A Seacat's Love (Oceanan Trilogy Book 1) (2 page)

Tigif and Leonora were barely on speaking terms. The only time Leonora spoke to Tigif was when it concerned the expedition. Otherwise, Leonora kept her distance from him. When she had turned fourteen, Tigif began his amorous advances. Since she turned fifteen, a mature adult by Oceanan Laws, Tigif’s behavior worsened. She was tired of graciously telling him that she was not interested in becoming his lifemate.

Like most females, Leonora did have plans of one day finding a mate and creating a large family. However, she was not going to settle for just any male. She did not want a lifemate. She wanted a soul mate.

Oceanans believed the god Onssa divided a soul and placed each half into different beings. When the two beings mated and their souls matched, both spirits would unit as one essence. The souls’ union would result in a cluster of cuts placed on the recipient’s body on their final, joint orgasm. This matrimonial mark for the female was located below the waist and for the male, above it.

A soul mate was sought by all felines. However, there were some who were willing to settle for second best—a lifemate and a lifescar. By law, this matrimonial mark must be a single cut. For the male, its location must be on his left forearm and for the female, on her right thigh.

Leonora was not one to settle for second best. Until her soul mate made himself known, her inventions and discoveries came first in her life.

She had thought Tigif’s obsession with her was over when he began dating her sister. Leonora became elated when he proposed to Karla. But the second their ship left Oceana’s gravisphere
to embark on this assignment, Tigif resumed his pestering, which now bordered on sexual harassment.

Leonora picked up a stick, so she could poke at the logs. The logs shifted. The fire crackled and popped, and her gaze followed the rising smoke. Her sights paused on the brilliant sparkle from the stars. Leonora sighed. She missed her home, her siblings. But alas, she had a job to do. Until her job was done, she could not go home.

Leonora placed the stick down and reached for the electronic journal that was on the small, portable side table beside her seat. She chanced a look at Tigif, to make certain there was plenty of space between them. Satisfied, she opened the laptop; pushed Tigif, her planet, and her family out of her thoughts; and began documenting her findings for that day.

From the tent’s entrance, Tigif stared at his desire: Leonora. Back on his home planet of Oceana, Tigif had changed offices to be closer to her. He had asked her to dinner many times. He even suggested a romantic trip through space. Leonora had declined each invitation. She went as far as to try to convince him she was not interested in a mate. Tigif did not believe her. Nor was he one to take no for an answer.

In efforts to obtain the ultimate prize, Tigif cunningly seduced Leonora’s adopted sister Karla. The feline kodkod believed she was going to wed the orange-and-black striped tiger, once he returned from the expedition. Karla was ignorant to how Tigif manipulated and used her eagerness to have a family against her. In truth, Karla was just another expendable pawn in Tigif’s intricate plans.

Leonora’s brother proved to be more difficult to fool. Challen was protective of the two females he had raised from infancy. The lion was never far, nor gone long enough for the tiger to make substantial progress. Therefore, Tigif had to invent a way to get Leonora away from the towering cat, if his dreams were to become a reality.

Tigif had suggested a trip to a planet long ago forbidden, but not forgotten, to his colleagues of elite scientists. The reasoning Tigif gave them was to study the parallel similarities of species evolution between the earthlings and Oceanans. A first hand picture and understanding to Oceanan evolution could be obtained since the humans were still maturing and would not reach Oceana’s present standard of living for another two or three millenniums. The true meaning behind the trip Tigif kept to himself.

The scientists had fallen for it, but not Challen. Challen was not about to allow his little sister, who was a member of the science team, to partake in what he deemed a suicidal mission. Another hurdle had appeared before Tigif.

Tigif quickly leapt over that barrier the day the Oceanan king gave his approval for the expedition. Tigif had arrived at the end of the long meeting. In the corridor, Tigif had overheard King Oren conversing with an Oceanan warrior named Forrest, as they discussed the possibility of joining an alliance of peaceful alien nations.

Unfortunately, the king could not make the voyage to the headquarters of the alliance and leave Oceana unprotected. Tigif swiftly approached the king and nominated Challen to go on King Oren’s behalf. The king had eagerly agreed and made an unsuspecting Challen his delegate.

Tigif smirked. His well-executed plan had come together very nicely. There remained no obstacle between him and his goal, except Leonora herself. He licked his lips. With a feline’s grace, he walked in her direction. Leonora’s lack of interest had forced his hand. To win her over, Tigif was convinced that he needed to be more forceful with her. After all, feline females liked aggressive males.

He reached for Leonora’s shoulders with the intentions of giving her a sneak preview to his true nature. The lioness jumped to her feet, leaving him grasping air. A new scent reached Tigif’s nose a split second before a swarm of human soldiers trampled the campsite.

Thursday, the 18th of July

Sky Harbor International Airport

Phoenix, Arizona

Rick glanced out the window from his seat aboard the Boeing 757. Millions of lights lit up Phoenix Sky Harbor International, the streets, and the buildings below. Rick was glad to be home. He sat back in his seat and closed his eyes, as he felt the plane make its final descent to the runway.

While the plane taxied to the terminal, a sense of dread came over Rick. A slight wrinkle appeared on his forehead. He wondered what was wrong. His latest assignment had gone without a hitch. Still, life as a secret agent had taught Rick not to leave anything to chance. He opened his eyes and discretely scanned his fellow passengers in coach.

Rick casually reached inside his partially opened blazer. His fingers grazed over the handle of his Glock 18. The plane reached the terminal and stopped. Rick waited. Everyone within the cabin stirred at once. They reached for their belongings in the overhead compartments or from beneath the seats in front of them. Rick watched for any sudden or suspicious movements.

