“Kitty, you’re my friend, and that makes you so much more important to me than a car. Do you really think I would have blamed you for what happened?”
“I don’t know. I don’t really have many friends. I mean, I talk to the waitresses and kitchen staff here, but we don’t hang out. You and Samantha have been so great to me and accepted me for who I am. I just wanted to, I don’t know, show you that you could trust me, I guess.”
Sitting beside Kitty, Lynn put her hand on Kitty’s shoulder, mindful of her injured arm. “Girlfriend, you are part of our inner circle, whether or not you want to be. We don’t let people in easily, since some of the people closest to us have betrayed our trust in the past.”
“I wouldn’t do that to you guys,” Kitty vowed. “That’s not to say I can open up and tell you everything right away, but I’ll try. It’s been just me for so long, and Mason is the first person to actually take a vested interest in my wellbeing. Something like that is extremely hard for someone who’s been alone most of her adult life.”
There was a deep sadness in Kitty’s lovely eyes, and it tore at Lynn’s heart. “He cares for you a lot. Mason is down there right now, scaring the shit out of every guy sitting at the bar, because he wants to make sure your arm heals with as little scarring as possible. It’s somewhat amusing to watch.”
Something that sounded suspiciously like a chuckle came from Kitty’s direction. “I’d love to see it. He’d flip if I came down there though. Heaven forbid, I do anything if it could strain my arm. It’s already healing, so I don’t know what his problem is.”
Lynn frowned. “Jag said injuries from silver take awhile to heal.”
“For most shifters they do, but I’m different. My body builds up immunities to things for some reason. Now, silver will have even less of an effect on me, and I can take a hit off a diamond-back rattler with no ill effects at all. I’ll tell you though, getting to that level of immunity was a bitch.”
“But how? You mean to tell me you have a natural defense against poisons?” As a medical professional, news like this was absolutely stunning. Lynn could only imagine the possibilities if she or Dr. Lewis were allowed to examine Kitty’s blood. They might be able to create a drug to counteract the effect of silver on shifters!
“It has something to do with my breed, I guess,” Kitty replied absently while flipping through a sales paper on her coffee table.
“Jag said you’re a tiger. Is he wrong?”
“Nope, I’m a tiger, just a rare breed. It’s why I’ve been alone for so long.”
Okay, Lynn was getting somewhere now, but it was painfully obvious this would be a slow process. Nevertheless, Kitty was finally opening up, and Lynn would take what she could get. She wouldn’t push too hard…for now. “So you don’t have any family?”
“Oh, I have family, but the dynamics of that particular group are fucked up beyond belief.” Kitty’s whiskey-colored eyes met Lynn’s. “My parents were major hippies. How else do you think a feline shifter would end up with this name?”
Just like that, Lynn fought to remain in control of her facial expressions as the corners of her mouth twitched. “Kitty, I hate to tell you, but having hippies for parents isn’t the end of the world.”
“Oh, my parents were great,” she rushed to clarify. “It’s the rest of the clan who are bat-shit crazy. We didn’t live with them though, mostly because my mom and dad preferred to live off of nature. I guess you could think of us as nomads. Anyway, after my parents died, I lived with my grandfather back at the clan. When I turned seventeen, he and another member of the clan started discussing a possible mate for me.”
“I thought you guys recognized your mates naturally.”
“We do, which is why I ran away. My grandfather informed me the guy they wanted me to mate with was actually my cousin. Can you believe that? They were seriously considering incest to keep our kind from going extinct. Because I was the only female old enough to begin breeding, they wanted to get things started as soon as possible. The sick bastards wanted to use me as nothing more than a brood mare, and I wasn’t having it.”
Shocked into silence at what she was hearing, Lynn could only sit there in wide-eyed wonder as Kitty divulged so much of her history. It was no wonder she hadn’t shared this before. Something of this magnitude could only be entrusted to someone who would hold it in confidence.
“My grandfather wasn’t in any position to fight for me. He was in his nineties and therefore unable to contribute much to the clan in any way other than being my guardian. God bless the man, he put himself at risk by giving me all the money he had in his home safe, a gun loaded with silver and a map of the area. He woke me late one night and told me everything before promptly kicking my ass out the back door and telling me to never stop moving.”
