Rafe Comyn raced after Kitty while shaking away the last vestiges of sleep. His new mate and all around handful had sprung from a dead sleep spouting nonsense about kidnapping and visions, leaving him confused and clueless. But it was the reference to a white cougar that had made his blood go cold.
He didn't want his wife to have anything to do with that breed. They were dangerous and unpredictable at best. Deadly and vicious at their worst. He didn't put a lot of stock into every rumor he'd heard, but he still avoided them as much as possible. As the new alpha of the Comyn wolf pack, his day-to-day dealings had him working alongside full-breeds and half-breeds all the time, no problem. Then there were the crazy breeds. Those were made up of any breed that seemed too stupid to live. Lastly, the white cougars. He didn't even know how to describe them or what they were capable of because no one was sure, but dangerous didn't seem to be enough. They were usually only hired when someone needed some dirty work done. The jobs no one else was willing to do.
Now his mate wanted to go after one? Hell to the no. Except he'd barely been able to get two words out before she'd fled the house half-dressed and raring to go. Fortunately she'd opted not to shift and make a run for it and instead came back inside for the keys to his Jeep.
As she grabbed for the ring of keys hanging near the door, he grabbed her hand and stopped her before she could take them and disappear.
"Seriously, Kitty. I need more of an explanation on why you are going out in the dead of night while a storm dumps more snow on our mountain. Can we take a moment to breathe so you can explain instead of going off half-cocked?"
"I told you. I think the pregnant cougar I met at Dark Moon has been kidnapped. We've got to tell someone. Bhric at least. My money's on him for the father."
Damn Bhric and his band of merry fucking hybrid shifters. They didn't just run the Dark Moon Roadhouse in the neutral zone. They had their hands in nearly everything. If all the clans weren't more careful, he'd end up in total control.
"C'mon, babe. It was probably just a dream. If Bhric is the father of that baby, I don't know a shifter alive who'd be willing to touch that woman, let alone kidnap her. He's a scary dude. Not to mention a white cougar is more than capable of taking care of herself. They're killing machines."
Kitty placed her hands on her hips and speared him with a dark look. "I know what a dream feels like and that wasn't it. Something is going on and I have to do something."
Rafe shoved his fingers through his hair and stared at his mate. He loved her so damned much it hurt, and if her instincts were going off this strongly then he had to believe something had gone very wrong. "Fine. But how about we call him first?" He scooped up his cell phone from the night stand and started to search for the shifter's number.
"Look, if you want to stand around making phone calls, that's fine by me, but I'm leaving. If I can't make it up the mountain in the snow, I'll shift and get there just fine by foot."
Rafe only wasted a second or two staring at her before he shoved his legs into the jeans lying across the bedroom chair. If he didn't hurry, he had no doubt his woman would attempt to leave him behind. "Jesus Christ, Kitty. Are you always going to be this stubborn?"
"Being stubborn is what keeps me alive. That's probably not going to change."
He froze at her words. He probably didn't want to know the full extent of what that meant, but he planned to get to the bottom of it anyway. Just as soon as he got her to sit still long enough to talk to him about it.
"Hurry, Rafe. I have a bad feeling we're running out of time."
He shoved his feet into shoes and tossed a sweater over his head before plucking the keys from her fingers. "What kind of details can you give me?"
"I don't know. I felt fear as if it were my own. And the baby's heartbeat sounded erratic, like the mother's fear was transferring to her."
He didn't know how to process that. She made it sound like she'd sensed the child more than the shifter. But that was impossible. That kind of telepathic ability did not happen among shifters in the womb. Ever. And because it was such a complicated ability, only a few shifter mates managed that kind of connection.
They raced through the door and jumped into the vehicle. The snow had eased and only a gentle flurry floated through the air. The smell of freshly fallen snow, with a crisp, clean scent called to the wolf, making him want to shift and run. It would have made a perfect night for some shifter romance. He sighed and turned the key until the engine roared to life.
There was also something to be said for four wheels that had no problem making their way through whatever elements he chose to drive through. Mud and snow just happened to be two of his favorites. He tossed his phone at Kitty. "Here, call the number for Bhric and tell him what you told me. The least we can do is give him a head's up before we crash his place."
He shoved the Jeep in reverse and turned the vehicle around quickly. As much as he would like to savor the pristine moment of a new winter night, the tension radiating from his mate was starting to agitate his wolf. If he didn't occupy them both with the arduous trip up the mountain, he'd end up doing something crazy, like kidnapping his woman into a he-man cave where he could keep her protected from anything bad ever happening to her again.
Rafe pressed his lips together to keep the bark of laughter from slipping out. If he ever tried to coddle Kitty or hide her away, she'd find a way to kick his ass on the way out. Every indication from the incredible woman sitting next to him was she knew perfectly well how to take care of herself.
