Hunted (3 page)

One of our most basic laws is that a shape-changer must report to the local clan leader upon entering his territory. It is up to the clan leader to determine if the shape-changer can stay or not. I hadn’t heard of anyone being denied permission, at least not in a very long while. Still, I had not reported to any of the clan leaders in areas where I’d lived since leaving home so long ago. I hadn’t wanted to risk them contacting Michael Jennings and telling him where I was. So I’d broken one of our basic laws in order to protect myself and those I cared for.

Now that lapse had caught up with me. What sort of forfeit would I be forced to pay?

Damn it, how long would it be before my body started working again?

I closed my eyes and focused on breathing. It was pointless to worry about anything else until the effects of the taser wore off.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, I managed to sit up. I reached for the seatbelt and it felt like I was moving through molasses. Residual pain echoed through me. It was tolerable, at least I told myself it was. But it seemed to be lasting too long, especially since I suspected the leads had been torn out of my back as the Mustang sped away from the trackers. Had they somehow modified the taser so it was more effective against our kind?

Dear God, that was a terrifying thought. If they’d managed to do that, what else had they done and what else were they willing to do to get their hands on me?

“T-thank you,” I stammered.

As I did, I realized we now drove down a neighborhood street. Even though my companion kept a close eye on the rearview mirror, he seemed more relaxed than he had earlier. Had he managed to give the trackers the slip? God, I hoped so. I needed time to recover before facing them again.

Hell, who was I kidding? I had no desire, and certainly no intention, of facing them any time soon. No, just as soon as I could move without falling on my face, I’d be on my way out of town. I didn’t have to have a destination in mind. All I needed was to put time and distance between us.

My rescuer glanced at me and nodded. Then he turned his attention back to the road. A short time later, the car slowed and we turned into a driveway. How long we’d been driving, I didn’t know. It might have been just a few minutes or it might have been longer. If I had to judge by how I felt, I’d guess at least twenty minutes had passed since I’d been hit by the taser. But, since I haven’t made it a habit of letting myself be used as a living lightning rod, I couldn’t be sure. Besides, what did it matter? We were away from the trackers. That was all I cared about.

A grinding filled the air as the garage door lowered behind us. Still moving slowly, I carefully sat up. Muscles protested as I fumbled with my seatbelt. Then my rescuer was around the car and opening my door. Strong hands helped me out. Something told me not to protest as he swung me up in his arms and carried me inside.

“T-thanks.” The moment he set me on my feet, I dropped onto a chair at the battered kitchen table. My muscles still protested any instructions I gave them. That should not still be happening. What the hell had the trackers done to slow the fast healing those like us usually enjoyed?

He paused halfway between the table and the refrigerator and looked at me in concern. Without a word, he closed the distance between us. A gentle hand touched my forehead and then my cheek. There was no mistaking the worry in his eyes as he looked down at me.

“I’m going to get you something to drink and call our doctor. You shouldn’t be having this much trouble still.”

“P-please. No doctor.” I struggled to form the words.

“You don’t have to worry. The doctor’s my uncle and one of us.”

One of us
.

So he did know what I was even if he didn’t know who I was. Instead of arguing, not that much argument was possible just then, I nodded. I couldn’t deny this continuing weakness scared me. Even worse was the burning sensation in my back where the barbs had struck.

I wrapped my hands around the glass of orange juice he placed on table before me and watched as he fished in his pocket for his cell phone. Suddenly thirsty, I debated the best way to get glass to lips. Not trusting my muscles, I ducked my head so all I’d have to do was tilt the glass slightly. The juice, tart and cold, was just what I needed. By the time I’d taken a few sips, I was able to carefully lift the glass without spilling its contents down my front.

That much accomplished, I turned my attention to my host, relieved my brain was finally starting to work. He’d moved across the small kitchen and, with his back to me, was staring out the window over the sink. Watching him, my jaguar stirred--as did a lust I’d not felt in a very long while--and I swallowed hard. Long muscular legs led up to one of the finest examples of a male ass that I had seen in a very long time. They led up to a narrow waist and broad shoulders. Then he turned and I fought the urge to lick my lips.

