He was right. They were cramped as it was. But maybe she could give the female her bed for a while. Maybe trade places with her until she was back on her feet. Christina shivered at the idea of staying at Deb’s. As tiny as her little shack out back was, it was the Ritz Carlton compared to Deb’s bed bug palace.
“She can come home with me,” Owyn offered, that determined glint still in his eye. “Back to the Ouachita’s, to live with my clan.”
Oh, hell no.
Christina wasn’t placing her with a cat clan. No way, no how. Tana wasn’t going to survive this brutal attack just to be claimed by another cruel male. Or worse, be ostracized for her inability to bear cubs… if in fact, it came to that.
“No,” she snapped, and then turned to plead with Cleaver. “No, we can’t let this happen. Sending her off to live with a clan full of others who could do the same thing her mate tried to do? No, Cleaver. Please.”
A low growl ripped from Owyn’s throat.
“My people would never treat a female like this. We protect our own. Never let harm come to them. She would be safe with us.”
Safe. Christina wanted to be safe. Cleaver and the bears protected her for now, but what had happened to Tana proved that she wasn’t truly safe here. If her mate found her, caught her in the woods… if he was cruel hearted as Tana’s was…
There were so many ifs. But one thing was sure: safety was an illusion.
She crossed the room to face Owyn.
“And what makes your people so special? That you would swear no harm comes to your women? I don’t believe it just because you say so. I want proof if I am to send an unconscious, injured female to live with a clan of cats who could very well make her life miserable.”
Owyn frowned as she stepped closer until they were almost chest to chest. She had to show him she wasn’t afraid of him. The emergency was over and now his animal was front and center, sniffing out hers to find a weakness. She had to show up. Prove she wasn’t a submissive… or he’d eat her alive—metaphorically, of course—and take Tana home with him.
They stared off.
She was eye-to-chin with him because he was very tall. Not many men could claim a height advantage on her, but Owyn was one. His jaw was chiseled where he clenched it. He held Tana’s dressing with one blood stained hand, and made a fist over and over with the other. The borrowed t-shirt he wore stretched across his muscular chest making him look even larger, and for the first time, she noticed the scrolling letters of a tattoo on his neck, along the ridge of his collar bone.
A name. Mandi. And a purple and teal ribbon curving in and out of the letters.
A woman’s name. A ribbon that must commemorate something.
She was missing a crucial piece of the puzzle here.
He drew in a long, deep breath, holding it in his lungs an obscene amount of time. When he let it out in a whoosh, all the expression leached from his face with it. Like a western wind sweeping a line in the sand away. The determined frown, gone, replaced by an expression so vulnerable it made her stomach ache.
Owyn’s eyes went wide, making him seem like a little boy, and he cocked his head in curiosity. Like he was seeing her in a new light. His mouth opened but no words came out. No defense of his people. Nothing.
Suddenly Cleaver was right beside her.
“It’s not what you think, Doc,” he said. “Owyn belongs to that clan I told you about. Remember? The mountain cats that don’t mate.”
Christina swung her head around to eye the falcon. She hadn’t believed him when he told her about the clan that didn’t take mates. It went against every shifter instinct not to mate. How could he be right about that?
Many times Cleaver had suggested she join the strange clan. He thought it was the best way to keep her safe from her future mate. But to her, it sounded ludicrous. Shacking up with an entire clan of males seemed counterproductive if she was aiming to avoid male cats.
“It’s the best place for her,” Cleaver said, his eyes saying more. It’s the best place for you.
Her gaze found Owyn’s, but he was still staring at her like he’d seen an apparition. Awestruck and almost… fearful.
“This true? Your clan doesn’t take mates like other cats?”
It took him a second to answer. “We don’t take mates at all. Ever.” His voice was rough like he’d swallowed rocks.
Christina crossed her arms, sizing up the situation like she would any potential trauma. This was the examination period, and if Owyn passed it… well, she and Tana might both have a new home.
“What happens if one of you changes your mind? If you decide you want to mate?”