Hunted (13 page)

God, don’t let me be wrong.

No one moved. I’m not sure anyone even breathed. CJ held Thomas’s arm, closely examining the tattoo on his forearm. With a frown, she ran a finger over the coloring. As I waited, my heart pounded and my grip on Matt’s hand tightened. Damn, I wish I felt more comfortable about what she was finding.

Hell, I wish none of this was necessary. Was Michael always going to be there, preventing me from enjoying my life?

“I’m not impressed with whoever did his ink.” CJ’s voice betrayed an anger that surprised me. “I can see where another tattoo, or at least part of one, has been lasered off. Whoever did his markings when he joined our pride wasn’t very good at hiding the scar tissue. I need to check under better light to be completely sure, but I think I see what you suspected, Finn.”

She turned her attention to Matt after taking one last look at the man’s forearm. “I’d stake my life on him not originally being part of the St. Louis clan. I can see the outline of the symbols for the Northern California clan and one of their prides.”

My stomach lurched. “The symbol?”

“An eagle.”

I closed my eyes and breathed deeply, trying to still the fear growing in the pit of my stomach.

“Matt, you need to check with the St. Louis clan. See what they can tell you about him. If I’m not wrong, it’s just a coincidence that he’s here. But if CJ is right about his markings, he was part of Michael Jennings’ pride before moving to St. Louis.”

“Jennings was a member of your home pride?” Stefan asked.

“No. That was one of the reasons there were concerns about him taking over. He was young and had just assumed leadership of the Eureka pride. My parents hadn’t approved of some of the changes he’d instituted but they were killed before they could do anything about it.”

“Sharon, make the call. Danny, take him up to the house. I’ll deal with him later.” Matt’s anger radiated off of him. Thank God it wasn’t directed at me.

“I apologize to you and Adam,” Matt continued, leading me to stand before my grandmother. “I had not expected trouble tonight.”

“Every family has one like him. Hopefully, no real harm has been done.” My grandmother smiled and reached out to touch my cheek. “Your parents would be proud, child. You handled him and the situation well.”

“Thank you.” I hoped she was right.

My grandmother then turned to face those watching us. “I accept your pride leader’s claim on my granddaughter and hers on him. Do you?”

As one, they all dropped to hands and knees. Fortunately, I sensed nothing but acceptance from them. I’d most definitely had enough surprises for one night.

 “Finn, wake-up.”

A warm hand slid down my bare back. I burrowed my head deeper into the pillow and groaned. I didn’t want to wake-up. It was too early and we’d been up way too late the night before. All I wanted was to be left alone to sleep.

“Come on, Finn.”

The offending hand lightly swatted my equally bare ass. I pulled the pillow over my head. Maybe if I ignored him long enough, he’d give up and go away.

“Don’t make me tickle you.”

The humor and threat in his voice had me flopping onto my back, the sheet tangling around my legs. My eyes opened a slit before I squeezed them shut. Not only was it too early, but it was too bright. Light shone in my eyes, beating against my eyelids.

“It’s too early,” I replied, throwing an arm across my eyes. It might have blocked the light but the memory remained. Worse, he chuckled, damn him. He was enjoying this.

“You have a choice--coffee.” Steam teased my nose and the tantalizing aroma had me almost--almost--relenting and opening my eyes again. “Or tickles.” That wonderful smell moved away and fingers lightly ran down my ribs, sending shivers through me.

“You wouldn’t dare!” My eyes flew open. “You’re dressed!” It came out sounding like an accusation.

“I usually get dressed when I get out of bed.” He was laughing at me, the bastard. It wasn’t my fault that I’m not a morning person.

“Too many clothes.” I reached up, loosening his tie.

He laughed and shook his head even as he reached up to straighten his tie. Then he bent and kissed me. He tasted of mint and coffee and it reminded me that something had crawled in my mouth overnight and died. Sighing, I kicked at the sheet and sat up.

“Don’t go anywhere,” I said as I hurried toward the bathroom. “And don’t drink that coffee!”

