She had to die on leopard land. Why, Ramon didn’t know, and he didn’t want to know. He had a target, and that was all he needed. If it weren’t for the werebird hunting in the desert who had interrupted Ramon while he was dumping the Marcus woman off, he’d have made certain she was dead before he’d left her. She’d gotten lucky once. It wouldn’t happen again. Her life would be over in a matter of days. The wild cat inside of him purred in agreement—nothing assuaged the ocelot’s feral nature like a fresh kill.
Though most species of shifter cats pledged loyalty to the Leonidas family, Ramon didn’t give a damn about all that. He suspected his client had hired him specifically because he was a cat-shifter, but he didn’t let himself dwell on the thought. Instead, he methodically went over the last forty-eight hours, cataloguing what had gone wrong and planning his next steps. He didn’t like how complicated this operation had become.
He was bringing in reinforcements. That hadn’t been his original plan, but plans changed. Every situation was fluid. Usually he liked to work alone, but the fact that the she-wolf was shacking up with a leopard was worrisome. He didn’t like surprises, and the Leonidas family was one he didn’t want to tangle with. His business depended on him keeping a low profile. Attracting the attention of the ruling leopards wouldn’t do that for him.
Yeah, the bitch was a loose end he needed to tie up. Now.
Chapter Three
The next morning, Zander strode out of the building that housed the corporate offices for Leonidas Industries. It had taken him the better part of two hours and a whole lot of fast talking to get Adrian and Nico to agree to keep Lyra here until they figured out what was going on. All of them were going to start digging discreetly to see what new shifts in wolf politics were in the works. That Lyra had ended up on leopard land wasn’t a coincidence. Someone had gone to a lot of trouble to get her here, wanted to start something, to make a statement, and they needed to know who and why.
Not knowing made frustration crawl through him. Whatever had happened spelled trouble for his family, and they’d had more than their share lately. He wanted it done. But there was nothing more he could do at this point. It was a waiting game. In the meantime, he had work to do for the resort. His assistant manager had handled everything while Zander played nursemaid, but the younger man couldn’t do everything himself. Zander had a lot of catching up to do.
His gaze swept the resort grounds as he walked toward the main hotel that housed his office. Palm trees littered the premises, shading a sparkling blue pool and the creamy stucco and wood Spanish-style buildings. Mountains rose in the distance to one side of the resort while the desert opened in the other. His place. Under his leadership, it was more successful than it ever had been. At his insistence, Refuge was a neutral-territory resort exclusively for shifters, where they were free to be whom and what they were. Since wolves vacationed here as well, Nico was anal about maintaining tight security.
An hour later, Zander’s intercom buzzed and his secretary’s voice came through. “Sir, I found a guest who’s the same size as your…new friend.” There was a slight pause while the line crackled. “And you have a one o’clock appointment in Tucson today. You’re going to need to leave soon.”
“Right.” Zander pulled in a deep breath, the scent of sand and a hundred different shifters reaching his nostrils. Including Lyra’s. His pants grew uncomfortably tight as his cock stirred. He’d taken her to his house on the edge of the resort’s main compound last night. He’d reached for her again and again before dawn broke, burying his cock in her tight, silky sheath. Shaking his head, he snorted. The most intense orgasms of his life and he should be half-dead, not horny again.
Something he didn’t understand had happened between Lyra and him. It confused the hell out of him, and he didn’t like it, but he wanted her. Now. Again. He’d never had a problem getting women, but there was something about her that made him react. Never in his life had he had to fight to keep from biting a woman. But with her, his fangs had come out, and every instinct inside him had screeched for him to mark her, to make her his forever.
She wasn’t staying, so he had no business going there. It didn’t matter how pretty she was or how good a lay. He held back a wince at the crude thought—wolf or not, she didn’t deserve it, but it was a good reminder to himself. She wasn’t for him. Biology and destiny weren’t things he could argue with or charm into his way of thinking. He could talk his brothers into keeping her until they knew what was going on, but it wasn’t permanent.
