PrimalDesign (15 page)

She opened her mouth to say something, anything to take that
look off his face, but her bear caught a whiff of a strange cat. She froze, her
head snapping in the direction of the door seconds before a mechanism on the
door clicked, followed by someone rapping on the door.

An unfamiliar male voice called through the thick wood, “If
you two are finished in there, I have some clothes for you that I’m leaving at
the door. C’mon out when you’re dressed.”

Monk sat up straight, his head swiveling around to stare at
the door. “What the fuck?”

Kitty clutched the twisted sheet to her chest and sat up as
well. “Who was that?”

He looked back at her, his eyes wide and disbelieving. “That
was my dad.”

Her jaw dropped open in shock. “Your
dad
kidnapped
us?”

A scowl forming on his face, Monk swung out of the bed and
approached the door. He stopped short of his goal. “Wait a second, I smell—”

Someone else tapped on the door. “Kitty, honey, hurry up in
there. You too, Monk.”

Kitty felt as if she’d fallen into Alice’s rabbit hole.
“What the hell is my mom doing with your dad?”

Monk glanced over his shoulder. “It isn’t just her, your
dad’s here too.”

“What?”

His lips thinned. “We won’t find out until we get out
there.” He pulled open the door and peered out, dipping down to pick something
off the floor before he slammed the door closed again. Turning around, he
tossed the clothes on the bed. “I don’t know what the fuck’s going on, Kitty,
but I think it’s time we found out.”

Sorting through the pile of clothes he’d dumped on the bed,
Kitty grabbed a pair of sweats, pulling them on with more force than necessary.
“Why would they do this? It doesn’t make any sense.”

Monk, dressing in a pair of shorts and a t-shirt, grunted.
“If I’m not mistaken, they probably got the idea from your aunt and uncle.”

Kitty paused in the process of finger-combing her hair.
“What do you mean?”

He sighed and came over to her, grabbing her hand and
pulling her onto the side of the bed. “When Daisy Lynn was being so stubborn
about mating with Ram, your Uncle Thomas arrested her. Maybe your parents
thought the same thing would work with us. As for my dad,” he ran a hand
through his hair, “I have no idea why he’s involved, but chances are he’s the
one who’s been following you. He was in Special Forces when he was younger. He
could have come within feet of you without you seeing, or smelling him. I have
no clue why he would want to.” His eyes glittered dangerously when he stood
again, tugging her to her feet. “But I’m going to find out.”

Monk smelled outraged father as soon as he opened the door
and knew Hunter Chambers was not a happy camper. Normally, Monk would go out of
his way to be nice to a male he hoped would be his father-in-law one day, but
that wasn’t happening now. Not after realizing one of the three in the other
room had drugged Kitty. He didn’t care if they thought it was for her own good,
it pissed him off.

Kitty was right beside him as they stepped out of their
prison into a narrow hallway with closed doors on either side. The musky scent
of cougar was more evident in the hall, mingled with grizzly and black bear,
but the cat scent overwhelmed the bears. Monk even recognized the smells that
belonged to his father’s extended family.

“This is your family’s camp,” Kitty said in a low whisper.
“And you didn’t recognize it?”

A tide of heat flowed up his neck and he avoided her gaze.
“I’ve never been here. I’m not overly fond of the water.”

“Oh. I forgot about that.”

He shot her a glance to see a frown on her face. “Yeah,
well, since I never use it, my cousins do. I just can’t believe they cleaned
that room we were in to the extent that we didn’t smell them in there. The
fuckers must have been in on it.” He led the way down the hall, following the
scent of their parents, which became stronger.

The hallway emptied into the living area where Walter
Badeaux and Francine and Hunter Chambers sat on saggy, old furniture. It was
beyond strange to see them sitting together, looking relaxed and normal. He
hadn’t actually seen his dad in years and had to admit the time away from
Maison Rouge seemed to have agreed with the older cougar. His hair was threaded
with silver, but it didn’t detract from his youthful-looking face, a face
Monk’s so strongly resembled.

Walter sat in a chair in the corner of the big room with the
Chamberses sitting together on a sofa a few feet away. Francine looked pleased,
Hunter looked pissed and Walter looked sheepish. Not exactly the reaction Monk
was looking for in their parents.

