Markings (21 page)

“Hmm.” She folded her arms. “You want to kiss boys, okay, but that looked like it was about to get intense.” She pointed at the driveway, as if the Cougar were still there. “And I’m not ready to be a grandma yet—”

“Mom, I’ve got this under control.” I held my hands up to her, blushing. “And I’m well aware of the whole birds-and-bees thing. No grandchildren until after I’m married. I swear.”

She stepped aside. “I’m holding you to that.”

“Good.” I trotted inside, kicking my flats off by the door. “I hope you do.”

“Oh, I will.” She kept scanning the yard and driveway through the living room window. I wanted to tell her to quit it because, yes, Aaron really was gone . . . for the moment.

As I closed my bedroom door behind me, I dropped my purse and started yanking clothes off. After putting on some leggings and a long shirt, I walked over to my window and rolled up the shades. Peering around the yard, I pushed the window up, letting in a warm breeze. I sniffed at the night, but Aaron’s scent was faint. He hadn’t returned yet.

Leaving the window open, I flicked the lights off and crawled into bed. A while later I woke to the feeling of my mattress shifting. Aaron’s scent clouded my nose. A warm body pressed against my back, and an arm came over my waist.

I yawned, “Long time no see.”

He snorted. “Any time away from you is too long.”

I chuckled, folding my arm over his and weaving our fingers together. “Oh, please. Someday you’ll get tired of coming home to me.”

“Lina, if I had you to come home to,” he said, shifting closer to me. He’d practically molded to my body. “I’d come home more often.”

Chapter 23: Black Cloud

A
re you
sure
you don’t want to do the high
heels?” Trinity asked.

“I’m sure.” I stared down at the pile of shoes flowing out of my closet, at the sexy black pair by Trinity’s feet. A sharp, five-inch heel stared back at me. “I’d break an ankle or my neck. They don’t really match my dress anyways.”

“Hmm.” She tapped her chin, looking over my simple green dress. Out of all the outfits she’d compiled from my closet, the all-natural dress from Dad was the only one that seemed right for tonight’s clan event. “You may be right. Still, we could make it work.” Her eyes drifted to my dresser. An array of accessories shimmered in the lamplight, all thanks to her raiding my jewelry drawer.

I groaned, kicking the shoe pile around. My nerves were strung so tightly I could barely function. Turning to glance at the clock, I glimpsed myself in the mirror. My white-blonde locks had been curled and now waved down my back. Foundation covered any imperfections in my face, and my eyelashes had turned to rocks, covered in—something I never used—mascara.

“Hey, how about these?” Trinity held up a pair of silver sandals.

I sort of liked them. “I’ll take those.”

“Brilliant.” She grinned, tossing them to me. “We’d better hurry up. Don’t want to be late for your coming out party.”

“Joy.” My stomach gave a nasty lurch as I slipped the sandals on. I loved Trinity, but I really wished it’d been Kat helping me prepare for the big night. Her bubbly energy always seemed to calm me. Unfortunately, she was at a family event, unable to come.

Grabbing my purse, I followed Trinity outside and climbed into the Jaguar. She gave my hand a squeeze as we left the driveway, rumbling down the road. “Breathe, Lina. Seriously, this isn’t the end of the world. It’s going to be fine,” she said. “It’s not like we bite. Well, not at you.”

I swallowed then nodded. “I know.” I didn’t know actually, but I wanted her to quit talking about it. And in some ways it
was
the end of the world to me. The end of the normal world, the one I’d been raised in where stuff like this only happens in movies. My hands shook in my lap, so I stuck them under my thighs. Honestly, the only chance of me being okay tonight was Aaron. I was counting on him to catch me should I pass out.

The party was being hosted on the training field, where I’d first met Jace and Joey. Stopping briefly at the shelter, we met up with Tom. He waited in the jeep outside the reserve gates, wearing a button-down shirt and torn jeans.

