Rebirth (Rogues Shifter Series) (11 page)

"
This house happens to be positioned where two strong channels cross.” He removed his hand and the prickling static was back. “I use the lines often. I can help you if you'd like.“ His hand closed over mine once more, fingers twining, quieting the buzzing. “I’ll teach you how to do this for yourself so you won’t need me around.”

“I like having you around.” The words
kind of popped out unexpectedly, making my face grow hot. I looked down at our hands twined together, resting comfortably on the table. They looked so natural.

He sighed, a
very lonely sound, “Rob and I are close friends, but you'll find that I’m not well-liked by most shifters. However, If you’ll agree, I’d like to train you to protect yourself from the effects of the magic. I know that it’s painful for you right now and I’m afraid that aspirin won’t help.” His fingertips were moving gently over my hand, making my body feel warm and tingly.

R
ealizing the effect he was having on me, Garret stood and said, “I’m going out to have a look around to make sure no one has followed you.” He pulled a necklace with an amulet from his pocket and handed it to me. “Wear this for now and the pain will lessen. I’ll be back soon.” He was gone before I had a chance to ask him about the necklace.

I heard Ethan groan
, so I went back to the bedroom to find that he was sitting up. “I must have been more tired than I thought.” he yawned.

I shoved
the necklace in my pocket. “Hey sleepy, I was worried about you. Garrett was here and you didn’t even wake up.”

“Yeah I can smell him,” he said making a face. “You set your alarm? I didn’t hear it go off.”

“I forgot too. I woke up and Garrett was here saying he wanted to speak to me alone. I think he might have done something to make you sleep longer. Sometimes he’s a little scary.”
But also really hot
. I caught myself smiling, then snapped out of it. “He brought Chinese food.” I pointed toward the kitchen where another two containers sat on the counter.

“He’s dangerous.” Ethan stood, a little wobbly, and headed to the bathroom.” I’ll be back.”

I walked to the bookcase in the small living room and read through the titles. There was a copy of Jane Austen’s Emma, which I grabbed and settled down to read. She was my favorite matchmaker and I enjoyed her various misadventures. Keeping the necklace in my pocket had helped quite a bit with the pain, so I decided to ask Garrett about it later.

Ethan returned
, looking more than annoyed. “I think Garrett definitely fed off of me. I feel shaky, I look pale and there’s no way I wouldn’t have gotten up when you did.  My hearing is almost as sharp as yours and his stink alone has been known to wake me. I slept for three hours and still feel tired.”

“
I was here with him the whole time. If he drank your blood, there'd be fang marks on your body.”

“I don’t need to bite a shifter to feed
off of him,” a rich voice replied. I jumped in shock as I suddenly noticed Garrett in a chair at the table leaning back and looking almost smug. ”To feed from a human, which I never do by the way, I’d have to bite them and drink their blood, but to feed from a shifter, I can use magic to drain their energy with my mind simply by touching them. Because I’m fairly old, I only need to take a tiny amount. It's against my principles to harm anyone when I feed. I only kill my enemies, and then only when it’s absolutely necessary.

"
I prefer to feed from shifters because their vibrant energy keeps my body temperature near human normal. Plus I’m able to tolerate the sunlight for longer periods: a win-win situation for a vampire."

“You bastard…” Ethan moved threateningly toward Garrett, his jaw clenching and his hands in fists.

Garrett moved so swiftly, I almost didn’t see it at all. He stood nose to nose with Ethan, his intense whisper sending prickling energy through my body, causing the hairs on my arms to rise. “You have no business touching her. A cheetah shifter is a rare treasure For your own safety, it would be best if you showed her the deference she deserves. Throw a blanket on the floor if you have to sleep.” The silver specs sparkling in his eyes were probably not a good sign.

Ethan responded with the same low in
tensity, not backing down although Garrett could probably break his neck in less than a second. “I understand that you're going to take over as our trainer and I'll respect you in that capacity. But outside of that, you should know that I'd never get out of line with Jackie and I’m pissed off that you think I might. She’s my partner and I won’t treat her differently than any other female I’d train with. It's up to her, not you, whether or not I sleep on the floor."

