Amber Eyes (Amber Eyes #1)(25)

Hunter’s expression darkened. “Did they turn you out because of what you are?”

Her brow crinkled in confusion. “No, at least I don’t think so. I don’t really know.”

Jericho squeezed her shoulder then brushed her hair over her shoulder. “Tell us. We’re listening.”

“I had a sister. She was a cheetah. She’s all I remember, really. I mean, I know I had a mother and father, but so many years have gone by. Their faces are so dim.”

“There are more of you?”Hunter asked in astonishment.

“She was beautiful and fast. So graceful. I remember wanting to be like her. She always left me behind when we ran. One day we ventured farther from our home than we should have. We were just cubs then. Mischievous and anxious to explore our surroundings. I was caught in a trap and the people took me away. They said I didn’t belong there.”

“Where was there?”Jericho asked.

“Alaska.”

Hunter raised a brow. “I can see why they didn’t think you belonged. Did they see your sister?”

Kaya shook her head. “No, I don’t know what happened to her. I was taken here to the mountains. For a while I was kept in a cage. Maybe they intended me for a zoo. I’m not sure. I was terribly frightened, so I stayed in cougar form until I could escape.”

“How old were you?”Jericho asked.

“Four, maybe five.”

Hunter swore. “You were just a child!”

She nodded. “After I escaped, I hid for a long time, afraid that if I came out, they’d take me again. Then, when I was able and older, I made my way back to Alaska only to find the house deserted. I was nine or ten.”

Tears welled again and Jericho’s grip tightened around her.

“They were gone. They’d left me. I waited and waited but they never returned. So I went back to my mountains.”

“How long?”Jericho asked. “How long have you lived alone up here?”

Kaya frowned as she considered for a moment. “I’ve passed thirteen winters. Maybe fourteen since the time I came back here. It’s hard to keep count.”

“Jesus,”Hunter murmured. “How the hell did you survive?”

She shrugged. “The cougar is a very good hunter. She took good care of me.”

“You talk like she’s separate from you,”Jericho said.

“In a way she is. We are one and yet we aren’t. She is who guided me to you.”

“How is it you can change?”Hunter asked softly. “I didn’t think people like you existed.”

“I don’t remember a lot of my heritage,”she said sadly. “I know the animals are gifts from the Great Maker. Our souls are united when we are still in our mother’s womb. The cougar is my caretaker and I am hers. We have to strike a careful balance between the human and the animal. We have great healing power, but we must shift often. I chose to stay in animal form to stay safe, and it’s taken a toll on me. Even now, the cougar cries out to be set free. Embracing the change is what aids the healing process.”

“Amazing,”Jericho said in an awed voice. “I’m speechless.”

“Same here,”Hunter echoed.

She found Hunter’s gaze then tilted her head to look up at Jericho. “Does it bother you?”she asked hesitantly.

Jericho touched her cheek and then lowered his mouth to hers. His kiss was soft and sensual. Warm and so loving.

“No,”he said against her mouth. “Nothing about you bothers us. We want you to stay.”

Her eyes widened in surprise as she pulled away. Then she turned to look sharply at Hunter. Surely he couldn’t be included in the invitation. She’d seen the hurt in his eyes. She reminded him of someone he’d lost. He wouldn’t want her as a constant reminder.

As if sensing her rioting emotions, Hunter leaned forward again, his eyes intensely focused on her.

“I want you to stay, Kaya. Somehow, someway, we’ll work it out. I don’t want you out there alone, in the snow, cold and frightened. I want you here where Jericho and I can take care of you, make sure you have food and warm clothes.”

She frowned a little. “Is that all? You just want to take care of me?”

Jericho nudged her chin until she was forced to look at him. “I think you know that’s not true, honey. We just don’t want to push you. I can’t even be in the same room with you without wanting you. We’d like you to stay so that we see where this takes us.”

Two mates. It was more than she’d ever dreamed. After so long on her own, of having no one, that she’d have two strong mates was more than she could conceive.

“I’ll have you…both?”she asked, still disbelieving what they were offering.

“Do you want us both?”Hunter asked quietly.

“You are both here,”she said, raising her uninjured arm until her hand curled into a fist over her heart.

Hunter’s expression softened, and he reached for her fist, raised it to his lips and kissed each knuckle. “Yes, you’ll have us both. If that’s what you really want.”

She smiled. Smiled so big that she felt like bursting. “Two mates,”she said, loud enough that this time they heard.

Jericho chuckled. “We can be hard to live with, Kaya. You might change your mind.”