Chapter 14 #3
And despite her insistence, and she probably was impatient and annoyed when you persisted, you continued to counsel her to allow herself to be a woman as well as a warrior, didn’t you? You wanted the best for her.
Tomas went still inside. Sarika had led the cat to the only real conclusion that made sense. It was the jaguar who had persuaded Solange to accept Dominic. From the beginning, when Solange had come into her teens, the cat had worked on her to be more than one-sided.
He saw that exact moment when the jaguar realized she had been the one to open the door for Dominic.
He was unfailingly gentle with Solange. In public, they presented as two equal warriors.
He respected her abilities in a fight and didn’t attempt to force her into staying at home and waiting for him. She fought at his side as an equal.
It is only at home that Solange shows him her feminine side.
She still has trouble, even with him, and he is unfailingly gentle with her.
He always allows her to choose what she will do for him when they are alone.
What she will wear. When they are alone, he prefers a certain type of clothing, and she feels vulnerable in those garments, the jaguar conceded.
Does he know she is uncomfortable?
Yes. He never insists, and he always makes her feel beautiful. He always shows his appreciation of her as a woman and partner. I cannot fault him on that. The jaguar admitted it reluctantly.
Why do you feel she was coerced into becoming Carpathian?
I am facing such a decision. If you don’t mind, I would like the benefit of your wisdom.
Frankly, I am afraid. Not of him, he is wonderful to me, but of a species I don’t understand.
Solange must have been terrified. How did you help her through it?
That was genius, sheer genius. The part that got to Tomas was that she was telling the jaguar the strict truth, making herself vulnerable, treating the jaguar as a respected elder.
She wasn’t playing the cat; she was sincere.
That was part of Sarika’s magic. She took the time and listened.
She didn’t judge. She heard and acknowledged another point of view, and she respected what others had to say.
The jaguar was silent again for a long time.
Tomas realized that the animal was actually thoughtful.
He had become a shadow in Sarika’s mind because he had already judged the animal as being violent and harmful.
He worried for Sarika’s safety as well as that of the baby.
But he was wrong. The animal not only was hurt with the feelings of betrayal but had genuinely convinced herself that Solange needed to be saved.
She was a wise and deadly opponent, and she played the long game, not one of instant gratification.
I was present when he courted her, but to give her privacy, I stepped back. I trusted him with her at the time. The jaguar was thoughtful. Admitting the truth to herself for the first time. I believed he was good for her.
The cat lifted her head and stared directly into Sarika’s eyes.
I told her to trust her heart. I give you the same advice.
Trust your heart. Don’t have your eyes closed.
Try to see him for who he is, both good and bad traits.
Do not love an illusion, a fantasy that is in your mind.
See him for what he truly is, and if he is right, love him for that.
That was my advice then, and it stands now.
Sarika frowned, the expression as delicate as the emotion she portrayed. But then you withdrew your approval. What did he do that made you suspicious of him?
Solange always talked important matters over with me.
Always. Even when I knew she had made up her mind, she would still discuss those things with me because I have always been important to her.
She did not. Conversion can take away your jaguar—did he tell you that?
If your cat is important to you, the conversion can change who and what you are.
She accepted the risk that she would lose me without even talking it over with me.
The hurt of betrayal was once more weighing all three of them down, Carpathian ancient, Sarika with her feminine power and the jaguar. They weren’t the only ones. A small cry came from a distance, so low as almost not to be heard. A baby calling out in pain.
The jaguar lifted her head alertly. She is hurting.
She feels your pain of betrayal and shares that with you. You are important to her because Solange has made you important to her. Or rather the imposter, the illusion of you. Did you ask Solange what happened at the time of the conversion?
Tomas felt the soothing warmth she surrounded the baby with.
He also felt she was beginning to tire. She was putting out a great deal of energy, psychic energy, that cost her.
She would need his blood to bolster her.
She was unable to eat solid food and, to his knowledge, wasn’t hydrating.
The effect of blood exchanges often left an unconverted lifemate unable to keep food down.
He also felt the vicious headache pounding at her. He couldn’t interfere and heal her as he would have wished. As that strong protective streak demanded. He would give away his presence, and everything Sarika had accomplished would be for nothing.
I did not ask, the jaguar admitted. I was too hurt, and I convinced myself Dominic was to blame. There was no evidence of that, just that Solange had always protected me as I did her.
You need to ask her. My understanding is she delayed the conversion over and over in order to ensure nothing would go wrong with you.
Each blood exchange, it was you they both monitored, not her.
She was used to protecting you, and she would not have gone through with it had there been a single sign that she would lose you.
Or that you would be harmed. I wasn’t there, but when she shared some of her memories with me, that was what I observed.
I could have read it wrong, or her character incorrectly.
The jaguar female bristled in annoyance. Solange’s character is not in question. She leads her life with honor.
Sarika inclined her head. You taught her those things.
You instilled those traits in her. She is counting on you to do the same for her daughter.
It hasn’t occurred to her that you would think she betrayed you.
According to my cousin, Luiz, Solange spends quite a bit of her time as a jaguar.
She believed the illusion because she knows you so well and gives the false jaguar everything she knows and loves of you.
This will devastate her, the jaguar said. She might view this as a betrayal of her.
Would she? You know her better than anyone. What is going to be her honest reaction?
The jaguar sighed. She will place the blame squarely on her shoulders. She wouldn’t ever consider that I might have acted out of jealousy. I didn’t consider it.
The stress is threatening the life of the baby, Sarika said gently.
Solange will be a mother. You will be as well.
