difference in her. She had thought he wouldn’t ask her for help and had been upset, but with that one question, she was once again fully with him.
I see movement. They’re trying to use the fog for cover. My two brothers. They have leashes on two shadow cats. The cats are young. I recognize them from the shed. They are from the last litter considered Phaedra and Comet’s. The only two to survive.
Anyone else?
They have three mages with them. Males. Their friends. Terry, Sam and Andrew. They always hang with them.
He wanted to ask about “hang with them,” but the implication was that they were always together, so he understood enough to know the five men had probably worked together before.
I do not play games when I hunt, my little mage.
There was a small silence. What are you saying?
I intend to kill them.
Another silence. She held herself away from him. It was subtle, but it was there. He didn’t give in. Her family was the enemy. More, they were her greatest enemy. As long as they were alive, she would never be safe. He was not going to pretend that he wouldn’t destroy them. The moment he heard her story of Barnabas and realized her father and brothers had not only allowed such a hideous thing to happen to her but had set her up, he knew he was going to kill them.
Was she silently weeping? He couldn’t blame her. She had never really had a family. He touched her mind very gently, working his way around the image of fog she was so valiantly holding uppermost. He felt her fear of the unknown. Her family might be something out of a horror film, but they were familiar to her. He felt her loneliness. It felt stark. Raw. Ugly. He had been alone for centuries, but he felt nothing, certainly not lonely.
Sívamet, you are my lifemate. You are never alone.
I’ve always been alone.
She didn’t feel sorry for herself, nor did she want pity. She was stating a fact. He wanted to wrap his arms around her and hold her safe. He had to kill their enemies. That meant her family. He couldn’t take that pain away from her.
I am sorry I must do this, Julija.
I know it has to be done, but I would hesitate. I’m grateful you’re strong enough for both of us. What do we do about the cats?
Is their loyalty to your brothers or Phaedra and Comet?
I would imagine their parents. My brothers tortured the shadow cats at every opportunity, believing fear brought results much better and faster than kindness.
Belle and Blue popped their heads up just over the grass to allow him to see them. They had also taken their shadow forms. Only their eyes glowed in the darkness through the fog. The four cats awaited their orders.
You four get to safety. I will hunt alone. Perhaps one day he would use the cats to help take down enemies, but he felt his loyalty to them needed to be proven before he started asking for help, and none of them were in the best of shape.
The cats exchanged some kind of communication he didn’t quite catch. He felt the passage of information, but he didn’t hear it.
They are talking to one another, Julija cautioned. She was careful to keep the pathway between them very exact.
Yes, I caught that. Keep watching the enemy, sívamet. I want exact positions. I also need to know if someone is backing them up with a rifle.
Andrew is carrying a rifle.
That was one piece of information he had been looking for. The shooter was with her brothers, Vasile and Avram. That was good news.
We are your family. That was unexpected. Firm. And came from Comet.
Isai understood that while taking his blood, they could see his intentions and perhaps even share his mind for small glimpses of what kind of man he was, simply because they were cats and had psychic gifts of their own. Still, it shocked him that just that little bit of kindness had given him their full loyalty.
Why? He needed to know. Going into battle there can be no switching sides. Not now, not down the line. You have to know what kind of man I am. Ruthless. In battle, I do not hesitate, and I kill. There are no halfway measures. I do not take prisoners. I destroy my enemies. Most importantly, I do not tolerate traitors.