by Laura Wylde
Especially when she looked like that. All hot and bothered, ruffled like she had just had sex, or at least sexual contact. Ramon must have driven her wild. I wished that I had walked in a few moments early so that I could see her in the throes of passion. I bet she looked amazing with her head tossed back and crying out in sheer bliss. I could just imagine that incredible sight. That tight body of hers all sexy and willing. Needy and begging for more…
“Oops.” Tara pushed Ramon backwards and sat up. Luckily, she didn’t look embarrassed or angry this time around. She was glowing, but with happiness. “Sorry, Jabari. We’re coming.”
Ramon nodded sharply at me before heading towards the door. I remained where I was, leaning against the door to let them out. I didn’t think that there was a conversation needed which couldn’t be had with all of us. Tara must have understood the ways of the panthers now.
“Are you coming?” I asked Tara before she came to the door as well. “Everything alright?”
“Mhmm. Everything is brilliant, yes.” She nodded and grinned. “Is everything okay with you?”
She cocked her head curiously at me. I could tell that she was worried about offending me which wasn’t the issue at all. We would get our time; if it was meant to be then it would happen.
“I’m absolutely fine. Glad that you’re enjoying your time here.”
“Mmm. I am.” She brushed past me, leaning in to me as she went. A bolt of electricity shot through me as she did. She was sexy as fuck, and it ached through me. If she hadn’t just been with Ramon, then chances were, she would need a moment to gather herself up before I grabbed her and slammed her against the wall and slipped into her. Much as I wanted to, I would have to wait.
“You’re teasing me, Tara,” I growled into her ears as she walked past me. “You might want to stop that before I grab you and refuse to let you downstairs ever again.”
She giggled and tossed her head back, gleefully. “Well, I am sorry. I am hungry, so I better stop.”
She bounced down the stairs two at a time, leaving a beautiful scent behind her. I inhaled deeply, loving the stirring in the pit of my stomach. She really did affect me in a deep and powerful way.
I headed down the stairs behind her and made my way to the dinner table where everyone was now sitting. Already, the atmosphere was much more relaxed. Tony and Seth had sorted things out, Ramon had calmed Tara down, and all was good. This was going to be a great night.
I took my seat opposite Tara and watched as she ate a bit like an animal. She was starving, I guess it had been a really long time since she ate anything, so she stuffed food into her mouth like crazy. We all did the same, all of us were utterly ravished.
Chatter eventually started up around the table as the food began to vanish. Normal small talk which flowed with ease. It allowed me to breathe easier and learn more about Tara too.
“So, you did a naked strike?” Even Tony was shocked. “To help protect the planet.”
“I sure did, and it was great. The nudity got lots of press attention and it really raised awareness. Even the company was forced to stop polluting the oceans as bad as they were.”
“Wow, so you have been making a real difference to the planet?” Ramon was impressed.
“Yep, I guess so.” Tara smiled so happily. “I like knowing that I can help the environment. In any way that I can. The ocean too. Obviously, my main work has been with cats…”
“You’ve posed naked for the cats, have you?”
She laughed, loudly. “No, I haven’t posed naked for the cats. But I have protested the fur industry and that got all over the media as well. That made a difference.”
There were words on the edge of my lips that desperately wanted to spill out. Words I had to really fight to keep inside. Tara could help to make a real difference to our pack and our race by staying with us and becoming our mate. Bearing our children and helping to keep the panther shifters going… but there was no way that I could put that on her shoulders. It wasn’t fair.
But it would be fabulous, wouldn’t it? If she turned out to be the one? For us, and for her.
“So, what about your life back home?” I found myself asking instead. “Tell us about that.”
“Oh, well, my life back home…” Her expression darkened. “It’s erm, it’s quiet to be honest. I don’t really feel like I have much of a life back home. I’m always traveling, always moving around and exploring new places. I don’t spend much time in one place.”
“What about friends and family?”
