by Elisabeth Naughton, Cynthia Eden, Katie Reus, Alexandra Ivy, Laura Wright, Joan Swan
Still seated beside the bed, Ashe gave her an understanding, tight-lipped smile. “I know it’s overwhelming. They tend to be pretty protective. And possessive. Parish seems to think he’s responsible for you after how he handled things. But don’t worry, Raphael will take care of that.”
“Raphael?” Unbearable confusion tested the last of Julia’s patience. She fixed her gaze on Ashe and repeated her question. “Who is Raphael?”
“My mate.” She smiled, her eyes softening. “First, let me say that I know exactly how you’re feeling. It’s confusing and impossible sounding.” She laughed. “I’m pretty sure my face had that exact same expression when I found out.”
“Found out what?” Julia ground out. “That you were being drugged? That you were living in a dream state?
Ashe shook her head, her eyes bright. “That magic truly does exist. That the man I fell in love with is a puma shifter.” She bit her bottom lip. “And that the baby I’m carrying is half human, half Pantera.”
“What?” Julia said on a gasp, her gaze slipping down to the woman’s flat belly.
“I’m only six weeks along.” Ashe grabbed Julia’s hand again, her eyes imploring. “I’m scared. I have no idea what to expect. No clue as to how long I’ll be pregnant, what the gestational period of a puma/human hybrid will be.” She swallowed. “I want this baby to be okay. And having a human doctor…” She shook her head. “I can’t believe Parish just took you without telling you anything.”
Parish. Just hearing his name made her skin tighten. This was madness. A puma/human hybrid. Christ. This woman didn’t need an OB, she needed a shrink. And I need to get the hell out of here before I’m sucked in further.
“I know. I know where your head’s at.” Ashe leaned toward her. “And I don’t blame you. I’m just asking for some time.”
“Time for what?”
Ashe licked her lips. “To prove it to you. To show you. Them.”
Pale gold fur, a set of feline hips and a long, thick tail moved slowly through Julia’s mind. She gritted her teeth against the vision. She couldn’t believe Ashe, she refused to. But if she wanted to get out of here, maybe she needed to play their game for a little while.
Julia held the woman’s gaze and sighed. “If all this is true, and I’m not saying it is, wouldn’t it be better to have a doctor who’s a...” Shit, she could barely get the word out because it was so ludicrous. “Shifter?”
“There are plenty of those here. But they’ve only dealt with puma births. Plus, they haven’t delivered a child in over fifty years.”
Puma. Births. And yet, her damn doctor’s curiosity had her asking, “Why not?”
“The female Pantera either couldn’t get pregnant or were unable to carry the babies to full-term. It’s a horrific situation. They even tried to impregnate humans, willing test subjects, but nothing happened.”
“Until you,” Julia said softly, eyeing her sharply.
Ashe nodded.
This poor woman needed help. Serious, professional help. Julia was going to do her best to find a way out of here. Maybe she could convince Ashe to go with her.
“Listen, Ashe,” she said in a gentle voice. “I know some really incredible doctors back in the city—”
Squeezing her hand tightly, Ashe implored her, “Please don’t say no. Don’t say anything. Not yet.” Ashe released her hand after one final squeeze and quickly got to her feet. “I’ll leave you alone. Let you try and sort this out. It took me a while…Hell, I think I’m still reeling from the truth. But know this: you’ll have whatever you need and want here. A home, salary, protection, freedom.” She smiled down at Julia with the most stable, yet concerned expression. “If you decide to leave, though, no one’s going to hold you here against your will—not even Parish.”
Was it true? She could go if she wanted? Julia lifted a brow. “I don’t know about that. Parish seems pretty intent on me staying.” And god, I think I like that part of this dream.
Ashe shrugged. “He’s a Hunter. He’s wild, untamed, used to taking what he wants. And he doesn’t have the best manners. But he’s also honorable.”
Honorable. She hadn’t met an honorable man in a long time.
Ashe was almost at the door when she glanced back. “Like you, I don’t have much back home. Nothing I want to run to, anyway. My family is Raphael and…well,” she touched her belly again. “Little No-Name here.” She smiled. “It would be great to have a friend as well as a doctor.”
