Andromeda's Fall (Shadowcat Nation) (20 page)

Andie
was tucked up on the couch going over her training plans. They’d spent the past
week sequestered in the conference room in negotiations. It was decided that
the Carstairs Dare would become the Reynolds Dare, and Andie’s father would
manage it in her place. His first order of business was to determine who in the
dare had followed the Carstairs out of fear and who’d followed them willingly.
Andie and Jaxon would regularly travel to Canada to check on things at the
Reynolds Dare. In the meantime, Zac was going to extend the treaty with his
timik to both dares now that the Carstairs were no longer in power.

With
everything settled, finally, Andie could focus on what she did best— train her
people to live through a fight. Although now her main focus was surviving the
wolves in the wilderness. Jaxon had put out an order to pull his people back to
the compound while they tried to determine what the wolves were really after.
But having all those cougars living inside those walls wasn’t going to work for
very long.

A
soft knock sounded at the door. She glanced at Jaxon and shrugged. They weren’t
expecting anyone. Answering the door, Andie found Sarai there. She gave her
friend a huge grin and then wrapped her in a big hug.

“I
was wondering when you’d come find me,” Andie said. She led Sarai into the
living area. “Jaxon, I believe you know who this is.”

Her
husband gave the small woman a warm smile. Sarai nervously ran her hand through
her dark blond hair and smiled back.

At
Andie’s urging the two ladies sat on the couch. Jaxon started to leave to give
them privacy, but Sarai stopped him. “Please, stay. I’d like to talk to both of
you.” She turned to Andie with a rueful look. “I do want to catch up with you,
too. Of course.”

Andie
shook her head. “We’ll set aside time for girl talk later. You obviously have
something on your mind.”

Sarai
nodded. She sat on the very edge of the couch as if she was afraid she’d be
kicked out any moment. Andie inwardly fumed at the Carstairs Alphas. It was
because of them that no one felt safe in their dare. That would change now.

Sarai
cleared her throat. “I’d like to move and become officially part of the Keller
Dare.”

Andie
raised her eyebrows and glanced at Jaxon. “Can you tell me why?”

Sarai
bit her lip, her skin pale. “I’ve spent a good deal of my life fighting off
Kyle Carstairs.”

Andie
and Jaxon both growled at that news. “You never told me that,” Andie said.

Sarai
shook her head. “It was my problem to deal with. He wanted to mate with me to
try to produce Seer cubs that he could control, since they’d be his offspring.”

“He
wanted to mate a lot of people,” Andie muttered.

Sarai
shook her head again. “You misunderstand. He would’ve mated with me, but not
made me his wife. Not that I ever would’ve wanted to be.”

Jaxon
swore. Polygamous relationships weren’t unheard of in the Shadowcat Nation. The
animal side of the shifters wasn’t naturally monogamous. Their human side
craved that bond for life. However, some shifters went with their more
animalistic instincts. But Kuhartes were particularly special, given their
additional supernatural abilities. They were to be treated with a greater
amount of respect and care.

“For
quite a long time, the laws of the Shadowcat Nation stated that all the Alphas
of the ten dares had to be in agreement about a mate for a Kuharte and none
could be taken as casual partners. That edict kept me safe from Kyle. He set
his sights on… others.” She gave Andie a tight smile.

Andie
looked over at Jaxon for clarification. Only the Alphas were aware of laws
regarding the Kuhartes in their Dares.

He
nodded. “After one of the Healers went rogue when the Alphas denied her chosen
mate, we rescinded that particular law,” he said. “Apparently we need to look
into new laws regarding protection for our rare gifted lions again.”

Sarai
sat up a little straighter.

“But
Kyle is no longer a threat in the new Reynolds Dare,” Andie pointed out.

Sarai
turned serious eyes on her. “He may be out of sight, but that doesn’t mean he’s
not a threat. He’s still out there. And it will take a while to ferret out
anyone still loyal to him. It’s not safe.”

Andie
and Jaxon shared a glance. Andie figured Sarai wasn’t revealing everything she
knew.

“Are
you able to share more than that?” Jaxon asked.

Sarai’s
lips thinned. “I haven’t been able to
see
more than that. Any visions I
have become… clouded… when they involve me. I have difficulty making any
predictions about myself. Not that I really control it. The visions come when
they come.”

“So
you think you’re in danger from Kyle Carstairs?” Andie asked.

