Heart of the Cat Read online

  Heart of the Cat

  Sarafin Warriors Book 3

  S.E. Smith

  Acknowledgments

  I would like to thank my husband Steve for believing in me and being proud enough of me to give me the courage to follow my dream. I would also like to give a special thank you to my sister and best friend, Linda, who not only encouraged me to write, but who also read the manuscript. Also to my other friends who believe in me: Julie, Jackie, Christel, Sally, Jolanda, Lisa, Laurelle, Debbie, and Narelle. The girls that keep me going!

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  And a special thanks to Paul Heitsch, David Brenin, Samantha Cook, Suzanne Elise Freeman, and PJ Ochlan—the awesome voices behind my audiobooks!

  —S.E. Smith

  Montana Publishing

  Science Fiction Romance

  HEART OF THE CAT: SARAFIN WARRIORS BOOK 3

  Copyright © 2018 by Susan E. Smith

  First E-Book Published October 2018

  Cover Design by Melody Simmons

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission from the author.

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  All characters, places, and events in this book are fictitious or have been used fictitiously, and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, actual events, locales, or organizations are strictly coincidental.

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  Summary: When Trescina get a call for help with an injured predatory cat, this ‘new species’ sounds enough like a shapeshifter that she hurries to take charge of the situation, and it isn’t long before she discovers just how precarious the situation is. Assassins, traitors, and a Goddess with a guiding hand culminate in more than one life-threatening secret….

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  ISBN: (KDP Paperback) 9781796591347

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  ISBN: (eBook) 9781944125660

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  Published in the United States by Montana Publishing.

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  {1. Romance—Fiction. 2. Science Fiction Romance—Fiction. 3. Paranormal Romance—Fiction. 4. Urban Fantasy—Fiction.—5. Contemporary Fantasy}

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  www.montanapublishinghouse.com

  Contents

  Synopsis

  Cast of Characters

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Epilogue

  Experience The Stories

  About the Author

  Synopsis

  Prince Walkyr d’Rojah’s mission is to find an ancient artifact known as the Heart of the Cat—a powerful gem that connects his people, its magic woven through the Sarafin like his predatory cat is woven into himself. Walkyr’s only clues are an ancient scroll and the legends passed down through generations. However, he isn’t the only one searching for the it. A sect determined to overthrow the royal families of the Sarafin, the Curizan, and the Valdier wants the gem for themselves. They are more than willing to do whatever it takes to obtain it.

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  Trescina Bukov’s affinity with large cats has taken her all over the world, but this time a frantic call from a rescue group compels her to fly to Wyoming in the United States. A new species of leopard was discovered near death, she’s told, and this ‘new species’ sounds enough like a shape-shifter that Trescina hurries to examine this cat.

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  Their first meeting is explosive, and Walkyr is shocked when the human female connects with his leopard—recognizing what he is and what his weaknesses are, and this is only the beginning of how his mission has gone wrong! Assassins, traitors, and a Goddess with a guiding hand culminate in more than one life-threatening secret….

  Cast of Characters

  Walkyr d’Rojah

  Prince of the Sarafin royal family

  Third oldest

  Trescina Bukov

  Human

  Expert on Big Cats

  Mate to Walkyr

  Katarina Bukov-Danshov

  Half-sister to Trescina Bukov

  Mia Elena d’Rojah-Bukov

  Daughter of Queen Mia d’Rojah and King L’Darma Bukov

  Mate to Raul T’Rivre

  Mate to Ivan Danshov

  Two daughters: Trescina Bukov (Raul) and Katarina Bukov-Danshov (Ivan)

  Raul T’Rivre

  Mate to Princess Mia Elena d’Rojah-Bukov (on Sarafin)

  Biological father of Trescina Bukov

  Captain of the Guard for the King and Queen of the Forest Kingdom of Sarafin

  High Lord of the Secret Sect of The Enlightened

  Ivan Danshov

  Human mate to Mia Elena d’Rojah-Bukov (on Earth)

  Scientist for Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS)

