His Purrfect Mate (10 page)

Accept us, and you don’t
need your mate. We can make the pain go away. We can help you to
find the freedom you only know in tiger form.
The darkness chimed in with its two cents.

Dane snarled and pushed the voices back.
“Damn it!” Muttering a string of curses in Russian, he strode to
where he knew he could usually find Christopher at this time of
day.

“
Christopher,” he said,
walking in the room.

Blue eyes stared at him. “What can I do for
you, Dane?”

“
Can I use your phone?”
Even saying the words made him nervous. Once he made the call, he
knew it would only be a matter of time.

“
Of course.” Christopher
got up and retrieved his phone then handed it to him.

Dane looked at it almost as if expecting it
to bite him. Blood pumped faster, and his creature responded to the
tension coursing through him. Dialing a number he well knew, Dane
waited for it to be answered.

“
Hello?” a crisp voice
said.

Rage pulsed through him. “Hello, Slim.” He
made no attempt to disguise his voice.

“
Dane!”

“
You missed, and I’m
coming for you.” He hung up and handed it back to Christopher.
“When it rings, it’ll be a general. Tell him I’m here and to come
get me.” Dane left the room.

Early in the morning, two days after he’d
made the call, the sound of an approaching helicopter cut through
the South African air. Dane stood alone on the outskirts of the
village, head up. He never even averted his head when the rotor
wash of the landing UH-60 Blackhawk whipped up dirt. Merely
narrowed his gaze, utilizing his long lashes to help protect his
eyes. His body tensed momentarily when a figure disembarked from
the helo and approached.

Dane studied the silver-haired man with a
patch over his right eye and a jagged scar which began above the
eye patch and continued to his chin. Soon, that man stood before
him, dressed in cowboy boots, jeans, and a t-shirt. General Bradley
Herbert. Behind him were four armed men.

“
Thought you were dead.”
Bradley glanced around as he spoke.

“
So did he,” Dane replied
in a monotone voice.

“
He said you’d say that.”
General Herbert looked at him, and Dane held his stare
unflinchingly. “I have to bring you in. What about your
family?”

“
They’ll be all right.”
His mind drifted to Aida and stayed there. She calmed him. Even
now, when they were miles apart, the thought of her brought him a
sense of peace.

“
Let’s get
going.”

Dane stepped toward the chopper, noticing
how the other men tightened their grips on the weapons they held.
He sat by the door and ignored everything else around him while
they took to the air. His respect for the general allowed these men
to get him in the helicopter without so much as a restraint placed
upon him, or any sort of struggle.

“
We’re going to Pretoria,”
General Herbert said over the noise.

Dane continued to stare
out of the chopper. It may not have been the smartest thing to
allow Slim to know he’d survived, but
damn
it,
he wanted that bastard to be scared
and looking over his shoulder every step of the way.

“
Colonel. Colonel,”
Herbert called to him.

When Dane didn’t answer, one of the men
nudged him with the barrel of his weapon. “General’s talking to
you.”

With a snap, Dane reacted.
The man soon looked at him from the floor of the chopper. Squeezing
his hand tighter around the pale neck, he ground out, “Don’t push
me, boy. You
ever
put the muzzle of a weapon up at me, you damn well better be
pulling the trigger.”

In his peripheral vision,
he could see the other three watching with worry in their
expressions even as they also trained their weapons on him.
Youngsters.
Dane also
saw the general frown. With a final quick tightening, Dane released
the young man, who scrambled away, anger and embarrassment in his
gaze. With a bland expression, Dane looked back out of the fast
moving helo, the wind rushing over his face and the wild untamed
beauty of South Africa flying by beneath him.

Once they reached Pretoria, he was escorted
down through a poorly lit building and shown to a tiny cell. In the
small dark room, Dane sat alone on the cold, damp cement floor.
There were no items in the room. A small section in the top of the
door allowed a miniscule sliver of light in. None of it mattered
for he could see fine. He could see the trickle of water which ran
down one wall, and he picked out and identified the bugs crawling
around.

