The Jaguar Prince

Chapter 18

“You’re a prince,” Ms. Crane said, her hand fluttering to her chest.

“A prince?” Mr. Crane looked a little more skeptical than his wife.

“A small country.” Rogar held out his hand to the other man.

Callie was grateful he’d at least said country, rather than telling them he was from another planet.

Mr. Crane hesitated, then apparently decided if Rogar were telling the truth, he didn’t want to offend him. They shook hands. His gaze dropped to the medallion Rogar wore.

Rogar noticed his interest and looked down. “My family’s crest. A trinket my mother insists I wear as the eldest child.” He held it up for a moment. The sun caught the diamond and other stones, creating a prism of beautiful colors on the wall.

Oh, Lord, Rogar was playing his royal card.

“Can I see that?” Mr. Crane asked. “If you don’t mind. I mean, it’s very unusual.”

“Of course.” Rogar slipped the golden chain over his head, then handed it to Mr. Crane. Mr. Crane reached into his pocket and brought out his jeweler’s loupe and closely examined the medallion.

Ms. Crane gave an embarrassed laugh. “My husband is in the jewelry business.”

Rogar raised an imperial eyebrow. “Oh, he works for a living.”

Ms. Crane’s cheeks turned rosy red. Callie barely restrained her snort of laugher. It was about time Ms. Crane got a dose of her own medicine.

“Very unique,” Mr. Crane mumbled as though he hadn’t heard Rogar’s remark. “The diamond is the most perfect I’ve ever seen. The clarity is outstanding. The other jewels are equally beautiful. It’s probably worth millions.” He slipped his loupe back in his pocket, and handed the medallion to Rogar. “Beautiful workmanship, Your Highness.”

“Thank you.”

Ms. Crane perked up when her husband called Rogar, Your Highness. Apparently, since he was wealthy, it stood to reason he would also be telling the truth about who he was, a blueblood like them, and worthy to be accepted into their ranks. It would seem she had forgiven him his earlier comment.

“We’re having a dinner party of sorts tomorrow night if you’d like to come,” Ms. Crane said, her gaze fixed on Rogar. Callie had no doubts the invitation did not include her.

Rogar put his arm around Callie and pulled her close to his side. “I’m afraid my fiancée and I won’t be able to attend. We want to share this time together before we have to return to the castle.”

Ms. Crane’s eyes rounded. “Fiancée? Castle? Oh, my.”

Callie was going to kill him.

“Maybe we can join you another time. I leave most social decisions to Callie, so check back with her. Now, if you’ll excuse us.”

“Certainly, Your Highness.” They backed up, and Rogar shut the door in their face.

Callie heard Mr. Crane admonishing his wife for her nosiness, and Ms. Crane telling her husband it had been crude to examine the prince’s medallion, then she asked if it was really genuine and worth millions.

Their voices drifted away as they got in their golf cart. As soon as it started, Mr. Crane floored it. Well, as much as you could speed away in a golf cart. Callie’s ears were already burning.

She turned away from the window, planted her hands on her hips, and glared at Rogar. “What the hell did you think you were doing?”

“I heard them when they were talking to you. Even I could tell they weren’t nice people. They needed to be put in their place. Aren’t you happy I treated them as inferiors?”

“They deserved everything they got, but we’re supposed to be keeping a low profile. They’ll tell all their friends.”

“We’re safe from Zerod while we’re here.”

“Yes, but you just encountered a far worse predator—the Cranes. And how do you know about castles?”

“I looked up romance on my database on your birthday. Cinderella went to live in a castle with her Prince Charming.”

He suddenly grimaced, reaching toward his injury.

Damn, what could she have been thinking? “We need to get you back in bed. Is the pain bad?”

“I can tolerate it.”

She’d noted his hesitation so she was sure he must be in excruciating pain. “I told you, I don’t need a hero, so quit coming to my rescue.”

“Sometimes I think you are more in need of a hero than even you know.”

“Well, you’d be wrong. I’ve been on my own for a long time. I work better without a partner.”

“Then it’s a good thing you have DeeDee. I’d hate to think you’d never had anyone to call friend.”

