by Aubree Lane
• • •
“HE GOT ME from behind.”
Derek gazed up from his one good eye. His once chiseled torso was bound in bandages after being torn to shreds. The right side of his face was swollen and bruised. One arm was cast in plaster. In a failing voice, he added, “I’m glad you made it out.”
Derek made it sound like his injuries happened before Ice took her into the mine, but according to the doctor, the wounds were only a few hours old. Jessie didn’t trust him, and she didn’t trust herself not to fall under his smooth, enticing spell.
Marigold warned that the boys had hypnotic eyes. Jessie had fallen victim to their mesmerizing quality too many times not to believe that part of the strange tale, so she looked away. “I did not make it out. Your cousin found me and introduced me to a set of mountain lion cubs. Logic suggests you were complicit. You lured me out there, then left me alone and clueless. You are just as responsible for what happened to me as your cousin, so don’t insult my intelligence with this line of crap you’re dishing out.”
“What happened with Ice, Jessie?” Derek implored.
With angry eyes, she turned to face him. “You should be proud of yourself. I fell right into your trap and nursed the cubs.”
Derek’s one good eye filled with sympathy. “I’m sorry. I failed to protect you, but I did not abandon you.”
“Protect me!” Jessie spat in reply. “You walked me right into the lion’s den, but don’t worry, I talked to your grandmother. I know everything. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to fix this train wreck.”
Derek’s voice grew strong with concern. “Jessie, wait! You can’t trust her. She orchestrated all of this. She’s dying, and we’re the last. Don’t look for the cubs or it will start again. They’ll cry, and you won’t be able to stop yourself.”
Jessie turned back towards Derek. The man looked utterly panic stricken. For about a half a second, his alarming words filled her with trepidation, but lying was a Foster family specialty.
There was one thing she believed. Jessie hadn’t been able to stop herself from going to the cubs when they cried. Underneath the disbelief and horror, she felt the overwhelming urge to feed them. Despite the ardor of Ice’s distracting kisses, she needed to care for them.
If the cousins were at odds, so much the better. It would be easier to take them down one at a time. As a united front, it would be damned near impossible. The fight between Ice and Derek was the first indication that the cousins were no longer working together.
Jessie’s hand began to throb. She looked at the wound his grandmother etched into her skin and remembered the look of steel in her eyes. Their species was on the verge of collapse, but there was no way she was going to become a foster mom to those cute little cubs.
“Jessie, you’ve been hoodwinked. Come closer. I can show you the truth.” Derek tried to reach out, but he didn’t have the strength.
Suspicious, but curious, she had to ask. “What do you mean?”
Falling limply back into the bed, he closed his one good eye and sighed with relief. “You have to remove the veil. You have to see the truth for yourself.”
The veil of lies, Jessie thought. Careful to avoid making eye contact, she moved closer. “Fine. Remove it!”
Through his bruised and swollen lips, Derek smiled. “I can’t, but you’re a strong woman. You have already seen through some of it. Your fear is holding you back. Once you face it, you’ll understand everything. All you have to do is trust yourself.”
That was something Jessie hadn’t done in a while. If she trusted what she thought was true, then most of what seemed true, wasn’t. The same favorite knit shirt she wore the night before, suddenly reeked of the oaky-herb scent of the fire.
Jessie’s eyes grew wide with shock.
Lumps of mud flaked off her hiking boots when she ripped the garment from her body and stomped on it.
If this was the truth, then Derek was right, she had known it all along.
The pain searing through her breasts gave her pause, but she had to see for herself. After taking a deep breath, she lifted her tank top. The girls had seen better days. The starving cubs had not been kind. Jessie gasped at the sight of her battered breasts and lowered her top back down.
Derek’s gaze met hers and his un-bandaged eye glistened with sorrow. “I failed you.”
A wave of memories broke through and Jessie remembered everything.
