Black Surrender

by Lorie O'Clare

  Anna had made herself comfortable in one of two chairs at a round table in the middle of the room. She glanced over her shoulder, her expression unreadable, then turned her attention back to Naria.

  Naria didn’t move any faster than she spoke as she began to set the table for a meal. “As I said, a lot has changed since you left Colony.” She looked into Rafe’s eyes for the first time. “If I remember right, your litter ran just as Natasha was announcing she’d made arrangements for us to run alongside humans.”

  Her eyes were a muted green, soft and non-aggressive just as the rest of her appeared. Rafe stared at her a moment longer than the female probably thought was proper, but it was enough time for him to see deeper into Anna’s friend’s nature. He sensed Naria went to a lot of effort to look and smell as passive and defenseless as possible.

  “I’m sure you heard the howlings over the success of Natasha’s bridge with the humans.” Naria brought a candle from the counter, lit it and placed it in the middle of the table. It was the perfumed smell he’d picked up on when they first entered the den, a fragranced candle, which would probably make any jaguar suspicious as to why she might clog the air with false smells and at the same time hide any emotions behind the thickly perfumed aroma it let off.

  “There are that many jaguars willingly hunting for humans.” Anna didn’t make it a question but shook her head, focusing on Naria’s clean, tiled floor. “None of this makes sense to me.”

  “There were many promises made,” Naria explained, finally turning from Rafe and opening her refrigerator. Anna straightened, immediately sniffing the air when Naria carried a heavy-looking platter to the counter then pulled a long, sharp knife out of a cutting block. “We were all going to live in dens fancier than any we’d ever known. Life would never be hard for any of us ever again. Our cubs would know a world designed simply for their pleasure without any threats to their lives.”

  “You are not going to serve us.” Anna’s voice was stern. She slid the sharp cutting knife out of Naria’s hand and looked at Rafe. “Cut meat for us.” She handed him the knife then took her friend by the arm and pulled one of the two chairs out for her. “We’re not company visiting for you to entertain. You rescued us from a fate I don’t even want to think about. The last thing you’re going to do is wait on us when you risked your life to rescue us. Now tell us why you did it.”

  Naria didn’t argue but took the chair, sitting in it with her back straight and one leg crossed over the other. “You would have done the same thing,” she said in her soft-spoken voice. “As soon as I confirmed the howlings were true, and you were in Natasha’s cage, I immediately plotted to get you out. Of course, I admit my surprise that you mated with a VicMoran.”

  She tilted her head, which caused her black hair to drift over her shoulder and float over her breast as if the strands were lighter than air. Her lips were full for her thin face and she puckered them, watching him and Anna as they made quick work of setting Naria’s kill on the table.

  Anna didn’t dispute the statement, nor did she look at Rafe. Instead she seemed to get even busier performing her task.

  “This is a lot of meat,” Rafe commented, and placed the plate on the table. Anna slid into a chair opposite Naria and Rafe lifted a chair that was alongside the wall, noticing it was store bought and not made by a jaguar, and slid it in next to Anna then joined the females as he sat. “Is this one of the rewards for living the grand new life hunting for humans?” he asked.

  That got Anna’s attention. She looked at him, shocked, immediately shaking her head as if trying to warn him of something as her scent soured slightly. Naria looked at him too. Her fork, which held a decent chunk of steak on it, paused in midair as she gaped at him with her mouth half-open. Finally she took the meat, chewed it while she continued to assess him.

  Rafe let her take all the time she needed to sniff him out and draw her own conclusions. Anna and Naria were good friends. He smelled that much. Rafe needed to see which way this female ran though. She wasn’t easy to sniff out, and there was a reason for that. Her mannerism was too relaxed. He had the strangest sensation she sniffed them out for some reason other than loyalty to an old friend, observing and forming conclusions for some kind of agenda.

  “Does he always try to sniff out the truth by intentionally bullying with lies?” she asked, shifting her attention to Anna as a small smile played at her lips.

  Rafe found it interesting when Anna noticeably relaxed, her scent once again matching his instead of clogged with so much negative energy. “He’s trying to understand,” Anna offered. “I never mentioned I ran with a Kalusian.”

