Redeeming Rue AP4 (5 page)

* * * * *

John looked over at Jilly as she sat in the passenger seat of his car and fiddled with a ribbon tied around her waist.

“You look lovely, sweetie,” he promised, reaching over and squeezing her hand, which was ice cold.

“Thanks, Daddy.  I feel weird.”

“How so?”

“Well, it’s almost like we’re getting married, but all that’s really happening is that we’re promising to get married eventually.  I kind of wish we weren’t having a big party.”

“Don’t you want to celebrate?”

She shrugged and looked out the passenger window.  “Celebrate what?  A promise for three years?  Daddy, I don’t want to talk to you about this.  Can we change the subject?”

Change the subject when they were about to arrive at the ceremony?  Oh sure.  He quickly tried to think of something else to talk about, but all he could think of was how miserable his daughter seemed.

“I’m sorry you’re not happy right now, honey.  I wish I could tell you that the next three years will be a breeze and that waiting will make it all worthwhile in the end, but I don’t know that for sure, and I’ve never had to really wait for anything.”

She grunted.  “That’s not as helpful as you planned it to be.”

Chuckling, he signaled to turn onto their street.  “You’re still learning about emotions.  Right now you’re feeling anxious like a bride but also disappointed because you know that nothing really changes tonight except that they’ll have new tattoos and you’ll have a ring.  You’re respecting their culture and that’s important.  Three years seems like forever, but it’ll pass quickly.  In the meantime, how about college?”

“Is there a college course for patience?”

He parked in front of the boarding house and turned off the engine.  “No, but you’ll be fine.  Embrace tonight for what it is:  a declaration of your commitment to each other.”

She cocked her head.  “Do you think you’ll find a mate someday?”

“Someday
soon
I hope.”

“I hope so, too.  I adore Dionne, but I’d like to have a mom of my own to talk to.”

“You can talk to Sam, Lisa, or any of the mates.”

She rolled her eyes.  “I know that Daddy, but they’re not the same as someone I can actually call mom.  Henry needs a mom, too.”

“Yeah, he does.”

“And you need a wife.  Not one who you have to wait three years for, either.”

“I love you, honey.”

Her nose wrinkled as she smiled.  “I love you, too, Daddy.”

He got out of the car and came around to her side, opening her door and holding out his hand to her.  The sun lowered in the sky, and the ceremony would start as soon as they were ready.  She stared at the boarding house, her face thoughtful and more relaxed.

“Are you ready, honey?”

“I am.”  She peeked up at him.  “Thank you for being here for me.”

“I will always be here for you, Jilly.”

She took his arm and he escorted her into the house and through to the kitchen, where the door was held open by one of the males from Dag’s clan.  The male bowed regally, and John stepped out into the screened-in back porch with Jilly at his side, and they paused for only a moment before Jilly took the first step.  He walked with her across the porch, out onto the thick grass, and down the center aisle between rows of chairs to her waiting mates.  Wyked and Fate were not wearing shirts so they could show off the tattoos of their clan name and Jilly’s name on their backs.  He felt her begin to tremble and could scent her tears, but she was smiling up at him when he stopped in front of Hanai and the twins.

John let Jilly go into the arms of her mates and sat down next to James in the front row.  The ceremony progressed quickly, as they promised themselves to each other, and the twins gave her a ring and showed her the physical proof of their dedication to her in their tattoos.  He thought the ceremony was beautiful in its simplicity.  There were no long, drawn out vows, the trio simply promised to be true to each other, and the twins swore to protect her with their lives.

John rubbed absently over his heart as the twins gave Jilly the ring.  His heart had been clenching strangely since he began to walk Jilly down the aisle.  He thought it was simply an emotional response to the ceremony, but now he wasn’t so sure.  He almost felt compelled to go
somewhere
, find
someone.

He glanced at James, who stared straight into the woods with his jaw clenched and his entire body tense.

The ceremony ended and John stood, clapping and smiling at his daughter as the panthers whooped and cheered.  Jilly and the twins came to him, and he congratulated the boys and hugged her.  Her cheeks were wet with tears, but her eyes were bright with happiness.  He’d never seen her more beautiful, and he told her so.