“Only because I couldn’t beat her off with a stick.” The corners of her mouth turned down. DeeDee had come to her rescue, too, and then had hung around for the last ten years. She usually brought little care packages containing specialty foods, teas, and chocolates.

Wow, she must seem pretty pathetic to people.

“Like I said, I don’t need a hero.” She helped him onto the bed, and turned to leave, but he grabbed her arm.

“Don’t go.”

She hesitated. His hand was warm against hers. Maybe she needed the touch of another human being more than she had thought. But no, she couldn’t stay. She felt vulnerable right now, and if she stayed…No, she couldn’t.

“You said you wanted to learn more about New Symtaria, and how to protect yourself. We can start now.” When she didn’t say anything, he hurried on, “I’ll go stir crazy alone in this room.”

She knew the feeling. Sometimes she felt as though the four walls inside her house were closing in on her, and if she didn’t get out, she would go bonkers. More times than not, she would find herself back at the zoo. Sheba was a great listener.

“Okay, I’ll stay.”

He scooted over, then patted the bed beside him. She laughed. “I don’t think so Casanova.” She dragged a comfy chair closer to the bed, and sat down, then saw that he held the small machine he called his database. When he looked at her, he was smiling.

“What?” she asked.

“Casanova?”

“What about it?”

“You think I’m the world’s greatest lover. I accept your compliment.” He bowed his head toward her.

“That’s not what I meant! It was only an expression.” Her brow furrowed. “He was also a womanizer.”

Rogar raised the database again. “Yes, I see that now.” He glanced at her. “You think that I would”—he looked again at the screen—“taste the charms of many women, never content with just one?”

She threw up her arms. “I didn’t mean it literally.”

“So you didn’t enjoy when we mated.”

“Yes, I did. Very much.”

He smiled again. She could feel the heat rise up her face. “Could we just get started?” His gaze became more intense as it lingered on her. “Teaching me how to protect myself,” she quickly added.

“If you’re positive that’s what you want to do.”

“I am,” she said, keeping her voice firm in case he thought otherwise.

He sighed. “I’m not sure where to begin.”

“Why not start at the beginning, when you shipped my ancestors off to Earth.” That had come out a little more sarcastic than she’d planned, but she felt as though their own people had dumped them. Much like she’d felt all those years at the orphanage.

He plumped a pillow and leaned back against the head-board. “I wasn’t born yet, Callie, but I stand by what they had to do for survival. I wouldn’t call it shipping them off, either, as much as I would say it was saving their lives, and the lives of others. They voluntarily decided to go.”

“Why?”

“It was a dark time for our people. The planet was dying. The air had grown thick with poisonous gases. I’ve heard that staying outside without protection for any length of time could be lethal. The specialists conducted tests, and knew it was only a matter of time before the planet imploded.

“They took very little with them. There were only so many space crafts. They were lucky that everyone escaped.”

“What happened to the planet?” she asked. “Did it die?”

“They say it did. Once I tried to find it using the old coordinates but there was nothing there, so maybe it did.”

She leaned back in the chair and crossed her legs. “I can’t imagine how that would feel. I mean, it would be hard leaving Earth in search of a new home, and knowing that the old one was dying.”

“Sometimes change is good, though. The leaders found New Symtaria, and once again the air was clean and pure. There are oceans, like you have oceans on your planet. There are valleys, and mountains so high they are capped with deep snow.”

“You know snow?”

“We have changes in climate, just as you.”

“How many of my ancestors did they…volunteered to leave?”

He reached for his database. “We can look. Give me your finger.”

Her gaze narrowed. “What are you going to do?”

“I won’t hurt you. Trust me.”

She wasn’t so sure about trusting him. He was just too sexy. Okay, so maybe she trusted him, but maybe not so much herself.

She stood, walking nearer to the bed, and stuck her thumb out. When he reached for it, she jerked it back. “This won’t hurt will it? I mean, you’re not going to draw my blood or anything, are you? I hate needles.” Yes, she was a coward, and she knew it.

“No, I’m just going to do a thumb analogy of your ancestry.”

“You can do that? I mean, like looking at my family tree?”

“It’s not that difficult.”

