Moon 01 - Leopard Moon

by Jeanette Battista

  "Not nothing," Griff answered. "We watch and we wait."

  "If the girl is correct," his father continued, "then they will need to return to Miami very soon. And in the meantime, we protect ourselves and anyone we care about. We can see what happens after a few days. It may all come to nothing."

  Kess could tell Cormac didn’t like it, but she could see where Alaric was coming from. He had to look out for the interests of the pack--not her. Right now, there was nothing that required him to hand her over to her brother, not since Sek hadn’t actually threatened the pack. There was really nothing for them to do until the leopards did something that could be construed as an attack against them. But there was nothing, besides his son’s feelings for her, that required him to protect her from Sek.

  She felt Cormac squeezing her hand. She squeezed back, taking a look at his face. What she saw there was a riot of emotions and she felt badly for him. His father was being practical, but Cormac wasn’t seeing it that way. She had been raised among a certain amount of politics and knew that leaders sometimes had to do some very unpleasant things, including things that hurt their family.

  Alaric walked over to the two of them. He gestured at her. "If you can spare a minute from my son, I’d like to talk to you privately." Kess nodded, placing a restraining hand on Cormac’s arm.

  "Be right back," she whispered to him, trying to ease the suspicion from his face. It didn’t work. She got up and followed his father into his study.

  When Alaric spoke to her next, it was direct. "Any chance you’ll be leaving soon?"

  "Not with Sek, I won’t." Kess found the blunt approach refreshing after some of the veiled conversations her clan preferred.

  "And without?"

  Kess thought about for a minute or two. She could leave, racing away in the night, leaving everything behind. It would draw Sek away from the wolves. Then she thought of Cormac and found that the idea of leaving was something she didn’t want to think about. She shook her head slowly. "I don’t think so." She met the pack leader’s gaze with her own. "It may be selfish to you, but I don’t want to fight this alone anymore. I’m tired of running. This is my home now and I want to stay here. With Cormac."

  Alaric looked unhappy. "You’ve put my son at great risk." His eyes were hooded in the shadows cast from the green desk lamp.

  "I know you’d prefer if I said I’d willingly leave now—with Sek or without. It would solve a lot of problems for you. But I care about Cormac and he cares about me. I don’t want to lose that. I guess I am selfish." She paused, then plunged on. "I could lie to you to make you feel better and then just do what I want anyway, but I’m thinking you’d prefer honesty."

  Alaric looked at her, assessing. She couldn’t read him, but she knew he wasn’t going to start being the president of her fan club anytime soon. "If Cormac is hurt…" he began, his voice a low rumble of menace.

  "I don’t plan on letting anything happen to him." And this was true. She would leave with Sek if it looked like Cormac would be in danger. Right now though, she was hoping that she could actually convince him to leave her alone, that she would never come home.

  Alaric stared down at her. She stared back. If she was willing to defy Sek to stay with Cormac, she could certainly stand up to his father to do so. He scared her a lot less. She put everything she felt for his son into her eyes, hoping he could at least see how much Cormac meant to her. When she said she wouldn’t let anything happen to him, she meant it. As much as Cormac planned to protect her, it was as much as she planned to do for him.

  "Very well," Alaric said, seeming to soften a little. Kess took a deep breath, unaware that she’d been holding it. While he still didn’t seem pleased, he seemed a bit less overtly threatening. He opened the door to his study and ushered her back to the living room.

  Cormac was waiting for her. "Anything I should know about?" he whispered in her ear as his father rejoined the group now standing by the fireplace.

  Kess shook her head. "Your father and I came to an understanding of sorts," she whispered back, not willing to drive a wedge between father and son. Alaric had only his son’s best interests at heart--and while that may not include her--it didn’t give her the right to damage their relationship. Much as the petty side of her might wish it.

  "And you're not going to tell me anything about it, are you?" His eyes were crinkling at the edges as he fought back a smile.

