Freeing the Feline

by Lacey Thorn

  “Hunters in general? Or the Blanes, specifically?”

  “Both.”

  She mulled it over in her head. She should be able to discuss that. She could tell them about her personal experiences, what she’d witnessed, what she’d heard from others. But, what if she let something slip? Damn, she wanted her Uncle Thomas. Only he would understand the precarious position she was in. She’d finally come face-to-face with Amia again, and it had blown all to hell. Amia was angry with her. Clara knew it. How did she explain that she’d done all she could, all she was allowed and still avoid other questions—questions that could lead to answers Amia probably wasn’t ready to hear?

  “Clara, you can tell me anything. I promise.”

  She wanted to believe him. She wanted nothing more than to lay herself bare and share her confusion with someone else. Maybe he would know what to say, what to share? But to trust him would mean claiming him as her mate. She couldn’t do that. Not yet. Not with everything that lay between them. The one thing she did know for sure was that a confrontation between Amia and Lydia was probably inevitable at this point. And that had Clara terrified.

  She still remembered when she turned sixteen and decided to go looking for Amia on her own. She’d almost died, should have died. But Amia had saved her. Clara had called Lydia as soon as they were far enough away from the Blane camp and told Lydia she had Amia. Lydia had blown a fucking gasket and ordered Clara to get the hell away. She’d still been young and naive then, so she’d done as Lydia had ordered—left Amia alone and helpless against the Blanes. And Clara had lived with the guilt everyday.

  Clara had spoken to her Uncle Thomas about Amia as soon as she’d gotten back. He’d been interested enough to have Clara check on Amia again. She’d believed Lydia was right about how blood would tell when Amia was back with the Blanes. She’d stayed and waited, watching and hating Amia for not being the girl Clara had dreamed of, the one she’d thought of as a sister. She was glad she’d stayed. That was when she’d found out what the Blanes were doing to Amia.

  Clara had wanted to bring Amia back with her then, but Uncle Thomas had been the one to say no. He was afraid of what it would do to Lydia to have Amia there with them. The other woman was starting to show moments of rage and deep hatred for the Blanes. Her uncle had been afraid of what Lydia might do to Amia. Clara knew he’d sent others to try to watch over and protect Amia, but after the first few were found and killed, volunteers ceased, and Amia seemed to draw into herself, even shunning the humans who’d tried to befriend her.

  “Clara?” Logan’s voice broke into her thoughts and brought her back to the present.

  “I need to make that call,” she told him, hating the begging tone of her voice.

  He shook his head. “I can’t make any promises, but if you start talking—about the Blanes and the hunters—it would be a first step.”

  “And will this be like the last time I was brought into a room to be questioned?”

  “It will probably only be me, Tah and Reno. Maybe the Professor.”

  “So only four against one this time.”

  “I won’t let that happen again,” Logan said. “I promise I’ll look out for you.”

  “I’m not yours to protect.”

  “You could be.”

  “I can’t do this with you right now, Logan. There’s so much more involved here than you and I and scratching an itch.”

  He grunted. “Fool yourself if you need to, but don’t try it with me. We both know what’s between us is much more than scratching an itch. The way I’m feeling, I’d say it’s pretty clear I’m your mate.”

  Her eyes widened in shock as she gaped at him. “What?”

  “You think I can’t figure it out? I was there when Tah and Abby first got together. I’ve seen Reno and Amia together. We may be learning as we go, but we’re fast learners. This physical pull I have toward you… It’s not normal, baby. The way my cock is like an iron poker in my pants is not normal. No amount of jacking off gives me any relief. It wants one thing and one thing only. You, anyway you’ll let me have you. I feel like a fucking caveman when I’m around you. Hell, just the mention of your name gets me revved. You’re mine. I want to beat my chest and drag you to my bed. Fuck until neither of us can move. Maybe if I were more than just a man, I’d press harder to get what we both want.” He pushed to his feet and held his arms wide again. “But I’m only human, Clara. I want you. I won’t lie or hide the fact, from you or anyone. But I want more than a warm body in my bed. I want a partner, a mate. I want the warmth, but I want the affection and yeah, the love that appears to comes with it. I want it all. So I’ll hold back and wait until you want it just as badly.”

