A Cougar Among Wolves (10 page)

“Klaya.” Drew crossed over to her and stared at her, sorrow filled his eyes. “I’m so sorry about Griffith. I can’t believe he’s gone.”

Tears spilled down her cheeks. For the first time since Griffith was murdered, she felt like she was home. “I’ve missed you so much.”

“It’s okay, you’re here now, we’ll figure out what to do.” He patted her shoulder.

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“When did you get here?” She stared at Drew with disbelief. It had been years since she had seen him. He was a far cry from the young, angry lad she’d met in the bar. Drew had filled out and carried a powerful stance, with a calm demeanor. Alpha suited him well.

“We arrived past the ridge, but these two were out searching for you.” He chuckled. “I told Gee these numskulls couldn’t keep you locked up.”

Klaya snickered with amusement through tears. She ran the back of her hand across her cheeks and wiped away the moisture. He had developed a knack for shifting the mood with his dry humor.

***

“This is some good food.” Drew grinned as he chomped down on the roasted meat.

“Klaya’s favorite,” Seth chimed in.

“I remember. You were never much for rabbit,” he concurred.

The five sat around the fire over lunch.

“When we woke up, you were gone, had us half scared to death,” Rogue snarled, anger dulling his striking green eyes.

“I’m sorry.” She avoided his stare. Seth was less hostile and offered a tender smile.

“I could have warned you, Klaya was never one to stay put if there was deer nearby,”

Drew recalled with a tone of amusement.

“How much longer do we have to stay here?” The last of her joy had dissipated under Rogue’s continual scowl. The dire need to flee and be free of them coursed through her veins.

Ryker spoke for the first time since their arrival. “Pack trackers caught the scent of a few humans right outside of our territory, but there has been no attempt to enter Los Lobos.”

“Does that mean they’re gone?” Hope rose for a moment.

“I don’t think so.” The enforcer pursed his lips.

“Klaya.” Drew leaned forward. “I know this is pretty raw for you, but when the guys filled me in on everything….” He looked over to the brothers.

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Panic set in. “Everything?”

Seth shook his head. “What you told us about the day you got shot, where you were, the men, the smells. We brought him up to speed so you wouldn’t have to go over it all, again.”

“Oh.” She nodded with relief. “Thank you.”

Drew shifted sideways and faced her. “You described something that sounded all too familiar to me.”

“I did?”

“Remember when you and Griffith saved one of our wolves?”

“Like it was yesterday.”

“The guys who tortured him caught him days before you guys found him. They had him locked up, in a cellar, strung up by chains, from what he told us. When they brought him out to the forest, they were trying to release and track him down.”

“I hadn’t realized. He didn’t talk much while he was with us.” She slumped her shoulders.

“Your experience bears a remarkable similarity to what he told us. So much, I can’t overlook it.” He let out a quiet growl. “Not when it cost Griffith his life, and nearly cost you yours.”

White-hot shock zapped through her stomach. “You think the people who hurt your wolf were connected to the hunters who killed my brother?”

“I do.” He glanced to her with narrowed eyes and flexed the muscles of his jaw.

“There’s more, isn’t there?” She dipped her chin down, fatigue washing over every muscle in her body.

Drew didn’t speak right away. “Gee has a theory. I don’t think you’ll like it, but you need to hear it.”

Klaya cupped her hands behind her neck to fend off the muscle spasm building with every word. She readied herself for impact. She suspected he was about to reveal the very speculation she had toyed with since the fateful morning they were attacked. “Let me guess.” She stared up at the sunlight through the ceiling. “He thinks maybe these guys weren’t merely diehards out to get their rocks off. His theory has to do with the disappearance of the Cytaana clan and why there may be none left?”

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“Yeah, but a few wolves have gone missing over the years, too. Then, the murders in Keystone.” Drew glanced over to the brothers. “We still have no clue why or by whom.”

“You think it’s all connected?” She cocked her head.

Seth cleared his throat. “When you told us about that day, you said you
smelled death
in the cellar
. Distinctive scents?”

“Other cougars,” she recalled aloud, and then it hit her. “Oh my God, and wolves.”

Ryker put his plate down and stared at Drew with raised brows. Drew nodded and Ryker spoke. “Klaya, Doc pulled a high-tech tracking device out of your arm.”

