Black Storm [Panther Key] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (13 page)

He put the tools away they had been using and checked the room one last time. It was perfect. He couldn’t wait to see Kate’s reaction to it.

They hadn’t discussed tonight’s ceremony with Kate, other than to make sure she understood the importance of it and that she was ready to take this step. They hadn’t wanted her to stress out about certain aspects of the ceremony. The traditional clan mating ceremony had been passed down through generations. It was sort of like a wedding ceremony, where they publicly claimed their mate and committed their lives to them.

They also hadn’t yet told Kate just how long those lives might be. Though Blake and his brothers were only thirty-four, their lives and their bond with Kate would last a very, very long time. Barring the only two things that could kill a shifter—beheading or removal of the heart—panthers could live indefinitely. Kate had been aware the elder they had met with was very old, but she didn’t realize how old. Though no one except the elder himself knew for sure, it was rumored that he was over one thousand years old.

Blake closed the door to the room and walked to the kitchen, where he found Kate perched on a barstool gazing out the window, apparently deep in thought. He paused to watch her for a moment, still in awe that this amazing creature was his. He snuck up behind her, attempting to surprise her with a kiss on her neck.

“That’s not going to work, you know.” Kate spun on the barstool and flashed him a brilliant grin. “I can feel you when you get close.”

“Then I’ll just have to do this instead.” Blake claimed her lips with his and moved his tongue over them, seeking entrance. Kate readily parted her lips and allowed him to savor the sweetness that was uniquely Kate. He relished the feel of her body pressed against his, her skin heating and responding to his touch. He wove his fingers through her silky hair and cupped the back of her head, pulling her even tighter against him. She was everything to him, and he couldn’t wait to share the mating ritual with her tonight.

He finally, and reluctantly, broke the kiss. They didn’t have time to take this where he really wanted it to go, and if he kept kissing her, he just might blow off the ceremony altogether. He could just imagine his mother’s reaction to that. They were only now managing to get back into her good graces, though she would probably never let it go entirely. She would probably be telling their great-grandchildren the story of how her thoughtless sons couldn’t even inform her they had found their mate.

Kate was watching him, and he could tell she had something on her mind. “What is troubling you, sweetheart?”

She looked at him for a moment and then seemed to make up her mind about something. “Those...things, the ones at the house. They were the ones the elder talked about, weren’t they? Night Stalkers.”

Blake grimaced. He really didn’t want to talk about this right now. He was afraid it would upset Kate, and she had been through enough lately. He wanted her to be as relaxed as possible for the ceremony tonight. Kate arched her eyebrows and waited. He sensed she was not going to be put off. Finally, he sighed heavily, signaling defeat.

“They are not the original members of the clan since they can walk during the daylight, but yes, they are the progeny of the Night Stalkers.”

Kate watched him for long, tense moments. He could tell she wasn’t finished but was mulling something over. He sensed a spike of fear in her that she tamped down, and then she squared her shoulders and narrowed her eyes. “In other words, vampires.”

Blake wasn’t going to lie to her. “That is one name for them, yes.” Blake saw the shudder that swept through Kate’s body, but he had to admire her steadfast demeanor. She was not panicking, even though she had just learned she had come face-to-face with a real life nightmare. Two of them, in fact.

“Great. Vampires want me dead. That’s just…great.”

Blake waited for the hysterics to start. The hyperventilating, the screaming, the crying. He waited. And waited.

She narrowed her eyes at him. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“I’m waiting for you to start panicking.”

Kate snorted. “Not gonna happen. Look, I was chased by a bear that wanted to have sex with me. I found out I can turn into some kind of mystical black panther. I’m tying myself to three men who can turn into panthers. Why wouldn’t there be vampires involved? I mean, at this point, I wouldn’t be surprised if a couple of werewolves and a few zombies showed up!”

Blake was amazed at the calmness coming off her. Oh, he sensed a strong undercurrent of fear, but she was keeping it well in check. He grinned at her with the grin he knew drove her wild. “No zombies.”

“What?”

“Well, I can’t guarantee you’ll never run into a werewolf, but zombies don’t exist. That’s just a myth.”

“Werewolves…um…okay. Anything else from my childhood nightmares I should know about?”

Blake chuckled and pulled her into his arms again. “I’ll let you know if I think of anything.”

Blake led Kate through the trees toward the big yard in front of the main house. Drake and Jake flanked them closely. Kate was wearing a long, flowing strapless green dress that Beth had made just for this occasion. Kate had enjoyed the opportunity during the fittings to get to know her new mother-in-law. She got the strong hint that Beth wanted her to call her “Mom.” While the death of her mother was still too new for Kate to feel comfortable calling anyone else by that name, her heart was finally healing, and she thought maybe, someday, she would be able to.

The guys were all wearing black trousers with no shirts, which Kate thought was odd, as was the fact that all four of them were barefooted. She had decided not to ask any questions, though. Everyone had been very evasive on the details of this ceremony, and she had made up her mind to just go with whatever happened.

The perimeter of the yard was lined with torches, and there was a large fire built into the main fire pit in the center of the yard. The flames bathed the entire area in a soft flickering glow. The clan members were seated on blankets placed on the ground in a semicircle on the opposite side of the fire from where her group emerged from the trees. They stopped when they were about ten feet from the fire, and Blake turned her to face him. He took both of her hands, and Drake and Jake moved to either side of her, facing her.

From his pocket, Drake withdrew three thin black bands made of some type of metal and held them out to Kate. She took one of them and turned it in her hand, noticing the shape of a panther was delicately engraved into the metal. The most striking thing, however, were the tiny emerald stones that were set into the figure to represent the eyes. Kate immediately understood the figure represented her.

