Rafe set the water in front of her. "You were born for me. Every leopard has a mate, and you're mine. I've always known it. This man who came into your life, I can understand why you would think you needed him, but he isn't for you. He was never for you. Still, I do understand that you care for him."
"Rafe, you've killed too many people I care about. David Belmont and Bernard Casey didn't know a thing about me. They're dead. Some stranger was murdered as well. I didn't even know his name."
"Some things are necessary, Catarina. You're old enough and intelligent enough to understand that. You've got your explanations. It's time to come home now."
"And if I won't go?"
"You'll go. You'll go because you belong there. You'll come with me, because if you don't, that man out there is going to die."
"We both know he'll come after me." She said it quietly, watching his face.
He hit her. He hit her hard, open-handed, across her face, knocking her right out of the chair. Stars burst across her eyes. Pain radiated from her cheek to the top of her skull and down across her jaw. She hit the floor so hard it knocked the wind from her so that she couldn't get air.
Rafe had often exploded into violence, one moment absolutely cold and controlled and the next, cold and vicious, capable of murder. He was on her so fast she didn't have time to even roll away from him. He slammed the toe of his shoe into her side, kicking her several times.
Pain blasted through her body. She couldn't think. Couldn't rise. Couldn't get away from the savage attack. It was so fast, so unexpected, all she could do was curl into a ball and try to protect her stomach and ribs. Instinctively, both hands covered her abdomen as her knees drew up for added protection.
He crouched down beside her, gripping her hair and yanking her head toward him. He slapped her three more times, the sound loud, the blows hard. When she managed to look at him, his eyes were all cat, his leopard close.
"You let him fuck you, right here. Right in this room where you cook him meals that should have been mine. Did you think I wouldn't smell the two of you? You let him touch you. You knew you belonged to me. You had no right allowing him to put his hands on you let alone his dick in you. You allowed his leopard to claim yours. Your leopard belonged to mine. Did you really think for one moment, I'd leave that man alive?" He snarled the questions at her, but his expression didn't change.
She didn't move. She didn't dare. He was too far gone into his world of violence and madness. She reached for air, prayed that Eli had somehow executed his plan and had gotten away from Rafe's lieutenants.
Rafe reached under the table to find the gun taped there. He pulled it out and showed it to her. "Were you looking for this? Were you planning to shoot me, Catarina?" He slapped her again. Hard. Once, twice. His expression never changed.
She'd seen him deliver this kind of punishment to those who worked for him, but he'd never laid a hand on her. She knew why everyone was so terrified of him. The viciousness when he appeared so remote and cold was worse than any anger he could display.
She felt her leopard rise close to the surface, fur pushing at her skin as the animal tried to save her. Not yet. Not yet. She tried to soothe the little female. She needed just a few more minutes. Rafe wasn't going to kill her. He planned on killing Eli, probably in front of her, that would be the only way he'd be satisfied. She would take whatever punishment Rafe gave her in order to give Eli the chance he needed to escape.
Rafe dragged her up by her hair. "You're coming home with me. That bastard is going to die, and it will be a very long time before I forgive what you've done. Don't you ever threaten your own life again, Catarina. I can hurt you in ways you can't even imagine, and I will if I have to. There are other people you don't want dead. Think about them before you ever do something like this again."
Pain crashed through her. She could barely think. She allowed him to shove her toward the screen door, keeping her hands wrapped around her middle, her fingers settling on the side zipper of her camisole. She'd practiced. She was fast. Very fast. Eli had been relentless, making her practice stripping and shifting on the run over and over for hours each day. She had thought he was a little overboard but now she was grateful.
Rafe kept his fingers around her upper arm. Hard. Digging into her flesh. A vise she knew she couldn't just yank away from. But her leopard could. She just had to figure out a way to rid herself of the camisole.
He opened the screen and thrust her outside, coming right behind her, never losing contact. Dawn had spread light through darkness. Her gaze went straight to Eli, his body still hanging, battered and streaked with blood. For a moment her heart pounded. She thought he was dead. She bit back a scream of denial.