"No one's—" She pulled the phone from her ear and glanced at the screen. "No signal. I don't know why we even bother with these things out here. They don't work at least half the time."
He lifted his shoulders. "Better than nothing the other half of the time."
"Probably better this way. He might be surprised to see us show up this late, but I'm not sure this is the kind of news he wants to get by phone."
"Maybe so." Rafe scanned the road making sure he didn't veer from their path. The snow was much deeper the higher they climbed.
"Thank you for believing me."
Despite his acute hearing, he barely heard her words. "Has something like this ever happened before? You seeing something without, you know, seeing?"
"A few times. But I'm not sure how comfortable I am talking about it."
"Kind of too late for that. We're about to storm the Dark Moon and tell Bhric his baby momma has been kidnapped. He's probably going to want some evidence."
"You don't think she's his mate?"
"Did he smell mated to you?"
"Well, not that I go around smelling mated shifters, but now that you mention it I don't remember getting a 'taken' vibe from him."
"Maybe cats don't have as strong a sense of smell." He didn't even have to turn to pick up on the spark of anger his words caused.
"Down, girl. I imagine your sense of smell is quite good but we are different species you and I. Do you think you know everything about wolves?"
She laughed. "I know you smell funny sometimes. Isn't that enough?"
"Har har," he said. "Now tell me about these visions."
Kitty shifted left then right on the seat next to him. A glance in her direction and his nose picked up on her heightened anxiety.
"C'mon, babe. We're mates now. There isn't anything you can say that will change how I feel about you." It was true too. He'd fallen immediately for her when she'd literally landed on his doorstep hanging onto life by a tiny thread. She'd been attacked by some of the women in her clan who'd sought revenge. But his Kitty had nine lives at least, because despite the women's poison tipped claws, she'd survived and gone on to stand up to the alpha of his pack and pretty much everyone else who thought she'd be easy prey.
"I don't know how to explain it. There were times when bad things were happening and my only out was with my brain. At first it was nothing but things I made up in my own imagination, but then I started seeing a few things before they happened in real life."
"So you have some psychic ability."
She shrugged. "It's nothing like Lucas's mate. She comes from a clan full of women with strong psychic abilities they learn to control at an early age. This is more erratic and random. I never know when it will happen and it's actually pretty rare."
He reached over and stroked Kitty's thigh. The tone of her voice had changed as sadness rolled through her. The need to touch his woman speared into him. This wasn't exactly the right place for a conversation like this. They needed to be alone and naked in bed where she felt safe and cared for. She didn't like to admit it, but she took as much comfort in his protection as he did in providing it.
"Maybe we should talk to Simon about it. If anyone would have a clue, it could be him. He always has his nose in some book learning some new skill that might help the pack. He loves a good puzzle."
And as Rafe's best friend and second in command, he could be trusted with medical information about his mate.
"I thought your beta's specialty was infertility."
"It's what he studies the most because it's what the pack needs to solve. Unfortunately, it's proven to be frustrating for him. So he takes on other experiments for his hobbies."
"Look." Kitty pointed through the windshield in front of them. "Oh my God, is that Bhric?"
Rafe turned his gaze back to the road and slammed on the brakes. The tires locked up and they started to slide. "Dammit." He twisted the wheel in the opposite direction and prayed for some traction.
All he could do now was stare at the red eyes of the creature standing in the middle of the road. He wasn't sure what to call it.
Wolf? Jaguar? Something else? He was twice the size of a normal wolf with dark fur over half his body and grey on the other. This wasn't the first time he'd come across the owner of the Dark Moon in his shifted state, and he'd not been eager to do it again.
Slowly, the Jeep came to a stop a few feet from the animal. Bhric's lips parted and his snarl sounded deep and throaty. Rafe growled. He carried his mate, and the other man's actions threatened her safety.
"Oh for cripe's sake. We don't have time for this." Kitty jumped from the Jeep and rounded the hood before Rafe even cleared the door.
"You're mate is in trouble," she yelled. "Or, I mean, the woman who is having your baby is in trouble."
The animal blinked at her, shock clouding his eyes. In a barely noticeable flash of magic, he shifted, transforming from animal to a man of six foot plus height. The jaguar's pale spots they'd been unable to see under the dark fur, covered his human form on the left side of his body and scars on the other, but it was the complete nudity and obvious aroused state that pissed off Rafe's wolf.
Fuck.
Rafe grabbed Kitty and pushed her behind him. "Stay calm, Bhric. We've only come to help you."
"That would be great if I knew what the hell you were talking about." His voice came out like gravel stuck in a blender. His animal instincts were barely disguised by the human half of him.
He'd heard them coming and he'd come out on the attack. Bhric looked past Rafe and stared at Kitty. "I don't know where you got your information but I do not have a mate nor do I have a girlfriend, pregnant or otherwise. So someone better start explaining what's going on."
Shit. Had Kitty been wrong?