“No Aaron?” I asked as we left the Jaguar, jumping into the jeep. When I woke up this morning he was gone. If it hadn’t been for his scent, I’d have thought I’d dreamt of him sleeping in beside me.

“No worries about your cougar, Lina.” Tom grinned from the driver’s seat, using an I-know-what-you-did-last-night kind of tone. “He got sucked into driving George and Kala, though I will say he put up a pretty good fight. He was determined to be here when you showed.”

Trinity made a dreamy noise then shot me a smirk. “I knew you two were going to happen. He cared about you way too much for it to not.”

“
That
was obvious,” Tom snarked as we headed out onto the reserve. “I knew the second Aaron defended her against Jace that something was up.”

Leaning over her seat, Trinity fixed a loose curl that kept falling in my face. “Don’t they make a cute couple? Aaron and Lina, fierce warrior and lovely feline heiress. I love it.”

I rolled my eyes. “Come on, guys. You make us sound like a fairy tale pair. I don’t even know if he considers me his girlfriend yet.”

“Hah! Few doubts he does.” Tom words dripped with his sarcastic, southern accent as he added, “Y’all go together like sugarplums and chocolate sauce. Mm-mm good.”

Trinity gave him a shove. “Stop, I’m serious. And, hey, you guys kind of are a fairy tale pair in our world. We don’t have princess and knights—just Alphas and warriors. What kinds of stories do you think Shifters grew up listening to?”

I shrugged. “Beauty and the Beasts?”

Maybe it was because Aaron wasn’t with me, but the pinelands felt creepier tonight. The clouds had rolled in, bringing sunset early. Once we left the grasslands we were cloaked in the trees’ shadows, everything black except for where the jeep’s headlights hit. Tom and Trinity looked perfectly at home in front of me, like this was any old joyride through the city streets.

The jeep came to a stop in a small clearing. “Honey, we’re home,” Tom said, cutting the engine.

I unbuckled. Light filtered through the pinelands, coming from up ahead. A rhythm of guitars and drums played against the night, along with the sound of wildcat and human chatter. A
lot
of wildcat and human chatter, just like at Home Base.

“Come on, Lina!” Trinity’s silhouette rushed to my side. She took my hand as I got out, guiding me to the ground. “It’s okay. I can see in the dark so I’ll lead you.”

You can do this, Lina
.
You are Alpha, clan leader
.
If the universe chose you to do this, there had to be a reason
.
Some part of you, no matter how pea-sized, has to be capable of doing this
. Our footsteps crunched through the dry grass, moving through a dense patch of pine. It felt sort of like a tunnel, a hall a queen might walk down before her coronation. The treetops weaved so tightly together I could barely glimpse the sky.

I tensed, looking up again.
Wait a second
. No sky . . . a tunnel . . . I stared down at the outline of Trinity’s hand guiding me along, then at my dress.
Déjà vu
.

As the tunnel ended, we came out at the back of a stage. A small gathering of people stood chatting at the foot of the stairs. Raja stood among them. “We’re here,” Trinity chimed, bouncing to a stop.

Aaron, in dark jeans and a white, collared shirt turned to us. “Lina.” Both eyebrows went up. “Um,
wow.
”

“Pretty, isn’t she?” Trinity clamped my shoulders, proud of her work. “If our clan had a magazine, she’d make this month’s cover for sure.”

Aaron strode over, giving me a hug. I wrapped my arms tight around him, trying to rid the terrible images going through my head about the tunnel. Cain’s face kept popping up, kissing my cheek.
Cain’s dead
.
He’s dead, it’s okay.

“
This
is the Alpha?” A black-bearded man in jeans and a blazer seemed quizzical as he leaned towards Raja.

Raja chuckled, patting the man on the back. “Don’t be so nervous, Xavier. Once you get to know her, you’ll have as much hope in her as I do.”

“But she’s a woman,” he said. A couple men around him nodded, whispering to each other.

