Viper's Defiant Mate (19 page)

A low, half-cry, half-purr escaped her as she tried to understand what she was supposed to do. The black cat reached over the edge and nipped her on her ear. When she shook her head at him, he jumped down and pressed against her, pushing at her to jump.

What does he want?
Tina cried out in silent frustration.

Mate wants us to follow,
the soft voice she heard earlier whispered.

Who…?

You…
Came the response.

It took a minute for Tina to comprehend that it was her cat’s voice she was hearing. The short, disjointed word and flashing images were her cat’s way of speaking to her. She turned when she felt another nudge against her before Viper jumped back up onto the ledge and paced back and forth with an ease born from instinct.

Releasing a low cry of uncertainty, Tina pulled back and whispered for her cat to take over. This was something she wasn’t used to, but something told her that her cat would have no problems following her mate. Viper swatted at her as she landed on the ledge with surprising agility.

She turned in surprise and hissed at him. The larger male must have thought it was funny because he just shook his head and yawned at her. Her cat must have taken offense to his behavior because she turned on the ledge, smacked him with her tail and jumped. Only her cat could hear Tina scream as she flew almost six feet through the air to land on a long branch. In a flash, her cat pushed off again.

Wow!
Tina thought in awe as she suddenly found herself racing through the forest, bounding from one limb to the other with an ease of a circus performer.
This is… incredible!

Wait until mate catch us,
her cat responded, running, ducking, and flying across the thick branches.

What will happen?
Tina asked breathless as excitement built inside her.

You see,
her cat retorted in glee.
He come.

He…
Tina’s conscious thought fled as fast as her cat had just a few minutes earlier.

They had not gone far. Her cat had was gradually moving to the lower branches until she jumped down onto an animal trail. The second she did, she tore off down the path as fast as her slick body could run. She was still no match for the larger male. He nipped at her tail several times, pushing her in a different direction until they came out into a grassy meadow near a wide river.

Tina felt her body rolling as the male jumped on her. She rolled several times through the soft grass before she stumbled to her feet. She turned, hissing, and flashed her teeth at the male in warning. The swipe of his large paw forced her to stumble backwards. Tina was thankful he had kept his claws in. Something told her that if he had raked her with them out, she wouldn’t have stood much of a chance.

Snarling at him, she flashed her teeth again. Her body moved in an ever tightening circle as he walked around her. She was just about to turn again when he struck.

Tina felt his massive jaws lock down on her throat. A startled cry escaped her when he pushed her down and slowly crawled over her until she was penned under his larger body. She fought to escape, but he just tightened his hold on her neck and snarled.

A loud gasp escaped her when she felt his long cock brush against her. It finally dawned on her what he was about to do. A hot flush scorched Tina as she watched, as well as felt, Viper’s huge, black cat claim his mate.

Oh dear,
Tina whispered when she felt the first touch of Viper’s cock as he drove into her cat.

A shudder rippled through her body as the male’s penis grew larger and he began to rock in long, powerful strokes deep inside her. Her cat hissed softly, winding her long tail around his in an effort to help keep them locked together.

Explosions of pleasure erupted inside her at the power behind the male’s possession. His front paws moved in closer, caging her under him as he adjusted his grip on her. He bit down again, breaking the skin at her neck. The combination of pleasure and pain sent an instinctive reaction to her cat and she lift her hips to give him deeper access to her feminine core.

He was locked to her, the curved tip at the end of his cock attached to her womb as he continued to piston faster and faster into her. She knew he was about to come. His cock had become so engorged, that she could feel it stretching her.

He released her neck and roared as his body began to spasm. His release and the heated wash of his semen inside her triggered her own cat. All Tina could do was watch and feel as Viper truly claimed his mate.

Viper gently laid Tina down in their bed. The afternoon had been an incredible one. His cat was… catatonic for want of a better word. The huge male had a lot of years to make up for. He had tried to caution him that he didn’t need to make up for them all in one afternoon, but it hadn’t listened.

“Viper,” Tina whispered drowsily.

“Hush, little one,” he said, smoothing her tangled hair back from her face. “I’m going to go get our bags.”

He watched as she tried to open her eyes, but finally gave up. “’Kay, do you need any help?” She asked in a slightly slurred voice.

He chuckled and bent to press a kiss to her temple. “No, sleep while you can. Both my cat and I have plans for you later,” he teased.

A low groan escaped her and she buried her face in the pillow. “Go away,” she mumbled before he heard the sound of her soft snores.

Chuckling, he pushed up off the bed. He picked up their clothes that they had thrown off earlier and placed them in the refresher unit. He quickly showered and dressed.

He would prepare them a meal and retrieve their bags before he woke her. Glancing at the bed as he walked through the room, he shook his head and laughed again. She was lying on her back with her arms and legs thrown out in all four directions. He could see the tips of her toes peeking out from under the covers. His eyes darkened when he thought of what he could do to her tied up in that position. Shaking his head, he muttered a low curse. She needed food and rest. He could at least give her that before he tied her to the bed.

