B008IJW70G EBOK (17 page)

      “Play where?”

      He stopped, her arm just about yanked from its socket as she took a heartbeat longer than him to stop. 

      “With the others,” he said. 

      Oh.
Wow
. 

      He was staring down at her, his face slightly crumpled. “You don’t want to?”

      Riley shook her head, as much to convince herself as him. “Will I be safe?”

      If he were a girl he would have rolled his eyes. Instead, he just glared at her. She knew what he was thinking before he said it. 

      “Would I take you otherwise?” he asked. 

      Okay, obviously he wouldn’t, but still. She’d needed to know. 

      “Change.” He didn’t ask her today, just told her. 

      Riley scooted behind their tree and slipped from her tank top and cotton skirt. She slipped off her knickers, not having bothered with a bra since she’d known they would be changing within minutes of meeting. She slid her sandals off too and quickly put them in the cubby of the tree. 

      She took a breath, let her mind go numb, empty, then burst into form. It wasn’t hard anymore. She still had to work on focusing her mind, but the bite to the sharp snap of blood red that filled her vision and the burning heat of the change no longer pained her like it had to start with. It was so fast now that it was almost bearable. 

      Riley stepped out from behind the tree, enjoying the first stretch of the day as a feline.       

      But it was interrupted. Hunter was always faster than her, but today she’d beaten him. Her eyes widened as she watched the process of man turning into beast. His bronzed skin flung from one body to another in an instant whirlwind of action. 

      He caught her eye, then leaped forward. She guessed
her
leopard was more lazy. Riley liked to stretch, flex her muscles before running, but Hunter was straight into it. Never stopped to just enjoy his form. Or at least not that she’d ever seen. Or maybe he was so used to it that his leopard didn’t even need to stretch first. 

      
“Where are we going?”
Riley asked. 

      Hunter didn’t turn, or slow down, just kept up the fast pace. Like he was punishing her. But Riley knew better. Every day he wanted to test her, to push her boundaries, make sure she was progressing, that she was stronger, faster than the day before. 

      It wasn’t that he wanted to test her so much as he wanted her to be prepared. In case she needed speed and strength for survival. 

      “
The lair.”
He paused. “
Leopard HQ.”

      Hmm. Riley didn’t have an answer to that. Besides perhaps running in the other direction that was. She couldn’t meet the others. Could she? What was he going to introduce her as? His girlfriend? Sophia’s granddaughter? Future leader?
His mate?
The word still made her feel icky. 

      No. She so wasn’t ready for this. 

      “
Riley?”

      It was like Hunter was always one step ahead of her. Like he knew what she was going to think, what she was going to do, before she did it. But it didn’t stop her. Riley spun out left, screeching sideways and galloping back the way they’d come.  She should have known better. Hunter was on her, in front of her, before she’d even made it a few hundred metres. Her body slammed into his, like hitting concrete, and it hardly even made him move. But it knocked the life from her own lungs and left her gasping. Struggling to breathe. 

      
“Where do you think you’re going?”
Hunter asked . 

      Riley collapsed to the ground. Her legs just couldn’t hold her any longer, not after running into him like that. What was he made of, stone?

      “
Riley?”

      Sometimes he really, seriously annoyed her. 

      “
Um, home?”
Damn it. Why couldn’t she ever think of a witty response under pressure?

      “
No, you’re not.”

      Riley knew better than to argue with him. She didn’t know what to say. 

      He nudged her, telling her to get up. “
They’re all waiting to meet you.” 

      Oh, so that was meant to make her feel a whole lot better? They probably expected something a lot more than her. He should have forewarned her before expecting her to be on show!

      “
Riley?”

She couldn’t do it.
“Hunter, I can’t.”

      Riley knew she sounded pathetic but meeting the others was a big deal to her. Up until now, it had just been the two of them. Like they were in this nice little world, doing their thing, and she hadn’t had to contend with anyone else. Aside from the threat to them every time Hunter told her the other males were circling, she hadn’t even thought about the others, what it meant to have a pack. 

      Hunter flicked his tail across her, touching lightly up and down her back. 

      “
You’re going to be fine. They’ll love you.”

      Riley closed her eyes and focused on the slow inhale and exhale of her breath. Hmmm. The stroking thing was helping. 

      “
It’s just some other couples,”
he told her. 

      Her eyes popped open. 

      “
No, ah, single males, if that’s what you’re worried about. They’re not around here today.”

      She looked at him, stared through him to make sure he wasn’t lying. And he wasn’t. His gaze was too open, too soft. Besides, he’d never lied to her before, so why would he about this?

      
“Okay.”

      He stopped stroking her and gave her a nudge instead. Riley growled at him. She should have held out for longer, then he might have kept pampering her. 

      Hunter inclined his head. “
Ready?”

      Riley nodded. This time he went slower, let her set the pace, like he was worried she was going to try skipping off again. 

      
“What do I say to them? I mean, how do I introduce myself?”
she asked.

      Hunter didn’t slow down to talk. He just ran closer, his body moving next to hers so she could almost feel the pull and release of his muscles as easily as she could her own. 

      
“They know who you are, Riley. Just be yourself.”

      Did that mean they knew that…

      He did the mind reading thing again. “
Every leopard around knows who you are. They’ve all known you were coming. But the leopards you’re about to meet, they’re mated. That’s why they’re no threat to you.” 

      Right. She still squirmed when she heard the whole
mate
thing though. It just didn’t sound right. Especially when her name was used alongside it. Ick. 

      “
So just be myself, huh?”
      

      Hunter exchanged looks with her.
“Yup.”

