don’t know, but I’m sure I can work up a test that will give us a better idea. We could use it on Finn, too.”
“How do you know so much about this?” Abby asked. “What tests to run and how to write code?”
“Necessity is a great motivator. It probably helped that my parents were scientists,” Gideon stated with a shrug. “I learned some from them.”
“Some?” Diane asked.
“The rest I learned elsewhere,” he said. “I need some air.” With that he turned abruptly and moved quickly out of the room toward the stairs as memories fought to pull him under, pull him back. Memories of a time when he’d been captured, tortured and tested by another set of scientists—a set who had seen him as nothing more than an animal to experiment on. The same ones he feared Thomas might now be with.
Gideon made his way quickly out the front door and away from the house. He was twitchy, edgy and his animal pressed at him to make the shift and take off through the trees. Normally, he would give in and go for a long run to soothe the jaguar inside him. But thanks to the feral virus, he needed to be more cautious, especially with the woman there. The one who was fast approaching him. The one with the power to destroy him if he wasn’t careful.
“Keep away from me,” he snarled as he entered the trees and felt her behind him.
She must have seen him leave and had followed him, something he would have noticed if he’d been in the present and not the past.
“I’m getting real tired of assholes who think they can tell me what to do,” she snarled back at him.
He turned toward her and gritted his teeth as his animal rose against him, fighting to pounce and take. She was a wet dream walking. Her T-shirt was tight across her breasts and snuggly tucked into her jeans. Boots laced up to mid-calf, and she braced her feet apart as she faced him. One look at her and his dick was ready and willing to indulge a fantasy or ten.
“What do you want?” he demanded.
“I’m not your fucking mate,” she yelled at him.
“I don’t have a mate,” he said, agreeing with her.
She shook her head as if that weren’t the response she’d been expecting. Finally, she placed her fisted hands on her shapely hips and continued. “Good. I’m glad we agree on something. For the record, I don’t back down from anything. I won’t be told where I can go, and I sure as hell won’t let anyone dictate how I do my job. Are we clear on that?”
“I don’t give a fuck what you do as long as you do it away from me,” he said.
She took a step closer. “This is my home, my fucking pride or whatever you want to call us. I come and go as I please.”
“I’m not sure what type of man you’re accustomed to—”
“Marines,” she interrupted, coming another step closer. “So you don’t fucking scare me.”
“That’s your mistake,” he warned. “I should terrify you, little girl.”
She laughed. Threw her head back and laughed at him, and it took all he had to keep his back pressed against the tree and not grab her.
“Little?” she questioned. “You’ve got what? Five inches on me?”
He judged her to be about five-foot-eleven, so her assessment was accurate. He nodded, and she moved another step closer to him, which only emphasized how much smaller her frame was compared to his.
“I’m not a woman who runs or hides from anything,” she said, and it sounded like a warning.
“I’m not asking you to run or hide. I don’t care what your job is. I’m sure you’re more than capable of doing anything needed. I’m
just asking you to give me a wide berth.”
“I heard you quite well when you said you wanted me to stay the fuck away from you.”
She took another step, bringing her close enough that he could reach out and touch her. Instead, he fisted his hands at his sides and pressed them against the rough bark at his back.
“You heard, but you don’t seem to have listened,” Gideon snarled at her.
“No, I questioned. Is it just me or all humans you don’t want around you?”
“I have nothing against humans,” he growled. He could feel the sweat on his brow as he held onto the ragged edge of his control.
“So it is just me.” She purred, leaning in so her breath caressed his cheek.
“You’re playing with fire.”
And the hellcat moved all the way in until their bodies pressed together. Her curves fit him perfectly, as if she had been created with him in mind. Her lips brushed his when she spoke.
“Good. As long as I’m not the only one who burns.”
He grabbed her. One hand fisting in her short curls, the other grasping the flare of her hip. He meant to shove her away, but that was before she grabbed him back. Her hands clenched in his hair, gripping the strands so tightly he felt the edge of pain along his scalp.
