“I never said I would allow that to happen. I don’t even know you.” With wide eyes, she stared at him.
“Sugar, I’m not going to force anything on you but, one day very soon, you’re going to want it as much as I do. Until then, I’ll take things slow. Now, as for your questions: even though I could feel your anger over what was happening to shifters, I needed to hear you say it. I needed to know you weren’t going to run off and try to find someone from The Saviors and turn any information over to them. If the slightest possibility even existed that you’d do such a thing, I couldn’t take you home with me.”
“You’re a bit sure of yourself, aren’t you? First, you think you’re going to claim me as your mate. Now you want to take me home with you. Maybe I just want to go home—my home. I’m sure there’s a bus station or something that can get me there.”
“Do you want to live? If so, you will come with me. The Saviors don’t know about you yet, but that doesn’t mean they won’t figure it out. We have no way of knowing if you were a target or just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. Your friend—was she a shifter?”
“No…I mean I don’t think…I don’t know.” She dragged her hand through her hair and tried to think of anything that might give her a better answer to his question. “What would that have to do with it?”
“If The Saviors knew she was a shifter, they might have been watching her. It’s possible they could know about you.”
“Guilty by association.” The words clung to her tongue, making her mouth dry. “When they learn I’m not among the dead, they could come after me.”
“Or they could already know and be waiting at your apartment.” With his words, he felt the uncertainty and surprise within her. He had expected her to be terrified but there didn’t seem to be even a hint of that within her emotions.
“I should be afraid but I guess after everything I witnessed tonight, I’m just numb. I overheard some of the police officers discussing survivors at the hospital. Those should be The Saviors’ priority, not me. Surely, witnesses who might be able to give information to the police right now would be their first concern instead of them wasting time stalking my apartment, waiting to see if I return.”
“Except you’re a witness, too.”
“I didn’t see anything,” she said before letting out a deep breath.
“You saw more than you’re willing to say.” When he let the connection between them flare to life, he used it to help him see into her mind. While she explored his lion, he searched her memories of what happened. She had them all walled off, as if trying to keep them from herself, but he caught a glimpse of people dressed in full black. The bulkiness of their outfits let him know they were in bulletproof gear. Their assault rifles mowed down the partiers quicker than anyone could react. The only thing that saved her was that she had been on her way back from the car. The vehicles had hidden her, giving her an opportunity to climb into the tree, out of harm’s way. If there had been a shifter with them, why hadn’t he pointed her out to them?
“So what now?” she asked, interrupting his thoughts.
“Now, if you’re ready, I’ll take you to the tribe’s land. You’ll be safe there.” Taking his hand back from her, he turned the key to start the engine. “Everything is going to be okay. I’ll get to the bottom of what happened tonight and we’ll go from there.”
“Can you find out without causing too much attention if Kat is dead? Maybe she’s one of the ones in the hospital. Or maybe she was able to get to safety.”
He nodded but he knew as well as she did, Kat was most likely dead. The cell phone in her pocket hadn’t gone off. If her friend was alive, she’d have tried to find out if Karri was safe. He understood though that she needed closure so he’d reach out to his contacts for additional information once he got her to safety. Shifting into drive, he glanced over at her one last time as he kept his foot on the brake. “Are you sure you don’t want to go to the sheriff?”
“I have a feeling he couldn’t keep me as safe as you can.” She ran her hand down her denim clad thigh. “Funny thing is The Saviors are after your kind but with you is the one place I’d be the safest. Seems like it should be an oxymoron.”
“The tribe has taken precautions to ensure our safety. There is a perimeter fence to keep anyone from wandering onto our land and guards that patrol the grounds to make sure everyone is safe.” He pulled away from where he was parked and headed home. Without knowing if there was a threat hanging over her head, he needed to get her to safety. Then he could learn what the others had found.
“This tribe of yours—are they all lions? I’m not sure if that’s rude to ask or not. I was just wondering.”
“Lions and bears mostly. There are a few foxes as well but Garret and his sister Ginger are the only wolves within our tribe. We’re open to any shifter, but wolves are a pack animal; they prefer to stay within their own group. Garret and Ginger left their pack when they came of age and for years stayed out on their own.”
“How did they end up with your tribe then?”
Pressing down on the gas pedal, he headed back toward the tribe’s land. “Garret mated with Sin and settled here. Ginger came for a visit and ended up staying when she mated with Liam.”
“So you can…never mind.”
“Say it,” he urged as they turned onto the dirt road and he could see the guards at the gate as he neared.
“You can date outside of your species.”
“Shifters don’t date, sugar; we mate. Yes, our mate can be anyone or even multiple people. Ari and Kaden have a high-profile security company and they were brought in to help us secure our land. While they were here, they found their mate, Camellia. They’ve made their home with the Crimson Hollow Tribe because Camellia is one of the tribe’s teachers. Some shifters have human mates, as you might have already figured out.” He rolled down his window as they came to the gate and eyed the older of the two guards. “Hey, guys. Has everyone made it back? Any issues?”
“Everyone’s back and no issues, sir,” the guard answered as the younger one opened the gate to allow Noah to drive through. “Jase wants to meet with you and the woman when you arrive. He’s waiting at cabin two.”
