Talons (9 page)

“
What do you see for
me?”

“
I don’t,” he replied
softly. She tensed immediately. “I don’t see you at all,
Vivian.”

“
What does that mean?”
Vivvie demanded and her fear grew at his pained look.

“
I don’t know what it
means.”

Vivian wearied of talking and looked
out at the dark interstate, avoiding the obvious in his words until
she could stand it no more.

“
I’m going to die before I
make this change,” she said stiffly. “Isn’t that what it
means?”

“
I could never read Eli. He
has a very powerful gift as our Chief,” Ty said softly and reached
over and squeezed her hand clenched in her lap. “Eli has been the
only one so far, but it’s possible.”

“
How many are in this
group?” Vivvie asked curiously.

“
Over two hundred and we
started with five,” he disclosed. “That is why we monitor our
numbers. To avoid discovery from the humans we must limit
procreation. Only our Elders and Chief have free reign to breed.
Offspring with our gifts are an asset to the group.”

Vivvie struggled with what she knew of
cats, even the big ones. Thoughts of their hunting habits made her
eyes widen.

“
You mean we hunt like the
big cats on National Geographic?”

“
The very same,” he
concluded and saw her shiver of horror. “You won’t ever go back to
Burger King again. You won’t miss it; trust me.”

“
That’s just gross!” Vivvie
said in horror, eyes filled with revulsion.

“
You won’t be able to
resist, Vivian,” he explained. “It’s instinctual. Our life can seem
brutal to an outsider, but it’s necessary for survival.”

“
I can’t even see myself
eating a deer,” she lamented with a sad expression.

“
I can and their delicious,”
he countered cheerfully. “Speaking of which; you must be hungry by
now?”

“
I suddenly lost my
appetite.”

“
We stop to eat, gas up, and
we keep going,” he informed her tersely. “You need to eat. I know
all I’ve told you is much to take in. I know you think about your
family; your friends.”

“
I may as well enjoy my last
Whopper with cheese while I can,” she said sarcastically and saw
him cringe now.

“
Even McDonald’s is better
than that junk!” he complained and looked offended.

Vivvie knew he was just mad he had to
eat something cooked. “You can ask for them not to cook
yours.”

“
That just singles us out,
Vivian,” he said stiffly and glared at her. “You must hide what you
are. Ryken is our enemy, but humans are definitely the
worst!”

“
How can you say that?” she
said defensively.

“
The humans would kill us
all if they knew of us. Your family is dead to you, Vivian. Future
contact is forbidden. You will endure Eli’s wrath should you break
that rule.”

“
That’s not fair!” she
sputtered and looked alarmed. “You never said anything about
this!”

“
What did you think, Vivian?
Did you think you could go back to visit them at Christmas?” He
laughed scornfully and saw that she did. “You can never see them
again. It’s too much a risk to us all.”

“
They will think the same
thing that happened to Dina and Rachel happened to me. That’s not
fair!” she cried, eyes filled with pain.

“
It’s the way it must be.
Once you make the change; you will see why. It will take you years
to learn to control yourself. The shift to your other form can be
unpredictable. Should you get angry or upset; you could change and
expose yourself.”

Vivvie felt tears in her eyes to think
of never seeing her father, Marsha, Salem, and even old Jim again.
She wrestled with her inner turmoil. The pain she felt to know she
couldn’t go home again was devastating. She wiped away tears and
refused to even look at Ty.

He got off the interstate and pulled
into a Burger King drive-thru. They sat behind several vehicles
ahead of them. Ty looked at her in concern.

“
I know you think such a
rule is harsh. What if you injured or hurt one of them, Vivian? You
could take off a human’s head with the swipe of a paw,” Ty said
grimly. “Could you forgive yourself?”

“
No, you’re probably right,”
she agreed and looked away from his gentle stare. “I feel even more
alone now.”

Ty said nothing as they arrived at the
speaker to order. He ordered her a Whopper with cheese meal and an
extra large vanilla shake. She accepted the bag gratefully as they
left the lot. Once back on the interstate; she looked at him in
concern.

“
You’re not going to eat?”
Vivvie said as she stuffed herself with fries.

Ty smiled, his golden eyes glowing in
the dark. “I prefer to chase my food.”

Vivvie swallowed hard at that. Just
imagining Ty tackling some poor animal and ripping it to shreds
dampened her pleasure at the meal. She was starved and ate it
anyway.

Ty drove through the night, and half
the next day. He announced they would stop at nightfall. Vivvie
slept for hours and woke up. She was startled to know they were in
Louisville, Missouri already.

Ty got them a room at a rundown motel
off the interstate. It was old, but clean. There were two queen
beds. Vivvie felt shy as she brought in her overnight bag, suddenly
aware they were alone. She felt the flush coming over her and felt
embarrassed he knew what she went through.

Ty got a shower and came out wearing
plaid fleece Denver Bronco sleep pants. Her eyes widened at the
sight of his bare muscled chest, swallowing hard to get over the
burst of longing inside of her. He was heavily muscled under his
clothes, not a spare ounce of extra flesh. His skin was smooth and
tanned. He bore wicked scars on his back, she saw, as he turned on
the TV news. The sight of the old scars made her eyes widen. They
looked gruesome.

Vivvie hurried to use the shower to get
away from the sight of him, unable to not want him. The shower felt
wonderful and she stayed in as long as she could. When she got out,
she heard low, muted growling and stilled. Her eyes widened in
fear.

Vivvie dried off quickly and changed
into her pajamas with shaking hands, listening to the growls. She
wrapped her wet hair in a towel and opened the bathroom door just a
crack.

“
Ty is everything alright?”
she called out, cringing to hear the sounds of purring now. She
hung the towel up and opened the door and tiptoed out, peeking
around the wall.

