Marked Page 4

  Alicia’s heartbeat raced at the gravity of her aunt’s words. “Yes.”

  “When the Spanish came, our ancestors were tortured and killed, and many died of diseases. We survived. Others did not.” She took a deep breath and released it slowly, and her focus slid to the past as she started into a story.

  “One morning long ago, just at sunrise, a young woman found Mountain Lion lying at her door. He was injured and near death, and he told her of men coming from far away who were cruel and would bring great heartache and illness. He told her that his people, the Kimosh, had been chased from their home and were hunted by these strangers. He told her where to find his family and asked her to hide them. In exchange for her help, he offered the healing powers of Mountain Lion when her people were sick. When she agreed to help, he closed his eyes and died, and Mountain Lion’s spirit left behind the body of a man.

  “The woman and her three sisters found the Kimosh and took them to a secret valley guarded from all others where they still live today. When we need Mountain Lion’s healing powers, we ask and he comes to us as he promised. In return, we keep his home a secret. The entrance to his valley is on sacred ground.”

  Alicia frowned. Was her aunt serious?

  The woman glanced toward the window and then leaned forward and continued, her voice quieter. “Two of the sisters fell in love with Kimosh men and went to live in the valley. When the Spanish came, they searched everywhere for the Kimosh. They accused our people of helping them. The two remaining sisters kept their secret even when threatened with death. Finally, the Spanish gave up the search for the Kimosh and they were forgotten.”

  Alicia stiffened. When Cole had talked about the soul of the cat, she hadn’t realized he’d meant it literally. “You’re telling me the Kimosh are…are what, shape shifters living in the mountains of New Mexico? And no one else knows about them?”

  Her aunt’s eyes widened at the disrespectful tone, and Alicia bit her tongue.

  After a few moments, her aunt continued. “When you wear your manta, you bare your left shoulder. Do you know why?”

  Alicia found her patience slipping again. “Ko’oe—“

  “Do you?”

  She huffed. “It’s tradition, I guess. Has to do with humility or something?”

  The older woman smiled.

  “What?”

  Her aunt nodded at her. “Will you bare your left shoulder now?”

  Alicia swallowed hard as she remembered the mark on her shoulder and covered it with her right hand.

  Her aunt smiled again. “Your father was Lorne of the Kimosh. He met your mother during a healing ceremony when she was sixteen. They married when she was twenty. He marked her and took her to live with him.”

  Alicia lowered her hand to her rolling stomach. If everything Cole had told her was true, then her whole life had been a lie. “Why was I told that Joseph Ortiz was my father?”

  “Joseph Ortiz was a good man, and kind to your mother. He took you both in when she came home, even though he knew your mother’s heart belonged to another man. He knew she guarded a sacred truth. When Joseph was killed in the accident, your mother couldn’t stay. She knew Joseph’s mother would take care of you.”

  Could it all be true? Did she really carry the blood of a mountain lion shape shifter? Or was she losing her mind?

  “You knew my father…Lorne?”

  She nodded. “Yes. He was strong and kind. Your mother said that when a Kimosh takes a mate, it is for life. Their souls become one.”

  Alicia’s shoulder tingled, and something in the middle of her chest tightened as another question bubbled to the surface. “Then why did Cole leave me?”

  Her aunt met her gaze with silence.

  Alicia rose. “I have to find him.” As she spoke the unexpected words, she knew they were true. No matter what else, she had to find Cole. He’d said she was the only hope for his people.

  Their people.

  She shook her head. It wasn’t anyone’s people she was worried about. It was Cole. He was the only hope for her.

  “Will you show me the way?”

  A shadow fell over her aunt’s face. “Your mother never told me why she left. It may not be safe for you.”

  “Please, Ko’oe. I have to find him.”

  “You found the heir?”

  Cole stood before the elders dressed in his traditional loincloth, his hands at his sides, and his mother stood beside him.

  “Yes,” he said.

  “But she is not with you.”

  “No.”

  Devin, one of the oldest men, glared. “You did understand your mission, didn’t you?”

  Cole swallowed hard. “Yes, I understood.”

  “And you know what the consequences for all of us will be?”

  “Yes.”

  Sloan sat behind the center of the council table, watching stoically. His silver hair contrasted sharply with his black robe, giving him an even greater presence than his position as leader naturally would have. Cole wondered what the man thought as he listened to the questioning.

  “As we speak, many are preparing to leave,” Vanora said, motioning toward an empty chair at the table. Her voice carried the sadness weighing on Cole’s shoulders.

  “I know it doesn’t help,” he said, “but I’m truly sorry for my failure. I accept my punishment.”

  The elders leaned together and whispered. Water dripped from the stone wall behind them as if counting the seconds. Cole’s heartbeat sped up to match the sound.

  The elders straightened, their expressions something between sad and unfeeling.

  “You failed to bring Lorne’s heir to me,” Sloan said. “Because of that, our people will suffer greatly in the future.” The man sighed and straightened. “You will be chased from The Valley and banished.”

  Cole flinched at the sentence.

  “No!” His mother stepped forward. “You can’t—“

  “Mother.” Cole caught her arm and drew her back. “Please. The sentence is fair.”