“Very well. Close down the gate; no one in or out until morning unless otherwise cleared through the leaders.” Not waiting for the guard to reply, Noah rolled up the window and headed into the compound. “Time to meet the Chief.”
“Are you in trouble because you brought me back? Maybe I should leave.”
“Stop.” He reached over and placed his hand on her leg. “I explained the connection between mates earlier. The one between me and my Alpha is very much the same. He knows who you are and that I am bringing you home. It’s not unusual for him to want to meet with anyone coming to our tribe, so there’s nothing to be concerned about. You have my word, Karri; you’re safe here.”
He parked the car near the guard’s cabin, which he was the only one living at now that Liam had mated. There was another cabin on the other side being constructed for Liam and Ginger. The two main guards for the Chief and Deputy needed to be close by.
Two guards for two charges. He shook his head, not wanting to think about all the things that could go wrong with that. It was impossible for him and Liam to keep both Jase and Sin safe twenty-four hours a day. While his primary goal was Sin’s safety and Liam’s was Jase’s, their duties overlapped. Each of them needed at least one additional guard, preferably four to six guards, working shifts, to keep them safe.
Both he and Liam had approached the subject with Jase, but he was unwilling to add guards until he knew for certain that they would protect Sin with absolute thoroughness. Until then, it was up to Liam and Noah. They had a group of potentials going through training and hopefully, before things got too out of control and unsafe, they’d have a strong team to keep the leaders of the tribe safe.
“What is your role in the tribe?”
He came around the car to where
Karri was standing, her hand still on the door frame as if she wasn’t sure she wanted to get out of the safety of the car. “My primary responsibility is to protect Sin, the Deputy of the tribe. If someone challenges her for her place within the tribe I can do nothing to stop that, but I keep her safe from all other threats, including The Saviors.”
“You make it sound like there are other things to worry about besides them.”
“There are many threats in your world, too; you just don’t constantly consider them. You could walk out of your apartment and get hit by a truck. While you’re shopping, there could be an armed robbery. There are always threats around; you just have to understand how to handle them.” He wanted it to sound like everyday issues so that he didn’t worry her further, but the truth was, the shifter world brimmed with danger. While The Saviors were making it more so, they were also bringing shifters together to stand as one and fight the greater evil.
A cabin door opened behind him and he started to turn toward it. Thanks to his shifter hearing, he knew where it was coming and who to expect before he even saw who’d arrived. Sin stood in the doorway of her cabin, glaring at him, her anger drifting toward him. “Still angry, I see.”
“You have no idea,” she snapped. “Jase is waiting for you. A little male bonding, I suspect.”
“Now Sin, you know we didn’t keep you out of the fun to be assholes. We did it—”
“To keep you safe.” Garret came up next to Sin and wrapped his arm around her waist as he finished Noah’s sentence.
“The two of you gang up on me, but I’m supposed to be the Deputy here. Then you bring Jase into it, making matters worse, and you let him go out there.”
“You know as well as I do that we couldn’t have stopped Jase unless we were going to knock him unconscious or tie him up. He’s the Chief and he believes strongly in not asking someone to do something he wouldn’t do himself. He also had Ari and Kaden with him.” Knowing he needed to calm Sin down before she could allow this to simmer longer and let her anger turn into rage, he stepped away from Karri and moved toward the cabin. “You’re just as headstrong as he is, but the one person who can help me is Garret. Your mate knows the right words to say to you in order to keep you from doing something stupid. You’re not just the Deputy; you’re mated and have Zoe to look after. In the next few days, we need to all sit down and discuss this situation. You and Jase both need to let me and Liam do our job of protecting you guys.”
“I already had that talk with her tonight, but you’re right—we need to make some changes in that area,” Garret agreed. “Both of them need additional guards.”
“You’re preaching to the choir.” Noah shook his head. “That’s something both Liam and I have brought to Jase’s attention numerous times. Maybe you addressing the topic will make him see the urgency of the situation. The need for more guards for them is not something we can continue to ignore. Liam stayed here to protect Sin and the tribe while the rest of us were off looking for survivors and anyone from The Saviors who might have been still in the area. Because of that, we had to recruit Ari and Kaden for his protection. They’re not even guards.”
There was no doubt they could handle themselves and protect Jase but the point was, they had to rely on someone else to protect the Chief because they were failing him. It was beside the point that he wouldn’t allow them to bring on additional guards. They couldn’t continue like this. He was too important to the tribe to allow him to continue to risk himself.
“It’s late, we’re all tired, so go talk to Jase and we’ll meet tomorrow to continue this discussion,” Garret told him before looking down at his mate. “Come on, Sin. Everyone is back; now let’s get some sleep.”
As the door closed, he knew he wasn’t done hearing from Sin about denying her the right to go with them. He could only hope that in the next few hours, Garret would be able to keep her from getting angrier; otherwise she’d be raging by the time of the meeting. Sin didn’t like being kept on the sidelines but, with her position within the tribe, she needed to accept she couldn’t be at the frontlines all the time. Jase needed to accept that as well, but that was more Noah’s problem than his. He had to worry about Sin.