“You fought with Ice in your cabin.” Image after image flooded her mind, and her hands clutched protectively over her chest. “I watched the both of you go at it and it excited me. You each shifted into lion form. It was the same up on the ridge. Ice almost attacked me, but you flew over my head and rescued me from certain death. You defeated him then and again at the cabin. Ice slunk off injured and bleeding. Then you shifted back into human form and tried to get me into the truck. I refused to go.”
Derek picked up the story when she was unable to continue.
“Ice gave you a derivative of Rohypnol. Most people call it the date rape drug. He wanted you compliant, but he also wanted you to remember what was happening. If you were confused and curious enough, he figured he could get your cooperation with the cubs later on. The drug works along the same lines as the stuff I smell on your shirt. You can thank my dear old grandmother for that. Both are strong aphrodisiacs. I should have taken you straight to the hospital, but I was still jacked up on adrenaline from the fight. I’m afraid I didn’t control myself very well.”
He controlled himself just fine until she jumped him. Jessie wanted to stay angry, but it was difficult. Derek might have reaped the benefits, but Ice was the one who had given her the pills. “Don’t beat yourself up about it. I was pretty insistent.”
He smirked a lopsided swollen face grin. “I didn’t say I was sorry.”
She dreamed about the sex they shared for days afterwards, and Jessie found herself smiling back. She raked her fingers through her sleek black hair and brought herself back to the present. There were a few other things that needed an explanation. “The radio in my truck was disabled, and my cell phone was gone. Was that real or a hallucination?”
Derek filled her in. “Ice cut the cord to the radio’s microphone, and after you passed out, I climbed up to higher ground to get a signal on your cell phone. That’s when I called the hospital. I heard the truck start up, so I followed you.”
Jessie didn’t buy it. “I don’t care how fast you are, there isn’t any way you could keep up with me all the way down the mountain.”
Derek gave her an indulgent smile and waited for her to figure it out.
Jessie sighed. She had been a wobbly mess. The truck had probably crept down the mountain trail at a snail’s pace. If he was in cat form, it was entirely possible. “It was you I sensed when I pulled over. I must have passed out again because I don’t remember how I got to the hospital.”
The shifter in the hospital bed seemed to grow stronger by the moment. “I grabbed you through the driver’s side window before you pulled onto Gold Country Drive. I helped ease your distress.”
“You did a good job. My mind is a complete blank.”
Derek continued his explanation. “When we were young, it was hard to control when we shifted. We found it useful to hypnotize the poor soul who saw us change. We would suggest they fall asleep, and that what they witnessed was a figment of their imagination. Since nobody wants to believe in shifters, the trick works pretty well.”
One final veil collapsed, and Jessie realized there was someone else who knew about the animal shifters. That’s why Grace Langston told her campfire cat story year after year. It was a warning.
Jessie couldn’t recall many of the details of the story Ms. Langston told, only that it had scared the daylights out of her. Basically, the tale told of an all-knowing Oracle who foretold of a world filled with cat-people who would eventually rule this earthly realm.
Derek had more he wanted to say, but Jessie wasn’t in the mood to li
sten. She had to find Ms. Langston. It was time to get down and dirty with the cat-people.
• • •
JESSIE CHECKED THE tranquilizing darts about a hundred times as Gracie drove her four-wheel-drive Durango up Catamount Ridge.
Grace was the first to speak. “You shouldn’t be out here, Jessie. If you get near the cubs, I won’t be able to stop you from mothering them.”
After an hour or so away from Derek, Jessie no longer believed the mere sound of their cries could bring out the surrogate in her. They were cute, but they weren’t that cute. She suspected the herbal concoction brought on both the overwhelming desire and the ability to lactate.
Jessie smiled at Ms. Langston and questioned her with sweet sarcasm. “Has the Oracle spoken?”
“This is not a game, Jessie. I remember Ice as a child. He was scary then, but if what you say is true, then he is extremely dangerous now.”