  He turned and headed to the door, opening it slowly before turning to glance her way once more.

  “Logan…” She didn’t know what else to say other than his name.

  “I’ll wait. I know you’ll be more than worth it.”

  With that he left, shutting the door behind him. She wanted to scream his name, to beg him to come back to her. She wanted to take, to claim, and to hell with everything and everyone else. But she couldn’t. Her uncle would expect more from her. Pride before self. Those were the words he’d told her all her life. She was really having trouble sticking to them right now.

  “Uncle Thomas,” she whispered. “Please. I need you.” She hung her head and let the tears flow. “I need you.”

  Chapter Two

  “So she’s agreed to talk,” Tah said, leaning back against the desk in the office. “Thanks for checking in with her, Logan. I’ve been distracted with everything going on with Abby and trying to find Finn. I should have made a point of getting up there to talk to her.”

  “She said she’ll tell you what she knows about hunters and the Blanes in particular,” Logan said. He wasn’t going to admit he hadn’t minded being the only one checking on her over the last week. He’d been hoping to persuade her to give in to what he knew they were both feeling, but Clara was holding back. He was still antsy after their latest encounter. He’d pushed things this time. His cock was swollen to the point it felt as if it was going to burst out of his jeans. As it was, he’d un-tucked his shirt to try and hide the blatant bulge. “This is a step in the right direction.”

  “I still don’t want her around Abby. I won’t have my mate upset any more right now if I can help it. She’s been having nightmares about Harlan ripping our son out of her womb.”

  “Jesus,” Reno muttered. “Is that why she’s looking so exhausted?”

  “Who the fuck knows?” Tah rumbled angrily. “She barely eats and has trouble keeping down what she does. She tosses and turns all night long. Her back aches. Her sides ache. Her feet ache. She’s one giant fucking ache, and I’m helpless to do anything about it. To know my seed is doing this to her, that I did this to her. Some days, I wish she hadn’t been ovulating, that she wasn’t pregnant.”

  “Don’t let Abs hear you say that,” Logan warned.

  Tah was showing the wear and tear of all they’d been through, as well.

  “You’re looking a little rough yourself,” he continued.

  “If I can’t help her, I can at least be tired and miserable with her,” Tah said.

  “I take it Diane and the Professor aren’t having any luck finding a way to help,” Reno said.

  “Diane thinks the baby is growing more in line with the gestational period of a lion. Abby’s almost twelve weeks along now. If Diane’s theory is correct, she’ll give birth in another three to four weeks,” Tah said.

  “Damn!” Logan exclaimed. “That quick?”

  “That’s the issue. The baby is growing too rapidly. Abby’s body isn’t adjusting as quickly. This pregnancy is tearing her apart. I can’t lose her.” Tah’s eyes were bleak when he met Logan’s gaze.

  “We’re not going to let that happen,” Reno promised, but the words were on the tip of Logan’s tongue, as well.

  “I could ask Clara. She might know something,
” Logan offered again.

  “Abby won’t trust anything Clara says right now. Not after the confrontation in the front room,” Tah answered.

  “We ganged up on her. She struck back. Any of us would have reacted the same way,” Logan grunted.

  “I—” Tah began, but Reno cut him off.

  “He’s right. We would have. We put her on the defensive from the beginning. We can’t hold that against her now.”

  Tah sighed, but nodded in agreement with Reno. “You’re right. Fuck, I feel like I’m making piss-poor decisions right now.”

  “We,” Reno amended. “You’re not in this alone.”

  Logan nodded his head in agreement.

  “I will say this,” Reno added. “I noticed, from the moment we met her in the woods, she defers to you. Hell, she dropped to her knees when she first saw you, and it wasn’t to offer a blowjob.”

