Cat still couldn’t believe the insane statement Graeme had made the night before.
She knew what mates were, just as she knew her cousin Isabelle and her friend Honor, who had taken the identity of Liza Johnson twelve years ago, were both mates to Breeds. Isabelle to a quiet, too intense Coyote, and Liza to a huge, dark Wolf Breed. Both women were crazy about their “fiancés” and shared a bond with them that the tigress she was had quietly acknowledged.
The scent of the mating, the physical and emotional needs as well as the bond the couples shared was unmistakable to other Breeds. Some may not have a name to put to it, but the scent of it was a warning to Breeds of the opposite sex, as well as confirmation of a unique, enduring bond.
They loved as well. Even before the mating scent became stronger, deeper, the scent of their emotional bonds had been clear.
She and Graeme had no bonds. What might have grown from those early years, when he’d cared for her in the labs, he’d killed the night he’d vowed to kill her. The night he’d assured her that she’d been nothing but his own personal experiment.
The sheer insanity it had taken to make such a claim almost matched the madness behind the number of cameras he’d placed in the house Reever had offered for her use.
Upstairs, she’d found six, downstairs? so far, she’d found four and hadn’t even made it to the kitchen yet. And she had no doubt there were cameras she hadn’t yet found.
Dumping the ones she’d collected into the kitchen trash? she was just opening the first kitchen cabinet door when the doorbell rang.
Kneeling on the marble countertop, she threw a disgusted look toward the doorway.
Who the hell was insane enough to ring her doorbell? Didn’t they know a crazy-ass Bengal Breed was lurking around somewhere? Hadn’t Jonas announced it to the free fucking world yet?
Jumping down with a growl, she stalked through the house to the door, coming to a hard stop at the scent of the men on the other side.
She didn’t need this. She didn’t need to deal with this. Where the hell were all the other crazy-ass Breeds when you needed them?
Gripping the doorknob and jerking the door open, she faced the men with a hard frown.
“What the hell do you want?”
Raymond Martinez had his politician’s face on. The somber, compassionate face that fooled damned near everyone he came in contact with. With the light touch of gray in the black hair at his temples, dark brown eyes and swarthy skin, he was still a reasonably presentable man, though the heaviness at his middle and under his skin was ruining any chance at attractiveness that he may have had.
His son, Lincoln Martinez, was another story. At thirty-two, Linc was in fine shape. On leave from the military, he was all muscle and a closed, brooding expression.
Linc had obviously managed to secure leave from the military far quicker than she’d expected. She hadn’t expected him to arrive on her doorstep with his father though.
“Claire, please . . .” Linc began.
“Oh, give me a damned break,” she snapped at Raymond, the use of his daughter’s name infuriating her. He damned well knew what her name was, he’d been told the night his daughter’s body had died and her spirit had remained to watch over Cat. “Haven’t you told him I’m not his sister yet? You disappoint me, Raymond. I assumed you’d already blown that bridge to hell and back.”
Raymond grimaced at the statement.
“Can we do this in the house, Cat?” Linc growled, glancing around the yard, with its stone and pebble ground cover and succulents growing in carefully arranged small gardens. Well, evidently Raymond had told him.
Or had he known? She’d always suspected Linc was part of the spirit warriors the Unknown, but if he’d become part of the secretive sect before or after his sister’s death, she’d never been certain.
“Ah, I see you didn’t disappoint me,” she murmured, the sarcasm infusing her voice surprising even her as she glanced at the man who had once sworn to be part of a carefully coordinated circle of protection. “By all means, do come in.”
Stepping back from the door, she waved them in. As they cleared the doorway she slammed the door hard enough that the resulting crack had Raymond jerking around in fear. Linc merely shook his head before rubbing at the side of his face and glancing at her in chastisement.
Her tight, unapologetic smile was accompanied by the crossing of her arms over her breasts and a curious tilt of her head as she looked between the two men and silently compared their looks.
“You know, Linc, I think you’ll be happy when you’re older that you’ve taken after Terran and Orrin rather than him.” She flipped her fingers toward Raymond. “He’s not aging well.”
The dislike in Raymond’s eyes now was closer to what she normally faced and much more comfortable than the patently false warmth he’d tried to display.