Feral (20 page)

“Because you love me.”

“Quit saying that.”

She persisted. “What about the connection we share? My ancestor is responsible for turning Lareina into a shapeshifter, and Lareina is responsible for turning you into one.”

“That doesn’t mean it’s supposed to trickle down to you. Think about immortality, Jenny. Really think about it. You couldn’t stay here forever. You’d have to move before people start to notice that you don’t age. You’d have to change your identity, the way I’ve been doing. And what about your family? What would you say to them?”

“Matt is my only family, and eventually I’d just have to tell him the truth. As for moving, I’d sell this place and start over as many times as I had to, opening new rescues. It doesn’t matter, as long as I’m with you. Just say you’ll do it, Noah.”

Was there no reasoning with her? “What if I hurt you beyond repair? Or mauled you to death? I’m not agreeing to this madness.”

“And I’m not giving up on becoming a shapeshifter. Maybe there’s a way for Lareina to do it. Maybe there’s a loophole in the spell the
sapiya
didn’t tell me about.”

That cinched it. Noah went ballistic. “Don’t you let her get anywhere near you. Do you fucking hear me?”

“Stop shouting and stop cursing. Lareina doesn’t have vicious urges anymore.”

“Yeah, well, consider this—what if that so-called loophole backfired and she reverted back to what she was when she attacked me?” He shook her, hoping that he rattled her teeth, along with that hard head of hers. “I mean it—stay away from her.” He raised his voice another octave. “If that bitch maimed or killed you, I’d want to die. And I
can’t
die, so I’d be living the rest of my godforsaken life in misery.”

“Why don’t you just admit that you love me? Why else would you care so much?” She shoved her fists against his chest. “Just say it, Noah. Admit it.”

Hell and damnation. He grabbed her wrists to hold her still. She was behaving like a little spitfire. “Knock it off.”

“Say it!”

His emotions flew amok. Did he look like a clock with its hands spinning backward? With its springs coming loose? Whatever was happening to him, he wasn’t about to acknowledge it as love. He would never give her that kind of leeway. “I’m not saying a damn thing. Nor am I going to attempt to turn you into what I am.”

She blinked. Then her eyes went misty. “Please. If you don’t turn me, our future is doomed.”

She was begging him? That made it worse. “I can’t take the chance.”

“You’d be gentle. I know you would.”

“But
I
don’t know that I would, and that’s more important than what you think you know.”

She leaned against him, and he wrapped his arms around her. As the wind stirred lightly around them, they went silent in each other’s embrace.

Finally, he stepped back. The moment was too soft and warm, and he couldn’t bear the way being this close to her made him feel.

He said, “You should find yourself a mortal guy.” He thought about the husband and children he’d assumed that she would have someday. “You should get married and have kids and grandkids and grow old like you’re meant to.”

“I’m meant to be with you.”

“No, you’re not. We should stop seeing each other. Now. Today. I can’t do this anymore.”

Her voice cracked. “You’re ending it?”

“Yes.” He was ending it. For good.

 

 

 

After Noah left, Jenny returned to the house, fighting tears. He’d walked away because he was concerned about hurting her. Wasn’t that proof he wouldn’t take the “mauling” further than it needed to go?

She didn’t want to find herself a mortal guy. She wanted Noah, and if she couldn’t convince him to turn her, then maybe there really was hope with Lareina.

She entered the kitchen, where she’d left the trinket box. She opened the lid, rousing the
sapiya.
She explained what had transpired between her and Noah, then asked if there was any way whatsoever that Lareina could turn her into a shapeshifter.

The answer was a resounding, “No.”

“So, Noah is it? He’s the only one who can do it?”

“Yes.”

The tears she’d banked let loose, and she sat at the table, covered her face, and cried.

The
sapiya
rattled around in its box, drawing her attention. “Are you abandoning your quest?”

She uncovered her face. Was she?

No, she thought. Determined to stay strong, she grabbed a paper towel, dried her cheeks, and dabbed her runny nose.