Rafe shoved her toward the end of the porch. She stumbled, keeping her gaze on Eli. When she stumbled, Rafe let go of her. She tore the zipper down and ripped the camisole over her head, shoved the skirt from her hips and kicked it away as she leapt past one of Rafe's lieutenants who was sitting absolutely still in the chair on the porch. He hadn't even registered in her vision before.
Already she was shifting, catching the scent of blood, of death. She took one leap and landed on the wide wooden railing just in front of Eli. Only it wasn't Eli hanging there. It was another of Rafe's lieutenants. She saw that in an instant and knew the one sitting so still was also dead.
Elation swept through her as she leapt from the porch and streaked across the open yard for the trees. She knew every inch of the way between their property and Jake Bannaconni's. She also knew Eli had to be battling the third leopard, which meant her female would have to outrun Rafe's male.
She didn't look back. The little female valiantly ran for the fence that bordered the two properties. She knew where Jake's men, all three shifters, had been working to repair a broken fence line so their cattle would remain on their land. She headed for that spot, hoping the men would get an early morning start and they would help her.
She ran full out, but she hadn't counted on the damage Rafe had inflicted on her body. Every step hurt. She had to fight to breathe. He'd definitely hurt her ribs, and she felt each vicious kick he'd inflicted on her. She wasn't nearly fast enough and she knew it. With a little sob, she pushed the female harder.
Something large slammed into the female leopard's side, sending her tumbling, rolling over and over. She landed winded, shaking her head, trying to come to her feet. The heavier male was on her fast, too fast. His teeth bit down hard, lifting her, claws raking at her belly. She curled to protect herself. He shook her much smaller body and dropped her to the ground.
Catarina's leopard rolled, came to her feet and ducked under the male's attack, slicing at his sides with one claw, ripping him open as she leapt sideways out of the way. The male snarled, his eyes going yellow green. Her leopard eyed him warily. They stared at one another, the female trying to recover her breath.
She couldn't outrun him. She couldn't outfight him. But she might be able to outmaneuver him. She was much smaller, and she had a few moves Eli's male had taught her. The key was not to panic and not to waste energy.
The male charged, exploding into action. She held her ground until the last possible second, springing into the air, swiping at his eyes with one claw, turning direction in midair to land a few feet away and behind the howling male. Blood streaked his side, not a killing wound, probably just shallow, but she'd scored there. Now blood streaked his face, and she saw one eye was damaged.
The male turned his head slowly and her heart nearly stopped. Rafe was not in control of the beast and his leopard, a true killing machine, targeted her for the kill. She could see the rage and fury in his eyes. He wasn't going to simply demand her submission, he was going to annihilate her.
*
ELI watched Catarina go into the house with Cordeau. She looked so scared. So alone and vulnerable. He kept his head down, but his eyes were on the three men who had been having such a good time torturing him. They'd made several mistakes. They should have knocked him o
ut. They should have tied his feet. The chains were wrapped around his wrists. And they thought with three against one the odds were in their favor.
One came at him from the front, his arms the legs of a leopard. He let the man get close, let him rake claws down his chest, a streaking, painful fire, but his legs whipped up and caught the man's neck between his powerful thighs in a vicious grip, preventing shifting, preventing anything but trying to survive. He wasn't going to. Eli killed him before the second leopard could leap the distance to try to come to the aid of his friend.
Eli lifted his body up, drove hard to rise above the hook and free his chains. He dropped to the ground and caught the second lieutenant around the neck with the chains, twisting with his enormous strength, relentless, brutal, taking the air from him, cutting it off, strangling him with the very manacles they'd used to bind him after they'd stunned him.
The other lieutenant recovered from his momentary shock and ripped his clothes from his body, shifting as he did so. Eli swung the dying man around to face the snarling leopard, giving the animal a target. The leopard leapt at him, his body hitting his friend with alarming force, smashing the chest, knocking Eli and the now dead man back. As he allowed the body to drop to the ground, Eli took the opportunity to shed the chains and his clothes in seconds. He shifted, his large male leopard already in combat mode, facing the leopard that had landed hard and was shaking himself.
