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)
Timur, Rodion and Kyanite refused to be left behind. Timur was a stranger to the local swamp. He knew his cousin’s scent well and could follow it easily, but he allowed Kyanite to lead the way.
Rogue was always cognizant of the small figure slipping fast and silent through the arboreal highway above him, nearly as fast in human form as he was in leopard form. Maya was so swift in the trees, her size allowing her to move rapidly without disturbing the leaves as she raced from branch to branch. Gorya found his heart pounding in fear for her, afraid she might make one misstep and plunge to the swamp floor, but it never happened.
The wind shifted and the scent of the male leopard once again filled Rogue’s lungs, inflaming him further. Rage turned red and he flung caution aside, racing to the attack.
Slow down, Gedeon cautioned. Meiling hasn’t indicated she is in position to take out the sniper.
Gorya barely heard him over the roar of thunder rolling in his ears. He was wholly focused on defeating his enemy. The animal had taken over, gaining ground, digging claws into the rotting vegetation to get traction so he could sprint faster toward his enemy.
He was a silent apparition weaving in and out of the trees, the gray fog concealing him. His thick coat blended with the mist threading through the thick trunks, masking his presence.
The sawing roar of challenge filled the swamp, startling birds and bats into flight. Insects suddenly ceased their steady drone. An owl called a warning. Lizards and mice scuttled for cover in the leafy vegetation on the swamp floor.
Rogue rounded the last tree, burst through the veil of fog and hit the intruder in his side, driving him from his feet, sending him sprawling. Only then did he let out his answering roar, shaking the swamp with the sound of his lethal snarl.
The challenging leopard was large, a brute of a male, a good two hundred pounds of dense muscle. The fur was dark, with gold dusting beneath and darker rosettes scattered throughout the thick coat. Gorya recognized the leopard immediately. The animal was called Punisher.
The shifter was Ivan Kovalchuk, a great bear of a man. His former job had been to oversee the women and children sent out to other countries on freighters and planes. It was rumored he delighted in sampling the wares before sending them to their final destinations. He’d sworn fidelity immediately and without hesitation, although Gorya hadn’t believed him for a moment. He had a ready smile that was as false as his word.
His leopard was vicious and enjoyed inflicting punishment on other leopards, especially those smaller than him and females. The former pakhan had used him to enforce his laws, and the others feared him. Gorya had been surprised that Ivan hadn’t challenged him for leadership the moment the pakhan had died.
Rogue ordinarily would have been all over the leopard, killing him then and there, but he needed the fight, partly to show his female his expertise and abilities. He wanted his female to know he could always take care of her in any situation. He also needed to indulge in the violence. He had to pit himself against the other leopard and feel the tearing of muscle and bone under his teeth and claws. It seemed as necessary as breathing.
Do you see, Maya? There was despair in his voice, in his mind. He doubted he would ever be able to overcome the need for violence.
At once her soothing peace stole inside him, filling him with feminine amusement. You are a shifter. A leopard. What do you expect of yourself? It is natural for you to need combat. Rogue is a fierce fighter. Accomplished. You are as well. Have at it; just don’t get so complacent you make a mistake.
Bog, but he had fallen hard for her. Just that easily she made him seem as if he were almost normal, whatever that was.
Normal is whatever we make it, she reminded him. This is our relationship. No one else is invited.
Punisher was on his feet, head low, snarling, showing teeth, eyes filled with malice. The leopard circled cautiously, his powerful muscles rippling beneath the loose fur. He wanted to intimidate his opponent.
Rogue watched him, not moving a muscle, his eyes that flat silvery frost that disappeared in the gray background with many rosettes. He looked slightly leaner than the dense leopard, but he was longer. He held himself very still, as if frozen, ears flat against his head. While Punisher snarled and roared, swiping at the ground to throw up dirt and leaves, Rogue remained silent and still, not posturing after the first answering challenge.
Gedeon, Rodion and Kyanite arrived with Timur and his two bodyguards, Arman and Kiriil, and Ashe. They hastily pulled on clothes from packs they carried around their necks. Maya came out of the trees to stand in the shadows on the other side of Gedeon.