by N Gray
Ivy was staring at me, but her body was facing in the opposite direction. There was a small spark left, but the light was fading from her eyes. That glassy look in her eyes triggered something within me. Pain seared through my chest, and the back of my throat ached. The smell of ash and soot wafting in the air reminded me of something important, but I couldn’t quite place it. That tiny spark of Ivy was worth searching for.
I knelt alongside Mel. “Can I help?”
“No, dear; it was a clean break. No matter how powerful the were-animal is, they can’t heal something like this,” Mel said, and she closed Ivy’s eyes.
I reached for Ivy’s hand and it was warm in mine. I closed my eyes and allowed my metaphysical metal walls to dip just a little. I allowed the pure white of my aura to shine through. I used the white of my aura to look for that small spark inside Ivy. I searched near her heart first and found that she was a good person. She didn’t have a mean bone in her body, and the only reason she had fought Phillip was because tradition had forced it upon her. Greg and Sebastian had made her train with them in case of such eventualities. Her heart was still beating, although the flutter was slow and losing its rhythm. I moved away from her heart and continued my search within.
When I found that tiny light, the white of my aura brushed past it until there was a flame that burned brightly. I found her snapped neck, and as I kneaded her hand in mine, I pictured her bones joining, her tissue knitting together, and her veins mending. My white aura coursed through her, straightening bones, inflating bruised organs, and smoothing out bumps.
“Jesus!” Mel said, screaming. “ANNE!”
I heard people running in the distance, but I ignored them. I held onto Ivy. I held onto the light that was her.
From the loss I felt when I saw her broken body, I knew I couldn’t let Ivy die when there was still something left to save. I wanted to know if what I remembered was real or if it was only feasible in my dreams. When I opened my eyes, bright wide eyes stared back at me and a grin splashed across her face.
Ivy would be just fine.
“Holy shit! Did you know about this, Sebastian?” someone from the crowd asked.
“What about you, Mel? Did you know?” said another.
I let go of Ivy’s hand, and she sat up.
I rose, blood rushed to my ears, and I grabbed the nearest arm to hold on to.
“Are you okay?” said the owner of the arm I was holding onto. I recognized his voice. I turned, and it was Jeremiah. He was naked, but it didn’t bother me this time. I must have been more tired and drained than I thought.
“I’ll be fine, thanks,” I said, letting go of his arm, swaying slightly.
Mel came to stand beside me. “Blaire, how, what, when?” she said, questioning everything without asking a specific question.
I laughed. “I don’t know. I’m not sure.” I shrugged. “I wanted to find out if maybe there was a possibility that I could. That I could heal her.”
“Thank you, Blaire,” Anne said, hugging me. “You saved my baby.” My shoulder was damp with her tears.
“Ah, Mom, please don’t call me that,” Ivy said in a weak voice.
Anne laughed. It was a comforting sound.
Chapter 23
SAWYER, RORY, AND I WERE HUDDLING around a fire pit. The flames were high and warm against my face. All the were-leopards were hunting. Phillip was pissed that I had ruined his chances of moving up the proverbial monarchy ladder, and he had disappeared in the forest with a couple of human ladies who were waiting for him. Sebastian was lost in the crowd when everyone shifted. I missed him changing into his black beast.
When I saw him, he was a beautiful large kitty-cat with grass green eyes and a gold ring around the iris. He moved toward me like liquid muscle, licked my hand, and scent-marked me before disappearing with the rest of the leap into the forest.
Sawyer came up with a brilliant idea of making a bonfire while we waited for the leopards to return. After about an hour, the first leopard arrived. It was Anne; I recalled her golden-grey coat. She moved with those liquid mercury muscles covered in fur to her house. When she came out, she was human again, a gown wrapped tightly around her.
“I thought you had to stay in your leopard form until the next day?” I said with a frown.
“If you’re as old as me, you don’t need to.” She winked.
“You can shift back so easily?” Sawyer asked.
“Yes, and as you will see, Sebastian can, too. But most of the others will stay leopards until daybreak or until after they have eaten and rested.” Her smile played gently across her face, and she sat cross-legged on the grass near the fire.
