True Nature Read online

  “Do you think it was just a dream, or was it a vision?” Kelsey asked.

  “I don’t know. Some of it didn’t make any sense, so maybe it was just a dream. I mean, the boy wasn’t a small child. He was a teenager, almost as tall as the woman. Why didn’t he just fight her off? Wrasa are usually stronger than humans, so it’s not like he was helpless.”

  “Unless...” Kelsey gritted her teeth at the thought. “Unless he was going through his Awakening.”

  “Awakening? What’s that?”

  “Basically, puberty. That’s when the mutaline kicks in.”

  The pressure on Kelsey’s feet increased as Jorie covered two of the deepest cuts with Band-Aids; then Jorie closed the first-aid kit and settled on the edge of the bed next to Kelsey. “That’s why Wrasa children can’t shift, right?”

  Kelsey nodded. “Right. Their adrenal cortex will start producing the shifting hormone only after they reach puberty.”

  “But don’t Wrasa teenagers become stronger when they can finally shift into their animal form?”

  “Yes, once they learn to control it. Until then, the Awakening is the most vulnerable time in a Wrasa’s life.” Kelsey shivered at the thought of a defenseless pup in the hands of a human woman.

  Jorie’s brows drew together. “Vulnerable in what way?”

  “Imagine confusing dreams keeping you up half of the night for months on end,” Kelsey said.

  A snort from Jorie interrupted her. “I’m a dream seer, remember? Been there, done that.”

  Kelsey ducked her head. “Of course. But for our teenagers, it’s not just the dreams at night. During the day, your itching skin is driving you crazy. Your sense of smell intensifies, and the world suddenly looks different, but you can’t grasp what exactly the difference is.” Memories of her own First Change bubbled up: confusing emotions and piercing pain, and above it all, her brother Garrick’s soothing peanut scent anchoring her in reality.

  “But surely your parents or someone else in your pack prepared you for what would happen?” Jorie asked.

  “Of course. But nothing can prepare you for the reality of the Awakening,” Kelsey said. “It’s like the difference between reading a medical textbook and going through a painful, scary illness. Something profound is happening to your body, and you feel like a tightrope walker on the edge of losing control and falling to your death. Then you go through your First Change, and the pain...” She shook her head and fell silent.

  “God.” Jorie groaned. “If Griffin and I ever decide to have children, I’ll have them.”

  A chuckle chased away the memories of pain and confusion. “It’s not that bad,” Kelsey said. “We don’t let our teenagers go through it alone. A mentor is there for them every step of the way and guides them through the First Change.”

  “No one was there for the boy in my dream,” Jorie whispered.

  “Do you think the human kidnapped him, snatched him away from his mentor and his family?”

  “I don’t know. It’s possible.”

  A powerful urge gripped Kelsey. Her skin tingled with the need to take action. “If it’s a vision, not just a dream, we need to do something.” Then a thought occurred to her and made a lump form in her stomach. “Or do you think it has already happened? Are we too late to help?”

  “No,” Jorie said without hesitation. “If a dream vision takes place in the past or many years in the future, the intensity is usually a bit...” She shrugged. “Well, washed-out. But this dream felt urgent. I’m sure the things I saw will happen soon.”

  “But the future you see in your dreams is not inevitable, right? We could save the boy.”

  “Yes, but we need to find him first,” Jorie said.

  “Was there anything in your dream that gives us a hint at his location?”

  “Let’s see...” Jorie leaned across the bed and took a notebook from her bedside table.

  Her dream diary. Kelsey averted her gaze as Jorie started scribbling.

  After a minute, Jorie clicked off her pen and handed Kelsey the open diary. “Read.”

  Kelsey pulled her hands away and hid them behind her back. A maharsi’s notes were sacred and not meant for her eyes. “But—”

  “Read,” Jorie said again. “If we want to save the boy, I’m going to need your help.”

  Hesitantly, Kelsey took the diary and read what Jorie had just written, careful not to let her gaze linger on any other entries. “Gray walls. Dim lights, like a basement,” she read aloud. Images of kidnapping victims being tortured in basement dungeons flashed through Kelsey’s mind. The tiny hairs on her itching forearms stood on end as if preparing to grow into thick fur. “Anything else that would give us a clue to the location?”

