Freeing the Feline

by Lacey Thorn

  He felt the tension leave Tah as a genuine smile took over his face. “Abby’s fine. She’s resting, actually resting. Her cheeks are rosy with color. It was like watching a miracle the way she seemed to revive with my blood. That’s why I headed up here to catch you. I was hoping to talk to Clara, to offer her my thanks. I’d like to see if she and I could start fresh and talk.”

  “Jesus, you scared me for a minute. I’m so glad Abby is doing better.” Logan heaved a sigh of relief. “And I’m hoping for a fresh start here for Clara, as well. I’d like for you and Reno to accept her as part of the pride now that we’re together.”

  Tah nodded. “I’ll say something to Reno. She’s your mate. That makes her family. We still need to talk to her, though. Who knows what else she might be able to tell us?”

  “We’ve talked about that. I’d like to take her to get her stuff. She hid it before she triggered the alarm. She has a phone she can use to contact her Uncle Thomas. She seems to think he’d be the best one to talk to you and fill us all in on everything they know. I think she’s a little overwhelmed by all this.”

  “All this?” Tah questioned.

  “Us mating. The pride. You.”

  “So Reno was right about her deferring to me.”

  Logan nodded. “I haven’t had a chance to discuss it with her, but I can tell she views you with a sort of reverence.”

  “Do you mind if I speak with her before you leave?” Tah asked. “I’d like to let her know how much what she shared means to me, to us.”

  Logan felt his cheeks heat. “Let me get her a shirt first. I sort of ripped hers earlier.”

  Tah threw his head back and laughed. “I’ve been there. I can go grab something of Abby’s if you want. They look like they share a similar build. At least before Abby became pregnant.”

  “That’d be great.”

  “I’ll bring it up. I’d appreciate it if you’d bring her to the office before you go out. I’d really like the chance to set things right with her.”

  “No problem,” Logan assured him. “Let me just grab a shirt for me and I’ll head down with you. Be quicker that way.”

  “I’ll run ahead and grab something and meet you back at the stairs. I don’t want to disturb Abby.”

  “Sounds good,” Logan agreed.

  He hurried into his room and grabbed a fresh shirt and tugged it over his head. He’d left his socks and shoes in Clara’s room so he shoved his feet into a pair of sneakers. He’d get the others when he took her a shirt. He’d have to talk to her about moving into his room. They were mates now. It just made sense. He definitely didn’t want to think about not having her in his bed from now on.

  Never had sex been like that before. Was that they way it was with mates? More intense? More sensual? Just more on every level? He could easily recall the feel of her flesh against his. Nothing had ever felt so right. He hadn’t been lying to her when he said he hadn’t been with a woman since he’d left the Marines. It wasn’t that they hadn’t offered, either. He’d left the bar with a few but had ended up taking them to their homes and leaving them there…alone.

  It wasn’t even that he hadn’t been interested. He had. But there’d been no follow-through. It just hadn’t felt right. He’d been teasing when he said maybe he’d been waiting for her, but who knew? Maybe he had. Maybe some part of him had known that there was someone far greater out there that was meant just for him, a love that he needed to be ready for. He’d seen stranger things happen, like finding out your best friends were a lion and tiger. Now he was mated to someone just like them.

  Which made him sit down for a minute and catch his breath. He’d mated a shifter, a lioness. Clara would turn into a lioness at some point while he stood watching. What would that be like? To watch his mate become something so different, to be different and yet, still be Clara? He’d always been on the same side of a situation as Reno and Tah. This time he wouldn’t be. He’d be the one standing on the porch with their mates watching them run off with his mate. It was a weird concept to wrap his head around.

  He was all about being a team player, but what would he do the first time he and Clara faced battle together? He knew it was coming. They all did. It was only a matter of time before another band of hunters came in looking for them. And from what Clara had said, the group Harlan had been with had been nothing compared to what they might face. They were still stretched thin with not enough people around on their side. Could Clara change that with one phone call?