“Lina?” Aaron stepped back, tilting my chin up to look at him. “Hey, pretty girl, what’s wrong?”

Standing on my tiptoes, I whispered in his ear, “I need to talk to you—”

“Lina,” Raja called, interrupting us. “Come meet some of your court members, then we need to get you on stage. People are getting antsy.”

“It’s okay,” Aaron whispered back. “We’ll have plenty of time to talk soon.”

“No, you don’t understand. I have a bad feeling,” I said as he nudged me towards the group. As suspected, Xavier wasn’t the only one showing skepticism. Their looks were not helping me.

“You’re just nervous. Stop worrying, I’m going to be right there beside you. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

“But—” I got cut off again as Raja gave the group my formal introduction. I tried to smile as I shook hands with a young, pony-tailed man who was head of the Shifter Science Facility, then a middle-age gal with some ugly scars down her arm who was head of border patrol. Pretty soon people warmed up to me, getting past the fact their new Alpha wasn’t what they’d expected. Everything around us appeared safe, sounded safe, but every time I looked back at that branchy tunnel.

I didn’t feel safe.

Raja laid a hand on my shoulder, nodding towards the stage. “You ready?”

I wasn’t, but hundreds of people were waiting to see me, and I had no proof that something was wrong here. “Yeah,” I squeaked.

Raja smiled, making his eyes crinkled. “You’ll do well.” He turned and walked up the stage steps.

I shivered as the court lined up at the stairs. Aaron came up behind me, holding my waist. “Okay, now I’m worried. You look like you’re going to be ill.” He scanned my face. “Don’t be intimidated. They’re going to love you. You’re the one making all the difference for us, and once you shift you will make an even bigger difference.”

I slowly shook my head. “It isn’t them I’m worried about.”

Beyond the stage, the drums and guitars stilled. The rumble of the crowd died out, leaving an eerie silence. The court started up the stairs one by one, then Trinity and Tom. Aaron pushed gently on my back. Taking deep breaths, I started up the steps, willing Cain’s smiling face to disappear from mind.

Rounding the corner, Aaron and I crossed the stage. Tiki torches flickered on the field, white lights strung across poles to highlight the massive crowd of Shifters. Dozens of tables had been set up, glowing with candles and reeking of barbeque chicken, steak, pork, bacon and any other meat one could imagine. Children wore fake cat ears, a few running around with sparklers or chasing young felines. Adults stood in clusters, talking and smiling or eating off a paper plate. I noticed that nobody was really using forks, not even for the steak. It was a tear-off-with-mouth-and-suck-fingers kind of thing.

At the sound of our footsteps, heads turned in our direction. Hundreds of people, children, cubs, and cats crunched together, all trying to get a good look at us.

Xavier passed Raja a microphone. “Welcome, everyone.” Raja’s voice boomed over the crowd. “First of all I want to thank everyone for joining us tonight. For months we have struggled as a clan with no true ruler, as you all know. For months we have feared the Iew Keftey as they grow stronger. We have seen what they can do. They’ve robbed us of land, of loved ones, and of a life of freedom. Things have not been the same since the death of our dear Jinalo—”

“Alpha Jinalo, may he forever rest in peace,” the crowd chimed, their voices vibrating off the woods.

Aaron’s arm tightened on my back. I realized I was swaying.
I will not faint, I will not faint
. He leaned into my cheek. “Breathe, Lina.”

Raja nodded to them. “We have waited very patiently since then, to see the new heir who would take his place. I’ve watched many of you turn your backs on the heavens, insisting this time there was no new heir. I myself must say these last six months have been the longest of my entire life”—the crowd muttered agreements—“But at long last, my dear family, I give you reason to believe again. Tonight, I give you reason to believe that hope is not lost, and that a new age has begun.” Sweeping an arm at me, Raja concluded, “My friends, I give you Celina Bayberry, Alpha of the Western Clan.”