“Aw, Daddy.”

James congratulated the trio as John moved away to let her continue to greet the guests.  Lisa and the other lions were handling the party, and John had a sudden urge to go into the woods and see what was there.  He wasn’t sure, but he thought he saw a shadow, something darker than the darkness of the woods, and out of place.

James grabbed his arm as he moved toward the trees.  “You feel it, too?”

John rubbed the space over his heart.  “I don’t know what it is, but I want to go into the woods.”

“Me too.”

John nodded at his brother, and they stalked into the woods, intent to find whatever – or whoever – they were feeling drawn to.  As they moved farther into the woods, the party noise faded away, and the lights that had lit the yard became dots in the distance behind them.  As lions, they could see well in the darkness, but he would have continued to move into the woods even if he’d been utterly blind.  His senses were leading him to something, he was certain.  His footsteps never faltered as he gave himself over to his beast, who was clawing inside him to move faster toward their goal.  Whatever that was.

Chapter 6

Late Saturday afternoon, Rue showered and washed her hair, using natural products that smelled like flowers.  After drying off, she covered her skin with scented lotion and then dressed in black yoga pants and a long-sleeved black shirt.  Dom came to stand next to her as she pinned up her hair before donning the wig.

“Someday, Ma, we’ll be able to show our hair without worrying about being killed.”

“I know, honey.  After tonight, we can head back to Michigan, pack our stuff, and move on to our new lives.”

After tugging on the wig, she gave it a few passes with the brush and looked at herself critically in the mirror.

“What?” Dom asked.

“I look like my mom. I try not to think about that a lot, because it makes me sad, but it’s true.  I wish that she could have stood up for me back then.”

 “Why didn’t she?  I still don’t understand why being albino is such a horrible thing.  We’re unique.”

She shrugged and began to pack her supplies.  “Most clans are old fashioned.  Some are more progressive, but most, like my former one, believe that only pure panthers should mate.  Differences are not tolerated, even if it’s something that is out of a person’s control like the color of her fur.”

He gave her a long look and then he asked her the question she had been dreading.  “If you hadn’t had me, you would have been able to just go on with your life.  You wouldn’t have had to change your last name or constantly look over your shoulder.  It’s because of me, isn’t it?”

She had never lied to Dom and she didn’t plan to start now.  Pulling him over to the bed, she pushed him down until he sat.  She stood before him.  “The marks on my back are a brand from the clan.  If any panthers were to see the brands, they would know that I’m banished and not welcome to join any clans.  A clan that accepts a banished panther can be considered an enemy of the other clans, and war could ensue.  But more than that, I was told that if I ever bore children that I, and my children, would be killed.  When I had you, the first thing I did was change my identity.  I knew that if any clans found out that a banished panther had birthed a child, we would be hunted down.”

Unease flitted through her.  She was not being smart by spying on the bonding ceremony.  If she were found, she was putting them both at risk.

“Hey, I can see that you’re rethinking going to the party.  Don’t.  I think it’s important for you to be able to see what’s going on with your family.  And so what if they do find you, there’s no way they could know that you had me.  I’m not going with you to the woods.  I’m going to sit here and watch TV and eat the junk food you let me pick out at the grocery this morning.”

Her eyes flitted to the grocery sack on the dresser that was stuffed full of all his favorite snacks.

“Are you sure?  We could just go home and pack.”

He shook his head as he stood and pointed toward the door.  “Go on, Ma.  I’ll be here when you’re done closing the chapter on this part of your life.”

“How did you get so smart?”

He chuckled.  “I’ve got a smart mom.”

She turned and picked up her car keys, the room key, and her wallet.  “I’ll be back in no more than three hours.  I’ll have my phone on vibrate so if you need me, you can call.”

He followed her to the door and held it open.

She hugged him tightly.  “I’ll call when I’m on my way back.  Thanks for being here with me, honey.”

“Be careful,” he told her and she promised she would.  She pulled the door shut and listened to him lock the deadbolt and secure the chain.  Pressing her hand to the door for a moment, she hoped she wasn’t making a mistake.

