Secret Jaguar Page 11

  Quinn arched a brow. “You got some sudden desire to live out your life as a jaguar?”

  “It’s not for me.”

  Quinn snickered. “Well, I don’t have anything like that, but I’ll keep an ear out.”

  Glass shattered in another room.

  “Ugh.” Quinn groaned. “I better see what those mesmers are doing now.”

  I ran my hands over a condensation ring on the table. “Do you think we’ll be able to get rid of my father’s family?”

  He looked deep in thought. “I’m sure of it.”

  “How can you be certain?”

  “I’ve seen a lot in my time. I’m not saying this will be easy or that there won’t be casualties, but it’s definitely doable.”

  Tap returned, carrying a tear-shaped bottle with a lavender-colored liquid inside.

  “What’s that?” Carter asked.

  “This’ll keep the lady hidden from the shifters.”

  I eyed the bottle. “But what about Carter and Che? Will it hide me from them?”

  “Only if they mean you harm.”

  My eyes widened. “What?”

  “This will make it so your enemies can’t recognize you. It won’t hide you like the other spell did—the one Che has been using on you. You can talk to them, but they’ll think you’re someone else entirely.”

  “Hand it over.”

  “Wait,” Carter said. “What do you want for it?”

  Tap stared at him. “You’ll owe me. One day I’ll need you to drop everything and help me.”

  “Not until we fix this problem, right?”

  “Of course.”

  Carter took the bottle and handed it to me. “Deal.”

  I watched as bubbles slowly rose. “So, I just drink this?”

  “Correct. Don’t leave a drop.”

  “How long will this last?”

  “Should be the right amount to get you a week. You can get through your exams. By then, Gessilyn should have something more potent while you train.”

  I held the bottle up to the light. “Anything else I should know about it? Will it turn my skin blue or something?”

  “No, nothing like that. You might not sleep much, however. Or maybe you will. It’s hard to say how any one person will react to these things.”

  “More time for studying.” I pulled the cork out and gulped down the lukewarm, fizzy liquid. It tasted like starfruit. Once I was done, I set it on the table.

  “I was serious about not leaving a drop.” Tap nodded toward the bottle, which had two tiny droplets weaving their way down to the bottom on the inside of the glass.

  “Fine.” I held the bottle upside down over my mouth and waited. And waited until finally I felt one drop. Then the second one. “Is that everything?”

  Tap took the bottle and studied it. “Looks good.” Then he turned to Carter. “You owe me. Don’t forget.”

  “Never could.”

  My stomach gurgled. I belched really loudly. People turned and stared. My face burned and I covered my mouth.

  “That might happen for the next hour or so,” Tap said.

  “I could’ve used a heads-up about that.” I’d have done anything to keep from burping in front of Carter.

  “You’ll thank me later.” Tap walked away and stopped at the table of mermaids.

  “I’m so sorry.” I couldn’t look Carter in the eyes. “I’m not normally so rude.”

  “Don’t apologize. That was impressive.”

  I stared at him. “Are you joking?”

  He grinned. “Not in the slightest. You ready to head home?”

  Energy buzzed around in me. “Yeah. Can we shift again?”

  “We’d probably be better off waiting. You need to ease into it.”

  “So, we have to walk through the woods back to your car?” After all the running we did as jaguars, it felt like we were halfway across the globe.

  “We’re actually not all that far from my place.”

  I glanced down at the dress. “What about this? Won’t your friend be mad I’m wearing her clothes?”

  “She won’t mind. We never put our favorites in the cubbies because other shifters caught in a bind will often borrow them.”

  “Like I just did.”

  “You can change into your clothes when we get back if you want.”

  “Sure, after we shift.”

  He laughed. “Nice try.”

  I shrugged. “I had to give it a shot.”

  Chapter 18

  Carter

  When we arrived back at the mansion, I introduced Katya to those who were downstairs, then I gathered some things since I’d be staying at the hotel longer.

  “Want anyone to go with you?” Toby asked when I got back downstairs.

  “Actually, that would be great.”

  He nodded. “Katya filled me in. How about Sal and Jet?”

  I stared at him. Sal was practically Toby’s personal bodyguard and Jet was the assistant alpha. “Are you sure?”

  “Sounds like you need the best.”

  “But what about Zia and the kids?” I asked. Jet had a family to think about.

  “They’re visiting the castle,” Toby said. “They won’t even miss him.”

  “Thanks,” Jet quipped. “I’ll have you know my family already misses me. Immensely.” He headed upstairs.

  “A castle?” Katya whispered.

  “I’ll tell you about it later.”

  Sal turned to Toby. “Sir, are you sure?”

  “Yeah, go. Gessilyn’s already working on some spells for us. You can return when she’s done.”

  Sal gave a quick nod and headed upstairs.

  Toby turned to Katya. “This is all pretty weird, isn’t it?”

  “You have no idea, Professor Foley.”

  He gave her a friendly smile. “You’re in my home. Toby, please.”

  Katya stared at him like he’d asked her to chop off his hand.

  Toby panned his palm around the living room. “Make yourself comfortable. I need to head up to my room and check on Victoria and the kids. Lakelynn’s been colicky.”