“Why not stop? If you moved away from them, why couldn’t you just settle down somewhere permanently?” Usually if a girl ran from a guy, going so far as to leave the area, the man took the hint and gave up.
“Like I said, I was the only female of breeding age at the time, and I’m not sure if that’s changed or not. Every time I get a whiff of anyone like me, I immediately pack up and move again. This is the longest I’ve been in one place, and I’m starting to wonder if maybe they’ve finally decided I’m not worth the trouble.”
Damn, Kitty had lived a rough life. Lynn couldn’t fathom what it would be like to constantly have to look over her shoulder and remain on alert for signs of
family
. These were the people who should look out for one’s best interests and support one’s life choices, not force a person into relationships and children at such a young age.
“You’ve been alone for a long time now, haven’t you?” Lynn asked.
“I’ll turn thirty tomorrow, so yeah, it’s been awhile. Figures a shifter would have a birthday on Halloween, huh?”
“Halloween?
Shit!
I have to go by my old apartment to drop off my keys and see about getting my deposit back from the landlord. It’s a good thing you brought it up. Maybe, you can come with me and I’ll take you to lunch for your birthday?”
Kitty’s eyes lit up with excitement. “You’ve got a date! I haven’t eaten out in a long time. It’s just too depressing to sit by yourself while everyone else is there with someone. I typically do takeout and come back here.”
“Well, what would you like? There’s a little of everything around here, and my apartment is on the outer edge of the city, so think about it, hop on the internet and scan what’s around. I’ll pick you up around ten-thirty tomorrow. Does that sound okay? Oh, and after we’re done, maybe we can go see Sam and the baby. I just don’t think it’s safe enough for her and the baby to be off Pride property right now.”
“I’d love that. I still can’t wrap my head around the fact she had a baby and is mated to the Prime.” Kitty shook her head. “At least now I don’t have to hide that side of myself from you guys. I must admit, it feels good to be able to talk to someone about all of this, so thank you.”
“It’s no problem at all. You know, I hope you don’t just up and disappear if you find some of your family hanging around town. Mason and the others will see to it they understand your answer is no.” The Pride would defend Kitty; Lynn was certain. After all, she was also friends with their Prima. “Why don’t you join the Pride? Set down some roots?” Immediately, the light left Kitty’s eyes, and Lynn wanted to kick herself.
“I’m not a lion, Lynn.”
“Neither is Jag. I bet there are several others who aren’t, too. You can’t use that as an excuse. Try again.”
“You’ll just have to trust me on this. I don’t shift around others for a reason.”
And there it was! “But you do shift,” Lynn stated. “What’s so bad about being around others?”
Kitty shrugged pretending nonchalance, but not fooling Lynn for a second. “My tiger is different, like
really
different from others and people tend to fear what they don’t understand. I have enough problems without having a mob carrying pitchforks and torches coming after me.”
Lynn merely blinked at her explanation.
“Seriously, it happened to some of my ancestors.”
Shaking her head, Lynn tried to bring her thoughts back from visions of angry villagers from old movies. “It can’t be as bad as all that. Besides, those were probably humans anyway.”
“Not all of them.” Turning in her seat, Kitty looked to Lynn beseechingly. “How about we change the subject?”
Seeing as it was probably best to do so, since either Jag or Mason could come up at any moment, Lynn didn’t argue. “I know… Let’s go down for a drink! Surely, Mason can’t get pissy about us hanging out and chilling downstairs, especially with him and Jag being right there.”
Kitty sat up straight, pushing back her shoulders, a defiant gleam sparking in her eyes. “You’re right. He’s my boss and he can tell me I can’t work, but I’m not a prisoner. Besides, if he won’t let me stay down there and grab a beer, there are plenty of other places to try out.”
The next thing Lynn knew, she was being pulled from the apartment by an oddly chipper Kitty. Apparently, the thought of pissing off Mason held some major appeal. When they entered the bar, Jag greeted them both with a smirk.
“Hey, Kitty. How are you feeling?” he asked while Mason seethed behind the counter. “Arm healing up?”
“Doing good. I figured if I couldn’t work, I’d at least come down and say hi to the regulars.” Spinning around, she hollered, “How you fellas doin’?”
