by Abigail Owen
She wasn’t wrong. “First I need a quick word with Hannah. Then I need to talk to Tieryn McGraw.”
There was a short pause on the other end of the line. Sarai had a good guess what Andie was thinking.
“I know who she is,” she assured her friend.
There were certain positions in the Shadowcat Nation that were kept as secret as possible. Only the Alphas knew each of the Alphas, Betas, and Kuharte in the dares. The rule was put in place for safety purposes but really had been created because of the mountain lion shifters’ suspicious natures. Creating a society out of animals who’d rather fight each other than work together was a constant uphill battle.
However, there was very little that could be kept secret from a Seer. Sarai knew who all the Alphas, Betas, and Kuharte were. She’d known all her life, even when seats of power shifted. Tieryn McGraw happened to be Kuharte like her—someone with supernatural powers beyond the ability to shift. She was a Healer, one of two in the Shadowcat Nation, the other being JoLynn Mason in the Keller Dare.
She could hear Andie’s long sigh. “Okay. I’ll get Hannah first.”
The line beeped and Sarai waited while Andie put through the call. It took quite some time. Not a surprise. Most of the compounds were fairly large and complex, making it difficult to track down individuals.
“Sarai?” Hannah’s friendly voice made her smile.
She’d met Jaxon’s sister and her husband Nick Jensen while she was living at the Keller Dare. She had, in fact, informed Nick that Hannah was his Fated Mate about ten years before they mated. She’d also manipulated things in order for Andie and Hannah to end up as roommates in college.
What she hadn’t seen was that she would become friends with the couple. They were genuinely nice people, which made her message even easier to pass on.
“Hey, Hannah.”
“Should I be worried?”
Sarai didn’t blame the other girl for the quaver of fear floating through those words. Lately, most of Sarai’s predictions had spelled trouble.
“Nope. Good news today.”
She heard Hannah’s sigh of relief and could picture the petite redhead’s face easily.
“I know about the baby.” Sarai jumped straight to it.
There was a small gasp. “Yes?”
“Do you want to know what it is?”
Another intake of breath. “I’m barely pregnant. You can tell?”
Sarai smiled. “Yes.”
“Ummm…okay.”
“You’re going to have a boy. Healthy, strong.”
There was a short silence followed by an ecstatic giggle. “I haven’t even told Nick yet. Won’t he be surprised to find out that not only are we having a baby, but it’s a boy.”
“There’s one more part. However, I should warn you first that it’s a shifting future with several decision points that could alter things.”
Another brief pause. “I’d like to know.”
“He will be the Alpha of his own dare eventually, but that is dependent on several things. To start…don’t prevent him from leaving the Keller dare. You will think it’s too soon, that he’s too young. Don’t. Trust his instincts.”
After a long second, Sarai grinned. “Breathe, Hannah.”
A chuckle reached her ears. “Breathe. Yeah. Got it. Anything else?”
“No. Take care.”
“You take care too, Sarai. And…thanks.”
“My pleasure.” For once.
Andie came back on the line after a second. “Hannah’s glowing. What the heck did you tell her?”
“You’ll have to ask Hannah. It’s not my secret to tell.”
“She’s pregnant, isn’t she?” came her friend’s eager question.
Sarai said nothing. After a beat, Andie sighed. “Fine. Fine. I’ll ask Hannah. You ready for Tieryn now?”
“Yes. Thanks, Andie.”
The line went silent yet again while she was placed on hold.
Eventually, a hesitant female voice came down the line. “Hello?”
Sarai had done this enough times that she had the introduction down to a science. “Tieryn, this is Sarai Bouchard. I am one of the Seers in the Shadowcat Nation. I have some information I feel is important for you to know.”
A long pause not unlike Andie’s. Many people were uncomfortable with Seers or with knowing their future. “It is your choice, of course. There are several parts to what I’m about to tell you. You can choose which to listen to and which to not.”
“All right. Tell me the parts.”
Interesting.
“Is this the first time you’ve heard from a Seer?”
“Yes.”
Very interesting. That was faster than most people managed to regroup when she contacted them.
She’d rarely spoken with the other two Seers in the Nation, so she wasn’t sure if they had similar experiences. Oddly, Paulla and Lucas—both from South American dares—tended to only get visions for the dares in their hemisphere. Sarai only tended to get them for North America. They seldom had to deal with overlapping. Not that most people, other than the Alphas maybe, realized that fact.
“Okay. I can tell you about your Fated Mate, there’s a future healing that might be strategic, and I can pass on a warning for your Alpha.”
Silence. “What’s the warning?”
“About six months from now, I see a gathering of the Alphas. He needs to leave his Protectors and Commanders behind, take only his Beta. There will be an attack on the dare. If they are there to coordinate defenses, it should come to nothing.”
“Why didn’t you tell my father this?” Tieryn was the Alpha’s daughter as well as the Kuharte.
Sarai didn’t plan on answering that, so she remained silent. The truth was, she saw Paul McGraw ignoring the warning if he heard it directly, but Tieryn would persuade her father to heed the advice.
“Okay.” Tieryn drawled the word, seeming to understand that the Seer would only reveal so much. “What about the healing?”