“Yes?”

“They all wore combat gear, had military-grade riffles and ammo, we figure this is an organized group, hunting shifters and eliminating them.”

“Why?” She couldn’t fathom the notion, yet couldn’t dispute the logic.

“I need to know how they found you and Griffith.”

“I don’t know?” She shook her head with despair.

Drew interjected. “Okay, let’s take this one step at a time. What happened before the attack?”

Klaya’s chin quivered. To recount the events again was more than she could bear. She swallowed hard. “We were going to sleep; it was first light of day.”

“What happened before?” Rogue spoke with a softer voice than earlier, one suggesting empathy rather than irritation.

“We came home from an all-night hunt.” The words rolled off her tongue and resonated in her brain, and her breath caught in her throat. “They spotted us in the forest.”

Revelation stung her heart. “They must have tracked us back to the cabin. We were going to sleep. Oh God.” She pulled her knees to her chest and rocked back and forth. “It’s my fault.” She clasped her hand over her mouth with horror. “I wanted to hunt deer. He said it was too risky. I told him he was being overprotective.” Klaya fixed her stare on her plate of half-eaten food beside her and snatched it up in a rage. She slammed it into the fire and screamed, “It was my fault.”

Rogue grabbed her by the shoulders and lifted her to her feet. He gathered her into his arms. “It’s not your fault, don’t ever think that.”

“If there’s one thing I knew about my buddy, no one ever made him do what he didn’t 65

want to. Not even his kid sister, sweetheart. Think about it.” The quiet reflection in Drew’s tone held truth. “Anytime he dug his heels in, there was no way to change his mind.”

Even with endless hours of torture, the assassins couldn’t force him to shift for them.

Still, her mind raced. She’d goaded Griffith to go for the night hunt, and dismissed his cautionary resistance as his typical role of the overbearing big brother.

“We need to know where you were, Klaya. I know it’s hard, but before Seth and Rogue found you on the edge of Black Hills, do you remember anything about where you were?” Drew pried carefully.

The comfort of Rogue’s arms grew restrictive with Drew’s continued interrogation.

She placed her palms on the younger wolf’s chest then eased to stand on her own two feet. Klaya wiped the tears off her cheeks and mustered her strength to focus on the task at hand. “Our cabin was out on the east side of Keystone. They hit me with something there, and I woke up in the cellar. I don’t know how long I was out.” She stepped to the side, desperate for some physical space, the weight of the world resting on her aching shoulders now.

“When you awoke, Griffith bought you some time and you managed to escape?” Drew persisted.

Klaya searched her weary brain for something, any minute detail she could recall.

“The forest was like this, cedar and pine, lots of birch, too. It was all forest. There was only enough clearing for the cabin.”

“It was a cabin?” Ryker stood.

The faint details grew clearer. “Yes, an old board and batten, faded wood, untreated, had a gray tone to it. The stairs led out from a storm cellar, the doors flapped open.” She fought the blur to remember more. “The smells…gas. There were trucks and vans, maybe four or five, newer vehicles. Something was burning.”

“Wood?” Seth rose as well.

“No.” She pondered the odor. “Propane.” She snapped her head up.

“Like a barbeque?” Drew stepped closer.

“More like a furnace. It was a single-story dwelling, but a fair size.”

Ryker turned to Drew. “We can narrow it further.”

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“It’s a stretch, but it’s more than we had this morning.” He nodded. “Klaya, before they shot you, how long do you think you were running?”

“Maybe a few miles, not long at all. I broke through the forest, past a small clearing.

There was a creek, and then I headed into more forest. Then the bullet, and the rest is blank.”

“Ryker, you have the map here?”

“Yes.” Ryker headed over to his backpack propped against the cave wall.

“A small clearing, a creek, not far from the Black Hills boundary. That gives us a good location to search and narrow down the cabins in the area.” Drew nodded at her. “Thank you, Klaya.”

Rogue approached her again. He took her into his arms and kissed her forehead. “You did awesome, babe.”

Seth cupped her cheek. “Yeah, fantastic.”

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Rogue held Klaya tight. The invisible weight of worry lifted from his chest. He found relief she was able to make some headway with the information. Her pain proved a tangible wound to him. He wanted to do nothing more than eradicate it and anything causing her pain. The aggression it provoked toward his alpha and the enforcer wasn’t acceptable. He understood it and yet, when Ryker settled his gaze on them, silent judgment seeming to fill his black eyes, Rogue could barely suppress a growl. Intellect warred with instinct.

