Black Storm [Panther Key] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (7 page)

She turned to look at her three men and saw they were still standing in the yard in their human forms, shock clearly displayed on their faces. With a triumphant yowl, she turned and bounded off at a full sprint into the woods.

Jake was the first one to recover from the shock of seeing Kate transform, but his shock was immediately replaced by panic. Without checking to see if his brothers were following, Jake let his cat take him and tore off into the woods after her. He just hoped none of the other shifters decided to take a run while the eye of the hurricane was over them. If they did- Jake ran faster, not wanting to follow his thoughts down that dark path. He finally heard his brothers running behind him. They had obviously come out of their momentary paralysis. Able to hear each other’s thoughts when they were in panther form, his brother’s frantic thoughts raced through his head, proving that they were just as panicked as he was. Their only thoughts were to run faster, catch her, and protect her.

Unmatched fear tore through Jake. Even though he’d only known Kate for a little over a day, she was already as much a part of him as his brothers were. From the moment he’d seen her, he knew he was bound to her, heart, mind, and soul. If anything were to happen to her, it would tear him apart.

He’d gained enough ground on Kate that he could hear her up ahead of him. Damn, she was fast! Even through his fear he felt pride at her amazing speed. He could sense her mind and her thoughts, and he knew she would be able to hear him if she opened her mind to him.

“Kate, stop! You’ve got to stop running!”

She either couldn’t hear him or was ignoring him, because she didn’t even slow down. Jake had a feeling it was the latter, since the first time a cat was allowed to run was a heady experience, and they didn’t like being told to stop. But Kate
had
to stop. Her life might depend on it.

He could see her now as she leapt over fallen trees and darted around thick underbrush. She really was incredible. She was fast as lightning and black as night. Which was exactly the thing that was likely to get her killed if they couldn’t get her back to the house without being seen. If they had known she was a
black
panther, they would have let her shift and run in circles in the house, furniture be damned.

Blake and Drake caught up with him and flanked him on either side. Their thoughts were in agreement—she had too much adrenaline running through her system, and it was making her too fast for them to catch her. Ordinarily they would have been able to catch a female, but the first run was a major rush, and it gave the shifter extra power. Not to mention if the legend were true.

Jake jerked his head. He was not thinking about that right now. The main priority was to get Kate back to the house. They would sort the rest out later.

He yowled at his brothers as he sent his thoughts to them. If they couldn’t catch her, they were going to have to herd her. Blake and Drake immediately veered off in wide arcs to get around to the left and right of Kate and steer her in the direction they needed her to go. They ran swiftly over the wet ground, sending out silent thoughts to Kate, begging for her to stop. She was apparently having none of it.

Finally, they managed to get her turned around and heading in the right direction. Just a few more minutes and they would be back at the house. They hadn’t seen any other shifters, and they were on their own land again, but Jake knew that wouldn’t stop another cat if they caught Kate’s scent.

Kate rounded a stand of trees and palmetto bushes, and they momentarily lost sight of her. As the brothers sprinted around the same stand, all hell broke loose. Two big tan cats jumped from the bushes into their path, snarling and ready for a fight. Jake’s brothers issued a string of curses through their thoughts, mirroring the curses running through his own mind. Kate’s scent was apparently strong enough to draw others here. The two intruders now stood between the brothers and their mate, a situation Jake could not tolerate.

The surprise ambush was enough to finally get Kate to stop and turn around as her defensive instincts kicked in. Although, considering the circumstances, Jake would have been happier if she’d kept running back to the house and locked herself in a bathroom until they finished handling this situation. But with her mates being challenged, Jake knew that her cat’s instincts were telling her to stand and fight for her men. Fierce pride shot through Jake at the sight of his magnificent mate as she stood hissing and bristling at the intruders, but he could strut later. Right now they needed to kick some furry ass.

The brothers hurled themselves toward the trespassers, teeth flashing and claws slashing. Jake’s only thought was to get between these unwelcome visitors and his mate. He threw himself over the back of the smaller one and landed on his feet behind it. He lashed out with his claws and caught the cat on its flank, opening up the flesh in long, deep slashes. The cat screeched and spun toward Jake, managing to swipe its claws across Jake’s snout. Jake shook his head at the stinging sensation but refused to back down.

Drake and Blake had gone after the larger cat, and Jake caught a glimpse of them as the three of them tumbled into the bushes. Kate apparently wasn’t content to let her mates handle this without her, and she leapt into the fray and dug her sharp teeth into the shoulder of the cat that had scratched Jake. The cat hissed angrily and tried to swipe at Kate, but her quick reflexes were no match for it, and she danced out of reach. Even in his pissed-off state, Jake couldn’t help but admire her.

The intruders must have realized they were outnumbered and outmatched because they abruptly turned and fled into the woods. The brothers would have followed, but their immediate priority was to get Kate back to the house where they could protect her more easily. Jake rubbed his face against the soft fur on Kate’s neck and purred at her, letting her know she was to follow him. He took off running, Kate on his heels and his brothers close at Kate’s sides.

At last they reached their yard, but they didn’t stop running until they bounded onto the big porch. The brothers spun to look behind them, scanning the trees and making sure they weren’t followed. Kate padded over to Jake and licked him on the nose. Her big pink tongue felt like a soothing balm as she lapped at the deep cuts. He rubbed his face into hers and purred at the silky feel of her fur against his.

Blake transformed back to human and opened the front door for them. Once inside, Drake transformed and then turned to watch Kate. Jake wished he could stay in his panther form with Kate for a while longer. He had longed to find his mate and wanted to spend time with her in both his forms. But that would have to wait. Right now they had more pressing issues to attend to, like keeping Kate alive.