She drove to Ashland and parked on a street that ran alongside the wooded area.  She picked her way through the trees and brush using the GPS program on her phone, but as the light faded, she’d had to take her time so she didn’t trip and hurt herself.  An hour later, as the last rays of the sun began to disappear from the sky, she heard the soft sounds of music filtering through the noise of the woods and knew she was close.

Slowing even further, she inched her way carefully toward the music.  Finally, she was able to see through the woods to the yard behind the big house.  She settled behind a massive tree and pulled out a small pair of binoculars.  Keeping herself hidden in the shadows, she looked through the lenses and watched the proceedings.  Two young males, who reminded her of her cousin Dag, stood in front of her other cousin Hanai, who was probably presiding over the bonding ceremony.  The twins looked nervous, and she smiled, remembering that Dag had looked that way when he mated Dionne.

Chairs had been set up in rows, and there were so many people that all the chairs were filled and people stood in rows behind the seated attendees.  Many of the people she recognized from her family and other clans, but some were strangers to her.  The music faded, and a handsome man escorted a pretty blonde girl down a center aisle.  Rue couldn’t take her eyes off the man.  The torches and twinkle lights emitted enough light so she was able to tell that the man had dark blond hair shaved short on the sides and a little longer on top, and the suit he wore fit him like a glove.  She could stare at him for hours.

Or so she thought, until she shifted her weight from one foot to the other, and the binoculars swung slightly to the left.  She found herself looking at another handsome male.  He resembled the other male, but his hair was darker, and he wore a dark shirt under his suit instead of the crisp white one like the other male.  They were both clearly well-built, but the suits impeded her from seeing any more.

What I wouldn’t give for some X-ray glasses right about now,
she thought and stifled a giggle.  The dark-haired male’s eyes met hers through the binoculars and she froze.  She was in the shadows and quite far from the gathering.  He couldn’t possibly see her.  Could he?

A cheer rose up from the crowd, and she swung the binoculars from the piercing gaze of the second male to the trio at the front of the ceremony.  The twins each took turns kissing the blonde girl.  The crowd was on its feet, and she saw her cousins, and then she saw her parents in the row behind them.  Her heart squeezed in her chest.  She hadn’t seen them in years.  All the anger and hurt from her banishment rose to the surface, clouded a bit by the loneliness and hurt she’d suffered for so long.  Kids weren’t supposed to be banished by their parents, kicked out like trash, and left to fend for themselves.  She both hated and loved them.

Sweeping her binoculars across the crowd, she realized that neither of the handsome men were where they’d been before.  How long had she been staring at her parents?

A twig snapped nearby and she stilled.  Dread pooled in her stomach as she lowered the binoculars and prepared to run.

* * * * *

James tugged on his tie to loosen it as he walked through the woods with John.  The woods were dark, but he was letting his beast guide him, and the cat inside him was anxious to find the source of whatever the hell was bothering him.  In all his life, he’d never felt so compelled by some base need as he was at this moment.  John was silent, and James wasn’t sure what to say to him anyway.  They were both feeling the pull of something, but what it was, he didn’t know.

As they wove their way deeper into the woods, James’ heart pounded and his chest tightened.  He inhaled and froze in place, not sure what he smelled.  John stopped next to him but said nothing as James inhaled once more.  Among the normal scents of the forest, of trees and moss and animals, was the scent of artificial flowers.

“It smells like perfume almost,” John whispered.

“I agree,” James said, inhaling again and turning to the right.  His steps quickened as the aroma grew stronger.  Thanks to his mountain lion nature, his sense of smell was heightened, and he could sort through scents, as he did now.  There was a faint scent beneath the fragrance of flowers, but he couldn’t quite figure it out.  A deeper, sweeter, wilder scent.  He was certain that the source of the scent was what was calling to them both, and his cat snarled.  James knew then that he was following his mate.

James felt they were close to its source.  He stepped and a thick twig snapped under his foot, and the smell of fear filled the air.  His beast growled in anger at whatever was frightening their mate, and his steps quickened, John at his side.

