Claws (32 page)

Vivvie refused to allow her words to
frighten her and left the cavern. She imagined the place where
she’d hide the key to Tania’s cell. She smiled as the cavern floor
disappeared. She followed the yellow brick road, grinning ear to
ear as she hummed the song under her breath and began to
skip.

When she got to the huge glimmering
Emerald City in the distance, she knocked on the heavy double
doors. A wooden slat opened up above. A head popped out with the
most incongruous shade of red hair. The wild swirl at the man’s
crown would have made Elvis weep. Apple cheeks glowed in a
delightfully freckled round face. Blue eyes beamed down in welcome.
She didn’t need the password anymore.

“Is that you, Vivvie?” the booming
cheerful voice asked from above.

“Yeah, it’s me again, open up,” she
replied and smiled as the doors slid open.

~ ~ ~

Eli sat with his mate while she slept,
seeing the smile curving her lips in her dream and felt jealous to
not be with her now. The wonders within her dreamscape made him
eager for bedtime; eager for her to take him there
again.

He smiled with a contentment he’d never
experienced in his existence. He felt a sense of sureness that he
and his mate could overcome anything; even their own
natures.

Vivvie mastered her gift. She showed
him another world, hers, born of her imagination and sparked by her
life experiences. She took him to places he would have never seen
otherwise, fantasy realms, ancient kingdoms, under the seas, and
above the clouds.

His favorite was the moon
above.

The weightless place and its
surrounding peace almost made him want to weep as she floated with
him there. When they snuggled within one of its craters, he knew
he’d been given the greatest gift of all by having her in his
life.

“The drugs should have worn off,”
Jericho muttered as he watched her sleeping on the couch in the
conference room. “Don’t tell me she’s playing around at a time like
this? I’m going to lie down; been a long night. I’ll take the baby
for you.”

Eli nodded as Jericho took Seth with
him, never taking his gaze from Vivvie’s face. He smiled and
smoothed the dark hair off his wife’s brow. He could almost bet
where she went. She did adore that place with its winding, yellow
brick pathways.

She made many friends while
they were there. The creatures there were as strange and unusual as
they were. It took him watching the old movie with his children to
understand his wife’s preoccupation with that magical place and the
poignant message.
There’s no place like
home,
he thought as it came to him, and
agreed.

~ ~ ~

Jericho was dozing and babysitting at
the same time. The baby was napping next to him in his bed, his
chubby hand in his. Jericho was awakened by something. He was
startled to see a tall boy, with hair so pale it appeared white
standing next to the bed. The boy was staring back at him, his
intense blue gaze glowing with mischief.

“It’s about time you woke up,” Seth
teased and held out his hand. “Come on. Let’s go for a run,
Dad.”

“Your Mom isn’t back yet,” Jericho
reminded him as he got up, his yellow green eyes twinkling to see
his son at last. “Shouldn’t we at least wait for her? She’s been
dying to meet you too.”

Seth smiled and shook his head. “You
know how much she loves that place. She won’t be back for
awhile.”

Jericho followed the boy to the
elevators, shocked at his large size. Seth was nearly the size of
him and Eli in this place. Pride filled his gaze to know this Alpha
would exceed them all with such gifts as he was given.

Jericho growled at the large white
panther that swiped playfully at him up top, nearly pushing him
over with his immense strength. He was larger than the males in
their tribe, would no doubt double them by the time he was an
adult. His coat was as white as snow, his nose and ears still a
baby pink. Seth’s words in his head reminded him he had much of Eli
in him too.

I’ll race you to other side,
Old man
Seth bragged as he pawed the
ground.

You’re on, kid!

The animals loped across the meadow in
a dead run, paws hardly grazing the ground. When they reached the
rock ledge; Jericho was annoyed to see his son beat him. Seth was
faster than them too. Jericho couldn’t recall ever being beaten in
his lifetime.

Show off
He gave a good natured growl as they sat at Eli’s thinking
spot.

Are you still leaving,
Dad?
Seth put his massive head down on his
paws, eyes sad.

I have to go, son. My
presence here only makes things hard for your Mother
Jericho purred as he looked out over the canyon,
at peace with his decision.

She loves you, Dad. I hear
her thoughts. She thinks of you often, wishing she could have two
mates
Seth put his head down and stared out
over the canyon.

Jericho turned his head away
at that, not surprised Seth could read Vivvie’s thoughts when Eli
couldn’t. Seth also sensed her feelings now but he couldn’t.
Whatever future events the boy saw for his Mother; he kept those to
himself.
Secretive little shit,
he thought glumly, cheered at least to know Vivvie
felt the same for him.

No, he had to leave. Staying would only
create future dissent with his leader. Eli wouldn’t risk him
tempting his mate to stray again. He accepted exile now, knowing
that would always be the case. If he remained, he would meet Vivvie
in her wondrous dreamscape, chase her into the tall grasses, and
make love to her with the sun on their backs. Better to break the
cycle started centuries ago.

Eli would be the only Alpha here after
the demon was forced out. Gideon would start his own compound
elsewhere. Ty was content with his place in Florida. Vivvie felt
responsible for the four male Alphas all going their separate ways
now because of the curse within her blood.

When even Gideon started hitting on her
the night before, she finally understood what Jericho tried to tell
her. Still, the feline in her was ticked off they were drawn to her
because of the curse. Jericho laughed at her reference she had four
monkeys on her back.

Eli wouldn’t share his mate, knowing
the curse in her blood would drive them all back where they’d been
once with Tania if it was allowed. It was one of the few things Eli
and the others believed that he told them.