  Biological father of Katarina Danshov

  Vox d’Rojah - King of the Sarafin

  Cat shifter

  Sarafin warrior

  Mate to Riley St. Claire

  Riley St. Claire

  Mate to Vox d’Rojah

  Human

  Aryeh

  Father of the Sarafin Princes

  Rosario

  Mother of the Sarafin Princes

  Illana

  Sister to Aryeh

  Viper

  Prince of the Sarafin royal family

  Second oldest

  Gable

  Prince of the Sarafin royal family

  Fourth oldest

  Qadir

  Prince of the Sarafin royal family

  Fifth oldest

  Pallu

  Prince of the Sarafin royal family

  Youngest of the princes

  Sixth oldest

  Eldora

  Former lover of Vox d’Rojah

  Informant for those trying to overthrow the royal families

  Killed by poison

  Pursia

  Former lover of Vox d’Rojah

  Informant for those trying to overthrow the royal families

  Committed suicide

  Titus – Rightful Ruler of the Ocean Kingdom

  Vox’s cousin

  Sarafin warrior

  Banu – Rightful Ruler of the Desert Kingdom

  Sarafin warrior

  Adopted by Illana and Arimis

  Raised as Titus’ younger brother

  Parents murdered in their sleep

  Illana’s younger brother was his father

  Lodar

  medical officer

  Tor

  chief of engineering for the Shifter warship

  Bragnar

  Sarafin warrior

  Traitor/assassin

  Vladimir Mirvo

  Russian poacher/black market trader

  Airabus

  Former Elite Palace guard

  Sarafin Traitor

  Ranker

  Sarafin Traitor

  Nastran

  Sarafin Traitor

  Heather Arnold

  Vet for Grove Ranch

  Administrator of Wyoming Rescue Center

  Mother to Zeke Reynolds

  Zeke Reynolds

  11-year-old son of Heather Arnold

  Terry James

  Part-time volunteer at the Wyoming Rescue
Center

  Prologue

  Forest Kingdom on Sarafin:

  Centuries Before

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  Mia could see the raging fires through the open windows of the palace as she ran barefoot along the dark corridors. The brilliant flames gave the night a malevolent glow. Terrified screams rang through the air and added to the chaos and confusion.

  Mia’s heart thundered in her chest when she heard urgent shouts behind her. She quickly turned left and ran down another long corridor to seek a place to hide. All around her, she could hear the pleading voices of the servants begging for their lives before their cries were brutally silenced.

  She stumbled as she fled down one corridor after another in a desperate search for the one place that might save her life—and the life of her unborn child. Clad only in a thin nightgown and cloak, she shivered from shock and the cold stone beneath her bare feet. Tears blinded her, and she barely stifled the grief threatening to overwhelm her.

  She brushed away the tears that burned her eyes with a shaking hand. Her parents, the King and Queen of the Forest Kingdom, and the palace guards were dead, murdered by traitors. Her mate had also been murdered.

  Mia’s cat had awoken her with a hiss of warning, and frightened by her cat’s urgency, she had fled down the corridor to her mate’s study. Raul often retired there in the evenings when he couldn’t sleep.

  Mia almost hadn’t had enough time to hide behind a large column. She’d heard them coming, their footsteps accompanied by the sound of screams, then seconds later, Mia had witnessed at least a dozen armed men stop in front of Raul’s study. Most of Raul’s attackers had concealed their faces, but her cat could sense that some of them were not from Sarafin.

  She had turned away, her back pressed to the column and her fist pressed against her mouth. There was no way her mate could survive such an onslaught, but Mia had been unable to abandon the desperate hope that somehow they would not kill him. She peered around the column, watching one of the men standing in the doorway, his sword dripping with Raul’s blood. His cloak didn’t have a hood to conceal his features, and she had recognized his face all too well—Airabus. They had grown up together. Once, she had considered him a friend.

  Beyond him, she could see a body in the shadows of the room. Her mate lay dead—murdered by the warrior he’d thought was his best friend and ally.

  She had remained in her hiding place, trembling with the strength of her grief. As the group moved down the hallway, led by a man dressed in an elegant, black, hooded cloak edged in gold, Airabus had commented to another man that he hoped the attacks on the other Sarafin kingdoms were going as well as this one. Mia had listened intently as he talked about the simultaneous attacks against the Valdier and Curizan home worlds. He said the three ruling families would soon be completely destroyed and replaced.

  She had recoiled when she heard Airabus mention Prince Raffvin, a Royal Valdier Dragon Lord. She was stunned that any Sarafin would work with a Valdier Prince to murder the Sarafin royal family. How could they turn on their own people? When they were out of sight, she turned and fled.

