Heart of the Cat

by S. E. Smith

  “Because I like cats better than people. They don’t ask me questions about why I wear make-up,” she replied before turning off the engine and unbuckling her seatbelt. She pushed open the driver’s door after she made sure there were no vehicles approaching. “We’re here.”

  “I thought you did not know where I was hit,” he said, hastily releasing his seatbelt and opening the passenger door.

  She walked around to the back of the Suburban and opened the hatch. Stepping back, she motioned for the two tigers to exit. By the time she closed the door and locked the vehicle, he was waiting with an expectant expression on his face.

  Trescina released a long sigh. “It wasn’t hard to figure out that this must be the place. If you look at the road, you can see the skid marks on both sides. Add the broken turn signal and the rocks with only a light coating of snow and it seemed pretty conclusive. I’m a pro at the game of Clue, by the way. It was always one of my favorites growing up. If you doubt me, check my resume under awards for World Champion Clue Gold Medalist,” she cheekily concluded.

  She tossed her hair over her shoulder and looked both ways to make sure the road was clear. She and the two tigers hurried across to the other side. She peered over the railing.

  “Are you coming? It will be dark soon, and it feels like it is going to start snowing again,” she called to him.

  Trescina watched as he jogged across the road. She ran her gaze appreciatively over him. The grace and power in his stride was impossible to miss. This was a man who excelled at running, and she suspected hunting as well. A shiver ran through her that had nothing to do with the chill in the air and everything to do with the fact that she was playing a dangerous game with a man that she knew very little about. If it were not for her hunger to know more about her mother’s past, she would have bolted already.

  It still wouldn’t hurt to have an exit strategy, she silently thought.

  For once, her cat purred in agreement. She swallowed when he stepped over the railing and held her hand to help steady her as she did the same. She instinctively wrapped her fingers around his warm ones.

  This was the first time they had touched, at least while he was on two feet. Her heart pounded in her chest as she stared up at him. She wasn’t sure if it was because she was afraid or because she wanted him to kiss her. She forced her gaze away when she saw a flare of awareness in his eyes.

  She wasn’t playing with fire. She was messing with a freaking supernova! At least that was what it felt like at the moment.

  Walkyr gripped Trescina’s hand and slowly descended the steep terrain. He tried to pick out the easiest path, stopping several times to wrap his arm around her waist and lift her over a log or steady her when they encountered a steep drop.

  “I can do this,” she said in exasperation after the third time he paused.

  He met her irritated protest with a wry grin. “But if you did this unaided, then I could not add being a gallant warrior to my resume. I need something to counter balance your award for the game you enjoy,” he replied.

  “Clue… the game is called… Clue. You have to figure out who murdered someone, the weapon they used, and the location where they did it,” she said.

  He gazed down at her before slowly sliding his arm around her waist again and lifting her. She gripped his shoulders. He could feel her fingers curl against his shirt as he lowered her to the ground.

  “It sounds like an exciting game,” he remarked.

  “It… can… be,” she murmured. “You….”

  She gasped when she was suddenly pushed into him. A fiery blush appeared on her cheeks. She lifted her hand and scratched Spice under his chin. Walkyr grinned at the male tiger and winked. It hadn’t taken much of a mental push to encourage the Siberian to come up behind Trescina. The big cat had nudged her between the shoulder blades.

  He tightened his arms around her waist and held her against his body. She started to glare at the cat before she looked at him with a raised eyebrow. He grinned unabashedly at her.

  “That was sneaky,” she chided.

  “It was worth it,” he admitted.

  He threaded his fingers through her hair. It was as soft as he thought it would be. He carefully studied her face. Confusion swept through him when he noticed another dark mark on her cheek. It looked almost like one of the stripes on the tigers. He released her hair and started to touch the mark when she suddenly pushed him away.

  “It will be dark soon. If you want to find anything, you’ll need to do it in the next half hour or so. Once the sun goes down, the temperature will really drop, and then it will be too dangerous to stay outside very long,” she warned him.

  Walkyr released her and turned as she walked around him. He watched as she walked along the bottom of the slope. She paused several yards down and looked up. The ground wasn’t as steep and there was a gap in the railing on the top. He shook his head and lifted a hand to scratch Spice’s chin. “Thank you, my friend. That brief moment of holding her in my arms was delightful,” he murmured.

  He chuckled when the tiger looked at him and released a small sneeze before jumping down to follow his mistress. He slowly followed with Cinnamon by his side. He tightened his jaw and reached for his weapon when he saw what she was staring at.

  “The tracks from the boy’s transport,” he said, scanning the ruts in the snow.

  She nodded. “Heather would ring Zeke’s neck if she knew he had gone this far from home and crossed the highway. He’s lucky he made it down this slope. Anywhere else and he could have flipped the snowmobile. There are two sets of footprints in the snow. One must have been yours, but that doesn’t explain the other ones,” she observed. She carefully studied the surrounding area.

  “At least one of the men survived, possibly both. I need to return to the location of their ship,” he grimly replied.

  “It will be dark soon,” she protested, looking up at the sky.

  He lifted his hand and touched her cheek. “Cats can see incredibly well in the dark,” he reminded her.

