Moon Sworn (The Bound Series Book 1) (6 page)

"
We'll discuss this later
" he sent to her telepathically and heard her snort.

"
Discuss what?  That you’re a cat, Jesus.  What the fuck Jaden.  Did you not think it important to tell me I'd be committing bestiality if I fucked you?  Or that just maybe if I tickled your stomach you'd roll over onto your back and do tricks for kibble.  Were they not important enough facts for you
?" she fumed, slamming the door and he growled low in his throat as he cut off her mental tirade and took off after the other shifter.

Chapter Five

Maya was absolutely livid, as she locked and bolted the door on Jaden, the house cat, or whatever the fuck he was.  A shifter, she'd nearly fallen for the lines of a shifter of all things.  They had the morals of an alley cat, and he'd had the gall to try to feed her bullshit lines about her being his mate.  Please, she wasn't stupid, she could still remember her father - very vaguely, but he'd been a shifter too.  It was his fault that she'd ended up an orphan, so yeah, fuck Jaden - or not as the case may be, not happening no way no how.  She stomped back into the kitchen and tripped, looking down at what she'd caught her foot on.  She found the little pile of clothes on the floor and bent down to scoop them up.  Pulling her own t-shirt and bra out of the jumble, she hissed at his black t-shirt, turned back around, unbolted the door and threw it in the garden.

A shifter, he was a bloody shifter, she still couldn't believe it.  She only had vague recollections of her father, and not good ones.  Most of what she'd been told had come from her great aunt Sophia, who'd brought her up after she'd been orphaned at 4-years old.  Not just here either, her cousin Lara had also joined them a couple of years later.  Her father's brother had been married to her mother's cousin, and she'd also been killed, leaving Lara on her own too.  They'd made their own small, but isolated and very wary family.

Lara didn’t' really talk about what had happened to her mother, but she herself had very few memories of her parents.  She did remember her father shifting once, and once was enough.  He'd been fighting with her mother, and she shuddered at the memory.  Her mother had hidden her whenever he came around, which wasn't often but when tiny she used to put her in a cupboard with strong smelling products to hide her scent and keep her safe.  As she'd gotten a little older, she'd used a different method all together, but still her mother had always hidden her when her father was around.  She'd never actually met him, only the glimpses she got of him from her hiding place, but whenever he arrived there was always a fight and raised voices.  She really didn't want to remember the sound of skin being hit, she closed her eyes.  She didn't want to think of her parents now, especially not her mother, it was too painful to remember.  She'd been in awe of her father after seeing him shift into his cat form, a beautiful sleek black cat with mesmerising green eyes.  It had been one of the most terrifying sites she'd ever witnessed, well what had come later was.  She'd never figured out how something so beautiful to behold could be so scary and ugly on the inside?

Maya shook away the memories and walked out of the kitchen and upstairs to the bathroom, she needed a shower.  She could smell Jaden all over her and she wanted to wash it, and the thoughts of him away.

Chapter Six

Jaden growled low in his throat as he took off after the other shifter, pushing thoughts of Maya out of his mind.  He had other things to deal with at the moment, he didn’t have time to worry over his mate and her unreasonable behaviour.  He would deal with her once he'd caught up with their peeping Tom.

The other shifter was ahead of him, but it was lighter than him, jumping from branch to branch like a nimble ballerina before picking up speed again.  He'd nearly caught up, a claw clipping the hind end of it drawing blood when the branch he'd landed on gave way under his weight.  Both he, the branch, and the other shifter came crashing down.  Luckily they had flexible spines and he manged to turn in mid-air, landing on his feet lip pulling back off his fangs as he faced the other cat.  He began circling it, hissing and snarling in anger.  Lifting a paw and swiping at the air as he growled a warning at the cat who had dared to come after his mate.  How dare it try to muscle in on his territory and he chuffed low in his throat a rumbling snarl as the end of his tail twitched from side to side.  His whiskers quivering and ears flattening in displeasure, disbelief upmost in his mind that a shifter would dare to go after another's mate.  His actions made absolutely no sense especially as the cat was moving backwards, not trying to engage him.  The other cat seemed to be trying to lead him further from his mate and his own cat hissed a warning rumble.  He crouched ready to pounce but the other cat just backed up further and Jaden froze, as he tried to figure out what was going on.  The other cat's behaviour was all wrong but he couldn't process through his cat's angry haze, he was sure he was missing something.  He pushed at his cat again and it retreated further inside his mind, not happy but understanding that he needed a clear head to figure out exactly what was going on, prowling in the background.  Something wasn't right, but Jaden was struggling to think clearly through his cat's anger and his own confusion over Maya and how he reacted to her.  As he watched the other cat stopped backpedalling and just stood staring at him; and not the fixed stare they used when locked on prey.  He looked as if he was just waiting for him to make a move, no anger and no fear as it slowly backed further up and then just turned its back on him.  That really wasn't normal behaviour for one of their kind when it was challenged, it should be circling, crouching and being vocal but it was doing none of the expected.  What was he missing he knew he was missing something but he just couldn't put it all together?  He watched it walk a little further away and stopped, turning to stare at him over its shoulder as if waiting for him to catch up and the pieces fell into place.  Jaden realised his mistake.  Shit, this wasn't a challenge on his territory, it was a decoy, obviously trying to lead him away but why?  What did it mean?  What… Oh fuck, he'd left his mate unguarded and there was another cat still around. 

