Freeing the Feline (17 page)

“That’s one way to look at it,” she replied.

“Well, hello, gorgeous,” Finn said, smiling a little too much for Logan’s liking.

A growl sounded in the air, and both Clara and Finn turned to look at Logan with surprise. Shit! Was he growling? From the broad grin on his mate’s face, it was definitely coming from him. She cuddled into him, rubbing her face against his chest. He felt it expand with pride. Jesus! You’d think he was the one with a beast inside.

“So that’s the way of it, huh?” Finn asked, but he didn’t seem disappointed. In fact, he immediately turned to Diane when she walked in. “Hello, gorgeous.”

Diane sighed. Clara giggled again, and Logan shook his head.

“God save me,” Diane muttered before turning on Finn. “I told you not to just wander around down here. This isn’t a playground.”

Finn began fingering some paperwork on the counter.

Diane slapped his hand. “And for God’s sake, don’t touch anything.”

“We’re here to give more blood,” Clara said. “Should we find the Professor?”

“No, I’ll take care of it. He’s been in his office all morning and hasn’t come out,” Diane informed them, turning to pull the supplies she needed out of the drawers in front of her.

“Everything okay?” Logan asked.

Diane turned back to them with a smile pasted on her face, but Logan could see right through it. Something had the doctor shaken.

“You just missed Abby,” she said. “That little guy of hers is more active than I’ve seen him in a long time.” She glanced at Clara as she prepped Logan’s arm. “Any ideas on when I’ll need to give her another pint of Tah’s blood?”

Clara shrugged. “You’ll just have to watch her. When you see the signs of fatigue setting in again, give her more.”

Diane nodded as she pulled the needle out of Logan’s arm. She’d filled four vials this time. She immediately turned to Clara, tossing the used needle and grabbing a fresh one before grabbing four more vials and setting them out to be filled.

“So I heard we might have some kind of celebration?” Diane asked as she worked.

“Logan’s planning it,” Clara said with a smile that shot straight to Logan’s heart.

“Just a day of fun for a change,” Logan said.

“A whole day?” Diane looked surprised.

“Sometimes it’s important to remember what we’re doing everything for,” Logan reminded her then glanced at Clara. “And who.”

“It sounds wonderful to me,” Diane said, finishing with Clara and cleaning up. “So what are you two up to for the rest of the night?”

Logan glanced at Clara and swore sparks charged the air between them.

“Looks like something a lot more interesting than anything you or I have planned,” Finn said with a chuckle.

Diane smiled, but Logan could see sadness in her eyes. “I’m really happy for you two.”

“Thank you,” Clara said, and Logan gave Diane a one-armed hug.

“You better watch out, Nurse Ratchet. This mating thing seems to be spreading. Who knows who’ll be the next one bitten by it!”

Clara snorted, and Finn laughed. But Diane’s eyes got a little wide before she turned with a wave of her hand and buried her nose in the paperwork on the counter. She didn’t say anything and Logan understood they’d been dismissed from the labs. He took Clara’s hand again and gave Finn a wave before heading upstairs once more.

“Finn seem okay to you?” Logan asked her.

Clara shrugged. “I don’t really know him, but he seemed pretty happy-go-lucky to me. Doesn’t seem stressed about not remembering.”

“But did you scent anything on him?”

She was just opening her mouth to reply when the alarm went off.

“Fuck!” Logan yelled and took off at a run with Clara on his heels. “Someone triggered a sensor.”

He burst out the door at the top and saw Abby getting ready to head down to the labs where she was supposed to stay with Diane. It was a safety measure to make sure Abby and the baby were as protected as possible. No one wanted another episode like what she’d been through with Harlan Jones. The labs were reinforced and had a room where Abby could be locked in and kept safe.

“Tell Finn to stay with you,” Logan yelled to Abby. “Tell him Tah wants him as your personal guard.”

“Already planned to,” Abby said, squeezing his shoulder then Clara’s hand as they passed. “Stay safe. Keep him safe for me.”

“We will,” Clara answered for them. Logan knew his mate understood Abby was talking about Tah.

Logan saw Holt stepping out of the control room. Kenzie was inside, watching the screens. “Who’s on patrol?” he asked.

“Reno, Amia and Vic have been on night-shift this week,” Holt answered, joining them in a jog toward the front door.

