by Lola Kidd
Jessica had to know before she left Penicalla. It was a long shot, but it could bring her mother back to her. If the lamp could grant wishes, she could wish her mother back to life. Or wish that she had never died in the first place. She’d never shared her crazy idea with anyone besides Daria. Her father would probably have her locked away if he knew about her childish belief in magic. But shifters had to come from somewhere. Who was to say it wasn’t from magic? It wasn’t like any of the other theories made any more sense than her own.
Daria sighed. “Fine. Just let me know before you go. Someone needs to be able to tell the authorities where your body is a month from now.”
“I love you too, bestie.”
“Be careful.”
Jessica hung up the phone and pulled up a map of the area on her computer. It was a long trip through the Wasteland. She had never even gone into the forest, and she had no idea what it was going to be like. She printed out the map, wiped her hard drive, then lined up the maps from her mother’s book with the printout. The Wasteland wasn’t as far away as she’d first believed. It wouldn’t be that hard to get there on foot.
She packed a small bag and put it next to her window to wait for sundown. Getting away wasn’t going to be easy, but she was excited. She’d never tried to go to the Wasteland before, and they’d never suspect that was where she was going. By the time the guards realized they were searching for her in the wrong place, she’d be long gone.
Two
Aleksander Kern was tired. He’d spent a long day at the markets with his charge, following her from stall to stall for hours. Then he’d spent even longer looking for her after she’d ditched him. She was infuriating! This was one of the days he’d wished he’d never taken the job. His life had been a mess ever since he’d met Jessica Sheridan.
It was supposed to be an easy assignment. Follow a gubernatorial candidate’s daughter around for a few months and make a boatload of cash. He knew he should have switched jobs. He’d been thinking of leaving for Shifter Safety for months. This was going to be his last job for Silent Security. If he had taken even a moment to look into Roger Sheridan, he would never have said yes. If he’d taken a moment to ask around about Jessica Sheridan, he would never have said yes. But he’d been stupid, and he’d almost lost his mind when he saw all the zeros at the end of his retainer.
Roger hated shifters. That was part of his campaign platform. Keeping shifters in line was better for all humans. Never mind that the shifters already policed their own kind. Never mind that shifters were a pivotal part of his state’s economy and paid taxes just like any other citizen. Naw, forget about all of that because his wife had been murdered by a shifter. Asshole. It wasn’t like Alek hated all humans because some crazy human had killed his mother. No, he protected them every day.
He couldn’t wait until he quit his job and Roger found out that he was a shifter. Roger wasn’t just entrusting his little girl’s safety to a tiger shifter every day; Alek was the best bodyguard he had. Before Alek arrived, it had been much harder to deal with Jessica. There was no way they were going to be able to keep her safe without him. That was the only reason he stayed on at his stupid job. As much as he hated watching the little ice queen, he wasn’t about to let her get hurt. As infuriating as it was, he couldn’t seem to shake the urge to protect her.
So he was stuck until the marriage happened. He’d heard through the grapevine that Roger was trying to get his little girl married to one of the Collins boys. Jasper was a boring guy, but he had the money to keep Jessica safe. Once she was out of the governor’s mansion, she’d be a lot safer. Alek had explained this to Roger many times. Being close to him was what put her in such danger. If the old man would ease up and let her move away, Alek wouldn’t be stuck in this job and Jess’s life would get much easier.
With all the rules, she’d become sullen and was rebelling. Now he had a long week ahead of him of watching her twenty-four/seven. Lucky him.
He was waiting for his second in command to show up with his dinner. Kevin Burrows had been working with Alek for four years. Alek had known Kevin since they were teenagers and had helped him get the job. Kevin was the only guy on the crew who knew what Alek was, and was his best friend. He was the only person Alek could trust to watch Jess when times got tough.
Kevin was going to watch Jessica’s door while Alek ate and got some shut-eye.
Alek smelled Kevin before he saw him. The delicious smell of greasy food made his stomach growl. “You’re late.”
“I know. I’m sorry.” Kevin held up a bag of steaming hot fast food by way of apology.
Alek was tearing into the bag as soon as Kevin set it down. It was greasy garbage food, but he’d been craving it since the market. He always craved fast food on his really bad days. “What’s up?”
“Getting ready for another Collins meeting.” Kevin stretched. “We had to do multiple sweeps of the guest house and I spent two hours coordinating with his team. It sounds like Jasper is coming down himself this time.”
Alek paused before moving on to his second burger. “Must be getting serious.”
“They are.” Kevin yawned. “I hate this swing shift, man. When do you think you’re going to have me back on day shift?”
Alek shrugged. “I need to keep you on swing for at least the next week. She did a runner again.”
“You’re kidding. I didn’t hear anything about it.”
“It wasn’t that bad, but we lost her for three hours. I thought she was really gone this time.”
“Must have been scary for you. I know how much you love chasing after your girl, but maybe next time keep an eye on her? Not all of us live for the chase.”
Alek kicked Kevin lightly in the shin. “Shut up.”
“She’s a real pretty girl. You need to stop fighting your feelings, preferably before next Wednesday.”
