Rebirth - Book 1 Rogues Shifter Series by Gayle Parness
Chapter Fourteen
Two hours later, Garrett pulled up in a black Saab Turbo, the engine purring like a satisfied feline shifter. Ethan opted for the back, which put me in the front next to Garrett. That suited me just fine. We drove along a narrow twisting road into the mountains, none of us speaking. Garrett put on some music and started humming along with a few of the songs, so I stayed quiet, enjoying this peaceful time.
I tried to keep my eyes on the road ahead, but I’d occasionally sneak a glance at his strong hands on the wheel or his riveting eyes focused on the twisting road. I was hoping we wouldn’t be seeing any of those silver dots tonight. Garrett chuckled when we heard Ethan snoring from the back seat and I was kind of surprised by the genuine warmth in his expression. Tonight, Garrett seemed to be just a young man enjoying a drive with a couple of friends.
Forty-five minutes later, we stopped at what appeared to be a summer camp closed for the winter, the buildings looking in need of paint and general repair. A red SUV was parked ten yards away and the two young shifters got out when we did, a guy and a girl.
The girl walked up to Garrett and kissed his cheek in greeting; the young man shook his hand. Garrett turned to us and introduced them. “Jackie, Ethan, I’d like you to meet Sinc Blakefield and Kyle Daro. They’ll be training with you tonight.” We looked each other over as people meeting for the first time do, and I recalled what Rob had said about these two being rogues like Ethan and me.
Kyle was slim and around my height, with beautiful dark almond-shaped eyes under a shock of bleached platinum blonde hair. He smiled brilliantly and extended his hand. “Hey Jackie, Ethan. Great to finally meet you guys.” Tattoos covered his forearms and his eyebrow was pierced with a steel stud, yet he looked as put together as any corporate CEO in his black jeans and graphic tee. I liked him instantly and shook his hand, as did Ethan.
Sinc also stuck out her hand but said nothing in greeting. She seemed more the I’ll let you know later what I think of you type. She was around 5’6”, curvy in ways I wasn’t, with gorgeous blue eyes and thick dark hair pulled back in a ponytail. She wore nice sweatpants, a tight-fitting purple V-neck tee and a rich-kid attitude that I’d seen many times before. They both looked to be around eighteen or nineteen.
“Let’s go inside and I’ll explain tonight’s plan.” Garrett led us to the locked six-foot-high chain-link gate and proceeded to climb over it with grace and strength. In seconds he was walking away on the other side. Ethan and Kyle started up together both making it over easily, although not quite as gracefully or as quickly. Sinc and I followed next and I managed to rip my sweatpants at the knee as I swung over the top. Ethan grinned and Sinc and Kyle tried not to notice. I just sighed, thinking, I was gonna be some talented shifter, all right.
We followed Garrett into a large well-lit wooden building, probably the recreation or dining hall, and sat at a long table near the entrance. Ethan and I took chairs across from Kyle and Sinc, none of us looking very confident about what was coming next. Garrett stood at the head of the table looking us over thoughtfully, maybe cataloging our abilities in his mind before we even began.
“Welcome. Our training sessions will be designed to find your strengths and weaknesses but also to encourage you to learn to work together and trust each other. Tonight, you’ll form two teams. The first will be given secret instructions to follow to accomplish a specific task, the second will stalk them in whatever form they wish, trying to gain as much information as possible without being caught by the first team. You will do what you can to prevent them from succeeding. You may defend yourself physically to stop the other team from accomplishing their goal. However, no serious injuries will be tolerated.” Garrett looked at each of us in turn, his mouth set in a flat line. “We’ll be switching teams three times so you’ll all get a chance to work together. Each mission should take about forty minutes. I’ll be observing off and on. You won’t see me, or smell me,” he glanced at Ethan, “but I’ll be around.”
Garrett paired me with Ethan and took us aside. “What happened back at the safe house can’t affect the way you approach this training exercise. I was wrong to do it and I apologize. It won’t happen again. However that does not excuse the rest. Are we okay?”
“Yes, Garrett, I’m letting it go.” Ethan looked defiantly into Garrett’s eyes, but no real heat stirred between them. In fact, I caught the corner of Garrett’s mouth twitching as he forced away a smile.
I was trembling from nerves and excitement. This was so much more than I’d imagined—the real deal. I’d had to leave the necklace in the car because I’d be shifting, but even the hot buzz of the ley line energy couldn’t dampen my focus. Garrett took my hand to quiet the sensation. “It won’t affect you as strongly in cheetah form.” He turned back to Ethan. “Trust your instincts. You’re both strong and capable. In this round, you’re the stalkers.”
