“Yeesss.” Brent moved his hairy body closer to the bed. “Brennnt Bowwmn.”
Jordan snarled.
Katie froze. Animalistic tension swirled through the room, raising the hair on the back of her neck. As a smart woman, she knew her limitations from the damn virus—getting between two shifted animals trying to kill each other would end badly. Hopefully Jordan wouldn’t shift.
Jordan took another step toward her, his hands clenching into fists. “I thought I killed you. Three hundred years ago.”
Brent shrugged a massive shoulder, sending fur rolling down his body. “No. Almooossst. You left tennndon attached in neck. I had to diiiig out of graaaave.”
“That’s unfortunate,” Jordan said, his voice a low tenor Katie had never heard. “How long you been a werewolf?”
“Ten yearrrsss.”
Jordan kicked off his boots.
Brent licked his lips.
Katie bunched her muscles to attack.
Brent settled his stance, fur rippling. “The Pride issss mine, coussssssin.”
Cousin? Katie frowned. Jordan had family?
“Kaattieee one of us.” Brent slid another foot closer to the bed.
Jordan ducked his head and charged. He hit the werewolf dead center, throwing them across the room and through the window. The window frame cracked down the middle, leaving a gash in the wall. They disappeared from sight. Air exploded as he must have shifted. Snarls and growls filled the night as they fell three stories.
Katie rushed to the window, her hands clutching the jagged sill. Rain slammed into her face.
In a tangle of limbs, the duo landed, werewolf solidly on top of cougar. Brent must’ve twisted them midflight. He rolled away, gasping, teeth flashing as Jordan’s head thunked hard on the cobbled alley.
Panic caught Katie’s breath in her throat. She rushed back to the drawer, reaching for the gun and swinging around. Her foot caught on the bedspread and she went sprawling across the floor. Pain ripped across her knees. She tightened her hold on the weapon. With a sob, she scrambled to her feet, leaping back to the window.
Down below, Brent backed away from Jordan. The massive cougar, much larger than any true animal, sprawled on the wet bricks. Blood cascaded from a cut above his left ear. He didn’t move.
The angle of the fire escape kept her from getting a clean sight. Frustration caught in her throat. Determination straightened Katie’s spine. She aimed the barrel for Brent’s neck. He bunched to attack.
She fired.
The shot ricocheted off the metal fire escape. He paused.
Both Jordan and Brent looked up, eyes wild, fur standing on end.
Jordan jumped to his feet with a high-pitched snarl.
Katie’s hand trembled, and she slapped both hands around the gun. The cougar and werewolf circled each other, jaws wide, teeth flashing. Blood flowed from the cut along the top of Jordan’s head, dying his fur a dark red, even with the rain pelting down.
She tried to aim, but the animals moved too quickly. Toeing on her tennis shoes, she gingerly stepped over the jagged glass to the fire escape. The wind blew water into her face ... even then a heavy mugginess assaulted her lungs. She had to get closer to aim for Brent’s legs. Too bad she didn’t have a tranquilizer gun.
Grabbing the slippery rail, she maneuvered down the wet steps, her gaze on the fight. Jordan jumped Brent, sinking his canines into the werewolf ’s neck. Brent howled in anger.
Chills ripped down Katie’s spine. Her arm ached, a dull, thick pain, pounding with her rapid heartbeat.
Brent swung, connecting with Jordan’s chest. The lion flew across the alley to land hard against the building. Brick shattered, sending chips flying.
Jordan rolled, landing on all fours, teeth bared to kill. He took a step and halted, his wet ears going back. Rage filled his eyes when he turned his head and looked up. The snarl he gave at seeing her made her step back.
Brent hissed, shooting farther into the alley, his feet pounding and sending cobblestones flying. With a yowl sounding as if it came from a churning hell, Jordan bunched and followed him into darkness.
“No,” Katie whispered, rushing down the remaining steps until splashing in a puddle at the bottom. Dusty water washed up her bare legs. Clutching the gun harder, she hustled after them.
Rain splattered into her eyes as she ran through the alleys, following the demolished ground. Fear propelled her. She had to reach Jordan—if there was any way to stop Jordan from killing Brent, she needed to do it. Brent’s blood might hold hope for them all. They had to take him down, not end him for good.
She slid around a corner to see Brent disappearing over a rooftop, Jordan springing onto a fire escape. “Jordan,” she screamed.
He halted, eyeing her and leaping back to the ground. Raw fury folded his lip.
The world stopped moving. The brick on either side of the alley turned a deep black from the rain splattering up from the cobblestones. Darkened windows lined high above, while even higher, two building lights shone down, weak in the murky night. A horn bellowed in the distance. She shoved hair from her face, gulping in air. Muggy and hot, air coated her throat on the way down.
Her lungs heated.
The cougar eyed her, rage in his eyes, fur rising on end down his back.
The need to aim the gun at him made her stomach clench.
The air thickened and he rose to full height, a human male standing in the rain. Nude and enraged.
Katie shivered. His eyes glowed in his angular face, revealing the animal present even in human form. His nose was straight, his cheekbones high and symmetrical, purebred lion embedded in every feature. While his chest had always been broad, cut definition enhanced more powerful muscles than she remembered. His narrow waist tapered to...
God. She would not look lower.
Jordan’s gaze started at her tennis shoes and traveled up her bare legs to the clinging T-shirt. Fury lined every strong contour in his face.
Awareness slammed desire out of the way. She took a step back. Okay, running through alleys wearing only a T-shirt might have been a bad idea. Very bad. Intuition yelled at her to flee. No way in hell could she outrun him. Aiming the gun would be a serious mistake. She knew it ... yet her hand trembled as she raised the weapon.
His chin lowered. A stalking predator, he strode forward with measured steps, water sluicing off his hard body.
Retreat was her only option. A loose stone tripped her, and she dodged to the side, her back flush to a building. Thank God the weapon hadn’t gone off. A second later he trapped her, his abs square against the barrel of the gun, his gaze primal.
Something inside her hissed. Deep down, beyond humanity, at her very core ... a lioness stretched.
The breath caught in her throat. She stilled. Searching down deep. Searching for the animal she used to be. The animal that had been silenced ten years ago by the virus. A tingling wandered through her veins, igniting her blood. An animal sense that she’d missed so very much. The slumbering cougar awakening in reaction to a male.
And the male was pissed.
He may have shifted to human form, but a primitive tension poured off him that sent her heart beating hard enough to hurt.
Splashing rain counted dangerous seconds as he waited in silent demand, not saying a word.
Sawdust filled her mouth. She tried to swallow, her gaze caught and held by his. Heat flashed in her abdomen. The animal deep down took over, lowering her hand and the gun. Her teeth sunk into her bottom lip, her gaze dropping to his chest. Both shoulders shook with the need to challenge him, but inside, the lioness purred.
Her mind blanked. Was the lioness returning? Finally?
He held out a hand. She faltered before sliding her palm along his. Strong fingers threaded through, and he pivoted to lead her home. “We’ll discuss this on the plane.”