Heart of the Cat

by S. E. Smith

  Trescina pulled up out front. She felt better about her early arrival when she saw the lights on in the center and someone walked past the window. She shifted the Suburban into park, turned off the vehicle, and unbuckled her seatbelt, then paused for a second before leaning over to open the glove box. She pulled out a long hunting knife in a leather sheath, then straightened in her seat and stared at the building, tightening her grip on it.

  Pursing her lips in resolution, she pushed up the sleeve of her coat and sweater and fastened the sheath to her arm. She straightened her sleeves over it and pulled the knife out several times before she was confident she could get to it without any issues.

  A movement at the center’s window caught her attention, and she looked up to see Heather peering out at her. Trescina smoothed her sleeve one more time before she lifted the door handle and slid out of the car. As she walked forward, Heather stepped out of the building with a relieved smile a moment later.

  “Trescina! Chad called a little while ago to let me know you would be on your way,” Heather greeted.

  Trescina returned Heather’s smile. “Good morning. He mentioned that you were having trouble with an injured cat. It must be pretty serious if Chad was willing to fly me across the country,” she responded.

  Trescina climbed the steps and quickly cleaned the snow and mud off of her boots before she stepped inside. She waited as Heather closed the door. Reaching up, she unzipped her jacket and slipped it off. She casually folded the light brown coat over her arm to hide the bump where she had strapped the knife to her arm. She hadn’t bothered with a scarf, hat, or gloves since her body temperature was warmer than normal. Of course, it didn’t hurt that she enjoyed the cold weather.

  Heather excitedly turned to look at her. “I’ve never in my life seen a cat like this. I’ve searched online, and I swear there is nothing like him anywhere in the world! Terry James, one of the volunteers, was so upset when he brought him in yesterday morning. He just knew he had killed him. It was a shock when the cat suddenly woke up and lunged for the door. He would have made it if we hadn’t restrained him. His back leg looks like it might be broken, but I can’t tell without doing an X-ray. He broke loose from his….” Heather was saying.

  Trescina continued to listen to Heather explain the situation as she followed the other woman through a door and down a long corridor. Her heart sped up when she looked through the observation glass at the massive cat with black fur and an inordinately beautiful pattern of dark blue leopard spots. This was no ordinary feline. This was something else—something very, very dangerous.

  Run! her cat suddenly hissed.

  That was her first instinct as well. This cat was like her. She would bet her life on it. This was another shape-shifter.

  Her mother had said they were the only ones. While Katarina could communicate with cats the way she could, her sister couldn’t shape-shift. Her father had quietly shared with them that it was because she was half human and half shape-shifter. He explained that her mother had never told him about her past, only begged him to accept her and her infant daughter for who and what they were. He had loved them both unconditionally and kept his promise until the end to do everything he could to protect Mia and Trescina.

  Trescina reached out and gripped the windowsill when a dizzying wave of memories suddenly threatened to swallow her. There had been another cat—one with a terrifying coldness in his eyes and part of his front leg missing. She could remember her mother’s horrifying fear and her need to escape even as her mother tried to soothe her.

  Trescina struggled to breathe when more fragmented memories returned. She remembered feeling overwhelming pain and grief. They were dying. Her mother had been mortally wounded. Then, a golden light had surrounded them, and she had been born. As she had struggled to take her first breath, she had seen the man who had betrayed her mother—the man who had hurt them.

  The touch of a hand on her arm startled her. She breathed deeply and blinked as the disturbing images faded. For a few seconds, she felt lightheaded and disoriented. She shook her head to clear her mind and studied the cat through the glass. Her gaze swept over him, pausing on his front legs.

  “I would like to go in… alone,” she quietly said, unable to look away from the creature lying on the floor.

  Heather shook her head and shot her a worried expression. “It’s too dangerous. I can’t sedate him. The tranquilizer darts can’t penetrate his coat, and he is far stronger than any feline I’ve ever seen. Hell, I would put his strength on the level of a grizzly bear if I had to find a comparison,” she cautioned.