“She was off-limits.”

“We can explain.” Seth held his hands up in surrender. His brother would rather joke and cajole, fighting only when necessary

Instincts winning, Rogue kept her under one arm and faced Ryker with a defiant glare.

“Get away from her.” It didn’t matter how far away the enforcer stood, Rogue would defend her.

“What?” Cool challenge underscored Ryker’s single syllable.

“It’s not their fault,” Klaya hissed. When she would have stepped in front of him, he and Seth moved as one to bracket her. Their protective grasps on her were met with lightning bolts of electricity jolting from her skin to Rogue’s. Visible sparks flew from where he and Seth’s hands touched her.

Drew stepped forward. “Stop. Everyone.”

Seth and Rogue stood in guard of Klaya, and Ryker remained still, with his infamous stone-cold expression.

“Klaya.” Drew faced her. “Did I see what I think I did?”

“All this testosterone is making me sick.” She pulled away from everyone and circled the fire. Icy emptiness encased Rogue’s heart at her resistance to his protection.

“Klaya, talk to me,” Drew commanded.

“It was...it is.
The Nasc
,” she confessed.

“Oh shit.” Drew scrubbed his face with his palms. “You and Griffith told me about it, but said neither of you ever experienced it. You’re sure?”

“Without a doubt, it’s the third time since we’ve met.”

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“With both of them?”

“Both,” she concurred.

“What the hell are you talking about?” Rogue grumbled. Had she lost her mind?

Seth squinted with confusion. “Yeah, what is going on?” He crossed his arms and pressed his lips tight. An uncharacteristic stance for his passive little brother, in Rogue’s opinion.

Angst tore at Rogue’s stomach. He watched how Klaya stared at Drew and shrugged but said nothing. Her feisty stance softened and she dropped her hands to her sides, seeming helpless to offer an explanation.

The hardened stare Drew shot toward Rogue and his little brother settled in his gut like lead. Drew forced a huge sigh through pursed lips. “Klaya’s shifter species has a different—bond than wolves.”

Rogue exhaled a frustrated breath. “Klaya?”

She bit her bottom lip and hesitated.

“Talk,” Rogue growled.

“Fine,” she snapped. “In the Cytaana clan, when destined mates connect, physically, especially when there’s a protective need present, there is an exchange of energy.” She glanced over to Drew. “The thunderbolt bond or
the Nasc
is the way Cytaana discover who their destined mates are.”

“This shock we just felt?” Seth cocked his head.

“Yes, you said you felt it when you pulled me from the tree?”

“Both of us did,” Rogue agreed.

“And again, when you caught me on the rocks and stopped me from falling?”

“Right.” Seth nodded.

“And, this time, I was the protective one because I was afraid Ryker would hurt you both. It’s the mating bond.” Embarrassment flooded her and her cheeks grew warm.

“That’s why—”

“Last night.” Rogue grinned.

“Last night,” she whispered and gave both her wolves with an affectionate gaze.

“Last night?” Ryker stared at them.

“We didn’t try anything,” Seth protested.

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“That’s it,” Klaya murmured. She waltzed up to Ryker with her chin lifted. “Look, if you want to blame anyone, it’s all on me. I was the aggressor. They were perfect gentlemen the entire time. They protected me, they fed me, and they comforted me through the hardest moments I’ve ever known in my entire life.” She shot a fleeting glance over to Rogue with a smile then turned back to Ryker with a challenging glare. “I.

Attacked. Them,” she announced with pride. “And, if you have a problem with it, then you discuss it with me, because it won’t be the last time.”

Rogue’s heart pounded.
This woman has guts. No one challenges the pack enforcer.

She may not be a wolf, but she’s got the same kind of fight in her.
He didn’t think it was possible to want her any more than he already did. She proved him wrong. He glanced over to his brother to find Seth covering his half-grin with his hand.

“Cat. Go to your mates.” Dismissal rang from the enforcer’s statement.

Drew shook his head. Their alpha always seemed to possess immeasurable patience, but even he had his limits. “Yes, Klaya, go to your mates and leave Ryker alone.