Talia Of Animalistic - Chapter 31 Saved

Another week passes which makes it four weeks. Talia has remained distant, mistrustful and suspicious. Fjord can’t get a conversation out of her. She only whispers to Puddle. He wonders how long it will take before she starts to relax and talk to him again. Bringing in the bun terminator was a very bad idea. She bruised her wrists and ankles yanking at the cuffs and it seems her anger at him will never fade. Sex with her while she’s like this isn’t fun. She won’t look at him, just lays there ignoring him or just obeying orders as she waits for him to be finished with her.

Fjord steps over to Talia who’s staring at nothing. “We need a few things like toilet paper and such. So I’m gonna go out for a couple of hours.”

Talia doesn’t respond. She just continues to look away from him.

“I have the only key to the cuffs,” he informs her, “So don’t you and Puddle go getting any foolish ideas.”

“I want to go home,” states Talia.

“I can’t let ya go yet,” responds Fjord.

Talia still doesn’t look at him as she asks, “When? How much longer?”

“Well,” Fjord answers, “It looks like I have to be patient and wait for you to whelp this one first…”

“And then what,” Talia looks up at him. Her eyes are hard and cold, “Then will you kill my baby?”

Fjord is actually shocked by the question, “…No… I don’t want to hurt your baby and I’m not going to hurt it.”

“Why,” demands Talia, “what’s the difference between killing it now or after it’s born?”

“To me,” Fjord explains, “It’s not a baby or a person until after it’s born”

“Then what,” demands Talia.

“After you give birth,” Fjord explains, “I’ll have a few weeks before nursing full-time slows your ovulations cycle down to a crawl. I’ll mate with you every day during that time. Hopefully you get pregnant again right away. After that, pregnant with my child or not, I’ll release you. If I thought I could keep you forever I would, but Richard and Wendel are smart. They’ll leave no stone unturned. Eventually, they’ll realize I have you. But I’ll release you before they show up here looking for you. But I’m gonna need to keep you a bit longer than I planned…” He leans over and kisses her, “I’ll be back in a couple of hours.”

Talia hears him leave. Puddle enters the bedroom that has become Talia’s prison. Where Talia had looked at Fjord with hard cold eyes, now she looks at Puddle with tears in her eyes, “I want to go home. I need to go home.” Then she begins to tug frantically at the chain cuffed to her wrist.

“Stop,” Puddle trying to comfort Talia, “Don’t. You’ll only hurt yourself.”

Then Puddle spots something outside through the window and tells Talia, “Wait, wait.” She runs from the room and returns to her with a pair of scissors.

“What are you doing,” asks Talia.

“Sending a message to your mates,” answers Puddle gathering together a lock of hair at the nape of Talia’s neck, under the rest of her hair where Fjord won’t notice, and cuts the lock of hair free. Then Puddle runs from the room with the lock of hair and out the back door. Talia looks out the window and watches Puddle run up to what appears to be a Dragon Tribe woman and her young son. Talia can’t hear what’s being said.

“Take this to your chief,” Puddle orders the woman as she hands Talia’s lock of hair to the Dragon Tribe woman careful not to touch her and pick up her scent, “Tell him to take it to Mist of the Water Tribe and tell Mist Fjord has her. Go now!” Then Puddle runs back into the house.

Talia watches the Dragon Tribe woman clutch the lock of hair tightly in her hand, lift the boy onto her hip and run back into the forest. Fjord hasn’t taken her far from home at all. She doesn’t know his story. Didn’t know him as a child. She didn’t know the home where his mother spent her last days was on the edge of Dragon Tribe Territory which means it’s on the outskirts of Bayberry Falls. She’s not far from home and all she has to do is be patient and wait. Richy will find her.

Talia has been missing for four weeks and five days. All Richy knows is there has been no ransom demand, she’s alive, the call was made from a mobile phone owned by Gregory Grimm, Gregory Grimm is also missing and they can’t track his mobile phone so it must be off. There’s no low-jack system on his car so they can’t track it either. It’s low-jack system was disconnect over four months ago. So Gregory Grimm and whoever his accomplice is spent months planning Talia’s kidnapping.

