Vision Revealed (13 page)

know.” Jin straightened, staring down Maurie. Both females were petite, but Jin was an

inch or so smaller, and even in her bulky leather jacket didn’t look as muscular as

Maurie. Her size didn’t seem to bother her. “Countless litters have known loss and pain

because of Leo Pard. Howling publicly or using the Internet wouldn’t bring peace to

them. But coming here, facing the hunters who lived through the horrors and explaining

what each of them needs to hear is the honorable thing to do.”

“Let me get this straight.” Tore came up behind his mate and put his large hands on her

shoulders. Although it appeared a comfortable, intimate act, he also pinned her where she

was, preventing her from leaping. And she looked wound tight enough to spring at any

moment. “You enter my den, disguising your scent so we can’t sniff out your lies, and

announce you can bring closure, enlighten us as to what was behind the insane mind of a

leopard who damn near wiped out our species.”

“That’s right.” Her two words hung heavily in the air.

And saying them seemed to take a heavy weight off Jin. Suddenly she sagged, taking the

necessary step backward and actually seeking out Kane. She relaxed against his body,

placing her hands over his wrists when he wrapped his arms around her waist and held

her against him. Kane didn’t understand completely what Jin meant to say. But it was

clear she had inside knowledge of Leo Pard.

“Gather the hunters,” Kane told Tore, causing the male to shift his shrewd gaze. The

large male smelled angry and didn’t hesitate glaring at Kane, which didn’t bother him in

the least. This wasn’t a pleasant conversation but one Jin needed to have. Obviously she

hauled knowledge around with her she needed to let go of. Possibly once she did, Jin

would be able to begin living, not as the black-haired, wild female rogue, but as the white

leopard, strong and proud, and free from the burden of the nightmare she’d kept a secret

for too long now. “Arrange the meeting place and time and send word to me once you

know these things. I’ll bring Jin. But you’ll give me your word now, leopard. Regardless

of the information she shares, you won’t kill her.”

“I won’t make that promise,” Tore said, growling under his breath. “She is the offspring

of the worst murderer in our kind since the beginning of our recorded history. That

knowledge right there is enough to make her bleed out.”

“What if she promises not to hide her scent?”

Jin spun around, turning her back on her host and hostess, and glared at Kane. “Stop

trying to negotiate for my life.”

“That’s exactly what I’m doing,” he growled, his tone low and fierce.

Her eyes widened but remained that damnable green.

“I’ll accept those terms.” Tore’s gruffness put a chill in the air that seemed to even affect

the fire. Flames danced, diminishing momentarily before flaring angrily. “I know I’m not

the only one who’s wondered over the years why a hunter would disguise her appearance

and hide her scent. It’s rather odd behavior for one who is honor bound to protect her

kind.”

“I was a damn good hunter,” Jin snarled, turning slowly until she faced Tore and his

mate. “For years I ran when called, defending all who were ostracized or persecuted.

Even when Pard made his evil plan public, I did what was necessary to help and protect

every leopard called out because they had visions.”

“Yet with such a reputable scent you disguised it with human smells.” Tore shook his

head, letting go of his mate and crossed his arms across his thick chest, his expression a

mixture between disgust and curiosity. “Why would you hide who you really are, Jin?”

“Once I tell you, it will be obvious why,” she said, sounding almost defeated. “When

will you schedule the meeting with all of the hunters?”

He lifted one shoulder lazily. “Not sure. There’s no guarantee all of them will want to

talk to you.”

Jin nodded. Everything inside him tightened with a pressure and sensation Kane

wouldn’t deny. She needed to be protected and she needed his strength and aggressive

nature to see her through this. Tore and his mate despised Jin. He didn’t want to hear

them howl their reasons. But he would hear the reasons from Jin. As soon as they left this

den, his little cat would explain herself. He wouldn’t tolerate any detail being left out.

This wasn’t a partnership. Jin remained quiet when they were let out of Tore’s Jeep in

front of the motel. She needed to shake Kane. Now the other hunters would approach

him, advise him of meeting times and locations. No matter the year or century, males

would never change. But Kane wasn’t her partner. He wasn’t her anything.

Other than sexual relief like she’d never known before.

She led the way to the motel entrance but paused when something flashed before her

eyes. It was a blinding light and she stumbled, feeling the ache in her somewhat mended

ankle. There wasn’t time to focus on any discomfort. Jin blinked, seeing now it wasn’t a

blinding light but instead a terrible glare off of water. A lot of water. Something tumbled

in her direction and her heart raced as she tried desperately to understand and focus on

what transpired before her eyes.

It was a vision, or a flash into the future. There was a fight, a nasty fight. The screams

violated her senses, making it even harder to understand what was happening.

“Jin! Over here, now!” The frantic howl wasn’t Kane’s usual tone.

Her heart lurched into her throat and she spun around, the vision disappearing as she did,

but her frustration over their meeting at Tore’s overlapping now with the aggravation of

not understanding what she just saw. “Why?” she demanded.

It was quiet around her. Tore’s Jeep pulled away from the curb and the sun shone down

on them, even though it offered little warmth. Her breath created a cloud in front of her

face as she demanded Kane explain himself.

But Kane hadn’t said anything. It was from her vision. She hated that. Hated it almost as

much as she hated having visions. If she hadn’t been born with the curse, her sire

possibly would have left her alone. Her life would be so different today if that had been

the case. But she hadn’t been smart enough as a cub to haul ass away from Leo Pard as

her mother had.

