~~~
Pain throbbing at the back of his head was the first thing Sean noticed when he regained consciousness. The pounding made it hard to concentrate, but then he remembered the accident; he needed to wake the hell up and get Lauren to safety. Whoever had hit his car had done it on purpose and who knew what they’d do to his female.
He grit his teeth against the pain, and with incredible effort, Sean opened his eyes to find himself in a dim-lit room.
Fuck. This wasn’t a hospital, or even the makeshift clinic on DarkStalker’s lands. His cougar eyesight was keen even in the dark, and the room was no more than fifteen feet by twenty feet. No tables, beds, sofas, or anything else apart from the chair under his ass and one tall, metal cabinet across the room.
And most important of all, there was no Lauren.
Where the hell is she? He needed to find his female. If whoever hit his car had hurt her, they would pay.
His cougar snarled in agreement. Yes. She is ours. We must find her.
In order to do that, he needed to find a way out. He tried to move his hands, but pain shot up his arms at the same time his wrists and hands came up against some kind of bindings.
Drawing in a hiss, Sean realized he was trapped. His fingers were folded into his palm with his thumb on top, and wrapped with some kind of super strong bindings, which had been placed to prevent him from not only using his claws, but also from shifting. If he shifted in this position, his arms would break in cougar-form. His chances of getting away would be nearly zero after that. He’d have to come up with another strategy.
The lock on the door clicked. With every bit of stubbornness he possessed, Sean pushed his pain to the back of his mind so he could focus. He might be one of his clan’s engineers, but all of DarkStalker’s clan members received training as teenagers on how to defend and escape. There were always humans who wanted to harm them, and one of the few things all shifter clans agreed upon was that their members needed to be ready in case of an attack.
The door opened to reveal a man and woman wearing jeans and sweaters, but also with cloth bandit-style black masks over their faces. That signaled the pair were with Human Purity. Despite how loud the fuckers were with their protests and outrage, they hid behind scraps of material to avoid being targeted and hunted down.
Shifters might be civil ninety-five percent of the time, but Human Purity feared that remaining five percent, and with good reason. If this pair had killed his female, he would make the bastards pay.
The human male approached him, his head high and shoulders back. The bindings around his hands must be pretty fucking special to instill this kind of confidence in the human.
The male stopped two feet away from Sean. When he spoke, his voice was loud and his tone rushed, as if the man came from the east coast. “A trial was held with the board, and you’ve been found guilty of intent to dilute the human gene pool. Once we confirm the woman you’ve corrupted is clean and free of any shifter hybrid offspring, she will be rehabilitated. Then you will receive your sentence.”
He tried to clench his hands, but the bindings prevented it. While it was highly unlikely Lauren was pregnant since she was on birth control, if she was and these bastards took their baby without her consent, he would find their weakness and exploit it to cause pain. They needed to experience the same sense of loss as he and his female would if they killed their baby.
First things first, he needed more information.
Despite his inner anger, Sean kept his face impassive. He needed to make Lauren appear to mean nothing to him. “The human female was fun, but nothing serious. Do what you will with her. I want to know what the hell you intend to do with me.”
Because of the black masks, he couldn’t read the facial expressions of either of the Human Purity members. That pissed him off big time since he had no idea if they bought his words or not. He’d have to rely on his supersensitive hearing and sense of smell to gauge their reactions.
And right now, he didn’t scent fear or hear any racing heartbeats. These two were very confident.
This time, the human female spoke, her voice holding a southern drawl. “You will be made an example to discourage shifters and humans from mixing. That is all you need to know.”
It was time to try to wheedle information out of the pair. “Then why bother coming in here to tell me anything? You could’ve done it over an intercom system.”
Rather than answer, the female lifted up a video camera and held it out in front of her. Once she nodded, the male approached him and Sean had a feeling he knew what was coming. Human Purity used videos to recruit new members; kicking the shit out of a shifter always worked well for them.