“Where’s everyone else?” Logan demanded.

“Haven’t seen Zane,” Holt answered. “Tah headed out to find Reno. Fuck, we need a better way to communicate then with these phones. We need military-grade headsets.”

“You find me a way to get them, and I’ll do it.” Logan grunted back. “We’re doing the best we can with what we have. And our funds are seriously limited at the moment. “

Holt nodded. “Sorry.”

They were only at the edge of the woods when Clara stopped and lifted her nose to the air, inhaling deeply.

“What is it?” Logan asked.

“Fuck!” Clara exploded as she started stripping her shoes and clothes off. “That’s Lydia.” Her eyes were glowing when she met his again. “And she’s not alone.”

The next thing Logan saw was a lioness leaping through the air. She turned back and looked at him once with Clara’s golden-brown eyes, then she disappeared among the trees. He took off after her with Holt on his heels. The other man had gotten a good look at Logan’s mate, but it wasn’t jealousy that beat in Logan’s chest. It was pride. And one word filled his mind. Beautiful. Clara as a lioness was even more breathtaking than he’d imagined.

Chapter Thirteen

Clara hated leaving Logan behind, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. She’d learned to trust her instincts. If Lydia was here it wasn’t to play catch-up with Amia. And who knew what she’d told whomever she’d brought with her, because the one thing Clara was certain of was that Lydia wouldn’t have come alone. The problem was Clara couldn’t seem to focus on any scent other than Lydia’s at the moment. Whatever was about to happen, she knew Lydia was the center of it.

She kept running, letting the scent filling her nose guide her in the right direction. Suddenly the trees cleared out a bit and she saw Reno and Amia standing there. Another woman lay slumped on the ground a few feet from them. Clara guessed it was Vic, and she wasn’t moving. Please, God, don’t let them have killed her.

Reno was trying to stand in front of Amia, but she was having none of it. And in front of them with gun drawn was Lydia with a shifter Clara knew far too well standing behind her. Clara should have guessed. Dillion. If there was anyone as bitter as Lydia, it was Dillion whose entire family had been wiped out by hunters. Dillion carried a thirst for vengeance that had to rival Lydia’s. Clara should have seen an alliance like theirs coming.

“Move out of the way,” Lydia was screaming. “I don’t want to hurt you. I have to kill her. She’s evil. Blane blood is running through her veins.”

“Wrong,” Amia yelled back. “I left them just like you did. Only I didn’t turn my back on what they did. I kept doing my all to rescue people. What did you do? Hide like the coward you are!”

“No,” Lydia said, shaking her head back and forth as if confused.

“She’s evil,” Dillion yelled. “A Blane. A Hunter.”

“You’re evil,” Lydia said again. “Evil.”

Clara understood what Lydia was doing even if no one else did. It wasn’t about telling Amia she was bad or evil or whatever. It was about blocking out the guilt of leaving Amia behind. Why could no one else see that? And why was Dillion feeding it?

“Listen, bitch,” Amia said and shoved in front of Reno.

Lydia lifted the gun.

Clara took it all in as she closed the distance between them. Faster, she needed to be faster. Reno took Amia to the ground. Tah burst through the trees opposite of her with a roar that had even her wanting to stop and fall to her knees. But she took the leap needed to put her where she wanted to be. Lydia fired the gun. Clara felt a burn along her back flank and landed in a heap on the ground.

“No!” Lydia screamed.

Clara tried to turn toward the other woman but her leg collapsed underneath her. She could feel her animal whimpering in pain as the shift began. What the fuck had been in that bullet? Her leg felt as if it was on fire.

She blinked her eyes several times, taking a few seconds like always to adjust from seeing out of her cat’s eyes back to her human eyes.

“No,” she tried to yell, but it came out weakly.

Tah had Lydia dangling in the air, one hand wrapped around her throat. Reno had Dillion on the ground, knee to his back and both hands jerked up toward his shoulder blades. Amia was crawling toward Clara.

“Clara!” Logan’s voice filled the clearing, and she struggled to turn her head toward him.

“Clara,” Amia said, touching her leg.

Clara screamed in agony as another wave of fire shot through her.

“Jesus!” Amia breathed. “What the fuck is that?”

“Logan,” Clara moaned as she felt him drop down beside her. Her vision started to blur.

