Thomas (5 page)

“
What happened today,
Nic?”

“
I’m not sure. Phillip
said she was there for a while and that his dad had hurt his mom.
Linyah had stepped in, but that Thomas had come home and found
them. I don’t know what happened, other than there is some
confusion as to whether or not she’s his female.” His mom sat down
and his dad stood up. Kendra only sat there looking like the queen
she was, but Nic knew her best. She was upset. And he wasn’t really
sure why just yet.

“
You mean that man who
hurt his wife is a male to my daughter?” Nic shook his head and
started to explain, but his dad was on a roll. “I should hope not.
We will not have a threesome living here like that. Who is this
male she is supposed to be with? That young Phillip
person?”

“
No. Another brother by
the name of Thomas. I’ve never met him, but I guess he was there
when Linyah was. He kissed her.” His mother made an odd noise, but
Nic didn’t think she sounded unhappy. “I’m not sure what’s going
on. It just might be a mistake or something.”

“
Not if she’s run off, you
can bet it’s not.” His dad thundered around the room for several
minutes before he turned to him again. “She’s gone to the
mountains, hasn’t she?”

“
I would say that’s a good
bet.” He even knew where she might be in the mountains but didn’t
tell his dad. If she needed to be there, then she had a good
reason. “She has a great many hidey holes up there, and it would be
years if not decades to find her if she doesn’t want to be
found.”

“
But you will.” He wanted
to tell him no, but his father nodded. “You will. Bring that young
man here too. I want to meet him and see his worth. Not that I
don’t think Linyah can handle him if he’s anything like his father,
but I should meet the man who would take my daughter. Do you think
he’d live here?”

“
I want you to bring
Linyah here first.” Everyone looked at Kendra. “I want to have a
word with her before we bring a man here. It would be better for…I
want to have a word with her.”

“
And what do we do if this
man, this Thomas person, is not worth our time?” His dad shook his
head. “No. Bring them here. Both of them. Now.” It wasn’t often
that his dad overrode what Kendra said, but he did this time. And
Kendra only nodded. But she did leave them then. No one said a word
to her as the door closed behind her. His dad told him to go and
find Linyah and this man.

“
I don’t know, Dad. But to
bring him here, don’t you think that would upset her more?” His dad
nodded and smiled. “I see. So what do you want me to do? Kidnap him
and toss him in a cell with her?”

“
Sound plan. I like it.”
His dad patted him on the back, and Nic tried to tell him he was
kidding, but he wasn’t hearing him. “Go get him, find your sister,
and tie them together if you have to. I want them together. I can
meet him later, I suppose, but it’s important that we keep them
together. If we don’t, then well, she’ll never come here again.
Well? Go and get him.”

Nic hated it, but he left the castle
for the Lannings. The leap was gathered in a large house that he
immediately thought of Linyah living in. He didn’t even know who
the house belonged to, but loved it for his sister. Misha stood up
when he entered the room they were gathered in.

“
I’m to take Thomas to my
home to help me find my sister.” The man who he thought was Thomas
stood up, then sat down. “You are the man who would claim her? The
man who kissed her today?”

“
I should just let her
run, but I’m being forced into this by my family.” Thomas glared at
Misha before looking at him again. “I don’t want a mate, but she’s
mine and I’d have her here as soon as possible.”

“
You will be well equipped
to know that she doesn’t want you either. In fact, I would like to
suggest that you leave her where she is and you’ll live longer.”
Thomas stood up and started pacing. Nic wanted to laugh. They were
not even together and he could see that they had a great deal in
common. “You will come with me to find her?”

“
Yes.” Thomas looked at
his family, then back at him. “I really don’t have a choice in the
matter. She and I have…I kissed her, and all I can think about is
having more of her.”

Nic was surprised at the surge of
anger that came over him. But the big leopard seemed to understand.
When Thomas put out his hand to him, Nic took it and felt the
connection almost immediately. His sister was going to be in good
hands. Provided that she didn’t kill him first.

