Dark Celebration (28 page)

Jacques and Shea lived in the second house. It too was very secluded. Jacques still needed a space between him and the rest of the population. Shea and Savannah were close friends and often visited each other, but even their homes were miles apart. Jacques had built a very elegant house almost into the mountain itself, so even from the air, it was impossible to see.

The cat lifted its head and scented the air several times.
She is searching for a particular scent
.

What is it
? Byron could feel the urgent compulsion in the cat, but he couldn't find the thread driving it.

Antonietta didn't answer him right away, and when she did it was with some reluctance.
She is hunting prey
.

The female jaguar pushed off with her hind feet and sprang up onto a fallen log, pausing for a moment to look toward the mountain:, toward Gregori's home, and then turned her head in the direction of the other house.

Deep inside the body of the jaguar, Antonietta gasped.
Byron! Did you feel that surge? The eagerness
?

What is she after?

The baby. She's after Shea's baby. That means Darius's leopards are being pushed to attack Shea. Whoever it is doesn't know about me. The compulsion is directed at the cats.

Byron reached out on the private link he shared with his childhood friend.
Jacques. Hear me now
. He shared the information, the feelings Antonietta was experiencing as well as their fears.
We have to give this information to all Carpathians, but once we do, Shea will hear. Do you need time to break it to her gently
?

Byron hated to add to the couple's stress level. Both were terrified of the upcoming birth—and rightly so. Now they had to worry about an enemy who could manipulate animals and was doing so with the specific intent of harming their child.

Spread the word, Byron. We must find this enemy before Shea gives birth. I fear it will be this night
. There was a small silence, and then Jacques sighed.
She is already fighting it, wanting to keep our son safe inside the womb
.

You are certain it is a boy?

Yes. I have a son. He is strong and wants to come out into the world, but Shea has been holding him back. Knowing an enemy has specifically targeted our child makes it more difficult.

She has my protection as well. I stand by your side, ready to fight.

We thank you, my old friend
. There was weariness in Jacques's voice.
Please thank Antonietta. It must have been difficult for her to get her cat to reveal this information. Without her effort we would not know an enemy is about to strike. Shea sends her thanks as well
.

Byron shared the response with his lifemate as they both exerted pressure on the jaguar to turn back toward home. Immediately, the warning went out to all Carpathians on their common path of communication, and he felt a surge of pride in Antonietta.

The female snarled, resisting the order. Byron moved in closer, and at once Antonietta responded, catching his thought. There were much more pleasant ways to distract the cat than fighting it. Byron quickly shifted forms. The male jaguar shouldered the female, rubbing his chin along her back, and the female sprang away from him, throwing an enticing look over her shoulder. They raced back to the house, heat overcoming the need for prey.

By the time they shifted back to their own forms, their arms were wound tightly around one another, mouths welded together, and his hands were deftly pulling the intricate weave from her hair.

Chapter 11

Juliette De La Cruz paced restlessly back and forth across the kitchen tiles. Her body felt too tight for her own skin. It was impossible to control her mind as it flipped channels, a chaotic whirl from subject to subject. She couldn't seem to stay focused on anything at all—not even the fruit and melon salad she was making for tonight's celebration.

She missed her sister and cousin. This would be her first holiday without them. She'd invited them, but as always, they'd refused to have anything to do with the De La Cruz men. It wasn't as if she blamed them, but Juliette could have used their company. Outside the window, the snowflakes drifted, turning the world around her into a peaceful, quiet realm, but her body and mind were out of control.

It was hot. Too hot. She unbuttoned her blouse and tied the ends together in a knot beneath her generous breasts. She lifted the heavy fall of hair from her neck and paced around the small kitchen once again.
If you don't come home soon, I'm going for a run. I need
… She reached out to her lifemate, but she didn't know what she needed. Her body wanted his—but it always did. She just couldn't become calm.

Deep inside, she felt her cat moving, struggling for supremacy. Juliette was part jaguar and even after the conversion, her cat was strong, but she was always able to control her. Now even her cat wanted out—wanted freedom.

Breathe
. The word was whispered in her mind. Soft. Intimate. Warm.
You always forget to breathe
.

She knew she was alone in the kitchen. Her beloved lifemate, Riordan, had gone to see his brothers. Riordan and Juliette had traveled from South America and had arrived in the early morning hours. Riordan hadn't had a chance to see his brother, Manolito, who had been injured in a battle.

