Talons (21 page)

Eli shook his head in disgust,
wondering whether he should go up top to stop Ty from making
himself an idiot over the Newbreed. He decided to stay out of it.
Ty and Jericho were evenly matched. The leader also began to
realize the Newbreed was causing all manner of issues in his
already problematic household.

His blue eyes narrowed as he retreated
back to his offices. Measures were taken to end the turmoil for
them all. It wasn’t often Eli felt guilt for decisions he made,
except this one.

~~~~

Ty shifted near the trees, his ears
perked up to hear for Jericho and Vivian. He ran as soon as he
picked up her scent, rage driving him. He pounded through the
trees, his paws digging into the turf, springing up dust and rock
spray from fury as he pursued them.

His low growls emerged as he entered
the dense underbrush not far from the stream. Golden eyes narrowed
as he surveyed Jericho biting at Vivian’s neck, urging her down,
preparing to mount her when he came upon them.

Roars of rage erupted as he barreled
into Jericho, knocking him off of Vivian and sending him sprawling.
Teeth were bared as he attacked, lunging and biting into Jericho as
the big cat fought back, biting him back near his hind
quarters.

They rolled and fought viciously, Ty
taking a fair amount of bites from the elder panther before he
swung his paw and swiped across his opponents head, opening a gash
down the side of Jericho’s face.

The growling grew ever louder, alerting
those in the woods of the fight. Bits of hair and blood splatter
flew as they dove at one another, teeth bared and
snapping.

Many of the large black beasts stayed
back, seeing the combat between the two elders over the Newbreed.
Hissing erupted and more swiping was seen before both animals
separated and circled each other once more, panting and
growling.

Vivian circled the pair in agitation,
sensing Ty’s rage. She growled and hissed at them both, trying to
get them to stop. Ty glared at her, lunging at Jericho once more.
The elder cat was ready and they rolled once more, paws flailing
and teeth snapping.

Jericho rolled away and got up, hissing
and spitting. He shifted back, lifting his hand to wipe at the
wound on his face, an amused smirk on his face.

“
That’s going to leave a
mark! You better hope it heals before dinner!” Jericho called out
mockingly, chuckling as Ty shifted back as well, looking furious
and covered in blood from his wounds.

“
What the Hell are you
doing, Jericho?” Ty snarled, intending upon advancing upon the man
with his fists now.

“
I believe I was mating with
her before you intruded,” Jericho said teasingly and blew Vivvie a
kiss. She hissed at him warningly.

Ty glared at him. “Leave her be,
Jericho! She hasn’t made the full change yet! She doesn’t know what
she’s doing!”

Jericho shrugged and wiped more blood
from his face. “She knows very well what she’s doing. It’s you that
fails to see it.”

Ty watched Jericho walk back up the
embankment nude, seeing the other animals disperse. He was
breathing raggedly as he looked at Vivian, his eyes glowing in
fury. He shifted back and stalked her, eyes dilated and narrow with
fury.

Vivian held her ground hissing at him
and then began backing away. She turned and ran. Ty was on her,
knocking her to the ground on all fours, biting into her neck
cruelly, forcing her head down. He tasted blood, hers, his and
Jericho’s as he held her still.

She was flailing and her paws swiped at
him but he pinned her, mounting her and entering her quickly.
Growls of rage were heard from her as he held her still, biting the
back of her neck. They mated furiously until Ty grew
gentle.

They shifted simultaneously and he
eased her to the ground, his mouth softening against her neck,
kissing it and licking away the blood at the small wound. Soft
sighs escaped her as he rolled her onto her back, coming above her,
his golden eyes filled with need.

“
I’m sorry, Vivvie, I didn’t
want it to be like this,” he whispered as he moved above her, his
eyes glowing as he thrust hard inside her, tensing with the effort
it cost him to not brutalize her further.

Vivvie’s eyes were filled with tears as
his mouth covered hers, drowning out her soft cries as he surged
within her. He became softer, kissing her eyes, her cheek, and her
neck, his hands sliding into her hair.

She felt little pain, only pleasure as
Ty took her hungrily upon the ground, uncaring of the twigs and
sticks beneath her. The desire to be close to him urged her to hold
him, nails digging into his shoulders as he rose and fell over
her.

He growled low and stiffened, burying
his face in her neck at the last. She held him, closing her eyes
and shivering as he raised his head to look down at her. His golden
eyes were filled with regret. He eased off her slowly, sitting up,
giving her his back.

“
This wasn’t the way I
wanted it to be with you, Vivian,” he whispered in despair. “I
didn’t want to hurt you.”

“
You didn’t hurt me, Ty,”
she said and grimaced as she sat up. “I think you might have hurt
Jericho however.”

“
Bastard deserved it!” Ty
snapped and smoothed her hair aside to inspect the wound at her
neck. “Did he-?” Ty asked and looked away, unable to think he was
too late.

“
No, you arrived in the nick
of time,” she said, pressing her face against his chest to hide her
happy smile. The feel of him in her arms was a wonderful
sensation.
Thank you,
Jericho
, she thought.

Ty held her tightly, breathing slowing
as he stroked her naked shoulders. He was relieved he arrived to
stop Jericho, but couldn’t be angry at him. What was Vivian
thinking coming out here with the man?

“
You will come out here with
only me from now on, is that clear?” he said harshly as he stared
down into her face. “Jericho is not the only one to blame here. I
should have warned you. You send very clear signs to a male in that
way, Vivian. The next time you do this make sure it’s what you
want. I can’t fault the others for you not knowing any
better.”

She pressed herself to him, composing
her face to appear chastised. “It won’t happen again. I think I
have a lot to learn, Ty.”

Ty held her close, dropping a kiss upon
her shoulder as he sat up, bringing her with him. “Come then, let
us not waste the day. I’ll race you to the edge of the
mountain.”

He jumped up and shifted immediately,
pawing the ground to be off.

Vivvie thought he never looked more
beautiful than he did then, standing over her with such utter
dominance. She shifted and took advantage of her position in front
of him to make a dash for it. She ran, loping at full speed across
the meadow, Ty thundering after her.

