Chapter 19
Katya
We turned down a hallway I’d never explored, and Carter stayed close to me. It looked like all the others in the non-updated sections—creepy, like something you’d see in a scary movie. I secretly expected a scary clown or a guy with a bloody knife to jump out at any point.
It was a hundred times less freaky with Carter there. Or maybe it was the fact that I could now turn into a powerful jaguar if I wanted to. A thrill ran through me at the thought.
But then again, the people who wanted to kidnap me could also turn into jaguars, and they had so much more experience at it than me. I’d only just found out that I could even do that.
“Are you okay?” Carter asked. “You’re not still embarrassed about earlier?”
“Now that you bring it up…”
He chuckled. “Sorry. What are you thinking about?”
I sighed. “Everything. It’s all so overwhelming.”
Carter put his arm around me and kissed my cheek. “It’s been a huge night. I’m sure overwhelming doesn’t begin to describe it, but I’m here. Want to talk? I’ll listen. Want to vent? Again, I’ll listen. Or we can just explore in silence while you let everything settle.”
“Are you perfect?” My cheeks warmed. Why had I said that out loud?
“I like to think so.”
I burst out laughing.
We stopped walking and he looked around at the dilapidated hallway. Several of the doors had at least one number loose or missing and the walls were stained with dust, cobwebs, and who-knew-what-else. “What do you usually do when you’re searching for a secret entrance?”
“It depends. Usually, I tap the walls and listen for a spot that sounds different, maybe hollow or maybe thicker. I feel around the molding for anything unusual. You never know where there might be a hidden button or something. I also like to check the rooms. Once, I found a hidden room behind a fake fireplace.”
His eyes widened. “Really? What was in it?”
“Storage. Just old clothes. They weren’t even that nice. It was rather disappointing. But it did give me hope that I could find more hidden areas if I kept looking. Especially with all the rumors about the hidden wing.” Chills ran down my back at the thought of it.
“And you’ve never checked this area?”
I shook my head no.
His expression brightened. “Well, seeing that it’s your lucky day, I have a good feeling about this.” Carter pressed his palm on the nearest wall. “Let’s do this.”
We tapped walls and checked the molding all up and down the hallway.
Nothing.
He turned to me with more optimism in his expression than I felt. “Do we go down another hall, or start going through the rooms?”
“I doubt the entrance to another wing would be inside a room. Each wing starts in a hallway.”
“Then let’s go down another one.”
Part of me wanted to give up, but it was a lot more fun to search with Carter, not to mention faster. “Okay. One more wing, then we should call it a night.”
“Finally getting tired?” he teased.
I tried to hold back a grin. “Maybe.”
“Good. I was getting worried that you wouldn’t sleep at all for the next week.”
“That wouldn’t be so bad, given how much time I’m going to need to study.”
We turned down another hallway. It looked exactly like the one we’d just checked.
“You sure you want to keep going?” I asked.
“This is fun.” He looked like he meant it.
“Okay. Then I wouldn’t mind taking you up on that snuggling offer.”
“That sounds fun, too.” He tapped his finger on the wall.
I went to the other side of the hallway and checked everything along the way. Again, there wasn’t anything out of the ordinary. “You ready to head back?”
He turned to me. “I think I found something.”
My stomach dropped to the ground. “What?”
“Yeah. Listen to this.” He pressed his ear to the wall near some peeling wallpaper and tapped.
I rushed over and did the same. There was a slight echo.
We stared at each other wide-eyed.
“Your lucky night?”
“Maybe.” I tapped again. There was definitely an echo.
At once, we both moved to check the molding. Carter checked the molding up at the top, near the ceiling and I checked the one near the floor.
His phone rang.
“Ignore it.” My finger ran over a barely-noticeable bump on the molding.
“It’s Che.”
“I think I found a button!”
Our gazes locked.
“Let me just see what he needs. He wouldn’t call at this hour if it wasn’t important.”
“That’s true.”
“Che,” Carter answered. “What’s going on? I have you on speaker.”
“I need you to come down to the lobby right away.” His voice sounded off. Edgy. Shaky. Completely unlike him.
“What’s happening?” Carter demanded.
“Ow. Just hurry.”
The call ended.
Carter held my gaze. “We’d better go.”
I nodded, but snapped a couple pictures of the hallway so I wouldn’t forget where we’d found the hollow spot with the hidden button. Given that I was hopped up on some magical concoction, I wasn’t taking any chances.
We hurried through the maze of nearly identical creepy hallways until we came to the main part of the hotel and finally, down to the lobby.
Four men had guns on Che.
I cried out. Carter put an arm around me, and we rushed over.
“Put those down,” Carter ordered. “Don’t make me call the cops.”
“You think cops stand a chance against a bunch of shifters?” He turned the gun toward Carter and me. “Where’s Katya?”
I froze. They wanted me now?
So much for my lucky night.
Carter stood taller and did something with his phone behind his back. “You can’t have her. She wants to stay here.”
The guy laughed cruelly. “You think we care about that? She’s part of our family. That woman is going to be my daughter-in-law and give me lots of grandsons to carry on my name.”
I swallowed, trying not to shake. How dare they act as if they owned me? Anger tore through me. Even if they did manage to get me, I’d find a way to escape. No way would I live the life they had planned for me.
It was out of the question.
Footsteps sounded behind us. Jet and Sal, the two werewolves Toby had sent over, stepped beside me.
