The Liger's Mark

by Lacey Thorn

  Kenzie could hear the hurt in Laura’s voice. So she was twenty-four, which would mean it had been fourteen years since she’d last seen her brother.

  “Which is when I found her,” Gabriel said. “She’s been my pain in the ass ever since.”

  It was easy to hear the teasing in his voice, and both Kenzie and Laura laughed.

  “You love me, and you know it,” Laura said then glanced quickly at Kenzie. “As a sister. Purely platonic.”

  “I know,” Kenzie assured her, not even feeling a twinge of jealousy.

  Her beast had been quite content since she’d marked Gabriel and claimed him.

  “Did you always know you were a shifter?” she asked Laura.

  The other woman laughed. “No,” she told Kenzie. “Shocked the hell out of me. I was a late bloomer, older than the other girls when my body started changing. Sixteen was a horrible year for me. I shot up three inches, grew boobs, joined the woman club and started aching so bad in my bones, I thought I had cancer.”

  “What did your parents do?”

  “Nothing,” Laura said with a shrug. “I never told them. I was terrified. I was sick for a week, raging fever and the sensation I was being ripped apart on the inside. My mom took one look at me and screamed for my dad. I remember him walking in to see what was going on then slamming out in anger.”

  “He was angry you were sick?” Kenzie asked incredulously.”

  “My eyes were glowing,” Laura said. “Next thing I knew, he was loading me up. Took me to the middle of nowhere and left me in the woods. Said he’d be back in forty-eight hours and if I was alive, he’d take me home.”

  “Are you fucking kidding me?” Kenzie asked with complete horror.

  “Real winner, huh,” Gabriel said. “Sometimes we’re our own worst enemies.”

  “I survived. Shifted and managed to merge with my beast. My dad came back, and we never spoke of it again. The day after my high school graduation, I woke up to an empty house. My mother left me a note telling me it was best if I was no longer with them. So I packed what I needed and took off.”

  “What about your brother?” Kenzie was appalled by the story Laura was sharing.

  “He was gone,” Laura said. “I had no idea where he was and figured he wouldn’t want me around, anyway.”

  “I’d like to find your family and beat the hell out of all of them,” Kenzie stated with a glare.

  “I survived,” Laura said, with a glance toward Gabriel.

  “You know, I always knew I was different,” Kenzie said. “My hearing range was insane from the beginning, eyesight, too. I didn’t realize how much until I’d mention something I shouldn’t have been able to see or hear. People began looking at me strange.”

  “Holt said you thought your parents were cougars,” Laura said. “How did you know that if you were in the foster system?”

  “I had a social worker who kept tabs on me, Ms. Karsey. She’d come visit and sometimes we’d go out together. She said they were mandated visits so she could check up on me. Looking back now, it’s easy to see she was guiding me. Our discussions, our fieldtrips, they were all to help me learn. She was also watching for signs of my animal emerging, but that didn’t happen.”

  “So how did you know?” Laura said. “I never had any shifter attributes or anything until I merged. I had no idea what I was until I was shedding my skin and suddenly looking through the eyes of my beast. Terrifying doesn’t begin to convey my emotions at the time.”

  “I can’t imagine,” Kenzie said. “I don’t want to imagine. As to how I knew, it’s hard to explain. I’d always felt something inside me, like a whisper in my head. At first, I thought of it as my conscience, my meter of right and wrong. As I got older, it was more like intuition, warning me when something wasn’t right. There were other things, but the enhanced senses were the main sign,” she offered with a grin. “Then at twelve, I saw Meara for the first time when I was out with Ms. Karsey. They spoke quietly while I sat in the car. The radio was on, but I could still hear them. Meara asked about unexplained fevers, about my teeth, my hands. She never spoke to me, but I watched when she left. Ms. Karsey was writing in this notebook she always carried. I saw Meara step into this copse of trees, look around and start stripping. I was a bit shocked. Then in the blink of an eye, she’d disappeared, and there was a cougar there. She glanced back, and I swear she looked right at me. Then she was gone. I didn’t see her again until I was sixteen.”