The male moved behind him and every muscle in Sean’s body tensed. As the seconds ticked by, he didn’t allow the silence to unsettle him. The best thing right now, for both him and Lauren, was to brace himself for whatever blow was coming. If Purity’s past videos were anything to go on, they wouldn’t kill him straight away; they liked to make the shifters suffer for days.
That meant Sean needed to remain conscious and with the least amount of injuries possible so he could think of a plan.
Without warning, a punch landed on his side, but Sean was careful not to make a sound. Acting stoic may hurt him in the long run, but it would fuel Purity’s hatred to keep him alive longer to suffer more.
Or so he hoped. He needed more time to get out of this situation. Lauren was in trouble because of him, and he needed to make it right.
Another punch landed on his opposite side and Sean concentrated. This session might go from painful to what-the-fuckery fast, and he needed to be ready.
Chapter Four
Lauren hugged her body tighter. Despite her winter coat, the cold had seeped all the way to the bone. Sitting outside, wedged between two huge boulders, while sitting on a wet rock in December, would do that to a person.
If Sean were there, he would’ve wrapped his arms around her and let his extra warm shifter body heat chase the chill away. But Sean was gone. She refused to think he was dead, which was why she sat here in the cold, waiting for one of his clan members to come get her.
Kian Murray hadn’t said much. She’d recounted the events leading up to the car crash, and then described her location. He’d given her instructions about where she could wait nearby in safety, until one of his clan, wearing a stretchy red band around his or her neck, retrieved her.
She hadn’t had a chance to ask who before the shifter leader had hung up. Yes, she knew he had to be careful and exude strength in order to protect his clan, but he’d been almost rude with her. Whether that was because she was human or because she’d referred to herself as Sean’s fiancée, she didn’t know.
Rubbing her arms with her hands for warmth, Lauren gave a sad smile. She’d never officially said yes, but if the trauma and possibility of Sean being dead had taught her anything, it was that she wanted to keep Sean. Forever.
Even if it meant living with the shifters and becoming a shifter dentist. When—not if—she saw him, she’d tell him yes, she wanted to be his mate. Of course, if he still wanted her after she shared her other Christmas present-slash-secret with him.
An engine roared past and Lauren held her breath. Each and every car that came close to the road scared her into thinking the human state troopers would find her and take her away. She wanted to trust Kian Murray, but couldn’t. For all she knew, he had sent a human police officer to retrieve her and take her away. Then she would no longer be his problem.
Get a grip, Lauren. As she was injured, alone, and on Human Purity’s shit list, she really didn’t have a choice but to believe Kian would help her.
She extended her good leg and lowered it, hoping to warm her body up with some exercise, when a blue-eyed cougar appeared in front of her. For a second, her heart skipped a beat at the huge feline in front of her, but then she realized there were no wild cougars in this small, forested area since it was nestled between two cities. The cat had to be a shifter.
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With her fear mostly pushed aside, Lauren studied the cougar looking at her. He or she was smaller than Sean, with more spots on his or her nose. Yet the blue color of its eyes were identical to her man when he was in his cat form. She’d never seen another shifter in their animal form apart from Sean, but she wondered if the same eye color signaled a relation.
The cougar was also wearing a red band around its throat.
Before she could speak, the cougar butted her knee and then motioned with its head to the side. Lauren whispered, “Are you with DarkStalker?”
The big cat gave a soft meow and turned around, swishing its tail. Again, it made a motion with its head before taking another step away.
Lauren wanted to follow, but she needed at least one more confirmation. She whispered again, “Wait.” The cat looked over its shoulder and she continued, “Prove to me that you’re friendly and with DarkStalker. Come here and let me touch the top of your head.”
The cat flicked its tail and gave a low growl, as if saying no fucking way.
Yet Lauren wasn’t about to trust so easily. Crossing her arms over her chest, she raised an eyebrow and waited. After about a minute, the cat gave a soft growl and padded over to her. When Lauren didn’t reach out right away, the cougar tilted its head as if asking for her to hurry up.
