The Liger's Mark (17 page)

“She’s not here,” he said.

“She knows, doesn’t she?” Kenzie asked, and Gabriel lifted his brow in question. “That Logan’s here. He’s her brother.”

“When did you figure that out?” Gabriel asked.

“When we were talking in the car. She reminded me of him. It just took me a bit to realize it. I thought about telling her, but I was afraid she’d take off.”

His mate’s instinct had been correct.

“She’ll be back,” Gabriel assured her then pulled her so she rested against his chest when the members of the council joined them.

It wasn’t hard to sort out who was who from the people he didn’t know. The woman holding the baby, with Tah’s arm wrapped around her shoulders, had to be Abby. Next came a shorter man with glasses who had to be the professor. Reno and Logan walked over to join their mates. Murphy went to stand next to his brother and Vic joined Gideon.

“Diane?” Tah asked.

“She’s resting,” Zane said.

“I’ll check on her,” the professor said, and there was worry in his eyes.

“Later,” Zane ordered. “Let her rest.”

The professor glared for a moment then seemed to give in and walked over to sit in one of the chairs.

“Nix?” Tah turned to ask Gideon.

“Waiting in the corridor outside,” Gideon said, and Tah nodded.

“We’ve got a lot to go over tonight,” Tah said. “First things first. We’re glad to have Kenzie, Holt, Reed, Dusty and Vic back with us. Our pack is growing. Not only has Gideon decided to join us, but Gabriel and his brother Daniel have, as well. Welcome to the pride.”

Kenzie peeked up at Gabriel in surprise, and he dropped a kiss on her lips. She glanced over at Daniel beside them, and he nodded.

“Vic and Gideon have some information to share with everyone as do Kenzie and Gabriel. I want to make two announcements before they do.” Tah held up the papers Gabriel had given him. “As of a little bit ago, we are no longer guests here. This has officially become our home. In joining our pride, Gabriel has signed all the property over to us to do with as we see fit. The only condition is that any decisions regarding this land be made by the council with a majority vote rule.”

Kenzie jerked around and launched herself at him. Gabriel caught her easily and didn’t resist when his mate stole his breath with her kiss. He’d known she’d be supportive of his decision, but believing and seeing were totally different.

“Get a room,” Daniel whispered.

Gabriel liked that idea, but it would be hours before he could escape back to bed with his mate. Kenzie grinned up at him and mouthed a thank you.

Tah cleared his throat while several chuckles filled the room. “In accepting this gift, the council has voted unanimously to add one more member. Gabriel, we’d like you to join us from now on.”

His gaze flew from Kenzie’s face to Tah’s. A member of the council?

“You’ve only just met me,” Gabriel said. “Are you sure this is a step you want to take? It’s not required in the agreement.”

“We know that,” Tah said. “We also know we wouldn’t have this opportunity, this home, without you. It’s your knowledge we want on the council, though. You’ve experienced things we haven’t. The only way we get stronger as a pride, as a community, is to grow and learn. This is a chance to build something lasting. Not just for ourselves, but for our children and future generations. Join the council, Gabriel.”

Tah’s words echoed what Adrian had said when Gabriel had returned home with Kenzie. This was an opportunity to build something lasting.

“Yes,” Kenzie agreed, beseeching him.

“I…thank you,” he said. “I’d like that.”

“Good,” Tah continued. “Now that we have that settled, let’s get started.”

Chapter Fifteen

Kenzie stood wrapped in her mate’s arms still processing what had just happened. Gabriel had given the pride all the land and buildings around them. She knew without asking that he’d done it for her, for them. She was a little choked up on emotion at the moment. Plus, her mate would now sit on the council. Whether he realized it yet or not, the group had just shown his status within the pride. He was one of them.

Gideon stepped forward, Vic at his side. “I told you I had some things to take care of when we left Colorado. Several stops to make. One of which was to speak with a friend. That’s where we came across Nix, who asked if Vic and I had room for him to go with us. He said he needed to get away, start fresh. He was in the lab when I was there. I thought he’d been killed,” Gideon said.

“Do you trust him?” Tah asked.

Kenzie knew from her conversations with Vic that there weren’t a lot of people Gideon trusted. Vic still seemed surprised her mate had agreed to come to Oklahoma and join the pride.

