by A. C. Arthur
“Keep going.”
She could hear his voice even though it sounded as if it were coming through a funnel.
“Take the next step, Shya. There’s no turning back.”
He continued to talk and she held on to each word spoken in that gruff but deep and resonating tone he always used. She knew that voice and the man it belonged to. Keller hadn’t hurt her last night. He’d given her everything she ever wanted without even knowing what she’d desired. Even earlier today, telling her to meet him, looking at her with only belief in his eyes, had encouraged her when she was certain he had no clue what she’d done.
“I’m right behind you, Shya.”
She blinked and coughed again as the tears welling in her eyes almost fell. She didn’t want to cry. Not here and not now, not because the fear she’d kept compartmentalized was now breaking free.
“Take a deep breath and move your foot to the next step. You can do it.”
She could.
On the count of three—counting always worked to calm her down—she inhaled as deeply as she could. On the exhale she willed her foot to move and it did, lifting until it rested on that next step. Repeating the process, she made it through those last four steps and extended her hand to accept Gold’s outstretched one.
He pulled her through the door using only a fraction of the strength she knew he possessed, and just like that Shya was above ground. Her booted feet were on a grassy surface, her gaze darting around in an attempt to take in everything at once.
The indigo sky above and more grass stretched ahead in the immediate distance. A body of water was behind them, cars in the distance, their tires whizzing over the concrete.
Keller appeared in front of her and she looked up at him. His chin had some stubble and she wondered if he grew a beard would it be the same dusky brown hue of the hair on his head. There was a gold clip at the top of his ear and she wanted to touch it, to see if it felt cool and smooth like the earrings she wore. The expanse of his chest blocked her view, but she was happy with what she could see. He no longer wore the STT uniform, but had on a white t-shirt fitted tight to his body that was tucked neatly into dark jeans. His jacket was black and he wore a thin gold chain around his neck. Her heartbeat had only slowed slightly but the trepidation she was feeling while on those stairs had now been replaced by something a bit more primal.
“We’ve got cars over here. You gonna be okay to walk to them?” he asked her as if he had no clue that she was looking at him in a perpetual state of arousal.
She nodded. “Yeah, I can walk.” What did he think she was an invalid?
Well, when she took the first two steps and felt her joints creaking with the effort, she almost announced what everyone in Oasis already knew—she was sickly. But did Keller know? How could he? He didn’t socialize with anyone down there, except apparently Gold and Kyss. The cheetah knew about Shya’s condition because she’d helped her that night Decan and Nisa brought Cole back.
As if the other cat could hear her thoughts, Kyss came over to stand beside her. “She’ll be okay once she gets in the car and can have a seat. But as soon as we get to our destination she’s gotta eat and rest.”
The instructions were given with a pointed glare toward Keller. He’d responded with a silent frown.
“Let’s go,” he said and began walking.
Shya figured he was talking to her because Kyss didn’t look like she took orders from anyone. Shya wasn’t in the mood to accept orders either, but Kyss was right, she did need to sit down and find something to eat. And that, she didn’t think had anything to do with her condition. She’d been sitting in that Tracer for almost ten hours and hadn’t eaten anything but two boiled eggs for breakfast hours before that. Her blood sugar was most definitely low and the anxiety of coming above ground had almost pushed her right over the edge.
She resumed taking those deep breaths until she made it to the car and then slipped into the back seat. Laying her head back she tried more calming breaths only to have them interrupted when Keller joined her on the seat.
“When we get to the house, you’re staying in the room with me.”
It was a pronouncement and there didn’t seem to be a margin for negotiation which was fine, she didn’t feel like talking—she was too busy trying not to hyperventilate.
Miami, FL
Almost Midnight
“What is this place?”
He’d wondered how long it would take her to start asking questions. Shya didn’t talk a lot but she was always thinking. Keller had figured that out about her months ago. Not one time that he’d seen her either in the dining hall, the main supply hall or the training facility had she ever been with another shifter talking, socializing, laughing. Each time she’d had that serious look on her face, the one that said she was contemplating something, considering, wondering. He’d bet there were a million questions in her mind at any given moment, about shifters, humans, life and all the other sticky stuff that came with that combo. He hadn’t meant to add to that list.
“It’s going to be a transition center once I get it up and running.” He could answer her now that they were no longer in Oasis and there was no other reason, but for someone possibly overhearing him, not to tell her.
“A transition center for shifters?”
He walked across a light hardwood floor, newly installed and gleaming. Stopping at the lone table in the room, he set his bag down, while keeping hers wrapped across his body. There were six floor-to-ceiling windows on one side of the wall, the glass tinted so that it was impossible for anyone to see in and the view out was dulled by the dark color.
“Yes,” he replied. “There has to be a reunification period before they can all return above ground.”
“To the lives they were living before the Unveiling.”
