Into the Night [Into the Heart 2]

by Caitlyn Willows

  "You could have the lab run a comparison,” she told Wyatt. “They could also cross-check it with the evidence you collected at my house."

  "Do you think she's one of them? A mountain lion?” The furrow between his eyebrows deepened. “How could that be? She looks just like Carmen."

  "They're shape-shifters, damn it.” Joaquin's chair shot out from under him. “They can look like anyone. Just because we can't, doesn't mean they don't have that ability. God damn it!” He stabbed his fingers into his thick hair and whipped around to them. “What did they do with my Carmen? Why didn't I see? Why didn't I see?!"

  His shoulders shook with silent sobs. Wyatt was at his side in an instant.

  "My friend, it's not your fault. You were grieving, too. We all were."

  Trina blocked her mind from intruding on their conversation, but there was nothing she could do to shut off the emotion. She hurt, because they hurt.

  Joaquin pulled his head up on an inhale. “We need to get out of here. She would have warned her people. But I'll be damned if I'm going to leave her behind. She's going to tell me what she did with Carmen, if I have to beat it out of her."

  "Wouldn't it be better to try to take her off guard?” asked Trina. Slow steps took her to the men. “She knows she made a mistake. She'll be expecting confrontation."

  "It's true, my friend.” Wyatt clapped his shoulder. “If the situations were reversed, we would attack at night. We have to try to think as they would. It's how we've survived as long as we have."

  "Yes.” Joaquin nodded. Having direction seemed to shore him up. “And we have the home advantage, since we know this place so well. No telling what they'd planned to lead us into."

  "I think the plan was to kill us all at the park the other night. Trina's presence threw them off."

  "Why wait? Why kill us at all?” Joaquin growled, the sound a deep, distant thunder in his chest.

  Trina curled her fingers around his bicep. “Another answer you can demand when the time is right. For now, if there's going to be a battle, you want every weapon you can get at your disposal. The bigger the surprise, the better. Let's find out what's inside me ... now. You occupy Carmen's doppelganger while Wyatt and I draw out my cat."

  Joaquin and Wyatt touched her face at the same time. “There needs to be at least two men,” they said in unison.

  Though fitting that man should be Joaquin, he really needed to keep Carmen busy. Jeremy was out of the question. He and she had too much history. Besides, he wasn't of the clan.

  "Cristían,” Wyatt decided. “I'll get him and brief Barry. He can tell the others. Joaquin, you—"

  "I know.” He snapped his hand up. “Go fuck her. Which is somewhat appropriate, since she's been fucking with us all this time."

  "I was going to suggest you update Jeremy,” Wyatt told him. “Use the time to calm down. If you went up to her now, you'd kill her."

  "True,” he conceded the point with a tilt of his head. “And once I've found out what she's done with my mate, I intend to do just that. But not until.” Determined, he squared his shoulders and walked away.

  "I pray Carmen's still alive,” Wyatt said softly. “But I fear what they may have done to her all this time."

  "I know. But the Carmen I have memories of is resourceful. If there was a way to survive, she would have found it.” Trina pressed her hands to his cheek, then planted a kiss on his lips. “I'll talk to Jeremy. Come get me when you and Cristían come back."

  He slid his arms around her waist, anchoring her to his body. “Are you sure you want to do this?"

  Trina managed a half-assed laugh. “No. Yes. I've never been more scared in my life."

  "That makes two of us. I wanted this moment to be in leisure and love, not a hasty act of desperation."

  She kissed him again before she did something stupid and confessed the love that was already there. Before he realized the desperate way she clung to him. Before she told him how very afraid she was that, at the end of the day, they'd all be dead, killed by whatever creature lay dormant inside her. She knew the devil that waited to be unleashed. She'd seen it in the blue-black gleam of her mother's insane eyes. She'd felt it rippling under her skin, wanting to kill from the first instant one of her mother's lovers had touched her there. She knew the control it took to keep from killing those who'd taunted her as a child, those who'd tried to take advantage of a young girl in a woman's body. And the hunger that gnawed at her gut day and night; a hunger that was nothing compared to what she craved from this man in her arms.

  Trina yanked her lips from his. “I would kill for you, El-ian."