Ramon gave me a look like he could sense what I was doing. But I couldn’t stop it now. The question was out there. Tara was the only one who didn’t look horrified by it.
“I’m not that close to my parents, really. We lead very separate lives. I do have my friends from high school, Maz and Darla, but I keep in touch with those guys through messaging. Honestly, I just float about having new experiences in different places.”
I wasn’t sure if that sounded incredibly lonely or not. I couldn’t quite tell if she found it exciting or she was just floating through life trying to find something to anchor her. This conversation wasn’t calming me down at all. If anything, it was making me worse. Now it really seemed like she could have a life here if that was what she ended up wanting.
“I see. And how does this experience rate in your life so far?”
She lit up. There was no other way to describe it, she absolutely glowed. “It’s the best. I love it here in Brazil. Of course, it helps that I discovered you guys as well. It’s been life changing for me. I honestly don’t know if life will ever be able to go back to normal after this.”
I nodded slowly, trying to show her that I understood. “I get it.”
“Do you?” She stared right into my eyes. “Because this has always been your life, hasn’t it? This craziness has always been your existence. For me, coming from an ordinary life…”
“It doesn’t sound like your life has always been ordinary, Tara!”
“No, I suppose not. But compared to what’s going on here…” She made a sweeping gesture with her hands. “And then for me to find out about all of this… well, it’s a shock.”
“In a way, our life has been smooth sailing as well. It’s been very ordinary for us. Until recently. Until we started to bring human women in to Panthera, and the jaguars got wind of it.”
She gulped and nodded. “Yes, I suppose you’re right. I just… I don’t know…”
She was thinking about it. It was written all over her face. Tara was actually considering staying here. She was like an open book and it made my heart skip about ten beats. To know that there was even a glimmer of hope… well, I couldn’t describe the way that it made me feel.
When Javier first brought a human woman in to Panthera, I wasn’t sure what to make of it. I didn’t react badly in the way that Jakar had. I wasn’t really against it or for it. It was just a way to continue on with our race which could only be seen as a good thing. None of us wanted the panther shifters to die out and that was as good a way as any. Of course, I didn’t fully understand when he said that he’d fallen in love. That was a bit beyond me. I got it even less when Jakar, who was dead against it said the same thing later on. But now it was all starting to make so much sense. Now, I really did get it because that was the way that I felt about Tara. I felt like maybe I loved her.
“What was that noise?” Seth suddenly jumped to his feet. “Did anyone hear that?”
I narrowed my eyes at him, wondering why he was acting crazy just as it seemed like we might be getting somewhere with Tara. But just as I was about to snap at him, I heard it too. It was only light. Footsteps. Cat footsteps. Since Javier and Jakar hadn’t made any definite plans to come out here just yet, I had to assume that it was jaguars. They now knew that we hadn’t immediately done what they’d asked, and they were coming to do that for us.
“They are here for Tara,” I yelled. “And her information.”
As the door swu
ng open, we all burst to life, exploding from our skin and shifting into our panther shapes. This wasn’t the way that I wanted Tara to see us for the first time, but I guess we didn’t have a choice now. I pushed her down, making sure that she hit the ground in the corner so she couldn’t be hurt. Or hurt anymore anyway. A little bruise from a fall wouldn’t be anything like how much pain she’d have to suffer if one of those assholes got to her. Then, it was time.
I lurched for the one nearest to me and grabbed a chunk of fur on the back of his neck. He let out a little squeal but wasn’t deterred enough to let me get another swipe in. His claws tore across my face, already alerting me to the fact that there would be yet another scar there.
Ramon appeared distracted. I could sense his eyes constantly darting around the room as we all fought our hardest. But six of them against four of us didn’t make it easy. He had to be checking on Tara, to see if she was hurt. If she was still where I left her, then I was closest and no one had a chance of even getting close to her. Even as another one of the jags came to take me on, I wasn’t worried. I never stopped the battle because of these scars.