Something rushed by near them, and James and John both reached out to stop whatever it was, and a feminine scream rent the air.  They caged the woman between them, and she immediately thrashed and struggled.

James caught her hands with his and kept her from nailing him in the face.

John said, “We’re not going to hurt you.”

“Let me go!”  The woman’s voice was laced with fright as the bitter odor of her fear filled the air.

James could see that she had dark hair and pale skin, but he couldn’t make out her features even with the help of his beast.  But neither he nor his beast actually cared what she looked like, because he could feel that she was his mate.  His and John’s.  A purr rumbled from his chest, and the woman froze.

She twisted her wrists from his hands, and he let her go even though he could have easily held her. Her fear had diminished greatly, and he didn’t think she was going to run.

One of her hands gripped James’ bicep.  “Who are you?”

John snorted.  “You are trespassing in our territory, sweetheart, and you’re asking who we are?”

A fine tremble made her shudder, and the scent of her fear returned.  “I didn’t know.  I’m…can you let me go?  I won’t come back.”

James snarled at the thought.  “Come to our home so we can talk.”

“No!”  She lurched away from them, struggling to get away.  James wrapped his arms around her and caged her arms to her sides.

“All right, all right, calm down!  We won’t take you home.”

The scent of her tears filled the air.  “Please let me go.  This was a mistake.”

“No, it wasn’t,” John said.  “You came here for a reason, but that doesn’t matter as much as the fact that we followed your scent.”

“You couldn’t have.  I covered it.”

For a brief moment, the woman relaxed against James, and he wasn’t so much restraining her but holding her.

“Why?” James whispered into her ear.  Her hair brushed against the side of his face and the texture felt strange. Not soft like hair should be, but synthetic.

She let out a soft moan and wiggled against James as the sound of her and John kissing filled the air.  James pressed his mouth to her throat as John kissed her, and James slowly eased his tight hold on her body.  She melted into him, writhing between him and his brother in the darkness.  James licked at her skin, grimacing at the harsh taste of whatever perfume she had on to mask herself.  Underneath the chemical smell was her natural scent, and he wanted to get to it.  To strip her of the fake smell and find out just how sweet she really was.

She wrapped her hands around his hips and pulled him against her.  He stroked his tongue up the column of her throat and purred as she ground herself against him with a throaty moan.  Her head turned toward him and he kissed her, pressing his mouth to hers and delving his tongue between her lips.  She tasted like heat and sweet woman, a heady combination that made his cat yowl in anticipation.

She pulled from his mouth and turned away from him, and he heard the soft moan in her throat as she began to kiss his brother again.  James chuckled inwardly as he thought about how quickly things had changed for them.  He didn’t have a shred of jealousy in him at the thought of John touching her.  It made him happy in a way, to know that she would be twice as loved, twice as pleasured, twice as protected.

She felt petite.  He and John were both just taller than six feet, and judging what he could in the darkness, he thought she was perhaps five-foot-five or maybe a little shorter.  She was curved in all the right places, as clichéd as that sounded in his head.

He pressed his forehead to her shoulder and inhaled the strange chemical smell again.  Alarm bells went off in his head as he cataloged what he knew right now – she’d been hiding and watching the ceremony, she was wearing a wig, and she was covering up her scent.

He gave John a push to separate him from the woman, and both John and the woman protested the motion.  James gripped her shoulders and stared down at her.

“Who are you?”  He wished like hell he had a light source so he could see what she looked like.

She immediately scented of fear again.

“James, what the hell?” John demanded.

“She’s hiding something.  I want to know who she is and what she’s doing here.”  James thought of the kids at the boarding house, including his own grandkids, and niece and nephews.  He didn’t want to think about the female lions spying on them like this, but they’d been doing exactly that in their old hometown of King.

“I’m no one,” the woman said, her voice sharp and panic-laden.  “Let me go.”

“I don’t think so.  Tell us who you are and what you’re doing here,” James said.

There was a long enough pause that James began to think the worst.  Yes, they’d followed her out here, but what if she was spying on the kids?  He didn’t think she was actually a female lion, but with all the chemical scents covering her up, what else could she be?