by Liz Craven
She forced her mind back to the question. “It was time to grow up. You can’t build a life on a dollar more than minimum wage.”
Guilt creased her friend’s forehead. “I’m sorry. I hadn’t considered how my leaving affected you financially.”
She rolled her eyes. “I’d have kicked your ass if you had.”
“I know.” Caitlyn smiled. “Even though you disapproved of my decision, you supported me.”
“It wasn’t completely altruistic. Once I saw that maid of honor dress, I knew you would owe me for the rest of your life.”
“The dress was beautiful.” Caitlyn glared at her.
“Two words, my friend. Puffy. Sleeves.”
“They weren’t that bad.”
“Ha!”
“You looked gorgeous.”
“No one looks gorgeous in mint green with puffy sleeves and big ass mint green bow on their ass.”
“The color made your eyes pop.”
“That was the side effect of trying not to cry at people seeing me in that monstrosity.”
Whatever Caitlyn was going to say was interrupted by Jan’s cell phone.
“What was that about being a grownup?” Caitlyn asked as the phone happily burbled the theme song to the Muppet Show.
That was the only happy part of the call.
Chapter Six
The phone on his hip vibrated. Lucas rose from his seat and stepped out to answer it. It didn’t matter as he hadn’t been paying any attention to the lecture anyway. Fucking drug reps. He’d never treat an animal like these companies wanted him to treat people.
Seated on the back row it took mere seconds for him to slide into the lobby. A glance at the phone’s screen showed Damien’s name. Panic assailed him as he flipped the phone open, demanding, “Is she alright?”
“She’s fine,” Damien assured him.
“Did she return home? You have guards on her, don’t you?”
“She didn’t go back to her apartment. She’s staying with us for a little while.”
“She agreed to that?”
“Not yet, but she will. She really has no other option.”
Fear settled in his stomach like a lead weight. “What happened?”
“Jan’s fine,” Damien repeated. “But, she got a call this morning from the police. It appears her apartment was vandalized and her bed set on fire. Some pretty nasty graffiti was spray painted on the wall.”
Fury and fear warred within him, twisting around his stomach and heart. “I’m coming home.”
“That’s not a good idea, my friend.”
“If our positions were reversed and it was Caitlyn?”
Silence greeted his question, and Lucas felt a burst of satisfaction. His Alpha understood.
After a moment, Damien spoke. “Come home, but we need to find a way to keep your pheromones away from her. There’s a good chance they’ll cause her to go into heat.”
That surprised him. Based on his knowledge of Tigre and human anatomy, he’d expected the matriarch to say there was no chance of the mating heat. He glanced around to be sure no one could hear him. “The matriarch believes a … believes Jan could go into heat?”
“Yes. She’s convinced of it.”
Lucas frowned. “Medically, the chances are slim. At best, just this side of nil.”
“Let’s discuss it when you get home.”
“I’m leaving now.”
“There’ll be a ticket waiting for you at the airport.”
Damien hung up, and Lucas flipped the phone shut. His long legs ate up the distance to the nearest cab. He was grateful that his Alpha had offered even that small amount of information, given he was speaking on a cell phone.
The travel gods conspired against him and he met delay after delay before finally arriving home sometime after midnight. He went directly to Damien’s house.
Caitlyn met him on the porch in a cute pair of flannel jammies with feet. He wanted to laugh at the ultra-sexy ex-stripper in the yellow duck pajamas. He did grin.
“One smart word—”
“I can’t believe Damien hasn’t found those …whatever they are … and burned them.”
“They are very comfortable to lounge in.” She sniffed. “I assure you I don’t sleep in them.”
“My faith in our fearless leader is restored.”
Caitlyn laughed and hugged him. “It’s safe to come inside. Jan retired a few hours ago.”
He followed the Tigrine to the small parlor where he’d first seen his mate. Had that only been a few days earlier? The Alpha extended a snifter filled with a golden liquid, and Lucas accepted the brandy with gratitude.
All the way home, his mind had raced with questions—interspersed with invectives directed at the FAA and airlines. Now, he couldn’t figure which question to ask first. His needs to protect his mate, claim his mate, and seek retribution for his mate battled within him and rendered him mute.
“Have a seat,” Caitlyn entreated as she settled on the sofa.
Lucas sank into the chair opposite her and took a restorative swig.
Damien poured himself a glass and sat next to his mate, wrapping his free arm around her. “I’d apologize for dragging you away from the conference, but I know better.”
“What happened?”
“The police got a call from Jan’s neighbor. Someone—” Caitlyn snarled, but her mate continued “—trashed the place and painted ‘Die Whore’ on the wall.”
“Jan’s pretty badly shaken.”
Lucas growled and didn’t need a mirror to know his eyes had shifted. “I’ll kill him.”
“You’ll get your beast under control first.” Damien’s power touched him and with effort Lucas leashed his tiger.
“It’s odd,” Caitlyn mused. “He’s beaten her twice, but she took that almost in stride. When she heard about the apartment she fell apart.”
Lucas’s brief rotation in psychiatry meant he could explain the mental defenses of the human brain, such as disassociation, but his mind locked on one fact. “The bastard beat her twice.”
