The Wildlands, deep in the bayous of Louisiana, were shrouded in mystery. The private and ancient land of the Pantera was well protected to keep out their enemies, and the new flood of curiosity-seekers.
Behind the magical barriers, the Pantera lived in simple houses and cabins that were built in harmony with the lush vegetation and towering cypress trees. But they weren’t complete savages.
At the very heart of the Wildlands, a new Headquarters was being completed that housed the Geeks and their Pentagon-grade computer system. Plus, the Nurturers had built one of the world’s finest medical facilities.
Not that it looked like a traditional hospital. There was no smell of antiseptic or disinfectant. There were no florescent lights, and the architecture and design was anything but cold and sterile. Instead, the morning sun shone through the open windows and the air was laced with healing plants and the gentle musk of Pantera.
The room where Blade had been restlessly pacing all night had cherry-paneled walls, handwoven rugs on the wooden floor, and large windows to overlook the communal eating space.
Across the room was a wide bed where Valli was lying unconscious, a soft blue blanket covering her legs and a fluffy pillow under her head. Leaning over her, Jean-Baptiste was completing his examination.
The male looked more like a biker than one of their best Healers. He was over six feet, with a broad chest and lean muscle beneath his jeans and casual tee. His hair was dark brown and fell past his jawline, while his eyes flashed with amber fire. And as he straightened, the overhead light revealed the numerous tattoos that created a dazzling display of art on his skin.
Blade continued to pace as the Healer left the bed and walked across the room to speak with him.
It’d been sheer impulse to bring Valli to the Wildlands after she’d fainted. There no doubt had been a doctor in her local town. And certainly there were hospitals in Baton Rouge and New Orleans.
But Blade hadn’t even considered taking her to any of them.
Instead, he’d scooped her up in his arms and run directly to this facility.
Home.
There was no way in hell he was trusting anyone but Pantera to offer medical care to this female.
Jean-Baptiste held up a hand. “You’re going to wear a hole in the floor, mon ami.”
Blade forced himself to come to a halt, despite the anxiety that continued to hum through his body.
He would never forget holding Valli’s limp body in his arms as he’d run, focused and furiously, through the fields and swamps. It was the first time he’d ever truly touched her, held her, and she’d felt so unbearably fragile. So vulnerable.
“How is she?” he demanded. “She’s been out all night.”
“She’s well, and starting to come around.”
Relief coursed through him. “And the cub?”
“Healthy.”
“Thank the Goddess,” he breathed, his jaw so tight it pained him. As he’d run with Valli in his arms, he’d been able to sense the cub’s heartbeats. They’d amazingly seemed to sync with his own, almost as if the two of them were already bonded. Still, he needed Jean-Baptiste’s reassurance. “Why did she faint?”
The large male folded his arms over his chest. “It’s not uncommon for pregnant women to have fainting spells from time to time. But for her, my guess is that it was more psychological stress than any physical problem. Though clearly she was also exhausted.”
Guilt blasted through Blade. Stress. Shit. That was his fault. He’d been so intent on tracking down the female who carried his child that he’d never considered her reaction to his abrupt appearance.
“I should have taken more care not to frighten her,” he rasped. “But I had no idea that...”
Jean-Baptiste frowned. “No idea about what?”
His eyes met and held the Healer’s. “She believes I raped her, Baptiste.”
A thick silence filled the room as his Pantera brother stared at him in shocked disbelief. Finally, after a few moments, the male gave a sharp shake of his head.
“No way.”
Blade clenched his hands. Just the accusation of hurting a woman made his gut twist with revulsion.
“They lied to her, of course. She was drugged during the procedure and only has fractured memories of what happened,” he explained. “I was in the room with her, and I remember her looking at me, her eyes glassy, pained. She didn’t know where she was. And I fucking couldn’t help her...” A growl escaped his throat. “Afterward, the doctors must’ve convinced her that she was attacked by a Pantera.”
“Attacked by you,” Baptiste clarified with a snarl. “Just when I think those bastards can’t get any more evil, they manage to prove me wrong.”
Blade didn’t want to think about Benson or his associates. He was worried his cat would emerge and go on a hunt for flesh and blood. A hunt that would keep him away from Valli and their cub. Right now, he needed to be fully focused on the woman he’d been hunting for the past two months.
“I was trying to assure her that I would never hurt her when she passed out,” he told his companion.
“Hmm.” Jean-Baptiste strolled back toward the bed, standing next to the mattress as he gazed down at Valli.
Blade went to the other side. As he gazed down at the beautiful female who had never left his thoughts for a moment since the clinic, his puma pressed against his skin with a fierce agitation.
