Andromeda's Fall (Shadowcat Nation) (6 page)

Andie
lay close to the ground so she would blend in with the landscape should anyone
be watching. She’d found an outcropping of rock that gave her an unobstructed
view of the area she’d been assigned to patrol. The darkness was just barely
illuminated by the tiny sliver of moon in the sky. While everything was painted
in greys, she could see every detail of the gorgeous land surrounding her,
thanks to her cougar’s excellent vision.

If
Andie could, she’d smile. Patrol was about as mind-numbingly boring as it got,
but she relished the sense of freedom afforded from being completely by herself
in the woods. While she’d become used to the slightly claustrophobic sensation
of living in a dare, Andie took advantage of the opportunities her role created
to get out alone in the wild as frequently as possible. Well,
mostly
alone. She wasn’t the only sentry out here.

The
rock where she lay jutted out from the side of the mountain, keeping her just
above the tree line. She was in her cougar form and employed all the senses
that came with it. Keen eyesight, smell, and hearing were all highly attuned to
her surroundings. Based on her exploration of this spot, no other sentries had
discovered it yet. She made a mental note to mention that fact to A.J. when she
got back. This should’ve been found by at least one of the cougars familiar with
the local area.

Thinking
of A.J., her mind wandered back to the previous night. Andie had spent it with him
and his fellow men going over the different methods she’d employed to get into
the compound. She’d pointed out the few subtle changes they could make to
tighten security for individual assailants. It wasn’t a lot, mostly tiny things.
Very few shifters of any type had her particular skills to slip in and out of
places unnoticed. Stealth was one of the areas her petite size aided.

A
slight, telltale rustle in bushes below alerted her to the passing of the mobile
patrolman. Another mental note for A.J. – a few of Keller’s patrollers were too
loud, too obvious. Cougars were naturally stealthy animals. These guys were
good, but they could be better.

She’d
been positioned here for hours, and man was she going to sleep well when she
was relieved of duty. After the long run her first morning and then the
strategy download, followed by the sparring and then her review of Keller perimeter
security measures last night, she was running on fumes. And she knew that was
the idea, part of her test for the dare. But she’d done this kind of duty
before, so she wouldn’t falter or let them down.

Only
the tiniest scraping sound of rock moving against rock warned her of the other
cougar’s presence. She had absolutely no doubt who it was.
A.J.
He’d
climbed the rock just above her and was probably planning to pounce.

Damn
. That was the
second time he’d managed to sneak up on her in as many days. Andie started
feeling a little less smug. Maybe she’d spent too much time in the office
lately strategizing, and not enough in the field practicing. Maybe she was
slipping. At least this time she knew of his presence before he revealed himself.
But how long had he been up there?

Andie
turned her head and looked straight up into a pair of dark golden eyes. He
pulled his lips back in a cougar’s imitation of a grin and deftly dropped down
about fifteen feet to land on padded paws on the rock beside her without even a
whisper of a sound.

Well,
that explains a little bit
.
Dang man’s even more silent than I am.

A.J.
lay down beside her and looked out over the view. Andie watched him from the
corner of her eye. In cat form, he dwarfed her. He was a massive cougar, one of
the largest she’d encountered. She was a little surprised that Keller would
keep such an obvious Alpha-type in his immediate close circle. She still wasn’t
convinced that A.J.
wasn’t
Jaxon. She’d thought maybe he would’ve owned
up to it when he proposed they marry. But still, there were other little clues
that seemed to be adding up. Then again, all of Jaxon’s Protectors and
Commanders were all intimidating Alpha-types, so the man clearly had a great
deal of self-confidence.

Lying
here beside A.J., Andie could feel the heat coming off his big body, even in
the chill of the night air and through their heavy fur coats. Winter was
closing in fast, and these mountains would be covered by snow soon. She
resisted the insane urge to lean into him, absorb his warmth and this strength,
and purr.

At
the slight rustle in the underbrush below, once again signaling the passing mobile
guard, A.J. gave a low chuff. Irritation, Andie knew immediately. After the sentry
passed, A.J. looked over and caught her watching him. He tipped his chin out
toward the view, telling her to stay vigilant, so she turned her total
attention back to her job. Or tried to at least. If he wanted to keep tabs on
her, that was his problem.

He
stayed there with her for over an hour. At first, she was completely conscious
of him beside her. But then she got used to him, and his presence became almost
soothing - maybe comfortable was a better word for it - as if they’d been doing
sentry duty together for ages. He didn’t distract her from her job. With a
small shock of surprise, Andie realized that she liked having him there.
Strange, given how much she enjoyed the alone time that watch shifts granted
her and how agitated she often felt when he was around. But no less true.

