Familiar Desires: 5 (Protective Affairs) (17 page)

“Wouldn’t the woman seeing him be enough reason?” Michael
asked.

“Not really. She’s under the effects of whatever drug is in
that dart, fear and panic. If she saw him, she probably focused on the gun he
had and wouldn’t be able to give much more than a description of the weapon.”
Parker should his head. “In that state, he could have been wearing a chicken
suit and we wouldn’t get much more about it from her than it was white.”

“He wouldn’t panic. These men are all business.” Alana
tilted her head. Something nagged at her about their attitude and the way they
operated, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it. She didn’t know what
gender the kidnappers were, but statistics indicated at least one male was
involved. Until she knew differently, she’d continue to think of these
criminals as men.

“Yes, and they’re almost too good at it,” Parker muttered. “If
you’ve seen all you need to see, my men and I should finish up with this crime
scene.”

Alana straightened. “We could help if you’re short on
manpower. Both Mark and I have experience with interviewing witnesses.”

“That won’t be necessary and would cause trouble for my
department.” Captain Parker exhaled heavily.

“Why would it cause trouble?” Alana frowned. “I’m a member
of the Protectorate.”

“There are people within the City Council who still believe
this has something to do with witches or shifters. They don’t care if you work
for the Protectorate or not. You’re staying up there in Devoe. That makes them
suspicious.” He grimaced.

“I was called in for the disappearances up there, which are
linked to those here. And the only ones in Devoe who might be tied to this are
those damn bigoted witches.” Alana felt anger building and churning in her
stomach, but she did understand a little of his attitude.

“If not your group, then some other group, according to
them. I’m already catching a lot of flack for sharing information with you. I
want to solve these kidnappings and I can’t do that if I have the City Council
on my ass every five minutes. I’ll send you the files.” Parker’s voice sounded
strained.

“Call of us if you need anything.” Alana took a deep breath
and tried for calm, but couldn’t find it. Anger and the desire to move, to run
pounded through her. She turned and moved toward the Jeep.

Kane heard the icy tone in Alana’s voice. That and the
distance in her eyes worried him. She wasn’t happy. He didn’t know if it was
because she wanted to be part of the questioning or for some other reason.
Maybe she read something into the man’s words he didn’t. Kane didn’t know, but when
he watched her straighten, he had a feeling it was going to be a long night.

She nodded and glided across the pavement with a flowing
movement only a feline shifter could exhibit. Grace tempered with strength and
a subtle threat. He followed her, content to watch the sway of her ass for the
moment. Just seeing her walk sent blood racing to his cock. He wanted to sink
into her hot pussy. But he knew it wasn’t going to be as easy as that.

Part of the reason for that was the dickhead of a chief of
police. He knew she’d probably faced this type of attitude before and so had
he. It was part of life. He still wanted to knock the man’s teeth down his
throat. Kane unlocked the Jeep when she neared it. She opened the door and
climbed up inside.

From her stiff posture and silence, he knew she was one
pissed off cat. He got into the driver’s seat and Michael got into the seat
beside her. She stared out the window while he eased away from the curb.

Her body almost vibrated with tension. He’d rather she be
raging than this silent fuming. Yelling and pacing, he could handle. At least,
he’d know why she was angry. This, they’d have to discover what was making her
so tense. He was driving so he’d have to leave getting her to talk to Michael.
He just hoped Michael managed it and they could calm her down before they
arrived home, because he knew what would happen if they couldn’t. She’d run.
Not away, just sprinting to burn away the anger flowing through her. Her
brother had warned them about that.

“Alana, want to tell me what you’re thinking?” Michael
asked.

Kane glanced back in the rearview mirror and saw Michael
holding her hand. He focused on the road, but listened. If they could get her
to let it out, maybe she’d relax. If not, he expected to see her cat.

She didn’t say anything. The silence stretched. All he could
hear was the soft sound of their breath and the hiss of the tires against the
road. She fidgeted in her seat and tugged at the strap of the seatbelt at her
shoulder. Her hands clenched in her lap.

“I know you’re angry. I am too. Talk to me.” Michael’s voice
softened. “The way the chief of police dismissed us—”

“It’s not that,” Alana broke in softly. “That’s normal. That
kind of paranoid, bigoted crap goes on everywhere.”

Kane relaxed a little. At least, she was finally talking.
Maybe she’d tell them about it and some of the tension would leave her body.

