Dare (3 page)

I
showered and pulled a tank top over my head. I dabbed mascara on the tips of my eyelashes, setting off the green in my eyes even more. It didn’t take much. They were piercing no matter what I did. I pulled on a pair of khaki shorts and laced up my running shoes.

Vix told me she would see me at the meeting. She had a study group after class and didn’t have time to make it back to the house before five.

I thought I knew what I was going to say. After all, I was a queen. A born leader. If I told myself that mantra enough times, it would have to be true. I wondered how many queens before me faced the challenges I had. I sighed, knowing there wasn’t even one I could talk to about it. What I was trying to accomplish was unprecedented.

I walked out of the door and slammed into him.

“What in the hell are you doing on my porch, Case?” I glared at him.

“What? No hello?”

“No.” I tried to step around him, but he blocked me. His shoulders were wide.

“Where are you headed, darlin?”

“Don’t darlin’ me. I’m going out.”

“You’re supposed to tell me these things. I worry when I don’t know where you are.” He leaned against the one post on the porch that wasn’t rotted.

I folded my arms. “Ok, tell me what you want. I don’t have time for this tonight. Just spit it out.”

He adjusted the watch on his arm. “I think you do have time.”

“Stop screwing with me.” The words came out wrapped in my growl. It was fierce and too loud. I quickly scanned the sidewalk for any observers.

“Wow, I like it when you growl.” He stepped closer. “I’ve been imagining that sound for a long time.”

“You’ll just have to keep imagining it,” I challenged him.

“We both know you’re going to give in.” He ran a finger along my wrist, tracing my arm until he landed on my shoulder.

“I am
not
giving in. I’m a Nox. I don’t have to do what you say.”

“Well, see that’s not how it works, little kitty.” He tipped the bottom of my chin with his thumb. “You don’t get to decide what magic you accept and what you don’t.”

I twisted his hand in my grip. He winced. “I make my own decisions. And that starts with not marrying you.”

He pinched his lips together. “Dare, it’s going to happen.”

“The only way I’ll marry you is if I’m dead.” I made sure to quiet the growl this time, but he needed to know I was serious.

“You’ve got one month to change your mind, babe. And then after that, I can’t tell you what’s going to happen.”

I shrugged. “I’ll take my chances. I’d rather face the council than be your wife.” I released his hand.

He shook off my grasp. “That’s what you think now, but come June you’re going to beg me to marry you and then I’m going to have to really think hard about that.”

I brushed past him. “I seriously don’t have time for this conversation again. I’m leaving.”

“Hey, Dare, you wouldn’t be missing anything, would you?” He cocked his head to the side.

I was halfway down the stairs. “What are you talking about?”

“Where are your little lovebirds?”

My fists tightened. “You wouldn’t.”

He shrugged. “Wouldn’t I?”

“I will rip your throat out, Case!” I hurled toward him, but he dodged my pounce.

“If you do that, how will you know where to find them?”

“You better not have hurt them.”

“No, I wouldn’t do that.” He sat on the top step. “Come sit with me.”

He had the cards. I sat. “What do you want?”

“We keep going through this dance and I don’t see why we need to. Just marry me and get the Nox to do their part too. We can stop fighting. You can stop your endless patrols. It would make life better for everyone.”

I laughed. “Better for whom? You? Because then you’ll go to your next territory and marry the next girl on the list. And I won’t be able to marry anyone. I’ll be stuck here with your stupid cub and you’ll have all my territory. I don’t think so. This insane tradition ends now.”

“But it’s prophecy. It’s fate. You can’t say no.”

“I already did.”

He shook his head. “Just know the longer you put off the wedding, the longer the lovebirds will be hanging out with my crew.”

“Let them go.”

He stood from the step. “As soon as I see you at the other end of the aisle.” He walked a few paces backward, his eyes amused.

“I’ll get them back,” I declared. “I will hunt you down and everyone who has had anything to do with this.”

“Looking forward to it.” He spun on his heel and waltzed out of the yard.

I wouldn’t be able to follow him. No matter how fast I was, Case was sure to have prepared an escape route. My only option was to take this to the Nox.