  “Same questions, I’m guessing,” Gabriel said, and Kenzie nodded.

  “Nothing had really changed at that point. I asked Ms. Karsey about Meara that time. I was older, more certain of what I’d seen.”

  “What did the social worker say?” Laura asked.

  “She made me swear I’d never mention Meara or what I’d seen to anyone else. Then she told me some people were more gifted than others. I asked her if I was gifted. She looked sad. She told me I was special but not gifted like Meara was. That’s when I began to think Meara was my mother and had given me up because I couldn’t shift. I figured I was defective in her eyes.”

  “Jesus,” Gabriel said, reaching across to take her hand. “Just once, I’d like to meet a shifter whose life was filled with joy and happiness, who had amazing parents, a loving family, and never had to deal with the idiocy of people trying to hide who they are.”

  “You’ll see it with Tah and Abby’s little girl, Regan. Zane and Diane’s child, too. We’ll all make it that way for them and for any other children born into our pride,” Kenzie vowed.

  Gabriel nodded. “I can see that.”

  “Your animal is coming out, now, right? Have you had the urge to shift, yet?” Laura asked.

  “Nothing overwhelming, yet,” Kenzie said, running her tongue over the new length of her canines. “No more fever or chills.”

  They had disappeared once she and Gabriel had gone at each other like sex fiends, and she’d marked her mate. Now, there was only a tingle under her skin, but it didn’t fill her with a fierce need to strip and let loose the animal inside. It was as if now that Kenzie had claimed her mate, the animal was content to lay low again. It was disconcerting, but Kenzie had been dealing with things like this for most of her life. It was as if the beast could only emerge in small increments.

  “I’m sure the urge will hit soon,” Gabriel teased. “Just try to wait until we get home.”

  “I’ll do my best,” she offered. “How soon until our next stop?”

  “Soon,” he said, rolling his shoulders. “Fuel up and grab some food. I don’t want to stay too long.”

  “You really think the hunters will try to attack out in the open like this?” Kenzie asked.

  “If they want you bad enough to risk sneaking onto Holloway land then yes,” he admitted. “I think our greatest risk will be at night, which is why we’re planning to drive straight through. That means you and Laura need to nap as much as you can so you’ll be ready to drive when I need a break.”

  Kenzie nodded. She knew how worried Gabriel was. She also knew he was determined to keep her safe. All she could think about was how much it would destroy her if anything happened to him. Danger was part of his life, though, even more so than any other shifter. Gabriel put himself out there as the Angel. Though he’d agreed he wouldn’t leave her again, she knew being the Angel wouldn’t be something he left behind, either. They had more to discuss and work out once they made it to the ranch in Riverton, Oklahoma.

  “Stop,” he said, and she gave him a questioning look. “I can feel you worrying. Don’t. Whatever happens, we’ll deal with it. The important thing is to stick together and keep moving.”

  “You’re right,” she agreed.

  “Here’s our exit,” he said, flipping on his turn signal. “Next stop coming up.”

  “Thank God,” Laura said with a groan. “I need to stretch my legs.”

  Laura closed her eyes and tilted her head, and there was something about her expression that caught Kenzie’s
attention. Then it clicked, and her eyes widened. Oh, fuck! What would Laura say if she knew the brother who’d left so long ago was waiting for her in the last place she probably expected to find him? Because if Kenzie was right about who Laura was then that was exactly what would happen.

  Chapter Twelve

  It was two in the morning when they rolled into Riverton, and Gabriel was able to relax a bit for the first time since they’d left. He was back at the wheel with Kenzie and Laura both sound asleep in the back. They’d reclined the seat and thrown some blankets out to make it more comfortable, but he couldn’t look back there without remembering the second time he’d taken his mate. Not claimed her, but taken her. He hadn’t realized the difference then. He did, now.

  He wanted to be back there with her. Hell, he just wanted her period. Since she’d bitten him, claimed him, things had begun to change inside him. He was anxious when she was away from him, and not the way he’d worried when he’d left her behind in Colorado. It had been hard to leave her then, but nothing like what he was experiencing now.