The
telltale rustle sounded for the third time since A.J. had been lying there.
Suddenly he gave a low whistle, and the movement below them stopped. Very
slowly, a cougar’s head poked up above a bush. A.J. whistled again, and the
cougar caught sight of them and headed in their direction. A.J. rose to stand
beside her and gave her a long look that Andie took to mean that he wanted her
to stay where she was while he talked to his patrolman. She nodded her
understanding and looked back out over her vista.

A.J.
was only gone ten minutes or so. He returned with the other cougar, who likely
had just gotten an earful. The third cat moved to take up a position on the
rocks beside Andie. A.J. jerked his head at her to follow him. In complete and
utter silence, they padded through the trees and rocks back to the compound.
Various guards nodded them through when they recognized A.J. and the new female
cougar beside him. They’d yet to see her in her human form, as the introductions,
such as they were in cat form, had all been performed in the field. Each cat gave
Andie a curious look as she passed.

Together
she and A.J. entered the compound through the guards’ locker room. A.J. hadn’t
been there when Andie had come through earlier on her way out. Charlie had been
the one to meet her and give her the rundown on her responsibilities. He’d left
her to undress alone and then met her outside in cougar form to walk her around.

Once
they hit the light of the room, she got her first really good look at A.J. as a
cougar. His coat was a dark golden color. His mouth was white, but distinctive
black markings traced the edge and then slashed back over his cheekbones,
giving his face a chiseled, hard look. The same black fur darkened the length
of his long tail. He was a menacing… and gorgeous… cat. But what was most
striking was that his markings and coloring matched hers almost exactly. If she
could have gasped, she would have.

He
turned and took her in, the colors and patterns of her coat so like his,
covering her more delicate bone structure. After a long, breathless moment he
gave her a wink. She shook her head and bit back a smile, not wanting to
encourage him. Then he nodded toward the lockers and turned his back to give
her some privacy. She wasted no time, shifting instantly back to her human
form.

The
change came so fast that if you blinked too long, you’d miss it. There was no
warning or sound. Just an instant, and suddenly where a mountain lion once
stood, there was now a woman. Rising from her hands and knees, she moved to the
locker she’d stored her clothes in and started dressing quickly.

“None
of your sentries challenged me,” she said as she slid on her jeans.

“What
do you mean?”

Andie
peeked over her shoulder at the sound of his voice and caught an eyeful of
possibly the most gorgeous behind she’d ever seen on a man, taut and muscled,
and… She whipped her head back around and concentrated on dressing and
answering his question.

“Carstairs
encouraged his best guards to challenge each other. He felt it kept them in
place.”

“Yeah,
well, the Keller Dare has strict rules about infighting. It’s self-destructive,
and if we’re going to function as a group, we can’t encourage behavior like
that.” A.J. sounded irritated.

“Hey,
I never agreed with the practice. I always felt that all of our defenders
should work in harmony, and they’d never find that with internal challenges.”

A.J.
was silent for a long moment. “Did anyone ever challenge you?” he asked
gruffly.

“Sure,”
Andie replied casually as she hooked her bra. “But I never let them win.”

She
heard him chuckle, and her shoulders relaxed a little. She didn’t feel like
reliving the countless memories of the challenges that’d come her way.
Especially at first. By the time she’d gained the position of Strategist, the
challenges from her colleagues had become a thing of the past for the most part.
She’d earned their respect. The hard way.

After
a few minutes of silence, Andie asked, “Are you decent?” When no answer came,
she twitched her shoulders but didn’t look around. “A.J.?” she called.

She
felt his breath on her neck a split second before his low voice sounded in her
ear. “You did a good job finding that spot on the rock for a watch point. I
don’t think any of our sentries have tried it. Clear, wide range to view, and
difficult to spot you. It took me quite some time to track you. Is it
completely inappropriate to say that your skills are pretty hot?”

Andie,
already fighting the shivers his warm breath on her ear had caused, compressed
her lips and forced herself to not react.

“A.J.,”
she warned.

She
felt his deep sigh as much as she heard it.

“Inappropriate
then,” he said, resignation in his voice. “Well, since I’m already across the
line, I might as well add that I find it extremely sexy that your coloring
matches mine.”

She
felt his lips feather over the line of her jaw, down her neck, and across her
shoulder. Before she acted on the urge to turn and plaster her body against
his, she stepped away. Folding her arms defensively over her chest, she turned
and faced him.

“I
can’t,” she said.

Instead
of getting angry, he gave her a lopsided grin. “I’m telling you, we would work
great together. You need a strong mate in his dare, and I—”

“Only
Keller could face off against Kyle. I need an Alpha.” She ignored his growl of
irritation. “Besides, lust is just clouding your judgment right now.”

