“What?” Samantha exclaimed. “You want Sadie to bear your child? Did you really just say that?”
“I have given your sister three gifts, which she accepted—including the lunch, which you accepted on her behalf,” Keller said. “I expect compensation.”
“Are you insane?” Samantha demanded. “That’s your price for lunch? Listen, buddy—your place makes a damn good cheeseburger, I’ll give you that. But it’s not that good.”
“Just let us go,” Sadie said. “And I’ll consider your deal.”
A frown creased Keller’s handsome face.
“I don’t think so. You’d just go running back to that idiotic herbivore, Mathis, who can’t help you anyway.”
“Herbivore? Mathis?” Samantha was still looking at both of them as though they’d gone crazy. “Is he some kind of vegan or something? Because he sure as hell didn’t look like one.”
“You’ve seen Mathis?” Sadie asked, turning to her sister.
“Of course—I stopped by your cabin before I came here. He had his shirt off and was holding a huge chainsaw.” Samantha shrugged. “Like I said, he didn’t look like someone who lived off rabbit food.”
“He doesn’t—in his human form,” Keller said.
“In his what?” Samantha frowned at him. “What is that supposed to mean?”
“His animal form is that of a Buck—a stag,” Keller explained. “Couldn’t you smell the stink of grass on him when you met him?”
“Smell the . . .” Samantha shook her head and looked at Sadie. “What the hell is he talking about?”
A look of understanding came over Keller’s face.
“She doesn’t know, does she?” he asked Sadie. “What you are? What any of us are here in Cougarville? She doesn’t have any idea.”
“No, she doesn’t.” Sadie shook her head. “I didn’t either until last night when Mathis told me.”
“Told you what? What don’t I know? Will somebody please explain?” Samantha was beginning to look really pissed off.
Keller smirked. “Well, seeing as how that particular explanation is going to take a while, why don’t I escort you ladies back to your table where you can finish your lunch in peace?”
“I don’t want lunch or anything else from you, Keller,” Sadie said evenly. “Now that you know I didn’t have any idea I had the Shifter Gene or what was happening to me, you ought to also realize I didn’t accept the gifts you gave me purposefully or with any intent to take you as my mate.”
“I don’t care what your intent was—the fact is you still accepted them,” Keller said coolly. “The rule of three clearly states that a female who accepts three gifts from a male is making her wish to mate him clear and he is free to act on that.”
“I don’t give a damn what it states!” Sadie exclaimed. “I just want to get out of here! Now let us go!” She hoped the other patrons of the bar might hear her shouting and come to her aid. Indeed, two large muscular men who looked to be about Keller’s age did come sauntering over.
“Trouble?” one of them asked. Unfortunately, he was speaking to Keller.
“I’m afraid our guests here want to leave without settling their check.” Keller raised an eyebrow at Sadie. “Could you escort them gently to the back and make certain they’re comfortable until they agree to pay?”
“You got it,” the other man rumbled.
Suddenly Sadie found herself gripped by the shoulders and propelled to the back of the bar. Samantha, who was being held by the other man, was fighting like a wildcat.
“Get your hands off me, you asshole!” she shouted at the top of her lungs, kicking back at the man holding her.
“Now, now,” Keller called after them. “If you’ll be civil no one needs to be hurt.”
“I’ll tell you who’s going to be hurt, you big bastard,” Samantha snapped, glaring at him. “You are! In just a minute you’re going to be wearing your balls for a bowtie.”
Keller looked down at her, clearly surprised.
“Well, that’s quite a mouth you have, Samantha,” he said mildly.
“You can call me Dr. Becker, asshole,” Samantha snarled. “I’m a top surgeon at a level-one trauma hospital and you’d better be glad I am! Because you’re going to need a surgeon once I get done with you!”
“She’s a feisty one, boss,” the man holding her remarked, wincing as Samantha’s foot caught him in the shin. Clearly he was having difficulty keeping Sadie’s twin in check.
