Shepherd's Moon (32 page)

I shrugged. “I don’t work for Richard so what he wants means very little to me.”

“Oh, now
that’s
not exactly true, is it?” He arched an eyebrow, knowing my lie for what it was. “Besides, you’ve got bigger problems than a wayward Nephilim.”

I rolled my eyes. “Enlighten me.”

“You can read the minds of your team, but they can’t read yours.” He nodded towards the door Billy had just exited. “That creates a breakdown in communication. And when communication breaks down, loyalties are called into question, and employee retention becomes a lot more difficult to maintain. Especially when you’re a Shepherd.”

I bit my lower lip — a dead giveaway in this business, and a knowing grin spread across his face. “Well now, if I had to guess, I would say you’re already experiencing some problems in the HR department.”

I glared at him. “Why are you here?”

“I’m just trying to help. That’s what I do. I’m a helper.” He laughed at his own joke. “But, there’s not much I can do to help right now.” Leaning forward, he lifted his wrists. “My hands are pretty well tied.”

When I made no move to free him, he sighed and leaned back against the chair. “Look, I’ve got no dog in this fight. Right now, I’m bored and I’m looking for a project. That means, I’m willing to offer my services to help you catch a bad guy. I won’t keep making the offer. So, you can either go play with your cats, or you can accept my assistance. I’ll be right here.”

“Someone is out there killing people, destroying families…” I said sharply. “Someone who has the exact same tattoo as you do.”

“You really can’t get past the artwork, can you?” He shrugged. “Okay, fine. I got the brand from a good friend who eventually turned into a bad man. Now, I have no quarrel with him on a moral level, but I do have a problem with the lack of loyalty. So, while we have the same hunt in common, our reasons for engagement are different. You’re on the right path, but you’ll never get anywhere by focusing on the wrong connection.” He sighed. “Now, I’m a forgiving type of guy, and it looks like we do have a few things in common. But, you’ll never find out what those things are unless you trust me a little.”

This is the part I hate most about being a Shepherd — these times of indecision. Richard obviously wanted us to work together. But, this guy was a lunatic. I didn’t want him around my pack, and I certainly didn’t want to work with him. On the other hand, I couldn’t leave him tied to a chair in my basement, either.

I watched his face, searching for any sign of untruthfulness. Finding none, I reached over and punched in the code to release him. The steel bands opened with a click, freeing his wrists.

“Are you going to shoot me again?” He rubbed his wrists, but stayed seated.

“Stop giving me reasons to shoot you.” I walked to the door. “Go back to whatever hole you climbed out of. You’re wasting my time.”

“Whatever will I tell Richard?” He moved to stand across from me, his face expressionless as he rolled down his shirtsleeve.

Brock’s voice entered my mind. He must have seen the code release on the cuffs. I could sense his fear for me.
What the hell, Alex? Get out of that room…

I relayed a sense of calm to him. Everything was fine. If Tristan wanted to kill me, he’d had plenty of opportunities to do it already.

“Look, we both have the same end goal,” Tristan said, interrupting my thoughts. “Why not figure this thing out together?”

“I don’t need a partner.”

He leaned down and whispered, “Maybe not a partner, but I can guar-an-tee you’re going to need a friend before this over. I may not be the best choice, but it may turn out that you don’t get a choice.”

The office door crashed open and Brock stood in the doorway, visibly relaxing when he realized I was safe.

Tristan grinned from the doorway. “We could have made a great team, sweetheart.”

Billy’s elbow flipped Tristan’s head back almost before the comment left his mouth. Tristan touched the blood on his lip with his tongue, as a sly smile crossed his lips.

I started to speak, but Brock touched me lightly on the arm. “Just… don’t.”

Meeting his calming eyes, I let Brock’s soothing aura invade my own not so calm mind. Suddenly, Jace burst into the room, the door slamming open with a loud crash.

“Alex! It’s Modnik…” He trailed off as he saw the other animals, but there was no mistaking the urgency in his voice.

“Get him out of here.” I motioned to Tristan and set off at as much of a run as my injured leg would allow, Jace helped me along with his arm around my waist. Rather than get rid of Tristan, they all followed me to the door of our makeshift cell.

