Those other men in her club, had they been leopards? All waiting for her to emerge, and then what? What was expected of her? Was she supposed to accept all of them? Did leopards have more than one mate? She didn’t even know the answer. A sob escaped, but it came out a strange mewing sound. None of this was about her at all. Remy wasn’t attracted to her and neither were those men. It was about whatever was inside her struggling to come out.
Her body contorted again, joints popping and cracking. Pain burst through her. Out of self-preservation she tried to listen to Remy’s distant voice. Her lungs burned, and her body felt as if it was turning inside out. The itching was horrendous, as fur began to burst through her skin. Her jaw lengthened.
She tried to crawl away, a silly, desperate move, trying to flee, to get away from her own body. Most of all, she wanted away from Remy. She didn’t want him witnessing what was happening to her, and worse, she didn’t want her leopard, if that was what she was, to mate with his. She felt like she was living a nightmare, a horror movie and there was no way out.
“Blue.” Remy’s voice penetrated the roaring in her ears and the sheer terror of her body becoming something else. “Look at me. See me. I can get you through this. You’re afraid and it’s my fault. Instead of havin’ sex with you every time I saw you, I should have been preparin’ you for this. Please, chere, just let me do this for you.”
Her body twisted, rolled, so that she came up on her hands and knees, only they weren’t her hands or her knees any longer. She turned her head slowly, anger burning through her belly and raging in her heart. She swiped at him.
Remy leapt back. It was only his leopard’s reflexes that saved him from a nasty rake across his face. His lady was really, really angry with him. There was something in her eyes that alarmed him. She was definitely distancing herself from him, and that was terribly dangerous, especially now.
One more roll and a silent scream and Blue was fully leopard. She came to her feet gingerly, regarding him warily, wild and feral and all female. Before he could move, she whirled around and sprinted toward the swamp. He changed on the run, using more speed than he ever had. He wasn’t going to lose her, not now, not when he was so close to making her his.
His leopard charged after Bijou, leaping over a fallen log and easily following her scent. The swamp closed around him, giving him the sense of freedom and wild he craved. This was his real world, one he understood and needed. That was part of the danger of being leopard, especially in shifting for the first time. There was no real way to explain to someone else the absolute freedom of being cat, and the temptation to stay in that form was always present.
Bijou was frightened and he’d clearly handled things wrong with her, so the lure of staying in the large cat’s form would be doubly so. He tried to stay rational, to use logic as he followed her trail, reasoning when his brain wanted to go feral on him. Usually, the first hour or so, when he ran free, he didn’t allow his human side to feel anything at all. He stayed fully animal, but he couldn’t afford to make any mistakes.
Bijou’s leopard was small, very sleek with luxurious light buff, almost white fur with darker rosettes scattered everywhere. He was large for a leopard, even a male leopard, his coat a rare black with darker rosettes set into the fur so that they were barely discernible. He was powerful and enormously strong, thanks to the roped muscles covering his body. He had plenty of scars from numerous fights, and he’d always come away the victor. None of the males wanted to tangle with him—but over a female in heat—that could change. He didn’t want to kill a friend because he’d handled things with Bijou badly.
He was aware he was extremely dangerous in leopard form. His leopard was aggressive and cunning, a predator high up in the food chain, often surly and bad-tempered. With his female running from him, he was even more difficult and Remy sent up a silent prayer that no fisherman or local would be hunting in the swamp.
He spotted the female running along the embankment, splashing at the puddles with a delicate paw and jumping over small downed branches of cypress trees. Bijou had allowed the leopard to take over and was obviously enjoying her freedom, dropping low to slink under some branches and leaping effortlessly over others. She displayed agility and grace, easily making jumps to low branches and climbing the trunks of trees.
Every movement was sinuous and filled with grace. She twisted and turned, this way and that, showing off her flexible spine, clearly getting used to her new form, arching her back in a half circle and then leaping straight up to change direction in midair through a quick rotation of her hips. She looked beautiful as she moved with effortless elegance. She seemed to be playing, even as she exhibited the behavior of a female in heat.
She called out occasionally, and her voice would carry on the night, luring any males within hearing to her. She rubbed along the tree trunks, leaving a tantalizing scent behind. Seductively she rolled and stretched along the ground, among leaves and vegetation, just as quickly coming to her feet and moving deeper into the interior of the swamp.
He came up behind her as stealthily as possible, getting close enough to protect her and warn any other males off, without putting himself in danger. A female rebuffing a male could be very dangerous. He chuffed at her, calling out a soft hello, letting her know she wasn’t alone and he was answering her call.