Now the patrons seemed to come alive. Several wolf whistles sounded before the group began to chant, “Kitty, Kitty, Kitty!”
“All right now, calm your tits,” she laughed. “Mason’s making me take a few days off to let my arm get better after I injured it, but I’ll be back soon enough,” she promised. “In the meantime, don’t treat him any differently than you would me.”
Whoops and guffaws rang out. “I’d rather not sit here and stare at his ass. I’m not drunk enough for that yet,” one man called. The customers howled with laughter, their amusement shared with the waitresses weaving through the tables.
Lynn glanced at Mason and found his face had turned a dark shade of crimson, though further inspection showed the slightest twitch at the corners of his mouth. It would seem he wasn’t immune to Kitty’s outrageous personality either. “Yeah, yeah. What do you two hell-raisers want to drink?” he shouted over the others.
“Vodka and cranberry for me,” Lynn called out, and Kitty quickly seconded. “I could use a little something to soothe my nerves after today.”
“Mason told me something happened earlier, but he promised me that you were safe. Can you tell me what’s going on?”
Jag came over with their drinks before flipping his chair around and straddling it with his arms resting on the back. “These rogues are getting ballsy. They sent her candy and flowers, probably trying to make it look like a gift from a grateful patient. The chocolates were laced with a type of sedative that acts as a paralytic, depending on how much was ingested,” he explained.
“And if she’d eaten too much?” It was obvious Kitty suspected the truth, but Lynn confirmed it anyway.
“It could have stopped my heart. I’m lucky Liam was there with me. He stopped me from eating any and got me out of there before anything else could happen.” Leaning on Jag’s shoulder, Lynn offered up a soft smile when he kissed her forehead. “Jag and Liam are tag-teaming me, which sounds kinda dirty, but both of them are doing their best to ensure nobody gets too close. I just feel bad because I know they both want to be out there, yet one of them is always stuck babysitting.”
Kitty perked up. “I can hang out at your place if you want. With me around, nobody would get to you either, then they could both do whatever it is they need to do.”
Jag frowned. “I’m not sure about that. It’s nothing against you, but you don’t shift, so what would happen if you two were attacked? In your human form, you’re much more vulnerable.”
“I can shift if I need to, Jag. I prefer not to, but if it was a matter of keeping Lynn safe or keeping my human form, I’d change so fast they wouldn’t know what hit them. Trust me, I don’t think there’s anyone out there who can shift as fast as me.” Her gaze moved to Lynn and excitement shown on her pretty face. “And we can still have our girl’s lunch tomorrow after we take your keys back to your landlord. That should give the guys a little time to do what they need then we can hang out either here or at your place until they get back.”
Lynn got the feeling Kitty needed more time around females outside of work, so she put in her request as well. “I think that would be great. It should be fine as long as I’m with Kitty, right? She could pick up any shifters around and would be able to smell any poisons or drugs, not that I think a restaurant would do anything like that. We’ll be in public with the exception of time spent in the car. My landlord’s office is in the main lobby of the building, and he’s expecting me anyway.” Adding in a little pout and a bat of her long lashes, Lynn awaited Jag’s answer.
Clearly he was torn, wanting to give her what she wanted, but also wanting to keep her safe. He stared at her for what felt like several minutes before he looked to Kitty. “You swear to keep her safe, to shift and fight to protect her if necessary?” Leaning in, he added, “I’m entrusting you with the most precious thing I possess. Lynn is my mate and the other half of my heart and soul. You won’t want to know me if something happens to her. Are we clear?”
“Crystal,” Kitty replied, seemingly unfazed by the threat. “There’s this new place that just opened not far from here, called Dixie’s Delights. I checked out their menu on the internet the other day because they have a bakery inside, too. We should eat there. Maybe, I’ll even be nice enough to bring a certain grumpy bear some honey buns back.”
“I am not grumpy,” Mason called out.
“Oh really? That hasn’t been you growling for the last day or so?” Turning her attention back to Lynn and Jag, Kitty added, “He eavesdrops a lot, too, so if there’s ever anything you want to talk about and keep private, do it outside or when he’s not here.”
“I’m not deaf either.”
“See what I mean?” Kitty had effectively broken the tension in the group, and all three chuckled as Mason merely lifted a brow in their direction.