  Logan growled. He couldn’t help it and refused to hold it in. Reno and Tah both looked at him. Reno’s gaze went over him from head to toe. He inhaled deeply and shook his head.

  “Have you mated her?” Reno asked bluntly.

  “What?” Tah thundered.

  “No,” Logan answered with a shake of his head. “Not yet.”

  “Well, fuck,” Tah muttered. He shrugged, rotated his head back and forth a few times then blew out a breath. “How did I miss that?”

  “You’ve been a little preoccupied with Abby. And before you start beating yourself up, just stop. We’d be the same way in your place,” Reno said. “But I’ll be honest and say it was Amia who pointed the possibility out to me.”

  “Amia?” Logan questioned.

  “She mentioned the way Clara took point in front of you when I shifted in the labs. Then how you pushed her behind you. Then when we were all talking to Clara, I noticed how pissed you were about it. You had your back against the wall, mad as hell. I imagine you were fighting a need to protect Clara,” Reno said.

  “I was,” Logan agreed.

  “But you haven’t mated yet?” Tah asked.

  “No. She’s not ready. She’s holding back, fighting the need building between us. I have no idea how, but she is,” Logan admitted.

  “And you? How are you holding up?” Reno asked.

  “I’m one giant fucking boner,” Logan said with a shaky laugh. “She’s consumed my thoughts. I’m a walking hard-on, and she’s the only cure. But the lady says no, and that’s that.”

  “Maybe we should pull you from rotation,” Tah said.

  Logan snorted. “And replace me with who? Finn, Murphy and Zane are all still gone. We’ve got no one else.”

  “Speaking of them,” Reno said, turning to Tah. “Have you heard from anyone?”

  “No word from Finn still. I’m going to kick his ass when he gets back here for not answering. Zane checked in last night. They were following a trail into New Mexico. He didn’t say much, just that they were still tracing Finn’s steps and hoped to find him in the next day or two.”

  “But?” Logan asked. “I see the hesitation in your eyes, Tah. What’s up?”

  “I don’t know. I just feel like Zane was holding something back. I got the feeling he didn’t like something.”

  “So you think Zane and Murphy are keeping information from you? Why would they do that?” Reno asked.

  “To protect the rest of us,” Logan said. “Jesus! We need to stop trying to shield each other so much and start trusting each other to be able to deal with shit. This keeping stuff in order to protect each other is how people get killed.”

  “Do we go after them?” Reno asked.

  “No,” Tah said. “I can’t risk it right now. I’m distracted with worry for Abby and the baby. Logan’s distracted by Clara. We’re already under-manned, and all of this isn’t helping. We’re going to have to trust Murphy, Finn and Zane to know what they’re doing. I have to believe if they need us, they’ll let us know.”

  Reno and Logan both nodded.

  “So how do you want to handle talking to Clara?” Logan asked.

  Tah sighed wearily. “Let’s bring her in here. We’ll keep it to the three of us for now. I’ll talk to the Professor, see if he wants to join us. He’s read all those journals just as Abby has. I’d prefer he be here instead of my mate,” Tah admitted.

  “I can’t promise you Amia won’t want to listen to what Clara has to say, and I won’t keep anything from her,” Reno said.

  Tah sighed. “And what Amia knows, Abby knows.”

  “Afraid so,” Reno admitted. “Those two are thick as thieves.”

  “It’s a good thing,” Logan stated. “I’ve noticed them with Kenzie. They seem to be bringing her out of her shell more. You know, in all the time we spent with the unit, how much do we know about Kenzie?”

  “She doesn’t have any family. She’s quiet.” Reno fired off a few things.

  “She’s a hell of a fighter,” Tah added.

  “But think about it. We all meshed together perfectly. We worked so well together that it made sense to call everyone in when this all went down. But other than their fighting abilities or weapon specialties, what do we know about Zane, Kenzie, Holt, Vic, Murphy or Finn?” Logan asked.

  “You’re right,” Tah said. “We need to remedy that. If this is a pride, a family, then we need to act like one.”

