Chapter 7 #3
“It is the best place. I’m not sure how much you know about South American traditions—myths and legends—but the jaguar holds a special place in the ancient lore of many areas for a reason.
We are close to the earth. We are part of it.
My people have a sense of the danger spots, and this isn’t one of them.
The lava that flowed to create this island is long gone and will not return to this spot.
I feel it in my bones. It’s as if this place was made for us.
To shelter us and give us a chance to start over.
” He, too, was looking out at the valley created by a long-ago volcano, surrounded by tall, curving peaks that would hide them so perfectly.
“Start over?” She turned back to him, concern in her expression.
Mark sighed. It was time to come clean. “My people have been in decline for a long time. We were hunted. Families were scattered due to wars and migration. The drug trade has been particularly hard on us, since many of my people were local leaders or shaman and tried to stand against the cartels. Most were slaughtered as they tried to protect the humans in their areas. We have a lot of orphans.”
“That’s terrible,” she breathed, compassion clear in her voice.
“That’s why I work so hard in the anti-drug area, and the cartels know I am their enemy.
They don’t dare come near me anymore, but they’ve spread their poison far and wide.
I’m only one man, and though my organization is strong enough to stand on its own, we cannot take on all the drug lords by ourselves.
Not now.” His face tightened as resolve to work his plan filled him once again.
“I’m thinking long-term. If the jaguar nation can rebuild and become a strong unit—like we have never really been before—we might have a chance at doing something really worthwhile for the entire world. But that time is not now.”
“You have to regroup first,” she whispered. “You have to come together and rebuild the family and the Clan into something so strong, it can never be decimated again.”
He looked at her with renewed respect. She understood. His mate was a perceptive woman with a big heart. The jaguar had chosen well.
“Exactly. And this is the place we will do that. In times past, we were strong individually because the enemies we fought were localized and we had jaguar magic on our side. We lived in discreet territories. Each family had their own claim to defend and protect. We got along for the most part, but our cats liked to spread out.”
“How is grouping you all together here in one place going to work out if your cats like to have their own space?” she asked, getting the gist of his challenges quickly.
“Well, for one thing, we have a big island to roam, and we’ve all agreed to specific rules about which parts of it belong to which family group.
We’ll respect each other’s boundaries in the jungle, and we’re used to living as humans in a community.
The settlement we build here will be big enough for us to each have our own territory, but close-knit enough that we’re all here for each other—to raise the orphans and give them a sense of family.
To care for the few elders who are left.
To have families and grow strong again—this time as a unified group.
” He felt the steel of his conviction down to his toes.
“And we’ll rip apart anyone who tries to stop us.
This place has only one way in or out if you’re on two legs.
It can be easily defended. And if the worst should happen and we need to flee, we go in cat form where humans cannot follow. ”
“You’ve given this a great deal of thought,” Shelly said, respect in her voice.
“I’ve had decades to think about this. I shopped around for just the right location and finally convinced the former owner of this island to sell.
He was getting too old to enjoy it properly, anyway, which made the sale easier.
And I gave him visitation rights to the mansion for as long as he lives. He’s a good guy, for a human.”
“You old softy,” she said, surprising him with her teasing tone.
He chuckled. “Don’t let anyone hear you say that. I have a certain reputation to maintain.”
Her laughter enchanted him. Low and intimate.
A joke shared just between them. It had been a long time since he’d had anyone to confide in.
Anyone to joke with. Anyone who didn’t automatically defer to him because he was the Alpha cat.
He hadn’t really realized it until this moment, but there was truth in that old adage: It was lonely at the top.
If he could convince Shelly to be his mate, then he’d never be lonely again.
She would be his counterpart, his confidant, his lover and his companion…
as he would be hers. He’d heard humans wanted such things in their lives, as well.
He knew there were billions of love songs and romantic books and movies out there that gave credence to that idea.
Maybe it wouldn’t be so hard to convince her to be his, and his alone, for the rest of their lives.