  He clutched her head to his shoulder. “The thought of sharing you with anyone, even for the sake of the transition ceremony, tears me apart. I can't bear the thought of another man touching you.” He pulled her back far enough to look into her eyes. “But I would do anything for you, sacrifice anything and everything for you. My life. My pride. Because you already have—"

  Pounding footsteps yanked them apart. Trina's heart thudded with Jeremy's approach. She'd never seen him move that fast. And Joaquin was right behind him.

  "We've got company,” Jeremy spit out. “Coming up the hill in two Jeep Cherokees. I couldn't tell how many are in each one. The glass in the rear is too dark for the security cameras to get a clear shot. But there are two men in the front of each vehicle. All blond."

  "And our impostor's gone,” Joaquin added as he jerked to a stop. “Security cameras caught her shifting to mountain lion form seconds before she raced down the drive to meet the vehicles. It's a pretty bold move, coming here in broad daylight. If they meant any good from it, she wouldn't have rushed off."

  "Agreed.” Wyatt nudged Trina toward Jeremy. “You two get to the basement and be prepared to secure it."

  Trina dug her feet in, refusing to be moved any farther. “She knows it's a panic room."

  "But she doesn't know the code to get inside or where the exits are.” Wyatt tried again to push her into Jeremy's arms. Trina resisted. “Don't worry. We won't be far behind you. The surprise is in our favor, if we hurry. It'll give us time to strategize."

  Even as Wyatt spoke, Joaquin rushed toward the rear door.

  "You'll be able to monitor us on the security system,” Wyatt said. “Keep those doors locked until you see us. If they get here before we do, don't open them. We'll find another way in."

  "Got it.” Jeremy dashed off.

  Trina fisted Wyatt's shirt and yanked herself against him. “Hurry."

  Wyatt wrapped his fingers around her neck, drawing her close. “I will. I've already lost one queen. I will not lose another.” He kissed her hard, then locked a stern, golden gaze on hers. “Go!"

  She spun away and sprinted for the basement. Fear exploded in an adrenaline rush. Power rippled through her body, making her pump her legs faster than she ever thought possible. It still felt like she was running under water, in slow motion. Her breathing echoed in her head. Muscle bunched and flexed, ebbed and flowed. Her clothing strangled her, and her shoes tightened to an unbearable agony. The door to the basement looked miles away. Trina leaped for it, battle ready. Body stretched, she smacked the door back on its hinges and tumbled down the stairs.

  "Good God, Trina!” Jeremy raced toward her, then jerked to a short stop.

  His eyes widened in awestruck wonder, but she could still smell a thread of fear beneath the fascination. It fed the hunger gnawing her gut.

  She twisted onto all fours, then fell back. The pain in her feet wouldn't bear her weight.

  "Trina. Trina.” Hand outstretched, Jeremy crept forward. “I think we need to take your sneakers off. Will you let me help you?"

  She cocked her head to one side and stared at her feet, at the claws protruding from the ends. But when she fumbled for the laces, her front paws wouldn't let her grasp them.

  "It's okay. Shh, it's okay. Let me help.” His voice was soft, soothing, a startling contrast to the fear she could smell.

  "Door,�
�� she managed to say, but couldn't tell if she'd spoken it or thought it.

  Jeremy glanced from her feet to the door he was supposed to monitor. Indecision twisted his features for a second too long. The door slammed open.

  Trina snapped to all fours on a snarl that empowered her all the more. She bunched her muscles, ready to pounce.

  Our clan. No danger. Then why were their eyes wide, too? Why did their heartbeats pound in her head? She rolled to her back once more. The hunger.

  "Hurry, she's shifting.” Wyatt ran down the steps, the others on his heels. Jeremy backed away. She heard the steel door locked down, the bolts snap into place.

  "Rip her clothes off,” Joaquin said. “They're cutting off her circulation. She can't complete the shift until she's free.” The men shifted their fingernails to claws.

  Trina glanced at the fur covering her arms—snow-white with black rosettes. She saw a large paw where her hand once was, looked at a set of her own, gleaming white claws.