Ignoring the decoy he turned and took off at a full run, sticking to the floor instead of using the trees as he wound his way through the woods.  Dodging around trees and jumping over fallen logs, panic giving him speed.  If anything happened it would be his fault, he'd left her unprotected allowing his temper to make judgements.  He knew he'd smelt more than one shifter around her property, this one was obviously just sent to keep him busy leaving the other alone with his unprotected mate. 

'
Maya,'
he shouted in his head, but all he got back was the mental image of a double salute.  He growled again,
'no time for theatrics.  There's another shifter back there somewhere, you need to find somewhere safe.  I'm on my way back
."

Maya was still cursing under her breath as she stripped off and soaped herself in the shower.  She'd just rinsed and turned off the water when she became aware of a noise, like a door handle was being tried.  Grabbing a towel she roughly dried herself and then threw on a pair of sweat pants and a t-shirt, forgoing underwear.  Quietly she opened the bathroom door when she heard cat boy in her head, rolling her eyes she sent him the double victory salute as she quietly padded along the landing trying to figure out if he was trying to get back in?  Then she heard him again and his warning.  Bollocks, back peddling she made her way into her bedroom, and quickly opened the compartment that she'd had put into the back of the wardrobe, quietly pulling it closed behind her.  She took the spray bottle from the tiny shelf and gave a quick squirt in the air around her as she ran her finger over the writing on her side, mumbling words as she huddled there, trying to slow her breathing. 

This whole scenario threw her back in time to hiding from her father, and she pushed back the memories.  Closing her eyes, she concentrated on her breathing, slowing it down and trying to stem the panic that was trying to flood her system.  She could not afford to panic because if she did she'd hyperventilate and give herself away.  Jaden said it was another shifter and if memory served her right they had exceptional hearing as well as eyesight and sense of smell.  She began to count backwards in her head, then moved on to visualising herself lay on a beach, the sun beating down on her skin.  The sea slashing against the shore, the cool spray flowing over her feet as she enjoyed the warmth and seclusion.  Okay maybe not a good idea, the thought of seclusion reminded her that she was on her own and could at this very moment have an unknown shifter wandering around her house.  Would she ever again feel safe in her home?  Why hadn't she put the damn alarm on like she said she would?  Dropping her head onto her pulled up knees she rested her forehead against them as she tried again to slow her breathing, and not give away her location.  She just prayed that whoever they were they got fed up when they couldn't find her, the mix for the spray was one of the only real things she had left of her mother.  That and the script that was inked into her side, she found comfort in the curly script that had been put there by her mother's own hand.  The things her father had done to her before he'd finally burned the place down, with them both inside.  She shuddered at the memory then held her breath as a creak sounded on the first step downstairs. 

Jaden came out of the tree-line and carried on running going straight up and over the back fence on Maya's property.  He wasn't too worried about being seen as his and Maya's homes were the only properties attached.  Dropping down on the other side of the fence he crouched there, ears twitching and whiskers sifting through the scents available to him.  It was here, shit.  He looked over his shoulder, his ears lifting as he waited a few seconds to see if the other one came up behind him, it was a definite possibility.

"
Jaden, are you in the house
?" came the tentative enquiry in his head and he swore, head swinging left and right as he tried to come up with a plan.  He needed to keep her calm, if she began to panic she'd make a mistake and give herself away, keeping her talking seemed like the best solution.  If she was busy talking to him she wasn't worrying over what was in the house with her.

"
No I'm outside, but I'm going to be coming in. Where are you
?" when she didn't immediately respond he growled low in his throat, panicking himself at her silence.

"
Fucking answer me, where are you
?" he repeated doing another visual sweep as he slowly began to creep across her back garden on his belly, keeping under the fence line so the shadows helped to camouflage him.  Jaden's cat was midnight black, his rosette's only noticeable if you were up close, and normally by then they were the last things you saw if he was hunting.  He was a big man, so he was also a big, heavy cat, with a large head full of weapons in the form of those long, razor-sharp teeth and the tough jaw. Never mind the daggers he had on him on the end of his huge paws.

