Sarai

it registered the ebb and flow ofhis panicked heartbeat — and a small tray table against one of thewalls held an assortment of implements, most of which lookedvaguely medical. It was just a stark little room…except for theweird frame holding his legs apart and the restraints preventinghim from moving.
His arms andlegs were aching now; his throat was dry. He inventoried the restof his body as much as he could. There didn’t seem to be anythingmuch wrong with him, no bruises that he could see, no sore spots,although his jaw ached a little — he looked at his raised hips andshuddered…but nothing felt amiss; he didn’t think he’d been rapedand surely he would know, even if he’d been unconscious while ithappened. Wouldn’t he?
Or was thatsomething still to come? His heart rate accelerated again; to helpsettle himself again, he tried to remember what he’d been doingbefore he’d fallen asleep — or been drugged or somehow knockedunconscious — and woken to being a prisoner. He remembered thesunlight on the drying wheat, the mad whirr of a bird’s wings,roaring sounds, and…cats?
What thehell…cats? A sudden memory assailed him —a beast, standing on two legs, fangs bared, claws reaching for him,the retort of the shotgun and the sound of smashing glass. Jesus,he thought, horrified, it was real, not a nightmare.
A faint tingannounced the opening of a door; his view was obscured by his lowerbody, so he had to wait until whoever entered came closer to him.His mouth gaped — the creature from his nightmares stood besidehim, studying him, but this time its tawny-golden mane flowed fromits head in a heavy plait that slipped forward over hisshoulders.
“You areawake, little thing,” the voice was deep and oddly soothing.“Excellent. Now that the regenerator has eased your injuries, thehealers wish to examine you. They are very eager, as am I, so thiswill not take long.”
“What…youspeak my language?”
Idiot! Ofall the things he could have said, Jamie couldn’t believe he’dasked that.
The creaturecame closer, frowning as Jamie instinctively cringed away. “Ofcourse not. The healers loaded our language into your brain whileyou slept.”
“They what?They put stuff in my head?” Jamie’s voice rose in panic. “In myhead!”
“Naturally,how else are we to communicate with you? We know nothing of yourworld, little thing, or your language.”
“Stop calling me that, youoversized, kidnapping cat-bastard!” Jamie couldn’t believe thewords that spilled from his mouth. Sheer terror was driving himnow, and it seemed to have extracted his brain cells as it zoomedalong.
The catmandidn’t approve of his rebelliousness. His eyes narrowed into blueslits, his voice stern. “You are upset, little thing, but youshould not speak to me like that.”
Jamie staredat him disbelievingly. “Of course, I’m upset,” he struggleduselessly against his bindings. “What the hell are you on about —untie me, goddammit!”
The catmanshook his head, sighing. “It seems you may need considerabletraining, my sarai, but do not fear, I will look after you…”
He reachedout and gently stroked a lean finger down Jamie’s cheek. “All willbe well, sarai.”
Jamie triedto shake his head, but the straps held him still. “I don’t knowwhat the fuck you’re saying. Training? What training? None of thismakes sense. Let me go, now!”
The catmanshook his head. “I’m sorry, sarai, I can’t do that until thehealers have looked at you. Once they confirm your breeding status,I will take you to my pard’s den and you can begin your new life…”
Jamie staredat him, horror etched across his face, then he relaxed marginally.Calmness spread through his consciousness. This wasn’t real. He’dbeen working too hard at his studies and he’d obviously had somesort of psychotic break. He nodded sagely; he’d just have to gowith the hallucinations until he was cured.
He’dlike to think he was the victim of someelaborate joke, but the fire had seemed so real — maybe he’d lit ithimself? God, he hoped not. But if it had been some sort of joke,with actors hired by his brothers or Glynn or all of them together,he was going to murder them. No, stop that — better to think he’dgone mad rather than people he trusted had done this to him. Hefound himself focusing on the last thing he’d heard.
“Wha…what doyou mean — your den?” he pushed the words out of his suddenly drythroat.
A purrrumbled from deep within the catman’s chest. If he was an actor,Jamie thought, he’d gotten right into the role — even the tips ofhis fingers showed retractable claws, dark and sharp against hisgolden skin.
“Den…ourhome, soon to be yours as well,” the catman murmured reassuringly.“You will like it…it is large and comfortable and has a beautifulgarden. When you’re more settled, I’ll take you to our retreatoverlooking the Vamiet Forest, a wild and beautifulplace.”
The catmanactor’s voice sounded so matter-of-fact, so convincing, that Jamiefelt seriously agitated.
“Cut it out,man! I don’t care where you live and I’ve never heard of the VamietForest. It’s obvious that I’m ill, but you’re just a figment of myimagination so stop telling me stuff about places that don’texist.”
“Don’t exist?” the creaturepuzzled. “Figment?”
For a momentthey stared at each other in mutual confusion, then the catmanvisibly collected himself. “I don’t know what you are talkingabout, but no matter. Tell me your name, little thing.”
There it was again.
“Enough withthe “little thing” stuff, dude — you might be a giant but I’m notlittle,” Jamie answered heatedly. “And don’t tell me you don’t knowmy name. If you’re a figment of my imagination, you don’t need toknow my name.”
“But I don’tknow your name, nor am I a figment of your imagination. That isjust confusion and shock talking.” He paused, before addinghelpfully, “My name is not Dude, it is — ”
Geez, talkabout sticking to the script.
“I don’tneed to know your name, just untie these things and let me up,okay?” Jamie snarled
The catman’shead shook from side to side. “I can’t do that, sarai. The healerswill be with us shortly.”
Double geez.“Come on, mate, you know bloody well my name is JamieMunroe…somehow my brothers and my best friend have set this up —it’s been fun,” he added through gritted teeth. “Not — but now it’sover. I want out of here. Now.”
The catman’selegant eyebrows rose. “I understood but part of that,” he