by Dannika Dark
I stood up and turned my chair around while he took his seat again.
Matteo lifted the string on the tea bag and dunked it repeatedly. “I’ll be your guide.” He said it with absolute certainty, as if it were fact.
I tugged on the string that dangled from my cup. “I have to warn you, it could be dangerous.”
His dark lashes fanned down. “And now it’s you who’s worried about me?”
“I just think a man should know what he’s getting into before he agrees to something.”
Matteo lifted his cup and blew the steam. “I didn’t say I would do it for nothing.”
“And what do you want in return?”
When he took a sip, his nose glistened from the steam. After he set down the cup, he touched his lips thoughtfully. “I haven’t felt a woman’s touch in decades. You always think you’ll remember the last kiss, but you don’t. Not the one that counts.”
I got cold feet and sat back. If this guy thought I was going to sleep with him…
“I want to remember the last kiss I ever have. That’s all I ask for.”
“You want a kiss? Nothing else?”
He pinched his bottom lip, and though Matteo had a formidable presence, it seemed like he had folded himself up and become invisible. He was lost in his thoughts and didn’t answer.
This was about saving lives, and it seemed like a harmless request. Chances were he’d quickly forget about the promise or change his mind and ask for money.
I lifted my cup and let the steam warm my nose. “Be my guide. Take me to the lions, and I’ll promise you your last kiss.”
His expression softened. “Drink, female. My kiss awaits.”
Chapter 20
I scooped up a handful of damp earth. “Is this really necessary?”
Matteo shined his light on me. “If I can smell you a mile away, so will they. Put extra on your armpits and anywhere you sweat.”
Still on my knees, I proceeded to rub dirt, leaves, and forest litter on my sweatshirt. Matteo would point to places he wanted me to pay special attention to. It smelled like earth and decay, and I sneezed when dust from the crushed leaves floated up to my nose.
Matteo tossed me a small bottle.
“What’s this for?”
“Pour it in your hand and rub it through your hair and neck. I can smell your shampoo.”
I popped the lid off the bottle. “What is it?”
He twirled the flashlight. “You don’t want to know.”
No. I didn’t.
“We’re close,” he said. “Their scent is stronger.”
“Ugh! This is awful.” I wrinkled my nose and flipped my hair forward to rub it all in.
“Where’s your jacket? The temperature’s dropping.”
“It stays in the bag. I’ll be damned if I’m getting this pungent cologne of yours all over my good leather.” I shot to my feet and scowled. “Happy?”
Matteo was as tall as Claude, a good six and a half feet. He lowered his head and gave me a warm look. He studied me closely. “You never did tell me your Breed.”
“Sure I did.” I marched in the direction we’d been walking.
He caught up. “You’re not a Vampire. Not unless…” He wagged his finger at me. “Clever girl. You got me on wordplay, didn’t you? I bet you suck the souls out of your suitors.”
I smirked. “You’re probably right.”
He clutched my arm to stop me. “I need to know if you can protect yourself.”
“Would I be chasing a lion if I couldn’t? I know you have some instinctual need to protect women, but I’ve got a job to do. I’m not asking you to involve yourself. Just take me to the lions and go.”
“Follow me.”
Chitahs had decent night vision, so neither of us needed to use the flashlight as long as the moon kept periodically peeking out. Matteo moved through the woods as if he knew each tree, rock, hill, and fallen limb like the back of his hand.
He abruptly swung out his arm in front of me. After a few deep breaths, Matteo switched on his flashlight and approached a small clearing. The smell of charred wood lingered in the air like a dim memory. His light settled on the remains of a campfire now covered with dirt. General’s men had cleared out, but the dirt still held a mixture of footprints and paw prints.
“I thought they were camping here?” I said, clenching my fists.
He walked around the stone circle and rubbed his nose. “I can still smell their excitement.”
I wiped my clammy palms on my pants. “They wouldn’t attack my group in the middle of the night, would they?”
He delivered a cold stare, his voice flat. “When would you attack your enemy? Daylight, when they’re awake and alert? Or after dark, when only one person is keeping watch while the rest sleep?”
I released a controlled breath. “This isn’t supposed to happen. I thought you said they were letting their animals out.”
“They are. For hunting.”
“I thought you meant for food, not my friends!”
I kicked a tree and flattened my palms against it. “How far can you take me? Do you know where to find my people?”
“Their scent is all through these woods,” he said. “They stopped many times.”
I turned around and locked eyes with him. “Tell me which way they went. I’ll go on alone.”
He took a step forward. “But then I wouldn’t get my prize. I promised to take you to the lions.” Matteo outstretched his arms. “They’re not here, so I haven’t made good on my word.”
I gripped his wrist and threw as much sincerity and thanks in my words as I could muster. “Lead the way.”
Christian finished splitting another thick branch with his bare hands. He carried the bundle of wood back to the campsite. The kids huddled together on flat stones Christian had placed near the fire. He dropped the wood in a pile so they could keep the fire burning until dawn.
“We shouldn’t be lighting this,” Blue said as she held out her hands and warmed them.
