by Abigail Owen
“Did she kill my father?”
“Yes.”
She swallowed at the bald revelation.
“She didn’t discover she was pregnant until afterward.”
Seneca closed her eyes. No wonder her mother had told her never to go looking for her birth father. “I see.”
“Then, when you turned out to be a tiger shifter, she sent you to me…to train you the same way.”
Hopefully with better results. He didn’t say the words, but they hung there between them nonetheless.
She snapped her eyes open and glared at the closest thing to a father or friend she had. “I’m not a damn killer.”
“You may not have a choice.”
She picked up a rock and chucked it away, needing an outlet for her tension. “There is always a choice.”
Daje chuckled, recognizing his own words. “You’re learning, little one.” He levered up off the ground.
“Anything else?” she asked.
“One more thing.”
She raised her eyebrows and waited.
“Gage knows about me now.”
She frowned. “How do you know?”
“Because he followed you out here.” He nodded over her shoulder.
She spun around and gasped. Sure enough, Gage’s broad shouldered figure stood tall and rigid against the backdrop of rocks and sky.
“How long—” She glanced back to find Daje gone.
“Coward,” she muttered, and swore his rusty chuckle floated to her on the wind.
Gage, however, was definitely not laughing.
Chapter Twenty
She approached Gage slowly, as she would a spooked animal, unsure of his mood. The small amount of pale light from the thin sliver of the crescent moon, combined with her tiger’s excellent night vision, gave her a decent view of his face, but his closed expression provided zero information. Like her, he’d dressed in all black. She hoped none of the guards at the castle had seen the flash of his shoes. Unlike her, he hadn’t thought to marker over the reflective bits. Finally, she stood before him, and waited.
“You scared me,” he said.
Okay…. She rocked back on her heels. She’d been expecting a whole range of reactions—anything from “Who was that guy?” to “What else are you hiding from me?” to a full explosion of anger.
“I…did?” she stammered.
He crossed his arms. “I woke to find you gone. My first thoughts were you’d been kidnapped by your father, or had left the room without protection. We’re not safe in the castle yet. Thankfully, I could still feel you through our bond.”
That blasted bond. Sure enough, the ever-present connection that stretched like a rubber band when they moved away from each other, had eased in tension. How had she not noticed sooner? Maybe her Ninja skills weren’t as sweet as she’d thought. Doubt assailed her for a moment before she realized Daje wouldn’t lie to her. Or hold back.
She lowered her eyes. “I’m sorry. I’d hoped to return without you finding out.”
“I figured that out once I found a red silk rope hanging from our window.”
She winced. His voice remained calm, but his anger telegraphed down their line like Morse code.
“Was that a lie?”
She sent him a confused frown. “What?”
“The reason you told me for taking the curtains down. That Lareina likes red raw silk?”
This had to be the strangest conversation she’d ever had. He’d found her fighting with Daje and likely overheard she was a trained assassin, and he was asking about her reason for pulling down curtains?
“No, it wasn’t a lie. She loves that material and puts it everywhere. I can’t stand it.”
His shoulders eased a fraction. Why had that been so important to him? He looked down at the ground, hands on his lean hips.
“We’re going back to our room, and you’re telling me. Everything.”
“Okay.” She dipped her chin meekly, using the small voice that softened up most people.
Not Gage. A peek told her he wasn’t taken in by her submissive display. He took her by the chin, though his touch was gentle, and lifted her face to his in an uncompromising move. “Everything.”
She grimaced at his harsh tone.
He pivoted and walked away. She followed in silence. Everything was not on the table. She had to protect him, though that reason got fuzzier the longer they were together and the more he learned. Her biggest concern was the lions lost this fight, and Rick Delaney continued on as he always had. In which case, the less Gage knew about her the better. But there was only one thing left.
They made their way back from a different direction than they’d come out, heading around the side of the mountain she’d come straight up, and approaching the castle from the south. The mountains were turning purple in the early lights of dawn now. A glorious orange glowed in the eastern sky, though the sun hadn’t quite crested the horizon. Sunrise was imminent by the time they reached her rope, which still hung in a long crimson line from their window. The odd image appeared almost as if the castle was crying bloody tears.
Seneca couldn’t stop the small gasp that escaped her lips as she doubled over.
“What’s wrong?” The sound of Gage’s urgent voice came to her through a haze of fear.
She shook her head, as doom settled in her gut, as though she’d been kicked there, hard. She sucked in a breath. “I’ll tell you when we get to the room,” she gritted through clenched teeth.
She stood as the pain eased, though dread still sat like an elephant on her chest.
Gage ran a concerned gaze over her features, but nodded and gestured for her to go first.
No longer hiding who she was, Seneca flew up the rope mostly using her upper-body strength, her toes barely touching the walls as she went. Gage wasn’t too far behind, though he gave her a speculative look as he came over the ledge of the window.