Kate sat on her haunches in the living room and watched Jake transform back into his human self. He was magnificent in either form, and even Kate’s cat appreciated the contours and hardness of his human muscles. Kate was quickly coming to the conclusion that her cat knew what she was doing when she’d chosen these men to be her mates. Maybe she would have to start listening to the cat more often, now that she knew it was there.

Her men had started to dress, and Kate sensed they were expecting her to shift. She just wished she knew how. The cat sensed her confusion and retreated to the shadows of her mind, allowing Kate’s will to once again assert itself. Kate felt a familiar tingle and looked down. She was back to normal again.

“Wow! I know I should be completely freaked out right now, but that was amazing!” She looked up at her men, who were now back in their jeans, though Kate was pleased they had at least left their shirts off. She suddenly realized she really had started thinking of them as hers. It felt nice. Her cat huffed in her head, letting her know she agreed, and it was about time Kate thought so, too.

Drake went to his bedroom and returned with a shirt that he handed to Kate. “I’d love it if you want to walk around the way you are, but just in case…” He winked at her, and she felt the heat creep into her face. Drake grabbed her waist and drew her toward him then lowered his lips to hers in a crushing kiss. His tongue probed her mouth and danced across her tongue until Kate was dizzy with his taste.

He finally pulled back and rested his forehead against hers. “You scared the hell out of us, Kate. I don’t know what I’d do if something…”

Kate raised her hand to his cheek and looked into his deep brown eyes. “I’m sorry I ran. I just couldn’t help myself.”

Drake turned his face into her hand and kissed her palm then took the shirt from her and held it out for her to slip her arms into. It was so big it came down to the middle of her thighs, but she could smell Drake’s scent on it, and her cat purred in approval. Yes indeed, she and her cat were agreeing on more and more things every minute.

When she turned back around, Drake slowly buttoned up the shirt for her, not taking his eyes from hers. Of all the brothers, Drake had seemed the most reserved. But now, if she tried hard enough, Kate could almost feel his emotions. They were deep and powerful, and the strength of them almost took Kate’s breath away.

Drake led her to the couch and then settled her in his lap while Jake sat next to them and put Kate’s legs over his own. Blake sat on the floor in front of them then took Kate’s hand and entwined their fingers together.

“Okay, you guys look way too serious.” She reached up with her free hand and rubbed her fingers across the already-healing wounds on Jake’s nose. “Is this about those two cats out there?”

Drake pressed his lips to her temple. “Yes and no. We knew there might be others who would challenge our mating. What took us off guard was you.”

“Me? What do you mean?”

Blake kissed her fingers. “Sweetheart, you’re a black panther.”

Kate blinked at him, not understanding how the color of her panther could cause so much concern.

“Black panther shifters don’t exist, Kate.” Blake’s words still didn’t make any sense to her.

“Okay, so I’m different. Why are you all looking at me like this?” Kate had always felt a little self-conscious, never really feeling comfortable in her own skin. The news that she really was different made her feel a little defensive.

Drake brushed her hair out of her eyes with his fingers. “Kate, there’s an old legend among our kind. A legend about black panthers. They are only born to one specific clan—Jesse’s clan.”

Kate frowned at the mention of the father she had never gotten the chance to know. Drake ran his finger over her lips but kept talking.

“Only a few of the elders know the whole legend or where it came from. We know the black panthers were revered in ancient times for their powers. They disappeared generations ago, but a legend has lived on that they would return one day.” He looked at Jake and then down at Blake. Kate could feel them urging Drake to continue. This whole mental link thing was going to take some getting used to. Drake took a deep breath, and his voice took on an even more ominous tone.

“There is one clan, though, that made it their mission to ensure that the black panthers were extinguished forever. They hunted the descendants of the ancient clan and killed Jesse and his entire family to try to prevent them from ever rising again. Jesse was the last of his clan, Kate. When he was killed, everyone thought the legend had died with him. You’re the first black panther to be born in generations upon generations.”

“What else does the legend say?” Kate heard the hesitancy in her own voice. She wasn’t really sure she wanted to know the answer.

Drake’s brow furrowed, and he pursed his lips. Kate had the distinct impression he wasn’t all that happy about giving her the answer. “It talks of the black panthers being reborn with powers that would be even greater than their ancestors.”

Kate huffed. Great, she couldn’t even be a normal panther. She had to be some kind of freaky super-panther. “What kind of powers?”

Jake let out a frustrated breath and rubbed his hand up and down her leg. “We’re not very well versed on the legend, Kate. We just need to keep you safe and make sure they don’t find you.”

Kate wasn’t sure how to react to all of this. She had grown up always feeling like there was nothing special about her, and she never quite fit in. Besides the insecurity of growing up thinking her father didn’t want her, she had never really been good at anything. She sucked at every sport she’d ever tried. Cheerleading was out since she couldn’t do a cartwheel to save her life. And singing? Well, some things were just better left alone. So what happened after she found out she really was special? Someone wanted to kill her because of it. Why couldn’t she just be a normal golden panther like the men?

Drake put his finger under her chin and lifted her face so that she was looking into his eyes. He stared at her intently for a moment, his eyes like deep pools of chocolate that Kate wanted to sink into. “We happen to think you’re absolutely perfect, darlin’.”

Kate almost forgot to breathe. Her heart had been frozen since she’d lost her mom, but she could feel it starting to melt as she stared into Drake’s eyes. She started to lean in to kiss him, but at that moment, a great gust of wind slammed into the house harder than any had before, jerking their attention to the storm.

Blake reached for the remote and turned the television back on. Kate wasn’t sure how they were still receiving a signal, considering the weather, but she was glad they were. The picture wasn’t great, but they could at least find out what was happening.