Diana looked around for an empty chair, but grandfather shook his head.
“On the ground, please,” he said.
Now, Cat knew what his grandfather was going to ask her. He also knew that a transformation was very taxing. Especially the first few times. If she couldn’t do it now, the elders would never believe them. They would not allow them to return to the Salt Lake.
“Grandfather,” Cat said, “you know that she did it once. I have no reason to lie about that. It’s not fair to…”
“Catahassa,” Grandfather cut him off, “I must see this for myself.”
His grandfather turned his attention to Diana who was seated cross-legged on the ground. She looked quizzically around the room as though searching for a friendly face. Finally, her eyes landed on Cat.
This time, he did not look away. He knew if she was to do this, she had to have her connection to him intact.
He looked straight back at her and tried to give her a small, reassuring smile. He was not entirely sure it worked.
“Diana,” grandfather said, “I need you to close your eyes. Try to remember what you were thinking when you transformed at the Salt Lake. Remember how you felt, what was happening around you, push every other thought from your mind.”
Diana looked once more at Cat, slowly nodded and closed her eyes.
There was no chanting this time. No prayers were said. Cat could only wonder why for a moment before looking at his grandfather to realize what he was doing.
At the Salt Lake, at least as far as Cat knew, there had been no chanting, no rituals. Indeed, Diana had been in fear for her life. There was no time to quietly reflect, perhaps no time even to sit.
She had transformed without any assistance. Cat’s grandfather needed to see if she could do it again.
Cat found himself holding his breath as he watched Diana sitting there on the hard floor of the pueblo. The other men in the room seemed to be doing the same. There was complete silence in the room as Diana pressed her eyes closed and her brow furrowed in concentration.
Several minutes passed and nothing happened. Cat could see tiny beads of sweat beginning to form on Diana’s brow. She was trying to concentrate, Cat could see that. Still, it was taking too long.
Cat closed his own eyes and willed Diana to think of him. To let go of everything else. He had no idea if this would work. If she would even want him in her head given how he had behaved, even so, he stood there, eyes closed willing a connection.
Finally, after several more long minutes passed, he felt a spark flow from his stomach straight up behind his eyes. Slowly he opened them to look at Diana, she now appeared more relaxed. The wrinkles had disappeared from her brow and her eyes were no longer pressed tightly against her lids.
A moment later, he saw the transformation begin. It was not as quick as his or Charlie’s now was. Her arm lengthened first and turned to white fur. The other did the same. Unconscious of her actions, she unfolded her legs and allowed them to grow behind her.
Similarly, her head and body began to change. The transformation was almost complete when, suddenly, Diana let out loud roar and then a whine of pain. She fell to the ground and, almost immediately returned to her human form breathing heavily.
“Diana!” he shouted almost instinctively. His feet took her towards her and, equally instinctively, he gathered her in his arms.
As soon as she did, she grabbed hold of his shirt and looked up at him.
“He...he saw me,” Diana said frantically, “Cat, he saw me! He can watch me when I transform just like you could…”
“Who saw you?” grandfather asked moving as quickly as he could over to Diana’s spot.
“Charlie!” Diana insisted. Tse, Lonon and the others all moved tentatively closer to Diana as well.
“Charlie can see me,” Diana said, “even when he’s not here, he can…”
“That’s impossible,” Lonon said, “no shifter can see another's visions unless there’s a mated or family connection…”
“...Or the shifter has possession of the talisman belonging to another shifter,” grandfather said.
Cat looked down at Diana’s chest and, for the first time, realized that the place where her talisman should have been was empty.
“Where is the talisman?” Cat asked fiercely now moving his arms from around her and grabbing her forcefully. “What happened to the talisman I gave you?”
“He...he took it,” Diana said, “when...when they...when Charlie and Manaba drugged me, just before...he took it off my neck.”
Behind Cat, Lonon swore and pounded his fist on the table so hard that it made the young Navajo boy seated near him jump.
“And you know that Charlie still has the talisman?” grandfather asked Diana very calmly.
“Of course he does!” Cat answered impatiently. He let go of Diana, stood up and moved towards his grandfather. Behind him, he could hear Diana struggling to get up from the ground.
“He wouldn’t have seen her if he didn’t have it,” Cat said.
“Not necessarily,” grandfather said, “there are plenty of ways for shifters to form connections without the use of a talisman. As you well know, Cat.”
Cat’s blood seemed to freeze at the thought. He looked to Diana hoping to find some confirmation that his worst fear was not true.
He knew, or at least he thought he know, that Diana would not willingly betray him by forming a...connection with Charlie. Still, Diana had proven herself as susceptible as anyone to Charlie’s charms, he could easily have tricked her.
Diana dusted dirt from the ground off her clothing before lifting her eyes. She looked at Cat first and, he could see that she understood what he was thinking.
“He has the talisman,” Diana said, “I’m sure of it.”
Though the question had been posed by grandfather, Cat knew that her answer was meant for him.
Inwardly, he breathed a sigh of relief. But, Diana’s eyes were still hard when they looked at him. The gentle gleam that usually shone when her eyes met his had all but gone out. Another stab of guilt made its way to his heart. Cat forced it away as he turned to his grandfather.