“He hit her once and she took immediate legal action—filed a police report, pressed charges, got a restraining order—very unusual for a human. The second time she came here.” Damien delivered the news with careful precision.
The idea of a man—human or not—inflicting injury on a woman had him rocketing out of his seat. He paced in effort to control the tiger.
“She never loved him.”
Caitlyn’s quiet statement arrested him mid-step. After a moment, he remembered to put his foot down. “How do you know that?”
The Tigrine gave him a watery smile. “Because I know Jan—and I know a little about abuse.”
Belatedly, he recalled Caitlyn’s degree in social work. Still, he snapped out, “Explain.” Damien’s growl had him adding, “Please.”
Caitlyn’s eyes shone with sympathy. “Human women outnumber human men and the idea of women being protected or even valued is becoming thought as outdated. I know women who find the idea insulting.”
Lucas’s heart sank. He wanted nothing in his life like he wanted the honor of protecting Jan.
“Jan’s not one of them, but she’s practical. In fact, she prefers things she can logically plan out. That includes romance. I’ve no doubt she picked Elliot because she decided it was time to get married, and he fit some checklist she devised. If she’d really been in love with him—or really imagined she loved him—she’d have found excuses for his behavior rather than going to the police.” An unholy gleam lit her eyes. “No doubt the son of a bitch is freaking out at her strength; likely never occurred to him that she wouldn’t just roll over and take it.”
A glimmer of hope burned in his chest.
“She’ll be more afraid of you than Elliot.”
Caitlyn’s casual observation struck him like a brick to the gut. “I would never hurt her.”
“I know that. Jan doesn’t. I assure you, bruises don’t frighten her nearly as mu
ch as losing her heart will.”
Lucas’s stomach turned over and he swallowed the fear. Love was a given between Tigre mates … but there’d never been a true mating between a human and a Tigre before. The thought drew him from the bloodlust over Elliot. “What did the matriarch say?”
Damien leaned back against the sofa, draping his arm across the back behind Caitlyn. He propped one ankle on the opposing knee and swirled the brandy. He looked for all the world like a man enjoying a relaxing night cap. Lucas wasn’t fooled for a minute.
“We’ve known for a while that shifters are dying out. We never speak of it, but we all know it’s true. Even Tigre are faltering, and we are second only to the Wulfen in numbers.”
Lucas nodded. It was one of the reasons he’d become both a vet and a doctor. Understanding the entire nature of his people was necessary to understanding their decreasing numbers. While he lacked the pharmaceutically funded luxury of a lab and full-time research, it remained his dream and passion to solve the mystery of his people’s decline. He’d been exploring the slight hormonal differences in human and Tigre females during their cycles and wondered if the spike he’d noticed in Tigre women preceding menstruation was significant.
The semi-amused expression on Damien’s face drew Lucas back to the present. “Forgive me. I was lost in my thoughts.”
Damien nodded. “The matriarch believes nature is … resetting the balance.”
“The balance?”
“Nature is adjusting to our decreasing numbers by expanding our gene pool. She’s including select humans in our mating heat to increase our genetic base. The matriarch believes Jan is one of many who will find herself mated to a shifter. She’s heard of this happening with two other breeds of shifter.”
Lucas stared at Damien for a stunned moment. “As a human the pheromones secreted by a Tigre—”
“You are thinking like a scientist.”
“I am a scientist.”
“You are also a metaphysical being and those metaphysics are what make a human—Jan—your mate and susceptible to your scent.”
Lucas opened his mouth to argue and silently closed it. He had no idea what argument he would have made. With a flash of insight he realized he had not been willing to consider an explanation that wasn’t medical. An unexpected sense of shame and remorse filled him. He’d followed the path of many doctors and begun worshipping exclusively at the altar of science. If not for being Tigre, he’d have become an atheist.
Remorse coiled inside him and he sent a silent apology to the gods of his people.
Caitlyn leaned towards him with her gentle smile. “There’s one way to know for sure. When will it be safe for you to be around Jan?”
“If the matriarch is right, never.” Lucas muttered, wrapped in his guilt.
“I meant when will it not be agony for her to have sex with you?”
The Tigrine’s bluntness startled him out of his self-absorption and he considered the question. “Her rib was cracked, not broken …. Two weeks, but three would be safer.”
“Split the difference. You’re having a party in two and a half weeks. Until then, stay away from Jan,” Caitlyn ordered.
“I’m having a party?” Was it all humans who made no sense or just the ones he knew?
The Tigrine rolled her eyes. “So we have an excuse to bring Jan over.”
“I can’t just invite her to dinner?”
“Nope. Then we wouldn’t get to watch.” Caitlyn grinned.
He shoved a hand through his hair. Two and a half weeks until he had a mate … or not.
“And it’s better we’re there in case something goes wrong with the meeting.” Damien added.
Well, that was reassuring.
Chapter Seven
Jan hated feeling like a charity case. And that’s exactly what she was. No matter how she tried to spin it in her head. She was mooching off Caitlyn’s family.