“She’s not what I expected.” Karri came up next to him, her voice low.
“Why not?” He didn’t give her a moment to answer before he added, “Sin’s red hair matches her feisty attitude. You never know what to expect with her. She’s always a cannon ready to go off but not always on what you might expect. She’s loyal and would do anything for this tribe, even after the hell she was put through.”
Knowing she’d want to know what he meant, he put his arm around her waist and started toward cabin two as he explained. “You could say Sin is Jase’s adoptive sister. She was born in a leash—a group of foxes—and when they were all killed, Granddad—Jase’s Grandfather and the tribe’s former Chief—took Sin and her cousin, Swift, in. They were the first foxes here and not everyone made things easy for them. Many considered them outsiders and the children were vicious. Jase stood up for Sin, but when she turned eighteen, she was tired of it all and took off. She just rejoined us a few months ago when Jase took over.”
“Did her cousin leave, too?”
He paused at the bottom of the three steps that led to the cabin’s porch. “No, Swift stayed. She was doing well until another leash was attacked. Things were rocky for a while but she’s mated now and is working through her issues. I’m sure you’ll meet her soon enough. Now come on, let me introduce you to Jase.” Without waiting, he led the way up the steps into the cabin as excitement teased through him. Noah was anxious to see Jase’s reaction to his new mate. I wonder if he knew I’d be mated to a human.
Chapter Four
The cabin had an open, airy feeling to it but did nothing to help Karri’s claustrophobia. She found herself in a compound full of shifters with dangerous people after them—possibly after her. It all seemed like a nightmare she couldn’t wake up from. Standing before the Chief, she seemed to dwarf before him. His muscular, wide frame and height made it seem like there was more of a difference between them then there actually was.
“Welcome to Crimson Hollow, Karri. I’m Jase.” He held his hand out to her.
After a moment of hesitation, she reached out to take his hand, wondering if she’d feel the same connection she had with Noah’s touch. As her fingers brushed the back of his hand, nothing sparked to life, allowing her to accept the handshake. “It’s nice to finally meet you. Noah spoke highly about you.”
“Now I know you’re lying.” Jase let out a deep laugh.
“I ensure you, he did,” she pressed not wanting Noah to be in trouble because of her.
“It’s fine, sugar.” He laid his hand on her arm and the unease that had been running through her subsided. “He’s messing with you. Jase is a good Chief.”
“Better if I accepted your suggestions.” Jase raised an eyebrow at Noah, as if waiting for a response.
“Well, we all know that’s the truth.” The other man spoke from where he was leaning against the wall in the background. “I’m Liam.”
The third and final man had thus far stood silent, watching the exchange. “Though we kind of already met. I’m Roger, by the way.”
“The lion from the…I’m sorry.” She wasn’t sure what to say around these people and it seemed that the filter between her brain and her mouth had been suddenly turned off.
“You’re fine. Yes, the lion from the woods. I hadn’t meant to scare you. I assumed you were aware of shifters, considering how many had attended that party.”
“I was aware of shifters existing; I mean, how could I not? It’s all over the news. I just never expected to meet one in person. Let alone be standing in the middle of their town.” Noah’s touch helped to keep the anxiety at bay. Though she wasn’t sure why, she trusted him, and if he trusted everyone here, then she knew she’d be safe.
Kat had always told her to be more open to people and less jud
gmental. She could hear her friend’s words playing through her thoughts. Just because you came from a small hick town where everyone knew everyone else doesn’t mean the world is as bad as your parents have made it seem. Except maybe it was; she had just watched a group of people get murdered in front of her eyes, including Kat and her boyfriend.
Sitting there on the sofa, she ran her hand through her hair and tried to fight through the emotions running through her. For the last twenty minutes, Jase had grilled her on what happened, making her relive the horrible scene. She had cooperated because she wanted to help but she couldn’t handle much more of it. No longer was she seeing the open space of the cabin; instead, she was back in the woods, dead bodies littering the ground around her and blood everywhere. She didn’t want to be there, didn’t want to look at the bodies at her feet, and she most certainly didn’t want to find Kat’s body in the carnage.
“When the shooting started, could you tell how many shooters there were?”
As if his question sparked the memory, she was back at the beginning. She was just returning to the party after fetching her phone from the car. Music blared, people danced, and liquor flowed freely. That party somewhat reminded her of home—there’d been a barn she and some friends used to party at in her teenage years. The barn backed to the woods, which left plenty of places for privacy. The difference was that back then they’d had country music playing and drank beer, rarely any hard liquor—unlike this last event. Gunshots rang through the air then, stopping her memory of teenage parties and bringing her back to recent past.
“Stop!” Pain laced that single word and her chest tightened.
“Enough.” There was a touch of anger in Noah’s voice, but she didn’t have enough strength to look back at him.
“I can’t do this! Not again…” She held her hands to her ears as if it would stop the gunshots but it didn’t. They weren’t real, but lived on in her mind.
“Sugar, it’s okay.” Noah, who had hung back through the whole questioning, came up to her and squatted in front of her.
Purrable Lion: A Crimson Hollow Novella Page 3
