Jaguar's Judgment

by Lia Davis

  Jared nodded. “There are still a few hours of daylight left. I say we go to Hunter Ridge and continue our research there.”

  Sable smiled and conjured a backpack at the same time Serenity came back into the room with a laptop, backup battery, and power cord. Sable stuffed the items, as well as the boxes, into the pack. “Thanks for everything, Serenity.”

  The psychic took both their hands. “Don’t fight what is fated to be. See past your mistakes and open your hearts. Only together can you heal and win this war.” She let go and stepped back. “Now get out of here.”

  A moment later, Jared was being pulled through time and space, only to materialize in the middle of the Hunter Ridge den, or what was left of it, of Travis Hunter—Ashwood Falls’ new Tracker.

  Chapter Four

  “Now what?”

  Sable clenched her jaw at the irritation in Jared’s words. If she knew all the fucking answers, she’d know exactly how to kill her mother and end this war so Sable could go live her life far away from Jared. She turned to tell him just that, but Serenity’s message rang in her mind. The human was right. Sable needed to work with Jared to end it. Whether it was the war or the cyclone of emotions brewing inside of her, Sable wasn’t sure. Maybe both.

  “I’m not sure where to begin or why we’re here.” Scanning the charred remains of what was once a thriving den, Sable frowned. She didn’t know what connection her mother had with Hunter Ridge. Felix, on the other hand, had worked with the Marshal of Hunter Ridge to raid the den.

  From the corner of her eye, she saw Jared raise his phone to his ear. Whatever. She let him make his call. There wasn’t anyone else around to worry about that could jeopardize his or her safety so she didn’t care.

  A few of the homes in front of her looked solid enough to serve as shelter. She advanced to them, entered the first one and froze at the sight of Blaine. At first she was confused, then remembered the Alpha was a teleporter. “You had me tracked?”

  He let out a bitter laugh. “I don’t have that power. I was with Travis when Jared called him and decided to flash over.”

  Sable folded her arms. “You’re not my Alpha.”

  His cat flashed in his eyes and he stalked closer. “No, but I am Jared’s, and I protect everyone in my Pack.”

  That really wasn’t an answer, but she got it. Blaine didn’t trust her. Who did? No one. She didn’t blame them either. “I’m not going to get Jared killed. Nigel needs his father.”

  “He needs his mother, as well.”

  Jared’s deep, harsh tone made her tense. Damn it. Straightening her spine, she asked, “Did Travis know if my mother had ties here?”

  “He wasn’t sure but did say that most of the Pack records should still be in the medical center.” Jared paused before he walked over to Blaine. “What is it?”

  Blaine shook his head. “Luna isn’t sleeping. Her visions are getting worse and taking over her dreams.”

  “Should I return?”

  Return for what? Sable pinned Jared with a narrow-eyed glare, not bothering to diminish the jealousy rising inside her. “You and the wolf Alpha?”

  Jared was standing in front of her in one step. “You know I can’t find release with anyone else as long as you live.”

  Blaine clasped Jared on the shoulder. “Ana and Nigel are helping. You have your own issues to deal with.” The leopard Alpha chuckled right before dematerializing.

  “What did he mean?”

  Jared worked his jaw and stared at her for several long moments before answering. “Nigel has my ability to see others’ memories, and your gift of mind control.” He broke the eye contact and glided over to the fireplace to inspect it. “As for the wolf Alpha, Luna and I are friends. We share the same heartache from losing a mate.”

  Sable stilled at his confession. Of course, it had been painful for both of them when the mating bond broke, but she’d believed she was the only one with a broken heart. Then again, he could have misspoken. Hell, she’d expected him to run to someone else’s bed. Yet, he was right. Sex with anyone but one’s fated mate was unsatisfying and empty. She couldn’t even give herself an orgasm.

  “Anyway, when Luna is haunted by her dream visions, I help her sort out the meanings, making them less of a nightmare,” Jared added as he knelt to start a fire.