  "Nothing you need to know about, other than that your father loves you very much." He's not the only one. It made her excited and frightened all at once to feel this way about someone else. She never expected she'd fall in love, not like this. Not now.

  Cormac got a funny look on his face, almost as if he didn't believe his father would say something like that to a relative stranger. Kess smiled up at him and nodded. She might not get the chance to tell him how she felt. Sek might not give her the chance. "He and I have something in common."

  A huge grin crossed Cormac's face. "Yeah?" he said, putting his face close to hers.

  "Yeah," she agreed quietly. Then she leaned in and kissed him.

  "Hey, Romeo and Juliet," Griff called out from the fireplace, amusement edging his voice. "Care to knock off the smooching and pay attention to the matter at hand?"

  Kess ducked away, embarrassed, but enormously happy. For now she got to stay with him. That was all that mattered. They joined the rest of the family. Griff began to fill them in on what they had missed.

  "We keep our eyes open," he warned. "See, smell, or hear anything with even the faintest hint of leopard--Kess excepted--and you report back to me and Alaric. I want everyone to watch themselves. I'm not going to require everyone to travel with a partner, but don't be stupid. Don't take chances." He turned to her. "Kess, you are the exception. Since you're the one your brother wants, you will be guarded. Don't go anywhere alone. I don't think I'll have a problem finding a volunteer to watch out for you." He grinned at his nephew.

  "If Kess is right," Alaric continued, "then they won't be here long. That means though that they will have very little time to implement whatever plan they have in mind. Don't get complacent and keep your wits about you."

  "Looks like you're stuck with me," Cormac murmured. Kess settled into his arms. Whatever happened, they would face it together.

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  The day dawned in a glory of blue sky and watery sunshine. Sek paced in his sister's room at the boarding house, waiting for her to come back. He wasn't worried that she'd be alone--he had no plans to start trouble, not right now, anyway. He could behave himself if she showed up with that interloper.

  He'd had a most interesting chat with his waitress last night. Rebecca had been only too happy to confirm where Kess was living and who she was dating once she knew he was Kess' beloved brother come for a surprise visit. Rebecca had even thoughtfully supplied the boy's name--Cormac. He'd sent a few of his men out to find out the boy's habits.

  Before the sun was up, Sek had climbed up the side of the boarding house, using Kess' particular scent as a guide to which room was hers. He found her window cracked, something she must have done deliberately, in case she needed to enter in the same way he had. He'd levered himself in smoothly and made himself comfortable.

  Hours passed. Sek didn't bother looking though her things. He wasn't a thief looking for money or jewelry to pawn. The one thing he wanted wasn't here, but soon would be. She had to come back to her room eventually, if only to grab her paltry things and flee to the next locale. But now that Sek had her trail, he'd never willingly let her go again. He fought down anger at the very idea of having to start the chase up all over again. She was leaving with him one way or the other.

  Kess was his. He'd raised her, loved her and looked after her for all of those years when their father brooded and grieved, only able to give small parts of himself to his children while he tried to care for the rest of the clan after burying the greater pieces of himself with his wife. He watched her grow from toddling nuisance to s
hockingly bright child to beautiful young woman. He was as proud of her as if he had sired her himself.

  He had kept her away from the wereleopard gatherings, the dark sensuality, the instability of them, not wanting to see her get hurt or become tainted by some of the less savory aspects of their clan. He'd kept her removed from the business of the clan, in the dark about the jaguars and the product they allowed the South American cats to move through the territory. He had wanted her protected. Innocent. It wasn't just to keep her for himself, although that was a part of it. There was something in her that called out to him, a like roaring to like from the depths of their isolation. She was like his other half, at one time so close to him as to be inseparable. He missed that closeness.

  But the clan was faltering. Their clan hadn't sired a were since Kess. She was the last. She was his last hope to revive the clan, to make them strong once again. There were other wereleopard clans out there, as well as other species, interested in their territory--he knew because they were already making sorties into Miami. It was a plum real estate: wealthy, debauched, and tropical. He needed to make her understand. She had to come back with him. In time, he knew he could win back her love, make her see his way of thinking, make her realize that the brother she had once cared for was still there beneath the layers of responsibility and concern. Make her see that his way was the only chance their clan had for survival.

