BILLIONAIRE ROMANCE: The Unforgettable Southern Billionaires: The Complete Collection Boxed Set (Young Adult Rich Alpha Male Billionaire Romance)

by Walker, Violet

  The cougar, however, did not have time to marvel or ponder. The cougar wanted only one thing. To find her mate.

  Chapter Four

  The yellow cougar pounded against the rocks beneath his feet, ignoring the hard ground against his paws.

  He passed all the familiar canyons and valleys, passed hiking paths and small, wilting brush. The sun pounded down on his warm fur. It made him feel hot and incredibly thirsty but he paid it no mind. His mate was near. He could hear her, smell her.

  Finally, he reached the opening of the cave and searched for the woman. She was not there, instead, he saw a large, white cougar staring at him intensely.

  Though pushed to the back, his human mind told him that this was impossible. This was insane. Diana could not have transformed so quickly. The elders...even his grandfather...had indicated that would not happen for months.

  His cougar intuition shoved aside Cat’s human thoughts and ran straight towards his mate. When he reached her, he snuggled against her neck. She readily welcomed him.

  Not a moment had passed before he heard paws rushing towards them from the cave. He knew immediately this was the other. This was his rival.

  Cat looked into his mate’s eyes once more and told her, without words, to run. Run as fast as she could to the open road.

  She did not hesitate before obeying his silent directive. He watched her rush away towards the roadway beside the cave.

  He watched her for only a moment before he felt sharp claws dig into his back. He let out a large, long growl and turned to face his opponent.

  Cat shook off the attack, immediately launching himself towards the small black cougar and dug his claws piercingly into his shoulder blades.

  The black cougar let out another loud cry and moved his paws once again to stick into Cat’s backside.

  They stayed like this for several minutes. Locked in this painful, violent embrace. The small black cougar leaned its head towards Cat’s neck and bit down, sinking his teeth into Cat’s neck.

  Cat growled and writhed in pain but refused to let go. If he did, this small cougar would go after his mate; would surely find her and take her away from him. Realizing this, Cat held on for as long as he possibly could.

  Still, as he felt the blood rushing out of his back, he realized even in his simplistic animal mind, that he could not hold on like this forever. The world was already getting hazy. It was time to end this and run to join his mate.

  Looking quickly, he saw a large rock that would surely incapacitate his rival if he were shoved against it. Cat forced them towards the boulder and, with all the strength he had in him, he pushed this small cougar against the boulder.

  The animal gave a sharp, high yowl before removing his claws from Cat’s back.

  Cat did not hesitate before rushing off down towards the road where he had seen his mate disappear before.

  He reached the roadway and searched for the large white cougar. She was nowhere to be found. He kept running further down the road until he heard a small cry coming from behind thicket of scrub.

  He padded his way over and saw the woman there. Her arm was bleeding and she was holding her ankle which stuck out at an odd angle. The cougar moved towards her whining at her distress.

  He nuzzled against her once but, she was slow to respond to him. She looked at him with uncertainty, her face pale with a mixture of fear and pain. He realized, suddenly, that the cougar was not what she needed.

  Slowly, he sat back on his haunches and closed his eyes.

  It was only a moment before he had transformed back to himself once more. Quickly he moved over and pressed his hand over Diana’s.

  “You’re hurt,” he said eyeing the angry, red claw marks on her arm.

  “I’ll be ok,” she said, though her voice was very weak. He knew the first transformation could be draining. Especially if you were not in perfect physical condition to begin with. And, with an injury...well...transforming with an injury was close to insanity.

  Cat looked once again at the claw markings. Clearly, these had been made by a shifter. He immediately thought of Charlie and his blood began to boil.

  “Did he do this?” he asked Diana fiercely, “did he hurt you?”

  Diana looked up at Cat, licked her dry lips and opened her mouth as though to answer him. In the end, it looked as if she had lost the ability to speak. She nodded instead.