Wise man that he is, Matt was waiting for me when I returned a few minutes later. His eyes followed me as I moved to the closet. I grinned as he shook his head when I slipped into one of his shirts instead of a robe. A moment later, I stepped into a pair of panties. This was as close to dressed as I could manage without coffee, lots and lots of coffee.

“I still say you have too many clothes on.” I took the mug from him and sipped, careful not to burn my mouth.

“I wish I didn’t have to.” His hands cupped my butt and pulled me close. Another kiss, this one deep enough to curl my toes. Well, that certainly woke me up. “Unfortunately I need to run into the office for a couple of hours.”

I looked up, searching his expression for any signs something might be wrong. “I thought you were taking today off.”

“I have a meeting I can’t postpone. But I’ll be back as soon as it’s over.” He smiled and brushed his lips against mine. “Danny’s going to stop by later. He needs your date of birth, Social Security number, that sort of thing.”

“Why?” It didn’t make any sense.

“Finn, he’s a member of the DA’s Office. He’s going to make sure Jennings hasn’t put your name into the system. We don’t need the cops showing up, thinking we kidnapped you or that you committed some sort of crime.”

Outrage sparked. God, he was right. That was exactly something I could see Michael doing. The man had proven he’d stop at nothing to get me back. Why else continue to hunt me after so long? Since I had absolutely no desire to return to the Northern California clan, much less to him, anything we could do to throw roadblocks in his way, I’d do it.

“I’ll give him anything he wants.”

Matt smiled in approval. “Finn, I know it’s hard for you right now. I’m asking you not only to trust me but others with your life. You honor me and them by doing so. It goes beyond accepting me as your mate.”

“Matt.”

God, he was too good to be true. Level-headed and understanding, at least so far. Last night, when we’d finally returned home, he’d been so gentle with me. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to realize it was because of what I’d revealed about that last night in California. When I first tried to talk to him about it, he’d been quick to tell me I didn’t have to. What he hadn’t understood was that I did. I needed him to know that what we had was different, in so many ways, from what had happened that night. I didn’t feel coerced to be with him. Far from it. I wanted to be with him, not that I didn’t still have more than my fair share of demons.

-“I’m not going lie. It’s a struggle not to run right now. I almost did last night when I realized Meehan had a connection to Michael. Then you were there, standing with me and for me, even after I told everyone what happened that terrible night. Sharon, Stefan and even Danny Gillespie were all there as well. Then there were my grandmother and Uncle Adam. I have a life here and I’m damned if I let Michael take that from me.”

“Always with you and for you, even when you’re a slug-a-bed.” His fingers did find my ribs for one quick tickle before he moved out of range, grinning. “When I get home, we’ll run by your apartment and then go shopping. Sharon will be here after school to help get ready for tonight.”

Tonight. I wasn’t sure I was ready for that. Tonight I’d be meeting the leaders of the other packs and prides that made up the clan. Matt would introduce me as his mate and then we’d begin what could only be called a war counsel. I knew, even if Matt didn’t, that the line had been drawn in the sand. When Michael began violating other clans’ territories, when he allowed his trackers to taint their weapons, he crossed the line. Sooner or later we--all our kind--would have to step in. He couldn’t be allowed to continue operating in ways guaranteed to reveal our existence sooner rather than later.

“What about food for tonight?” I remembered Mom and Dad telling me meetings were always more fruitful when food was served because everyone relaxed and quit posturing. “I guess this is where I confess I’m not much of a cook.”

“No!” He clasped a hand to his heart, a horrified expression on his face. “My mate must be able to cook.”

“Bastard.” I laughed and threw a pillow at him. He caught it and grinned. “But seriously, Matt, we should feed them.”

“We will. Fortunately for both of us, my sister not only loves to cook but she’s very good at it. She always cooks for these meetings.”

Yet another reason to like her. Maybe she’d be able to teach me how to boil water without burning it.

“And, as much as I hate to say it, I need to run.” He reached for his jacket where it rested across the foot of the bed. “There’s more coffee in the kitchen and your grandmother’s up.” A kiss, deep enough to be a promise of loving to come, and a hug. “Don’t go outside unless someone’s with you. We still don’t know where the trackers are.”

