Vision Revealed (5 page)

feelings from him, he would show her how incredible fucking him would be.

Kane pressed his flat palm against the door and pushed it open. “You have a beautiful

voice,” he grumbled, stepping into the bathroom.

He wasn’t ready for the view she bestowed on him to be so incredibly fucking hot. Jin

was stretched out, her head leaning against the lip on the tub. Her breasts were half

covered by the soapy water and her nipples were hard beacons, ripe and mouth-watering

temptations. Those long, thin yet muscular-looking legs were under water, but her feet

were resting on the edge of the tub.

Kane never thought much about toes, but Jin’s were perfect, so small and adorable. He

took his time running his gaze over her naked body before reaching to the rack attached

to the wall and pulling a couple of towels free.

Jin moved under the water, coming to a sitting position and then pulling her knees to her

chest. “I want to hear about these visions you’ve claimed to have.”

Kane handed her a towel and waited until she stood and accepted it before unfolding his

towel and wrapping it around his torso. Then grabbing his clothes, he stepped out of the

bathroom.

“I did have them, which is why I followed you. I recognized your scent.” He sat on the

edge of the king-size bed, letting the towel hang loosely across his thighs.

“I’m proud you’re good enough to pick up the scent of a female,” she called from the

bathroom.

Kane growled but then bit his lower lip, refusing to let her bait him. All that would

happen was he’d pounce on her again. He knew what he smelled on her. She wanted it as

much as he did. But he’d fuck her when the time was right. And he sure wouldn’t be

accused of giving her something she didn’t want when he did.

He would never have sex with a female unless she wanted him as much as he did her. In

Jin’s case, he smelled they were already there. Hell, he’d tasted it when he kissed her in

the shower. Now he needed to learn why she fought her natural feelings and smothered

them with the smell of so many lies.

Jin’s expression was triumphant when she walked out of the bathroom. Kane barely

noticed her gloating. She wore a simple red tank top and black leather, skin-tight pants.

The leather coat that hung over her shoulders and appeared at least a size too large didn’t

hide the swell of her breasts. Or how the stretchy material in her shirt clung to her tits,

and if possible, made them appear even larger than they were.

As hot as she looked with the black leather reeking and completely hiding her natural

scent, he couldn’t focus on her body longer than a moment. It was her black hair, shiny

and straight, bordering her smug expression and showing off piercing green eyes that

stole his breath.

“Jin Rose,” he said, whispering her name.

Her cockiness faded. With those contact lenses he couldn’t see her eyes change color.

The leather pants and coat hid every scent she could possibly let off. As distracting as her

physical looks were, they also disguised who she was and every scent about her.

Kane focused on her mouth, how it straightened and no longer displayed her full, pouty

lips. “Is that not your name?” he asked.

“That’s my name,” she said.

He got the oddest sensation she wasn’t proud of her litter, and therefore her name, or

once again she lied and it wasn’t her name at all. Pressing her wouldn’t get him answers.

But there were other ways to tame a wild cat.

His little female was curious and he would appeal to that. “It was still cold, last winter

not quite spring, when I first saw you.” More than anything he wished she didn’t wear

dead flesh and colored contact lenses. Her human disguises were effective and pissed him

off. Keeping his emotions in check, he continued watching her face as he shared his

story. “I woke up in my den, up in the Canadian Rockies just north of Banff.”

“That’s werewolf country.”

“You know the area.” Which didn’t surprise him. Many white leopards came from those

mountains. He kept going, needing more of a reaction out of her. “That was when I had

my first vision with you in it.”

“What happened in the vision?” She leaned against the dresser, taking the weight off her

injured ankle, and watched him intently with those bright green eyes.

“We were returning from some activity or event. I felt adrenaline, concern and the

seriousness of the event. And we weren’t alone. Another leopard was with us.” She didn’t

say anything when he paused, so he decided to give her the rest. “We reached an old

cabin, one that hadn’t been used in quite a while, although there’s smoke coming from

the chimney. We’re returning to it. You say something about honoring your litter. Then

you growl you’re sorry and run into the cabin. You leave me to wish the other leopard

good hunting before joining you.”

“What did the cabin look like? Where was it?”

He didn’t expect those to be her questions. From how she’d behaved so far, he guessed

she’d snap out some coy comment about him making it up to get her to believe they’d

end up a couple.

Kane frowned, pulling the vision out of his memory and trying to focus on the cabin.

“The main thing I remember were the smells. It was obvious no one had lived there in a

long time. The ground was uneven. We’d hiked quite a ways to get there. I’m guessing it

was on a mountain, although which one I can’t say.”

“But you can’t describe the cabin?”

“There was a lot of firewood out front, as if logs were being divided and the task wasn’t

finished.” He snapped his finger, pointing at her as the vision came into focus in his

mind. “I remember the door knob on the door. It was an old-style door handle and was

definitely not very secure. There might be a padlock on it, as if what was inside were

more valuable than the cabin itself.”

“Interesting.”

“Do you know this cabin?”

“Nope.” Jin turned to the door, waving her fingers in the air as if she were saying

goodbye. “Thank you for the shower. You honored me by allowing me into your

temporary den. Good hunting, Kane Masters.”

“Wait a minute. Where do you think you’re going?” He jumped off the bed, barely

managing to grab his towel and reach her when she tried opening the motel room door.

Jin pulled on the door and slipped around it, using it as a shield against him as she

moved into the hallway. “I have business matters to take care of. Good hunting,” she

repeated, quieter this time in case humans were within ear shot.

