Strange Lake Falls Panther (Strange Lake Falls Series Book 4) (8 page)

Alpha Lucas spoke up. “He has help. I scented another underneath Mors’ scent. He’s trying to confuse us. Every time we got close to him he seemed to know where we would be and got away.”

Connor nodded. “I know. It’s been like that for the past year trying to track him down. It was like he was predicting my every move.”

“Panthers have an innate ability to sense danger. As a werepanther, that sense is magnified, so he while he doesn’t really know what you’re thinking, he can predict where you will go,” Mistress Lila said as she walked inside the kitchen. She bent down and kissed her mate, the Beta Laws, on the cheek. She didn’t look for a seat but sat right on Laws’ lap.

“If he can predict where we will go, how are we to capture him?” one of the twins asked.

Roxanne handed a cup of coffee to Lila. “I have a friend who is a soothsayer. She might be able to help us.”

“Great, what’s her number? We’ll call her right away,” Ric asked as he shoveled pancakes in his mouth.

“That’s the problem, she had no phone.”

“What? Why? How do we get in contact with her?” Connor looked confused.

“She visits you in your dreams, correct?” Lila asked.

Roxanne nodded. “Yes, how did you know?”

Lila smiled down at Laws. “I can do that too.”

“So, what, we wait until you fall asleep and hope she contacts you?” one of the twins asked.

Lila smiled. “I don’t think that will be necessary.”

Roxanne looked at her in confusion. “Why?”

“Because she’s here,” Lila said just as the doorbell rang out.

Roxanne gasped as she ran for the front door. She swung it open and there stood her best friend in the whole world. “Diana!” She threw her arms around the shorter woman and pulled her to her for a hard hug.

“Easy, princess, you’re much stronger than I am.” Diana hugged her back, laughing.

Roxanne let her friend go and smiled down at her. “Why are you here? I mean, I’m glad to see you. But you never leave the convent.” She moved out of the way so her friend could enter the house.

“I had a premonition that you needed me. So here I am.”

“The head soothsayer just let you leave all by yourself, without protection?” Roxanne was worried.

Diana blushed. “She doesn’t know I left.”

Roxanne would have questioned her further but Connor came up behind her. “Who’s this?”

“Connor, this is my friend Diana. She’s a soothsayer. Diana, this is Connor, my . . .”

“Your mate,” Diana finished for her. She offered her hand to Connor. Connor took it, then gasped in surprise and quickly let her go. “Sorry about that. I have a little electric current going on right now. I need an outlet for it. A panther, huh? Very interesting.”

“Would you like breakfast?” Roxanne asked, putting her arm through Diana’s and leading her to the kitchen.

“Yes, please. Using so much psychic energy can really build an appetite.” Diana paused as she entered the kitchen. Her friend was always shy around others. Roxanne introduced Diana to everyone there. She noticed Diana nod at Mistress Lila. They had some kind of silent communication going on.

“Would it be okay to eat outside? So many paranormals in one small room kind of vibrates through me and wipes me out,” Diana asked, unsure what to do.

“Of course. There are picnic tables out back. Connor, show her to the tables and I’ll get a plate of food for you.” Roxanne showed her friend out the back door with Connor.

“Will she be okay if we all go outside? I want to hear what she has to say,” Ric asked.

“Yes, Diana is very powerful and extremely sensitive to paranormal powers. As long as she is in an open and secluded location that doesn’t have a lot of traffic, she’ll be fine. It’s mostly confined spaces that give her the biggest problems,” Roxanne explained as she loaded a plate with eggs, bacon, and pancakes. Everyone went into the backyard. She went to the refrigerator and grabbed a bottle of water, then returned to pick up the plate of food, but Lucas was there picking it up for her.

“Let me help take this outside,” he offered.

“Thanks, Lucas.”

“I’m curious. Your friend is part werewolf?”

“Yes, part werewolf and part Roma.”

“Is she mated?” Lucas had his hand on the door but didn’t open it yet.

Roxanne tilted her head as she considered why Lucas was suddenly interested in Diana. Instead of answering him directly, she gave him a little insight to her friend. “Most weres keep their distance from soothsayers. They prefer mating other weres or humans to keep the were bloodlines up. Soothsayers who survive childhood have the long life and strength of a werewolf, but they don’t have the ability to shift. The mixture of the magics involved prevents it. Many fear the power that soothsayers have.”

“But she is not mated?” Lucas persisted.

“No, Lucas, she is not mated.”