That wasn’t a question, but a simple statement that said she understood exactly what he was saying. She was still in pain, he’d picked up the scent that resembled burning paper, when they were going up the stairs to the passageway. There were lots of steps, but there was no other way. If they’d been able to travel to the underground bunker he’d had built just north of where they were in Miami now, they could have taken the elevators he’d had installed. His private bunker had been built upward toward the entrances and exits to above ground, while Oasis had been built to delve further into the earth, further away from all civilization.
“Yeah. We can talk about that in the morning. It’s been a long day.”
“I’m not tired.”
He turned at her words. The burning scent was stronger, so he knew she’d crossed the room and now stood closer to him, staring at him when his gaze rested on her.
“I’d like to know where we are and what your plan is because if you brought me here and away from Oasis I’m guessing it’s something big. Possibly something I need to warn my parents about.”
Anger surged inside of him and the cougar struggled not to roar out in show of its discontent.
“I get it,” he admitted with a nod. “They’re your parents so you’re inclined to believe them, to love them.”
Keller had loved his parents with every fiber of his being. He’d also believed them when they pledged their loyalty to the Assembly and taught him to follow Roman Reynolds’ lead. After all that had happened in his life, Keller now chalked his stupidity up to being young when his parents told him that. Too young to understand the ways of the world, but apparently not too young to experience them. None of Rome’s rules about being peaceful, and blending in with the humans, had saved his parents’ lives and as if that weren’t bad enough, years later the remnants of Rome’s cowardice had knocked on Keller’s door and broke him again.
“I believe them because that’s all I know. If there’s something else, please just tell me.”
Her words were spoken so earnestly and innocently it almost hurt to hear them.
“Not tonight.” She’d gone this long without knowing, surely, she could wait another few
hours. If that was the excuse he needed to go with how sick he felt inside at having to destroy her innocence in yet another way, then so be it.
“They just finished construction on this building last week, so it’s not fully furnished, but the living quarters on the top floor should be fine for us to stay here tonight.” He waited a beat, watching her while she stared at him warily.
She didn’t know what was going on and she hated it, she’d always hated it, he could tell by the frustration etching her voice. Now, Keller got to feel bad for her because he wished someone had told him a long time ago as well. But he couldn’t do it, not tonight. The scent of her pain was stinging his nose and his cat was pressing against his bones with rage.
“Where are Gold and Kyss? Are they staying here too?” she asked.
Looking around, she turned back to him because Gold and Kyss were not in the room with them.
“They’re outside checking the perimeter. They’ll spend the night down here since we haven’t installed all the security precautions just yet. You can’t scent them can you?”
She blinked and because his question put her on the defensive, folded her arms across her chest.
“I didn’t try.”
“You don’t know how to.”
She looked away from him and Keller frowned. How could they not teach her the most basic ways in which to protect herself? Did they really think they’d be able to keep their eyes on her at all times, for the rest of her life? What about when she found a mate, joined and moved away from them? How was she supposed to function without them if they didn’t give her the necessary tools?
Now he gritted his teeth, the sound loud in the empty room.
“It’s not a big deal. Is there a kitchen where I can get something to eat before going upstairs?”
“Yeah.” He ground the word out trying like hell not to curse her parents and their friends in front of her.
He grabbed his bag off the table and they walked together toward the back of the building and through a set of double doors that lead to an elevator. When that door opened he waited while she stepped inside and then followed her. They rode up six floors in silence. She’d gone to the back of the elevator cab, standing about four feet away from him. He didn’t look back at her because he could smell the wariness mixing with her pain. The scents produced a mixture of emotion inside of him as well, but he was certain she had no clue. When they stepped out of the elevator the place looked different.
Instead of hardwood floors there was plush burgundy carpet that stretched in both directions down long hallways. Windows along the walls were tinted just like downstairs, but wider and with window seats that held plump burgundy, navy blue and pink pillows. Artificial potted plants marked measured intervals along the inside walls and recessed lighting stretched along the ceiling.
“This is nicer,” she said from beside him as he turned to the right and led them down the hallway.
“I’m not the decorator,” was all he could manage to reply. His thoughts were going in so many directions now, being a cordial host wasn’t tops on his list.
“But you paid for someone to do all of this? To build this place here and fix it up. You gave your approval.” She stopped when he did at the last painted navy-blue door.
Keller met her gaze, lifted his right hand and released his claws. She startled slightly at the clicking sound the action made but followed the motion of his hand as he inserted those claws into a circular control panel that had appeared in the wall seconds before. Turning once to the left and twice to the right, he pulled his hand out, retracted his claws and watched as the door opened slowly.
The right side of her mouth lifted slightly. “You didn’t have to prove you like to be in control. I already figured that part out.”
She walked in ahead of him and he blinked as he tried to wrap his mind around the warm jolt that shot through his chest at the sight of that small partial smile she’d just given him. When he could move again Keller entered the room. Here the walls were painted a soft beige that still complimented the deep burgundy carpet. He hadn’t selected the colors, but she was right, he had approved them. They’d been his first choice out of many and he hadn’t needed to consider the decision, simply looked at the screen with the encrypted message that had been sent to him on his private comlink and picked this one.