It’s the things Richy doesn’t know that are driving him crazy. Why hasn’t there been a ransom demand? Where have they taken Talia? What is she suffering at the hands of her kidnappers? Why have they taken her? What do they want? Did someone let Talia call? Or did she manage to get a hold of Grimm’s phone on her own? Did she risk her life to make that call? Richy can only assume she’s still alive. A man like Grimm wouldn’t discard someone as valuable as Talia. A good portion of the man’s life is about keeping his wallet fat. Digging into the man’s past had been very enlightening for Richy. But it’s also made him more afraid for Talia’s safety.

Then there’s the question of the tranquilizer used. It was powerful. It killed the dog instantly and nearly killed Cougar too. Grimm wouldn’t know anything about guardians or how to take one down. Richy’s guess is that they used a different type of tranquilizer for Talia. Maybe they didn’t even have an idea exactly how powerful the tranquilizer they used was.

These thoughts and many more are torturing Richy. It has made him sullen and withdrawn. He failed to keep his own mate safe. And no one’s words, not even Wildcat’s, can comfort him. He’s sitting by the fire pit alone, staring at nothing in the estates backyard when Dragon Tribe members appear out of the forest interrupting Richy’s thought that Grimm’s car hasn’t been seen since Talia disappeared. Yet he knows there are quiet private ways to have cars repainted etc. They have women and children with them so they’re not here to cause trouble. Richy still isn’t happy to see Dragon’s chief, Mantis. He’s still angry with him.

Mantis is pulling something from his pocket as he rushes up to Richy. “Mist,” Mantis holding out the object for Richy to take, “I am to tell you Fjord has her.”

Richy’s brow is furrowed as he accepts the lock of hair from Mantis and sniffs. “Where did you get this?”

Mantis motions a woman forward with a boy of about six on her hip and request, “Tell him what happened.”

“A Water Tribe woman ran out of the house and handed it to me,” she informs Richy, “She said to have my chief bring it to you and tell you Fjord has her.”

“What house,” asks Richy, “Where?”

“Milly’s old house,” answers the woman, “at the edge of our territory near River Canyon. It’s been empty since the nice tame woman Milly died. But there have been a couple of men there for a few months now. But they don’t explore the property. They don’t seem to be aware of us or don’t care. I didn’t know any women were in Milly’s house until the Water Tribe woman ran out four days ago. She told me to hold out my hand and was careful not to touch me as she laid the lock of hair in my hand.”

“She couldn’t get your scent on her,” many things now make sense in Richy’s mind, “He would have smell it…” Richy drops the lock of hair back into Mantis palm and runs. He hops into his personal vehicle and speeds away.

Wildcat runs up to Mantis followed by Windwalker. Wildcat asks, “What was that about?”

Mantis holds out the lock of hair to Wildcat, “I was sent with a message for Mist.”

Wildcat takes the lock of hair from Mantis and sniffs it. “Talia,” he says handing the hair to Windwalker for him to sniff.

“What was the message,” Wildcat asks Mantis.

“Fjord has her,” Mantis repeats for Wildcat.

“Fjord,” questions Wildcat, “Where?”

“In the house of the dead tame woman named Milly,” answers Mantis.

“His aunt’s house,” says Wildcat thinking out loud.

“Where is this dwelling,” Windwalker asks Wildcat, “Describe it’s location to me.”

Wildcat would rather run into the house and get Cougar first, but he answers Windwalker first, quickly describing the location of Milly’s house in detail and how you would normal get to it when going through wild territory.

“Thank you,” Windwalker tells Wildcat. Then he calls to his brother, “Breeze! …I need you with me!”

Wildcat watches the two brothers run into the forest in the direction of Milly’s house. But on foot it will take them a day or two days to get there he thinks to himself. If they had waited, they could of road in the car with him, Cougar, Greywolf and Uncle Bob and gotten there in an hour. Wildcat is shaking his head as he rushes in to the big house calling, “Cougar! …Bob!”