Julia stared at the woman, watched her leave the room, and as soon as the door closed she pivoted to sit on the edge of the bed. Her head felt light, but okay. She had to find a way out, a way home. To the hotel and the jobless, family-less life. She couldn’t stay here. Right? With the crazy lady and shape-shifting Pantera? With the gorgeous, golden-eyed male who looked at her with unmasked desire and hope?
It was reality vs. fantasy. And as a doctor, a scientist, she was nothing if she couldn’t choose fact over fiction.
A shaft of light spilled into the room then, snaking across her legs and coating the metal door beyond. Completely taken by its brilliant, pale glow, Julia pushed to her feet and followed its origin. The long picture window was closed, but when she arrived at the glass and looked out over the unfamiliar setting, she gasped in amazement.
* * *
Parish opened the door and entered with the silent predatory grace he was known for as leader of the Hunters. His gaze went first to the bed, then shifted to the window where she stood looking out over the courtyard. He wondered how long she’d been standing there; poised at the glass, her arms spread, her hands curled around the edges of the sill. His gaze moved deliberately, covetously down her body. The sun was bathing her in its warm light, allowing him to see through her white T-shirt to the curves beneath. Deadly, brain-altering curves. His mouth filled with saliva and his cat scratched to get out, run at her and pounce.
He had to convince her to stay, but more importantly he had to convince her that he was the best male to protect her. Just the idea of Raphael assigning another male to guard her, another puma sniffing around her, looking at her with a desire only he should feel, made him insane with jealousy.
He wasn’t willing to admit his claim on her out loud, but he would make damn sure the Wildlands’ males felt it, sensed it, scented it, every time they got close to her.
He growled softly, and she instantly turned around. He waited for fear to ignite in her eyes, but all that appeared in her expression was relief. His heart softened, pressed against his chest as if it wanted to get to her. She didn’t fear him. Unlike so many other females, she didn’t fear him.
“I can’t believe this place,” she said, turning back to the window. “It’s incredible. I thought I might be dreaming, but now I’m convinced of it.”
He came to stand beside her. “You shouldn’t be out of bed.” His words were meant to be gentle, caring, but they came out slightly gruff as his mind conjured images of taking her back to bed himself. Maybe curling beside her and purring against her neck.
“What is it called again? This place?”
“The Wildlands.”
“I’ve never seen anything so beautiful.”
Leaning against the window, Parish stared at her. No, neither had he. Far too beautiful for the likes of a scarred Hunter with a bad attitude. And yet, he couldn’t look away from her, couldn’t stand the thought of her leaving the bayou. How was this possible? Taken with a human? He hated humans. They had no conscience, no honor. They destroyed the good and the innocent.
They’d destroyed her.
His gut tightened with pain as it did every time he thought of Keira. How could he even think of caring for a human? Giving his protection to one?
“It’s so green.” Julia glanced over at him, the smile curving her mouth echoed in her eyes. “But shades of green I’ve never seen before. I mean, I’ve been to the bayou. Several times, in fact, but I’ve never seen anything like this. It’s paradise.”
&
nbsp; He had always thought humans were attracted to electronics, tall buildings, glass and metal. Not the wild, untamed landscape he’d been born to, protected and loved fiercely. But the fact that Julia saw it as he did pleased him.
“Do people know about it?” she asked. “Do they come here?”
“It’s masked,” he told her. “To keep out intruders.”
“Like me.” Her eyes flashed with sudden and unexpected humor.
He shook his head slowly. “Unwanted humans.”
“And you are,” her eyes cut to the landscape, then back at him, “what exactly?”
His brows drew together. “Ashe told you. We are Pantera.”
“Cat shifters,” she said.
“Puma,” he corrected.
She laughed softly and shook her head, returned her gaze to the Wildlands.
“You don’t believe it.” He stared at her. It hadn’t occurred to him she would need convincing. Not after what happened on the street in New Orleans. She couldn’t have missed the rush of magic. “You must believe.”
She glanced back at him. “Why? Why should this unwanted human—”
“You’re different,” he interrupted in a tone far too fierce for his liking. “Ashe may want you here, but I need you, Julia Cabot.”
The humor in her gaze instantly retreated.
