Freeing the Feline

by Lacey Thorn

  Abby practically gushed with enthusiasm and excitement. Tah’s blood had obviously been the elixir of life she’d required. Clara was glad she’d known to have them give Abby a transfusion.

  “She’s a little scary in this mode,” Amia whispered, rising and coming up beside Clara.

  Clara nodded and glanced down when Amia laced their fingers and squeezed.

  “I always wanted sisters,” Amia said.

  Clara blinked rapidly to keep the fresh tears at bay. “Me, too.”

  “We’re going to be okay,” Amia whispered, and Clara nodded.

  “We’re going to be better than okay,” Abby said, letting them know she’d heard every word they’d said. “Soon this house will spill over with people. Our family is growing, ladies. So we better get our shit together and be ready for what’s coming.”

  * * * *

  “Hold up,” Zane ordered, pushing Murphy back. “Go in smart, not with emotion overwhelming you. You want to get us all fucking killed?”

  “You said he was dying. What the fuck do you want me to do? I’m going in there and saving my brother’s ass,” Murphy hissed quietly.

  “Not half-cocked, you won’t.” Zane bent down so he was nose-to-nose with Murphy. “You will be calm. You will be smart. We are no good to anyone if we’re captured and killed. You have to think, Murphy. Open your senses. Tell me what you feel, what you smell.”

  Murphy glared for a moment before closing his eyes. “Well, move back then or all I’ll smell is your arrogance.”

  Zane grunted and stepped back. He was curious to see how well trained Murphy was. He knew the other man was a shifter, as well, but did he know how to link his abilities so they were accessible as man or beast?

  Murphy inhaled. “I smell sweat, cigarettes and stale coffee. Blood. Theirs and his. I feel anger, hate and something else. Curiosity, maybe? Something is off. I smell.” He blinked his eyes open and met Zane’s hard stare. “I smell a shifter. A shifter is here or was here. What the hell is going on here?”

  “I don’t know, Murph, and that’s why we need to be smart about this. I’ll go in there with you, and if today is the day I die, then I’m ready. But being ready doesn’t mean I’m just going to walk in blind. Now, are you ready to discuss this logically?”

  Murphy nodded. “I smell so many scents, outside of the shifter and the hunters. God, the stench of blood is thick…so thick. It makes it hard to weed through. I can’t tell if the scents are fresh or older.”

  “What do you feel? Are you still connected to Finn?”

  “Yes. It’s weak. I’m cold and that scares me more than being numb. But he’s still here.”

  “We go in low and quiet. Keep your senses open no matter how overwhelming the blood is. No more than twelve feet between us at any given time. And do not run into anything, even if you see Finn. It could always be a trap.”

  “I’m good now,” Murphy promised. “My head is clear, but we need to go. I can feel him fading, Zane. My brother’s dying.”

  “Go,” Zane said and moved to follow. “Jesus!” he muttered under his breath. “Tah is going to kill us if we survive this.”

  They moved silently through the wooded area where Murphy’s link with Finn had led them. The pain had proven to be a better beacon than the phone. Zane still found it a little odd that the two brothers shared a connection that he’d only heard of happening with mates. But who knew? It would be something to discuss with his uncle when he had the opportunity.

  Zane emptied his mind and concentrated on his surroundings and on Murphy moving in front of him. The scent of blood was nauseating. It coated everything and made Zane afraid of what they might find. He prayed for strength to help Murphy if it was as bad as he feared. Finn might only be holding on until his brother arrived.

  Murphy stopped and motioned for Zane to move up and join him. Zane squatted next to him in the trees and took in the clearing in front of them. There was a cabin that looked as if it was one good breeze from falling over. There were a couple of sleeping bags out front and a fire that had burned down to embers. But something wasn’t right. This close, the scent of death overpowered that of blood.

  ‘Murphy,’ he mouthed and shook his head.

  Murphy gave him a sad look, and Zane could literally feel the waves of pain coming off the other man. Murphy moved quickly at a low crouch from the tree line toward the closest sleeping bag. He had his hand over the person’s mouth and was dragging him out almost as soon as he reached him.