Damien had even driven her down to meet with the police. Hadn’t that been more fun than a barrel of monkeys. Caitlyn had volunteered to go along, but that would’ve meant bringing Patrice because she was nursing. Jan may have sunk to mooching off her friends, but she’d be damned if she dragged a baby to the police station and a crime scene.
Her boss had been less than pleased when she’d called to explain. He hadn’t been able to fire her thanks to FMLA, but she wasn’t getting paid for the time off. She could read between the lines well enough to know she wouldn’t have the job long once she got back. Her boss had been seriously put out, and she couldn’t blame him.
How had she managed to screw up her life so badly and in such a short period of time?
She strolled through the woods behind Caitlyn’s home and appreciated the beauty surrounding her. As much as she wanted to get lost in nature—figuratively, not literally—she couldn’t. Her mind kept turning over the oddities of the little town and the people who made it their home.
If it weren’t for a certain … feeling, she’d almost believe she’d stumbled into Mayberry. Except when she went into the local diner. Everyone fell silent for a good three of four heartbeats and there was the constant feeling of being watched. It was like having a cat stare you awake. It wasn’t a malevolent feeling, but she hated it just the same.
At times she thought she was losing her mind for believing she’d stumbled into a cult and other times she was convinced she should notify the ATF. Not that she saw guns or felt she was in imminent danger, but she didn’t know who else to call. Was there a one-eight-hundred-I’ve-seen-a-cult number?
Worse, she had no one to call and discuss her fears. When she’d moved to be closer to Elliott, she’d left her friends. In hindsight, the manipulation and excuses he’d used to separate her from her friends and keep her from making new ones bordered on the cliché. She couldn’t believe she’d been so gullible … so stupid.
Jan sighed. She’d been so arrogant, assuming she’d never find herself in this situation. No one ever believed they would find themselves in an abusive relationship or confess to a murder they didn’t commit or be tricked out of their life savings. Hell, Al Capone believed he was a philanthropist and couldn’t understand why he was so reviled. But when it all came down to it, humans were predictable, susceptible creatures.
Apparently those undergraduate sociology courses were good for something.
She paused at the free flowing river and could almost feel the forest take a breath. For a brief moment, she considered letting herself slide into the water, just to see if someone would come charging to the rescue … or at least to get a closer look while laughing their asses off at her.
If it hadn’t been so damned cold, she’d have given into the urge. Instead, she kicked at a few pebbles and watched them plunk into the water with a sound like a tiny rainfall.
“Jan,” Caitlyn called a moment before she appeared through a break in the trees. Exasperated affection colored her voice. “There you are. Are you ready? We’re going to be late.”
With anyone else, Jan would have smiled and swallowed her tongue. But this was Caitlyn, and despite time and distance, Jan felt closer to her than anyone else in the world. That renewed realization brought a wave of sadness she struggled to ignore.
“I think I’m going to beg off. Would you make my apologies to Doctor Hu— to Lucas? Tell him I have a headache.”
“No.”
“No?”
“No.” Caitlyn sighed. “Jan, the man has gone to a lot of trouble having the three of us over for dinner. I know you prefer books to people, but I’m not letting you skip out of this dinner.”
Guilt wiggled its way into her resolve. She owed her friend and her friend’s annoying husband. The least she could do was attend a dinner and try not to spill anything on herself. Maybe it would be an early evening.
“Fine,” Jan muttered, knowing she sounded less than gracious. Hell, she was going wasn’t she? Feeling awkward, she turned back towards the house.
Caitlyn shook her head. “It will be
quicker to go this way.”
Jan followed Caitlyn along the river. “We aren’t going back? What about Damien?”
“Our land abuts Lucas’s. It’s faster this way.” Caitlyn assured her, tossing a smile over her shoulder. “And Damien’s already there. Apparently Lucas got a new grill.”
Jan shook her head. “What is it about men and grills?”
“I think cooking meat with flame calls to their inner caveman.”
They rounded a curve and Jan took in the large, artistically rustic home. They approached from the back, giving them a view of a large deck, sprawling out from a bank of floor-to-ceiling windows that likely provided a beautiful view of the river and surrounding hills.
On the far corner of the deck stood a grill reminiscent of a large Star Wars droid—something the Empire would have engineered. The men tinkered with the R2D2 shaped propane tank off to the side.
Caitlyn led her unerringly to a staircase hidden in the curve of the house, calling out as they climbed the stairs, “So will we be able to eat or should I call for a pizza?”
“Just have to turn on the gas and we’re ready to grill,” Lucas assured her with a smile.
He turned that ten-ton, mega-watt smile on her and Jan felt her knees turn to water. She smiled back before she could think. Damn it. Was she simpering?
She was! She was simpering!
She wiped the smile from her face and glared at him on principle. With effort she ignored the surprised hurt in his eyes.
Lucas turned back to the grill and fiddled with the dials.
In the uncomfortable silence that followed, Damien announced, “The grill will take a few minutes to heat up. Can I pour anyone a glass of wine?”
Caitlyn eyed the Malbec with undisguised lust. “What year is that?”
Damien gave his wife an unguarded and affectionate look that softened his features. “Not one Patrice would appreciate,” he assured her kindly.