Hour of the Lion by Cherise Sinclair (android e book reader txt) 📗

mouth, shock freezing her like an icicle through the guts. She‘d almost blurted out what she was. Standing, she pulled out of Alec‘s embrace. "I don‘t want this fucking gift."

Calum rose too. "I‘m sorry, Victoria. We‘ve overwhelmed you with explanations. You need time to take all this in."

"Forget taking it in—can I give it back?"

The lines deepened in his face. "If you never trawsfur, then the magic will eventually fade away, and you‘ll be purely human again. Even the Sight will slowly leave you. However you might—"

Victoria ran out the door, slamming it behind her so hard the cabin shuddered, and snow slid off the roof. The branch in the corner rustled as the pixie buried herself deeper. Calum shook his head. The little female had a powerful arm. His chest tightened as he fought the urge to go after her. To offer comfort.

Face set in unhappy lines, Alec picked up his cup and moved to the blankets by the fire.

"Well, I think that went well, don‘t you?"

Calum grunted agreement. "We should be grateful we are far from her car."

"Now, that is a blessing." Alec took a sip of his coffee. "Did you have any idea about Lachlan‘s Gift?"

"Not a one. Although she is abnormally fast and strong...and sensitive, I assumed it was due to her martial arts training."

"Me, too. I‘d never have thought Lachlan would be clear-headed enough to remember the Death Gift ritual. Not then."

"They had a bond between them. That‘s obvious." A dying lad, a woman who couldn‘t save him. The child must have been terrified and in such pain... Calum‘s fingernails dented the table as he fought the fury boiling in his veins. He took a breath filled with fire and released it slowly.

"He‘d have worried about Thorson being alone."

"Makes sense." Alec glanced at the door and voiced Calum‘s hopes. "She‘s a shifter, brawd, or can be one. She‘s strong, brave, spirited..." He smiled. "Fun to be with. Passionate. Blunt."

"And very vulnerable right now. Scared." But his lips turned up. "But we‘ll do our best to keep her for the clan...and for us."

What the hell am I going to do? Vic stomped through the snow away from the cabin. A shifter. She‘d saved the kid‘s butt, got him out of the cage, and he not only died on her, but turned her into some freakish cat-thing. Fuck, if he were here now, she‘d kill him.

That thought and the stabbing memory of his pale lifeless face snapped her out of her tantrum. How could she think a thing like that? She would have defended him to her last breath.

Slumping against a tree, she scowled at the darkening sky. Not a glimmer of sun escaped the thick clouds; it seemed as if her whole life had been washed of color, turned into shades of gray.

Just like her choices.

She wanted—needed—to return to duty. Being here, isolated from everything she‘d known...it wasn‘t right. The job over there wasn‘t done. She needed to go back. But not if she‘d turn into a cougar person.

She remembered when Calum had turned into a mountain lion, how his whole body had seemed to glory in the transformation. Maybe she should try… No. She had a feeling that trying on a cat shape would be like taking crystal meth—addictive with one taste. Once she‘d done that, she could never return.

Had Calum told her the truth?

As if she‘d summoned him, he appeared between the trees, making his way down to her with his silent, predatory grace. "Victoria."

"Why do you always call me that?" she growled. "You‘re the only one."

He ran warm fingers down her cold cheek. "I find I like calling you something no one else does."

His gaze was as warm as his hand, and Vic took a step back. "Calum, look, I‘m not going to—"

"Alec and I have been discussing your problem."

He said that as if her problem was something he could fix. Not. "I don‘t—"

"I need to visit Elder Village," he broke in. "It‘s a mountain town with only shifters, mostly the older ones wishing to avoid humans."

If he didn‘t stop interrupting her, she‘d gag him and leave him for Alec to release. Then again, she‘d seen him take Baty down, and also the speed with which he‘d slashed the bear‘s muzzle open. She might not win a fight against him. "I‘m listening." Dammit.

"Before we…disposed…of them, we took fingerprints and photos of your assailants. A contact in the city is gathering information, but discovering who employed them might take some time. In the interim, Alec and I think you should go with me."

"Excuse me? You want me visit a bunch of wereanimals."

"Precisely." He smiled as if she‘d won the spelling bee. "The farther you are from these men, the better. In addition, you need space and time to think about what has happened to you.

Finally, I‘d like the Elders to meet you, even if you decide to refuse the gift."

His phrasing hurt. As if she was rejecting something special that Lachlan had… Well, she was. And yeah, she did feel guilty.

Tough.

Then he just had to put one last argument out there. He cupped her cheek in his big hand and murmured, "And I would very much enjoy having your company."

Oh, God.

Chapter Thirteen

That night, Vic rolled her eyes as Calum motioned her forward. Into a cave. When he‘d said they‘d stay at a way station, she looked forward to another nice warm cabin. But a cave? Cold.

Damp. Moldy. Ugh.

A small rock wall niche near the entrance held candles. He lit two and handed her one. "We go farther back," he said, leading the way through a winding tunnel, veering to avoid holes and rocks. The damp air smelled of minerals.

After they entered a larger space, Calum set about lighting more candles, and soon flickering lights danced on the rock walls. The place was immense, the candle glow not reaching the top.

And the ground… She lifted her candle higher. "I‘ll be damned."

"Quite likely," Calum agreed. "The church does not welcome shifters."

"No, not that," she said