Seduction's Shift (7 page)

“I won’t help him,” she told her father. “He’s a murderer and a lunatic. I will not do what he wants. He’ll have to kill me.”

One tear rolled down her father’s cheek, streaking his dirty face and dropping onto his shirt. “He will.”

Ary didn’t know how much time passed, how long she and her father sat in silence. She didn’t know what to say to him. Or who he was, for that matter. How could the man who had taught her how to save the lives of their fellow shifters be working with a Rogue who wanted them all dead? It just didn’t make sense. And yet, on some disappointing level, it did.

Finally, she whispered, “Untie me.”

“Ary,” Davi begged.

“Untie me,” she said again. When he continued to hesitate, she looked him directly in the eye. “You put me in this position. You gave me to this murderer. The least you can do is allow me to fight for my life. After all, what will you tell my mother when you return to her?”

Her words hit the exact spot she wanted them to. Ary loved her mother, had stayed in the forest and done the job they were born to do because of her. She’d tried valiantly to respect her father as well as love him, but that had never been easy. Davi was an opinionated and sometimes cruel man. He could say the harshest things one moment, then sit at a table and eat a meal with them the next. There were times when Ary thought he might be two people instead of one. Today he just looked like one stranger.

“All you have to do is help him,” Davi said, reaching behind Ary’s back to work the ropes.

She sat up, scooting around so he’d have a better grip. All her thoughts were on escape now. She wasn’t listening to what her father was saying because there was no way she’d ever help Sabar do anything. She would definitely die first. But really, she didn’t feel like dying. She felt like finding a nice soft bed and lying down until the throbbing in her temples ceased. Since she couldn’t do that, she opted to fight.

When she was completely untied, Ary stood. A second later Sabar walked into the room—or what was serving as a room but was actually four walls that hadn’t fallen down yet and a patchy ceiling that dipped with the weight of the rain. She took a step back, not to run, but to get her legs in a better stance to lash out at him if necessary. Admittedly she wasn’t feeling 100 percent, but she would have to think about that part later.

“I already told my father I will never help you,” she told him.

He tossed his head back and laughed, his white teeth shining in the midst of his dark skin. For all intents and purposes Sabar looked normal, clean, almost sociable. But it was all a mask, she knew. She’d heard the stories and in some cases tried to heal the bodies of those attacked by this shifter or others trained by him. So Ary was on guard. There was no other option, no other way to be.

“You can help me or you can die,” he replied simply.

Okay, those were simple enough options. “Then you might as well kill me now.”

He took a step close to her, lifted a hand to touch her face. Ary smacked his hand away. “I said kill me, not touch me.”

“Aryiola!” her father yelled.

She ignored Davi and glared at Sabar. “Do not make threats you don’t plan to carry out,” she taunted.

When he pulled back his hand Ary knew he would strike her. Catching his palm with her cheek stung. Her cat roared. She tried to breathe through the pain and turned back to him.

“Is that all you’ve got?”

*   *   *

Nick began running.

He didn’t know why exactly, and he figured the others didn’t, either. But his feet chewed up the ground as he moved faster and faster, his heart pumping wildly. The need was urgent, pushing him, making his human legs move as fast as they possibly could. The cat wasn’t far beneath the surface, pacing, watching, waiting.

He spotted something dark green, a green that didn’t quite fit the decor of the forest, and headed there. Rain had begun falling in rapid sheets, trickling through the canopy and casting a silvery haze over the dark region.

As he moved closer, pain seared through his chest and he roared, loud and long. Coming closer to the dwelling he saw the truck and kept right on going. In a flash a cat pounced in front of him, baring its sharp teeth as a warning.

Nick didn’t have to react: A darker cat landed on all fours, baring its bigger, sharper teeth. Nick recognized X and kept moving toward the dwelling, making note to thank his friend later.

The minute he kicked in the door Nick knew she was here. His cat knew. It latched on to the rogue scent and roared loudly to announce his arrival.

So much for Rome’s suggestion to go in quietly.