  “It’s fucked up.” Naria spoke so softly it was almost hard to believe she would use such language.

  “We were ambushed in the rain forest. It wasn’t too far from my den in a small community called Guarida in Costa Rica.” Anna slid a piece of meat into her mouth. She hummed her approval as she closed her eyes and chewed. “The jaguars attacked us. Whatever they knocked us out with was strong enough to keep us that way until we arrived in Colony. That’s when we found out we weren’t the jaguars Natasha wanted them to capture.”

  “Your den?” Naria asked, nodding at Anna. “Wait a minute,” she said, and wagged her finger from Anna to Rafe. “Are you two not mated?”

  “Not officially,” Rafe offered when he smelled Anna’s embarrassment. He wasn’t sure if the look Anna gave him was one of silent thanks or if he wasn’t sniffing her out correctly. The damn candle in the middle of the table was making it hard to smell anything accurately.

  But when Naria threw her head back and laughed, Anna definitely looked mortified.

  “Now it all smells a lot clearer to me.” Naria gave Rafe a knowing look. “I knew you were the rogue in the litter. Anna is way too good for you,” she said, and for a petite female, she looked rather condemning when she narrowed her gaze on him. “You would be wise to make it official right now, male,” she said, the soft passive side of her gone. “Unmated, you’re worth a hell of a lot more to Natasha.”

  “Is that so?” he said dryly, and bit off more of his meat. “I’m surprised a Kalusian would find a VicMoran valuable in any way.”

  “You don’t get it, do you?”

  Since he didn’t, Rafe remained quiet but was acutely aware he was finally seeing the true colors of this small female. She was about as passive as he was a virgin.

  “Your littermate isn’t the only one capable of hacking into a website.” Naria looked down at her plate but didn’t take another bite. When she looked up, the relaxed, genteel female had returned. “Natasha isn’t the only one who has seen the laws and traditions he’s entered on to that site he’s building. If they’re accurate, the Kalusians and VicMorans are the two original lines. Natasha must have complete control. Both of your littermates are mated. One is mated to a Kalusian. They were the most likely choice for her to capture since everyone knew you ran toward any available female and your loyalties would be unpredictable.”

  Rafe was damn close to dishonoring the female in her own den. They needed this information out of her though, and it was the only reason he held his tongue. Unfortunately, as incredible as the meat was, he’d lost his appetite.

  Anna’s spicy scent from anger drowned out the perfumed candle’s aroma. “Naria,” she said, her tone icy. “As grateful as I am for your rescue, we will leave if you dishonor Rafe again. And so you know, anything Ran has entered on to a website about the laws and traditions would be completely accurate. In fact, my littermate is working closely with him on the laws and traditions.”

  Naria waved her hand in the air dismissively. “All that matters is stopping Natasha. If she gets those ancient papers and a VicMoran,” she said, her eyes flat and an opaque green, “Natasha will have more power than can be allowed. We aren’t going to let that happen. With you two on our side, we have a much stronger chance of stopping her.”

  “Who is ‘we’?” Rafe asked, curious as to whom she thought would
control what he did or where he went. He’d be damned if another jaguar tried to put him in chains.

  “What are you talking about?” Anna asked almost at the same time.

  Naria put her fork on her table then pressed her hands in her lap. She didn’t answer, but didn’t have to. Rafe heard the noises and sprang from the table at the same moment a handful of male jaguars appeared from around the corner. Before one of them could grab his arm, he swung, releasing all of his pent-up energy in a jaw-breaking punch, which only served in feeding his adrenaline as he turned and sent the male next to him flying.

  Chapter Eight

  “Rafe!” Anna screamed, and leapt up to join in the fight.

  Five thick, stocky males surrounded them in the kitchen area, the pungent smell of their aggression feeding her determination to defend Rafe and her. She leapt backward when Rafe roared and sent the nearest male flying out of the kitchen. Her heart raced. There were too many of them and in too small of quarters.

