Leaf, Erin M. - Tango Trio [Dream Marked 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (18 page)

He huffed a laugh in her head.
I hope I don’t reek.

Tessa sent amusement down the link to him.
You don’t.
She settled in to wait, thankful that this form wasn’t prone to fidgeting. It was odd. She felt entirely herself, only in a bigger, stronger version. A non-human version. She supposed this explained why their bonding tattoos looked like paw prints.
You don’t think we’re stuck like this forever, do you?

No
, Parker sent, loping over a fallen log.
But I think we might need to find Jared in order to change back
. Tessa agreed, thinking of their bond-mate. She sensed him running tirelessly. Wild jaguars and pumas didn’t run for long like that, but it seemed the change gave them the ability to combine the best of both forms. The bonding changed them into this, but it didn’t change their essential humanity into a completely animal nature.

I agree
, Parker thought to her as he slipped through the trees and settled down next to her.

Parker.
She raised her face to his, and he rubbed his scent glands along her head. She felt a tickle in her nose and suppressed a sneeze.
I’m glad you’re here.

Me, too
, he replied
.

Tessa purred, happy despite the grim circumstances. She backed up a little to get a good look at him. A tawny mountain lion stared back at her. He was enormous.
In this form, you probably weigh two hundred pounds.

I weigh two hundred pounds as a human
, Parker said.

Tessa called up an image of Parker naked—the thick muscles of his chest and shoulders. His strong legs. Okay, he might be right. Still, his cat form was impressive.
Yeah, but you look scarier like this. The claws, the teeth.
Tessa blinked, suddenly wondering if she looked as dangerous.

You look sleek. Graceful. Lethal
. Parker sent her an image of herself—a long, nearly white puma sitting docilely beneath the trees. She almost looked sedate, tame, until you saw the length of her claws and the intelligent gleam of her eyes. That was more frightening than the physical weapons that came with this body. She could see the intelligence in Parker’s face, too, even in this form. He could see it in hers.

She stood up and stretched. It didn’t matter what she looked like as long as she had Jared and Parker.
Now what?

Now we find Jared
, Parker replied. He turned and loped into the forest. Tessa followed.

* * * *

Two hours later they were still running.
Thank God most of Pennsylvania is still forested, or we’d have long since freaked out some humans
, she thought. Parker’s faint agreement filtered through the link. It was extraordinary, what they could do. Tessa knew instinctively that they were running fast, faster than a normal large cat. Longer. Most felines weren’t made for this kind of ground-eating lope, but neither she nor Parker gave it any thought. They needed to find Jared, so they ran to him. They were getting closer.

I think he’s just over that rise
, Parker sent.

Tessa scented the wind.
Yes. I can smell him
, she thought to Parker.
But why can’t we talk to him? I can sense him in my head, but he doesn’t speak.

I think he’s retreated further into the animal than we have
, Parker mused, slowing down. He stopped at the next stream, sniffing first then drinking.

The brook burbled cheerfully in a small clearing, and Tessa looked around cautiously before she joined Parker. It was lovely here, but she was still wary. She didn’t want anyone sneaking up on them.
I feel vulnerable. Scared. Why am I so jumpy? I know we’re doing all we can. I think the cat’s instincts are stronger than I thought.

Our human side is just as much an animal as the cat, and I’m worried about Jared, so that colors everything with caution. My instincts are screaming at me, and I don’t think it would matter if I was in human form right now,
Parker explained.
Jared watched one of his best friends die right in front of him. His stress is affecting us, too.

No, I disagree. Jared is ex-military. He doesn’t react that way. He’s been trained to hold up under that sort of violence. And he’s naturally calm.
Tessa sniffed the air, making sure they were alone. She sensed Jared nearing their position but no other humans.

Then why is he silent?
Parker asked her, frustration evident in his mind voice. He pawed at the water, scraping claw marks into the mud.
Why won’t he talk to us?

Tessa sat down and closed her eyes. She opened her mind up, stretching herself wider than she’d ever done before. Jared was there, his presence a warm, solid comfort. Parker was there, too, fiery and strong, but where he was alert and active, Jared’s voice felt sleepy. He was still running to them, but it was as if his brain had been sedated somehow. Tessa frowned in her mind, seeking out their combined auras. She gently touched their colors, plucking at the weave that still held strong among the three of them to see what would happen.

Ow, Tessa, what are you doing?
Parker asked. She sensed his low growl in her gut.

Hush. I need to see something
. The growl subsided, and she slid her mental fingers along the pattern until she came to a damaged spot. It looked almost fuzzy to her mind, as though someone had spilled something on it that ate through their bond like acid.
Damn. Our bonding was injured
. She pulled energy up from the ground and from Parker and sent it out over the ghost-like threads, smoothing the frayed portions.
I couldn’t see it before because we were too far away from Jared.

How did that happen?
Parker asked.

Tessa sighed, thinking back over what happened while Jared was in the room with Charlie. She remembered him running out the back door, shots hitting the ground and walls around him. One of them didn’t miss, and it wasn’t a bullet. Damn, how could they have missed it?
They shot him with the same shit that got you in the restaurant.
She’d found traces of the psychic acid along their bond as she healed Jared.
I think our new form protected him somewhat. The extra endurance and strength helped him escape. Our bond held up under it until we got close enough for me to fix it.

You know what this means?
Parker thought, grimly.

Yeah
. Tessa wished she didn’t understand even as she felt Jared’s presence come alive in her mind, soothing and oh-so-welcome. She turned, feeling the cat body sliding away from her human form like water.