“Then what is it, baby? I might not be able to solve the
problem, but I can at least listen,” Michael encouraged.

“I’ve been like this before and talking about it isn’t going
to help.” Her voice sounded tight and the words clipped.

She didn’t say anything more. He knew they hadn’t scratched
the surface of the anger simmering inside her. Michael couldn’t get her to talk
even about something not related to her anger. Kane felt frustrated. He wanted
her to know they’d be there for her.

He turned onto the road to their house and then glanced in
the rearview mirror. Alana straightened in her seat. His lips tightened as he
realized what she intended. She was going to bolt into the forest when they
reached the house. He had feared she might dive out before they arrived back in
Devoe. Here, he was fairly certain she was safe.

As soon as the Jeep slowed to park at the house, she opened
the door and jumped out of the car. Her clothes hit the ground as she ran for
the trees. The pants tangled on one of her legs for a moment, but then she was
gone.

“Hell, do you think we should try to go after her or wait at
the house?” Michael got out of the Jeep and looked at the trees surrounding
their home.

“I’m not waiting for her to run out the anger. I’ll go get
the flashlights and a few essentials. You call her brother and tell him where
we’ll be. If anyone comes by or calls and doesn’t get us, someone should call
him before jumping to conclusions.” Kane didn’t expect to find her while they
were searching. After she burned a little of the tension, she’d smell them in
the forest and come find them. They’d talked to her brother enough to realize
she’d want to protect and be with them.

Kane grabbed clothes and shoes for her, as well as a medical
kit, water and some dried nuts and fruit they kept on hand for hiking. He drew
flashlights from a closet, testing the batteries. At times such as these, he
wished they’d gone after her when she’d left Devoe that first time. For years,
they’d talked about it, but had been advised to give her time. If they had
gone, they’d be leopard as she was and wouldn’t need flashlights. They’d be
able to find and keep up with her.

Alana ran. Rage pulsed through her. She wanted to rip into
something, but nothing crossed her path. She could smell rabbit, squirrel and
deer, but they seemed to be hunkered down, hiding until she passed. So she ran,
trying to sweat out the feeling of helplessness and the rage at having another
person taken away from family and friends.

All of her protective instincts raged. She wanted to go
hunting for those bastards, but she couldn’t. All she’d been able to do was
look at the kidnap site and make a few observations. They had no clue who was
behind this or where those people were. It frustrated her and she wanted to go
asking some questions of the witches in this town. She couldn’t do that. Not
even the Councils had an idea of which witch was involved or how many of them
were. She was also discouraged by the lack of information she’d learned from
the interviews she’d conducted.

Parker’s attitude hadn’t mattered. He was under pressure to
get results and keep the city’s residents from panicking. All she could think
was another woman had been taken and there probably would be more. And she had
no way to stop it right now. She hated it.

When some of the emotion burned away and her lungs strained
to draw in enough oxygen, she slowed. Her paws sunk into the leaves and grass while
she picked her way through the forest. A scent teased her, coming to her on the
light breeze. She picked it out even though the scent of pine hung heavy in the
air. Her head came up. Michael and Kane. Her mates were in the forest.

Alana narrowed her eyes, but a warm feeling began to flare
to life. They’d come after her. Even as she savored the feeling, worry nagged
at her. They should have stayed back at the house and waited for her to return.
She wasn’t going anywhere. She simply needed to run most of the anger out or
she might have shredded their furniture. Her mother had taught her better than
that. She’d never hear the end of it if it happened.

She followed the scent back to them. Her paws made no sound while
she padded through the leaf- and pine-needle-covered ground. She could have
deliberately made a sound to let them know she approached, but as warm and
fuzzy as them trying to find her made her feel, she was also a little angry.
They could have been hurt. They could have fallen, but one of them twisting an
ankle wasn’t her only concern. She wasn’t the only hunter in the forest.
Natural predators abounded in the area. Just because they were wizards didn’t
mean they were invincible.

She watched while they walked through the trees. They talked
and strolled along almost as if they were on a leisurely walk. They didn’t seem
to be paying much attention at all to their surroundings or where they were
going. She shifted. Worry sent her thoughts to wild extremes.

“Do you two even know where you are?” She put her hands on
her hips and glared at them. “You knew I would come back when I calmed down
enough.”

