Vision Revealed (27 page)

more than just pulled over and climbed out. Jin swore he leapt from the car as if he were

in his fur, the way a deadly, aggressive predator moved before attacking. He was perfect.

Jin forced herself to look away, pushing her car door open and gulping in the cold air.

She tried using it to soothe her overwrought senses but it didn’t work. She dragged

Kane’s scent into her lungs and her insides quickened. It was too much to hope he would

still be here, as raw and untamable as he was now, if she returned for him once

everything was taken care of.

Kane left his car running and walked ahead of her on the highway, leaving Jin to stare at

his hard ass and roped muscle bulging against denim. It was a mouth-watering view. This

male was so much more than sexy and wild. He was driven, with goals and motivation to

accomplish things. No one would stop him. It wouldn’t surprise Jin if he became one of

the mightiest hunters leopards had ever known.

The wind blew in her face, drowning her with Kane’s scent, but working to her

advantage in preventing him from smelling her. It was all she could do not to wallow in

her own pity party. She had to return to the mountains, to her sire. He couldn’t take care

of himself. And as terrible a male as he was, as much havoc as he wreaked on their kind,

Jin wouldn’t match his level of scruples by neglecting him in his current state. She was

better than him, better than her mother, and wouldn’t desert her sire in his time of need.

Once matters with her sire were completed, Jin wondered if Kane would still be there. A

male like him would be coveted, sniffed after by every female in the area. Especially

when the howling began he was the new hunter. And he would be a hunter. Tore might

not like it. But it was in Kane’s blood. She sensed it as she followed him, neither of them

talking, and watched as he sniffed the countryside.

“Kane,” she whispered when something cracked in the woods off to the side of them.

He stopped at the same time she spoke, putting his hand out behind him as if creating a

shield to prevent anyone from hurting her. Always the protector, no matter how much she

would howl she’d taken care of herself nicely for many years. Jin hid her smile, deciding

it wasn’t such a bad trait in him.

She squinted into the darkness off the road, hearing footsteps now, and finally saw the

silhouettes of several males approaching.

“Stop right there,” Kane growled, moving closer to her and then grabbing her arm and

moving her behind him. “Who are you and why are you here?”

“Are you searching for the werewolves too?” There were three teenage males, their tall,

lanky bodies and eagerness for a fight making it impossible for them to conceal

themselves very well.

“Why are you searching for werewolves in your skin?” Kane growled.

“Haven’t you heard? They’re in their flesh too.” The tallest of the three straightened,

offering a toothy grin. “We’re going to kick their asses.”

“You’re going to return to your dens before I kick your asses,” Kane hissed, his voice a

deadly whisper.

Two of the teenagers took a step backward. Their spokesperson glanced over his

shoulder at his buddies but then glared at Kane.

“Why shouldn’t we be allowed in on the fun?”

“Now!” Kane roared.

The three teenagers jumped then turned, offering obscenities as they ran into the

darkness.

“What are we when we have so much prejudice wrapped around our cubs?” Kane

snarled, stomping off down the highway.

Jin kept pace with him but only by almost running. “We’re the only ones who can stop

that by raising our own to know no hatred.”

She almost fell backward when Kane stopped, spinning around and damn near lifting her

off her feet. “And that is how we’ll raise our cubs, my little cat,” he snarled, the glow in

his eyes reflecting his anger and determination.

Jin couldn’t speak. There wasn’t even an answer on her lips. She hadn’t meant them

specifically, but Kane took it to mean that and referenced her having his cubs. When her

heart started beating again it thumped so hard in her chest she was lightheaded. The

thought of birthing his litters filled her with more excitement and will to see her mission

through so she really could run by his side.

“Over there!” She didn’t have time to dwell on her future. An image appeared across the

highway, moving faster than her eyes could follow.

“It was one of them.” Kane grabbed her hand without elaborating and glanced back

toward his car and then the other way before darting across the highway.

Whoever raced past them was gone. But there were others, the pounding of their feet

against the snow-packed ground creating a reverberation in Jin’s boots. She steadied

herself on an icy patch alongside the road, grabbing Kane’s coat as a group appeared

coming across the field. One whiff of the air told her these weren’t leopards.

“Crap! If they’re running in their flesh that means…” Kane turned without finishing his

sentence.

Jin hissed instinctively, curling her lip when she caught sight of the leopard bounding

toward them at high speed.

“No!” Kane yelled as the leopard leapt into the air and landed on one of the werewolf

males, who was still in his flesh.

“Holy shit!” Jin growled under her breath. Her guess was that it was one of the

teenagers, who obviously ignored Kane’s instruction to return to their den.

But to attack someone else when they weren’t in their fur. What kind of litter did the

leopard come from? It was dishonorable, worse than that, despicable and repulsive. She

snarled, embarrassed and outraged at the same time.

Kane raced after the leopard, snarling fiercely, although if he spoke she didn’t catch

what he said. He made incredible speed for being on two legs instead of four. All she

could do was watch, stunned at what she saw. Kane grabbed the leopard by his fur,

yanking him backward by the loose flesh between his shoulder blades. It was as if he’d

picked up a cub, carrying it the way his mother might, except there wasn’t anything

nurturing about Kane’s actions.

He hurled the leopard backward, causing him to land on his side and slide several yards

before regaining his footing. Again Kane didn’t hesitate. His actions were unbelievable as

well as unpredictable. No leopard took on another leopard when one was in their fur and

another in their flesh.

The male werewolf scurried off the ground, his face bloodied although he didn’t appear

to notice. When he looked as if he would run after the leopard who’d pounced on him,

Kane stepped forward.

