Taming Jax (First Wave Book 5) (2 page)

“We’ve sealed off an area of the Sibiox sanctuary on the west side of the mountain. He will have free roam there. The kitchen is aware of his nutritional needs and Sibiox medical and veterinary staff are on standby to treat him.” Grai said before Jax could even ask. 

She smiled her gratitude as Grai led them to a waiting truck. Jax was again surprised when Reven got into the bed of the truck with her and the white tiger. When they stopped, Jax and Reven got out first before she turned to coax the frightened animal out of the truck.

She was glad when Gibly came up and helped her convince the animal he wouldn’t be abused any longer and where they were going was safe. Her heart broke at the fear and pain emanating from the animal. Damn if people didn’t piss her off, she thought, sinking her hand into his soft fur and hugging him close.

Jax sent waves of love and comfort to the animal, while Gibly explained to him that he was finally going to be happy and safe. Once he was calmer, Jax led him into the wooded area that would now be his new home. They went half a mile in before they came upon the huge wooden playground Grai had built for the Sibiox.

Large tire swings hung from a wooden bridge that spanned a long gulch that was covered in leaves and toys. Big, colorful balls were scattered in the gulch and on both sides of the bridge. When she had to explain to the poor creature what grass and leaves were, it nearly broke her heart.

As Jax led the cat past the playground, she explained to him what the toys were for, while Gibly pounced on the balls and swung on the tire swings to show him how to play.

Jax felt a lot better when she sensed the cat’s natural curiosity take over as he turned his head to look back at the play center when they passed.

Jax promised the cat he could play anytime he wanted while Gibly assured him that he wouldn’t be alone, that his people would happily play with him and be his new family. The joy and hope that went through the animal brought tears to her eyes as they entered the home area for the cats.

Jax could feel his confusion as he looked at the large, natural cave that they had turned into a comfortable sleeping and eating area for the cats. The large, natural overhang and extended sides provided a perfect place for the animals to shelter from the weather.

Farther inside the cave, Risk and Lagor had set up a climate control system that activated when an animal entered. It provided a comfortable year-round temperature of seventy-two degrees while maintaining a natural environment for the animals.

A small, natural spring provided fresh, clean water that pooled near the gulch so they could play in the water, and the automated feeder provided fresh food when an animal stepped onto a platform.

The scanner on the platform determined which animal it was by the paw print and sent up the correct food and nutrients for that particular animal’s needs.

Jax and Gibly spent several minutes showing the tiger how to step on the platform until he was able to do it by himself before she sat down with him on a rocky ledge overlooking the play area.

The animal rubbed its large head against her and purred strongly in happiness. When Jax knew the large cat was comfortable, she asked him his name.

“Mama called me Calnotalania.” The tiger replied in her mind.

“I’m going to call you Cal if that’s ok?” Jax asked the cat, not wanting to disrespect the incredible animal.

When the cat purred happily, Jax continued to speak to him until she was able to find out what had happened at the barn. What she found out shocked her as much as it scared the hell out of her.

Jax quickly stood to leave and turned to Cal. Explaining that she would be back to see him as soon as she could, she turned to Gibly to make sure that he would stay with Cal and help him to assimilate to his new home. Ignoring Reven’s questioning look, she led them back out of the Sibiox sanctuary and to the truck.

“So?” Grai asked the moment he heard them coming out of the woods and saw the protective fence go up.  

“He’s very confused, but whatever we’re dealing with isn’t normal. He said that the older girl let him out of his cage, and the little one told him to go ahead and eat, that someone nice would be coming soon to take him home.” Jax said, still surprised at the images the cat had shown her.

“Eat? You mean those men?” Reven asked looking a little green.

“They let the cat out to kill two of the ones holding them prisoner before the bidding customers could get there. It was pretty damn smart for a toddler and a child, don’t you think?” Jax asked, giving Grai a disbelieving look.

“It was too smart. No toddler, with the exception of you of course, could have spoken to the animal to ensure his help.” Grai replied, looking a little surprised.

“What’s even better is there were four bodies and the cat only killed two. He was starving and wasn’t too picky… so he didn’t mind seeing if the other two tasted better. However, he doesn’t know who killed them.” Jax said while Grai growled out a long string of curses.

“What are you thinking Grai?” Jax asked, knowing something was up with the man; he wasn’t usually this emotional about a mission.  

Grai nodded to the back of the truck and waited until Jax and Reven got in before sitting beside Jax. As the truck lumbered down the trail back to the road, Grai looked up at the both of them.

“I can’t explain it to you. The moment I saw that little one; I thought of Tristan. There is something about her that I can’t shake. I’m assuming that somehow she’s one of our own, but even if she isn’t… I want them found. I want them safe… and loved. As they should have been to begin with.” Grai said, confused over his own intense feelings.

