Leopard's Kiss (Shadow Guardians) (Shadows Guardians Book 1)

by Stephanie Rowe

  No chance, asshole. She lunged for him, bracing herself as she hit the bars. The steel bars snapped under her weight, shattering into dozens of pieces as she leapt through them. She landed easily, and then launched herself at Parker. He shouted and scrambled backward, yelling at his guards to shoot.

  Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the tiny silver dart hurtling toward her, and she knew instantly she wasn’t going to able to avoid it. She wouldn’t reach Parker before it got her—

  Slade suddenly erupted to his feet, shifting as he exploded toward her, moving so quickly he was a blur. He snatched the dart out of the air with his teeth a split second before it hit her, and then twisted in the air and launched himself at Parker. Together, they leapt toward him, their teeth bared to take him—

  To her shock, Parker shifted instantly, changing into a massive white leopard with a circle of black spots on his chest. Dear God. He was the white leopard king.

  Son of a bitch. He’s been a cat this whole time? Slade sounded as shocked as she was.

  Taking advantage of their stunned reaction, Parker leapt to the side, twisting away from their attack, then spun around, and raced toward the window.

  Slade! He was going to get away!

  We got this, babe. Slade erupted forward, moving so fast she couldn’t see him…and she moved with him, moving as fast as he was. He’d shared his speed with her! She accepted it greedily, her paws blurring as she raced across the floor toward Parker. They reached him at the same time, two massive white leopards leaping onto the even larger one that was just springing for the window.

  They knocked him off balance, and he spun around, his teeth bared as he roared with fury, lunging at them. She knew instantly, it would be a battle to the death. Parker was insanely powerful and strong, and almost as fast as Slade. Teeth slashed, and roars of wildcat fury blistered through the air. It took only moments for her to realize they were in trouble. Slade was badly injured from being shot, and her thirty seconds of experience as a leopard was no match for Parker’s systematic assault. Her strength and speed was surreal, but Parker was more. No injury slowed him. The bites didn’t bleed. He was a white leopard, but he was also so much more, just like her, only even more than that.

  We can’t stop him, Slade.

  Yeah, he’s got some immortality going on. I can kill him with a kiss. I just need to be able to get in there, and—

  Parker dodged Slade easily, slamming him against the wall. He grunted with pain, and didn’t move for a split second. Parker leapt, his teeth bared for the final blow—

  No! Anya charged him, using her entire body weight to knock him to the side. He whirled toward her with a roar of fury, and smacked so hard with his paw that for a second, the room spun violently and she had to fight to stay conscious—

  A black leopard leapt through the window with a roar of rage, his teeth bared in fury as he slammed into Parker and knocked him aside. Killian! Slade leapt to his feet, and Anya charged at Parker, staying tight by Slade. His white fur was stained with his own blood. There was so much. How was he even staying on his feet, let alone fighting? Slade? How badly are you hurt?

  Don’t even feel it.

  Parker lunged at her, his teeth snapping inches from her neck, and she whirled around, focusing on the cat trying to kill them.

  Together, the three of them worked in efficient tandem, drawing Parker one way, while the others tried to get in… but nothing worked. He was too fast. Too powerful. Too strong.

  Anya knew it had to end soon, or they would lose. She backed up, out of the fight, and took a deep breath, focusing on her leopard. She was angry, furious, and ready to fight to the death. Anya reached inside her, to the human side of her. She thought of how much she loved Slade, of Julia, of her mom, of Marjorie, of all the things good and kind that she’d been blessed with in her life. She shared them with her leopard, and infused the cat with a sense of peace. For a long moment, nothing happened, and then her cat quietly receded, and Anya shifted back into her human form. “William Parker!” she shouted. “I am your queen! I submit to you!”

  He spun around to face her, his leopard eyes glistening when he took in her naked, vulnerable, human body. Triumph flashed across his face, and he roared in victory—

  Slade leapt, fast, silently, and lethally, into that millisecond of distraction. He clamped his teeth around Parker’s muzzle, not hard enough to kill, just hard enough to hold on, so he could deliver his kiss of death. Killian pounced, pinning Parker to the ground. At once, the room was filled with a violent burst of psychic energy, and she felt that same rush that she had so long ago in the bar, when Slade had tried to kill her with a kiss the night they’d first met.

