Chapter 12
Honor tore the lid from a small tub of creamer and dumped it into her coffee. She yawned and stirred the coffee, watching the liquids merge until the coffee was a light taupe color. She pulled four sugar packets from a little ceramic box on the table and tore off the tops, pouring the sweet crystals into the mug.
“Would you like some coffee with your cream and sugar?” Gretchen asked. She smiled at Honor from across the table where they’d stopped for breakfast on their way to Indiana.
“That joke never gets old.”
“Well, I do like the classics,” Gretchen said.
Honor, Gretchen, and Julia sat in a booth in what could only be described as a greasy spoon, just outside Indianapolis. In the booth behind them, Tanya, Hannah, Bella, and Claire talked quietly, comparing maps and plans. It was the day of the September full moon, and the plan to wreak havoc on Jilly’s life was coming down to the wire. In about twelve hours, they’d be lying in wait for the pride.
Well, at least the others would. As promised, Honor and her two pride members were staying away from the action. Their only intention was to ensure that none of the females were injured or captured during this little raid. If things went according to plan, Tanya and her females would be able to dose the two males who were with Jilly and disappear before the poison actually started to take effect.
That was if things went right.
Honor wasn’t feeling too optimistic.
“You know,” Julia murmured, “we could just ditch them.”
Honor lifted her brow. “You’re not serious.”
“Yeah,” Gretchen said with a low voice. “I agree. We’ve got responsibilities to our pride, and we left our home to traipse down here on a mission we don’t believe in to punish a female we don’t care about.”
Honor shook her head. “I hear you, but I made a decision that’s best for all of us. We need to stick together to ensure that everyone makes it back home.”
“Our home,” Julia said.
“It still is. This is the way we protect it,” Honor said.
She pushed the home button on her cell and sent a text to Victoria, who was in charge of the pride back home while she and the others were gone.
“All good,” Victoria replied. “How’s Indiana?”
“I’ll be happy when it’s in the rearview mirror,” she responded.
Finishing her coffee, Honor set the mug on the table and waved at the waitress, who walked over. “Anything else?”
“Just the checks for both tables,” Honor said.
She reached into her half-apron pocket and pulled out the slips, handing them to Honor.
“I’m ready,” Honor said to the other group as she stood and grabbed her jacket. “Unless you’re not done with your planning.”
“We’re good,” Tanya said. “But there’s a store we need to stop at. I found a better dart gun than the one I picked up before we left.”
“Better?” Honor asked.
“It has a laser sight.”
Honor hummed. “Since they’re black panthers, I guess a laser would be helpful.”
“Yeah, that and the night vision googles.”
“Sounds like we’re going off to war,” Gretchen muttered.
Tanya snarled softly and poked Gretchen in the chest. “We are. She represents everything we despise, and we can’t allow her crimes to go unanswered. If you’re not with us, you’re against, so choose your side, female.”
Honor released a deep growl and stepped between the two females. Facing off against Tanya, she clicked her teeth together in warning. “I’m the leader of our pride, so stand down. This isn’t war, this is payback. Get your head out of your ass and let’s go before we draw any more attention to ourselves.”
“Fine,” Tanya said, sniffing derisively at Gretchen.
Honor paid for the checks and turned to Gretchen and Julia, who had waited with her while the others walked outside to stand by the passenger van they’d rented.
“I have a bad feeling about this,” Gretchen said, rubbing the place where Tanya had jabbed her finger into her chest.
“We’re going to be away from any of this nonsense. It’s our job to drive the van and make sure every female comes back home,” Honor said. “I’m not worried, so you shouldn’t be either.”
“Okay,” Gretchen said.
Honor felt anything but optimistic at this point. The closer they got to Ashland, the stranger she felt, as if her cat were prowling in the recesses of her mind. She couldn’t imagine what was aggravating her cat. She wasn’t used to hearing much from her, frankly. She’d always heard that females didn’t have to shift much because they were naturally aggressive. Unlike the males, who shifted once a month because they were weak-willed and emotional.
Maybe she needed to shift. Or have a good tumble in the sheets with a random male.
Either way, she couldn’t wait to get home and put the pride male bullshit behind them all. Tanya and her females could get on board or they could get the hell out and make their own way in the world. Honor silently vowed that this was the last time she’d stick her neck out for Tanya or her followers.
She had the rest of the pride to think about.
And herself.
Whatever the night brought, by dawn tomorrow she’d be on the way back home and could focus on the future.
* * *
Wyked sat in the family room of the boarding house on one of the three large couches. They were waiting for night to fall so they could go out hunting. It was the last time that Jilly would hunt with the pride until next summer when they returned. She’d wanted to spend the day with the pride and her family, and Wyked and Fate had given them space to be together while they helped the clan start to prepare the RVs for travel.