"
Secret compartment in my wardrobe.  It's in the room with me Jaden, stay back,
" then she cut off her thoughts. Fuck, what was he going to do?  There was one in the house with her and another one possibly behind him?  He could hold his own in a fight but in a confined space it would limit his movements and he couldn’t see them obliging him by shifting.  Then he remembered that if his mate was killed, it would release him from the binding, but shook the thought away.  He was kind of getting use to her now.  He may not be entirely happy about not having a choice in whether he was given a mate or not but he kind of liked her smart mouth.  He'd certainly miss her shouting, even that he'd gotten used to in the short time she'd begun to talk back.  She had spirit, and it fascinated him, he'd never come across a woman before who would defy him or talk back, it was refreshing.  It pissed him off that he may not get the chance to make his own decision on whether he got to spend time with her or not.  After a couple of months he may get bored and decide for himself that it was time to move on but it should be his decision no one else's.

"
Seriously, you're out there deciding if you should leave me to it.  You fucking arsehole,
" Maya spat in his head and he winced, forgetting that she could pick up on his thoughts.  Then he grinned.  She was smart, and not just her mouth.  She was also resilient, plus the more she was getting riled at him the less time there was for her to think and worry.  He swung his head around again and swallowed a chuff of laughter, seriously she made him laugh even in such a tense situation.  She really was a bit of a hellcat.

"
Aww, come on honey, don't be mad.  I wouldn't really let anything happen to you.  Plus I haven't had my way with you yet, I still need in your pants.
" He heard her growl in his head, then she mentally sent him the birdie. "
You will be getting nowhere near me you arsehole, I'll be cutting your dick off the next time I see you.
" He had to swallow the chuff of laughter that time, she really was funny.  She'd give in, it was part of the binding, completely out of their hands.  They would be attracted to each other no matter what, the choice was fates to make not theirs.  He heard her snort as he continued to crawl across the back garden, commando style on his belly, stop start moves as he made his way towards the back door.

"
I locked the back door
," she sent him mentally, obviously picking up on his movements by his thoughts.

"
It's wide open now, I guess he left it open for his buddy
," he heard her gasp and could have slapped himself for reminding her that there wasn't one but two of the bastards.  He had to think quickly before she began to panic.

"
So honey, what are you going to be cooking to keep me satisfied?  You know once I've had in your pants that is.  Seriously, you have to give me an incentive here, especially if you want me to get my arse in there. I could break a nail you know
."  He heard her snort again and got a mental picture of a steaming pile of dog shit, he had to swallow another laugh as he again checked his surroundings.

"
That's not nice, and really not much of an incentive. I could find that on the street, seriously, you have to work on your sweet nature here if you want me to be your hero and save your fine arse.
" He again got the birdie and saw a mental image of her rolling her eyes and then she cut him off, shit.  "
Maya what's going on in there
?" he sent back.

"
Shush, be quiet he may hear you
," Jaden was the one to send a picture of rolling his eyes now.

"
I'm in your head, how on earth is he going to hear me
?"

"
I don't know but there's something about this one.  I don't know how I know but there's something in the way he moves that's familiar to me.  Every time I answer you it's as if he picks up on it and moves closer.  Shit, I can hear him outside the wardrobe
."

Jaden thought that one over and then ignored it, there should be no way another shifter could pick up on mates talking telepathically, should there?  He didn’t think so, but he didn't know enough about his own kind to make that assumption.  He should have mixed more with his kind, instead of isolating himself, he should have looked some up and asked questions.  Just then he heard a noise behind him and dropped lower to the floor as anther shifter came over the fence, it turned in his direction and shifted to human form. Spine twisting, fur and muzzle receding as he went from 4 to 2 feet. Jaden's lips drew back and he gave a rumble as he realised it was the man who'd been at Maya's door earlier, but his wasn’t the scent of either of the two he was following.  The other shifter slowly walked towards Jaden, hands up and crouching so as not to set his cat off.

"I need you to shift so we can talk, I know you can hear me but I need the man not the mate." Jaden heard him and had to fight, his head swung towards the back door and then to the man.

"I know your mate is in danger, that's one of the reasons I'm here."  He held his right hand up, palm out so he could see his own mark.  Jaden pushed back the cat and shifted, his bones contorting as his muzzle and fur disappeared leaving him crouched as a man.  He looked suspiciously towards the newcomer.

"I'm a friend of Maya's.  My friend and business partner Sam and I have been keeping our eye on her.  We knew she had a mate somewhere as Sam noticed the mark on her palm when she came into the coffee house when she first arrived in the area.  We talked her into working for us and we've been keeping our eyes on her since, but there's been another couple of shifters hunting her.  They've been scoping out the area and we've taken turns watching them.  I guess you turning up has moved their plans along, as they'd just been watching her up to his point."  Jaden looked towards the property and back to the stranger, agitation evident in his grim features.