“I
don’t think I am. I
know
I am. Now that he’s rogue, he’ll need to gather
some powerful allies. Few are more powerful than a Seer. I have a better chance
here with you.” She looked back and forth between Jaxon and Andie.

Andie
caught Jaxon’s hesitation. “Who else knows about your abilities?” he asked.

Sarai
shook her head. “Walter and Kyle.” She nodded at Andie. “Andie, Mark, and the
few people I’ve contacted with predictions. But I didn’t give my name to many
of them and only communicated over the phone.”

Jaxon
glanced at Andie, and she saw the question in his eyes. Seers, more than any
other Kuhartes, were kept as secret as possible, even from their own dare
members. Kyle and Walter would’ve known about Sarai because of their positions
as head of the dare.

Andie
explained her own knowledge. “Sarai and I became friends a long time ago. I
figured out she was Kuharte around the time Hannah and Nick visited us.”

“And
all ten Shadowcat Alphas, of course,” Sarai added. All the Alphas were aware of
all the Kuhartes.

Andie
looked at him expecting an immediate offer to let Sarai stay with them.

“The
problem,” he said slowly, “is that the Alphas of the Shadowcat Nation have
agreed that each dare may have only one Kuharte. We already have a Healer
here.”

Andie
and Sarai both frowned. After a pause, Sarai said, “I’d never ask your Healer
to leave her home.” She looked back up at Jaxon. “Are there any dares without a
Kuharte where you feel I’d be safe?”

Jaxon
shook his head. “I’m sorry, Sarai.”

She
lowered her head and nodded. “I have no choice but to go rogue then, because
there’s no way I’m staying in my old dare. You may think it’s safer there than
on my own. But I know better.”

Andie
took her friend’s hands in hers. They were clenched and cold. “No. Kyle’s too
much of a threat to you. We’ll figure out something. I promise. You don’t have
to leave yet. Okay?”

Sarai
gave her friend a grateful, but hopeless look. “Okay. Thank you.”

She
leaned over and gave Andie a hug and then stood up to give Jaxon one as well.
Her back straight and her head held high, the Seer left the room.

Jaxon
took her empty seat. “You have an idea?”

Andie
shook her head with a smile, amused at how well he read her. “I do, but I
didn’t want to say anything in front of her on the off chance that it wouldn’t
work out.”

Jaxon
laid his arm along the back of the couch and wrapped a lock of her hair around
a finger. “Run it by me.”

“Zac.”

He
raised a single brow in question, and she expanded. “We’re still working on the
treaty with him. What if we make it a condition that as a sign of trust and
relationship building, we have an emissary stay with him? And as an extra show
of support, we make that emissary our Seer?”

Jaxon
looked thoughtful. “Would it be a condition that she had to stay with Zac at
all times?”

She
smiled. “I like the way you think. Then she’d be here a lot because he plans to
be here frequently.”

He
nodded. Then, using the strand of hair wrapped around his finger, he tugged her
closer.

“Shouldn’t
we go talk to Zac and see if he’ll agree?” Andie asked.

“I’m
sure he’ll still be available about an hour from now,” Jaxon murmured, as he
feathered his lips over her high cheek bones.

“An
hour?” she breathed.

“Mmm-hmmmm.
At least.” He picked her up, inducing a squeal, and walked to the bedroom, his
lips sealed to hers.

“Happy?”
Jaxon asked, as he wrapped his arms around his bride and nuzzled her ear.

Andie
smiled and purred in response as she looked around the room. She was surrounded
by love, and that’s how it should be on one’s wedding day.

As
promised, they’d held a small ceremony and reception at a quaint old hotel in
Montana. She and Jaxon would head off to the cabin alone the next day. He’d had
additional systems installed in case the wolf shifters returned and had
stationed a handful of their cougars only a day’s trek away. Andie didn’t want
to think about the wolves. For now, she was enjoying sharing this special day
with their friends and family.

Her
father had given her away, and Hannah and Sarai had stood as bridesmaids. Zac
had also stood up for her, although he’d just about refused when she’d teased
him into thinking that he’d be wearing a dress too. Jaxon had all five of his
Protectors and Commanders standing up for him. A very small group had gathered
to celebrate, and that was how Andie wanted it. Plans were underway for the
larger reception to be held for their two combined dares at the end of the month
when they returned from their honeymoon.

“Have
I told you how beautiful you look today?” Jaxon murmured.

Andie
turned and linked her arms behind his neck. “Only every five minutes. And I
love it.”

