“Was Maggie the only one in recent history who has been defined with more than one animal nature?” That was the crux of the issue. Erin wanted her to attempt a multi-animal definition. The thought of transforming into any animal was terrifying, much less allowing her body to morph into an entire zoo!
Erin paused, her expression intense yet inscrutable. “The opportunity had come and gone by the time we found Maggie, but there was no doubt she was meant to be an Omni Prime.”
“Why didn’t you tell my mother all of this, give her the opportunity to fulfill her destiny?” She hadn’t meant to sound so sarcastic, but all this talk of fate was unnerving.
“I did. I brought her down here and told her everything I knew about the Omni Prime. She thought it was an amusing story but refused to believe it was real. Her attitude concerned me. The journals state that a true Omni Prime can sense the ancient energy.” Her gaze narrowed to gleaming emerald slits as she asked, “What do you feel when you look at these items?”
Carissa’s heartbeat spiked and she slowly licked her lips. “If my mother wasn’t a true Omni Prime, how can I be?”
“Your bloodline holds the potential, but the Omni Prime is a divine gift. Not everyone is capable. Not everyone is worthy.”
Energy pulsed around Carissa, making her antsy and agitated. “The Therian nation has survived for a thousand years without an Omni Prime. Why attempt this now?”
“There are rogues in any society, those who refuse to follow the rules. We have always managed them in the past, but as it did in Esmee’s era, the corruption has reached the Prime Council. If their misdeeds go unpunished this time, I’m honestly afraid our society will implode. If that happens, humans are sure to be swept into the conflict. Can you imagine the destruction that would follow in the wake of that partnership?”
Part of Carissa hoped Erin was being melodramatic. Humans didn’t need any help being destructive. “What exactly would I have to do?”
“Definition need not be a sexual act. Most Therians have forgotten that fact. Heightened emotions and intense sensations are needed to seal the bond, but that doesn’t mean you have to have sex with each participant.” Erin unlocked one of the cases and took the top book off the stack of leather-bound tomes. She placed it on the table and reverently opened the book. “Have a seat. Tell me what you see.”
Carissa slipped onto one of the chairs and turned the book toward her. The flowing script resembled calligraphy, yet she didn’t recognize any of the letters. “It’s beautiful. What language do the Historians use?”
Rather than answer, Erin carefully turned the page. Her gaze never left Carissa’s face.
Hot, tingling currents of energy swirled around Carissa’s body. The tiny hairs on her arms and the back of her neck prickled and her eyes began to burn. She rubbed her eyes, confused by the odd sensation.
“Don’t fight it.” Erin suddenly sounded very far away. “Absorb as much as you can. Let the ancients guide you.”
Mesmerized by the shimmering letters, Carissa stared at the Historian’s journal. The burning in her eyes intensified and an instinct made her place her fingers on the edge of the page. The text undulated, rearranged then stilled, settling into familiar words and phrases.
Carissa gasped and looked at Erin. “How did you do that? I can read it now.”
“What does it say?”
“It’s a physical description of me and Ava.”
“Exactly right.”
“How did you make it legible?” Carissa persisted.
“I did nothing,” Erin assured with a beaming smile. “All the Omni Primes who came before you are preparing to welcome you home. Don’t be afraid. They will not hurt you.”
That was the only warning Carissa received. Light burst from the book, surrounding her in a warm, golden glow. She tried to draw her hands away from the fragile pages, but she couldn’t move. A presence more powerful than she’d ever imagined stabbed into her mind. Images and emotions, countless lifetimes of pleasure and pain.
She rocked back in the chair then toppled sideways as the vision took control. Erin steadied her, minimizing the impact as Carissa reached the cold concrete floor. The nauseating stream of information flowing into her mind made communication impossible.
Struggling against the transfer only intensified the pain, so Carissa surrendered to the flow. She heard Erin rush to the door and panic jolted through the vision-induced haze. Don’t leave me! The plea echoed through her mind, but never passed her lips.
