Ian arrived a few minutes later, emerging from the mudroom with a cheerful smile. “The tiger cub is adorable. Have you two seen her yet?”
“The mom was so malnourished,” Erin explained. “We really didn’t expect the cub to survive. But she’s a feisty little thing. Proved us all wrong.”
“I’ll give Carissa a guided tour as soon as we finish the meld,” Quinn promised.
They congregated in the living room, returning to the positions they had taken the night before. Quinn pressed in close behind her, Ian faced her and Erin stood at her side, one hand on each of the men’s shoulders.
“I’ll take it slow.” Up close, Ian’s eyes were even more striking than she remembered. The gold slashes made the blue seem brighter. She acknowledged the unique beauty, yet her body didn’t respond to his masculine appeal. Her body, perhaps even her heart, had obviously made its choice. “Close your eyes and try to relax.”
She closed her eyes and Quinn’s arms tightened around her, allowing her to release the tension in her muscles. Their connection was stronger now. She could sense his presence clearly within her mind.
“You two have been busy.”
She heard the amusement in Ian’s voice so she didn’t take exception to the comment.
Your shields are still instinctive right now, Quinn told her. I’m going to help you make an opening for Ian.
All right. She felt a sharp sting as Quinn parted her shield then blinding light erupted behind her eyelids. Ancient and powerful, Ian flowed into her mind. She trembled. How had she kept someone this strong from doing whatever he pleased?
Ian could have forced his way in, but he didn’t want to risk damaging you. Quinn answered her unspoken question. Now don’t resist his guidance, allow him to take control.
If the directive had come from Ian, she might have balked. But Quinn trusted Ian even less than she did. The risk must be minimal or Quinn wouldn’t have encouraged her. She threaded her fingers through Quinn’s and gradually opened her mind.
Ian surrounded her, containing her being within his. Then he propelled them outward, beyond the room, through the house then across the yard. The sensation was so tangible, she felt as if she were flying.
“Picture Ava for me,” Ian whispered, his breath stirring the hair above her temple. “Just her face. Don’t place her in a setting.”
Carissa formed the image of her sister, making it as detailed as possible, the tiny scar near the corner of her mouth, the stray lock of hair that continually fell across her forehead.
“Good,” Ian muttered. The rushing momentum sped, carrying them farther from their bodies. In the back of her mind she saw an eagle, wings spread, eyes methodically scanning. “Don’t distract me. Focus on Ava.”
It was hard to control her reactions when she felt as if she were soaring across the sky. The last time she’d felt this sensation, she’d been clasped in Ian’s arms as he flew her away from Quinn’s cabin.
“There!” Ian channeled their combined energy downward, plummeting much faster than they had risen. “Is that her?”
A rustic living room came into view. Ava sat on a brown leather sofa, casually reading a book.
“Yes!” Excitement surged through Carissa followed immediately by knee-melting relief. Ava was unharmed. In fact she looked damn comfortable. “Pull back. Let me see her surroundings.” Ian slowly drew backward, but the scene lost focus and faded to black. “Wait!” Carissa kept her eyes squeezed shut, but she reached out blindly for Ian’s chest. “I didn’t see where she was. I don’t recognize the room.”
After several futile moments of trying to recapture the image, Ian shook his head and sighed. “That’s the best I can do. It’s too hard to control a latent mind.”
Carissa opened her eyes, heart racing. “Can we do this again after I’ve been defined?”
He smiled and glanced at Erin. “After you’ve been defined, you probably won’t need me. Once your Therian nature has been unleashed, you should be able to sense everyone in your bloodline.”
“Then what are we waiting for?” She looked at Erin then turned to Quinn. “You need to define me now!”
Chapter Ten
Warm water cascaded over Carly, easing her muscles if not her mind. Her team had lost another shifter that morning. All their considerable knowledge and skill hadn’t been enough to save the female once the deterioration began. So far Devon was the only one who had tolerated the complex at the levels necessary for mental conditioning. It was so frustrating.
