Bad Kitty (17 page)

"Name's Bhric. And if I'm not mistaken, you
belong to me."

Kitty yanked at her arm in
an attempt to get free and nothing happened. Finally, she sighed.
"Why in the world does everyone all of a sudden have claim to me?
I'm a feline shifter
,
not some goddamn chew toy for everyone to fight over. I don't
belong to you at all."

He flipped her arm over and pointed at the
small symbol inked into her wrist. "This says differently."

Well, fuck. She vaguely remembered being
told she had to report in to the leader at the Dark Moon bar on the
edge of the neutral zone. But so much had happened, she'd obviously
forgotten.

"You're in charge of—?"

"Yep. I'm the one who corrals all the
misfits and rejects. And once I got word about you being found
here, I knew I'd have to round you up eventually."

"I take it back. I'm not a chew toy to you.
I'm cattle. Even better."

"Look. As much fun as this is, we don't have
much time before one of them comes looking for you and this happens
to be my favorite shirt. I don't care to ruin it today."

Kitty blinked at him and
stared at the plain white T-shirt. Was he for real? "I'm supposed
to come with you
,
just like that?"

His face split into an odd
grin. "If you're feeling kind of shy
,
you can always shift and follow
me."

She looked down at her nudity and shrugged.
It's not as if it had ever bothered her before. But the thought of
leaving Rafe in the middle of his fight to save her didn't sit well
at all. "Do I have a choice?" she asked.

His face grew serious once again and his
eyebrows drew together. "There is always a choice to be made, Kitty
of Clan Gunn, but I don't believe in making you do so under duress.
If either of these wolves wants to stake a claim they can do so on
my land. Then you can make your choice. Not here."

She simply stared, shell shocked by the
validity of his easy statement.

"Come." He tugged on her arm and she gave in
to the urge to escape. She wasn't sure the neutral zone meant
freedom, but it felt a lot more stable than the woods where wolves
were currently hunting her and a man who'd do anything to keep
her.

Chapter Ten

Bhric pulled his jeep into the back parking
lot of an old wood two-story building nestled on the edge of the
forest and Kitty got her first look at the infamous Dark Moon. It
kind of reminded her of an old time saloon except instead of horses
tied up front, there was a row of bad ass looking bikes in every
size and shape. "This your place?" she asked.

"Yep. My father passed it on to me before he
decided to retire to Florida." They both climbed from the jeep and
Kitty had to stretch her legs to keep up with the giant strides of
the hybrid in front of her.

"Your father left the
Dragon?" It was so rare anyone of their kind ventured outside the
region
,
it always
made her curious.

He turned back to her. "Sweetheart, there's
a big ole world out there and it's not as dangerous for a shifter
as you might think. All it takes is some street smarts and a few
well placed friends and you can fit right in."

"Then why do people like—
I mean hybrids stay here? Why not go out into that big
ole
world as you call
it?"

"Because people like me enjoy roots and
tradition just like the rest of you. This is my home and I'm not
about to be driven out because I'm not some pure blood wolf or
feline. I'd rather serve as a constant reminder to assholes like
your— I mean to the councils that we're here to stay so they might
as well get over it."

He opened the front door and held it. "After
you, my lady."

She winced at the obvious sarcasm and a
twinge of guilt fluttered inside her. "I really didn't mean to
offend you. I'm in no position to judge, but I'm still curious
about the people I'm supposed to live with."

"Oh trust me, you are not the first to show
up at my doorstep with questions and a lot of bad information.
That's the problem with these councils. They still program their
people to believe in the old ways."

Kitty stepped into the bar and felt a sudden
sense of déjà vu. Or maybe she'd simply been thrown back in time.
Classic rock played on some unseen stereo system and dark wood was
everywhere. On the floors, on the walls, even on the bar. A
smattering of tables and chairs covered some of the space in front
of her with a few people sitting at them eating something that
smelled—she sniffed the air and tried to decipher the
scents—delicious actually.

In the far corner of the room she spotted
two pool tables set up and that's where most of the patrons had
gathered.

"Pool tournament tonight. They'll be at it
for hours." Bhric must have followed her gaze. "Let me introduce
you to a couple of people you'll need to know."

He steered her in the direction of the bar
and the very good looking man tending it. "This here is Greer, I
guess you could say he's my right hand man."

"Right hand, left hand, brain. Whatever."
Greer greeted her with a large smile. "You must be Kitty. We've
been hearing a lot about you the last few days."

She felt her eyebrows rise as she shook the
hand offered to her. "Do I even want to know?"

He snorted. "Probably not. You're probably
better off not knowing how much gossip goes on when a cat wanders
into the wolf barn on accident."

Kitty's cougar snapped to attention and
yowled inside her head. "Well, you should probably inform your
people that I did not wander over there by accident."

Bhric took a seat on the
stool next to where she stood. "Exactly
,
and I think we need to discuss the
details about what happened."

Kitty turned her head away. "No. I'm not
interested in payback."

"Payback? How about justice?" Greer
interjected.

"Justice has been served. Now it's time to
move on. Do you have a bathroom in this establishment that I could
use? Maybe grab a shower?"

"Sure, there is an employee area behind the
kitchen that should work. But you should know that Kane has already
been here looking for you. He took the evidence Nikki gathered and
I imagine he'll deal with the women who attacked you whether you
like it or not."

Kitty shrugged. She didn't care if Kane
played disgruntled big brother and watched her back. There was only
one man she cared about. "Whatever," she said. "Can I get my shower
now?"

"Sure. I'll send someone over to your place
and grab some of your clothes."

She swiveled toward Bhric. "I never got the
chance to even put anything in that place. Everything is still in
my car."

