Claws (14 page)

Vivvie could see Ty still cared for
her. Her heart did a flip flop at his words. Once she longed to
hear those words from him. It was too late. Her heart was now
Eli’s, for better or for worse. She withdrew her hand from
his.

“I have to go back. My place is with
him.”

“For how long, Vivian?” Ty asked
harshly. “Until you piss him off again?”

“Ty, it was much worse than that. You
know it!”

Ty swore and looked away. “Not to me. I
wouldn’t have done that to you, Vivvie. He hasn’t changed in almost
four hundred years. He’s still a selfish prick and he always will
be. I don’t want him to hurt you again.”

“This is my decision Ty. I have to go
back. I have children. I can’t leave them again, don’t you get it?”
she cried and got up from the dining room chair and looked down at
him sadly. “I love Eli, Ty. I know you think you feel something for
me still. The time to push that is over.”

“I left you with him thinking you would
be better off,” Ty allowed with a look of regret. “I was wrong in
that. Not a day goes by that I don’t regret leaving you,
Vivian.”

“You did what you felt was best,” she
said and smiled sadly. “I’m sorry you didn’t give us a chance
either, Ty, but we can’t go back. Too much has happened. I love my
husband, even if he can be a shithead sometimes.”

Ty grinned at her words. “Sometimes?
You two must have made up for you to limit him to just ‘shithead’.
I recall some other words you used the last couple months. You’re
being too nice.”

Vivvie knew she was being too
forgiving, but she had her own secrets now. “I’m going home,
Ty.”

Ty nodded sadly and she left the dining
room to finish packing. A moving truck was rented to haul all her
stuff back to Denver. She smiled to think of Eli’s dark look when
he saw all the things she bought the last months. One threat he did
make good on was tearing up and tossing her credit cards in the
trash.

Vivvie was flying back alone. He was
driving back her new car, taking the children for a road trip, he
said. She noticed how he went out of his way to help her with the
three young panthers, jumping to tend to them. He was trying this
time. She had to give him credit for it.

Jericho was picking her up at the
airport. She knew a talk between them was way overdue. What they
had was a beautiful dream. It haunted her nightly but it was just a
dream. He had to realize it was over between them now.

She could hear the longing in his voice
over the phone. He spoke of trivial things and avoided talk of
their nighttime activities. It troubled her to know the elder had
feelings for her. He waited for her to come to him each night. She
refused, despite the comfort she received from him.

Vivvie knew she couldn’t have her cake
and eat it too; knowing she could conceive in the dreamscape now.
Five children were enough for anyone. Deep down, she knew it was
cheating, even if they never physically touched. Eli would
certainly see it as such.

Vivvie frowned when she thought of
Tania. She moved to Eli’s corporate apartment downtown according to
Jericho. Her duties at his beverage company kept her there. She was
chairing his company in his absence. The new energy drink took off
just like Eli predicted. The money was staggering.

Tania appeared the bigger person, if
only to Eli. Vivvie bit back a comment to learn how she left
without Eli asking her to. There wasn’t one thoughtful bone in the
elder’s body. Vivvie let it pass. Tania waited in the wings for her
tribute to the demon.

Vivvie shivered when she thought of the
demon who connived to get one like Eli and Tania. What did it want?
She was horrified to think it would use such power against them all
one day. Tania only worried about getting out of hock with the
creature, not the consequences. Jericho told her once this demon
was a liar.

The shaman knew it long ago. He tricked
the demon to give his tribe the power of the panther. The demon
then punished the tribe by laying the curse upon them. The curse of
the nine souls was in retaliation. Those nine warriors consumed the
organs of the panther before battle, making them into beasts and
unbeatable. The demon wanted the power it saw in those it created.
The shaman tricked it and they paid the price these many
centuries.

Tania thought she could bargain with
the creature. The demon changed the rules once more. It wanted one
being with both powers. Because of Eli’s unusual gift, the demon
and Tania were unable to see her children, and for that she was
grateful and eager to get home.

The twins had the power of both their
parents; dizzying traits Eli and Vivvie agreed must remain hidden
from the tribe. Only one with Eli’s power ever survived at birth.
She was told after the war ended. Both her children lived. Both had
his gift and hers, breaking the prophecy. The tribe would panic to
know the demon was alive and well in their world.

Vivvie feared the demon had a motive.
There was no miracle at work here like they thought then. It was
merely a means to an end for the demon. It wanted all their souls
and wished to make sure none could escape it in death. Immortality
was just a means of holding onto them all until Tania fulfilled her
promise. Then the rules would no doubt change again.

Vivvie was determined Tania wouldn’t
learn about Devon and Elaina. She knew the female elder would
sacrifice them both if she knew. The thought of returning to the
compound gave her a cold feeling.

She knew the tribe hated her. If not
for the children needing her protection, she would have considered
taken Ty up on his offer and staying. Eli said the council would go
along with his assessment someone pushed his mate off the ledge
that night.

Eli would have both Tania and Jericho’s
vote on the matter, with absentees from Gideon and Derek. Ty was
Chief in Florida and no longer sat the council. The other four were
various different members of the tribe. Vivvie had no friends among
them.

Eli returned and kissed her lingeringly
before she left in the limo for the airport. Those deep blue eyes
promised much in that moment. She said goodbye to her children,
fearing what she would find when she returned to Denver.

“Nice hair,” was all Jericho said when
he picked her up, his yellow green eyes slid over her
appreciatively. He obviously liked the expensive dress she wore
instead of her usual jeans and tee shirts. She took extra time with
her appearance, trying for a more sophisticated look now. She knew
she only tried to keep up with Tania and it annoyed her to know
it.

Vivvie saw he wanted to say more and
walked past him to the parking terminal. He caught up with her. She
could see he was annoyed by her attitude. They walked to the
Chevelle in silence. He put her suitcases in the trunk and got
in.

