Chapter Forty-Five--The Time For War Nears The Horizon

Chapter Forty-Five--The Time For War Nears The Horizon
Kalvyn adjusted my legs around his waist. “You’re quiet.”

“Talking to my cat.”

“And what does she have to say for herself?”

“Explaining a few things.”

“Such as?”

“Instincts, mated mates, and the like. It’s weird, sharing the same form with someone else.”

“I can only imagine.”

“I take it you don’t?”

He shook his head. “I am a completely different. I am an animal who takes human form. There are those of us who exist, never taking a man’s form at all. But I was raised to coexist in both forms. A matter of preference.”

Made sense.

Are the other changed like me?

In a way, I suppose, my cat supplied. As man and cat merge, in many ways, they remain separate. Their animal is still a part of me, drawing from my essence. However, my essence does not embody them as I do you.

I looked around, attempting to gain my bearings. “I can’t believe we traveled this far. Didn’t feel like it on the way down.”

“You were a little distracted, and up in the trees. We’re almost home.”

Foolishly, I smiled. He too had associated the cabin as my residence. In the recesses of my mind, guilt plagued me.

“Kalvyn?”

“Yes, beautiful?”

“Are you happy?”

He cocked his head. “Do I not seem so to you?”

“Answering a question with a question is evasive.”

“Perhaps the question is multiple answers, depending on the angle in which you’re asking from. Am I happy you are with me? Yes. Am I happy the circumstances that brought you to this point? No.” He gave me his profile. “Or, are you asking if I am happy in this moment, so shortly after fucking you? Yes.”

I recognized the jab for what it was. Another diversion tactic.

I kissed his cheek. “Don’t have to sugarcoat everything. I’m still fine. Trying to take everything a bit at a time.”

“That is exactly it. I wanted so much better for you. To ease you into this, ensuring you made your own decisions. But forces beyond my control took that from both of us.”

“You can’t control everything. Sometimes, you have to roll with the punches.”

His fingers tightened on my leg.

“I usually do. I am the Alpha. My power is absolute,” he said, devoid of infliction. Not bragging. Fact. “The past two weeks have been a hell I’d never wish on my worst enemy.”

“Because of the hunters?”

Self-assured Kalvyn stumbled on a rock. A small action, but the symbolism of his tiny clumsiness chilled me.

He looked away. “Too much has been happening.”

I cupped his cheek, and forced him to meet my gaze. “What happened while I was out?”

He sighed. “Must you be so observant?”

“Yes. Don’t lie to me. Not now.”

“They’ve gotten too close. That’s why Syber is so jumpy. A few days ago, they crossed over my property line, as Carmen and Quinn hid in trees. They had a chance to take them out, and did not, because I hadn’t given the order. As I said, as Alpha, I have complete control.”

“They didn’t take their chance, because you were so involved with me,” I said, misery painting my happiness grey.

He snarled. “Don’t you dare blame yourself. You needed me. Furthermore, the hunters are stumbling in the dark. These four believe they’re smart, but countless times, we’ve been right in front of them, and they had no idea. My contacts informed me that the signs they search for are human kills and unusual behaviors of the most violent clans. There has not been a cat sighting in the newspapers in months, which was what drew them to this area to begin with. When we shift, we’re careful. Only this past full moon had we shifted close to mankind to draw them from our homes, and lead them on a wild goose chase. Which should have worked, but the moment we left Summit Lake, so did they. As if they knew. The clan is agitated and nearing chaos under the pressure. They have to travel dozens of miles to shift, which is necessary for us, even if for a few minutes. I’ve ordered their patrols to be done in human form, slowing them down. Every day that passes, I’m forced to take more of their freedom away.”

I shuddered. My cat stayed silent to the half-formed thought in my mind. I rubbed my face in indecision. But, I had to know. “Why haven’t you just killed them?”

He didn’t answer for a long time. “Do not ask questions you already have the answer to. It is an exercise in futility. I can’t kill some, and not all.”

“It’s safer for the entire clan if everybody dies?”

“Of course. I’ve had Carmen keep an eye on the woman.”

Appropriate. Distance from “the woman,” and not noting the relationship. “And?”

“She is a true zealot,” he said quietly. “The hunters talk a lot, about past excursions. Tallies, and deeds.”

A sick lump rose in my throat. “And?”

He stopped walking. All emotion swept from his face. “That woman, the things she has done to my kind. They are…inexcusable. She is without remorse for her actions, viewing us as little more than lab rats. She enjoys her job too much, speaking in tones of reverence, believing herself a sadistic crusader.”

Though blunt, I got the impression he left a lot of Carmen’s reports out of his deadpan voice. Impossible to match up the woman I remembered to the one his statement described.

He continued in silence, climbing the gently sloping hill. Fall tinted leaves gave way to lush green grass. The cabin cut into the hill, stealing my breath. Unlike the frontal view with just the main floor above ground, from the back all three stories could be viewed in a sea of floor to ceiling windows. The pool glittered light blue.

A calico and a main coon twirled figure eights around Kalvyn’s feet. He bent, and I slipped off his back. I petted the main coon with gray-blue eyes that reminded me so much of my best friend.

Lola must be hysterical.

I sighed.