“Indeed she is.” Keller looked at Samantha speculatively. “Perhaps we’d better take steps to be certain she can’t, ah, hurt anyone.” He snapped his fingers. “Lock them up.”
Sadie fought the man holding her but it did no good. Before she could even start to get loose, she and Samantha were being dragged to the back of the bar.
She looked around despairingly, but the other patrons of the Cougar’s Den just went about their business, as though two women weren’t being kidnapped and held against their will right before their eyes. Would no one help them? How in the world were she and her sister going to get out of this? Or would they get out of it at all? Was she actually going to be forced to “mate” with Keller?
Mathis, she thought longingly. I wish I’d never left you this morning. I wish we were still sleeping in bed together, all tangled up without a care in the world.
If only the big Shifter was here now—she felt so safe in his arms.
But Mathis had said they couldn’t be together—that it was impossible for them to form the all-important life-bond. Did that mean he would approve of this? Of her being with another male?
No—Sadie couldn’t believe that. He might be willing to step aside and let her choose someone she could bond with, since it seemed to be such an important part of Shifter life. But Sadie couldn’t believe he would condone someone like Keller forcing himself on her. Surely he would try to save and protect her if he knew what was happening to her right now.
But how would he know? She’d foolishly left her cell phone along with everything else back at her office and Keller had also confiscated her sister’s phone. She and Samantha were stuck here, in a town filled with people who apparently saw nothing wrong with their Mayor’s strong-arm tactics and no way to call for help.
What were they going to do?
Eighteen
“Mathis, I’ve been trying to get you on the phone for hours. You and I need to have a talk.”
Fiona’s tone was unwontedly stern. Mathis felt himself bristle—he’d had a bad enough day as it was, having to let Sadie go. He didn’t need grief from anyone else.
“What?” he snapped, not even trying to be polite. “I’m busy, Fiona. And if you’re calling to ask if the new batch of anti-rut pills works, the answer is they fucking well don’t.”
“That’s because it’s not the will of Lady Moon for you to subvert your rut this time. Her will is for you to mate and breed the one she sent to you.”
“If you’re talking about Sadie you can forget it,” Mathis growled. “You know perfectly well I can’t form another life-bond. Irish Elk are only able to bond once.”
“Normally that would be true,” Fiona said calmly. “If you’d had a long and full life-bond with your lost mate, Kathleen. But you didn’t, did you? How long did your relationship last, Mathis? Please refresh my memory.”
“Not quite two years,” Mathis growled. “But that doesn’t matter—we had a strong bond.”
“No doubt you did as you were deeply in love.” Fiona’s voice was melancholy. “But the fact remains that the bond wasn’t of a very long duration. Given that and the circumstances that brought Sadie to town just as she was beginning her Rejuvenation, I feel justified in saying that I believe you have a chance to form another life-bond.”
“A chance, huh?” Mathis growled. “How much of a chance, do you think?”
“About fifty-fifty.” Fiona sounded serene. “Which is quite good, all things considered.”
“Fifty-fifty?” Mathis demand
ed. “You call that good? I only have a fifty percent chance of being able to bond Sadie to me? And worse than that, I have a fifty percent chance of ruining her life and making her into one of the Unformed if our life-bond fails! Those aren’t good odds, Fiona—that’s a crapshoot!”
“If we were dealing strictly with the scientific odds, I would agree,” she said. “But I truly believe this is a special occasion, Mathis. Lady Moon has sent Sadie to you to ease your pain and loneliness—and hers too. She came from a loveless marriage where she was not honored by her mate. Lady Moon knows you would honor and cherish her as you should.”
“I don’t believe in all that religious mumbo jumbo or Lady Moon and you know it,” Mathis snapped.
“That’s all right, Mathis darling—she believes in you,” Fiona returned calmly.
“It’s not just that—I made a promise not to take another mate. After Kathleen died—you know that.”
“I do. And it’s a vow you’ve kept admirably for ten long years.” Fiona sighed. “Mathis, darling, Kathleen loved you. If she knew you had another chance at happiness, don’t you think she would urge you to take it?”
