A growl rumbled from low in my throat, and he held up both hands, palms out. “That’s not coming from me. It’s the council’s perspective. They’ll think the same thing Robyn does, if she’s not in Atlanta within two weeks. That you’re making a play for their new tabby, to cement your authority.”

“That’s such bullshit. She’s a person, not a chess piece.”

Jace laughed. “I wish you’d known Faythe in college. You might have given Marc a run for his money.”

Abby snorted. “She’d have fed you your balls in a sandwich. Robyn may still.”

“I can’t tell if you’re joking or—”

The mattress squealed behind me, and I turned in my chair to find Corey Morris trying to sit up in bed.

“How do you feel?” I set my mug on the counter and crossed into the occupied cell. “Any nausea? Do you need the bucket again?”

“No.” Morris’s voice cracked on that single syllable. “I don’t… I don’t understand.”

I picked up a half-empty bottle of water from the floor and handed it to him.

Morris pulled the top off the bottle and gulped until the water was gone, slaking a thirst that persisted in spite of his IV. “What’s going on?” He held the empty bottle out, and I set it on the floor again. “Where am I?”

“You’re at my house, about an hour north of Jackson. You went to the emergency room at Baptist Medical Center around midnight, and my friend brought you here because we’re better equipped to treat the infection you have.”

Morris blinked heavily, then ran both hands over his short, sweat-damp hair. “What do I have?”

He wasn’t ready for the answer. I knew from experience that he wouldn’t believe the truth until he could feel his first shift coming on. Until the newly feline half of him ripped its way through his human form. So instead of answering his question, I asked one of my own. “Mr. Morris, I understand you’re a student at Ole Miss. Can you tell me why you went to the hospital in Jackson, instead of in Oxford?”

Morris blinked again, trying to follow my subject change in spite of his high fever. “Um. My best friend’s girlfriend goes to Millsaps and he said I could come to a party with them in Jackson if I gave him a ride.”

“When was this party?”

“Thursday night. I was going to drive back to Oxford Friday morning. But…” He glanced around the basement again, as if seeing it for the first time. “What’s going on? What’s in there?” He moved his left arm, which tugged on the IV bag.

“You’re dehydrated from the fever, so we’re giving you intravenous fluids. There’s nothing in the bag but sterile solution.” I cleared my throat and pulled a folding chair closer to the bed, so I could sit. “Mr. Morris, you told the nurse at the ER that you’d been attacked by a large cat in the woods. Can you tell us where that happened?”

“After the party—”

“The party was on the Millsaps campus?” Jace asked, from the breakfast table where he and Abby still sat.

“Yeah.” Morris frowned at him, then his tenuous focus slid to me. “Afterward, I went with my friend Leland and his girlfriend into the woods east of the highway.”

“I55?” I asked.

Morris nodded, then closed his eyes for a second, as if he were fighting nausea from the movement. “South of the city. There’s a bunch of dirt roads and creeks out there, and Leland’s girlfriend’s family has an old hunting lodge. It was more of a shack, really. Leland and Ivy started getting hot and heavy, but I was like a third wheel, so I took a walk, you know?”

“And that’s where you saw the cat?”

“I didn’t see it. I heard something following me. Twigs snapping. Heavy breathing. The sounds started freaking me out a little, so I ran toward the shack, and the damn thing…pounced. It landed on my back and clawed up my side. I started screaming, and it ran off. Like I scared the damn cougar.”

“You’re sure it was a cougar?” Jace asked, and I resisted the urge to turn and glare at him, keeping my focus on the new stray.

Morris shrugged. “It was behind me until it ran off, and I couldn’t see it very well in the dark. But it was definitely a cat, so it had to be a cougar, right? Unless something bigger escaped from the zoo.” He pushed himself up, and I could see him fighting vertigo as he clutched the mattress. “Did something escape from the fucking zoo? Should I get a lawyer?”

I gave him a small smile. “I don’t think this would be much of a lawsuit. It was a wildcat.”

“He showed no stealth and was easily scared off,” Jace said, and I looked up to see him cradling his coffee mug. “I think we’re looking for someone recently infected.”

“What does that mean?” Morris’s wide-eyed glance flicked from Jace to me. “What’s wrong with me? Did I catch rabies?”

“No.” I picked up the thermometer from an inverted bucket being used as a nightstand and swiped the sensor across his forehead. “One-oh-three. You’re still sick, Mr. Morris. Why don’t you try to get some sleep? Spencer will replace your IV bag in a couple of hours, and when you’re feeling better, I promise I’ll explain everything.”

He looked like he wanted to argue, but then he fell against his pillow, as if arguing would be too much work.

“You two go get some sleep,” I said as I sank into my chair at the small round table in the kitchenette.

“You sure?” Abby asked.

“He’s sure.” Jace stood and tugged her up. “I’m sure we can find something to do on our own.”

“What happened to getting some sleep?” She grinned as she snuggled up to him.

“I think that phrase is open to interpretation,” Jace said, one arm around her waist.

I tried not to listen to their private, largely explicit chatter as they headed up the steps, but a cat’s hearing is both a blessing and a curse. And not for the first time, I wondered if I was wasting my time petitioning for a Pride with myself as its Alpha. Jace had more experience and first-hand knowledge of the inner workings of the Territorial Council. I couldn’t help thinking that he stood a better shot of getting the Pride recognized.

Yet he and Abby swore the opposite was true. That Jace was persona non grata to most of the council, having been permanently exiled from all ten territories. For crimes he didn’t even commit.