Embrace the Passion: Pets in Space 3

by Smith, S. E.

  Trescina reached out and took the card from Chad’s gloved fingers. She turned it over and skimmed the information before looking up at him. She searched his eyes for anything that might warn her of deception. He returned her scrutiny with a steady expression that held a hint of worry.

  “What are you not telling me?” she suddenly demanded.

  Chad’s mouth tightened, and he glanced purposefully over at the truck before he looked up at the sky and then over the surrounding landscape. His perusal only took a few seconds, but it was suspicious as hell. His gaze returned to her face, and he nodded toward the Suburban. She lifted an eyebrow, but didn’t resist when he gently cupped her elbow and guided her toward the vehicle.

  He opened the back door for the two tigers before he walked around and opened the driver’s door for her. She slid onto the seat. He closed the door, then walked around the vehicle to the passenger side and slid in beside her.

  He shut the door before he turned to look at her again. “No sense in freezing,” he casually commented, glancing at the two tigers lying in the back watching him.

  “It also provides more privacy,” she observed.

  Chad grimaced and nodded. “Yes, it does,” he replied. “Yesterday morning there was an avalanche that startled the animal in question. The animal ran into the road and was struck by a vehicle. Fortunately for it, the truck that hit it belonged to the rescue center. Shortly afterward, though, the cat woke up and Heather deemed the animal too dangerous to treat without being properly restrained. They have locked the cat in one of the observation rooms. I recognized your name when Heather mentioned you, but I wasn’t aware of your special…uh… talent with large cats until yesterday.”

  Trescina shifted uneasily in her seat. It was hard to deny that she had a special talent with large felines when two Siberian tigers were listening to their conversation. It wasn’t so much what Chad was saying that raised the hair on the back of her neck as it was the curious tone in his voice.

  “I’ve worked with exotic cats all my life,” she calmly responded.

  Chad stared out of the window. It was beginning to snow again. She could tell he was trying to decide what to say next. The tension in the vehicle almost made it seem like they were doing a verbal dance, both feeling each other out without admitting anything.

  “There are some things in this world that are hard to explain. Your connection to animals like the big cats is one of them, and…,” his voice faded, and he shook his head.

  She blinked in surprise when he suddenly opened the door to the Suburban and stepped out. He turned to look at her. His gaze was carefully shielded.

  “Remember, if you need anything, don’t hesitate to call that number. Mason, Ann Marie, or I will answer it,” he stated before stepping back and closing the door.

  Trescina watched Chad walk around the front of the vehicle and stride across the frozen ground to the truck. She shook her head in confusion before pulling on her seatbelt and adjusting the mirrors. She looked at the two tigers lying in the back. The seats had been laid down to provide room for their large bodies.

  “I have no idea what that conversation was about. Do either of you?” she asked with wry amusement.

  Spice opened his mouth and yawned his response to her question. Cinnamon groaned and rolled to her side. She pressed up against Spice in order to stretch out as much as she could. Both cats were done with being in small confined places for a while.

  “Okay, okay. I’ll drop you off at the house. I could use a shower and a change of clothes. If you promise to behave, I’ll leave you there. That means no wandering off! I don’t want you scaring anyone,” she warned.

  Spice grumbled and smacked his lips. She chuckled when Cinnamon turned her head and playfully nipped at her brother.

  An hour later, she was back on the road. The two tigers were happily guarding the house, and she felt refreshed. Now, if she could only get her cat to settle down.

  “What has you in such a tizzy?” she murmured, absently rubbing her stomach.

  Something comes, her cat snarled.

  Trescina groaned. The cats patrolled the area while I was in the shower. They found nothing out of the ordinary, and there had obviously been no vehicles along this road since we left for vacation, she pointed out.

  I tell you, something coming, her cat stubbornly replied.

  A smile tugged at Trescina’s lips. The mental image of her cat crossing her front paws and glaring at her was too much for her tired mind. She laughed out loud.

  “I believe you,” she murmured with a tired sigh. “All we can do is stay alert and be ready for whatever happens.”

  Her cat appeared content with her response. Ever since her mother’s death, she had been on constant alert. Sorrow coursed through her at the thought of her father and Katarina. The last attack on them nearly three years ago proved how dangerous it was for them to stay together. They had split up, keeping in touch once a month. The last time she had seen Katarina was two years ago.

  It had been a brief and dangerous visit—at their father’s funeral. His car accident had really been a murder, she and Katarina both knew it. The final police report stated that his brake line had been damaged somehow, causing him to lose control of his car and drive over the cliff. The coroner’s report listed abrasions around his wrists, throat, and ankles that were not likely to be caused by a car accident, but they had not been enough to definitively label the death a murder. The investigation had gone nowhere.

  Neither she nor her sister could stand the thought of not being able to claim their father’s body and bury him properly. She had insisted on collecting his ashes from the funeral home. They had agreed to meet there one last time, so they could make a pilgrimage to their old home in Siberia. They wanted to spread their father’s ashes among the ruins where their mother had died. That sentimental act had almost cost them their lives.

  Trescina lifted a hand and wiped her damp cheek as she remembered that day. They would have both died if Katarina hadn’t parked her car on a side road. A shudder ran through her, and she shook her head.