Kitty dragged her feet, making him pull her a little farther
in the room before she stopped completely. He scented her wariness and
confusion because he felt the same, but his was heavily dosed with anger.
“What’s going on?” He gripped Kitty’s hand tighter.

Hunter was the first to speak, a surprise since he usually
had very little to say to anyone. “I sure as hell hope you’re planning to make
an honest woman of my daughter this time,” he growled, his dark eyes flickering
to light brown.

Francine slapped her mate’s leg and beamed. “I’m sure
they’re making plans to take the next step.”

Monk wanted to yowl because he could feel Kitty’s body
tense. She wasn’t ready to mate with him yet and he planned to give her plenty
of time to get used to the idea, but if her parents pressured her— He didn’t
even want to think what she’d do.

“That’s between me and Kitty,” he said as politely as he
could. Hunter bared his teeth at Monk, the muscles between his shoulders
becoming more pronounced. “Is that why you’re here?” he asked his father,
looking the older cougar in the eye for the first time since stepping into the
room. “To tell Kitty why we can’t mate? When we’re ready,” he tacked on as she
stiffened even further.

He rubbed the inside of her wrist with his thumb, to calm
her down, glad when she relaxed fractionally.

Walter cleared his throat and glanced at the Chamberses, who
were glaring at him. He rubbed his hands on his legs a few times, the sound
overly loud in the silent, tense room. “About that…”

“He was wrong,” Francine said flatly.

“You knew about this?” Kitty asked before Monk could, taking
a step forward to face her parents. “You knew why Monk and I weren’t together
anymore and you didn’t tell me?”

“Aw,
cher
, it wasn’t like that,” Francine said with a
deep sigh.

Hunter sat forward, his dark eyes focused on his daughter.
“Did you think we wouldn’t find out what happened, baby?”

Kitty’s grip on Monk’s hand tightened to the point of pain.
“What?”

The grizzly’s gaze flickered over to Monk. “We knew what
happened between you two the day after you broke up. You were…” His face
twisted with pain for his daughter. “I’ve never seen you look like that, or
hurt like that, baby girl. I never approved of you getting mixed up with a cat,
but you loved him.” He shrugged, his deep-black hair glinting in the light.
“But when he hurt you, when I found out what everyone was saying about you and
why you were really leaving, I planned to skin him alive.”

The way Hunter looked at Monk suggested he still wouldn’t
mind fulfilling that fantasy, but Francine patted her mate’s knee. “We went to
talk with Walter about it.”

All gazes swung to the old cat sitting in the corner,
looking as if he wished he were anywhere but there. Monk saw shame in his
father’s eyes and his heart pounded. “What did you do?”

Walter looked down at his feet. “I told them the same story
I told you. Your mother did try to hurt you, Monk.” He grimaced and Monk felt a
twinge of reluctant sympathy for the older cougar. “I was working twenty-hour
days back then, trying to make ends meet at two jobs and your mama was with you
all alone a lot. You were always so sick, which I never understood, but she
took care of you, nursed you back each and every time.” His voice choked up. “I
wouldn’t have known she was doing it to you if I hadn’t come home from work
early one night. You were only ten months old. I could hear you crying from the
driveway, but before I even got to the door, you stopped. When I stepped into
the house, she had a pillow over your face.”

Kitty’s free hand gripped Monk’s arm, her fingernails
digging deep. Monk barely felt it. His father had only told him his mother
tried to kill him. He’d been too distressed and angry to listen to any details
fifteen years before, but hearing his dad talk about it made everything seem so
real.

“I fought with her,” Walter continued, his face ashen and
older-looking than it’d been only moments before. “I knocked her out and
checked on you. You were fine, thank God,” he said crossing himself. His lips
trembled a second before he continued. “I called a friend of mine who lived in
Mississippi and we arranged to have your mama moved. I didn’t call the police
because I didn’t want either of us to become the center of attention in town. I
didn’t tell anyone what happened, only that Carla was very sick. Even your
grandmother didn’t know, but by then she was dying of the cancer as well. It
seemed best for everyone involved if Carla just…disappeared.”