Guilt made her heart twinge and she turned to face the water. When had the loss of life become nothing more than a frustration? As a child she’d take spiders outside rather than stepping on them. Even if the shifters weren’t human, they were sentient beings worthy of her respect.
The shower curtain was flung open and cool air wafted over her damp skin. She screamed then anger shoved back her fear. “What the hell?” Frantically blinking the water out of her eyes, she reached down and turned off the faucets.
Osric! How had he gotten in here? “This is my private apartment,” she sneered.
“I have a master access code. I can go anywhere I want.”
She tried to reach around him and snatch a towel off the rack. He intentionally blocked her path.
With an exasperated huff, she balled her hands into fists and glared at him, refusing to let her nudity intimidate her. “Get. Out.” She pointed to the door behind him.
“We need to have a little talk and the bathrooms are the only place that isn’t monitored by the backers.” His gaze openly assessed her naked body, making it obvious that avoiding detection was not his only motivation.
“Give me the towel. I’m not going to stand here and drip while you lecture me.”
“Fine.” He grabbed her wrist and dragged her out of the shower stall. “You can get on your knees and—”
“You’re disgusting!” She slapped at him, twisting her arm out of his grasp.
“Exactly. You have always found me disgusting, so why the sudden change in your attitude? I’d love to think you’d just reconsidered or that rebellion had fueled your desire, but I’m not that vain. And you’re too smart for such a simple game.”
“You’re the one who loves games, not me.” She crossed her arms over her breasts, resenting even that retreat.
“Talk to me or I’m going to start touching you and there is no one here to stop me.”
Her core fluttered as she pictured herself pressed face first into the wall with Osric close behind her. His hand was between her thighs thrusting with a strong, steady rhythm.
“Is that an invitation?” Before she understood what had happened, he spun her around and shoved her against the wall. He kicked her legs apart and shoved his hand between her thighs. “Nothing but hostility comes out of your mouth, but your mind tells a different story.”
His fingers drove into her passage and Carly cried out.
“Did that hurt?” he mocked. It didn’t, but his attitude made it obvious that he wouldn’t have cared if it had. He didn’t use his other hand this time, just slid in and out of her core with his fingers.
“Why did you turn from ice princess to sex kitten in one day? What did the backers promise you?”
“I told you. They were angry because I—” His palm connected with her ass cheek and she yelped. The sting spread and sank deep into her flesh. She gritted her teeth against the pleasure but her inner muscles compressed.
“Like that, do you?” He spanked the other side, all the while pumping between her legs. “Tell me the truth and I’ll let you come.”
“I don’t know what you want me to say. I told you what happened.”
He removed his hand and moved away, leaving her huddled against the wall. “I don’t believe you.”
“Why do you think I let you…take me? What did I gain by giving in?”
He just stared at her, gaze drilling into her eyes. Then his expression hardened even more and he moved in close again. “If I fi
nd out you’ve betrayed me, there will be nowhere for you to hide. I will find you and you will wish for death a hundred times over before I let you die.”
Fighting back her panic, she managed to produce a shaky smile. “That sounds rather dire.” She placed her hand on his arm and swayed toward him. “I’m basically a prisoner here and, as you’ve proven just now, you have access to the entire complex. How could I betray you even if I wanted to, which I don’t?”
“Information is power. Any fool knows that. Whoever controls the flow of information can change the course of the conflict.”
“What conflict? I thought we were working toward a common goal.”
He spun her back around and she heard the distinct click of his zipper. “We better be.” He nudged her legs apart again and lifted her hips toward him, effortlessly finding her entrance with his erect cock.
She closed her eyes and braced for the coming storm. He’d been aggressive before, but this time felt different. Anger and mistrust propelled each punishing thrust. He moved in her and against her without care or emotion. This was what she’d expected the first time, yet she had no idea which approach she found more arousing.