You know in the movies when the crowd bursts into applause as their leader announces the end of a war, or a king announces his son’s arrival? I wasn’t sure I expected that much, but I had expected some sort of celebratory noise. As I looked out at them, there was nothing to greet me. Nothing but a silence so harsh you could’ve heard a pin drop.

Raja lifted a furry eyebrow at his clan, still posing with an arm towards me. The court tightened up, looking between each other. Tom and Trinity stiffened.

Oh, God
. I swallowed the lump in my throat. People, kids, cats, they glanced back and forth between each other and the stage, weird looks being exchanged. A low, unpleasant buzz of voices rose. This was humiliating, one of my worst nightmares, but could I blame them? They had expected something grand, something as bold and brilliant as what I imagined Jinalo to be. Instead they got a shivering teenage girl who lost the color in her face just looking at them, who could barely stand up straight she was so scared. I was a confusion, a disappointment.

Just when I thought the stress would make me keel over, the wind came up, rustling the pine trees. It was a hot breeze that made everyone turn and take their focus off me. The current was so strong it blew out a few torches. My curls lifted off my shoulders. Despite the heat, I could feel the goose bumps crawling up my thighs again. That unseen presence, the one from the day of the deer stampede, it was here.

“Lina.” Aaron gave me a gentle shake, pointing upwards.

Pieces of white confetti blew over the crowd. They turned and waved like leaves on the breeze, oval in shape. People gasped as the white flakes fell, tumbling along the ground. A few made it onto the stage, getting caught against my sandals. Bending down, Aaron picked one up to examine. The hair on my neck stood on end. It wasn’t confetti at all; it was a white petal.

A lotus flower petal.

His eyes widened as he looked from it to me.

I whispered, “I thought you said they don’t exist.”

He shook his head slowly. “They didn’t.”

People in the front row had picked up petals as well. A Native-American woman standing not too far from me began to smile. She covered her mouth as she looked at me, tears leaking down her face.

I dropped my shoulders, relaxing as more people looked toward me with wistful or tearful faces. Someone in the middle row shouted, “She carries Bastet’s blessing! Kneel to her, you morons!” Just like that, the first four rows fell to their knees, followed by the fifth and sixth.

Tears brimmed my eyes.
They’re accepting me
. And suddenly the nerves went away. I was just thinking we were on the verge of liking each other, the verge of believing Bastet really was watching over us and maybe this wasn’t so bad after all.

That’s when the screaming started. It came from the far back of the crowd, high-pitched and human. Those that had bowed to me leaped to their feet again, sniffing the air. People jerked around, hunting for the problem.

Then came the smell, that damp, foul odor of blood and canine.

“No,” I breathed. Aaron’s arm swirled around my waist, shoving me behind his sister. Raja moved up front in a flash, the court clustering around me. Bright flashes went off, and I was no longer guarded by people, but by wildcats. The court snarled and hissed, flattening their ears back while baring their fangs. My adrenaline rushed as I struggled to see over Aaron’s shoulders.

The crowd dispersed, people yelling and running into the trees. More bright lights flashed in the night as others shifted, new roars and snarls joining those of my protectors. A black cloud was crawling over the field, separating my cats. It took me a minute to realize the cloud had
legs.
Dark coats and fangs, too. Except for the two-legged figure up front.

I squeezed Aaron as I saw him.

Dressed head to toe in black, hands in pockets, Cain guided the Keftey forward casually, like he was leading a parade. Aaron snarled, snapping his jaws as he saw him.

“Aaron,” Raja whispered. “Take her. Now!”

In an instant Aaron swept me off my feet and whisked me down the stage stairs. Final lights went off behind me as Raja, Trinity, and Tom were the last to shift. Shadows poured over the stage as the mutts arrived. As we hit the trees, I could hear the paws and heavy panting behind us.

I nearly went crazy as we hit a black spot. My vision was taken from me, leaving me to rely only on the sounds of snarls, scuffling, and feet thumping the ground. I squeaked as Aaron slung me over his shoulder. “Aaron—”