“That’s all the more reason to go to the Salt Lake as soon as possible,” Cat said urgently, “we have to retrieve the talisman as well as Amanda and Ashkii.”
“My boys are ready to move now,” Tse said, “I want my son back before the day is done.”
“I agree, we should move as soon as we can,” Lonon said, “God only knows what Gomez or the rogue will do to Amanda.”
“Don’t be so quick to go back,” grandfather said to Lonon, “it’s likely, that is exactly what Charlie and Manaba expect us to do.”
“So what if it is?” Tse said. “There are only two of them. If you go to the lake with a dozen trained shifters, we’ll be able to out maneuver them easily.”
“Size is no indication of power,” Grandfather said, “as Catahassa learned today.”
Grandfather’s eyes turned on Cat. Cat hung his head and looked away, he could feel his cheeks begin to burn again, this time with shame.
“We must wait until we are certain that the prophecy can be fulfilled,” grandfather continued.
“Grandfather, we don’t have time!” Cat insisted, “If we don’t go now-”
“They will not kill your sister, Catahassa,” grandfather insisted, “or the Navajo boy. It’s the Salt Mother they’re after.”
“But she can transform!” Lonon said. “Father, you said when she was able to transform, her training would be complete.”
“Yes, but that is not all that must be done,” grandfather said. “She must also be mated.”
“That can be taken care of in a matter of minutes,” Lonon said. Cat felt his cheeks burn again and he looked back at the ground.
“We do not know if that is all that’s required,” grandfather said. “We will wait until the elders can meet again.”
“Well, we will not wait,” Tse said, “we are going to the Sa
lt Lake to get my son with or without the help of the Zuni.”
Tse motioned the three young men around him to stand from the table. The did so uniformly as though they were a military unit, Cat watched the Navajo move to the door for one moment before stepping towards his grandfather.
“Grandfather, you can’t honestly allow the Navajo men to go to the Salt Lake alone,” he said, “remember, they have their own prophecy. Who knows what they’ll-”
“They may have their prophecy, but we have the Salt Woman,” grandfather interrupted Cat again, “they cannot do anything to fulfil their version of the prophecy without her.”
“And what about Amanda?” Lonon asked fiercely, “you know the Navajo don’t give two shits about a Zuni girl, they won’t bother rescuing her and if they do, they’ll keep her as leverage.”
“I assure you, Lonon, that will not happen,” grandfather said.
“You assure me?” Lonon asked. “Just like you assured us that the Salt Mother would be safe here? How many members do we have to lose before you realize-”
“Lonon!” grandfather said loudly, “that’s enough. We will wait to call a council of the elders. Now, I suggest you all return to your own rooms and rest. I will call you when the council is ready.”
Lonon stormed out of the room before another word could be said. For the first time since Cat had left the reservation, years before, he felt a certain kinship with his father and animosity towards his grandfather.
Still, something in the suggestion his grandfather had made had given Cat an idea.
He turned towards Diana, took her arm and with nothing more than a nod to his grandfather, he led her out of the pueblo.
“Go back to the room and wait for me,” he told her quickly once they were outside.
“Why aren’t you coming?” Diana asked eyeing him suspiciously and pulling away from him.
“I’ve got to do something. It won’t take long,” he said.
“What’s this thing you’ve got to do?” Diana asked again as she folded her arms across her chest and looked at him with a defiant glare that told Cat she knew exactly what he was planning on doing.
“Look, just go to my Pueblo. I’ll meet you in there in five minutes,” he said.
“You’re going back again, aren’t you?” Diana asked.
“Diana, please! I’ll explain when I get back,” he said urgently. He kept casting his eyes to the left where he could still see Tse and the other Navajo talking at the edge of the reservation in hushed tones. If he didn’t get to them before they left…
“Why can’t you explain now?” Diana asked.
“Look,” Cat said, “just trust me. Ok? Can you do that?”
For one agonizing moment, both Diana’s suspicious glare and her feet seemed fixed. Then however she sighed and said, “Fine. You’ve got five minutes.”
With that, she marched off towards the pueblo they shared. Cat set his eyes towards Tse and his small group of men. He knew what he had to ask them, he knew what he had to promise. What he did not know was whether or not they would accept.
Chapter Four
Diana paced back and forth along the floor of the pueblo staring out the small curved window that faced an open, barren field feeling every bit like a caged animal in a zoo.
Five minutes, he’d said. It had now been close to fifteen. Fifteen minutes she’d spent looking out that window and not a sign of Cat or anyone else for that matter.
She kept thinking back to that meeting in the elder's tent. The way they had all talked about her as though she was not there. The way they had referred to her, not by her own name but by the title, The Salt Mother. How everyone, even Cat had barely so much as looked at her the entire time.
It was as though she was not human. It was like she was some inanimate object to be used for a purpose and then cast aside. Like the pot shard, she still kept in her back pocket.
She moved away from the window, took out the shard and sat down in a chair to examine it closely. Looking at artifacts like this, analyzing them, had always calmed her down when she was stressed. She saw no reason why it should be any different now.