Since the big cat would’ve attacked her already if he or she had intended it, Lauren reached out a hand and lightly scratched the top of the cougar’s head. The tanned fur under her finger tips wasn’t as soft as a domestic cat’s, but it wasn’t too rough. After a few scratches the cougar turned around again and motioned with its head.
Satisfied for now, she placed her hands on the boulders to either side of her and used the strength of her arms to maneuver herself upright. The cougar’s eyes shot straight to her injured leg. Lauren said, “Don’t worry. It stopped bleeding and isn’t too bad. Once I get somewhere warm, I’ll be fine.”
The cat studied her a second before nodding and walking away.
Lauren limped behind through some thick underbrush before the cat stopped and looked at her. Hoping for some clarification, Lauren said, “Where do we go from here?”
The cougar chirped and then she watched as the cat’s face morphed into a human’s head, her legs extended into human legs, and her paws turned into hands. A tall, red-haired, and very naked woman wearing a stretchy red band around her throat stood in front of her. The shifter female crossed her arms over her chest before giving Lauren a once over and saying, “So this is my brother’s female.”
Lauren blinked. While the woman and Sean shared the same shape of eyes and light blue eye color, that’s where the resemblance ended; Sean had brown hair to this woman’s red. “You’re Sean’s sister?”
“Glad to see my brother couldn’t be bothered to show you a picture of his beloved older sister.” The woman reached over and retrieved something from the tree next to her. As the shifter tore off the red band and tossed the sweatshirt over her head, she said, “Yes, I’m Danika. Since he talks about you all the time, I know you’re Lauren Spencer.”
Lauren’s momentary shock faded and she remembered why she’d contacted DarkStalker in the first place. “Have you found Sean yet? Or, at least, have an idea of where he is?”
Danika tugged on a pair of sweatpants and then looked her dead in the eye. “No, not yet, but my clan is working on it.”
Her throat tightened, but she fought the urge to cry. “Do you think he’s still alive?”
Irritation flashed through the shifter’s eyes. “Yes. If you’re willing to give up on him so easily, then you don’t deserve him.”
Lauren narrowed her eyes. “Of course I haven’t given up. Do you think I would have waited out here in the freezing cold for over an hour for you to find me? I stayed because I can’t find him alone. Maybe I know something that can help.”
“Yes, my leader seems to think so too.”
Any lasting shock from the woman’s shifting from cat to human faded at Danika’s tone and was replaced with irritation and a little bit of anger. “Just spit out whatever you’re not saying. Sean does the same thing when he’s frustrated or angry, and I never allow him to stew, so I won’t put up with it from you either. I thought shifters were above passive-aggression.”
Danika raised an eyebrow. “Well, well, the human is tougher than she looks.”
“I wouldn’t have a shifter for a fiancée if I weren’t.”
After a second, Sean’s sister nodded. “So far, I like you.”
Standing up to the shifter female seemed to be working, so Lauren kept at it. “Well if you do, then can we get going? My leg hurts like hell, my toes on my good leg are starting to go numb, and I’m wearing blood-soaked clothes.”
“Fine, follow me. I’ll take you to one of DarkStalker’s apartments in the area to get cleaned up. Then we’ll see if you’re any use to us.”
Once the shifter turned her back, Lauren let out a long breath as she followed Danika through the woods. If it took this much energy to handle one shifter, what would it be like to face a whole room of them, let alone an entire clan?
Think of Sean. You love him. You can do this.
For Sean, she’d do anything. She just hoped she could change her clothes and eat something before she had to try to win over any more stubborn shifters.
~~~
Looking in the bathroom mirror, Lauren made a face and decided there was nothing she could do about the curly frizzy mess that was her hair. The apartment Danika had brought her to lacked any of the hair care products she usually used to straighten it.
