Panther Magic

by Doris O'Connor

  Cole had explained how she would have the superior abilities of a shifter now. Sight, hearing, smell, speed, yet she was and would always remain human, much like Emmi. Hearing him say that had scared her witless at the time, but having met Emmi now, and seeing how utterly normal she was, had done a lot to reassure her.

  Besides, as she bit into her first mouthful of food and the flavors exploded on her tongue, she decided there were definite advantages to those enhanced senses. Food had never tasted this good before.

  The rest of the meal and the evening passed far too quickly. Gabe was utterly adorable when he joined them all too soon for what Emmi called his marathon fill up his tummy for nighttime nursathon.

  “Not that he’ll sleep through, heaven forbid, but he acts as though he won’t feed for centuries.”

  The love for her son had shone through those grumbling words, however, and by the time Kate finally fell into the bed in the guest room, Kate almost wished she was carrying her men’s babies.

  She shook her head at her thought processes, but she went to sleep with a smile on her face and hope in her heart. They simply had to come back to her.

  Chapter Ten

  Hands chained behind his back, Arran stared at the heavy door in front of him and willed his panther to stand down. He couldn’t scent Kate, thanks to the court room’s tight vacuum seal, but both he and Zeb had felt their mate’s presence in their mind ever since she entered the building.

  She’s here.

  Zeb’s snarl in his head had made Arran laugh.

  Of course she’s here. Did you expect her not to come?

  I wasn’t sure. I wouldn’t blame her if she wanted nothing to do with us, and she’s human and these proceedings…

  Arran’s inner animal had growled his disgust at his brother’s stupidity. They’d been in touch mentally ever since Arran had entered the mansion. A grim smile kicked up his lips at that thought. It had been mostly Zeb calling him names and cussing him out royally for leaving their girl on their own. Once he’d exhausted himself berating Arran, and Arran could actually get two thoughts in edgeways, and had explained that Kate was under Cole Jackson’s protection, his volatile older brother had calmed down. They had hashed out a plan of sorts, and got their stories straight, and had spent a relatively peaceful night, or as relative as it could be, considering they might well face execution in the morning.

  A lot was riding on Kate. There could be no doubt that she was indeed their true mate, but despite his protestations to the contrary in front of his brother, Arran hadn’t felt as certain that she would come today. Mates or not, they had spent such little actual time together, and their mating had occurred with her in distress, still, from the attack.

  Would she have accepted him as willingly, had it not been for that? It was a niggling thought he hadn’t been able to shake off, so he couldn’t entirely blame his brother for his insecurities. In Zeb’s case it had been even worse. Yes, she had chosen to come and see him, but their mating had been forced upon her. Without it Zeb would have faced certain execution, and Kate had known that.

  Their mate was a compassionate and peace loving soul. She would have done anything to keep them both safe, proven by the fact that she was here.

  Arran shook his head, closed his eyes and concentrated. Her fear for both of them hit him straight in the gut, coupled as it was with a grim determination to see them set free.

  Can she hear us if we talk to her, do you think, Arran?

  His brother’s mental question gave him pause for thought.

  I don’t think so, bro. Perhaps, if we both concentrate on her at the same time.

  Fine, let’s try that.

  The connection between his brother and him intensified to an almost palpable level until they became one and felt Kate’s gasp in their minds.

  Arran, Zeb, is that you? How can I feel you, hear you?

  The awe in Kate’s voice made Arran smile, and he let Zeb reply for them both.

  It’s the mating bond, my little wildcat. We weren’t sure if it would work, with you not having any shifter blood, but it seems if we pool together we can reach you.

  The sound of her tears made Arran want to tear something apart, and Zeb’s anger, too, coursed through his veins. It made his panther prowl under his skin, and the guards either side of him stepped closer, hands on their stun guns.

  “Don’t even think about it, pussy cat.”

  The hyena shifters snarled at him, and Arran tried his best to ignore them, but it broke his mental concentration and the connection to Kate was lost. Not before he heard her whispered reply in his mind, however.