I'm breathing. I wish you were here
. There was a blatant invitation in her voice. Riordan was very good at putting the heat in her blood with one whisper of his seductive voice. "I'm making this fruit salad. You're supposed to be helping me." Her breasts tingled and seemed heavy and aching. She had the full, curvy figure of a woman. Her waist was small, but her breasts and hips were generous and right now every square inch of her skin burned. She wanted him. Right there. That moment. He had to come back or she was going to have to throw herself in the snow to cool down.

I am on my way. Let me make my good-byes. It must be the fruit salad you are making. I think fruit turns you on.

Only what one can do with it
. Juliette laughed, but there was little amusement in her. Her body was too edgy. The De La Cruz brothers seemed to be very sexual creatures, and she fit right in, needing Riordan, welcoming the many inventive ways he made love, but she'd never felt so edgy, so desperate.

She ran some water and dribbled it down the valley between her breasts, glancing out the window as she did so. No one was there. She was completely alone. She scanned often as Riordan had taught her, but she still felt as if someone watched her. Juliette tried to shake off the feeling, fearing it was leftover paranoia from her days kidnapping women back from jaguar males. She would never get over the constant vigilance needed to stay safe in the jungle. Looking out the window, she scanned again, just to be certain, taking great care to track any movement in the area around the cabin—even animals—but there was no one even close to her house.

Juliette? Jacques sent the word that someone is trying to use the leopards to attack Shea and her unborn child. Whoever is doing this is unaware of the jaguar strain running in some of the women. It is strong in you. Are you having trouble?

Juliette sighed with relief. She could handle her jaguar if the cat was what was causing her to be so moody and edgy and paranoid.
Yes. But I've been dealing with my cat all my life and I'm in control of her
. When her cat went into heat, it was especially difficult to maintain control and that could be the unexpected problem. She should have thought of that.

Be careful, Juliette.

She smiled to herself as she gathered up the melon peels. Of course he just had to have the last word, to give her some sort of a command. He'd spent too much time alone with his brothers in South America, or maybe the De La Cruz brothers were all just plain bossy with their women—well, okay—with everyone around them. They liked their women submissive, yet neither she nor Colby, Rafael's lifemate, were in the least bit unassuming. From her perspective at least, that made for a fiery and very interesting sexual relationship.

Catching up the bowl of rinds, she carried them outside into the thick grove of trees surrounding the house. The moment she stepped into the night air, the cat inside her stirred, unsheathed claws and looked up toward the mountains—toward Jacques's residence. She reprimanded the cat with a warning snarl and pushed it ruthlessly down. The cat tried again, rubbing against her insides, spreading a fire that only Riordan could put out.

So that's the way it is. We've been too long without our mate.

Her hair whipped across her face with a strong gust of wind. She pulled down the thick, dark strands and tossed the rinds for the deer. Everything in her froze, the smile fading abruptly as she stared down in shocked horror at the track marks in the snow. Her mouth went dry as she took a cautious look around. Her heart began to slam hard and for one awful moment, her legs went rubbery.

Riordan? How far away are you?

What is it
? He felt her fear more than heard it, and already he was striding through his brother's house, calling to the other men, ready to take to the air.

Jaguar tracks. Male. How can that be? I was throwing melon scraps out for the deer and the tracks are all around the house. He was staring in the window while I was making the salad
. She stayed still, almost afraid to move, her gaze quartering the area, paying particular attention to the trees.

The Dark Troubadours brought their leopards, Juliette
. His voice was soothing.
Perhaps you are mistaken and one of the leopards was investigating our house
.

She brought her teeth together in a sharp snap.
Don't patronize me! I know the difference. I've tracked jaguar all my life and I don't make mistakes. I know a jaguar track and I know when a male has been in the vicinity. I can scent him as well. I'm telling you one of them is here, in the mountains, and there's only one reason he'd be here
.

Get in the house. I'm on my way, coming to you now.

No, the tracks lead away from the house. I'm going to follow him. Antonietta has the ability to shift into a jaguar as well. I don't know if any of the other women can as well, but if they can, they could be in as much danger as I am. It stands to reason that several of them carry the blood whether they can shapeshift or not. It would explain their strong psychic abilities.

Juliette
. He put warning into his voice, displeasure.

She ignored him as if she hadn't heard him.
I can't believe one of them came here with so many Carpathian males around. They must be getting desperate. What if they followed us? What if I brought this danger on these people
?

Don't panic. I'll be there soon. Go into the house
. He repeated it, this time making it a command.
Not all jaguar males belong to the group kidnapping females
.