Parish turned and rubbed his forehead against the cool glass. “I don’t know how to explain it. These feelings I have for you. I’m not good with words. Or making others feel at ease.”
“You’re doing all right,” she said.
Parish turned and looked at her. She wore a confused expression and her eyes looked incredibly blue and vulnerable. The sun blazed in through the window, turning her blond hair almost white. She looked like an angel. What was he to do about this, about her? He reached out and lifted a piece of her pale hair from her cheek, rolled it gently between his fingers. “Soft.”
Her eyes never left his, but her lips parted to draw in a shaky breath. Whether she accepted it or not, she was as affected by him as he was by her.
“Will you stay here, Julia?” he whispered, moving closer, his hand opening to cup her cheek. “In this paradise? This dream you’re not sure is real? Help Ashe? Allow me to protect you? I would consider it a great honor.”
“Parish…” she whispered.
He groaned. “Say my name like that again, Doc, and my mouth’ll be on yours before you can take another breath.”
Someone coughed. Someone by the door. Then a familiar female voice remarked, “You’re up. And Parish is back.”
Damn woman. Parish growled blackly as Julia turned away from him. Raphael’s woman was really starting to get on his nerves.
In the doorway, Ashe stood beside another female, small and grinning broadly as she looked from Julia to Parish with giddy interest. Parish believed the female to be Nurturer Faction, but in that moment he couldn’t care less. He wanted her gone. Ashe, too. He wanted that moment of mutual need between Julia and him back. Now.
“Seems like the musk has worn off.” Ashe looked only at Julia. “I thought if you felt up to it, we might take you to lunch. There’s something I want to show you.”
Parish narrowed his eyes at the woman. Forget the males sniffing around his human. What he truly needed to worry about was Ashe. Only one resident of the Wildlands was going to protect Dr. Julia Cabot, and it was going to be him.
Chapter Four
THE Pantera ate lunch as a community. A spirited, tightly woven community who gathered around the fifty or so intricately carved wooden tables that ran along the bayou. Dressed with pale green cloth, each table was piled high with boiled shrimp, crawfish pie, étoufée, potatoes, corn, bread pudding, buttermilk cake and iced sweet tea. For Julia, who normally grabbed a salad or a cup of soup in the hospital cafeteria whenever she had a second free during the day, this sprawling, home-style picnic of a lunch was as overwhelming as it was delicious.
She glanced across the table at Ashe and grinned. “This is the best meal I’ve ever had.”
Ashe laughed. “I know, right?” She offered Julia another helping of creamy grits, then spooned some onto her own plate. “At first I thought it was the pregnancy, but then I realized the food’s just different here. Super fresh, homemade, and you know,” she winked, “maybe there’s a little magic in there.”
Julia didn’t say anything. She’d been reminding herself how imperative it was for her to find the Wildlands’ exit and get back home to New Orleans, that this wasn’t real, and there was no such thing as puma shifters. But it wasn’t so easy. The land surrounding the charming village was vast and completely rural. Where was she going to go? She didn’t know this area. How dangerous would it be to just go walking off into the bayou?
And then there was the undeniable curiosity she couldn’t seem to shed. About Parish and the Wildlands. She hated to admit it, and had used her concern for Ashe as an excuse, but she was interested in this place, how it came to be, how it remained off the tourist trade’s radar.
“Oh, there’s magic in everything here.” Ines, the small woman with the dark hair and sable cat eyes who’d come to Julia’s room with Ashe, sat at the head of the table. “It’s in the air and the earth and the water. Makes the food irresistible.” With a grin, she added, “The males, too.”
Julia’s mind instantly filled with images of Parish and she tried to combat them with a hefty spoonful of grits.
Ashe snorted. “I believe mine was irresistible way before I came to the Wildlands.”
“Well, you’re special,” Ines said, reaching for the ladle in a nearby bowl. “Have some of this, Ashe. Creole alligator. Cook’s specialty. He was fresh caught this morning and very tender.” Not waiting for an answer, the woman dropped a helping on Ashe’s plate. “You’ll love it. As will your cub.”
Julia looked up from her plate. “Cub?”
