Blind Tiger
Page 53
“That wasn’t your fault.” Titus unzipped his backpack and pulled out a spare shirt and pair of jeans. They’d be big on Leland, but better than nothing. “Women never survive the infection. Well, almost never,” he said with a glance at me. “There’s nothing you could have done for her.”
Leland accepted the pants Titus held out. “I could have not eaten her.”
“You were terrified and in shock,” I said as he stepped into the jeans. “And probably ravenous after your first shift.” I remembered that blind hunger. But when I’d gone through it, I’d known who and where I was. I’d known what was happening, because Abby was there to explain everything. I couldn’t imagine suffering through what Leland had.
“Yeah.” He buttoned the jeans, then took the shirt Titus gave him. “That, and I was locked in here. The front door was closed, and once I turned into a cat—I thought I was losing my mind—I couldn’t get it open. And after a while, nothing felt real. I couldn’t really be a cat, and if I wasn’t really a cat, I thought maybe Ivy wasn’t really dead. I mean, maybe her body was a hallucination. And I was starving.”
“How did you get the door open?” I asked.
“I kept trying. Like, fifty thousand times. Pushing down on one side of the knob with one paw. Eventually, it turned enough for the latch to disengage. That was last night, I think.”
“So, you’ve been in the woods since then?” Titus asked, digging through his bag for more clothing.
“Yeah. I ate some squirrels. A rabbit. I slept under a tree. Then I heard a car engine. I watched you guys go into the cabin. Then you came out with Ivy, and…” He shrugged and pulled Titus’s shirt over his head. Then he frowned and pulled the hem of the material up to his nose. He inhaled deeply. Then he fixed an accusing gaze on the Alpha. “Is this your shirt?”
“Yes.” Titus put the bag down and gave Leland his full attention. “But it’s not what you think.”
“I don’t know what I think.” Leland frowned. “I know this scent. Why do I know your scent?”
I watched Titus, waiting for some hint about how to proceed.
He exhaled and gestured toward the couch. “Leland, why don’t you sit down, and I’ll explain.”
“I think I’ll stand.” The new stray’s fist clenched around a handful of Titus’s shirt, and I realized he was seconds from coming to the same erroneous conclusion Corey Morris had come to. That Titus had infected him.
“That’s fine.” Titus kept his voice low and even. “My scent is similar to my brother’s. And you probably recognize his scent, at least subconsciously, because my brother, Justus, is the cat who infected you.”
“Your brother?” Leland demanded. “Your brother turned me into this? And killed Ivy?”
“We think that was an accident.” I stood, careful to give him some space. “If Justus had wanted either of you dead, he could have killed you. And he probably had no idea that scratching you would infect you.”
“Probably?” Leland turned to Titus, but kept me visible in his periphery.
“Justus is newly infected, himself. We’re still trying to find out what he knows,” Titus said. “The last time I saw my brother, he was human. I have no idea who infected him, or how much he understands of what he is, and I won’t know any of that until we find him. That’s why we’re here. Looking for my brother. I don’t suppose you know a student at Millsaps named Justus Alexander…?”
“No.”
“Are you sure?” I asked.
“I think I’d remember if I met someone named Justus. It sounds like it came from a superhero name generator. You know, ‘He defends truth, Justus, and the American way!’”
I pretended to scratch my nose, disguising a smile. And the fact that I’d had a very similar thought, earlier in the evening.
“I mean seriously,” Leland said. “Whose name is Justus?”
“My brother is the only one I’ve ever met,” Titus admitted.
“Okay, so now what?” I said. But what I truly wanted to ask was, “What do we do with this new stray?”
And the answer was no simpler than the question. We couldn’t just let Leland Blum go. He needed to know what to expect in his new life. He needed to know there was a support system in place for him. He needed to know the rules. But we couldn’t take him Titus’s house.
No one could know that Justus Alexander had created two strays and accidentally killed a woman. At least not until Titus and I could find him, find out exactly what had happened, and come up with a reasonable defense.
Titus shrugged, glancing from me to Leland Blum. “Now…we’ll have to take him with us.”
“So, what?” I whispered, when the sound of running water from the bathroom told me that Leland was in the shower. “We’re going to put him up in your brother’s apartment? What happens if Justus comes home?”
“We count ourselves lucky to have found him,” Titus said as he pressed buttons on a fancy built-in coffee maker I couldn’t make heads or tails of.
“True, but Justus won’t be happy to see his girlfriend’s other boyfriend.” I rubbed my forehead, fending off a headache from hunger, lack of sleep, and contemplating the consequences of a shifter love triangle gone wrong. “Do you think he knew Ivy was cheating with him, or you think she kept both men unaware of the other?”
“I have no idea,” Titus said. “We don’t even know for sure that she and Justus were more than friends.”
“He must have thought they were,” I said. “Otherwise, why would he follow her to the cabin in the first place?”
Titus exhaled slowly. I could see his reluctance to think ill of his brother, but the evidence was not in Justus’s favor. “Either way, we can’t leave Leland alone so soon after being infected, and we can’t turn him over to Drew without incriminating my brother. So he has to stay with us, and we have to stay here, at least for the rest of the night, in case Justus comes home.” He glanced around the kitchen with a confused, frustrated expression.