Otter watches the baby for Cougar. With Cougar rides Greywolf, Uncle Bob, Eli and Wildcat in Cougar’s car.

“Maybe we should call Sheriff Margie and Deputy Al,” suggest Uncle Bob.

“We don’t know anything for sure yet,” responds Cougar from behind the steering wheel of his vehicle.

“Besides,” adds Wildcat, “we may not want domestic authorities there at first. That could be a bad thing.”

“How,” asks Bob.

“Fjord is a guardian,” explains Greywolf, “like Mist, Talia and me. If Mist finds Fjord has taken Talia, they’re gonna go at it. We don’t need domestic authorities seeing two guardians trying to rip each other apart. Although I doubt if Fjord will fight fair. I’ve smelled gun oil on him in the past.”

“How dangerous do you think Fjord is,” asks Uncle Bob.

“We suspect he’s a murderer,” answers Wildcat. “We believe he somehow caused a rock slide about a decade ago that killed nearly every tribe chief and their elder advisors including his own uncle who was chief of Water. I survived because Black Bear shielded me with his own body.”

“Why would he do that,” asks Uncle Bob.

“To declare himself chief of Water,” answers Cougar, “There was no one to oppose him once his uncle was dead. Richy hadn’t come into his guardian abilities yet. It put a big riff between all of the tribes. Leadership don’t usually turn over all at once in every tribe. It was ciaos with chief-ship suddenly up for grabs in nearly every tribe. Animalistic was lucky because we have Roar and he stepped up right away.”

“Except he still had to fight a few challengers,” adds Wildcat.

“Challengers,” questions Uncle Bob.

Wildcat nods, “Any chief can be challenged by anyone who thinks they want to be chief. The Amazons went through three different chiefs the year after the rock slide before my Willow stepped up and became Amazonia. A good chief creates harmony and the tribe thrives because of the harmony created.”

Richy pulls into Milly’s driveway and hops out of his vehicle. The grass is over grown as if no one has lived here since Milly died. The blinds are shut tight. He steps up to the detached garage’s door and pulls it open. There are two vehicles and one matches the description of Grimm’s car, the brown car used to kidnap Talia. He steps up to the trunk and Talia’s scent, although extremely faint, is still coming from the trunk.

Richy runs to the front door and kicks it in. He steps through the doorway and into Milly’s house as his inner guardian. The house that looked empty from the outside is clearly occupied. Fjord is clearly unhappy as he steps out of the kitchen becoming his inner guardian.

“Hello Richard,” Fjord growls.

Richy’s response is a roar as he charges Fjord.

“I’m here,” Talia shouts as she tugs wildly at her chain. She becomes her inner guardian with a roar. The specially made cuff and chain hold. No surprise there. Fjord would figure out the best way to keep another guardian prisoner.

“Richy, the key,” Talia still tugging wildly as the male guardians toss each other about destroying furniture.

Richy gets Fjord pinned on his back and demands, “Where’s the key?”

“Go to hell!” is Fjord’s answer.

Puddle runs up and pushes her hand in Fjord’s pocket.

“Puddle no,” shouts Fjord.

Puddle pulls out the key and rushes to Talia with it. As the two women come out of the bedroom, the two men crash out the back door. The two women holding on to each other step past a smashed coffee table and skirt around an over turned sofa. They’re both bare footed and there’s plenty of broken glass to avoid as they step onto the back porch. Richy is back on top of Fjord punching him in the face.

“Mist is winning,” says Puddle excited, “I hope he kills Fjord.”

“You should get out of here,” Talia tells Puddle. “Richy wouldn’t want you or anyone else from his tribe seeing him kill another member of the tribe,” explains Talia.

Puddle’s not sure she understands, but she nods her agreement to Talia, “Okay.” Then she trots off in the direction of Water Tribe territory and disappears into the forest.