  I miss you, Papa. I miss Katarina, too. One day I will find a place like Katarina did. A place where I can run without fear, she thought with conviction.

  She pulled off the wide metal bracelet that she wore to cover her intricate tattoo. It had appeared shortly after her mother’s death, and now it was tingling. Trescina rubbed her thumb over the delicate design before she lifted her wrist to her lips and pressed a kiss against it.

  “I miss you, Mama,” she murmured.

  8

  Forty-five minutes later, Trescina put her blinker on and turned onto the long driveway leading to the Wyoming Rescue Center. The unease she had been feeling the last six months had grown stronger the closer she got to the rescue center. A quick glance at the clock told her that it was still early, but she knew there was someone here twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Heather and her eleven year old son, Zeke, lived in a comfortable ranch-style house behind the main center. There was also a small efficiency apartment in the center itself for students or staff to stay in case of an emergency.

  Trescina pulled up out front. She felt better about her early arrival when she saw the lights on in the center and someone walked past the window. She shifted the Suburban into park, turned off the vehicle, and unbuckled her seatbelt, then paused for a second before leaning over to open the glove box. She pulled out a long hunting knife in a leather sheath, then straightened in her seat and stared at the building, tightening her grip on it.

  Pursing her lips in resolution, she pushed up the sleeve of her coat and sweater and fastened the sheath to her arm. She straightened her sleeves over it and pulled the knife out several times before she was confident she could get to it without any issues.

  A movement at the center’s window caught her attention, and she looked up to see Heather peering out at her. Trescina smoothed her sleeve one more time before she lifted the door handle and slid out of th
e car. As she walked forward, Heather stepped out of the building with a relieved smile a moment later.

  “Trescina! Chad called a little while ago to let me know you would be on your way,” Heather greeted.

  Trescina returned Heather’s smile. “Good morning. He mentioned that you were having trouble with an injured cat. It must be pretty serious if Chad was willing to fly me across the country,” she responded.

  Trescina climbed the steps and quickly cleaned the snow and mud off of her boots before she stepped inside. She waited as Heather closed the door. Reaching up, she unzipped her jacket and slipped it off. She casually folded the light brown coat over her arm to hide the bump where she had strapped the knife to her arm. She hadn’t bothered with a scarf, hat, or gloves since her body temperature was warmer than normal. Of course, it didn’t hurt that she enjoyed the cold weather.

  Heather excitedly turned to look at her. “I’ve never in my life seen a cat like this. I’ve searched online, and I swear there is nothing like him anywhere in the world! Terry James, one of the volunteers, was so upset when he brought him in yesterday morning. He just knew he had killed him. It was a shock when the cat suddenly woke up and lunged for the door. He would have made it if we hadn’t restrained him. His back leg looks like it might be broken, but I can’t tell without doing an X-ray. He broke loose from his….” Heather was saying.

  Trescina continued to listen to Heather explain the situation as she followed the other woman through a door and down a long corridor. Her heart sped up when she looked through the observation glass at the massive cat with black fur and an inordinately beautiful pattern of dark blue leopard spots. This was no ordinary feline. This was something else—something very, very dangerous.

  Run! her cat suddenly hissed.

  That was her first instinct as well. This cat was like her. She would bet her life on it. This was another shape-shifter.

  Her mother had said they were the only ones. While Katarina could communicate with cats the way she could, her sister couldn’t shape-shift. Her father had quietly shared with them that it was because she was half human and half shape-shifter. He explained that her mother had never told him about her past, only begged him to accept her and her infant daughter for who and what they were. He had loved them both unconditionally and kept his promise until the end to do everything he could to protect Mia and Trescina.

  Trescina reached out and gripped the windowsill when a dizzying wave of memories suddenly threatened to swallow her. There had been another cat—one with a terrifying coldness in his eyes and part of his front leg missing. She could remember her mother’s horrifying fear and her need to escape even as her mother tried to soothe her.

  Trescina struggled to breathe when more fragmented memories returned. She remembered feeling overwhelming pain and grief. They were dying. Her mother had been mortally wounded. Then, a golden light had surrounded them, and she had been born. As she had struggled to take her first breath, she had seen the man who had betrayed her mother—the man who had hurt them.

  The touch of a hand on her arm startled her. She breathed deeply and blinked as the disturbing images faded. For a few seconds, she felt lightheaded and disoriented. She shook her head to clear her mind and studied the cat through the glass. Her gaze swept over him, pausing on his front legs.

  “I would like to go in… alone,” she quietly said, unable to look away from the creature lying on the floor.

  Heather shook her head and shot her a worried expression. “It’s too dangerous. I can’t sedate him. The tranquilizer darts can’t penetrate his coat, and he is far stronger than any feline I’ve ever seen. Hell, I would put his strength on the level of a grizzly bear if I had to find a comparison,” she cautioned.

  Trescina suspected he was stronger than even that fierce bear, and if he was what she suspected, he would be intelligent, making him far more dangerous. She had to get Heather out of here somehow. There was no way she would endanger the woman.