Chapter 7

When Nick entered the room, all human morals fled from his mind. His gaze zoned in on the male slapping his female, and rage rippled through his body like a disease. Before another thought could register in his mind his hands were tangled in the male’s clothes, pulling him off Ary and throwing him to the floor.

In that instant, the room was filling with roaring and crashing sounds. But all Nick could see was the one who’d dared to put his filthy hands on Ary. He pounced, pounding fists into the man’s face and torso until something struck him in the back, knocking him off kilter for a moment. The male, whom Nick vaguely registered as Sabar—the head Rogue they’d been chasing back in the States—took advantage of that moment and rolled to his feet, baring his sharp canines.

Nick had canines of his own, bared them and let his claws elongate from his fingers. If he wanted to fight like animals, then so be it. Nick was happy to oblige. Instead the head Rogue took a step back, nodding his head, his glowing eyes moving about frantically.

The roof, or what was supposed to be a roof, picked that moment to collapse under the weight of the rain pelting onto it. Pieces of tarp landed on top of them as wind and water tore through the open space. Nick heard his name being called but ignored it. Instead his nostrils flared, and he followed the scent. Searching for her, the one he’d come for, the one responsible for the interminable heat weaving throughout his system. He was inexplicably drawn to her, his jaguar senses reaching out to her. Inside the cat roared and stretched, knowing its female was near.

It was dark and chaotic, but Nick kept moving, finally extending his arms toward the body in front of him. Clapping his arms around her waist, he pulled her close and launched them both through an opening in the flapping tarp. A familiar whistle had him turning in a northerly direction and running as fast as he could.

*   *   *

Ary struggled against the strong grip around her waist. Her feet didn’t touch the ground as he moved through the pelting rain and warm wind. There were others—shifters, she could tell. Frantically she’d looked for her father, but she hadn’t seen him since the roof collapsed on the dwelling where she’d been held. Her heart hammered in her chest, her cat hissing wildly just beneath the surface. And she still had that damn headache that threatened to split her skull in half.

Whoever carried her didn’t seem like the type to ask if she was okay. Hell, he hadn’t said a word, just scooped her up and took off. There was no foul stench, so she felt safe in assuming it wasn’t a Rogue. Still, she wanted to be put down, to escape on her own. As they tore through the trees in the dismal and rain-drenched forest, she realized that probably wasn’t going to happen.

When they finally stopped, Ary thought she’d be relieved. Instead, when she was unceremoniously dropped onto a slightly drier hard-packed surface, her back slamming against rock so sharp it almost dug right into her skin, her anger won over her relief.

“Could you be any more careless?” she snapped, coming up on her knees and gathering her strength before trying to stand. Her throbbing head hurt like a bitch and caused her entire body to shake.

“Excuse me, I’ll keep my carelessness in mind the next time I come rescue your ass.”

Every muscle in her body—all the ones that already tingled with pain—tensed. She knew that voice. Only momentarily did she wonder why she hadn’t known his touch instinctively or why said touch had caused her discomfort. It was him. After all this time, he’d come back to the Gungi.

Her personality wasn’t that of a simpering female, falling at the feet of any shifter who ventured out to save her. She hadn’t asked to be saved and would have managed to get herself free, at some point. So despite her past with him—more
because
of that past with him—she stood and glared at the man who had once been everything to her. “I didn’t ask you to save me,” she told him, knowing that really wasn’t what she’d wanted to say.

“Aryiola, you are okay? Thank the spirits,” Davi said, running into what looked like a small cave and stopping in front of Ary.

He took her hands as he blocked her view of Nick slightly. Ary pulled her hands back. “I am fine, Father.”

That was a lie. A huge one. She was anything but fine.

“You’re welcome,” Nick said tightly, his voice louder than it had been before.

Ary suspected it was an attempt to bring their attention back to him. That would be just like the selfish, arrogant shifter that she remembered him to be.

“Again, I didn’t ask you to come,” she said looking around her father.

Davi spun around to look at Nick. “But we are grateful. Very grateful,” he said.

Another man stepped up, a darker man with eyes that probed deep even though he didn’t readily speak whatever assessments they made. He was from the States as well—Ary could tell because he wore long pants and boots, a T-shirt that displayed really great abs, and arms that made her a little leery about eyeing him so suspiciously. Still, she didn’t get any resentful or negative sense from this one.