Clearly, his beast was deeply disturbed by Valli’s unnatural stillness. And equally disturbed to have another male hovering so close to her.
“What is it?” he demanded as the Healer continued to study her with intense concentration.
“I’m wondering if they did more than just give her drugs and impregnate her,” the male said.
Blade frowned. “Talk to me, Jean-Baptiste.”
The Healer lifted his head to meet Blade’s worried gaze. “I sensed barriers in her mind when I was examining her.”
“Barriers?”
Jean-Baptiste shrugged. “I wasn’t sure what they were. Now I’m beginning to suspect the humans used hypnosis of some kind to block out her memories, or even plant new ones.”
Blade was caught off guard. “Why?”
The Healer looked like he was considering the various possibilities before he finally answered.
“You said she originally went to the clinic because she was sick?”
Blade grimaced, recalling her words when she’d confessed she’d willingly accepted Pantera blood.
“She said that she was dying.”
Jean-Baptiste nodded, apparently unconcerned that Valli had been gravely ill. Blade assumed that meant whatever had been killing her was now cured.
“Then presumably she wasn’t expecting to become a mother,” the male said.
Blade blinked. He hadn’t considered the fact that, unlike many females who’d gone to Benson’s clinics around the country, she hadn’t been interested in conceiving a child.
“Shit,” he cursed on a dark breath. “They needed an explanation of how she ended up pregnant.”
Baptiste nodded. “Exactly.”
It made sense. If the doctors had convinced Valli that she’d been raped, it would explain how she got pregnant, as well as encourage her to remain at the clinic so she could both stay protected and hide the fact that she was carrying the child of an animal.
Blade’s jaw tightened as he was reminded of Valli’s reaction when she’d recognized him.
Fear. Anger. Disgust.
“God. Damn.”
He felt his cat begin to emerge, rage unleashing his beast.
Jean-Baptiste sent him a warning glance. “Easy, mon ami,” he warned. “She’s a victim.”
Blade shoved the animal back with a grunt, then forced himself to take a deep, calming breath. Goddess, how could Baptiste even suggest it? He wasn’t angry with Valli. He wanted to gut those bastards who’d done this to her. Who’d lied to her. Hurt her. Manipulated her. And ruined...fuck!...any hope for a relationship between them, not to mention possibly destroying her ability to love her own child.
The idea of that...well, it seared through his blood like acid.
“I think she’s starting to wake,” Jean-Baptiste said as Valli sighed softly. The Healer leaned forward and reached out to place his hand on her forehead.
Without warning, Blade’s puma released a rumbling growl, his claws poking through the tips of his fingers.
“Don’t,” he snarled brutally. He didn’t want the male touching her.
And, clearly, neither did his cat.
Jean-Baptiste froze, as if he realized that Blade could easily be provoked into an act of violence he would later regret. After all, the Healer had a female of his own that he was insanely protective of.
“I think I can help her to recover her true memories,” Baptiste said in low, calm tones, his hands at his sides now. His eyes lifted to meet Blade’s. “Do you want me to try, mon ami?”
With everything he had in him, Blade attempted to leash his primitive reaction. No matter how much the cat wanted out, fangs bared, he was far more concerned with Valli’s health than with any male’s need to possess her. And while he’d spent a vast majority of his life traveling in his role as a Diplomat, he was well aware that Jean-Baptiste was considered to have a magical touch, especially for those who suffered mental and emotional challenges.
He managed a jerky nod. “Yes.”
Jean-Baptiste brushed his fingers gently over Valli’s forehead. On cue, her lashes fluttered open.
Her golden eyes were dark with a sleepy confusion as she glanced up at the large man bent over her.
“Where am I?” she croaked.
“You’re in the Wildlands,” Jean-Baptiste told her in a gentle voice.
She blinked, as if struggling to accept his words. “What? How?”
Blade moved to perch on the edge of the mattress, careful not to crowd her. The last thing he wanted was to startle her into passing out again.
“I brought you here last night,” he said.
Her head turned on the pillow, a subtle emotion rippling over her face. Relief? His heart raced at the thought she might be happy that he was near, only to skid to a halt when her eyes narrowed with accusation.
“You kidnapped me.”
He clenched his teeth. And his heart squeezed with a pain he’d never felt before. No matter how hard it was, he couldn’t take her suspicion personally, not when she’d been hypnotized into believing he was a savage animal.
“I brought you to the one place you could get the medical care you need,” he assured her.