  Parker didn’t move. He didn’t struggle. He didn’t fight. She knew Slade was in his mind, giving him the same peace he always gave, before he took. A leopard’s kiss…so beautiful when he was kissing her, so deadly when he was saving her. Silently, easily, she shifted back into her cat, even as she finally understood why Slade had been chosen, why she had been chosen.

  Parker had, somehow, become almost immortal. Unkillable, except by something magical, something that no one else could stop, by the kiss of the Black Swan.

  Slade was the key.

  Slade had been chosen because only he had the power to stop the evil. And she…she had been chosen because she was like Parker. She had the same circle of black spots on her chest, the same circle that made him king…it made her his equal…his heir…the foundation of her species.

  Parker slumped to the ground, his massive body limp as his soul fled him. You did it! But in that same moment, Slade collapsed, his chest heaving as he fought for breath, his white fur stained with his own blood. Slade!

  Behind her, she heard the click of a gun. Seriously? Now? The fight was over! Furious, she spun around, shifting in midair as she leapt at a guard who was aiming his gun at Slade. She hit him hard, her teeth sinking down on the cold metal as she ripped it out of his hand. He brought another gun out and aimed it between her eyes—

  Killian hit him from the side, ripping him away from Anya. Killian tore out the guard’s throat with one bite, then launched himself at the door, where others were coming in. Get Slade out of here, Killian ordered. I’ll hold them off.

  Anya raced over to Slade, who was laying on the floor, fighting for breath. Slade—

  Get Julia. More are coming. His eyes were closed, and she could feel the depth of his wound as he fought to stay alive. She could feel the laborious thud with each beat of his heart, as it struggled to keep him alive.

  You stay alive! Fear trying to overcome her, Anya whirled around and raced across the room toward Julia, who was gripping the bars, her face ashen with shock. Killian was in full fighting mode, ruthlessly cutting down the guards trying to get into the room. Anya bit hard on the lock on Julia’s cage, shattering it with one bite of her powerful jaws.

  Julia leapt out, but Anya didn’t wait for the hug she’d been dreaming of since the day Julia had disappeared. She just spun around and raced back across the room to Slade. His face was ashen, and the pool of blood was getting larger. Dear God. He was dying. Killian! There was no way to keep the tears out of her voice, and she didn’t try.

  Killian lunged at the last guard, driving him out, then threw his body against the door, slamming it shut. He spun around, his black fur sleek and glossy. He looked at Slade, and his body seemed to slump.

  I can’t carry him. He’s too heavy. He’s dying, Killian! He’s dying! She lay down next to him, pressing her body against his, trying to infuse him with her own strength. Slade. Can you hear me?

  He didn’t respond, and she felt his spirit sliding out of her grasp. Slade! Come back to me.

  But he was gone.

  The pain faded, and Slade knew that he was dying. It was over. He’d done it. He’d saved Anya. It was good. But even as he thought it, a great sadness settled in his heart. He wanted more time with her. He wasn’t done with his life yet.

  The redhea
ded woman from the bar appeared in his mind, smiling broadly. “Nice work, Black Swan.” Her eyes were as blue as he remembered, but this time, they looked familiar. Like someone’s eyes he knew all too well.

  “You have Anya’s eyes,” he said. He was tired. His body was tired. His spirit was tired. He could feel the weight of all the souls he’d killed pressing down upon him, and he knew it was time to pay the price for the life he’d led…but he didn’t want to go. He wanted to be with Anya. He wanted a chance with her, a real chance…and it was too late.

  The woman smiled. “She has my eyes.” The love in her voice as she spoke touched him, and he suddenly understood.

  “You’re her mother. You died for her.”

  She nodded, reaching out to touch him. She was a mystical figure, a mere image in his mind, and yet he could feel her fingers drifting gently over his skin. “And then you did the same. You are a brave and honorable man, Slade.”

