by Abigail Owen
“You glow!”
The girl smiled again. “You already know that cougars call their supernaturally-gifted people Kuharte. But did you know that term was picked because of Healers?”
Andie felt warmth radiating from anywhere she was touched. “No. I didn’t know that.”
“Mmm-hmmm. It’s an Iroquois term, like awa dare. It means through a light. Appropriate, don’t you think?”
Andie nodded, too fascinated by what was happening to make much conversation. In only moments the gashes and bruises all over her body were healed. The wounds were concentrated on the backs of her thighs and behind her neck, a clear indication of a fight with another cougar… specifically, a male who had tried to force her to mate.
A.J. had briefly excused himself to make a phone call. When he returned, he watched the Healer work with a stoic patience, although when he got a good look at her wounds— particularly the ones on her neck— Andie could’ve sworn he was seriously pissed. But he said nothing.
Good. Let him assume she was just an omega mountain lioness who’d been violently thrown out of her dare. It meant he was still underestimating her, and if she was to be tested, she’d take any advantage she could get.
Chapter 3
Neither of them said a word once the Healer was finished. Andie followed A.J. down another series of hallways, through a few comfy common areas with couches and TVs and kitchenettes, and finally to a wing that looked mostly like living quarters. Andie would bet a lot of money that the compound was intentionally designed to bring the members of this dare together more often, to force them to interact with one another whether they wanted to or not.
As mountain lion shifters, they all tended to be loners, part of the nature of the beast inside them. The wild cats were elusive and highly territorial. Circumstance had forced them to form dares, making up the Shadowcat Nation. And now they had to learn to coexist… to get along, despite their natural instincts to live a solitary life.
A.J. eventually stopped at a nondescript door and knocked. After a small pause, it was opened by a petite redhead whose eyes opened wide when she saw who was standing there. Andie kept her own shock of recognition successfully hidden. She sent the girl a surreptitiously pleading look, hoping she’d get the hint to keep quiet.
“Hannah, this is Andromeda Reynolds,” A.J. said. “She’s asked for asylum and needs a place to stay while I prepare her to meet the Alpha. Can she bunk with you for a bit?”
Andie narrowed her eyes at A.J, but she quickly moved her focus back to a confused Hannah.
Hannah finally nodded. “Of course. Come on in… err… Andromeda.”
“Andie, please.” She gave A.J. one final enquiring glance as she stepped into the room.
“I’ll be by first thing in the morning,” he told her. “We’ll start then.”
“Start what?”
But all she got in reply was an enigmatic smile. A.J. turned and strolled down the hall, whistling a little tune.
Andie glanced at Hannah, who just shrugged and closed the door.
They looked at each other for a moment in total silence. Hannah held up a single finger as she listened at the door. Finally she turned to Andie, grabbed her and pulled her in for a tight hug. Leaning back she said, “Andromeda Jaci Reynolds. What. The. Hell?”
“I’m so sorry to put you in such a tight spot!” Andie grimaced. She’d hoped to talk to Jaxon Keller before Hannah even knew she was here. She hadn’t wanted to place her old friend in the position she was in now.
Hannah took her by the hand and led her over to the sitting room. Andie glanced around. Apparently the living quarters for long-termers in the Keller compound were set up a lot like apartments, with a living room, kitchen, bathroom and bedroom.
They both sat down on the soft leather couch. “Do you know how hard it was to not say anything when you showed up at my door with… A.J.?”
Andie grinned. “You did awesome. And is his name really Arthur?”
Hannah tipped her head. “I’m surprised he told you that. He hates his name.”
“So he goes by A.J.?”
“I know. What are the odds that you would bump into him of all people? Why’d you tell him your name was Andie instead of A.J. also?”
Andie shrugged. “New life, new name. But yeah, the odds seem slim. Those darn odds just seem to keep stacking up against me.”
“So I guess you’ve finally left your dare? For good? What happened?”
“Kyle Carstairs, that lowdown s.o.b., tried to force me to mate him. Like that would ever happen.”
