He probably just parked down the street, Kylie reasoned as she turned to head towards her apartment.
For all she knew, Hunter could already be waiting for her inside. She frowned as it occurred to her that he might have left her apartment unlocked when he had left to follow Paul and her.
Just as she reached her unit and was about to reach for the doorknob, Kylie suddenly felt a shiver go down her spine. She whirled around, her heart in her throat and her hands already instinctually rising up in defense before she let them fall back to her sides with a scowl.
“Good. It would have been embarrassing if you hadn’t sensed you were being stalked,” Hunter said with a smirk, standing only about a foot away from her.
“Not half as embarrassing as you’re about to look writhing around on the asphalt and clutching your balls if you don’t wipe that smirk off your face right now,” Kylie growled. “What if you had made me accidentally turn into a jaguar again?”
“That’s exactly what I was testing,” he said.
She stared back at him incredulously. “Why would you do that while I’m outside? You were the one who made such a stink about being seen in the first place!”
“Which is why I waited until you were beneath the porch roof to approach you,” he replied. “Unless someone is directly behind us, anyone standing underneath is hidden from view.”
Kylie turned back to the door. “Please don’t ever do that again,” she said quietly as she dug her keys out of her pocket. “I’m probably going to have nightmares about that psycho attacking me from behind for the rest of my life, and I don’t need any more reminders.”
Hunter’s hand was suddenly on her wrist, pleasantly warm against the iciness of her skin, making her pause before she could insert her key into the lock. “I think it would be best if we go see the elders right now. They’ll have more news regarding the asshole that kidnapped you. Maybe it’ll give you some closure.”
She turned back to him. “Where exactly will you be taking me?” she asked, letting suspicion creep into her voice.
“To the forest on the other side of the river along the outskirts of the city,” he replied.
“So—what—one of the elders has a house out there, or do you jaguars have some sort of secret lair?”
“A house, no. The elders stay in a pretty sweet cave deep within the forest,” Hunter said seriously.
Kylie stared at him. He had to be pulling her leg.
“You must be joking.”
“‘Fraid not.” He looked her up and down. “In fact, it can get pretty chilly, so you might want to go grab a coat.”
So he was the teasing type. Maybe. On any other day, she probably would have humored him, but right now she was in no mood for his or anyone else’s games. She would call his bluff—if bluff it was.
“Forget it,” she said stonily as she jammed the key into the lock. “You must be high if you think I’m going to follow a guy I barely know into a cave deep in the forest to meet a bunch of people I have no way of knowing even exist.”
She managed to open the door before Hunter grabbed her arm. She had expected him to panic, to plead, or even apologize. That’s why she was thrown a bit off-balance when he doubled over laughing.
“I’m sorry, but the look on your face…” he managed to get out between wheezes as Kylie glared daggers at him. “I take it you’re not the outdoorsy type?”
“I like the outdoors just fine,” Kylie retorted, jerking her arm out of his grip. “I just don’t want to end up as the latest missing persons report on the six o’clock news tonight.”
“You’re right,” Hunter said, swallowing his remaining laughter. “That was incredibly insensitive of me wasn’t it? My brother—well never mind. I’m sorry that I upset you. I’m not really taking you to a cave, I promise.”
Kylie folded her arms across her chest. “Then where?”
“One of the elders is Donald Gaither.”
Kylie started. His was a well-known name in Riverford society, the CEO of a major architectural firm. This was something Karen had never told them!
Hunter’s lips quirked up. “We’ll be going to his office downtown. The rest of the elders should already be there waiting for us.”
She hadn’t exactly expected something like the Batcave, but she also had not expected to be taken to a regular office building either. The thought of going somewhere so public eased some of her tension. It was still the middle of the day, so the building would no doubt be filled with workers—potential witnesses. They couldn’t all be shifters, could they?
“Come on. My truck is parked across the street. We can talk more on the way over.”
“Fine.” Kylie shut and relocked the door. “Why didn’t you just park in the parking lot? I knew you were following us, so why all the subterfuge?”
Hunter raised an eyebrow. “You don’t smell it?”
Kylie laughed humorlessly. “What don’t I smell now? You’ll have to be more specific.”
“It’s something sweaty and—oh, I suppose you can say aggressive. There really is no comparison to something a human can smell, so it’s hard to explain.”
As they began walking to the front of the apartment complex, Kylie inhaled deeply. She instantly wrinkled her nose as the plethora of both familiar and unfamiliar scents strengthened to the point of being nauseating.
“I can smell lots of things that could be described as sweaty,” she replied.
He shrugged. “Then I suppose that’s one of the first things you’ll need to learn—how to recognize the different types of shifters by smell alone. While the scent of a jaguar can be rather pleasant, I can’t say the same for all the others with the exception of maybe the other feline-types.”
Kylie tensed. “Are you saying that you smell other shifters around here?”
“I really hope that you’re near the end of your lease,” Hunter said, “because there’s no way you can get away with living in this apartment complex for longer than another day or two.”