One thought kept him
quiet. Aida. Dane hated to be caged. Within him, his beast paced
restlessly. In the shadows, he could see the cold tendrils of the
darkness reaching for him.
Aida.
Dane focused on the light she brought to his
life.

Crunch. Crunch.
Crunch.
General Herbert approached the
cell; Dane could tell by the walk.

“
How you holding up,
Crypt?” the general asked once he had been shut in the cell. A
single light hung from the opening, showing Dane the tired,
withered look the general now had.

“
Fine.” Dane returned his
attention to the wall before him.

“
So how do we handle
this?” There was genuine concern in his tone.

Dane snapped his head toward the man. “Slim
is mine.” His statement reverberated around the stark cell.

General Herbert sighed and rubbed his chin.
“Dane—”

“
Mine!
” he reiterated with a snap which sounded more like the growl
of his beast than a verbalized word.

“
You know we don’t condone
vigilante justice.”

“
I know
you
don’t. Slim betrayed
us. He killed every last member of my unit and tried to kill me. I
will find him, and I
will
kill him.” He shook his head. “You know we have
our laws and codes here. He broke the most sacred
trust.”

Herbert paced a little bit. “It’s good to
see you, Dane. Sorry it had to be under these circumstances. If by
some miracle, you have the chance to come this way again, you
should check out the Northern Cape area. Roggeveld Mountains.” The
look the man gave him told him all he needed to know. General
Herbert wouldn’t ever state it aloud but that was as good as
permission to take care of Slim and his betrayal as anyone would
ever get.

“
I’ll keep that in mind,”
Dane said while filing the news away for future use.

The general pounded on the door. “You’ll be
transported tonight. I’m really sorry about this.”

Dane stood and faced him. “So am I,
sir.”

The door opened, and two men with guns kept
an eye on things. Dane kept himself away from the door and appeared
as unthreatening as he could. General Herbert walked out, taking
the light with him, before looking back. Dane stared at the man
with the single blue eye, remaining immobile until the heavy door
slammed the cell into near darkness.

Alone, Dane dropped back
to the dank floor.
I will avenge your son,
General.
General Herbert’s son, Demon, had
been one who perished. The boy had been the youngest and newest
member of their unit. Now, he was dead. And it was Dane’s job to
make the one responsible pay. He didn’t have rules like the general
to follow. The rules of their unit superseded everything else. And
Slim had violated those rules and the trust. An act that sealed his
fate.

Dane was subdued when they came for him. He
offered up no resistance when they secured his hands, and he
followed the armed guards quietly to the back of a converted ice
cream truck. Three men were in back with him. One being the young
solider he’d had the run-in with in the chopper earlier. Before
long, they were underway.

“
Well, well,” the soldier
sneered. “We meet again.”

Dane stared straight ahead.

Crack!

Pain exploded through his head. A rumble of
rage welled up in his chest. Dane flexed his muscles and looked at
the smirking man. Silence reigned in the back as the other two
looked between them, unsure what to do. He knew because he could
smell their confusion.

“
That’s what you get for
touching me,” the man said.

Dane looked away without a word.

“
Ain’t got nothing to say
now? Fucking Spec Ops, you ain’t nothing but pussies,” the man
taunted.

Glancing to the other two men in the
vehicle, Dane spoke in a low tone. “Be careful. This man will get
you killed.”

“
Shut up, man. Prisoners
aren’t supposed to talk,” the arrogant pup ground out. He drew back
his arm again and struck out with the butt of his rifle.

Dane was ready for it.
With a ripple-like movement, he avoided the blow and pulled the man
close, only to launch them both toward the back door. It flew open
with the force of the hit, and they rolled out of the moving
vehicle, slamming into the ground. With his elbow, Dane clocked the
cocky young soldier in the jaw, snapping it back and knocking him
unconscious, then sprinted off into the woods as the screech of
brakes reached him. He ignored the desire to show that idiot just
what he
was
truly
capable of.