  I love you, both of you. Just wanted to say that again, before…

  Zeb cursed in his head, but before Arran could do anything else, the door sprang open and his guards shoved him forward and into the crowded room. Directly opposite a snarling Zeb was led in stun gun to his throat, and Cole Jackson shot to his feet with a growl of his own, while Kate paled. Arran’s chest tightened seeing the tears in her eyes and the way she stepped forward as though to go to Zeb, before Cole’s hand on her shoulder stopped her. She looked up at him briefly, and then glanced toward Arran. He forced a smile on his lips for her, even as he stumbled, due to another vicious punch into the small of his back.

  Pain shot through him, and he pulled himself upright, not wishing to give the sadistic guards the satisfaction of seeing him react.

  “Appointed judge and members of the council, is this mistreatment of the accused really necessary? They are chained. Surely that is enough, without adding to their discomfort, especially in front of their mate?”

  Cole Jackson’s voice carried the deep growl of his bear, and Arran wasn’t entirely surprised to see his claws emerging as he spoke.

  “So-called mate. I still can’t see why you’ve brought this human to these proceedings. She’s what caused all this in the first place, but then again, what can we expect from you, Jackson? An original mated to a human. It’s a disgrace.”

  Draco Tavlov, an original tiger shifter, still firmly entrenched in the now defunct ways of the mating project looked Kate over with such a look of disgust on his face that it took all of Arran’s willpower to not shift there and then, and take the silver haired shifter out. Stun guns or not, the hyenas would be no match for his enraged panther. It was only the certain knowledge that it would cause another bloodbath that stopped him.

  He couldn’t kill the fucker here in front of witnesses, no matter how much he wanted to.

  Zeb, of course, would have no such compunctions, and sure enough his panther roared as his chains snapped. Had it not been for his guards stunning him repeatedly, he’d have ripped their heads off, already. As it was, half shifted with his lower body still human, Zeb writhed on the floor in agony, and the council chambers erupted into a cacophony of noise as everyone started shouting.

  Gunnar Anderson, the appointed judge shouted for order, and Cole issued commands to his security team, who surrounded both Arran and Zeb in a protective circle. In all the commotion Kate slipped under the men’s legs and before anyone could stop her, had slid to her feet in front of Zeb.

  Pride at their fearless mate surged through Arran, and a stunned silence fell on the room, as she buried her hands in Zeb’s fur, and whispered to him. The actual words were inaudible over the furious growls of Zeb’s inner animal, but whatever she said had the desired effect. Slowly Zeb shifted back to human, and when his eyes had bled back to their usual brown, she released her hold on his head. Zeb pulled her back in for a lingering kiss that made Arran’s panther whine, and when Zeb finally allowed her to pull her away, Kate was blinking away tears.

  She smiled up at Arran, and he nodded his approval. The hardened shifters parted to let her through, and head held high she slowly walked back to her place on the podium next to a grinning Cole.

  Gunnar Anderson regarded her with a thoughtful expression, whereas Draco almost foamed at the mouth.

  “That’s it right there. She oug
ht to be thrown out. She—”

  “Enough.” Gunnar’s booming voice shut the other man up, and Kate jumped and inched closer to Cole. He put a hand on her shoulder and murmured something to her while guiding her back down to her seat, and Kate nodded. The ice cold look she threw at Draco, however… Arran smirked, and his brother’s grim amusement echoed in his brain.

  If looks could kill.

  Too right. You’re back in control now, bro?

  Yes, thanks to our mate.

  Good, now don’t blow it.

  Zeb mentally flipped him the finger, and Arran suppressed a smile.

  “Do you find the situation you’ve created amusing, Arran Harris?”

  Gunnar Anderson’s voice held an edge of steel, and Arran’s amusement fled instantly.

  “No, sir,” he said, and Anderson nodded.

  “Good, because I’d hate to have to remind you that the automatic penalty for killing humans is execution, without the right to appeal, or even a trial.”

  Kate gasped, and Cole cleared his throat.