Now Kylie was really alarmed. Exactly what types of shifters had she been sharing a roof with?
“I have no idea what types of animals people might be able to shift into,” she lied. “Are there dangerous ones living around here?”
Hunter nodded approvingly. “For a jaguar, yes. This area is the territory of Riverford’s black bear clan, and let’s just say that bears and jaguars don’t exactly get along. They aren’t nearly as bad as the alligator clan, but that’s a tale better told later.”
“Alligators…” Kylie said faintly, feigning shock since she figured it was a reaction Hunter might expect.
Hunter’s lip curled up in disgust. “A shifter clan with almost no redeeming qualities save one.”
When he didn’t elaborate, Kylie prodded, “Which is…?”
His expression was suddenly guarded. “I’ll tell you some other time.”
Kylie fought to hide her frustration. It seemed she would have to work harder to get him to part with any information that would truly be useful to Paul and her, especially when he answered with the equivalent of the “I’ll tell you when you’re older” bullshit that parents often fed to their young children when asked uncomfortable questions. Still, it at least told her there was something worth digging into in regards to the local alligator clan.
Once they were in his black F150 truck and well on their way down the freeway, Kylie ventured a question, “So, just so I have this straight, are jaguars expected to, I don’t know, ‘check in’ with your elders every once in a while?”
“Do they keep us on leashes, you mean?” Hunter replied dryly.
Kylie merely raised an eyebrow and looked back at him expectantly.
“I think you have the wrong idea about what it means to be part of a shifter clan. What you’re describing is more along the lines of being a member of a cult when the clans are nothing more than an extended family of sorts, a community. We don’t bow down to the elders as if they’re kings or crap like that. They
’re just overseers to the interests of the clan as a whole.”
“If that’s true, then why do I feel like I’ve just been picked up by a cop and I’m on my way to the station to be interrogated?” she said pointedly.
He grinned sheepishly. “I suppose you’re right, but yours is a special case. Bringing a Returner into the fold is a delicate affair all on its own, but add to that a breach of secrecy—well, sorry but we just can’t risk leaving you up to your own devices. Imagine for a moment that the humans ever found out about us, the chaos it would likely cause.”
Kylie made a face. “I would imagine that we’d find ourselves either hunted or strapped to a dissecting table in some underground government facility. Well, you don’t have to worry about me blabbing about any of this to anyone, not even to my father. I’d likely end up in a psyche ward—wait—what do you mean ‘returner’? You’ve used that word once before.”
“You remember what I said about Deadends, that they were often sent to live with humans? Well, normally their kids are all born as humans. However, once in a blue moon, a human child with at least one shifter ancestor, no matter how far back in their lineage, can be born as a shifter. Those are known as Returners and are very prized within the clans as they bring new genes into the community. Shifters only make up around one percent of the world population, so you can see that any new addition would be cause to throw a party.”
“So—I’m not a Deadend?”
He shook his head. “There’s really no way of knowing for sure until we find out who your parents were. I’ve never heard of a Deadend suddenly developing the ability to shift later in life, but I suppose there’s a first time for everything. You being a Returner makes more sense. Either way, it would be better for you to be introduced to the rest of the clan as a Returner.”
“And after today, will I be able to go back to my life? I’m missing all my lectures today, you know,” Kylie said. “Midterms are coming up at the end of next week. I really can’t afford to miss another day. I’m just lucky today wasn’t a lab day. Those are a real pain in the ass to make up.”
“Senior?” Hunter asked, sounding genuinely curious.
“Junior,” she corrected.
Kylie hesitated. Maybe if she offered more information about herself first, then he would be more inclined to share more. She still needed to find out how Hunter figured into the jaguar clan’s hierarchy.
“I’m a biology/premed major,” she added.
“Hmm…so that makes you what? Twenty, twenty-one?”
“Twenty. What about you? What does a jaguar shifter do besides barge into apartments uninvited? Are you in college?”
Hunter laughed. “Not the best first impression, I’ll give you that. No, I’m not a student. I manage a few apartment buildings and rental homes in my territory if you can believe it.”
Kylie blinked in surprise. “That’s the last thing I would’ve guessed.”
He shrugged. “My family’s always been in real estate.”
“So—if I hadn’t shifted while in your ‘territory,’ then would someone else have come after me?”
“You still think I’m some sort of underground cop don’t you?” Hunter said in amusement.
Her eyes narrowed. “Laugh all you want, but how would you feel if you woke up today and found out your reality had become the real nightmare?”
His smile instantly disappeared as he turned to glance at her briefly with a completely unreadable expression in his eyes.
“Is the thought of turning into an animal really so horrible to you?” he asked.
“No,” she answered without hesitation, “but the thought of accidentally ripping someone’s throat out because I might not be able to control that part of me is.”
“I don’t think that’s going to be a problem, to be honest,” he said, his voice returning to its earlier friendlier tone. “You didn’t lose control even a little bit when I startled you outside your apartment. We’ll test it some more, of course, once we meet with the elders.”