“Oh my God, what are we going to do?” Maya let a tear slip down her cheek.

“We’re going to get them back.” I patted her shoulder.

There were five of us in all. Five fierce, lethal she-panthers, but there should have been seven. We are the Nox.

Case had just cut our numbers. I looked around our group. The possibility of losing everything had brought us together. Their faith and loyalty to me kept us together.

“Case is such an asshole.” Vix paced along the back wall, her hair swinging wildly as she pivoted.

I nodded. “He’s more than that.”

“Did he say anything about where they are?” Sloan asked.

“No. He just said we could get them back if I married him. It’s the same story he always has. You’d think the guy would just move on.”

Eva’s eyes narrowed. “He can’t move on. He’s the king. You’re the queen. Yada yada. He’s not going to give up.”

I faced her. “No, he’s not. But that doesn’t mean he gets to ruin our lives or kidnap our friends.”

“So, how do we get Tegan and Abi back?” Vix asked.

“I think we need to split up. Start patrolling now,” I suggested.

“But, they could be anywhere. Campus. The town. There’s no telling how he thinks.” Maya looked like she was going to cry again.

“We’ll get them back. I promise.” I tried to comfort her as I wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

The torchlight flickered along the walls of the cave we had claimed as our lair. It was rustic, but it was one place we could meet in our true forms without being seen. Tonight we were still in human shape.

“And if we don’t find them?” Eva questioned.

“He’ll slip up. We’ll patrol tonight. If we don’t find them, just go to class tomorrow like normal. Act like you’re worried about exams. Focus on your projects. It will drive Case crazy. He’ll have to stop by again. He can’t stay away.”

Vix scoffed. “And in the meantime, our girls are with those idiotic goons. What bastards.”

“I know Case won’t hurt them.” It sounded good if I said it, even though I had nothing to back it up.

He had no allegiance to me. This was a last ditch effort to make me seal the agreement our families had made hundreds of years ago when they accepted the magic that made them.

“I hope you’re right.” Maya stood.

“Wait.” I motioned for everyone to stay seated. “On top of this, we have another problem.”

They groaned.

I reached into my front pocket and unfolded the flyer the lady at Cartwright’s had given me. It seemed to pale in comparison to the kidnapping, but they needed all the information.

“There’s a storytelling convention this weekend. Some of my fans are going to be in the forest, looking for me.”

“What?”

“We might have to limit the patrols Saturday night. That’s when the big group tour is.” I relayed all the information I had from the poster.

“Any good news?” Eva rolled her eyes.

“Not really.” I attempted a smile. “I don’t want you in the woods that night. I’ll patrol myself.”

“But…” they began to protest.

“Really, I’ve got this. Five panthers roaming the forest are more likely to be seen than just one,” I reasoned.

Eva seemed particularly edgy tonight. “But the Tribe is constantly looking for the lair. We need to keep it protected.”

“I’ll take care of it, Eva. Let me handle it.”

Vix whipped around. “I really hate Case.”

“I know. Me too.” I watched her pace some more. “At least you’ll be in the woods too on your date.”

“Date?” The other girls stared at Vix.

“So what? He’s cute. He asked.” She shrugged off their ambush.

I looked at my phone. “We need to get out there. It’s getting late.”

“God,” Eva snarled. “I’ve got econ at eight in the morning. I don’t know which I hate more: econ or the Tribe. Case knows we’ll kill him if we see him.”

“Yeah, he knows.”

We gathered in a circle, a smaller one than we were happy with. We were missing two and it tore at all of us. I wrapped one hand around Vix’s waist and the other around Maya’s. One by one, we began to shift. Our long dark hair transformed into thick silky fur. Our legs now powered by the strength of our animal nature. Our nails, sharper than any known claws. The only recognizable trait was our green eyes.

The circle of Nox panthers slinked out of the lair. We had friends to rescue.

I
hit send on the last email and closed my laptop. It was five o’clock and I had spent two weeks getting ready for the Sullen’s Grove storytellers festival. I needed a drink.