~~~~

Eli glared at Jericho as he joined him
in the medical clinic. The leader’s blue eyes flicked over
Jericho’s many wounds dispassionately. “You could have tried to
fight back a little more, my friend. Ty is not stupid enough to
think that ridiculous show outside was real.”

Jericho laughed as he held the compress
to his ravaged cheek, which already partially healed in the last
three hours. “I was trying to help things along, Eli. Ty’s pissed
at me enough thinking I was trying to mate with his woman. I doubt
it occurred to him if I wanted to really fight over Vivvie, he
would be here with me right now.”

“
You did this just to force
his hand with the Newbreed?” Eli asked in dismay. “You do the girl
no favors. He leaves for Florida in two weeks. Miss Collins stays
here.”

“
You think that’s
wise?”

“
He will forget about Miss
Collins,” Eli countered without concern and shrugged. “Let him
enjoy his pet for now but he will join Derek in
Florida.”

“
What does Ty say about
this?”

“
What do you think he said,
Jericho?” Eli said with an amused expression. “Ty doesn’t get
attached; you know that. I gave him the choice to keep her as his
mate and diffuse the matter, or join the fight in Florida. He chose
to go track down Ryken. Your matchmaking efforts were for
nothing.”

“
Why did you do that to
him?” Jericho said and shook his head. “You know how he feels about
taking a mate.”

“
He also can’t seem to keep
from trying to kill others who would offer the Newbreed more,” Eli
said and shrugged. “You know it’s for the best.”

“
The best for whom?” Jericho
asked accusingly. “You have moved matters around for your own
advantage here, Eli.”

