by Smith, S. E.
Quit that! She is a human. What in the cat’s balls is wrong with you? he asked in an incredulous tone.
She yummy, his cat practically hummed in a response that made absolutely no sense.
You can’t eat her! Do you want to get us killed? Walkyr demanded, mentally wrestling with his cat.
Mm, eat her up, his cat purred.
Walkyr’s gaze finally moved from her eyes to her lovely, riotous black curls and full lips, and then lower.... He had to admit his cat was right. She did look yummy—not that he wanted to eat her. Okay, he did, but not like that! He uttered a long string of expletives, and his body hardened when images of what his cat wanted to do to her flashed through his mind.
I don’t believe this! Are you getting aroused? he demanded in astonishment.
She beautiful! his cat purred.
Yes, she was beautiful in an exotic kind of way. Her skin was the color of a sun-kissed nut while her black hair swept around her in a curtain of tight ringlets. He itched to tangle his fingers in her hair while he….
Will you stop already! Now you are making me horny, he snapped.
She coming closer, his cat happily replied, stretching his neck out to her.
It was true; she was coming closer. The woman took another step toward him, and he fervently followed her with his eyes, noting the way she casually tossed her coat to the side, the way she gripped the large knife in her hand, the way….
Knife. She has a knife. Will you listen to me! She… has… a… knife in her hand! Walkyr urgently warned his daydreaming cat.
“I think we need to have a little talk,” the woman stated in a cold, hard voice that matched the look in her eyes.
9
Walkyr swallowed hard when she pressed the cold tip of the very sharp knife against his throat. The woman had moved with surprising speed and agility, and given the way she was straddling his back, her foot placed so he couldn’t move his good leg, the knife tip touching the artery in his neck, she clearly knew exactly where his vulnerable spot was.
She leaned forward, pressing her body against his back. “I know what you are. I will ask you two questions. I suggest you answer them truthfully or, so help me, I’ll twist this knife all the way through your jugular. Do you understand me?” she murmured near his ear. She moved the knife just far enough away from his skin to allow him to answer.
Her soft, warm breath tickled the hair in his ear, making it twitch. He gave a barely perceptible nod, afraid she might carry out her threat. The boy must have told this woman what he had seen. The hole he had dug for himself was growing deeper and deeper by the minute.
“Can you shape-shift?” she asked in a harsh voice.
Walkyr reluctantly nodded. He heard her swift inhale of breath. He tensed when the knife pressed against his throat again, pricking the skin beneath his thick coat. While a Sarafin cat’s fur was a natural shield to most types of blasts, it could still be pierced by a spear, arrow, or sword.
He waited to see what she would do next. “Are you alone?” she asked, slightly moving the knife away from his skin again.
Walkyr thought for a moment before he nodded again. His cat hissed at the lie. Damn cat and its infernal mood swings. Walkyr would lie to this woman if he felt like it! He didn’t give a damn what his cat wanted at this moment. Between the knife at his throat and the uncomfortable hardness between his back legs, he felt like he was laying on a sword as well as being threatened by one!
You jealous, his cat sniffed.
Jealous?! When was the last time you ever got laid? Oh that’s right… never! Walkyr countered.
I picky. Want mate. Not empty hole, his cat hauntingly replied. You not to lie to mate. She get mad.
Empty hole? Now that is crass coming from a…. Wait, what do you mean I’m not to lie to mate? Are you telling me that she is our… that she is…. Of all the Cat’s balls on Sarafin, no… no… no! Walkyr’s thoughts exploded into chaos.
This female—this woman—was their mate? His cat had never wanted to mate with any of the women he’d been with before. Hell, he had been lucky to have any sex at all! If it had been up to the prudish feline half of himself, he’d still be a virgin.
There had to be another explanation. His mate was supposed to be a Sarafin maiden with long yellow hair and dark eyes who would worship him. She would be sweet and gentle and… well, not like—a shudder ran through him—not like his brothers’ mates. He liked Riley and Tina—as his new sisters. There was no way he wanted a mate that caused such disruption in his life.
Yes, yes, yes. Mate. No lie to mate, his cat ordered.
Technically, I gave her exactly what she asked for. She said I had to answer two questions truthfully. I did. She asked me if I understood her and if I could shape-shift. That was two questions. There is no need for her to know that there are more of us. That would only complicate this mission more than it already is, he pointed out.
Can’t lie to mate, his cat stubbornly stated.
“Focus,” she hissed in his ear. “I know you are talking to your cat. I want you to shape-shift so you can talk to me. I warn you, if you try anything, I’ll shove this knife through your heart.”
Walkyr lifted his nose so that it was aimed up at the camera. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her notice what his nose was pointing to. A low curse slipped from her lips. She pulled the knife away from his neck and quickly sheathed it.
He turned his head to watch her as she got to her feet and stepped over him. Their attention shifted to the door when they heard footsteps approaching and people quietly talking in the hallway. He recognized the woman’s voice but not the man’s. He looked back at the woman in the room with him. She seemed as frustrated as he felt.
“Behave. I won’t let you hurt anyone. Do you understand? If you try, I’ll cut out your heart,” she vowed.
