With that, she fell to the floor, and Nick started forward as if to help her. Duncan stopped him with the force of his glare.
“Stay the fuck away from her,” he said menacingly.
Duncan watched helplessly as Aliyah writhed and contorted. Nick’s eyes widened in horror, and his mouth fell open in a wordless exclamation as he watched the golden cat rise where a woman had lain.
The cheetah rose unsteadily at first, and then she gained her footing and padded slowly toward Nick.
“Do not make any threatening moves,” Duncan warned. “She won’t hurt you. She’s cognizant of her actions.”
“Fuck,” Nick whispered. “Fuck!”
The cheetah stopped in front of Nick and stared up at him. When she moved her head to rub against his leg, he flinched away and raised his hands in a protective measure.
The cat continued to rub her head against his leg, and slowly, Nick lowered his hand, lightly touching the tuft of hair on her head. She bobbed her head upward and licked his hand then turned and walked back to where Duncan sat on the edge of the couch.
She leaped onto the sofa next to him and rubbed against him affectionately. A purr rippled from her throat and vibrated against Duncan’s shoulder as she continued to nudge at him.
He stroked her fur, and she ducked under his hand and licked his cheek, and then she simply lay across his lap, her contented purrs filling the room.
“Un-fucking-believable.” Nick stared at Duncan in stupefaction. He edged forward, cautiously, his movements slow and calculated. “Can I…can I touch her?”
Duncan looked down as he continued to stroke behind the ears of the cheetah. When she continued to regard him with lazy, contented eyes and purrs rumbled from her throat, he nodded at Nick.
Nick put his hand on the cat’s shoulder and snatched his hand back when the cheetah turned her head to stare at him. She sniffed the air in Nick’s direction but made no effort to move.
Nick emitted a nervous laugh and put his hand back to touch her fur. He stroked hesitantly, but when she made no aggressive moves, he grew bolder, petting her neck and down her body.
Duncan’s lips grew tight. How fucked in the head was he that he didn’t want Nick touching the damn cat? Aliyah was his, whether in cheetah form or human, he didn’t give a damn. He didn’t want another man’s hands on her.
When he felt the shudder roll over her body, he glared up at Nick. “Back off.”
Nick scrambled back, and Duncan slid out from underneath the cat and turned protectively to shield her from Nick’s view as she began the transformation back to human.
Soon she lay on the couch, her eyes closed, her breaths coming in weary spurts. Duncan quickly covered her with a blanket and gathered her in his arms. Uncaring of Nick’s presence, he picked her up and turned so he could sit on the couch and hold her in his lap.
For several minutes, he held her, rocking slightly, his lips pressed to her hair as she regained control. He glanced up to see Nick staring at both of them in astonishment.
Nick’s mouth rounded to an O as understanding dawned. Duncan hesitated only a moment and gave a short nod. His acknowledgement that Nick’s observation was correct. Duncan was staking his claim.
“I’m sorry,” Nick croaked. “God, I’m sorry. I could have killed you.”
Aliyah stirred in his arms and fixed her gaze on Nick. “You didn’t know,” she said simply. “I got scared and freaked. I usually have better control. The last six months have been difficult for me.”
Duncan’s arms tightened around her. She riled every one of his protective instincts. He wanted to tuck her away where she was safe, where he could protect and cherish her.
His chest tightened uncomfortably, and a seed of panic grew when he thought of her leaving as soon as she was able.
Where would she go? Would she be safe? Who would protect her? Look after her? Keep her warm and clothed after her shifts?
He frowned again as he remembered once more that she’d made no attempt to call her family. It was a matter he intended to take up with her as soon as they were alone again.
“Why did you come out so early?” he asked Nick.
Nick looked momentarily surprised by the question, as though he’d forgotten entirely his reason for coming. Then his lips turned down into a frown, and a fierce light entered his eyes.
“I got a hit on the men you put out an APB on. They were spotted at a pharmacy in Hollis last night. One of them sported a rather interesting injury to his hand. The clerk said it looked like he got it caught in a meat grinder.”
“That’s him,” Duncan said. “He’s the one who pulled a rifle on me.”
Nick jerked his head up in surprise. “You didn’t say anything about that, Duncan.”
Duncan sighed. “I didn’t because at the time I had a cheetah in my truck with an arrow in her haunch. The hunter tried to collect the cheetah hide while I was trying to haul her out of the woods, and she attacked him.”
“I’m guessing you didn’t know she was human at this point,” Nick said dryly.
Duncan cleared his throat in discomfort. “No, that didn’t come until later.”
Aliyah still lay quietly in his arms. Too quietly. He glanced down to see a troubled look set deeply into her features.
“What’s wrong, honey?”
“It’s not safe for me here,” she said in a quiet voice.
No, it wasn’t, but the alternative was her leaving, and he didn’t want to think about that. He hated the fact that he couldn’t guarantee her safety.
“Hell, it’s not safe for you anywhere,” Nick muttered. “How could it be?”
Duncan quickly relayed how Aliyah had come to be in the Colorado mountains, but even he knew the details were sparse, lacking a whole lot of history, like how Aliyah came to be in the first place, and if there were others like her.
Nick shook his head in amazement. “What do you we do, Duncan? We can’t let those bastards keep getting away with what they’re doing. And fuck, if Aliyah is a cheetah, then what about all those other animals they’re hunting? Are they humans too?”
Aliyah shook her head somewhat sadly. “There are very few of us left.”
Duncan suddenly wished they were alone, because he wanted to know all there was to know about her, and he felt for the first time that she trusted him enough to confide in him.
He turned his attention reluctantly back to Nick. “I went up with Cal in the chopper yesterday. Didn’t see anything. We’re going to have to go in on foot.” He hesitated for a moment. “I need to keep this as quiet as possible because of Aliyah. If we can gather the men needed to take down the ring ourselves then that’s my preference. However, if we can’t find it ourselves or it becomes too risky, I won’t have a choice but to call in federal law enforcement.”
He glanced at Aliyah as he spoke. “I won’t let this compromise you,” he said softly. “You have my word.”
“I could help,” she said in a quiet voice.
“No,” Duncan said firmly. “Absolutely not.”
She gathered the blanket tighter around her and leaned away from him so she could look into his eyes. “The cheetah could help, Duncan. I couldn’t lead you back to where I was held, but she could. She knows their scent. I’m fast and I’m careful. I would only remain in cheetah form long enough to guide you to the hunters, and I could stay back, wherever you put me. I don’t have any more desire to put myself in danger than you are to put me there, but this is something I could do with minimal risk.”
“She’s right, Duncan,” Nick said thoughtfully. “If I headed up the team of our men with Cal’s, you and Aliyah could go ahead, lock onto the location and radio back. That way she stays out of sight.”