  A knock on the door interrupted further conversation, especially when the Professor poked his head in. Seeing the three men inside, he seemed to think nothing of interrupting them. He just walked in, hands full of papers, glasses looking precariously close to falling off the end of his nose.

  “Just who I’ve been looking for. Look at all this.” He shook the papers, dropping a few onto the floor. “It’s going to take weeks to go through all of this. I’d give them to Abby, but—” The Professor broke off at Tah’s low rumble and shook his finger at the pride leader. “Don’t take that tone with me, young man. I said I would, but she’s in no state to be focusing on anything but the baby, and we all know it.”

  “What is all that?” Reno asked.

  “More research, more information to sort through and see what answers we can find,” the Professor mumbled. “And this isn’t all of it. The printer was still spitting out pages when I left to find you.”

  “Where did you get it from?” Tah asked.

  “Jess,” the Professor said, and his eyes watered just a bit.

  “Is she all right?” Reno asked immediately.

  “She’s fine. Still flitting here and there with those mates of hers on whatever quest they have.” He wiped his eyes. “But you can’t blame an old man for missing his only child every now and then.”

  “I’m sure she’d come visit again if you ask her to,” Tah said.

  The Professor shook his head. “She’s a married woman now. Her mates come first.”

  “Not at the exclusion of you,” Tah countered, and Logan wondered if he realized he was showing the affection he felt for the Professor.

  The Professor shrugged off Tah’s words. “This is all the information Jess had on hunters in general, and the Blanes, specifically. There’s a lot to read through. It’s going to take me a while.”

  “Amia and I can help,” Reno offered.

  “I just might take you up on that,” the Professor said with a nod. “Diane offered to help, as well.”

  “Do you think the hunters have anything to do with what Jess and her wolves are dealing with?” Logan asked. If they were fighting the same battle, why not join forces?

  The Professor looked thoughtful for a moment. “I think any shifter will always have to worry about hunters and people of their ilk. But I think whatever Jess and the boys are dealing with is more central to them.”

  “You don’t know for sure?” Reno asked, echoing Logan’s surprise.

  “I know whatever it was, Jess and her mates faked my death to protect me from their enemies. Jess wouldn’t tell me everything. My daughter has a need to protect those she loves.”

  “I can’
t imagine where she gets it from,” Tah said.

  The Professor smiled. “It was good hearing from her, even if it was only briefly. Now I better get back. I have a long night of reading ahead of me. And I want all of you down in the labs. I need some blood samples. Saliva, too.”

  They were all groaning when the Professor got to the door and turned back around. “I’ll want some samples from Clara, as well. And Logan, I’ll want another complete work-up on you in the next few days.” With that parting shot, the Professor walked out, closing the door once more behind him.

  “Fucking Vampire King,” Logan muttered.

  “I heard that, boy,” the Professor called from the other side of the door. “Just get down to the labs before the end of the week and give me what I want.”

  Reno and Tah snickered as Logan went red.

  “I swear he has ears like a bat,” Logan grunted.

  “A vampire bat,” Reno said, and he and Tah started laughing again.

  Logan shook his head but couldn’t hold back a grin of his own. It was hard not to like the Professor, despite his constant harassing for blood. What the hell did he do with all that blood anyway?

  * * * *

  Murphy growled with frustration as he and Zane got back in the Jeep. Zane understood where his buddy was coming from. They should have caught up to Finn by now. Zane knew Murphy had a bad feeling deep in his gut. Murphy kept muttering about it every few minutes and rubbing at his skin as if he could feel something there. They needed to find Finn…soon.

  “You sensing something?” Zane asked as he got behind the wheel. He’d taken over driving at the first stop, telling Murphy they wouldn’t be able to help anyone if they were being scraped off the highway. Murphy was obviously so wrapped up in whatever he was intuiting in connection with his brother that he hadn’t realized how fast he was going. They were damn lucky a cop hadn’t come across their path.

  “Relieved now that my bladder is empty,” Murphy answered and Zane turned to stare at him.