  Jorie shook her head, lips pressed into a tight line.

  “Lanky boy,” Kelsey continued to read. “Around thirteen or fourteen. Dark hair.” She glanced up. “That means he’s not a Kasari. Lion-shifters usually have blond hair. And he can’t be a Maki. He’s not large enough to be a bear-shifter.”

  “I don’t know why,” Jorie said, “but I got the impression that he might be a Syak.”

  A fellow wolf-shifter... Kelsey swallowed. “Did you see his face?”

  “Yes. It was full of agony, but beyond that, he looked like every other teenager. Nothing there that would help us find him. Same with the woman. She was slender but athletic, about medium height, curly blond hair.”

  Not exactly a description that would help identify her. There had to be thousands of women like that in Michigan alone.

  “Except for her fierce scowl, she looked like the heroine from one of my books,” Jorie said, fiddling with her pen. “One of the good gals.”

  “But she’s not,” Kelsey said more sharply than intended.

  Jorie shrugged. “Guess not. And she wasn’t alone.”

  Kelsey’s stomach twisted itself into knots. “There were others?”

  “At least one.”

  “What did he or she look like?” The dream diary held no description of the second kidnapper.

  “I don’t know,” Jorie said. “I didn’t see that person. I was in his or her body.”

  Right. That’s how dream-seeing works. She sees things through someone else’s eyes. “So there’s nothing you can tell me about that person?”

  Jorie hesitated. “Sometimes during my visions, when I’m in someone else’s mind, there’s this strange...vibration. As if my body and my host’s aren’t quite in tune and their consciousness is reluctant to admit access to a stranger. That vibration wasn’t there this time.”

  The technical details of dream-seeing were giving Kelsey a headache. She rubbed her forehead. “What does that mean?”

  “I wish I knew. It’s not like there are any other dream seers around I can ask.” Jorie massaged the bridge of her nose. “Maybe it means there’s some kind of connection between the second kidnapper and me.”

  “Maybe he or she is human too, so your mind has an easier time connecting,” Kelsey said. Two humans against one helpless pup... She tightened her hands around the diary until the edges dug into her fingertips. She loosened her grip, not wanting to damage the dream diary. “Anything else that could help us find the boy?”

  The clip of Jorie’s pen broke off under her fiddling fingers and ricocheted across the room. “No. I woke up before I could see more.”

  Kelsey closed the diary and hung her head. That’s why rule number three exists. Never wake a maharsi. You’re usually so good at following rules, so why not this time? Her own internal voice sounded like her father’s bitter tones.

  Jorie dropped the pen and started to pace. “God, those damn dream visions. Why can’t they for once show me enough to help? We have to save the boy from that horror.” She squeezed her eyes shut as if she could again see the images of her dream. “He was so afraid. He tried to stop her. She had him in a death grip. He kept fighting and trying to push her away.” Her eyes still squeezed shut, Jorie waved her hands through the air.
/>   Kelsey’s eyes widened. “Can you do that again?”

  Jorie stopped midmotion and opened her eyes to stare at Kelsey. “Do what?”

  “What you just did with your hands.”

  “I was repeating the boy’s struggle.” Jorie jabbed her index fingers toward each other and then smacked the side of her right hand into her left palm.

  Kelsey recognized the signs immediately. She jumped up, ignoring the pain in her feet. “I know how we can find him.”

  “What? How?”

  “The boy wasn’t just struggling and waving his hands.” Kelsey repeated the two signs. “Hurt,” she said after the first sign, then accompanied the second one by saying, “Stop.” She sucked in a deep breath and looked at Jorie. “He was telling her to stop hurting him. He’s using sign language.”

  * * *

  Kelsey glanced out the window. Moonlight reflected off snow-covered hills and trees. Dipped in darkness, the forest at the edge of town pulled at Kelsey like a magnet. She longed to go out for a run and leave behind the sense of urgency that vibrated through her since finding out about the boy an hour ago.

  “You’re free to go,” Jorie said from the couch. “I can call in another Saru to stay with me if you want to go for a run.”

