by Smith, S. E.
“Sarafin…. How….?” he started to protest when the image the two tigers had sent him earlier formed in his mind again. “Black tiger with blue stripes…. She has stripes. She covers them…. Cat’s Balls!” he snarled, thrusting past Qadir and striding down the corridor.
“And I always thought he was the observant one,” Pallu commented behind him.
“You’d better go after him. I’ll take this one up to the ship,” Qadir said with a shake of his head. “Mates! Who needs them?! Who wants them?!”
Chapter Seventeen
Trescina raced through the house gathering as many items as she could. She shoved the clothes out of her dresser drawer into one bag and the few pictures she had of her family into another. She would have to leave some things behind.
At this point, she didn’t care anymore. She could always replace most of the material things if she needed to do so. She was more concerned with the few sentimental items that she had left from her mother and stepfather.
She was too stressed to cry. Instead, she channeled that emotion into action. Spice looked at her with mild curiosity while Cinnamon followed her from room to room, a quiet, supportive shadow.
“It’s okay, sweetheart, I won’t leave you or your brother behind,” she promised, running a loving hand over the tigress’ head.
Trescina lifted a hand and pushed her hair out of her eyes. With a frustrated growl, she went into the bathroom, opened a drawer, and pulled out a hairband. She grabbed her hair and twisted it up and off her face before she wound the elastic hair tie around the mass to keep it out of her way.
She looked in the mirror and froze. Her eyes looked too big for her face at the moment. The makeup that she normally wore to cover the markings had disappeared. Now the tiger stripes that ran from her temple down her right cheek and neck before spreading across her shoulders and chest were plainly visible. She shook her head and refocused on what she needed to do.
The moment the tigers had reappeared, she piled them into the Suburban and took off. Walkyr didn’t need her help any longer. He had his two brothers, as well as Mason and Chad. They should be more than enough to take on one measly alien traitor.
She gazed at the tigers while she zipped up one of the bags. At first she hadn’t been sure what she would do and where she should go. Then it had dawned on her—why not join Katarina and the circus? The members of the circus were always on the move and very protective of her sister and her pets. She would also blend in better with the circus members and there wouldn’t be any aliens to worry about!
Satisfied with her plans, she grabbed one of the bags and carried it out to the Suburban that she had parked in the garage. She would call her sister once she was on the road. Her first stop would be to South Florida where she would pick up her truck and camper. Then she would find out where Katarina was and meet up with her. It was the perfect plan, she concluded.
Except mate, her cat snipped.
“Oh no you don’t. You were the one who kept yelling ‘run’ if I remember correctly. Don’t start whining now about mates. I’m not…,” her voice faded when her throat tightened. “What am I supposed to do with an alien?”
It was impossible. No, run, keep going, and don’t look back. She’d lived her life like that ever since Vladimir Mirvo returned to kidnap her and her sister, Katarina. Killing their mother hadn’t been enough for the poacher. He wanted to capture them and sell them to the highest bidder.
There were a lot of sick people in the world and Vladimir Mirvo was one of the worst of them. He justified everything he did by how much money he could make—even murder. She and Katarina knew he was responsible for their father’s death, but Mirvo knew a lot of politicians, judges, and members of law enforcement that owed favors to different people.
She had enough issues without adding alien shape-shifting warriors and far-off worlds to her list. If that wasn’t enough to convince her to run, the idea of living on another planet was enough to send her screaming. No, sometimes it was good to know your limitations and this was hers.
She returned to the house and looked around the room. She had rented the house furnished, and she had not added much since her arrival. There was only one more thing that she needed to retrieve—the necklace that her mother had given her.
“Ok, I’ll get the necklace, and we can be on the road. If you two need to go to the bathroom, you’d better do it now,” she warned the two tigers.
Spice yawned while Cinnamon turned and headed for the door leading out to the garage. She scowled at the male tiger. He was notorious for wanting to stop and mark the mile marker post every ten miles.
“You’d better go, Spice. I’m not stopping this time,” she threatened.
The tiger snorted when she sent him a mental impression of him having to hold his bladder. He rose to his feet and quickly disappeared down the hallway. Her surprised chuckle of amusement echoed through the room. They really were such amusing characters.
“That will teach him,” she muttered, returning to her bedroom to gather the last, most important gift from her childhood, the necklace that her mother called The Heart of the Cat.
* * *
“No response,” Airabus quietly shared.
Raul’s face tightened. The fingers of his metal hand curled into a fist strong enough to crush rock. He looked at the holographic map of the region hovering above the makeshift table they were using.
“We will return to the ship,” he replied.
Airabus’ expression remained neutral. “What about The Heart of the Cat?” he asked.
Raul looked at the map again. “The last signal was six months ago. It was tracked to this area before the signal stopped. We’ve detected nothing since then,” he said.
Airabus sat back against the wall of their portable shelter. This was the end of the first week of their search, and they had discovered nothing but endless snowy terrain and a wide variety of beasts in different sizes. They intentionally avoided the few human dwellings that were scattered among the mountains and forests.