“This was a lovely idea. We usually roam in darkness, eat, then sleep in a pile until daybreak.” She shifted closer to the fire. “And, Blaire—thank you again for bringing my Ivy back to me. I hate Phillip for what he did, but I’m grateful she will be fine.”
“I’m glad I could help, Anne.”
When I remembered the dream I’d had of me trying to heal my daughter, I’d wanted to know if it was only a dream or if I really had it in me to heal injuries. And so I had tried out my theory on Ivy. She still had a spark of life left, and I couldn’t let her wilt away.
Leaves rustled at the edge of the forest. Sawyer and Rory stood with their guns out, pointed in the direction of the noise. A black shadow moved, a black leopard headed toward us. The face of the black leopard changed to a familiar one, the soft black fur receded, and the animal stood upright. He was human once again.
Sebastian walked closer to me with smooth dexterity, all the muscles working together like liquid.
I forgot that there were others around us. I stared at him, at his body, from his head to his toes. I glanced at all his nakedness and felt the heat flush from my chest to my head. My pulse beat hard in my veins. My body went tight down below as I watched him move toward me.
There was an urgent need to touch him. To run my fingers over his body. I’d waited long enough. I didn’t want to wait any longer.
I rose from where I was sitting and closed the distance between us. He picked me up, and I wrapped my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist. He grabbed my ass and pushed the front of my body against his. He grinned and leaned in for a kiss that was hard and wanting so much more, and he guided me toward the house.
My clothes were off. In the heat of our kissing, everything went onto the ground except my gun, which I placed on the bedside table with my shoulder holster.
We were in a room Sebastian used whenever he stayed over at Anne’s house. Sebastian had lifted me up, my legs wrapped around his waist and he had me pinned against the wall. He kissed down my neck, nibbling as he went. He hovered near that pulse in my neck and, for a moment, I thought he was going to take a bite. Instead he sucked gently. I moaned and arched my back, giving him access to my breasts. He stopped and stared at me, the look in his eyes typical of a man’s desire for a woman.
“Are you sure?” he whispered.
I nodded. “Yes, I want you. I want you now, Sebastian.”
He didn’t have to ask a second time. He went to the bed with me still wrapped around his waist and laid me down gently. He lay beside me and kissed each of my breasts, sucking on my nipples until they were hard. His hand tickled my stomach, causing all the hairs on my body to stand on end. Then he went lower, caressing my thighs and pushing my legs open. His fingers found my soft silky folds, and I gasped as he pushed in a finger, exploring my delicate depths. When two fingers entered, I bit my lip, my breathing now quick and heavy.
“God, you’re so wet and tight.” He whispered gruffly and kissed me.
I whimpered in pleasure as his fingers worked their magic inside me. My body tightened around his fingers as he continued to caress that spot, sending shockwaves through me. He slowly removed his fingers, which made me open my eyes. He was grinning at me. Then he was above me, supporting himself on his arms and staring down at me. My heart was racing, waiting in antici
pation. I didn’t know how long it had been since I had last been with a man. But lying beneath Sebastian, our bodies touching, the intimacy made it feel like it was my first time all over again.
He positioned himself between my legs and rubbed the tip against my opening, tempting, teasing me.
“Please, Sebastian.”
“Please what?”
“Stop teasing me.” I swallowed hard, my throat dry.
He grinned again, showing his fangs. “Only because you said please so sweetly.”
He entered me slowly, and I wasn’t sure if I could take all of him. He started maneuvering slowly in and out, allowing me to adjust to his size. When he was almost all the way out, he kept just the tip inside and then, in one swift motion, thrust inside me again.
That one movement caused me to writhe from the feel of him working his way in. I glanced down the line of his body as he pushed inside me again and again, and that alone made everything tight down below. He was looking me in the eyes as he pushed a little harder with each thrust, but not so hard that there was pain. He continued until he found his rhythm, pushing ever so gently, yet hard enough that he hit that sweet spot every time.
