by Lane, Soraya
She gave her sister one last look, but she was already bent over her patient.
Hunter was going to make it, he had to. But real change was coming. She could smell it on the wind.
Riley burst from the cave and inhaled deeply. She’d been so worried about Hunter that she’d ignored the full strength of her senses.
“Men!” She bellowed the word. A rumble around her signalled they’d heard. “Now is the time. Now is when we fight. They are here. They have come for us.”
She wanted Hunter, needed him by her side. But this was what he’d trained her for, wasn’t it? This was her destiny, and she had no choice but to embrace it. They might not have started her combat training, but every instruction he’d ever given her had been to help her prepare.
He was their strongest warrior, but they’d learned from him. She’d learned from him.
Six leopards appeared before her. She recognized them all from the other day. Now, they were serving their purpose. Some of them were already spoken for, mature leopards who wanted only to fight for her, and they’d help keep any rogues interested in her romantically out of her way.
She thought the smallest was the one who had challenged Hunter, but she couldn’t be sure.
“The traitors?” She asked them all.
They looked at her with respect, not longing, to her relief. It made her feel better about being out in the forest with them. More confident.
She was to be their new leader and this was her time to prove herself. Their eyes, green and slitted, told her they were here for her. To fight beside her, not for or against her.
Curved, teeth-bared smiles appeared on all six faces.
“Gone,” said one.
“Ripped apart, piece by piece,” said another.
She nodded, before arching her back and hissing. She revelled in the way her lips moved back to reveal her teeth, thrilled in the anger as it pulsed through her body. She hadn’t yet trained with them, completed any army training, but she could feel in her bones what needed to be done.
Hunter had almost died trying to protect her, had killed two fellow warriors alone and fought even more, for her. She’d seen their fallen bodies when she’d raced back to the lair. Now it was her chance to prove herself. To make him proud.
The enemy was here. Now was their chance to capture them. To kill them, and send a message back to their kind that they were stronger than ever.
“We must go. Now is the time to take them down. They’re coming.”
One of the leopards, the eldest, growled at her. But she wasn’t scared of him.
“They come for you,” he said. “You need to stay.”
She flicked her tail, growling low in her throat. No one told her what to do. She was their leader now. Or would be soon.
“We kill them now.” She had no intention of backing down. “You kill them with me or you turn back.” She gave him no option.
She knew this was only the start. That killing those on earth now would only delay what was coming. But they needed to act fast, then prepare for the onslaught that would come soon after.
But she needed more time before the big battle. She needed Hunter to live, to make their bond real, so they could fight together. Side by side. Only together would they be strong enough to defeat this. When the decade was up and the full force of their enemy was unleashed, once she truly understood what she was fighting.
Riley launched from her back legs and pounced through the air. She could smell the suckers vile stink in the air. It made her nose twitch, made her stomach turn, just from inhaling their scent. She didn’t know how, but she knew it was them.
Just because they had changed into animal form didn’t mean they could hide. Or outrun them.
This was what every leopard running with her right now had trained for. This was what they existed for. What their life was dedicated to.
A handful of suckers were not going to overpower, or outsmart, seven leopards who were out for blood. More soldiers would be here soon, part of the army no doubt already dispatched for by Sophia.
“We avenge Hunter, now.”
The male leopards only became faster, pounding fast beside her, but they didn’t pass her. They ran in a V-shape, her in the lead, her small contingent flanking her.
Hunter had told her she was stronger than him, or that she would be one day. She hadn’t believed him, but right now she had to.
Her mind fought the need to call Claudia. She wanted her sister to focus, but at the same time she knew her sister should be here guiding her. Assisting her.
Riley stopped, her paws planting hard down in the dirt. Her head cocked to the side, nose pointed to the air. She had to do this alone, unassisted, and that meant her focus had to be razor- sharp.
A slow, unavoidable snarl built in her throat, before she growled to the others.
They were here. She could smell them. Feel them.
Her men shared her excitement. Greed, desire, shone from their eyes. Backs hackled, showing their growing intent to kill.
“They’re here.”
She felt their answer in her bones.
Riley padded slowly into the forest.
It was now or never.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Riley would have done anything to have Hunter by her side. But his was the one name she was trying to expel from her brain. The anger of what had happened to him, what they had done to him, especially the traitors, would haunt her forever.
Right now, she had to think of their pack as a whole.
“We need you to guide us.”
Riley read the mind of the strong, big leopard standing before her. She’d never been alone, this close to another male before, had been warned not to, but now senses were alight with the need to fight, not mate.
At least that’s what she was telling herself as they charged toward danger.
She nodded, bared her teeth.
“Sophia.” She called her grandma. The woman who was still their pack’s leader. “I need your help. I’ve lost my guider.”
She exhaled in relief as a familiar voice echoed in her mind. She couldn’t see her, but she didn’t need to. Hearing her was enough. She hadn’t known if she could call out to Sophia from this distance, so she must be nearer than expected. Could be in hiding close to where they now prepared to fight. Could be watching even.