“We knew, but we also knew it wouldn’t take as long if we
were in the forest.” Michael turned and a full grin curved his lips. “And here
you are, long before half the night has been wasted.”

“Uh huh, did you two even bring a pistol for protection? I
might have been in the area, but if I’m not with you, I can’t protect you.” She
frowned. They didn’t appear to take this seriously at all.

“We can protect ourselves without a gun, baby and you know
it. No natural wolf or mountain cat would lay claw or tooth on us.” Kane raised
an eyebrow and straightened, his confidence obvious.

“If you saw them or heard them. A cat could have jumped one
of you without either of you knowing he was there until he landed on you. And
that’s not even counting human predators.” She wanted to shake them, but didn’t
move.

She might not even be within arm’s reach of them, but she
wanted to take them to the ground and fuck them. The urge pounded through her.
The intensity scared her a little, but she knew some of it was because of the
stress. The rest fell squarely on the fact that she hadn’t claimed her mates
yet. The leopard within didn’t understand why she was waiting. Sometimes she
didn’t either.

“Don’t borrow trouble, baby. We have enough of our own at
the moment, don’t you think?” Michael raised a brow.

Kane pulled off his backpack. She saw him haul out some
clothes and shoes. “Here, get dressed and let’s go back to the house. You can
tell us what set you off tonight, now that you’ve run off the emotion.”

“It would be easier for me to shift back and lead you out in
leopard form.” Alana didn’t move forward to get the clothing. She really didn’t
want to get into the why of her dash into the woods just yet. Talking about the
reasons would stir all of the feelings up again.

“Easy isn’t always best. We should talk and from what your
brother’s told us, while we’re outside might be the best time. So get dressed
and we’ll discuss what happened while we walk back.” He tossed her clothes to
her.

She caught the bundle and looked down at it. Her toes flexed
on the pine needles as she thought about her options. She could toss them down
and shift before heading back to the house. That would solve the debate, but he
had a point. They deserved an explanation for what had sent her running into
the forest. It would be better to talk about this out here, not inside a room
surrounded by walls.

“All right, you better have brought me socks. I don’t wear
shoes without them.” Alana tugged up the jeans and fastened them. She worked
the pink t-shirt over her head. No bra, but she was glad they’d thought of
panties. She didn’t need the arousal caused by the seam of the jeans rubbing over
her pussy as well as the tension from talking and remembering what had
happened.

“Got them right here with your shoes.” Kane waved the shoes
as he walked over to her. “Stand still and we’ll help you into your shoes.”

“I can put them on.” She frowned and held out her hands.

“You’d have to sit down on the ground, which would require a
good two minutes of brushing the bits of leaves and pine needles off your pants
when you get up, especially since you just shifted. Cat fastidiousness, your
brother told us all about it.” Michael came forward with Kane.

“I’m going to kill my brother. Did he tell you that?” Alana
sighed.

Kane laughed when he knelt in front of her. “We already saw
the fastidiousness when we were in the forest a few days ago, remember? Even if
he hadn’t told us we’d know about it. You know you love your brother.”

“Of course, I love my brother, but he deserves some pain.”
She held her foot up for him. Michael moved up next her and curled an arm
around her to help her balance. “Just wait until he finds his mate or his
witch. I’m so going to get even.”

“His mate could be leopard.” Michael ruffled her hair.

Alana could feel the messy hair, tingles creeping over her
scalp. She swatted his hand and combed the hair back down with her fingers. He’d
done that to distract her from arguing about putting on her shoes. “I’ve got
years of embarrassing stories to tell.”

Kane slipped her shoe on and guided her foot back to the
ground before tying the laces. Once finished, he took her other foot and tugged
on the pink sock.

“Be nice to your brother. He’s helped us.” Kane looked up at
her with a grin.

“Why does everyone say that? He likes to interfere.” She
waved off the comment about helping. Even though she knew he wasn’t doing it
with any malice, there were some things she’d rather explain herself.

She straightened when Kane finished with the laces of her
left shoe. Time to head back and talk. “Do you need me to lead the way?”

“No, we know where we are. Just walk with us and start
talking. Tell us what caused you to shift and run the emotion out.” Michael’s
hand fell away from her waist, but his fingers brushed hers in invitation.

Alana placed her hand into his. She could probably palm them
off with some half-truths, but she wasn’t going to lie even by omission. It
wasn’t only because they were her partners in this. They were her mates. If
they couldn’t catch the conjurer soon, it might not be the only time she felt
the urge to race into the forest.