  Time to stop being a self-loathing bitch. “Jared…I don’t know how this ends and it scares me.”

  “We can’t control the outcome. That’s one thing we have in common.” He glanced at her over his shoulder. His blue eyes bright as if his jaguar watched her along with the man. “We should look for the files and get some more wood for the fire.”

  Nodding absently, she exited the house. The crisp winter air blew against her and she shivered. The scent of snow flowed on the breeze. As shifters, they didn’t feel the cold like humans did, but being without heat would be uncomfortable. Ana was the only shifter Sable knew of who was sensitive to the change in weather due to her connection to the elements.

  “I’ll get the firewood,” she announced while crossing the den to the woods surrounding them.

  Her thoughts returned to the possibility that Jared had been with another. The idea bothered her more than she wanted to admit. The more she was around him, the more she wanted him. What she needed to do was focus on the mission and throw out all hope for her own happily ever after. Securing Nigel’s future was her priority, and she’d die doing it.

  ****

  Jared dropped the last box of files on the living room floor and sighed. None of the six banker boxes filled with leather-bound journals had labels or dates. It was going to take forever to go through each one. He thought about asking Keegan to bring Addyson and Will to help. The two Scribes would be able to help them and cut the time in half. No, he couldn’t ask them to do it. Both of them had lived through the hell of the Onyx Pack once. He wouldn’t subject them to a different kind of hell that only Travis and his mother knew the details of.

  “I guess we’re in for a long night,” Sable muttered as she passed him with an armful of firewood.

  He watched how her ebony hair fell over her shoulders when she knelt to place the logs in the fireplace. Although she wore a long sleeve shirt, her hand shook slightly as if the cold had started to affect her more than it should.

  “When was the last time you ate?”

  She stood and whirled to face him. “That is none of your concern. Besides, I’m a big girl and can take care of myself.”

  He held her stare for a few moments then lowered his gaze to her lips. Need burned in his chest and trailed down to his cock. His jaguar snapped his teeth and urged him to touch her, caress her cheek, and pull her closer for a full body contact. Before he realized it, he’d closed the small gap between them.

  Sable’s eyes grew round and her scent intensified. When she placed her hands on his chest and pushed, he closed his fists over them, drawing her closer. “I want to hate you, but I can’t. Not now. I saw your memories of the last fifteen years. How you sought out the truth about your father. How you protected Ana and Nigel. Most of all, the risk you took to build your group of rebels and break free from Onyx. A cold-hearted rogue would have killed Felix and taken his place.”

  She averted her gaze but not before he saw the raw emotions of hurt and love in her teal eyes. “Yet, here we are, hunting down the rogue Alpha to kill him and his mate.”

  Brushing his knuckles down her cheek, he tipped her head up with a finger under her chin and lifted her gaze to his. “You’re doing the right thing.”

  “Why do I feel it’s not enough?”

  “I’m not sure. I do know that we need to learn to trust each other again and work together to ensure we make it out of this mess alive.” He framed her face with his hands, loving the contrast of his pale skin against her creamy mocha coloring.

  “Jared…don’t. I can’t go through losing you again.”

  He opened his mouth then closed it. Th
e future was too uncertain for promises he wasn’t sure he was ready to make. Releasing her, he stepped away. Fuck. What the hell was he doing? The last thing he needed was to mate with her. His damned cat almost had him claiming her. Something he couldn’t do until he was positive she wouldn’t turn on him and his Pack.

  “We should search through the files.” He sat on the sofa and opened the closest box. “What are we looking for?”

  She was silent for a moment then sat in the chair across from him, taking her own box with her. “Anything with my mother’s name. Birth records. Matings.”

  Nodding, he started pulling out files, glad he had something to keep his focus off Sable.

  Chapter Five

  Felix led his mate down to the underground laboratory. His head chemist had informed him that the first test subjects were ready. The male had also said he had concerns, but Felix ignored them. They all had concerns. The only thing that mattered was that Felix had a stronger army to take down the Council, Ashwood Falls, and anyone who allied with them.

