Keisha hoped whoever was watching the trail had missed their swift disappearance into the heavy growth alongside. Creeping low to the ground, she slowly and silently worked her way through the brambles and thick undergrowth before she contacted Anton. Immediately, she felt the warmth of his mental touch and the sharp slice of his fear.
And, his typical, autocratic orders. Stay away from them. Wait for Stefan and me.
It’s too late. I’m near their hiding place now and their scent is clear.
Keisha! Don’t…
She immediately set her mental barriers, blocking Anton from her thoughts, knowing full well she’d hear about it later. Right now she needed to concentrate, and listening to orders she had no intention of following wasn’t going to help.
There were two men. Definitely two. Keisha raised her nose and sniffed again. She scented Xandi on the opposite side of the trail before she caught the light of her glowing eyes, high up on a cairn of tumbled rock. Xandi crouched low with only the top of her head showing above the ledge where she waited.
I see them. Xandi’s voice was a quiet whisper in Keisha’s thoughts. Two men, armed with rifles and what looks like lots of rope and a couple of leather muzzles. They’re still looking down the trail, waiting on us. How could they know we’d come this way? That we’d run tonight? I don’t understand it. She paused, obviously frustrated, and then added, They probably have tranquilizer guns if they’re planning to take us alive.
Did you reach Stefan?
Yes. He’s on his way. Anton?
He’s coming. Mei and Oliver stayed with the babies.
Good. I suggest we just wait and keep an eye on things.
Probably a good idea. Anton started giving orders about staying out of trouble and I blocked him.
You blocked Anton? Oh, shit. He is going to be so pissed. Xandi’s silent laughter skated across Keisha’s mind.
Let’s hope he takes it out on our two visitors instead of me. With that dry comment, Keisha settled back on her haunches to wait.
Xandi’s quiet chuckle echoed in her mind. He’ll need more than just these two. I bet he’s furious. He’s never even raised his voice to you!
I know. And between you and me, I’d like to keep it that way. I’d hate to be the focus of his anger. Keisha’s soft comment was met by Xandi’s silent agreement.
Chapter 2
Mei Chen prowled the long dark hallway in Anton’s sprawling home, her broad, padded paws soundless on the wood floors. Oliver guarded the grounds. He’d chosen his snow leopard form with its camouflaged coat of dark rosettes scattered across a pale background.
Mei rarely chose otherwise. She preferred the cat…and the company. In leopard form, her newly acquired spirit guide, Igmutaka, was a powerful presence within her. Their relationship had been more adversarial in the beginning, but over the past few weeks they’d reached an understanding, at times an almost affectionate cohabitation of the powerful snow leopard’s form.
When she ran as the wolf, Igmutaka was an unhappy cat in the wolf’s body. When she was Mei Chen, the woman, he was but a shadow of himself, present, though not overwhelmingly so.
Except when she made love. Igmutaka enjoyed sex, no matter what form Mei took.
In the snow leopard’s body, the spirit guide shared an equal part with Mei, something she’d at first questioned and resented. Now, she welcomed him. His strength had become hers, his cunning, even his ancient knowledge.
More importantly, Oliver accepted him. Accepted what was essentially a secondary male presence connected most intimately with his mate. He acknowledged Igmutaka’s right to exist within Mei without any sign of jealousy or resentment.
She’d known Oliver was special when they first met. She’d never dreamed just how special.
The babies slept, their home protected by Oliver on the outside, Mei and her guide on the inside. She’d left the ever-present baby monitors near the front door in case she went out, and found a spot in the hallway where she could see both babies’ cribs through their open doors. Silently she lowered herself into a crouching position, alert yet restful.
Minutes passed. The babies were stilll quiet. Igmutaka was a silent presence in her mind. At least until Oliver’s voice brought her head up, her tufted ears forward.
Mei?
What is it?
I think I hear a car coming up the drive. Lights must be out. The engine is fairly quiet, but they’re not all that far away.
I’m ready.
I’m shifting to wolf so I can contact Anton and let him know.
The lack of communication between the leopard and the wolf was the only drawback to this form. Mei stood and walked a few paces down the hall to a room that faced the driveway. She shifted and her human hands opened the window to the night breezes. She shifted again. The leopard’s sensitive ears caught the sound of tires on crushed rock and the low hum of an engine. Oliver was right. A vehicle moved slowly up the long, tree-shrouded driveway.
Her heart hammered in her chest. Not from fear. The adrenaline rush merely prepared her for whatever was to come. Mei’s large, sinewy body was tense. She and Igmutaka were ready for anything.
The babies would be safe in their care.
She felt Igmutaka stirring, his spirit gathering strength, his power spreading from head to heart, to lungs and limbs. She opened her mouth in a silent snarl and waited, watching for their intruders to arrive.
Frustrated anger fueled his journey through the dark forest, propelling him onward every bit as much as fear for his mate. Anton ran alone, taking the trail directly toward their quarry, his dark wolven body a quickly moving target. Ebony claws grabbed the turf. Mud and grass flew behind him. As fast as he moved, Anton knew that Stefan kept pace, racing through the thick undergrowth on hidden pathways, his silence a direct counterpart to Anton’s purposefully noisy run.
Anton reached once again for Keisha. He fought his outrage, furious with her for blocking his mental voice. He knew how she resented his attempts to control her, but he had no choice. Didn’t she realize the danger she was in?
Oliver’s voice slammed into him and Anton’s heart thudded even harder in his chest.
We have visitors. Someone’s coming up the drive. SUV. Lights out. They should be here in a few minutes. I don’t want you to worry, but you need to know this looks like something that’s fairly well planned. An assault in the woods timed with one at the house isn’t accidental.
We’ll take care of these two and get back there ASAP. Protect our young.
As if they were our own.
Oliver’s voice snapped out of his thoughts so quickly, Anton knew he must have shifted directly from wolf to leopard. Thank the Goddess he and Mei were protecting the babies.
Stefan, we have more trouble. Oliver just contacted me.
I know. I heard him. I see Xandi. She’s in position in the rocks above the two men. Keisha’s in the forest to your right. Once you round the corner ahead, the men will see you.
They’re just going to get a glimpse. Anton raced around the corner. He didn’t give himself time to locate his adversaries. Instead he immediately leapt to his right, disappearing into the thick undergrowth just ahead of a dart that whistled past his flank.
It made a loud thunk when it struck the thick trunk of a pine tree behind him.
One