  Sharp claws burrowed beneath the edges of her T-shirt. With the first cut, she breathed out. God, the men smelled so good! Craving for Wyatt grew. Material ripped, and she was free. The jeans were next, but not so easily escaped. Barry cut down one leg, while Cristían worked the other. Wyatt knelt at her feet. He tugged the laces free, grabbed the heel, and wiggled the shoes off. Relief rippled through Trina. She stretched out, marveling at the freedom.

  She rolled to all fours and stretched again, then head butted Wyatt. She twined her cat body around him, eyed Joaquin and did the same, then to Cristían and Barry. Over and over, marking each clansman with her scent, making them hers. She could smell their want, too. Felt the heat pulsing from the hard-ons each man sported.

  "God, she's beautiful.” Cristían's voice was breathless with wonder. “What is she?"

  "A snow leopard, of course.” Pride resonated in Jeremy's tone. “Born of the line from the Tunguska event."

  "You did it, love. All by yourself.” Wyatt burrowed his fingers deep in her fur.

  She purred with contentment and curled around him once more. “Want you. Feed me."

  "Sweetheart, pheromones are pouring off you like crazy. It ... distracts us. Calm, love. We have to stay focused. Danger, remember."

  "Yes ... danger. Safe first."

  She sat in the midst of them, curled her tail around her body, and stared unblinking toward the door at the top of the stairs. The tip of her tail kept time with the seconds that passed.

  "Good. Very good.” Wyatt brushed his fingers down her back before he walked away. “Can you see them?"

  Jeremy flicked switches. A dozen monitors burst to life, showing different angles of the house. “Yes, got ‘em. Looks like nine men. Two women. Two Carmens. Shit ... and one of them is very pregnant."

  "What?” Joaquin shoved his way to the forefront. “That bitch! I'll kill them. I'll kill them all!"

  Wyatt grabbed his arm and held him in place. “If you rush up there now, you'll get us all killed. We have to do this right."

  Defeat weighed the other man down.

  "I know you're hiding.” Fake Carmen's voice shouted via the surveillance system. “Come out now, and we won't harm her or her babies."

  "Twins,” Joaquin gasped. “She's carrying twins."

  A true blessing for the clan from the Maya gods they'd once revered. But Trina knew the woman's promise was a lie. These people had no intention of letting anyone out alive.

  She got to her feet and padded over to Wyatt. “We still have some element of surprise. Let's use it."

  Heads lifted her way. Wyatt caressed her ear. "What do you have in mind?"

  God, his fingers felt so good. She could roll into that touch forever. Trina shook her head. "If my pheromones are affecting all of you, it could have the same effect on them."

  "If you go out there like that, they'll kill you.” Cristían pulled her tail through his fingers.

  A ripple of pleasure ran down her spine. Trina flicked her tail away. “Stop that. Now you're distracting me.” She moved a step away. God, they were tempting. Erections called her name.

  "How do I shift back? I'll go up there and seduce them while the rest of you surround them. Carmen's pheromones blocked their scent from you at the park. We can use that same tactic for ourselves. Even if I can't emit the same type of pheromones in human form, I don't know too many men who would be unaffected by the sight of a naked woman."

  "Unless they prefer men,” Barry said.

  "It's a chance I'll have to take. Now ... show me what to do."

  "Calm.” Wyatt rested his hand on her head. “To shift to human, pull the energy in. To shift to cat, push the energy out. Like breathing. In ... out."

  Trina closed her eyes to center herself. In. In. Everything folded inward, like petals of a flower drawing closed for the night. So easy when you know how. She smiled at the thought. “Got it."

  "Yes ... you do.” Wyatt smiled.

  Trina blinked to settle her vision.

  "The eyes take a bit longer,” Cristían said. “But they are a very brilliant blue. That can only help mesmerize them. But you've ... uhm ... forgotten your tail."

  Trina glanced behind her and caught a glimpse of her hair, now all gray. No, white. She lifted a strand in awestruck wonder.

  "Love, your tail.” Wyatt looped the furry length between his fingers. “Focus."

  She pulled it away and refocused inward until the appendage disappeared in a shimmer of silver-white. “Sorry. I'm not used to having a tail.” Or fangs, claws, and fur, for that matter.