  She grimaced. “I can go with you,” she offered.

  Walkyr shook his head. “No! These men are trained assassins. I will go alone. I want you to return to your home,” he softly ordered.

  “I’m not going to just leave you here. You don’t know for sure that those men even survived. If you won’t let me go with you, the least I can do is wait for you in the Suburban. You should also take Cinnamon and Spice with you. They will know what to do, and they can help watch your back,” she stubbornly asserted.

  He lifted his hand again and caressed her face from her temple down to her chin. “I am curious, why did you name those two cats such unusual names?” he asked with a rueful smile.

  “I guess you’ll just have to come back so I can tell you,” she retorted before biting her lower lip.

  He wanted to protest that he wanted the cats to stay with her so that he knew she would be protected. Something told him if he tried to insist, she would just do what she wanted to do anyway. He decided that she was stubborn enough to ignore his orders if he didn’t compromise. He also had the feeling that he better get used to doing that. His life was going to end up being as exciting as his older brothers’.

  This is what happens when your mate is a human, he informed his cat.

  His cat’s snickering told him that his other half was perfectly content with the idea of leading an exciting life. All Walkyr could think of was that his idea of a perfect, delicate little mate was a woman who was happy to have him home on rare occasions. He had only known Trescina a few hours, and he could not picture her contently waiting for him to return from a mission. He would be lucky if she were not the one leading it!

  He released a frustrated breath. “Very well. I will take Spice, but Cinnamon will stay with you in the transport. If anything happens, I will send Spice back to you. If he returns alone, you must promise me that you will immediately leave the area,” he insisted.

  She pursed her lips before
she nodded. “I promise,” she reluctantly agreed.

  He bent his head and paused with his lips a breath away from hers. He waited to see if she would pull away. When she didn’t, he brushed a kiss against her lips.

  “I will return,” he promised.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Walkyr took a step away from her. They stared into each other’s eyes for a moment before he turned away. With a snap of his fingers, Spice rushed to his side. Trescina watched as they disappeared into the woods.

  She lifted a trembling hand to her lips. They still tingled with the feel of his warm mouth. She was in serious trouble.

  It too late, her cat quietly mewed.

  What do you mean? she asked.

  Her cat sighed. You know. I know, her cat replied.

  “Yes, I know,” Trescina whispered.

  She lowered her hand when Cinnamon brushed up against her. She slowly knelt and wrapped her arms around the tiger, closing her eyes and turning her face into Cinnamon’s soft neck. For a brief moment, she relived the memory of when she had held her mother in exactly the same way.

  Tears burned the back of her eyes. There was so many things her mother never had the chance to tell her and Katarina. She had escaped death on her own world only to have her life taken on a distant one.

  A sob caught in her throat. She opened her eyes and rose to her feet. A soft, watery smile curved her lips when Cinnamon nudged her hand.

  “I know,” she murmured.

  She started to turn when she looked at the footprints again. There was only one set of tracks leading upward. There were none leading back down. If one of the men had survived, he had been following Walkyr’s tracks.

  “Come on. Let’s see if we can find out where he went,” she murmured to the tigress.

  Cinnamon snorted and looked back toward the woods. Trescina sent the tigress an image of the footprints. Cinnamon turned her head and lowered her nose to the ground. She sniffed at one of the imprints before she slowly began to climb back up the incline to the road.

  Together, they crossed the highway. Trescina paused by the SUV. She looked back in the direction that Walkyr and Spice had taken. She pursed her lips before she followed Cinnamon. Sure enough, the footprints followed the tracks left by Zeke’s snowmobile.

  “He is following Zeke,” she whispered, her throat tightening with fear.

  Trescina stopped. She was undecided about what to do. Walkyr had said there were two men. Perhaps one had stayed at their spaceship while the other followed Zeke. There was no way she could contact Walkyr. She looked toward the path leading into the woods. There was no telling how long ago the man had passed through the area. The fastest way to Heather’s place was by road, not cross-country. The snow and unfamiliar terrain would slow down the traitor.

  Turning in Cinnamon’s direction, she whistled. The tigress bounded back to her. She unlocked the SUV and opened the back door. Cinnamon jumped in the back seat. Closing the door, Trescina hurried around to the driver’s side. She opened the door and slipped inside. Minutes later, she pulled onto the highway and pressed down on the accelerator. All she could do was hope that Walkyr and Spice would be safe.

  Walkyr advanced through the darkening forest. His gaze moved from the footprints to the surrounding area. He searched for any hint of movement. Spice had moved several yards to his left. The tiger’s coat helped it blend in with the snow-covered terrain.

  His pace slowed as he neared the area where he knew the ship had been. Spice crouched down and stared intently at the cleared area when he stopped. Walkyr surveyed the area with growing unease.

  It was obvious that at least one of the men had survived. He turned and sent an image to Spice. The tiger looked at him before silently rising to his feet and disappearing.

  So far, he’d only seen one set of tracks leading away from the ship and none leading toward it. He wanted to make sure that Airabus and the High Lord had not returned to this area. Dealing with two men was dangerous enough. Confronting four could be suicide if he wasn’t prepared. Spice would patrol the perimeter and alert him to any footprints—cat or two-legged.