  His mother looked up into his eyes and hers filled with tears. “I can’t lose you, too. We’ll leave together.”

  He pressed his hand to her cheek and shook his head. He wasn’t sure he’d survive the chase, as inactive as he’d been recently. At her age, his mother stood less than half a chance. And if she managed to make it to the gateway, she would die outside, just as he eventually would. At least he had recent experience in the outside world to draw on.

  “No, Mother. It’ll be easier if I know you’re here where you’re safe. At least, for now.”

  “You will leave your home tomorrow at noon,” Devin said.

  Cole nodded.

  Sloan stood first and left the table, and the others wandered off, discussing the future in whispers.

  Cole held his mother’s hand as they walked from the council chamber.

  “I can’t bear to think of life without you,” she said.

  He squeezed her hand in response.

  At least she would live out the rest of her days in The Valley with her friends and cousins. There wouldn’t be enough of the Kimosh remaining for a viable population, but many of those who left would find mates on the outside. Over the next few generations, their bloodlines would thin, and they’d lose the abilities and identities that made them special.

  The shifters would have to deny their spirits, or risk being shot or exposed. And he knew from personal experience that it didn’t take long to realize how impossible life was for a Kimosh forced to live in human form. They wouldn’t last more than a year or two.

  More than anything, he wanted to return to Alicia, but that was the one thing he could never do. As long as she didn’t completely understand her nature, she could survive in the outside world. Once she changed, there would be no hope. And he wouldn’t be able to resist changing if he spent any time close to her.

  How could he tell his mother that his future was meaningless without his mate?

  He glanced over and met
her tearful gaze.

  Perhaps she knew.

  Chapter Four

  Alicia gripped the steering wheel in both hands as the truck bounced through another pothole.

  Her aunt rode beside her in silence, pointing out the turns.

  They’d driven since sunrise and were deep in a part of the Jemez Mountains Alicia had never seen. Red rock cliffs rose straight up on both sides of a canyon just wide enough for a clear mountain creek and the road, if you could call it that.

  Her aunt had insisted they wait until dawn to set out, and there was no talking her into leaving earlier, so Alicia had spent a long, fitful night trying to sleep. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw Cole, his powerful, sleek body naked, and his amber eyes sparkling with passion. She felt his mouth on hers and his hands caressing her breasts.

  Every time she actually fell asleep, she woke with a start in a cold sweat, her shoulder aching where he’d left his bite mark.

  Now she was tired and running on reserves.

  The road rose over a small swale and then suddenly ended.

  “Shit!” Alicia stood on the brake with both feet and the truck skidded to a stop inches from an arroyo.

  Her aunt opened the passenger door and slid to the ground.

  “Where are you going?”

  The woman waved in a vague direction. “Now we walk.”

  Alicia shoved the driver’s door open and hopped out. “Wait. How far are we walking?”

  Her aunt, already far ahead of her in spite of the long dress she wore, spoke without stopping. “Until we get there.”

  Alicia huffed. Would it really hurt her aunt to give her some kind of idea?

  She checked her cell phone. No coverage, of course. Tossing the useless phone to the seat and then hiding the truck keys above the visor, she slammed the door and started up the narrow trail at a trot.

  “They’re gathering like vultures.” Cole’s mother stood at the window, her back rigid, her hands fisted.

  “They’re gathering like Kimosh.” Cole gently gripped his mother’s shoulders and drew her away. He cast a glance out to where three dozen mountain lions lounged in the sunshine, their tails slowly tapping their impatience, their eyes raised to his door.

  She whirled around and grabbed his arms. “It’s not too late. I can go back to the council. I’ll make them reconsider.”

  He sighed. “No. I’m ready to leave.”

  “You may not even make it to the gateway.” Her voice rose in anger, but he knew it wasn’t directed at him.

  “Mother, please.”

  She frowned.

  “Promise me you’ll forgive me and be happy,” he said.

  “Oh, Cole.” She drew him down to wrap her arms around his shoulders. “There is nothing to forgive.”

  He held her, storing the memory of her in his heart.

  “Love is stronger than anything else,” she said. “And that’s good. It’s what keeps us going through the tears.”

  He nodded. She was right. The love he felt for Alicia surged through him as strength and hope, and he marveled at the power of it to brighten the darkest corners of his despair.

  His mother released him. “Are you sure you don’t want more food or water?”

  “Yes, I’m sure.”

  “I love you, Cole.”

  “I love you, too, Mother.” He kissed the top of her head.

  At the doorway, he stepped into the sunshine, closed his eyes and took a deep breath, tasting every bit of the air. Then he opened his eyes again, untied his loincloth and studied the field below.

  There were now more than thirty Kimosh waiting in silence. They were childhood friends and cousins, but that wouldn’t mean anything when it came time to run.

  Several rose as they spotted him.

  Cole descended the ladder and then started down the steep path at a slow walk, conserving his strength. Every nerve in his body seemed to reach out; he felt the thrill of the chase like a cool breeze across his skin. He’d wait until the last moment to shift in order to use the surge to his advantage.

  They began to move, stepping slowly, watching. One growled low, and then another joined him.

