by Lane, Soraya
She was wrong. “The future’s changed, Claudia, he’s gone for good. He’s not coming back.”
Claudia rose, walked toward her, and started to stroke her fur. Her fingers traced over her back, before she sat, her smile drawing Riley down. To join her.
“Riley,” Claudia whispered into her mind.
The touch of her sister’s voice soothed her, made her mind calm, like she was seeing into her thoughts and straightening them out.
Riley’s legs buckled and she fell into her sister’s lap. Her big, sleek body folding over Claudia, craving the feel of her skin, of her hands kneading through her fur.
“He will come back for you. I’ve seen you together. He’s your future, Riley. I see your future more clearly than anyone could.”
Riley wanted to believe her, she did. But the pain was too strong. She knew he was gone. That she was never, ever going to see him again. If Claudia could look for him, could seek him out, she would see that he was gone forever. That he wasn’t coming back.
Claudia’s hand stopped its slow motion on her fur. Abruptly. It made Riley jump to her feet, her lazy eyes popping open, senses becoming alert.
She should never have left herself so vulnerable, lying with only her emotions in her head. She didn’t have Hunter looking out for her here, which meant she had to take care of herself. Stay alert and on guard. Wasn’t that what he’d tried to tell her every day?
“What?” She asked her sister as she stood still, ears pricked, nose tilted.
Claudia’s eyes looked frantic. She looked up. Riley could feel the intensity of her concentration.
“Run!”
Riley didn’t stop to ask why. She leaped into action, bounding back the way she’d come, fighting her way through the forest. Claudia’s voice stayed in her mind. She could feel her close, knew she must be hovering in the line of trees above.
“They’re coming for you. They’ve picked up your scent. They know you’re alone, without protection.” A pause rang out, silence stretching. “They came with no warning!”
Riley tried to focus on the movement of her body, the three-beat rhythm, but her mind was screaming out. Why had she been so stupid? Why had she come alone? What was going to happen to her? What was going on?
“Head for the house, Riley. Take a straight path.”
She listened to her sister’s words, but crashing in the near distance made panic start to bubble within her. They were closing in on her. There was more than one of them. And they were out for blood. Or worse. And she didn’t even understand the enemy enough yet to know why they wanted her or what they might do.
Riley’s feet hit the forest floor faster than they’d ever moved before. Please, please let me get back.
“They’ve got company, Riley.”
What did she mean? What else was there to come for her?
“Faster, Riley. You have to go faster!”
She was trying, she was trying so hard but she just couldn’t. Her body was screaming out for rest, her nostrils burning and flared. Hunter had warned her not to push too hard, to focus on getting fit, on learning her strengths and limitations. But she’d been so worried about his absence she’d put everything at risk.
“They’re suckers!” Claudia was screaming now, her voice belting Riley’s ears. “They’ve taken your form. They’re after you, Riley. They will kill you. I can’t see them now! Their plans, nothing. They’ve blocked me.”
There was silence, except for the pounding of her own feet as they moved.
“They know who you are. That you’re the one.”
No! She was done for. There was no way she could escape them, but she wasn’t giving up without a fight. Not now.
Riley pushed her body harder. She could smell the house, she could feel it getting closer, like it was calling to her.
“Change direction! There are more of them.” Claudia had calmed herself now, was back in control, her voice even. Focused. “Get to safety. Get to the headquarters.”
“I don’t remember where to go. Guide me.”
She should have paid more attention when she was with Hunter. She should have locked in the location, zeroed in on it.
“Left, veer left now.”
She shot out sideways, not bothering to looking for danger. She just had to move and trust her sister.
“Hunter’s coming. I can see him,” Claudia told her.
No! Please, no. If Hunter tried to save her he would die himself in the process. There was no way he could take on multiple leopards, let alone suckers too. Not when he wouldn’t even realize what they were, until he tried to defeat them.
She didn’t need him to be the hero now. She couldn’t face losing him all over again. Not if he’d decided to come home.
“Start calling, Riley. Roar. Yelp. Tell them you need help.”
She forced her throat to cooperate. She roared, called, like she didn’t even know was possible. Made noises she hadn’t realized she was capable of making.
“Straight. Follow this line of trees. Keep calling.”
Riley did as she was told.
“Sophia’s guider will warn her, but we don’t have much time to fight back. I’ve already alerted her.”
And then Riley heard her call answered, heard a response that made her blood run hotter than it already was.
They could hear her. She was going to make it. If she could just keep going…
A scream echoed out, the wild call of a cat in pain, fighting. She slowed. Or being killed.
“Keep going, Riley. Keep calling, don’t slow down.”
She increased her pace again, but her heart was thumping.
“Claudia, what’s happening?”
She was answered by silence. Riley had to ask. She couldn’t just pretend like she was the only one in danger here. “It’s not Hunter, is it? Please!”
Silence again.
“Claudia!”
She heard the pain in her sister’s voice. “Keep running, Riley. Just focus on getting help.”
Her legs stretched out even faster than before, fatigue forgotten. She could still hear the shallow sounds of fighting, could imagine Hunter being ripped apart. Felt the torment of battle as if she was there, fighting herself. At his side.