  So much to think about and take in. Things were changing so quickly. Every day seemed to bring something more, and rarely were there answers without more questions. Life was interesting, that was for sure. But it was all starting to take a toll, as well. They were essentially flying blind. Tah had been captured. Reno had been captured. They’d been attacked once, and Amia had been tagged by the Blanes. She could have led some of them to Colorado. They wouldn’t be able to pinpoint where her signal had disappeared, but they would know to look in Colorado. So it could be just a matter of time before someone stumbled across them.

  Chances were, Finn taking the tracker wouldn’t matter in the long run. The Blanes would know something was up when they found it abandoned somewhere. It might buy them a little more time, but the cold hard truth was that they needed to be prepared for a major war to happen. They needed weapons and people. People they could trust. What they didn’t need was Finn, Murphy and Zane off running around instead of being there where they needed them.

  The wolves weren’t there anymore, and Logan knew Tah wouldn’t call them back unless it was an emergency. They all knew Jess and her mates were dealing with something big of their own. But the pride did need additional people. Shifters preferably. Or at least those with some knowledge of what it was the pride was facing. But it wasn’t like they could just take an ad out in the paper.

  Help Wanted. Anyone with experience kicking hunter ass. Shifting ability a plus.

  That wouldn’t go over well. And that left them where they were currently. Overworked and spread far too thin. Three of them had been injured when Harlan Jones had attacked. Tah and Logan had both been shot. Abby had been banged and bruised up. They’d been lucky, very lucky. What happened if luck ran out? What happened if there was an injury Diane and the Professor couldn’t take care of? What if one of them died?

  He shook those thoughts from his head. They would only serve to drive him crazy. He headed out the door at a jog and turned for the stairs, expecting to find Tah waiting impatiently for him, or at least waiting to give him grief over taking so long. But he wasn’t there so Logan went on down to the main floor to see if someone else had caught Tah for something.

  “Hey, Logan,” Kenzie said. “I figured you’d be in the control room with Reno and Tah.”

  “What’s up?” he asked.

  Kenzie looked a little uncomfortable.

  “Spill it,” he ordered, crossing his arms over his chest.

  “Just head to the control room,” Kenzie answered quietly. “You’ll find out there.”

  “Fuck!” Logan roared and headed out to see what was going on. If it was more hunters, they were screwed.

  Chapter Six

  Clara paced the room as she waited for Logan to return. She pulled the phone out from under the mattress and checked the screen to make sure she and Logan hadn’t damaged it when they’d been mating on the bed. Remembering that had her grinning like a loon. Then she paced a little more waiting for Logan.

  After several more minutes, she was wound tight. It didn’t help that the phone was just lying on the bed now, mocking her. She should have given it to Logan before he left, sort of out-of-sight, out-of-mind thing. Now all she could think about was calling. Especially since Logan had pretty much assured her it wouldn’t be a problem. He’d offered her his phone, said he’d make sure Tah understood how much it meant to her, and Logan hadn’t exactly asked her to wait. Had it been implied, though?

  God, she hated this. She wanted to talk to he
r uncle and tell him all about Logan. She’d found her mate! Logan wouldn’t care, would he? He’d understand that she just needed to make the call, particularly if it brought them the help they needed. Logan was her mate. Of course he’d support her. And once the rest of them understood she was calling for help and not to bring more trouble, they’d understand, too. At least, she prayed they would because she knew as she reached for the phone she wasn’t going to put it down this time.

  It rang three times before anyone answered, and it wasn’t the voice she was expecting to hear when someone finally spoke.

  “Walker’s Trading Post. How can I help you?” Lydia’s voice came over the line.

  “It’s Clara.”

  “Where the hell have you been? We’ve been going crazy looking for you. You can’t just disappear every time you want.”

  “Uncle Thomas knew where I was going.”

  “Oh,” Lydia answered, and Clara heard something in her voice.

  “What is it? What’s going on?”

  “Your uncle left just after you did. We haven’t heard from him, either. I thought maybe the two of you were together.”

  “God, I hope he didn’t go looking for me in Montana,” Clara said. “I really need to talk to him”

  “Montana!” Lydia exploded. “I told you to stay away from there. Do you have a death wish?”

  “I’m not there anymore. I moved on. And the rise here is glorious when the sky awakens.” It was the code they were to use if they ever felt they had information about the one they all searched for, the leader they prayed would come. Tah.