They slowed to a walk well before the lair came into view. Or not exactly into view. If Riley had been alone, she would have completely missed it. Aside from the big leopards stationed outside to guard the place, it was completely hidden from view. 

      
“Stay close to me until we’re in there.”
Hunter warned her. 

      Riley had no intention of doing anything other than sticking to him like glue. Hunter was one thing, but a whole lot of leopards? The thought terrified her. 

      She kept her eyes down as they passed the guards. Hunter let out a low, dangerous sounding growl that ended in a snarl when one of the guards moved. She had a feeling these two didn’t fall into the friend category. 

      There wasn’t a door, but then Riley guessed leopards didn’t need contraptions like that. They had guards and the lair was impossible to see. 

      It was like a cave, except it was man-made. Or at least that’s what it looked like. Hidden on the outside by expertly placed leaves, branches and other debris. Inside, it smelt earthy. The walls looked to be lined with mud and branches. 

      
“Anybody home?”

      Riley jumped. It was only Hunter, but he’d scared her. 

      She watched him, having been so transfixed on the passage they were travelling in, that she hadn’t noticed how relaxed his walk had become. Like he’d brought her into his home, away from danger, and he was finally able to chill out. 

      Every other moment they spent together as leopards, he was wired. Prepared for battle. Prepared to sacrifice himself to protect her. Here, he was different. 

      A rumble echoed ahead of them. A shiver hit Riley’s spine, sending her fur on end. 

      “
Welcome, Riley.”

      She still hadn’t seen any one. Hunter turned and gave her a sharp-toothed smile, before waiting for her to walk ahead. 

      Her heart stopped. It actually stuttered to a halt. At least ten leopards were staring back at her. Some standing, most lounging on the ground. But ten pairs of eyes were fixed on her. 

      Riley started to back away, fought the urge to run and couldn’t stop it. 

      But she only took one step before bumping straight into Hunter. He was taller than her, much bigger than her, so her backside hit his chest. 

      He didn’t say anything, but then if he had the whole room would have heard. Because all their voices were in her head too.

      “
We can’t stay for long, but everyone, meet Riley.”

      A chorus of
hellos
rang out in her mind. Some loud and deep, others soft. 

      Riley looked at the group in front of her. Relief settled over her, calmed her. Especially with Hunter by her side. He’d stayed close, his body touching hers from the side now. Soothing her. Telling her it was okay. 

      One particular pair of eyes caught her attention. Soft, kind eyes, attached to a particularly small feline body. They were smiling at her, comforting her. 

      The leopard in question stood and stepped forward, giving Hunter a flick with her tail and encouraging Riley forward. 

      
“I’m the newest around here. I know what it’s like facing this lot for the first time.”

      A rumble of low growls echoed out, but Riley heard them for what they were– conversation. They meant her no harm. 

      Riley shot Hunter a look and saw that he wasn’t happy with her moving away, but he didn’t say anything. Didn’t try to stop her.

      “
I’m Imogen.”

      Riley turned her attention back to the female leopard heading her away. She settled down beside her, lying on the soft dirt to mirror what her new friend was doing. 

      
“Riley King.”

      Imogen shook her head from side to side. “
A.K.A. the girl who’s been keeping a certain leopard on his toes lately,”
she said.

      Riley would have been burning red with blushes head to toe if she’d been human. Instead, she looked away. But neither of them missed the snarl, the deep set growl as Hunter responded. 

      
“Settle, Hunter. I’m just pointing out the facts
,” Imogen told him.
      

      Riley surveyed the room. Hunter was standing next to the largest leopard. She diverted her eyes, worried that she was being too bold looking at them so openly. But no one seemed to care. They all just lounged or spoke or snoozed, all paired up. It was kind of hard dealing with so many muffled voices in her head. So many conversations that she could tune into if she wanted to. 

      “
Who is your, ah…”

      “
Mate?”
Imogen finished the question for her. “
That handsome cat over there.”

      Riley followed her eyes. And saw a gleam and flash of excitement pass over the youngest male in the room. It was obvious he was younger. He had no grey around his muzzle. His eyes were kind of jumpy, his body rangy. 

      Not much younger than Hunter, she guessed. 

      She caught his eye again and he looked back, relaxed, no challenge in his gaze. 

      The moment passed faster than she could blink. One minute she was happily turning back to Imogen, the next a flurry of black surrounded her then disappeared. Fur flew and bodies heaved faster than she’d ever seen before. 

      Riley blinked. Then jumped up. Confused. 

      All the men had left the room, including Hunter. Suddenly she felt vulnerable. Scared. He’d promised he’d protect her and now she was alone. 

      Imogen must have sensed her concern, because she came closer, her body warm against Riley’s. She jumped closer to her as a loud thump and a series of crashes echoed outside. 

      The other females all rose, passing Riley before she had a chance to follow. 

      “
Men.”
She heard more than one of them mutter as they passed.       

      “
A fight?”
Riley questioned Imogen. 

      “
Yep.”
She turned to Riley. “
And I’d say you’re the reason behind it.”

      Riley hurried after them, desperate yet terrified to see what was going on. It had all happened so fast. 

“We all have a good sense of smell, but those guys can sniff another male from a mile off.”

       Riley was pleased Imogen could make some sense of this for her. “
Which is why they all took off like that.”

      Riley could smell blood then. She recoiled. Not so much from the smell as to what it might mean. She hoped it wasn’t Hunter’s. 

      “
It won’t turn into much.”
Imogen was trying to reassure her. It was nice she cared, but Riley’s heart was still beating in her mouth. “
The guys you saw in there before? They’re the warriors. No young leopard would ever take them on. Ever.”

      Warriors.
Wow
. 

      Her thoughts died then. If she hadn’t had Imogen beside her for support her body might have too.