Blake didn’t say anything but held out his right arm to her and looked deeply into her eyes. She placed the band around his wrist and smiled up at him. He returned her smile with a dazzling one of his own, and she felt his love flowing from him.

Drake then held out his right hand, and she took one of the bands and placed it around his wrist. Jake offered his hand, and she placed the last band on his wrist.

She looked back to Blake, waiting for the next step. He reached up and stroked her cheek with his fingers. “I love you, Kate.” She gasped. She hadn’t realized how much she wanted to hear those words until they were actually spoken.

Jake took one of her hands in his. “We all love you.”

Drake squeezed her other hand. “Forever, darlin’.”

Tears sprang to Kate’s eyes at hearing the sincerity in her mates’ voices. “I love you, too.” It felt so good to say the words! She turned to Drake and then Jake, her heart feeling as though it was going to burst with love for these men. “I love all of you. I don’t know how it’s possible, but I love each of you so much.”

Blake smiled and reached into his pocket, withdrawing a delicate golden bracelet that was designed like the black ones, but there were three panthers engraved around the band, each with chocolate stones for the eyes. Kate eagerly offered her right wrist to Blake, and he placed the band on her wrist and then leaned down to kiss the golden bracelet.

Drake and Jake crowded next to Blake, blocking Kate from the view of the onlookers who still sat quietly on the other side of the fire. Kate had been so wrapped up in the moment she had almost forgotten they were there. Blake cupped Kate’s face in his hands and placed a gentle kiss on her lips before pulling back and looking into her eyes with a very serious gaze.

“Sweetheart, you need to transform.”

Kate wasn’t sure she understood him correctly. To transform, she would have to take her clothes off. Surely he didn’t mean she had to do that in front of everyone. Did he?

“It’s okay, sweetheart. They can’t see much with us in the way.” Blake’s attempt to reassure her didn’t help. In fact, it did the opposite.

“I’m supposed to strip? Here?” She heard her own rising panic in her raspy whisper. “Oh, hell no!”

“Sweetheart, all of us need to transform. No one will see much with us in the way, but we have to do this to complete the ceremony. Please trust me, Kate.”

Kate glared at Blake, hardly believing what he was telling her. No wonder no one would talk to her about the ceremony details! Blake looked worried, and she could feel the anxiety coming from all three of the men. She wondered if refusing to do this would mean they weren’t really mated in the eyes of the clan. She also guessed it would probably humiliate them in front of everyone.

She sighed in defeat. She did trust them, and she didn’t want to do anything that might jeopardize their joining. But as far as Kate was concerned, this was so not the end of it. She narrowed her eyes at Blake and then turned the glare on Drake and Jake. She wanted to let them know that, even though she was giving in, they would definitely be answering for this later.

Kate glanced around to make sure she was sufficiently hidden behind her large men. She shimmied out of her dress and panties and let them fall to the ground then immediately called to her cat, not wanting to stand there naked any longer than she had to. Her cat answered her call without hesitation and leapt forward in her mind. Kate felt the familiar tingling sensation wash over her body, and then she was looking up at her men, their brilliant smiles lighting up their handsome faces.

She watched as Blake stripped out of his trousers, quickly followed by Drake and Jake. All at once the three men transformed, their bodies shimmering as their cat forms were called forth. A huge flood of relief and happiness raced from her men through their mental link.

Kate reveled in the sight of her mates standing proudly before her, their golden coats shining in the flickering firelight. Her gaze roamed down their muscular panther bodies and then stopped when she saw something new.

Just above each of their front right paws was a thin black line where the black bands would have been in their human forms. She stalked forward and looked closely with her heightened vision. The thin line was actually now black fur. She looked down quickly at her own right paw and saw a similar line, except hers was golden fur.

Suddenly, the clan members broke into applause and cheering. Kate spun toward them in surprise at the loud outburst but quickly understood they were celebrating. She hoped the ceremony was over because her cat wanted to run, and she was in no mood to disagree. She let out a yowl to her mates and launched herself toward the nearest break in the tree line. Her cat vision allowed her to see so much more at night, and she caught even the smallest movements in the bushes as she ran.

When she emerged from the trees onto the beach near the dock, something out on the water caught her attention. She planted her paws in the sand and came to an abrupt halt. Blake had been right behind her and almost plowed into her from behind but managed to veer at the last minute and come to a halt at her side.

Kate stared out over the dark water and spotted three boats circling about three hundred feet offshore. One of the boats attempted to steer closer, but it was as if a giant hand forced it backward, despite the roaring of the powerful motor indicating it was being driven at full speed. The island’s magic was literally repelling the boat backward.

Kate could see three men in each of the farther boats. The closest boat held four passengers, and two of them were standing next to something that reminded her of a harpoon gun. Kate’s cat growled a low warning. She inhaled deeply and picked up a faint but familiar scent. The strangers—vampires, she knew now—who’d confronted them before were on one of those boats.

“They can’t get to us here.”

Blake’s thought had barely registered when Kate’s sharpened vision caught movement from the harpoon-like contraption. Something was hurtling toward them at a high rate of speed. Kate threw herself sideways just as a large steel arrow flew by her and plunged into the sand. Blake hissed angrily, and Kate felt a stab of pain through their mental link. She spun and saw a gash in Blake’s flank where the arrow had grazed him. Blood was staining his fur a bright red as it ran down his flank.

“I’m okay. It will heal quickly.”

Kate knew Blake’s thoughts were meant to reassure her, but Kate’s cat was not satisfied with that answer. Actually, her cat was downright pissed. Those things had almost killed her mate!

The arrow had a thick cable attached to it that led back out to one of the boats. Both Kate and Blake leapt backward when the arrow was suddenly yanked out of the ground and dragged back across the beach and into the water, apparently being reeled in by someone on the boat.