  Cat suddenly felt a desperate desire to go back up to the cave. To confront Charlie and end this once and for all.

  But, he knew that Charlie was not the only shifter there. Manaba was most certainly nearby and he had no hope of defeating both of them together.

  Not to mention, when he looked at Diana, he could see her face growing paler by the second. He had to get her help, he had to find Ashkii and his sister.

  He looked from the thicket towards the road. He could barely see out of the thick shrub inside which they were hidden. If she stayed down, stayed completely silent, he knew Diana would be safe there.

  Making his decision, he turned back to Diana.

  “Diana,” he said slowly, “Amanda and Ashkii are with me. I’ve got to go find them so we can get you back to the reservation.”

  He could see her eyes widen and her lips part once more. It was clear that she did not want him to leave. He did not blame her after what she had been through. All the same, there was no other way.

  “I’ve got to,” he said, “I’ll come back for you. It won’t take long. Until then, you’ve got to stay down and stay completely quiet. Can you do that?”

  She looked at him once more and nodded ‘yes’.

  “Good,” he said. Then he leaned over and placed a fierce, desperate but quick kiss on her lips. When he pulled away, she gave him the smallest of smiles.

  “Hurry back,” she croaked wearily.

  “I will,” he promised.

  And, with that, he moved carefully out of the thicket and back towards the canyons.

  Chapter Five

  Diana lay with her eyes closed beneath the shade of the small shrub trees trying, as best she could to keep her eyes open.

  Her arm ached more painfully than ever, her mouth had gone almost completely dry with thirst and she knew, the moment she closed her eyes, she might fall asleep and never wake up again.

  It felt as though she had been laying like this for hours though she had no real idea of how long it had actually been. She knew it had been longer than she had expected and much, much longer than Cat had promised.

  ‘It won’t take long,’ he’d said. He had promised her, sworn to her that he would be back. But, as time clicked on, as the sun began to sink towards the western sky, Diana began to doubt that promise more and more.

  Her mind flew between bouts of anger at Cat and fear for his safety. After all, Charlie and Manaba were still out in the canyons. Perhaps they had found him. Maybe they had found all of them. Maybe they had killed off the last hope she had of rescue and would soon come for her.

  Well, if they did, she thought, if they truly had killed Cat and Amanda and Ashkii, she knew what to do.

  Charlie had told Manaba that they needed her alive. He said it wouldn’t work if she wasn’t placed in the salt lake after she had been trained and defiled. Diana knew she had the power not to give them the satisfaction.

  Her small, sharp pottery shard was still clutched in her hands. If it came to it, if there was no other way out, she would use it on herself.

  It was, after all, sharp enough to slit a throat or wrists. Charlie and Manaba wouldn’t have the medical knowledge or tools to heal her in time.

  It might not have been the ending that any of them, even she had envisioned, but, at least it would end on her terms. It would end without Charlie getting what he wanted from her. That, she decided was enough.

  Time ticked on and Diana’s world grew more and more hazy. Her eyes were heavy and she knew it would not be long before she was unable to keep herself from closing them completely.

  �
�Maybe I won’t need the pottery shard at all,’ she thought bitterly to herself as the world swirled around her. She blinked her eyes once, twice and then set to close them for good.

  Just as she did, she heard voices that made her eyes shoot open. Though her head was still dizzy and her throat still dry, she could feel her own awareness returning as they came closer.

  “They ran this way,” she heard Charlie’s voice say from the other side of the scrub, “I’m positive.”

  “They could have gotten away in that car Cat brought here,” Manaba said, “I’m sure he would have driven it.”

  “We would have heard it if he had,” Charlie answered. “No, I’m sure they’re on foot.”

  Their footsteps came closer and Diana, now feeling very much awake, moved her good arm to her mouth in order to still the sound of her own breathing.

  “They could have moved into another one of the caves,” Charlie said.

  “No,” Manaba answered, “they would have had to go through the canyons to do that. That’s suicide on your own. Cat knows that.”