But then a blur of white shot across the room, which of course distracted me. But not just me. All of us. Everyone in the room twisted as he bolted towards the stairs.
The laptop. It hit me hard. It was so damn obvious. The jaguars were here for the evidence as well as Tara. Her death didn’t mean as much to them as getting that information. I wanted to go there too, to help Ramon stop whichever fucker had crept away, but I was the nearest one to Tara. A quick glance told me that she was still lying on the ground beneath me. I needed to protect her as well. Luckily, Seth took the initiative and raced towards the stairs with two of them behind him. Tony and I were left behind. Him with the biggest bastard pinning him down, and me with two. If I was honest with myself, it didn’t look good. But our war against the jags never had done. If it was a numbers’ game then we were always fucked, but that didn’t stop me from fighting, and it wouldn’t today. We had so much more to fight for.
One of them leapt on my back while the other went for my throat, but he wasn’t quick enough. I swiped my paw, my claws all the way out, and I shocked him by catching his eye. His body slammed against the wall hard and I spotted blood spurt up the wall from his pupils.
He was going to be out of action for a couple of moments, which gave me plenty of time to turn and tear a chunk out of the other jag’s throat. Not enough to kill him, but to stop him for a moment. I slammed him against the wall next to his friend so they could both see what we were capable of.
Tony’s guy squealed a horrifying, guttural sound and he tore from our house at the speed of light. I wasn’t quite sure what Tony had done to him, but he was out of here. Thank God, the less that we had in here the better. Tony glanced at me and I nodded towards the stairs for him to follow Seth and Ramon. I didn’t think he would make the same mistake with Tara again, especially in this horrifying situation, but I couldn’t risk it.
Once we were alone, aside from the two jags I took out far too easily, honestly, when were they going to see that they weren’t the superior race to us? I leaned down and nudged my nose against Tara to check that I hadn’t done too much damage to her. To not freak her out more, it would have been far wiser to shift back into my human form, but I couldn’t risk anyone else coming in and attacking me while off guard.
“Hmm?” She murmured, stirring ever so slightly. “Jabari?”
Her hand rested on my nose and her sleepy eyes blinked at me a couple of times. Somehow, through everything, she wasn’t freaked out by seeing me like this even though she had to have witnessed how feral and brutal I could be. But even stranger, she recognized me. I didn’t stand out like Ramon did. Aside from the scars, I didn’t have any distinguishing features.
“It’s you,” she muttered, her eyes almost rolling back into her head. “I can just tell.”
The hairs on the back of my neck rose up and I knew then that something was after me. Every fiber inside of me screamed so I forced myself away from Tara and the gorgeous feeling of her soft touch, to tackle whatever threat was coming after me. The jag with the eye injury was trying his luck again but I wasn’t going to give him a shot. I would go all in. I had to be brutal to ensure that not only he, but the rest of the jags, got the message not to fuck with us…
By the time he and his friend had both hot-footed out of the house, I had blood all around my mouth. I undoubtably looked like the beast I really was. I couldn’t turn to see Tara because I didn’t want to know what she would think of me now. Surely, this had put her off?
But it was her who came to me. She rested her soft fingers on my back and stroked me like I was her pet. I felt like freaking purring; it was such a delicious sensation.
“What are we going to do?” She whispered. “This is only getting worse, isn’t it?”
“Bastards are all done for,” Tony yelled, coming down the stairs in human form. “None of them got anywhere near the laptop, so that was a bonus.”
As I shuddered and shifted back, slipping back into my human skin like it was a glove, I couldn’t help but wonder what ‘done for’ meant. Run away or dead? I didn’t want to make it worse for Tara by asking. She didn’t seem too worried now, but surely, she was going to be?
“We need to speak to Javier and Jakar,” I announced coldly, as I finally got the power of speech back. “All of us together this time. We need to make a plan. All of us together.”