Oh... my.

My jaguar was so close to the surface, I was surprised to look down at my hands and not see the shift starting. I’d felt drawn to other males of our kind before. There were too few of us for our animals not to be attracted to one another. But this was different. Never before had that pull been so strong. If I had to guess, my cat not only recognized his shifted form but she was willing to admit his dominance and that was something she had never done before.

No, that wasn’t quite right. It wasn’t that she recognized his dominance. She recognized him as her equal and that was--interesting. It was also a complication I didn’t need. Nor did I need him guessing what was going through my head. That would be more than embarrassing.

“Thank you,” I said softly as he ended his call and dropped the cell phone on the countertop. “I apologize for bringing trouble to your territory, clan leader.” And I was. Our kind had enough to worry about without causing trouble for one another.

He leaned against the counter, his head tilted to one side. Lips pursed, he studied me. As he did, I took the time to study him. Deep blue eyes set in what the romance novels would call a ruggedly handsome face. A nose that had been broken at some point. A thin scar bisected his left eyebrow. Thick, dark hair the blue-black of a raven’s wing. Younger than most clan leaders, yet there was a confidence to him most young alphas did not possess. Was it any wonder both my cat and I were responding to him?

“I’m just glad I was able to get to you before the trackers did.” He pushed off from the counter and crossed the kitchen in three quick steps. “You can answer my questions after Stefan has a look at you. He should be here soon. In the meantime, he left instructions to get you flat.”

As good as that sounded just then, I knew I needed to warn him. The trackers wouldn’t just go away simply because he’d managed to thwart them. If they were as smart as I was beginning to think they were, they would have taken down his license plate number. That meant they’d know where he lived. I had a sick feeling they wouldn’t care if he was the local clan leader or not. Michael had sent them to complete a mission and complete their mission they would. It was better to risk the wrath of another clan leader than to incur Michael’s wrath. I knew that first-hand.

“I can’t stay here.” I struggled to my feet only to fall heavily back onto the chair. Damn it. What the hell had they done to me? “They’ll trace your car.”

“Who the hell are you, lady? While you’re explaining that, you can also tell me why a female alpha is on her own and why the trackers would risk breaking the peace with my clan to get you?”

I closed my eyes. He’d asked the question I’d spent years doing my best to avoid. But I owed him the truth. He had at least postponed my
return
to the clan--and Michael. I couldn’t sit here and put him and his people in danger without at least telling him why.

“My name’s Meg Finley.” I waited, wondering how he would react. “And I had reason to expect the trackers would show up but I never thought they would do so without informing you of their presence.”

That much was true. I knew Michael would do just about anything to force my return to the clan, but I’d never thought he would allow his people to operate in another clan’s territory without permission. Fear spiked at the realization that he was willing to violate one of our most basic rules in his search for me. If he would do that, what would he do to me if he ever got his hands on me?

Then something else he said struck me.
Female alpha?
I shook my head. Had I been or my own so long I’d not realized how strong I had become? If Michael knew I was an alpha, he’d never stop until he had hauled me back to the clan. If that happened, I’d never be free again.

God, I had to get out of here before the trackers tried for me again.

“Finley?” His brow creased and his fingers drummed an impatient beat against the table top. “Any relation to Jason and Patricia Finley?”

For a moment I didn’t answer. I wasn’t sure what to think of him making the connection so quickly. Of course, my parents had been well known among the clans and their deaths--their murders. There was no way they would have killed themselves--would have been something the clans talked about for a long time. There had been so many questions, even among our own clan, about why they would have killed themselves. Still, it had been years since their deaths and my host wasn’t that much older than me. Why should he have made the connection so quickly?

“My parents.”

Now it was his turn to fall silent. I sat there, wishing I knew what he was thinking.