He walked away to talk to the other team, giving Ethan and me a chance to discuss our strategy. “Okay, let’s play to our strengths,” began Ethan. “Strategy, muscle and climbing are my department.” He winked. “Speed, tracking and … swimming are yours.” I laughed softly. We went over our hand signals and the group of signals we’d worked out for when we were in animal form. Stealth would be all-important.
Garrett spoke up again. “Stay on the campground property. You’ll meet back here when you finish or I tell you to return. Kyle and Sinc, you have one minute’s head start.” They shifted into their animals rapidly: Kyle a gorgeous spotted leopard and Sinc a lovely snow leopard with those same striking blue eyes. They left through the doorway, seeming to head north. Ethan and I changed into cougar and cheetah a minute later. I breathed in deeply to catch their scents, taking off with Ethan close behind. Kyle’s scent was a sharp lemony fragrance, much easier to pick up than Sinc’s more subtle lavender. I tracked them heading west, using my human intelligence and acute cheetah senses in combination.
After playing cat and mouse for about thirty minutes, we were finally close enough to see and hear Kyle up ahead with a canvas bag nearby on the ground. Ethan gestured with a nod and a twitch of his ears for me to stay put and look out for Sinc while he snuck closer to Kyle, who was still in leopard form. Ethan padded away quietly, his tan coat blending perfectly with the dry brush.
I sat, senses alert, and waited. After a few minutes, my thoughts began to wander. I mused over how Sinc had greeted Garrett and if that meant anything about their relationship. Maybe he was more than just her instructor? The thought made me cringe. I might actually be a tiny bit jealous. Ridiculous. A guy like that would never look at me twice.
I was distracted again by the quick heartbeat and snuffling noises of a nearby raccoon. I imagined what the plump little guy might taste like, remembering that I hadn’t eaten anything since the Chinese food.
Suddenly, movement rustled the leaves in the tree above me. Before I could move, Sinc’s snow leopard struck, smashing me to the ground and biting me deeply in my rear haunch, cutting easily through muscle with her razor sharp teeth. I snarled in pain and rage, my wound already bleeding steadily. Sinc’s blue eyes shone a defiant challenge into mine before she growled and ran off. In one short bite she’d incapacitated me, preventing me from catching her, all because I hadn’t been paying attention. Kyle had hidden the canvas bag before Ethan had chased him off, so I watched unhappily as Sinc snatched it up with her mouth and ran back toward the campground where Garrett would be waiting, ready to praise her for winning this round. Crap.
Should I stay here and wait for help? Screw that. I took off limping, pushing myself forward even though the bite was bleeding and the pain was intense. Feeling the sharp pulse of the ley lines beneath me, I concentrated on the power throbbing in my chest. My rage increased when I saw her up ahead, fueling my will to catch her. I was surprised to find that I could run more steadily now, the pain dismissed to the back of my brain and my focus on the view of her tail getting closer as I ran. Pushing myself harder, I visualized
Before I knew it, I was leaping onto her back and we were rolling in the dirt, stopping our momentum in a tumble of dried leaves and pine needles. Furious, Sinc twisted to bite me again, but couldn’t without letting go of the bag. With a swipe of my paw, I slammed her head down hard in the dirt and grabbed it out of her now open mouth, racing as quickly as I could into the large cabin where Garrett waited.
I skidded to a halt, my claws scratching the wooden floor, panting from pain and the enormous adrenalin rush. Kyle and Ethan were already waiting for us. I dropped the bag at Garrett’s feet and sat licking the wound on my leg. Ethan loped over in human form holding a medical kit. He crouched beside me and began cleaning my wound, telling me to stay in cheetah form until he finished. I hissed when he poured on the antiseptic, growling when he apologized. My wound was still bleeding slightly when Sinc strode in, shaking dirt from her face and snarling at me. I growled back, showing some teeth. Unfortunately, Garrett did not look happy.
Shit.
He crouched to take a look at my leg, telling Ethan he’d done a good job and he could bandage it up. When Ethan finished, Garrett said, his voice and expression hard to read, “Kyle, you and Ethan go out to hunt. I need to have a private talk with the girls.” The guys looked at each other and left, stripping and shifting quickly to animal form. He pointed to a table. “Please transition and sit over there.” He walked outside to give us some privacy so we shifted and dressed quickly. I was happy to see that I’d mostly healed, a small red welt the only evidence of the bite. We sat obediently at the table, not speaking and refusing to look at each other until Garrett returned and sat next to me.