The clan hadn’t been on the road for three years. Most clans were nomadic by nature. Their cats just liked to be on the move. Wyked hadn’t minded settling down in Ashland for three years to wait for Jilly to come of-age, but now that they were drawing closer to the time when they could leave, he was certainly ready.
He’d grown up on the road. In summer and fall they traveled along the northern part of the US, and in the winter and spring they stayed south. He’d been home schooled, as had every other clan member, learning not only what was required to receive a diploma but also skills that would be useful to the clan. All panthers learned a trade, and Wyked and Fate had followed in their father’s footsteps and learned masonry.
He enjoyed it, and it brought in good money for the clan. He was also one of the clan protectors, which meant he trained so that he had the skills to protect his people, even though he damn well hoped that it never came to that. The clan hadn’t been involved in a war in decades, not since before he was born. What had happened before had been when the clan unintentionally passed through another clan’s territory and that leader had taken offense. Mostly, he was thankful that he had the skills to protect his mate if necessary, and someday, when they had cubs, he’d teach his sons how to protect their mates, too.
After spending most of the day changing the oil on the RVs with his father and other clan members, he’d cleaned up and found Jilly watching TV with her cousins. Treasure was there, too, sitting with Brian and Kevin. The house was slowly filling up, as nearly all the pride members were coming over to hunt with Jilly for the last time. The woods would be filled with cats.
“We’ll go out tomorrow to get you a phone,” Jilly said to Treasure. “I already talked to Lisa and Rhett. When you pick out your phone, we’ll get it set up on their plan so you can talk and text.”
“And video calls, too?” she asked.
Jilly nodded. “Plus, you can download apps and games.”
She lifted a phone to show Jilly. “Kevin let me borrow his so I could text them both on Brian’s phone.”
Jilly pressed her lips together to hide her amusement. “How do you like texting?”
“My thumbs hurt.”
“It’ll get easier,” Kevin said. “You’re still learning.”
“And autocorrect doesn’t like me.”
“It doesn’t like me either,” Sam quipped from one of the other couches. “It’s always changing what I want to say.”
Rue walked into the family room. “I know we’re going hunting in a little while, but does anyone want a snack before we head out?”
Jilly looked at Wyked, and he felt like he could read her mind. “If only,” he murmured.
“Are you psychic?” she asked.
“Just with you, and just with sexy stuff,” he promised.
“I was also thinking that we only had to wait three years,” she said, tilting her head toward her cousins and their dragon mate.
He hummed in agreement. Treasure was only twelve, which meant six long years before she was an adult. Depending on what they did with their futures, like going to college or for job training, they might end up waiting longer to be mated. But as he watched the young trio, with Treasure as the center of Brian and Kevin’s world, he knew that just like he hadn’t minded waiting for Jilly, they wouldn’t mind waiting for Treasure.
There was something sweet about the wait.
And good rewards did come at the end of it.
“I’m going to see what Mom’s put out for dessert,” Jilly said.
Wyked and Fate followed her into the kitchen, where a small crowd gathered around the island.
Holden, one of Melody’s uncles, came over to Wyked. “How did it go today?” Holden, and his brother Jackson, were mechanics in town. They’d brought tools for the clan to borrow.
“Pretty good,” Wyked said. “I only swore a couple of times.”
Jackson laughed. “I think it’s a requirement to curse when you’re working on a vehicle.”
“Just don’t think you can bring those curse words into our RV when we have babies,” Jilly said. “I don’t want to have to write down curse words as their first words.”
“Promise,” Wyked said. He kissed her cheek and whispered, “I love hearing you talk about babies.”
She grinned and blushed. “Me too.”
Callie joined them with her mates. “Are you still up for babysitting tomorrow night? Ethan made reservations for dinner at seven, so we need to leave at six thirty.”
“You bet,” Jilly said. “Where are your kids?”
“At Lisa’s. She volunteered to watch all the pride kids. Scarlett and Melody stayed to help, and Hunter and Micah are standing guard.”
“Oh my, that’s a full house,” Sam said, joining them.
“Lisa spoils our kids rotten. They never want to go home,” Eryx said with a smile.
“Family’s supposed to be like that,” Jilly said.
Callie’s eyes got glossy with tears suddenly. Eryx and Ethan both put their hands on her shoulders and asked what was wrong.