“Well, Meg Finely, you present me with a problem. When you went missing, your new alpha sent word to the rest of the clans asking that we let him know if you showed up. He said you were distraught and he was worried about you. Over the last few years, he’s sent out further requests for information, alluding to the possibility that you might be working against the best interests of our kind.”

“What?” I surged to my feet, this time without instantly dropping back onto the chair. Amazing what anger can do for you. “I swear I would never put our people in danger and Michael damn well knows it.”

“Sit before you fall,” he said firmly. “And quit looking like you are going to try to make a break for it. I said that’s what he told us, not that it was what I believed. Besides, if I’d had any doubts, your reaction--as well as the fact the trackers obviously did something to that taser or you wouldn’t be as weak as a kitten still--is enough to reassure me.”

“Then you understand why I have to get out of here.” Desperation filled my voice. I hadn’t been this scared in a long time, but it was more than that. This man had risked a great deal by helping me. I didn’t want to bring trouble to him or to his clan because of it.

“What I understand is that, for the moment at least, you are under my protection.” His expression gentled and he nodded for me to sit. When I complied, he knelt before me. “Nothing is going to happen to you, not as long as you are here.”

God, why wouldn’t he understand?

“They’ll know I’m with you.” I ran my hands over my face, wincing as pain shot through my back.

“Trust me, they won’t come here.” Now he smiled and something in his expression reassured me. “If they trace the car’s registration, it will go back to a holding company owned by the investment firm I work for. It’s one of a number of other cars the company owns. Short of hacking into the system, they’ll never know who the car is checked out to. So relax. You’re safe.”

I wanted to believe him. But, when a knock sounded at the back door, I started nervously. Only his hand on my arm kept me in my chair. Looking up, I saw him tense and then a smile touched his lips. At almost the same time, I scented another of our kind on the other side of the door. I blew out a breath to realize it wasn’t one of those who had been tracking me earlier. Perhaps this was the uncle he’d spoken of earlier.

The door opened and a small, almost non-descript man stepped inside. His blue eyes, not as deep a blue as my host’s but reassuring nonetheless, quickly swept the kitchen. He started to say something to my host only to turn and look at me in surprise. Before I could react, he was standing before me. His hands took mine and he looked deeply into my eyes. I swallowed hard, feeling as if he was looking into my very soul. Then he shook his head, a look of bemusement on his face.

"Stefan, I need you to make sure she's all right. She was tasered and I think the leads were ripped out as we drove off," the clan leader said simply. “That was maybe forty five minutes ago and yet she’s still having problems.”

The older man's mouth drew into a disapproving line and I fought the urge to squirm in my seat.

"I'm fine," I began and stood.

"The hell you are!" The clan leader jabbed his finger at my chair, leaving no doubt what he expected me to do. Well, he was about to find out this was one shape-changer who didn't automatically obey.

Before I could respond, Stefan spoke up. "You can begin by making the introductions, Matt." The look he gave the young man spoke volumes. There was no doubt in my mind that he’d just given the clan leader a verbal spanking.

"Sorry." He ran a hand over his face and then gave me an apologetic look. "My apologies, ma’am. I am not usually this obtuse. Put it down to finding those trackers after you and then learning who you are. We’ve not had this kind of encroachment on our territory in a long time."

"Trackers?" his uncle interrupted.

"Yeah." He shook his head before Stefan could say anything else."I'm Matt Kincade, and I’ve led the Dallas area clan for the last three years."

I took his proffered hand, trying to not to show my surprise when a shock went up my arm as our palms touched. I had had more than enough of nervous system overloads to last me a lifetime.

"This is Dr. Stefan Kincade. Think of him as not only the clan’s doctor but our conscience as well. He’s my uncle and one of my closest advisors. I trust him with my life and promise you can trust him with yours."

I looked from Matt to Stefan and back again. Matt’s meaning was clear. He would not reveal my identity to Stefan but he hoped I would. I had already taken a huge risk telling him who I was. Did I dare trust yet another stranger with my identity?