And then a blur of black filled her vision. Big leopards covering the ground, fast. Male leopards. She could tell by their size, they way they moved. They tore past her, legs eating up the ground. Protectors ready to avenge her or Hunter. Not scared of death so long as they fought for the cause.
The smallest leopard slowed, Riley did the same. Kind eyes met hers, female eyes. Imogen’s eyes.
Riley stopped, her entire body quivering from the exhaustion. She didn’t know what to do.
“Come with me.” Imogen beckoned. “Let me look after you.”
Riley looked over her shoulder, listened to the fading sound of the other leopards’ footfalls. “I have to go to him.”
Imogen told her no. “Let the men deal with it. You need to follow me.”
“No.” Riley made up her mind. If Hunter was going to die saving her, she wanted to be there for him. Wanted to try to make it back to him if she could. She needed to see him, to tell him she loved him.
Now she had help, protection, she had to go. “I’m sorry. I have to go. Come with me.”
Imogen’s eyes pleaded with her to change her mind.
“Listen to her, Riley. Stay.” Claudia’s voice filled her mind but she chose to ignore her.
Her sister was behind her now. But she wasn’t going to let her stop her. Riley turned and started to run, back the way she’d just come.
“It’s you they want. Stay. Hide,” Claudia insisted.
Riley wasn’t going to hide. She was her Sophia’s granddaughter. She was not going to cower in the face of battle. She was not going to become the widow Sophia had come, letting her man be killed by the enemy. Not now.
“They know you’re the next leader. They’re here for blood.”
Riley
grimaced. If only it was her blood and not Hunter’s they were spilling right now. But she also knew they wanted more than just her blood. They wanted her soul.
Riley was exhausted, but she kept moving. Punished herself with the pace she had to set.
“Please, Hunter. Don’t be dead. Don’t die on me. Please.” She tried her hardest to call him with her mind.
Riley heard more screams, bloodcurdling calls, but she didn’t slow. Didn’t let herself be frightened off.
“They’re running, Riley. Stay low. The others scattered them.”
She stretched, body near the ground, staying close to the line of trees.
“He’s alone. Hunter’s alone.”
“Is he dead?” Riley begged her sister. “Please?”
“Not yet.” Came a sad reply. “Not yet.”
So he was going to die. From protecting her. He’d come back and now he was going to die. Claudia had been wrong, the Infecti had figured out how to block her, how to change her future. She’d been right earlier, they were meant to have a future together, he’d come back to her, but that meant nothing now.
Hunter wasn’t going to survive.
“He took down two of them, traitor leopard shifters who traded their lives for swapping sides. The suckers got away but the others are closing in on them.” Claudia told her.
Hunter was going to die.
Her world went black. She saw red before her eyes, but she didn’t stop.
CHAPTER TWENTY
No!
Riley’s screaming roar cut through the air. The pain-filled noise echoed around the forest, bounced off trees, over and over.
No. She fought the pull to change as her emotions begged to be released. As her body and mind fought.
She stood over Hunter. His sleek black fur shone up at her, beckoning her. Calling to her.
But she was too late.
“Hunter. I’m sorry, I’m …”
His body flickered. If she wasn’t staring at him so intently she would have missed it. Wouldn’t have seen that he wasn’t as deathly still as she’d first thought.
“Hunter?”
She dropped to the ground, falling to touch him. Riley bent her head to rest her ear against his chest.
He was still breathing.
She jumped up and stepped back. All she cared about was saving Hunter. Before she lost him forever. Her mind screamed out, but she controlled herself. The only pain she couldn’t push away was the one beating against her heart, hitting her, crushing her body. Threatening to smother her.
“Hunter.” She said his name over and over in her mind. Willing him to survive. For her. “Hunter.”
Riley growled and hissed then stood deathly still. Focused.
“Claudia,” she beckoned. “Claudia, come now.”
Her mind burned, as if the pressure was too much, but she knew her sister would come. Would arrive within seconds of being summoned.
It had been dangerous of her to come here. To be here still, alone, while the suckers were at large. Hunting her. But she wasn’t going to leave Hunter. Not when she’d finally decided to be his mate. To bond himself with him until death.
She hissed and spat some more, furious that he was here. Almost dead. Perhaps soon dead.
Because of her.
She roared, her bellow ringing out through the trees again. If they found her, they could kill her too. She wouldn’t go down without a fight. Hunter was all she cared about right now. She would die herself to avenge his death.
A whoosh of air made her ears prick. Riley spun, but she wasn’t afraid. She knew that sound well now.
“Claudia.” She said her name in her mind, watched as her sister glanced at her first, then down at Hunter. “Save him, Claudia. Please.”
She didn’t need to be told that Claudia would do anything within her power to keep him alive. And she also saw that her sister understood, from her actions, what she’d decided.
But then Claudia had no doubt already glimpsed her future. Her new future. One without Hunter.