Jessie looked at her former teacher and wondered for the thousandth time what her father saw in the woman. That all-knowing teacher glare and persistent frown, never left her face. Grace Langston was a monster in her own right, but since a monster was what they were about to fight, Jessie figured she couldn’t have anyone better by her side.
“Are you sure any of this is real?” the teacher argued. “It could be a manifestation brought on because of my old story and that bump on your head.”
Jessie left out a ton of details in the recruitment of her former teacher. She figured the only reason Ms. Langston was here at all was because, at one time, she had witnessed either Ice or Derek’s transformation and that somewhere in her subconscious, she knew it was possible. Jessie couldn’t begin to retell the yarn she rattled off to the woman, so she responded by lifting her shirt and flashing her.
Ms. Langston grimaced at the sight of Jessie’s mangled breasts. “Sorry I asked.”
“Me too.”
For the millionth time that day, Ms. Grace Langston rolled her eyes and let out a frustrated sigh.
The women shared a complicated relationship. Neither gave the other an inch, yet, there was respect. They would never refer to the other as a friend, but they could count on each other during difficult times. Grace was there to help take care of Cade after he suffered a mild heart infarction. She kept Jessie informed of his progress and let her know the moment he was up for a visit.
Jessie was confident her father was in capable hands. She was also extremely grateful not to have to see the strong, constant force in her life, weak and suffering. Jessie saw him that way after the rattlesnake incident, and she never wanted to see her dad that way again.
Gracie wasn’t the only one capable of handing out favors. Jessie couldn’t begin to count the number of papers she graded so her father and the teacher could spend time together. Only for her dad would she give up a Friday night out on the town with her wild high school buddies.
In her heart of hearts, Jessie knew that Ms. Langston had been an on-again, off-again mother figure for most of her life, and that she was richer for it. Even now, despite the danger and the endless griping, Grace Langston was ready to go to battle, simply because Jessie had asked for her help.
Their plan was straightforward. They would take out Ice and render the cubs safe for Grace to deal with. Upon entering the mine, Jessie would get close enough for the cubs to smell her and begin their baby-like cry. In case Derek was telling the truth, Jessie planned on staying far enough away to resist the need to feed them. The wailing cubs were bait, used to lure their father into their trap, but that was all. Jessie would never form a personal attachment with them. Come hell or high water, the cubs were going to stay mountain lions and never have the opportunity to explore the human side of their unique DNA.
Ms. Langston four-wheeled it down the path Ice and Jessie traveled the previous night. It wasn’t wide enough for the Durango to pass through, and the sound of paint being scraped and metal being dented, added a layer of credibility to their tension-filled journey.
They reached the escape tunnel and Jessie tossed her cohort an adjustable head lamp. The situation was unpredictable. Grace would need her hands free to wrangle the cubs or to protect herself as the situation dictated.
Jessie attached her father’s razor sharp hunting knife to the outside of her pant leg and checked the tranquilizing rifle one last time before she followed the older woman into the mine.
The moment they reached the cavern, the cubs began their hungry cry.
“That’s it, Jessie. Time for you to leave,” Ms. Langston commanded.
Jessie disregarded the order and searched the cavern for any sign of Ice. “Be careful,” she warned. “Watch those two exit points. Ice might try to ambush you. Call if you need help.”
“Don’t worry about me. Get out there before he shows up,” the old teacher growled. “Stick to the plan.”
Jessie pressed two syringes into Ms. Langston’s hand. “This isn’t part of the plan, but if Ice gets past me, the cubs will have to be destroyed.” She grabbed the feisty cub by the scruff of its neck and pointed. “This is where you’ll need to inject them. It won’t hurt, and it will be a peaceful death.” Unable to leave her least favorite teacher, Jessie lingered a moment longer than necessary. “Dad will never forgive me if anything happens to you. You also have two exit points. Fall back if necessary. Stay safe, Grace. None of this is worth getting hurt over.”
Grace nodded and pulled a 9mm Beretta from the pocket of her tattered barn jacket.