“Do you really think provoking a leopard will advance your cause?” he demanded.

“You’ve crossed the line being here. No matter how many times it takes we’ll set traps

and disrupt your runs until you accept that you need to hunt somewhere else.”

“This land isn’t claimed.”

Jin wasn’t sure if they were on werewolf land or not. She didn’t see how Kane would

know that, but she didn’t smell his bluff. The male werewolf wiped his face, smearing

blood across his cheek and glared at Kane.

“It runs along land belonging to our pack.”

“Tomorrow I’ll speak to your pack leader,” Kane told him. “Through proper channels,

leopards and werewolves can fight and run without interfering with each other.”

There were quite a few werewolves standing in the field, watching the exchange between

Kane and the male, as well as keeping a wary eye on the group of leopards snarling at

them, who were still in their fur.

Headlights appeared down the road as a car parked. Jin noticed two males get out and

then start toward them, walking down the middle of the road as if they owned it.

“You’ve got some explaining to do, werewolf,” Tore bellowed loudly, his chest puffed

out and stretching the material of his shirt. He stopped less than ten feet from Kane,

growling at the male. “The den up the road confirms a pack of werewolves broke into

their garage less than an hour ago.”

“The description they gave matches yours,” Race added.

Jin scoped out the sky at the sound of large wings flapping overhead. An owl hooted as it

landed somewhere nearby. She guessed Dover announced his presence.

“Looks like you’ve got an escort back to your pack,” Kane said, but then turned on the

leopards, who were dancing around each other, obviously anxious to draw more blood.

“Get the hell out of here, now! If I see you out again tonight, you’ll seriously regret it.”

He charged the small group of leopards and they scattered, hightailing it back across the

road. Then approaching Jin, he draped his arm over her shoulder and started down the

road where he left his car as Tore barked orders that the werewolves return to their pack,

warning them the owls would confirm they remained on their own territory.

“Are you going to meet with the pack leader tomorrow?” she asked when they were out

of earshot of the others. “You can bet Tore will probably do the same.”

“I won’t make us look like fools,” he growled. “I’ll contact Tore in the morning and

invite him to go with me since he talked to the litter whose den was broken into by the

werewolves.”

It was a coward’s way out. Jin should tell Kane her intention. He would throw a fit even

though he knew from the beginning her plan was never to stay. But she knew she’d face

more than a male tantrum if she told him she was leaving. He wouldn’t let her go.

When they reached the motel and he climbed into the shower, Jin grabbed the few

possessions she came with and left. As she pulled open the motel room door, she glanced

toward the bathroom. The door wasn’t completely closed and steam drifted slowly from

the shower. She breathed it in, holding his scent deep in her lungs. It was a scent to

remember, to hold on to, although Jin knew better than to reach for dreams. Reality

sometimes sucked, but if she kept her head on straight and didn’t allow illusions to mix

with facts, her life would be good. At the least it would be honorable.

Taking the back exit to the motel once again so the human at the counter wouldn’t be

able to verify she left, not just to Kane but anyone else who might ask, she picked up a

brisk walk down the dark sidewalk. It had been a quick plan, one she devised on their

ride back to the motel. While listening to Kane explain his plan for the next day, she

made her plans silently.

If she ran in her fur, he’d sniff her out and catch her. Even though it would take twice as

long to return to the mountains, Jin would endure the stench of the human buses and

board one. She’d finalized the plan when they drove past the gas station where a large

bus that hauled humans from one town to the next idled in the parking lot. Working her

way across town to that station now, all Jin smelled in the cold night air was exhaust and

lingering odors from the well-trodden snow-packed path she hurried along.

There was a forty-five-minute wait for the bus and more than once she almost bailed.

Kane would be out of the shower, pissed as hell, and possibly even already out searching

for her. She stood along the wall at the back of the convenience store, paying little

attention to the few humans in the place, who likewise gave her no notice as well. She

saw her reflection in the large glass window, her blonde hair tousled and her jeans and

sweater Kane bought for her damp and hanging on her thin frame. She stared at the real

Jin Rose. Did she dare go by her real name after so many years of denying her heritage?

Somehow, no matter how deeply she searched inside herself, she didn’t feel like Jin Pard.

Hell, she didn’t feel like Jin Rose either. She stared at the reflection of a stranger,

confused and lost. Her nerves were shot by the time she climbed on the bus.

It did stink. It was uncomfortable as hell and the ride was unbearably long. There was

plenty of time to think though. The reality that sunk deep inside her didn’t sit well but she

worked with it, determined she would make her new life not only honorable but one she

would enjoy. Kane didn’t find her during her wait for the bus. If he’d taken a long

shower, discovered her gone and tracked her scent, he would have had plenty of time to

discover her whereabouts. She fought with the truth that being a hunter mattered more to

him than chasing her ass down. The knowledge made her sick to her stomach, but she

fought to accept it. Jin offered him a way to get close to the other hunters. And she

acknowledged that more than once, Kane helped her accomplish what she’d gone to

Kenora to do. They were two leopards on a mission, and together they’d reached their

goal.

“Good hunting, Kane Masters,” she whispered to herself as she leaned her head back

against the stiff seat and gazed into the darkness outside with dry, burning eyes.

By the time she arrived in Banff she wondered if she might be too exhausted to change

into her fur. She remembered Kane describing the cabin and the lock on the door and

prickles shot up her spine. As she walked to the outskirts of the popular skiing town, Jin

repeatedly got the sensation she was being watched. There wasn’t anyone to fear in this

community. No one would recognize her or pick up on her scent. She walked these

streets as a new female and the few leopards she passed while strolling the cleared