  Am I that obvious? Kelsey turned away from the window. “No, that’s okay.” Running in her wolf form lost some of its joy when she had to run alone anyway. “I want to stay and help find the boy. Should we alert the council and—?”

  The faint sounds of a car nearing the house filtered through the walls. After listening for a few seconds, Kelsey smiled. She knew the sounds of that engine. Her tense muscles finally relaxed.

  “What is it?” Jorie asked.

  Outside, a car door banged shut. Soft steps headed toward the front door, bringing with them the smells of stale turkey sandwiches, nervous humans sweating on a plane, and one liger-shifter longing for her mate.

  “It seems Griffin is home earlier than—” Kelsey trailed off when she realized she was talking to an empty room. At the mention of Griffin’s name, Jorie had rushed toward the door.

  Kelsey stayed behind, and though she didn’t glance toward the hallway, she couldn’t tune out the sound of Jorie’s moans or the purring that rumbled up Griffin’s chest as she kissed Jorie hello. Blushing, Kelsey escaped into the kitchen to prepare some food for her returning commander.

  Chapter 2

  “I missed you,” Jorie murmured against Griffin’s lips when their kiss ended. She wrapped her arms around Griffin’s solid body as tightly as she could. Who would have thought? Just one year ago, you were a solitary writer who thought she wasn’t cut out for relationships.

  Griffin purred. “Missed you too.” She bent to sniff Jorie’s neck and then started nibbling on it.

  A trail of fire raced down Jorie’s body.

  Then Griffin lifted her head. “But why are you up in the middle of the night?”

  “I’ll tell you in a minute. Let’s go to the bedroom.”

  “Oh, yeah.” Another purr rumbled up from Griffin’s chest. She tightened her arms around Jorie as if about to carry her off.

  Jorie put both hands on Griffin’s shoulders and pushed. “To talk,” she said, her voice hoarse. They had soundproofed the bedroom when the council had assigned a unit of Saru to the house. With her Wrasa hearing, Kelsey would be able to hear every word if they stayed in the hallway. While Jorie trusted Kelsey, she wanted to talk to Griffin alone.

  Griffin loosened her hold on Jorie. She lifted her head and sucked in a breath, clearly tasting the odors in the small house. “Is that...?” Her nostrils quivered. “Blood! Great Hunter, what happened? Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine.” Jorie rubbed both hands down her partner’s powerful arms. “Kelsey just cut herself, but it’s not too bad. Come on. Let’s go into the bedroom.” She grasped Griffin’s hand and led her to the bedroom. “How was your visit with the council?”

  “Frustrating.” Griffin closed the bedroom door behind them. “They’re finally discussing abandoning the First Law and coming out to the human public, but knowing them, my stripes will have turned gray and my canines fallen out before that happens.”

  “Do you think you could help your sister to sway a few votes?”

  “I’m not sure.” Griffin set down her bag and ran her hand along the dresser like a cat marking her territory. “A few of the councilors seem to respect me—or at least my job as a maharsi searcher—but most feel conflicted when it comes to me.”

  “Because you’re a hybrid? Christ, they really need to get over that.”

  A smile curled Griffin’s lips. “Oh, I think they finally see beyond that. Now they see me as the person who is sleeping with their only dream seer.”

  “Oh.” Heat shot through Jorie. “How is that for you?” Being considered a sacred person was still weird for Jorie, and it was probably worse for Griffin, who had grown up with the Wrasa legends surrounding dream seers.

  Griffin’s happy-to-be-home purr turned sensual. “Wonderful. I love sleeping with you.”

  “You’re impossible,” Jorie said but had to smile. “You know what I mean.”

  “My grandfather was a maharsi, so it’s probably easier for me than it would be for other Wrasa. Sometimes it’s still a bit weird. But I’m learning to separate my Jorie from the sacred maharsi. I know you want a partner, not someone who worships you as a religious figure.”

  Jorie leaned up on her tiptoes and kissed her.

  Griffin tugged her over to the bed and then froze. She opened her mouth and inhaled as if tasting the air.