  Sek didn't want to hurt her. He'd never wanted to hurt her. She had run scared and kept running, hiding herself away so that he could never explain or apologize. Their father had paid private investigators to find her and they had looked without success for months while he grew more and more withdrawn from everyone. Sek thought his father was almost grateful when he'd finally challenged him for supremacy. Sek hadn't wanted to do it, but they were in danger, all of them, and his father was unable or unwilling to see that.

  Things had just gotten out of control the night Kess left, Sek told himself. He had scared her, pressed too fast. He wouldn't make that mistake again with her. He'd be more attuned to what she wanted, taking their courtship slowly. The pharaohs of ancient Egypt had married their sisters, as they were the most suitable brides for the line and they were descended from those beasts that had once walked beside them. Even the gods Osiris and Isis were brother and sister as well as husband and wife. There was only one suitable mate for him and he had to get her to see that.

  Sek heard the key in the lock. He entertained the idea of greeting Kess from a seat on her bed, but thought better of it. No use in being overtly antagonistic. Instead he took himself off to the bathroom to wait until she had come in. He heard footsteps on the wood floor, waiting until they crossed onto the carpet before he came out of the bathroom to block the way out.

  "Hello, Kess." He drank in the sight of her. She'd changed so much in the year that she'd been gone, growing taller and sleeker. She'd thinned out as she grew up, her cheekbones becoming more pronounced, her chin more pointed. No one could have possibly been more beautiful. "It is very good to see you again."

  She whirled from her packing; she'd been stuffing clothing into a duffel bag. Her eyes were wide as they darted from him to the door. She began to back away from him. He put up a hand. "I've only come to talk."

  Kess did not relax, not that he had really expected her to. Still, her fear disturbed him. He had not been gentle in the past but that was because his cat nature had gotten the better of him. It was hard to control his urges around her but he had a better rein on them now. He was hoping for the chance to explain.

  "I don't have anything to say to you." Her musical voice shook with emotion. "Did Dad send you?"

  "No, he didn't." Sek didn't want to get into their father right now, not when Kess was so obviously upset. "Please, Kess." He watched as she shoved the garments she was holding into the bag with shaking hands. He was not used to pleading, but he would do it if it meant having her back with him. "Just listen to what I have to say."

  She wouldn't meet his gaze, no matter how hard he tried to catch it. Taking her silence for acquiescence, he began, "I'm sorry. For everything. But it is time you came home."

  "No. I had a good reason for leaving," she said, dropping her eyes and playing with one of the straps of her bag.

  Sek took a few steps closer to her. He tried to touch her face, but she flinched from him, and he subsided, hand curling into a fist. "I know, and for that I really am sorry." Her eyes flashed up into his and he smiled at her. "I will take more care with you in future."

  A look of disgust marred her lovely features and his smile died. Why must she look at him like that? Why didn't she understand how much he loved her? They had been raised together, he had been the one to guide her through her first change, to hunt with her, to teach her to fight, to protect her from anyone who would have stolen her away. There had been a boy when she was going to school that had come sniffing around her skirts, but Sek had made sure the young man was removed before he became a problem.

  They weren't cats and they weren't human. They were something else entirely. Human rules and distinctions did not apply to them.

  "I love you," he whispered, letting the longing he felt color his voice. "Remember when we would go swimming in the ocean? Remember how I would read to you every night before you went to bed? Remember how we'd make pancakes every Saturday morning? Don't you miss that?" Don't you miss me, he wanted to ask, but he was afraid of her answer.

  She nodded. "I do miss it sometimes."

  "You can have it all again. Come home with me. You'll never want for anything. I can make you happy."

  "I want my brother back," she said in a small, almost inaudible voice.