“About the same time, you will meet a cougar shifter named Shane. Helping to heal him could save his life.”
“Heal Shane. Got it.”
“And your Fated—”
“I don’t want to hear it.” Tieryn rushed to stop her just as Sarai had known she would. She was going to lead her Fated Mate on a merry chase.
To the woman waiting on the other end of the phone line, she said, “That’s your choice, of course.”
They ended the call. Sarai smiled to herself as she replaced the phone on its charger. She’d done what she could. The rest was up to them.
CHAPTER 13
Sarai concentrated on precise, sharp movements with as much power as she could muster. She’d only been working out for ten minutes or so. She’d started the day similarly yesterday. She cooked breakfast, eating with the guys. She dragged George and Scott on more sightseeing trips. Today she’d decided to explore a small portion of Central Park. She didn’t try to lose them this time. When they’d got home, they’d hit the gym.
George and Scott had decided to take advantage of the time and were on the matt sparring. George, though in his fifties, was definitely the better fighter. They were both big men. Sarai had realized the first night in the hotel when she’d met Zac’s men that all polar bear shifters must be large. Though none of them came close to Zac in height or stature.
But George was a brute when it came to fighting. The sheer power in his punches was knocking Scott on his ass. Younger by a good twenty-five years, Scott was scrappy and fast, but he wasn’t fast enough.
Sarai tuned them out to focus on her own drills.
“How about you try that out on a man who moves and reacts.”
Sarai spun on her heel to find Zac standing behind her. He was wearing running pants and a tight tank top, which meant she didn’t need to use her imagination to picture the muscles of his arms and chest. They were on display. Her own personal show. Sarai swallowed.
Then she compute
d what he’d said. How was she going to get out of this? The truth was she couldn’t spar—her visions messed her up. But that was a secret she had no intention of sharing with three people.
“Not really a good idea.”
He stared at her for a long moment. Then he glanced over her shoulder at George and Scott who’d stopped to listen. “I’ve got this, fellas. Why don’t you go back up to the apartment?”
There was no doubt in her mind that was a command, not a suggestion. Clearly the guys thought so too. She watched them leave the room with wide eyes.
As the door closed behind them, Zac’s hands landed on her shoulders, turning her to face them. “Okay, kuluk. It’s just you and me now. What are you not saying?”
Sarai had never felt this vulnerable in her life. Or this scared. This man got to her in a way no one else ever had. How was she supposed to resist that?
“Why is this so important to you?”
He moved his hands from her shoulders to frame her face, his fingers threading through the dark blond strands of her hair. “Keeping you safe is important to me. I need to know how much you can defend yourself if you have to. It will help me determine just what I need to prepare for. No surprises. Okay?”
Sarai took a deep breath. He couldn’t have meant it that way. Just the thought of being important to this big, strong man connected with the frightened, lonely little girl who’d spent her life just trying to survive. But she couldn’t think that way. She had to leave him, and that knowledge made her want to cry.
Seeing her hesitation, he brushed her cheeks softly with the pads of his thumbs. “Let me help you with this burden,” he murmured softly, his voice a hypnotic, deep rumble.
Sarai bit her lip. Sharing this with him really wasn’t that big a deal. She knew she could trust him.
On a deep inhale, she gave a tiny nod and started talking before she could change her mind. “Okay.”
He gave her one of those rare little half-smiles, making her suddenly very glad she had agreed to capitulate. Thankfully, he released her and stepped back, giving her room to breathe.
“So what exactly happens when you try to fight someone other than the dummy?”
“I see their attack coming before they move. It completely throws off my timing. I react before they’ve moved which means I miss the block. It’s why Andie decided to have me study Jeet Kune Do. She thought that style would work best for me because it’s fast, forcing my opponent to be more reactive.”
“Did it work?”
“No. But I guess you’re about to find out for yourself.”
Before she could get ready or even move into position, Zac lunged at her. Sarai sprang back and automatically shifted into her fighting stance. Then she blinked as she realized Zac hadn’t moved yet. He was still standing where he’d been. Now his eyebrows were raised. “What was that?”
“You attacked. Or were going to but changed your mind.”
His dark eyes widened. “Wow. It’s that fast? I barely thought about it.”
Sarai eased her stance, her shoulders slumping slightly. “See, I told you I can’t spar.” She started walking toward the exit.
Just as she went to pass him, his hand snaked out and grabbed her arm. Acting on instinct, she trapped his wrist with her free hand and then kicked him in his open side, a direct hit to his ribs. Her action was so fast she surprised him, and hard enough that she broke his grasp. Sarai backed up, dancing lightly on the balls of her feet, keeping her profile to him as she waited for him to strike.
“You decided not to attack other than holding my arm, didn’t you?”
“I wanted to see how fast you were if the visions weren’t in the way.”
Sarai danced to the right, looking for an opportunity. “And?”
“Still evaluating.”
“Oh really?” Taking advantage of her long legs, she stepped into him quickly, reaching hand combat range and struck with a series of lightning fast punches to his stomach, ribs, and shoulders.