“We need to track them. I need to lead the men.”
“Are you sure?” Claudia’s voice was clear, strong. “You don’t have to fight with them. You need to be careful.”
“I’ve decided, Sophia. It’s time to fulfil my destiny.”
Riley was grateful for all the time Hunter had spent with her, preparing her mentally for her role. Only he was meant to be by her side when the enemy invaded. He was meant to fight beside her as her protector.
She started to run again, lead, as her grandmother assisted her.
“Send two guards to flank Sophia. Tell them to find her.” Riley ordered to her soldiers in her mind as she kept running, pleased to see one leopard double back from her peripheral.
“Continue, forward, head to the beach. That’s where they will gather.” Sophia spoke to her, no doubt speaking from the instructions of her own guider.
Riley worried that both guiders should be with Hunter, but she pushed the concern away. Her focus was the enemy right now. If she wasn’t committed, one hundred percent there, they would kill her. Possibly kill them all.
“We’ll take them there. Quickly.” Riley hissed as she thought it. She knew the men running with her heard it too, and she liked the adrenalin that built between them all. Like electricity charging a current through the air.
“Are any of our pack among them? Others who have switched sides,” Riley asked.
“No.”
Sophia’s answer pleased her. She kept her paws moving like clockwork across the ground, the others matching her fast pace with ease.
Then she smelt them again. Full force. The smell of leopards that weren’t their kind.
It was so strong she wanted to gag.
Riley slowed, let her pack surround her. They formed a shield, not slowing their pace until they were in formation.
They had accepted her as their leader. She was safe. For now.
“You need to kill, Riley.” She listened to the cool, calm voice of Sophia. “You cannot hesitate. This is the day you show them who you are. Kill on instinct, don’t even think about it.”
Riley didn’t want to think about what it was going to be like. Didn’t want to think about it at all. But she was going to.
If these soul suckers had taken over the form of a wild leopard, that meant she could be killing, or witnessing the death, of innocent cats whose souls had been sacrificed. That had been kind and unassuming, but with their body pillaged by a careless, savage dead soul.
She could be killing the mother of those cubs. The father.
But she wasn’t allowed to think like that. Couldn’t afford to lose her concentration, or her control.
The pack slowed around her. She had to skid on her pads to do the same. Now they were stalking, in hunting mode.
Their prey was near. Which meant it was time to kill.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Riley felt an unfamiliar urge to spin and run away as fast as her legs would carry her. It only lasted a split -second, but it still unnerved her.
Then her adrenalin cut in. Swathed her like a blanket, threatening to suffocate her, as her mind started screaming out to join in the fight.
The roars and screams of her fellow leopards, of her warriors, bit at the air around her. Like the calls of natives as they prepared to slaughter their enemy, the noise of war and death. A noise that left her ears ringing, throat dry, body shaking.
And then she joined them. She had no other choice. It was like she was possessed, like the thirst for blood and death was a part of her that she couldn’t deny any longer.
The noise that came from Riley’s throat did something to her brain. To her entire body. She went from nervous to bold. From unsure to dominating, possessive, determined. From follower to leader.
It was like she knew instinctively what to do and she did it with ease. Like she’d done it all before in a previous life and her actions were flowing back into her mind, telling her how to act.
Riley’s body flew through the air as if it were as light and agile as a ballerina’s. She attacked the first enemy leopard from behind, her concern at just who she might be killing gone from her mind, not even a flicker as she sunk her teeth into the neck of her prey.
All she wanted to do was kill. And kill fast.
The soldier who’d been fighting him from the front flashed his eyes at her as he stepped back, like he was unsure of her, but Riley didn’t release her hold. Instead she bit in harder, her body strong, veins pumping from the excitement of the kill.
The slightly salty, rich taste of blood sent a surge of wildness, of passion, through her. She could never have imagined how satisfying it could feel, taking a life in battle like that. Knowing she’d helped to kill an enemy who would have revelled in doing the same to her. Given half the chance.
Riley gave one last bite and snapped the neck she’d just mauled, feeling pride and excitement combine as she jumped away from the now dead object of her attention.
She clocked in her mind that she’d just killed, but it didn’t fail to stop her. Nothing did. She was just proud to prove herself, to show that she was worthy of the role Sophia wanted to bestow upon her.
The screams around her, the chorus of roars and growls, faded into almost silence. Riley’s hungry, bloodthirsty eyes sought out her next victim, focused only on avenging her mate. On showing Hunter that he hadn’t fought for nothing. On killing the enemy.
One of her warriors was on the ground. Another was assisting him, but she knew she could take the assailant down in one swift move from her vantage point, because she could see he was distracted. Three of her leopards were engaged and easily overpowering their targets.
Riley bounded, sure-footed across the ground and leaped, soaring through the air to once again descend. And kill.
She was starting to think of this as her signature move. With ease she snapped a neck and shoved the enemy down. Like she was made to do this, like she’d been behaving like this her entire life.