He moved them through space to his
sister’s room. He was surprised to see his parents still there. His
dad stood up, and Thomas bowed before him. He wanted this to be
right and decided that starting off on the right foot was better
than the wrong one any day. Thomas apparently thought so as
well.

“
Thomas Lanning, I’d like
to present to you my parents. This is my father, Lord Nildale, of
the Genjar people. He is lord to most of the upper lands that
surround this realm.” He took him to his mother, who had not risen
but sat like the queen she used to be. Thomas took her hand when
she offered it to him and kissed it on the back. “This is my
mother, Second Queen of the Genjar people, Retired Queen of the
Sixth Order of Genjar, Queen Sina.”

“
You’re a leopard. A
half-breed but a good man.” Thomas smiled at his mother. “I’m too
old to beat around the bush, young man. When I have something to
say, I say it. I do hope you can live with that. My daughter is ten
times worse than me.”

“
I’ve not had the pleasure
of speaking to her as yet.” He smiled again when he looked around
the room. “Did she do this in a fit of rage?”

“
No. I’m afraid she’s a
mess. And this is not nearly as bad as it normally is.” Thomas
paled and looked at Nic to see if he was kidding, he was sure. “You
don’t like clutter, I take it.”

“
No. I have a place for
everything and everything…she lives like this? All the time?” Nic
wanted to laugh but just held on. If this was disturbing to the
young leopard, he’d hate for him to see her office. It was worse
than this. “All the time?”

“
I’m afraid she does.” His
father answered Thomas as if he were proud of the mess. “She can
find anything in a moment too. I’ve seen her mother look for
something in her office for an hour and she’d go right in, pick it
up, and hand it to her. Just like she knew where it was all the
time. Well, I suppose she did. She has her own system, she
said.”

“
She’s a mess. I can’t
stand a mess.” Thomas looked at him pleadingly. “Please tell me
this is not her room. And that I’ll find her to be as neat and
orderly as I am. Please? I beg of you.”

“
I’m afraid that I’m
messier than this.” Everyone turned at the sound of Linyah’s voice.
“If I were you, I’d run now before I got any of my dirtiness on
you.”

“
You can’t possibly be
this callous about your things. Surely you want to keep things
nicer than this?”

She looked around the room and Nic
could almost see her mind weighing her options. She was going to
have this man running for cover before anyone could do anything
about it.

“
Yeah, I am. And you know
what else? You should see my bathroom. I leave hair in the tub and
toothpaste on the sink. It’s sort of my tribute to art I think. I
have some very interesting forms in there. Would you like to see
them?” Nic started to go between the two of them when his dad
stopped him. He wasn’t sure what Thomas was planning, but he was
bent on doing it. He and his parents were out of the room just as
Linyah screamed. Nic was going back in when his father
laughed.

“
She’s in good hands. I
think this is a match made in heaven.” Nic started to tell him he
was nuts when he laughed again. “Yes, sir, that boy is going to
have his hands full, but I think that Linyah is going to be the
loser this time. He looks like he can whip her into shape. Be nice,
won’t it? To have her all shipshape? Of course, she will give him
his due too, I suppose. Yes, sir, a match made in
heaven.”

His parents moved down the hall
laughing. Nic stood outside the room for several minutes, not
hearing a thing and worrying. When his dad said his name, he turned
to see him standing a few feet away. He was frowning now, and Nic
didn’t know what to do with all this.

“
Come away, son. She
doesn’t need you rescuing her. Not with this man. He will not harm
her.” He asked how he knew she wouldn’t hurt him. “Because she
can’t. They are now a couple whether they want it or
not.”

