That was the problem. Her head told her what she should be doing: gathering up her tips, packing her stuff and putting this town in her rearview mirror as soon as she could. That's what she'd always done. Her heart was telling her something entirely different and a lot more dangerous. She wanted to stay, to see what would happen, in the dim hope that Cormac was exactly what he appeared to be—a nice, normal guy. One she wanted and who wanted her. The thought of leaving crushed a part of her that she hadn't even realized was there; the part of her that would miss the way his presence filled a room with warmth, the way his eyes crinkled when he grinned at something funny she'd said, the way he looked at her.
Kess ran through the events of the previous night again. One thing kept sticking out to her. The wolf had stopped. It hadn't chased her until it caught her. It had nicked her, almost like it was trying to get her attention, and then it had sat down. She didn't know much about wolves, were or otherwise, but she was pretty sure that wasn't normal behavior.
So if it was Cormac, what would he be doing right now? Calling the pack together? Planning her destruction for trespassing on his land? Picking out wallpaper? Her thoughts tangled together as she tried to reconcile the guy that she knew with the wolf from last night. Cormac didn't seem like the kind of person who could just kill someone for being in his territory.
She'd already decided she wouldn't fight him if it came to that. She didn't want anyone to get hurt. Especially not him.
Kess only had her own clan as a model, and if she went by that, it meant death. Most likely hers. She was on her own, solitary, with no territory of her own. Whether or not Cormac was a great guy wouldn't mean anything if his pack decided to get rid of her.
She finished her sidework with a sigh of resignation and gathered up her things. Her decision was made. She would leave. It would be better for everyone if she was gone by sunset, even if the thought of leaving made her heart clench in her chest. Working a double was out of the question. She needed to plan out where she'd be heading next, get her stuff and get out. She pulled her hair out of her chopsticks and fought off the allure of a nap. She couldn't afford to wait, no matter how tired she still was from the night before.
It was freezing outside, the temperature colder than anything she'd experienced now that it was December. Maybe she'd try heading south again. Trudging up the gravel path to the back lot, she stopped short before she reached her car. Cormac's Jeep was parked beside hers, just like last night. He sat on the ground, his back against her driver's side door. He got up when he saw her, brushing gravel from the back of his jeans. She got a thrill seeing him, equal parts pleasure and fear. She'd missed his presence--she hadn't realized how much until now. But she was also afraid for what seeing him right now meant for her.
Kess thought about running, but gave that up. He'd catch her--he was faster in human form than she was, plus she still had the bite in her side. It would slow her down. She'd have to be smart about this. She took a look around to see if she could see anyone else, but it looked like they were alone.
"Hey," he said, voice casual. "I wanted to ask you something." He hadn't tried to close the distance between them, just stayed where he was beside her car.
Do I turn into a big black cat? Why yes, I do. And do you turn into a huge wolf? You do? How marvelous! Shall we celebrate over something soft and furry? Somehow she doubted it would be that simple.
She moved closer to him, but made sure to stay out of reach. "Shoot."
"Were you out on the Parkway last night? I thought I saw your car out there."
She shook her head. "Wasn't mine." She tried to play it cool and had to resist the urge to add unnecessary details. That was a surefire way to get caught in a lie—get all intense with the additional information.
"Oh." He sounded disappointed, but he was staring at her as if he were trying to come to some kind of decision. "Thought you might have been."
"No, not me. What were you doing out there?" Kess didn't think she was off the hook for anything, but he wasn't attacking her, which was the best she could hope for right now.
Cormac shrugged. He walked a few steps away from the door of her car so he wasn't blocking it anymore. Kess realized she'd look strange if she tried to skirt around him. If she was trying to convince him that she was completely normal and harmless, she needed to stop looking like she was suspicious of him. He'd given her no reason to be.
"Here, let me help you with that." His hand went to her shoulder to take her bag from her, a gentlemanly thing to do and one he'd done for her in the past.
Kess tried to jerk away without looking obvious. She didn’t want him that close to her. But his other hand hit her hip to steady her and she flinched when he touched the raw wound. They both froze, staring at each other.
Damn.
"It was you," he breathed. "In the woods last night." Suddenly he smiled, a look of pure joy and excitement flashing across his face, like heat lightning. "This is so great!"
Kess gaped at him, shocked. This had not been the reaction she'd been expecting. He was fine with a strange werebeast being in his territory? This was new. Her clan was very insular and didn’t mingle much with other clans of werecats, let alone different species, and they were ruthless about keeping rivals out of their land.
She slipped away from him, still confused. "So, you're okay with me being here?" She said it tentatively, still not believing what she was hearing.
"I am." His face was abruptly serious. Kess noticed the pronoun. He spoke for himself, but not for the pack. That worried her. "So you're a were, but I've never met one like you before. Cat?"
"Leopard. And that means you're the wolf." He nodded slowly. "Does anybody else know about me? Are you going to tell anyone what I am?" Cormac might be okay with it, but it didn't mean his pack would be.
He looked abashed. "I don't know. I hadn't gotten that far in my head. I was really just hoping that you were like me after last night." Kess saw that he was smiling at her, clearly ecstatic that she was a were. "I thought we could maybe talk about it and figure out what to say together."