I rode the wave of his body going in and out of mine. Goosebumps covered my skin as he worked his way in and out, thrusting his hips until I cried out his name in pleasure. My whole body tensing before the first wave hit and I climaxed around him, my body writhing beneath his. I felt him spasm inside me, his body tight against mine. He flung his head backward, eyes closing as his whole body shuddering as he orgasmed. He went deeper inside one last time, buried as deeply inside me as possible, I orgasmed again and dug my nails into his ass.
He slid out of me, and that made me writhe again. He collapsed onto his side to lie beside me. My pulse was still thundering in my ears, my skin tingling from Sebastian’s touch, and I swallowed twice before I could find my voice.
“That was—wow,” I said, and I kissed him.
A hmm sound escaped his mouth, and his lips found mine again.
“I can’t go again.”
He chuckled. “Did I hurt you?”
Heat crept up my neck, and I felt my cheeks flush. “A little. It’s been a while.”
He pecked my cheek, removed the condom, and threw it in the bin. I was not on any birth control and had asked that he use a condom. Even though the likelihood he would father a child was slim, I didn’t want to take the chance.
“I could lie here with you all evening, but we should probably go. We still need to finish the feast,” he said. He lay beside me again, nibbled on my breast closest to him, and caressed my waist with a fingertip, trailing lower.
I moved onto my side so that I could face him and kissed him again. My body was still tingling with sexual satisfaction.
I’d almost forgotten about the feast.
“I would much rather stay here with you, but I suppose we should clean up and join the others.” I said reluctantly.
He trailed the fine scar across my abdomen and kissed it gently. “I’m sorry this happened to you, but if it hadn’t, we wouldn’t be together,” he said with a hint of sadness.
I smiled and wrapped my arms around his neck for one last embrace before we climbed out of bed.
We cleaned up as best we could, Sebastian pulled on clean jeans and a shirt from a cupboard, and we went outside.
Sawyer and Rory stared at us suspiciously, with a look that said they knew what we had just done; we ignored them. I sat between them with Sebastian behind me. Everyone was back from the hunt; most were still big kitty-cats, and the more powerful ones had changed back into their human form—some were naked, while others had changed into their sets of spare clothing.
Grant’s body was on an offering table near the fire. There was a glass beside his head filled with dark liquid. Greg lifted the glass and said a few words similar to a prayer. He took a sip and offered the glass to Anne, who sipped and passed it on. Greg lowered Grant’s body to the ground and called the leopards in animal form to the feast. There was some hesitation at first, but after one took a bite, the others soon followed.
I turned away.
I stared at the trees of the forest and felt swirls of power surround me and the leap. Whatever was happening, it was because of everyone feasting on Grant. The power it generated circled the leap and made my heart beat against my chest.
Sebastian pulled me into the circle of his arms. “Here—you need to have a sip, Blaire.”
Turning in his arms, he offered me the dark liquid. “Is this his blood?”
He nodded. “You are one of us, Blaire. You must drink.”
He pressed the glass to my lips and lifted the bottom, forcing the liquid down my throat. The liquid had no smell, but it was cold and thick. I swallowed the metallic-tasting fluid and gagged, but I didn’t spit it out. I swallowed hard. It left a rusty taste in my mouth. I passed the glass to Jeremiah, who sat behind Sebastian.
I sat in the circle of Sebastian’s body and leaned against his chest with my legs to my chest.
I closed my eyes for a second. I relaxed, my head on Sebastian’s chest, and felt his chest rise and fall. He was so warm and comforting. The rhythmic sounds from the forest steadied my own heartbeat.
I saw a leopard’s face come before me. Its face was furry and white, and it had ice-blue eyes. It jumped at me, and I jerked awake.
My chest ached, and I was lying on the ground with Sebastian straddling my waist. He was pinning my arms above my head.
“Blaire, can you hear me? Blaire?” he asked with a quiver in his voice. His eyes held a hint of—fear? Concern? I wasn’t sure.
“Get off me, Sebastian. You’re hurting me.”
“Sorry,” he said, letting go of my hands and sitting beside me. “We had to hold you down.”
I sat up. Sawyer and Rory let go of a leg each, while the other leopards stood at a distance.