“
Ty won’t do right by the
girl!” Eli fumed and glared at his friend. “Do you wish for more of
what you saw today? He won’t claim her as a mate or let any other
near her. I won’t lose any more men over the girl. Enough is
enough. If he wants her, he will do what he must.”

Jericho looked disturbed at his words,
but said nothing. Eli left the clinic and Jericho scowled as he saw
the cuts on his hands and forearms. He would heal by dinner time.
The wounds were only superficial.

He thought of Vivvie’s reaction to know
Ty was leaving and decided he would stay out of it from now on. The
girl would be hurt to know Ty was leaving and said nothing to her.
It wasn’t his place to tell her.

Jericho liked the Newbreed female. Her
thoughts were forward and her ideas were fresh. Eli was being
spiteful giving Ty such a choice. Jericho knew why Eli did it.
Their leader fooled no one but himself if he thought they hadn’t
figured out his interest in Vivvie too.

~~~~

Vivvie sighed and rolled over in bed,
Ty’s bed, to be more specific. She spent little time in her own the
last week. He was a devoted lover by night and a demanding teacher
by day. She knew everything she needed to know about her new
nature, but failed to know more about Ty. Even in bed, he failed to
share anything but his body. He brooded and his thoughts were his
own. He kept secrets from her. From the midnight meetings with Eli
and the others, to the calls he took from his cell phone, she
glimpsed a part of Ty she would never know.

Vivvie resisted the feeling all wasn’t
as it seemed when they were together, determined to go on faith he
felt the same for her. Ty didn’t talk about his feelings. She was
left to assume what they did was going somewhere, but a thought
nagged it was just a means to keep the others away from her
now.

Vivvie didn’t care who knew she and Ty
were together, even if he still practiced discretion. She ignored
the males within the compound and only had eyes for him. She could
feel Eli’s amused stare upon her at times, knowing the leader
clearly mocked their budding relationship. Eli seemed to be showing
her more of an interest too, and it annoyed her when he singled her
out to question her about how she was settling in.

Those few polite conversations between
them had undertones. She felt uneasy when those predatory blue eyes
slid over her. Ty warned her to avoid Eli. She could see why. He
looked at her like she was nothing but a piece of meat he would
gobble up without a thought.

Attracting the attention from so many
of the Alpha’s certainly didn’t endear her to the tribe. She was an
outcast with the females, and the males saw her as a prize to be
won. Ty avoided any direct questions about the future. More
telling; he began to avoid her. Ty used his work as an excuse,
pushing her away. She came to him the night before when he failed
to meet her for dinner and felt like she pushed herself upon him
when he allowed her into his room. His lovemaking was as good as it
had always been, but she knew he was miles away.

Vivvie sat up and frowned to realize Ty
wasn’t next to her anymore. It was in the early hours of morning.
Ty sat at his computer desk in the corner of the room, typing into
it quietly. She knew he still hunted Ryken and tensed. The last
week was wonderful for her, but she more than suspected he wrestled
with something.

Ty’s late night meetings with Eli made
her nervous. The leader’s eyes seemed to taunt her whenever he saw
them together within the compound. He acted like he knew something
she didn’t.

“
Have you slept at all?” she
asked quietly as she sat up.

Ty looked up at her and his golden eyes
softened. A smile played about his lips. “A cat nap, that’s about
it. I have a lot of work backed up.”

Vivvie looked guilty. “I have been
keeping you from your work, haven’t I?”

“
No, I’m on personal leave
right now, Vivian,” Ty said quietly, his eyes sliding away from
hers quickly.

“
Personal leave?” She looked
confused.

“
I leave for Florida in a
week, Vivian,” he said, his expression inscrutable. “I don’t know
when I’ll be back. Eli has put both Derek and I in charge
there.”

Vivvie felt as though she was punched
in the stomach to know Ty was leaving. Hurt appeared in her glowing
green gaze. Seeing the way he avoided her eyes more than told her
he delayed in telling her.