Blood lingered on her teeth, trickled down her throat, and she swallowed. It even tasted good. Even the fur in her mouth didn’t repulse her. Because she knew why they were behaving this way, knew why they had to. At the end of the day, this wasn’t just about avenging Hunter, it was about preserving the entire human race from an enemy.
Besides, killing had felt good. Real good. And surprisingly satisfying.
She did a quick head count. All her men were accounted for. One looked worse for wear, limping badly, but they were all standing. No casualties, which made her proud.
The bodies of the possessed leopards they’d taken down were littered around them. Not many, but it still saddened her that innocents had been killed in the process. She liked that the enemy had been defeated, but she wished they hadn’t had to take a form of another’s to show themselves. Wished she could kill their souls and leave the bodies they’d possessed unharmed.
It had been quicker, easier, less painless than she’d expected though. And she wasn’t averse to fighting like that, fighting hard, again. But here, now, there’d been six of them, and four of the enemy. Better odds than they might have next time. When a full on war was anticipated.
Riley couldn’t help but think of the screams she’d heard earlier. Of the agony in Hunter’s vocal cords when he’d been fighting for his life. Fighting the enemy alone.
When Hunter had been fighting them, he’d been alone. Four to one. He’d still managed to kill, but not get out unscathed.
She wished she hadn’t been such a coward and gone back instead of running. But she had had to alert the others. If she hadn’t, they might both be dead now.
“Are we done?”
Riley turned, her eyes roving from the corpses she’d been studying to her fellow leopards. The satisfied faces and red tinged muzzles looking back at her told her yes.
She went to turn, but a low growl made her stop and freeze. Riley held herself tight, coiled, expecting danger. But when she watched the leopards looking back at her, she could tell there was no threat. Who had made the noise?
The larger of the leopards, the one she’d run beside all the way here, stepped closer to her. She didn’t feel unsafe. She’d proven herself to these leopards today, each and every one of them. They were her allies. Her soldiers.
Riley held her head high, drew herself up to her full height.
“You are one of us now.”
She moved her head, just, to show that she’d listened to him. That she heard him. She presumed he spoke for them all.
Riley felt the stares of the other males, all listening, focused. But it didn’t unnerve her. She could feel their respect.
“We accept you as our leader.” The big leopard spoke to her again.
That made her purr, deep down inside. The smatter of warm, sticky blood as it was thrust against her face made the feeling die in her throat though. What the hell?
Yuk.
Riley went to jump at the leopard who’d smeared her, who’d tainted her with the blood of the enemy, but the big leopard stepped in between them. Stopped her from acting.
“He bestows you an honor.”
Riley stopped, teeth desperate to punish the other, claws aching for more action. To scratch at him and teach him some manners.
“Your first fight, your first victory, has been recognised. Wear the blood with pride.”
Riley forced herself to move backward. To show that she wasn’t going to attack. All she could do was nod her approval, her acceptance, no matter how gross she thought it was.
She gritted her teeth and tried not to look fierce. “Thank you.”
She didn’t even know the names of these leopards who’d been p
repared to die fighting at her side today, but now wasn’t the time for formal introductions. She’d have time for that later.
Right now, all she cared about was Hunter.
“Home,” she commanded.
There was no hesitation. Like before, the other leopards fanned out like a triangle, ready to protect her.
She was their leader. She could fight. She was capable.
But without Hunter, she was empty inside.
Riley paced herself, not wanting to use up any more energy than she needed to. She wouldn’t leave Hunter’s side, not until he recovered, and she needed to preserve every bit of strength she could.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Riley watched him sleep. She was human. She hadn’t been able to stay in leopard form. Exhaustion had seeped through her bones and demanded her attention, leaving her brain too tired to stay focused. But it seemed Hunter was worse. He still hadn’t woken up, and she felt like she’d already slept for days herself. Her body hadn’t even recovered from the fight. Still.
All she cared about was Hunter. And healing him.
The downside of being human was that she couldn’t speak to her sister, but she knew there was nothing more that could be done. She’d changed back and forth, changing, making sure she was in touch with both sides of her world. But Claudia had told her to rest because she’d already collapsed once from the exhaustion of changing too often.
She’d had to rest as a human.
Besides it helped that being human meant she could keep calling her parents. The last thing she needed was dealing with them freaking out about her lack of contact.
The bites had caused a fever to take over Hunter’s entire body. Not to mention the blood loss. Or the wound in his side, covered by gauze. It made her nauseous just thinking about what he’d gone through. When she was leopard, blood didn’t faze her. Right now, she would puke if she had to deal with what had happened all over again. Or ever think about it too much.
She walked over to him again, her fingers aching to stroke his fur. But she resisted. Claudia had said to let him rest, and she was the one who’d seen the future after all. She’d also locked him into leopard form, forcing his mind to allow it, until he woke from the coma. Or whatever state he was in.