“Sinc, Kyle told me the plan was to jump Jackie and stun her, not bite her, especially so deeply that she could have been in real trouble.” My nervous stomach unclenched slightly, relieved that his icy blue stare wasn’t directed at me. Sinc was trembling, and that worried me too. Garrett wasn’t going to go all vamp on her was he? The bite had healed.
I put my hand on his to get his attention away from her. “She was trying to win the game. I’m fine now.”
He turned his stern expression toward me. “It’s not a game. There are killers out there—creatures you’ll have to face together as a team.” He turned back to Sinc and glared. “You disobeyed my direct order. Why?”
Sinc lifted her chin defiantly, “She’s much faster and I had to keep her from chasing me. I didn’t mean to bite her so deeply.” She turned to me. “I’m sorry I hurt you. I never thought you might be in any real danger. I should have stayed with you to make sure.” She turned back to Garrett, still nervous. “Accomplishing the mission takes precedence, doesn’t it?”
Although my leg was still throbbing angrily, I was glad to see the scrape on her face wasn’t serious. I’d dropped my anger as soon as I’d made her eat a little dirt. No reason to hold a grudge. Plus, I’d been the one to drop the bag at Garrett’s feet.
Garrett arched an eyebrow, still looking at Sinc. “What else made you bite her so deeply?”
She sighed and twisted her mouth into a frown. “All anyone has been talking about is the new cheetah and how she’s going to come in and magically save us all.” She lowered her head, looking ashamed.
I laughed out loud. “Save you? I lost my focus when I should have been paying attention. I messed up.” I smiled at her, knowing that making an enemy of this woman would not make my life any easier. And I definitely didn’t want to be responsible for Garrett punishing her for disobeying him.
“How do you feel, Jackie?” he asked, real concern in his tone.
“It hardly hurts ....” His expression told me he didn’t believe a word of it. “Well, it still aches.” An understatement.
“You’re not off the hook either.” He frowned. “In a situation like this where you know that backup is nearby, you should stay hidden, put pressure on the wound if you can and wait for assistance. Run only if your life or the life of a teammate is in danger. Shifter or not, you can still bleed out.”
He reached across and pushed a strand of hair away from my eyes, tucking it behind my ear. I watched his perfect lips turn up into a gentle smile as I took in a deep breath to fill my nose with his scent. Realizing he might have noticed, I looked down, embarrassed, “Well, you know—the mission and all that. What she said.”
Garrett grinned. “A little payback too, I think.” He glanced at Sinc’s scratched face.
I tried not to smile. “Yeah, I guess.”
“You were incredibly fast, even injured. I couldn’t believe you caught me.” Sinc’s tone held a grain of respect.
“We’ll end this for now.” Garrett looked again at Sinc. “The plans for the rest of the night have changed.” His eyes met mine, still full of concern. “You’ll need a good night’s rest before you can continue to train in the field.” His lips thinned. “But for now, go out and hunt together. Find something small and easy to catch. I expect you to work out your differences tonight, because I’m using the four of you to form a team. Your survival will depend on how well you work together.”
Sinc looked me over. “We can handle it.”
I watched him rise and walk to the door: a terrifying, seductive dichotomy. “I’ll meet you back here in an hour.” He was gone in a flash, leaving only a sweet breeze to mark his passing.
Sinc grunted. “He’s probably hunting, too. I hope there aren’t any humans around. He was really ticked off. Did you see his eyes?” Surprisingly chatty, Sinc looked at me with interest.
I nodded. “Yeah those silver streaks give me the chills. But he never takes human blood.”
“Well, that’s what he says, anyway. He’s acting kind of protective toward you. It’s weird.” Her eyes narrowed. “Why’d you stick up for me? I wouldn’t have done the same for you.” She crossed her legs and waited to hear how I’d answer.
She was expecting me to get angry, but I wasn’t rising to the bait that easily. I decided to be honest. “Because if Garrett lays into you for hurting me, you’ll blame me and then working together will suck.”
I saw the corners of her mouth twitch then quickly return to a neutral expression. “It might suck anyway.” She shrugged, fiddling with the hem of her shirt, not meeting my gaze.
“Yeah, well, I’m starving and we only have an hour. Let’s go hunt.” We grinned and jumped up, tossing our clothes about haphazardly as we ran.