  He glanced up at the sky. The sun had set, but there was still a slight glow behind the mountains. Stars were beginning to appear between the thick, dark clouds. The temperature was rapidly dropping. Trescina had been right—there would be more snow tonight.

  He turned his head when Spice emerged from the darkness. The tiger came up to him and rested his cold nose against his arm. Images flashed through the tiger’s mind. Small prints along with the image of a long-eared furry creature and the fresh tracks of a large brown beast flashed through his mind.

  Walkyr lifted a hand and scratched the tiger to show appreciation for its help. Standing, he slowly emerged from the trees. The area was silent except for the sound of the wind and the creaking of the trees as they swayed. The snow around the ship was littered with footprints. It looked like they were all the same size. A large area surrounding the ship had been cleared of snow creating a deep depression. The patterns on the snow indicated a laser rifle was used.

  He moved forward and peered down into the hole. At the bottom, he could see the dark gray hull of the spaceship he had been tracking. The back of the ship was closed.

  He scanned the area before motioning Spice to keep watch. The tiger backed up, turned and moved to settle down next to a large mound of snow. Once he lay down and was motionless, he blended in with his surroundings.

  Walkyr refocused on the ship. He carefully descended into the depression. On each side, walls of ice towered above him. He soothed his restless cat.

  I don’t like this either, he admitted.

  If any men suddenly appeared, especially from the ship and at the top of the icy walls, he would be defenseless. He paused halfway down when he saw dark ash mixed in with the snow. It was the size and shape that made him curious.

  He walked over to examine it. Glancing around to make sure everything was still quiet, he pulled the medical device Pallu had given him from his utility belt. He lifted the scanner and ran it over a section of the ash before looking at the readings.

  It looks like I can cross off one traitorous bastard from the list, he silently thought with a small measure of satisfaction.

  He replaced the medical device and studied the closed rear door. It had been open when he had tossed the explosive. He continued toward the ship, carefully scanning the area to make sure there were no explosives set. He was almost to the bottom when his cat hissed out a warning.

  Crouching, he saw the thin wire that was almost invisible in the darkness. His cat had sensed the electrical charge. He looked to the right and saw a small probe sticking out of the ice. The snow had melted and turned to ice. A quick look to the left revealed the other end.

  He studied the area, paying close attention to the ground and the walls of ice on each side of the cleared entrance for additional wires leading up to the ship. He could not see or sense any other traps. Rising to his feet, he felt certain that there was no one else here. The footprints had led away from the area, and he’d found no evidence that anyone else had returned. The ash proved that one of the men died and one survived. Now the question was, where did the other traitor go?

  Walkyr’s expression tightened when he thought of the footprints on the side of the hill. He’d left Trescina. What if the traitor had been hiding, and he didn’t sense him?

  A rush of adrenaline hit Walkyr. He holstered his pistol and shape-shifted even before he had completely turned around. With long strides, he dug his claws into the snow and raced out of the depression. With a swift thought, he directed Spice to follow him. The large tiger was already in motion, understanding his fear for the safety of his mistress.

  Walkyr caught up with Spice just as the tiger was entering the woods. They sped through the darkness like two ghostly creatures from a horror story, dodging trees and fallen debris that created obstacles as they flew across the snow-laden landscape.

  He pulled
ahead as they emerged from the woods. Turning to the right, he followed the trail the snowmobile had made. This time when he reached the top, he paused in the gap of the railing and made sure the path was clear before darting across the road.

  His heart hammered in his chest when he reached the other side. In silent desperation, he looked back and forth for Trescina’s transport. Nothing but empty road greeted him.

  He turned his attention to Spice when the tiger moved past him and down along the side of the road where Zeke had continued into the woods. Walkyr followed the tiger. The keen eye of his cat had already made out the footprints of the traitor he had been tracking on the other side, but there was also the smaller imprint of a woman’s boots and the paw prints of a tiger. He followed the tracks a short distance into the woods. The tracks of the traitor continued, but Trescina and Cinnamon’s had stopped and turned back toward the road. The only thing Walkyr could conclude was that Trescina might have guessed where the man was going and returned to her transport.

  A flash of the rescue center appeared in his mind. Walkyr turned and looked at Spice. The tiger was staring into the woods. The traitor was following the tracks that Zeke had left behind.

  Walkyr released a savage snarl. Heather and her boy were in danger. Trescina would have pieced the clues together. She had gone to warn them. The problem was neither one of them knew how much of a head start the traitor had before they arrived. It wouldn’t matter. His mate—and he accepted that Trescina was his mate—was in danger and so were the woman and her young son.

  He took off running. He would follow Zeke’s trail. Spice ran beside him. He matched his pace with the young tiger, knowing that he could have easily left Spice behind. He also knew deep down that he had already endangered enough lives without abandoning the tiger as well.

  Soft, fat flakes of snow began to fall around them. With the Goddess’ luck, perhaps the traitor wasn’t too far ahead of them, and the snow would slow the man down. He refused to think of what the alternative might be.