He couldn’t forget that even for a second.
He clenched his fists as frustration rocketed through him. What a fucking mess. Why did she have to be a wolf? Their world wouldn’t survive a mating between their species. It was bad enough that Jason had mated with the Alpha wolf’s human stepdaughter, but a leopard and a true wolf? It wouldn’t happen. It couldn’t happen.
Every shifter species could trace its existence to the blessing of a benevolent deity. For leopards, it went back to King Leonidas of Sparta. He’d become legend for his bravery in the face of an onslaught of Persian forces under the command of Xerxes. So impressed with Leonidas’s courageous death, the hunter goddess Artemis had made his sons more than men. The god Zeus, jealous of his daughter’s powerful creations, had made a wereanimal of his own. Wolves. King Lycaon of Arcadia had been the first, and his fifty sons had followed in his footsteps.
Wolves and leopards had scattered to the four corners of the globe, but their war for dominance had never abated, even centuries later. The peace between their two species was tenuous at the best of times. A kidnapped and battered wolf on leopard land wouldn’t help with that, but every instinct demanded Zander keep Lyra safe…and near.
There were no other options.
“Thanks. I will.” Setting the receiver in the cradle, Lyra hung up the phone and sighed. Her head throbbed, her body screaming with tension.
She hadn’t told the hospital where she was—just that there’d been an emergency and she’d had to leave suddenly. Zander’s suggestion. He said it wasn’t safe. She knew he was right, but why had she trusted him? Why didn’t she call her family? Her uncle and father would help her. She knew it. But…what if Zander was right? What if someone inside her family had done this to her? Clan politics could get nasty, and she wasn’t involved in that world enough to know if someone was making a play for power. Had her family made any new enemies? She didn’t know. That was the problem with all of this.
She didn’t know.
She didn’t know who would do this to her or why. Didn’t know who she could turn to, who she could trust, who she could count on so that she didn’t end up dead. What had happened to her wasn’t an accident, but she didn’t know why.
And whoever had done this…she wanted them to pay. She wanted them to hurt the way she had when she was crawling through the desert, knowing she wouldn’t survive. She wanted them to feel that moment of absolute terror, of absolute certainty, that they were going to die, just like she had when Zander found her. Was that wrong of her? She didn’t know. As a doctor, she’d taken an oath to do no harm, but the wolf within her didn’t give a damn about oaths. It wanted revenge, painful and bloody. It wanted to hunt her attacker down and end this once and for all.
If she ever found out who they were.
Rubbing at her temples, she tried to ease the ache there. Nothing helped. Tears of frustration welled in her eyes, and she swiped them away. Crying wouldn’t help her out of this mess she’d fallen into, wouldn’t make it all better. Someone wanted her dead; that much was clear.
Whether it was wise or not, she was going to trust Zander to help her figure this out.
Some fundamental part of her knew he wouldn’t hurt her. Ever. And he wouldn’t allow anyone else to harm her either. She felt…safe. Protected. Was this how Celeste had felt when she’d gone against the clan Alpha and mated with Jason? When she’d heard about her cousin’s mating, Lyra had thought Celeste insane. It could only cause m
ore strife between the clans. Then again, Lyra was persona non grata in the wolf clan herself. So much so that her mother had made it clear she shouldn’t come home for Celeste’s funeral. Lyra wasn’t welcome to share the family’s grief. That still chafed. But Lyra now understood the pull of Leonidas men. While she wasn’t a woman to cower behind a man, it was nice to have someone to watch her back. She hadn’t known that kind of security since…ever. Not even when she lived on clan land.
It never occurred to her how much she might need it. Until Zander. But she also knew it couldn’t last. For many, many reasons, including the fact that a relationship with her would cause him problems with his family. And hers. No, when this was all over, she’d never see him again. The thought made her heart ache and her throat close, but she shoved the feelings aside. Reality was what it was.