The power of the nine was a mere myth,
they all said, and laughed at him. They accused Jericho of smoking
too much catnip. Eli just scoffed at him and shook his head,
refusing to consider his seemingly unremarkable new son was the
chosen one.

Jericho grinned, wishing to be a fly on
the wall in a couple years when Seth took over the tribe,
challenging Devon for it. It was inevitable. It would happen one
day. Seth’s bloodline would purify theirs over time; hopefully end
the curse that continued on.

For now, they were all dropping like
flies, back to counting souls, facing doom with every turn of fate.
The tribe was trickling back now, realizing the temporary freedom
was lost when the demon went back on its promise to
Tania.

The demon wanted to punish Tania now
for failing to give it what it wanted. It sought her in the
dreamscape; enraged to know it couldn’t open the cell without the
magical key Vivvie used to lock her up with. The demon had no
imagination as it turned out. How Vivvie found such a weakness in
the creature was to her credit and their advantage.

It now frothed and seethed outside the
cavern cell to get its claws into Tania. The creature was tormented
to know it couldn’t get past the bars without the mythical key. The
demon was being baited using Tania now. It would keep the creature
coming back there; unaware they plotted to destroy it.

How about two out of three,
kid?
Jericho pawed at the ground, his
yellow green eyes glowing as he met his son’s.

You sure you’re not too
winded, Old Man?
He slapped his tail
against Jericho playfully and earned a roar from the elder as the
white panther bounded back the way they came; the large black in
swift pursuit.

~ ~ ~

Vivvie was sighing as she opened her
eyes, seeing Eli sat with her, his deep blue eyes glowing as they
met hers.

“You took your time coming back,” he
noted with a slight pout. “Did you get the key back to that weird
little guy?”

Vivvie smiled. “That weird little guy
is the Wizard of Oz, and yes, he has the key. He said he’d keep it
safe for me. She’s out of our lives.”

Eli’s smile faded. “Ty put her in her
room before he left. She sleeps like she did before. Are you sure
this is what you want? It’s your right to demand her death for
pushing you and killing our young, Vivvie.”

Vivvie sat up and regarded her husband
sadly. “You go against Derek now and you give her what she wants;
having you all fight over her. I saw Gideon and Jericho’s face.
Voting for this was hard enough for all of you to do.”

Eli rubbed his tired eyes. “We did what
needed to be done. The only peace we ever had was when she slept.
The others are hardly miserable to get their own compound out of
it. Gideon is already on it. Ty can’t wait to get back to Florida.
Derek will figure out where he wants to settle on his
own.”

“Speaking of Jericho,” she began again
and saw her husband’s eyes flare. “It’s not fair! Everyone else
gets their own compound but him! You think that’s fair to him,
being the oldest?”

Eli glared at his mate. “He was offered
it, Vivvie. He turned it down. He wanted to return to his damn
beach house. Jericho is over four hundred years old. He has one
soul left and a son to raise by himself. I can’t say I blame him
for passing on the responsibility.”

Vivvie regarded her mate worriedly.
“You're back to having three souls again. You have to take no more
chances.”

He grinned. “I’m glad you brought that
up. Since you still have all nine of yours; will you run out and
grab dinner? Those hunters are at it again.”

“I hate hunting season,” Vivvie
muttered and got up off the coach.

“Can you manage another elk? That
sounds good after a day like this,” her mate mused and licked his
lips appreciatively.

“Be lucky it’s not sandwich night!”
Vivvie snapped as she stalked out of the conference room, his
laughter at her back.

Just kidding. I’ll meet you
in the northern canyon after I drop the kids at home.

Vivvie left the compound and chuckled,
knowing he would keep his word. He was determined to keep this
honeymoon phase in their marriage going after they worked out their
issues over Jericho.

She reached the top and went to a
nearby bush to disrobe. She shifted and climbed to the northern
canyon, knowing Eli would join her soon. She sat upon the rock face
jutting over the side, panting and surveying their domain
below.

Pain filled her gaze to think of
Jericho leaving. She knew she could bear it; would have to for the
sake of keeping the peace in all their lives. She loved Eli with
everything in her, even if Jericho found a place in her heart
now.

It wasn’t the blood calling that made
her wistful sometimes and long for him. Her mate never questioned
it. He accepted it. She was glad he couldn’t read her mind and she
was alone with her thoughts now.

She missed her friend most of all.
Jericho wouldn’t come back this time. She knew she would never see
him again. That was the hardest of all, knowing she couldn’t rely
on his wisdom anymore to get her out of trouble.

The secret of Seth’s birth no longer
troubled her after she locked Tania away in her prison once more.
The one secret the elder held over her was known to her mate. If
Jericho was right that other secret would rid them of the demon
guarding Tania’s prison one day.

Jericho thought their son Seth would
lift the curse and kill the demon. Jericho was convinced of it with
everything in him. Vivvie began to wonder if he really was smoking
too much catnip.

She saw nothing impressive in her baby
except a gift for eating large quantities of goat’s milk and
gristle from their kills. Seth acted like a human baby and still
hadn’t shifted. She knew it bothered Eli more than it did her. It
was an Alpha thing.

Seth revealed nothing at over three
months old. Eli mentioned he might be retarded. She promptly kicked
him out of their bedroom. She was annoyed her mate would think
their baby was retarded because it failed to present the curse. She
liked to think they might have been blessed with a normal child for
once. The baby did have odd ways of disappearing only to show up in
the same spot.

She thought her mind played tricks on
her when saw a huge white panther in the woods one night. Eli said
the legendary white panther foretold in the prophecy was a sign of
peace and signified the end to the curse. He also accused her of
smoking too much catnip, one of her new guilty pleasures she picked
up from Jericho.