Okay, this was completely not like anything she'd ever experienced. She shifted from foot to foot, unsure what to do. Cormac seemed genuinely pleased to have found out about her and that was something, but how much did he differ from the other wolves? She was wildly different from her own clan.
Cormac's voice interrupted her train of thought. He was serious again, the joy in his eyes tempered with worry. "Look, can we go somewhere and talk?" She watched as Cormac looked around the lot. They were close to the woods. He pointed to a small cluster of trees at the edge of the parking lot. "How about right over there?"
Kess let him lead the way and get comfortable in a nest of roots before she found her own seat nearby. She was close enough to hear him, but far enough away that she could still run if she had to. Once she was settled, she turned to him, wanting him to be the one to start.
When he spoke, he didn't ask what she'd expected. "Why did you ask if I'd told anyone about you? I didn't even know it was you until just now."
Kess gathered her hair across one shoulder and pulled it forward so she could run her hands through it. The action soothed her and bought her a little time to collect her thoughts. She debated over how much to tell him and decided to go with a little of the truth. She didn’t see where that would hurt.
"Where I’m from, my clan used to destroy any were that wasn’t expressly invited into our territory. I don’t know anything about werewolves, so I assumed you did the same."
Cormac looked disgusted. "No way. My pack isn't like that. We don't just kill random weres that happen to show up on our mountain if they aren't causing trouble. I mean, we monitor anyone that comes into our territory, sure, but if they mean no harm, we usually allow them to stay. The pack had a run-in with a werebear a couple of weeks ago that got a little tense, but we worked everything out."
Kess raised an eyebrow. A werebear? Really? Is that why Cormac didn't chase
after her last night once he realized what she was? Were solitary weres accepted here? "Okay, so you aren’t like us. My clan, I mean." But she already knew that. Even if Cormac had been strictly human, he was still nothing like the leopards she knew.
Cormac ran a hand through his hair. "What are you doing here? Why aren’t you with your family--your clan?"
"It's pretty complicated," she began, unsure where to start. Or how much to share.
"What, do I need to understand the nature of wormholes to know where your pack--sorry, clan--is?" Kess saw that he was serious now and didn't snap at him. "I'm going to have to tell my father something."
"Your father?"
Cormac nodded and his eyes were dark. "He's the Alpha. Griff's the Beta. I'm required to inform them of any stray weres in our territory."
"Griff? He’s one?" Okay, she was beginning to think that maybe they should all have some kind of sign on their heads: WOLF, CAT, BEAR. "Wait, so Burke and Finn?"
"Yep."
Kess groaned and put her head on her knees. Everyone she knew was a were. Terrific. She heard a noise and raised her head. Cormac had scooted over to sit next to her. She thought he might try to do something like put an arm around her, but he stayed out of her space. She couldn't decide whether to be disappointed or grateful. "So you were going to tell me about your clan?"
She shivered. She didn’t want to talk about it, not now, maybe not ever. But she had to tell Cormac something. Weres just didn’t hare off by themselves if they had a territory or group they could claim. It was dangerous to be solitary. You had no one to fall back on, no status or crew to protect you. You only went solitary if you had no other options.
"My clan is in the south," she began, trying to balance what was safe to tell him with what he would need to pass on to his pack Alpha--his father. Oy. Leave it to her to run with the pack Alpha's son.
"My dad is the clan leader. I have a brother that’s still down there." Kess looked into the trees, trying to figure out what her next words should be. Cormac was quiet beside her, waiting. "It wasn’t safe for me there anymore, so I left. I’ve been on the run ever since." Let him take whatever he wanted from that.
"How long?" His voice was soft, concerned. She felt him take her hand in his. She let him. It felt just as good as when he'd done it outside the coffeeshop.
She had to think about it. All the places she’d been kind of ran together. "A little over a year, I guess. I got my GED at sixteen--I was homeschooled once I showed signs of the change-- and I left pretty soon after that."
"Are they looking for you?"
Kess nodded. "I've been all over the country, getting to stay for a couple of months, longer if I'm lucky." She shivered again; it was cold under the trees now that she wasn’t moving.
"You’re freezing." Cormac started moving, scooting himself at an angle so he was sort of behind her. She heard him open up his jacket. "Come over here and get warm."
Kess turned her head to look at him. It was her decision. She studied the strong bones of his face, the grey eyes soft on her. He wasn't making demands on her. He just stared back and waited for her to make up her mind.
She leaned back, letting him gather her inside his jacket and wrap it around the both of them. He was warm, putting out heat like a human furnace. She reveled in the warmth of him and his closeness. This was the first time in ages that she’d let someone be close enough to her to just hold her. She’d missed it.
After a few minutes, she asked, "When are you going to tell your dad about me?" Her voice was quiet, barely a breath.
She could the tension in his body, so she glanced up. He was thinking, his gaze on some distant place only he could see. After a few moments, he turned his attention back to her. His grey eyes were serious. "I think I’d like to keep this just between us for now, if that’s okay?"