"
I'm fine with sharing the bed, Ethan." I frowned at Garrett who continued to glower at Ethan, his azure eyes still sparkling with some silver. Frustrated, I walked between them and put both my hands on Garrett’s chest, giving him a nudge toward the door. The heated vibrations still flowing through me calmed completely the moment I touched him, When the tension in my shoulders relaxed, he looked down where my hands rested on his chest and the corners of his mouth twitched.

I was
annoyed that I’d have to be the one to sort out all this testosterone driven tension. “Could I please speak to you outside, Garrett?” I asked sweetly. He nodded politely and I followed him out the door. I wasn’t planning on staying sweet for long. I sat on a small chair in the yard and he stood a few feet away, leaning against the low brick wall, his expression curious. The buzzing heat was slightly less persistent outside the house so I took a deep breath for courage and began.

“You have no business telling Ethan and me how to behave
when we're not working with you as a trainer. I want to trust you, because Rob does, but feeding off of shifters with your magic or whatever it is, gives me the creeps. I don’t want you feeding off of either of us. Especially since it makes us weak and we happen to be hiding from the council right now. I won’t be able to work with you if you do it again.” I crossed my arms to emphasize my words, lifting my chin to indicate I meant business.

Moving closer with a graceful stride, he sat on the bench across from mine. “
May I explain myself?" I nodded. "I have a small group of volunteer donors who help me out. In return, I provide them with a service.” I didn’t want to ask what that might be. "I don't force anyone.

“T
onight, I arrived at your cottage before I had a chance to feed. I was worried when you didn’t call me at 3:00 o’clock as you were instructed to by Rob. When I saw Ethan’s arm draped over you I admit, I overreacted." He ran his hand through his hair and sighed. "Try to understand—I feel very protective toward you, partly because of what happened two years ago. Now that you're both under my care, neither of you needs to be concerned about your safety. I'm on your side, and as predators go, I’m at the top of the food chain.” To prove his point his eyes turned silver blue, his fangs extended and the huskiness in his voice sent icy shivers racing down my spine. Memories of screaming men and washed up body parts flashed in my head. I didn’t want this vampire as an enemy, but I wouldn’t let him bully me either.

“Ethan didn’t do anything wrong.” I gave him my best stubborn look.

He looked amused again. “I’ll strike a bargain with you. I will never feed from Ethan or you again, unless you offer me your energy willingly. In return, you’ll work with me privately until you’re strong enough to block the magic properly, Then I’ll teach you how to tap in and use its power.”

“What is it exactly?”

“The ley lines are like rivers of magical power that flow all over the world crossing each other in uneven grids. We supes tend to settle near the highest concentrations.”

I felt nervous, afraid to look him in the eye, but I needed to ask, “Did you...
? Did you really give me your blood when I was attacked by those two men?” He nodded.”I don’t really know what to say, except, thank you.” He smiled at me: his gorgeous eyes crinkling up at the corners as he stared at me with real warmth.

He stood and walked over to me, then reached down and pulled the necklace out of my side pocket, brushing my hip with his hand. He placed it
over my head and fastened it. “I apologize for the scene I caused.” I felt his warm breath on my neck and I couldn’t stop my body from responding with a shiver. "I’m here to help in your training and I'm afraid I’ve started things off on the wrong foot. I’m usually an expert at controlling my emotions.”

He
walked back to the bench and looked me over with an amused expression. “Both of you put aside your fear and got angry with me."

“That makes you happy?”

“Actually, yes. It means we'll be able to work together. Rest up. In two hours, I’ll be back to take you into the woods to work. But for now, I’ll be out here keeping an eye on things.” I stood up and he leaned toward me. “But Jacqueline,” he whispered into my ear before turning away, “If Ethan ever does do anything to hurt you, I'll destroy him.“ He was gone before I could turn around.

Ethan stood in the doorway eating his Chinese food from the carton. He snorted, muttering, “Same here, vamp,” then tur
ned and walked into the house. I stared up at the crescent moon and groaned. I need this drama like a hole in the head!

I sat down again with a sigh and tried to puzzle out this ridiculous situation. Garrett is treating me like I belong to him, and Ethan is acting all macho around him. I think tonight I’m going to have to have a serious talk with these two. If I don’t straighten this mess out our training sessions are really going to suck. I stood up and stretched out my neck and shoulders, then walked back into the hous
e fingering the strange amulet which smelled deliciously of vampire.