  “Are you sure you can’t feel anything?” Charlie asked her, “are you sure there’s no sign.”

  “No...wait…” Manaba paused as though she had been startled by a noise or sudden movement. Diana forced herself to stay completely still and pressed her hand hard over her mouth. She also clenched her eyes shut though, now, she knew there was no danger of her falling unconscious.

  The voices had stopped completely but, Diana could still hear soft footfalls making their way towards the brush. This was it. She was certain. She grasped the pottery shard in her left hand. Prepared to use it on herself if need be.

  Then, she realized that, even if they had discovered her, hadn’t Charlie indicated that they still had no idea where Cat was?

  As the footsteps grew closer, Diana decided firmly that, no matter what happened, as long as Cat was still alive, there was hope. If she did use this shard, it would be against her attackers.

  The footfalls came nearer now. She could see the outline of a large, male form in the brush coming towards her.

  She clutched her small pottery shard and prepared to wield it as the figure made his way towards her.

  She had raised the sharp edge and prepared to strike as the man’s face appeared, she stopped herself immediately.

  Catahassa knelt before her and put a hand to his lips. He pointed to the other side of the brush where, when Diana listened, she could still hear heavy footsteps falling.

  Cat held out his hand to her and, slowly, carefully, she grasped it. He moved his arm to hers and wrapped it carefully around his shoulders. As he did, Diana’s injured arm scraped against a scrub branch. She gasped in pain. The footsteps stopped.

  “They’re here!” Manaba’s voice called out, “both of them, they’re here!”

  “Hurry!” Cat whispered fiercely to her as they both began to run as fast as they could. Catahassa all but carrying Diana’s weight as they headed towards the road where Diana could see Cat’s small Mercedes parked in the distance.

  Diana focused all her attention on the car and tried not to think about Charlie and Manaba running behind them. Though, she was sure now that the footfalls had turned to the padding of paws.

  And, despite herself, Diana began to feel her body freezing up and wilting. Cat was having to use more of his weight to hold her up and she could hear the paws coming so close to them she was sure they would be on them within a matter of moments.

  That moment, she saw two more figures rush towards them from the Mercedes. Through Diana’s hazy vision, she had just enough sense to make out Amanda and the Navajo boy Ashkii.

  “Get her to the car!” Amanda called out to Cat. “Hurry! We’ll hold them off!”

  Cat stopped and hesitated even as his sister and the boy whipped past him and towards the Cougars.

  “Now, Cat! Go!” Amanda said over her shoulder, “We’ll meet you by the main road!”

  And, with that, Diana saw both Amanda and the boy disappear leaving two large cougars in their place. She stared at the snarling fight until Cat shoved her roughly into the leather passenger seat, moved around the driver’s seat and started the engine.

  “They’ll be all right,” Cat said to her as he pushed down the accelerator and forced the car onto the open road.

  “Amanda’s been in worse than this and gotten out of it,” he said. Though, it was without any conviction; as though he was trying to ensure himself of this more than Diana. “She’ll be fine.”

  As Diana stared helplessly out the window at the four cougars now locked in combat, she found that something inside of her could not believe Cat.

  She winced and almost cried out when the large black cougar, Manaba, knocked the smaller brown cougar, Ashkii onto his side.

  He still had not gotten up as the car drove quickly out of sight.

  THE END

  Cougar Romance

  The Rising

  Secret Shades of the Alpha Blood Series Book Six

  Paula Knight

  Cougar Romance: The Rising

  Chapter One

  “Where the hell are they?”

  Cat asked for the thousandth time as he slammed on the dash of his car. Diana had been sitting in the car, baking in the sun for half an hour waiting for two people that seemed increasingly unlikely to show up.

  ‘Meet us at the highway,’ Cat had said to Amanda and Ashkii who were both locked in battle with a couple of rogue cougar shifters.