  Zane followed, staying low and moving toward the bag on the opposite side. The first thing he noticed was how neither of the people moved. Then he noticed why. Murphy glanced over at him and mouthed that his guy was dead. Zane nodded and indicated to the one at his feet. The man there was dead, as well. Zane took a closer look. Hell, the cut across the guy’s neck was so deep he was almost decapitated.

  Murphy crept closer to the cabin, head turning side-to-side as he seemed to pick up on a scent. A deep growl rumbled from his massive chest, and he moved around the cabin. Zane made the choice to trust him to look out for himself and, instead of following, he carefully opened the cabin door. More blood. It was everywhere. Splattered on the floor and walls. It was a fucking blood bath. Jesus! What the hell had happened here?

  He found two more bodies crumpled like rag dolls just inside the door. The sparse furniture that had been inside was overturned and obscured part of the floor from Zane’s line of sight. This more than explained the scent of blood. But where was Finn? He ducked his head back out the door to check on Murphy real quick. The other man was just coming around the corner.

  “Found another one back there. Neck slit deep just like these two,” Murphy said with a nod toward the sleeping bags. “One in the back has Finn’s blood on him as well. It’s strong.”

  “I found two more bodies inside the door here. Looks like most of the killing took place there. I haven’t found Finn.”

  Murphy took a deep breath and peered around Zane into the cabin. “He’s in here. I can feel him.” He rubbed his arms as if gripped by a cold only he felt. “Help me move some of this stuff. I thought he was behind the cabin. He must be in the back somewhere.”

  Zane stepped in to help Murphy right the table and move stuff around. He noticed another body toward the rear of the cabin, shoved halfway under the bed. Murphy must have seen it at the same time. He gave a cry and headed over to it, dropping to his knees and moaning as he tugged it free. But it wasn’t Finn. It was another man with his head nearly cut off.

  “Where the fuck is he?” Murphy roared, and Zane prayed luck was with them and no one was left around to hear them.

  A moan sounded from under the bed. Murphy tossed it aside as if it was nothing more than kindling, which it was when it hit the wall and splintered. Finn was on his back in the far corner.

  “Mur…phy…”

  “I’m here, brother. I’m here.”

  Zane moved to join them when he heard the moan resonate in Murphy’s throat. He caught his breath, as well. Finn was naked, his body riddled with bruises and cuts. His face was swollen and distorted beyond recognition. They’d obviously tortured the hell out of him. But then what had happened? How did they all die? There was no way Finn had been able to do it. Hell his hands were purple and swollen, and Zane would bet anything they’d broken every bone in his fingers. There was no way Finn had been able to make a cut as deep as the ones on the bodies around him.

  “Jesus, Finn. What happened to you?” Murphy asked as he wrapped his arm under Finn and eased him up in his arms.

  Finn groaned. “Hurts,” he slurred. “Dy…ing…”

  “Shh,” Murphy scolded and Zane saw tears flowing down his cheeks. “We’re going to get you out of here. You’re going to be fine, just fine. You can’t leave me. Who’s going to watch over me? You know my temper. Besides, Molly will hunt me down and kill me if you up and die on us.”

  Zane moved a little ways away and opened his phone. He thought for a few minu
tes and hit the number to dial straight into the lab. He knew who would answer.

  “Hello?” Diane’s voice came over the line, calm and sure, just like she always seemed. Those were two of the qualities he liked most about her.

  “It’s Zane. We found Finn. He’s bad, Diane. I’m not sure he’ll last the trip back.”

  “How bad?”

  “I think it’s safe to say he’s dying,” he whispered.

  “Oh, God.”

  “Diane?” Zane called. He could hear her talking to someone in the background.

  “How bad is he?” the Professor asked, coming on the line.

  “I don’t think he’s going to make it,” Zane told him.

