by Meg Ripley
“Are you serious?” Raul shook his head, smirking at the thought of the panther actually daring to challenge him. “This isn’t a sparring match with one of your cubs, panther,” Raul added. “If you fight me I’m going to treat it like an actual challenge.”
“I know how to handle a challenge,” the woman said, her upper lip curling slightly in the start of a snarl. “I just don’t think you can actually give me one.” A murmur rose up in the pack members behind him, and Raul felt his body heating up, his adrenaline beginning to flow. He could sense the way that the pack was reacting, feel the doubt in them. Raul felt the suggestion that he would lose status in the pack if he didn’t shut this she-panther up, and fast.
“Fine,” Raul said. He glanced at the other two panthers. “They stay chained; one on three isn’t fair.”
“I thought you could take us all,” the woman said, smirking. “But fine. I can take you all by myself.” Raul carefully reached out and began to loosen the chains around the woman, glancing at the other two panthers from time to time, making sure that they weren’t using the situation to try and break free. It would be just like these assholes to stage a showdown just for the chance to sneak out.
Raul tugged the last of the chains free of the woman and stepped back, watching her intently. “You going to get up and fight me?” the woman shrugged, rubbing her arms and legs, looking bitterly angry.
“Ever been in silver chains, asshole?” she started to stagger up onto her feet. “It takes a minute.” Raul considered that and nodded, taking another step back and preparing to begin the transformation. He would show the stupid she-panther what she was made of, and then he’d get the chains back onto her before Reginald arrived to inspect the prisoners. Reggie wouldn’t mind if he roughed up the female panther a bit, especially since she had challenged him. Cam’s comment—about the panthers being executed—worried him, but Raul knew better than to believe anything that Cam spouted off in the heat and excitement of the moment. Reginald knew better than to simply summarily execute three rival shifters. The only result that would bring would be war: out and out war between the panthers and the wolves, something that the elementals would intervene on, because it would risk discovery of the two-natured by the regular humans.
After only a few moments, the woman began to strip her clothes off, and Raul commenced as well; having grown up as a shifter, with part of his consciousness consistently animal, Raul had no qualms about nudity, even among strangers. He felt the change crackling and tingling along his bones, his body gearing up for the transformation that came to him as second nature. He sank down onto all fours as the change intensified, and saw the surprisingly beautiful, full-figured woman doing the same, taking up her position to change into her animal form. The wolves behind him began to yip and howl, excitement overtaking everyone in the room—even the panthers still chained up helpless a few feet away. Raul focused all of his attention onto bringing the change over himself as quickly as possible, feeling his bones shift and transform inside of his body, feeling his face elongate, fur pushing through his skin.
In a matter of moments, his vision had shifted and Raul let out a long, proud howl, throwing his head back and giving voice to his challenge. He looked at the woman; in her place there was a long, lean, muscled panther with dark, mottled fur and bright feline eyes boring into him. The panther growled, ending on a coughing, hissing note, and began to move, slinking in a slow, appraising circle around him.
The rest of the pack backed off, and Raul began to circle the she-panther, examining her movements, thinking in the strategic, animal part of his brain about how best to defeat her. There was no reason to hold back; this wasn’t a member of his pack, this wasn’t part of his family. He needed to put her down and then get the chains back on her, prove his point and be done with it.
The female seemed to be slightly weak in the hindquarters, a slight limp interrupting her slinking steps. Raul growled, low in his throat, hunkering down into a crouch as he watched the panther move. She was beautiful: sleek, deadly in spite of her limp, staring at him with yellow-green eyes that Raul knew were taking in every possible weakness he possessed.
As the moments of circling, waiting, evaluating reached a torturous peak, Raul launched himself at the she-panther, diving towards her injured hindquarters. She slipped underneath his dive, surprising him with her speed and nimbleness, and sidestepped his attack. Raul felt the rake of claws along his back, the heat of his blood flowing, and roared out, turning quickly to throw himself at the sneaky panther again.
Everything became a blur; Raul attacked, the woman evaded and countered. Raul hung back, waiting for her to make her strike, and barely shifted away from her attack in time. He managed to get in a few good hits, but in what seemed like mere moments, he was already beginning to tire. He could tell that the panther was beginning to tire as well—she was panting slightly, low growls leaving her throat. The other two panthers were still firmly chained—they couldn’t help their clan-mate—but the wolves were starting to get restive. The human part of Raul’s brain was too proud to give up the battle—he wasn’t going to let an upstart panther, little better than a glorified housecat, best him in a challenge.
But when he saw his opening, Raul hesitated; he could smell that Reginald was coming. The unmistakable scent mark of the Alpha of the pack hit him like a brick—and with it, the impression of the Alpha’s brain, imposing its presence on the room. In the moment Raul was distracted, the panther struck, launching herself at him, raking her claws down the sides of his body and tumbling him onto the floor. Raul kicked and twisted, knocking her off him, but he hadn’t managed to completely subdue her.