Talia wearing nothing but a thin white nightgown keeps a safe distance from the two fighting men. Her nervous hands holding her extremely pregnant belly.

Fjord breaks away from Richy and runs. Richy chases him and Talia manages not to let them get out of sight. She may have some Amazon blood, but she’s not an Amazon. She’s not a trained warrior of any kind. She understands Richy’s anger and his need to ensure Fjord poses no further threat, but she just wants to go home and be held by him.

Fjord slides to a halt a couple of feet from the edge of River Canyon’s cliff.

“What did you think you were doing kidnapping Talia, Tad,” Richy asks Fjord, “Have you lost your mind?”

“I don’t have to explain myself to you, Richard,” responds Fjord.

“No, I suppose not,” says Richy. “So are you going to come back with me and serve your twenty-five to life for kidnapping?”

“Hell no,” answers Fjord. “We finish this now.” Then he charges Richy.

There’s more tussling, wrestling, punching and kicking between the two men. Fjord tosses Richy toward the cliff’s edge. Talia’s breath catches a moment, but Richy doesn’t go over the edge which doesn’t make Fjord happy. So Fjord charges Richy again.

“No!!!” Talia screams as both men go over the edge of the cliff. “Richy!!!” she shouts running up to the edge and looking over. The canyon is quite wide and the river below is nearly as wide as the canyon it runs through, but it’s edged with many large rocks. She sees the splash created by the men’s bodies impacting the water. But she has no way of knowing how deep the water is. Despite the splash, both men may have smashed against rocks below the water’s surface.

Talia backs away from the edge of the cliff shutting down her animal guardian that makes her bigger, faster and harder to kill. She pauses about four meters away from the edge. She closes her eyes for a moment. When she open them, her eyes are white. She sprints to the edge of the cliff and leaps off the edge of the cliff. Her raven wings burst forth from her back.

Talia spirals down slowly. She lands on a ledge about a hundred meter over the river. She doesn’t see the men. But she does see movement under the water. Then there’s a sudden huge splash.

“Richy!!!” Talia shouts horrified.

Both men’s guardians have made adaptations for the water. But Fjord had changed the most. He has Richy in his huge shark like jaws shaking him in the air. Richy is pounding the top of Fjord’s head with his fist. But Richy is an inexperienced guardian and Fjord clearly has the advantage in the water. They both disappear back under the water. Talia’s not sure what to do. Fjord has the advantage in the water and he will kill Richy. She just knows she has to help Richy.

Talia leaps from the ledge, diving into the river. She uses her wings to help propel her through the water. She presses her thumbs into Fjord’s black eyes causing him to release Richy. She grabs Richy and explodes up out of the water with him in her arms. But out of the water, Richy is too heavy for her to fly with. She’s forced to land with him on an out cropping of rocks on the edge of the river.

“Talia,” Richy gasping for air.

“Hush,” Talia tells Richy, “Rest a moment.”

“Talia,” Fjord calls from the river.

Talia places herself protectively in front of Richy lying on the rocks bleeding profusely from Fjord’s shark bite on the side of his torso.

“What other secrets do you have,” asks Fjord eyeing Talia’s raven wings with awe. “You’re just full of surprises… Richy know about this?”

Talia shakes her head, “No.”

There’s a hawk like call from high in the air that Talia returns instinctively as a wave of relief washes over her.

“Surprise me again Talia,” request Fjord, “Come with me, be my mate.”

Talia shakes her head, “Never, I’ll never leave Richy.” She looks up and sees both Windwalker and Breeze as Fjord lowers himself in the water.

Fjord watches as the two Air Tribe males land by Talia and Richy. Both men crouch by Talia and Richy and scan the water carefully. They hug and kiss Talia and check Richy’s condition. Fjord disappears completely beneath the water and swims away.

“Richy’s hurt,” Talia tells Windwalker and Breeze. “He had the advantage until they went over the cliff into the water. Fjord was going to kill him. I saw him snap a domestic man’s neck. The man has no conscience. I couldn’t get very far with Richy. He’s too heavy,” she says talking fast as her eyes well over with tears.

