He went out of the room first, letting Dymka take over all his senses. At once, he knew the house had been breached. He smelled . . . leopard. Dymka went insane at the idea that other male leopards were near his female. She hadn’t yet emerged, and the bond wasn’t complete. It took a moment to fight for control. He hissed his impatience at his cat.
“Stay close, Ania. They’re in the house.”
She nodded. She moved almost in unison with him as they made their way down the stairs. The open floor plan on the first floor allowed Mitya to see into the great room, foyer, formal dining room and part of the kitchen. A shadowy figure, all in black, made his way down the hall toward Antosha’s room.
Ania started to move, to push past him, but he gripped her arm hard and shook his head. He put one hand on the railing and leapt over it, landing silently in a crouch, almost directly behind the intruder. The man spun, his leopard clearly warning him, shifting as he did so. Mitya was fast, his speed blurring. He’d had to learn to rid himself of clothes and shift in a heartbeat, to keep his father from breaking his bones.
Dymka met the large golden leopard in the air. The two heavy cats crashed together, ripping at each other’s belly and genitals, teeth trying to sink into throats. Loose skin helped to save both animals as they hit the floor and rolled over and over.
Ania rushed down the stairs and took a two-handed stance with her weapon, trying for a shot at the golden leopard. It was easy to tell which of the leopards was Mitya. Dymka’s coat was very distinctive. Mitya had named him Smoke because of his coloring and the fact that he could vanish into haze or fog easily.
It was impossible to get a shot off with the two leopards snarling and ripping at each other, rolling over and raking sides and bellies. Ania tried to ease around them to go down the hall to check on her father. The golden cat tried to break free and rush her. Dymka buried both front claws deep into the hindquarters of the golden leopard and pulled it back and away from Ania.
Mitya’s heart, inside his leopard, nearly seized. The intruder was so close to Ania, she had to feel its hot breath on her face. She didn’t freeze as he expected her to do. She put the gun almost right between the eyes of the leopard and pulled the trigger several times. The large cat sagged to the hall floor, the dead weight sprawling out along with pools of blood.
Ania leapt over the leopard’s body and ran down to her father’s room, Dymka right behind her. She grabbed the doorknob and yanked it open just as Dymka threw his weight against her. She went down almost completely under the big cat as several shots rang out.
“Dad,” she whispered, horrified that anyone had managed to breach security.
There was the sound of breaking glass, and then Dymka was up and rushing into the master bedroom, Ania right behind him. The room was a mess, drawers pulled out, overturned and broken. The pillows were pulled out from under Antosha and ripped to shreds. The two vases had been destroyed. How the intruder had managed to rip everything apart so silently was anyone’s guess. The intruder had gone out his window, breaking the glass to get out.
Ania ran to her father and checked his pulse. There was a gash over his left eye where someone had struck him with a pistol. She tried to wake him, but Mitya stopped her. He was back to his human form, naked, his roped muscles rippling as he took the gun from her, laid it on the bed and gripped her upper arms.
“What the fuck is wrong with you? Didn’t I tell you to stay behind me at all times? Had you run into this room, he would have killed you. Damn it, Ania, what do you want me to do? Lock you up until this is over and have you hate me for keeping you safe? When I tell you to do something, you fucking do it.” He punctuated each sentence with a small shake.
Dymka was still in a rage, a ferocious, vicious leopard needing a target. His mate had been in danger. She hadn’t done as she was told. A leopard—no, two—had