  He worried it might have something to do with the way he was suddenly having trouble sensing her. It was fine when they were together, strong when he was touching her. It was when she wasn’t right beside him that he noticed it. The few times along the road when she’d gone inside while he pumped gas. Those were the moments when he couldn’t feel her emotions or even pick up on whether she was safe or not. It made the liger want to bite and fuck, filling their mate with enough of his DNA to strengthen the bond that seemed to be weakening.

  There was no way he’d be able to leave her again. The desire for her had a grip on him so strong and deep it made him feel primal in his need to protect her. The sudden inconsistency with their bonding only added to it. She hadn’t said anything yet to him, which made him worry it was only on his part, that somehow he was defective as a mate. Whatever the cause, he would fix it even if it meant he kept her naked and his cock buried inside her for the foreseeable future.

  He pulled to the side and waved the other two cars to go ahead of him when he saw a coyote just inside the small copse of trees that marked the beginning of his land.

  He eased down the window as he pulled into the entrance to the ranch and Adrian stepped out. The other man was quiet as he moved closer. His gaze flicked to the back while he inhaled deeply. A grin split his face when he glanced back at Gabriel.

  “Congratulations,” Adrian murmured, holding his hand out.

  Gabriel took it and squeezed. “Thanks. I never imagined she existed.”

  “I was worried. I see there’s no need to, now.”

  “Worried?” Gabriel sat up straighter. “What’s going on? What did my father do now?” He had no doubt anything that worried Adrian would be tied to Isaac.

  “Your father is most likely off somewhere plotting,” Adrian said. “I sent my brother after the papers you wanted. Put them in your safe when he brought them to me.”

  “Old man snooping, huh?” Gabriel asked though he knew it was true. His dad was getting worse as the years went by. “What’s he done that had you worried? Please tell me everyone is still here.”

  “They are. Tah. I like him. Strong. Not just physically, but mentally, emotionally. He gives the impression he could carry the weight of the world on his shoulders and never once stumble. Perhaps it’s the people he surrounds himself with. I have no doubt any of them would die to protect him, most definitely to protect his mate and child.” Adrian grinned again. “Now there is a woman who can put your father in his place and does.”

  “Tah’s mate? Abby?” Gabriel asked.

  “Make no mistake about who rules this pride they have. Your father made that error. He thought to browbeat Tah into leaving. She came at your old man like a tornado, and when the poor bastard made the mistake of thinking he could strike back…” Adrian shook his head.

  “Tell me he didn’t hurt her!” Gabriel knew he’d have to take drastic measures when it came to his dad. No more excuses.

  “Didn’t get a chance. Every man in the room came at him, surrounding Abby like the queen she most definitely is. Tah…” There went that head shake again. “I think he would have ripped Isaac’s throat out if his friend Logan hadn’t stopped him.”

  “Somehow I don’t think you were worried about the possibility of my dad getting hurt,” Gabriel stated.

  “I’ve been worried for you,” Adrian admitted, glancing once more toward the back where Kenzie slept. “You’ve been sticking around less and less, taking more and more risks. You didn’t care if you came back, if you lived or died. I feared every call, afraid it would be Daniel saying you were dead.”

  “You know I’m the Angel,” Gabriel said. “Risking my life is my job.”

  “It’s been your obsession since your father planted the seed inside you when we were boys,” Adrian clarified. He paused, looking off toward the sky for a moment. “Keep your mate close. I scent trouble on the air.”

  Gabriel had learned long ago to never doubt Adrian’s omens. The damn coyote often knew things before they happened.

  “No one will hurt her,” Gabriel vowed.

  “Be sure the same applies to you,” Adrian said quietly. “Losing you will break something in your mate that she desperately needs. Stay alert. Sometimes the enemy wears the face of a friend.”

  Gabriel nodded. “I’ll stay vigilant. Thanks for coming. It helped knowing you were here.”