“What does that mean?” Tara’s hand gripped on to my arm which actually felt just as nice as when she stroked me. The feel of her took the words out of my mouth, but only for a second.
“It means, Tara,” I said with a bit of a dramatic flair. “That we are going to Panthera.”
Tara
My heart raced at the speed of light as we made our way through the jungle. The blackness surrounding us felt ominous, so was the intense sensation that there were a million eyes upon me. Not one of them friendly. I could now see why Jabari didn’t want me coming in here alone. I wasn’t sure that I would have been able to do it. I probably would’ve run away scared if I didn’t get attacked first. The jaguars definitely had it in for me, that was for sure.
I pulled my back pack tighter around my shoulder, protecting the information inside, as panther Jabari ran past me. Seth and he were in their animalistic forms just in case an attack came our way, with Ramon and Tony close by me as humans, looking after me that way.
I was right in the way that I did feel so much safer with these four men, but it wasn’t enough. After seeing the jaguars attack like that, a sneak attack at that, I was filled with fear. The panthers saw them off for sure, they showed how much stronger they were, but if it was a numbers’ game, I already knew that the jaguars had millions over the panthers. If they surrounded us, we were screwed. They would absolutely destroy us. We would be gone in an instant.
Then what would happen? Would the world just keep going without me? How much would the people in my life miss me once they knew that I was gone? I couldn’t seem to stop myself from thinking all of these morbid thoughts as we walked through an unfamiliar environment.
“Don’t keep panicking,” Tony whispered to me in a softer voice than he would normally use.
“I can’t help it. I keep hearing stuff.” I jumped again as the trees rustled. “This is a bit much.”
“Don’t forget that we have amazing hearing. Jabari and Seth will pick up anything a long time before you do.” He hugged me tighter. “You don’t have to worry about a thing. Plus, think about Panthera. We aren’t too far away now, and you’ll finally get to see it.”
Admittedly, this did help a little. A bolt of anticipation circled through me at the idea. It was all that I had wanted ever since I learned about it. I couldn’t wait to see this hidden underground civilization where panther shifters lived freely, being who they were. I was also looking forward to meeting the human women already there. There were so many things that I wanted
to ask them. Was that out of mere curiosity, or more? I hadn’t yet worked that out.
“Will they take my laptop right away?” I hissed. “Are they going to be mad about me?”
“No one will be angry,” Ramon jumped in. “No one could possibly be angry at you. The information will be safe in Panthera anyway so there won’t be any issues.”
I jumped again, the fear bolting through my system as another noise came from the left. I honestly wasn’t sure that I would ever be calm again after seeing that attack.
Just as that noise shocked me, I almost asked what would happen with my information when I left Panthera, but the question didn’t quite make it out. I wasn’t sure why, but the idea of ever leaving this place was becoming more impossible by the moment. My life before Brazil was all pale and black and white. More like a dream, and I had finally woken up in my real life.
But this life wasn’t exactly smooth sailing, was it? It wasn’t perfect compared to what I had before. I had a lot of complications to deal with, mainly hooking up with three out of the four guys. God, I still couldn’t believe that had happened! It just felt so right at the time…
“Don’t panic.” Tony’s touch sent tingles flying through me. “It’s okay.”
Jabari and Seth raced off which caught the breath in my throat. I couldn’t get any air into my lungs. Dizziness absolutely consumed me. Them running away meant something terrible was happening. Jaguar related. It had to be. They were here, coming for us…
“It is okay.” Ramon leaned in to hold me up as well. “They’ve got this…”
“But… but…” I shook my head hard. “I don’t…”
Ramon shocked me by leaning down and pressing her lips ever so gently against mine. Everything buzzed yet stilled at the same time. Ramon had this magical calming power over me. Then, just as I was about to really lean in to the kiss, to see where it might lead, Tony rested his hands on my shoulders and reminded me that he was there. I leapt backwards, stunned, remembering that Tony was someone I had also had a moment with.