“Not if it was only a fifty-fifty chance, she wouldn’t,” he snapped. “I don’t want to take that risk—I can’t form another life-bond.”
“I believe you will be able to. You just have to trust,” Fiona urged gently.
“Trust in what? In a goddess that let my Kathleen get taken so young? If I did believe in her, I’d hate her for being a cold-hearted bitch,” Mathis snarled.
“Her ways are often mysterious but never doubt that she cares for us,” Fiona said. “Every pain she allows us to endure, she feels tenfold. And it’s the same for our joy—she wants joy for you, Mathis. If only you’ll reach out your hand to take what she offers, you’ll receive it.”
Mathis had had enough. “Fiona, if you’re only calling to tell me I should do something I know damn well I can’t do, can we please cut this short?”
“Very well.” Fiona sounded like she was shrugging. “Then I guess you’ll have no interest in the fact that Sadie is in the Cougar’s Den and has been for the past three or four hours.”
“What?” The word came out as more of a roar. A possessive rage kindled instantly in his chest. “What did you say?”
“I said she’s with the Cats,” Fiona snapped. “And likely to become one of them before the night is through if you don’t do something about it. Not that I have anything against the Cougars—you know I try to be impartial towards all the Shifters in town. But this girl—Sadie—is for you, Mathis. Lady Moon is giving you another chance. If you don’t take it, you’ll never be offered it again.”
“Goddamnit!” Mathis snarled. “I told her she’d need to find another Alpha but I never meant for her to go to the fucking Cats!”
“Where did you think she would go?” Fiona asked reasonably. “Liam Keller has been actively pursuing her for the past two days. And if you don’t step up and do something about it, he’s going to make Sadie his mate this full-moon night.”
Mathis swore again. Anyone, he told himself. He could stand the idea of Sadie with anyone but that good-for-nothing Cougar.
Which was a damn lie. The idea of Sadie with any other male at all drove him into possessive rage. But the thought that Sadie—his Sadie—might end up with Keller of all people was enough to put him in a straight-up murdering mood.
“He can’t do this,” Mathis said thickly. “He can’t claim her—I put her under my protection!”
“From what I’ve been hearing, Keller is claiming Sadie is under his protection. And Nora from the Friendly Bean was just in here telling me she’d heard that Keller has given Sadie three gifts—two of food and one of goods—and she accepted all three.”
“She didn’t know any better!” Mathis shouted. “Nobody told her about the three-gifts rule. Hell, she only found out about being a Shifter last night! You know she had no fucking idea why people were acting so strangely around her? Not a clue in hell that she was putting out that damn Juvie scent, making everybody crazy?”
“Yes, I knew that, dear,” Fiona said quietly. “But I felt you should be the one to tell her. Seeing as how she’s your intended mate.”
Mathis thought about protesting again that Sadie didn’t belong to him and hadn’t been sent by any imaginary goddess but there was really no sense in arguing with Fiona. She had been a priestess of Lady Moon before she was a pharmacist and had absolute faith in her beliefs.
“You said she’s been there for four hours?” he asked instead, looking out the window of his cabin. “Did she go there on her own?”
“She was escorted by Keller,” Fiona said delicately. “And my understanding is that when she and her sister tried to leave, they were ah, detained.”
“Keller’s got her sister too?”
“I’m afraid so. She stopped in for lunch, apparently. It was shortly after that Keller escorted Sadie into the Den. They’re both still there.”
Mathis scowled. Damn it—should have warned her to avoid the Cougar’s Den! He had liked the feisty little blonde who Sadie had told him was a world-class surgeon. He knew she and Sadie were supposed to be twins but honestly, they couldn’t be more different. Sadie was quiet and sweet and to herself while her sister struck him as a balls-to-the-wall kind of female who wasn’t afraid of anyone or anything.
Bet Keller’s got his hands full with that one. The thought gave Mathis a moment of grim satisfaction.