Alek almost choked on his fries. “Did you start another pool?”
“I didn’t have anything to do with it this time.” Kevin grinned. “It’s obvious to everyone but you, her, and her daddy.”
“I’m going to write up everyone who participates,” Alek snarled.
Kevin laughed. “Calm down, boss. You know this wouldn’t be nearly as popular if you didn’t freak out about it.”
“Your jokes make me sound very unprofessional. I’m going to take that very seriously. How would you like it if I did that to you?”
“I’m not the one running away from my mate.” Kevin stepped just out of Alek’s reach as he moved to kick him again. “Keep getting mad, but let’s see what happens when Jasper gets here. I don’t think your tiger is going to take too kindly to another man sniffing around its mate.”
“Shut up,” Alek hissed. He looked around to make sure they were alone in the hallway. “There’s only a door between Jessica and us. She could hear you.”
“She’s not going to hear me,” Kevin whispered. “Even if she did, she wouldn’t believe me. No one would. You’re not going to get caught.”
“Just don’t talk like that anymore. Do a sweep of the floor while I finish eating,” he told Kevin.
“Sure thing, boss,” Kevin said and marched off down the hall.
Alek sat down with his food and tried to calm himself down. He hated these rumors. Almost immediately after he’d taken over as head of security, they had started talking about him and Jessica. No one else even knew about the shifter thing, and they were still joking that she was his fated mate. He’d talked with his boss about it, but he’d told Alek to ignore it unless it got really out of hand. By making a big deal of it, he would only make it worse. So far, that tactic wasn’t working.
There was nothing he could do about it at the moment. He had to keep his focus completely on Jess. She was going to make a run for it. He could feel it in his bones. She wasn’t going to react well when Roger told her Jasper was visiting. Roger loved his daughter, but he had no idea how to handle her. He was going to back her into a corner, and the only option sh
e had was leaving Penicalla. Alek didn’t want her to do anything reckless and put herself in danger. He’d stay at work as long as it took to save her from herself.
He’d seen the anger in her emerald eyes when she left her father’s office earlier. He’d only seen her that angry twice before, and both times she’d run away in the night. He was ready for her this time.
He finished eating and waited for Kevin to get back.
“Sweep completed,” Kevin told him. “All clear and nothing out of place.”
Alek nodded. “Great. Keep an eye on this door. I’m going to go patrol outside for a while.”
“Will do.”
Kevin assumed a position outside Jess’s door. Nothing was going to get past him. Alek didn’t know what he would do without a trustworthy man like Kev. His other men were good, but he didn’t trust any of them like he did Kevin. He left him guarding Jess’s door and took to the streets.
It was after midnight and there wasn’t a soul in sight. Very different from the capital city, and the reason Roger had decided to continue residing in his hometown. It was an unorthodox move, but it made Alek’s job easier. They only went to the state-run governor’s mansion for special occasions. Most of the year, they stayed in Penicalla.
He walked around the house and checked on all the guards patrolling. Everyone was in place and doing sweeps.
Something still didn’t feel right. He wished he could shift and sniff around a little. He still had a superhuman sense of smell when he was in human form, but it didn’t compare to his tiger’s. He couldn’t stalk in his human form. Instead of sticking to the ground, he decided to get an aerial perspective.
He walked to the guest house and went to the roof. He would wait here until dawn. If she didn’t try to make a break for it tonight, he wouldn’t have to do it again.
He didn’t have to wait for the sun to rise to be proven right. Three hours later, he saw a lone figure walking toward the guest house. It was too small to be one of his guards. He could just barely make out the scent of jasmine and vanilla. It had to be her. Alek radioed Kevin as he made his way to the ground.
“Check the room,” he whispered. He had run down from the roof and was trying to pick up her scent. She was moving very fast.
There was a short delay before Kevin’s voice roared in his earpiece. “She’s gone!”
“Keep it quiet,” Alek ordered.
“What? We need to get everyone out looking for her.”
“I’m following her right now. I want to see if anyone is helping her.”
As far as he knew, she had no friends in Penicalla. He’d seen her making small talk a lot, and there were people she volunteered with regularly, but they didn’t meet outside the organization events. As far as he could tell, her only friend was that Daria girl, and she didn’t live in town anymore. He wanted to see how Jess tried to get out of town. It would make it easier to track her next time. If there was a next time; she might not try this again before her wedding.
A small part of him was also curious to see if she could do it. That was the strangest aspect of this job. Sometimes he felt more like a prison guard than private security. She was a full-grown woman, and it didn’t feel right to be circumventing her efforts to become independent. Every time he’d caught up with her, she had come back willingly. This was his way of giving her options while still doing his job. If she ever refused, he would let her go. So far, all she seemed to want to do was yell at her father and test his boundaries. She had never seriously tried to get away from Roger.
She was going in a different direction this time. Usually she went toward the western forest. There was a bus straight to the airport in the next town.
He had no idea where she was going this time. He dropped back and increased the distance between them. If she was meeting someone, he was going to have to be a lot more careful. He racked his brain to think of anyone he’d seen her with in the last year.