“Eli, it’s Erin. Call my house and tell Quinn to get his ass down to the vault as quickly as possible.” After a short pause, she said, “If Quinn doesn’t know the way, Ian can lead him. Just get him here!”
The images surged, eroding what was left of her rational. Erin had said this wouldn’t hurt her, so why had she sounded so frantic?
* * * * *
Quinn ran behind Ian, heart thundering in his chest. Kyle often spoke of the mysterious vault, had even gone so far as to show Quinn the metal door. But Quinn had never been allowed inside. “Erin didn’t say what was wrong?”
“No. But Eli said it sounded urgent.”
Erin held the door open as they approached. She motioned Quinn inside, but blocked Ian’s way as he tried to enter. “I’ll catch you up once we have her stabilized,” she told Ian then left him standing in the corridor.
Not sparing Ian another thought, Quinn rushed to Carissa and knelt at her side. She was curled up on the floor, but a visual sweep didn’t identify her injury. “What did you do to her?” Accusation snapped through his tone.
“The journal describes this transfer, but neither Maggie nor Willona reacted this way to the artifacts.”
“What transfer? What’s happening to her?” He pulled her into his lap, cradling her against his chest. She looked so fragile, so helpless. Fear squeezed his chest, making it hard to breathe.
“She’s being prepared for her definition. All the wisdom of the other Omni Primes is being transferred into her mind. This is why I’ve refused to sell even one of these artifacts. She is absorbing the ancient energy.”
Quinn brushed her hair back from her pale face as he drew air into his burning lungs. Beneath her eyelids, her eyes moved quickly back and forth and her muscles twitched from time to time as if she were trapped in a nightmare.
“If the descriptions are true, she won’t be herself when she wakes up. The condition is temporary, so don’t be alarmed. She will need reassurance and…she’ll need you.” He looked up in time to see Erin’s secretive smile. “Reinforce your bond with her. She will need all your strength when she attempts the transformation.”
Erin slipped from the room, leaving him alone with Carissa.
The energy transfer went on and on. Quinn rocked her in his arms, whispering reassurances and endearments. Erin seemed excited by the development, but fear for Carissa’s well-being wouldn’t let him share Erin’s enthusiasm.
She wouldn’t be herself? What the hell did that mean? He was willing to give Carissa whatever she needed, energy, sex, his blood, his life.
The fleeting thought brought his mind screeching to a halt. Was he willing to lay down his life for a woman he hardly knew? He buried his face in her hair, surrounding himself with her unique scent. Their acquaintance might be short and intense, but he’d flowed through her mind and sensed her unguarded emotions. He knew her.
She’d trusted him with her body, her emotions and her mind. She’d believed in him while the rest of the world turned away. Yes, his soul cried out. He would lay down his life for this woman.
An especially violent shudder racked her body. She moaned and then whimpered.
Instinctively, Quinn reached for her mind, ready to supply anything she needed. Heat stabbed into his brain, driving the breath from his lungs. He gasped in a frantic breath then screamed, terrified all over again. No one could survive this intensity. No one could—
Be still. We are almost done.
Clear as a bell, the
words sounded within his mind then he was thrust out of Carissa’s mind. He rocked back, stunned and in awe.
This was real.
He’d grown up with Erin’s fantastical stories about the omnipotent female who would restore order to the Therian nation. He knew she believed every word, but he’d always harbored doubt.
Carissa stirred in his arms. Tension flowed from her head to her toes and then released. Her eyelids fluttered as they opened and he looked into her bright-blue eyes. “Well, hello there,” she murmured, a dreamy smile parted her lips. Then her head lulled back against his arm and her eyes drifted shut again.
“Carissa.” He gently shook her, unsure what to expect. Was the transfer over or had she been drawn back into the vision? “Come on, hellion. Come back to me.”
A strange vibration erupted deep in her body, building and spreading until he could feel it everywhere they touched. Her eyes flew open and Therian light blinded him. He blinked and the light receded until he met her molten-gold gaze.