“Wait a minute. The Kyle Carstairs? The son of Walter Carstairs and heir to the Carstairs Dare? The one you helped me and Nick escape from?”
Andie could picture that day last year. Hannah and Nick had visited the Carstairs Dare at Walter’s invitation in order to discuss a potential business deal for the two dares. But the real reason they’d been invited was so that Kyle could try to force Hannah to mate him. As Jaxon Keller’s sister, it would’ve bound the two dares in a way that Jaxon would have found difficult to work against. Andie had secretly helped Hannah and Nick get away, despite the risk to her own life.
Andie flopped back with a groan and covered her eyes with her hands. “The one and only. He cornered me… almost had me too. I had to fight my way out.”
“You don’t look too bad.”
Andie dropped her hands in her lap. “A.J. took me to your Healer.”
Hannah raised her eyebrows. “Really? That’s… interesting.”
“Yeah. I was surprised he’d let me in on your Kuharte.”
Hannah shrugged her own bafflement and then narrowed her eyes. “So why was Kyle after you?”
“Now that you’re out of the picture, he wants to make me his mate,” Andie mumbled.
“So… as in mate and marry and he’d never be with another cougar?”
“Yes.” Andie tasted bile at the thought. Cougars weren’t naturally monogamous. Many mated seasonally rather than for life. But once shifters added marriage into the mix, it changed the rules a bit and made the mating permanently monogamous.
“He seems to have a thing about mating as a political tactic,” Hannah murmured. “So why you?”
Andie sighed and sat back up. “Because my dad is the Beta for the dare.” She glanced up and caught Hannah’s hurt look. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before. I knew that our being friends in college could make things tricky for both of us once I realized who you were.”
Hannah patted her hand. “I understand. Although I wish you would’ve trusted me. You knew I was Jaxon’s sister.”
Andie gave her a lopsided smile. “Having the same last name was a pretty big clue. And then there was the fact that you had zero pictures of your family around.”
Hannah shrugged. “You know cougars…”
Andie nodded. “Damn secretive creatures. Especially about our leaders.”
“Exactly.”
Hannah just shook her head. “So your dad’s the Beta. What does that have to do with you?”
“It’s why I never tried to leave before now. That dare is so corrupt and damaged that they need some people with common sense and a moral code running things. That’s what Dad believes, and he refuses to leave. Especially now.”
“Why now? Seems like his daughter having to escape Kyle would be a good reason to go.”
“Yes, but after that mess with you and Nick, some of the dare members who’ve been too afraid to do so before now are starting to talk about banding together to take Walter Carstairs down. Walter’s and Kyle’s actions against you and Nick were just the last straw on a big haystack. They’re looking to my dad to step up. He stayed behind to try to lead them. But he couldn’t watch me and his back at the same time. If Kyle took me as his bride, my dad would lose leverage. He helped me get out.”
Hannah leaned back. “Wow.”
“Bingo.” Andie blew out a deep breath. “So you see why I had to leave?”
“I do.”
Hannah thought for a moment, and then her face scrunched up. “How’d you get here, anyway?”
“Walked. Hitchhiked when I could. But a lot of that is back country.”
“Holy shit!”
Andie winced. Hannah didn’t tend to swear unless she was really shocked. She waited for the tirade.
“You risked moving through that land alone?!?” Hannah yelled, her face turning red. “Wolf shifters could’ve killed you!”
Andie rubbed her ears. “Only dogs can hear you, Hannah. And I’m fine. I made it. Besides, other cougars live in that territory, too, and manage to survive.”
“They only live in groups now, and you know that. Rogue cougars just don’t make it anymore. Not for long. Why on earth didn’t you just call me?”
Andie shook her head. “I needed to hide my tracks to get here. A phone call can be traced. And I didn’t want to strain the relationship between our dares more than it already is. I’m pretty sure I’ve managed to keep the fact that we were friends in college a secret, so no one in the Carstairs Dare should think to look for me here.”
“And what about last year when you helped Nick and me escape? Don’t they know about that? I’d say it would be a big clue.”