Once they were inside, she jumped as he reached for her hand. She’d expected him to launch right into an interrogation. Instead, he led her to the pair of wingback armchairs situated in front of the large fireplace in the corner of the room. He sat her in one, and turned the other so they’d be facing each other before he sat.
Then he took both her hands in his and gazed directly into her eyes. “I get the feeling you are determined our mating is temporary.”
A statement, not a question. She cleared her throat.
“I think you should know I intend for our mating to work out. Permanently.”
Hope and fear both expanded in her chest, adding a tight band to the elephant still crushing her.
At her lack of response, he continued. “In my mind and in my heart, you are my mate. As such, there should be no secrets between us, and we should work together as a team.”
A team. Someone who’d have her back. After years essentially on her own, the idea was appealing, especially with Gage in the role of her partner. She dropped her gaze to their clasped hands and bit her lip. Impossible situations were nothing new to her—she would do what she had to.
He reached out and tipped her chin up. “I don’t want to be Alpha anymore.”
She narrowed her eyes. “You’ve always wanted to be Alpha.”
“No. I was told I would be an Alpha. I’ve always wanted to help my people, and I believed that was my destiny.”
“Being mated to me would ruin your destiny.”
He shook his head. “I don’t believe that. I believe our mating is part of my destiny. I don’t know how yet, but I’m sure of it.”
She closed her eyes against the total confidence in his, the strong set of his shoulders. She concentrated on the gift inside her, that gut-level knowledge. Was their mating a part of his destiny? And if that was true, should she stop holding back?
Elation bubbled up inside her, pushing back the fear and dread still dominant within her. While she still refused to examine the worth or longevity of their mating, she believed that working together as mated partners
would lead them down a better path. The truth of that notion was like a blinding light in the darkness, almost painful to gaze upon.
She opened her eyes. “Full partners?”
He squeezed her hands, watching her closely. “As mates should be.”
Eddie had been right. She should fight for her mate, and Gage was giving her permission to do just that. Besides, her instincts were never wrong. “Okay.”
A smile tugged at his lips, one he held onto. “Okay as in yes you want to be partners?”
She gave a small, nervous huff. “You have no idea what you’re asking…what you’re getting into with me. But if you believe in our working together in partnership, so do I.”
He studied her for a long moment before grinning. “Good.”
The air whooshed out of her lungs. Those dimples. She smiled back.
“Now…you want to explain the entire night?”
She grimaced. “I don’t talk about myself much.”
“Tell me something I don’t know. You’re locked down tighter than maximum security prison.”
She tipped her head. “Other than the submissive thing, I haven’t noticed you asking too many questions.”
“I like to think I’m subtle.” He winked.
She shook her head, her lips twitching, then sobered. “First, the man I was with—”
He held up a hand. “How long have you known Daje?”
She sat back, blinking. “You know him?”
“He’s one of Tieryn’s uncles, and helped with the siege on this building,”—he glanced around—“the one I wouldn’t let you be part of because I thought you couldn’t fight.”
“Surprise?” She did jazz hands. “I told you to include me.”
At his unimpressed look, she dropped her hands to her lap only to have him reach for them again. “True. How do you know Daje?”
“My mother. When my tiger shift came out, she arranged for him to train me in various fighting skills. She knew, as a perceived submissive and latent, I would be a target.”
“Makes sense. Why was she training with Daje?”
Another wince. “She was an assassin. Daje trained her.”
He ran a hand over the stubble on his jaw. “And?”
“She said she fell in love with the man she was sent to kill. Couldn’t do it.”
He scooted forward in his seat. “Who?”
She shook her head. “She wouldn’t tell me if her mark was Rick or my real father. I’ve always assumed Rick since she stayed with him even after we discovered my tiger shift.”
“But Daje knows which?”
She wrinkled her nose. “He told me tonight.” She still couldn’t wrap her mind around it.
“Daje sent her to kill Rick, and she couldn’t. Rick sent her to kill my birth father…”
“And she did?”
Seneca nodded slowly. “Before she found out about me.”
He was quiet for a long while, chewing that over. She could feel his aversion over their link. To be honest, she couldn’t reconcile her wonderful mother with a woman who could kill a man she slept with.
“I’m sorry,” Gage finally said.
“Me too.”
“You’re an incredible fighter. Maybe even better than Andie.”
She grinned. “I’ve been tempted to ask her to spar, but that would be out of character.”
“So are you a trained assassin?”
She shifted in her seat. “You heard that?”
He tipped his head.
She twitched her shoulders, then hopped up to pace. “Technically, yes, but that’s not how I see it. I won’t be someone’s hired killer.”
“You were never tempted to use those skills on Rick.”
“When I found out what he did to Zula’s father, and how he instigated a war that took so many lives…yes, I was.”
“And before that?”
She gripped the back of her chair. “Before that he was just an ass.”
“Why’d you stay in the dare?”
“I had more protection as the Alpha’s daughter in the Delaney Dare than I would as a submissive latent in any other dare. My mother told me not to seek out my father, which makes more sense now.”
“Okay. So the training with Daje was just to protect you?”