Chapter Fourteen

Two hours later, Garrett pulled up
in a Black Saab Turbo, the engine purring like a satisfied feline shifter. Ethan opted for the back which put me in the front next to Garrett, and to be honest, I wasn't upset at all. We drove along a narrow twisting road into the mountains, none of us speaking. Garrett put on some music and started humming along with a few of the songs, so I stayed quiet, enjoying this peaceful time. I tried to keep my eyes on the road ahead, but I’d occasionally sneak a glance at his slender hands on the wheel or his sapphire eyes focused on the road. We both laughed when we heard Ethan snoring from the back seat and I was kind of surprised by the genuine warmth in his expression, just a young man enjoying a drive with a couple of friends.

Forty-
five  minutes later, we stopped at what appeared to be a summer camp, closed for the winter, in need of paint and general repair. A red SUV was parked ten yards away and two people got out when we did, a young man and woman.

The girl walked up to Garrett and kissed his cheek in greeting, the young man shaking his hand. Garrett turned to us and introduced them. “Jackie, Ethan, I’d like you to meet Sinc Blakefield and Kyle Daro. They’ll be training with you tonight.”  We looked each other over as people meeting for the first time do and I recalled what the man on the island had said about these two being rogues like Ethan and me.

Kyle was very slim and around my height, with beautiful dark almond-shaped eyes under a shock of bleached platinum blonde hair. He smiled brilliantly and extended his hand. “Hey Jackie, Ethan. Great to finally meet you guys.” Tattoos covered his arms and his eyebrow was pierced with a steel stud, yet he looked as put together as any corporate CEO in his black jeans and graphic tee. I liked him instantly and shook his hand, as did Ethan.

Sinc also stuck out her hand but said nothing in greeting. She was more the “I’ll let you know later what I think of you” type. She was around 5’6”, curvy in ways that I wasn’t, with gorgeous blue eyes and thick dark hair pulled back in a pony tail. She wore nice sweatpants, a tight fitting purple v-neck tee and a rich kid attitude that I’d seen many times before.
They both looked to be around eighteen.

“Let’s go inside and I’ll explain tonight’s plan.” Garrett led us to the locked six foot high chain link gate and proceeded to climb over it a blur of graceful motion. In seconds he was walking away from us on the other side. Ethan and Kyle started up together both making it over easily although not quite as gracefully or as quickly. Sinc and I followed next and I managed to rip my sweatpants at the knee as I swung over the top. Ethan grinned and Sinc and Kyle tried not to notice. I just sighed.
Some talented shifter
.

We fol
lowed Garrett into a large well-lit wooden building, probably the recreation or dining hall, and sat at a long table near the entrance. Ethan and I took chairs across from Kyle and Sinc, none of us looking very confident about what was coming next. Garrett stood at the head of the table looking us over thoughtfully, probably cataloging our abilities in his mind before we’d even begun.

“You’ll form two teams. The first will be given instructions to follow to accomplish a specific task, the second will stalk them in whatever form they wish, trying to gain as much information as possible without being caught by the first team. You will do what you can to prevent them from succeeding. You may defend yourself physically to stop the other team from accomplishing their goal. However, no serious injuries will be tolerated”. Garrett looked at each of us in turn, his mouth set in a grim line. “We’ll be switching teams three times so you’ll all get a chance to work together. Each mission should take about forty minutes.  I’ll be observing off and on. You won’t see me, or smell me,“ he glanced at Ethan, “but I’ll be around.”

Garrett paired me with Ethan and took us aside. “What happened back at the safe house can’t affect the way you approach this training exercise. I was wrong to do it and I apologize, Ethan.  It won’t happen again. Are we ok?”

“Y
es, Garrett, I’m letting it go—for now.” Ethan looked defiantly into Garrett’s eyes, but there was no real heat between them. In fact I thought I caught the corner of Garrett’s mouth twitching as he forced away a smile.

I was trembling from nerves and the hot buzz of the ley lines assaulting my chest. I’d had to leave the necklace in the car because I’d be shifting. Garrett took my hand to quiet the sensation. “It won’t affect you as strongly in cheetah form.” He turned back to Ethan. “Trust your gifts, both of you are strong and capable.  You two are the stalkers in this round.”