  “Where are you, Clara?” Lydia’s voice was soft again, quiet and calm. The sudden change was unnerving. “Have you approached anyone?”

  Clara felt the hairs on the back of her neck raise. Something was way off with Lydia. She could hear it in the other woman’s voice. Lydia was hiding something.

  “Who’s there with you? Who did Uncle Thomas leave in charge of the store?”

  “Me.”

  Clara knew Lydia was lying then. Uncle Thomas would never leave Lydia in charge. It wasn’t just because he didn’t really trust Lydia. He wouldn’t leave anyone who wasn’t a shifter in charge of the store. No exceptions. A shifter in need of help would usually only turn to another shifter for help, not a human.

  “Who’s there with you?” Clara asked again.

  “No one at the moment. Where are you? When can we expect you back? I want to hear more about what you’ve found.”

  “I’m not coming back for a while,” Clara said carefully.

  “What do you mean? I just told you Thomas is missing. We need you back here. I need you back here. We’ll discuss what you’ve found out, find your uncle and figure out where to go from there.”

  “I’ve found my mate,” Clara admitted, not willing to say anymore about finding Tah. And she really wanted Lydia to be happy for her. Clara needed a mother’s understanding right now, and Lydia was the closest thing to a mom she’d ever had. “I’m staying with him and his pride for right now.”

  “There’s a whole pride with him? He’s a shifter? Is he where the sky awakens?” Clara didn’t answer, and Lydia seemed to grow more agitated. “Where are they located? I’ll come to you.”

  “I found Amia,” Clara said softly as disappointment washed through her. No congratulations or I’m so happy for you from Lydia. So she’d fired back, just to see how Lydia would react, to see if the woman’s heart had softened at all when it came to her blood daughter.

  “I told you to leave her alone!” Lydia cried out over the phone. “If you mated someone connected to her, you might as well have signed your death certificate. She’ll get you killed, Clara. I’ve warned you to let it be. You can’t save her.”

  “Why? Why can’t Amia be good? What if she’s like you, Lydia? What if she defied the Blanes, as well?” It was an old argument, but Clara always expected a new answer from Lydia. She was always disappointed.

  “Please, that girl is a Blane by blood. I married into that tribe of monsters. It’s different. Blood will always tell. She’s been a curse since she was born. I tried to keep her safe, keep her quiet, and look where that led. Your father dead and me running for my life.” Harsh words that Lydia hadn’t always uttered—not in the very beginning.

  “None of that was her fault,” Clara reminded her. “She’s just as innocent in all of this as you were. You’re wrong about her. You’ve always been wrong about her. Open your eyes, Lydia. I told you, she saved my life. I owe her.”

  “You owe her nothing. If you’d brought her back here like you wanted to, we’d probably all be dead.”

  “Who else is there? Is Gideon there?”

  Gideon had grown up with her dad and Uncle Thomas. He was the one normally in charge when her uncle left.

  “Gideon took Ariel and Griffin to look for Thomas. I need you home now. I don’t care what you have going on. We need you here.”

  “I’ve mated. You know what that means.”

  “I don’t care,” Lydia screeched. “You’re my family. I need you. You have to come back from Colorado, now.”

  Clara stilled and glanced at the phone. “How do you know where I am?”

  “Just a guess,” Lydia said, her voice filled with quiet calm once more. “Come home to me,” she crooned.

  “You’re tracing the call, aren’t you?” Clara asked, a little shocked that Lydia would do such a thing.

  “Come home, Clara.”

  “I am home,” Clara whispered and disconnected the call, cutting off whatever Lydia had been screaming on the other end.

  Nothing made sense. Uncle Thomas was gone and hadn’t checked in? It seemed logical that Gideon would go after her uncle if he’d been gone too long. But Gideon wouldn’t have taken anyone with him. He was very much a lone shifter. He skirted the edges of their makeshift pride, never fully joining. So why would he take Ariel and Griffin with him? Ariel especially. Gideon was all about protecting the females of the pride. He wouldn’t take Ariel with him…unless he thought there was danger.