  Trescina suspected he was stronger than even that fierce bear, and if he was what she suspected, he would be intelligent, making him far more dangerous. She had to get Heather out of here somehow. There was no way she would endanger the woman.

  She glanced at Heather. “He… won’t harm me,” Trescina quietly replied.

  Yes, he will. Run! He one of them. He come for you. He try kill Mama, her cat hissed, clawing at her insides.

  Calm down. If he is one of them, then we must kill him while he is hurt. He doesn’t know who I am, which will be to our advantage. Besides, if he was one of those who tried to kill Mama, I don’t think he would have hesitated to kill Heather. Until I find out who he is, you must hide so he can’t sense you, Trescina insisted, pursing her lips together to keep from growling in frustration in front of Heather.

  Heather bit her lip and looked through the glass into the exam room. “Are you sure? He’s broken all but one of the chains holding him. I don’t want to kill him, but if he attacks you, I will put a bullet through his head,” she warned.

  Trescina laid her hand over Heather’s and squeezed it. “I will be fine. I promise,” she reassured the other woman. “I’d like to do this alone. Fewer distractions will be better for both the cat and me. If you could go into the other room, I’ll… I’ll let you know when I’m finished.”

  Heather opened her mouth to protest, but closed it when she heard the chime of the front door as it opened. She reluctantly nodded in agreement before she turned and walked back to the front room.

  The moment Heather disappeared, she returned her attention to the cat in the room. The large male cat was licking his injured back leg. Squaring her shoulders, she took a deep breath.

  Whatever happens, don’t let him sense you. We may need the element of surprise, she cautioned her cat before she turned the door handle and stepped into the room.

  So much for listening to me, her cat retorted before withdrawing deeper inside her.

  Oh, I’m listening to you, Trescina replied with a grim smile as she slipped her hand under her coat sleeve and pulled the knife from the sheath.

  Walkyr hissed in pain and frustration. His leg was killing him. For the millionth time, he cursed the mess he was currently in. It was bad enough that the boy had seen the spaceship and seen him shape-shift. He had to blow the mission by colliding with one of the humans’ damn transports! To make matters worse, he needed to shape-shift to repair the damage to his body, but thanks to the camera mounted in the corner, that was impossible.

  I in pain! his cat growled at him.

  I know! Need I remind you that I can feel everything you do, he snapped.

  Change and use healing box, his cat snarled.

  In case you haven’t noticed, we aren’t in a place where I can do that. We have got to get out of here before I can shape-shift, and it will be easier to escape if I have three out of four working legs instead of one out of two! Walkyr retorted.

  A groan of irritation rumbled through his cat. Walkyr was pretty sure his leg was fractured. If it was, he would need to access the portable medical kit on his utility belt—a nice little addition that Pallu had included before his departure. All he needed was a few minutes to use it, and he would fully heal. Unfortunately, he couldn’t shape-shift here without taking a chance on being seen—and visually recorded.

  He could just hear Vox if that happened! His brot
her would rip him a new one, as Riley would say, before turning him over to Zoran Reykill and Ha’ven Ha’darra, the leaders of the Valdier and the Curizan. The agreement had been clear between the three species—if any of them visited Earth for any reason, they were never to reveal their true identity.

  Maybe Vox not find out? his cat muttered.

  Did you forget they have a contact here on this world? Don’t you remember the last time we visited a primitive world that didn’t know there were other life forms out in the universe? Walkyr snapped.

  His cat snickered. We almost mated to purple insect, his cat huffed before wincing in pain.

  Walkyr shuddered. With six arms and antennae, he added.

  It like me. It no like you, his cat guffawed before wincing again.

  I didn’t see you trying to cuddle up to it. The point is, that did not end very well. Riley and Tina have already warned us that the humans would also end up trying to kill us. Only they would do it piece by piece! Walkyr said with a shudder.

  Riley try to do that to Vox anyway, his cat grunted.