Andie leaned back on her arms and shook her head. “I destroyed any evidence. They never figured out if you had help or not. Only Mike knows, and he won’t say anything. I’m very good at what I do, Hannah.”
“And what is that exactly? You’ve never really said.”
The smile fell from Andie’s lips. “Well… I don’t do it anymore, so it’s not important.”
“What do you think you’ll do now?”
Andie grimaced. “I don’t know. I never was book smart like you. If they gave me your job, I’d bankrupt the dare in six months. But before I figure out a new occupation, first I’ve got to get asylum. Then I’ll figure out the rest.”
“Maybe you could help Nick with dare relations.” Hannah grinned with a snicker.
Andie laughed. “Very funny, smarty pants. I think we’d both agree that diplomacy is not in my genetic makeup. And speaking of your gorgeous man, where is he? I figured you’d be mated by now.”
Hannah beamed a radiant smile. “Nick and I are mated and married. And very happy. He’s visiting the McGraw Dare of panthers in Florida at the moment.”
“Ah. Well, I hope I get to meet him eventually. I’ve only seen him on a monitor so far.” Andie had helped them from the security room of the compound where she’d turned off the cameras as they’d moved through the building. She sobered and gave Hannah a serious look. “Please don’t tell anyone that we know each other.”
Hannah’s eyebrows beetled. “Why not?”
“If I am allowed asylum in this pride, it has to be on my own merits. And if there’s trouble, I don’t want it impacting you.”
“After what you did—”
“I didn’t do anything you wouldn’t have done. And now you can do this for me.”
“Not speaking up? Not telling my brother who you are?”
“Or A.J. for that matter. Let me do this on my own. You know as well as I do that, despite the dares formed by the Shadowcat Nation, cougars aren’t natural pack animals. We’re wary of other cougars. I need to prove to them that I would be loyal and that I have skills worth keeping in the dare before I tell them who I am. And even then, your brother might not want to keep me around.” Andie reached out and gave Hannah’s hand a squeeze.
Hannah didn’t look happy, but she squeezed back. “Okay…”
“By the way,” Andie switched subjects only slightly. “What is A.J.’s position in the dare?”
Hannah shifted uncomfortably. “He’s one of the Alpha’s men. More than that, you’ll have to ask him. Officially you’re being tested, so I shouldn’t say too much. And if you’re so determined to prove yourself without my help, then I’m sure you realize there are confidences in my dare that I also cannot betray. Also, I’ll spill the beans about you if I feel like you’re in danger or not getting a fair shake.”
“I understand. Now…” Andie sat up straighter. “What exactly am I starting tomorrow?”
Hannah shook her head. “I’m not exactly sure. Testing of some sort, I’m guessing. And if I know A.J., you should get some sleep tonight. He’ll start you with the physical stuff.”
“How bad?”
Hannah grimaced. “I know you’re some kind of wonder woman. But expect it to be pretty rough – both the physical and mental tests. A.J. will be very thorough in making sure you’re worth the risk.
Chapter 4
Andie was waiting when the knock at the door came. If A.J. thought a 5:00 a.m. start time was going to throw her, he was sorely mistaken.
She opened the door and stepped out into the hall with a nod.
A.J.’s gaze traveled down the length of Andie’s body, from her long black hair pulled back in a braid, to her feet encased in solid running shoes. Andie was tempted to ask him if he liked the view but held it in. She was here to prove herself. A.J. slowly brought his eyes back up to hers, and she could swear she saw laughter in their depths, as if he knew what she’d just been thinking.
Andie raised a single, haughty eyebrow. A. J. just grunted and then turned and headed down the hallway. She followed him through an endless series of twists and turns until they reached a door leading out of the compound building onto the grounds. Andie hesitated before following him outside.
He turned. “Problem?”
“Is it secure?” she asked, glancing around the open area. She was thinking mainly about satellite capabilities. She couldn’t have Kyle Carstairs showing up before she’d proven herself here.
A.J. didn’t even blink at the question. “Entirely secure.”
