B008IJW70G EBOK (18 page)

      They emerged to find the males from before in a half circle, watching a fight. A fight she didn’t want to see, but couldn’t draw her eyes away from. Because it was a fight with Hunter in the center of it. Taking on not one but
two
others. 

      Shit. 

      
“Stop him! Do something to help him,”
Riley pleaded.

      Only one male turned. The large one from before that had terrified her more than all the others put together.
“Don’t distract him.”

      
“But …”
Riley was starting to panic.
      

      “
Let him focus. He’ll send then both home screaming to their mamas in less than a minute.”

      Riley thought her brain was about to explode. If the huge male hadn’t been parked in front of her, she would have struggled not to launch forward and try to stop the fight herself. 

      “
Men.”
Imogen threw her a look, but Riley had a feeling she was enjoying the fight. “
Got to do something with all that testosterone.”

      Great. 

      Riley tried to close her eyes but that was even worse. Her pupils seemed drawn to the circling bodies, the clash of teeth and sharp claws as they pierced. But even she could tell that the two young leopards didn’t stand a chance against Hunter. He deserved his tag as strongest warrior. As the head soldier. 

      His body moved like it was performing a series of choreographed movements. His paws were light on the ground, muscles coiled as he strategically pounced and fought. Now that she had tuned in, she could hear his thoughts. Could hear what he was telling the young leopards. 

      
“Walk away now and I’ll let you live.”

      Their young male pride was obviously getting in the way, because every time Hunter gave them the opportunity, they came at him, tried to prove themselves, but he always evaded them. And it was then she realized he was trying hard
not
to hurt them.

      Imogen gave her a nudge. “
We don’t have enough trained soldiers for him to kill them.”

      Riley hoped that Hunter actually didn’t want to kill them. 

      
“She’s mine. Don’t you dare even think about her,”
Hunter yelled.

      Uh-oh. Riley was pleased she’d missed whatever the young leopard had thought about her, but Hunter’s voice rang through loud and clear. 

      And the guy he was fighting lost his concentration. Took a barely there second to glance over at her, to lock eyes with her. It was all Hunter needed to flatten him, to pin the leopard with his big body to the ground. Teeth at his neck. 

      
“Surrender or I kill you now,”
Hunter demanded.

      The other leopard, the one who wasn’t on the ground, took his chance. He turned wild eyes to the gathered crowd, then sprinted off into the forest. The one beneath Hunter closed his eyes. She could see the panicked rise and fall of his chest. Could sense the terror he felt, the pain of having to give in. “
Or die.”
 

      The leopards around her seemed to buzz with the excitement. Almost like they wanted to see Hunter take him. Or maybe they’d just enjoyed the action. 

      
“They need to be kept in check. Keep them on their toes.”

      Riley looked over at Imogen as she spoke
. “Is Hunter even that much older than them?”

      
“Not in years. But mentally and physically, he’s like one of our elders.”

      Funny, that’s kind of how she thought about him. Young and cute, but mature too. Like a lot of responsibility weighed on his shoulders. 

      The crowd dispersed. Riley realized she’d been so busy daydreaming she’d stopped watching. The young leopard tried to proudly limp off. The others ignored him, turning their backs. 

      Hunter walked over, his eyes searching out hers. She sensed relief when he saw she was standing, unharmed. He looked away and back to the other males. 

      
“Didn’t want to take any chances,”
Hunter told them. 

      There were some mutterings, but Riley barely registered them. There was something powerful, thrilling, about knowing a guy had just fought for her. Taken on two others with his peers gathered around to watch, to show that she wasn’t available. That he wouldn't let any danger come to her. 

      “
Take her home, before we have every male in the region sniffing around for a scrap with you.”
Imogen’s mate gave her a sharp look as he spoke. Riley wished she could laugh, but knowing the fight was about her, she held her humor in check. 

      “
He’s right.”
Hunter’s voice hit her mind. His eyes were back on her again. “
They were just kids. I don’t want a real fight today.”

      Suddenly it didn’t seem so amusing anymore. Especially when she saw a streak of blood just beneath Hunter’s neck, slicing over his shoulder. 

      Riley moved forward to tuck in beside him. She gave Imogen what she hoped was a friendly look, but she was still getting the hang of trying out facial expressions as a cat. 

      
“See you later for patrol,”
someone called out. 

      Hunter turned, his tail guiding her with him, alongside him, as they left.

      “
Patrol?”
Riley asked. 

      
“We all take turns keeping an eye over the forest. Secure the perimeter, protect our own.”

      Right. She still had a lot to learn about the actual workings of this place.
“Hunter, that cut, is it…”

      “
Nothing.”
He snapped at her, but she saw his eyes soften when they met her alarmed ones. 

      He slowed his walk and moved closer to her. “
Sorry, not used to letting my guard down.”

      
“So what was that all about, anyway? Did you really have to defend me like that?”

      Hunter grimaced. At least she thought that’s what he did. 

      
“Just looking out for my girl.”

      His girl. She liked the sound of that. 

      Riley kept her head down, but Hunter wasn’t going to let her evade his words. He bumped into her, shoulder to shoulder. Made her look up. 

      
“You okay with that?”

      She looked down again. “
Yeah.”

      “
Yeah?”

      
“But you don’t have to go beating up on kids just to prove yourself,”
she said. 

      They might not be able to laugh, but she could have sworn she heard his human, belly-deep rumble as they padded along, bodies touching as they moved through the forest. 

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

      “I’m going to beat you today, you know that?”

      Hunter shook his head. “If you beat me, that’ll make you the fastest cat out here.”

      Riley narrowed her eyes. “One day I’ll beat you, Hunter, and you’ll regret ever doubting me.”