  Walkyr sighed. He didn’t bother correcting his cat. True, Riley was always threatening to rip Vox a new one, but the truth was, his new sister adored his older brother and Vox adored her as well.

  He needed to figure out a way to break free and escape. There was no guarantee that the two men back at the spaceship had died in the avalanche. He also had no idea where the Grand Lord and Airabus had disappeared to. For all he knew, they could have already found the Heart of the Cat! The only consolation he had was that their ship was buried under a ton of snow. The ship would have survived, but it would take the crew a while to tunnel through to it, and they still needed to repair the damage they had been working on before it was buried under the snow.

  Find boy, too. He saw us, his cat reminded him.

  I’ll add him to the list of things to do before we leave—if we ever get out of here, Walkyr acerbically replied before gritting his teeth when he moved his back leg.

  He was about to try working on the last lock with a sharp claw when the door handle started moving.

  He turned and began to growl menacingly in warning. Shock swept through him when the guttural sound turned to a choked snort. For a second, Walkyr wondered if his cat was choking on a hairball before he realized something else was wrong with him—the damn cat was purring!

  He shook his head in confusion and focused on the object of his cat’s attention—the woman standing in the doorway, and immediately found himself drowning in a pair of wide hazel eyes that reminded him of the ocean, forests, desert, and stars all rolled into one. He blinked in stunned disbelief when his cat’s mouth opened, and his tongue rolled out to the side like he was drunk on fermented Tiliqua wine.

  Quit that! She is a human. What in the cat’s balls is wrong with you? he asked in an incredulous tone.

  She yummy, his cat practically hummed in a response that made absolutely no sense.

  You can’t eat her! Do you want to get us killed? Walkyr demanded, mentally wrestling with his cat.

  Mm, eat her up, his cat purred.

  Walkyr’s gaze finally moved from her eyes to her lovely, riotous black curls and full lips, and then lower.... He had to admit his cat was right. She did look yummy—not that he wanted to eat her. Okay, he did, but not like that! He uttered a long string of expletives, and his body hardened when images of what his cat wanted to do to her flashed through his mind.

  I don’t believe this! Are you getting aroused? he demanded in astonishment.

  She beautiful! his cat purred.

  Yes, she was beautiful in an exotic kind of way. Her skin was the color of a sun-kissed nut while her black hair swept around her in a curtain of tight ringlets. He itched to tangle his fingers in her hair while he….

  Will you stop already! Now you are making me horny, he snapped.

  She coming closer, his cat happily replied, stretching his neck out to her.

  It was true; she was coming closer. The woman took another step toward him, and he fervently followed her with his eyes, noting the way she casually tossed her coat to the side, the way she gripped the large knife in her hand, the way….

  Knife. She has a knife. Will you listen to me! She… has… a… knife in her hand! Walkyr urgently warned his daydreaming cat.

  “I think we need to have a little talk,” the woman stated in a cold, hard voice that matched the look in her eyes.

  Chapter Nine

  Walkyr swallowed hard when she pressed the cold tip of the very sharp knife against his throat. The woman had moved with surprising speed and agility, and given the way she was straddling his back, her foot placed so he couldn’t move his good leg, the knife tip touching the artery in his neck, she clearly knew exactly where his vulnerable spot was.

  She leaned forward, pressing her body against his back. “I know what you are. I will ask you two questions. I suggest you answer them truthfully or, so help me, I’ll twist this knife all the way through your jugular. Do you understand me?” she murmured near his ear. She moved the knife just far enough away from his skin to allow him to answer.

  Her soft, warm breath tickled the hair in his ear, making it twitch. He gave a barely perceptible nod, afraid she might carry out her threat. The boy must have told this woman what he had seen. The hole he had dug for himself was growing deeper and deeper by the minute.

  “Can you shape-shift?” she asked in a harsh voice.