Andie nodded and took that final step. He led her across lush grounds, past well-tended gardens, and toward a gate in a high wall. As she passed through, a training range came into view, military-style with various obstacles. On the backside of the course was a large wooded area, and off to the left was a sparring mat. All of it camouflaged.
Nice. This was going to be fun.
A.J. dug around inside a shed located closer to the obstacle course and pulled out a clipboard, paper, and pen. “First let’s get some stats. Your name?”
“Andromeda Reynolds.”
“Height?”
“Five feet flat.”
“Weight?”
“One-ten.”
“Age?”
“Twenty-four.”
“Gender… definitely female,” he muttered. She let it slide.
He continued with the list of questions for a few more minutes, asking everything from allergies to family history. Eventually he looked up from the clipboard.
Andie put her hands on her hips. “What? No blood or urine tests?”
“Those come later.”
Should’ve seen that coming, she thought.
He put the clipboard down and crossed his arms. “As a Strategist for your previous dare, I’m guessing you weren’t required to do any physical tests?” he asked.
“Strategist was only part of my role. I’ve completed the full physical training,” she assured him.
A small frown beetled his brow. “What other roles did you occupy in the dare?”
Andie compressed her lips and didn’t answer. A.J. sighed. “If you want to have a hope of getting in front of the Alpha, you’ve got to convince me first. And you’ll have to trust me with information to do that, sugar.”
Andie gritted her teeth. She hated it when men called her lame terms of endearment while patronizing the hell out of her. “I get that. But let’s see how the initial tests go before I start spilling my guts. You may not want to keep me around, Artie.”
“It’s A.J., definitely not Artie.”
“Yeah, well it’s Andie, definitely not sugar.”
A.J.’s lips twitched as he took in the stubborn tilt to her chin. He looked as though he was about to argue with her when he looked into her eyes and s
tared for a long moment. Then he blinked and looked away, breaking the spell.
He nodded. “All right, Andromeda. Let’s see what you’ve got.”
“It’s Andie.” She glanced at him, but his face was a blank slate. She glanced around. “Is anyone else in on these tests?”
A.J. shook his head. “Not yet. I’ll bring in other folks if I feel you’re worth it.”
“Hmm. Well then, bring it on, buster.”
“We’ll start with basic physical tests. I want to see how far you can run. Don’t worry about speed today. I’m testing stamina. Just go as long as you can.”
Andie hid a secret smile. “In which form?”
“Whichever you wish.” He pointed to the wooded area. “You’ll find a path to the left that gives you about a ten mile loop. I’ll follow. Go until you can’t keep going.”
“Do you have a camelback or some kind of pack for water?” she asked.
A.J. raised his eyebrows. “The trail follows a river much of the way. You should be able to drink from that at a couple of different spots.”
“I thought you didn’t want me to stop running.”
He gave her a look that clearly questioned her intelligence. “I’ll allow a drink when you need it.”
“Okay, then.” Andie cheerfully took off at a slow jog. She swore she heard a chuckle but dismissed it when A.J. immediately fell in line behind her.
Hope you can keep up hot shot, she thought.
They said nothing at first. Just ran. Andie slowly increased the pace until she found her stride and settled in. Cougars weren’t natural distance runners, despite their wide ranges of territory. They were better sprinters, and in her cat form, she was very fast. But unlike many of her shifter brethren, her human body was built to run for distance. Though she was tiny, she had long, powerfully muscled legs. Exercise had always been an escape for her. She could lose herself in her dreams or issues or whatever, and it was always when she did her best thinking.
Granted, having A.J. right behind her was slightly different. She felt a little self-conscious at first. She glanced back a couple of times, only to receive a questioning look in the form of an arrogantly raised eyebrow or a tilted head, as if he was just waiting for her to give in and admit defeat. But three or four miles in, she hit that zone where her body took over and just went on autopilot. She tuned him out and enjoyed the feeling of freedom running gave her. The steady sound of their feet on the trail matched the cadence of her breathing and soon became the only noise she heard.