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Mercy’s chin lifts, and she finds my eyes. “Dylan said she went to Chicago to meet with the high council. She said she tried to find a way out of it, to end the tribute, but no one would listen to her. Hayden’s too powerful.”
“So the high council decided this?”
“The founding families made the agreement. He threatened to destroy the entire town if my family didn’t make reparations for his lost mate.”
“I’m not going to let him take you.” It’s as simple as that.
Her chin lifts, and I can see her pretty eyes shine with tears in the moonlight. “You can’t stop him, Koa. He owns my family. He owns everything. Even this house is his.”
Fuck that. I’m on my feet, carrying her with me. Looking around the room, I find a short-term solution. “Pick out a shirt and some jeans you can wear.”
Her brow lines as she stands before me in only a thin tee. She’s sexy as hell, but we don’t have time.
“What are you thinking?” she whispers.
“You’re not spending another night in his house. You’re coming with me to Doris’s. You’ll stay with me until we figure out how to break this pact.”
Several different emotions flicker across her face. I see her pushing back the despair from when I got here. I see her inhale a shuddering breath. Then I see my girl struggling to believe me, struggling to find that inner strength to fight her inherited destiny.
“You think we can find a way?” The smallest note of hope is in her voice, and I pull her into a hug.
“I won’t let you down. Now come on. I need you to give me your clothes then shift. We’re getting out of here. You’re not spending another night in his house.”
She nods and goes to her dresser, lifting out a pair of jeans and a maroon V-neck tee. They’re in a neat bundle, and she puts them on the floor. “I’m not sure I can carry them,” she whispers.
I smile touching her bottom lip with my thumb. “I know what your little mouth can handle.”
Her cheeks flush, and she blinks up at me in a way that has me thinking ahead a few minutes. “When we get to my place,” I say with a wink. “I’ve got your clothes. Let’s go.”
The nightshirt is over her head in a flash. Her gorgeous, naked body is a flicker in my eye before she shimmers into the cutest little chestnut cat with black-tipped ears and big feet.
My head bows, and at once I’m in my panther form, towering over her. I lean my head down and take her clothes in my mouth before going to the window. A glance back, and she’s right behind me. We’ll get to Doris’s place, and then we’ll get to the bottom of this situation.
Answers
Mercy
One week is all I have. According to my sister, Hayden intends to come for me on the night of the new moon. As overwhelmed as I’d been the day she told me everything, Koa’s strength has managed to revive mine. If he believes we can fight this, I have to believe it, too. With my beautiful panther by my side, I can fight my future.
Still, I feel so stupid and useless. I’ve been so focused on getting out of here, on cultivating my art and saving every penny I earned at Andy’s Gym, I never cared to know the folklore or develop any ties to Woodland Creek. I know nothing about the founding families or how they might help me.
My only hope is confronting Hayden directly, trying to reason with him, convince him to free me from my family’s debt.
Koa won’t let me spend another night in the mansion. He barely even agreed to let me go in my human form in broad daylight to collect my clothes, but I had to go back.
“What about my cat Phoebe… and my ceramics?” I’m wrapped tightly in his arms early Sunday morning recovering from an incredibly intense round of lovemaking even for us.
We again exchanged blood, and our connection is growing. I can sense his emotions, and I expect to be able to hear his thoughts before long.
“Your cat will be fine. Cats are survivors.”
“I need to get the things I care about,” I say gently.
“I don’t like you on his land,” Koa growls. The tension in his powerful body hums in my veins. “It only reinforces his hold on you.”
Pushing to a sitting position, I smooth my fingers over the lines in his brow. “Dylan said we have until the new moon. She negotiated that much from him.”
“Your sister might have bought us time, but I don’t trust him. Kanaloa is a trickster. It’s in all the old stories.”