Windwalker gently wipes tears from Talia’s face, “It’s alright. It’s over now. Breeze and I will take you and Mist home.”

Talia clasps Windwalker’s hands to her face inhaling his scent deeply and kissing his palms. Forgotten is her anger over the way he made himself her mate. She’s grateful and relieved to see him. He’s her mate and he came for her just as Richy had.

“I will carry Mist,” Windwalker tells Talia, “Breeze will carry you. Do not worry. We won’t drop either of you.” He knows that if he dropped Richy Talia would never forgive him. Plus, she would dive after him unconcerned for her own safety. But Talia doesn’t express any doubts. She just nods her understanding.

“Just tuck yourself tight against me,” Breeze instructs Talia.

“Talia,” Richy says softly as Windwalker lifts him against himself.

“She’s right here,” Windwalker informs Richy, “She’s safe. Breeze and I are going to take you both home now. Just tuck yourself against me as tight as you can.”

Breeze steals a quick kiss from Talia just before he and Windwalker leap into the air with her and Richy. Talia’s eyes are closed as she clings to Breeze comforted by his strong arms around her. They land in a small clearing not far from the estate. Breeze kisses Talia again. He’ld like to add himself as her fifth mate, but Stinger wouldn’t like that in the least. Besides, with his elder brother Windwalker her mate and being one of her consorts, his privileges are basically equal to a mate’s so it’s not necessary. He would just really like to.

“Here,” Breeze offers Windwalker, “I’ll carry Mist the rest of the way.”

Wings shrink and slide neatly beneath the skin of their backs. Breeze takes Mist from Windwalker. Talia slides under Windwalker’s strong arm and clings to him as they walk. They step through the trees into the estates vast backyard. Talia is grateful there aren’t many people hanging around. She couldn’t take a crowd of people right now.

Richy’s small cousins and her nephews run up to them, but the children stop and don’t mob them. They can smell that Richy is injured and Talia smells of Fjord. Otter rushes up to them. Her own pregnant belly not nearly as large as Talia’s even though she’s only about a month behind Talia.

Otter asks worried for Richy, “What happened?”

“Where’s Cougar,” Talia asks Otter, “Richy needs Cougar.”

“He went with Wildcat, Bob and Greywolf looking for you,” Otter informs Talia.

Breeze lays Richy on the bed in the master suite as Talia grabs the phone from the nightstand and punches in Cougar’s mobile number.

“Hello,” Cougar answers his mobile phone.

“Cougar, where are you,” asks Talia. “Richy needs you. He’s hurt.”

“Talia,” states Cougar surprised. “We’re at Milly’s old house. The place is a mess. We found your phone and ID in a desk’s drawer. Where are you?”

“At home,” answers Talia, “At the estate in our bedroom.”

“Richy’s car is here in Milly’s driveway,” states Cougar. “How did you get home?”

“Windwalker and Breeze,” answers Talia. “Now please, hurry home.”

“Yes,” responds Cougar, “We’ll be there as quick as we can… Talia… I love you.”

“I love you too,” responds Talia, “forever and always.”

Cougar turns to the other men with him and informs them, “Talia and Richy are back at the estate and Richy’s hurt. We need to get back.”

“How are they back at the estate already,” asks Wildcat. “Richy’s car is here.”

“Talia said Breeze and Windwalker,” answers Cougar. He passed out medical gloves before they went inside. He turns to Greywolf and asks him, “Did you put all of Fjord’s sex toys in the box?”

Greywolf nods, “Got ’em all.”

“Good,” responds Cougar, “Talia doesn’t need domestic reporters sharing with the world what Fjord was doing to her.”

“I can’t imagine kidnapping a woman just to have my way with her,” says Uncle Bob shaking his head.

“Domesticated men do things like this more often than free men,” states Cougar, “And there was probably a bit more to it than that for Fjord… Let’s get. Talia’s waiting for us.”

