Embrace the Passion: Pets in Space 3

by Smith, S. E.

  “Yes, when they are responsible for the deaths of thousands of my people, including members of my extended family,” he replied.

  “I’m so sorry. I… how?” she asked with horror.

  Walkyr nodded and stared moodily out of the windshield. “They joined together with traitors to the Curizan and Valdier. A sect known as The Enlightenment recruited followers throughout the different Kingdoms on our world and others. Their lies and deceptions were effective. The Great War between our three species raged for centuries, leaving a long line of death and destruction in its wake. During a battle, two members of the Royal Families, one from the Valdier, the other from the Curizan, became separated from their parties and found themselves face-to-face.” He shook his head. “It would appear the Goddess must have decided that since we refused to talk, we needed a little help. Creon Reykill of the Valdier and Ha’ven Ha’darra of the Curizan did just that. They eventually understood the depth of the treachery and reached out to my brother, Vox. A trap was set and sprung. It revealed that the extent of the perfidy which had not only infiltrated the three planets but also the Sarafin royal family itself. The members of the sect must have realized they were about to be revealed. On that same night, they planned and launched coordinated attacks on all three worlds. Their goal was to murder the members of all three royal families and seize control,” he explained before growing quiet as he remembered that night so long ago.

  “But… you were able to stop them! I mean, you wouldn’t be here otherwise, would you?” she protested.

  He nodded. “Yes, we stopped them, but not before there was a great loss of life throughout each of our worlds. The Valdier King was killed. They discovered quite recently that his own brother murdered him. The Curizan also suffered devastating losses while we….” He paused and drew in a deep breath. “The Kingdom of the Desert and the Forest on my world were devastated by the murders of their leaders. You must understand that the families rule our worlds because we were chosen by the Goddess to be the protectors for our people. All Sarafin were given a gift—the gift that gives us the power to connect with our cat. Without that power, we would no longer exist. The Prince of the Desert Kingdom was smuggled away by his nurse after the murder of his parents and brought to his aunt and uncle for his safety. Banu and I were raised together, and we are as close as brothers. He still searches for the Kingdom that belongs to him,” Walkyr said, reaching up to scratch Cinnamon’s chin after the white tiger rested it on his shoulder.

  “What about the other Kingdom, the one in the forest? What happened to it?” Trescina asked, lifting a hand to push her hair behind her ear.

  He turned his head and looked at her. “I’ve seen the Kingdom of the Forest. The Goddess showed me the way. I do not understand why she chose me, but she did. Princess Mia and her newborn child vanished from their Kingdom that night. The Goddess showed me what happened. Princess Mia held the Heart of the Cat, the lifeblood of our species, in her hand when she disappeared. She and her newborn child must be alive. My mission is to find them and retrieve the Heart,” he quietly shared.

  Trescina shook her head. “It can’t…. I don’t understand. How could this…? Princess Mia…. She would have to be centuries old if this happened then. There is no way! She….” her voice faded away and she shook her head again.

  He shrugged. “The Goddess said the past had caught up with the present. The Goddess is not limited to the physics of time and space the way we are. I concluded that she could only mean one thing… in order to protect Princess Mia and her child, she had sent them into the future, which is now our present,” he stated.

  * * *

  Ranker held up the scanner and cursed. The Curizan’s technology was not as good as he had boasted. If he hadn’t already killed the man, he would have done it when he returned just for having wasted his time.

  He paused and looked around. Perhaps the tracking device he had found on the outer section of the hull was damaged. He swiveled on his heel and reached for his laser pistol when he saw a movement out of the corner of his eye.

  A look of disgust crossed his face when he saw a large brown beast staring at him. He straightened and lowered his arm when the creature turned his head and began to forage along the ground. He looked up when he heard a sound above him.

  He climbed a steep hill. When he reached the top, a railing with a wide road was on the other side. He narrowed his gaze when he saw a gap on the other side of the road and tracks that matched that of the transport the human child was riding. A smile curved his lips. Perhaps all that was necessary to locate Walkyr d’Rojah was a little bait—human bait.