“I don’t know,” Gideon admitted. “There’s something there, holding me back.”

Which Kenzie imagined was why Nix wasn’t in the meeting with them.

“We’ll talk more later,” Tah said. “Go ahead with what you found.”

“We went back to South Dakota, first,” Vic said. “Fayette.”

Kenzie glanced toward Clara. Fayette was where Clara was from. The way she nodded, Kenzie got the impression she’d known what Gideon and Vic were doing.

“Dillon made some pretty bold statements before he died,” Gideon stated. “I wanted to see if we could find anything to tell us if there was any truth to what he’d said.”

“He alluded to the fact he’d killed Thomas Walker in order to save everyone,” Vic clarified. “He painted quite the picture of Thomas as a manipulative bastard with an agenda.”

Kenzie watched Clara and saw sadness fill the other woman’s eyes. Logan wrapped his arms around his mate.

“He was, and most likely did have an agenda,” Clara agreed. “I just don’t know if it was as Dillon painted it. My uncle isn’t a bad man. He’s not always a good one, either.”

“Few of us are all one or the other,” Murphy said. “We’re more of a combination of both.”

There were several nods of agreement. There probably wasn’t anyone in the room who hadn’t done something at one time or another that might be construed as bad under a certain microscope.

“What Dillon didn’t know is that there were places where Thomas hid things. I didn’t check them before I headed to Colorado. I was in too much of a rush. Plus, the house was ransacked, and I didn’t know who if anyone might be watching,” Gideon said. “So I wanted to go back and take a look. I found boxes of papers, which Vic and I brought back with us. Research, not just what he and I were working on, but other things, side projects he was investigating, and things from before I joined them. I’m not even sure of all of it.”

“I’ll help read through his notes,” the professor spoke up.

“Me, too,” Abby added. “I’m sure Diane will want to pitch in, also.”

Gideon nodded. “Vic’s already started reading. We also brought back some boxes of personal stuff we found hidden by Thomas. Pictures and letters and a box marked with Michael Walker’s name.”

Clara nodded. “I’ve been going through that one today. I thought I’d lost everything when Gideon said the house was destroyed, but this box contains things I’ve never seen before. Lots of pictures. Journals my dad kept. I haven’t read them all, yet, but it’s a lot to take in.”

“Thomas also kept journals,” Vic said. “I’ve been skimming some of them. He and Clara’s father were most definitely searching for someone, a woman named Elizabeth. Her name is mentioned several times. How he needs to find her. How sorry he is. However, he never goes into detail about what happened or who she is.”

“I’ll search for any mention of her in my father’s papers,” Clara said.

“See if she’s mentioned on any of the pictures,” Gideon urged.

“There are several women in the pictures I’ve seen, but few of the photos have anything written on the back of them,” Clara informed them.

“What about Thomas?” Tah asked. “Do you think he’s dead?”

Gideon shrugged. “My gut says no.”

“He’s more than capable of taking care of himself,” Clara agreed.

“Clara and I spoke about something else,” Gideon announced.

“The child?” Abby asked, and he nodded. “I know Dillon tried to say Thomas’ child might be alive, but Clara watched what happened.”

“I did,” Clara agreed. “Logan and I walked through my memory. I was young, only five when the hunters attacked. I saw what they did, but there were moments when it was too much, and I looked away. There were also a few moments when my view was blocked by one of the hunters. I knew what was happening. I could see Aunt Stella’s face. I did watch them…” She paused and swallowed. “I saw what they did to the baby, but I can’t verify for sure if it was the same one they took from her or not.”

“So it’s possible Thomas does have a child out there?” Reno said.

“It is,” Gideon said. “I spoke to some people I know. They’re checking into it for me. If the possibility exists, there will be rumors of it somewhere.”

“The child would be around nineteen at this point,” Vic said.

“And could have spent their entire life in the hands of hunters,” Tah said furiously.

“I’ll let you know when I hear anything,” Gideon assured them.

“Anything else?” Tah asked.

“I left messages with a few people on the way here, dropping word of what I was searching for but also letting them know where I was headed. I’m hoping one of them takes me up on the offer to stop in. I believe they have knowledge we could use,” Gideon said.