Eli's big black panther charged the lighter spotted leopard. The male leapt to the side with blinding speed and whirled to try to leap on Eli's back. His panther met the leopard in midair, raking and clawing, using his teeth to try to secure a smothering hold, but the leopard was too experienced and twisted at the last second. He ran. Eli followed.
Eli knew he had no choice but to kill the leopard before Cordeau returned to kill him. And he would. There was no question no matter what he told Catarina. Cordeau knew better than to leave him alive. Cat's leopard was Eli's leopard's mate. Cat was Eli's mate. Cordeau would have to destroy him in order to have any claim on Catarina or her leopard. He knew, if Eli was alive, Eli would never stop coming after him and Catarina would be driven to try to find him.
Cordeau's leopard had to be brutal. He'd driven the man mad. Some leopards, like their masters, were bad-tempered and edged a little toward insanity. Clearly, Rafe's leopard had needed a strong hold on it, but he had allowed the personality to take him over. He'd become a reflection of his leopard--a killer.
Eli knew every inch of his property. He followed the leopard closely until he realized the animal was deliberately drawing him away from the ranch house and Catarina. At once he spun around and raced back. Better to face two leopards than allow Cordeau to steal Cat away. He knew Cordeau's lieutenant would circle back to help his boss, but it didn't matter. He needed to make certain Cordeau didn't have the chance to take Catarina.
As he approached the ranch house, he heard the murmur of voices coming from inside. Cordeau sounded gentle and cajoling, as if he was trying to persuade Catarina to choose him over Eli. He didn't dare go confront Cordeau, not when he could use Catarina as a shield. He had to let them come back out. Cordeau would want Cat to see Eli's death. He would want her to blame herself. It gave Eli time to set a scene that would separate Catarina from Rafe, just enough to allow Eli to attack and still ensure Catarina's safety.
He knew he'd been damned lucky he'd killed the first two shifters fast, before either had made a sound. The third leopard had been so intent on killing him, he hadn't warned Cordeau with so much as a roar. Eli shifted and quickly put the body of the first man he'd killed into his chair on the porch, using a cord to lash him upright. A cursory glance might fool Cordeau for a moment. Using the chains, he hung the second shifter in the position he'd occupied recently.
The wind shifted just slightly and he had time to only partially shift and go vertical, leaping straight up to the roof as the leopard charged him from behind. He finished shifting as he landed and just that fast, launched himself in a silent attack on his pursuer.
He landed on the leopard's hind end, slamming him to the ground, raking with claws and driving his teeth into the leopard's neck. The leopard, using his flexible spine, turned with a show of strength, and raked at his face, rolling to try to get the heavier panther from his back. He smashed Eli hard into the ground, hard enough that Eli lost his hold on the neck and was forced to defend his own belly.
Both leopards rolled and came to their feet, reared up on hind legs, slashing and biting at their opponent. The leopard retreated first, falling back a few steps, sides heaving and bloody. Eli watched him warily. Circled slowly to the left. The leopard seemed to be favoring one side, down close to his hind legs, as if when Eli dropped from the roof, he'd managed to injure the heavily muscled leopard.
Cordeau's lieutenant suddenly made a run for the house, trying to burst past Eli's larger black panther. Eli realized immediately what he was doing. He wanted to warn Cordeau that Eli had killed the other two leopards and was much stronger and more combat experienced than any of them had counted on.
Eli cut him off, slamming him to the ground. The leopard rolled toward the tree line and Eli followed, raking at the injured hind end again, trying to hamstring him with vicious claws. He kept pushing him away from the ranch house, driving him back toward the trees. With each swipe of his claws, he dug deeper, did more damage until the leopard had no choice but to turn and defend himself.