“It means your mother is behind Charlie’s death,” Jared said as he walked into the clearing, naked and entirely human.

“Jared!” Tessa ran to him, not caring that she was nude, too, and in the middle of nowhere. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Parker’s cat form shimmer, then he, too, was there, holding onto her and Jared as if he was afraid to ever let go again.

“I was afraid. I didn’t let on, but I was,” Tessa whispered into Jared’s neck. She pushed as close as she could, the feel of his warm skin soothing the worry that had been her constant companion for the past several hours.

“Shh. I know. I felt it, but you did good. You healed me. You put us back together,” Jared murmured, stroking her hair. She felt him relax then pull back slightly. She looked up and watched as Parker kissed him gently, his strong face so joyful she thought she might cry.

Don’t you dare cry!
Parker sent to her, even as he leaned into the kiss.

Tessa felt her body respond to them as the kiss grew heated, a stab of desire rocketing through her spine to pool between her legs. She gasped, and the two men broke apart, panting. She glanced down, not surprised to see that both men were hard. Now was definitely not the time for this, but she had to admit, it was a helluva good view. Parker rolled his eyes at her, and Tessa chuckled and snuggled back in, enjoying the scent of her bond-mates.

A long minute later, Jared pulled away. “We need to get home.”

Tessa nodded, running her hand up and down his arm. He was strong and whole and perfect, but she couldn’t help herself, she had to touch him. She loved their mental bond, but the physical contact grounded her. “I think we’re going to have to figure out how to shift back to cat form. It’s not like we brought a car with us, you know?”

Jared ran his hand through her hair. “Well, I have to admit, I kinda wanted to see you as a puma, but you changed back to human so fast I missed it.”

“She was awesome,” Parker said, smiling. “She could kick anyone’s ass, even that dickhead Griffith. Well, she could have if you hadn’t already ripped his head off.”

Jared smiled briefly, and Tessa remembered that he’d just watched his friend die. She sensed him smother a pang of grief at the thought and sent him a deep pulse of love. He kissed her forehead in thanks. “So, how do we do it? It’s not like I had any idea what was going on when I shifted the first time.”

Parker snorted. “Yeah, me neither.”

Both men turned to look at Tessa.

“What? You think I have any clue?”

“You’re the one who can magically heal all wounds,” Parker said, still looking expectantly at her.

She rolled her eyes at the men then sat down on the forest floor, trying to get comfortable on the damp ground, with no success. She was naked, and it itched. She sighed, willing herself to ignore the discomfort. Abruptly she caught a whiff of something foreign.
Or someone
, she thought, lifting her face and inhaling deeply.
There it is again
.

What is it?
Jared thought, his body tensing.

Scent the air.
Tessa stood up, her skin suddenly too tight for sitting.
Someone’s coming.
She sniffed again, trying to catalogue the strange scents heading their way—metal, rubber, man. A hint of gas and that ashy, smoky miasma that followed ‘Path addicts around. One of their pursuers was an addict.

Damnit. I thought I lost them an hour ago
, Jared sent, his mind voice angry.

They followed you?
Parker asked, incredulous.
How the hell did they track you?

Tessa frowned as her body tightened even more.
They must have been able to track the psychic acid. I bet one of them is a ‘Path user. That’s the only way they could’ve followed you, by following the traces of your bond injury.

Jared nodded.
She’s right. There’s no other way.

I thought ‘Path users had only limited powers?
Parker sent.

Tessa sensed his growing irritation.
I thought so, too, but I think it depends on the dose. Those who get it off the streets probably never develop more than a rudimentary empathy. Those who have an endless supply?
She shrugged, thinking about the people who’d attacked them in the restaurant.
Who knows?

Parker growled. Tessa found herself responding, her throat opening up instinctively. What was happening? She scented the air again then realized she and her bond-mates were shifting. Unlike the first time, Tessa sensed the process clearly this time, from the inside out. Her mind stayed clear, focused, but she felt herself instinctively willing her cat form to come out. Like water, her body flowed over itself, and she dropped to all fours and dug her claws into the ground. On either side of her, Parker and Jared did the same. It was easy. Painless. She knew exactly how to do it now and knew she wouldn’t have any trouble changing back into human form when she wanted. It felt like stepping to the side mentally and pulling a liquid curtain over herself. It felt good.

Yes, I think I understand now, too
, Jared sent to her.
I was upset before, when Charlie died. I couldn’t focus on what was happening.

I was upset, too
, Tessa thought to him.
Parker and I were both upset for you. Neither of us really understood what happened.
She shook herself, settling her fur around her.

Jared shrugged his fur down as well, and Tessa glanced at him, eager to see what he looked like. He stepped forward, scenting the air again. Tessa stared. Jared wasn’t as big as Parker in his mountain lion form, but he was definitely bigger than her cat form. The most striking difference between him and Parker, though, was Jared’s black hide. He rippled as he walked, the sheen of his fur so deep and shiny it looked like he was covered in liquid. He was frightening. Dangerous. His aura flickered around him, somehow thicker and brighter in this form. She shivered, desperately attracted to him. Parker moved up beside Jared, and she let a low growl escape her. He was tawny and muscular. His jaws were so big he could probably crack a man’s skull with his teeth. His coppery aura was somehow more intense, too. How did she not notice that before? Tessa wanted to rub herself all over them.

Down, girl
, Parker sent to her, his mind voice threaded with amusement.

She huffed, her cat’s breath stirring a few dry leaves on the ground as she slinked forward, insinuating herself between them.
I can’t help it. You’re both so gorgeous.

Jared butted his head against hers in response then eased forward.
They’re almost here.