I wanted to argue, but he was right. Memory of being hit by the taser and the way the pain continued so long afterwards returned. There was no way I’d risk a repeat of it, at least not for a while.

“I’ll be good,” I promised. “Go on. You don’t want to be late.”

Two hours later, I sat back on my heels and pushed my hair back from my forehead. I’ve never thought about shape changing being exhausting. Boy, was I wrong. At least where my grandmother was concerned. She seemed determined to make up for any training I’d missed by running away and hiding all these years. I really was grateful, but did she need to try to do it all in one sitting?

She knelt opposite me. I might be exhausted but she looked remarkably fresh. Of course, she was fully clothed hadn’t been shifting on demand. Worse, she hadn’t been forced to hold the shift, midway between human and jaguar. That had been the hardest, but it was something I needed to master. The run in with the trackers had shown me that much. If I’d been mid-shift, I’d have moved faster, my senses would have been keener. More importantly, it wouldn’t have been noticeable to anyone but one of our kind that I was anything but a “normal” human.

“Excellent.” Grandma smiled in approval and handed me a bottle of water. “You’ve done well on your own, better than I’d hoped.”

“I don’t know.” My shoulders lifted in a shrug. “Mostly I just tried to control the need to shift and to do everything I could to hide who and what I am.” Now that I thought about it, that probably explained not only why I hadn’t realized I was an alpha but also why others of our kind hadn’t realized I was close. It was something to think about.

“I know your mother taught you our family history.”

I nodded. It was important that every shape-changer know their bloodline and what animals their relatives changed into. Yes, animals. While we usually tended to mate--or marry--only those who shifted to the same animal or who didn’t shift all, that wasn’t always the case. There were also the rare ones of our kind who could shift into more than one type of animal. These shape-changers were the basis for the skinwalker legends. Our family boasted at least three skinwalkers, but to the best of my knowledge, there hadn’t been one in recent generations.

“So you know what I have to ask,” she continued.

“I do and, no, I’ve never shifted into anything except my jaguar.”

“I can’t deny I’m disappointed. I’d wondered if part of the reason Jennings has been after you all this time is because he suspected you’re a skinwalker.”

Now that I thought about it, I was a little disappointed as well. I’d been so focused over the years just trying to keep one step ahead of Michael. But now, finally letting my guard down and letting myself relax--and letting my jaguar have more freedom than ever before--I could think about it. Interesting as it might be to shift into different animals, I was already different. I didn’t need anything else adding to it.

Then the second part of her comment hit me. Could Michael actually think I was a skinwalker? It did add another layer to his obsession. A male alpha who could count as his mate a female who not only was an alpha but was also a skinwalker would command not only the respect of his own clan but of the other clans and their leaders. Someone like Michael could very well try to spin that respect into more power for himself.

I shuddered and wrapped my arms around myself. It had been bad enough thinking about what he’d do to me if he managed to catch me and realized I was an alpha. If he thought I was a skinwalker, would he try to force me to shift? What would he do when I didn’t shift into anything but my jaguar?

I couldn’t think about that. If I did, the fear would return and, with it, the need to run and those days were over. I’d found my mate and I’d found a home. I wasn’t going to let Michael take that away from me. If he wanted a fight, by God he’d get one.

But there was something I needed if I was going to have the slightest chance of finally taking control of my life--knowledge. I needed to know what it been going on, not only with regard to the Northern California clan, but with all our kind. That was something my grandmother could help me with and I had no qualms about picking her brain for anything that could help me, help us, defeat Michael once and for all.

*     *     *

 “Finn, can we talk?”

I looked at Danny Gillespie in surprise. He and Matt had been in the den with my grandmother the last I knew. I’d opted to “help” Sharon with dinner, although I’m pretty sure she’d call it something else, especially after I managed to catch a paper towel on fire.

“Sure.” I dried my hands, hoping my nerves didn’t show. I still hadn’t quite figured him out. I knew he was Matt’s second in the pride and not only a valued advisor but also a close friend. But I’d been on my own for so long. It was hard to trust anyone. Matt was different because of our connection. Sharon and Stefan had become the closest things to friends I’d had since leaving California. But Danny was still something of an unknown.