Marc (Bowen Boys, #4)(21)

“I don’t know how to love people without getting them hurt.” She moved to the floor and in front of the fireplace. “When they took me away from my house when I turned fifteen, I thought I’d never see my parents again. Then when I escaped, I stupidly went back home. Roy caught me in days.”

“He knew you’d go where you felt safe.” She nodded. “What did he do to you? And how long did he have you?”

“The second time he had me for three years. I would get away, but he’d catch me pretty quick. He made me believe that I was the only one of my kind. The only panther in the world that could be a girl as well as this thing I am.” She shifted on the floor again before she continued. “The third time he had me was when I was nineteen. He held me in a cell for almost a year before he’d let me out. I suppose it was because I kicked his ass and mopped up the floor with him. He…he beat me and tossed me in there. I thought for sure he’d forgotten about me. But he hadn’t.”

Khan tried to imagine what it would be like to be locked in a cell for a year. Before he’d met Monica he had been locked in this house, hiding from the world, but his family had come by to make sure he was all right. She’d had no one.

“I was able to escape again. I’d…I had to hurt someone to get out. I wish it had been Roy but it was one of his minions. I hated myself for it until I realized that he would have hurt me without any problems.”

“You killed him, didn’t you?” They both looked at his mom when she spoke. “You had to kill him to get free, didn’t you?”

“Yes. I didn’t mean to. But I had no control over the cat, and he attacked me. I shifted and tore his throat out before I could stop the monster inside of me.”

“You’re not a monster, Jonny. You’re a predator, yes, and one that kills to survive, just like the rest of us. But you’re not a monster.” Khan looked at his mom when she sat next to Jonny as he continued. “My mom is a panther. Does she look like a monster to you?”

Jonny stared at her for a few seconds. He wasn’t sure what was going through her head, but he would bet it was a horrific memory. When she spoke, it was as soft as a whimper from his child in his sleep.

“Have you killed to survive, Mrs. Bowen?” His mom had, and he knew it. When she nodded at Jonny, the girl looked at him. He nodded as well.

Jonny nodded. She looked so lost and so hurt that Khan, not usually a man who hugged a stranger, wanted to pull her into his lap and hold her as he would his own children. She sat there staring at the fire until his dad came into the room. His dad was the greatest man he knew. But there were times….

“So, who died?” His voice thundered across the room, and he smiled at Jonny. “Christ, you’re a pretty little thing, aren’t you?”

“Dad, this is Jonny Thomas. She’s going to be staying with us until Marc returns with her parents.” He nodded at him but stared at Jonny. “Dad?”

“You’re related to Deb Anderson, aren’t you?” Jonny shook her head. “Yeah, you might not know it, but she’s probably your mom. Her mate…what was his name?” He turned to Khan’s mom when he asked.

“Travis? You mean Travis Anderson? I thought he was dead,” Khan said. His dad nodded, and his mom nodded too. “They had a baby. A little girl that…. Deb said she died, that the baby died at birth.”

They all looked at her, and Jonny squirmed. Khan knew how she felt. They were looking at her like she was a spec on a microscope glass. His dad finally got up and reached for her hand.

“I just asked Marc if I could touch you. He said that I was to explain to you what I mean. He said that you wouldn’t understand.” Jonny shook her head. “He’s marked you, honey, as his own, and when another male touches what is his, he can be a little….” He looked at Khan.

“We can be a little mad, as in violent, about it and want to mark you again and kill the other male. He gave Dad permission so he won’t kill him, but…well, he’ll mark you again so you no longer smell like another male.”

“That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.” They all looked at each other and not her. “And marking? You mean….”

He nodded at her. Her face couldn’t have gotten any redder, he was sure. When his dad laughed, she glared at him.

“You can be mad all you want, child, but it’s the way we are. Kind of on the possessive side, we males are. You, too, if he comes back smelling like another female. Turned don’t have that same instinct as purebloods. You’ll see when he comes back if you don’t smell another female on him.”

“George, you’re embarrassing her. Stop before I show you how pissy a full-blood can be.” Khan was embarrassed and wanted them to simply stop, but his mom changed the subject. “You have your permission. Now touch her before I have to smack that stupid smile off your face.”

His dad was still laughing when he put his hand on her cheek. When he ran it over her throat, Jonny flinched away. His dad winked at her and sat back. He looked both smug and upset about whatever it was he found.

“You’re their daughter. I can…it’s been a long while, but I can still feel another cat’s sires. One of my gifts.”

She looked at the fire, then back at him. Even Khan could see the tears in her eyes.