Of course, worrying about her hair was just the latest excuse she was using to stay inside the bathroom. By now, Danika’s friends should’ve shown up, which meant dealing with more shifters and trying to gain more acceptance.
She wouldn’t mind all of this if Sean was at her side. But alone, it was going to be downright exhausting.
At least her leg felt better after the hot shower and a liberal application of antiseptic gel. She’d been right in her earlier assumption that while long, the cut wasn’t deep.
Stop dillydallying and coming up with excuses, Lauren. Think of Sean. With one last glance at her reflection in the mirror, she turned and opened the door. As she walked down the hallway, she heard a male’s voice say, “According to Dave, Human Purity doesn’t try to hide their tracks. He should have a list of possible locations to search in the next hour or two.”
Danika’s voice greeted her ears next. “I don’t like waiting, but knowing Sean, he’ll find a way to keep them from killing him in the next two hours. I’m more concerned about having enough shifters we trust to investigate the list of locations.”
There was a pause and then the male voice said, “Hello, human. Care to come out and join the conversation? I promise I won’t bite.”
The male shifter’s light tone eased a bit of her nervousness. Maybe not all shifters were as hardass as Danika Fisher.
Straightening her shoulders, Lauren strode into the living room and was greeted with the sight of a muscled man with amusement dancing in his green eyes. He was tall, as all shifters tended to be, but since he wasn’t glaring at her the way Danika had back in the forest, he was a little less intimidating.
The male smiled. “So this is Sean’s human? If I weren’t mated myself, I’d be tempted to try to woo you.”
She battled a flush. Human men had rarely noticed her over the years, but she attracted shifters like a fly with honey. “And you are?”
The male strode over and held out a hand. “I’m Sylas Murray of Clan GreyFire.”
It took her a second to recognize the name. “The wolf-shifter clan?”
He winked. “The very one. My mate is GreyFire’s clan leader, Kaya.”
He wiggled his fingers, and Lauren took his hand to shake. Once she finished and dropped it, she looked over to Danika and then back to Sylas. “I don’t understand. Sean is a cougar-shifter. From what little I know, the wolves and cougars d
on’t much care for each other.”
Danika’s tone was dry when she said, “It’s taken me months to get use to the stench of wolf, but despite their smell, they have their uses.”
Sylas shook his head. “What Dani is trying to say is that I’m a cougar-shifter too, but I’m mated to a wolf. My brother, Kian, is DarkStalker’s clan leader, so I have ties to both clans. You could say I’m the reason the two clans are now getting along.”
Danika rolled her eyes. “Yes, you and not the virus we helped with.”
Sylas shrugged. “Hey, the virus helped, but you know it’s all down to me and my sexy talk. Kaya didn’t stand a chance.”
As the two continued to banter, Lauren tried to take it all in, but was having trouble. A few months ago, Sean had started to trust her with his clan’s affairs, but she was still human, and there was so much she didn’t know.
Watching the pair argue like brother and sister, Lauren decided she needed to stop them so she could get answers and bring their focus back on Sean.
Sean. He needed their help, and she would remind them of that fact.
Lauren gave a loud whistle and the two shifters stopped talking to stare at her. Fueled by her love for Sean, she said, “Enough. Right now, I don’t care how or why you’re working together. All I want to know is what is being done to find Sean. I overheard that you’re tracking the location, but unsure about having enough bodies to help. What can we do to fix that?”
Dani frowned, but Sy grinned before he said, “Yes, I think I like you, human.”
Danika gave Sylas a shove before she answered, “Your drive to save Sean raises you in my esteem, but there isn’t much for you to do but wait around. You’re a dentist, not a soldier.”
She opened her mouth to protest, but Sylas cut her off. “As much as I hate to say it, she’s right. But hang tight. If Sean’s in a bad way when we find him, we’ll need your help. That’s why my brother wanted Dani to bring you here to wait.”
As much as she didn’t want to think of Sean in a “bad way,” Lauren would rather be prepared. “What? How?”
Cougar's First Christmas Page 3