She pulled in a slow, deep breath and let herself look around. He’d brought her to his house last night. She hadn’t wanted to stay by herself at the infirmary. A dart of terror went through her, made her heart seize. She clenched her jaw and rode out the fear that threatened to overwhelm her. It was easier to ignore now, in the daytime, but she’d have to get used to being on her own again. But, not yet. Not yet. For the moment, she’d let herself lean on someone else. Just until they got to the bottom of her kidnapping.
His home had obviously been professionally decorated in the same Southwestern style as the rest of the resort, but it was the personal touches that interested her. Unframed family photographs propped against a wooden mantle showed four tall green-eyed boys in various poses, some surrounding an unsmiling man. Hector Leonidas. It was odd to think of the leopard rulers as a family. The realization was unsettling. They’d always been others. Enemies. Until she’d moved to New Orleans, she’d had very little exposure to leopards.
She stood to wander around, touching the heavy wooden furniture, the curved walls that never actually formed a corner as they led from one room to the next. Anything to distract herself from the danger that weighed so heavily on her chest. It was an oppressive cloud that refused to dissipate. She pulled a soda out of the fridge and leaned against the counter to drink it.
Zander drove up in a Jeep, parking in front of the bay window over the kitchen sink. If she lived here, she’d grow herbs in that window. She shook the thought away. Stupid. She was only here for a few days. No settling in. She had an apartment of her own to get back to in Louisiana.
He loped around the side of the Jeep toward the house. God, he was big. He had to be about six and a half feet tall. It was amazing. At five-eleven, she’d never been with a man who made her feel petite, but he did. He fit her in every way. And it was wrong. She knew it was. Wrong, stupid…and totally forbidden. Even thinking about marking him as hers was unbalanced, but she’d been more than ready when they’d had sex. Her instincts tore at her insides demanding she satisfy the bone-deep need to claim. If her father and uncle knew, they’d check her into the psych ward of the nearest werekind hospital.
Any way she looked at it, her time with Zander was limited.
No more Zander to whisper in her ear, to stroke his fingers down her skin, to make her scream with pleasure. It wasn’t logical. It wasn’t like anything she had ever known before. Everything with Zander was carnal. He drowned her in the sheer visceral reaction of a woman to a man.
She wanted more. And she couldn’t have it. Why did it have to be him who did this to her? Why did it have to be now when she could least afford to be distracted by sex? She should be focused on finding out who kidnapped her, not worrying about having to leave Zander when she did. Knowing all that didn’t seem to be stopping her. She sighed, too many emotions ricocheting through her. Rage, frustration, hopelessness, fear and something heart-stoppingly sweet when she focused on the leopard walking toward her.
A petite young woman got out of the other side of the vehicle and followed Zander to the front door. She had a bag in one hand and a cigarette poised in the other. Her hair was so pale a blonde it reminded Lyra of a moonbeam.
Lyra met them at the door, opening it to let them in. The way Zander’s eyes lit and a wicked smile curled his lips when he saw her dissolved any jealousy that might have tried to rear its ugly head.
The blonde woman waved her cigarette around and indicated she’d stay outside. She handed Zander the bag, and he walked in with it. Lyra glanced from him to the girl. “What’s going on?”
He handed the knapsack over. “Clothes for you. You looked to be about the same size.”
“Except you’re about a foot taller, so I put some skirts in there so it won’t matter.” The other woman’s cheery, musical voice sailed in through the open door.
Lyra leaned around Zander to smile at her. “Thanks.”
Walking into the bathroom, Lyra opened the sack to inspect the contents. She set it on the counter, slipped out of the cotton pajamas she’d stolen from Zander and tried on a few of the skirts until she found one that couldn’t double as a belt on her. Considering she had no underwear, concealment was of the essence. She slid her feet into a pair of flip-flops that were also in the bag and pulled a dark polo shirt over her head, thanking God she didn’t need to wear a bra.
When she stepped out, Zander was nowhere to be seen, so she went to give the extra clothes back to her guardian angel. After rounding the corner to the front door, she leaned against the jamb as the young woman took a deep drag on her cigarette.
