“Humans can be just as loyal.” Hiss broke into his dark thoughts. “We’ve seen that with our own eyes.”
It was true. Lately the Pantera had brought many humans into the Wildlands. They had proven to be devoted mates and treasured assets to the pack.
“Yes.” He spoke his worse fear. “I just feel like she’s holding something back from me.”
“Give her time,” Hiss commanded. “She’s been through hell. She needs time to heal.”
Blade grimaced. Logically he knew it’d only been a few days, far too soon for a human female to feel comfortable with the dramatic changes in her life. Especially after all that Valli had endured.
But logic had nothing to do with a male who was eager to mate.
“My cat doesn’t want to be patient,” he muttered.
Hiss dropped his hand and stepped back, a small smile curving his lips.
“Then be a man until she’s ready for your beast,” he said.
Blade scowled, watching as Hiss turned and sauntered down the trail.
Be a man? What the hell was that supposed to mean?
Growling deep in his throat, Blade resisted the urge to dismiss the words. Maybe Hiss was right. Being in the Wildlands meant that his cat was much closer to the surface than when he was moving around in the outside world. Perhaps his female needed to know that he could be human as well.
So what did human males do to win the hearts of their females?
A slow smile curved his lips.
Romance.
Ah, yes...
A candlelit dinner. Flowers. Soft music so he could hold her close as they danced.
Yes. He would create a night that would sweep her off her feet. And then he would get down on one knee as a man would do, and ask her to be his mate.
But for that, he was going to need help.
Pivoting on his heel, he shifted back into his cat and took off through the trees and back to the communal center.
Chapter 9
Valli had barely waited for Blade to leave that morning before she was pulling on her clothes and heading out of the cottage.
She wasn’t trying to be sneaky. At least not deliberately. But after another night of intense, overwhelming passion, she had a desperate need to clear her head.
Blade might be a Diplomat, but he wasn’t subtle about what he desired for his future. He wanted her, and the baby she carried, in his home. In the Wildlands. Forever and ever.
A part of her was overjoyed by his steadfast affection. She knew to the very depths of her soul that this male would always be at her side. Always devoted to her and their child.
What more could any woman ask for?
But she’d been raised by someone who’d taught her that every relationship, no matter how bright and shiny in the beginning, was destined to crash and burn. It was going to take time for her to fully trust Blade.
And herself.
And while she adored the small cottage surrounded by lush vegetation, she had a sudden urge to be out of the Wildlands, where she could consider the abrupt changes in her life without Blade, or the potent, irresistible and highly addictive attraction between them, clouding her mind.
Reaching the edge of the wetlands, she stepped through the magical barrier that surrounded the Pantera homeland and started walking down the dirt road. Blade had told her that there was a small town called La Pierre not far away. She could look around, perhaps find a store to buy a few personal items, and…
Her meandering thoughts were interrupted as the sound of an approaching car shattered the silence. With a frown, Valli moved to the side of the road, a shiver racing over her body. Although the sun had crested the horizon, now that she was out of the Wildlands, there was a sharp breeze that cut easily through her light sweater.
Her frown deepened and her heart started to pound in her chest as the midsize car rounded the curve, and then abruptly skidded to a halt only a few feet from her.
Fast and terrifying, the door was shoved open and the driver leapt out of the vehicle and hurried toward her.
“Valli?” The man reached out to grasp her hands, his face wreathed with a wide smile. “Oh, thank God.”
Valli blinked in shock, barely aware the man was tugging her firmly toward the nearby car.
“Dr. Richards?” she muttered, trying to wrap her brain around his sudden appearance.
“Scott,” he firmly corrected.
She shook her head. “What are you doing here?”
He led her around the hood of the vehicle and pulled open the passenger door. “I was looking for you.”
“Why?”
“I was in the restaurant when you disappeared.” He gave her a light push, knocking her off balance so she fell into the seat. Still dazed, she allowed him to tuck her legs into the car. “You ran out the back door, remember? You weren’t feeling well.”
“Oh,” she breathed, genuine regret and deep guilt slicing through her. She’d been so focused on Blade and learning the truth of what had happened to her in the clinic that she hadn’t made that call to Fran. How could she have been so thoughtless?
The truth was, she’d spent most of her life without anyone giving a damn about her. It was hard to remember that she was no longer alone.
Scott closed her door and hurried around the car to slide into the driver’s seat.
“Fran was hysterical,” he said, reaching across to buckle her seatbelt before he was putting the car in gear.
“I’m so sorry.” She bit her bottom lip. “I didn’t mean to worry anyone.”
He sent her a reassuring glance even as he pressed on the gas and drove down the narrow road.
“We know it wasn’t your fault,” he said.
Valli studied him in confusion. The shock of seeing him was starting to wane, and urgent questions were taking shape inside her mind. Like how had he found her at this remote location?
“How exactly do you know it’s not my fault?” she asked cautiously.
“Well, when you didn’t return after your walk, Fran went to look for you.” His fingers tightened on the steering wheel until his knuckles turned white. “She saw you being carried away by that animal.”
