She trembled, her face coated with a thin layer of perspiration. She was on the edge of collapse which was no doubt the only reason she didn’t argue.
“Fine.”
He lowered his head until his face was buried against the curve of her neck, his lips teasing her silken skin.
“Let me in, honey.”
He stroked his lips to the pulse that thundered at the base of her throat, his tongue making a quick swipe over the flesh. Abruptly, his cat strained at the leash for more.
More heat. More skin. More Keira.
Christ. How had he survived even a day without this woman?
Patiently waiting until she’d tentatively relaxed beneath his touch, Bayon wrapped her in his arms. Once he was certain she wasn’t going to panic, he tightened his hold, allowing his musk to wrap around her. It was the first time he’d tried to imprint himself on a female, but his most primitive instincts knew precisely what to do, trigging his male need to claim this woman.
She made a sound deep in her throat. Not rejection. But a low sound of hunger that tumbled him over the edge of a cliff he hadn’t known he was standing on.
Without warning his mouth widened and he sank his teeth into the flesh of her upper shoulder, saturating her in his scent.
She grabbed his shoulders, sighing softly as the force of his claim flooded through her, wrapping her in a layer of protection. Bayon licked the tiny wound on her shoulder as she collapsed against him, trying to be as gentle as possible as he cradled her too-thin body in his arms and rose to his feet.
A savage anger exploded through him as he realized just how delicate she’d become. Had she been starved? Beaten? Sexually abused?
Dammit, he was going to hunt down the savages and make them scream for mercy.
Then he was going to roast them over an open fire and feed them to the gators.
Keeping well away from the patrols that guarded the borders, Bayon headed over the spongy ground toward the isolated caves at the far side of the Wildlands. Since Parish had taken them as his home no one had dared to trespass. Which meant there shouldn’t be any stray intruders.
He could only hope the current leader of the Hunters was too occupied with his duties to return in the next few hours.
The moon was bathing the towering cypress trees in silver as they reached the solid land, heading toward the low rise of hills where the entrance to the caves was hidden by the thick shrubs.
Forced to bend low to keep from smacking his head on the outlying rocks, Bayon shuffled forward until he at last reached the surprisingly large inner cavern with a high, dome-like ceiling and a shallow stream on one side.
The cool, thankfully dry air wrapped around them as he headed directly to the tunnels at the back of the cavern. He felt Keira shiver and he pressed her closer to his chest, choosing the tunnel that led to the furthest end of the series of caves.
He could hear the splash of the waterfall before he hit the circular end of the tunnel. Then, stepping around the curve, he came to a halt, savoring the sight of the water tumbling off the edge of a natural opening in the ceiling to pool in the deep basin in the center of the cavern.
It was that pool that had attracted the young Pantera, their cats joyously climbing the narrow ledges that lined the walls before shifting into their human forms to splash in the fresh water.
Now the children had all grown up and there were no cubs darting through the droplets of water that shimmered in the moonlight or shouts of laughter as young boys tried to capture the interest of the girls.
The thought abruptly reminded him that he had to contact Parish. Someone had to return to tracking the bastards who’d attacked Ashe and her baby.
“I remember this place,” Keira whispered softly, her gaze on the waterfall as Bayon gently lowered her so she could stand beside the pool.
Bayon tugged her to face him. “Look at me, Keira.”
The eyes that remained unnervingly dull lifted to meet his steady gaze. “What?”
“It’s time for me to call your cat.”
He heard her swallow, her eyes too large for her pale face. “You won’t let anyone take me?”
“I’ll protect you,” he pledged, his fingers cautiously cupping her chin. “No one is ever going to hurt you again.”
Tilting her head back, he peered deep into her eyes and spoke the ancient words of power.
A heat prickled in the air, the magic a smothering power that slammed into Keira with a force that sent her to her knees, as a pained sound wrenched from her throat.
Bayon grimaced, hating the knowledge that he was forcing her into an involuntary shift. It was a gift that he used when a Pantera was severely injured in their human form and needed to transform into their cat to heal. Or if the cat had become feral, unable to recall their humanity.
It wasn’t something he did lightly.
Transformation was supposed to be a private, joyous event. For him to compel a shift was uncomfortably close to stealing a person’s free will.
Keira tumbled to the side, then, with a burst of swirling colors, her human form was altering, the muscles thickening and the fur coating her once smooth skin. Bayon continued to speak the low words of command, his hands held over her as her eyes abruptly glowed with power and the cat emerged with a roar of long-suppressed fury.
Sheer relief flooded through him as he took a careful step backward, giving the cat plenty of space. After being forced into hibernation for so long there was no telling what she might do now that she was wakened.
The golden eyes studied him with a predatory hunger, but clearly too weakened to pounce, she instead displayed her massive teeth before curling on the hard floor and lowering her beautiful head to her paws.
Bayon backed out of the cave, giving the cat enough privacy so she could rest in peace, while remaining close enough that the human part of her knew she was being protected.
God almighty.
He pulled a cell phone out of his front pocket. He carried two. One that was his private phone with all the bells and whistles. And one a burner phone that couldn’t be traced.
He chose the burner. He didn’t want anyone realizing he’d returned to the Wildlands.
Parish answered on the first ring.
“You have them?”
Bayon grimaced. The Hunter wasn’t going to be pleased with what he had to say.
“I tracked them to a home just one block north of the schoolhouse in Melton. They’d taken off but there’s a good chance they’ll return. If not, Talon should be able to follow their trail.” Bayon winced at Parish’s brutal reprimand at not having stayed on the hunt for the intruders. “I have a lead I want to investigate. It’s important.” There was another furious chastisement that included Parish’s opinion of idiots who couldn’t follow orders and the threat of Bayon’s manhood being removed by a rusty knife. “Trust me, mon ami, you’ll be the first to know when I have info I can share. Oh, and tell Talon that in the attic of the house he’ll find a metal collar. I think it has some sort of toxin on it so he’ll have to be careful, but he needs to bring it back for the Healers to study. It might be important. I’ll be in touch as soon as I can,” he promised before shutting off the phone and shoving it back into his pocket.
Parish was furious, but he wouldn’t hesitate to send Talon back to the house. Which meant that Bayon had a few hours at least to concentrate solely on helping Keira. A duty that might not be his by blood, but was surely his by right.
Keira had always belonged to him.
Even if she’d been too damned stubborn to admit it.
Keira wasn’t surprised that she dreamed she was in her cat form. It was how she hung on to what little remained of her sanity.