“Thanks for the clothes.”
“Oh, no problem. My parents got me a whole new wardrobe for my college graduation present, and they sent me to Refuge for a week to celebrate.” She cocked her blonde head and gave a blinding smile. “Zander didn’t tell me why you didn’t have any clothes, but I hope it’s kinky, because he’s a hottie.”
That startled a laugh out of Lyra. It was so incongruous to hear this Miss-America-contestant-looking girl say things like kinky while watching her suck on a cancer stick. “Those things will kill you, you know.”
“I’m a shifter, so it’s a lot harder to kill me than regular people.” The blonde woman shrugged. “Besides, everyone deserves a vice, and chain-smoking is mine. I can’t be too cute or I’d make even myself sick.”
Arching her brows, Lyra chuckled. Well, she was pageant queen perky, but at least she was self-aware. “Okay, I give. What kind of shifter are you?”
A sheepish look crossed her face, but her lips curled into an adorable grin. “Swan.”
Oh, that was just too perfect. It completed the uber-pretty and sweet package. Lyra struggled not to break into a fit of giggles. “What’s your name?”
“Victoria Haida. Tori.”
Offering her hand to shake, she said, “I’m Lyra.”
Tori held the hand with the cigarette behind her and reached out with the other. “Nice to meetcha.”
“Okay, it’s about that time. Let’s get going.” Zander stepped out of the house and set his hand on Lyra’s shoulder.
A shiver went down her spine at the light touch, and she gritted her teeth to keep a whimper of need in. “Where are you going?”
“We are going into Tucson for the day. As nice as Ms. Haida is to give up her wardrobe, you need clothes, and I need to meet with one of the local beverage distributors about deliveries to the resort’s restaurant and lounge.”
Since she obviously didn’t have any money with her, he was going to have to foot the bill for her new clothes. Whether he liked it or not, as soon as she was out of this mess, she was paying him back. She didn’t voice the thought out loud. She had a feeling he’d protest.
“And I’m going to hit the pool. I want to work on my tan.” Tori lifted an already golden arm.
“Thanks again, Tori.” Zander gave her a charming smile, cupped his big hand around Lyra’s shoulder, and shut the front door behind them. It beeped as a security system engaged. Tori took off toward the rest of the resort while Lyra and Zander piled into the Jeep. The wind from the open top ruffled through her hair as they pulled away from the house an
d onto a two-lane road. She tilted her head back to let the bright sunshine bathe her face.
“Did you call the hospital?” Zander stroked his fingers down her arm.
“Yes. Before you ask, I didn’t tell them where I was.” She shoved her dark hair back, despising how helpless she was in all of this. She wasn’t raised to be weak and hide from problems. It didn’t sit well with her. But if her other option was ending up beaten and back in the desert—or dead—she was just going to have to deal with it. A sigh eased past her lips. “I’m going to lose my job over this.”
He grunted, but made no other acknowledgment of her words.
“Gee, your concern is touching.” Asshole. She didn’t add that last word, but she was pretty sure he heard it by the way he chuckled.
Turning his head, he pierced her with an inscrutable glance. “We need a medic here.”
She couldn’t help the way her heart leapt, raced and then tripped at the very idea of staying with him. He wanted her to stay here. Stomping down on her momentary joy, she gave a derisive snort. “You’re insane. If most of my family stopped speaking to me for leaving the clan to work in the borderlands, do you know what they would do to me if I worked for leopards?”
“Refuge is neutral territory.”
“So are all werekind hospitals. That’s not going to impress my uncle or my father. Or my cousins, my mother, my Great Aunt Hattie Jane.”
“You have an aunt named Hattie Jane?” His white teeth flashed in a grin as he said it.
She rolled her eyes at him. “I’m from the south, of course I have an Aunt Hattie Jane.”
“Do they call you by your middle name too?”
A growl slid from her throat. “Not if they want to live.”
“What’s your middle name?”
“Jane,” she snarled. “It’s a family name.”
Stolen Passions Page 3
