Page 47 of The Jaguar's Flower

Hellebore nodded. “They know you’re the clan leader who permitted them to stay in your home.” When Davorin turned his attention to him, the other jaguar shied his eyes away. “One of them wishes to see their mother’s grave.”

“Is it him?” Davorin pointed at the staring child. When Hellebore nodded, the clan leader clenched his jaw. “He shows no fear when he looks at me. We will need to change that soon. Bring him here.”

With haste, Hellebore retrieved the child before setting him down in front of Davorin. When the young cub held his small hand out, the clan leader sneered at the attempt. “What do you want?”

“I want to see my mommy.” The small voice grated Davorin’s ears.

Davorin moved to a crouch. His hazel eyes met the cloudy gray ones of his son. “Didn’t you know?” When the cub didn’t answer, the jaguar continued. “You killed your mother. You and your brothers.”

The cub barely moved as he dropped his small chin. Davorin thought it was the end of the discussion, but the cub spoke up again. “Can I say sorry? I’m sorry I killed my mommy.”

Davorin winced at his son’s words. A part of him knew he shouldn’t blame them. Even one of his men advised him to move forward. The triplets needed their father. A mishap and unlucky labor killed his wife, no one else.

“What’s your name?” Davorin asked.

“Number Three,” the cub mumbled. “Can I see my mommy?”

“No.” Before the cub spoke again, Davorin rose to his feet and walked away. The clan leader eyed Hellebore as he left the room. Time seemed to evade him as he walked out of his house. His emotions conflicted him.

Davorin paused his thoughts to listen to his village. Not a single sound reached his ears. None of the mills or agriculture equipment filled the emptiness of the village. With the early hour, the jaguar should have heard children laughing, but nothing. When he turned to head back into his house, the jaguar hissed at a sharp pain in his neck.

He stumbled forward. The jaguar planted his hand against the door frame as his vision blurred. Another man’s voice reached his ears. They were orders given to others. When Davorin moved, he noticed a few horseless carriages with low rumbles and growls.

The screams of his clan reached Davorin’s ears. He couldn’t do anything as his body slumped against the wall. Whatever the unknown men shot him with made it difficult for the jaguar to shift or move.

“Grab the children! Renfield wants them alive!” a man with a shaved head shouted. “Kill the adult shifters. They will not be needed.”

“What about the clan leader?” the man closest to Davorin asked.

The children? What is going on?Davorin snarled at the men. “Who?” He grunted as his vision threatened to fade. “Who are-”

The man beside him delivered a sharp kick to the jaguar’s ribs. “Shut it. Someone tranq him again. He’s still alert,” he ordered with a snap of his fingers. “We need to make sure he is incapable of fighting. The last thing we need is the clan leader trying to protect his children.”

“Then we are taking him with us?”

“He will be escorted to a different facility for experimentation.”

Davorin listened to them speak. When sharp pain radiated through his thigh, the jaguar ignored it. They mentioned his children.Ginny, our children.It struck a cord in him to protect them. They were all he had left of Genevieve. He fought to shift, but another pain struck his rubs. When Davorin glanced down, he spotted two metallic tubes sticking out of his body.

“What did you do to me?” Davorin growled. When he tried to claw one of them, he hissed. They stomped the jaguar’s hand with their boot. “You will pay for this!”

The clan leader’s threat fell on deaf ears. It barely sounded like his voice as the darkness continued to creep in on him. “I’ll kill you.” The jaguar snarled. Everything froze when he heard his sons’ cries. He turned his head, hoping Hellebore fought for his children. His heart caved when he spotted the shifter’s body in a blood pool on the ground.

He heard his sons’ cries until the man kicked his face. Everything went dark.

Chapter thirty-two

Assoonastheyappeared under the canopy of the willow tree, Violet brushed her fingers over the leaves. “So, are you like Mother Nature?” She turned to face Sarus. “I’m a scientist, so I’ll have a lot of questions for you.” Her eyes darted toward the entrance. “I’m also terrified for Mac and need the distraction.”

Her head tilted as she took in her father’s appearance. “You said you created some from yourself and others from love.” Those weren’t his exact words, but it didn’t stop her from asking. “If it’s not Asmodeus, who did you love? Why aren’t they here with you?” She reached into the leaves of the willow tree again. “Is their absence the reason for the weeping willow? The trees always reminded me of sadness.”

His daughter had a lot of questions. It made Sarus smile as he strolled with her under the tree. He touched the hanging branches before he answered her first question. “I am more than her, but we are similar. She goes by many names and usually belongs with Earth.” He plucked one of the yellowish leaves from the branch. “As for who I love?”

Sarus didn’t answer. Not yet. When he caught his daughter’s gaze, he offered a place for them to sit before he finished with his answer. The primordial sat by the tree as he played with the leaf in his hand. “She was another primordial. Her smile lit up the world and made me see things I hadn’t seen before. She’s gone.”

“She sounds nice.” It was a lame response, but her mind wandered down another path. “How can she be gone? Scientifically speaking, energy can’t be created or destroyed. It changes. You’re creation, so she had to be something.” She chewed on her lip as she worked out her question in her mind before she spoke. “Wouldn’t that mean the balance is off? You said before that balance was important.”

“You’re very observant.” He smiled, but the corners of his lips didn’t reach his eyes. “Her energy transferred, but nothing has been the same since she was killed.” When Sarus heard his daughter gasp, the primordial patted her shoulder. “Because of the incident, the balance has been off, and why I sealed off my realm.”

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