He
tipped his head to the side. “I’m man enough, Andie. And you think this is only
lust? You don’t think I know you?”

“Absolutely.
To both.”

“I
know you, Andromeda Reynolds. I know you’re brave and strong and smart. I also
know this isn’t just lust.”

At
her skeptical look, he held up his hands. “Don’t get me wrong. The need to
touch you, every inch of you, is definitely riding me hard. But this connection
between us goes deeper than that. And the fact that our marriage would protect
you from Kyle Carstairs— well, that’s just a bonus. I’d still ask you even if
he weren’t part of the picture.”

Andie
closed her eyes. He was just too compelling for her own good. But he wasn’t
part of the plan. Jaxon Keller was still her best option, and she’d accepted
that. As a stranger and as the leader, she’d have no qualms asking him for that
honor. But despite A.J.’s words just now, she just couldn’t tie
him
down
to someone he didn’t love. She wouldn’t do it. Not to him.

She
opened her eyes, and he read the resignation in them. “I can’t,” she whispered.

“I’m
not going to stop trying,” he said.

“Why
do you care so much?”

“Ask
me after we’re mated and married.”

She
chuckled. “You’re incorrigible.”

“But
irresistible, too, right?” He waggled his eyebrows.

She
choked out a laugh, and he held out his hand to her. “Come on, darlin’. I’ll
walk you back to your room.”

She
headed toward him and then right past him without taking his hand. As he
followed her out the door, he muttered, “Stubborn woman.” She could hear the
grin in his voice.

“You
can’t keep going on this way,” Hannah said, as she barged into the room where
Jaxon was holding his daily meeting with his Commanders and Protectors.

Jaxon
and the others immediately stood. Hannah waved them back to their seats with an
impatient hand tempered by a quick smile. Jaxon demanded good, old-fashioned
manners in his dare, and Hannah, at least, appreciated it.

Jaxon
sat back down. “This is a private meeting, you realize.”

Hannah
ignored him, unimpressed, and took her own seat. “These guys are all well aware
of the situation.” Then she looked him directly in the eyes. “She’s going nuts,
cooped up in my room for hours at a time.”

Jaxon
leaned forward and placed his elbows on the table. “She hasn’t mentioned
anything to me.” He glanced around, and the others all shook their heads.

“Well,
she wouldn’t, would she?” Hannah said. Her tone implied quite clearly that she
considered his not realizing this fact made him a bit dense.

“Has
she said so to you?” he asked.

“Yes,
we’ve talked about it. But more than that, I can see it. She’s changed. Even
for Andie, she’s moodier and easier to rile.”

Jaxon
drummed his fingers on the table. He’d seen that as well. “You two have
certainly gotten close in only ten days.”

Hannah
just shrugged.

“So
why wouldn’t she talk to me?” he continued.

Hannah
sighed. “She thinks she’s still being tested. That her confinement is part of
the trials to join the dare.”

Jaxon
kept his thoughts carefully hidden while mentally he was smacking himself in
the head. Of course, Andie would think that.

“We
aren’t testing her anymore,” Charlie insisted. “We’ve started using our
training time to exchange ideas rather than check out her skills. And she’s
alone on patrol every third night.”

“But
you confine her to my room any moment she’s not with you. She’s crawling out of
her skin!”

“You
know why we have to do that,” Jaxon murmured.

Hannah
waved a hand in the air. “To make sure her presence here isn’t discovered. With
only those in defender positions aware she exists, it’ll hide her from
Carstairs longer. I get it. But I’m guessing keeping her cooped up is just as
much about making sure she doesn’t discover who
you
really are.”

Jaxon
gave a noncommittal shrug.

“It’s
dangerous to keep a mountain lion confined too long. You know that,” Hannah
said.

That
was certainly true. Cougars naturally had the widest roaming range of any of
the cats and did not handle restriction well. Too much could result in
aggression, or worse, she could snap completely, shift, and never come back.

“We’ll
discuss it,” he muttered.

“But—”
Hannah paused, catching his expression, and bit her lip. She nodded. “All
right. Thanks.”

Gracefully
she rose and exited the room. Jaxon watched her leave, frustrated with himself
that he hadn’t realized earlier that this would happen. He turned to his men.
“Suggestions?”

“We
can’t let her loose in the dare, yet,” William said. “Hiding her from Carstairs
is critical, and the fewer that are aware of her presence here, the better.”

“Agreed,”
Pete said. “So we have to continue to keep her confined.”

Jaxon
had already reached that conclusion.