Valli felt a blast of fury at the man’s insult. Then she grimaced. Hadn’t she called Blade an animal before she’d actually been forced to get to know him?
She needed to focus, get answers. She needed to know what the man was doing at the Wildlands.
“How did Fran know the man was a Pantera?”
He stilled for a second, then forced a shrug. “She could tell by the way he moved.”
That didn’t sound right. If it was true, the older woman was clearly more observant than Valli. Until she’d been surrounded by Pantera, she hadn’t really noticed their fluid grace. They just looked like tall, muscular males. And females.
“That still doesn’t explain what you’re doing here,” she pressed.
He turned onto a paved road, pressing harder on the gas pedal as they picked up speed.
A dark thread of unease wove its way through Valli.
“I would think that was obvious,” he said. “I had to make sure you were okay.”
No. It wasn’t obvious at all. In fact, she couldn’t imagine how or why the small-town doctor would be driving down that particular road at that particular time.
Something cold drifted up her spine and she reached for the door handle.
“You followed us to the Wildlands, didn’t you?” she accused.
“Not exactly,” he said. “Fran came back to the restaurant screaming that you’d been kidnapped by an animal. Of course I rushed to try and stop him, but you’d disappeared into thin air.”
Anxiety was racing through her now, and she was distantly aware that they were heading north at a pace that had to be way over the speed limit. Were they going back to Bonne? Or was something else going on here?
“He didn’t kidnap me,” she said, trying to push him into giving her as much information as possible. “I fainte
d. He was just trying to help me.”
Scott made a sound of disbelief. “That’s not what Fran told me. She was certain you were in danger, so I decided to come to where the Pantera keep themselves hidden and see if they could help me find you.” His profile was tight with anger. “I had no idea that it was impossible to get through the barriers of the swamp. Or that the local people would be so uncooperative.”
For a brief second, Valli wondered if this man’s motives were honorable. That he’d dropped everything to try and save her. Done more than her own mother had done when she’d disappeared.
But it just didn’t sit right. Not in her mind or in her gut. And yet, both had been wrong before.
“The Pantera have to protect themselves,” she told him.
His jaw tightened, as if he was biting back his words. When he finally spoke it was in a tone that he no doubt used to calm hysterical patients.
“I can understand their need for security,” he assured her. “But it made it difficult to find out if you were here or not.”
“And yet you stayed.”
“I wasn’t leaving until I learned what happened to you.” He turned his head, studying her with an intensity that unnerved her. “I care about you, Valli.”
Cared about her? He hardly knew her.
Her heart started pounding again, and she turned her head to look out the passenger window. See where she could maybe get him to stop, head to the bathroom and ditch him once and for all.
But there was no town. The swampy landscape had been replaced with the fertile farmland that framed the Mississippi river. They’d traveled farther than she’d realized.
“Where are we going?” she demanded.
“I’m taking you home,” he said with a firm finality. “Where you belong.”
So that was his objective? Not checking up on her, seeing if she was all right. But taking her home, like a child. But Bonne wasn’t her home. Oh, it’d been a place she’d managed to find a measure of peace. And she’d even been happy there for a time.
But it wasn’t...
Home.
With a clarity that was shocking in its intensity, she had the answer to the question that had been plaguing her for the past three days.
She belonged in the Wildlands.
With Blade.
With her mate.
He was her true home.
Valli very nearly whirled on the man beside her and demanded he turn around and take her back. Or, at the very least, drop her off and she’d find her way back. Already there was a faint ache in the center of her heart. As if it physically hurt to be parted from Blade. And what if he came back and she wasn’t there? Dammit, she hadn’t planned to be gone this long...
But she had to return to Bonne anyway... Get her stuff. And she wanted to say good-bye to Fran in person. The woman had been like a surrogate mother to her.
“Do you have a cell phone I can use?” she asked Scott. She wanted to call Blade—he’d made her memorize his cell number in case she’d needed him in town or something was wrong with the cub—and just let him know she was safe and that she was packing up and coming...home.
But Scott gave her a curt “No” as he locked his gaze on the road as they sped through the morning traffic.
Nerves still skittered within her at his gruff response, but when they pulled onto the main road of Bonne, she breathed a sigh of relief. Okay. She’d just been paranoid with all the worry about Scott. Maybe he was into her or something, had a crush? Or a deep sense of loyalty to Fran. If it was the former, then she’d let him down easily. And if the latter, well, then she’d understand perfectly. She’d do anything for Fran, too. Most everyone in the town would.
As soon as he pulled into the garage that was attached to his clinic, Valli scrambled out. Now that she was here, she needed to find a phone and call Blade ASAP, then she’d pack her bags, say good-bye to Fran, and head home to the Wildlands.
Thankfully unaware that she simply wanted to be away from him, Scott politely led her to the side door that opened directly into a hallway.
“Thank you for caring so much about Fran, Dr. Richards, and thank you for the ride,” Valli said, attempting to step around him as he came to a sudden halt.