“Good.” He didn’t ask any more as he exited into the yard.

Roxanne followed him, worried that he might push his attentions on her shy friend. She watched warily as Lucas handed Diana the plate of food. She could swear she saw a spark light when their hands touched. Diana shrunk bank from him, surprised and a little frightened. Roxanne approached, growling at Lucas to back off. She sat down protectively next to her friend, handing her the glass of water.

“What exactly did your premonition say?”

“That if I wasn’t here, you would die,” Diana told her looking her directly in her eyes.

Oh shit.

Connor gave Diana the shortened version of what happened to him with Mors and that Mors was here now hunting Connor. The twins and some of the rest of the pack came and left as they took turns hunting Mors.

Roxanne introduced her to the pack but they could tell she felt uncomfortable being around so many so they kept their distance. Her friend looked quite tired. “Do you need to get some rest?”

“Yes. I may be able to search for this guy Mors in my dreams, too. Sounds like he has a little psychic ability as far as predicting when others are moving against him. He doesn’t know me, though, so he won’t be able to block me.”

Roxanne looked at the packhouse. Diana needed a more secluded place to rest. She looked over at Connor. “Connor, can I take Diana to your place to rest? She needs more seclusion from other people, especially paranormals.”

“Yes. I’ll take you both there.” Connor rose to escort them.

“Is that a good idea? Mors may have followed Connor’s scent to our house and could be watching it,” Mary said with concern.

“She’s right. I wouldn’t suggest going back there until we catch Mors,” Ric agreed.

“You can take her back to my hotel suite. I’m on the quiet side of the hotel,” Lucas said, his eyes focused on Diana.

“That’s a good idea. Have Lucas take Diana and Roxanne to the hotel suite. Connor, you join the twins in case they missed something. I have the rest of the pack doing security rounds around the packhouse. I’ll call Adrian and have him send some of his people to watch the hotel as soon as it starts to turn dark.”

Roxanne watched as Connor looked at her with reluctance. Neither of them wanted to be separated. “Give us a few minutes.” Connor took her hand and led her around the other side of the packhouse toward the barn.

“Where are we going?” Roxanne laughed.

“I just need a few minutes to hold you.” He pulled her inside the barn. There were cows in the stalls nearby that mooed at them.

As soon as they were out of sight inside the barn, Connor pulled her into his arms and kissed her. That low-burning perpetual flame of desire between them burst into full-blown fire. They didn’t have a lot of time. Probably everyone outside could hear them, but Connor didn’t care. He lifted her up and she wrapped her arms around his neck.

He stopped kissing her to pull back and stare at her. “Promise me you won’t take any chances with your life. You go with Lucas to his hotel room and stay there until I call and tell you it’s safe.”

“Connor, I’m a werewolf. A natural born, full-blooded. I’ve lived a long time. I can handle myself.”

“Not against a man like this. He’s crazy, honey. I just don’t want anything bad to happen to you. It would kill me.”

She gripped his hair and pulled him to her, gently biting his bottom. It made him growl with a deep need to claim her again. She pulled his hair back making him dip his head back to look at her. “He’s after you, Connor. He came all this way to hunt you down. Either he plans to take you back with him or he plans to kill you. I won’t allow either of those to happen. You’re mine.”

She turned his head to the side and sunk her teeth in his neck. Connor felt the slight pain, but then he was suddenly filled with so much pleasure, he felt like he was going to come right then and there. Each pull she took of his blood he could feel in cock, like she was sucking him down there at the same time. He needed inside of her badly.

*****

She finished sucking and licked the bite mark. The bleeding stopped, but there would be a little scar to show the world that she had claimed Connor as her mate. Now she needed to get him naked and fast. They didn’t have much time.

Roxanne reached between them and fumbled with the zipper to his pants. She growled her frustration. “Get these off.”

Connor laughed softly in agreement. He helped her open his pants as he walked them over to an empty stall.

There were stacks of hay in the corner and Roxanne felt the prickly stalks through her clothes when he laid her down. She was grateful she was wearing her dress. Connor lifted the dress up over her hips, exposing her underwear. She gasped when he gripped the edge of her underwear and ripped it with both hands.

“You won’t need these,” Connor told her as he got down to his knees and admired her exposed pussy.

“Connor, we don’t have time for foreplay,” she whispered as she felt his tongue stroke her velvet pussy lips. His finger dipped inside her and she felt spasms vibrate through her. “Please, Connor, I need you now.”