  She glanced at Heather. “He… won’t harm me,” Trescina quietly replied.

  Yes, he will. Run! He one of them. He come for you. He try kill Mama, her cat hissed, clawing at her insides.

  Calm down. If he is one of them, then we must kill him while he is hurt. He doesn’t know who I am, which will be to our advantage. Besides, if he was one of those who tried to kill Mama, I don’t think he would have hesitated to kill Heather. Until I find out who he is, you must hide so he can’t sense you, Trescina insisted, pursing her lips together to keep from growling in frustration in front of Heather.

  Heather bit her lip and looked through the glass into the exam room. “Are you sure? He’s broken all but one of the chains holding him. I don’t want to kill him, but if he attacks you, I will put a bullet through his head,” she warned.

  Trescina laid her hand over Heather’s and squeezed it. “I will be fine. I promise,” she reassured the other woman. “I’d like to do this alone. Fewer distractions will be better for both the cat and me. If you could go into the other room, I’ll… I’ll let you know when I’m finished.”

  Heather opened her mouth to protest, but closed it when she heard the chime of the front door as it opened. She reluctantly nodded in agreement before she turned and walked back to the front room.

  The moment Heather disappeared, she returned her attention to the cat in the room. The large male cat was licking his injured back leg. Squaring her shoulders, she took a deep breath.

  Whatever happens, don’t let him sense you. We may need the element of surprise, she cautioned her cat before she turned the door handle and stepped into the room.

  So much for listening to me, her cat retorted before withdrawing deeper inside her.

  Oh, I’m listening to you, Trescina replied with a grim smile as she slipped her hand under her coat sleeve and pulled the knife from the sheath.

  * * *

  Walkyr hissed in pain and frustration. His leg was killing him. For the millionth time, he cursed the mess he was currently in. It was bad enough that the boy had seen the spaceship and seen him shape-shift. He had to blow the mission by colliding with one of the humans’ damn transports! To make matters worse, he needed to shape-shift to repair the damage to his body, but thanks to the camera mounted in the corner, that was impossible.

  I in pain! his cat growled at him.

  I know! Need I remind you that I can feel everything you do, he snapped.

  Change and use healing box, his cat snarled.

  In case you haven’t noticed, we aren’t in a place where I can do that. We have got to get out of here before I can shape-shift, and it will be easier to escape if I have three out of four working legs instead of one out of two! Walkyr retorted.

  A groan of irritation rumbled through his cat. Walkyr was pretty sure his leg was fractured. If it was, he would need to access the portable medical kit on his utility belt—a nice little addition that Pallu had included before his departure. All he needed was a few minutes to use it, and he would fully heal. Unfortunately, he couldn’t shape-shift here without taking a chance on being seen—and visually recorded.

  He could just hear Vox if that happened! His brother would rip him a new one, as Riley would say, before turning him over to Zoran Reykill and Ha’ven Ha’darra, the leaders of the Valdier and the Curizan. The agreement had been clear between the three species—if any of them visited Earth for any reason, they were never to reveal their true identity.

  Maybe Vox not find out? his cat muttered.

  Did you forget they have a contact here on this world? Don’t you remember the last time we visited a primitive world that didn’t know there were other life forms out in the universe? Walkyr snapped.

  His cat snickered. We almost mated to purple insect, his cat huffed before wincing in pain.

  Walkyr shuddered. With six arms and antennae, he added.

  It like me. It no like you, his cat guffawed before wincing again.

  I didn’t see you trying to cuddle up to it. The point is,
that did not end very well. Riley and Tina have already warned us that the humans would also end up trying to kill us. Only they would do it piece by piece! Walkyr said with a shudder.

  Riley try to do that to Vox anyway, his cat grunted.

  Walkyr sighed. He didn’t bother correcting his cat. True, Riley was always threatening to rip Vox a new one, but the truth was, his new sister adored his older brother and Vox adored her as well.

  He needed to figure out a way to break free and escape. There was no guarantee that the two men back at the spaceship had died in the avalanche. He also had no idea where the Grand Lord and Airabus had disappeared to. For all he knew, they could have already found the Heart of the Cat! The only consolation he had was that their ship was buried under a ton of snow. The ship would have survived, but it would take the crew a while to tunnel through to it, and they still needed to repair the damage they had been working on before it was buried under the snow.

  Find boy, too. He saw us, his cat reminded him.

  I’ll add him to the list of things to do before we leave—if we ever get out of here, Walkyr acerbically replied before gritting his teeth when he moved his back leg.

  He was about to try working on the last lock with a sharp claw when the door handle started moving.

  He turned and began to growl menacingly in warning. Shock swept through him when the guttural sound turned to a choked snort. For a second, Walkyr wondered if his cat was choking on a hairball before he realized something else was wrong with him—the damn cat was purring!

  He shook his head in confusion and focused on the object of his cat’s attention—the woman standing in the doorway, and immediately found himself drowning in a pair of wide hazel eyes that reminded him of the ocean, forests, desert, and stars all rolled into one. He blinked in stunned disbelief when his cat’s mouth opened, and his tongue rolled out to the side like he was drunk on fermented Tiliqua wine.