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CHAPTER TWELVE
W hen Lindsay emerged from the basement, where she’d taken her mother’s suggestion and raced around the cage in lynx form awhile, her head was clearer, though her heart was heavy.
Xav hadn’t arrived yet, but had promised he was on his way. Lindsay knew he’d have to head to Eric’s to report on the helicopter’s landing point, and she was fine with postponing the talk until after that.
She used the waiting time to visit Jinx, a Lupine woman who was actually nice—but then, she wasn’t part of Graham’s bunch. She and her mate lived in one of the larger houses, because they’d been blessed with nine cubs.
Four of the cubs had been Jinx’s with a former mate, who’d been killed when Shifters had been rounded up. She’d met Joel, her current mate, in this Shiftertown, and they’d had five more.
Lindsay did want cubs at some point in her life, but she couldn’t imagine wrangling nine .
On the other hand, Jinxie and Joel Soanes always appeared comfortable and content in their living room with its worn furniture, while their cubs, ranging in ages from two to twenty-five, roved around them. While twenty-five was adult age for a human, Clay, the oldest, was still considered a cub and would be until he had his Transition.
Joel and Jinxie were also perennially broke. Most Shifters had stashed away what wealth they could over the years, but the Soaneses ran through whatever they had trying to keep nine cubs fed and clothed. Cassidy and Eric helped them out monetarily from time to time, and Lindsay lent them moral support.
Today, however, visiting Jinx and family was more to bolster Lindsay’s spirits than the reverse.
Lindsay didn’t need to tell Jinx the source of her downer today, because Jinx already knew. The Lupine grapevine was swift—didn’t matter that Jinx wasn’t one of Graham’s wolves.
“You and Xav will work it out,” Jinx said in her calm tones as two wolf cubs wrestled over a soft toy between them. Jinx had warm gray eyes, tawny hair, and a kind smile. “Trust in the Goddess.”
“How did you know it was right with Joel?” Lindsay asked. Joel wasn’t there at present, off working to support his brood.
Lindsay tossed a ball at another wolf cub, who stalked it, pounced on it, and proceeded to chew it to bits.
“I didn’t, not at first.” Jinx took on a nostalgic expression. “Joel started helping out with my four, keeping them occupied so I could get things done. He came around more and more often, and finally, I said he might as well stay. He agreed, made the mate-claim, and we asked Eric to do the mate blessing.”
Lindsay was certain there had been much more to it than that, but Jinx regarded her with the serene expression of a woman without many worries.
Trust in the Goddess. Presumably, She knew who should be together and guided them there.
Lindsay wasn’t as certain. She only knew it was painful to have to sort through her feelings about the mate bond and her need for Xav.
A text from Xav telling her he’d just arrived at Eric’s had Lindsay quickly rising. Jinx hugged her in understanding, then she and the cubs waved her off.
Lindsay returned home to grab the small backpack she’d prepared for the mission and took off across the yards. She sensed Xav’s presence before she saw his telltale black SUV in front of Eric’s house.
The connection she’d felt to him last night and this morning surged, and her inner cat purred with satisfaction. My mate is back .
Lindsay slowed her pace as she neared the house. The truth was, she didn’t want to have this conversation with Xav, to explain that a Shifter and a human with connections to a Shifter leader was a volatile mix around here. To discuss with him about what they should to do.
Graham’s advice to simply break it off would be cleaner and more final, Lindsay knew, but she couldn’t bring herself to cut the ties without discussing it with Xav first. He should have some say in his fate.
Before Lindsay reached the Warden house, a large man walked out its back door and blocked her way.
Lindsay halted in surprise. “Tiger.”
Tiger gazed at her from his tall bulk, his golden eyes holding mysteries. Tiger was larger than almost all the Shifters, only the bears matching him. His hair was striped black and orange, and his calm face belied the ferocious creature he could become.
Eric and Iona had rescued Tiger from tragic captivity a few years ago and brought him home. All of Shiftertown had been terrified of him, Lindsay included. The Morrissey family from the Austin, Texas, Shiftertown had taken him to their home, giving him a refuge. In Austin, he’d met the human woman, Carly, who was now his mate.
Lindsay had since learned that Tiger had a gentle heart. The way he protected and loved Carly and his cubs was a beautiful thing.
On the other hand, Tiger remained unpredictable and could be a formidable enemy when he chose.
“Lindsay,” Tiger said after a quiet moment. “It will be all right.”
Lindsay blinked. “What will?”
“You and Xavier. He is the mate of your heart, so everything will be all right.”