Just as she was about to dance back out of reach, she saw him pivot to throw a punch. He wasn’t holding back either. Sarai knew taking a hit from him would be damaging. She dropped to the floor and prepared to roll away, but stopped when he remained where he was. Then she knew her visions had led her astray yet again.
She raised her eyebrows. “You’d really hit a girl?”
“You hit me first.”
She noticed his lips twitching. “Huh. Don’t smile. Might crack your face.”
Instead of responding, he reached down and offered his hand to help her up. Sarai hesitated fractionally before she took it, trying her hardest to ignore the heat his touch ignited inside her.
“You’re not kidding about those visions being a problem.”
Sarai moved to get a bottle of water. “I’m not really much of a kidder.”
“No.” He drew the word out, laughter lacing his voice. “A three hour flight being teased about a first-class seat being open is definitely not kidding.”
She pursed her lips. “I didn’t see you laughing.”
“I only laugh on the inside.”
Sarai shot an unimpressed look Zac’s way.
He ignored her look. “What did Andie say about the visions when you spar?”
“She tried a couple of different things with little success. Like I said yesterday, because of my style of fighting, if I can keep them defensive, I do okay, but the second they move into thinking offensively, I see it coming first and react.”
Zac thought about that for a moment.
Seeing a speculative look on his face, she said, “If you’d wanted to, you could have taken me out while I was on the floor just then.”
He merely tipped his head in response. “I want to try something. Come stand over here.”
“What?”
“Trust me. You’ll be fine.”
Sarai bit her lip. The problem wasn’t that she didn’t trust him…it was that she did. Too much.
Seeing her hesitate, he said, “What if I’m right. It might mean you could lose your bodyguards someday.”
Dang. He’d figured out she wasn’t exactly happy about her shadows. Not that she had anything against George and Scott.
“You’d really let me out on my own?” She raised a single, skeptical eyebrow. She also moved a few steps closer. Curious despite herself.
“Not any time soon. We’d have to make sure you’d be safe. But eventually. Maybe.”
Sarai wilted a little. Whenever eventually came, she’d be long gone. Still…when she was on her own, being able to fight unhampered would be helpful.
Pulling her shoulders back, Sarai stepped in front of Zac. “Now what?”
“Close your eyes.”
“Close my eyes,” she repeated warily.
He merely crossed his arms and waited.
“Okay.” She drew out the word to let him know she thought this fell on the side of looney toons.
Sarai closed her eyes. Suddenly the image of his fist flying at her face had her ducking to the right to avoid being knocked out.
“Good.” Satisfaction filled his voice.
“What?”
“You dodged my punch.”
Sarai opened her eyes. He rubbed at the stubble on his jaw as he eyed her in speculative silence.
“I did?” she asked.
“Yes. What’d you see?”
“Your fist headed for my face.”
“Try again?”
Sarai nodded eagerly. Maybe all of these years of secretive training and hard work weren’t for nothing after all. The glimpse of freedom this new possibility offered her had her grinning. “Bring it on, handsome,” she said before thinking twice about the words.
She quickly shut her eyes, grateful for the excuse not to have to see his reaction to her unwitting comment.
Zac started with a series of jabs in relatively close quarters. Sarai was able to trap and block, even get in a few hits of her own. They started gaining speed, each move gain
ing force.
Sarai’s body acted purely on instinct. Because of the visions, she knew exactly where in the room they both were and what was coming her way. Because of her training, she knew exactly what to do to move, countermove, then strike.
She didn’t get away totally unscathed. She’d have some pretty good bruises come morning, but she was holding her own.
Suddenly, she caught the slight rush of sound of his movement before her internal sight told her where it was going. Distracted, she missed her timing on the block and got a fistful to the gut.
“Oomf.” Sarai doubled over, the wind completely knocked out of her. “Good hit,” she groaned.
“You were supposed to block that,” came Zac’s response.
She felt his warm hand slide down her back, then his face was beside hers. “You okay?”
She nodded, still bent over, holding her stomach, trying to suck in some air. “Yeah. I’ll be fine in a second. Breathing’s…overrated…you know.”
Zac chuckled. The rusty rasp of sound traveled down her spine, leaving a wake of goose bumps behind it. She liked his laugh.
“What happened? You were doing so well.”
Slowly Sarai straightened up, wincing slightly as her painful midriff stretched out. “I heard the movement before I saw it. Distracted me.”
“Hmmm. We’ll have to think about that one.”
Suddenly Zac grinned. A full-blown smile with teeth. Sarai exhaled, the air she’d just reclaimed leaving her body in another almighty whoosh. Oh, wow. She was in trouble.
“I’d say we’ve found a solution to the fighting issue, though,” he said.
For the first time in a long time, Sarai felt a sense of empowerment wash through her. She could defend herself if she needed to. She wasn’t completely helpless.
She grinned back at Zac. Without thinking, she threw her arms around his neck. “Thank you,” she whispered in his ear.
Zac didn’t respond immediately. She felt him tense before his hands grasped her at the waist and slowly drifted up her back to pull her in just a little closer. Sarai felt heat pool inside her belly at the skin-to-sweaty-skin contact. Heat that seemed to spread out from her core, coursing through her veins to light every inch of her on fire.