Though
… he thought in longing before shaking his head and chiding himself for even thinking of taking her again before feeding her.

Cursing under his breath at his cat for making him hornier than hell, he stepped out of the room and descended the stairs to the lower level. Twenty minutes later, he closed the oven door. He had installed a slow cook device in addition to the replicator. Tonight, he wanted to treat Tina to a real meal in her new home, not a freeze-dried dish.

Opening the front door, he breathed in the fresh scent of the forest. The sounds of the creatures of the night were silent tonight. Viper paused on the front porch and glanced up at sky. He frowned, it was clear, the stars shining through the trees. It was possible there was a storm coming. The creatures often predicted it first. He would have asked his cat, but the damn thing was almost comatose at the moment.

“You better be nice to me for a while, my friend,” Viper muttered softly as he stepped down the front steps. “What you did today was enough to make me envious?”

He didn’t receive an answer. It wasn’t like he was really expecting one, but still, the least his cat could do was thank him. Walking down the narrow path to the building he had built to store items, including his air bike, he chuckled as he thought about the afternoon.

The warning from his cat came a moment too late as he opened the door and stepped inside. He started to turn when he felt the cold metal against his neck. A curse exploded from his lips as the powerful drug in the injector took hold and paralyzed him. He tried to release a warning cry to his mate, but no sound escaped his throat as darkness descended around him.

*.*.*

Tina jerked awake, twisting and thrusting her long hair out of her eyes. Something had woken her up. She glanced frantically around, trying to understand what had woken her. The room was dark and the house was quiet.

Mate,
her cat hissed.

What about mate?
Tina asked confused as she rubbed her eyes.

Danger, I feel danger,
her cat growled, pacing back and forth.

“Viper,” Tina whispered, knowing that her cat was right.

Shoving the covers aside, she slid out of the bed looking furious around for her clothes. Her eyes swept the room twice before she caught the glimmer of light coming from a refresher unit in the wall. Hurrying over to it, she opened the panel and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the clothes that she had worn earlier mixed with Viper’s.

Tina quickly pulled them on before sliding her feet into her boots and twisting her hair up into a knot. She was just finishing when she heard the sound of the front door opening. Caution, born from her years of living in bad neighborhoods and natural distrust of people, kept her silent as she walked over to the opened door of the bedroom.

“Take him into the other room,” a voice ordered. “We’ll get the information we need from him before we kill him.”

“Was he alone?” The other voice asked.

“Of course,” the first male replied. “He never brings anyone here. That is why I knew it would be the perfect place.”

Tina breathed deeply. The fragrant smell of food covered any scent. Relying on her hearing, she tried to determine how many men there were without seeing them for herself. From the sounds below, she guessed that there were at least three men plus Viper. What she didn’t know was how many there might be outside.

Glancing around, her eyes lit on the communicator that Viper normally wore on his collar. Praying that it worked like the one he had given to her and Pearl on board the
Horizon
, she snatched it up off the dresser and hurried into the bathroom. Stepping out through the double doors onto the balcony. She pressed against the rough wood of the exterior wall.

“Help, please, we need help,” she whispered, pressing the button.

“This line is a secure line, please return to Viper d’Rojah,” a voice on the other end responded.

“I can’t,” Tina whispered almost in tears. “Please, some men have him. They are going to kill him.”

“Tina,” Vox’s voice suddenly came on the other end. “Where are you?”

“At Viper’s home in the forest,” she whispered. “Vox, I don’t know how many men there are, but they have Viper. Please, we need help.”

“We are on our way,” Vox said roughly. “Ten minutes. We’ll be there in ten minutes.”

“I don’t know if we have that long,” Tina said, pausing when she heard the sound of steps coming up the stairs. “They’re coming. I have to go.”

“Tina,” Riley’s voice whispered frantically. “Vox, you have to help her.”

Tina turned the communicator off and slid it into her pocket. Focusing, she whispered to her cat. She needed her, Viper needed her. Within seconds, the dark chocolate tiger leaped up onto the narrow ledge and jumped. The bastards had broken Pearl’s Rule Number Twenty: If you or your family/friends’ lives are on the line, ignore all of the above except Rule Number One.

*.*.*

Viper shook his head as the blow to his jaw pulled him out of the darkness. A low, feral snarl escaped him and he fought against the restraints holding him. Another blow snapped his head back. He could taste the blood from the cut to his lip.

“Where is it?” The man in front of him demanded.

Viper shook his head to clear it. The man mistook it for rebellion and struck him again. He could fell the skin on his cheekbone open under the blow. The male had used his claws this time. Blinking, Viper looked up into the cold eyes of Bragnar. The traitor looked gaunt and pale.

“It would appear being a traitor isn’t good for your health, Bragnar,” Viper hissed, staring back into the black eyes.

“Being a royal isn’t going to be good for you, Prince Viper,” Bragnar retorted savagely. “Where is the scroll?”

“I don’t know what you are talking about?” Viper replied.

The blow this time came to his chest. Four long cuts, each an eighth of an inch deep, opened up. Dark red blood stained the black silk shirt.