“He’s got several cracked ribs, but he’s going to be okay,” Cougar assures Talia, “There is no sign of infection which is good. He’s in full guardian form and sleeping peacefully so he’ll heal up quickly. Now, how are you?

Talia rubs her cheek against Will’s head as she holds him, “Glad to be home… I missed my baby.” A tear rolls down her cheek, “And I missed all of you. How are you, Cougar? I saw on TV that you were in the hospital.”

Cougar hasn’t missed the marks on Talia’s wrists and ankles as he assures her, “I’m fine, even better now that you’re home safe and sound… You struggled against the cuffs.”

“In vain,” Talia shares with Cougar, “He had them specially made of a Titanium and carbon-fiber alloy.”

“I called Margie on my way home,” Cougar informs Talia. “She should be over at Milly’s now searching and gathering evidence. She’ll swing by here later to interview you. She may need to take pictures of your injuries. They may want a doctor to examine you.”

Talia nods that she understands.

“Is there anything you want to tell me,” Cougar asks her, “Did he beat you?”

Talia shakes her head no, “Not now, not in front of everyone. Not within earshot of Richy.”

Cougar reaches into his pocket and pulls out Talia’s phone and ID, “Here, I found these for you.”

“Thank you,” Talia accepting her items. She turns her phone on. “They need to make these things so they can be located even if they’re turned off.”

Cougar wakes Talia when Margie arrives. Margie wanted Talia to come to the police station so she could interview her properly. She also wanted to be alone with Talia so there wouldn’t be any distractions, except Talia refused.

“How are you,” asks Margie.

“I’m okay,” answers Talia timidly, “very glad to be home.”

“That’s good, Sug’,” Margie being sensitive and soft spoken because she knows Talia has been traumatized. “I need to ask you some questions. And I need to get pictures of any injuries you have.”

Talia nods she understands.

“What do you remember about the morning you were kidnapped,” asked Margie.

“Richy got called in early,” recalls Talia, “Cougar was supposed to accompany me to Megalopolis. But he got a call too. He still walked me to my car carrying Will for me. He sat the carrier with Will in it down on the driveway. We heard a whizzing sound, my dog, Big Boy yelped. Cougar made an oomph sound. Something hit my shoulder. Then things went black.”

“Where were you and what was the situation when you regained consciousness,” asks Margie.

She holds tightly to Cougar’s hand as he sits with an arm around her, Talia shares, “Things were fuzzy at first… foggy… and it took a while for me to be able to focus properly… I found myself handcuffed to a bed in a strange bedroom.”

“Were you alone in the bedroom,” asks Margie.

Talia shakes her head, “No. Gregory Grimm and a Water Tribe woman were in the room with me.”

“What were they doing,” asks Margie.

“Grimm was… abusing her,” Talia hesitating briefly midsentence and choosing her words carefully. She doesn’t want anything in the records that could possibly harm her reputation in domesticated society or harm the way domesticated society thinks of free people in anyway.

“How was Gregory Grimm abusing the Water Tribe woman,” asks Margie.

Talia doesn’t answer. She gives Margie a long stare then glances at the digital recorder.

Margie takes the hint and shuts it off, “Talia, we need to know everything that happened.”

“No you don’t,” interjects Talia.

“Yes, we do,” insists Margie, “So when we apprehend your kidnappers, we can charge them with everything they deserve to be charged with.”

Talia understands, but asks Margie, “And what can you charge a dead man with? …Nothing. And what can you charge a man you cannot find with? …Nothing… Tad Brody can survive in wilderness you can’t even begin to search.”

Margie’s quiet for a few moments. She turns the digital recorder back on deciding if Talia didn’t answer a question, she’ld asks the next question, “When did you see your second kidnapper?”

“Maybe an hour or so after I regained consciousness, I heard someone enter the house,” answers Talia. “He came straight to the bedroom I was in. Gregory Grimm greeted him, Tad Brody. They talked as Tad Brody checked my condition.”

“They didn’t try to hide their identities from you,” asks Margie.