“I’d planned to kick your ass,” she panted. “Or at least make you suffer.”
He rocked his hips into her, letting her feel the hard length of his erection. “I’m suffering,” he promised.
She caught her breath, just for a second, just long enough to make him wonder if she was finally wising up. Then she slammed her mouth on his and thrust her tongue inside. It was wild and fed into his most primal aggressions. He fought and lost his battle to keep away from her.
“Just sex,” she said when they broke apart. “We both know this isn’t a mating.”
“Just sex?” he questioned.
“I want you,” she admitted. “And I plan to have you.”
“The feeling is mutual.”
“But me and you? We’re just about the fucking. Is that clear?” she asked.
“Very,” he agreed and took her mouth again.
He devoured her, exploring every crevice of her mouth and coming back for more until neither of them could breathe. He turned them until she was pressed between the tree and him. He used his boot to nudge her feet far enough apart to make room for him to move between her thighs. She retaliated by pulling his hair hard. He jerked, lifting his hands up to grip hers and lost a few strands in the struggle, but when their mouths broke apart, he had her hands captured and held prisoner above her head.
“Now what?” she said, showing no fear as she licked her bottom lip and stared back at him.
“Now, we burn.”
Chapter Three
Vic was still burning hours later thanks to Finn’s untimely interruption. The cocky bastard had chuckled when he’d intruded on them. She’d have to make a point of torturing him in some way when he least expected it. Paybacks were hell, especially when wielded by her hand.
So now she walked the perimeter for the second time, trying to ease the lust that rode her hard. Which reminded her, Gideon would pay for leaving her. The prick had gotten her engine revved then walked off and left her high and dry when Finn had said Tah had wanted to speak with him. What was worse was the fact Gideon hadn’t seemed to care they’d been stopped at a most inopportune time. He’d shrugged, given a muttered later then walked away.
God, she’d been seconds away from ripping Gideon’s pants open and taking what she wanted. Just the thought had her channel clenching with need. It hadn’t mattered he’d captured her hands. She would have enjoyed the struggle to get free and gain dominance. Why was it that when she was with him all she could think about was fucking him, but when she was away from him all she wanted to do was kill him?
As she approached the house, she ran into Clara.
“Everything good?” Clara asked.
Vic almost sighed, wondering if Clara was there to say something to her about Gideon. She didn’t answer, choosing to let her facial expression say it all. She didn’t have to wait long to see. She should have known Finn had a big fucking mouth.
“Listen, I think it would be best if you kept your distance from Gideon,” Clara said.
“Don’t,” Vic muttered. “Whatever is between Gideon and me is just that, between us.”
“I don’t think you understand,” Clara said. “Gideon isn’t some human man you can toy with.”
“I don’t toy with people,” Vic said sharply, completely pissed off by the accusation. She blew out a breath as she met Clara’s unflinching gaze. Though maybe Clara had reason to think Vic was capable of toying with people.
“I don’t want to see Gideon hurt,” Clara said.
Vic shook her head at the notion she’d be able to hurt Gideon. “I’m sure Gideon can take care of himself. I got the impression he’s a…big boy.”
“Jesus,” Clara groaned. “I don’t want to hear stuff like that.”
Vic chuckled at how uncomfortable Clara looked at Vic’s implication. Clara had started this conversation, though, not Vic.
“Look,” Vic said. “I know we got off to a rough start. Me setting you up the way I did…” She shrugged. “I know I’m not your favorite person, and I deserve any animosity you throw my way.”
“I already told you I would have done the same thing in your shoes,” Clara said.
When Clara had first arrived, they’d held her captive until they could verify her motives. She’d followed Reno and his mate Amia back to Colorado from the Blane Farm where Reno had gone searching for information. He’d found a mate, instead. They’d suspected Clara had answers they really needed. Vic had set Clara up, using Amia to do it. Luckily, both women had come out of it as friends, though it had been a bit of a rough trip to that point. Even luckier, Vic hadn’t gotten the boot over it. As mates, they very well could have seen to that.