Reginald’s ear-splitting howl filled the air and Raul fell back, staring at the injured—but still defiant—panther. The panther glanced around the shed, and then launched herself at her two clan-mates in a flurry of movement, transforming into a dark, mottled blur in front of Raul’s eyes. He growled, throwing himself into the battle with her once more, suddenly realizing what she intended to do: break her friends free while everyone was distracted. Raul grabbed the back of the panther’s neck, locking down as tightly as he could without breaking bones.
All around him, he heard the groans and growls and howls of the rest of the members of the pack in the shed with him transforming. In a matter of moments, Raul found himself—and the three panthers—surrounded by wolves, Reginald taking up his position as Alpha in his human form. “Change back into your human forms and chain these beasts down more securely,” Reginald said, his voice firm with the authority that came from being in command for years. “They will be put to death in the morning in sight of the whole Pack.”
Raul let the panther’s neck fall out of his mouth and turned to look up at his Alpha in astonishment. The human part of his mind, asserting itself more fully now that the most animalistic urges had been fulfilled, was stunned—stunned and horrified—to learn that Cam’s comment had apparently been correct: Reginald intended to make an example out of the three panthers by putting them to death. The other wolves in the shed leapt to action, securing the three prisoners anew, piling copper onto them to make it impossible for any of them to move. The panther herself was subdued with a dozen heavy chains, borne down onto the floor of the shed screaming in the agony of the metal against her bare skin and fur. Raul staggered back at the sight unfolding in front of him and started the change into his human form as he watched Reginald slink out of the room, leaving the enforcers and the lower pack members to take care of keeping the prisoners secure enough.
****
Raul looked around outside of the shed where the panthers were being held, scenting the air to make sure that none of the other members of the pack were close enough to see what he was going to do. The fact of Reginald’s judgment—the knowledge that the Alpha of the Pack fully intended to put three panthers to death without even a trial—had eaten at Raul long after he’d left the shed to shower and dress his wounds.
The only oth
er member of the pack present was Cam. Raul sighed; Cam would go along with him—as Raul’s second, he had no real choice—but he would rather have found the shed utterly deserted save for the three panthers. “Cam,” Raul said quietly, knowing that the other man’s preternaturally acute hearing would catch the whisper.
“All quiet in there,” Cam said, moving out of the darkness and taking up a position in front of the door.
“I can tell,” Raul reminded his second. “I need you to step aside.” Cam smirked.
“Oh, you want another try with that female?” he looked Raul up and down in the darkness. “I think she got you pretty good the first time.”
“I’m fine,” Raul said, letting a low growl come into his voice. “Step aside, Cam—or challenge me, one or the other.”
“What are you going to do in there?” Raul shook his head.
“Better you don’t know, man,” Raul told Cam. “I don’t like this summary execution business.”
“You’re not alone in that,” Cam murmured. “But for myself—they could have killed wolves with that fire. Or normal humans. They have to be stopped.”
“We’re supposed to be better than the worst parts of our animal nature,” Raul said quietly. “All I need you to do is step aside. And forget that I was here.”
“What if Reginald asks?” Raul considered; if Cam tried to cover for him by saying that he’d fallen asleep, or that he’d been away from his post, he’d be in trouble—punished by the pack in general and the Alpha in particular.
“A bunch of panthers came in, sprayed you down with wolf’s bane, and got them out,” Raul suggested. That was something that wouldn’t arouse suspicion.
“They’ll test my clothes,” Cam countered. Raul’s lips twitched in a smile.
“Guess you’re going to have to douse them in wolf’s bane then, aren’t you?” Raul growled low in his throat, a warning sound. “If you have a problem with it, you challenge me right here and now.” Even injured, even tired as he was, Raul knew that Cam wasn’t a match for him; he’d sparred with the other wolf before.
“If they find out and Reginald challenges you, I’m not going to be your second,” Cam said. Raul shrugged.
“I won’t need a second for a battle like that,” he said simply. “Now step aside and look for some fucking wolf’s bane to roll around in.”
Cam moved away from the door, and Raul brushed past him, striding into the shed. The smell of blood—the panther’s and his own, along with splashes of what he was certain belonged to other members of the pack—filled Raul’s nose. The gloomy light revealed the three panthers, bound in their copper chains, watching the door. The she-panther was coated in sweat, blood spattered across her face and body, but despite her position she stared at him defiantly as Raul closed the door behind him. “I’m going to get you three out of here,” Raul said quietly.
“Right,” one of the two males said, snorting. “I’m going to trust a wolf.”
“You might as well,” Raul said, shrugging. “This is the last chance you’re going to get.”
“We make our own chances,” the other male said. “And if your asshole pack tries to take us out, we’ll take some of you out with us. And the rest of our clan will come after you.” Raul smiled slightly.
“We outnumber you,” Raul pointed out. “There are more of us, we have more allies. You don’t stand a chance if we come against you.”
“So why help us then?” The she-panther finally stirred as she spoke. She was obviously in bad shape.
“I’m not going to sit around and watch while the Alpha does something that’s against the Pack’s laws,” Raul said simply. “Either you accept my help, or you take your chances when it comes time to get the fuck out of here or die.” One of the two men looked closely at the she-panther.
“Take her out,” the man said. “Lachlan and I can take our chances.”
“Asshole! We could get her out of here,” the other male—presumably Lachlan—said.