“So do you,” Abby said. “With Diane not herself lately, the professor and I could really use you. Griffin is a huge asset, and we know you trained him.”

“Diane isn’t feeling well?” Gideon asked.

“No,” Zane admitted. “Pregnancy hormones are taking a toll.”

“Has she been given a transfusion of your blood, yet?” Gideon asked.

“Her symptoms aren’t physical,” the professor told them.

“Shifter pregnancies are just like human ones,” Gideon said. “In the sense that each of them is different. Symptoms may vary, but in our case, the treatment is always the same. Give her the transfusion. I’d be surprised if it didn’t have her back to normal within a few hours.”

There was confidence in his voice, and Kenzie knew he didn’t think there was a chance of it not working. She hoped so for Diane’s sake. She’d seen how exhausting the emotional surges were for her friend.

“The professor and I also have news,” Abby said. “We’ve been able to contact someone we think might be able to step in and help with some of the research.”

“She was one of my students who went with us on our trip to Africa,” the professor added, speaking of an archeological trip he’d organized and taken Abby and his daughter, Jess, on.

“I contacted her,” Abby said. “She’s willing to come meet me in Riverton when she wraps up her current project in a few months. I can’t see her being anything but an additional asset we sorely need right now.”

“We’ll meet her and see what we think then,” Tah said. “Thanks to Gabriel, we have a state of the art facility to work in.”

“I only apologize you didn’t know of it as soon as you arrived,” Gabriel stated.

“That’s my fault,” Daniel spoke up from beside Kenzie. “I should have thought of it instead of getting distracted by other things.”

Kenzie wondered what had distracted him. His father, Isaac, maybe? She still hadn’t met him, yet. It was sure to be interesting, especially since Gabriel believed his father wouldn’t be happy about them mating.

“You’ve been very busy, Daniel, and still found time to check in and make sure we were settling okay. I’m sure your job as sheriff is very demanding,” Tah assured Gabriel’s brother.

Daniel nodded. “It helps me stay informed of everything going on. Not just in Riverton, but all over.”

“Let us know if you ever need help from us,” Tah offered. “You’re part of our pride, now.”

“Thank you,” Daniel said, and Kenzie could tell how much it meant to him.

“Now, why don’t you tell us what you found out, Kenzie,” Tah said.

“I want to apologize, first,” she offered. “For leaving without letting you know in advance.”

“We were worried about you,” Abby said. “You’re family, Kenzie.”

“I needed to find some answers, and after Tah’s threat to send someone after Diane and I when we went after Zane, I wasn’t sure how it would play out if I told you what I planned to do,” she said honestly.

“My mate has pointed out that I seem to be more protective of the female members of our group, and she’s right. Not, however, because I see you as weaker,” Tah informed them. “I know you can hold your own. I’ve fought beside you and Vic, both. I know your strength. I’ll still worry, and I’ll still want to protect you. Maybe it’s the beast inside me. Maybe it’s just the type of man I am. I won’t lie and say it will change, but I will tell you, I’ll try. My mate will make sure of it,” he assured them with a look at Abby, who just smiled.

“Bet your ass I will,” she agreed, making him shake his head.

“I didn’t go alone, but I do take full responsibility,” Kenzie added.

Holt snorted. “Like you had a choice in me going with you. No way I was letting you run off alone. Someone had to watch your ass.”

Gabriel growled, and Holt laughed.

“Too easy, man. Way too easy,” Holt teased.

“Some of you know I was adopted after spending some time in foster care,” Kenzie said, ignoring Holt and Gabriel. She knew Holt would keep teasing her mate as long as he knew it was getting to Gabriel. “You also know my animal was recessive most of my life, and I never knew why.”

“Did you find the answers you were looking for?” Tah asked.

“Some, but it only led to more questions,” Kenzie admitted.

“Sounds about normal,” Reno said with a sigh.

“What did you find out?” Abby asked.

“The family who ended up adopting me, the Marshalls, are gone. They left shortly after kicking me out. No one knows where they went. Ms. Karsey, the social worker who checked on me and made sure I was informed, is dead. She’d given me the name and address of who I thought was my biological mother when I turned eighteen—a cougar shifter named Meara.”