He removed his finger and rose up over her, placing his cock at her entrance. He didn’t hesitate as he plunged inside of her, until he was completely rooted at her core. They both moaned their pleasure at the fullness.

Roxanne wrapped her legs around his waist as high as she could go. She met his every thrust. He moved in and out of her quickly, picking up his pace. Their breathing increased in time with their exertions. She needed to come in the worst way.

Connor leaned down over her and licked her neck where he had claimed her. Roxanne shivered from the touch on her mark. “Yes,” she whispered. Connor’s teeth elongated and he sank his panther fangs into her neck.

It was like throwing lighter fluid on a smoldering flame. Everything inside of her exploded outward with her orgasm. Her spirit rose up toward the stars and then melded with Connor’s. They were one. Then they floated back to Earth, sinking into their bodies once more. They held each other as their heart rates attempted to return to normal.

“Wow.” Roxanne couldn’t think of anything else to say.

Connor chuckled. “You can say that again.”

Roxanne looked up at him and smiled impishly. “Wow.”

They both laughed as they looked into each other’s eyes. Then reality interrupted their private moment as Ric’s voice called from the barn door.

“Get a move on, Connor!”

Roxanne missed his heat when Connor reluctantly pulled out of her. “Promise me you’ll be careful. This guy wants you bad, if he came all this way.”

Connor redid his zipper and reached out to straighten her dress. “I will. I have a future with you waiting for me. I’m not going to let anyone take that from me.”

Roxanne still felt very uneasy about the situation as they rejoined the others. Something bad was going to happen, and she had to be ready for it.

Roxanne sat in the passenger seat of Lucas’s car, with Lucas driving and Diana in the backseat. It was a quiet ride over to the hotel but it felt like it took forever. The silence was almost unbearable. It had been that way between Diana and Lucas ever since Roxanne and Connor returned from their tryst in the barn. Evidently Lucas had said something to royally piss Diana off and neither one felt like talking about it.

Lucas didn’t take them through the lobby since he had access to his room from outside. He ushered them quickly up the stairs and down the corridor. He unlocked the door and held it open for them.

She smiled, glancing at the bed that she and Connor had shared. “They’ve cleaned the room.”

“Thank God for that,” Lucas commented, “I was worried about having to go to bed tonight smelling you and Connor all over my sheets.”

Roxanne laughed. She noticed Diana frowning, so she explained. “Lucas allowed me and Connor to use his room last night to work out our issues.”

Diana snorted. “How magnanimous of him.” She walked over to the bed and placed her bags on it. “I’m going to take a shower, then try to sleep. I’ll need complete darkness and quiet.”

“Okay. Thanks again for coming to help.” Roxanne watched as her friend went into the bathroom. As soon as she heard the water turn on she whirled and glared at Lucas.

“What the hell did you say to her?”

Lucas sighed. “I’m not sure. One minute we were talking—well, I was talking, but she didn’t move away from me and seemed to be listening. Then the next thing I know she told me to shut the hell up and went to sit somewhere else. She hasn’t spoken to me since.”

“What were you talking about before she told you to shut up?”

“About me coming down here to Strange Lake Falls with hopes of mating you. I told her that a werewolf princess would have been the perfect addition to my small pack. I wanted only the best and nothing could beat a princess. But now that you and Connor were mated, I would be willing to lower my standards a bit.” He stopped talking when Roxanne threw her shoe at his head. “What? What did I say?”

“You are such a pig! I am so glad that I mated Connor. He would never treat anyone like they were less than him.”

“I didn’t mean it exactly like that. But, I mean, she’s part wolf and part Roma. She can’t shift and soothsayers aren’t alpha material. I was trying to let her know that I was interested in dating her despite her flaws.”

Roxanne pointed to the door. “Out. Don’t come back in or I’ll bite where it will hurt for days.”

“But . . .”

“Diana has had to put up with bigoted idiots like you her whole life. She is not fully accepted by the Romani because they fear the animal part of her, even though she can’t turn. She’s not fully accepted by the wolfpacks because her Roma magic keeps her from shifting, which they feel is unnatural. She might have had a chance to live a normal life among the humans, but her longevity would mark her as different and might bring attention to the weres. So the werewolf council took it upon themselves to seclude her and others like her.” Roxanne walked over to the hotel door and opened it pointedly.

“I thought they chose seclusion,” he protested.

She gave him an irritated look. “No child would purposely choose seclusion. But there was no one who would take her in. I was able to get my father and mother to take her in for a little while, but as she grew older her powers became much stronger and she needed to be trained in how to use them. So the council overruled my father and ordered that she be sent to a soothsayer commune.”