“It’s time to leave.” Sal’s voice sounded like a growl.
“Sure. Hand over Katya.”
My heart jumped into my throat.
Carter got in his face. “You can’t have her. Ever. Get the idea out of your head and go back home.”
“Where is she?”
Carter tilted his head. “What?”
The man stepped past him and glared at me. “You. Where is she?”
My mouth gaped. No words would come.
“You’re all useless.” He turned to Jet. “Where is she?”
Carter mouthed, “The potion. They don’t recognize you.”
Relief washed through me as I realized that was what was happening.
“Why don’t you tell me?” Jet countered. “Where is Katya?”
The man scowled. “She can’t be far. This is her father’s hotel. He gifted it to her mother in his will. The stupid idiot mated with a human. A human!”
Anger tore through me. How dare he talk about my parents like that. I stepped up to him. “Why do you want Katya, then? She’s just a stupid idiot half-human, right?”
“Stop.” Carter begged me with his eyes.
I turned my attention back to the man. What was he going to do to me? He didn’t even recognize me. “Isn’t Katya tainted or something? Half-human and raised by humans. What an idiot.”
“You’re the idiot, girl! There’s no half-human. Katya got the jaguar gene from Kevin. Her sister is just human. One jaguar, one human. Simple math. Move aside.”
I stood my ground. “Katya doesn’t want anything to do with you people. She likes the enlightened way of life the world offers her. Not your backward, woman-hating ways.”
His brows came together and he struck me across the face so hard I flew backward several feet and stumbled against a wall.
In a blur, Carter attacked him, throwing him to the ground. The others all piled on top. Before my eyes, clothes flew off all the men as they turned into jaguars and werewolves.
Growls and howls echoed around the lobby. Teeth dug into fur. Blood sprayed out onto the walls and floor. Furniture knocked over.
After my shock faded, I pulled off my clothes and tried to shift. Nothing happened. I was just standing in the hotel lobby with no clothes on.
My face flamed for the twentieth time that day. I ducked behind a potted tree and closed my eyes, focusing on my jaguar self. I thought of Carter fighting for me. Bones popped, muscles burned, and finally fur sliced through my skin. I cried out and when I opened my eyes, everything was bright and all my senses were heightened.
I growled and joined the fighting. It was easy to tell the other jaguars from Che and Carter. They had a completely different scent. It was actually nearly the same as mine.
They really were my family—but only by genetics.
I leaped on top of one of them and dug my teeth into his back. The jaguar yelped and howled, but then threw me off. I skidded into the plant that had offered me privacy, knocking it over and shattering the pot.
One of the opposing jaguars stood tall and roared. Somehow, I had the sense he was calling an end to the chaos.
The other jaguars formed into human and redressed.
I ran back over to my clothes and picked them up with my mouth. Then I headed over to the counter to turn back and get dressed out of view of the others.
While I got dressed, Che and Carter argued with the others about me.
“We’re not giving up until she’s in our possession.”
Like I was a piece of meat. Fury churned in my stomach as I slid on my clothes.
Ding-dong.
The front door slammed shut. I rose and walked over to the guys, who were all back to human form and fully dressed.
A breeze rustled my top and chilled my skin. I looked down to find my shirt torn from sternum to bellybutton, exposing half my bra and my stomach. Apparently my jaguar teeth were sharper than I’d thought.
Embarrassed, I covered up with my arms.
“They’re not going to give up.” Che scowled.
“At least they can’t recognize me.” I tightened my arms over my top.
“For how long?” Che crossed his arms.
“A week.”
“They’ve waited in town quietly for two weeks, maybe longer. One week isn’t going to deter them.”
Che turned to Carter. “Take her up to her room and make sure nobody gets close to her. I’ve got to clean this mess before Jennifer or any of the other staff gets down here.” He swore. “And I have to do something about the security footage. We can’t have anyone seeing that.”
“I’ll help.” I stood taller.
He stared at my midsection. “How? If you move your arms, your dress will expose you to everyone.”
My face heated. “I can change, you know.”
Che shook his head. “Just get some sleep. You need it. I didn’t expect Carter to bring you down here when I called him.”
I glared at him. “I’m perfectly capable of doing everything you can do. Even shift and fight those jerks.”
He stared me down. “Just get some rest. I said I’ll take care of everything.”
Sal stepped between us and looked at me. “Jet and I will help him clean this mess. It won’t take long.”
I looked around him and glared at Che. “I’m not helpless.”
He glared back at me. “I realize that, but you have a lot to learn. You could’ve gotten hurt jumping in the middle of that.”
“But I didn’t. And if you think I’m going to sit back and let you fight for me while I do nothing, you’re as chauvinistic as they are.”
Che looked like I’d slapped him. Guilt stung at me because I knew he wasn’t like them at all, but I spun around and stormed toward the stairs regardless.
Carter caught up with me. “Are you okay?”
“Ugh. I wish you’d stop asking that.”
“I just care.”
More guilt. I ignored it and rushed up to my room. He followed me inside but I went into my closet and closed the door between us.
Why did everyone think I was so helpless? I was new to all this, but not weak or stupid. There were my relatives who thought they could stake their claim on me, then there were Carter and Che who should’ve been on my side, but they were too busy trying to protect me, thinking I was too helpless to do anything for myself.
They were all wrong.