  He waited until the roadway was clear before climbing over the railing and jogging across the pavement. Once the trees on the other side shielded him, he pocketed the defective reverse-tracking device and gripped his pistol. Setting off into the woods, he focused on following the deep ruts that had been left behind—tracks that he hoped would lead him to his prey.

  * * *

  Trescina remained quiet as she drove down the road. She kept her eyes on the pavement, looking for clues on where Walkyr was hit by the vehicle. They didn’t have much time to find the place. It was already starting to get dark and the snow that had finally stopped falling was threatening to start up again.

  In her mind, she was replaying every word he had spoken. She had to force herself not to pull over to the side of the road and kick him out of the SUV, so she could run like hell. It was a good thing she was gripping the steering wheel, otherwise he would have seen the trembling in her hands.

  We run, her cat pleaded.

  No. Not yet. I need… we need to know more. He spoke of Mama. He said the Goddess showed him what happened, she replied in a numb voice.

  He see because he there! her cat argued.

  She started to shake her head but stopped herself in time. She wasn’t in the mood to argue with her cat. If Walkyr was telling the truth—and she believed he was—then she needed to know more about the world her mother had come from and about the man who haunted her memories.

  She could sense Walkyr studying her. She glanced at him. He had a frown on his face.

  “What?” she demanded, beginning to feel uneasy.

  “Why do you wear powder on your face? You are beautiful without it,” he inquired.

  She relaxed. The question was unexpected but thankfully not the one she was expecting. She shrugged. “A lot of women today wear make-up. I have a skin condition that I’m self-conscious about. I don’t like it when people stare at me,” she commented before she reached up and pulled her hair forward a bit more to hide the marks on her skin.

  “You should never be self-conscious. You are beautiful the way you are and have no need to answer to anyone,” he declared with a slight growl in his voice.

  She chuckled and shot him an amused look. “Easy, big guy. I didn’t say I felt like I needed to answer to anyone, and I really don’t give a damn if someone thinks I’m beautiful or not. I just don’t like strangers asking me questions. I have a hard enough time dealing with people in general,” she calmly stated.

  “Why?” he asked, confused.

  She slowed the truck and turned on her blinker when she saw a set of skid marks and pieces of what looked like a plastic turn signal cover along the edge of the road. She pulled onto the wide shoulder and brought the transport to a stop. She shifted the gear into park and turned to look at him.

  “Because I like cats better than people. They don’t ask me questions about why I wear make-up,” she replied before turning off the engine and unbuckling her seatbelt. She pushed open the driver’s door after she made sure there were no vehicles approaching. “We’re here.”

  “I thought you did not know where I was hit,” he said, hastily releasing his seatbelt and opening the passenger door.

  She walked around to the back of the Suburban and opened the hatch. Stepping back, she motioned for the two tigers to exit. By the time she closed the door and locked the vehicle, he was
waiting with an expectant expression on his face.

  Trescina released a long sigh. “It wasn’t hard to figure out that this must be the place. If you look at the road, you can see the skid marks on both sides. Add the broken turn signal and the rocks with only a light coating of snow and it seemed pretty conclusive. I’m a pro at the game of Clue, by the way. It was always one of my favorites growing up. If you doubt me, check my resume under awards for World Champion Clue Gold Medalist,” she cheekily concluded.

  She tossed her hair over her shoulder and looked both ways to make sure the road was clear. She and the two tigers hurried across to the other side. She peered over the railing.

  “Are you coming? It will be dark soon, and it feels like it is going to start snowing again,” she called to him.

  Trescina watched as he jogged across the road. She ran her gaze appreciatively over him. The grace and power in his stride was impossible to miss. This was a man who excelled at running, and she suspected hunting as well. A shiver ran through her that had nothing to do with the chill in the air and everything to do with the fact that she was playing a dangerous game with a man that she knew very little about. If it were not for her hunger to know more about her mother’s past, she would have bolted already.