Lindsay dissolved into nervous laughter. “You know what, Tiger? You’re uncanny. You sense these things, do you?”
“Yes.” Tiger gave her a nod. “Also, Xavier told me you wanted to talk to him.”
Lindsay’s heart thumped. “I’m so glad he’s keeping our private life to himself. Why are you here, anyway? Is everything okay in your Shiftertown?” Her worry returned. “With Carly?”
“Carly is here with me, and she is well.” The devotion in Tiger’s tone pulled at Lindsay’s heart. “Xavier said he needed help tracking someone, and I am the best tracker there is. We are discussing what I will do.”
Tiger’s assertion was not a boast. As Lindsay had mused not long ago, his help would be invaluable.
“In that case, I can go back home,” Lindsay teased. “You all organize the mission and send for me when you’re ready to go. Tell Carly I said hi. Better still, send her over. We can talk about you guys while you’re working.”
Tiger shook his head. “You are needed, Lindsay.” He turned, gesturing with his big hand to the house.
Lindsay swallowed her trepidation and headed after him.
Carly was indeed in the living room, her musical voice rising in conversation with Cassidy and Iona, who both crooned over Seth, Tiger’s small cub. They all greeted Lindsay, but Tiger indicated Lindsay should follow him into the kitchen.
There, Diego and Eric hovered behind Xav where he sat before his laptop at the kitchen table. Eric and Diego turned to pin Lindsay with keen stares when she and Tiger entered the room.
Tiger stepped to the side, as though he could blend into the woodwork, and nursed a cup of coffee that had waited on a counter for him.
“Ah, Linds.” Xav greeted her in his warm but offhand tones, as though there was nothing awkward between them. He turned back to the laptop, which held maps with colorful dots on them. “We’ve pinpointed a broad location where the helicopter might have landed. North of Death Valley Junction near the border between California and Nevada. Lots of wilderness to hide in there, so we decided it was time to call Tiger.”
“I wasn’t busy,” Tiger said calmly.
“From there, our quarry might have been picked up and taken anywhere,” Xav continued. “Or tried to hike out on foot, which is a bad idea, even in the middle of winter.”
True, February temperatures could rise to the nineties during the day in Death Valley, though it was still bitterly cold at night. Plus, Xav was right—the area was vast. The helicopter had landed a long way from anywhere.
“Where do we start?” Lindsay asked. “At the landing site?”
Xav swiveled to face her. “ You don’t start anywhere. Tiger’s agreed to help, so you can stay home and not wear out your paws.”
Lindsay gazed right back at him. “We’ve had this argument before. AC hired me . I’m going, even if I don’t like the idea of racing around Death Valley in the middle of the broiling afternoon.”
“We will need her,” Tiger rumbled from his corner.
“It’s dangerous,” Xav said firmly.
“We need her nose,” Tiger continued. “Lynx Shifters have a superior sense of smell.”
Lindsay pointed at Tiger. “What he said.”
“Linds …”
“Forget it, Xav, I’m coming with you. AC is paying me , and I want the money.”
Xav’s eyes narrowed in both suspicion and surprise. “What for?”
Lindsay shrugged, evasive. “To buy new shoes.”
“You have a lot of shoes,” Xav said with a touch of amusement. “I mean, a lot.”
“And your point is …?”
Xav rose from his seat, Diego and Eric wordlessly melting out of his way as he headed for Lindsay. Xav gripped her by the elbow and steered her from the kitchen and out the back door of the house. Thankfully, no one followed them.
Xav walked Lindsay briskly from Eric’s yard and down the shared land behind the houses, saying nothing. Lindsay realized he was heading for the open desert beyond, where they’d gone before to have a discussion. That one had ended in disaster, and this one might be even worse.
Lindsay glanced around uneasily as they went, worried that Graham’s Lupines might try to confront Xav while he was apart from Diego and Eric, but she sensed no one. Hopefully Graham was keeping his unruly wolves at bay.
Once they reached the fringes of Shiftertown, Xav released Lindsay and faced her. “You said you wanted to talk,” he stated. “Never a good thing, as you implied. So—talk.”
Lindsay’s mouth went dry. She remained silent for a time, while a cold wind blew her hair into her face, and Xav watched her with his intense, dark eyes.
She drew a breath, summoning courage. “We have to decide now.” Her voice was faint, cracked. “Are we breaking up? Yes, or no?”
Xav’s brows rose a fraction. “I tried to before, remember? It didn’t exactly work.”
“You didn’t try very hard.”
“I admit that. Neither did you.” Xav’s faint smile shot heat through her, as she recalled him over her in the dark, whispering Damn, Linds. You’re beautiful.
