Page 20 of Elusive Mate

“Any idea why?”

“It seems some humans have gone missing. Zak Grayson has asked if some of our people can aid in the search. The last thing any of us need right now is for humans to discover shifters.”

“True enough. Give Zak whatever help he needs: people, provisions, whatever.”

“I also just got off the phone with Reynolds. He’s requesting our assistance in Resistance matters. He acknowledged he hadn’t fulfilled his end of the bargain. He also pointed out that it hasn’t been a month, so he isn’t in breach of his agreement with you. But things here are heating up. I think getting my sister back to Ice Storm is the right thing to do. Things up here are about to get dicey. I’d feel better not only if you were home, but if Zenya was. Patience be damned. If you hadn’t been there in North Carolina keeping an eye on her, I think I might have gone and fetched her home myself.”

Lucian thought for a moment. “You’re right; I’m needed at home, and so is your sister. I’m going to wait until she’s stopped, and then I’ll step in.”

“The pilot?”

“I’ll let him know to be on the alert, but until I know where she’s headed, I’m not going to be able to decide how to get her out.”

“For what it’s worth, I don’t think telling her you’ve basically been stalking her for a few weeks is a good idea.”

“You might be right about that,” Lucian chuckled.

“I definitely wouldn’t mention the tracking, listening devices, and cameras you installed.”

“What can I say? I’m a man obsessed.”

ZENYA

Zenya drove on and off the Outer Banks, taking special care to keep an eagle eye out for anyone following her or anything that appeared to be amiss. So far; so good. Once she was on the mainland, she headed for the ferry terminal that would take her to Hatteras Island. After parking her Jeep, she walked upstairs to the outdoor deck and looked toward the island, wondering if she would ever see it again.

The island was home to the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, which was a tall brick structure—rising almost two hundred feet above the island. This was the second lighthouse built on the cape, casting its first warning light in 1870. The original lighthouse had not proved tall enough and had been torn down after the current one became operational. The beacon on the cape protected one of the most dangerous sections of the Atlantic Coast of North America. A coastline that had been witness to hundreds, if not thousands, of shipwrecks in the area, giving it the gruesome nickname of ‘the Graveyard of the Atlantic.’

Once the ferry was docked, she drove off and headed for the lighthouse. This time of day and year, it was not likely to be crowded. She glanced at the clock in her dashboard and saw she was a little ahead of schedule. She’d taken a leash that she’d been using with the bobcat at the clinic. She should have time to let him get out and stretch his legs. Lucky was an intelligent creature. He seemed to sense, almost from the beginning, that she only wanted to help and had become accustomed to being on a leash.

Reaching the lighthouse, she chose a parking space away from the other cars and managed to get the adjustable slip lead on Lucky before letting him out. He hopped out of the crate as if going for a car ride was the most normal thing in the world. The sunlight was dying as she began to walk him. Zenya threw back her head, allowing the ocean breeze to catch her hair and send it swirling around her. She tried not to think that this might be the last time she got to enjoy this place that had become home.

Pushing her hair out of her face, she tried to figure out who had found her, and how? Had she made some kind of mistake? She hoped if she had, the Shadow Sisters could tell her what she had done so she didn’t do it again. She took Lucky for a leisurely stroll, smiling at how normal it seemed for a white tiger-shifter to be walking a wild bobcat on the beach. Nothing to see here, she mused.

She returned to the Jeep, fed Lucky, and then took him for another short walk. Returning to her vehicle, she secured Lucky in his cage. She then moved her car over closer to the lighthouse where it would be easier for whoever was coming to help to find her. It would also make it more difficult for anyone who meant her harm to take her against her will.

She waited, closing her eyes for just a moment to rest them. It had been a long and stressful day, and her contacts were irritating her eyes. As she did so, she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up, and a feeling of dizziness and disconnectedness swept over her like the tide rolling in from the sea—rhythmic and unrelenting. She didn’t need his scent wafting on the breeze or to open her eyes to know he was here. Quickly, she calculated the odds of getting away. They were nil. He was stronger and faster than she was, and there was no way she was leaving Lucky behind.

“Hello, Zenya.”

She opened her eyes slowly and turned to regard him. “Lucian. I’d hoped to never see you again.”

“Your feelings are misguided. We will be happy together.”

He held out his hand; she pushed it away. Zenya stepped out of her Jeep and walked to the back.

“I’m not leaving him here,” Zenya said, grabbing the crate and her bag.

Lucian said nothing but tried to take both the crate and the bag from her grip. Zenya relinquished her bag but not the crate. He nodded and then indicated a black luxury SUV. He opened the back, placing the carpet bag inside and stepping aside so she could place Lucky’s crate inside. Lucky grimaced and hissed at Lucian.

“He doesn’t like you, either, and he barely knows you.”

“Don’t, Zenya. I won’t rise to your bait.”

Closing the hatch of the SUV, Lucian helped her inside, buckling her seatbelt and closing her door before going around and getting in behind the wheel.

“Charlie?” he said, after initiating a call on his cell. “We’re headed your way. We should be there in about two hours.” Lucian ended the call.

“I don’t suppose you’d let me leave them a note that I’m being removed to Ice Storm.”

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