  Walkyr reluctantly nodded. He heard her swift inhale of breath. He tensed when the knife pressed against his throat again, pricking the skin beneath his thick coat. While a Sarafin cat’s fur was a natural shield to most types of blasts, it could still be pierced by a spear, arrow, or sword.

  He waited to see what she would do next. “Are you alone?” she asked, slightly moving the knife away from his skin again.

  Walkyr thought for a moment before he nodded again. His cat hissed at the lie. Damn cat and its infernal mood swings. Walkyr would lie to this woman if he felt like it! He didn’t give a damn what his cat wanted at this moment. Between the knife at his throat and the uncomfortable hardness between his back legs, he felt like he was laying on a sword as well as being threatened by one!

  You jealous, his cat sniffed.

  Jealous?! When was the last time you ever got laid? Oh that’s right… never! Walkyr countered.

  I picky. Want mate. Not empty hole, his cat hauntingly replied. You not to lie to mate. She get mad.

  Empty hole? Now that is crass coming from a…. Wait, what do you mean I’m not to lie to mate? Are you telling me that she is our… that she is…. Of all the Cat’s balls on Sarafin, no… no… no! Walkyr’s thoughts exploded into chaos.

  This female—this woman—was their mate? His cat had never wanted to mate with any of the women he’d been with before. Hell, he had been lucky to have any sex at all! If it had been up to the prudish feline half of himself, he’d still be a virgin.

  There had to be another explanation. His mate was supposed to be a Sarafin maiden with long yellow hair and dark eyes who would worship him. She would be sweet and gentle and… well, not like—a shudder ran through him—not like his brothers’ mates. He liked Riley and Tina—as his new sisters. There was no way he wanted a mate that caused such disruption in his life.

  Yes, yes, yes. Mate. No lie to mate, his cat ordered.

  Technically, I gave her exactly what she asked for. She said I had to answer two questions truthfully. I did. She asked me if I understood her and if I could shape-shift. That was two questions. There is no need for her to know that there are more of us. That would only complicate this mission more than it already is, he pointed out.

  Can’t lie to mate, his cat stubbornly stated.

  “Focus,” she hissed in his ear. “I know you are talking to your cat. I want you to shape-shift so you can talk to me. I warn you, if you try anything, I’ll shove this knife through your heart.”

  Walkyr lifted his nose so that it was aimed up at th
e camera. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her notice what his nose was pointing to. A low curse slipped from her lips. She pulled the knife away from his neck and quickly sheathed it.

  He turned his head to watch her as she got to her feet and stepped over him. Their attention shifted to the door when they heard footsteps approaching and people quietly talking in the hallway. He recognized the woman’s voice but not the man’s. He looked back at the woman in the room with him. She seemed as frustrated as he felt.

  “Behave. I won’t let you hurt anyone. Do you understand? If you try, I’ll cut out your heart,” she vowed.

  All he could do was nod his head—and look like a total idiot because of the shit-eating grin his cat was giving her. He was going to have a very serious talk later with his primitive half. Apparently, his cat didn’t understand that threatening to cut his heart out was not a sign of affection.

  She perfect, his cat announced with a pleased sniff.

  He watched as she took a deep breath and opened the door. On the other side, a tall man stood in the doorway beside the woman, Heather, that had ineffectually shot him with a dart yesterday. His cat uttered a guttural growl of warning. Walkyr bit back an unexpected chuckle of amusement when his newly found mate shot him an annoyed expression and gave him a pointed glare.

  “How is he?” the man asked.

  “Hi, Chad. He’ll be alright, but I need to transport him to a different location,” she said.

  Heather looked shocked, but Chad was quick to respond. “It might be best to transport him to the ranch,” he said.

  Walkyr’s cat narrowed his eyes. Something wrong. He look at us funny, his cat cautioned.

  Walkyr had noticed the odd suspicion in the man’s glances too. His concern that the boy may have told other humans what he’d seen began to grow. There were at least three in the know now: the bloodthirsty female his cat was in love with, the boy, and probably this anxious man too.