  “I’ll always be here,” Adrian promised. “All you have to do is call.” He took a step back. “My brothers will stay until the sun rises, keeping guard then return home.”

  “Thanks,” Gabriel said again.

  “Gabriel, you need this new pride here as much as they need to be here,” Adrian told him. “This is a new beginning for all of you.”

  Gabriel nodded, feeling the truth of that in his soul. Adrian was already moving away, but he turned and waved, teeth flashing white as he grinned then the man was gone, leaving a coyote in his place. The animal lifted his head to the sky and let an eerie howl fill the night. Other cries sounded until the air rang with the sound.

  “What is that?” Kenzie asked as she slid into the front with him.

  “Friends,” Gabriel said. “Welcoming us home.” He turned to her, fingers caressing her cheek before he tipped her face up to his and kissed her. He meant to keep it soft, a hello, but as soon as their lips touched, sparks flew, and he was lost in her until he heard Laura moving around in the back.

  Kenzie moistened her bottom lip then sunk her teeth into it when they broke apart. “So this is home?”

  He nodded. “I’m not sure who will be up, but I know we need some rest before going into everything.”

  “I could use a shower,” Kenzie said. “Hot water sounds like heaven right now.” She rolled her shoulders and groaned. “And a soft bed.”

  “Just a few more minutes,” he promised. He pulled up in front of the house and parked, walking around to pop the back hatch for Laura while Kenzie stepped out of the passenger side and stretched.

  “I’ll see you two later,” Laura said with a yawn. “My bed is calling.”

  “I’ll check on you in the morning,” Gabriel said.

  He joined Kenzie and, holding her hand, started toward the main house while Laura headed off to the home she kept on the property. Part of him was filled with dread, dealing with his father and the cryptic warning from Adrian rolling through his mind. He’d have to make sure everyone was on guard. Or maybe he’d just speak with Tah. Adrian’s warning about an enemy with the face of a friend worried him. Was it possible one of his mate’s friends would betray her?

  Kenzie wasn’t surprised to see Tah waiting when she and Gabriel reached the house. It did throw her that no one else was with him. She could tell he’d left his bed to see them. He wore his jeans, chest and feet bare and still managed to look intimidating. Or maybe that was just her guilty conscious kicking in.

  “I sent them to get some sleep,” Tah said as
if he knew what she was thinking. He glanced at Gabriel. “We’ve got a lot to talk about, but it can wait until you’re both rested. You made good time.”

  “Drove straight through,” Gabriel said. “Didn’t appear we were followed, but I’d prefer everyone stay vigilant.”

  “Gideon said the same thing,” Tah admitted. “I’m planning to call everyone together tomorrow when we talk. It’ll be better if we’re all aware of what’s going on. It’s good to have Reed and Dusty here,” he said, moving his glance to Kenzie. “First time we’ve all been together in too long.”

  “Cause for celebration if there ever was one,” Murphy said, as he joined them. He smiled at her and stepped forward, pulling her into a hug. “It’s good to have you home. Diane’s been fretting over you, worrying herself despite our assurances you’re fine.”

  Guilt hit Kenzie again. She should have called Diane, but she hadn’t. They’d bonded when they’d gone out in the Colorado woods together to find Zane.

  “I’ll make sure to see her later today,” Kenzie promised.

  “Your mate should probably stay away from her for a bit,” he warned, turning to look at Gabriel.

  Kenzie could tell Murphy was upset about something, but had no idea why he was poking at Gabriel.

  “Why’s that?” Gabriel asked.

  “Seems she blames you for anything and everything at the moment,” Murphy said with a shrug.

  Kenzie glanced at Tah, who grinned unrepentantly at them.

  “Is she okay?” Kenzie demanded.

  “Pregnancy hormones,” Tah said. “That’s what the professor says.”

  “What does that have to do with her blaming my mate for things?” Kenzie wanted to know.

  “Well, you see, your mate hurt someone she considers a friend and sent that same friend sneaking away without telling anyone, putting herself in danger, which terrified Diane,” Murphy admonished Kenzie. “She was scared something might happen to you.”