  “Alas, we are having a trial, because Arran and Zeb were defending their mate.”

  The bear shifter shook his head at Arran, and Arran took the hint and kept his mouth shut. Even Zeb, for once, remained silent. An unmoving statue, his eyes were the only movement in his stony façade. They vacillated among Kate, Cole, and the semicircle of the council’s elders, with his panther’s low growls a constant background to proceedings.

  “So they say,” Draco spat the words into the room.

  “Are you calling the brothers liars?” Cole asked. His deceptively quiet voice cut through the heavy stillness surrounding them all, and Draco blanched when Cole stepped off the podium and approached the other man. His long legs ate up the short distance between them, and arms crossed over his massive chest the bear shifter stared the smaller man down.

  “Cole…” Gunnar’s warning made Cole’s head swing round to face the judge, and some of the aggression that poured off his large frame dissipated.

  “I am sure Draco meant no offense with that statement.”

  “Good, because if he did he would also call me a liar, as both brothers and their mate are under my protection. I would hate to have to call Draco out for a fight to settle this.”

  The way his eyes gleamed and he grew taller as he growled that promise … threat … put the lie to his statement, and Gunnar seemed to know that, too, because he raised an eyebrow and the ghost of a smile kicked up his lips.

  Draco spluttered and mumbled something, but he sat back down and studied the papers in front of him.

  “I’m sure there will be no need for any of that, Cole,” Gunnar said, and Cole nodded.

  “No, I’m sure you’re right.” The bear shifter returned to the podium, smiled at an astonished looking Kate, and held up a set of pictures.

  Zeb growled low in his throat, and Kate turned a delightful shade of pink when she caught sight of them. They were the pictures Cole had taken off her injuries the night of the attack, and Arran winced. It was clear from her flawless complexion now that she had healed. Zeb had told him of the way her wounds had faded right in front of his eyes after his brother had mated with Kate, too.

  This could either work in their favor or against them, and Arran gave thanks to Cole’s foresight in taking those pictures. Without them there would be no evidence of the severity of the attack on Kate.

  “I refer you to the picture evidence, taken by myself on the night Kate was attacked. You can see how extensive her injuries are. As a human female under attack from eight human males, there can be no doubt that she was in mortal danger. Thus, as her mates Arran and Zeb took it upon themselves to eliminate that danger. The way they set upon doing so was perhaps, unfortunate, but—”

  “Unfortunate?” Draco’s snort of derision interrupted Cole, and he pinched the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath as though to calm his bear. A collective gasp went through the varied audience of shifters, which had been allowed to witness the proceedings. Cole Jackson was not known for his patience, and as an Original and head of Council security not many dared to interrupt him—ever.

  “They ripped those humans to shreds. I grant you, the elephant shifter’s kills were clean, which is why he’s been set free already, and there can be no doubt that he himself was under attack, thanks to this human.” He shot a venomous glance toward Kate. One she returned tenfold, and Arran had never been prouder of his mate than right now. Head held high, shoulders straight she stared the old shifter down. A small smile played around her lips, when he was the first to break eye contact.

  Draco cleared his throat, studied the pictures in front of him with a frown, and then continued.

  “The Harris brothers should have kept their female under a tighter leash. If she hadn’t walked about by herself like this, none of this would have happened.”

  Zeb surged forward, snarling. Arran’s panther, too, rose violently to the surface, and Draco’s confidence faltered as Kate shot to her feet.

  “Of all the chauvinistic things to say, how fucking dare you make this my fault?” She shrugged Cole’s restraining hand off her and glared at the bear shifter. Fire sparked from her eyes, and with her pale face flushed in anger she had never looked more beautiful to Arran. It calmed his beast somewhat, and he had to agree with Zeb’s silent assessment in his head.

  Hot fucking damn. That’s our girl.

