Page 2 of A Cougar's Kiss
Chapter 1
Oasis
Medical Center
Later that night
Keller Cross hated hospitals.
The nauseating scent of illness combined with incessant beeping, buzzing, blaring that signaled death was imminent, all made him cringe inwardly each time he stepped foot into a facility. It was his weakness, something he tried like hell to never let anyone see. Weakness meant he could be destroyed and if he could be destroyed, his enemy could win. That wasn’t an option for him, not now, not ever.
So, when Rome dished out this punishment for Keller’s participation in the unapproved mission with Decan three months ago—and most likely for another infraction of the esteemed Assembly Leader’s rules that he hadn’t committed—Keller had taken it in stride. For twelve weeks he’d spent at least fourteen hours each day sitting six feet from a hospital bed where Faction Leader Cole Linden slept like a fifty-year-old baby.
Day-in and day-out the FL who had been missing for the last twenty years lay in that bed with the cream-colored blanket pulled midway up his chest, arms flattened at his sides, chin tilted up, eyes closed. The rise and fall of his chest said he was breathing as did the machines on the other side of the bed that Keller tried valiantly to ignore. There were needles in his arms with tubes running to more machines and paraphernalia that monitored everything from his temperature to his heart rate. There was no question the guy was being taken care of, with or without Keller sitting there keeping watch. Not to mention the fact that he had no idea who he was watching him for. They were in what was reportedly the safest place for Shadow Shifters—Oasis—the underground sanctuary built on the orders of the Assembly Leader, which meant there was no one here that wanted to harm the comatose Topétenia shifter.
At least there shouldn’t be.
Keller knew from experience that things weren’t always what they seemed. Case in point, Rome thought Keller was a traitor against the Shadow Shifters and thus felt the need to keep him trapped in this underground fortress until he could figure out what else to do with him. When, in fact, Keller knew the best solution for getting the Shadows the respect they deserved above ground, with the other shifters and humans. He knew how to bring the Ruling Cabinet down and to rebuild a life for them all. And he still planned to do just that, regardless of what Rome thought.
He leaned back in the chair arms crossed over his chest and stretched his legs out dropping one ankle over the other. It was nearing midnight when his shift for the day would be over. His cougar’s green eyes narrowed as he took another glance at the FL. Still asleep.
With a slow movement he lowered an arm and stuffed his hand into his pocket. His fingers wrapped around the comlink until he could press two buttons. The minute it beeped he talked.
“How long will it take you to get to my room? I’ve got some news to share.”
The reply was quick, “Twenty minutes.”
“Good,” he snapped. “Be there.”
He pushed the buttons again and pulled his arm back up to rest on his chest.
A machine beeped, one long, slow blaring sound that pierced his eardrum and had him cursing fluently. Two red lights on the device flashed for about ten seconds before going dark once more. And silent, thank the gods.
He pulled his legs in and leaned over his knees. Seconds later he stood and bent back into a stretch. It was when he came forward again that he saw it.
The FL’s eyes were open.
* * *
You’re being ridiculous. Just walk up to him and say something. What do you think he’s gonna do, bite your head off?
Her pulsed quickened and knees almost buckled as she stood in the hallway thinking of just how much she would love for Keller Cross to bite her. His sharp teeth would rake over her smooth skin with just the right amount of pleasure and pain. And if she were very lucky, he would break the skin, just a tiny bit, enough so that his saliva would mix with her blood and they would be forever and inextricably connected.
Romantic fantasies, that’s what Nisa would call what was going through Shya’s mind at this very moment. Remnants of all the books she’d read and all the stories she’d conjured in her mind, all things that were a substitute for living. Well, she was going to put an end to that vicarious lifestyle right now. She’d waited long enough.
Taking the final steps, she stopped at the door and punched in the security code. The locks disengaged and she took another deep breath, holding it for a few seconds, only to let it stream out in a slow whoosh of air before telling herself for the billionth time tonight, “Now or never.”
Seconds after uttering the last syllable her fingers wrapped around the doorknob and she turned it until it clicked. Pushing the door, she stepped inside the room and felt the chill instantly wrap around her body. The lights were out but there was an unmistakable orange-gold glow coming from the bed.
He was awake.
“Shit!” the word tumbled free seconds before the quick snap of Keller’s neck as he turned to see her.
His eyes were a brilliant green, not bright, but muted until they almost looked foggy. Brilliant because it was the most unique color she’d ever seen on a Bosinian and because he was the only Shadow to wear his cat’s eyes all the time. From the first moment she’d seen him stepping out of the Tracer, Shya had been intrigued by those eyes—and this man.
“The Desert Cat is feral. Killing with no malice.”
The words came from the FL through the room loud and clear as if the FL was sitting up in that bed as healthy as the day he’d disappeared all those years ago. But that was not the case. Cole Linden was lying perfectly still in the bed, just as he had been earlier today when she’d come by to see if Keller had arrived at his post. He hadn’t but she’d stayed a few moments staring at the man who had meant so much to her father and the other FLs in the Assembly. They had looked for him every moment since his disappearance and now he was here, and he was talking.