  It still wouldn’t hurt to have an exit strategy, she silently thought.

  For once, her cat purred in agreement. She swallowed when he stepped over the railing and held her hand to help steady her as she did the same. She instinctively wrapped her fingers around his warm ones.

  This was the first time they had touched, at least while we was on two feet. Her heart pounded in her chest as she stared up at him. She wasn’t sure if it was because she was afraid or because she wanted him to kiss her. She forced her gaze away when she saw a flare of awareness in his eyes.

  She wasn’t playing with fire. She was messing with a freaking supernova! At least that was what it felt like at the moment.

  * * *

  Walkyr gripped Trescina’s hand and slowly descended the steep terrain. He tried to pick out the easiest path, stopping several times to wrap his arm around her waist and lift her over a log or steady her when they encountered a steep drop.

  “I can do this,” she said in exasperation after the third time he paused.

  He met her irritated protest with a wry grin. “But if you did this unaided, then I could not add being a gallant warrior to my resume. I need something to counter balance your award for the game you enjoy,” he replied.

  “Clue… the game is called… Clue. You have to figure out who murdered someone, the weapon they used, and the location where they did it,” she said.

  He gazed down at her before slowly sliding his arm around her waist again and lifting her. She gripped his shoulders. He could feel her fingers curl against his shirt as he lowered her to the ground.

  “It sounds like an exciting game,” he remarked.

  “It… can… be,” she murmured. “You….”

  She gasped when she was suddenly pushed into him. A fiery blush appeared on her cheeks. She lifted her hand and scratched Spice under his chin. Walkyr grinned at the male tiger and winked. It hadn’t taken much of a mental push to encourage the Siberian to come up behind Trescina. The big cat had nudged her between the shoulder blades.

  He tightened his arms around her waist and held her against his body. She started to glare at the cat before she looked at him with a raised eyebrow. He grinned unabashedly at her.

  “That was sneaky,” she chided.

  “It was worth it,” he admitted.

  He threaded his fingers through her hair. It was as soft as he thought it would be. He carefully studied her face. Confusion swept through him when he noticed another dark mark on her cheek. It looked almost like one of the stripes on the tigers. He released her hair and started to touch the mark when she suddenly pushed him away.

  “It will be dark soon. If you want to find anything, you’ll need to do it in the next half hour or so. Once the sun goes down, the temperature will really drop, and then it will be too dangerous to stay outside very long,” she warned him.

  Walkyr released her and turned as she walked around him. He watched as she walked along the bottom of the slope. She paused several yards down and looked up. The ground wasn’t as steep and there was a gap in the railing on the top. He shook his head and lifted a hand to scratch Spice’s chin. “Thank you, my friend. That brief moment of holding her in my arms was delightful,” he murmured.

  He chuckled when the tiger looked at him and released a small sneeze before jumping down to follow his mistress. He slowly followed with Cinnamon by his side. He tightened his jaw and reached for his weapon when he saw what she was staring at.

  “The tracks from the boy’s transport,” he said, scanning the ruts in the snow.

  She nodded. “Heather would ring Zeke’s neck if she knew he had gone this far from home and crossed the highway. He’s lucky he made it down this slope. Anywhere else and he could have flipped the snowmobile. There are two sets of footprints in the snow. One must have been yours, but that doesn’t explain the other ones,” she observed. She carefully studied the surrounding area.

  “At least one of the men survived, possibly both. I need to return to the location of their ship,” he grimly replied.

  “It will be dark soon,” she protested, looking up at the sky.

  He lifted his hand and touched her cheek. “Cats can see incredibly well in the dark,” he reminded her.

  She grimaced. “I can go with you,” she offered.

  Walkyr shook his head. “No! These men are trained assassins. I will go alone. I want you to return to your home,” he softly ordered.