Kane cursed as he hurried into the bathroom and grabbed his clothes. No way would the

little female slip out of his claws that easily.

Jin opted for the stairs instead of the elevator and rushed down them. As she hurried

along a first-floor hallway with motel room doors lining either side, she tried not to

breathe in too much of the human odors saturating the walls, carpets and more than likely

every inch of the place. Then pushing the glass door open, she gulped in the cold night air

before getting her bearings so she’d know which way to go.

Kane would hunt her. And she fought not to care when he questioned the front-desk

human about her and got a look that would say he was nuts. But she needed to throw him

off her track. Unfortunately, what she had to do could only be done alone.

Jin didn’t remember if anyone ever called for a meeting of all hunters before. There

wouldn’t be any restoring her honor until she gave them all the information they needed

to know, answered questions they hadn’t been able to answer for themselves. The truth

would smell sour, but it was imperative she do this. All four male hunters were good

leopards and they deserved this.

She prayed they wouldn’t take their wrath out on her once she revealed answers to

questions she bet plagued them ever since they first sniffed out Leo Pard. But that was

why she needed to appear before them as she always had. Once she’d said what she’d

come to say, she would disappear, never again to publicly appear as she was now. No one

would know her as Jin Rose without her black wig and contact lenses.

No one but one hot white leopard.

Hurrying down the main street in Kenora, Jin couldn’t help sniffing the air and glancing

over her shoulder every few minutes. The tiny hairs on the back of her neck continued

prickling, the sensation she was being watched overwhelming her. More than once she

breathed in the scent of a leopard, but no one stopped her or confronted her.

She stopped when she reached The Running Mate, a bar owned and run by leopards, but

where different breeds, including werewolves, frequented from time to time.

“You’re not afraid,” she reminded herself, whispering under her breath.

Then glancing up and down the street, taking in all the pedestrians out at this hour, who

smelled like humans, she then faced the door to the bar and entered.

Her heart thumped painfully as it swelled into her throat. In spite of her effort to use

every skill she possessed to extinguish any feelings or emotions, her palms were still so

damp she itched to rub them against her pants. Her ankle ached, the throbbing in it

matching the beat of her heart.

It mattered more right now that she appear aloof, indifferent and confident. The bar was

dimly lit, rather full at this hour, and everyone would notice her before she could take in

who all were inside.

“This isn’t a good time for you to be here,” a male said calmly next to her.

Jin let the door close behind her, taking in the smell of alcohol and a flood of emotions,

most of them hostile. Although the usual rich aroma of lust that hung in the air at any bar

was just as apparent.

She turned and stared into the almost round, non-blinking eyes of Dover, the owl. It had

been a year since she’d last seen him, yet he sidled up alongside her silently, speaking as

if they saw each other every day.

“I need to send a message.” If Dover didn’t want to waste time with greetings, she

wouldn’t either.

“Give me your message and leave. They are looking for blood, and yours will do.”

Dover’s calm expression didn’t change with his odd warning. Owls were so damn hard to

read, and something about Dover always confused her.

He wasn’t her type. No owl was. They weren’t incredibly muscular and Dover couldn’t

possibly have half the strength Kane did. Yet Dover was taller, over six feet. His low,

calm, almost-soothing tone never changed no matter what circumstance existed when she

ran into him. And his blond hair, laced with silver and shoulder-length, gave him a regal,

mature look. She would never be able to place her finger on what it was about this male

that always made her feel safe—and curious.

“Who is looking for blood?” she asked, ignoring his request to hear her message. She

needed to speak to a leopard.

A crashing sound at the back of the bar, near the pool tables where it wasn’t as well lit,

grabbed her attention and made her jump. She cringed, thinking Dover might pick up on

how nervous she was. Two large males she’d never seen before started growling at each

other and the males and females around them gave them room, forming a half circle

while they grinned and egged on the two males.

“Your entire litter will pay for her crimes. She is dead and her blood stains that bitch’s

hands,” one of the males sneered at the other, his voice slightly garbled, probably from a

mixture of alcohol and his readiness to change into his fur and attack.

“The fight was fair. Our female followed the law as it’s been written for centuries. She

won fair and square and you will not dishonor us by refusing her,” the other male in the

middle of the growing circle bellowed.

A young female pushed her way out of the circle, snarling at those who tried holding her

back. “I don’t want him anymore. He’s the one lacking honor, not me,” she howled, her

high pitch reverberating off the walls.

The male closest to her turned on her, growling until she stepped backward. The other

male took advantage of his opponent’s distraction and leapt on him. Everyone in the bar

broke into deafening howls as the two large males crashed into a nearby table, destroying

it from their weight.

Dover was stronger than he looked when he grabbed her and lifted her off the floor then

placed her against the wall with a table blocking her from the loud fight. He let go of her

but stood alongside her, his expression unchanging when he returned his attention to the

fight.

The metallic smell of blood filled the air before the two males were yanked off each

other. Growls filled the bar, everyone taking sides as the males circled each other, ready

to pounce the moment they could.

“You don’t want her now, but didn’t have a problem wanting her when you were

mated,” another male, who apparently seemed interested in jumping into the fight, yelled.

“I told both of you to shut up about it.” The young female was stupid enough to jump

between the snarling males.

“You think you can play how you want and then try to use our traditions to back your

foul stench,” another female who was quite a bit older yelled at the young blonde.

“The hunters will decide in the favor of our litter. You can smell our honor. All your