  Katya nodded, then turned to me after Toby went upstairs. “It’s so weird talking to one of my teachers so informally.”

  “He’s a good guy. And on the bright side, if you need an extension on your math final, he’ll understand.”

  “That’s true.”

  Twenty minutes later, we were on the road with Sal and Jet following us in Jet’s car.

  Katya burped. “I’m so sorry. I tried to keep that one quiet.”

  I laughed. “You’re adorable.”

  She turned away. “Stop.”

  “You are. I’ve never met anyone as charming as you. Even your blushing habit couldn’t be more adorable.”

  Katya didn’t say anything. That made my heart swell for her all the more. I’d thought I’d been in love before, but it paled in comparison to what Katya did to me.

  Once we got to the hotel, I made sure Sal and Jet were settled into their room, which was as close to Katya’s as possible.

  Che cornered us, wanting to know what was going on. We filled him in on everything and an expression of relief covered his face. He leaned against the wall, his shoulders drooping. “You’re sure that stuff will hide her?”

  “Tap said it would hide her from enemies.”

  “I’m sure he knows what he’s talking about. I’m not going to relax, though. Not until those jaguars are long gone.”

  “Neither am I.” I stood taller. “I’m going to stay at her side until she gets sick of me and demands I leave her alone.”

  The corners of her mouth twitched. “I can’t see that happening.”

  “Glad to hear it. And with all this excitement, don’t forget about lunch tomorrow. Your mom really wants to celebrate your big win.”

  “I forgot all about volleyball.” Katya shook her head. “That should be the biggest night of my life, but it was totally overshadowed by shifting.”

 
; “Shifting?” Alley appeared around the corner. She wore a dark green robe and had a black face mask covering her exposed skin.

  My insides twisted in knots.

  “Shifting?” Katya said. “What’s that? No, I said shopping. Carter took me out to celebrate. Wait until you see the new clothes I got.”

  “Oh, show me!” Alley squealed, cracking part of her mask.

  “Tomorrow.” Katya yawned. “I’m exhausted.”

  Alley frowned. “Fine.” She turned to me. “What are you, like the perfect boyfriend or something? Taking her shopping? I want to clone you so I can have some of that for myself.”

  My mouth dropped.

  “Alley!” Katya grabbed my arm and dragged me away. Once we made it to her door, she let us in. “Can you believe her?”

  “She’s not so bad.”

  Katya plopped on the bed and patted the spot next to her. I sat and put my arm around her. She turned and pressed her mouth on mine.

  I ran my hands through her hair and took possession of her mouth, needing more of her. To taste her. To experience her. I couldn’t get enough. Couldn’t be close enough. As our tongues danced, it felt as though we melted into one.

  I’d searched so long for her, and now that I’d found her, each day it became more apparent why I hadn’t been able to stop searching. We were meant for each other. I needed her just as much as she needed me, though neither of us had realized it until now.

  Her hands traced their way down to my waist and she drew nearer, practically sitting on my lap. She kissed me with more passion, both fulfilling my need for more of her and making me crave more at the same time.

  Katya’s fingers slid underneath my shirt. She yanked it up to my chest.

  I pulled back, hating myself for stopping the kiss, and fixed my shirt.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked.

  “Are you sure you want to take this further?”

  She held my gaze, then lowered it to my torso. “I couldn’t be more sure.”

  What if it was the potion talking? If that were the case, I’d be no better than a guy taking advantage of a drunk girl. “Maybe we should slow down. At least for tonight. Your emotions are high—you won that game, your shifter family came after you, you turned for the first time. You were right when you said this was probably the biggest night of your life.”

  “And now I have you here in my room, all to myself. Make this best night of my life complete by giving yourself to me.”

  That definitely didn’t sound like her. “We really should slow down. Do you want to cuddle?”

  She scowled. “Do you realize what I’m offering you? And you want to snuggle?”

  I drew in a deep breath. “You’ll thank me later. Trust me.”

  Katya shook her head. “What’s wrong with me? Am I just fated to be the twin nobody wants?”

  “What?”

  “Never mind.” She jumped up from the bed, pink covering her cheeks. “I have to pee, anyway.”

  “Katya, I want you. More than you know. I just refuse to take advantage of you.”

  “Advantage of me? I’m asking for this.” She stormed into the bathroom and slammed the door. Then she belched. “I’m not sorry for that one!”

  She really was adorable. Even drunk on whatever magic Tap had given her.

  I closed my eyes and leaned back on the pillows, kicking my feet up. Katya banged a bunch of things around the bathroom. If she’d thought it had been easy for me to pull away from her, she had never been more wrong about anything.

  As I waited for her to return, my mind wandered and I drifted into a light sleep.

  Lips pressing on my mouth woke me. My eyes flew open as Katya once again pulled my shirt up to my chest. Her touch tickled as it moved up.

  “I’m not taking no for an answer.” She nibbled my ear. “I know you want this as much as I do. You’re just trying to be a gentleman. Problem is, I don’t want one.”

  I swallowed as she tried to force my arms up to remove the shirt. She certainly made it hard to say no. “You’re right about one thing. I do want this, but not now. Not like this. You’re under the influence of powerful magic.”

