Of course, she knew. Jessica was the alpha, Kian’s, mate. She’d been with the War Cats since she was ten, and was a submissive tiger. Except that wasn’t all she was. They found out about a year ago that she’d been born to a clan where magic and shifters had mixed—the Drako. And she was their queen.
Her shifter gift was born of the magic inside her—meaning she had both of her parents’ animals. She was a tiger and a dragon, although she hadn’t had a clue that she was anything other than a tiger. She had a submissive tiger and a dominant dragon living inside her, and she could choose between the two forms when she shifted. The Drako, specifically their old queen, had come for Jess. And she’d defeated her by taking in all the magic inside the old queen—every bit of magic and knowledge the old queen had possessed, absorbing it into herself.
Something like that wasn’t anything a person forgot.
“Of course I know. What does that have to do with me and the Enforcers?”
She heard the covers on the bed rustle and turned to find Luke sitting up straighter, his face alert as he listened.
“I’m not sure what your gift has sensed, but the grudge directed the Enforcers way is personal toward Luke. But the person isn’t afraid of taking out anyone who gets in his way, which is why you felt the threat toward the group as a whole.”
“Yeeeeeah,” she drawled, trying to figure out where he was going with that. “I know. I sensed it the other day after they were attacked.”
“Is that all?”
“Is that all? Isn’t that bad enough?”
“It’s nothing compared to what Jess told me this morning.”
“Well, stop stalling and tell me already,” she snapped impatiently.
His voice was exasperated when he spoke again. “I’m getting there. Jess’s magic gave her a connection to all of the Drako who follow her now. And it also somehow formed a connection with all the War Cats, as well. And it doesn’t seem to matter if they leave or how far away they are. She still feels it, which can make life difficult for her.
“Anyway, because of that connection, she can delve into other shifter’s gifts. Even when she doesn’t want to. But, with her magic, she can get into them even deeper than they can, and has a better understanding, even though those shifters have been developing their abilities virtually their whole lives.”
Tarun stared at Luke as she listened to Jameson, biting her lip as dread washed over her body. She was beginning to understand where he might be going, but she almost wished she didn’t. The thought of other people dabbling inside her, even if it was just accessing her gift, creeped her out.
“And she’s delved into mine, is that what you’re saying?”
Jameson was quiet for a minute before he sighed, the sound making the connection crackle. “Don’t be mad. She didn’t mean to. It’s just that the connection she has with you meant that when you felt something, she did, too. Only it went deeper than what you sensed. She’s spent the last day trying to figure out what it meant, and she finally did this morning.”
“What is it? It must be bad, since you tried to get me to go back to Durga.”
“The asshole who’s hunting Luke is going to make another attempt. Only he’s bringing a fucking pride with him. I don’t know exactly when, but it’s going to happen soon. And if the Enforcers aren’t completely prepared and ready to meet him, they will lose. They won’t all die, but at least half of them will—including Luke.”
Tarun stared at Luke in horror, her mouth opening and closing. The phone slipped through her nerveless fingers, hitting the hardwood floor with a crash, and she put a hand to the window glass, leaning onto it, feeling faint.
Terror was streaking through her body, burning through her veins, but the only thought she had was, fuck, we’re fucked.
Luke was frozen to the bed, terror rushing through his blood. Not for him, but for his crew, and most especially for Tarun. They could lose if they weren’t completely prepared. And how could they be, when they didn’t know when the fucker was coming? Soon wasn’t good enough in the scenario Jameson spouted.
Wincing in pain, he finally moved, bringing up a hand to rub his chest. His lion was shredding his chest, tearing him to bloody ribbons, and Luke was using all the control he had left to keep him inside. His cat wanted to fight—as did Luke—but there was nothing to fight in that moment. So he had to keep him contained.
He heard a faint squawking and cocked his head, wondering faintly where it was coming from. He finally realized Jameson was calling Tarun’s name, but the phone was on the floor and she made no move to pick it up. Pushing himself off the bed, he wondered why his voice sounded so far away.
He’d heard him clear as day when he was speaking to Tarun, but right then, it sounded like his voice was coming through a tunnel. As he was bending to grab the phone, the reason why finally occurred to him.
Luke had been dazed by Jameson’s announcement, and it felt like he was in a trance. But he had to shake it off. Not just so he could talk to his mate’s brother, but so he could tell the Enforcers and try to formulate a plan.
“Jameson, hey. It’s Luke.”
Jameson paused, and when he finally spoke, his voice was grudging. “Hey, man. Is Tarun okay?”
He looked over at her, concern welling up inside him. She’d moved a tiny bit—she was rubbing her thumb along her bottom lip. But she was still holding herself still, barely breathing, her eyes wide and unfocused.
“She’s had a shock, but I’m sure she’ll come out of it eventually. The time frame you mentioned—you don’t have anything to go by other than soon?”
“No, that was all Jess got. The gift isn’t hers, and she can’t manipulate it to tell her more than it wants to. She’s just able to delve inside it deeper than even the shifter it belongs to.”