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Their ears were flat against their skulls, and their tails swished back and forth as they circled one another. All around them was chaos from fighting panthers, but Carvin and Magnus were oblivious to the violence and bloodshed around them. It was personal.
One of them wouldn’t be walking away from this fight.
With a screech, Carvin leapt forward, his teeth sinking deeply into Magnus’s shoulder. He roared in pain, and crimson stained the sleek black of Magnus’s coat.
The two panthers continued to fight, even as the rest of the pride waged war on the traitors around them. Before long, Magnus had acquired a few new wounds, but Carvin was in much worse shape.
Carvin limped, and a gash on his chest oozed blood in a thick stream. He had a bite mark on his neck where Magnus had latched on but lost his grip.
Magnus crouched low, amber eyes fixated on his opponent. He was hurting, but he knew Carvin was in far worse shape than he was. With a mighty roar, he swiped at Carvin, who dodged the blow and countered with the same move. They lunged at each other. Magnus’s fangs sank deeply into Carvin’s leg, and he pulled him back before pouncing on top of him, pinning him underneath his body.
Carvin’s eyes widened in fear as he realized Magnus had the advantage. He kicked his back legs, trying to dislodge his opponent, but to no avail. When Magnus’s teeth sank into his throat, he yowled. It was a pitiful sound that died instantly when Magnus yanked back and tore Carvin’s throat out.
The lesser panther stilled instantly, and Magnus roared his triumph. All around him stopped fighting. Those against Magnus still living either tried to run or begged for mercy.
Sides heaving, Magnus shifted back into his human form. The wounds on his side and chest dripped crimson down his side, marring his skin.
“It’s over,” he said loudly. “Carvin is dead.”
What he wanted more than anything was to find Alexis and pull her into a warm embrace, but when he finally found her standing on the porch, her wrist bent at an awkward angle, the terrified pools of her eyes spoke volumes. She didn’t run into his open arms. Instead, she backed away until she hit the wall behind her. It wasn’t the pain from his wounds that dropped him to his knees.
It was the fear that he lost the one woman he truly loved.
TWENTY-FIVE
ALEXIS
In all her years on earth, nothing had prepared Alexis for the battle she had just witnessed. While she was relieved beyond measure that Magnus came out victorious and that he wasn’t seriously injured, she couldn’t bear to look at him.
It was the violence, the bloodshed, and the murder that he and his pride brought right in front of her that she couldn’t quite come to terms with. This wasn’t the life she signed up for. While she loved Magnus and saw a future with him, it no longer seemed like something she was equipped to handle.
Torn by that thought and terrified, she opened the door to his cottage and ran inside, wanting a few minutes alone before she had to face him. A few minutes was generous. The door opened seconds later.
She wasn’t sure what the protocol was for dead shifter bodies, but she knew Magnus would see to those arrangements. He didn’t come for her immediately. Instead, he walked to the bedroom and dressed quickly.
She stood by the fireplace, crying softly. She had never known fear such as she had today. To be taken by gunpoint … Oh, she just couldn’t think of that anymore.
“Alexis …”
His voice was gentle as she felt his arms come around her, but she immediately pushed him away.
“Don’t touch me.”
He kept his distance from then on, holding his hands up to show her he would respect her space.
“It’s over now. You’re safe.”
Those words were meant to bring comfort to her, but instead, they had the opposite effect. She felt sad and terrified to an overwhelming degree.
“I’m not safe, Magnus. Carvin was the first! What if … Oh, God … what if there are more? What happens to me the next time one of your enemies makes a move against me? Are we just going to keep stationing shifters all around my job and my home? Shifters, I might add, who were utterly useless in preventing my abduction?”
She covered her face and turned from him. “He took me at gunpoint from my office, Magnus. Literally pointed a gun at me and forced me into his car! I can’t. I just … I just can’t. I need time. I’m sorry.” A sob tore from her throat before she lapsed into silence.
He tried telling her that the anti-human panthers had been captured, so the odds of another attack were incredibly slim. That news did far too little to ease her mind. She shook her head, effectively cutting him off.
Looking defeated, Magnus pulled back. “I’ll have Barrett drive you home.”
Being home in her own bed provided absolutely no relief. That night, Alexis tossed and turned, and what little sleep she did get was filled with nightmares of razor-sharp claws and fangs that sunk themselves deep into her throat. She woke sweating and shaking.