“I hate this.” She took a deep breath, lowered her head for
a moment and focused on staying as calm as possible. “I hate waiting and
knowing somebody’s life could be destroyed because we don’t have the
information we need. I want to race out and track down the people responsible
for this, but we have nothing. No real idea of who is feeding them information
about the shifters and witches they want to get rid of.”

Michael tugged her to a stop. He cupped her cheek and leaned
his forehead against hers. “You’re not the only one. I didn’t want to stand
there look at the broken glass and simply wait. I wanted to find out who was
doing this and stop him before he could do any more damage.”

“I was never able to get used to the way people destroy
other people’s lives. Even when it didn’t involve death. It always hits me
hard. It’s why a lot of the time in spite of my abilities, they kept me to the
undercover and investigative work. I couldn’t go tearing off into the forest
every time my cat went into a rage.” Alana rolled her shoulders a little to
ease some of the tension.

For a while, she’d thought of it as a failing. No matter how
hard she tried, she couldn’t take the mental step back and view it
dispassionately. Eventually, she’d realized she didn’t want to be able to feel
nothing in those situations. She’d rather experience the pain and rage than
feel nothing.

Kane moved in behind her and hugged her. “I don’t think
anyone ever gets used to it. They learn ways to cope. Some not so healthy. From
what I know, it’s always a little harder on shifters, especially those with big
protective streaks. Let’s keep moving. I don’t want you to start feeling caged.”

He stepped back. She clenched her hands at her side to keep
from grabbing him and hauling him back to her. While she liked the feel of him
next to her, he was right. They still had some talking to do. The stress could
make her more sensitive to feeling crowded. That wasn’t the only reaction the
stress could draw. Awareness and arousal simmered inside her. It wouldn’t take
more than a hint of cooperation from them and she’d be ready to push them to
the ground.

“It wasn’t only what happened today. This has been building
and it’s going to build up again. Watching the pain they cause and asking
questions of people going through the worst time of their lives, it enrages my
cat and me.” Alana sighed. It wasn’t going to stop though until they found the
information that finally led them to these bastards.

“I don’t like waiting when other people’s lives are at
stake. Mine I can handle, but doing nothing while some other person’s life
could be in danger infuriates me. Sometimes they don’t even know there is
danger to them.” Kane glanced over at her, but didn’t pull her close as he’d
done earlier.

She hated that too, but was a little surprised at his
admission. She knew he’d have faced other witches and trouble during the time
she’d been gone. The shifters, witches and wizards of the area worked together
when there was trouble. For some reason, problems had seemed to come regularly
to the mountains. Rogue shifters on the run in addition to the occasional rogue
wizard or witch.

“Anything else you want to tell us? If not, we can talk
about something else so you can fully calm down before we get back to the
house.” Kane put a hand on her shoulder, but let it fall back to his side. He
simply walked beside her, but seemed determined to make sure she had space.

Alana laughed a little. It wasn’t quite as easy as talking
about it and forgetting it. She wouldn’t relax completely until the kidnappers
were stopped. Even in the short term though, she wouldn’t be satisfied until
she’d held them both and felt their bodies moving with her. The primitive need
thrummed through her. She wasn’t fighting it.

“I think we can go back to the house, but you better not
make any plans for a little while after that.” She leaned close. The tension
wasn’t gone, but anticipation was building now.

“I’ll clear my calendar. Want to let us in on your plans?”
Kane stepped in closer.

Alana didn’t mind his closeness now, but hoped they could
make it back to the house without her ripping off their clothes. “I’m thinking
I want to play cowgirl and ride you both until you’re sweaty and sated.”

“Is that what you want or is that what you’ll settle for?
Because it sounds a little tame to me.” Michael’s hand surrounded hers, tugging
her forward.

She raised her eyebrows. “A little tame? You have something
a wilder in mind?”

“We certainly do, baby.” Kane laughed. “You’re not the only
one who’s had a long, stressful day. We need a little tension reliever of our
own.”

“I thought this was all about making sure I didn’t feel
pressured.” She grinned. They hadn’t given her any indication that they felt the
same intensity she did. Then again, they’d walked through the forest searching
for her. Maybe it had let them get it under control.

“Done that. Now we want to make sure of our woman.” Michael
led the way.