“Polina said she would go with them. I never cried. I made certain I didn’t, but she said she would go anyway. Then she told me to stick to the path. I knew what she meant. She wanted me to get out of there. Blum and his men had their eyes on me. I had turned thirteen. I might look very young, but age didn’t matter to them. We knew we’d never see each other again.”
She raised her eyes to meet his. For one moment, her eyes glittered with tears. “I knew what it had been like for you when your leopard burst free and you killed all those men. I struggled to keep from doing the same thing. I wanted to. It took everything in me not to let go. I didn’t care if I died, as long as I could kill them and keep them from taking Polina. She was the one who prevented me from shifting. She kept shaking her head and murmuring that she loved me, and it mattered to her that I lived—that I had to live.”
She was breaking his heart. Two tears dripped down her face, but she appeared unaware of it, while that was all he could see. His heart ached—a new sensation for him that was rapidly becoming too familiar. He felt he’d known her a lifetime, and yet he’d barely spent more than a few hours with her. Why did it seem as if she belonged with him?
“I left right after they took her. I followed them to the party house and watched. I shouldn’t have. I knew better. There wasn’t anything I could do to save her from the things that went on there, but I wanted to never forget. I wanted to be there with her. She wouldn’t have wanted me there, but I needed to be for myself. And I saw the man who orchestrated the parties.”
Again, her eyes met his. “Some nights, when I fall asleep, I see those men. Their faces are burned into my brain. There were so many. Young, old. So depraved. They conducted meetings, and the women were expected to serve them meals and drinks and anything else they desired. They were treated as if they were toys, not humans. As the evening wore on, the men became worse than any animal.”
Gorya knew what she was talking about. He’d seen it. Alcohol and drugs flowed freely. Deliberately. Deals were struck. Men became richer. The women were nothing to them. They were going to be dead at the end of the night as the depravity grew. The woman who had been the closest thing to a mother for her had been subjected to that kind of evil, and his Maya had witnessed it all. No wonder she had turned to a life of vengeance.
He stood up and held out his hand to her, needing the connection even more than she did. “Let’s go outside. I need to breathe fresh air.”
7
Thesun sank into the swamp, bathing the trees in shades of purple and dark blue with splashes of deep lavender. The lighter colors poured through cypress trees with the fading light, while the darker shades of purple crept like silent raiders through the veils of hanging moss dripping from branches that hung over the water’s edge. The sinking sun turned the duckweed carpet covering the water into a strange silvery blue.
Gorya inhaled the night. He always found he could breathe easier outside. The air was heavy with many scents, the humidity trapping the fragrances of flowers, shrubs and trees as well as rotting vegetation. The swamp was a world of its own, and it was one place he felt free to be himself.
He glanced down at Maya. She looked around her at the water as the wind gently played with little ripples on the surface.
She tipped her head up toward his. “This is a beautiful piece of land.”
“I agree. I tell myself I come here to stay sharp and run every night or let Rogue run to train, but in reality, I feel free when I’m out here.”
Groves of tupelo and cypress graced the water’s edge along the inlets and banks. Several great blue herons walked on sticklike legs, dipping their long beaks in the water, fishing, before spreading their wings and rising toward the large, bulky nests high in the trees. Bats were out in abundance, wheeling in formation, dipping and darting at the multitude of insects hovering over the water.
Several raccoon families made their way through the heavy brush and fallen trees to the water’s edge. A fox barked at them from where he stood on an old log, warning them away from his den. They paid him no mind but continued toward the bank. The flutter of wings overhead told Gorya an owl had joined them, watching the animals congregate along the banks. It was very still, in hunting mode.
The swamp came alive at night. The sounds were louder than ever. The steady drone of insects. Rustling mice scurrying in the vegetation to gather up the last of the seeds to take to their nests before they retired. Lizards using little stop-and-start motions as they foraged for food. His hair acted like a guidance system, allowing him to read air currents, supplying him with information about his surroundings in the way his leopard’s whiskers did.
This night was theirs, and he was going to make the most of it. Enjoy every moment he could with her. He looked down at her again.His.His other half. Made for him. He knew he was made for her. That truth came to him. He might have been so damaged that it was impossible to fulfill the destiny he’d been born to, but looking at her, he knew it was the truth.
The light from the small sliver of moon shining throughdrifting clouds caught her just right, spotlighting her. He saw her with vivid clarity. His breath caught. His lungs burned. His heart seemed to stutter. The various colors in the thick blond hair falling around her face—so light it could have been called a true platinum. Woven in were strands of gold and silver. Her eyes were large for her oval face, adding to the innocent look. The color was blue-gray, with flecks of green. Her lashes were thick and pale, like her hair and eyebrows. Where most leopards were dense and curvy, she was very slight, adding to her waiflike appearance. Despite that deceptive build, he knew she was all woman.
Color crept into her cheeks, turning her pale skin a deep rose. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
He wasn’t going to lie to her. It was possible all he had to give her was truth. He cupped the side of her face with his palm and slid his thumb over her lips. “I have no idea how I realized so quickly that I was born to be your man, the one to care for you, but I know I was before my brothers and uncles fucked me up. Now I honestly don’t know if I’m capable of doing what I was put on this planet to do.”
He felt sorrow for her—for himself. He stepped back, all too aware that the bond they’d formed when she was a child had strengthened and she could feel his every emotion. He was used to commanding every situation. He didn’t like feeling less than a man.
A slow smile curved her lips. “Silly. You’re more a man than any other I’ve ever met, because you admit your emotions to me. I feel as though I was born to be with you, and yet I have no idea if I can give you the things you need either. I want to. More than anything, Gorya, I want to be that woman for you. Your partner in every way, but like you, I’m not the person I was born to be.”
There was pain in her voice. Pain in her eyes. Hefeltthat emotion coming off her in waves. “Maybe we were both meant to be exactly who we are now so we can betogether,” he murmured. He smoothed back her hair. “I can’t imagine being with anyone else.”
“Let’s hope you’re right, Gorya. If you’re not, at least we have this time together.”
He liked that it mattered to her that they were together because it meant everything to him. “You ready for a run, Maya?”
“I’m looking forward to it,” she answered immediately, and stretched her arms over her head. “You have the advantage because you know the area.”
“We aren’t racing. This is a very hazardous section of the swamp. There are some places where the surface appears stable but it’s thin and you could fall through.”
She lifted an eyebrow. “I’ve got good instincts. And if I get into trouble, I’m sure you’ll rescue me.” She batted her eyelashes.
“Follow me and don’t get cocky.” He gave her his best scary face, but it didn’t seem to faze her.
She gave a little sniff of disdain. Her answering grin said she was teasing him.