* * * * *
“There is something I’d like to show you before you agree to be defined.” Erin reached out and took Carissa’s hand. “It will only take a few minutes, but I think it’s important.”
Carissa took a deep breath, trying to regulate her surging emotions. Ava was safe. She wasn’t out there running from the hunters. She’d found a secure place to hide. “All right.”
Erin smiled at Quinn and said, “We’ll be right back.” Which was a polite way of telling him he wasn’t invited.
Without further explanation, Erin led Carissa through the mudroom and down the stairs. The passageway was cool and slightly eerie. Even with the overhead lights, the tunnel felt claustrophobic to Carissa.
“Isn’t the control center that way?” Carissa asked as Erin turned down a different tunnel.
“It is, but that’s not where we’re going.”
With no markings of any kind, it was a wonder anyone could find their way around in the underground labyrinth. Erin walked with purposeful strides, obviously sure of her direction. They finally came to a metal door that was secured with a palm scanner. The modern technology seemed extremely out of place in the primitive surroundings.
Erin pressed her hand to the scanner pad and a beam of light passed over her palm. The lock made a soft popping sound as it disengaged. Erin heaved the door open and motioned Carissa inside the shadowy room. Motion-activated lights illuminated the interior as she stepped across the threshold.
She took two steps into the room and stopped, paralyzed by wonder and confusion. Enclosed cabinets lined three of the walls, making the room appear more museum than bunker. Each cabinet was fitted with directional lights, showcasing its contents. A square table and two chairs arranged in the far corner were the only furniture.
“What is this place?” She walked along the shelves, admiring the eclectic assortment of artifacts. Paintings, statues, jewelry and numerous leather-bound books. “Is everything as old as it looks?”
“Yes.” Erin looked around with obvious pride but offered no further information.
“Shouldn’t these things be in a museum?”
“This is a private museum dedicated to preserving the history of the Omni Prime. I call it the vault.” She motioned Carissa toward the case on their left. “Everything is arranged chronologically and the story of each item is logged in the Historians’ journals.”
The oldest item was an exquisite gold amulet intricately inlaid with amethyst, turquoise and a reddish stone, perhaps coral or jasper. At the center was a woman seated on a throne, holding a flail and crook. To her left stood a being with the head of a cat and the body of a man. To her right stood a being part bird and part woman.
Deep inside her belly Carissa felt an odd stirring. Her fingers tingled and heat spread over her skin. “Is this Egyptian?”
“According to the journals, it belonged to Cleopatra.” Carissa snapped her gaze to Erin, expecting to see humor in the older woman’s eyes. But Erin looked entirely serious. “I had the chain carbon dated and the result supports the claim.”
“This piece alone must be worth a fortune.” The amulet seemed to pulse with energy and Carissa couldn’t drag her gaze away.
“Every piece in this room is priceless. That’s why so few are allowed to know this room exists. I’m the Historian, entrusted with the secrets of the Omni Prime.”
That caught her attention. She turned her head toward Erin and asked, “Entrusted by whom?”
“My mother.” Erin stood in the center of the room, hands buried in the pockets of her cardigan. “As the Omni Prime runs in your family, the Historian has been passed down from mother to daughter along my bloodline. My mother was a midwife and I would often help her with the deliveries. When I was fifteen, we encountered Maggie. She was quite old to have a child, so my mother was concerned that the birth would not go smoothly.”
“Wait a minute. You were fifteen when my mother was born?” She looked at Erin’s gently lined face and shook her head. “That would mean you’re pushing sixty. There’s no way you’re that old.”
“We aren’t human, Carissa. You must stop judging us by their standards.”
“You’re right.” This would be so much easier if Erin were just relaying interesting historical tidbits, but everything she said directly related to the decision facing Carissa. “Please go on.”
