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A second panther appeared thirty feet to my right, hunched low, the hackles on his spine raised.
Fear crammed in my throat. I grabbed a small log just in case I needed to wield it.
“I know she kidnapped you,” I said, hoping they understood and that I could reason with them. “Took you from your families. Put you into the training camp and forced you to comply.”
The younger panther shook his head and growled, as if frustrated.
Good. I was getting through to him.
The silver-faced panther started for me with terrifying speed. It swiped at me, barely missing my leg. My back slammed into the trunk of a tree. Pain split up my back. I couldn’t breathe or think beyond the crackling nerves in my spine.
My heart tripped madly with mindless panic.
Growling at me with savagery, it inched closer. I swung the log at the cat, and it backed away a few steps. The other, larger cat set in on me.
Poseidon squealed and shuffled sideways. His back legs swept out, catching the younger cat in the hind leg. Bones cracked. The panther screamed and limped away.
My chest braced as the silvery one approached. I wasn’t going to make it to the rock.
Poseidon stomped, giving the silvery panther another warning to back off.
But the cat wasn’t interested in the stallion. My image burned in his green eyes. My scent tantalized his senses. He wanted my blood on his tongue.
Pricks nipped at the skin on my neck as I scrambled up a nearby tree. The cat growled and scratched the back of my leg, drawing blood. Blinding pain fogged my mind. I pushed myself higher, moving up onto the second branch. He leaped up, jaws snapping, missing me by an inch. His claws dragged down the bark as he slipped. Screaming, I flew higher up the through the branches.
The tree shook as the panther climbed up behind me. Perched atop the branch, I kicked him in the face, and he lost his balance and slid down. Burning hatred flashed in his eyes as he scaled higher.
Ice trickled down my spine. My odds of survival didn’t look good.
“Flare,” someone below cried out. “I’m hurt. Help me.”
I glanced at the naked shifter leaning against the tree, his body strong and finely-toned. Shock rattled up my spine at recognizing the caramel skin and brown hair. Gray, stormy eyes met mine.
“Shadow!” I cried, a spike of relief pulsing through me. “Thank god, you’re alive.”
“Why didn’t you tell me who you were?” he said, leaning on two knees, cursing the pain it cost him to do so. “My family—everyone on my plantation paid because of you.”
The silvery panther staring at me let out a snarl, as if supporting Shadow’s statement. Lust for my blood shone in his eyes, and he crept closer. I didn’t have time for many more questions.
Like I needed to plant any more seeds of guilt in my garden when it already brimmed with plenty. I wanted to say I was sorry, but that was a bit hard with Big Balls stalking closer, and I scrambled backward out onto the limb.
“Why are you trying to kill me?” I panted.
“If we don’t return with your heart”—distaste colored Shadow’s voice—“the collar will take our lives, too.”
Horror rattled in my chest. More innocent lives. That cold woman did not have a single kind bone in her body. Sending hunters to track and murder me was right up my stepmother’s alley.Bitch.My hate for her inched up several notches. My pulse stormed like a raging bull. If we ever met again, I was going to kill her.
An idea sprang to mind. A risky one, but one that might save my life, the panthers’ lives, and those of the kidnapped shifters.
“Let me help you,” I offered the two hunters. “Spare my life, and I promise to get those collars off you and save your family from the false ward of Tritonia.” The last few words tasted dirty and sour in my mouth.
The silvery panther staring at me growled in a way that saidno deal. Saliva dripped from the white teeth bared at me. Everything about his stalking behavior was clear; he was the predator, and I was the prey.
“Fuck, Flare, get your ass over here!” Shadow ordered. “You owe me.”
Flare, the silvery panther, lowered his head and craned his neck. He sniffed and snorted. Duty bound him to this man. But why? The panther’s wild and crazed green eyes returned to me. He was too far gone…overcome by his animalistic side, wanting nothing more than to kill me and dine on my flesh.
My breath wedged in my throat as the panther continued his approach.