  “I don’t want to die.” He’d never been afraid of dying. He still wasn’t. He’d been afraid of connecting with someone else, and all the dangers it would create. But now, the only thing he was afraid of was losing the connection with Anya that he’d fought so hard against. “I want another chance.”

  The woman smiled again, but this time, there was sadness in her eyes. “You fulfilled your part of the bargain, Slade. You get your life back. You earned your second chance.”

  He frowned at her answer. “My life?”

  “Your life. The Black Swan. The life you had before. Everything will be as it was.”

  He tensed. “As it was? You mean, without Anya and my brother?”

  “As it was. That was the deal. You fulfilled your part of it.” She held out her hand, and he suddenly knew that if he took it, everything would revert back. He wouldn’t know Anya, he wouldn’t know Killian, and he wouldn’t know everything that they both had taught him.

  “I don’t want my old life. I want my new one.” He didn’t hesitate as he said it. He knew it was true. He didn’t want to be an assassin. He didn’t want to live in shadows. He didn’t want his home to be pristine, perfect, and flawless. He wanted it to be cluttered, loud, and compromised, and shared with Anya and Killian.

  “They know the Black Swan is Slade Cross,” she said, gently. “Everyone will soon know you’re a leopard.”

  “I don’t give a shit.” He struggled to sit up, but his body was inert on the floor. Anya was in human form, cradling his head, crying, and Killian was beside him, leaning over him whispering fiercely. He couldn’t hear them. He reached out to touch them, but his fingers simply drifted through them. “I want them back.”

  Anya’s mother cocked her head. “Do you? Do you understand what that means?”

  “Of course I do.” His heart felt like it was shattering as he watched them grieve. Pain, God, it hurt like hell in his chest, and deep in his soul, but he didn’t care. He wanted whatever time he had with them, in whatever way. “Let me go back to them.” He looked at her. “You can do that, can’t you? You brought me back once. Do it again.” He had a thousand questions for her, why she’d chosen him, how she’d done it, but it didn’t matter right now. He didn’t give a shit about questions. He just wanted to be back with Anya. With Killian. In a life that was about saving, not killing. “There’s still a demon after her. Who is going to keep her safe? She needs me.” He paused. “And I need her.”

  Anya’s mother leaned forward. “Do you understand what she is?”

  Slade looked back at Anya and nodded. He’d seen the markings on her chest when she’d shifted. She wasn’t simply a white leopard. There was a reason she’d been able to go through the bars. “She’s the queen,” he said softly. “The protector of our species. If she dies, then the species cannot survive.” That was why she’d been so important. She was the anchor for all white leopards…but the queen was an inherited status. He looked at her mom. “Was that you? Were you the queen?”

  She sighed. “My role is different than hers. I don’t belong in the physical world. My specialty is crossing borders.” She winked. “Making negotiations, if you will.” Then her smile faded. “I was able to bring you back because powerful ones believed Anya was important, and you were the only one capable of protecting her. I can’t do it again without a reason.”

  “Screw that. I’ll keep her safe. I’ll be her guardian forever. That demon is still out there somewhere, and he’ll be coming for her. She needs me.” He didn’t hesitate, and he didn’t miss the smile that glistened in her mother’s eyes…and then he knew. “You didn’t pick me to be her guardian, did you? You picked me to be her mate. With the king dead, she gets to choose a new one. That’s me, isn’t it?” He looked over at Anya, and he knew in his gut that he was more than her guardian. He was the male who was equal to her female, the one destined to help her rebuild the species that was dying out because of men like William Parker. “I accept,” he whispered. “I accept my role.”

  And then suddenly, just like that, he was back in his body, gasping for breath, sucking beautiful, clean air into his lungs again.

  “Slade?” Anya’s tear-streaked face was shocked. “You’re back?”

  He shifted back into human form, and slid his hand into her hair, pulling her down toward him. “I love you,” he said. “Be mine, forever. I’m yours. Your mate, your guardian, your everything.”