If Hunter died, she would never love again. She had his scent on her fur, held him like a prism within her heart. He was her mate and she loved him. Just because she hadn’t told him yet and made it official didn’t mean she wasn’t his. Right now, she couldn’t be anymore his if she wanted to be.
Claudia ran her hand, glided it, across Hunter. His body writhed as she touched him. It was then Riley registered the matted fur on his side, the pool of inky red blood staining the floor of the forest. Oozing out and snapping at her own paws, like it wanted to imbed itself in her.
But they hadn’t taken his soul. They’d been disturbed by the other leopards. Her leopards. If she hadn’t got help so quickly, they would have taken his body and soul. Forever.
Right now, there was still hope. A faint glimmer of hope.
“He doesn’t have long.” Claudia’s words rang out loud in her ears. Like drums beating an unknown rhythm with fury.
“Save him.” She demanded it. Commanded her sister to obey.
Riley went to move him herself, trying to nudge him, but his weight was too much for her. He was a big cat, and lifeless, he weighed even more than usual.
Claudia pushed her away. Being able to feel her sister’s warm hand on her still took her by surprise, but she didn’t have time to think about it. Not now.
“Let me move him,” Claudia instructed.
All Riley could do was stand by, helpless, and watch.
“Meet us at the lair. Hurry. He needs you.”
Riley roared again, watching as both Claudia and Hunter disappeared before her.
He was gone. She didn’t even know how, but Claudia had taken him.
Riley started to run, the pads of her paws thumping on the ground.
He was not going to die. She wasn’t going to let him.
Because she couldn’t survive without him.
By the time she met them at the lair, it was surrounded. Young shifters from the pack were gathered, a few different leopards were scattered, but they all looked at her, wordless, as she passed. No one tried to stop her. They were too charged with battle to bother her, and too concerned for their strongest soldier fighting for his life to care.
Riley moved through the mouth of the lair and into the dry depths of it.
Hunter. She could see his still, lifeless form laid out on a bed of what looked like straw. Her sister was bent over him, so was another woman that bore a resemblance to Sophia. She guessed it to be her grandmother’s guider. They both rocked back and forth, a low wail passing through their lips, hands hovering over his body.
Riley wished she could see what they were thinking, know if they held any hope. Whether they believed they could do something or if they were just trying their best to appease her.
She tried to lock minds with Claudia and failed.
“Don’t you dare leave me,” She forced her thoughts to pass over to Hunter. “I’m yours, Hunter. I will wear your scent. I’m yours forever. Forever, do you hear me?”
This was not how she thought she would lose him. To the enemy? Yes. One day. But not to their own kind. To fellow shifters who were meant to be fighting the same cause.
How could they have done it to him? An assault on one soldier, by so many of them. He’d been so brave, taking them on like that. So determined to save her.
And why had he been in the forest? Had he picked up her scent and known what would happen? Had he come back for her or to the pack?
The hair on her back prickled, like she was about to fight, but she calmed her mind. This was not the time to lose control. All that mattered now was Hunter. Healing him.
She had to leave that to Claudia. She was their only hope. What she had to do now was figure out a plan.
“Come.” Her sister did not turn, just sent the word to her. Commanded that she obey.
Riley moved forward, her paws inching closer to Hunter.
“Touch him,” Claudia instructed.
The smell of
him made her want to run. Gone was the musky, male scent, the scent that usually made her want to rub her body all over him to absorb it. Instead he smelt like sickly, sticky blood. Of medicine.
Of death.
She forced the bile down that hovered in her throat and focused on the form in front of her. She could do this. She had to do this. If Claudia hadn’t thought it would help, she would have kept her out of the way. She had to do what she could.
Riley bent over him and purred. Kept her mind focused. She rubbed her head over his, butted at him gently, did everything she remembered he liked. But her strength was waning. If she didn’t stay strong, focused, she wouldn’t be able to keep her form. And to help him, she needed to be a leopard, not a human.
She knew Hunter couldn’t change either. He’d die of these injuries in human form. He needed to stay changed. Claudia must have frozen him like this, taken the ability from his mind to change until he was healed.
If he ever healed.
“I’m yours, Hunter. Claim me. Please.” She thought she heard him moan.
A quick glance at Claudia told her she was right. “More. You’re doing well.”
Riley growled low in her throat and nipped at him, lightly, as a cub would. She rubbed her face over his, pushed her shoulder against him. Gave him every indication that she was his. Didn’t care who could see or who might be watching.
She had only one purpose. And that was to rouse Hunter.
“Show that you’re mine, Hunter. You’re my mate. You can’t die. Show the others that you accept me.”
He stirred again, his movement more pronounced this time.
Claudia moved away from her then. Her eyes had clouded, her skin had become deathly white, like she was sick too.
She was seeing something.
“Claudia.” Riley shouted at her. “Claudia, what do you see?”
“They’re coming for you. More of them.” When her sister looked back at her, her eyes were wild. “You need to go. If Hunter is to heal, you need to go. I need to focus on him and only him if you want him to have a chance. Lead them away. Take the strongest. Summon Sophia. Go!”
Riley didn’t need to be asked twice.
“I love you, Hunter. Don’t leave me. Be strong.”