“We need the location of The
Heart of the Cat
,” the man standing next to Bragnar demanded. “We have to return with either it or the scroll showing its location.”

“I hate to disappoint you, but that isn’t going to happen,” Viper gritted through his teeth.

He blocked the pain of the next blow. This one opened up a long wound in his thigh. His cat howled with rage. He wanted to shift, but whatever drug they had pumped into him was preventing it.

He kept his eyes straight. Inwardly, he hoped that Tina had heard the men entering and escaped into the forest. He didn’t know if there were other men involved. He hoped not. His biggest fear was of her being found. It would kill him knowing that he would not be able to give the men the information they were seeking, even if it meant his and Tina’s lives. Nausea filled him at the idea of these men or any others putting their hands on Tina in an effort to make him talk.

“No one will hear you scream, Prince Viper,” Bragnar said, nodding his head at the other male. “No one.”

“You’re wrong,” a soft, feminine voice said from the entrance to the kitchen. “I would.”

Viper’s head turned and he stared in horror at where Tina stood in the doorway. She looked so beautiful, so fragile, so… breakable, that his heart screamed for mercy from the Goddess to make her run.

“No,” he roared, struggling to break free. “Run!”

*.*.*

Tina’s sleek cat jumped from branch to branch, slowly circling the area. She paused when she caught the faint scent of a male to the left of her. Climbing higher, she worked her way through the thick limbs until she was above him.

Wait,
she cautioned, scanning the area.

No more, just this one,
her cat assured her.

We have to make sure that he doesn’t alert the others,
Tina whispered.

No sound,
her cat promised.

Tina released her hold on her cat, trusting that she knew what to do. Cats were born predators. They were skilled hunters that knew how to take down their prey.

Tina refused to think of the man below her as anything else. He had come and attacked them. He was just like that group of boys that had attacked her and Toni all those years ago. She had decided that she would no longer be the prey to such animals. She would be the predator. She would use all the skills that Trey had taught her and more. She would fight for her family and the man she loved.

The man moved closer to the path leading to the front door. He kept looking around, studying the area. She could see a faint glow around his hands. He was just like Bahadur… A Curizan. A moment of doubt washed through her as she tried to remember what Viper had said. The Curizan’s could pull in the energy around them, but he had trouble using it against Viper. When they had fought, it was difficult for Bahadur to hold Viper off.

If she could take him by surprise, she could kill him. Moving silently along the branch, she waited until he turned again before she leaped. She struck him hard between the shoulder blades. The movement sent the man face down on the ground. Tina’s tiger pinned the man there long enough for her to bite down on the back of his neck. She raked her front claw across his neck, slicing through the thick vein.

She shuddered as she carefully released him. Stumbling backwards, her stomach heaved as the coppery taste of the man’s blood hit her taste buds. She frantically brushed her paw across her muzzle to wipe it away.

She calculated that Vox and whoever else was coming would arrive in the next few minutes. Her biggest fear was if Viper had that long. Twirling, she took off for the back door of the kitchen. She would slip in and do what she could to distract the men until Vox and the others showed up.

Forcing her hissing cat to listen to her, she shifted as she stepped up to the door. It silently opened for her and she cautiously stepped into the room. The delicious smells of food filled the air. A pang of longing and love filled her when she thought of the trouble Viper had gone through to prepare a meal for her while she slept.

Pushing down her fear, Tina quietly walked across the polished wood floors, pausing just long enough to pick up the knife lying on the counter, before continuing until she stood just on the other side of the wall from the living area where the men held Viper. Her fist flew to her mouth and she bit down on her knuckle when she heard someone strike him. The smell of his blood washed through her like lava. They struck him two more times before she knew that she couldn’t let it continue. Just like before, she would stand up. Unlike before, when she fought back this time, it would be to the death… theirs.

Drawing in a deep breath, she stiffened her shoulders and stepped around the wall until she was standing in the entrance to the kitchen.

“No one will hear you scream, Prince Viper,” the man standing in front of Viper said. “No one.”

“You’re wrong,” Tina replied, gripping the knife against her side. “I would.”

*.*.*

Bragnar swallowed his fear, forcing the rage and desperation he was feeling to the surface instead. He didn’t want the Sarafin Prince to know that he was terrified. He knew he was a dead man either way. If he didn’t return with the information, those in charge of the rebellion would kill him. If he failed, Viper d’Rojah would. Truthfully, if he had a choice, he would almost prefer the Sarafin Prince.

He had been living in the area the last few months, hoping that he could catch the Sarafin Prince unaware. Eldora, Vox’s ex-mistress had given him the information about the
Heart of the Cat
. She had heard Vox’s father, Aryeh and his aunt, Illana, talking about it. He had not thought it was important until he mentioned it to his contact. Shortly after, he had been ordered to either find it or the location of it if he valued his life. Unfortunately, a sweep of the palace had cast suspicion on him and he had escaped only to learn that Eldora and Vox’s other mistress had been captured. It had been difficult, but he had poisoned Eldora before she could reveal too much.