He didn’t know how hard she’d tried to find information on her birth mother, but to no avail. But now, he could tell her about some of her family. Did she want to know? They could be mass murderers. Or like Zerod, for all she knew.

“It will be okay, Callie.”

She studied his face for a moment and saw the truth of his words. Maybe she would only discover they were animal keepers or something mundane. Oh, what the hell. She stuck out her hand.

He pressed her thumb down on the screen. “That should do it.” He punched in numbers. “Here it is.”

She leaned closer, as he turned the screen toward her. Staring back at her was an older version of herself. The woman had the same color eyes, even the same smile. Wrinkles lined her face, but it was almost as though she could feel the woman’s warmth reaching out to her. Shock washed over her. She gasped, and took a step back, as tears filled her eyes.

“You didn’t tell me the database would do that. You didn’t warn me. I thought it was going to be a name or something.” She turned and ran out of the room, not stopping until she stood in the kitchen. She took deep breaths as she tried to slow her pounding heart.

Rogar came up from behind, and wrapped his arms around her. “What is it? What did I do? Please, know that I would never hurt you.”

She sniffed, then turned and buried her face against his chest. She immediately felt peace as she leaned against him. “I didn’t expect to see a picture. It was just a shock, I guess. For so long I’ve wanted to feel a connection to someone. Even if that someone was already gone.”

“I’m sorry,” he whispered, brushing his hands over her hair.

“Oh, no, don’t be. You’ve given me a wonderful gift.”

“I just never realized how much it would mean to you, or I would have shown you sooner. Forgive me for not thinking.”

He’d apologized for being a man. She smiled. “It was just the surprise of seeing her picture. We look a lot alike. Who was she?”

“According to the database, she was your grandmother.” He pushed a button and handed the device to her. “Just touch the screen and slide your finger to scroll through what it has to say about her. I’ll be in the bedroom when you’re ready to continue.”

“Thank you.” She was glad he was giving her this time alone to read about her grandmother.

As soon as he left, she went to the sofa and curled up. For a moment, she just stared at her grandmother’s image. The eyes seemed to be smiling back at her. Callie instinctively knew she would have liked her a lot.

With a sigh, she began to scroll down, reading the history of her grandmother. It told about her grandparents, and their parents. How her grandmother had taught others how to connect with their guide. Then her husband had died. That was why she’d volunteered to travel to Earth with her daughter.

Her grandmother had been excited about her journey. It still must have been hard to travel to a new place. Callie admired her grandmother’s courage.

It’s inside you as well. The same blood runs through your veins that ran through hers.

“Who are you?” she whispered.

Silence.

Had that been her spirit guide talking to her? But if it was, then why didn’t the guide just tell her?

God, this was so damned frustrating. She felt as though she was being pulled into so many different directions. She’d wanted a background, a history, but she’d gotten more than she’d bargained for.

Aliens, her father brutally murdered, someone trying to kill her, a mother who might still be alive. An animal guide.

Or was the voice in her head just a sign of insanity?

Maybe none of this was real.

She jumped off the sofa and went to the window. The sun was shining. A couple of golf carts passed. Callie noticed they slowed just a little as they drove by.

Everything appeared peaceful, serene, but she knew somewhere out there a man wanted her dead because her blood wasn’t pure enough to suit him.

What would happen if she opened the door and left? Just got into DeeDee’s Hummer and took off. Not tell anyone where she was going. Rogar had cash. She could take it and sneak away. It would be enough to start a new life.

That was probably what her mother had done. Left Callie at the orphanage, then took off to God knew where, hoping like hell she could escape Zerod and save her child in the process.

Could Callie give everything up and assume another name? Always looking over her shoulder?

There was another solution, though. Fight back. She squared her shoulders and marched toward the bedroom, picking up Rogar’s database as she walked by.

She kind of liked the idea of fighting back. Could she beat Zerod in a one on one? Probably not, but she’d studied tigers enough that she knew a lot about their habits. She wouldn’t be going into this blind. Besides, she had good motivation—revenge. If he hadn’t murdered her father, then she might have had a normal childhood. Zerod stole that from her.

It was payback time.