"Nah. When I sent Nikki over there to
investigate she took the liberty of putting your stuff in the house
and locking your car in the garage."

She sighed. "I guess I owe a thanks to this
Nikki then." Although the thought of going near that house again
held no appeal. The attack she could get over. It was the fact that
it wasn't Rafe's place that tore her up on the inside. Leaving him
in the middle of a fight with Tanner had to have been the dumbest
thing she'd ever agreed to. That's what her heart said. Her head on
the other hand, still wanted her to do the right thing.

Kitty left and headed in the direction Greer
had pointed out to her. She'd barely gotten out of eyesight when
she overheard Bhric talking. "Better batten down the hatches. We're
about to get a visit from one very pissed off wolf."

"Oh yeah? So those rumors are true too. He's
mated her?"

"That's the part I don't get. Even though
she reeks of him, she's not marked."

"Huh," Greer responded. "I thought nature
won no matter what in the case of born mates. Maybe that means it's
not as serious as the gossipers have implied."

"Don't count on that. The tension is so
strong between them it nearly took me to my knees."

"Oh
,
great. And he's coming here. Are
you sure?"

Kitty sped up and got out of earshot before
Bhric said another word. The last thing she needed to rely on now
was some trumped up hope. She found the bathroom door and pushed
inside and came face to face with a fair skinned curvy blonde with
hair so light it almost looked white and pale blue eyes like she'd
never seen before. They looked like they were glowing. Goosebumps
rose on her skin and the hair on the back of her neck stood on
end.

"I'm sorry but you can't be back here.
Employees only," the woman said.

Kitty stood rooted to the spot and continued
to stare. She'd never seen one of her kind before and she couldn't
stop studying her.

"What?" the woman demanded.

"I've—I've never seen— I mean— I— Sorry."
Obviously her ability to talk coherently had left the building.

"Yeah. I could say the same thing. I've
never seen anything like you either. Is that what those women did
to you?"

"How did you..."
Oh
,
this had to
be Nikki, the woman Bhric had mentioned. He'd sent a white cougar
to investigate? "Are you—"

"Yes, I have white fur.
I'm one of
those
."

Kitty shook her head. "That's not what I
meant. I got that part on my own. Are you pregnant?"

The woman in front of her froze. Her muscles
in her jaw clenched and hands balled into fists.

Kitty took a step back.

"What made you say that?" The question came
out on a deep throated growl.

"I—I don't know. I just kind of saw it."

The now angry woman tilted her head and
stared down at her own belly. "That's impossible. I'm not even
showing yet."

"Look. I didn't mean to
make you uncomfortable
,
but you're in a bar with shifters. You don't
think they're going to scent it?"

"You're the first one who has. You're also
the first one who's nosed into my business."

Kitty raised her hands in surrender. "I just
came back here for a shower. Bhric said it was okay. I don't know
anything about you or your business."

The woman stared at her for a few
uncomfortable seconds before she relaxed. "It's all yours. But keep
your nose out from where it most definitely does not belong. My
body is private, got it?"

Kitty nodded her head. "Got it." The other
woman left and Kitty exhaled a breath of relief. Shifters in
general could be defensive and edgy about their private affairs but
one best known for her assassination skills took that to a whole
new level. She was starting to think living a sheltered life hadn't
been all bad.

As had become the norm for several days now,
her thoughts turned to Rafe. She had no doubt that he'd defeated
Tanner and she had no doubt he was pissed when he found her gone.
But dammit. She had to believe leaving him was the best thing. If
Bhric was right though, and he was headed her way, she wasn't sure
she could say no again.

Kitty lifted her head and checked the room.
Lockers across one wall, none with any kind of lock system on them,
a few chairs and benches for sitting and dressing, and an open
doorway across the room that had to lead to the bathroom. That's
where she needed to be. It was time to see what everyone else
did.

She crossed the room and stopped at the
sink. Her stomach churned with nervous acid at the thought of
seeing her damaged face. "Suck it up, crybaby." She lifted her head
and stared at her reflection.

Her heart squeezed and the air was sucked
from her lungs on a strangled cry.

While the right side of
her face remained smooth and untouched, the left side was a
mangled, disgusting mess. Three long, deep scars from just below
her eye to nearly her mouth remained from the fight. Ugly marks.
She ran her fingers from top to bottom across the uneven, rippled
flesh. Her stomach curled at the hideous sensation. How did anyone
tolerate looking at her? Anger, so hot it nearly scalded her
insides
,
flared
to life. She couldn't stand to look at it for another second. In a
lightning fast move, her fist connected with the reflective glass
and it splintered in every direction.

Part of her wanted to scream in outrage at
what had been done to her. The severity of her wounds would serve
as a reminder every day of the person she used to be. She didn't
exactly know what came next for her, but she wanted to find out.
The hatred and intolerance that had festered inside her father and
turned him into a monster could have done the very same thing to
her if this had not happened. Kitty's back stiffened and her chin
raised. Then there was the matter of the wolf who may or may not be
coming after her.

Her body softened as the
emotions his presence created were resurrected. Was she really
willing to walk away from him if it meant either of them would
suffer for the rest of their lives? Bhric had promised her she had
a choice and that reason had been the only one that had gotten her
to leave with him. Away from Rafe
,
she still ached for him. Would time ease that
loss for her? She pushed her hands through her hair and slammed her
elbows on the porcelain sink at her waist. There were too many
unanswered questions for her to rifle through.

She lifted her head. "Do you love him?" she
asked her cracked reflection. Of course she did. Whether she knew
him for one week or one year would make no difference. But what he
deserved and what she wanted were two entirely different
things.