Kierce

by Veronica Scott

  She will be your mate if she so chooses but you must meet her halfway in this. There is no greater blessing I can give to a Badari on this world than the chance to bond with their life mate. The Great Mother’s voice was soft, even as she gently scolded him.

  “How can I ask her to tie herself to me when I must remain a cat or go insane from the Khagrish drugs?” Sinking to his knees, he bowed his head.

  I cleansed the medicine from your body. That much I can do. The choice of being man or cat or moving between the forms is yours. Mastering your fears and your anger is a task for your heart and mind. I gave you a place to start the effort. The fog withdrew from the center of the glade, blown to the edges by a breeze he didn’t feel.

  “Wait,” he said, afraid he’d been abandoned.

  There is no more to be said. Her voice was kind but firm, no room for entertaining further argument, complaint or pleas.

  He felt a gentle kiss on his forehead although he saw no one and suddenly he was tired, his limbs weighing him down as if turned to stone. He lay on the grass, thoughts detached from reality and consciousness floating. There was a small scattering of purple flowers around him, tiny bell-like blossoms, and he clenched a clump of them in his fist as he lost consciousness.

  Aydarr came awake in an instant, a skill he’d possessed since he was a cub in the labs. Even one extra second of awareness could save a man’s life and a deep sleep in the treacherous environment of the labs could mean death. He took a moment to orient himself to the current reality, staring at the colorful, glowing lichen on the stalactites high in the residence cavern ceiling above. Sitting up in bed carefully so as not to disturb Jill, sleeping peacefully on her side next to him, he applied all his enhanced senses to identify what had roused him. The night was quiet, but he couldn’t deny he’d been summoned and refusal to comply was out of the question. He kissed Jill on her exposed shoulder before pulling the covers higher. She murmured and reached for him without being truly awake.

  “I have to go take care of something, but I’ll be back in no time,” he whispered in her ear.

  Rising, he dressed quickly and left the cave, knowing Jill wouldn’t worry. An Alpha often had to attend to duties or crises at odd hours.

  His instincts were loud and clear to respond to this summons on his own.

  The three moons shone on the peaceful valley but Aydarr hastened down the path, ignoring the beauty around him, leaving their part of the valley and heading inland, toward the areas which were off limits to anyone but the Badari pack. He felt as if he’d forgotten a meeting or an appointment, which was ridiculous, but a sense of urgency rode him.

  Moving faster, he passed the barrier on the trail warning the humans to keep out and accepted without too much surprise the fact his destination appeared to be the great stone circle he and his men had erected early on in their life in the valley. This was the shrine to the Great Mother and site of any significant pack-only gatherings.

  He smiled a bit ruefully as he reflected on how many humans had now become members of the pack and set foot in the sacred space, from his own mate Jill to her sisters, and Nicolle once she’d mated with Darik, Jadrian’s mate Tara…probably more to come, given how interested the Badari soldiers and the human women were in each other. The presence of mates changed the dynamics somewhat but those were issues for another time. As he walked, he maintained his situational awareness while mentally reviewing the gathering which had occurred earlier in the evening designed to give the two species a chance to meet on purely social terms.

  There’d be more mate bonds in the near future unless he missed his guess. Children too, or so he hoped. Of course Mateer and his mate Megan were leading the way there, with the baby she carried. The idea made him happy, because for centuries Badari men had lived and died in the labs with no chance at the happiness of finding a mate, having a family, or living a full life. Even the few Badari women who’d recently joined them had been denied pair bonds by the Director of their lab until Gabe and Keshara brought them to safety in Aydarr’s valley.

  We’re doing good work. Even if the happiness was short lived, even if the Khagrish and the Chimmer ultimately triumphed despite his best efforts, Aydarr would never regret this precious time as free men. The pack he led was experiencing a life no other Badari on this planet had had any chance to savor, and he was grateful to the goddess—and to his exceptionally brave mate Jill—for making their current state possible.