“No,” answers Talia.

“Was there any talk of a ransom for you,” asks Margie.

“None,” Talia informs Margie, “Shortly after checking my condition, Tad Brody killed Gregory Grimm.”

“How,” asks Margie.

“Snapped his neck,” answers Talia matter-of-factly. “He watched Grimm twitch and writhe on the floor as Grimm’s bladder and bowels emptied themselves. Then he ordered Puddle to clean up the mess Grimm made as he died. He carried Grimm’s body out of the back of the house. By the time he got back, Puddle was finished cleaning up and the floor was dry.”

“Puddle,” questions Margie, “Is that the Water Tribe woman Grimm was abusing?”

“Yes,” confirms Talia.

“Was she there willingly,” asks Margie.

“No,” answers Talia a little irritated by the question, “She was a prisoner like me. I told you Grimm was abusing her.”

“But Tad Brody didn’t chain her up,” questions Margie.

“No,” answers Talia, “It wasn’t necessary for him to chain her up. She was terrified of him. Her life is meaningless to him. She was there as entertainment for Grimm, to keep the house clean, help look after me and keep me in line.”

“Keep you in line,” questions Margie, “How’s that?”

“Her life may be meaningless to him,” Talia’s eyes tear up, “but it’s not meaningless to me. I could be on the chain able to get to the card table to sit and eat, to the sink, toilet, shower and watch television as long as I was cooperative. If I didn’t cooperate or tried to get away or whatever, he’ld punish Puddle.”
for visiting.

“Where is Puddle now,” asks Margie.

“On her way home,” answers Talia. “But I’ll not allow you to interview her. She’s suffered enough.”

Margie takes a deep breath through her nose. She would like to interview the Water Tribe woman. But she moves on to her next question, “Where did you last see Tad Brody?”

“Swimming away in Canyon River,” answers Talia. “That’s what I think he did with Grimm’s body, tossed it in the river. The current could carry it miles away. It may never be recovered.”

“Is there anything that you remember that stands out in your mind? Anything you think may help us,” asks Margie.

Talia thinks for a few moments. She shakes her head, but answers, “When Tad Brody came in that first day after I regained consciousness, he smelled of gun powder and gun oil.”

“Okay, I guess that’s enough for now,” says Margie. “But I may need to ask you more questions again later. For now, I’m going to get pictures of your wrists and ankles and any other injuries you may have with this digital camera.” She shuts the digital recorder off.

Margie starts with Talia’s ankles zooming in close and getting them from several different angles. Then she does Talia’s wrists, “Your left wrist is much worse than your right.”

“The left was cuffed constantly,” explains Talia.

Margie takes her last picture of Talia’s wrists, “Do you have any other injuries?”

Talia doesn’t answer. She looks away from Margie.

“Talia,” Margie implores.

Talia shakes her head as she informs Margie, “He bit my inner thigh. But I’ll not have it photographed.”

“Talia,” Margie says firmly.

“No, Margie,” says Cougar. “When the case is closed, everything you gathered and cataloged: statements, evidence like DNA tests results, photographs, all become public knowledge unless the victim was a minor. Let it go.”

Margie sighs and nods her agreement, “But Richy better not chew me out over it when he’s back on his feet.”

“He won’t,” assures Cougar. They step out of the room they were using for privacy and are met by a small crowd. Margie’s heart aches to see Bob standing with Otter under his arm, her belly swelling with his child. She cares greatly for Bob but has been keeping her distance since she learned Otter was pregnant. And because she has been keeping her distance, she misses him greatly. Wildcat gives Margie a nod while Greywolf stands there stoic with his muscular arms folded over his muscular chest.

“Who’s with Richy,” asks Talia.

“My mother,” answers Otter, “along with Roar and Breeze. And of course Eli is there with the baby. I think Windwalker’s in the kitchen. He said something about you have to be hungry.”

“He doesn’t know how to cook in a modern kitchen,” states Talia.

“Sounds like he’s going to try,” comments Uncle Bob.