  He rocked back. He didn't understand. "I'm right here," he said, grabbing for her hand but she pulled it from his grasp.

  "No, you're something else. You stopped being my brother the day you tried to force me." She looked at him sadly. "I'm not going with you."

  He was growling, low in his throat before he realized it. She was watching him warily and he forced himself to quiet. "Sis, please..."

  "Don't call me that!" She hugged herself, backing away. "Please Sek, just go home. If you truly love me like you say you do, just leave me alone."

  She was denying him. Again. He closed the gap between them, grabbing her arms in a bruising grip and slamming her up against the wall. She gasped and he saw the fear flash in her eyes, but he didn't care. She had to understand what he had done for her, how much finding her had cost him.

  "Leave you alone? Do you know what I've done for you? What I had to do to come here--to bring you back?" He shook her with each question.

  "What are you talking about?" She was staring at him now, eyes huge in a face gone pale.

  "Father's dead." Sek bit off the words, wanting to hurt her as she had hurt him. He had been so happy to see her, overjoyed that she was safe and well, and she had reacted like he was worse than the lowest creature that crawled. He couldn't stop the whip-crack of anger that demanded he return the hurt in kind.

  Kess was staring at him, clearly not comprehending what he said, not at first. "I don't understand. How?"

  "Rite of challenge." Sek let the words hang in the air between them. He kept his hands on her upper arms, pinning her against the wall.

  "You?" It wasn't a word, merely a breath. He nodded. "How could you?" Unshed tears gleamed in her eyes. "All you had to do was wait and the clan would have been yours anyway."

  "You weren't there. You don't know what it was like." He felt a tightness in his chest. He did not like talking about how lonely he had been without her, moving through the landscape like a ghost.

  "What is wrong with you?" she whispered, staring at him as if she didn't recognized him. His grip slackened and she pulled herself free. She grabbed her bag and went into the bathroom, shoving toiletries in the bag and wiping tears from her cheeks.

  He followed her in there, fury making his movements sharp and quick. "Wrong with me? I didn't run away from my family! I d
idn't break our father's heart with worry and grief!"

  She whirled to face him, eyes glowing. "No, you just murdered him!"

  He reeled back, stunned that she couldn't see why he had to do invoke the challenge. "I had no choice! He wasn't going to do anything--he had stopped looking for you! I had to do this to get you back. The clan needs you. I need you!"

  She took a step back at the force of his words. There was nothing in her eyes that said she loved or cared about him. There was only anger and hurt. "Don't you get it? I'm not coming back! I'll never come back to you. Don't you understand that I can't after what you did?"

  "Kess..." His voice sounded so strangled he almost didn't recognize it.

  Her hands came up, like she wanted to push him away. "No, Sek! Just leave town. Please. Before anyone gets hurt. Just go!"

  Like your boyfriend? he wanted to ask, but felt a great roaring in his head as rage filled him. She was not the one to dictate terms to him. He had tried to be kind, he had tried to be reasonable with her and let her make her own decision. If she could only understand the things he had done to be with her, to protect her, the costs he'd paid. But she still continued to defy him, even tried to order him around as if she had a say in the matter. In two strides he crossed to the bathroom and grabbed a fistful of her hair at the base of her neck.

  Putting his lips to her ear, he whispered, "I'm not going anywhere, Kess. You don't get to make the decisions anymore." He slammed her forehead into the vanity mirror. Glass shattered. She cried out, staggering as blood began to seep down her face and he released her, leaving the bathroom as if he hadn’t left a part of himself behind, as shattered as the mirror.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  Kess put a hand to her forehead. She was dazed and could only stare stupidly at her hand when it came away bloody. Sek's words ran through her head on endless loop. She was the reason her father was dead. He was dead because of her. If she had stayed, he'd still be alive. She remembered the last time she spoke to him, her warning to him, his saying he loved her. She'd never thought it would the last time she'd hear his voice. She remembered the envelope of money and his note to her. Be well. All my love.