It would be wonderful if Dominic and Solange could count on your wisdom in raising their daughter and helping to raise her jaguar as a strong yet loving warrior just as you did Solange.
Visibly agitated, the jaguar leapt to her feet. Across the room, Solange gasped and reached out to Dominic. Tomas felt the moment when the cat reached for Solange. To give her waves of reassurance. To apologize and ask for forgiveness.
I thank you, the jaguar stated as Sarika withdrew.
Her hands were shaking as she slowly released the amulet. Tomas didn’t care that they had an audience. At that moment, Solange and Dominic were occupied with their own drama, but it wouldn’t have mattered. Tomas gathered Sarika into his arms and transferred her to his lap.
Let me take care of you.
He framed her face with his palms, fingertips pressing into her temple as he sent warmth and healing light into her to ease the pounding there. It took a few moments to remove the offending pain.
She leaned into him, so exhausted she didn’t bother to respond with words. She just allowed him to take charge. Her lashes drifted down, and he feared she might actually fall asleep.
You need blood, Sarika. I know it isn’t your favorite thing, but it will revive you enough to get you back to the tree house, where you can get some rest.
A small smile curved her mouth. “Can’t you feel the energy rushing toward us? There isn’t going to be any reprieve for the next couple of hours, Tomas.”
She didn’t raise her head or open her eyes. She just looked amused.
Tomas hadn’t missed the incredible surge of joyous energy that seemed to crash through the forest, coming at them from three different sources.
A male, much more somber than the female and child he traveled with, but happy and grateful nevertheless.
That had to be Jubal. Tomas had met him on occasion and liked the man.
He was a male jaguar shifter. He had two sisters, and both were lifemates to Carpathian males.
He knew Jasmine’s energy. They all did. She had suffered greatly at the hands of the male shifters, and there were some obsessed with her.
She was Solange’s younger cousin and much loved by everyone.
She was excited to see Sarika again. There were few things that made Jasmine feel young and happy, so it was good to feel her emotions of joy being broadcast so loudly.
Just because his woman felt those things, Jubal was grateful.
No Carpathian could miss the way Jubal loved and protected his wife.
And then there was Sandrine. She was the wildest, most expressive child Tomas had ever come across.
Her aunts and uncles encouraged her to think for herself and solve as many problems as possible herself.
She was intelligent and had a sense of humor.
She’d been shy and reserved when Tomas had first noticed her years earlier.
She was a product of rape, and it would stand to reason that her mother and cousins might not want her, but it was just the opposite.
They treated her like royalty, lavishing love on her.
That had brought her out of her shell in a big way.
“You had better hurry with the despicable blood thing. I don’t want to know you’re giving it to me. Just please do it before they come in.”
“The safeguards are down,” Dominic confirmed.
“Sandrine will come running in and throw herself at Solange. Or possibly Sarika. I’m certain Jasmine has told her entire family how heroic you were, Sarika.
There will be no getting away from the accolades they will shower on you.
I won’t be able to save you, and neither will Tomas. ”
Tomas noted he sounded cheerful about the entire business, probably because there were new targets for the child and the women in the family to annoy.
Sarika laughed softly. “Annoy? We annoy you?”
“You, in particular, annoy me.” Tomas tried to sound gruff. “You are looking forward to seeing that wild child when you should be resting.”
“I don’t think I’ll ever be able to pass up the opportunity to annoy you by refusing to bow down to your authority.”
He was grateful he could share her amusement. That was new to him. The feeling washed over and into him, soaking into every cell in his body the way rich blood did.
“I have the feeling you don’t acknowledge too many authority figures.”
She tilted her chin at him. “According to my uncle, I don’t.
” Her smile faded. “Tomas, I hope you know I’m only teasing you.
Thank you for doing your best to give me choices.
I feel the conflict warring inside you, and I know your brothers and Luiz have a very different point of view on how you should handle things with me, but seriously, I’m so grateful to you.
I feel like you see me. That what I think and feel matters to you. So thank you.”
“We’ll find our way,” Tomas reassured. “I’ll do my best, when we have more time alone, to explain what is happening and why we are so pressed for time.”
“Hurry with the blood thing. I’m so tired, and that darling child is coming closer every second we wait.”
He knew she wouldn’t want the others to observe her taking blood from him. She still had an aversion to it, and he didn’t blame her. It wasn’t like it was natural in her society. Not in human or shifter.
Tomas didn’t wait. He curled her closer into him, shielding both from everyone’s eyes, and opened a line on his chest with one lengthening fingernail.
She didn’t fight him at all when he pushed her to go under.
That meant quite a bit to him. Her level of trust in him was growing.
They would need that in the coming weeks as they hunted for the demon Carpathian who was plotting to destroy the Carpathian people.
He gave her as much blood as he dared. Had they been alone, he would have made certain he took enough back for a true exchange, but that wasn’t for when she would be under the scrutiny of several shifters and eventually other Carpathians.
He knew what was coming. Luiz had filled him in on the ridiculous party that was being planned.
Tomas supposed that was what it was like when two species got together and tried to combine customs. He’d never seen the need for showers and bathtubs until he saw what pleasure that deep sunken tub gave Sarika.
He decided bathtubs were in their future.
He liked the idea of washing her hair and lavishing attention on her, adding to the ritual of her bath.
There were other things she enjoyed that he would try to incorporate, just as Dominic so obviously did for Solange.
His brothers were going to give him hell, but they might as well learn if they were going to be with a woman.
The notion of cavemen wasn’t as correct as people believed.
Those women weren’t pushovers. Many hunted and fished right alongside their mates.
He closed the wound in his chest. After ensuring there was no evidence that she had taken blood, he woke her.