Kess turned in his arms, wanting to look at him face to face. He’d keep her presence from his pack Alpha? From his father? It was a wonderful thing to do for her, but the risk he was taking was huge. If a pack ran anything like a clan, this was something that just wasn’t done. Keeping something like a strange were in the territory from the leader was a punishable offense.
"Are you sure you want to do that?" For me? Could she risk letting him? "Why?"
Her answer was a gentle kiss that silenced any other argument she had thought to make. Kess felt the softness of his lips on hers, his arms holding her lightly, careful not to box her in or trap her. She kissed him back, giving him an answer of her own.
She felt him pull away and opened her eyes. He was smiling at her, like she was the greatest prize he could ever hope to win. Kess felt her cheeks flush—he needed to stop staring at her like that. She wasn’t worth all that, but it was nice that he seemed to think she was. She turned around, snuggling her back against his chest.
She felt his head against hers. Cormac had leaned down so he could brush his lips against her temple. "Why? Because I think I’ve been waiting to meet you for a long time."
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Sek panted in the close, humid air. He and his father circled each other, snapping jaws and bared claws feeling the other out, looking for a weak spot. Bomani and Sek's witness, Masud, remained in human form, watching and waiting for the outcome, bound by ancient rules not to interfere.
Darius plowed into him, tangling the two of them up. His father in leopard form was strong and fast, and Sek was momentarily stunned by the ferocity of the attack. He fought the chokehold his father tried to get on him, slashing out with his back feet. Sek caught a lucky angle, raking at Darius' tender belly. They broke apart, circling each other again. His father's blood dripped onto the packed earth, but Sek knew it was a glancing blow at best.
They came together again, two black snarling balls of muscle and sinew, each fighting for leverage against the other. Sek had expected the fight to be over quickly; he was younger and stronger than Darius. He had originally planned to strangle his father into unconsciousness using his powerful leopard jaws, but release him while he was still alive--only his father wasn't cooperating. So be it. He would prove he was the right cat to run the clan the hard way.
His father slashed at him and Sek responded in kind, catching him across the face, blinding him in one eye and scoring red lines down his muzzle. Darius snarled in pain and pulled away. Sek followed after, pressing his advantage, but his father was fast. Sharp claws latched onto Sek's right flank and tore through fur and muscle. He ripped away, leaving a spray of blood in his wake.
Sek had lost count of how many times they rolled and sprang apart, how many times they crashed together and slashed each other. He bled from a dozen different gashes, but the worst was that large gash on his leg that was beginning to hamper his mobility. His father wasn't much better. The eye that Sek had clawed was useless. They were both tired.
Sek knew that this would be his last pass--whatever happened. His leg threatened to give out; he had maybe one more leap left in it. He launched himself at the other leopard, coming at him from his blind side. Sek bowled him over before he could recover and locked his jaws around his father's throat. Instead of holding on, Sek yanked backwards, tearing out his father's throat in a spray of blood and muscle. Darius went limp, his blood staining the ground in great gouts.
Sek stood still, coated from nose to chest in his father's blood. He triggered his transformation, the pain from his leg making it more difficult to navigate the pathways back to his human form. Then he stood, naked and human, over the dying wereleopard.
He watched as the life drained out of his father. He knew the smell of that much blood would soon draw the other beasts and scavengers that lived in the swamp. He turned to Bomani and Masud, standing beneath the sliver of the moon covered in gore. He had won. The clan was his now.
"By rite of challenge, you are now the one to lead us," Bomani intoned, his expression unreadable. Sek knew that he had been Darius' counselor for decades. He wondered what was going through the man's mind. Then he dis
missed it; he was the clan head now and Bomani was duty bound to advise him until the next counselor was appointed. Counselors sometimes served four or five clan leaders before stepping down, depending on how bloody-minded or contentious the clan was.
"By rite of challenge, I am now the one to lead you," Sek replied in a tired voice. He felt a great weight settle onto him and looked back at his father's leopard body. He had thought he'd feel different, released. Instead he felt more caged than ever before.
He thought of Kess. She was why he had done this. She was the hope of their clan and now he had the means and authority to bring her home. He turned away from the body and began to clean himself with the water they'd brought with them. He was anxious to be gone from there, to begin the work that would need to be done to secure their territory and the clan's continued survival.
Bomani knelt beside the dead leopard, beginning to gather it up for transport back to the house and proper burial. Sek snapped, "Leave him."
"Sekhmet?" Bomani sounded unsure, as though he'd misheard.
"Gators have to eat. Leave the body." He finished cleaning himself and walked to the cars, not waiting to see if the others followed.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Cormac watched Kess move the tiny portions of food around on her plate. The easy banter of previous encounters had been lost as soon as they entered the restaurant. It had been an awkward first date so far and they weren't even through the appetizers yet. He had taken her to one of the fancier restaurants trying to make it memorable but it didn't seem to be working out that way.
"What's wrong?" he asked. Kess was subdued, even for her.
"Nothing." Her forced smile was unpleasant to look at.
"You're totally not comfortable here, are you?"
Kess made a face. "What gave it away?" Cormac laughed, reaching a decision.
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