Without looking back, he slipped away and
blended in with the environment. His head pounded but Dane kept
moving until he found a small watering hole. Most of the animals
scattered when he approached. He didn’t care about them, but he
hesitated right before his toes hit mud. Mud leaves tracks.

Thirsty or not, Dane skirted the hole and
after a glance at the sky continued on, setting a pace he could
maintain for a long time. Dane was tired, and his head pounded.
Thankfully the blood had finally stopped flowing. In all truth, he
had no idea where he was. He’d been moving for a few hours now.

All he knew was where he was headed. To the
one who called out to the deepest part of his soul. His mate. Aida.
He could see their mating bond link, but it didn’t shine like it
would had they actually been mated. He reached out to her,
desperate for the feel of warmth and light she brought to him only
to fall short. Snarling away his frustration, he continued on.

Under the cover of darkness, he leaned
against the trunk of a large tree. Rotating his wrists, Dane
grimaced when the handcuffs chaffed and dug into his skin, yet
ignored the fact he could snap the offending metal. Working some
moisture into his mouth, he gave himself three more minutes of rest
before he pushed to his feet and began moving again. He was
exhausted when he stopped before the door of a small house and
knocked. The sun had just begun to rise. Dane knocked again and
waited.

The door swung open, light from the inside
framing the figure.

“
Dane?” Aida’s alto voice
flowed to him.

“
Hello, Aida.”

“
Well, don’t stand there,
come on in.” She stepped back.

Dane entered and remained silent, following
her with his gaze as she shut the door behind him. Her dogs stood
to one side, watching him as intently as she did. His cat hissed in
indignation. The beast didn’t like dogs, and it was even less
pleased these two didn’t run from him.

Coming back to stand before him, Aida
reached out and used one finger to lift his bound hands by the
links of his handcuffs. “I’m scared to ask,” she said. She opened
her mouth before shaking her head and pointing to the kitchen. “Go
sit down.”

Dane did, fighting his smile. He stared
without shame when she walked back into the room. Her hair was
tousled, and her lemon yellow cut off t-shirt teased him with a
hint of her belly. She wore white cotton pants, and he could see a
green stone in the hand painted flowers on her nails of her big
toes. Between her thumb and index finger dangled a handcuff key. He
arched a brow, exhaustion somehow taking a back seat to his
curiosity.

“
You have a handcuff key
just lying around?”

Aida narrowed her eyes. “Apparently, it’s a
good thing I do.” She bent over, and he found it hard to tear his
gaze away from her breasts which he had a beautiful view of. “There
you go,” she said, dropping the offending metal on the
tabletop.

“
Thank you,” he said,
moving his wrists to try and stop the ache.

She stared into his eyes and sighed. “Go
shower so I can see how bad your wounds are.”

Dane longed to hold her to him and taste
her. But he was filthy, sweaty, and she deserved better. “Okay.” He
headed off to the bathroom before he forgot himself. Standing under
the warm spray, Dane groaned in relief. He tensed when a light
knock came followed by Aida’s voice.

“
I’m stealing your
clothes,” she announced.

Peering around the edge of the green shower
curtain, Dane grinned at her. “I’d gladly walk around you naked, no
need to steal my clothes.”

“
You must be feeling
better.”

“
Oh, much,” he purred.
“Want to join me?”

She rolled her eyes, but he caught the faint
flush in her cheeks and heard the increased beat of her heart. “I’m
going to wash your clothes. I’m afraid you’ll be in a towel for a
bit.”

She walked out, leaving him alone with a
raging erection. Dane ignored it. Instead, he finished quickly and
climbed out. Leaving the bathroom, Dane could smell fresh fruit and
an array of other foods. He could hear her comforting voice
speaking. What she said, he had no clue; he wasn’t familiar with
the language she spoke. Tightening the towel around his hips, Dane
prowled up the hallway and stopped.