  Tears filled her eyes. “Slade—”

  He nodded. “It’s going to be a hell of a responsibility teaming up with you. We have work to do, but yeah, I’m in. On all levels.” He paused. “If you’ll have me. I know I’m a cold bastard, I’ll probably go to hell when I die, and I have no idea how to share my life with anyone, but I’ll try. I’ll give you everything I have, to be the man worthy of you.”

  A single tear trickled down her cheek. “You already are.” She bent and kissed him, a kiss so tender and sweet, he felt his heart crack open and fill with the love he’d fought off his entire life. He snaked his hand through her hair, too weak to stand, but needing so badly to touch her, to hold her, to show her how much she meant to him.

  “Hey.” Killian cleared his throat. “I don’t mean to interfere, but there are a lot of people heading this way. I think it’s time to bail.”

  Slade opened his eyes and grinned at his brother. “Love you too, bro.”

  Killian stared at him in shock, then a broad grin split his face. “Back at ya, big brother.” He held out his hand. “You need help walking?”

  “Of course not.” Slade surged to his feet, and then almost went down. “Well, maybe a little.” He grinned as Anya and Killian each looped one of his arms over their shoulders, and helped him toward the window. The badass Black Swan, being helped by his woman and his brother, in plain view of the world.

  Yeah, he’d take it.

  As they moved toward the window, he looked over at Julia, who was walking beside Anya, looking pale, but fierce. “Hey,” he said.

  She raised her eyebrows. “Hey, yourself.”

  “I have a place you can stay where you’ll be safe,” Slade said. “Plenty of room.”

  She hesitated, and then smiled. “Okay. Thanks.”

  Slade nodded with satisfaction. He had seven bedrooms at his place. Still room for more guests. Not to mention, all his other safe houses. How many women had Parker taken? How many needed his help? How many more shifters were in need? He thought of the list of assassination requests in his inbox. How many of those targets needed to be saved instead of killed? He knew then that his life had shifted forever, and not just because of his duty to protect Anya. There were others, so many others, and they all needed help. His help.

  “My help, too,” Killian said. “You’re broadcasting. I’m in.”

  Slade looked over at him. “We can’t do it alone, bro. I get like twenty assassin requests a week.”

  “Don’t you know any other assassins who might be up for a new line of work?” Killian asked, with a raised brow.

  “Do I?” Huh. Interesting thought. �
��We’d have to pay them a shitload. They don’t work for free.”

  Killian gave him a baleful look as the doors rattled as the guards tried to get in the room. “You have more money than most nations.”

  Slade grinned. “This is true. A guy can buy only so many suits, right?” He glanced at Anya. “Or diamond rings.”

  She grinned, her smile lighting up her face at his cryptic comment. She’d obviously figured out what he’d tried to convey, because she got him, and she was clearly meant for him. “Is that a proposal?” she asked.

  “It might be. My mind is too groggy for proper thought, since I got darted, shot, and almost died, but I think it might be.”

  She beamed at him. “I’m in. For both the rent-an-assassin-save-the-world thing, and for the ring, if you meant it.”

  Satisfaction pulsed through Slade, as they reached the window. He slid his arm around her back and pulled her against him. “Oh, I meant it. I’m not going anywhere. Plus, what other guy could pull off the king thing? Only me, and we both know it.”

  Her smile widened. “You’re an arrogant pain in the ass.”

  “And?”

  She rolled her eyes. “And I love you that way.”

  “Of course you do, just like I love everything about you.” He grinned at his brother, who was leaning out the window to check on the ground guards. “We cool?”

  “Yeah. They’re bailing. They must know Parker’s gone.” Killian looked at them. “They’ll regroup, you know. Someone will step up and take his place. Too much money involved to let it go.”

  “I know.” Slade’s amusement faded. “Assassins are all isolated, anti-social bastards, but I know some that I’d trust to save instead of kill, for the right price. I’ll find the ones we need to help us.”

  “Hell. We’re really going to start a rent-an-assassin business?” Killian’s tone was cranky, but his eyes were gleaming with interest.

  Slade grinned. “Rent-an-assassin doesn’t do justice to the highly-trained, deadliness of these guys. We need something better, like Minions of the Black Swan.”