“Come on, Margie,” says Cougar, “I’ll walk you out.”

Margie watches as Talia slips from under Cougar’s arm to under Wildcat’s arm. Wildcat asks Talia softly, “Ya alright?”

Talia nods as she responds softly, “I’m fine.”

As Margie walks away with Cougar, she glances back in time to see to see Wildcat tip up Talia’s chin and devour her mouth passionately. After she and Cougar step outside, Margie turns to Cougar and ask, “How do you do it?”

“Do what,” asks Cougar surprised and bewildered.

Margie faces Cougar, “I’m a smart woman. I ain’t slow nor dense and I’m observant. The day Talia and Richy got married, she admitted she had three mates, you, Richy and someone else. I know Richy shares her with you even though he doesn’t talk about it. And you’re all real careful out in public. But I just saw your daddy kiss Talia, and not in a friendly fatherly way. He was trying to eat her alive.”

Cougar takes a deep breath and blows it out slowly, “This is just between us… It’s not something domestic folks would understand. And it would ruin her business reputation. Domesticated people wouldn’t see her the same if they knew.”

“You know me, Cougar. I can keep a secret,” Margie reminds him.

Cougar takes another deep breath, “You can’t ever even talk to Richy about it. It would really upset him if he knew you knew so much… For starters, none of us planned to be sharing Talia, least of all, Richy and Talia. They thought they would get to have a more traditional domesticated type of relationship. (Cougar sighs) It’s a long story that I won’t go into because it’s complicated.”

“Who all do you share her with besides Richy and your daddy,” asks Margie.

“Well, we have ranks,” Cougar explains, “As far as mates are concerned, Talia has four. Richy is her first, I’m her second, Dad’s her third and Windwalker’s her fourth.”

“Windwalker,” questions Margie.

“Did you see the two platinum blonds when you first got here,” asks Cougar.

“Oh yeah,” recalls Margie, “the two super tall, super buff, super beautiful guys.”

Cougar smiles, “The taller one is Windwalker, the other is his younger brother, Breeze. Breeze is one of Talia’s consorts.”

“How many consorts does she have,” asks Margie.

“Three,” answers Cougar, “Breeze, Greywolf and Eli.”

“So a total of seven men are sharing Talia,” states Margie. “You’re sharing her with six other men.”

Cougar shrugs it off.

“How do you do it,” Margie asks again.

“I love her,” states Cougar simple and sincere, “I’ve always loved her. Sharing her is better than not having her at all. I’m happier with her than without her. Besides, it’s about what’s best for Talia. Not one of us can protect her properly on our own. Hell, even with seven of us, Tad managed to kidnap her…

Talia’s a free female, a valuable free female. There are other free males out there that want her as their mate that would take her from us if they could… I’m no guardian and neither is my dad. My dad’s got the respect of his status as number one elder advisor, but that won’t necessarily keep other males from trying something funny. That’s how Windwalker added himself as Talia’s fourth mate. But Windwalker’s a chief which actually works in our favor by providing more protection for Talia. Another chief won’t want to step on his toes and possibly cause a tribe war. Plus, we don’t have to share her with him full-time. He lives high up in the mountains with his tribe. He comes down once a month for a week to see Talia.”

“I still don’t know how you and Richy do it,” says Margie.

“Like I said,” Cougar tells Margie, “It’s better to share her than not have her at all. I was miserable without her… You miss Bob, don’t you?”

Margie’s face answers the question before her mouth, “Yes… But I don’t think I can do it. I don’t think I can ever share him.”

Cougar’s sad for Margie, “So what’s worse? Sharing him? Or living without him?”

Margie doesn’t answer. She just says, “I need to go.”

“Maybe you could share him on your own terms,” suggest Cougar.

Margie pauses and looks back at Cougar.

“Your days off overlap with when he’s in Megalopolis for work,” Cougar informs Margie, “Otter doesn’t go to Megalopolis with him.”

“I’ll think about it.” Then Margie climbs into her sheriff vehicle and pulls away.