Jenny spent the rest of the morning and a portion of the afternoon trying to figure out a course of action. She kept bouncing ideas around in her head.

Then it hit her.

She knew what she needed to do.

She said to the
sapiya
, “I’d like to see Lareina again. But I want you to bring her here, to my home. I want to talk to her without a barrier between us.”

“Shall I do that now?”

“First I’m going to make some tea.” Something to calm her nerves and something to offer Lareina. Funny thing, too. Less than a week ago Noah had made an offhand remark about Lareina not being the type to chat over afternoon tea. Hopefully Jenny was about to prove him wrong.

She brewed a soothing blend of mint and chamomile. She used her grandmother’s floral-painted teapot and delicate china, including a cute little creamer and matching sugar bowl. She even opened a box of assorted cookies and arranged them on a plate.

After carrying everything into the living room and placing it on the coffee table, she waited in the hallway and told the
sapiya
she was ready for their guest.

Within a matter of minutes, Lareina appeared. She glanced quickly around, puzzling, it appeared, over the vacant room and tea setup.

Jenny stepped forward and made herself known. “Would you care to join me?”

Lareina hesitated. “Earlier you put me in a cage and now you are entertaining me?”

“I didn’t know if I could trust you earlier.”

Lareina lifted her eyebrows. “And now you do?”

“You said that you were remorseful for what you did.”

“I am.”

“Then join me.” Jenny gestured to the sofa.

The other woman took a seat and smoothed her dress. She was wearing the same filmy garment as before. Jenny sat beside her and poured the tea. Lareina added a bit of milk to her cup, and Jenny doctored hers with a spoonful of sugar.

How strangely civilized it was, sharing a refreshment with the shapeshifter who’d brutalized Noah. For a moment, Jenny questioned her own sanity.

Curious, she glanced at the
sapiya
. It sat silently in its box. It didn’t seem concerned about her mental health. It obviously knew that she was making the right decision.

Jenny said to her guest, “I have a favor to ask of you.”

After she explained, Lareina said, “Are you sure that Noah loves you?”

“I’m positive. Even my magic says so.” But even more telling was the achingly tender way Noah had held her today. “Will you help me?”

The brunette nodded, and a bond was formed. That, too, was strangely civilized.

Once the details were finalized, Lareina reached for a cookie. “You look so much like Taika. She had the same soft quality, the same pale blond hair.”

Jenny replied, “When Noah first mentioned you, he called you mysteriously beautiful. I can see how easily you seduced him. You could make any man want you.”

“I didn’t seduce the gods who captured me. They just took me.”

“But then you found the man you loved. Tell me more about him. What’s his name?”

“Cayo. He is strong and quiet, with eyes the color of the sky. All Sky Dwellers have blue eyes, even when they transform into lions.”

“How did he feel about the spell that Taika cast? Was he worried about you desiring other men or harming them?”

“I convinced him that I wouldn’t react that way. Later, he was devastated when he’d discovered what I’d done. It almost destroyed us. Sky Dwellers are not violent by nature, and he struggled to forgive me. But eventually he did.”

“What do you think he’ll say when you tell him that you’re helping me become a shapeshifter?”

“He won’t approve of your method, but he won’t try to stop me from getting involved. He’ll understand the risk you’re willing to take and how much Noah means to you.”

“He means everything.” And this was something she knew she had to do. To her, it wasn’t a risk at all.

 

 

 

At six in the morning, Noah got a gut-wrenching phone call from Coyote.

The other man said, “Jenny discovered that Lareina can turn her. Something about a loophole in the spell. I was supposed to keep it a secret, but you know me. I just couldn’t resist blabbing to you. Oh, and guess what? I get to be there when it happens. I’m so excited I can hardly stand it.”

The wrenching worsened. “Do you realize how dangerous this is? Lareina could maim her for life. Or kill her. She could fucking die, and you’re treating it like a spectator sport?”

“It’s Jenny’s choice.”

“I’m not going to let her do this.”