He was surprised when she passed all the residential neighborhoods and headed to the outskirts of town. She was going to make the journey on foot. Even more surprising, she was headed toward the eastern forest. There was nothing on the other side of the forest but the Wasteland. The shifter-run area stretched for miles, and rumor had it wasn’t very human friendly. The next town on this side wasn’t friendly with Penicalla either. The Wasteland town of Rose Valley wasn’t as nice as it sounded. She had to be desperate to try to go there.
The Rose Valley shifters were a crazy bunch. He knew there were a lot of wolf shifters, a couple of bear shifters, and one dragon shifter that kept itself well hidden. It was no place for a naïve young woman, especially not one as pretty as Jessica. Not that he was interested, but she’d be a prize for any Wasteland shifter who could get his paws on her. She would fetch a high price in the underground mate market. It was very hush-hush and never spoken about in polite circles, but it happened. Sex trafficking was as much a problem for shifters as it was for humans.
It made no sense for her be going that way. Unless she was meeting a shifter. That would throw Daddy dearest for a loop. Hell, it would surprise Alek too. As far as he could tell, Jess didn’t hate shifters like Roger did, but she was very suspicious of them. He’d never seen her even talking to one.
When she veered off the road, he started closing the distance between them. He would approach her in the forest.
If she was meeting a shifter, he had no idea how he’d keep them apart and convince her to come back to the mansion. What if the shifter got violent? The only way to protect her would be to shift himself, and then his cover would be blown. He was going to have to catch up to her before she rendezvoused with anyone else. Pity. He was curious as to her motives this time.
As he got closer, he could smell her scent everywhere. It was much stronger than it had been earlier. It was even stronger than when he’d grabbed her at the market. He wasn’t even that close to her yet, but the smell was overpowering. His tiger stirred.
Alek’s vision swam and his head pounded. He suddenly couldn’t catch his breath and his chest was tight. He pulled the mic out of his ear and leaned against the tree next to him. He blinked rapidly. Then his tiger pushed to the forefront and took control. Alek was confused and very afraid. This hadn’t happened in years. He knew how to control his animal now. He wasn’t some hormonal teenager just learning how to control his tiger.
He tried to rein in the animal and push it back to his subconscious. He pushed back mentally against the beast and tried to beat it into submission. Sweat trickled down his face as he struggled. He dropped to his knees and held his head in his hands. Tension wracked his body as he fought to keep control. He focused all his energy on locking his animal into a small back corner of his mind. It didn’t work.
His tiger blasted through his mental defenses and pushed Alek to a small, dark corner of his mind. He was powerless to stop himself from transforming.
The powerful tiger stalked Jessica through the trees. Alek screamed at the animal and tried to regain control, but it was no use. The tiger soundlessly crept up on Jessica. She didn’t even see it coming.
Alek watched with horror as his tiger pounced on the unarmed woman. The forest was deadly quiet as the tiger’s jaws clamped down on Jessica’s shoulder. She screamed loudly and beat the animal on the head, but it wouldn’t let go. It held her down with a paw and opened its jaws. It licked the wound it had just created until it had stopped bleeding. Then, just as quickly as it had begun, the attack was over. The giant tiger got up and bounded off into the trees.
He didn’t even try to take control back. He didn’t want anyone to see his face.
That was it. His life was over. He would never be able to keep Jess safe again. He was going to have to leave town and head for a shifter sanctuary. All he could hope was that he hadn’t ruined her life too.
Maybe she wouldn’t turn. Maybe his tiger had only wrecked his future.
Three
Jessica lay on the ground in shock. She had to get up
. No one knew where she was. If she stayed on the ground, she was going to die all alone and no one would ever find her body.
The tatters of shirt that were still clinging to her torso were soaked in blood. She sat up gingerly and put her hand to her shoulder.
The wound didn’t go all the way through. She couldn’t get a good look at it, but it didn’t appear to still be bleeding. She opened her backpack and took out a granola bar and a bottle of juice. She ate and drank slowly while she continued to cry. By the time she’d finished the food, she wasn’t shaking anymore. She could stand up, and she had stopped crying.
She focused on the sounds around her as she tried to calm her mind. She could hear rodents scurrying around and there were birds flitting around the treetops. She listened hard, but there was no sign of the tiger. But then, she hadn’t heard it coming the first time, either. The animal could still be out there, waiting to pounce again. It could be toying with her. It wasn’t safe out here.
She would have to go back home. There was no way she could try to walk to Rose Valley in her current condition. No one would accept her at the next town covered in blood, either.
She started the walk back to town with only one thought on her mind. Was she going to turn?
Tigers weren’t native to the area. There was no way that one wasn’t a were-animal or a shifter. Being bitten by a were-animal didn’t guarantee that she’d turn; there was still a chance she’d be fine. Either way, she needed to know before she left. She would be a danger to anyone near her when she first turned. She didn’t want to hurt someone while traveling to Baghera because she was so anxious to leave. She had to be safe about it.
She snuck back into her room without being spotted. Her father’s night guards weren’t that good at their jobs. She’d expected to have a hard time getting back inside in her current state, but there wasn’t anyone around to see her.