He walked away to talk to the other team, giving Ethan and me a chance to discuss our strategy. “Ok let’s play to our strengths,” began Ethan. “Strategy, muscle and climbing are my department, speed, tracking and swimming are yours." We quickly went over all of our hand signals and then Garrett spoke up again.

“Stay on the campground property. You'll meet back here when you finish or I tell you to return. Kyle and Sinc, you have one minute’s head start.”  They shifted into their animals rapidly, Kyle a gorgeous spotted leopard and Sinc a lovely snow leopard with those same striking blue eyes, and took off through the doorway. After Ethan and I changed into cougar and cheetah, I breathed in a deep lungful of air to catch their scents; Kyle's a sharp lemony fragrance and Sinc’s a minty lavender. I tracked them heading west, using my human intelligence and all of my acute senses in combination.

After playing cat and mouse for about thirty minutes, we were finally close enough to see and hear Kyle up ahead, still in leopard form, with a canvas bag. Ethan gestured for me to stay put and look out for Sinc while he snuck closer to Kyle. He quietly padded away, his thick tan coat blending perfectly with the dry brush.

I sat, senses alert, and waited. After a few minutes, my thoughts began to wander. I mused over how Sinc had greeted Garrett and if that meant anything about their relationship. Maybe he was more than just her instructo
r?  The thought made me cringe. I might actually be a tiny bit jealous.
Ridiculous
. A guy like that would never look at me twice.

I was distracted
again by the quick heartbeat and snuffling noises of a nearby raccoon. I imagined what the plump little guy might taste like, remembering that I hadn’t eaten anything since the Chinese food.

Suddenly, there was mo
vement in the tree above me. Sinc’s snow leopard struck, smashing me down to the ground and biting me deeply in my rear haunch, cutting easily through muscle with her razor sharp teeth. I snarled in pain and rage, my wound already bleeding steadily. Sinc’s blue eyes shone a defiant challenge into mine before she growled and ran off. In one short bite she’d incapacitated me, preventing me from catching her. All because I hadn't been paying attention. Kyle had hidden the canvas bag before Ethan had chased him off, so I watched unhappily as Sinc snatched it up with her mouth and ran back toward the campground where Garrett would be waiting, ready to praise her for winning this round. Crap.

Should I stay here and wait for help?
Screw that.
I took off limping, pushing myself forward even though the bite was bleeding and the pain was intense. Feeling the sharp pulse of the ley lines beneath me, I concentrated on the power throbbing in my chest. My rage increased when I saw her up ahead, fueling my will to catch her. I was surprised to find that I could run a little more steadily now, the pain dismissed to the back of my brain and my focus on the view of her tail getting closer as I ran. Pushing myself harder, I visualized smashing her smug face into the dirt, snatching the bag roughly from her bloody mouth and then Garrett’s smile when I dropped the canvas bag at his feet.

Before I knew it,
I was leaping onto her back and we were rolling in the dirt, stopping our momentum in a tumble of dried leaves and pine needles. Furious, Sinc  turned to bite me again, but couldn't without letting go of the bag. With a swipe of my paw, I slammed her head down hard to stun her and grabbed it, racing as quickly as I could into the large cabin where Garrett waited.

I skidded to a halt, my claws scratching the wooden floor, panting from pain and exhaustion. Kyle and Ethan were there waiting for us. I dropped the bag at Garrett’s feet and sat licking the wound on my leg. Ethan loped over holding a medical kit and began cleaning it, telling me to stay in cheetah form until he finished.  I hissed wh
en he poured on the antiseptic. My wound was still bleeding slightly when Sinc strode in shaking dirt from her face and snarling at me. I growled back, showing some teeth. Unfortunately, Garrett did not look happy at all.
Shit
.

He crouched down to take a look at my leg
and then told Ethan to bandage it up. “Kyle, you and Ethan go out to hunt. I need to have a private talk with the girls.” The guys looked at each other and then left, stripping and shifting quickly to animal form. He pointed to a table. “Please transition and sit over there.” He walked outside to give us some privacy and we shifted and dressed quickly. I was happy to see that I'd mostly healed, a small red welt the only evidence of the bite. We sat obediently at the table, not speaking and refusing to look at each other until Garrett returned and sat next to me.

