Authors: AJ Hampton
* * * * *
Hot, salty blood filled Peter
’
s mouth, and he shook his head from side to side. He snarled around a mouthful of flesh, fought the urge to rip the throat
out
completely. He did not
want
to kill the leopard,
not unless necessity demanded it
. If Mark were strong enough, he
’
d survive the injury. Dropping the
other
cat to the ground, he spun and curled his lips back from bloodstained fangs.
Submit
, he demanded.
Injured, David
paced back and forth with a pronounced limp, his tail swishing in agitation
. The feline
’
s fear and pain
stoked a hunger in Peter
’
s stomach
, made it difficult not
to finish the
kill.
T
his fight was over
and
they both knew it.
The other feline made a sound in the back of his throat that would have been a roar if snow leopards had the ability.
“
No, Eva!
”
James shouted.
Peter
jerked his head up,
watched Eva break from James
’
hold and run across the clearing
toward
the fight. Stupid. David snapped his head toward the approach of running feet, his ears flattening
against
his head.
Mine.
Peter pounced, landed on the leopard
’
s back before the other cat could so much as lift a paw toward his mate. Teeth sank into flesh and
,
not for the first time, he forced David, the stupid
,
stubborn bastard
,
into submission.
Panting, h
e held tight until the cat beneath him stilled. Peter
’
s gaze never left Eva. She ran to Mark, slid to her knee
s in
the bloody snow and tugged off her gloves
with her teeth
. Tears streaming down her face, she reached for the fallen cat.
No
. Peter snarled
.
Mark was injured, but he was alive. As long as his heart beat, he could hurt Eva, kill her with a single swipe of his claws. He released the back of David
’
s neck, glared once at the cat and advanced toward Eva. David
shook
his head, rose
unsteadily
to his feet.
Peter growled, took a single
,
menacing step in David
’
s direction.
The other feline relented and shifted
,
the effort strained and ungraceful. Fur receded slowly into skin, leaving patches of raw flesh. Bones popped,
lengthened
. The distorted
,
half
human, half
leopard shape writhed on the ground until only the man remained. A kernel of respect settled into the pit of Peter
’
s stomach when David gritted his teeth and stood stubbornly.
From shoulder to hip, five deep gashes
flayed open his pale skin
. Dar
k trails
of blood dripped
from the claw marks and streamed down his thighs like fingers
.
“
Alpha,
”
David said through a hiss of breath, head bowed in submission.
Satisfied,
Peter shifted forms, shoving
the remnants of his energy into the change to make a smooth transition. He would not show weakness, not in front of the Pard.
He rose steadily
to
his feet, refused to look at the warm sticky rivulets
streaming hotly down his chest and
thighs. He
’
d heal.
Peter pointed at David
’
s chest, growled,
“
Pull that shit again, and you
’
re dead
.
Mark challenged me, I accepted. That was hi
s decision, not yours. I wouldn
’
t have killed him.
”
The blond nodded his head and curled his hands into fists at his sides.
“
Yes, Alpha.
”
“
Go see to your friend,
”
Peter
ordered
.
Unmindful
of
his injuries, David sank
into the snow
next to Eva
, next to Mark. He
looked to her in desperation.
“
Can you save him?
”
Stroking a hand
through Mark
’
s fur,
David pressed
his
forehe
ad between the fallen leopard
’
s closed eyes.
Eva shook her head, the tears crystallizing on her face from the cold. The salt of her sorrow stung
Peter
’
s
heart. God damn it, what the hell had she done to him?
“
I don
’
t know,
”
she whispered.
“
He
’
ll be okay,
”
Peter said gruffly, settled his hands on Eva
’
s hips and pulled her away from the injured cat. Any wounded animal was dangerous.
Eva slapped his hand away, crawled right back to where she
’
d been. She looked up at him, her reddened eyes hostile.
“
You nearly tore out his throat! Death lingers in the air; can
’
t you smell it,
Alpha
?
”
She said
A
lpha, but the word sounded an awful
lot
like asshole.
His jaw clenched, and he tightened his fists to control his raging feline. The
power-
hungry leopard had the taste of blood in his mouth, wanted more.
“
I will not apologize for defending myself. The fight would have been over a long time ago if not for dumb and dumber. Now
, get the fuck out of the way before you get hurt. That is an order.