  He reached the final bend before the ceremonial space would come into view and paused as if a line of warriors stood to bar his way, although the path and the forest stretched serenely empty under the intense light of the moons. Obedience to whatever force was motivating his strange pilgrimage tonight was critical, its dictates not to be questioned. He wasn’t surprised to hear footsteps coming behind him and knew who he’d see, the name falling from his lips even as he turned. “Timtur.” The pack’s healer and person closest to the goddess in this generation.

  Aydarr and Timtur clasped arms in greeting, and Aydarr said, “Care to tell me what we’re doing here in the middle of the night? Is this your doing?”

  “We’re Goddess called,” the healer said simply. “The Great Mother needs our presence to serve a purpose.”

  The confirmation gave Aydarr a chill down his spine, and he took a deep breath, determined to do whatever the goddess might ask of him. “I’ve never received such a summons before—have you?”

  “Not like this.” Timtur checked the path behind them. “I’ve experienced her presence, heard her voice—probably most dramatically when I fought Vattan in the Khagrish arena.”

  “A very different experience. Or so I hope.” Aydarr said, wondering what task might await him in the sacred space. He was surprised not to feel a pull to continue on to the shrine now that he and Timtur were together. Instead he felt a definite pressure to remain exactly where he now stood and wait, as if a companion’s hand pressed against his chest.

  “But who or what are we waiting for?” Timtur said, without Aydarr voicing his frustration or telepathing it.

  “The rest of the pack?” The answer didn’t sound plausible to him even as he uttered the words.

  The healer shook his head. “Doubtful. In that case, the Great Mother would have been more likely to put the command to summon them into my mind, or into both of our thoughts, and we’d have spread the word.”

  Now Aydarr heard someone else coming, making no effort to conceal their presence, and he stiffened as he caught the scent. The next arrival was a human woman who had absolutely no business being here uninvited. Why hadn’t his sentries kept her out? He and Timtur wheeled in formation to greet Elianna as she appeared at the bend of the path.

  “I know why we’re here,” he said before she could find her voice, “But what in the seven hells are you doing here?”

  She walked to him and paused, slightly out of breath. “I had a dream—I don’t know how to describe it exactly. A voice told me to get dressed and hurry out of the dorm. As I started along the trail from the caves I could almost believe I had an invisible companion walking with me. I swear I felt them nudging me to veer left and then go right, until I got dizzy but found myself on this path and then the moonlight drew me.” She ran her hands through her hair and seemed at a loss for words. Hesitantly she jumped to a new concern. “Don’t be upset with your guards because I walked right by one of them and I don’t think he even saw me. Didn’t move a muscle, which is not like your guys.”

  “Not at all.” Aydarr had never known his men to fail at their duties, especially a job so vital as safeguarding the way to their place of worship and council meetings. More proof this unusual evening was orchestrated by the goddess. Only she could have temporarily hidden Elianna from a Badari sentry’s sight.

  “What’s this way?” Elianna peered beyond Aydarr at the spot where the path had a bend to the left.

  “The shrine to the Great Mother,” Timtur said. Brow furrowed, he watched her intently, as if she

was a puzzle to be solved.

  “Yes, Kierce told me about her one of the nights we were talking.” Elianna slapped her hand to her lips as she realized what she’d revealed.

  “Now he’s a talking tiger?” Aydarr asked with grim humor. “You and I are going to have a serious conversation in the morning.”

  “Yes, we are. I booked an appointment with you. I’m on your calendar. But I tried to talk to you earlier tonight, at the gathering, only your soldiers kept getting in my way.” She was unmoved by his tone. “But, to repeat my original question, what’s going on tonight?”

  “I think we should finish the rest of the walk and see whatever it is the goddess wishes us to view, take whatever action she decrees,” Timtur said reasonably. “I have no compulsion to remain here, now that Elianna has joined us, do you, Aydarr?”

  For answer, Aydarr pivoted on his heel and walked away, knowing the other two would follow his lead. Shortly he’d have his answer. The power he carried within his mind and body surged, ready to answer his call and calm swept over him because surely the goddess meant for a positive outcome to tonight’s events.