“Sinc, Kyle told me that the plan was to jump Jackie and stun her, not bite her, especially so deeply that she could have been in real trouble.”  My nervous stomach unclenched slightly, relieved that his icy blue stare wasn’t directed at me.  Sinc was trembling just a little and that worried me too. Garrett wasn’t going to go all vamp on her was he?  The bite had healed.

I put my hand on his to get his attention away from her.  “She was trying to win the game. I’m fine now.”

He turned his stern expression toward me. “It’s not a game. There are killers out there; creatu
res you’ll have to face together as a team.” He turned back to Sinc and glared. “You disobeyed my direct order. Why?”

Sinc lifted her chin defiantly, “
She's much faster and I had to keep her from chasing me. I didn’t mean to bite her so deeply." She turned to me.  "I’m sorry that I hurt you. I never thought that you might be in any real danger. I should have stayed with you to make sure.” She turned back to Garrett, still nervous. "Accomplishing the mission takes precedence." Even though my leg was still throbbing angrily, I was glad to see the scrape on her face healing quickly. I'd dropped my anger as soon as I'd made her eat a little dirt. No reason to hold a grudge.

Garrett arched an
eyebrow, still looking at Sinc. “What else?“

She sighed and twisted
her mouth into a frown. “All anyone has been talking about is the new cheetah and how she’s going to come in and magically save us all.” She lowered her head, looking a little ashamed.

I laughed out loud. “Sav
e you? I lost my focus when I should have been paying attention. I messed up.” I smiled at her, knowing that making an enemy of this woman would not make my life any easier. And I definitely did not want to be responsible for Garrett punishing her for disobeying him.

“How do you feel, Jackie?” he asked.

“It hardly hurts,” I started to lie and then remembered that he could probably tell. “Well, it still aches.” An understatement.

“You’re not off the hook either,” he said frowning. “When you have a deep wound that’s bleeding badly, you
should stay hidden, try to put pressure on it and wait for assistance. You run only if your life or the life of a teammate is in danger. Shifter or not, you can still bleed out.” Looking concerned, he reached across and pushed a strand of hair away from my eyes and tucked it behind my ear. I watched his perfect lips turn up into a gentle smile as I took in deep breaths to fill my nose with his scent.
What the hell am I doing
?

I looked down
, embarrassed, “Well, you know—the mission and all that. What she said.”

Garrett grinned and looked at Sinc’s
scraped up face, adding, “A little payback too, I think.”

I tried not to smile
. "Yeah, I guess."

“
You were incredibly fast, even injured. I couldn’t believe you caught me.” Sinc was staring at me with what appeared to be respect.

“We’ll end this for now.” Garrett looked again at Sinc. “The plans for the rest of the night have changed.” His eyes met mine, still full of concern. “You’ll need a good night’s rest before you can continue to train in the
field. Go and hunt together now, something small and easy to catch. Work out your differences, because I’m making the four of you into a team. Your survival will depend on how well you work together.”

Sinc looked me over. "We can handle it."

I watched him rise and walk to the door: a terrifying, seductive dichotomy. “I’ll meet you back here in an hour.” He was gone so fast, there was only a sweet breeze to mark his passing.

“He’s probably
hunting too. I hope there aren’t any humans around. He was really ticked off. Did you see his eyes?” The suddenly chatty Sinc looked at me with interest.

I nodded and answered, “Yeah those silver streaks give me the chills. Bu
t he never takes human blood.”

“Well, that’s what he says, anyway. He’s acting kind of protect
ive toward you. It's weird.” Her eyes narrowed. “Why’d you stick up for me?  I probably wouldn’t have done the same for you.” She crossed her legs and waited to hear how I’d answer.

I could tell she was expecting me to get angry, but I wasn’t rising to the bait that easily. I decided to be honest. “Because if Garrett lays into you for hurting me, you’ll blame me and then working together will suck.”

I saw the corners of her mouth start to twist up then quickly return to a neutral expression. “It might suck anyway.” She shrugged.

“Yeah, well
I’m starving and we only have an hour. Let’s go hunt.” We grinned, jumped up and left the empty hall, tossing our clothes about haphazardly as we left.

Chapter Fifteen

Garrett, Ethan and I pulled up to Carly’s little house and got out of the Saab feeling exhausted
, but relieved. As the sky began to lighten, Mumbling goodnight to Garrett, Ethan stumbled through the door. He’d be snoring sometime in the next few minutes.