  Oh, no. Kelsey’s scent. Jorie laid a hand on Griffin’s arm. “No territorial cat fights. Kelsey was just lying on the bed while I was patching up her feet.”

  “What’s wrong with her feet?” Griffin asked.

  Jorie took a deep breath. “It all started with the dream I had tonight...”

  * * *

  Griffin paced the bedroom. When Jorie finished her explanation, Griffin reached into her jacket and pulled out her cell phone.

  “What are you doing?” Jorie asked.

  Still punching in numbers, Griffin looked up. “I’m calling the council. We need help finding the boy and stopping the woman from hurting him.”

  “No!” Jorie crossed the room in a few quick steps and covered Griffin’s hand with hers. “Please, don’t.”

  “What? Why?” Griffin paused with her finger hovering over the phone.

  “What if I’m wrong?” Jorie’s fingers trembled around Griffin’s. “What if I’m somehow misinterpreting my dream and sending a unit of Saru after a woman who is really innocent? I don’t want that blood on my hands.”

  Painful memories darkened Griffin’s amber eyes to a murky brown. She looked at her hands as if expecting to see blood, then threw the cell phone onto the bed. “Then I’ll take over the investigation on my own. My bag is already packed. I’ll leave as soon as we find out where the boy lives.”

  Um, how do I say this without hurting her feline pride? Jorie pulled Griffin onto the edge of the bed and sat next to her, ignoring the groaning of the wood under their combined weight. “I’m not sure you’re the best choice for this mission, Griff.”

  The corners of Griffin’s lips twitched like those of a cat who had been served foul fish for dinner. She flicked imaginary lint from her sweater. “I’m still a Saru and one of our best investigators. Just because my last undercover mission turned out a disaster doesn’t mean—”

  “Oh, no, that’s not what I meant.” Quickly, Jorie entwined her fingers with Griffin’s, lifted their hands to her mouth, and kissed Griffin’s fingers. “I know you’re a great Saru, and your last mission wasn’t a disaster. You saved my life, after all.”

  Nodding, Griffin rubbed her cheek against their entwined hands.

  Jorie suppressed a smile. After six months together, she knew how to smooth the ruffled fur of a pouting cat. “But you said it yourself: The Wrasa see you as the person who sleeps with
their only dream seer. Every shape-shifter in America knows you. If you suddenly disappear, someone will notice. It won’t be long before the council finds out what we’re doing. We need to send someone else.”

  “Who?” Griffin asked.

  “I was thinking Kelsey.”

  “No,” Griffin said with a fierce shake of her head, “not her.”

  Jorie frowned. “Don’t tell me you still don’t trust her.”

  “Not enough to send her to a place where I or the pride can’t keep an eye on her.” Griffin let herself fall back onto the bed and wriggled around as if wanting to replace Kelsey’s scent with her own. “She’s too inexperienced anyway. She has never been on a solo assignment. As a nederi, she’s used to having her alpha make the decisions for her. If we send her on this mission, she would be on her own. Without the resources of the council, we don’t even have the time to thoroughly investigate the boy or the woman. Kelsey would have to go in totally unprepared, and I don’t think she could handle that.”

  “Hmm.” Jorie leaned back on the bed too and stared at the ceiling. Then she rolled around, slung one arm over Griffin’s stomach, and cuddled close. She smiled when she felt the soft vibration of a purr beneath her hands. “I don’t know. Something about that dream left me with the feeling that Kelsey should be the one to go on this mission. I trust her, Griffin, and so should you.”

  Griffin stroked imaginary whiskers as if that helped her think.

  A knock on the door prevented her from answering.

  When Griffin opened the door, Kelsey stood in the doorway, ducking her head. “Sorry for interrupting. I thought I’d ask if you want something to eat. I could prepare an early breakfast.”

  Griffin grabbed her laptop case and pushed past Kelsey. “Breakfast will have to wait. We have to find out who the boy is first.”

  Chapter 3

  Griffin sat down on the couch and shoved away Kelsey’s blanket and pillow.

  At the casual takeover of her territory, Kelsey tensed, but she said nothing and sat on the edge of the couch, giving Griffin ample space.