Jin gripped the door to the motel to balance herself. Kane was still at the curb, staring at

the sidewalk in front of him, although he didn’t appear to be concentrating on it. His

thick, pale blond hair was windblown and tousled around his chiseled features. When he

lifted his face, for a moment his eyes were glassy as if he didn’t see her. Jin watched the

moment when he narrowed his gaze on her and his features changed, the aggressive,

dominating expression hardening his face when he pinned her with a breathtaking stare.

Her mouth went dry in spite of ordering herself moments before to get rid of him. He

was sniffing deep into her affairs and making everything worse than it was already. The

last thing she could allow was for all the hunters to know what she looked like without

her wig, or to learn her scent and be able to identify her.

The only thread she had to hold on to after attempting to restore her honor was knowing

she could leave Jin Rose behind. She was honor bound in allowing ghosts, which had

haunted other leopards for too long, to be put to rest. The information she could offer

them would allow that to happen and it was the right thing to do. Kane had pushed his

way into her life faster than any other male ever managed to do. Worse yet, if she didn’t

stop him, Jin Rose would never be able to die.

“What did you say?” His voice was gruff, almost the way he sounded when he first woke

up.

She cringed. Already she was thinking about him in way too familiar of a sense.

“Nothing,” she said, thankful he hadn’t been paying attention to her, although she didn’t

like the way he smelled. Kane was plotting something.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a flat card then handed it to her. “Go inside.

I’ll be back soon.” He’d pressed the cold plastic against her palm and let go of it before

she could answer.

Roped muscle flexed against his jeans when he stalked away from her, the predator eager

to take on some matter and tear into it until it submitted to him or disappeared and was no

longer a threat. She stared after him, growing wet just watching him move confidently

toward the street.

Then blinking, Jin snapped to her senses. Like hell he would simply dismiss her and take

off to handle matters he deemed as his responsibility. He was interfering with her life,

she’d be damned if he would then saunter off, taking on his own matters and expect her

to go sit in the room like a good little female.

Kane would learn right now submitting wasn’t her style.

“Where are you going?” she demanded, running to catch up with him. Her ankle barely

hurt, but occasionally a nagging sensation tripped up her leg as it did now when she came

to an abrupt stop when he did.

Kane searched her face, his expression lined with some unpleasant emotion, frustration,

possibly trepidation. “I’m not sure.”

“You’re not sure,” she repeated. “Then why are you hurrying off like you know?”

“I saw something.”

It took her a moment to understand. Something had flashed before her eyes, a fight by

water, which blinded her. All the growling and snarling and the hurling figure rushing

toward her had meant nothing. But when she’d turned around and caught Kane staring at

the ground, looking so far away she believed he didn’t hear her when she spoke, he’d

been having a vision too.

Kane watched her with blue eyes clear enough she swore she saw emotions swarming

deep inside him, which he fought to keep from her. When his features softened and he

reached for her, there wasn’t any way the frigid temperatures surrounding her could

affect her. Heat swarmed from deep in her womb, consuming her with a fiery rampage

when he stroked her cheek with his fingertips.

“No. I don’t know. And since I don’t, I’d be a lot more comfortable if you’d wait in the

room. Order room service and charge it to the room. I’ll be back soon.”

“Like hell,” she growled, shaking her head and fighting to keep it clear when his feral

body was so damn close. “You scratched your way into my affairs when I told you not

to,” she informed him, ignoring how his eyes hardened at her words. “If you think I’m

staying out of your business just because you growl and point, you can think again,

leopard,” she snarled, breathing in his dominating scent and fearing she’d grow drunk off

it if she didn’t maintain her cool.

“When I respond to a vision it’s like entering a battle blindfolded,” he told her, his voice

rough and raspy as he almost whispered. There wasn’t anyone around them on the

sidewalk, but humans overhearing a leopard’s conversation too often caused them to

panic. “And this one didn’t look good.”

“A fight,” she offered, refusing to be left out if he intended to go search out what he just

saw, especially if it was what she saw too. “With the glare from water blinding you?”

“You saw it?” He straightened, although he kept his fingers on her cheek, their warmth

simply adding to the heat that now throbbed inside her. “Tell me exactly what you saw,”

he demanded, all business now.

“It was a flash, nothing to give me direction,” she offered, trying hard to pull the image

that had passed before her eyes so quickly. “I thought it was a bright light but then

realized it was just the sun glaring off water. Someone was tumbling toward me and then

it sounded as if you yelled at me. When I turned around to demand to know why you

howled, you were quiet and staring off into the distance.”

Kane slipped his arm around her and resumed walking, this time taking her with him. A

flood of excitement she was positive would be sniffed out over all the leather she wore hit

her hard enough to steal her breath. Somehow she had to come to grips and accept the

fact she couldn’t restore her honor and do what needed to be done with this male at her

side. But his scent wrapped around her, making it damn hard to focus on doing so just

now.

Kane picked up the pace when they rounded the corner and headed toward the docks.

“I’m never told if what I see is happening right now or somewhere far in the future. But

you were right about the fight. All I heard was something about a fishing boat and who

had the right to use it.”

He saw more than she did, but then most leopards who had visions did. It was something

she’d become acutely aware of when her sire started stealing males and females and

dragging them to his mansion in Arizona. It was a despicable, degrading time and one she

couldn’t wait to put behind her. That wouldn’t happen until she finished what she came

here to do.

“Look, see here,” Kane continued when they walked along the docks. “The water is dark

here. But there was a glare.”

“And there was snow.” Somehow letting him know her vision wasn’t nearly as clear as

his didn’t sit right. Jin knew allowing a leopard, no matter how friendly they were to her,

smell her true colors inevitably brought her trouble. “Also they were rolling toward me.”

“So it doesn’t happen here. There isn’t a glare on the water.”