Talons (13 page)

That was one of the reasons Eli finally
passed the marriage laws to deter the rampant, unchecked mating.
One litter was allowed with one mate but all of them knew to expect
wild cards at the birthing. Only the Chief and other elders weren’t
held to this law. They could and did mate with all the
females.

Eli fathered a litter and one of
Jericho’s children was among them. Jericho fathered one with
Gideon’s children there. Only Derek and Ty were childless for that
reason, having kept the other three from killing each other more
than once.

Many of the females saw it as a
challenge to be the first to give Derek or Ty a litter of
offspring. Ty knew Derek had a dozen females pandering after him.
Ty wasn’t alone. His bed never went empty.

The females all tried to deny their
natures, but it was obvious when the heat came upon them, they
couldn’t resist the advances of the males in the group. Jealousy
was common and fights broke out often. Because of their natures, it
was never held against a female for getting caught by another male
while in heat. It was accepted, this unchecked infidelity among
them, even joked about.

Those single females who cared to keep
their options open went into seclusion during their heat, to avoid
being cornered by the males. The scent would drive the males past
their reasoning. That part of their nature would prove to be their
downfall if nothing was done.

Ty believed in sterilization for all
females after one birthing. His strict view wasn’t a popular one.
Eli was starting to see its merit now, after years of seeing the
results multiply.

Ty knew Eli would hold back on sending
a troop of men to Florida to debate Jericho’s idea. Another
compound was a risk, but it was better than killing more of their
own if they didn’t need to. Leave it to Jericho to come up with a
possible solution. The man was brilliant when he applied himself to
the group. Jericho became distant lately. The oldest of them all;
he grew weary of life and rarely hunted anymore.

They had to think of the future. When
they were gone, those like Ryken could overrun the compound. New
philosophies and ideas were needed now, not war and
dissent.

Jericho was the ideal candidate to go
run the new Florida compound. Ryken’s mess must be cleaned up, and
his grandfather was the likely one to do it out of all of
them.

Ty stopped at his quarters to pick up
the Apple laptop computer he would give to Vivian. He thought of
her future here and fought another wave of attraction for her. She
wasn’t for him. Women like Mara, Gideon’s granddaughter, were more
his speed.

His current bedmate already saw to his
needs upon his return, and he couldn’t get Vivian out of his mind,
even as skillful as Mara was. Ty cursed himself for continuing to
think of her. Vivian was different than the other females here,
born human, and with different ideas. She appealed to him like
nothing else because of her current humanity, he knew.

Soon, she would be like the others and
that fragile quality that set her apart would be gone. He hoped
when that happened, he would cease to think of her. Still, she was
a Newbreed. All within the compound were born to this. She was the
first human turned to their kind that they knew of besides Ryken’s
breeders. Ty knew Eli and the others were curious to see what the
change brought with her.

The females were not happy to have a
hybrid among them. The women were jealous that the men were all
intrigued by this new breed of female, and were vocal with Eli over
it. They wanted her out of their quarters. Ty felt for Vivian,
knowing her feelings would be hurt to know she was very much an
outcast.

Vivian wouldn’t be pleased to be in the
middle of such pettiness, as private as she was. Ty hoped she
stayed out of such politics, and took to seclusion when nature came
upon her every six weeks. He could see she would get more attention
than she could handle. Every male in the compound was aware she was
in season.