“We could return to the ship, move it to a different location, and continue monitoring. Are you sure that the signal is the one mentioned in the scrolls?” Airabus pressed.
Raul snarled and swept his hand across the table, sending his cup, the holographic mapping device, and the glove he normally wore over his metal hand and arm to the ground. Airabus silently rose and retrieved the items. He was about to store the holographic map when it emitted a distinctive chime. His hand froze in midair, and he looked up at Raul.
The other man turned and looked at the map. Raul had told him that the holographic mapping device was known as the key. Centuries ago, Raul had stolen it out of the ancient archives. He had returned again for the scroll that would describe The Heart of the Cat and tell him how to harness the power of the Goddess, but it was taken before he could safely retrieve it without being caught.
Realizing that he might be suspected in the disappearance, he had returned home to serve the King and Queen as their Captain of the Guard. He had requested Airabus join him. Not long after his return, Raul had set his sights on the young Princess.
Each step had been carefully planned and plotted. Raul’s goal was to learn the royal secrets, be accepted into the Royal family and gain the trust of Queen Mia in the hopes of discovering everything he could about The Heart of the Cat. Raul eventually learned of Queen Mia’s abduction from the royal family when he uncovered the sealed documents hidden beneath the palace. He had discovered that the first Queen Mia was actually the direct descendant of one of the original four brothers who’d been given the gift of The Heart of the Cat.
The first Queen Mia had been unable to carry a cub. In desperation, she had sought the help of a surrogate to carry the King and Queen’s child. The Queen had died before the child was born. Devastated by the death of his mate, the King soon followed her in death.
Eventually, one of the healers revealed what the King and Queen had done. The council decided to
bring their young Queen home; and so, when she was little more than a cub, the new Queen Mia was stolen from her surrogate family and returned to her rightful home. She would later give birth to another girl, Princess Mia Elena, who would fall in love with the handsome Captain of the Guard, Raul T’Rivre.
Airabus shook his head and stared down at the holographic map. He placed it on the table. Raul stepped closer, his dark eyes glittering with determination and greed. The silence grew to a deafening roar before another chime filled the small area.
“We’ve found it,” Raul murmured, looking at him with hard, glittering eyes. “Mark the location. We need to leave immediately.”
* * *
Raul couldn’t believe that they had been less than a mile from The Heart of the Cat. It had only taken a few minutes to pack up their camp. If he had known that the gem he spent centuries searching for was so close, he would have left everything behind.
The signal led them to a small yellow and white frame house. They watched from the shadows as a human female carried things out to a transport.
The signal was strong here. The Heart of the Cat must have been deposited here centuries ago where it remained undetected until recently. His eyes narrowed on the slender young woman. She had dark hair that she had piled onto the top of her head. There was something about her that felt vaguely familiar to him. Perhaps it was the graceful way she moved. It had been a long time since he’d noticed how a woman moved.
“What do you wish to do?” Airabus quietly asked.
Raul glanced at Airabus. At one time he would have considered the man a friend, but his need for friendship had died centuries ago. Now all he needed in his life were those who could fulfill his commands.
“Return to the ship and make sure that Ranker and Nastran have repaired it. We need to depart as soon as I have the gem,” Raul instructed.
“Don’t you want me to help you retrieve The Heart of the Cat? I am here…,” Airabus started to protest.
Raul lifted his metal hand. “I can handle a single human girl. It is imperative that we leave this planet before we cross paths with Walkyr d’Rojah,” he impatiently replied.
Airabus reluctantly bowed his head in submission. “Yes, High Lord,” he stiffly replied.
Raul waited until he knew Airabus had departed. He looked down at the key in his hand. The soft pulsing glow had turned to a bright, constant light. He looked up and slid the key into his pocket.
The human was coming out with a small case. She placed it in the front compartment of the vehicle and slammed the door. By the time she turned around, Raul was standing less than three feet from her.
She uttered a sharp, tense scream before clamping her lips together. Her eyes were wide as she stared back at him, trying to see his features. A sardonic smile curved his lips. It wouldn’t matter if she saw his features. She would soon be dead.
“Who the hell are you?” she blurted out.
Raul reached for his hood. He paused when her eyes locked on his metal arm, then slowly pushed back the hood of his cloak.
“You appear to have something I have been looking for, for a very long time,” he stated.
Her chin lifted in surprising defiance. “I know you,” she whispered.
He swept his gaze over her face, pausing on the marks along her temple. He took a step forward. He lifted his metal arm and wrapped his cold, hard fingers around her neck. She choked and wrapped her hands around his arm.
He ignored her struggle. Instead, he reached up and pulled off the band holding her hair. Long, dark curls cascaded down over her shoulders and fell across his arm. He continued to stare at her with cold, hard eyes.
“Well, well, well. It would appear I have finally found where my beloved mate took our daughter. Where is your mother?” he asked in a harsh voice.
Chapter Eighteen
Walkyr gritted his teeth in irritation. He and Pallu rode in the back seat of the human’s transport. He wanted to bang his head against the headrest of the front seat.