  Walking shoulder to shoulder, he and his two companions arrived at the place where the trail ended and the glade began.

  In the moonlight, a naked man sprawled across the ceremonial dais, apparently unconscious or worse. Aydarr paused in astonishment, the scent on the night air telling him this wasn’t anyone from his own pack. Definitely not human.

  “Kierce!” Elianna sprinted across the grass to the dais and fell to her knees beside the unmoving intruder. She checked his neck for a pulse before craning her head to stare at Aydarr and Mateer with tears glistening in her eyes. “He’s alive—help him, please.”

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  She knew Aydarr wasn’t happy to find Kierce in what she guessed must be a sacred space, but the Alpha and the healer hurried forward in response to her cry, the latter man already peeling off his jacket.

  “Let’s get him on his back,” Timtur said after a cursory exam, his hands glowing faintly green as he ran them a few inches in the air over Kierce’s body. “I need to see if there are any injuries. At this point, I’d say he’s in a deep sleep.”

  Elianna hovered while the two Badari rolled Kierce over and stretched him out, then maneuvered herself into position to cradle his head in her lap, dropping a kiss on his forehead and stroking her hand through his hair. Aydarr covered Kierce’s naked form with his jacket, and Timtur’s, then stood aside to give the healer room to work.

  “What does he have in his hands?” she asked, seeing how tightly Kierce’s fists were closed.

  “Worry about that later.” Aydarr kept his attention on what the healer was doing. “Well?”

  “Old wounds, well healed. Lash marks such as we all bear. Nothing else. He ought to awaken soon.” Timtur sounded relieved to give such a favorable report.

  “And this is the tiger in his Badari form?” the Alpha asked, glancing at Elianna.

  She nodded. “I promised him in the cell not to ever tell anyone his secret, including the fact he could become a man.”

  “We’re his own kind.” Aydarr’s voice held the snap of a rebuke. “We would have helped him. How do you think I feel, knowing I held one of my own brothers in a cage?”

  “You did it with kindness.” Her voice faltered because the Alpha was slightly terrifying. “I was going to tell you the whole story tomorrow.”

  “We knew he was related to us somehow,” Timtur said. “He had the scent of Badari.” He glanced at Elianna. “This was the Khagrish experiment? To change him into the beast?”

  She saw no point in withholding any details now. Staring at Kierce’s face, willing him to come back to her, she brushed aside a tear. “He said Innimarrg—the Khagrish scientist—told him there was a special component in his DNA, more than usual with your people, and they’d used the enhancement like a key to force him into the animal form. I’ve seen his talons as a man,” she said directly to Aydarr. “Nearly as imposing as the tiger’s. You must all carry this same feline DNA to various degrees?” So don’t you dare think less of him.

  “Yes. The Khagrish often boasted of how they created us from bits and pieces.” Aydarr frowned. “We’ve had some experience ourselves with the Khagrish adapting their techniques to force Badari with special enhancements to evolve into a different form.” He and Timtur exchanged dark looks. “Not like this, though, not into a completely unique animal.”

  “What happened to those other men?” She was reluctant to ask. The way the two Badari across from her acted indicated a less than positive outcome.

  “They died.” Timtur briefly clasped her hand as he spoke, and warmth and energy flowed to her from the touch. The faint green glow clung to his fingers, and she checked hers in vain to see if she’d acquired any radiance. “But your friend’s case isn’t the same, not if he can seamlessly change from one shape to the other like this.”

  “He told me the experiment failed on the two men brought to the lab with him.” Elianna sought to find comfort in Timtur’s assurance Kierce would be all right, since he had mastered the transformation process, unlike the others.

  “Where exactly did he come from?” Aydarr asked. “Because I need to find that place and rescue any of my remaining brothers.”

  “He said the other hemisphere. I wish I had more to offer in the way of details.” She wasn’t indifferent to the fate of the men Kierce named as his brothers, far from it, but her immediate concern was her lover’s survival. “You can ask him yourself when he wakes up.” Next moment her attention was riveted on Kierce, who groaned and stirred restlessly. Bending over him, she said, “It’s all right, you’re all right, you’re with me now.”