“Do you want to risk it? She’s mating age.”
“Not like it matters to either of you anyway,” the woman said. “I wouldn’t mate with you even if I was in heat.”
“Take her out,” the first man said again. “Get her out of here.” Raul nodded and moved forward. The she-panther growled as he approached, pulling back her lips to snarl at him. “Keira—let him help you. Let him get you out of here. So help me god…” Raul met the woman’s gaze for a long moment.
“I’m not going to touch you in any way other than to get you out of the chains and into my car,” he told her firmly. “You can let me help you, or you can wait here for the rest of the pack to come in and lead you out to your death.” She stared into his eyes for a moment longer and then sighed, slumping against her chains, giving him implicit consent. Raul looked around, met the prideful, bitter gazes of the other two panthers, and went to work on disentangling the woman—Keira—from her chains.
****
Keira thought she must have blacked out at some point; as she came to, aware that she was in a vehicle—with a wolf no less—and that the vehicle was moving, she felt a jolt of anger and shame: at her weakness, at the fact that she’d had to be “rescued” in the first place, that the source of her rescue was the wolf that she had been on the verge of winning her challenge against only a few hours before. She opened her eyes just a slit and saw gray, early-morning light coming in through a window. “Where the hell are you taking me?” she turned her head slightly; just the smallest movement sent a jolt of pain through Keira’s body.
“To a hiding spot,” the werewolf said brusquely. “I’m taking you somewhere you can be safe from the pack.”
“A wolf abandoning his pack?” Keira chuckled weakly. She knew that in a matter of hours, with the exposure to the copper gone, she would be halfway to healing; but that was small comfort as her body ached and throbbed and burned.
“Not abandoning my pack,” the werewolf said. “I’m just against the decision.”
“What about Gary and Lachlan?” Keira remembered the discussion between her clan-mates and closed her eyes, thinking that the two of them were idiots. Of course, you don’t know that he’s not taking you somewhere to kill you himself for almost besting him in the challenge, she thought wryly. Privately, Keira had to admit to herself that the wolf had held his own pretty well—and he wasn’t actually as hideous as she would have thought. Keira cast a quick glance over the man in the driver’s seat of the car, taking in his muscled, lean body, the rangy look to his face that most wolves seemed to have.
“They made their choice,” the wolf said. “I gave them the option and they wanted to take their chances.” Keira’s lips twisted into a grimace; she knew he was right, and there was nothing she nor the wolf could have really done—but that didn’t stop her from being saddened at the knowledge that her clan-mates would almost certainly die.
“What’s your name?” she frowned at the werewolf, realizing that she’d been rescued by someone who she didn’t even know the first thing about—other than that he was a wolf.
“Raul. You’re Keira, right?” She nodded slowly. “You weren’t half bad back there. If we’d had maybe ten more minutes though, I’d have turned it around.” Keira laughed and then cringed as the movement sent pain shooting through her body.
“Please, Fido,” she countered, once the pain began to ebb. “I would have had you on your back whining like a kicked dog.” Raul barked out a laugh.
“Which one of us is driving? Which one of us had to rescue the other?”
“I was wrapped in copper chains! Let me wrap you up in tin and injure you and see how much bounce you have in your step, asshole.” Keira sat up in her seat, looking around. She hated not knowing where she was going; she hated feeling vulnerable—especially in the presence of a wolf.
“I’ll give you a rematch once we’re both recovered,” Raul suggested. “No holds barred.”
“To the death?” Keira raised an eyebrow, feeling suspicious t
owards the wolf again.
“To submission,” Raul countered. “Whoever makes the other submit first.”
“Then to the death,” Keira said, shrugging. Raul glanced at her and smiled, shaking his head.
For a long time, they continued on the road, both of them silent. Keira closed her eyes, trying to call up the mental impressions of her clan-mates; at such a distance, it was difficult even to feel the members of her clan—she couldn’t reach out to any of them. They had to be out in the boonies surrounding Spring Lake, not in the town proper anymore. Keira wondered if any of the members of the clan even knew what had happened to her, Lachlan, and Gary.
“Why were you raiding werewolf businesses in the first place?” Keira opened her eyes and glanced at Raul. She shrugged.
“I’m not even sure I understand what the reasoning was,” she admitted. “But once the decision was made, we were the natural choice.” She grinned slowly. “Had to have pissed you all off not to be able to track us, huh?” Raul’s lips twitched in the beginnings of a smile.
“If we hadn’t caught you last night, it was going to be my head,” Raul told her. “Reginald—our Alpha—got particularly pissed after the fire at the last raid you and your friends pulled off.”
“That was an accident…I think.” Keira bit her bottom lip. “It wasn’t me that did that. Someone pulled a fuse or something, the sparks lit on fire.” She shrugged.
“If you don’t even know why your people wanted to raid werewolf businesses, why did you go along with it?” Keira shrugged again.
“You do stuff because your Alpha wants it, right?” Raul hesitated and then nodded slowly. “It’s not that different with panthers. The clan decides to do something, and the right people for it get it done.”
“So, if your Alpha decided that you should grab some werewolves and put them to death…” Keira considered the question and shook her head.