He tightened his hands into fists. “The doctors would call
me to ask questions about Carla’s history. They said she claimed her mother
tried to kill her when she was a child. Another time she told them I never
showed her enough attention except when you were involved. I didn’t know what
to believe, but after a couple of years, she…” His voice grew thick. “She kept
insisting it was my fault for not being home more, that your grandmother made
her hate children. It took a while for the doctors to diagnose her, calling
what she had Munchausen by proxy and depression, but by then it was too late.
She killed herself shortly after.”

His throat clicked as he swallowed. He looked at Kitty. “I’m
so sorry, Kitty, but I was a bitter, guilty man then. I didn’t know if what
Carla had would be passed on to Monk, or if he would find himself in the same
position I was in with a mate who hated him. I told him it was hereditary
without knowing. My friend, the one who helped me get Carla admitted to the
hospital, swore it wasn’t genetic, but I couldn’t take the chance with his
future. I omitted a lot, but God, I was only doing it to protect both of you.”

Silence filled the room, heavy and tense. Monk’s mind was
trying to comprehend what his father said. He’d only been distantly aware of
the pain his father felt when he told Monk about his legacy because he’d been
far too angry and selfish to listen, but now, as an adult, he could see all too
clearly how much his father had hurt. Even Hunter looked like he understood
Walter’s confession better than Monk ever would. Because it was something a
father did when he loved his child to the extent these two men did. They would
cheat, lie and steal if it meant their children were protected and safe.

It was the way Monk knew he’d feel when he held his first
child in his arms. And if his father’s words were true, if there was no
hereditary predisposition to attacking their own children, then Monk could be a
father. As soon as Kitty agreed.

He looked over at her to see her eyes swimming with tears
and sympathy as she stared at their fathers. He didn’t know what was going
through her mind, but he wasn’t sure he could forgive them for what they’d
done. His heart ached for everything Kitty had been put through and he realized
he’d done exactly what their parents had. He’d purposely misguided her to
protect her. Monk had known he would rather give Kitty up than take the chance
that he’d hurt her later on, but now he realized his father had done the same
thing to him, he finally knew the pain she’d felt. And how amazing she was to
have forgiven him.

Ignoring their parents for the moment, he turned to his mate
and took her in his arms. She didn’t fight him, didn’t try to push him away,
but cuddled close, her trembling shoulders telling him just how much she was
holding back.

“I love you,” he whispered against her ear. “God, baby, I
love you and I’m so fucking sorry I hurt you.”

Her arms wrapped around his waist, holding him tightly. “I
love you too. But I swear to God if you ever do something like that again, I’ll
castrate you.”

Even as his balls did a quick retreat, Monk chuckled, his
throat suspiciously tight. “I’ll hand you the dull knife.”

He didn’t know how long they stood locked together, but it
was the clearing of a throat that made Monk look over to see her mother
beaming, her father glaring and his father looking hopeful.

He met his father’s eyes, protectiveness welling up. “You
tranqed my mate.”

“Ah, that was my suggestion,” Francine said, surprising
Kitty enough to turn to stare at her mother. “Don’t look at me like that, Kitty
Marie. You’re so
tête dur
, I knew if we approached you about clearing
things up, you wouldn’t even listen. Daisy Lynn told me all about your
argument, so we decided to take matters into our own hands. Walter went after
you and Daisy Lynn and I went after Monk. Who, by the way, had drunk himself
into a stupor and kept mumbling about tattoos and kittens.” The older bear
folded her arms over her chest, her chin lifting in a move he’d seen Kitty use
many times when she thought he was being unreasonable. “Now, Kitty Marie
Chambers, I have only one thing left to say. I’m tired of you living in New
York. It’s time for you to come home and concentrate on family for a little
while.”

Kitty pushed away from Monk, her face contorting with anger.
“You manipulated me! I thought someone was trying to kill me, dammit.”

“Kitty,” Hunter warned.

She closed her eyes. “Sorry,” she muttered. “Why would you
scare me?” She gaped. “Did you arrange to have someone drive me off the road
too? What about throwing paint on me?” Her voice got higher and higher the more
worked up she became and Monk slid an arm around her waist in a silent show of
support. If her parents had done all of that in some misguided attempt to get
her to stay in Maison Rouge, he’d sell his house and move to New York with
Kitty. “Were you
trying
to ruin my career?”