  Naria had also darted out of the way. At the moment though, Anna couldn’t see her. She’d been shocked when her friend from when they were cubs had come to her rescue. Anna hadn’t howled with Naria in years. It had been obvious there was some agenda she hadn’t been able to sniff out at play. Anna thought going along with Naria’s show of camaraderie would help bring out the true reason she’d brought them there. But now she was even more confused.

  The chair Naria had been sitting on shattered into a handful of pieces when Rafe threw one of the males into three others. They toppled backward, but only the chair appeared harmed. Naria suddenly appeared, darting away from where the males tumbled and stood next to Anna. Her scent wasn’t detectable, something that had bothered Anna since they got there.

  “Make them stop!” Anna grabbed Naria’s arm, shaking her. “Why are they doing this?” she demanded with the same breath.

  She jumped backward, yanking Naria with her when Rafe sidestepped one of the males and almost fell into both females before regaining his balance.

  “I’d like to know what the hell is going on here!” Rafe bellowed then punched one of the stockier males hard in the face.

  Blood splattered, but the male wasn’t daunted. His teeth grew against his lips as he gave Rafe a bloody, challenging grin. In the next second, the male punched Rafe hard in the gut, forcing him to double over.

  Anna had leapt backward into the counter. Her side burned from the impact, which succeeded in pissing her off further. It dawned on her at that moment that none of the males were attacking her. She kept looking for a spot to jump in and help Rafe.

  A ripe smell of satisfaction mixed with anticipation brought her pause. When she shot a side glance at the female she’d known since they were cubs, Naria had her arms crossed against her chest. She wasn’t worried about being attacked. And the emotions Anna smelled were coming from her.

  “Naria!” she hissed.

  Naria continued to watch the fight. Two males had leapt on Rafe. One of them had shoved the table to the side. A lot of fresh meat, a feast by any jaguar’s standards, remained untouched on the table. The males were doing their best not to harm anything in the den. The one chair was shattered but someone had slid the pieces to the side of the room so no one would trip over any of it.

  “You brought these males into your den,” Anna accused.

  Her words were low, but Rafe heard her, daring a harsh look in their direction before throwing another fierce blow to one of the other males and leaping out of the grasp two of them had him in.

  “I don’t think your friend is much of a friend,” he snarled at Anna.

  She hated the cold glare in his eyes when they focused on each other for a moment. The harsh realization of his words caused something to snap inside her.

  Anna grabbed Naria, pulling her off her feet and shoving her against the counter. This time Naria did try to fight her off. The passive, annoying Naria had finally disappeared, and the feisty female Anna had grown up with appeared.

  “Stop it, Anna. Let me go,” she demanded, her voice tight from Anna holding Naria in a death grip against her body. “This is how it has to be. You’ll understand.”

  Naria twisted and scratched at Anna with her nails, but Anna was bigger, stronger, and managed to maintain a hold around Naria’s middle as she brought her hand up to her friend’s neck and gripped it hard enough to cut off Naria’s air supply.

  “Call them off or I break your neck,” she snarled into her friend’s ear.

  Naria went limp. “You would end my life over this male?”

  “I would end your life because you’ve changed.” To prove how serious she was, she tightened her grip.

  Naria wasn’t able to get her next words out of her throat.

  Rafe roared when one of the males lifted him off the floor. He threw Rafe, knocking one of the other males to the ground and sending Rafe with him.

  “Son of a bitch!” Rafe howled, flipping to his side, and unable to get up, he instead bulldozed into the nearest male.

  There was a pile of males in the kitchen. The table wobbled, coming dangerously close to falling on its side. The platter of meat slid across the table and crashed to the floor, sending the red juice from all the thick slabs of steak into a pool that spread quickly over the floor. The war zone was now slippery, and the once prime pieces of meat were now deadly deterrents, which more than one of them stepped on and slid into uncompromising positions.

  Anna lifted Naria off the floor, shaking her even harder as she lowered her head so she could speak into her ear.

  “End this. Now!” This time Anna relaxed her grip on Naria’s throat to allow her to speak.

  “Stop!” Naria’s command wasn’t loud enough to be heard over the grunts and growls of six males, who were now semi-changed due to the intensity of the attack.

  “Naria said to stop!” Anna screamed.