  Dread filled her. Where was Logan? She really needed Logan right now. God, she needed to leave. She needed to go find her Uncle Thomas or even Gideon at this point. She just needed to find out what the hell was going on. She tried the door and found it unlocked this time. Did Logan leave it that way on purpose? Was he waiting for her to join him in his room? What was she supposed to do? God, she couldn’t focus.

  She shook from the surge of adrenaline coursing through her. There was no way she was going to be able to stay cooped up. She grabbed her ripped shirt from the door and pulled it on backwards so it was opened in the back. She took a deep breath and pushed open the door, then took a tentative step into the hall. When no alarms went off and no one stepped out to stop her, she ventured farther, going to the room she knew was Logan’s. The door was open, but he wasn’t inside. She glanced toward the stairs she knew led to the main level. Where the fuck was her mate? Their connection wasn’t completely formed yet. It would take a little bit longer before she’d be able to sense him and locate him by those feelings. She’d just have to grab one of his shirts and see if she could find him.

  Logan found Reno, Amia, Vic and Tah crowded in the control room. There was no mistaking Clara’s voice as she spoke to someone on the phone. But what phone? He hadn’t taken her his phone yet. Then it clicked in his head. Clara had told him Amia had left her phone in the room when she’d gone up to talk to Clara.

  “You set her up,” he accused Amia, but her face was chalk white and she wasn’t paying attention to him, so he turned to Tah. “What the fuck, man? This is the way we treat mates now?”

  “You’ve mated with her then?” Reno asked, though Logan could see he was keeping an eye on Amia.

  “Yes,” Logan said. “She asked if she could make a phone call, even admitted Amia had left her phone behind. I didn’t think it would be an issue.” Okay, so he hadn’t known she was going to make the call while he was gone. But he trus
ted her. She’d felt the need to call her uncle now instead of waiting. But that was a woman’s voice on the phone talking to Clara.

  “Who is that?” Logan asked.

  “My mother,” Amia whispered so low Logan had to strain to hear. “She’s talking to my mother.” And just like that Amia went down.

  Reno roared and shoved his way to her, sweeping her up from the floor where she’d crumpled and curling her against his chest. He turned to glare at Logan before turning to Tah.

  “We’ll talk later.” With that he whisked Amia away.

  “Amia’s mom is alive?” Logan asked.

  Tah stared hard at him. “It’s your mate talking to her. Shit, we knew Clara was keeping something from us, but this? She should have told Amia.”

  “And when did you give her a chance? Any of you? When you were roaring at her in that meeting you held? The one where everyone in the goddamn room was sided against her? When you had her locked in a room for a week? You went to talk to her then, didn’t you? Gave her a chance to talk? No, that’s right. You didn’t give a fuck about her. So when was she supposed to tell any of you a damn thing?”

  “Stand down, Logan. Amia’s reeling to the point she just passed the fuck out. I’m sure hearing her mother’s voice was the last thing she expected when she left that phone for Clara. Amia’s upset right now which means Reno’s upset, as well. What a fucking mess!”

  The conversation began playing again, and Logan realized they’d recorded it. He might not have soaked in all that was said, but he had heard one thing loud and clear. She’d told the woman she was talking to, Amia’s mom, that she was home. She’d found her mate, and she was home. That was all he cared about at the moment. He turned angry eyes back on Tah.

  “Then I guess Amia shouldn’t have pretended to be friendly with Clara only to set her up. Clara gave you the information you needed to help Abby and probably saved your mate’s life. And this is how you all repay her.”

  “Logan—”

  “No.” Logan cut Tah off, slashing his hand through the air. “Amia’s upset which means Reno’s upset? Really? Are those the words you just uttered to me? Well, guess what? I’ve been trying to convince my mate that she has nothing to worry about now that we’re mated, that you’ll all accept her the way I do. I told her you’d give her a chance and be okay with her calling her pride. Guess I was fucking wrong on both accounts. How about this? My mate is uncertain, and now, I am, too.” Logan shook his head in disgust. “I never thought we’d be the type of pride that gave one mate preference over another. And I never anticipated feeling second best to Reno.”