Eli was on him in a second, using his superior strength and speed, rearing up with the leopard to rake the belly and get a strangling bite on his opponent's throat. He drove his teeth deep into the throat, and held him there. The leopard writhed, raked, fought, but Eli refused to relinquish his deadly hold. At no time had the leopard made a sound to warn his boss, and Eli realized that there was a scar deep in the leopard's throat, as if he'd suffered an injury there.
It took a long time for the fight to go out of the tawny leopard. He hung, panting, his eyes wild, the knowledge of his imminent death in his eyes. Eli held him and watched the life drain out of him, not able to take a chance that he could warn Cordeau that Eli was on the loose and hunting.
When he was certain the leopard was dead, Eli dropped him to the ground, shifted just enough to check for a pulse and then whirled to race back toward the house. He knew the moment he set his paw on the porch that Cordeau and Catarina were gone. The panther scented the female and also the male trying to take his mate. He let out a roar of challenge. The sound reverberated through the early morning air.
Eli pushed into the screen to smell blood. Catarina's blood. She was injured. The black panther whirled and rushed after his mate, running full speed, following the scent of stark fear and blood.
21
CATARINA stilled inside the small female as she watched the much larger, brutal male crouch low, his eyes fixed on her with deadly intent. The eye she'd injured wept blood, but rather than looking hurt, the large cat appeared evil. Invincible.
She refused to turn tail and run. If she was going to die, she would die fighting, keeping Rafe away from Eli for as long as she was able. More, if she injured him, she'd be helping Eli, because she knew, without a doubt in her mind, that Eli would be coming for her. He had wanted her to learn to fight so she could break away and flee, or if that failed, to stay alive long enough for Eli to come for her.
Catarina stared defiantly into the male's green-yellow eyes. Deep inside, she felt her little female coil. Become ready. She waited in absolute stillness, none of the fidgeting Rafe hated so much. Fidgeting would get her killed. She needed to see every nuance, every change in expression. When he charged, he was going to try to end her fast--or at least end her rebellion.
His roped muscles bunched beneath the loose fur. He crawled, belly low to the ground, slinking forward an inch or two and then freezing again. His muzzle pulled back in a snarling grimace, showing his teeth. His ears had gone flat, pulled to the side of his head to protect them during a fight. The eyes never changed. Ne
ver left the little female.
Heart pounding, Catarina waited, forcing air through her lungs, holding her female in place, soothing her with the knowledge that their mate was alive and would be coming soon. Eli had prepared her for this. His male had prepared her female. She just had to do exactly what she'd been taught, and that meant conquering the terror that threatened to grip her, threatened to freeze her in place.
Rafe's male's tail switched. The wind ruffled his fur. She watched his eyes. The hatred and anger receded just a little, and Catarina knew Rafe was fighting for dominance. The cat wanted her female's submission. Rafe didn't mind beating her, or allowing his male to beat up the female leopard, but he still didn't want her dead, and that was an advantage--a small one--but still an advantage.
The male launched himself at her. His speed was breathtaking. The female tried to whip around, out of the way, but the leopard anticipated her movement and was on her in seconds, slamming her to the ground with his heavy body, his claws ripping into her sides, raking deep as his teeth sank into her shoulder, just behind her neck.
The pain was excruciating. Her leopard went still. Trembled. She was too new, too inexperienced, and the male was frightening. Terrifying. She simply disappeared, allowing her human to take her place.
The change happened so fast, so smoothly that for a moment, Catarina didn't realize what happened. Pain crashed through her body. She smelled blood. Felt it running down her back and the sides of her body. She felt the hot blast of the leopard's breath, the weight of his body as he pinned her to the ground, mauling her. Desperately she placed both hands over her stomach, trying to curl, to bring up her knees, as the claws shredded skin right down to the bone, but the leopard held her mercilessly in place.
She was going to die and there was nothing she could do about it. Rafe's leopard killed countless women. She heard screams, horrible wailing cries of pain and fear rising on the wind. It took a moment to realize it was her voice. Her agony. His terrible claws slashed and burned through her body. She couldn't even curl up into a little ball no matter how much she tried. There was no way to protect her head.