“You don’t need to worry about me. I’ll ice them all if necessary.” The old woman smiled at her joke. “After all, we can’t let the cat-people take over our worldly realm.”
• • •
JESSIE SCOPED OUT the best place for her ambush. Years of hunting with her father had given her the skill to do what was needed today. She hoped she would make her father proud. Upwind from the path where Ice was likely to make his appearance, Jessie hunkered down behind a bush. The manzanita and other prickly greenery made the landscape difficult to maneuver. The trail of destruction left by the Durango made it the most likely place for Ice to make his appearance, therefore, Jessie prepared for him to arrive from just about any other direction.
Silently, she watched while the cubs inside the mine became increasingly distressed. Their cries were agitating, but her milk did not let down and she was able to stay focused on the job at hand.
She sensed more than heard him. Ice was too close for comfort. Jessie controlled her breathing. Too many times this man/beast had been able to get the best of her. Those days were gone. She was now the hunter. Ice didn’t know what he was up against. It had fallen to her to maintain the health of the ecosystem. She was now the apex predator and Ice was her prey.
It was crucial for her to trust her instincts. Her next move had to happen in one fluid motion. Jessie closed her eyes. Sight was of no use to her. If she turned her head, she would give herself away, and Ice would win.
Fear and apprehension heightened her senses.
Jessie waited.
The moment she smelled his musk, she turned and fired.
The tranquilizing dart hit Ice in the middle of his chest. Shock was the only emotion that registered on his face. He stared at the dart’s red feathered tail in disbelief. Then his body turned liquid and Ice melted into the blue-gray mountain lion who had stalked and terrorized her.
The cat chirped pathetically as the tranquilizer fulfilled its part of the operation.
With her gun drawn, Grace reached Jessie just in time to help drag the cage out of the back of the Durango. “Well, that’s a first,” she said, pocketing her weapon.
“What?” Jessie chuckled. “Saving our worldly realm from the cat people?”
“Nope, back in there,” she said, referring to the mine. “You called me Grace. It only took thirty years. I know it was said out of fear, but it was nice to hear.”
“Grace.”
“Yes, Jessie.”
“Shut up.”
6
/> “JESSIE!” ICE BELLOWED. “Let me out of here.”
Hauling his mountain lion ass down into Grace’s basement hadn’t been an easy task. Ice’s human figure sat hunched in the corner of the cage and his hands rattled the bars. The cubs slept nearby in a large dog carrier.
“Jessie!” he yelled again. “Come down here and talk to me. It’s not what you think. I can explain everything.”
The huntress kicked the door open and made her way down the stairs. “No explanation is necessary. Derek and your grandmother have already filled me in.”
Ice took one look at her sunglasses and laughed out loud. “Those won’t protect you.”
She doubted they would, but it was worth a try. Jessie tossed the glasses aside and dropped a black blindfold onto the top of the cage. “This conversation isn’t going anywhere until you put that on.”
After the scarf was securely in place, Ice tipped his head and smirked. “I can still see you.”
The last thing Jessie wanted was to turn her back on him, but she didn’t have a choice. She grabbed a chair and scraped it across the concrete. If Ice was anything like his grandmother, the sound would rankle him.
When Ice shuddered, Jessie grinned.
“Okay, hotshot,” she began. “Tell me about Lizzy. What happened to her? She rambles on about being caged by monster cats. I assume she’s talking about you and Derek. If there are more of you, you better tell me now or there will be a price to pay.”
“I’m caged and at your mercy. What more can you do?”
“I could kill you, but I don’t believe that’s a strong enough threat.” Jessie kicked the dog carrier and the cubs whined. When she had Ice’s full attention, she slammed the two syringes down on top of the cage. “They’re your cubs. They’ll be the first to go. How do you feel about watching your progeny die?”
Ice drew the blindfold back down over his eyes. “I’ve watched many of our cubs die. Derek forced my hand with these two when he murdered their mother. I had no choice but to recruit you or my children wouldn’t have had a chance.”