  Entering the room, Felix’s gaze settled on a tall, dark-haired male standing naked in the middle of the lab. The male watched Felix and Savannah as they stopped in front of him. His dark eyes held no emotion. In fact, the void in the depths was much like the mutants’. “What is this?”

  Frank, the chemist in charge of the new batch of serum, came into view with a tablet in hand. “This, my Alpha, is your new breed of mutant. Savannah’s blood—or at least her magick—was the missing element we needed to make the creatures more human-like.”

  Impossible. Felix stepped closer to the mutant, who lowered his head as if sensing Felix’s Alpha power. Out of curiosity, Felix reached out with his telepathy. Most mutants went insane during the transition from human, or shifter, to the half-animal creatures he had created to beat into the obedient mind slaves who would kill at his command.

  What he found inside this mutant’s mind surprised him. Instead of the web of jumbled thoughts, there was clarity and focus. Withdrawing from the male’s head, Felix met Frank’s stare. “What were your concerns?”

  “The new batch of serum is close to a cure to the madness the other mutants experienced. The intelligence level of this subject is higher than it was when he was human. If they start thinking for themselves and become more independent, they will be harder to control.” Frank handed over the tablet.

  Felix glanced at the graphs and data. “Email your reports to me. I’ll read them later.”

  Savannah stepped up and handed Felix a thin, black collar. “Use this to control his mind. It’s enchanted and can only be removed by me or you. When he disobeys a direct order he will suffer excruciating pain.”

  Gods, he loved his mate. She was brilliant. He took the collar from her, kissing her fully on the lips, before placing it around the male’s neck. “Shift only your hands.”

  The male did as he was told with the ease of an Alpha. Most shifters could partially shift, but many had to concentrate to do it. Those who came from Alpha or magickal bloodlines could shift one or more body parts at will.

  “He can shift fully into a wolf. I already put him through the basic training exercises. He can be put in the field with a scout.” Frank walked to his computer and clicked on the keys.

  Savannah let out a satisfied laugh. “He’d be perfect to hunt Sable down.”

  “How long do you need to track her?”

  “I already have her location.” Savannah smiled and tapped her temple.

  Felix nodded. “Frank, have him ready to meet the scout in fifteen. Oh, and prepare a syringe with a dose of the new serum.”

  Sable would find out what it meant to betray her own Pack.

  ****

  It’d been hours since Jared and Sable started searching through the Hunter Ridge Pack files. An awkward silence settled between her and Jared. The only sounds were the crackle of the fire and papers being shifted through. Confusion, heartache, anger, and hope for a happy future whirled inside her like a distorted cyclone.

  When Jared had left a moment before to gather more wood, she sagged into the chair as some of the tension left her body. It was getting harder and harder to resist the pull to him.

  A wave of dizziness washed over her and the room suddenly grew too warm. Rising, she stumbled to the door and opened it. A blast of cold air hit her, cooling her heated skin. She growled, hating that Jared, of all people, noticed her weakening state. She hadn’t eaten that day, and she couldn’t remember the last time she’d allowed her cat to hunt. Not for fun or sustenance, anyway.

  She caught Jared’s heated stare right before he climbed the steps to the porch. Holding up her hand, she confessed before he could call her out on the weakness again. “I need to hunt.”

  His expression didn’t change, nor was it judging. “Wait here and I’ll go with you.” Before she could respond, he added, “It’s not a trust issue. I smelled the faint stench of mutants.”

  She studied him, not sure if she wanted to be annoyed or touched by his sudden protectiveness. “So you’re going with me to protect me.”

  When he pulled his T-shirt off, her breath hitched, and images from a time she tried to forget flashed in her mind. The last time they’d hunted together was the day Jared had broken their bond, tearing out her heart.

