Mate Claimed

She had three goals—wake and free Cassidy, find Amanda, and contact Eric. Eric would already be coming, once he and Diego discovered the abduction. She had no doubts that the two men would tear apart the town trying to find them. They’d have an easier time if Iona could figure out where she and Cassidy were and let Eric know.

A quick check told her that their captors had taken the small purse Iona had snatched up when going with Cassidy to the clinic. That meant they had her phone and wallet with her driver’s license and all her credit cards. Oh well, more proof that she was human.

The room had no phones, not that Iona had expected one. She couldn’t spot any outlets for phone lines, which was unusual in a building that looked as though it had been constructed at least in the eighties, maybe earlier.

Iona made her way to Cassidy and, without bothering to figure out what was in the drip bag, untaped the needle in Cassidy’s arm and tugged it out. Whatever they were feeding her, it couldn’t be good.

Cassidy drew a long breath, then her eyes opened, and she jumped, her limbs still tethered to the table.

“Shh.” Iona touched her shoulder. “Be quiet. They might be listening.”

Cassidy drew another breath, which broke on a sob. “They took Amanda. I couldn’t stop them before they tranqed me. They took my cub.” Tears trickled from her eyes.

“We’ll find her, I swear to you. Are you all right?”

“I will be, once I kill the humans who took my cub.”

Iona patted her shoulder. “Sounds like you’re all right, then.” She touched the metal cuff on Cassidy’s wrist. “Can you shift and slide out of that?”

“It’s tight.”

Cassidy closed her eyes and, as Iona had, let her hands and feet change to those of her wildcat. The cuffs, however, were small enough to clamp down on her slender cat’s limbs, and too strong for Cassidy or Iona to break them.

Cassidy changed back to human, letting out a sigh. “They must be designed to contain Shifters. They knew what they were doing.”

Iona figured out how to turn off the drip from the bag, then she laid the needle under the crook of Cassidy’s arm. “Stay still and pretend to be unconscious. I’m going to look for Amanda.”

Cassidy’s eyes shone with fear in the darkness. “Goddess, Iona. I can’t just lie here.”

Iona leaned over her, putting her hands on Cassidy’s shoulders. How did Eric do it, soothe away fears when he was afraid himself? Iona gently caressed her new sister-in-law, meeting Cassidy’s terrified gaze.

“I promise you, I won’t stop until I’ve found her. And I’ll find a way to contact Eric. We’ll get out of this and go home. All of us.”

Cassidy looked no less afraid, but she gave Iona a faint smile. “You don’t have to try to reassure me.”

“I’m not reassuring you. I’m telling you. I will find Amanda and call Eric. If someone comes back, tell them I managed to get out of my ropes, but you don’t know how. Or just pretend to be so groggy you don’t know what’s going on. Promise me, Cass.”

Cassidy’s eyes widened, but she seemed to strengthen under Iona’s gaze. “I’m just not used to being the one who has to be rescued.”

Iona kissed her forehead. “Consider it a chance to rest. I’ll be back for you.”

Cassidy didn’t answer, but she looked grateful.

Iona studied the ropes still around the chair she’d vacated, changed one of her hands to her panther’s paw, and used razor-sharp claws to slice through the bonds. With luck, their captors would think Iona had managed to cut her way out with a knife they’d overlooked. Then Iona took off her clothes and hid them.

She said another quiet good-bye to Cassidy and tried the handle of the one door to the room. It was locked, of course.

The door looked fairly new compared to the dinginess of the rest of the room. The door handle, likewise, was new and stout, locked with a key. A human being, unless very strong, probably couldn’t do anything with that door.

Iona thought about her half-shifted self, which she hadn’t liked becoming, because her Shifter mind and human mind had warred within her too much. She swallowed, willing herself to stay calm, and let herself become the half-human beast.

As soon as she flowed into that form, she wanted to stay in it. Strong, I am so strong. Let those humans get in front of me, I dare them.

She wanted to charge through the halls of wherever they were, find someone—anyone—and choke them until they told her where Amanda was. The cub was her niece, a child of her pride. Anyone who’d touched her would pay.

Iona grabbed the door handle with her half hand, half paw and twisted until the handle broke. She thrust her fingers into the resulting hole and pushed the lock mechanism with all her strength. The lock gave way, and the door silently opened.

Iona sniffed and listened to the hall beyond, but she heard nothing, smelled no one near. She crept out and closed the door, making sure the outer handle fitted back on so the door would appear, at first glance, to still be locked.

The panther was better for stealth, but Iona had a hard time convincing her in-between beast to change to it. She felt so powerful and clever in this state.

At last, the half beast conceded to flow into the panther. Iona was surprised how easy that shift was once she made up her mind, but she’d have to think about these things later. For now, she prowled the hall on silent feet, trying to figure out where she was.