  His eyes opened, glowing with golden fire, and he stared at her hungrily. “Elianna. I dreamt of you.”

  Opening his fists, he reached to pull her close for a kiss. Then he moved with a speed that dazzled her, and was on his feet, facing the other two Badari, Elianna shoved behind him.

  “Stand down, soldier,” Aydarr said mildly enough, but with a hint of steel in his voice. “We’re here to help. The woman is one of our community, a friend and colleague, at no risk from the Badari.”

  “How did I get here? How did you know to look for me here?” Kierce asked Elianna over his shoulder.

  “I can’t explain it, there was this sixth sense I was needed. And then I met the two of them here as well.” She hated not being able to provide a crisp, logical explanation but nothing about this situation was routine or normal in her experience.

  Timtur bent to retrieve something from the stone dais. He showed his find to the Alpha and then to Kierce and Elianna. He was holding a clump of tiny purple flowers, dirt clinging to their roots and she realized that was what had been in Kierce’s hand when they found him. A faint but intoxicating perfume came to her, and she inhaled with pleasure.

  “These flowers only grow in the Great Mother’s circle of trees,” the healer said, sitting unnaturally still, his eyes wide and glowing. “Certainly not in this valley.”

  The vivid color of the blooms was already fading. Reverently, Timtur set the tiny clump on the ground to the side of the stone dais. Kierce staggered, shaking his head as if to throw off water. Elianna caught his shoulder and the two Badari moved in as well. Together they eased him into one of the chairs on the platform and Timtur handed him the jackets again since Kierce remained naked.

  “My advice is to take it easy,” the healer said, eyeing him. “I’m guessing the transformation process depletes the energy reserves in your body and, if you’ve had an encounter with the Great Mother besides, that can be draining as well. When did you last eat or drink?”

  “The guard brought me the tiger’s dinner at sunset,” Kierce said. Glancing at Aydarr, he added, “My thanks for being such a considerate host. Prime leg of faleker, much better than what the Khagrish provided.”

  “My apologies for continuing to keep you locked up.” The Alpha gave Elianna a glare cold. “It would have been nice if I’d known all the circumstances. I’d have had a conversation with you the first day, cat or no, and had Timtur see what he could do to help.”

  “She honored her promise to me.” Narrowing his eyes as if assessing Aydarr’s remark for a challenge or insult to Elianna, Kierce reached for her hand and squeezed her fingers in silent reassurance.

  “Are you all right now? No more problem with the drug flashbacks?” She looked him over carefully, searching for signs of after effects. Kierce acted calm and there were no nervous tics. His posture was relaxed and open.

  “The Great Mother said she’d removed the poison from my body so I’m hopeful. Not that I don’t believe the word of the goddess, but I think it’s too soon to tell. Innimarrg may have done other things to me he failed to boast of. My only safety is to become the tiger, whose mind isn’t prey to the effects.”

  “Can you still transform to the tiger?” She was surprised, assuming the goddess would have eliminated the ability to change.

  With a bitter laugh, Kierce nodded. “She said that part could not be undone without my death, and I’m not ready to die yet. So I must keep the tiger.”

  “I have more immediate concerns, frankly,” Aydarr said. “Have you sworn an oath to your Alpha?”

  Kierce stared at the Alpha and seemed to be choosing his words carefully. “We have no such structure at our lab as you’ve developed here. The Khagrish are ruthless about killing any man who appears to be a leader, or a healer. We do have those we revere among our ranks, but the names are secret, and we give no outward sign of fealty.”

  Aydarr met Kierce’s gaze, his own eyes beginning to glow. “You accepted me as your Alpha at the Khagrish lab when we liberated you. I need to make the allegiance official.”

  “Really? With everything that’s happened, you want to worry about some ceremony right now?” Making an expansive gesture with her hands as if to push away the whole discussion, Elianna was concerned for Kierce, remembering how shaky he got on occasion turning from the tiger into the man.

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