  She knew it hadn’t been easy on him either because she could still feel his pain through the thin, frail strand that remained. A mating bond could never fully be broken unless one of them died or mated with another. Even the new mating would lack the strength of a true mating.

  “Call it what you want. We both need to hunt to keep our strength up and it’s safer to do it together. Besides, I’ve been bitten before and now have a resistance to them.” He unbuttoned his jeans and she averted her gaze.

  “Bitten? When?”

  The sound of denim sliding down his long, powerful legs made her mouth water and her skin tighten. She fought back a moan.

  “Last winter,” he said then fell quiet. She glanced at him. A large, beautiful black jaguar stared at her. So much for answering her question. Stubborn male. Not bothering to remove her clothes, she shifted in a flash of gold and black, then jumped off the porch.

  Taking off into the forest, she sensed Jared on her heels. A jolt of excitement surged through her. It’d been too long since she allowed herself to play and run. That’s what she wanted to do. For a few moments, she wanted to pretend she didn’t have a death sentence hanging over her and run carefree.

  The scent of a deer caught her attention and she skidded to a stop. Jared eased up beside her, his fur brushing against hers. She ignored the erotic sensation that rippled through her and focused on the buck she heard moving through the brush.

  Crouching low, she stalked forward, slowly at first. When the deer was in her sights, she took off, relishing in the chase. Her heart pounded, and blood pumped in her veins. In that moment, she was alive and free. An odd sense of peace and belonging claimed her, and it was Jared’s doing.

  When she ran, he ran, but a few feet behind her as if guarding her, protecting her like a mated pair. That admission didn’t bother as much as it should. Great, she was going soft.

  A short roar from Jared brought her focus back to the chase. With a final leap, she locked her jaw around the deer’s neck and brought him to the ground.

  ****

  Jared watched Sable weed through the files in the last box from the medical center. They were both much calmer after their hunt. As much as he didn’t want to, he felt relaxed around her. His damned jaguar was happy and content to share the hunt and the catch with her.

  The thought that the Fates had brought them together again for a reason swirled in his mind over and over. Would it be so bad to give in? Could she be trusted?

  “How close were you to your father?”

  Sable lifted her lashes and sighed. “My father is not an easy person to live with. I grew up thinking he was normal, that Onyx’s way of
life was normal. Until I met you.”

  “Why me?”

  “You were different, honest, and possessed a strength I hadn’t seen in anyone else.” She returned her attention to the files.

  He watched how the firelight danced across her skin. His finger itched to touch her, but he needed her to give him a straight answer. “You didn’t answer the question.”

  Not looking up from the box of files at her feet, she growled out her reply. “My father is sick. No, he’s insane. He allowed greed and the hunger for power to freeze his heart. Plus, the separation from his mate. That was the main driver for him losing his mind and humanity.” She glanced up to lock gazes with Jared. “I thought doing everything he wanted me to do would make him love me more. The little girl inside of me wanted her daddy.”

  “What about now?” Jared masked his need to comfort her. She was hurting. He could feel it through the tattered link that still remained of their bond.

  “Now, I must do what I wasn’t brave enough to do after returning home from our broken mating. Felix Darwin must die.”

  Jared rose from the sofa and crossed the dimly light living room to her. He held out his hand. When she placed hers inside, he tugged her to a stand. “Two things could happen upon Felix’s death. Savannah could weaken, or she could become so enraged no one will be able to stop her.”

  Sable’s teal eyes darkened slightly. “I’m counting on both. That’s why I need to find another way to weaken her before I kill her mate.”

  The truth in her words choked him like invisible fingers had reached into his chest and squeezed. “I was so angry you hadn’t told me who your father was, but looking back now, I would have been just as furious if you had told me. The war has touched too many of my friends and Pack. I wanted nothing more than to escape it.”

  He paused, released her hand, and turned away. “When I met you, I thought you were my escape. That we could run away from it all.” He let out a bitter laugh. “I was being a selfish bastard.”