Shya moved deeper into the suite running her fingers over the velvet furniture that was such a dark blue it almost appeared black. After dropping his bag to the floor in the living room area, he removed the strap of her bag and set it beside his.
“The kitchen is this way.” He knew the floorplan, had studied it for weeks as he and Gold worked together to design an impenetrable security system. Nisa had offered her opinions on their plans and Keller had reluctantly taken them into consideration. While he finally managed to be happy that Decan had found his better half, he still did not fully trust Rome’s daughter. Not that he doubted Nisa’s commitment to their plan for rebellion, he simply wondered what would happen when that commitment became publicly known and the blood that she and the Assembly Leader shared was tested against her ultimate betrayal of the shifter who’d raised her.
“Do you plan to live here?” Shya asked when he led her back to the large kitchen with its dark wood cabinets and white quartz counter tops.
“Yes.” There was no use lying to her, he sensed that had been done to her for far too long.
She didn’t wait for instructions, but moved into the space, opening cabinets and taking out glasses and plates. He watched as she found utensils and then went to the refrigerator and selected ingredients from the shelves. She was about five feet six inches tall, all legs with a tight round ass and pert breasts with large nipples that he swore he could see through the material of her yellow t-shirt. Easing onto a stool at the long island in the center of the kitchen, he watched her move through this space as if it had been made specifically for her.
She removed the dark blue denim jacket she wore and dropped it onto a stool on the other side of the island. Then she bent over and selected pans from the lower cabinets, stood again and placed them on the burners of the six-burner stove. Going to the stainless-steel sink she washed her hands with green liquid soap from a clear dispenser along the back of the counter. Her fingers were small, low-clipped nails with no polish, held the knife she pulled from its holder with practiced ease as she diced the vegetables taken from the refrigerator.
He was mesmerized by the sight of her and enticed by the scent of the two fluffy vegetable and cheese-filled omelets she served on plates minutes later.
“You cook?” It was a foolish question but after sitting in dumbfounded silence for the last fifteen minutes he needed to say something.
She shrugged and slid onto a stool. “Fredo, the Topètenian who manages the kitchen at Oasis took pity on me looking so bored while everyone else was training so he taught me a few things.”
She poured them glasses of cranberry juice before picking up a napkin and placing it in her lap. Keller took a gulp from his glass, his throat was suddenly very dry.
“Let me know if you like it. I know most of the shifters prefer lots of meat in their omelets, but I’m partial to vegetables.”
Because she was different. The truth of that simple statement hit him like a boulder in seconds. Of course, he’d known Shya was not like the other shifters in Oasis the first moment he saw her, but just how deep that distinction went he hadn’t been privy to until now.
He cut into the omelet, stuffed a piece into his mouth and chewed. It tasted good so, he ate another piece and another before taking another drink of the juice.
“I can get into the vegetables,” he admitted after setting his glass down.
The smile came full force then, her lips lifting until straight white teeth were bared and a light flickered in her pretty eyes. His breath caught just a little as he realized something else—he liked her face, a lot. The perfect roundness, dark brows, small chin, all worked together a
nd amazingly fit the big puffy hairstyle she preferred to wear.
“I’ll fix stuffed peppers tomorrow, after you tell me everything.” She kept her eyes locked on his as she spoke and Keller couldn’t help but admire her tenacity.
“I’ve never had stuffed peppers before,” was his easy reply.
They ate in silence and after placing the dishes in the dishwasher moved on to the bedroom where talk of food and admissions ended.
Chapter 7
“I’ll sleep on the couch.”
“Why? Because you’d rather have your legs bunched up on a piece of furniture that clearly wasn’t made for a shifter over six feet tall?”
Was he purposely trying to make this uncomfortable? No, she’d seen that spark of pity in his eyes the moment he realized she’d panicked at coming above ground and that she didn’t know how to scent. The latter wasn’t exactly true, she could scent—her nose and senses worked quite well, as with any shifter. She’d just never learned to use the gift for strategic purposes, meaning she didn’t know how to use what she smelled to help her figure out what type of person she was dealing with or what that person might be going through. But she could learn, she’d learned so much in the last year and she planned to continue. What she wasn’t going to stand for was him treating her different than he would have any other shifter.
“Because it’s better that way,” he replied.
“Says who?” When he frowned instead of responding she continued. “Look I’m not a prude, nor am I a child. I thought you’d figured that out by now. Anyway, this bed is huge, half a dozen shifters could fit comfortably on it, so the two of us will do just fine. And if you don’t want to touch me, that works too because once we’re asleep you probably won’t even be able to find me.”
But she wanted him to find her, just as she’d wanted him to take her last night. The need hadn’t died down as she’d expected and now that they were actually in a bedroom, she felt the heat rising slowly, but surely, once again.