Vivvie concentrated on the dancing hula
girl on the dash, ignoring his questioning stare. He sat back and
looked at her with a slow, amused grin.

“We’re not in junior high, Vivvie,” he
told her teasingly. “I didn’t tell all the boys in school I got
laid. You can relax. Nobody knows about us.”

“There is no ‘us’,” she argued and
looked at him warningly. “It was just a dream.”

Jericho chuckled and winked. “A dream
that leaves scratches down your back? Come on, Vivvie. Get over it.
We fooled around. So what? It’s not like Eli didn’t get a whole
boat load of the real thing from Tania.”

“I seemed to have brought something
back from our encounters,” she replied evenly as she met his
confused look.

“We can’t get STD’s, babe,” Jericho
informed her with a crooked grin, holding up his hands in denial.
“It wasn’t me!”

Vivvie was livid at his making jokes at
a time like this. “I conceived. One of my young is
yours.”

That shut him up affectively. He
started up the Chevelle and drove like a bat out of hell until he
could formulate a response. “How the hell did you manage that?” he
asked finally, looking at her in shock.

“Me? You’re Mr. No-it-all! Why don’t
you tell me?” Vivvie replied huffily.

Jericho frowned. “This is one up on me,
Vivvie. I never knew of Tania getting knocked up from coming to one
of us in her dreams.”

“It’s yours,” she said tightly and
looked out the window. “He’s yours; I mean.”

Jericho grinned widely to know he had
another son; then sobered. “Does Eli know it’s mine?”

“He thinks he got the traits from
Ryken.”

“He could have, Vivvie,” Jericho argued
and she looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

“He has your gift, Jericho.”

“No shit?” Jericho asked and whistled.
“Learn something new every day.”

Jericho! How did this happen?” Vivvie
wailed and looked out the window in distress.

“Well, I put my cock in you and then
I-,” he began and she silenced him with a disgusted
look.

“It isn’t a joke,” she replied moodily
and her green eyes filled with anguish. “If Eli finds out; I’m
going to be shipped to Siberia. That cock you like so much will be
ripped out by the roots.”

“It’ll grow back now though,” Jericho
reflected quietly after a minute and she glared at him
again.

“My husband’s love for either of us
won’t!”

“The trait does skip generations,
Vivvie. Eli won’t know. You’re upset, naturally, but it’s no
biggie.”

“No biggie?” Vivvie howled and smacked
him hard in the shoulder. “I guess after thirty-five kids it’s no
biggie to you, but it’s a major biggie to me!”

“Easy, babe, don’t get all crazy on
me,” Jericho soothed with an air of dismissal. “This happens all
the time. You know we’re all somebody’s Daddy or Mommy around
here.”

“Just don’t talk to me!” Vivvie snarled
in disgust. “I should have known you’d act like it’s no big
deal.”

Jericho let her be. He was wearing the
same shit-eating grin he wore when she told him he had another son.
The Alpha in him preened to know he made a direct hit with his
seed. She ignored him until the road to the compound came into
view.

“Vivvie, are you mad it happened or my
reaction to it?” he asked as he turned off onto the two track.
“What do you want from me?”

Vivvie cringed to know she sounded like
some girl who got into trouble from a casual relationship,
expecting the guy to step up and marry her. She was miserable to
know she was acting like a total wackjob. Still, she was bothered
he didn’t even ask about Justice.

“I’m sorry, it’s just a big shock,” she
replied and looked out the window, disappointed in his reaction and
wondering why.

“Eli will think the trait came from my
grandson. You worry too much.”

Vivvie knew that wouldn’t be the case
if she didn’t give Tania what she wanted, but said nothing. She
needed to figure a way out of this mess without involving
Jericho.

“Whatever you say Daddy,” she snapped
and ignored his laughter at her comment.

Jericho stopped and pulled off into a
secluded area of trees. He put the car in park and regarded her
with twinkling yellow green eyes.

“Ok, out with it. What did I do
wrong?”

“Just forget it ok?” she said coldly
and met his look in annoyance. “It’s obvious it’s nothing to you
after having so many kids. Forgive me if every one of mine is
special to me.”

Jericho moved so quickly she was
stunned. He dragged her off the seat into his arms. His mouth
crashed over hers with such hungry intensity she was stunned. He
kissed her so thoroughly she was dazed when he pushed her back onto
her seat. His expression was filled with desire, longing, and
misery.

“Does that tell you how I feel,
Vivvie?” he asked quietly. His eyes glowed brightly with an
intensity that alarmed her. “You’re my leader’s mate. It was one
thing when you two split up. Now you’re back with him. Why are you
jerking me around like this now?”

“I’m not jerking you around,” Vivvie
argued, her lips still stinging and tingling from the
kiss.

“I did this before, Vivvie,” he told
her with a frown as he whipped the car back onto the two-track. “I
had to sit back and share Tania with Gideon and Eli. Don’t think
I’m doing it again. You went back to Eli, so ease up on the guilt
trip. You made your decision.”

Vivvie was startled to see his side of
Jericho. His serious side was just as fierce as Gideon or Eli’s.
She could see his past experience kept him from acting as if
anything was changed between them. The look in his eyes before he
kissed her told her what happened between them was much more than
just a wet dream for him.

They didn’t talk after that. She could
feel Jericho’s anger. He engaged an overhead clicker as they waited
for the parking garage elevator to arrive. He glanced at her with
an unreadable look.

“I’d like to see the boy.”

Vivvie nodded and the doors opened and
he drove in. She got out of the car and was eager to leave him. He
got her suitcases and she walked back inside the compound alone,
ignoring the hisses she received as she passed members of the
tribe. It was obvious nobody missed her. Some things never
changed.