Vivvie’s eyes widened and a scream
lodged in her throat. She saw the huge, black panther laying in one
of the beds. The animal raised its head and the golden eyes seemed
to glow in amusement as they met hers. He hadn’t lied about their
size. He took up one whole queen bed, even curled up as he was. He
was huge; twice the size of a lion.

Vivvie was terrified and fascinated
despite herself. She knew he had no plans to eat her and took
tentative steps out into the room, her eyes wary. Ty raised his
head and growled at her, his teeth exposed. She froze, her heart
beating so loudly she heard it in her own ears. The huge cat then
swatted and bit the pillow, tossing it at her feet, as if in
challenge.

Vivvie knew he changed to show her what
it was they were, not to frighten her. He picked this rustic locale
because he would sleep a few hours and go out to hunt. He made that
clear before they stopped. He said he would wake her up when he
wished to go out. It was nearly midnight when they checked
in.

She got into the other bed and heard a
low growl from Ty. He swatted the other pillow off the bed and
moved slightly to the side, as if making room for her.

“
You have to be kidding?”
she asked him, startled he wished for her to sleep with him. How
would one spoon with such a huge creature? Vivvie sat up and got
out of the bed on trembling legs, dragging the bedspread and pillow
with her.

Those golden eyes never left her face,
his purring growing louder now. Vivvie got onto the bed and lay
down, dragging the comforter over her. Suddenly a huge paw lay upon
her lap. She looked down at it, amazed by its sheer size and
strength. The paw was kneading at her gently. She closed her eyes
tightly, trying to be calm.

Ty seemed to know she was terrified and
put his head down on her lap, his golden eyes closing then. Vivvie
watched him sleep. She was unable to comprehend she slept with such
a dangerous creature.

Vivvie reached out with a trembling
hand to touch the beast on the back of its massive head. The black
glossy mane was soft, not coarse. She swallowed hard to see his
eyes didn’t open. It took a while before sleep found her. She was
nudged awake in the early morning hours.

Ty was nuzzling her neck and purring in
her ear, licking her neck with his big rough tongue until she
opened her startled eyes. He looked down at her with that same
impatient look in his eyes. She knew he wanted to hunt.

Vivvie got up wide-eyed and opened the
door. She was watching him in amazement as he jumped off the bed
and walked out of the room, his shoulders turning to ease through
the opening of the door. Ty turned to look back at her before he
loped gracefully across the parking lot and dove into the woods
beyond.

Vivvie knew this was her last
opportunity to ditch Ty and what waited for her in Denver. She also
knew she didn’t dare, knowing Ryken and his followers were right
behind them. Ty estimated they had a ten hour head start, no more.
Vivvie shut the door, knowing he would want to leave when he
returned. She lay down again and soon was lulled back to
sleep.

Her dreams were a series of chase
sequences, always ending in her getting caught. She woke up in a
sweat and realized she also heard growling too. It was light
outside and she panicked.

She jumped up and opened the door, eyes
wide as Ty walked in, his long black tail swishing in annoyance.
His look said he didn’t appreciate being made to wait. Vivvie saw
the blood on his coat, and knew it wasn’t his. He stood as high as
her chest on all fours, his shoulders were so wide he to twist
sideways to get in the door.

Vivvie caught her breath at the raw
power he exuded. She couldn’t imagine becoming such a proud
beautiful creature. Her eyes reflected her amazement. His head was
huge and it pushed at her shoulder now purposefully.

She looked at him with a frown,
wondering what he wanted. He pushed her to the sink. It dawned upon
her he was thirsty then. She filled up the ice bucket and set it
upon the floor. Ty drank it all, water dripping from his huge jaws,
staring at her until she realized he wanted more.

Ty drank three ice buckets filled with
water and returned to the bed. She watched him settle himself on
the bed and couldn’t bring herself to lay there as she watched him
groom himself, licking the blood from his coat.

Vivvie took the other bed and lay down,
realizing it was eight in the morning. They had to leave soon. The
golden eyes met hers and closed. She realized he would undoubtedly
let her know when he wished to leave. She closed her eyes, his
contented purring lulling her to sleep.

Ty shook her awake. Vivvie sat up in
alarm, seeing him fully dressed in jeans and a grey hooded
sweatshirt now. He had a cut on his chin from shaving and a teasing
look in his golden eyes. She relaxed to see him in his human form
once more. The cut disappeared before her eyes and she was
stunned.

“
I got you something to eat
while I was out,” he was saying as he moved about the room,
gathering his things up. Her eyes widened as she saw the white
plastic container on the table. He went out and was back while she
slept. “We have forty minutes until check out. Use it wisely. We
have to get on the road. By now Ryken knows you’re gone, and with
who. We can’t linger here.”

Vivvie got up, watching him in the
mirror over the vanity, seeing he was looking at his phone, texting
someone. Brushing her teeth, she wondered who he communicated
with.

Vivvie liked to think it was some she
cat texting him, but at his grim expression she doubted it. She
forced her eyes away from him and washed her face. Brushing her
hair, she then tied it up in a ponytail. She stepped into the
bathroom area and shut the door to dress.

Vivvie dressed in a pair of loose
Levis, a pink tee, and a grey Aeropostale hoodie donated by Dina.
She sat on the commode and took the time to use eyeliner, blush,
mascara, and was disgusted she would worry about her appearance.
Green eyes filled with contempt as she saw herself in the compact
mirror. Ty made it clear he had one life left to him and would live
it alone.

What did she care? Despite finding Ty
extremely attractive she knew him one day. It was nowhere near time
to pick out china patterns. Ty wasn’t looking to get tied down and
hadn’t shown any interest in her at all beyond sticking it to his
buddy Ryken. He made it clear he played the field. What was she
doing? The guy was a big scary cat! She really needed to take a
step back.