As we approached, Jace leaned against the outer door, blocking my entry.

“Let me in, Jace!” I warned, trying to get a look through the porthole window on the door. He didn’t move.

Storming his mind, I took over his thoughts and made him move. I frantically punched the override code into the door, Tristan grabbed my arm.

“You can’t go in there, sweetheart.” His velvet smooth voice hovered over me.

Pushing him off of me, I reached once more for the door before he grabbed my arm and flipped me around, restraining my wrists with one large hand as he flashed Jace and Billy an angry glare.

“Just watch,” he said softly.

My eyes were level with the small window and through the irregular scarlet lines of blood that dripped down the window, I could see Modnik cowering in the far corner. The confident jaguar I had seen only minutes before had been reduced to a trembling ball of fur. She was injured; bloody bubbles rose and fell from her nose as she breathed shallowly, and black tufts of fur littered the floor like a stuffed animal that had been torn to shreds. The stray cougar paced the room, obviously injured, but mobile. Long, red ribbons of skin hung from Modnik’s abdomen, and all that held her ear in place was a thin strand of skin and fur.

Shock held me in place. “Jesus,” I mumbled softly.

“Oh, I don’t think this has much to do with Him,” Tristan said calmly. He still held me tight.

“Let go,” I growled, his touch spurring me back into action. I had to get Modnik out of there.

“Hold on a sec. That’s a cougar you can’t control. Didn’t you learn anything from the golf course today?”

Shaking my head, I pulled my arm from his iron grip, protesting when he spun me back around and held my arms.

“He’ll kill her,” I yelled. I wasn’t accustomed to taking orders — least of all from the likes of him.

“You can’t go in there,” Tristan hissed. “If you want her out, then I’m your only option. You try to walk in that room and you’ll be overcome with her fear and pain. What the hell kind of Shepherd are you that you don’t know that much?”

He was right — I couldn’t go in there. Modnik’s fear would overwhelm me. The realization that I didn’t understand that rather huge problem was embarrassing. Besides the obvious problem of not being able to read the strange new cougar, let alone control it, I wasn’t strong enough to block Modnik’s pain. She needed to be unconscious for me to enter. I turned aside, not wanting to look at the man who seemed to know more about me than I did.

“Get her out of there,” I said softly, catching Billy’s eyes as I turned.

I could feel Billy lunge for the door and immediately opened my mind, storming his and stopping his movement. It was the first time I had ever used my ability to stop him, really stop him, from doing anything. But I know Billy, I know him better than I know anyone. To let him enter the room would have resulted in his death, as well as Modnik’s. He wasn’t strong enough to keep his emotions separated from his actions and that cougar would have killed him.

Brock dutifully picked up the rifle that lay near the door, checking to make sure it was loaded with the heavy-duty tranquilizer before reluctantly turning to Jace. “I’ll tranq him. You get Modnik. Alex,” he turned to me, “you get away from here and keep your mind guarded. We need you right now and you won’t be of any use if you pick up on this mess.

I held Billy long enough for Brock and Jace to enter the room, then released his mind. Billy glared at me for a long moment, beyond angry. I had weakened him, stormed his mind, and stolen a piece of him that he would never get back. And I couldn’t handle the way he was looking at me right now — the betrayal I saw in his eyes, the anger I felt him emote.

Together, we watched as Brock entered through the second door. The cougar stopped in its tracks, guarding what he most likely thought of as either a mate or a meal. Neither option went over well with me. The cat snarled, pulling its lips back and showing off its long white fangs. Brock’s aim was perfect. The dart hit the animal in the chest and within seconds, he was down.

Tristan hefted Modnik’s bulk as easily as if he were lifting a kitten. Before I knew what I was doing, I rushed to her side, Jace on my heels. Her pain crashed over me like an ocean wave and I hissed in air without realizing it. She laid her ears back and cowered, snarling weakly, but it was an automatic fear response, not an intentional one. Staggering back, I felt my legs give way as someone swooped me into their arms and carried from the room.

“No,” I protested, my voice shaky, “I can help.”

I had to pull myself together. My legs were useless, I couldn’t move my arm, and my abdomen burned — yet none of these were my injuries. They were all Modnik’s.