“Her child,” Ines said, passing an entire buttermilk pie to the table behind them. “It will be half puma. When it shifts for the first time from human form to cat, it’ll no longer be considered a baby.”
With wide eyes, Ashe glanced over at Julia. “You see why I need a little human help here?”
The woman’s face was so momentarily panic-stricken, Julia couldn’t help but laugh. She didn’t believe what Ines was saying, couldn’t, and wanted to scold the woman and find out why they were all feeding Ashe’s psychosis. But as she sat there near the slowly moving bayou water, with the fish jumping over the floating vegetation and the sun filtering through the trees above, granting them a gentle, tolerable warmth, she couldn’t bring herself to break the incredible mood of this village’s picnic.
Maybe she was a coward.
Or maybe the magic of the Wildlands was starting to affect her, too.
“If you decide to stay, Dr. Julia,” Ines said, a forkful of buttermilk pie on its way to her mouth. “I would love to assist you. I’m a Nurturer, and trained to work with young, but so far I haven’t been able to use my skills.”
In that moment Julia turned away from the table and glanced around. She ignored the gentle, sweet breeze on her skin, the laughter, and the incredible scenery, to take in the people – the Pantera – at the tables nearest to them. She hadn’t noticed it before, even on the walk over here, but there were no children anywhere. She’d heard what Ashe had said back in the medical facility, but she hadn’t given it any thought. She hadn’t believed it. The world around the bayou carried no infantile sounds, no cries or coos, no immature squabbles or echoes of pint-sized laughter coming from up and down the shoreline. Her heart clenched. It wasn’t possible. Maybe they were at school. This couldn’t truly be a community without young.
Her eyes cut to the woman who was leaning back in her chair, her hands spread protectively over her still-flat belly. “How many weeks did you say you were?”
“Six.”
“How are you feeling?” she asked, unable to stop herself from slipping into doctor mode.
“With th
e pregnancy?” Ashe asked. “Good. Strong.” She grinned. “Happy.”
“No pain? Spotting?”
She shook her head. “I’m a little tired, and hungry. Always hungry.”
“Hungry’s good. Can I have your hand?” Julia reached out and instantly curled her fingers around the woman’s wrist. For one minute, she felt Ashe’s steady pulse. “Have you had your blood pressure taken? Any tests?”
“Nothing yet. I haven’t been here that long.” Ashe cocked her head to the side, her eyes playfully narrowed on Julia. “You’re sounding like a doctor, Doctor.”
“Hard habit to break.”
“Then don’t break it,” Ashe said, her eyes soft. “Stay.”
“I don’t think I can,” Julia told her. “It’s complicated, I’m not sure…”
Ashe’s eyes darkened. “It’s Parish, isn’t it? He’s coming on too strongly.”
Strongly, sensually, irresistibly.
“He can’t help it,” Ines said, leaning forward. “Hunters can be very intense, but Parish most of all. He lives in the caves, you know, rarely changes out of his puma state, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen him smile.”
“Really?” Julia said, deciding she hadn’t heard the part about him rarely changing out of his puma state.
“He’s smiling now, Ines,” Ashe remarked with a note of concern in her voice.
“What? Where?”
“Over at the Hunters’ table.” She pointed behind Julia. “I didn’t want to make you self-conscious, but he hasn’t been able to take his eyes off you since we got here.”
Julia glanced over her shoulder, heart jumping into her throat as her gaze searched for the man with the long black hair and eyes that held such intensity, such heat. She’d wondered where he was, if he was having lunch with the rest of them, the Pantera. She spotted him about twenty yards away at a table that sat among a stand of river birch, its four legs submerged in an inch or two of water. Clustered around the table were ten or so of the most wild-looking, barely clothed, heavily muscled men and women she’d ever seen. And at the head, standing on a branch a foot above them all was Parish. He was barefoot and tanned, and wearing only a pair of faded jeans, which rested just below his hipbones. His hair was wild and the scar near his mouth winked in the sunlight. Julia’s gaze moved covetously over every inch of him. His narrow waist and ripped stomach that widened to a broad chest, powerful shoulders and lean, muscular arms. He looked ready to spring. And the muscles in Julia’s belly turned to liquid fire as she watched him watch her.