I’d almost reached the other side when I heard the sounds of two large cats snarling in rage. I started to run. When I emerged in the clearing, I had to cover my mouth to stop myself from screaming Trent’s name. Trent and Craig, in cat form, were in the middle of a fight. And from the look of Craig’s bloodied fur, it looked as if they’d already been at it for some time.
With my gaze locked on the pair, I inched closer. A slight breeze blew against my back. Trent managed to get a particularly vicious swipe in before his head turned in my direction. Too late, I screamed for him to watch out. Craig went on the attack. He dug his claws into Trent’s sides and dragged him beneath him. Trent roared as he struck at Craig’s head with his claws before the other cougar could take him by the throat.
I knew I had to do something. Anything. I quickly scanned the ground around me to find something that could be used as a weapon. A couple of large rocks sat not too far from where I stood. I scooped them up and moved in closer to the battling cougars. I hauled back and threw one at Craig. It hit him in the ribs. I quickly followed the first with the second, which glanced off his shoulder.
Obviously, not liking it that I’d hit him, Craig threw himself off Trent, and with a roar, ran right for me. I turned around and took off at a run. “Oh crap, oh crap!”
A heavy weight hit me and I fell face first onto the ground. Frozen in place, I bit back a whimper of fear as I felt hot breath as my jacket was pulled away from the back of my neck. Oh no! Here come the sharp teeth! There was a heavy thump and Craig was gone. Trent must have launched himself at him.
Getting up onto my hands and knees, I crawled out of the way of the cougars as they fought once again. When I figured I’d reached a safe enough distance, I stopped and turned to watch.
This time it was Trent who brought Craig down. He took him by the back of the neck and bit down until he lay limp beneath him. Defeated, Craig shifted to his human form.
Trent released his neck and shifted as well. He stood panting as he looked down at Craig. “It’s over. I won. I’m taking your place as leader.” He looked around the clearing. In a loud voice, he said, “You all can come out now. I can smell your scents so I know you’re there.”
Six more cougars stepped into the clearing. They stood in a ring around us. Two of them growled at Trent with their ears flat against their heads. Trent roared. “I defeated Craig in a fair fight. Do you two want to be next?”
The two went to stand beside Craig, who’d picked himself off the ground.
Craig spat at Trent’s feet. “You may have won but this isn’t over.” He looked over at the remaining four cougars, that stood their ground. “Let’s go.”
They ignored Craig and stepped closer to stand next to Trent.
Craig hissed at them. “Traitors.” He shifted back to cougar form and ran out of the clearing with the other two big cats at his heels.
Trent helped me up onto my feet. “You shouldn’t have come. I told you I would handle Craig.”
I would have slapped Trent on the arm, but he had more than a few scratch marks there and across his chest. “And I told you I didn’t want to see you hurt.” Unable to stay away from him any longer, I hugged him.
Trent kissed the top of my head. “I guess you’re going to be the kind of mate who’ll do what she thinks is best, no matter what I say.”
I pulled away enough so I could kiss his chin. “You got that right.” I stiffened as the four cougars that stood behind him shifted to their human forms.
With me held to his side, Trent turned to face them. They were close in build and height to him. They wore their straight black hair in varying lengths from past their shoulders to the ends just touching the tops of them. They were all around Trent’s age.
One of them stepped forward and grabbed Trent by the forearm. Trent held on to his. “We won’t fight you. If we’d been strong enough to challenge Craig, we’d have done it long before now. We’ll gladly accept you as our leader.” The shapeshifter then smiled at me before he turned back to Trent. “We’ll leave you alone with your mate. And we’ll tell our families you’ve taken your rightful place as leader.”
Trent nodded, then let go of his arm. “Nice to see you again, Stephen. And you, Kris, Neil and Luke. Tell the elders I’ll be around to talk to them soon.”
“Will do,” Stephen said. “Catch you later.”
The four shifted to cougars and left the clearing. Now alone, I pulled Trent’s head down and kissed him until we were both breathing hard. “No more sneaking off. You got that?”
His familiar crooked smile formed on his lips. “I promise I won’t. It looks as if I can’t keep anything from you, anyway. Let’s go back to my place and give my parents the good news. I know my grandfather will be happy. He’s only been pushing me for at least the last couple of years to take my rightful place.”
“Why didn’t you?” I asked as we started walking.
“Because I didn’t have you to think about. I did it for you, Mika.”
I put my arm around Trent’s waist and hugged him. Now, with the Craig problem solved—I hoped—I smiled. A lot had happened since the start of a school year I’d dreaded. So far it was one of the best. With a boyfriend who could shape-shift into a black cougar, I had a feeling the rest of the year would be far from boring.
The End
About the Author
Marisa Chenery was always a lover of books, but after reading her first historical romance novel she found herself hooked. Having inherited a love for the written word, she soon started writing her own novels.
After trying her hand at writing historicals, she now writes paranormals.
Marisa lives in Ontario, Canada with her husband and four children. Check out Marisa’s website. She would love to hear from you, so drop her an email while you’re there.
www.marisachenery.com
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