“I’m just…I’m going to miss you, Jilly. I remember the first time I met you and you were still under the thrall of the females’ poison. You were so cold and distant, and I couldn’t believe that you’d been raised by a wonderful male like your father and turned out so awful. Now that you’re not poisoned and your emotions are back to normal, we’ve had three wonderful years of getting to know you.” She sniffled and brushed at the tears on her cheeks. “It’s not long enough. Three years is not nearly long enough.”
Through their connection as mates, Wyked felt Jilly’s sorrow as she hugged Callie, and Sam, Rue, Lachlyn, and Cris joined her. The females all cried together, and the scent of sorrow and pain filled the air.
None of the males made any move to comfort their females, knowing that they needed this time to vent their feelings.
When the hug finally broke several minutes later, the males were ready with napkins to hand to their mates. Jilly gave Wyked a watery smile.
Callie sniffled and blotted at her eyes. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make everyone sad. This was supposed to be a happy occasion.”
“It’s happy and sad,” Sam said. “I’m going to miss you terribly, Jilly, but the time will go by fast, I know it. Then it’ll be summer, and we’ll be together again.”
“I’m going to miss you all, too,” Jilly said. “The pride’s been home for me for so long. I’ve cherished this time we’ve had together.”
John cleared his throat. “No more tears. Let’s go out there tonight and enjoy the hunt. I get to hunt with my daughter for the last time for a while, and I want this time to be a celebration.” He looked at Jilly and said, “I love you, honey. You’re the best daughter a father could ask for.”
Jilly hugged him tightly. “Thanks, Daddy.”
“Anytime,” he said, kissing the top of her head. He looked at Wyked and Fate and mouthed keep her safe. Wyked nodded, and Fate did, too. They would always keep Jilly safe. She was the most important person on the planet to them.
The conversation changed to the hunt as the tears were forgotten and the date of their departure was pushed to the back of everyone’s mind. For now, they were going to enjoy the night. When the snacks were gone, the pride headed outside. Wyked and Fate saw their parents as they crossed into the yard along with Hanai and several other clan members to join in the hunt.
“Thanks for inviting us to the hunt,” Dag said as he shook John’s hand.
“You’re welcome. We couldn’t ask for a better night.”
The full moon was bright and high in the sky, lending a pale silver glow to the world. He inhaled deeply, his cat anxious to shift and hunt with their mate. He loved to see her in her shift. She was a stunning mountain lion, lean and powerful, and her fur was the color of wheat. A perfect complement to their solid black coloring.
“Remember the territory markers,” John said. “And don’t wander off alone.”
Treasure joined them and said, “I’m going to shift, but I’ll stay in the yard since my mates can’t shift yet. I haven’t seen your cat. Can you show me?”
“Sure,” Jilly said.
Everyone moved away to find some privacy to shift. He, Jilly, and Fate found a patch of darker shadows away from the others and stripped.
“If I catch the biggest deer, what do I win?” Jilly asked.
“What do you want?” Fate asked.
“Um,” she rolled her eyes as she straightened, her beautiful body bared just for them. “How about I don’t have to do the dishes for a week.”
Wyked’s brain stalled, and his cat filled in with a purr.
She laughed. “Maybe I don’t have to do dishes ever if I just stand in the kitchen naked?”
Wyked grabbed her around the waist and kissed her. “I’m totally okay with that.”
“Good hunt, sweetheart,” Fate said.
She kissed Wyked once more, and then she moved to Fate. Wyked took the opportunity to shift, letting out his panther. The shift came over him swiftly, and he stretched fully, digging his claws into the ground. Jilly dropped to her knees and cupped his head.
“I love your fur, Wyked. And I love you.” She kissed his nose and scratched him behind both ears until a purr stuttered in his chest. With a laugh, she changed forms, going from beautiful human to gorgeous mountain lion swiftly. Once Fate had shifted, the three of them padded back into the yard, which was filled with mountain lions, black and albino panthers, two bears, a wolf, and a pink and blue dragon. Jilly padded over to Treasure and let out a loud purr to show that she was happy. Treasure was sitting on her haunches, her tail curled around her clawed feet, with Brian and Kevin both resting a hand on her.
“Have a good hunt, Jilly,” Brian said.
“If we didn’t say thank you for bringing our mate home with you, thanks,” Kevin said.
Treasure reached a clawed hand out and scratched Jilly behind the ear, eliciting a purr from her. Then she lifted her head and opened her mouth. There was a clicking sound from her throat, and then she blew a stream of fire into the air.
“That means ‘good luck’ in dragon,” Brian said.
Jilly and her mates joined the rest of the pride, and with a happy roar, she headed into the woods. Wyked and Fate flanked her, moving at her pace as they wove their way into the woods that belonged to the pride. Although a part of the night had been sad, Wyked was excited for the hunt. He felt certain it was going to be a good night.