Total pages in book: 138
Estimated words: 127461 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 637(@200wpm)___ 510(@250wpm)___ 425(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 127461 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 637(@200wpm)___ 510(@250wpm)___ 425(@300wpm)
The cat was strangely compliant, as if it was too sleepy to bother being part of the sentry’s warning system. Gorya didn’t have time to find out why. He only took enough time to ensure that this guard was part of Krylov’s trafficking ring, sifting through the memories of the leopard until he reached the distasteful scenes of violence, rape and imprisonment of women and children. He slammed a knife into the base of the sentry’s skull, severing the spinal cord, and then cut his throat to ensure both leopard and shifter died immediately.
As Gorya dragged the body out of the open and into the makeshift shelter, he felt a soft, steady pressure moving against his mind. Rogue reacted instantly, snarling and clawing.
Maya reacted as well, deftly blocking the female while Wraith hissed her displeasure that another female so close to heat would dare to get near her male.
Definitely a young female, Gorya reported. I took down the sentry. She’s trying to get into my mind and take over Rogue.
Wraith is giving me some trouble. Give me a minute and I’ll go after her, Gorya. Maya locked on to her furious female. Let me handle this, Wraith. We must be careful. This is Kyanite’s mate, and she has no idea if we’re friends or enemies.
She knows. She’s being a bitch, trying to show her superiority and trap all the males for herself. She can’t have mine. I would fight to the death for him.
Gorya hid his smile as he made his way back to the others. Wraith was a fierce little thing, just like her human counterpart. Meiling and Gedeon were already waiting.
“I feel like I know her. Or met her somewhere,” Maya said aloud. “You’ll have to give me a minute to do this. She has skills.”
Maya reached out tentatively, keeping her energy lower than she ever had. Gorya stayed in her mind, as invisible as possible but ready to help get her out of trouble if there was any problem. Taking over a leopard and looking into memories was always a risk. Gorya was astonished at Maya’s patience. She took her time, the flow so even and slow, so nonthreatening and even noninvasive, that it would be nearly impossible to detect. Gorya wasn’t certain he would have been able to feel her entrance into Rogue.
Once Maya had found a pathway into that female leopard, she didn’t just take over. She was slow, keeping her energy low as she joined the patterns in the leopard’s mind. Amur for certain. Maya was correct in feeling a strange familiarity with this creature and her human counterpart. He did as well, which was odd when he had no idea who she was.
Maya began to examine her memories without trying a takeover. The little leopard was indeed in her first true heat, close to her emergence, but like Wraith, she had, for her human’s safety, managed to find her way out. She could shift. And she could fight. She had excellent fighting skills. Her human seemed reliant on her in more ways than usual, but it was clear the woman was getting restless. If Maya didn’t act soon and take over the leopard, the shifter was going to do something unpredictable.
Maya made her decision and, as usual, acted on it without hesitation. She was in, surrounding the cat with her superior strength, forcing her will on the animal, wrenching her away from the watching shifter. The reaction was unexpected. The sensation of being watched was immediately gone.
There was shock and silence at first. Horror. Fear. Give her back. You don’t know what you’ve done. The danger you’ve put all of you in. Or me. I can’t see or move without her. I’m stuck here on this cliff and could fall without her vision. Release her or you’ll force me to sound the alarm, and others will come, believing all of you are enemies. I don’t think you are, but you’re leaving me no choice.
The woman, using the leopard’s path, spoke directly to Maya. It was her voice. The pattern of her mind. The brilliance and signs Gorya caught of elite gifts. This woman was somehow related to Maya. She had to be. At the same time as he was absorbing that information, he knew the truth had hit Maya even harder. She had known she had siblings but believed them dead. She had been the youngest, barely two when her family had been murdered. She was paralyzed, unable to think or breathe, and then she crumbled to the ground, her legs going out from under her.
19
Gorya realized that the woman above them on the rocks must have also recognized that an invader was related to her. She, too, had gone perfectly still. He feared if she fell, she might really go over the cliff. He signaled to Kyanite. His leopard had the best chance of finding her quickly. He certainly had felt her presence when others hadn’t.