“I know what you’re worried about,” Vic said. “But there’s no need. I’m not his mate.”
“You don’t—” Clara began, but Vic cut her off.
“Gideon told me. We’re not mates.”
“Oh.” Clara shuffled her feet, looking a bit uncomfortable.
“It’s okay,” Vic assured her. “I know you’re just watching out for him.”
Clara looked off toward the woods around them. “When I was growing up, it was my dad, Uncle Thomas and Gideon. Gideon was this young lanky teen who followed them around everywhere. He became family to me, sometimes like an uncle, sometimes more of an older brother. While dad and Uncle Thomas showed me love, Gideon taught me how to fend for myself. Strength, he said, was in the ability to walk alone and not depend on others.”
“A sentiment I understand well,” Vic stated.
“It’s not only Gideon I don’t want to see hurt,” Clara added, glancing back toward Vic. “I don’t want to see you get hurt, either.”
“You’re in luck then,” Vic assured her. “Gideon and I want the same thing, and when it’s over, we’ll both walk away unscathed. Promise.”
Clara nodded. She opened her mouth, closed it then swallowed. It was easy to see she wanted to say something else but was refraining.
“Yes?” Vic asked, but Clara shook her head and turned toward the house.
“Want to grab a drink? I think I could use one after today.”
“Rough day?” Vic asked, walking beside her.
“Logan has shifter DNA,” Clara said.
Vic stopped midstride. “Just from mating you?” she asked incredulously.
“No, according to Gideon, it’s been dormant inside him the whole time,” Clara informed her.
“Wow. How does Gideon know that?” Vic asked. More importantly, how had they not known it? The Professor sure took enough blood to work with.
“Gideon’s one of the most intelligent men I’ve ever known,” Clara said. “He and my Uncle Thomas. I don’t imagine there’s much he doesn’t kn
ow or at least has the ability to figure out. I’m hoping maybe he can be persuaded to move to Oklahoma with us, but I’m not betting on it.”
Vic took that in and understood she would only have a few weeks to work Gideon out of her system. A few weeks should be just long enough. And, yeah, the fact he was intelligent as well as gorgeous turned her on even more.
“So Logan’s a pussy, too?” Vic asked and grinned as Clara laughed.
“You know, I’ll have to ask Gideon if he can tell what Logan’s shifter DNA is. I’m not sure if there’s anything in our genetic code that states what breed we are,” Clara said. “Just that we’re different.”
“So what’s Gideon?” Vic asked.
“Jaguar,” Clara said. “Know much about them?”
Vic thought for a minute. “Large cat, most similar to a leopard or panther. They like water.”
“All true, but not what I was getting at,” Clara said with a chuckle. “Jaguars are solitary predators. They stalk and ambush their prey.”
“I’m not prey, either,” Vic told Clara.
“We’re all prey at some point,” Clara stated. “Drink?” She nodded her head in the direction of the kitchen.
“I’ll pass,” Vic said. “I promised Kenzie I’d spend some time with her tonight.”
“Is she okay?” Clara asked.
“I’m not sure,” Vic said honestly, not admitting this would be the first time she’d seen Kenzie since she’d returned.
“Let her know Logan and I are here if she needs anything.”
“I will,” Vic said and headed upstairs to meet Holt and Kenzie.
She went to the top floor and knocked on the door. Holt opened it immediately.
“Jesus!” she exclaimed when she got her first look at Kenzie.
The other woman appeared like a ghost of her former self. The woman who always grinned was no more. In her place was a pale wraith with dark circles under her eyes.
“Are you sick? Have you seen Diane?” Vic asked as she crossed to her.
“I’m fine,” Kenzie answered softly.
“I can see for myself you’re not fucking fine,” Vic retorted then turned on Holt. “Why haven’t you brought Diane up to check on her?”