  "We won't wait much longer,” fake Carmen's voice screeched. “At this point, I don't have any qualms about cutting these babies from her belly and taking them. If it'd been up to me, none of them would have lived to see this day. I swear, I'll do to her what I did to your precious Rose."

  "El-ian!” Joaquin gasped.

  "Right. Let's go,” Wyatt said.

  The men stripped as they ran for the concealed exits. Trina ran up the staircase. The locks unbolted, and the steel door whispered open. Pulling in a steady breath, she stepped into the house.

  The cool air felt good over her hot skin. She schooled herself against fear, something they'd be able to smell, and focused on seduction, on the hunger that drove her cat-self minutes before.

  She sniffed the air. They were in the foyer at the base of the main staircase. That would have made for a grand entrance for her, if she'd been on the second floor. This would have to do.

  Trina prowled in that direction, one foot in front of the other. Slow. Seductive. The promise of raw sex. She was power. They were mere men. Old skills never died.

  She saw the first man at the same time he saw her. Shaggy blond hair scuffed the collar of his too-tight tan T-shirt. He wore khakis and hiking boots. They either weren't planning to shift, or clothing didn't matter to them when they did. Of course, if they had the ability to shift into any form, she supposed the clothing could also be an illusion. One thing wasn't—the erection swelling his pant leg.

  The other eight men came into view, all unarmed, all aroused. She had everyone's attention now. The one clutching the real Carmen's upper arm loosened his grip. Carmen looked confused by her appearance. Trina was tempted to mindspeak with her, but couldn't be certain the mountain lions didn't have the ability. Then she spun around.

  "Get her!” The fake Carmen jerked a finger in Trina's direction. “String her up. She's another threat. I want to know what she is, even if we have to beat it out of her."

  Trina was within five feet of the first male. “I could be one of you. Now how would that look? Killing one of your own? Now that your charade is over, the least you could do is show your real face."

  "She won't.” The real Carmen tugged against the hand that gripped her. “Willa still bears the scars from her attack on me and my sisters."

  Claws bared, Willa charged Carmen. “I am not afraid of you. The only thing that kept you alive this long were those children."

  Carmen li
fted her chin, defiant even after six months of being their captive. “And they are the only reason I haven't tried to kill you. If you think my Joaquin will allow a scruffy mountain lion to raise his jaguar children, you are sadly mistaken. He and my clan will hunt you to the ends of the earth."

  Willa's features shifted to her own scarred face. Long, blond hair drifted down her back. “Not if we get them first. We won't share our lands with anyone, especially not the likes of you.” She spun around to the men, her face twisted in a rage that made her scars blaze red. She jerked her hand again at Trina. “I told you to get her."

  The men glanced from one to the other, as if questioning Willa's order. Then the man nearest Trina reached for her.

  Trina pushed her energy out, shifting to her snow leopard self. Amid their murmurs of confusion, she let the pheromones explode, and butted her head against his erection. The man groaned. The illusion of clothing dropped, leaving him naked and his penis exposed. Trina nosed his crotch. He grabbed her ears and tried to hold her in place. She forced a loud purr from her throat and rasped her tongue against his testicles. More groans echoed his. Like moths to a flame, the men started her way, led by their cocks.

  "Stop it!” Willa screamed. “You idiots! Don't you see what she's doing?"

  Trina licked her cat tongue over the man's balls. His groans called the others closer. All she had to do was distract them until the clan arrived. If she had to give every single one of them a cat blowjob, she'd do it. Although the temptation to snap off a penis or two might prove too tempting.

  She licked again. He thrust forward, legs quivering. Willa screamed and hurled herself their way. A rroawr cut her off—one of her own people. Trina hid her smile in the first guy's crotch and gave him a nudge that toppled him. He writhed on the plush carpet, penis fanning the air and spurting ejaculate.

  One down.

  Trina prowled toward her next victim. She spied Carmen's sly smile as the pregnant woman edged toward Willa. Long, beautiful claws gleamed with lethal intent. Each pounced at the same time. One slice ripped Willa's throat from ear to ear. Eyes wide with shock, she used the last of her energy to shift into mountain lion form. Arterial spurt covered her pack mates. None moved to help her. Too shocked to move? Too caught up in the sex pheromones? Trina didn't know and didn't care. With her final breath, Willa's body changed back to human.