His
eyes crinkled in a smile and then raised above her head to travel over their
loved ones. They shadowed a bit as they landed on Sarai, who was standing
slightly away from the others.

Andie
followed his gaze. “I’ve been thinking about her too,” she said. “Do you think
she’ll accept the plan with Zac?”

He
shrugged. “She doesn’t have many other options. I had a helluva time convincing
the other Alphas, but in the end a treaty with the polar bears, even if it just
starts with our two dares, was too important to pass up.”

Andie
nodded and then kissed the tip of his nose. “No more shop talk. This is our
wedding day.”

Jaxon
kissed her, hard. “This is our wedding celebration. Our mating and our marriage
day were months ago, and that’s what we’ll always recognize as our
anniversary.”

“Is
that so?” she asked.

“Yes.
Although I’m tempted to make our anniversary be the night you fell through a
window and into my life. You didn’t know it, and I only had a feeling, but
you’ve been mine ever since that day.”

“I
didn’t fall; I tucked and rolled quite gracefully for an injured person.” Andie
grinned and then sighed contentedly. “I wish I would’ve known then.”

Jaxon
choked on a laugh. “And led me a merrier dance than you already did? Nope. You
made me work for it and wait long enough as it was.”

Andie
chuckled. “Yeah, a whole two months. You waited
forever
.”

“It
seems like a lifetime now that you’re truly mine, in every sense of the word.”

Andie
knew by the way he emphasized ‘every’ exactly where Jaxon’s thoughts were
headed. Her suspicions were confirmed when he murmured in her ear, “Think
anyone would miss us if we skipped out for a little while?” Before she could
answer, he added, “Nope. Never mind. I can’t wait that long. Think they’d be
shocked if I just bent you over his table and—”

She
smacked the back of his head.

“Ouch.
That hurt, wildcat.” He rubbed the spot.

“I’ll
make it all better. But not until tonight. I want to enjoy our wedding
reception if you don’t mind.”

Jaxon
gave a deep sigh. “Later tonight. Is that a promise?”

She
gave him a long, lingering kiss. “For the rest of our lives,” she vowed in a
husky whisper.

“I’ll
hold you to that,” he whispered back. And then he took her hand and led her out
to the dance floor.

*****

Sarai
watched the happy couple from across the room. She smiled, thrilled to see her
one true friend so happy.

Sarai
thought back to the day she’d revealed so much to Jaxon Keller. She usually
didn’t do that. Her visions weren’t set in stone. They could be changed, and
free will – choice – was the key to changing it. But she’d seen this day in her
mind. Seen exactly how perfect Jaxon would be for Andie, and she’d chosen to
reveal to him various pieces of information that would help lead both of these
strong, stubborn mountain lions to each other and to this moment.

She’d
told Jaxon his predictions on the same day that she’d told Nick Jensen that
Hannah was his Fated Mate. But that was all part of the plan. Sarai had been
the one to orchestrate Andie’s meeting Hannah in college. Sarai had been
determined that this curse of hers, this ability to see flashes of the future,
would benefit the one person who’d been good to her in her entire life.

Sarai
let her gaze wander over to Zac Montclair. The big man, standing slightly apart
from the gathering, his arms crossed over his muscled chest, was certainly
intimidating. No question.

Standing
close to seven feet, he was possibly one of the best looking men she’d ever
seen. His dark brown hair was sprinkled with grey at the temples. His jaw was
covered in salt and pepper scruff that just added to his sex appeal. Not to
mention his deep brown eyes that seemed to see all the way into her soul
anytime he looked at her.

Of
course, that might just be wishful thinking. Sarai tore her gaze away from him,
heart sore. She’d had visions of the polar bear shifter. Most of them she still
had trouble with. They had to involve her in some way, because they were so
unclear and hazy.

Some
of the flashes she’d had made her pulse race. Images of him in the throes of
passion. He didn’t have to take off that dress shirt for her to know exactly
how every ridge of those impressive muscles bulged with power. She’d seen it in
her mind already. In Technicolor detail.

But
the other images were what had her running scared— Zac as a polar bear, so
incredibly powerful, going down under a pile of cougars and coyotes with a
mighty roar. Zac on his knees before Kyle Carstairs, bleeding profusely and
looking completely broken. They were images that had slammed into her mind only
in the last few days. She didn’t know what had changed to start them, but they
were visions she couldn’t shake.

She’d
be damned if she’d just sit back and let any of that happen. Not if she could
help it.