“You can’t stop her. I’m leaving for the rescue now. It’s going to be closed all day, but Jenny gave me a key to the main gate.”

“Come and get me. I’m going with you.”

“Jenny will be pissed if I do that.”

“Since when do you care about pissing someone off? If you don’t bring me with you, I’ll follow you in my car and take the key away from you, even if I have to pound you into the ground to do it.”

“Okay. Geez. I’ll pick you up in front of the club. But I’m telling Jenny that you forced me into this.”

Noah got out of bed and threw on a T-shirt and jeans. Soon he was riding shotgun in Coyote’s luxury hybrid.

“Where on the rescue is it taking place?” Noah asked.

“In the empty enclosure where Lareina first appeared. Apparently Jenny and Lareina have struck up quite a friendship. Isn’t that wild? The
sapiya
trusts Lareina, too.”

Noah didn’t. He knew what it was like to be her victim.

They arrived at the rescue in just less than an hour. Coyote unlocked the gate, and Noah took off in the direction of where the insanity was scheduled to take place.

“Wait up.” Coyote sprinted behind him.

Noah increased his pace, leaving the out-of-shape shapeshifter in the dust.

When he saw Jenny alone in the cage, he rushed forward, intending to drag her out of it. The enclosure had two doors, with a secure area in between, designed to give caregivers a door between them and the animal inside. But Noah couldn’t get through the first door, let alone gain entrance.

Both locks snapped magically into place, courtesy of the
sapiya
. The stone was hovering high in the air. If Noah could’ve caught it, he would have crushed it.

“What are you doing here?” Jenny asked, as he rattled the exterior door.

“Please don’t do this.” He gripped the metal. She looked soft and pretty, and oh, so fragile, like a dove that was about to be eaten by a lion.

“I have to,” she responded.

Coyote finally showed up, huffing and puffing. “What did I miss?”

Neither of them answered him.

In the next god-awful moment, Lareina appeared.

Exactly as Noah remembered her.

J
enny saw the anguish in Noah’s eyes. Clearly he believed the danger was real. Later, she would apologize for tricking him. But for now, this ruse was necessary.

Lareina didn’t waste time. She shifted halfway, and with her feline features and the tawny streaks in her long dark hair, she looked similar to Noah when he was in that form. Jenny thought it made her wildly beautiful.

Her transformation continued, and once she was a full lion, she hissed at Noah, then turned and snarled at Jenny.

Pretending to be startled and frightened by Lareina’s aggressiveness, Jenny gasped, then went perfectly still.

The two of them had rehearsed this scene, choreographing every movement. With another growl, Lareina bunched her body, as if she intended to strike.

And strike hard.

Jenny screamed at the
sapiya
. “Take her away!”

Lareina disappeared, and Jenny started to shake, feigning an adrenaline overload. Or partially feigning it. She
was
experiencing an adrenaline rush, hoping the rest of it went according to plan.

Luckily it did. As soon as the
sapiya
unlocked the enclosure, Noah came dashing in.

He drew her into his arms. “I told you not to trust her.”

“I know. I know. You were right.” She held on to him, taking a deep breath and preparing for the next phase.

Together, they headed for the double doors.

Click. Click.
The
sapiya
relocked them.

For a moment, Noah seemed confused.

Jenny didn’t say anything. She waited for him to make the connection and realize he’d been duped. It didn’t take long.

His temper exploded. “There wasn’t a loophole in the spell. You scammed me. You fucking scammed me. How could you do something like that?”

“I did it because I want to spend the rest of my life with you.” She spoke in a tranquil tone, trying to keep him calm. “I’m sorry, but it was my only choice.”

“
Your only choice?
You know I can’t handle being locked up. Let me out of here. Now!”

She explained, as softly as she could. “Being locked up is going to help you shift all the way so you can turn me.”

“According to who? You? The
sapiya
? That bitch Lareina? You’re wrong. I already told you that I would never do it.” He ignored her and slammed his gaze at Coyote. “I should have known it was bullshit since you were involved.”