“So what is Keller doing?” he asked Fiona. “Holding Sadie until moonrise to force her hand?” He knew that if Fiona was right and Sadie had her first Shift tonight, she’d be forced by her body’s urges to breed and bond with a male—even one she didn’t actually want. The breeding heat was simply too extreme to deny.
“That would be my guess,” Fiona said crisply. “And the night’s coming on pretty fast—moonrise is going to be here before you know it. You’d better get over to the Cougar’s Den if you want to claim her for yourself, Mathis.”
Mathis didn’t know about claiming Sadie for himself—he still felt it would be a mistake to try and bond her to him when he knew it was likely impossible. But he could at least make sure she made her own choice as to who her mate would be.
“I’m on my way,” he said grimly. “Maybe you’d better close up the pharmacy and come too.” Fiona, though not a Shifter herself, was a respected figure in the town and often mediated conflicts.
“Now that I’ve finally gotten through to you, I’m going right over,” she promised. “Just take care, Mathis. If it comes to a fight, you and Keller are pretty evenly matched in human form but Cougars can be tricky. If the two of you Shift . . .”
“Then he’ll have to get his whole Den involved to bring me down,” Mathis growled. “There’s no way in hell one puny Cougar can bring down my Buck by himself.”
“I don’t know dear . . .” Fiona still sounded worried, probably because Shifter Cougars weren’t exactly like their modern-day animal counterparts when they were in Shifted form. In fact, a Cougar from the Paleolithic era looked more like a saber-toothed tiger than the much smaller tawny wildcats found in mountains today.
Mathis didn’t give a good goddamn. Keller could come after him in human form or Shifted, alone or with his entire Den—he would still trample the son of a bitch into the forest floor and leave him bleeding in the dirt.
No male was going to claim and mate Sadie against her will and if Mathis had to kill to make that point clear, he damn well would.
Nineteen
“You asshole—you can’t keep us here against our will!” Samantha glared at Keller through the bars of the enclosure in which he was currently holding her and Sadie. It was an old iron cage jokingly labeled THE DRUNK TANK at the back of the Cougar’s Den.
It looked like a novelty item—a place to take funny selfies in the picturesque little bar you stopped at for lunch while on vacation in the Blue Ridge Mountains. But it had quickly become grimly clear to Sadie
that the cage was fully functional. After having his two guards put her and her sister inside the cell and slam the door, Keller had produced an old-fashioned-looking key and proceeded to lock them in.
That had been hours ago—Sadie and Samantha had been stuck in the cage with nothing to do but catch up or, in Samantha’s case, hurl insults and invective at Keller whenever he walked past or came to check on them.
“You can’t keep us here,” she told Keller again.
“And yet, I appear to be doing exactly that.” He gave her a smug smile Sadie wished she could wipe off his handsome face with a slap. “Don’t worry, Dr. Becker,” he told Samantha with an elaborate bow. “Your confinement will soon be over. Once the moon rises and your lovely sister’s urge to breed with an Alpha becomes too intense for her to deny, she’ll see that my offer is a good one. As soon as she takes me up on it, I’ll let you go.”
“I’m not taking you up on it,” Sadie retorted angrily. “I’d rather die.”
“You shouldn’t speak so lightly, Sadie.” Keller looked at her seriously. “Because you will die if you don’t allow an Alpha to bond and breed you.”
Samantha gave a short, incredulous laugh.
“So you’re saying my sister will die if she doesn’t get your dick? You use that line a lot, Romeo? And has it ever worked before?”
Keller frowned and looked at Sadie.
“The two of you have been confined back here for hours. Haven’t you explained the situation to your sister yet?”
“I tried—” Sadie began.
“Of course she explained,” Samantha interrupted bluntly. “I just don’t believe it. I think you’re psychotic—and not just you, unfortunately. If what Sadie tells me is true, I believe this whole town is undergoing some kind of shared delusion.”
“What?” Keller glared at her. “How can you be so willfully ignorant? If that is the case, how do you explain the physical changes in your sister—changes you yourself noticed?”
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