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“No, Sir. No soul this week. ” He had moved slowly past him then and collected the boxes of dry goods and canned foods that he survived on.
Winter was coming on, he could feel it in the air. He wondered if his grandfather would forget to bring him a coat again this year.
Time shifted again. Kiowa had been fourteen the night the news had reported a car crash on the interstate. Joseph Mulligan had been involved in a head-on collision with a semi-truck and killed instantly. He was survived by no remaining family members, the newsman reported. And for the first time in years Kiowa had shed a single tear.
The next day, he packed his meager belongings in a pillowcase and set off down the mountain. Winter was coming again, and the cold was a bitter enemy when you had no dried foods, no warm clothes. He had read enough and watched enough that he understood certain things where the world was
concerned. He knew he had to be careful, that his very creation was a law against nature, the sharp canines that he kept filed down at the side of his mouth were proof of that. He knew there were ways to survive, he just had to be tough enough. Strong enough.
As he walked away from the cabin, he paused and stared back at it quietly.
“I have a soul,” he had whispered forlornly. “I always did. ”
Kiowa’s eyes opened slowly, the dream dissipating, but not the woman he held in his arms. Her head lay against his chest, her hair a cloud of silk around their bodies as she slept deeply, peacefully. He stared to the window, the dark curtain shielding the rays of the sun and tightened his hold on her. If Felines and Wolves mated only once, then there was a chance a Coyote could mate forever as well. He had never wanted another woman as much as he had this one, before he ever touched her. He had never dreamed of another before her, but he had dreamed of this one. He couldn’t let her go.
Chapter Seventeen
“Welcome to Sanctuary. ”
Amanda raised surprised eyes to the front door as it pushed open and Merinus Lyons walked into the cabin. She carried a baby in her arms, the woman behind her carried a foldaway playpen.
“Just put it in the corner, Lilly,” Merinus directed the other woman. “We don’t want David terrorizing the place while we’re here. ”
Behind her walked an older man, his shoulders stooped, his gray hair mussed. Dark brown eyes regarded her quietly as he sat a large black bag on the living room table. It looked like a doctor’s bag.
“I’m Merinus. ” Her smile was bright, though her brown eyes were shadowed with concern as she turned back to Amanda. “This is Dr. Martins, a very dear friend of mine, and behind him, Serena Grace. She’s one of the scientists working within the Feline Breed labs to help find a reason for this mating stuff. ”
“Hello. ” Amanda stood still in the kitchen, staring back at them nervously. Kiowa had left more than an hour ago, leaving her to shower and eat without him. Not that she hadn’t been looking forward to a chance to think and to make sense of what was going on.
“I know you have a lot of questions, Amanda,” Merinus said gently, her gaze compassionate. “We’re here to answer as many as we can, and hopefully manage to steal some blood off you while we’re doing it. Callan and Dash said the mating heat is much stronger with you than it has been for the rest of us. Which is saying something, because trust me, there for a while, it sucked in my case. ” She laughed freely, her expression self-mocking as she made the statement.
Amanda rubbed her hands slowly up her arms and back down. The thought of being touched by another had her skin crawling.
“It won’t be easy,” Merinus said gently then. “But what we learn with each case, gives us a greater chance to help others, further down the road. ”
Amanda stared at the kindly doctor and the scientist that accompanied her.
“What do you need?” she asked as the woman who had set up the playpen and deposited the child in it left the cabin.
“Serena will take vaginal and saliva samples as well as blood. She’ll ask you some questions, perform a quick physical then she and Doc will be out of here in no time flat. Then we can talk. ”
Amanda drew in a deep breath. “When do I get to talk to my father?” She watched Merinus warily.
“Callan is arranging that now,” she promised. “We have to be certain of the security on the lines and make certain there’s no way anyone can tap the conversation. Keeping you safe is our highest priority, Amanda. ”
Amanda swallowed tightly, her gaze flickering to the aristocratic features of the scientist and the weary sympathy in the doctor’s.
“Fine. Let’s get it over with,” she breathed out roughly.
“Ms. Marion, the samples needed and the examination won’t come without its discomfort,” Dr. Grace warned, her voice soft, her gray eyes worried. “The mating heat creates several different hormones that we’ve been able to identify and isolate. One of them is extreme sensitivity to any touch other than the mate’s. Surgical gloves aid in that, but the body chemistry doesn’t take long to identify the fact that an alien presence is touching it. It reacts with pain. ”
“Yeah. Been there, done that,” Amanda muttered wearily. “Let’s just get it the hell over with. This is starting to get on my nerves. ”
It wasn’t helping that she needed Kiowa. You would think she would be fucked dry, Amanda thought cynically. Instead, she was damned near as willing and eager as she had been the first time.
“The good news is, that the body slowly adjusts to the hormones,” Serena revealed. “After this, if you follow the same pattern as Merinus, Roni, Sherra and Elizabeth, then you’ll see a reduction in the heat and its symptoms until ovulation reoccurs. ”
Amanda blinked back at the scientist in amazement before turning to Merinus.