  “I’m not going to just leave you here. You don’t know for sure that those men even survived. If you won’t let me go with you, the least I can do is wait for you in the Suburban. You should also take Cinnamon and Spice with you. They will know what to do, and they can help watch your back,” she stubbornly asserted.

  He lifted his hand again and caressed her face from her temple down to her chin. “I am curious, why did you name those two cats such unusual names?” he asked with a rueful smile.

  “I guess you’ll just have to come back so I can tell you,” she retorted before biting her lower lip.

  He wanted to protest that he wanted the cats to stay with her so that he knew she would be protected. Something told him if he tried to insist, she would just do what she wanted to do anyway. He decided that she was stubborn enough to ignore his orders if he didn’t compromise. He also had the feeling that he better get used to doing that. His life was going to end up being as exciting as his older brothers’.

  This is what happens when your mate is a human, he informed his cat.

  His cat’s snickering told him that his other half was perfectly content with the idea of leading an exciting life. All Walkyr could think of was that his idea of a perfect, delicate little mate was a woman who was happy to have him home on rare occasions. He had only known Trescina a few hours, and he could not picture her contently waiting for him to return from a mission. He would be lucky if she were not the one leading it!

  He released a frustrated breath. “Very well. I will take Spice, but Cinnamon will stay with you in the transport. If anything happens, I will send Spice back to you. If he returns alone, you must promise me that you will immediately leave the area,” he insisted.

  She pursed her lips before she nodded. “I promise,” she reluctantly agreed.

  He bent his head and paused with his lips a breath away from hers. He waited to see if she would pull away. When she didn’t, he brushed a kiss against her lips.

  “I will return,” he promised.

  13

  Walkyr took a step back from her. They stared into each other’s eyes for a moment before he turned away. With a snap of his fingers, Spice surged to his side. Trescina watched as they disappeared into the woods.

  She lifted a trembling hand to her lips. They still tingled wit
h the feel of his warm mouth. She was in serious trouble.

  It too late, her cat quietly mewed.

  What do you mean? she asked.

  Her cat sighed. You know. I know, her cat replied.

  “Yes, I know,” Trescina whispered.

  She lowered her hand when she felt Cinnamon brush up against her. She slowly knelt to wrap her arms around the tiger, closing her eyes and turning her face into Cinnamon’s soft neck. For a brief moment, she was drawn back to the times when she had held her mother in exactly the same way.

  Tears burned the back of her eyes. There was so much that her mother had never had a chance to tell her and Katarina. She had escaped death on her own world only to have her life taken on a distant one.

  A sob caught in her throat. She opened her eyes and rose to her feet. A soft, watery smile curved her lips when Cinnamon nudged her hand.

  “I know,” she murmured.

  She started to turn when she looked at the footprints again. There was only one set of tracks leading upward. There were none leading back down. If one of the men had survived, he had been following Walkyr’s tracks.

  “Come on. Let’s see if we can find out where he went,” she murmured to the tigress.

  Cinnamon snorted and looked back toward the woods. Trescina sent the tigress an image of the footprints. Cinnamon turned her head and lowered her nose to the ground. She sniffed at one of the imprints before she slowly began to climb back up the incline to the road.

  Together, they crossed the highway. Trescina paused by the SUV. She looked back at the woods where Walkyr and Spice had disappeared before turning to look in the direction that Cinnamon was going. She pursed her lips before she followed the tiger. Sure enough, the footprints followed the tracks left by Zeke’s snowmobile.

  “He is following Zeke,” she whispered, her throat tightening with fear.

  Trescina was torn about what to do. Walkyr had said there were two men. Perhaps one had stayed at their spaceship while the other followed Zeke. There was no way she could contact Walkyr. She looked toward the path leading into the woods. There was no telling how long ago the man had passed through the area. The fastest way to Heather’s place was by road, not cross country. The snow and unfamiliar terrain would slow down the traitor.