All he could do was nod his head—and look like a total idiot because of the shit-eating grin his cat was giving her. He was going to have a very serious talk later with his primitive half. Apparently, his cat didn’t understand that threatening to cut his heart out was not a sign of affection.
She perfect, his cat announced with a pleased sniff.
He watched as she took a deep breath and opened the door. On the other side, a tall man stood in the doorway beside the woman, Heather, that had ineffectually shot him with a dart yesterday. His cat uttered a guttural growl of warning. Walkyr bit back an unexpected chuckle of amusement when his newly found mate shot him an annoyed expression and gave him a pointed glare.
“How is he?” the man asked.
“Hi, Chad. He’ll be alright, but I need to transport him to a different location,” she said.
Heather looked shocked, but Chad was quick to respond. “It might be best to transport him to the ranch,” he said.
Walkyr’s cat narrowed his eyes. Something wrong. He look at us funny, his cat cautioned.
Walkyr had noticed the odd suspicion in the man’s glances too. His concern that the boy may have told other humans what he’d seen began to grow. There were at least three in the know now: the bloodthirsty female his cat was in love with, the boy, and probably this anxious man too.
“My house is already located on the Grove property, so he will still technically be on the ranch,” Trescina pointed out.
Walkyr’s ears perked up when he heard the name Grove. Paul Grove was the father of Kelan Reykill’s mate, Trisha, who was now mated to Morian Reykill, the mother of the Dragon Lords, but his residence on Earth, the Grove Ranch, was the primary contact for peaceful visitors to this planet.
How and why had this sect of The Enlightenment landed here? Did they know about the base and the connection to the Valdier? Once again his thoughts went back to Arrow Ha’darra. Adalard Ha’darra had been here before. In fact, he had just recently left the planet. Walkyr knew that long ago the Valdier and Curizan had worked with the traitor Ben’qumain and Lord Raffvin Reykill. Was it possible that another member of the royal Ha’darra family w
as working with The Enlightenment? He wouldn’t be the first member of three royal houses to do so.
Was it possible that the Heart of the Cat had been hidden here by one of the Valdier or Curizan, and they had notified the Sarafin traitors who had then come to retrieve it? Walkyr sorted through different scenarios. He tried to remember who had been to the planet within the last year. He had just scanned a report of that information a few months ago. He knew the Valdier maintained a presence at the ranch, but he also knew that several members of the Curizan had been here, including Adalard and Bahadur, the most infamous Curizan general.
It was difficult for him to believe that any of them were a part of this, but he had learned that true deceit could be well hidden. He had to assume there were both genuine allies and traitors currently on the Grove property. His cat was absolutely sure which one his curly-haired vixen was.
“But… Trescina,” Heather protested, “he might be a completely new species. His teeth, his body structure, his coloring—there is nothing like him on any Internet site that I’ve found.”
Walkyr bit back a groan. Now there were four humans who knew too much, though two of them probably didn’t count if they were already involved with Grove Ranch—and if this sect of The Enlightenment had come to Earth to meet with someone from his star system, there could be more threats than he had originally expected. This mission was getting more complicated by the moment. He would need to contact his brothers and hope they had followed him. It looked like he was going to need some assistance.
Of course, all his cat cared about was that they now knew his so-called mate’s name: Trescina.
Trescina shook her head. “He is a rare cat found in the remote regions of Siberia. He was probably illegally purchased as a cub and brought here as a pet. They are endangered, so I know he couldn’t have been legally obtained. The few that have been found outside of the remote sanctuary were all illegally taken, often at the cost of their mother’s life,” she explained.
”But…. Are you sure? I searched the images I could find on large cats, and I swear there wasn’t any mention of a feline that looked like him,” Heather repeated.
“You can’t find anything about them for a reason, Heather. His kind has been hunted almost to extinction. The organization that I work with has done everything they can to keep his species alive and unknown. It is imperative that I move him to an undisclosed location. Do you know if Terry or anyone else has taken any photographs of him?” Trescina asked.
Mate good. I no even smell lie, his cat sighed.
Well, that is a great skill to have! The ability to lie and not get caught, Walkyr sarcastically responded.
“No. Terry was in such a panic that he didn’t take any. Like I told you earlier, he was terrified he’d killed the poor animal and then he was worried that he’d be blamed for the damage to the truck,” Heather said, lifting her hands and running them through her hair. “I swear between Terry being afraid he is going to be fired and Zeke, I’m going crazy.”
“What happened with Zeke?” Chad asked.
Heather shook her head. “Nothing—yet. I caught him on the snowmobile yesterday. He was supposed to be grounded. He’s eleven going on eighteen at the moment. If he isn’t careful, I might not let him make it to twelve,” she replied with a frustrated sigh.
“Heather, I want you to delete any video you might have of the cat, and ask Terry not to say anything…, please. If word got out… well, it could cause an international incident,” Trescina added, looking over her shoulder at him with a pointed glare when he snorted at her audacity.