I needed a focal point to concentrate on, and Billy was the nearest object. I inhaled deeply, taking deep, healing breaths as I rested my head on Tristan’s chest. He smelled of rain and sage, reminding me of the summer monsoons, all humid and fresh. Feeling myself regain control, I nuzzled my face into the crook of his bare neck. The movement elicited a soft gasp from him, as though he weren’t expecting it. But then, how could he have?

His heart rate sped up and I counted the individual beats, slowly feeling more in control of myself as I focused all of my efforts on his pulse. Finally, I felt as though I could maintain my composure.

“Put her down,” Billy whispered.

Hesitantly, Tristan complied with his request. Billy stayed next to me as he watched to make sure I wouldn’t collapse.

“Take me to her,” I said.

By the time I made it up to the room, Modnik lie completely still, only her ribcage moved, rising and falling with the beat of her heart. Her golden eyes were open, great amber orbs wide with fear.

What did this cat do to her? How could any creature have this type of effect on someone who had spent years of her life being tortured?

I took another step closer to the bed and examined the bloody gash that ran the length of her belly. The cougar had put up a good fight…

“Get the doctor here and don’t let her shift,” I said softly.

And then to Modnik, “The doctor will be here soon, Modnik. We’re going to take good care of you.”

There was no sign that she understood or even heard my words. “Mod, you have to let me help you. Tau and Pasha need you.”

At the sound of her cubs’ names, a very narrow path opened in her mind to some pure, peaceful part of her soul. If I were careful, very careful, I could help her along that path. Beads of sweat broke out on my forehead as I weeded through her mind and the paralyzing fear that encompassed every part of her. What was it about this cougar that had terrorized her so completely? Why would she react so extremely? An avalanche of fear threatened to overtake me and I fought to stay in control of her thoughts while pushing the terror away. Seizing on a tiny pinprick of light in the dark crevasses of her mind, I expanded the light, sending a rush of endorphins through her. Finally, I sensed her calming.

I reached out, stroking her muscular neck. She flinched at the touch and I felt her retreat further into her mind. I couldn’t give up now. It was too close to the end for this cat. As I pressed forward, the calming thoughts spread until eventually the fear was pushed back into the darkness. My own head ached, a result of the effort that it takes to control another’s thoughts. She blinked when I gingerly examined the wound in her side and checked for broken bones, but otherwise didn’t object to the cursory exam. Her body was a tangled mass of scars, remnants from days passed when Diego had taken a whip to her. While the fur covered the physical scars, the emotional scars would never properly heal. Not if tonight was anything to go by… I needed to understand what had happened, but the only way that would occur would be to reintroduce her to the misery that caused it.

And I wasn’t completely sure I wanted to know.

Glancing over my shoulder, I noticed Billy standing in the shadows. He loved Modnik as much as I did, and while she only tolerated his presence for brief periods of time, I knew she trusted him. He joined me at my side and grasped my hand in his own heavily calloused hands. I looked up at him curiously. He was so angry only minutes before. While I wanted to know the reason behind the sudden emotional shift, I stayed out of his mind.

I’d pushed my luck enough for one day.

“She’ll be okay,” he whispered. I wasn’t sure if he was trying to comfort himself or me.

Nearly comatose, Modnik was in no shape to care for her young cubs. Their care would be up to one of us for however long it took for her to recover – assuming she did recover. I pressed her large black paw into Billy’s hand. “Stay with her. The cubs will know something is wrong.”

He lifted his eyes, concern lingering there as he watched me.

“I’ll be back,” I said, leaving the room. Forgiveness was not normally that easy when it came to Billy. But the extenuating circumstances of an injured packmate clouded the issue. Generally animals forgive anything, taking the frustration out on themselves more than on the person at fault. Billy was the one member of my pack who harbored resentment on a long-term basis. I hadn’t wanted to hurt him. Never intended too. But, good intentions and all…

Right now, I needed to get to Tau and Pasha. The cubs couldn’t stay with their mom tonight. She was too unstable and if they disturbed her at the wrong moment, she could easily turn on them without even knowing what she was doing. I passed Aida in the long hall on my way to the cubs.