  “Listen to me,” the Professor said quietly. “I need you to get him in the car and get back here as soon as you can. I’ll be waiting for you. Drive straight through. Don’t stop unless you absolutely have to. Where are you?”

  “New Mexico,” Zane answered.

  “Damn it!” the Professor yelled. “Tell Murphy to keep him alive. Whatever he needs to do. Just get Finn here alive.”

  “He won’t make it through a surgery,” Zane said.

  “It’s not surgery I have in mind. I’ve been working on something. Just get him here, Zane, and I’ll do my best to save him.”

  Chapter Ten

  Logan took Clara’s hand and led her out of the front room where everyone not on patrol had gathered. Reno and Amia, along with Vic were out walking the perimeters and checking the alarms they’d placed. Kenzie was in the control room with Holt. Abby and the Professor were poring over the information Jess had sent them. Tah paced back and forth and Diane stood at the window, glancing between the clock and the outside. Logan couldn’t take it anymore.

  “We’ll be back,” he told the room at large.

  Tah waved him off and kept right on pacing. It would be a long night as they waited for Zane to get there with Murphy and Finn. Tah was blaming himself as were Reno and Amia. Here they were just starting to settle the dust from one rough patch and they were already being slammed with something else. Something even bigger. Yet again it seemed as if they could lose one of their own.

  Zane had called the lab first, speaking to Diane then the Professor. He’d called Tah as Diane was coming up the stairs to let them know what was going on. From what Logan gathered, Zane believed Finn had been taken by hunters. But that wasn’t all. Someone had killed all of the men and left Finn for dead. They wouldn’t know what had happened until Finn could talk and tell them, if he made it. Zane had told Tah he’d taken a few pictures real quick before they high-tailed it out of there.

  “Where are we going?” Clara whispered as they walked away. “Are you okay?”

  “I need some space,” Logan admitted, tugging her toward the stairs. “And I’ve been wanting to talk to you all day.”

  He stopped outside the door to their room and ran his fingers softly over the bruise on her cheek. “I should have hit Reno harder,” he said and turned to push open the door and urge her inside.

  “Wait,” Clara said. “You hit Reno? What were you thinking?”

  “That he deserved it?” Logan offered. “It was a love tap. He won’t be sporting a bruise.”

  “Logan, Amia was reacting in the moment. Finding out about Lydia the way she did, it was a lot to take in,” Clara told him. “She and I are okay now.”

  “Reno and I are, as well. In fact, I’ve talked him and Tah into a celebration of sorts, or at least I had before all this came up with Finn and Murphy. God, it will kill Tah and Reno if Finn doesn’t make it. They’ll always blame themselves.”

  “Why? And what celebration?” Clara asked.

  “Tah will feel guilty because he told Finn to watch Amia while he talked to Reno. Finn overheard Amia telling Reno she was going to kill him and then all of us.”

  “What?”

  “It was before you arrived. Thing is, Amia meant it figuratively, not literally. But Finn didn’t know that.”

  “She assumed the Blanes would find her and in the process, find all of you.”

  “Bingo,” Logan agreed. “So Reno blasted Finn and probably thinks that’s why Finn took off with the transmitter that was put in Amia.”

  “You don’t think it was?” Clara asked.

  “Who knows?” Logan said with a shrug. “I’ve learned not to read into what you see or think you know. I think we’ve had enough of that around here.” He turned her into his arms and tugged her against his chest. “But I didn’t bring you up here to talk about all that.”

  “You didn’t?” She smiled up at him.

  “I need you, Clara. I need to feel you against me. To hold you close. To make love to you.”

  “All you ever have to do is say the word, Logan. I promise you, I’ll always want you just as much.”

  “Always?” he asked, reaching down to grip the edge of her shirt and pulling it over her head.

  “You’re my mate. As soon as I’m around you, I feel your desire, your want, and it becomes my own.”

  “Is it always like that?” he asked, cupping her breasts over her bra and rubbing his thumbs over her nipples. “Do mates always fall in love with one another?”

