“What mystery?” Quinn prompted.
Kyle motioned toward the patio furniture grouped at one end of the spacious deck. He sat across from his mother, flanked by Quinn and Ian. “Ava had a vision about Carissa. She saw the ritual.”
“Did she think we were hurting Carissa?” Quinn was clearly upset by the idea.
“The vision was detailed enough that Ava realized Carissa participated willingly. However, she was still left with a sense of dread, as if something horrible was happening or was about to happen.”
“Go on,” his mother urged.
“She grabbed her stuff and headed for the motorcycle stashed behind the cabin. I grabbed her as she came around the corner. I didn’t want her to scream or run. The next thing I knew we teleported halfway across the State.”
“Ava can teleport?” Erin sounded intrigued, not surprised while the two men stared at him with obvious skepticism.
“It was a spontaneous reaction to my touch.”
Quinn laughed. “And I thought I repelled females.”
“She thought she was in danger and her instincts spiked?” Ian ignored Quinn’s attempt at humor. “Was the location random?”
“I thought so at first, but we encountered armed guards in the middle of the forest.”
“They weren’t forest rangers?” Quinn asked.
“With M16s?” Kyle shook his head. “We borrowed their Jeep and drove until we found a road. Jake gave us directions then brought us here and ditched the Jeep.”
“I’ll scan Ava’s memory then search from the air and see if I can find whatever they were guarding.” Ian started to push back his chair but Kyle stopped him.
“You can’t touch her. She hurt herself when she landed and I had to heal her. It left me incredibly weak.”
Ian’s gaze narrowed, his tall body tense and agitated. “What does that have to do with my scanning her mind?”
“We exchanged energy a couple of times and it triggered synchronization.”
Ian folded his arms over his chest and glared from Quinn to Kyle. “It’s mighty convenient that both of Maggie’s granddaughters ended up bound to cats.”
“We’re not bound,” Kyle stressed.
“Yet.” Ian shoved back his chair and moved to the deck’s railing, turning away from the table. “This gives you three months to convince her to mate with you. Just like Quinn you’ve shut out the competition.”
Kyle knew it hadn’t happened like that, but he also knew how it looked. “I was dying, Ian. I didn’t have a choice.”
“There are always choices,” Ian muttered then turned around and retreated behind an expressionless mask. “An aerial search is our best bet of figuring out what the guards are protecting.”
“I agree.” Kyle understood Ian’s strategy. Even if he’d intended to court Ava, there was nothing he could do about it until her physiology reset. Fixating on a situation beyond one’s control was an utter waste of energy. Besides, the safety of the tiger females had to come before personal agendas. “Jake figured out a rough perimeter and the most likely areas within the search area.”
“Show me.”
Rather than retrieve the map from Jake’s office, Kyle sent the image to Ian telepathically. He also transmitted his memory of their conversation and as much as he remembered about the actual escape.
“You saved her life.” Ian’s expression didn’t change, but his tone softened a bit.
Kyle hadn’t purposely shared the intimate details of his interaction with Ava, but Ian was the strongest telepath he knew so it wasn’t surprising that he’d absorbed more than Kyle had intended. “And she saved mine in return. The rest just happened.”
“Or the rest was meant to happen,” Erin added with a cheeky smile.
Ian glared at her while Quinn and Kyle rolled their eyes. Erin might be the network Historian, but she’d always been a hopeless matchmaker.
“I’ll see what I can find.” Ian tugged off his boots and stuffed his socks down inside them. Erin rose to collect his garments as he continued to undress. He pulled off his shirt and she folded it neatly and set it on the table. “I should return by nightfall. If not…” He shrugged. “I’m probably screwed.”
“That’s not funny.” Erin gave him a quick hug and Ian moved to the middle of the deck. He spread his arms and raised his face to the sky. The golden streaks in his hair glistened and his skin began to glow. He leapt into the air and his shape blurred, transitioning from human to bird in a smooth, flowing motion. Wide, majestic wings spread, propelling him higher with each strong rhythmic flap. He soared then swooped then glided, sailing gracefully upon the cool mountain wind.