“I’m here. I got you, baby,” he said next to her ear.

“Don’t let them be harmed.” She struggled to get the words out. “Need answers. Need them.”

She didn’t hear his answer, didn’t even know if he’d heard her. Everything went black as she was sucked under.

Logan thought about grabbing Clara and running, but she needed to reach the house quicker than he’d be able to move. If he were a shifter, it would be different. He’d seen how much faster the shifters were even in human form. He glanced around the clearing.

“Reno,” he called. “I need you. Now.”

Reno was there beside him in an instant. “Get her to the house, to Diane. I don’t know what she was shot with, but it’s knocked her the fuck out. Jesus! Go fast, Reno. Get her there as quickly as you can.”

Reno clapped him on the shoulder, scooped Clara up and took off. Logan didn’t even care that his mate was naked. He only cared that she made it back to those who could help her in time.

“Tah.” He turned quickly to intercede. “We need her.”

“I know,” Tah roared and shook Lydia again.” What did you shoot her with? What?”

She gurgled but obviously couldn’t answer.

“It’s what we call a sludge bullet,” the guy on the ground answered. His eyes were on Tah, but not with awe. It was more of a calculated look as if he was plotting something and was just waiting for the opportune moment.

“What’s that?” Logan demanded.

“When it pierces the skin the liquid inside starts seeping free and releasing into the blood stream.”

“What is it?” Logan screamed, grabbing the guy and shaking him. He thought he felt a prick on the back of his hand but ignored it.

The guy bared his canines at Logan but jerked back as Tah growled low in his throat. Even Logan could hear the threat in Tah’s growl.

“I don’t know,” the guy said. “I swear! I don’t know. Lydia made it.”

Logan wasn’t sure he believed him. “If anything happens to my mate, I’ll rip your fucking head off,” Logan warned and stood up. “I’m heading to the house. I’ve got to check on Clara.”

Tah nodded. “We’ve got this.”

Amia had moved over to where Vic was laying. Tah held Lydia still, though now she stood on the ground in front of him. Holt had the shifter she’d brought with her face down on the ground, arms wide of his body. Murphy burst out of the clearing with Zane. Logan left them to it and ran full out toward the house. Holt was right. They needed a better form of communication. He really wanted to know how his mate was doing.

He prayed while he ran, something he hadn’t done in a long time. He might not go to church, but he had faith. The last few months had shown him just how strong his faith was.

“Please, God, if you’re up there watching us. Please don’t take Clara from me. I just found her.” He spoke aloud as he ran, repeating the words over again and again. “Pleased don’t take her from me.”

He hit the front porch and slammed into the house, taking the stairs down to the lab in leaps.

“Oh, fuck no!” he yelled, coming around the corner and seeing Clara laying too still on one of the tables. Her eyes were closed, one arm hanging limply off the table beside her. Someone had thrown a sheet over her body, hiding her nudity. He needed to touch her. His heart felt as if it was going to burst from his chest and a surge of anger fired through him.

“Logan!”

He could hear Diane’s voice but all of his focus was on his mate and getting to her.

“Logan!”

Finn stepped in front of him, and Logan shoved him out of the way.

The Professor hollered something. Diane moved. Logan finally reached Clara.

“Logan.” The Professor was in his face.

“I’m taking blood. I need your arm now.”

“Not now,” Logan grunted, eyes focused on Clara. He reached for her fingers and twined his through them.

“Now, Logan,” the Professor ordered.

“Not fucking now!” Logan roared.

“Logan.” Diane shoved her face in front of his, demanding his attention. “She’s fine. Clara’s fine. The bullet contained a sedative. That’s it. It might have burned as it hit her bloodstream, but she’s okay. Just sleeping. The wound is already healing.”

“She’s sleeping?” he asked.

“Yes,” Clara said. “Give the Professor your arm.”

Logan held his arm out and felt the needle pierce his skin. “Why do you need blood now?”

She gave him a strange look. “Your eyes, Logan,” Diane said. “They’re glowing. Your eyes are glowing like your mate’s do.”

“Well, fuck,” Logan said. “What does that mean?”

“No idea,” the Professor said as he worked on filling another vial with blood. “But we’ll figure it out.”

“Where’s Reno?” Logan asked. He could feel his heart rate finally slowing down. He hadn’t realized how wound up he was.