  She nodded. “I’ve never seen it not happen. But you have to understand. It’s not just about biology. We connect on an emotional level far deeper than the average human couple can. I know your thoughts and emotions better than even Reno or Tah, even though I’ve known you for a shorter time. It’s the way we bond, sharing feelings with one another. It unites us. I can’t feel your pain without hurting. I can’t feel your joy without smiling. And I can’t feel the things you feel for me when you look at me like that, and not give them back.”

  Logan smiled at her. “You love me,” he said and bent to kiss her lips before she could reply.

  He knew it. If she felt what he was feeling, then it was inevitable. Obviously, the fates knew what they were about with this mate thing. They seemed to fall hard, fast. The first time Clara had looked at him in the lab, he’d felt the zing of that shared glance all the way to his heart. She’d stepped in front of him, as if to protect him. No woman had ever done anything like that for him. Then he’d touched her and it was as if every inch of his body had become supercharged for her, all for her.

  “Let’s get these off of you.” He reached around and unhooked her bra, letting her do the honors while he slid his hands lower to her pants.

  Soon they were a tangle of hands and half-removed clothing. He wasn’t sure how they managed it but eventually they were both naked.

  “My turn,” Clara told him and gave him a shove onto the bed.

  He landed on the edge and threw his hands out to clench the covers when she dropped to her knees between his thighs.

  “I’ve been thinking about this all day,” she purred and leaned in to lick the thick shaft of his cock.

  “Jesus, woman.” Logan grunted, bringing one hand up to cup the back of her head. “You feel good.”

  She nuzzled against him, brushing her nose over his flesh and inhaling while she flicked her tongue out again and again. She cupped his ball sac with one hand and wrapped the fingers of her other one around his shaft, pumping them up and down. She flicked that wicked golden glance of hers up to clash with his and rubbed her tongue over the crown of his dick.

  “Clara.” He groaned, knowing he was on the edge and wouldn’t be able to take much more teasing from her. “Either suck my cock or get that pretty little ass up here and fuck me.”

  She grinned up at him and raked those sharp canines of hers against his groin. His cock pulsed and a drop of pre-cum filled the slit on the head. She ran her tongue over it, licking it off and moaning in pleasure. He was never going to last at this rate.

  “Suck it,” he demanded and rocked his hips up toward her.

  His cock missed her mouth and skimmed along her cheek instead. She turned and nuzzled his shaft again, flicking her quick little tongue over and around him.

  “Clar
a,” he pleaded.

  With a moan she took him deep. No playing around this time. She wrapped those lush lips around his cock and sucked it to the back of her throat, swallowed, then pulled back until he brushed the roof of her mouth. She swirled, licked, sucked and swallowed, and never in the same pattern. It kept him right on the edge, not knowing what she would do next. It was the best fucking blowjob of his life.

  “Ahhh, God, baby,” he told her. “You feel so fucking good.” He had both hands clenched by his hips again, fighting the urge to fuck her sweet mouth with his cock.

  She made some small sound and it vibrated all down his shaft until he felt it in his balls. She did it again and he was panting with the effort to keep from shooting his load in her mouth. He wasn’t ready for this pleasure to end. She peeked up at him through her lashes and her cheeks hollowed out as she increased the suction. The hand cupping his balls slid back and he almost came off the bed when she pressed two fingers against the skin just behind his ball sac.

  “Fuck!” he shouted, as every muscle in his body seemed to lock down. “I’m coming, baby. I’m coming.”

  The vixen only worked his dick harder, tapping her tongue along the underside of his cockhead until the first splash of seed left him. He watched her throat work as she swallowed it down and felt her tongue licking over the crown as the next jet of semen left. She took it and pulled back, wrapping her lips around the bulging head and sucking only it, as if she were greedy for more of his cum.

  He collapsed on the bed, his body shaking from the orgasm she’d given him. He couldn’t feel anything but the racing of his heart and the soft puffs of her breath against his spent cock. Good, God, the woman was fucking incredible!

  “Come here,” he murmured and patted his chest.