”
Eva glared, and then in a clear dismissal, turned her back to him. A noise, low, growly, and inhuman
,
ripped out of his throat before he could stop it. He crouched, ready and more than willing to drag her from the circle and teach her some obedience. Her next words stopped him.
“
I
’
ll try to heal him, but
,
I can
’
t promise
you it will work. He has to want the healing. Th
e spark needs to be there.
”
Heal him? What in the hell was she talking about? Unnerved by her comment,
he watched
David nod
as he
continued to stroke the cat
and whisper to him
.
Peter opened his mouth, shut it when James came up to his side and placed a hand on his shoulder.
“
She has the power to heal. She didn
’
t tell you?
”
He turned his head, stared at his uncle. The rage built, a sudden firestorm in his gut, all because others knew so much about her and he, well
,
he knew next to nothing.
“
We didn
’
t exactly spend our time talking. Explain, now.
”
“
Greg didn
’
t call her his little angel for nothing. She is part Angel, as in a being from heaven. One of her parents was a fallen.
”
The gold
-
tipped wings etched onto her slender back filled his memory.
An angel. She was really an angel. What the fuck had he done?
“
E
xplain the part about the healing.
”
“
Watch,
”
James said.
Heat emanated
from
Eva
’
s skin, and Peter felt the energy coiling in the air. She pressed her trembling palm against the hole in Mark
’
s neck. Blood seeped between her fingers, dripping to the ground. Golden light, pure and sweet, glowed from her hand.
She closed
her eyes
;
concentration etched lines on her face. Her lips moved, muttering something he couldn
’
t hear, couldn
’
t read. Her cheeks paled, leaving her skin pasty. Despite the cold, beads of sweat gathered
on
her upper lip. She started to shake, the rattling of her teeth sending a surge of fear straight into his gut. He stepped forward, ready to put an end to whatever in the hell it was she was doing.
“
No,
”
James said, held him back.
Peter snarled, threw the other man off him
and started toward Eva. She pulled her hand away, stood. He was still too damn far from her.
She swayed in a teetering circle, the once
-
bright light behind her eyes dim
. The next few seconds slowed, and try as he might, he couldn
’
t close the distance between them fast enough. Her lids fluttered, eyes rolling back until only the whites showed in the darkness.
Every bone in her body turned liquid. She crumbled, time speeding up again. Her ass hit the ground, the impact snapping her slack jaws together and pitching her backward toward the smooth stones lining the clearing. He dropped to the hard ground in a slide, ice and rock scraping his knees. Thrusting out his hand, he caught the back of her head millimeters from impact. Not trusting she was okay, he pulled her into his lap.
He cradled her against his chest, looked
down at her ashen face. Her eyes were closed, her lips parted. He pushed her tangled hair from her forehead, pressed
trembling
fingers against her neck. The steady drum of her heartbeat was the best thing he
’
d ever heard.
“
What
’
s wrong with her?
”
Peter asked, looking to
his uncle
for answers. The leopard inside raged, demanded to know why his mate lay injured.
“
Exhaustion
;
healing takes a lot out of her. The bigger the wound, the more energy it takes to heal. She
’
ll be okay in a few hours, she just needs to sleep.
”
“
She does this often?
”
he asked, dumbfounded.
The youngest of the Pard spoke up, and since Peter didn
’
t recognize her, he figured she must have been born after he
’
d left town. She cast eyes the identical shade
to
Mark
’
s
to
ward
the ground. She didn
’
t even attempt to look him in the eye
;
none of them did.
“
A couple of times a week, at the clinic she and Greg run. They help all the shifters who come in needing medical attention. I work at the reception, and Mom, she arranges the transportation. We
’
re the only clinic around for...well, I don
’
t know, maybe we
’
re the only one.
”
“
Greg founded this...this clinic?
”
“
After you left town,
”
James answered.
How fucking selfless of him to put Eva
’
s life in jeopardy so she could heal complete strangers. Peter nodded, hatred festering a hole in his stomach. He cast his gaze to the leopard in front of him. The hole in his neck was gone, the only sign of the injury the bloodstained fur and saturated ground.
She
’
d fucking healed him.
As he watched, the cat opened his eyes, looked around with a dazed expression. Mark staggered onto all fours, fell promptly to the side as if drunk. David cooed softly against his ear.
“
Mark, you
’
re okay. Eva healed you, just calm down and you
’
ll be able to shift.
”