  It grabbed a few of the males’ attention. The thickest of the five managed to get to his feet. He’d been on top of Rafe, whose face was fairly bruised, which only made him look more outraged. When the male grabbed Rafe and lifted him off the floor like a ragdoll, Anna once again tightened her grip on Naria. Something told her these males wouldn’t want to see Naria hurt.

  The other males realized Anna now had Naria pinned. Anna guessed one of them might have feelings stronger for Naria than the others when he leapt toward Anna and Naria, the aggression in his face turning to anger. His threatening growl should have been words but his teeth were too pointed and pressed into his lower lip and the black hair on his head was too tousled, adding to his wild, outraged appearance.

  “You can probably kill me,” Anna informed him, and shot harsh glares at the other males before returning her attention to the male who appeared most concerned about Naria. “But I promise you, she will die before I do.” To add to the conviction of her words, Anna twisted Naria’s neck a bit more, pressing her fingers into her flesh and feeling her jugular pulse wildly.

  “Stand down!” The male kept his attention on Naria and extended a hand toward her. “I said stand down,” he growled, his words more audible as his teeth receded back into his gums. He tugged on his t-shirt, which had a slight rip in it at the end.

  Three of the males struggled to their feet and all of them held on to Rafe. He was positioned between them, fighting their hold, but the steak all over the floor made it more difficult to find traction and remain balanced.

  “The plan changes now.” This time the male spoke only to Naria.

  Anna felt Naria nod the best she could in Anna’s grasp.

  “What plan?” Anna demanded, dragging Naria backward and toward the refrigerator, which was nearest the door leading into the hall.

  One advantage of most of Colony’s dens having been built from the same floor plan was Anna already knew the layout of this place and could strategically plant herself closest to the nearest escape route.

  “Let her go and we’ll tell you.”

  Anna shook her head. “Release h
im and I’ll give Naria to you.”

  “I’m fine,” Rafe told her, his swollen and bruised face making it hard to believe. “Why did you attack?” Now Rafe made the demands. Three males held him so he couldn’t move yet he still challenged the group of males as if he could break free at any moment and didn’t mind all the males holding him until he decided otherwise. “We’re getting damn tired of being attacked to serve someone else’s agenda. Explain to us now why you brought us here. Obviously that female doesn’t hold your leashes. She has absolutely no fighting skills.”

  This time insulting Naria helped Rafe gain what he wanted. The male who’d told the others to stand down looked as if he might lunge at Rafe.

  “You have no clue what you’re talking about, and I don’t give a rat’s ass if you’re a VicMoran or not. Naria holds more honor and concern for her kind than any female I’ve ever met,” he sneered. “That she allowed you into this den, her safe haven and the only place in Colony free of the eyes, ears and nose of Natasha is damn near the most honorable thing that might ever happen to you.”

  “Tell us your plan,” Rafe growled, barely waiting for the male to finish his little speech before demanding an explanation.

  Naria nodded against Anna’s grip, and Anna loosened her hold but brushed her fingers up and down Naria’s neck. It was a silent promise that overrode everything else in their lives. It dawned on her that she would kill for Rafe. They carried each other’s scent. She saw blood when Rafe was attacked. There were stories passed down over the generations about males and females finding a mate under odd circumstances and brought closer under a more crucial bond, which truly combined their souls.

  Anna kept her eyes on Rafe when Naria cleared her voice then began talking. “When we heard Natasha had captured a male and female from Guarida and brought them to Colony, I didn’t know until we did some sniffing around it was you,” she said, nodding at Anna. “Natasha has smeared blood and dishonor on our litter. I think she knows this but doesn’t care over her intense desire for control and power. But once we found where your VicMoran littermate had begun entering the laws and traditions online and saw what it said about the two true lines, Natasha panicked. There was no way she would allow it to be howled that she was the one who began the demise of all jaguars. But she won’t retract the way she’s run to correct things. Instead, she decided to capture the VicMoran who mated with the Kalusian, but again she fucked that up too.” Naria paused, glancing from Rafe to Anna but then focusing on the male who moved to her side. “The only way to save my litter is to do what we must.”