The flight attendant gave the okay to exit the plane. In a double-file line, the passengers made their way toward the front of the airplane. Rick decided to exit last, just in case. He examined each face carefully as they passed him. Not one triggered a memory or seemed familiar. Not one made an aggressive move. Rick blamed his ill feeling on fatigue and shrugged it off.

His cell phone was clipped to his belt. Extracting his hand from within his blazer, Rick switched the phone on. He pulled his backpack from underneath the seat in front of him and made his way to the door. The cell phone vibrated as he walked passed baggage claims.

Rick answered, and the voice of his team leader responded. Lance Blaisdale wanted to meet with him. It was urgent. Even though he was exhausted and wanted to go to his hotel room to sleep, Rick complied. He could never say no to the one man he seriously respected.

Rick had met Lance when he first joined the agency, six years ago. Lance Blaisdale was already rising in the rankings. As time passed, they became extremely tight. Like brothers, they would argue and fight, but they were always there for each other.

When Lance was assigned to lead an elite team of specially trained agents, he offered Rick a position on the Shadow Team. Rick had jumped at the opportunity to advance his career. He never guessed his choice would lead to the death of his wife and unborn daughter.

Rick took his car out of long-term parking and drove for nearly three hours, following Lance’s directions. Arriving at the fork in the road, he slowed the car to a halt. He peered through the windshield to the span of road lit by the headlights. The path to the left was clear, but large boulders blocked the right side.

A natural deterrent
, he thought. A trick his team used more than once to keep unwanted visitors at bay. Rick glanced at his watch and saw it was one in the morning.
I should be in bed
. He shut off the ignition and reached for the backpack he had thrown on the passenger seat. He pulled out a mini flashlight and exited the car. He used the key remote to lock the rented four-door sedan.

Lance’s instructions were to climb over the boulders and head north for forty minutes. On top of the highest rock, Rick paused to stare at the night sky. The stars sparkled like diamonds, brighter than usual on this cool Thursday morning.

Rick loved to stargaze and normally spent an hour staring at the stars before going to bed. The twinkling lights represented life, and the clusters, family. His wounded soul found solace in their untainted existence. On this night, oddly, their mystical lights brought him only distress.

Following Lance’s orders, Rick jumped down, onto the other side of the boulders and started walking. He found his leader waiting patiently by a tall, wired fence topped with curling, razor-sharp barbed wire. Not recognizing the area caused Rick’s uneasy feeling to increase.

He greeted Lance with a slight nod. Lance returned the gestured, and then he led the way to the back entrance of a building,
heavily guarded by the military. More from habit than need, Rick mentally documented his surroundings as they bypassed all security checkpoints and took an unmonitored elevator to the lowest level.

During this time, Lance remained silent. Rick eyed his leader’s bowed head—a clear indication that something was bothering him.

A small bell announced their arrival, four levels beneath the ground’s surface. Lance exited the elevator first. Neither made a noise as they walked through dimly lit corridors to an off-limits section of the underground labyrinth. The many dangerous biohazard signs hinted it was a laboratory of some sort.

Rick continued to study his friend’s mannerisms. Lance, with his hands in his pockets, regarded the glossy floor. An outsider would deem his appearance as distant and a bit bored. But to the members of the Shadow Team, in particular Rick, they knew Lance’s demeanor meant the opposite.

“So how did it go?” Lance’s voice gave nothing away.

This came as no surprise to Rick. During their training years, Rick had given Lance the nickname “Control.” It stuck. Lance’s ability to maintain a level head during sticky situations enabled him to find the best solutions for grave problems. It had helped Lance rise in the rankings swiftly.

Rick played along, as usual, shrugging indifferently. “Smooth and by the number, as always. Was there any doubt?”

“You know there wasn’t. You’re my best man. Why else do you think I keep sending you on these sorts of assignments?”

Rick tilted his head sideways. His right eyebrow rose to mock his friend. “I thought it was because you hated my perfect record and hoped I’d fail.” Lance’s expression changed to one of shock and hurt. If Rick were not extremely tired, he would have considered laughing.

“Nonsense, McCall. How then would I ever replace you?” Lance jokingly added, “Not that the thought hasn’t crossed my mind.”

This time Rick did chuckle. “I’m sure it has. But don’t get your hopes up too high. I’m only twenty-seven, and I intend to be here
for a very long time.” He continued to scope his surroundings, unable to shake his increasing anxiety. “I’m also sure the purpose of this late night interlude has nothing to do with the results of my latest assignment. So let’s cut to the chase, Control.” He looked at his leader. “Where am I? What’s so important that it can’t wait until a decent time?”

“Straightforward as usual, eh, McCall? That’s what I most admire about you.” With a ghost of a smile, Lance shook his head negatively. “You never beat around the bush.”

Rick slowly exhaled. “And you never hesitate to say what’s on your mind. So why start now? Spill it.”

Lance stopped and displayed his famous, all-knowing smirk. “You’re not going to believe it.”

“Coming from you, that doesn’t surprise me.”

Resuming his pace, Lance casually asked, “How do you feel about extraterrestrials?”

“I don’t.”

“You mean you never considered the possibility?”

“No.”

“I don’t believe you. Everyone thinks about aliens at least once in their lifetime.”

“Why should I, when there are so many lost souls on this planet to contend with?”

Lance sliced the air in front of him with his hand. “Forget all that for a second, will you?”

Rick’s eyes narrowed. This was definitely not good. Lance never has a problem with expressing his thoughts. Hell, his problem was keeping his opinions to himself. “Why?”

“Listen…” Lance paused in the middle of the hallway. He smoothed back his short, wavy brown hair and said, “What would you say if I were to tell you that life does exist out there, and it’s not like anything Hollywood has portrayed?”