Although he adored children, whether they were human or his own people, didn’t matter, but this one… this situation was bothering him much more than it normally would. And he didn’t know why.

Jax cleared her throat to try and clear her own thoughts on the matter before speaking. “I know what you mean. There is nothing normal about this retrieval. Cal, that’s his name for those of you who give a damn about the poor baby.” Jax said, giving a dark look to Reven before continuing.

“Cal said that there was another creature in the area that he had never seen before. From his description, it sounds like a squirrel, who also saw the girls. I’m going to head back to the barn and try to find the squirrel. He’ll know what direction they went and who with.”

When Reven snorted, Jax turned angry eyes on him. “You got a better idea big boy? Some brilliant way to find the direction they went? You want to waste resources scouring the cities and woods nearby?”

“Because the only thing we know is that eight hours ago those girls disappeared, and they could be anywhere right now. We need to know what direction they went and in what form of transportation, so we know how to allocate our damn resources. So suck it up, you ass, the squirrel is our best bet.” Jax said before storming off towards the transport that was still waiting for them.

“Damn that woman!” Reven muttered at her quickly retreating back. However, he couldn’t help but admire the sexy sway of her hips as her shorter legs took larger steps to get away from him.

Grai turned to Reven with a worried look. “I do not believe in interfering with mates. But, if I were you, I would consider learning to see what she does in the animals. If nothing else to understand her better, even if you aren’t fond of the creatures.”

Reven watched the man walk away before heading to the transport that was waiting for him. He knew Grai was right. He’d said the same damn thing to himself a hundred times or more. The problem was his emotions were so screwed up when he was near her that he would lose it.

The way she petted and comforted the cat was what he wanted from her. Her concern for the animals and the way she fought for them was what he had always thought mates should feel for one another. Instead, she fought against him as strongly as she fought for the animals she adored.

Reven would find himself saying things that he didn’t mean out of jealousy and anger at the animals that got all the love and adoration of the woman he wanted more than life. He knew it was spiteful, but he had a hard time realizing it when his mouth was already in motion.

Reven stepped into the small transport and sat across from Jax; who refused to even glance at him when he entered the ship. Sighing heavily, Reven resigned himself to a cold and silent trip back to the barn. To talk to a damn squirrel.

A small creature that even most humans called a nuisance rodent, he thought. The damn rodent would be cradled in her soft, delicate hands and showered with love and affection, the kind he craved of her.

To top it off, Reven thought angrily, she would probably do like she had done many times before, and she would invite it into her home to share her life with it. He knew all too well of her collection of strays that stayed in and around her home in Dillon.

His encounters with them had never been good. He’d been pecked, bitten, stung, struck and mowed down by more than one of her
friends;
and that was just trying to knock on her door.  

It was much worse if she was angry at him, like she was now he thought with a worried frown. He had to suppress the shudder at the memories of the last time she’d been this angry at him.

He’d gone to town to unwind after their last mission together and hadn’t even been thinking about how they had argued and sniped at one another the whole time. Until the first bird, dive bombed him as he got out of his car.

He bypassed the restaurant where he had intended to get dinner, alone, when the swarm of bees stinging him threatened to go in with him. Before he could get back to his car, a Sibiox ran into him knocking him onto the sidewalk and his ass.

Luckily, that had the added benefit of crushing some of the bees that were swarming him, really making the others angry. He was stung a couple of dozen times before he was able to lock himself in his car.

It took him an hour to make the ten-minute drive back home and another five to make it into the house from the driveway due to the animals confronting and attacking the SUV. He had learned the hard way just how many creatures existed in the surrounding area.

By morning, he’d had to call Amun to deal with the various bee, spider and animal bites and stings he sustained throughout the night that had him swelled up so bad he couldn’t get out of bed. The two of them were no longer assigned missions together after that. And people wondered why he was sick of her animals; Reven thought with a frown.

Jax tried to pretend Reven wasn’t there, but she couldn’t help but steal glances at him while he was occupied in his own thoughts. For a guy old enough to have invented fire, he was gorgeous; she thought with a scowl.

His dark-brown hair was lightly peppered with gray at his temples in that sexy way that only men could pull off and his bright blue eyes with green beast swirls were fringed with long, dark lashes most women would kill to have.

The rest of the sexy man looked like a damn mountain. Every inch of his body looked like it was carved out of stone, from his jaw to his calves. He was three hundred and forty pounds of solid muscle that she had drooled over in the training room more than once until she’d learned to avoid him better.

Which was pretty easy to do when he was six-foot nine, and she was only five-feet six. Jax or her friends could spot the damn giant easily while she slipped out of sight, she remembered with a grin at a few of their antics. It served the arrogant bastard right though.