“We
could spend time with her in there.” All eyes turned on Dylan. He shrugged and
explained. “If she has to be cooped up, let’s keep her company. And also clue
her in as to why. She’ll accept it better if she knows it’s not a test.”

“Cougars
are solitary creatures. You think confinement plus companionship might not send
her over the edge?” William asked. “Or us, for that matter?”

Jaxon
shook his head. “I can’t risk all of us like that. But I’ll try it out and keep
her company myself.”

“Seriously,
boss, it’d be no prob—
ouch
!” Charlie turned to glare at Dylan, whose
elbow had just landed in his ribs. “What the hell?”

“You
really want him to take your head off, don’t you?” Dylan muttered.

Jaxon
kept his usual enigmatic expression and said nothing. Truth was, he did think
of Andie as his. There was the undeniable physical connection between them. But
beside that, Jaxon had another reason he’d yet to reveal. One he wouldn’t bring
up unless absolutely necessary.

“Oh,”
Charlie said, rubbing his side. “Sorry, boss.”

Jaxon
gave him a brief nod to show there were no hard feelings and then rose to his
feet. “Unless there’s anything else to discuss?” When no one offered any other
topics, he left the room.

He
stopped by his office to grab some paperwork and a spare, unused laptop. Then
he returned to his room, where he showered and changed. Finally he stood in
front of Hannah’s door. He raised his hand to knock and then hesitated. It was
silly, but he felt a little jittery. He hadn’t been nervous about spending time
with a girl since… well…
ever
.

“You
going to just stand there?” Andie’s voice made him jump. And then he heard her
soft chuckle through the door.

He
gritted his teeth, trying not to laugh. “All right. Open up.”

The
locks clicked, and then the little spitfire was in front of him, eyebrows
raised, hands on hips. “May I help you?”

He
held up the laptop. “I came to bring you this. You going to let me in, or are you
just going to stand there?”

Her
lips twitched, but she stepped back and led him to the couch in Hannah’s
sitting room. She took the proffered device, flipped open the lid, and then
looked at him. “What’s this for?”

He
had to be careful. If he told her he was here to keep her company, she’d have
him out in the hall on his ass in seconds. Andie was proud. She’d take his
actions as a sign that he thought her weak, incapable of dealing with the
captivity. That wasn’t the case.

“I’d
like you to start putting together some training programs as well as some
defensive strategies for the dare,” he said. “Can you do that for me?”

She
narrowed her eyes, but after a moment she nodded. “Aren’t you afraid I’ll use
this to communicate with Carstairs?”

“I
trust you.”

She
gave a little derisive laugh. “Since when?”

“Since
the day you met the Protectors and Commanders and walked us through all that
info on Carstairs but refused to provide the defensive system details. You were
protecting those who are still innocent in your old dare – loyalty is an
admirable trait.”

Her
lips twisted skeptically, but she said nothing.

“Andie,
your tests stopped a long time ago,” he continued. “Or hadn’t you noticed?”

She
remained unconvinced, her mouth compressed, her eyes narrowed. “Then why am I
still confined to quarters?”

Jaxon
sighed. Hannah had been right. He’d have to thank her later for speaking up.
“We want to keep your exposure to the dare to a minimum. The fewer people who
are aware of you, the less likely word will get back to Carstairs about your
presence here.”

Andie
relaxed. The dropping of her shoulders was infinitesimal, but Jaxon was
learning to read the little clues she gave about what she was thinking.
Finally, she grimaced. “Makes sense.”

“But
you’re going stir crazy?” Jaxon guessed.

“Kinda,”
she muttered. She pulled her shoulders back. “But nothing I can’t handle.”

“Well,
the computer should help give you something to do at least. So let’s get you
set up.”

She
nodded and hit the power button.

“It
takes a little bit, so I brought some work with me,” Jaxon mentioned casually.

“Cool.”

Andie
stared at the screen and looked at him expectantly when it hummed and flickered
to life.

Setup
took some time, particularly waiting for software to load. Rather than working
during the down time, they talked. And for once it had nothing to do with
Carstairs, Keller, or fighting. It started out light enough. He noticed the
book she’d been reading, and they got to chatting about it.

Once
they had the computer set up, Andie gave him a smile. “Well, thanks. Guess I’ll
get to work.”

“Do
you mind if I sit here. I haven’t even got started, but I’m already settled.
And you can bounce any of your ideas off me if you want to.”

She
shrugged. “Suit yourself.”

Jaxon
hid his satisfaction and pulled out his paperwork and his own laptop. After
about ten minutes, Andie relaxed, and they worked in quiet harmony the rest of
the evening.