Nic had a feeling that neither of them
was going to survive this. And he wasn’t sure who to root for to
come out on top. He loved his sister, but this man, Thomas Lanning,
was a good man too, one that he thought he could really like. He
just hoped that he lived long enough to get to know him. Smiling,
he followed his parents down the hall. Linyah didn’t need him. And
he was happy for whatever the two of them worked out.

~~~

Thomas picked her up by putting his
shoulder into her belly and tossing her on the bed. When she
scrambled away from him, he grabbed her ankle and held her. That’s
when he saw the blood pouring from a wound on her chest. Before she
could get away from him again, he told her to stop. She stilled
immediately.

“
What happened here?” He
fought with her but in the end got her shirt up. The padding was
saturated with blood, and he gently peeled it away. “Christ. What
happened?”

“
I wasn’t paying attention
when we were after the rogue.” She tried to pull the shirt back
down, but he ripped it from her. “You’re paying for
that.”

“
Bill me.” He ran his
finger over the blood and then watched her face as he took it to
his mouth. When he moaned, he felt her body react to him and he had
to fight hard to not pull her to him and taste more than just her
blood, actually more of all of her. The thought of burying his
mouth over her sex had him aching to strip her down completely. He
had to take a deep breath, which really didn’t help before he could
speak again. “How come you’re not healing?”

She didn’t look like she was going to
answer but when she did, he could see that she was in more pain
than he’d first thought. “I can’t heal myself. It’s forbidden. And
now because you have to be a big man, I’m hurting again. Why don’t
you go back to where you came from and leave me the hell alone? I
don’t want a male to think he’s going to rule me.”

“
I don’t want a female at
all. And I would never presume to rule anyone.” He helped her sit
up and then pulled the rest of the padding away. There were more
wounds on her back, and someone had done a pissy job of stitching
them up. “Who is your surgeon? Whoever he is, he needs to be
fired.”

“
She
stitched me up as best she could.” Thomas turned her around
after helping her stand up. Her back was not as bad as her front,
but he did want to help her. Leaning in, he could smell the
infection, and his cat snarled at him. Linyah turned and looked at
him; that was when he knew she had felt his other self as well. He
tried to smile at her, but he wanted her, both of them
did.

“
He wants to help you. So
do I.” Linyah pulled away, but he brought her back to his body so
that her back was to his chest, and even as gentle as he tried to
be, he knew that he’d hurt her again. “Please stand still and let
me fix this. These stitches in your back have been…I think they
didn’t clean the wound well and you’re getting sicker.”

“
She cleaned them. I heard
her saying she was.” But there was doubt there, he could hear it.
“What can you do? I’m not…you’re right, I should have been better
by now. When I was in my cave, I ran hot, then cold. I never do
that. I came back to have her look at the wounds again. Something
just isn’t right.”

“
I’m going to have you lay
down and I’m going to tear the stitches out. But I need help. I’d
like to take you to my house and have my mom help us. She used to
be a nurse and she’d know what to do.” Her nodding had him pulling
her tighter. “I can’t get us to my house if I don’t know where we
are.”

In seconds he was standing in his
kitchen. Reaching for his mother, he felt that Linyah had gone limp
in his arms. Fear made him reach for both Misha and Phillip.
Phillip said he’d get her family and Misha was on his way. He took
her to his room and laid her on his bed. As soon as she was naked,
he could see her body was riddled with tears in her skin. Most of
them were scars, but a few, mostly on her chest and back, were
black and blue. She looked as if she’d been dragged behind
something and then left alone. Thomas felt his cat tear at him to
maim whoever had hurt what was his.

“
Mother fuck.” He turned
to look at her brother, who had just come into the room. He looked
as if he’d seen a ghost, and Thomas pulled a sheet up and over her
body. It was saturated almost as soon as it touched her body. “She
didn’t tell me she was still hurting. Not once. I had no…he
attacked when we were apart. She said he’d only gotten her back.
And when I saw these a few days ago, they didn’t look this bad. I
had…she’s sick.”

“
My mom is going to help
her. But you have to see to the person who did this to her. I don’t
mean the rogue, but the person who stitched her up. They had to
know that they were leaving her to infection.” Nic nodded and when
he continued to stand there, Thomas shook him. “You have to go now.
If this woman is aware that you know what happened, she’ll run. Go
and get her.”