un-bandaged eye glistened with sorrow. “I failed you.”
A wave of memories broke through and Jessie remembered everything.
“You fought with Ice in your cabin.” Image after image flooded her mind, and her hands clutched protectively over her chest. “I watched the both of you go at it and it excited me. You each shifted into lion form. It was the same up on the ridge. Ice almost attacked me, but you flew over my head and rescued me from certain death. You defeated him then and again at the cabin. Ice slunk off injured and bleeding. Then you shifted back into human form and tried to get me into the truck. I refused to go.”
Derek picked up the story when she was unable to continue.
“Ice gave you a derivative of Rohypnol. Most people call it the date rape drug. He wanted you compliant, but he also wanted you to remember what was happening. If you were confused and curious enough, he figured he could get your cooperation with the cubs later on. The drug works along the same lines as the stuff I smell on your shirt. You can thank my dear old grandmother for that. Both are strong aphrodisiacs. I should have taken you straight to the hospital, but I was still jacked up on adrenaline from the fight. I’m afraid I didn’t control myself very well.”
He controlled himself just fine until she jumped him. Jessie wanted to stay angry, but it was difficult. Derek might have reaped the benefits, but Ice was the one who had given her the pills. “Don’t beat yourself up about it. I was pretty insistent.”
He smirked a lopsided swollen face grin. “I didn’t say I was sorry.”
She dreamed about the sex they shared for days afterwards, and Jessie found herself smiling back. She raked her fingers through her sleek black hair and brought herself back to the present. There were a few other things that needed an explanation. “The radio in my truck was disabled, and my cell phone was gone. Was that real or a hallucination?”
Derek filled her in. “Ice cut the cord to the radio’s microphone, and after you passed out, I climbed up to higher ground to get a signal on your cell phone. That’s when I called the hospital. I heard the truck start up, so I followed you.”
Jessie didn’t buy it. “I don’t care how fast you are, there isn’t any way you could keep up with me all the way down the mountain.”
Derek gave her an indulgent smile and waited for her to figure it out.
Jessie sighed. She had been a wobbly mess. The truck had probably crept down the mountain trail at a snail’s pace. If he was in cat form, it was entirely possible. “It was you I sensed when I pulled over. I must have passed out again because I don’t remember how I got to the hospital.”
The shifter in the hospital bed seemed to grow stronger by the moment. “I grabbed you through the driver’s side window before you pulled onto Gold Country Drive. I helped ease your distress.”
“You did a good job. My mind is a complete blank.”
Derek continued his explanation. “When we were young, it was hard to control when we shifted. We found it useful to hypnotize the poor soul who saw us change. We would suggest they fall asleep, and that what they witnessed was a figment of their imagination. Since nobody wants to believe in shifters, the trick works pretty well.”
One final veil collapsed, and Jessie realized there was someone else who knew about the animal shifters. That’s why Grace Langston told her campfire cat story year after year. It was a warning.
Jessie couldn’t recall many of the details of the story Ms. Langston told, only that it had scared the daylights out of her. Basically, the tale told of an all-knowing Oracle who foretold of a world filled with cat-people who would eventually rule this earthly realm.
Derek had more he wanted to say, but Jessie wasn’t in the mood to listen. She had to find Ms. Langston. It was time to get down and dirty with the cat-people.
• • •
JESSIE CHECKED THE
A wave of memories broke through and Jessie remembered everything.
“You fought with Ice in your cabin.” Image after image flooded her mind, and her hands clutched protectively over her chest. “I watched the both of you go at it and it excited me. You each shifted into lion form. It was the same up on the ridge. Ice almost attacked me, but you flew over my head and rescued me from certain death. You defeated him then and again at the cabin. Ice slunk off injured and bleeding. Then you shifted back into human form and tried to get me into the truck. I refused to go.”
Derek picked up the story when she was unable to continue.
“Ice gave you a derivative of Rohypnol. Most people call it the date rape drug. He wanted you compliant, but he also wanted you to remember what was happening. If you were confused and curious enough, he figured he could get your cooperation with the cubs later on. The drug works along the same lines as the stuff I smell on your shirt. You can thank my dear old grandmother for that. Both are strong aphrodisiacs. I should have taken you straight to the hospital, but I was still jacked up on adrenaline from the fight. I’m afraid I didn’t control myself very well.”
He controlled himself just fine until she jumped him. Jessie wanted to stay angry, but it was difficult. Derek might have reaped the benefits, but Ice was the one who had given her the pills. “Don’t beat yourself up about it. I was pretty insistent.”
He smirked a lopsided swollen face grin. “I didn’t say I was sorry.”
She dreamed about the sex they shared for days afterwards, and Jessie found herself smiling back. She raked her fingers through her sleek black hair and brought herself back to the present. There were a few other things that needed an explanation. “The radio in my truck was disabled, and my cell phone was gone. Was that real or a hallucination?”
Derek filled her in. “Ice cut the cord to the radio’s microphone, and after you passed out, I climbed up to higher ground to get a signal on your cell phone. That’s when I called the hospital. I heard the truck start up, so I followed you.”
Jessie didn’t buy it. “I don’t care how fast you are, there isn’t any way you could keep up with me all the way down the mountain.”
Derek gave her an indulgent smile and waited for her to figure it out.
Jessie sighed. She had been a wobbly mess. The truck had probably crept down the mountain trail at a snail’s pace. If he was in cat form, it was entirely possible. “It was you I sensed when I pulled over. I must have passed out again because I don’t remember how I got to the hospital.”
The shifter in the hospital bed seemed to grow stronger by the moment. “I grabbed you through the driver’s side window before you pulled onto Gold Country Drive. I helped ease your distress.”
“You did a good job. My mind is a complete blank.”
Derek continued his explanation. “When we were young, it was hard to control when we shifted. We found it useful to hypnotize the poor soul who saw us change. We would suggest they fall asleep, and that what they witnessed was a figment of their imagination. Since nobody wants to believe in shifters, the trick works pretty well.”
One final veil collapsed, and Jessie realized there was someone else who knew about the animal shifters. That’s why Grace Langston told her campfire cat story year after year. It was a warning.
Jessie couldn’t recall many of the details of the story Ms. Langston told, only that it had scared the daylights out of her. Basically, the tale told of an all-knowing Oracle who foretold of a world filled with cat-people who would eventually rule this earthly realm.
Derek had more he wanted to say, but Jessie wasn’t in the mood to listen. She had to find Ms. Langston. It was time to get down and dirty with the cat-people.
• • •
JESSIE CHECKED THE
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