  “I grant you, I’m just a poor little human.” She mimed quotation marks around the word, and Cole took a step back and put his hands up in mock surrender. “And you big all-seeing, all-knowing shifter types are no doubt looking down your noses at me, but I will not sit here and listen to you insult my choices. I always walk back from the office. Why the fuck wouldn’t I? And for your information, I’m perfectly able to defend myself, but on this occasion…” Her words trailed off, and she shivered and hugged herself, as no doubt memories invaded her mind. Arran wanted to cross the distance and hug her, and his panther whined low in his throat at the distress he was witnessing. Zeb looked once again on the verge of shifting, but Kate shook her head at him, and they both heard her in their minds.

  Don’t, you’ll just make this worse for the both of you. I’m okay, really.

  You don’t look okay, and I want to kill that fucker.

  Zeb’s furious reply made Arran grin, and Kate’s lips kicked up into a wonky smile.

  Trust me, in other circumstances I might let you, but that would be counterproductive. I might kick him in the gonads, though if I get close enough.

  Arran and Zeb both burst out laughing, and Kate grinned at them.

  “What’s so fucking funny?” Draco looked far from amused, whereas the rest of the councilors had grown thoughtful. Cole was grinning from ear to ear, and Gunnar held up his hand to demand silence.

  “As usual, Draco, you’re completely missing the evidence right in front of your eyes.” He fixed his steely grey gaze on the other shifter, and the other man huffed out a breath.

  “What fucking evidence? According to these pictures, the human ought to be barely walking, yet she stands there mouthing off at us, with no evidence of any injuries. So how do we know these—” He threw the pictures on the floor. “These are even real.”

  Cole’s bear growled loud enough to shake the room, and Gunnar sighed.

  “I’m going to ignore the insult you’ve just bestowed on our head of security for now, and point you to the facts. Ask yourself why she is not showing any sign of injury now. Come closer, please, my dear.” He addressed Kate with a kind smile, and after a glance at Arran and Zeb, she complied and stepped up to Gunnar Anderson.

  “Lift your hair off your shoulders, and let me see your marks, please.”

  Kate complied, and Gunnar leant forward to pull the neckline of her T-shirt down, until her bite marks were exposed.

  “So what? They bit her. Doesn’t mean she’s this fabled true mate. Just means she was a willing bit of human pussy.”

  **
**

  Okay, that was it. Never mind her men. She was going to kill that piece of scum. Over the rushing in her ears and the furious growls of her mates filling her brain, she barely registered the judge’s response. Whatever he said caused the room to erupt, and Cole’s heavy hands on her shoulders pulled her out of her bloodthirsty thoughts. She shook her head to clear it, and Cole let go of her. He wore the hugest grin when she looked up at him, and Gunnar Anderson, too, was smiling at her.

  The dickwad intend on harming her men sat staring at her doing goldfish impressions. In any other circumstances she would have found that amusing, but she was still far too damn furious. The barely functioning rational side of her did wonder where all this pent up aggression came from. There was a part of her that wanted to leap over the tables and benches separating her from the councilmembers and tear their throats out, one by one. She had the oddest notion of being able to do just that, but how? She couldn’t shift, or could she? Shutting her eyes Kate let the strange sensations consume her. The air around her seemed to grow heavier, and her skin ached as though it was too small for her frame, yet … damn it, she couldn’t quite do what she wanted to do.

  Let it go, baby. Just breathe and let it go.

  Yes, little wildcat, this isn’t you. Breathe … in … out, come back to us.

  Her men’s voices in her head helped her to calm down further, and she forced herself to concentrate on breathing, and ran an unsteady hand through her hair. She was half expecting to find there to be claws on the ends of her fingers, and to have sprouted black fur, like her men, which ought to have been a ridiculous notion, only she couldn’t shake the notion that she might have done just that.

  No, you haven’t changed, not fully anyway, but fuck me if it didn’t look as though you were going to. I guess you must have shifter blood somewhere in your ancestry, to have achieved this much. It certainly explains a few things. I’m so proud of you, wildcat.

  The awe in Zeb’s voice made her feel a foot taller, and she swung round to look at him. The approval she read in his gaze made her heart beat faster. Arran, too, smiled at her, and winked.