“What? Oh, no worries on the cameras. The system died a couple of days ago. I have a call in for the technician to come out. He’s scheduled for next week. Trescina, I think his back leg is broken. I’d still like to check him over. He could have suffered additional injuries. From the damage to the truck, I have to agree with Terry about being shocked he didn’t die,” Heather said.
Walkyr coughed. Once he had the three humans’ attention, he sniffed loudly, shook his head, and looked at the human woman who had threatened him.
Mate, not human woman, his cat disdainfully reminded him.
Whatever. As long as she understands that I will not abide the human healer’s barbaric procedures, he replied, using another one of Riley’s favorite sayings when Vox was on a roll about something.
“I… don’t think that is necessary. I’m sure he’ll be fine in a few days,” Trescina reassured the other woman with a hesitant smile.
Heather looked shocked, then doubtful, and she shook her head.
“Are you sure? I swear when I called you last night he looked half dead. I can’t believe he isn’t in worse shape. I only had time to do a brief exam before he woke up and I couldn’t knock him out again. That’s when I thought of you and called. I’d still feel better if I gave him a more thorough exam before you took him,” Heather insisted.
“I’ll see what we can do,” Trescina replied, looking at him with a calculating expression, “but I worry that his owner might try to steal him back. He is bound to know he’ll be in trouble and might become violent. I’m sure the first place he will check is the rescue center. I believe I have a better chance of concealing him at the house. Once he has a chance to recover, I can make arrangements to have him returned to the sanctuary back home. I know they would love to have another male cat to help diversify the gene pool. Besides, this specific species of feline is known to be aggressive and unpredictable, and I know Heather has a full plate at the moment. He will do better in an isolated location,” she added.
Chad looked cautiously relieved, and Heather nodded. “It’s true that the center is full. This room is the only free space at the moment. There is also a group of high school students attending the pre-vet program tomorrow. It will be impossible to keep him hidden from them, and I know that every single one of those kids will have a cell phone on them,” she reluctantly agreed.
Walkyr listened with a mixture of amusement and impatience as Trescina spun her outrageous lies. Her comments about adding him to the gene pool had almost been too much. First, she threatens to slit his throat and now she says she is going to use him for breeding purposes. As far as he was concerned, she was the only one who would be participating with his breeding purposes!
Told you she our mate, his cat purred.
He hated to admit it, but he was afraid his cat might be right. He had been horny before, but not with this much intensity. He had never experienced an attraction this strong or swift to any female—all while he was dealing with a fractured leg and chained as well!
Mate better than empty hole, his cat stated in a dismissive tone that held just a touch of superiority and sarcasm.
Walkyr grimaced and visualized curling his fingers around his cat’s throat. For a brief moment, he wished it were possible to strangle his arrogant half—especially when his cat looked up at Trescina with that shit-eating goofy grin. She must have noticed his reaction to her comment because she shot him another pointed look of exasperation. If it weren’t for the fact that he was in pain, in the middle of a dangerous mission, and not supposed to reveal his identity, he would have shape-shifted right then and there just to see her try to explain it away. Once he was healed, he would teach her not to hold a knife to his throat and threaten to use him as a breeding tool!
You feel too now. Mate worth wait, his cat gleefully informed him as he stretched his front paws out and extended his claws.
It’s been a while since I’ve been with a woman! he protested. We’ve been a little busy trying to save our people! Just because I find her attractive doesn’t mean I agree that she is our mate. You’ve been wrong before. Now behave before we get in a bigger mess than we are already in, Walkyr growled.
I not wrong, his cat retorted with a pout.
Chad seemed to waver between wariness and hope when he looked at Walkyr’s cat. “If you’re sure,” he finally said. “When I first saw him after he was brought in, I thought… we
ll, we are lucky to have your expertise with exotic cats from around the world. It’s good to know that he is just an unusual leopard!” he laughed uneasily, and Walkyr decided this man must be one of the genuine human allies involved with Grove Ranch. That was good to know. He wondered if all the lies were just for Heather’s benefit or if there was another reason why they weren’t being honest with each other. “If you are sure you can control him, then it might be best to take him to your place. I’ve seen the way you handle your tigers, but I think this cat should be caged—for your safety and my peace of mind. If you need help with anything, let me know,” he insisted.
“I will, and I’ll take you up on your offer of the cage. You’re right. It might come in handy,” Trescina replied with a slight smirk before her voice faded when the front door chime sounded.
“Hey, Mom, are you in here?” a young male voice called out. It was the boy from yesterday. Walkyr recognized his voice.
Heather grimaced. “I’ll be right back,” she sighed.
This must be Zeke. From what he could tell, the boy had not mentioned what he’d seen to his mother or Chad—yet. Once again, he wished he had been more careful. The boy’s sullen tone carried from the next room as they talked. It brought back memories of his own youth. He and his brothers had given their parents more than a few reasons to growl at them.
That sense of rebellion may be why Zeke hadn’t told his mother what he had seen. It was also possible that the boy thought he might have imagined what he’d seen. Their encounter had been very brief and it had happened during a period of extreme danger. As long as Trescina insisted he was some rare creature from her world, and the traitors’ ship was buried, there would be no evidence to support a wild claim of aliens and shape-shifters.