The female whirled around, ears flat on her head, snarling, warning him off. He kept a respectful distance. Bijou was totally angry with him, and her cat protected her, even to warning off her mate. Remy swore at himself. He’d always bulldozed his way when he wanted something. He’d never really needed finesse. He was intelligent and like his leopard, cunning, strong and bad-tempered. He had control and discipline to offset the more negative traits of his leopard.
He chuffed at her again, letting her know he found her beautiful and alluring. She snarled again and took a swipe at the leaves in front of her, sending them into the air. She whirled and ran, heading deeper into the swamp.
The large male leopard followed her, keeping an exact safe distance, waiting for her to give him a sign she was more receptive to his advances. They traveled several miles in a light rain. The leaves overhead protected them from the water, but neither really noticed or cared. She was making her way in a steady line away from the Inn, and the male leopard circled to get in front of her and change her direction.
The small female lifted her lip at him, growling and spitting, but she was tiring, and the demanding hormones were slowly edging out the rage. She allowed him to change her direction, and he moved closer to her, tentatively approaching. She rubbed along several more tree trunks, a small boulder and rolled in the grass. When she crouched, he moved closer. Instantly she was up, extending her claws and hissing her displeasure of him.
She was up again and moving away from him. Patience was required of a male leopard, and with the little female already disoriented and frightened, just finding herself in her animal form, he had plenty of patience. Once again, he fell in behind her and followed her as she moved through the swamp.
A small trickle of water became a larger ribbon, cutting through the wet land, and she padded through the inches of shallow water, splashing playfully and leaping back onto firmer ground. Just as she did, the black leopard slammed into her, driving her sideways, away from the thicker tree line. A golden male burst through the brush and circled her, coming to an abrupt halt when he caught sight of Remy’s black leopard, roaring a challenge as he attempted to stare down the black leopard.
Remy recognized Robert Lanoux instantly. He was a member of the lair, single, and he’d given them trouble more than once. He had a reputation for not fighting fair, and usually, he traveled with his brother, Dion. Remy didn’t wait for the intruder to make his move, but rushed him, hitting him hard in the side and driving him off of his feet.
The golden leopard rolled fast as the larger leopard drove after him, Remy relentless, wanting to end the fight fast without killing a member of his lair. Remy followed up his advantage with a punishing slap of his paw, claws slashing the side and neck of his adversary. Streaks of blood instantly matted fur. Robert kept rolling until he slipped into a tight opening in the brush.
Remy’s leopard slammed into the shrubs, ripping through branches and leaves, using his superior weight and heavy muscles. He landed on the back of the golden leopard, driving him to the ground. Instantly, he flipped the smaller leopard and settled his teeth around Robert’s throat. Silence instantly descended in the swamp until there was only the sound of ragged, hot breathing coming in gasping puffs.
The two leopards stared at one another, Remy not giving an inch. It wouldn’t be difficult to bite down and suffocate the smaller male if he made one wrong move. His leopard raged at the control he was imposing, furious that the intruder had challenged him for his mate. His mark was on her, his scent. There was a code of honor within the lair, and Robert had ignored it. He was within his rights under their laws to kill the challenger.
Movement to his left had him biting down a little harder in a threat. He hadn’t smelled Robert’s brother Dion, but they were rarely separated, although he’d noticed that more and more Dion had seemed upset by his brother’s bullying ways. His gaze shifted for just one moment. The little female watched intently, curled up to make herself smaller. Bijou had risen closer to the surface, and he could scent fear along with the female’s excitement of the courtship rituals. The female trembled, her coat damp.
There was no way to reassure her in his present form. Killing Robert in front of her wouldn’t give her cause to trust him either. Beneath him, Robert’s leopard suddenly relaxed and submitted. Remy held him that little bit longer to warn him not to be stupid. It took everything he had to hold his leopard back from the kill.
Disgusted, his leopard dropped the golden leopard’s throat and backed off, snarling as he did so. Twice he charged the smaller male, roaring as he did, swiping his enormous paw in the grass and leaves, sending vegetation into the air. It took a few minutes for the leopard to settle enough that Robert could get up cautiously and slink off into the heavier brush and sprint away.
The moment he was gone, the female leopard took off in the opposite direction as if running for her life—and maybe she felt as if she were. He couldn’t imagine what it was like for Bijou to discover at such a late date that she had an animal form living inside of her. She didn’t know how she could move between forms, how she would come to control her leopard and keep the animal’s emotions from affecting her too much. Her leopard was probably just as confused and scared as she was.
Once again Bijou had headed away from the Inn and he circled to get in front of her, needing to drive her back. She halted abruptly when he appeared in front of her, baring her teeth, ears flat against her head, signaling her displeasure with him. He approached her carefully, and she slapped leaves and twigs at him. He rushed her, hitting her with his shoulder, turning her back toward the Inn and springing away before she could retaliate.