  “I’m not drunk. Actually, I’m more aware than I’ve ever been.” She whipped the shirt right over my head.

  I scrambled to sit up, grabbed the shirt, and put it back on.

  Katya pouted. “Don’t tell me that you’re a prude. Not with a body like that.”

  “Why don’t we go look for that hidden wing?”

  “Now you want to find it?”

  “It’s probably the best time to look. This late, most people will be sleeping.”

  She frowned. “You do have a point. Nobody’s likely to find us and send us away.”

  “It sounds like you have experience with that.”

  Katya nodded. “There has to be a really good reason why an entire wing has been sealed and hidden. I intend to find out what it is.”

  “Then come on. Let’s put your energy to good use.”

  She sighed. “Oh, all right.”

  We walked toward the ‘employees only’ area in silence, and she wouldn’t let me put my arm around her or hold her hand.

  Once we passed the rope, I looked down the hallway to the right and to the left. “Which way?”

  Katya nodded toward the left. “I’ve been going this way lately. Not that I’ve made it far.”

  We passed the spot where the two jaguar shifters had attacked her. She stopped there and shuddered. I put my arms around her, and she let me. We stood in silence for a few moments.

  Katya looked up at me. The look in her eyes told me she wanted to say something important.

  “What is it?” I traced her jawline with my thumb.

  “I’m sorry about the way I was acting back there. I don’t know what came over me. Don’t get me wrong, I’m attracted to you. I really am, but I was acting like… like… I don’t know, but that was really out of character for me.”

  I kissed her forehead. “I’m sure it’s all because of the potion. Tap tends to leave out possible side effects when he hands out those things.”

  She smiled sweetly. “At least I’ve stopped burping.”

  I cupped her chin. “As I said, adorable. And I’d never hold anything against you that you did under the influence of one of Tap’s potions.”

  “I appreciate that.”

  “Let’s get away from here. Where do you want to look for that entrance?”

  Katya glanced down farther. “I’ve gone all the way down this portion of the hall, but not down any of the side halls yet—and there are a lot. That’s the thing, this place just seems to go on forever. It’s crazy to think there’d be a whole other wing.”

  “Why don’t you guys rent out any of these rooms?”

  “None of it’s up to code. Mom could barely afford to update what she did. She keeps saying maybe one day.”

  “Maybe there’s a hidden treasure in the secret wing. Then you guys could fix up the whole place.”

  Her eyes lit up. “Do you really think so?”

  I shrugged. “Let’s see what we can find.”

  Chapter 19

  Katya

  We turned down a hallway I’d never explored, and Carter stayed close to me. It looked like all the others in the non-updated sections—creepy, like something you’d see in a scary movie. I secretly expected a scary clown or a guy with a bloody knife to jump out at any point.

  It was a hundred times less freaky with Carter there. Or maybe it was the fact that I could now turn into a powerful jaguar if I wanted to. A thrill ran through me at the thought.

  But then again, the people who wanted to kidnap me could also turn into jaguars, and they had so much more experience at it than me. I’d only just found out that I could even do that.

  “Are you okay?” Carter asked. “You’re not still embarrassed about earlier?”

  “Now that you bring it up…”

  He chuckled. “Sorry. What are you thinking about?
”

  I sighed. “Everything. It’s all so overwhelming.”

  Carter put his arm around me and kissed my cheek. “It’s been a huge night. I’m sure overwhelming doesn’t begin to describe it, but I’m here. Want to talk? I’ll listen. Want to vent? Again, I’ll listen. Or we can just explore in silence while you let everything settle.”

  “Are you perfect?” My cheeks warmed. Why had I said that out loud?

  “I like to think so.”

  I burst out laughing.

  We stopped walking and he looked around at the dilapidated hallway. Several of the doors had at least one number loose or missing and the walls were stained with dust, cobwebs, and who-knew-what-else. “What do you usually do when you’re searching for a secret entrance?”

  “It depends. Usually, I tap the walls and listen for a spot that sounds different, maybe hollow or maybe thicker. I feel around the molding for anything unusual. You never know where there might be a hidden button or something. I also like to check the rooms. Once, I found a hidden room behind a fake fireplace.”

  His eyes widened. “Really? What was in it?”

  “Storage. Just old clothes. They weren’t even that nice. It was rather disappointing. But it did give me hope that I could find more hidden areas if I kept looking. Especially with all the rumors about the hidden wing.” Chills ran down my back at the thought of it.

  “And you’ve never checked this area?”

  I shook my head no.

  His expression brightened. “Well, seeing that it’s your lucky day, I have a good feeling about this.” Carter pressed his palm on the nearest wall. “Let’s do this.”

  We tapped walls and checked the molding all up and down the hallway.

  Nothing.

  He turned to me with more optimism in his expression than I felt. “Do we go down another hall, or start going through the rooms?”

  “I doubt the entrance to another wing would be inside a room. Each wing starts in a hallway.”

  “Then let’s go down another one.”

  Part of me wanted to give up, but it was a lot more fun to search with Carter, not to mention faster. “Okay. One more wing, then we should call it a night.”