“You do remember I’m single and have my own leopard,” Rene reminded.
Gedeon took a deep breath and let it out to control Slayer’s vicious reaction. This was Rene, not an enemy. He nodded. “I’m sorry, Rene. If I could handle this myself, I would. I’ve had the feeling for some time that she was my mate, but she kept insisting that she didn’t have a leopard.”
Rene shook his head. “If you believed that, Gedeon, you should have acted on it, leopard or not. Now you’re going to have a long, hard road ahead of you that might not work out. Meiling appears to be soft, but she has a will of iron. You hurt her. You said so yourself.”
Gedeon didn’t need the reminder. He knew he was already in trouble with Meiling. “The last thing I need to do is add murdering an innocent man to my list of sins. Please do this for me, Rene.”
Rene nodded and abruptly walked away. From his vantage point above the dance floor, Gedeon watched Rene make his way through the crowd to Meiling. It wasn’t easy. She was surrounded by men. They danced around her, but none made the mistake of putting their hands on her. It was possible she had warned them off her. Gedeon didn’t know or care why they were leaving her alone; he was just thankful that they were.
Rene approached her from her right and called out softly before stepping close enough to interrupt her movements. She stopped and faced him. Even just standing still, she looked beautiful. She raised one hand to push at the thick silk of her hair falling around her face. Just that action tightened Gedeon’s body so savagely he could barely breathe.
Meiling shook her head and gestured around her. Rene talked more. Meiling tilted her head back and looked directly up at Gedeon before pushing past Rene and walkingthrough the crowd of men toward the exit. Rene trailed after her.
Gedeon swore under his breath. She was pissed. Really, really pissed. It didn’t happen often, but when Meiling was angry, she could bring the claws out. He crossed to the other side of the balcony to watch as Rene went out the front door of the club. He was gone longer than Gedeon was comfortable with.
Settle down, Slayer. If we want to keep Meiling in our lives, you have to back off enough to let me go to her with the ability to be calm.He rarely asked his leopard for anything. He commanded and got results. At this stage, the cat had to realize they were both going to lose if the animal persisted in driving Gedeon past his point of endurance.
I cannot stop the burning. The need for sex. The need to fight. For blood.
I can’t either, but we have to try. She’s the only one who can save us. We’re driving her away from us. I believe she has your mate. If we push her away, we’ll lose her before you ever have the chance to know. We won’t have a choice. We’ll have to suicide.
Gedeon could feel the leopard’s tremendous struggle to overcome the ferocious burning needs raging through their bodies. He knew the big cat was as scarred by their traumatic childhood as he was. It had been his leopard who had saved him on multiple occasions. He owed the animal his life and his sanity.
When Gedeon had spoken of knowing love to Meiling, he hadn’t included Slayer or Meiling. He knew he loved both. He might not say it aloud, or even admit the truth to himself, because he was afraid both would be taken from him.
Rene came back inside and made his way upstairs. His shoulders were slumped, and he looked defeated.
“I take it she was upset.”
“I put her in a cab and tried to give them your home address, but she waved me away and shut the door. I don’t think she’s going home, Gedeon.”
“Who do you have on her?”
“Man by the name of Gray Duncan. He’s human, not a shifter. He’s older and wouldn’t bother her even if she did catch him—which I suspect she might. She’s too polite to be rude to an older man.”
“By ‘older’?”
“He’s pushing seventy. Likes to keep busy and asked me for work whenever I had it available. He’s sharp as a tack, Gedeon. I’ve always been able to rely on him.”
Gedeon didn’t know whether to be happy or angry about the fact that the man was older and not a shifter. At least he wouldn’t be trying to cement a relationship with Meiling.
“Contact him and find out her destination. I’m heading out, and if she isn’t on her way home, I’ll need to know where to get her.”
“She wasn’t happy.”
“I could see that.”
“She knew you were the one who sent her away.”
Gedeon shrugged. “I was the one. I wouldn’t want her blaming you for something I did. When you were up close to her, did you get any inkling of a leopard?”
Rene shook his head. “I even asked my leopard to pay attention. He said he couldn’t detect a female leopard close, but I absolutely believe there’s a female about to emerge.”
Gedeon believed it too. He often just knew things, and ever since they left San Antonio, he had been getting so moody and edgy for no apparent reason; it had started to dawn on him that Fyodor had brought those shifters together because he had sensed her female leopard becoming ready to rise. Gedeon was too close to her. He’d been with her for a year and took her for granted. He’d noticedher enhanced beauty, but he was used to her glowing skin and shiny hair.
Her sudden mood swings were few and far between. He was far moodier than she was, and he’d spent his time trying to calm Slayer. By the time it occurred to him that the problem wasn’t Slayer or him, that it was Meiling, it was too late. She had walked into his bedroom, and he’d been having rough sex with another woman. That might as well have put an entire ocean between them.
“Got a text from Gray. Says she went to the Hot Nights Club in Algiers. She just waltzed right in. No one asked her for a cover fee, just showed her to the bar,” Rene said. “Men are lining up to buy her drinks.”