      “Kitty, you’re Sophia’s granddaughter. I know you’d like to be the alpha here, but racing is the one thing you’ll never beat me at.”

      Anger boiled, simmered, in her bones. But she kept it in check. She was not giving in to his arrogance. Not going to let him know how much his teasing annoyed her. It was part of the game they played. He liked pushing her buttons, seemed to be part of the way they behaved before going leopard. 

      “Want to change here?” Hunter asked. 

      She stopped to slip her sandals off. She knew better now than to wear complicated footwear, but her feet didn’t hold up that well to barefoot through the forest. She knew that firsthand now, despite Sophia telling her that they’d eventually harden up.   

      “You really need to start wearing less clothes,” Hunter said as she peeled off her dress, out of sight. She knew he was grinning without even being able to see him. 

      “Don’t say a word, leopard. Not another word.”

      “Or what?” he asked. 

      She focused on the change, willed her mind, then pounced at him, leopard before he was, springing from behind her tree. It only took him a split second to match her, but she enjoyed seeing his jeans shred as she forced him into shifting before he was ready. He was going to have to walk home naked later, or else stay a cat until he reached his place.  

      She liked getting her own back on him. 

      Hunter eyed her. She bared her teeth at him. Cat time meant play time, and she was starting to like it. He flicked her with his tail, kicked up his back paws to throw dirt at her as he sprang into life and pounded off. She shook the soil from her face and raced. 

      Now that she was faster, playing catch up was fun. 

Riley hit Hunter hard, full force in the side, launching her body against his. She’d been chasing him, stalking him, for half the morning, and it had taken her until now to trick him. 

      
And she had him. 

      Hunter hit the ground with a thud, but rolled expertly back into position, goading her into attacking again. She hated that he might have let her find him, after all these hours of them hiding from one another, but now she had him she wasn’t going to give up. 

      They might not be able to talk like usual, but she could feel him, hear him, smell him. Every sense was alert, her body arched, ready for more. Game for anything he threw her way. 

      Hunter’s eyes challenged her. He showed her two perfect, sharp white teeth as his lip curled. The sharp canine glinted at her, threatening her. 

      
Come and get me.
That’s what he was telling her with his body language. Knowing she wouldn’t be able to resist. And she was determined to do exactly that. 

      Riley rocked back on her haunches, felt the coil of her muscles as they contracted. She wanted to hurt him. To sink her teeth into him and hear him howl. But he was too fast. He’d seen the change in her posture. Known she was coiled like an exploding spring. 

      She ran, fast, paws hitting the grass in a rhythmic beat. Pounding against the earth. She lost sight of him again, but it only made her run faster. She was getting the hang of this and it felt good. Now she’d caught up to him once, she wasn’t going to let him escape her again. 

      Riley was about to turn, to glide around the tree and keep racing across the field when a blow hit her full force in the side. Knocked the wind from her. She saw red, thought she was about to change back, like something had gone wrong. Felt like she was falling into that burning red cave that she passed through each time before shifting. 

      And then the pain hit, like all the ribs on her left side had been shattered. 

      She wasn’t changing.
She’d been attacked
. The burning red heat only intensified, but it didn’t make her want to surrender. It only made her wilder. More determined to get her own back. 

      She hissed and spat and tried to dislodge the ache. 

      Hunter weighed near four hundred pounds as a cat, and he was straddling her, pinning her to the ground. Her body thrashed, tried to evade him, but he was too strong. She hated that he was bigger and tougher than her, but she knew if she focused she could still match him. 

      It made her seethe. Made her want to kill, if only she could escape him. Evade his hold by even an inch, so she could wriggle out of his clutches. 

      The look in his eyes told her he was laughing. Amused at her plight. That after all these hours of her stalking him, he’d managed to get her instead. 

      “
Got you now, kitty cat.”
She tried to ignore his words but they invaded her mind without her control. 

      It didn’t matter how she writhed or hissed or clawed at him, he didn’t move. Wouldn’t budge. So she stopped fighting. There was no use. Once he loosened his grip she would try to flip him, but for now she knew she’d been beaten. 

      His green eyes pooled, wider as he watched her, but he didn’t release her. Instead he leaned closer, his whiskers almost touching hers. Her breath was ragged, tired. But excited. She had fought with him to help stave off her attraction to him. To try to stop wanting him like she was, desperate to feel the touch, the flutter of his kiss. But the more he overpowered her the more she desired him. She hated it, but it was true. 

      He growled, low, deep in his throat. Riley couldn’t make a sound, but she was fast losing control. The power she’d felt earlier was diminishing, weakening. She was losing her hold. Her human form was struggling to come back, fighting to be released. 

      Hunter never took his eyes from hers, but he did loosen his grip, just. But she couldn’t fight him, or get away, because it felt like her body was shrinking, withering. 

      And then the velvety red hit her behind the eyes, made her swim, almost drowning, her body shifting without her consent.  

      When Riley opened her eyes, the cat was sitting next to her. Watching her as she sat up, palms pressed to her forehead as the pressure slowly released. He had let her go at just the right moment, seen her weakness and allowed her the space to change. 

      Hunter changed too, then, but his transformation was fast. Effortless. 

      She couldn’t take her eyes from him. Beautiful as a feline, but even more attractive human. Sometimes she thought it was the other way around, but seeing him like this, she knew it was the human Hunter that she wanted the most. That she was drawn to the most. 

      But h
e was naked.
His muscles were lean, limbs long. She traced her eyes over the breadth and contours of his shoulders, then up at the angular planes of his face. Too scared to look lower. Because she’d never seen a man naked in front of her before, not ever.