Her gaze moved to take in the hand-carved furniture and the pretty lace curtains. “It’s not the one place,” she said uneasily. “There’s a doctor in my town—”
“A small-town doctor isn’t what you need.”
“I know what I need,” she countered. “What is this place? It looks like a hotel.”
“It’s a hospital,” Jean-Baptiste answered. “We prefer our patients to be as comfortable as possible.”
She licked her lips, her hand unsteady as she lifted it to push back the hair that had escaped her tight braid. “I’m not your patient.”
“Have you been fainting or feeling faint regularly?” the Healer asked, undeterred by her caustic response.
She didn’t answer right away, which was probably an answer in itself.
“I need to get home, get back,” she uttered breathlessly. “I have a job. My boss will be worried about me—”
“Please, calm down,” Jean-Baptiste urged. “Right now your main concern should be yourself and your health.” His fingers lingered on Valli’s forehead. Blade suspected that he was using his powers to soothe her fears. “Physically, there’s nothing wrong with you.”
Sudden terror flared in her expression. “Oh my God, my baby?”
“Perfectly healthy,” Jean-Baptiste confirmed.
Blade didn’t miss her shudder of relief, the quick glimmer of tears in her eyes. Warmth filled his heart, and a rush of gratitude. Whatever her confused and angry feelings toward him, it was obvious she cared deeply about their child.
“Then why am I here?” she demanded, trying to sit up.
The Healer placed another pillow under her head so she could be slightly upright. “Blade was concerned when you fainted.”
“Blade?” She whirled back to study Blade with a skittish gaze. “That’s your name?”
His lips twisted into a humorless smile. “A little late for introductions, I know, but yes.” He nodded toward the male across the bed. “And that’s Jean-Baptiste. A Pantera healer. One of our best.”
She frowned. “I don’t get this. I thought there was nothing wrong with me. Why would I need a healer?”
“I said nothing was physically wrong,” Jean-Baptiste clarified.
Her stunningly beautiful face tightened, as if she was offended by the words, her hand reaching up to brush away Jean-Baptiste’s hand.
“I’m not crazy,” she ground out.
“No one said you were,” Blade said, reaching to grasp her hand, which lay on top of the light blanket covering her body. Thankfully she made no effort to pull away from his grasp this time.
He hated it, but he needed to touch her.
To feel the heat of her skin and hear the steady beat of her heart.
“Then what are you saying?” she demanded, once again turning her attention to the Healer.
Jean-Baptiste chose his words with care. “I suspect that the doctors at the clinic used hypnosis to distort your memories.”
Valli flinched, her fear scenting the air. Blade’s cat pressed beneath his skin, wanting out. It didn’t understand human deceit or betrayal. It only knew that this female was afraid and in need of comfort.
“No,” she breathed. “You’re just trying to protect your friend after what he...” She didn’t finish.
This time it was Blade who pulled his hand from hers.
With a growl.
Jean-Baptiste’s amber eyes glowed with outrage as he locked eyes with Valli. “Blade is one of my brothers, but if he ever harmed a vulnerable woman I would make him sorry he was born.”
“Yes, he would.” Blade confirmed. He knew exactly what Jean-Baptiste would do to him. “The male is an artist with a scalpel.”
She said nothing to that, but at least the fear seeped from her gaze somewhat. The poor female, Blade thought. She was confused, not knowing who to trust, what to believe.
“Will you allow me to try and get rid of the barriers they placed in your mind?” Jean-Baptiste asked her gently.
“What?” She sat up completely now and moved back until she was pressed against the headboard. Her expression was wary, although the acrid scent of fear had defused to a tang of uncertainty. “I don’t get any of this. I need to go home.”
“I just want to give you the option of seeing the truth of what happened for yourself,” Jean-Baptiste continued, his simple words as compelling as any flowery speech.
Valli bit her bottom lip, her eyes troubled. Was she wavering between her distrust of the Pantera and a new and sudden uncertainty in her own memories?
“Please,” Blade added.
She glanced up at the door. “Do I have a choice?”
Jean-Baptiste scowled. “Of course you do.”
“You’re our guest, Valli,” Blade said. “Not our prisoner. Walk out right now if you want to. I swear to the Goddess we are only trying to help you.”
Sudden tears sprang to her eyes and she shook her head. “This is so unfair. I don’t know who to trust anymore. What to believe.”
Blade glanced over at the Healer. “Jean-Baptiste. We need a minute. Alone.”
Baptiste raised his brow, then turned to his patient. “What do you say to that?”
Valli looked surprised that her needs would even be considered. “Me?”
He nodded. “Of course. As your Healer, my loyalty is to you.”