Even Eli was intrigued by Vivian. Ty
could see his interest, even if he hid it under the guise of an
angry demeanor. Ty was questioning the jealousy he felt of anyone
laying hands upon Vivian. He knew there was nothing he could do
about it. She would make the change soon and that part of her he
coveted would be gone.

~~~~

Vivian was pleased with her new
quarters despite her initial homesickness. The TV was on and she
watched an episode of Dr. Phil, wondering if the man could treat
her new community. She laughed aloud just thinking of his reaction
to the group.

After the icy reception from other
females in the dormitory, she didn’t bother to leave the room. She
feared them all, knowing they could kill her with an angry swipe of
their paws should they shift on her.

Just then a knock was heard. She looked
at her alarm clock on her nightstand. It was twenty to eight.
Excitement was realized as she contemplated who was at her door. Ty
was retrieving her for dinner. Vivvie looked in the mirror over her
dresser and rolled her eyes. She looked a fright. Who was she
fooling? Her hair was in a ponytail. She still wore the same
clothes she arrived in.

Ty leaned against the door
frame when she opened the door. He smiled down at her, looking so
darkly sexy Vivian felt the hot flush that formed within her at the
sight of him. She was learning to ignore these reactions, knowing
it was literally the ‘curse’ that brought it on, and not something
real. Still, even with or without being in heat, she would find him
sexy. He was totally her type. Dark hair, dark eyes, nice bod, and
a great smile too.
Shit!

“
Hi there,” he said. “You
all unpacked?”

“
Yeah, wasn’t much to
unpack,” she said quietly, seeing the laptop under his arm made her
brighten.

Ty handed a small scrap of paper with
the computer as he came inside. “You need to use this password and
login until we have a new one for you, Vivian. No going to your
Facebook page either. Remember you’re thought dead now. You will
tip off the FBI if you even go into your old email accounts. Forget
about them. Create new ones with your new information.”

“
What new information?” she
asked curiously as she took the paper and laptop, leaving them on
the table.

“
You needed a new social
security number, driver’s license, birth certificate, all of it,”
Ty replied. “That is Derek’s job. He should have your papers in a
day or so.”

Vivvie looked impressed. “I wondered
how your group stayed under the radar.”

“
Thanks to some Mexican’s
who sell us their papers; we all have new I.D,’s.”

“
How can you do that?”
Vivvie asked in wonder.

“
They apply for a green card
here, get it, and give it to us,” Ty said with a smile. “They’re
only too happy to go back to Mexico compensated for it.”

“
So this is all legal?”
Vivvie asked doubtfully.

Ty grinned and winked down at her.
“Hell no, but we pay more taxes than they ever would!”

“
What if we get
caught?”

“
It hasn’t happened yet,” Ty
said with a shrug. “You would be surprised what you can’t do
without these things, Vivian. You need all those things to apply to
college. Don’t be like the other females in their
thinking.”

“
What thinking is that?”
Vivvie asked, curious about the other girls who shared her
wing.

“
They expect the men in this
sect to support them and do nothing to help outside of raising
children,” he replied in a disapproving tone. “It’s an outdated
premise. I’m glad you have goals for yourself”

“
No, I can truthfully say I
don’t wish to have children, nothing personal,” Vivvie replied
softly. “I always knew I didn’t want them. As soon as it can be
arranged, I wish to be sterilized like those others you
mentioned.”

Ty looked stunned. “You haven’t even
made the change yet. You may reconsider, Vivian.”

“
No, I won’t bring any more
like you or the others into this world,” she said, her emerald eyes
filled with grim acceptance. “No offense.”

“
Eli will be pleased to hear
it,” Ty said quietly. “He quite obsesses over our
numbers.”

“
He is right,” Vivvie said,
disgusted to agree with Eli on anything. “He’s being practical. I
did the math.”

Ty escorted her to the dining room. You
could hear a pin drop when over a hundred pair of eyes were riveted
upon the doorway, watching the Newbreed, as they called her, enter,
one of their leaders at her side.

“
Ignore them, I do,” Ty said
in amusement as he guided her to a table where Jericho sat. The
elder smiled at her. His strange yellow green eyes reminded her of
Ryken’s, yet there was no malice in them. He had long hippie-like
golden hair, wore a tee shirt with a big peace sign and was very
attractive. Vivvie watched as Ty left to get her a tray of
food.

“
Have you settled in, Miss
Collins?” Jericho asked as he sat back and eyed her with interest,
his nose sniffing and twitching slightly. Vivvie blushed, knowing
he knew she was having her issue. Ty said she would get used to it.
She doubted she ever would.

“
I’m unpacked, hardly
settled,” she returned softly. “You’re related to Ryken, aren’t
you?”

The man’s smile faded. “Is it that
obvious?”

“
He looks like you,” Vivvie
said, seeing he was nothing like the younger version of
himself.

“
A pity he didn’t inherit my
tendency to go with the flow in things,” Jericho commented sourly.
“I apologize for my grandson’s behavior. He feels it’s his
right.”

Vivvie was intrigued this man appeared
to be in his mid-thirties at most, and was rumored to have fathered
the most offspring out of all the elders.

“
How old are you?” Vivvie
asked with a look of curiosity. “Is that rude to ask?”

Jericho smiled and appeared delighted
by her question. “Nearly four hundred years old, Miss Collins. I
have seen my share of rudeness. You have every right to
ask.”

“
How is it you all came to
be here? I have so many questions.”

“
Ty didn’t tell you?”
Jericho asked, pursing his lips slightly in disapproval.

“
Not of your origins, no,”
she said quietly.

“
Five of us survived
annihilation from other Indian tribes and came here over two
hundred years ago,” Jericho said. “We descend from a lost tribe of
Indians you never heard of. All trace of us was destroyed before
the White’s came to settle out here.”

“
But you were human once?”
Vivvie asked in surprise.

“
None of us here was ever
human, except for you.”

“
I don’t understand,” Vivvie
replied.

“
The shaman of the ancient
tribe believed if he captured the spirit of the panther, he could
offer it to his Chief and the other warriors before battle, to lead
our tribe to greatness. The shaman only created what we are through
his botched magic. We all descend from those original nine members
of the tribe and some of their white captives over the
years.”

“
What happened to them all?”
Vivvie asked, intrigued despite herself.

“
They were all massacred by
the other tribes who banded together to destroy them. Only five of
us survived the siege,” Jericho finished. “We came here and have
been here ever since.”

“
I’m sorry,” she said and
meant it. Jericho smiled bitterly.

“
If you were there, you
would disagree. It was necessary. Our people’s belief they could
take over this country is what led to their downfall,” he said
sadly. “That is why we do things differently here now, to avoid the
fate of our ancestors. Some like Ryken have returned to the old
ways.”

“
By limiting your numbers,
you mean?”

“
Yes, that and we don’t turn
humans,” Jericho replied and raised an eyebrow. “Since my grandson
made you, does that make you my great-granddaughter now? Most
perplexing, would you not agree?”

Vivvie enjoyed talking with Jericho so
much she hardly noticed Ty returned. Ty looked slightly put out as
he slid her tray to her, seeing her engrossed in hearing Jericho’s
tales. He smiled as he saw her rapt expression and sat
down.

“
So what happened after the
other tribes destroyed yours?” she asked as she opened her milk
carton.

“
They went back to fighting
amongst themselves once more, as you know from your history,”
Jericho said with a grin. “Some things never changed.”

“
The nine lives thing; is
that true?” she asked.

“
Yes, there were nine men
who participated in the ceremony that made us all. The shaman of
the tribe believed it was his magic that stole the panther’s soul,
but it was a demon,” Jericho explained. “The demon tricked him, and
after the ceremony gave us the power of the panther, but cursed us
with its tendencies. The demon made it a joke, this curse to have
nine souls and when they run out, we die,” Jericho paused in his
tale and smiled at her rapt expression, warming to the telling.
“That is where that old myth came from of cats having nine
lives.”