“We’re in the middle of the godforsaken wilderness,” Christian pointed out. “The only thing that’s going to find us out here are the bears.” He took a seat on a tall stone, one of many he’d collected and placed at the campsite shortly before dusk.
“People camp in the woods all the time,” Viktor said, lying on his side with his head in his hand. “Besides, we need the fire to keep warm. Shifters will stay in their territory. We have seen no signs of trouble all day. This is good news.” He briefly closed his eyes when the flames grew brighter. “I wish I had my vodka.”
“Do you want another sandwich?” Blue asked. “I bought two loaves of bread, so there’s plenty.”
“Nyet. I have no room.” Viktor patted his stomach. “Save for the children.”
She breezed by him and wrapped up the bread before returning to the fire. “You should take food if you’re hungry. You won’t be any good to us if you’re starving to death.”
He chuckled and stroked his silver beard. “I am hardly starving, my dear.”
Carol raised her hand from her spot by the fire. “I’ll take one. Just jelly. No peanut butter.”
“I’ll get it.” Claude stood up and squatted by the supplies.
Christian split his attention between the group and the woods. He was on the opposite side of everyone except for the twins, who were busy speculating where they were going. Christian didn’t want to get too immersed in conversation since he was listening for suspicious footfalls, a human heartbeat, or whispering. They hadn’t run into any trouble during the hike, so this would probably be an uneventful trip unless they encountered a rogue band of Shifters. As long as the kids kept their jackets on and their birthmarks covered, they’d be okay. Christian had been busy with manual labor, and this was his first chance to sit down. Once everyone went to sleep, he planned to pick a spot in the shadows and stand guard for the night.
After Claude slathered jelly across a slice of bread, he handed the sandwich to Caro
l and sat next to her. He’d been keeping a close eye on the lass ever since she and her boyfriend had parted ways. Christian had mentioned to Shepherd that the lad might try to escape, but Shepherd said he had plans to add an extra sleepytime ingredient to Joshua’s cocoa, which would allow Shepherd to get some shut-eye for the night.
Eve stood up and removed her black jacket. Christian watched while she opened her bag and put on extra layers of clothing. She flipped her dark hair out from the collar and then made funny faces as she tried pulling her jacket on over everything. When it didn’t zip, Christian did everything he could to refrain from laughing. Adam pulled out his clothes and copied her plan.
“Sorry, kids.” Blue fished out two flat packages from her bag and tossed them on the ground. “We had to pack light. I only have two of these, but they should keep you warm.”
Eve ripped open a plastic package and unfolded a silver Mylar blanket. “I don’t get it.”
Adam added more leaves to his makeshift bed. Their sleeping spots were farther back from the fire. Probably just as well since the boy’s bed was about as flammable as it got. “You wrap it around yourself, dummy. It’s supposed to lock in body heat. Kinda like the foil they wrap around hot dogs.”
She plopped down on her pile of leaves and spread the blanket over her. “Great. So now I’ll look like a juicy hot dog to all the wild animals.”
Adam opened his up and showed her how to wrap it around herself. Once they settled in, they lowered their voices and speculated what the new place would be like. Christian had to mute the rattling from the Mylar blankets. These kids weren’t about to win any awards for the quietest camper.
When Carol sneezed, Claude took off his brown jacket and put it around her. She set her sandwich on a rock and put her arms through the long sleeves. After zipping it up, she resumed eating.
Claude dug through his bag and found a long-sleeved shirt to put on over his T-shirt. He ran a hand through his curly hair then poked his stick in the fire. “I think I cursed her.”
“Who?” Blue took a seat just behind him, next to Viktor.
Claude looked over his shoulder at her. “Gem.”
She rolled her eyes. “I doubt that.”
“When we were at the pawnshop, I put on a mask. Gem said it was cursed and would bring bad luck or death to whomever you looked at. I can’t remember exactly what she said.”
“Superstition.”
Viktor’s head was still propped in his hand as if he were just resting his eyes and listening, but Christian isolated the sound of his heart and recognized the relaxed rhythm it often hit whenever he slept.
Claude’s jacket swallowed Carol, covering her entire body down to her feet. Only her head of curly blond hair stuck out. She was a nervous little thing. Eyes always darting around, never trusting. They had to quell her chewing gum fixation after she kept snapping bubbles during the hike and then sticking the pink candy on trees when she was done. When she didn’t have gum to keep her mouth busy, they had to endure a steady stream of complaints about how unfair it was that they left Joshua behind.
Young love.
Jaysus.
Christian heard birds rustling in the trees, a small mammal scurrying across the forest bed, and a larger animal moving around. He had already spotted two bears during their walk, but predators usually kept their distance from Breed.
Unless they were hungry.
“Why don’t you seal up the rest of that food,” Christian instructed them. “And don’t leave any crumbs lying around. Not unless you want to wake up to a bear gnawing on your skull.”
Carol’s eyes widened as she finished the last bite of her sandwich.
Claude’s nose twitched, and he gave Christian a loaded glance. “Don’t scare them.”
Christian shrugged. “Life is scary. Better they get used to it now.”
While Blue gathered up the trash, Claude patted Carol on the back and tried to ease her fears. When he started purring, she snapped her head toward him.