She placed the shard in her open palm and ran her hand against it, feeling the coarse texture. Of course, if she had been in a lab back at her college campus, she would have used gloves, she would have taken extreme care not to damage the piece in any way.
But, now, as this shard had recently been used as a weapon, Diana thought the time for caution had passed.
It was Adobe, that much was clear. From the little that remained, she knew she wouldn’t be able to get an entirely accurate date. Still, from what she could see of the style, it looked like it might be similar in age to the pot she had seen in Cataha Ssa's office the first day they met.
The day when she thought he had taken a special interest in her. The day he gave her the talisman.
Now...now she had no idea what to think of Cat. Back at the Salt Lake, once it was clear that Ashkii and Amanda had been taken, Cat had been more annoyed with Diana than protective.
But, that was understandable, under the circumstances. She had been stupid to go with Charlie. And, she had perhaps, not been as concerned for Amanda as she should have been. No, Diana could forgive Cat for being upset. But, the way he had behaved in that meeting.
Clearly, he was much more concerned about the fate of his precious talisman than he was for her. He apparently didn’t care nearly as much that she was now attached, in some way, to a raving psychopath who wanted her dead. He was just upset that she’d let the talisman go.
And now, he wanted her to stay in the room and out of trouble. It was like she was a naughty child who had been told to sit in time out.
Well, she was not going to stand for it.
She knew what had happened at the Salt Lake. She knew she had transformed. She was not going to wait for a bunch of old men to tell her that it was ok to go back. This was her destiny, after all, not anyone else’s. And, she would not let anyone, even Cat stand in the way of it.
As she ran her hand over the pottery shard again and again, she had almost resolved that, if Cat had not returned within the next five minutes, she was going back to the Salt Lake herself, when suddenly the door to the pueblo creaked open.
She turned towards the door to see Cat turning to close it quickly behind him.
“You said five minutes,” Diana said not caring that she sounded every bit like a petulant child.
“I know,” Cat answered quickly, “it took a little longer than I thought it would.”
“What did?” Diana asked moving closer to him.
“Diana,” he said putting his hands on her shoulders, “we don’t have much time.”
Then, without warning, he bent down and kissed her desperately. Diana leaned into him and almost let herself melt into the kiss before she remembered herself and pulled away.
“What do you mean we don’t have much time?” she asked.
“Diana,” he said softly, “I can’t explain it all now but...you and I both know what happened on that ridge today. We know you transformed. That means your training is complete. That means we can be mated. That means we have to be if…”
He trailed off and looked down at the ground as though unsure of what to say.
“...if we want to get back to the salt lake?” Diana finished for him.
“No,” Cat said pulling away suddenly, “not you. It would be too dangerous for you to go without the elders but I…” he moved one hand over his face and crossed quickly towards the window.
“The prophecy says that the mate of the salt woman will carry a fragment of her soul with him,” he said, “that means, if we’re...mated, and I go to the Salt Lake I’ll be protected and so will the others. It means I can bring Amanda home.”
“If you’re protected because of me, that must mean I’m protected too,” Diana said, “so, why shouldn’t I go with you? You said I was trained. If we’re mated then, I can fulfill the prophecy and…”
/> “Diana,” Cat said turning to her again, “please. Charlie will still be looking for you. He’ll still have plenty of opportunities to disrupt the flow of the prophecy even after we’re mated. It’s too dangerous.”
“And it won’t be dangerous for you?” Diana asked skeptically with a raised eyebrow in Cat’s direction. He lifted his hand and touched her cheek.
“It won’t be dangerous if I have you protecting me,” he said. He leaned towards her again and kissed her. This time lightly. His hand moved up to her breast and massaged it gently.
“Will you protect me, Diana?” he whispered into her ear as his hand moved downwards towards the place just between her legs. Diana moaned.
“Will you give me a fragment of your soul?” he whispered again as his hand began to move gently, teasingly.
With another moan, Diana pulled his mouth towards hers and kissed him hungrily, all resolve gone entirely.
Her hands folded into his hair then moved down to his chest and below his waistline as he continued to move against her folds over her clothing.
When her hands finally landed on the large bulge beneath his pants, he let out a fierce growl and lifted her up completely.
She grasped his back and wrapped her legs around him as he carried her into the bedroom. There, once clothes were stripped and hands and lips had felt and kissed and licked and caressed even the most private of bodily places, Diana opened herself fully and willingly, giving Cat not only a fragment but her entire being. Both body and soul.
As he gave one last powerful thrust accompanied by a powerful cry against Diana’s spent body, Cat finally collapsed next to her on his bed.
He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into him. Diana allowed herself to stay like that for one minute. Pretending that there was no prophecy, no talisman, no salt woman. Just the two of them nestled together in that small bed.
Soon, too soon, she felt Cat tense behind her. She thought she knew why. She turned around in his arms to face him.
“You said you didn’t have much time,” she said.
“I don’t,” he answered, then moved his hand to touch her cheek, “I wish I did.”
BILLIONAIRE ROMANCE: The Unforgettable Southern Billionaires: The Complete Collection Boxed Set (Young Adult Rich Alpha Male Billionaire Romance) Page 36