“Are you all right?”
Her only response was a sexy growl. His cat barreled to the surface, more than ready to play. With firm determination, he pulled his cat back. He had to protect her, provide for her needs without losing control.
She twisted out of his arms then knelt astride his thighs, her golden gaze burning into his. “I want you inside me. Now!”
He spotted fangs as she spoke, but her features didn’t fluctuate. She was primed and ready to transform. All she needed was a template, a pattern on which to base her shift. If he offered her his blood, wouldn’t that undo everything Erin had accomplished?
Carissa wasn’t waiting for him to figure it out. She took her shirt off and threw it aside then went right for the fly of his jeans. He caught her wrists and she snarled, her head tossing, eyes wild.
“Take your pants off, love. I can’t fill you unless I have access to your sweet pussy.”
His words launched her into action. She tore her shoes off with frantic determination then stood and wiggled out of her jeans. Before she could kneel again, he grabbed her hips and pulled her toward him.
He pressed his face into the juncture of her thighs and inhaled deeply. She wiggled and pulled at his fingers, but he ignored her silent struggles. The only way he would maintain control is if he took this nice and slow. He let the scent of her arousal sink into his nose, his lungs, his head. So sweet. So evocative. So…his. Even Erin recognized that his connection with Carissa was more than a temporary heat-induced bond. Now all he had to do was convince Carissa.
His hands squeezed her ass cheeks as his tongue began a tender exploration of her slit. The first taste of her passion sent lust spiraling through his body. His cock hardened painfully, but he refused to be rushed.
He reached for her mind, shocked again by the untamed impulses he sensed within her. She was ravenous, desperate for his seed and the stabilizing balm of his energy.
Her hands moved to his head, fingers threading through his hair. She was still tense and restless, but she allowed his mouth to have its way. He licked and gently sucked until her thighs trembled and her cream flowed freely. He wanted to lay her down and spread her thighs, so he could savor her at his leisure, but her need was too raw, her instincts too unpredictable.
Circling her clit with the tip of his tongue, he brought her right to the brink of orgasm then looked up at her and grinned.
“You’re cruel.” Her voice sounded rough and raspy, and Therian light shimmered in her eyes.
“Not true.” He unfastened his jeans and pushed them down far enough so he could free his aching cock. “For you.” He stroked the erect length from stem to tip then guided her back down over his lap.
Her legs framed his thighs as she positioned herself above him. “I need you now.”
With his hands on her hips, he drove into her snug heat. They groaned in unison as he sank deeper and deeper. “I need you always,” he countered when her face was on a level with his.
Her eyes widened then she braced herself against his shoulders and lifted, dragging herself nearly off him before sinking down again. He let her set the pace, let her control the movements.
They stared into each other’s eyes, lost to everything but the pleasure. Her head dropped back on her shoulders and she gasped in a deep breath. Her fangs were sharp and ready to pierce flesh. He had to remain alert, had to anticipate her aggression.
She hadn’t removed her bra, but her lunges were strong enough to jostle her breasts. He bent to one soft mound and then the other, enjoying her silky flesh against his lips. She arched her back, moving her hands behind her so she could establish a fast, rocking motion with her hips. The new angle felt so damn good it threatened Quinn’s control.
Suspecting he wouldn’t last much longer, he slipped his hand between their bodies and found her clit with his middle finger. She gasped, her rhythm momentarily disrupted by the sensations his finger triggered. He was still in her mind, sharing her emotions and her pleasure.
Suddenly she lunged, mouth open wide as she went for his throat. He twisted his fist in the back of her hair and abruptly ended her advance. She cried out, tugging against his firm hold on her hair.
“No biting.”
Her nails raked down his chest and she jerked her face to the side, trying to free her hair.
Seeing no other choice, he lifted her off him and turned her around, setting her down on her hands and knees. He pushed her shoulders toward the floor and drove into her from behind, covering her as his cat would cover his mate.