  Ten feet above the field, Cole jumped, releasing his human form as he sailed through the air, rejoicing at the soul of the cat springing free. He hit the ground running.

  He felt the others, their excitement, their lethal intentions. He caught their scents as he ran.

  The closest few were young, drawn to his movement, too eager, and he easily dashed past them. They would tire before they got halfway across The Valley floor.

  The next group came in a wave. They were smart, set on slowing him down. Claws sliced through the air, reaching for his shoulders and face, and teeth flashed as three came at him from the left.

  But they were also old. Cole dodged their attack, lurching forward in a burst of speed.

  He was halfway across the field now, but the worst lay ahead. He slowed as much as he dared.

  Twenty or more loped in wide arcs, giving him room to run between them, which he had no choice but to do. These were males and females in their prime, ready for the kill. They felt no more mercy than he did at that moment. Primal instincts pumped through his veins, and wind whistled in his ears. He was free to do as his nature demanded.

  The first male approached, shoulder to shoulder with him, and Cole attacked, catching his opponent off guard with a slice to the face. And he spun as he sensed the flank attack of two more. Although one managed to catch a piece of his shoulder with a claw, he got the better of them and raced away as quickly as he could. His shoulder bled, but not badly.

  Two more, a male and female pair, drew up alongside. As the male monopolized his attention with a snarl and slash, the female swept her claws across his hindquarters. Cole went down, awash in searing pain. He rolled over to escape a second swipe, and clawed at her face as he continued to his feet. She drew back and the male leaped onto Cole’s back, biting deep into his neck. Cole rolled again, shaking his attacker loose, but not without sacrificing a chunk of hide.

  They were on him then as a pack, growling, biting and slashing. The last hundred yards might as well have been miles. He left many behind with wounds they would be tending for days, but none with the kinds of wounds they were inflicting on him. With each new bite or slice, more blood flowed until he finally reached the end. Summoning the last of his strength, he leaped the six feet to the start of the trail and fell to the ground.

  The chasers stopped at the rock ledge and watched. If they had been allowed to follow, Cole knew he wouldn’t have drawn another breath. As it was, he was barely able to push himself to his feet.

  With every inch of his body screaming in pain, his ears buzzing from blood loss, and his eyes barely functioning, he dragged himself up the trail, focused on the dark opening of the gateway.

  Halfway there, he stumbled and went down, taking in a mouthful of dirt, and he lay on the trail, panting. Behind him, mountain lions growled.

  In spite of his animal form, human regrets invaded his thoughts. He hoped his mother wasn’t watching from her window. She would be crying, sharing his pain.

  He closed his eyes and thought of Alicia, picturing her safely in her apartment, watching TV and oblivious to his plight. She sat on her sofa, her bare feet drawn under her, drinking hot tea. Her dark hair fell from her shoulders like a waterfall in the night, and her sweet lips pursed as she blew softly into her cup.

  The pain lessened a little and Cole drew a ragged breath. The ground below him felt wet and warm, and he knew he couldn’t make it any farther. At least he’d die in The Valley, where he belonged.

  If only he could see his mate once more.

  Alicia struggled to breathe on the steep trail. They must be two or three thousand feet higher than Albuquerque. Her aunt continued ahead of her at a steady pace as if strolling along a city sidewalk.

  As the trail flattened a little, Alicia glanced to her right to find the truck parked several hundred
feet below them. Where the hell was her aunt taking her, anyway? There couldn’t possibly be a village up here. Not even a secret one.

  “There it is.”

  She grabbed her aunt’s arm to avoid running into her when the woman stopped without warning.

  Alicia looked around and saw nothing except rock cliffs rising from the edge of the trail, scraggly junipers struggling to grow, and small purple flowers blossoming from every available patch of soil.

  “There what is?”

  “The gateway,” her aunt said, pointing to the cliff.

  Alicia squinted and studied the rock face. “I don’t see anything.”

  Her aunt smiled and nodded. “You see where the rock is dark, just to the left of the two trees?”

  Alicia nodded.

  “Walk between the rocks. Follow the path. When you get to the opening, watch only the light ahead and don’t stop.”

  “Aren’t you coming with me?”

  Her aunt shook her head. “I can’t go in. The gateway is guarded.”

  “Guarded?”

  She nodded. “You can go through. You’re one of them.”

  “The Kimosh?”

  Her aunt nodded again. “Don’t be afraid. They won’t hurt you.”

  “Who won’t hurt me?”

  “The Guardians.”

  “You’re sure about that, right?” Alicia felt a sudden knot in the pit of her stomach. Who or what, exactly, would guard the passageway to a secret village of Mountain Lion People?

  Taking a deep breath, she studied the spot her aunt had pointed out, and then faced the woman again. “Thank you for telling me.”

  Her aunt grabbed her. “Listen with your heart. The spirits of your ancestors will guide you.”

  “Yes, Ko’oe. I’ll try.” A shiver ran down her spine. She suddenly wished she’d paid more attention to the traditions when she was growing up. Maybe, then, she’d know how to listen with her heart. At the moment, all she could hear was blood rushing past her ears as her lungs fought for oxygen.