“Are you doing that?”
He inclined his head.
After listening to it for a moment, she scooted closer to him. Chitahs purring seemed to have a soothing effect on people. To Christian, it was a chain saw in his ears.
Carol hugged her knees. “Are all Chitahs tall like you?”
“Most.”
“And have the same eyes?”
“Some. There are a lot of variations in color, but usually yellow to golden brown.”
“What about your kids?”
“I have none.”
“Why not?”
Claude’s brows drew together. “You ask too many questions.”
“I’m not tired. What else is there to do?” She stared into the tall flames. “You got any brothers or sisters?”
Keystone members didn’t probe into each other’s personal lives, but Christian couldn’t help but listen in, wondering if he might learn a little more about the mysterious Claude Valentine. Claude was a good tracker and a courageous fighter, but he was too amiable. How could a guy like that have no family or options other than Keystone?
Claude looked over his shoulder to see if anyone was listening. Viktor was asleep, and Blue had wandered off to bury the trash. “I had a sister, but she didn’t look like me.”
“Why not?”
“She was a human.”
Carol frowned. “How? I mean…” She grasped for words.
“Chitahs have human DNA far back in our ancestry. Nature selects our babies to be born either a Chitah or a human. If they’re human, we give them away.”
“Why would you do that?”
“Because the Breed world is too dangerous for a human.” Claude tapped her nose with his finger. “You above all should know this. When we give our children to the human world, we offer them a chance to live a normal life. They would always be vulnerable in our world, and it’s a parent’s greatest sacrifice.”
“So you gave your sister away?”
Claude shifted on his rock. “No.”
Carol rested her chin on her arms. “What did she look like?”
Christian’s shoulders sagged. He was kind of hoping the lass would have asked about Claude’s parents. Why would they have kept a human child? It was especially dangerous in olden times. Not just because of all the diseases, but it was commonplace for immortals to threaten the lives of mortal children in order to get what they wanted from a Chitah.
Claude cleared his throat. “Yvette had beautiful brown hair and matching eyes. She was not much taller than you are now. In fact, that’s how I first learned to do hair. Yvette couldn’t leave the house, and she always wanted to have her hair styled like all the pretty ladies she saw from the window.”
“Why couldn’t she leave?”
He snapped a small twig between his fingers. “Yvette was special. She had what people today call Down syndrome. In my time, they called it something much worse.”
“But I thought…” Carol’s mouth hung agape, and Christian could tell she was carefully choosing her words. “I thought if you were Breed, you couldn’t have children with anything… different.”
“That’s very true, and they’re the exception. Anyhow, Yvette wasn’t Breed. Humans in those times put mentally challenged children into asylums with lunatics, sometimes by force. What a terrible fate for those innocent children to be locked away with madmen and murderers. My parents wanted to protect her, so they kept her at home. Had she not been born that way, they could have given her up for adoption, but Yvette had no chance at a normal life. Humans would have put her away, and none of us would accept that fate. My father consulted a Relic who specialized in Chitah disorders to find out how it could have happened. The Relic said it was very rare, but it was likely they could have more children with the same condition. I didn’t care. Yvette was my little sister, and I guarded her with my life.” He absently touched the stubble growing along his jaw and chin. “She loved to laugh and brought us so much joy. Children like Yvette are
nothing but pure love.” His smile faded just as quickly as it had appeared. “It angered me that she couldn’t be a part of the world.”
“I know how she feels.” Carol glanced at the twins, who were sleeping. “I wish I had a brother or sister.”
Claude gazed at the fire. “I didn’t deserve such a gentle and loving sister, but I was a devoted big brother. I protected her for as long as I could and gave her all the love and laughter that the world never would. She should have had a better life, but she was just born in the wrong time.”
Christian thought back to his own blind sister. He wasn’t lucky enough to have known her more than a short time before he left Ireland, and it saddened him to think of what Cassie’s fate might have been. She’d loved her big brothers, and they had all left her behind in search of adventure and money.
“Is that why you don’t have kids?” Carol blurted out with the incivility of a fourteen-year-old. “Because you think they’ll be like your sister?”
Claude’s face heated, and his gaze intensified as he looked at Carol. “Never. I would be honored to have a child even half as beautiful as Yvette. Human or otherwise.” He stood up and dusted off his jeans. “You should go to sleep. We’ll be leaving early.”
Claude lifted his bag and turned around, his heart pounding like a drum. He did what he could to conceal his emotions from a young girl who didn’t know any better. Claude probably hadn’t told that story in a long time, if ever.
A twig snapped in the woods behind Christian. As different sounds forged together, Christian realized that something was running toward them. Just as he turned, a lion emerged from the mouth of the forest and sailed over the fire.
Carol shielded her face and screamed.
Chapter 21
Navigating the wilderness in the dark presented its own unique set of challenges unlike anything I’d experienced in the city. For one, I couldn’t flash. Cognito was lit by cars, streetlamps, and ambient light from shops and windows. In the woods of West Virginia, your only illumination was a flashlight and the moon, and Matteo had put his flashlight away after finding a steaming pile of shit.