She tossed her head and tried to buck him off, but the scorching desire blasting across their link assured him she was testing his strength, not honestly trying to avoid him. “Be still,” he commanded. “Feel me move inside you. Feel me and only me.”
To his amazement, she stilled. She remained tense for a moment as he glided in and out of her wet heat then she moved her legs even farther apart and tilted her hips upward.
“Yes.” He reached beneath her and fondled her breasts, loving the weighty feel of her resilient flesh against his fingers.
Her mind calmed as she focused on the steady surge of his body inside hers. He rubbed her shoulders and back, reaching down from time to time to squeeze her nipples.
“More,” she whispered. “Please, more.”
He sped his pace, moving his hands to her hips as he shuttled in and out. Her hot flesh tightened as her orgasm neared. He thrust faster and sank deeper into her mind and her body. He shared his pleasure with her and absorbed hers into himself.
Unable to resist the bliss a moment longer, he buried himself to the hilt and let go. Sensation contracted his balls and rolled along his shaft, expelling his seed deep inside her. She cried out and her inner walls rippled with telltale spasms.
He shuddered, wrapping his arms around her as she went limp beneath him. Quickly rolling them to their sides, he snuggled against her back as she floated down from the staggering pleasure.
“Let me see your eyes.” She turned her head sharply and met his gaze. Her eyes were blue again, though passion bright and slightly bloodshot. “Feel better?”
She made a sound suspiciously like a purr. “I’ve never felt better.”
He couldn’t help but smile. “We better put ourselves back together and find Erin.” He eased away from her and righted his pants. “I have no idea how long this calm will last.”
* * * * *
Gage climbed into the cab of his truck and set down his binoculars. Something was going on at the cat sanctuary. He could almost feel the excitement, yet he had little proof. Should he wait to see what developed or alert Nehema now?
He didn’t want to tip his hand to the other Abolitionists. It wasn’t that he wished them ill—he just wasn’t willing to share the spotlight any longer. He’d been shuffled to the bottom of the deck one too many times. He wasn’t going to let it happen again.
If he waited too long one of the others might catch up to him and steal his thunder, but i
f he called Nehema and nothing came of his suspicions, he would look like a fool—again!
With a frustrated sigh, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. There wasn’t a clear path, so he’d err on the side of caution.
Nehema picked up the call and anticipation curled his toes. Having direct access to Nehema was a privilege. He couldn’t afford to misuse it.
“Tell me something I don’t already know.”
For a moment he thought she was talking to someone else then he realized it was a challenge, not sarcasm. “The cats are preparing for something big.”
“Details, Mr. Seaton. Don’t waste my time with suspicions. I need facts.”
“I’ve watched alphas from all over the region come and go all day. And it’s not just cats. I spotted a bear, several wolves and a raptor.”
“Interesting lineup. What do you think it means?”
“I’m not sure, but it has to be big or they—”
“Stick with it and only call me back when you have something specific. I’ll put the others on alert.”
She ended the call before he could say anything else, but Gage felt somewhat vindicated. She hadn’t laughed in his face and he had been the first to report the odd activities. Even if the others became involved, Nehema would know who led the charge.
Chapter Eleven
Carissa carefully ran her tongue over her newly formed fangs. “Will I always have these? People will think I’m a vampire groupie.”
Erin smiled, looking ridiculously pleased with herself. “You’re trapped mid-shift because your body isn’t sure what it’s supposed to become. As soon as your animal natures are established, you’ll be able to shift back to your original appearance.”
Animal natures, as in more than one. A shiver slid down Carissa’s spine, but she couldn’t tell if excitement or fear had launched the sensation. It was happening. All of Erin’s wild promises were starting to come true.
“Who has agreed to participate in the ritual?” Quinn sat beside her in the classroom above the visitors’ center in the main building of the cat sanctuary. He looked as tense as Erin was relaxed. His reticence seemed odd after the way he’d commanded her in the vault less than an hour ago.
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