“We were happy to help, Mr. Serino. Your family is a great value to the tribe.”

He spoke in a smooth, dominating voice that brooked no argument from Ary. Still, she tingled with a need-to-know vibe. “Who are you?” she asked, her own voice lower and less agitated because for some reason she sensed this shifter deserved that courtesy.

Coming closer, the shifter extended a hand to her. “I am Rome, East Coast Faction Leader of the United States.”

Obligingly, Ary took his hand for a brief shake and nodded. “A pleasure, sir. And thank you for your kindness,” she said out of respect for his title and all that he worked for in their tribe. She’d heard of him. He was the one who sent money and medical supplies. Yes, he deserved her respect and her gratitude. As for Nick, she didn’t even look his way.

“This,” Rome continued when he released Ary’s hand, “is my mate, Kalina.” He extended his arm and a female with lovely honey-toned skin and light brown eyes stepped to him, looking at Ary with a genuine smile.

“Hello, Aryiola,” she said, her teeth perfectly white. High cheekbones lifted as she smiled.

“Hello and thank you as well,” Ary said. They were a striking couple, this dark shifter leader and his lighter, only slightly less imposing female.

“Miss Serino.” The biggest of the three men came forward with a nod of his bald head. “Glad to see you’re safe. My name is X, commanding officer of the East Coast Faction.”

Wow
didn’t quite describe this one. Bulging muscles, a fierce but extremely good-looking face, and eyes that just about devoured on impact had Ary swallowing hard. He looked like a warrior who never lost a battle, the epitome of a commanding officer. She could only imagine what type of cat he was. If there was fear somewhere within her personality, this shifter would certainly incite it.

“Hello” was all she could manage to say to this one.

Behind him she saw the skinny boy and nodded. “Lucas, I see you were kind enough to help the men through the forest,” Ary said in Portuguese. The young shifter was known throughout the village as the only jaguar to have been captured by humans then rescued by fellow shifters. No one knew what Lucas had experienced under human captivity, because he rarely spoke of it—or anything else that wasn’t absolutely necessary. Also unknown was whether the humans knew Lucas was a shifter or just considered him a lofty jungle prize. Unfortunately, the humans were not allowed to live to tell the tale.

“Do I need to introduce myself?”

She’d hoped if she ignored him he would somehow vanish. That hope was short-lived. Everyone cleared a path, and at the end of the cave stood Dominick Delgado. His face seemed fixed in a frown, golden-complexioned, thick eyebrows in a furrowed line across his forehead, medium-size lips clasped together in consternation, and eyes that were fiery and alluring at the same time. He hadn’t changed one bit.

“I know who you are,” she replied.

He nodded. “Good. Introductions are officially over. Now you can tell me what the leader of the Rogues wanted with you.”

Her fists clenched at her sides. Less as a show of resentment toward him than as a way for her to keep her hands to herself. Just because her mind screamed for her to stay far away from this man didn’t mean her body had to listen. “I don’t answer to you.”

He moved as fast as a flickering of light and was standing right in front of her before Ary could say another word.

“I’m not really in the mood for games. Just tell me what he wanted so I can have another reason for killing the bastard.”

“Nick,” Rome said in a mediating voice, “give her a minute to get herself together before you interrogate her.”

Kalina stepped forward, pushing past Nick to get to Ary. “Rome’s right. Let’s you and I go out to the creek and clean up a bit before we start traveling again.”

“We should stay here for the night,” X interrupted. “If those Rogues are still out there, they may be following us. We don’t want to lead them back to the village.”

Rome nodded. “X is right. We’ll stay put for the night. Get a fresh start in the morning. Hopefully the rain will subside a bit by then. Lucas has some supplies for us so we should be fine for the night.”

Davi was already nodding his agreement. “That is good. Good to stay here for the night.”

“I want to know what happened,” Nick insisted.

“Then why don’t you go find that Rogue and ask him?” Ary spat before pushing past him and heading out of the cave with Kalina.