But he wasn’t having it. He turned toward her with a frown. “Where are you going?”
“I want to let Fran know I’m okay,” she said. She didn’t add she was first going to call the Pantera she loved, then she’d see Fran, gather her things, and get the hell out of town. She had a sneaking suspicion that wouldn’t go over well with the overprotective doctor.
Without warning, he grabbed her upper arm and guided her into the nearest exam room.
“You’re not going anywhere,” he said, his expression suddenly grim.
She stared at him in confusion, her heart jolting in her chest. She couldn’t get a clear read with this guy, but she was pretty done with trying. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“I’m going to give you a thorough checkup and I’m not taking no for an answer this time,” he said, pointing toward the examination table in the center of the tiled floor. “Make yourself comfortable.”
Stepping out of the room, Dr. Richards firmly closed the door behind him.
Chapter 10
In his puma form, Blade was ferocity and liquid speed combined. Leaping over rotted logs and ramming his way through the tangled undergrowth, he headed toward the center of the Wildlands.
Fucking hell. This was entirely his fault.
He should have returned directly to Valli when he was done meeting with Raphael. No. He should never have left the cottage in the first place. Not without her, anyway. He’d been foolish. He didn’t need fancy dinners and bouquets of flowers to impress a female.
Even though he’d truly believed she’d have loved it.
But in doing so, he’d wasted over an hour arranging the romantic dinner, only to return home to find that Valli was not there.
At first he’d assumed she’d gone for a walk. Since her arrival, she’d spent a few hours every day strolling through the lush, exotic beauty of the Wildlands, sometimes with his cat beside her. But when he’d decided once again to join her, he quickly discovered that she hadn’t headed toward the waterfalls or the pretty grotto that was built in the middle of a nearby marsh. Her scent trailed farther out. In fact, it had led him past the bogs that he’d warned her could be dangerous to a human, and then out of the Wildlands.
An expanding sense of concern had spread through him as he’d stepped through the magical barrier that protected his homeland and instantly transformed into his male form. Valli had never left the cottage without telling him where she was going or having him beside her. And while he’d told her early on that there was a nearby town if she ever wanted to shop or just spend time with other humans, she’d never expressed an interest in going.
Still, it wasn’t until he’d realized that her scent simply disappeared when it reached the narrow dirt road that real panic set in.
Calling on his inner cat, he’d run full speed back through the barriers and headed straight for the Headquarters of the Pantera. Valli had been taken. He was going to need help to get her back.
He skirted the edge of the communal center and headed up the steps of the Headquarters that were still under construction after being destroyed by one of Benson’s soldiers.
He was so intent on reaching Raphael that he didn’t notice the male who was just exiting the double doors.
“What the hell?” Hiss muttered in surprise, bracing himself as Blade nearly rammed him down.
With a surge of magic, Blade shifted back to his human form.
He’d intended to find Raph, but Hiss was even better. No one in the Wildlands knew more about the enemy.
Reaching out, he grasped Hiss by the shoulders. “She’s been taken.”
Hiss frowned. “Who’s been taken?”
“Valli.”
Hiss stilled, the air prickling with the heat of his cat. “T
ell me what’s happened.”
Blade was forced to take a deep breath. His panic was threatening to overwhelm him, something he couldn’t let happen. Not when Valli needed him the most.
“I returned to the cottage and she was gone. No messages, no phone call.”
Hiss blinked, clearly puzzled by his explanation. “That doesn’t mean anything happened to her. She could be out exploring the Wildlands.”
Blade gave a sharp shake of his head. “I followed her trail to the road leading into La Pierre.”
Hiss remained unconvinced. “Surely she’s allowed to come and go as she pleases, isn’t she?”
“Of course she is,” Blade snapped.
“Then let her have some space, mon ami,” Hiss urged in gentle tones, clearly assuming that Blade was simply being an over-possessive male. “An hour or so in town and she’ll be ready to come home to you. She’s not wanted by anyone. Not in any danger.”
Blade released a frustrated growl. “You don’t understand. She’s disappeared.”
“From La Pierre?”
“She never made it there.”
Hiss was once again on alert, his expression tightening. “Explain.”
“I followed her scent to the road and then it just vanished.”
Hiss took a moment to consider the possibilities. “She must have gotten into a vehicle.”
“Or more likely forced into a vehicle.”
Hiss held his gaze. “Could you detect any sign of a struggle?”
Blade jerked as if he’d been struck. Hell, the words were worse than a physical blow. The male had managed to touch a nerve that was brutally raw.
Dropping his hands, he took a step back. “She didn’t leave me,” he rasped, a sick fear rolling through his stomach. “Not willingly.”
Perhaps sensing that Blade was at a snapping point, Hiss lifted a hand.
“Okay. Let’s check the surveillance videos,” he said in soothing tones. “They’ll show us what happened.”
Blade gave a short nod, allowing the male to lead him through one of the double doors into the massive room that would eventually be a reception area, but for now was being used by the Geeks to monitor the numerous computers that were set on long tables.
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