Pallu shot him a sympathetic look. “Their modes of transportation are very slow,” he said.
“I could run faster than this,” Walkyr growled under his breath.
“You two do know that we can hear everything you are saying even if we can’t understand some of it, right?” Mason dryly commented, looking at the two of them in the rearview mirror.
Walkyr shot the older man a heated look of frustration. Due to the worsening weather conditions, Mason was now driving even more slowly than he had been before. It was barely snowing outside compared to many of the places he had travelled to in the past.
He took a deep, calming breath and turned to stare out of the window. He had to remind himself that if Mason felt it was necessary to drive this slowly, then maybe Trescina would have decided not to drive in it at all. He rubbed his hands together.
“What’s wrong?” Pallu asked.
Walkyr looked at his younger brother before staring at his hands. He was as nervous as a kitten on his first day of school. A soft, unexpected chuckle escaped him, and he looked at his brother with amusement.
“I can’t believe I didn’t realize that she was one of us. I wonder how she came to be on Earth. When I first explained that I was an alien, she refused to believe me. It was like she had never even heard of an alien, much less seen one before,” he shared.
“She wouldn’t have if she was born and raised here,” Chad reflected.
“But… How is that possible?” Pallu argued.
Chad turned in his seat. “Well, think about it. You guys have space travel. Haven’t any of your kind been born on another world before?” he asked.
Walkyr thought about what Chad was saying but it still didn’t make sense. Yes, they had been traveling to different worlds for centuries, but never this far before until a few years ago. This was an outlying planet. Still, it was possible. He would have to ask Trescina who her parents were and how they had come to be on this world.
“We’re… Whoa! What the hell?” Mason suddenly exclaimed as he slammed on the brakes.
Cinnamon had her paws up on his window, and was making a series of coughing noises. He and Pallu reached for the handles of their doors at the same time. Scattered images flashed through his mind as he connected with the agitated tigress.
One strong emotion rose clearly and concisely in his mind—danger. Trescina was in grave danger. A savage snarl slipped from Walkyr. Cinnamon backed up and began pacing.
“What’s going on?” Chad demanded, turning in his seat.
Walkyr looked across at the man. “Trescina is in danger. The man with the metal arm is here,” he stated in a harsh voice.
“Man with a metal arm? Tell us what you want us to do,” Chad replied in a grim tone.
“It is best if we handle it from here,” Walkyr quietly stated.
Chad nodded in frustration. “We’ll wait here,” he replied.
Walkyr nodded and closed the door. He shifted into his cat and took off down the driveway at great speed. Behind him, he knew Pallu and Cinnamon were following him. He turned when he neared the house and disappeared into the trees that lined the side of the property.
The doors to her transport are open. It looks like she was planning to leave, Pallu noted.
Spice is in the cage, Walkyr noted, spying the male tiger agitatedly pacing back and forth in the confined space.
Does she cage her cats? Pallu asked with a slight sound of disdain in his voice before it cleared. You?! Really? She had you locked in it? I would have loved to see that!
Walkyr ignored his brother’s amusement. Cinnamon must have shared that delightful little vision with Pallu. He would have to have a cat-to-cat talk with the two tigers when this was over. Spice paused his pacing and looked in their direction. He swiftly sent a soothing image to the tiger to remain calm and not make a sound.
Walkyr watched as the white tiger lowered himself down onto the pad and turned to stare at the door leading into the house. They didn’t
have many options available. The house had three entrances that he knew of. The one in the front, the one through the garage, and the large sliding glass doors in the back. Those would be difficult to break through because they were double paned glass if he remembered correctly.
What about a window? Pallu asked.
I haven’t been through the back of the house. Stay here. I will check, Walkyr instructed.
Walkyr carefully worked his way around the perimeter of the house. He darted across the driveway and stealthily made his way to the opposite end of the house. He scanned the structure, searching for any possibility to enter without being heard. His cat’s keen eyes noted that the small window was slightly ajar.
I’m going in.
I am, too, Pallu replied.
How? Walkyr demanded.
There are advantages to being the smallest brother, Pallu informed him with satisfaction.
An image of the large, square hatch in the door leading into the laundry room flashed through his mind. It would have been a very tight fit for him with the broader shoulders of his cat. Pallu’s leopard was slightly smaller and definitely more agile. He and his other brothers used to fight over having Pallu on their team because his little brother could always get into places they couldn’t.
He darted over to the window, keeping to the shadows. It would be light soon. He shape-shifted back to human form and pressed his back against the house. There was a soft glow of a light in the bathroom. He turned and peered through the gap in the window.
Looking at the window, he ran his hands along the screen protecting it. He bent and pulled a blade from his boot. He carefully worked the tip between the screen and the window frame. A few seconds later, he silently lifted the screen off and leaned it up against the house.
The window appeared to be relatively new and slid up without any noisy protest. Once it was opened as far as it would go, Walkyr shape-shifted again. It would be safer and easier to go through the window in his cat form.