“Why do I need to shift at all?” Kylie asked, genuinely curious about how he would answer. “Do shifters get sick or something if they don’t change at least every once in a while?”
“Time’ll answer that question better than I ever could. As I said before, don’t think of shifting as being possessed by an animal. Part of you is human, yes, but the jaguar is equally who you are. Your nature is both. Once the shock of all this wears off, you’ll likely find yourself longing to run through the forest, to hunt, as a jaguar.”
Hunter paused for a long moment, then glanced over at her, his expression thoughtful.
“After your business with the elders is finished, I can take you on a trial run through my personal patch of forest if you want,” he offered a bit hesitantly.
“Don’t you have better things to do than to babysit me?” Kylie asked slowly.
“I think hearing about a couple of stopped up toilets and the latest sob story about why so-and-so’ll be late with next month’s rent can wait until tomorrow,” he said with a grin. “Unless it’s something you’d rather do alone…”
Kylie really wished he wouldn’t smile at her like that. It made her want to trust him too much, and that was something she could ill afford right now. However, she also couldn’t afford to offend what could turn out to be a good ally.
She offered him a tiny smile. “I’ll think about it.”
CHAPTER NINE
The moment Kylie stepped inside the architectural firm, a wave of scents came crashing down on her, making her head swim so much that she had to grab onto Hunter’s arm for a moment in order to steady herself.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” Hunter asked, his brows knitting in concern as he pulled her off to the side.
“Ugh…how can you stand it?” she muttered, closing her eyes for a moment. “It’s like walking into a perfume store after a tornado in here. Is it because there are a lot of shifters here? The smells weren’t nearly as in-your-face earlier when I was in the restaurant with my dad!”
“Your body must still be adjusting,” he soothed. “Everything should balance out within a few days. Until then, when you’re around a lot of people, try breathing shallowly.”
Kylie nodded. It was a testament to how overwhelmed she was feeling that she didn’t even try to pull her hand away when he took it. It was even a bit steadying.
They took the elevator up to the top floor. The doors opened up to a large reception room that was surprisingly empty except for the lone receptionist at her desk in the center of the room. Her expression was openly surprised.
“Mr. Rivera, we weren’t expecting you and your guest for at least another couple of hours,” she said, glancing at Kylie curiously.
Kylie mentally snorted. “Guest” my ass!
“We can leave and come back if the elders aren’t ready for us,” Hunter offered.
“No, no,” the receptionist said quickly. “If you both will just have a seat, I’ll inform them that you’re here. It shouldn’t be long.”
“I should’ve asked earlier, but how many elders are there in the jaguar clan? Or is it the same amount in all the clans?” Kylie questioned as they sat down.
“Every clan is different,” Hunter replied, “and while only the members of each clan truly know how many elders govern them—and sometimes even they aren’t completely sure of the whos and how manys—the jaguars currently have ten. I hesitate to call him the head honcho, but Donald Gaither is the elders’—voice, I suppose is a good way of putting it. Step out of line or if there’s anything important to report, then it’ll be him you’ll likely be talking to.”
“He’s rumored to be cold and unfriendly.”
Hunter smirked. “Tell him that and you’ll make his day. If he were a wolf shifter, then saying his bark was worse than his bite would’ve been the perfect description of his personality. He’s just really aloof, and that’s saying something when talking about jaguar shifters. Socialization isn’t very high on o
ur list of pastimes. With the exception of our mates and children, it’s just our nature to walk alone.”
“I love to hang out with my friends. Now that my jaguar half has been—activated, will being around a lot of people start to irritate me?” Kylie asked worriedly.
“I don’t know about irritate, but you might start to feel uncomfortable. Surround a cat with potential enemies, and the first thing he’ll want to do is find an escape route. Or a door in a shifter’s case. That being said, it’s just an instinctual feeling and is not so strong that you can’t easily ignore it. Like all the new things you’ve smelled today, it just takes some getting used to.”
The receptionist returned, and Hunter instantly rose to his feet, leaving Kylie to scramble after him. “They’re in the largest boardroom.”
“Good. That means we can sit,” Hunter said, smiling at Kylie. “Follow me.”
He led her through a set of double doors to the left of the reception desk into a narrow hall lined with what were probably individual offices. They walked to the end, and Hunter knocked soundly on the door once before he opened it without waiting for a response.
Kylie swallowed against the knot of anxiety that had suddenly formed in her throat and reluctantly followed Hunter into the room. Her eyes immediately did a sweep of the room, noting that there were six women and five men seated all along a long table of cherry oak, before her eyes fell on the somewhat familiar graying man that was seated at the far end. She had seen him a few times at some of the fundraisers she had accompanied Paul to over the years.
“You’ve caused quite the stir, young lady,” Donald Gaither said in lieu of a greeting, his dark eyes boring into her as Hunter and she stood behind the empty chair at the other end of the table.
Tempted by the Jaguar #1: Transformation (Riverford Shifters) Page 5