“We can’t keep on like this,” Lindsay said, her chest constricting.
“I agree. Do you want to break up?”
“No.” The word emerged with vehemence. Lindsay tried to compose herself. “But it might be for the best.”
Xav’s mouth tightened. “Why? I thought so before, but I’ve changed my mind, if you couldn’t tell. You seemed fine when you left my house this morning. Why do you want to call it quits all of a sudden?”
“So Graham will cease giving me hell,” Lindsay blurted before she could stop herself.
Xav’s controlled expression became a scowl. “Graham? What the hell has he got to do with it?”
“Too many Lupines need mates.” Lindsay tried to sound reasonable, but her voice shook. “Graham can barely keep them under control.”
Xav regarded her in amazement. “Meaning if we break up, you’re free to go to one of them? Is that what you want?”
Lindsay’s eyes widened. “What? Hell, no. I’m not hooking up with a smelly wolf so Graham can keep the peace.” She drew another breath to calm her agitation. “But Shiftertown is like a dormant volcano. Looks fine on the surface, but there’s all this magma waiting to burst out. I’m giving the magma excuse to erupt, and I need to stop it.” She waved her hands in frustration. “I’m not explaining well. You’d understand if you were Shifter.”
Xav nodded, as though he understood well enough. He was also growing angry, his placid surface rippling like the aforementioned volcano.
“What you’re saying is, you want to break up with me to keep things calm in Shiftertown.”
“Yes.” Lindsay swallowed, her throat aching.
“Who knew I was that big of a threat?” Xav asked in feigned astonishment. “Xav Escobar brings down Shiftertown because he likes going out with Lindsay Cummings. So much power .”
Lindsay balled her hands. “This isn’t a joke. Graham said I needed to make the choice, but he’s wrong. We both do.” She took a step back. “I’m really bad at this, Xav. Help me out here.”
Xav sent her a quizzical glance. “You’ve never broken up with anyone before?”
“I never had the chance. I keep it casual.” She hugged herself as the wind sharpened. “Best that way.”
“Is it?” Xav closed the small distance between them. “Casual seems to be dissolving the glue that holds Shiftertown together.”
“Casual means not making tough decisions,” Lindsay said. “It means having fun, not heartache.”
Xav moved even closer, his warmth masking the chill. “What did you say was our choice? Break up, or … what? Keeping it casual is obviously out.”
Lindsay swayed toward him, unable to resist the pull to his heat. “We either mate for life, or stop seeing each other. I know which one you’d prefer.”
“Do you?”
Xav’s voice went hard. He caught her hands that hung by her sides and wound them behind her, trapping her against him.
Lindsay knew she could easily twist away, but she didn’t want to. She wanted nothing more than to stand still while Xav’s breath brushed her lips.
This kiss, when it came, was fierce. Lindsay rocked with the unexpected force, then she met Xav’s kiss with a fervent one of her own.
His mouth was commanding, dominating, and Lindsay didn’t care. This was Xav, and Lindsay wanted him with the whole of her heart and the whole of her body.
Xav broke the kiss just as abruptly and released her. Lindsay staggered, barely righting herself as her booted foot slipped on gravel.
Xav regarded her steadily, his chest rising with a sharp breath.
Then, without warning, he seized her by the hand and started striding back toward Shiftertown, pulling her in his wake.
“Xav. Wait a sec.” Lindsay’s protest was ignored. “Where are we going?”
Xav didn’t answer. He towed Lindsay along the row of houses, while Shifters who happened to be outdoors watched with great interest.
Matt and Kyle ceased chasing each other behind Graham’s house and came alert, ears pricked. They ran after Lindsay and closed in behind her.
Xav didn’t stop until they reached Eric’s place. Xav pulled Lindsay in through the back door and made for the living room, where Eric was expounding to Diego and Tiger. The ladies and cubs were still in the dining room, their lively conversation ceasing as Xav stormed in.
Tiger’s head came up, his gaze snapping straight to Xav, not to Lindsay.
“Eric,” Xav said in a commanding tone.
Eric, who now lounged in his usual place on the sofa, glanced up at him. Anyone not Shifter would think him merely curious about why Xav had burst in and interrupted him, but Lindsay saw the dangerous glint behind the quietness, the leopard ready to strike.
“What is it?” Eric managed to say patiently.
Xav turned to face Lindsay. He hadn’t let go of her hand, and now he gripped both of them more firmly.
“I need you to hear something,” Xav told Eric. “Lindsay Cummings,” he stated to her with strength. “Under the light of the sun and before witnesses, I claim you as mate. ”