“Your mother was born without incident, but my mother recognized Maggie’s untapped potential. Maggie had already been defined, so the opportunity to create a true Therian was lost. Even so, my mother showed Maggie the journals and they worked together to maximize Maggie’s abilities.”
Accepting the information with a thoughtful nod, Carissa turned her attention back to the artifacts. Thousands of years of history had been encapsulated in these cases. It would be fascinating to go through the journals and read about each one, but somehow she didn’t think that’s what Erin had in mind.
“Who is that?” She pointed to the portrait of a young woman dressed in a medieval gown. Her blonde hair was mostly concealed by a veil and the pain in her deep-blue eyes made her look sad. Again Carissa felt a connection, an elemental awareness as she gazed at the painting.
“Her name was Esmee. She was forcibly defined during her first season, which left her timid and emotionally damaged.”
“But wasn’t her mother the reigning Omni Prime?” Shock ricocheted through Carissa. “How in the world would she have allowed that to happen?”
“She didn’t ‘allow’ anything to happen. This was almost a thousand years ago. People were barbaric. Esmee was captured and violated before her parents realized she was in the hands of one of their enemies.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to disrupt the story.”
“It’s upsetting. I understand how you feel. Unfortunately, the story grows even worse as it moves along. Are you sure you want to hear the rest?” Carissa nodded, so Erin continued. “Esmee became ward of the Prime Council when her parents were killed some years later. She was twenty-two, but she had yet to learn to control any of her powers. They took advantage of her weakness and imprisoned her. They were afraid to murder her outright, but they made sure she only had one child.”
“That’s horrible.” Carissa looked back at the painting and shivered. The energy emanating from this piece was different than the amulet. It was darker, quiet yet menacing. “How did they justify her captivity?”
“They claimed the death of her parents had left her touched and unbalanced. They convinced everyone it was for her own good. Then the strongest among them got her pregnant and four months after she gave birth she ‘jumped’ from the tower in which she was kept. The Historian during her time was never sure if she was overcome by their abuse or if she was pushed.”
“What did the Prime councilors hope to achieve by
abusing her?”
“Power. They were tired of having their decisions questioned by a female, so they seized control. And Esmee was only the beginning of their treachery.”
“What else did they do?”
“Esmee’s daughter was raised by her father, who just happened to be a member of the Prime Council. They controlled every aspect of her life and they twisted the very nature of her existence. They told the rest of the Therian nation that the power of the Omni Prime was lost forever when Esmee took her own life. The daughter was defined during her first season as well, but they gave her a single animal nature. This muted her power and disrupted the natural order. She lived and died with no idea what she had been destined to become.”
The story was tragic. Carissa could only imagine how helpless and hopeless both women must have felt. But she couldn’t lose herself in their sorrow. Erin was telling her these stories for a reason. “That’s why there’s no Omni Prime today.”
“Exactly. Esmee’s Historian saw the corruption of the Prime Council and knew her life was forfeit. She packed up the artifacts and the journals and went into hiding. She realized her only hope of survival was to teach her daughters in secret and wait for the right opportunity to reclaim what the Prime Council had destroyed.”
“But if Esmee was dead and her daughter’s potential destroyed, there was nothing left for the Historian to reclaim.”
“If something is meant to be, no power on earth can truly destroy it.” Erin sounded as if she believed every word. “Fate will always find a way.”
“Was Maggie the only one in recent history who has been defined with more than one animal nature?” That was the crux of the issue. Erin wanted her to attempt a multi-animal definition. The thought of transforming into any animal was terrifying, much less allowing her body to morph into an entire zoo.
Erin paused, her expression intense yet inscrutable. “The opportunity had come and gone by the time we found Maggie, but there was no doubt she was meant to be an Omni Prime.”
“Why didn’t you tell my mother all of this, give her the opportunity to fulfill her destiny?” She hadn’t meant to sound so sarcastic, but all this talk of fate was unnerving.
Therian Prey Page 19