  It had been an hour since then, and she felt like the nightmare would never end. She heard footsteps approaching from the west wing and fruitlessly wiped at her tears as she once again squeezed as much of her body into an alcove as she could. Shifting into her cat would make her slightly more dangerous, but she was vastly outnumbered, and there were fewer possible hiding places for a tiger than there were for a woman. She held her breath as a group of warriors ran past.

  There was only one person she could trust now. Mia had not spoken or seen the Goddess Aikaterina since Mia was a little girl, but she hoped that the Goddess would hear and answer her plea now.

  It was not common knowledge that the very existence of the Sarafin species depended on the gift that the Goddess had given them: the power to shift into large predatory cats—and it was certainly not widely known that the power came from the blood of the royal family as much as it came from the blood of the Goddess Aikaterina. By destroying the royal family, the traitors were destroying themselves. There was only one way to prevent that—the Heart of the Cat.

  I sense danger, her cat hissed. They wait for you.

  We must get to the chamber, Mia instructed, knowing that there was no other choice. There is another passageway. We will use it.

  The traitors may know about it, her cat warned.

  Mia shook her head. There is no way anyone else could know of the chamber. Aikaterina warned me that I must not tell anyone, including my mate. Only I know the way to the chamber, she reminded her cat, her throat tightening with grief at the thought of her dead mate.

  Shift, her cat commanded.

  Mia carefully scanned the area before she shifted. Once deep inside her cat, she soothed the small cub nestled inside her. The cub sensed the danger they were in, but it was more than that—the tiny life inside of her felt the loss of her father. Grief almost paralyzed Mia as the image of her dead mate flashed through her mind. A shudder ran through the large black tiger.

  Go, she ordered, pushing aside her grief.

  The black tiger silently slipped back into the wide corridor. She hugged the wall away from the windows, trying to keep in the shadows as much as possible. At the end of the corridor, she lifted her head and sniffed the air. Her cat curled her lip, revealing sharp teeth. She remained silent. As much as she wanted to attack the Curizan and Valdier warriors she scented, she knew that it would be a futile endeavor that would only lead to her capture or death.

  Traitors! her cat silently snarled. They work with Curizan and Valdier—Traitors to Sarafin.

  We must protect our cub. If we are captured, they will kill her, Mia reminded her cat.

  Her cat turned her head and looked up. There was a small staircase that led to a room above the chamber they sought. If they could slip into it, they could follow a hidden passage down to the chamber and then continue to their destination below the palace.

  Mia’s cat pulled back into the shadows and retreated several feet to a narrow spiral staircase that opened onto the balcony. Her belly hung low, at times rubbing against the worn stone steps as she climbed. Warmth filled her when she heard purring. Her daughter thought it was funny that Mia’s belly was so big that it dragged against the steps.

  That is because you are going to be big and strong like your father, Mia teased, trying to distract the cub from the seriousness of the situation.

  Gone.

  That word caused a feeling of sorrow to sweep through Mia. The cub was far enough along to understand more than Mia had realized. She winced when she felt a sharp pain cut across her abdomen. Her tiger paused and waited. Fortunately, the pain was brief.

  At the top of the stairs, Mia paused and peered from her vantage point above the corridor below. The two guards had been joined by two more that were positioned to cut off anyone trying to escape. The new warriors were also Sarafin. She watched with rage as they shifted and rolled their shoulders.

  “Have they found her yet?” the Valdier guard asked.

  “No, but she is heavy with a cub, and the High Lord has sealed the palace. She cannot go anywhere. The night is almost over. Once the sun rises, she won't be able to hide in the shadows,” Airabus stated.

  “Has there been word on the other kingdoms?” the Curizan asked.

  In the dim light, Mia could see Airabus grin. His sharp-toothed smile was marred by the fact that one of his canines was broken in half. Her claws dug into the wood, slicing through the long rug and leaving deep gouges. She wanted to slice his throat.

  “The King of the Desert Kingdom and his mate are dead, but the young prince is missing. The others will fall soon. Lord Raffvin is working to ensure that,” Airabus replied.

  “It is a shame that Princess Mia never knew the truth about her mate’s past. I wonder if she would still mourn him if she did,” the Valdier sneered.

  Mia lowered herself to the floor as a wave of confusion hit her
. She waited to see if the warrior would continue, but Airabus hissed at the man to shut up. She pulled back into the shadows of the railing when Airabus looked up, as if sensing her watching.