Sawyer said, “She smells like them. Like a leopard.”
I glared at him. “What happened?”
Sebastian opened his ripped shirt, revealing deep scratches.
I frowned. “Did I do that to you?”
He nodded, then said, “You growled at me, then your eyes began to glow blue and you attacked me. I had to stop you.” He touched his wounds. “You were strong, Blaire. All three of us had to hold you down. You were almost as strong as Sawyer here.” He thumbed behind him in Sawyers direction.
“I saw a white leopard with blue eyes, and it jumped at me. It felt so real. I can still feel it inside me, Sebastian. Like it wants to claw its way out of me.” I touched my chest, feeling a heavy weight that bore down on me. “After I drank that stuff, I closed my eyes for a second, and then it came at me.” I shuddered. “I want to go home.”
“It could be the lycanthropy, Blaire. Your animal could be trying to come out,” Anne said, looking up at the Blue Moon.
“Am I really changing? Is this what happens to everyone?”
“It’s not usually quite what happened to you, but it could be,” Anne said. “You shouldn’t go through this alone, Blaire. You need to be with someone who can help you if your animal does decide to come out and you change into your leopard.”
I squeezed my eyes tightly and then wiped them dry. “Shit, I can’t believe it. But why now? Why after two months? I don’t understand it.”
“It’s amazing you are able to hold onto three different strains, Blaire. But it seems your inner leopard has won. Let Sebastian be there for you.”
I glanced at her; I knew the look I gave her wasn’t friendly.
Whatever was happening to me, I didn’t want it to happen in front of the leap. I wanted to go to my house, where I had my own things.
The voodoo priest was dead. His girlfriend and his brother were dead. It was safer now. There was nothing else trying to get to me.
Sebastian wasn’t thrilled that I wanted to go to my place instead of his. He didn’t want me to be alone.
“I will be fine, Sebastian,” I sa
id, and I sounded angry. I crossed my arms over my chest and stared out the window of the car.
Something was happening to me I couldn’t explain, and I didn’t want company if I changed. If Anne was right, I was becoming a were-leopard. And my leopard was white. I’d never heard of a white leopard before, and she wanted to come out of me.
What about the other two were-animals? My lion and my wolf?
Leaning against the headrest of the back seat, I closed my eyes and pictured the white leopard with the icy blue eyes that I’d seen earlier. I found her; she was hiding in a cave. I scanned the area and found a lioness and a wolf, each in their stone white caves.
All three were staring at me.
All three were waiting for something.
When Sebastian spoke, he brought me out of my metaphysical realm. “I can still smell your leopard, Blaire. We’ll take you home just as soon as we’re sure you’ll be fine. I promise.”
I sighed inwardly.
Rory was driving, and he glanced at me in the rear-view mirror and said, “Blaire, you need to listen to him. Let’s find out what’s happening first. When things have settled, I’ll drop you off wherever you want to go.” His eyes flitted to Sebastian.
“Fine,” I said.
Epilogue
I STAYED WITH SEBASTIAN FOR TWO weeks, and during that time, my leopard didn’t claw its way through me once. We decided it was a combination of the Blue Moon, Grant’s blood, and everything that had happened to me with the priest that caused my white leopard to reveal herself to me. When we thought it was safe and she would not burst through me, I asked Rory to take me home.
It had almost been a month since I was last home, and the floor near the front door was littered with letters, bills, and postcards. Rory checked each room thoroughly before I chased him out. I no longer required a guard to protect me.
I scooped up all the mail and set it down on the table in my basement. I lay on my couch, focusing on the buzzing sound of the small fridge to drown out the noises from the world outside. In my arms was the large plush teddy bear Sebastian had given me to hold when he wasn’t around. He hadn’t told me to throw away the hedgehog Léon had sent me, and I didn’t have the heart to, either. It had a new home on top of the little fridge in the basement. Every time I glanced at the plush hedgehog from the couch, I thought of Léon. I knew it was wrong to think of my boyfriend’s brother, but I couldn’t help how I felt about him, either. There was definitely something there.