She shrugged. “I guess. Plus, the physical activity helps keep my tiger less on edge since I can’t shift all that often.”
“Why did you keep it up later on?”
Her cheeks heated and she shifted her gaze away. “Honestly, I don’t have many friends, and no one who knows what I really am. Daje was…someone to talk to.”
His chair scraped the floor as he stood, but she refused to look at him. He moved to stand in front of her and wrapped his arms around her. “Hey.”
She tipped her head to look up at him.
“You have me now.”
She sighed but snuggled into him. “That’ll take getting used to.”
His low chuckle rumbled his chest and tickled the side of her face.
“Okay. Just to tally up. You’re not latent. Not submissive. Not Delaney’s daughter. A tiger shifter. And a trained assassin who secretly meets with a deity. Anything else?”
“Well…”
He took her by the shoulders. “Seriously?”
“Hey. You were warned buddy.”
“So I was. All right. Tell me.”
“Only one more thing.”
He pulled them back to the chairs and waited expectantly.
Her smile went stiff as she realized she was glad to be able to confess these things to him. His shoulders were strong enough to heft the weight of the revelations.
Uncomfortable with the warm fuzzy feelings stirring in her chest, she rushed into the next revelation. “I’m Kuharte.”
She held in a giggle as his jaw dropped and he flopped back in his chair, staring at her. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you speechless, Gage,” she teased. Granted, she’d hit him with a lot of big revelations in a short period of time.
He raised a single eyebrow, and she clamped her lips closed around further teasing. Kuharte was a big deal. Like Sarai, who was a Seer, and Tieryn, who was a Healer, and Lareina who was a Seducer, Seneca had her own special ability.
“What kind of Kuharte are you?”
“Mom called me a Believer. It’s as good a word as any.”
His brows drew down and he moved forward in his seat, elbows on his knees. “I’ve never heard of a Believer.”
“Me neither. It’s a subtle skill. I get a gut-level sense about things. If I believe something to be true, then it happens.” She canted her head to the side. “Most of the time.” She could tell from his baffled frown that he didn’t get it. She honestly hardly understood it herself. How did you describe belief…faith…to someone who couldn’t experience it for themselves?
“Like what?” he asked.
“Like when you said you believe our being mates was part of your destiny. I got a gut feeling that was true. I believed it to be true. I’ve learned to trust that feeling.”
“I guess I should be grateful for that,” he muttered. “What do you mean most of the time?”
“My power manifested before my ability to shift, which came later than most. When I was a child, before Mom told me who my father was, I used to try to believe my father, Rick, would love me. Of course, he never did.”
Which reminded her…
“Earlier, when we were outside the castle. I had a…vision I guess. With my red rope, the castle looked like it was crying bloody tears. I had the sudden gut feeling that would be true.”
His brows lowered in confusion.
“There will be a lot of bloodshed here, Gage. I know it. In my gut. I believe it’s true.”
“When?”
She slumped forward. He believed her—enough that she could feel his steady presence down their link. He hadn’t even questioned her. “I don’t know. I’m not a Seer, but I’d guess soon. Days?”
“We
should tell Andie and Tieryn.”
“And Zula.”
He paused. “How will we explain it to her?”
“We’ll tell her who and what I am. If we’re going to make this peace work, we should start to trust the lions.”
“Your gut again?”
“Yes.”
He stood up. “Let’s shower and dress first.”
“You go first.” She could use a minute alone to attempt to absorb everything that had happened today.
With a squeeze of her hands, he strode away, resolve in every strong move. Man, did he have a fantastic butt. He spun around and caught her staring. The reappearance of those sexy dimples told her he knew she’d been checking him out. “When we attacked the lions to rescue Tieryn’s father…”
She raised her eyebrows.
“Did you believe we’d win that situation?”
“Only if I was there with you.” In other words, they likely would have done better if he hadn’t prevented her going.
“I see.” He did. She could tell. He nodded and turned back to the bathroom to change.
Seneca went to the wardrobe to get clothes to change into after her shower. As she opened the doors, a sharp pain flared in her shoulder, like a bee sting.
“What the—”
She checked and found the end of a dart sticking out of her. With a grunt, she jerked it out. Her vision was already starting to blur as she stumbled to face the window. A fuzzy figure in black stood there, but she couldn’t focus, couldn’t see the person’s face. She fought the effects of the tranquilizer she’d been shot with, but no matter what she did, her vision went dark anyway. As she tumbled to the floor, her last thought was about Gage. Had he heard? She tried to call his name, to warn him, but her voice came out as a dry croak and her lips wouldn’t work.
Then…oblivion.
Chapter Twenty-One
“All right, honey. Your turn. You can’t go out in―”
Gage stumbled to a halt, steam from his shower following him out the bathroom door, as he realized he was addressing an empty room.
“Seneca?” he called. She wouldn’t have left without him. He checked all the spaces where she could be—the far side of the bed, behind the chairs in the sitting area, the other side of the wardrobe, its doors ajar.