“I get that.” I handed Titus the mug he seemed to have forgotten he’d taken down from an upper cabinet. “But this seems like a bad idea, considering how territorial some shifters are.”
Leland accepted the pants Titus held out. “I could have not eaten her.”
“You were terrified and in shock,” I said as he stepped into the jeans. “And probably ravenous after your first shift.” I remembered that blind hunger. But when I’d gone through it, I’d known who and where I was. I’d known what was happening, because Abby was there to explain everything. I couldn’t imagine suffering through what Leland had.
“Yeah.” He buttoned the jeans, then took the shirt Titus gave him. “That, and I was locked in here. The front door was closed, and once I turned into a cat—I thought I was losing my mind—I couldn’t get it open. And after a while, nothing felt real. I couldn’t really be a cat, and if I wasn’t really a cat, I thought maybe Ivy wasn’t really dead. I mean, maybe her body was a hallucination. And I was starving.”
“How did you get the door open?” I asked.
“I kept trying. Like, fifty thousand times. Pushing down on one side of the knob with one paw. Eventually, it turned enough for the latch to disengage. That was last night, I think.”
“So, you’ve been in the woods since then?” Titus asked, digging through his bag for more clothing.
“Yeah. I ate some squirrels. A rabbit. I slept under a tree. Then I heard a car engine. I watched you guys go into the cabin. Then you came out with Ivy, and…” He shrugged and pulled Titus’s shirt over his head. Then he frowned and pulled the hem of the material up to his nose. He inhaled deeply. Then he fixed an accusing gaze on the Alpha. “Is this your shirt?”
“Yes.” Titus put the bag down and gave Leland his full attention. “But it’s not what you think.”
“I don’t know what I think.” Leland frowned. “I know this scent. Why do I know your scent?”
I watched Titus, waiting for some hint about how to proceed.
He exhaled and gestured toward the couch. “Leland, why don’t you sit down, and I’ll explain.”
“I think I’ll stand.” The new stray’s fist clenched around a handful of Titus’s shirt, and I realized he was seconds from coming to the same erroneous conclusion Corey Morris had come to. That Titus had infected him.
“That’s fine.” Titus kept his voice low and even. “My scent is similar to my brother’s. And you probably recognize his scent, at least subconsciously, because my brother, Justus, is the cat who infected you.”
“Your brother?” Leland demanded. “Your brother turned me into this? And killed Ivy?”
“We think that was an accident.” I stood, careful to give him some space. “If Justus had wanted either of you dead, he could have killed you. And he probably had no idea that scratching you would infect you.”
“Probably?” Leland turned to Titus, but kept me visible in his periphery.
“Justus is newly infected, himself. We’re still trying to find out what he knows,” Titus said. “The last time I saw my brother, he was human. I have no idea who infected him, or how much he understands of what he is, and I won’t know any of that until we find him. That’s why we’re here. Looking for my brother. I don’t suppose you know a student at Millsaps named Justus Alexander…?”
“No.”
“Are you sure?” I asked.
“I think I’d remember if I met someone named Justus. It sounds like it came from a superhero name generator. You know, ‘He defends truth, Justus, and the American way!’”
I pretended to scratch my nose, disguising a smile. And the fact that I’d had a very similar thought, earlier in the evening.
“I mean seriously,” Leland said. “Whose name is Justus?”
“My brother is the only one I’ve ever met,” Titus admitted.
“Okay, so now what?” I said. But what I truly wanted to ask was, “What do we do with this new stray?”
And the answer was no simpler than the question. We couldn’t just let Leland Blum go. He needed to know what to expect in his new life. He needed to know there was a support system in place for him. He needed to know the rules. But we couldn’t take him Titus’s house.
No one could know that Justus Alexander had created two strays and accidentally killed a woman. At least not until Titus and I could find him, find out exactly what had happened, and come up with a reasonable defense.
Titus shrugged, glancing from me to Leland Blum. “Now…we’ll have to take him with us.”
“So, what?” I whispered, when the sound of running water from the bathroom told me that Leland was in the shower. “We’re going to put him up in your brother’s apartment? What happens if Justus comes home?”
“We count ourselves lucky to have found him,” Titus said as he pressed buttons on a fancy built-in coffee maker I couldn’t make heads or tails of.
“True, but Justus won’t be happy to see his girlfriend’s other boyfriend.” I rubbed my forehead, fending off a headache from hunger, lack of sleep, and contemplating the consequences of a shifter love triangle gone wrong. “Do you think he knew Ivy was cheating with him, or you think she kept both men unaware of the other?”
“I have no idea,” Titus said. “We don’t even know for sure that she and Justus were more than friends.”
“He must have thought they were,” I said. “Otherwise, why would he follow her to the cabin in the first place?”
Titus exhaled slowly. I could see his reluctance to think ill of his brother, but the evidence was not in Justus’s favor. “Either way, we can’t leave Leland alone so soon after being infected, and we can’t turn him over to Drew without incriminating my brother. So he has to stay with us, and we have to stay here, at least for the rest of the night, in case Justus comes home.” He glanced around the kitchen with a confused, frustrated expression.
“I get that.” I handed Titus the mug he seemed to have forgotten he’d taken down from an upper cabinet. “But this seems like a bad idea, considering how territorial some shifters are.”