“I didn’t think how it would be for her. I guess I haven’t thought much about anyone but myself,” Lucas admitted. “Let me stay and apologize, talk to her.”

Roxanne shook her head. “You meant what you said, Lucas. Whether your opinion changes or not, you can’t undo what you have already done. You might be forgiven and have a chance to move forward, but that will take time. Time we don’t have. Diana needs to relax so she can fall into the psychic dreaming state which will hopefully help us find Mors.”

“I feel helpless, what can I do?”

“These types of dreams are usually very draining for her. She will be hungry and she will need sugar and caffeine to help revive her.”

He shook his head. “I can’t leave you unprotected. The twins were supposed to meet me here to help guard you.”

“There’s a restaurant in the hotel lobby. Go down there. We’ll be fine until you get back.” Roxanne gave him a gentle shove out the door. She turned back around and found Diana watching her from the bathroom door.

“Sorry, he means well,” Roxanne apologized.

Diana waved her off. “He didn’t say anything that I haven’t heard before hundreds of times. Thanks for defending me.”

“Always. I have your back my friend. I just wished I was old enough at the time to tell the council where to go when demanded my family give you up.”

“It wasn’t your parents fault, honey. They did try to fight for me. But I was scared of my powers. I needed help learning how to control them. I told your parents to let me go to the commune.”

Roxanne walked over to hug Diana. She was always more a sister to her than just a friend. It hurt to have her taken away. “I wanted to go with you so you wouldn’t be alone.”

Diana laughed. “You were with me. Every time we shared our dreams, you were there to encourage me and offer the love I needed from my sister.”

Both women ended up half laughing and half crying. Diana straightened her shoulders. “That’s enough of that. You get the lights while I start my breathing relaxation exercises.”

It amazed Roxanne as she watched her friend settle down on the bed and breath in and out. Within minutes her friend was asleep. She wished she could do that sometimes. She hated restless nights. But with Connor in her life, she might have very pleasant ways to work off her extra energy. She smiled at that thought.

She was just sitting down in a nearby chair when someone knocked softly on the door. It must be Lucas. He had probably forgotten to take his key with him. She went over quickly to keep him from waking Diana up. As she got close to the door, though, she caught a scent, like a cat, like Connor. Had he decided to come by and check on her? She opened the door half smiling before she saw it wasn’t Connor or Lucas on the other side of the door.

“Who are you?”

“The maker of your mate. Come with me or I will have my other panther creation kill your Alpha’s mate. I believe she’s Connor’s mother, isn’t she?”

Oh shit!
Roxanne opened her mouth to scream and tried to shut the door but he was stronger than she was. He pulled her out of the hotel room and clamped a hand over her mouth.

“You are a fighter. I can see why Connor wanted you. You will come with me or I will kill the girl in the room and have Connor’s very pregnant mother exterminated. Do you understand me? Blink once for yes.”

She blinked. He released her mouth but kept a tight grip on her arm. He used his free hand to reach down for a knife in his boot. “I’ll slice your throat if you scream. Come with me.”

Roxanne had no choice. She had to get Mors away from Diana and she had to find out if Mary was really in danger. She prayed that Diana would see what was happening and notify Connor.
Please Diana, see me.

*****

Diana felt her body go lethargic. That was typical of her psychic dreaming. She had to stay focused, though, otherwise she would end up sailing through other people’s dreams randomly, and she had a specific person she needed to find.

Her abilities were unique. Not all soothsayers could enter others’ dreams. They usually had premonitions of when something bad would happen and could predict which choices the council should take. But Diana could go into her psychic dream state and actually see what was happening with a specific person, even if they weren’t dreaming at the same time. She just needed a subject to focus on.

Mors was her target. Morris Baynard, where are you? She felt herself spinning as her psychic connection started to pull her toward her target. She felt him first. He was excited and walking toward a van. It was a tan van, kind of beat up. He was pulling something behind him and he was talking.

“I have you now and soon I will have Connor.”

“He’s going to kill you,”
another voice responded. This voice she knew.
Roxanne!

She woke up with a start, screaming out for Roxanne. The door to the hotel room crashed open. She looked at Lucas, breathing hard and clearly ready to shift to his wolf form and fight something.

“What’s wrong?” Lucas asked.

“Get Connor on the phone.”

“Why? Did you find Mors?”

“Yes, and he has Roxanne.”