  Now, thirty minutes later, it was clear, to Diana at least that Cat’s sister and their Navajo ally had not won that round or even managed to beat a hasty retreat. It was also unlikely that the battle was still going on.

  From the little Diana had seen of Cougar battles, they tended to be painful, bloody and very quick.

  “Cat, what if…” Diana said hesitantly, “...what if they’re not coming?”

  “They’ll be here,” Cat said, though, he sounded less certain about it than he had at the fifteen-minute mark. Diana saw this as progress, so she decided to press her luck. After all, they couldn’t wait in a car, out in the open where any enemy could find them forever.

  “Ok,” Diana began easily, “but, if they do make it...Amanda would know to go to the reservation next, wouldn’t she? I mean, it’s not too far is it? I mean, as a cougar she could make it without…”

  “I’m not leaving my sister,” Cat said defiantly.

  Diana opened her mouth to protest but found that she lacked the strength. Her arm was still injured and her head still ached desperately. She wanted nothing more than to go somewhere she could lie down and, perhaps, never get up again.

  She felt deeply guilty when she admitted this to herself. After all, Amanda and the other boy...Ashkii...could very well be dead. And, no matter what Diana had thought of Amanda at first, she was Cat’s sister.

  All the same, they could not simply remain out here in Cat’s car. And not just because of Diana’s injuries or her fragile state in general.

  “Cat, what if Charlie and Manaba find us,” Diana said, “you know how desperate they are and out here...we’re sitting ducks.”

  “But, they haven’t found us,” Cat said, “there’s been no sign of them either. Clearly they’ve given up or…”

  Cat stopped midsentence. His eyes widened as though he had realized something. Suddenly, he closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the driver’s seat headrest.

  Diana thought of putting a hand on his arm but decided she didn’t dare. It looked as though Cat had gone into some kind of a trance.

  She simply stared at him for several moments until his eyes finally flew open. Suddenly, he turned the key in the ignition and put his hands on the wheel.

  “We have to go back,” he said urgently.

  “What?!” Diana exclaimed.

  “They’re in trouble,” Cat explained hastily, “Charlie’s got them in the cave.”

  He moved his hand to the parking break and made to lower
it. This time, Diana did not hesitate to put her hand on his arm.

  “Cat,” she said, “you know what’ll happen if we go back there. It’s suicide and not just for us.”

  “I don’t care!” He said angrily shaking off Diana’s hand. “I’m not leaving my sister there.”

  “Cat listen to…”

  “I know you don’t like her,” Cat said turning to Diana with the harshest look she had ever seen him wear, “I know you’ve probably got some personal thing against her. But, that doesn’t mean I’m going to let her die!”

  “This has nothing to do with the way I feel about Amanda and you know it!” Diana exclaimed angrily. “You know what’ll happen when we go back there. You know he’s using them to get to us.”

  “Fine,” Cat said. His face still hard, “you stay here and I’ll go.”

  “That won’t work either-”

  “Yes, it will!”

  He yelled this so loudly that Diana was certain his voice could be heard for fifty miles. She moved away from Cat very slightly and he looked down breathing heavily. He looked as surprised with himself as she did.

  She used the silence to press her point again.

  “Look,” she said as gently but firmly as she could, “Charlie’s not just interested in me. That prophecy said you’re my mate. He’ll want to get rid of you as soon as he can so he can…”

  Diana looked away and couldn’t finish the sentence. She remembered what he’d said to Manaba. When he first brought Diana to the cave, when he first brought her to the cave.

  ‘She needs to be defiled,’ he’d said.

  Diana looked at Cat in the driver’s seat. His face still had a harsh tint, but he seemed calmer.

  “So...we just let them die?” he asked.

  “Of course not,” Diana answered, “think about it. If they’re using them to get to us, they’re not going to kill them. We need to get back to the reservation and tell your grandfather. Then, we can get like a...posse...together or...something,” she finished lamely. Not for the first time, Diana realized she was very much out of her depth.