A man’s scream cut him off—rescuing me from enduring his attentions and resisting the urge to take a sip.
Josh and I shared a single wide-eyed glance, then took off toward the disturbance. It was Ancaster my senses told me well before we broke through the clearing to find him fallen and clutching at a twisted, broken ankle. His attention, however, was not focused upon himself, but the massive, snarling tan cat crouched by the mouth of a cave.
Aided by the Grandmother, my ki pulsed through the soil, through the roots beneath my feet, the lichen under great clawed paws, and into the beast herself.
Muscles coiled. Heart pounding inside her chest. Ferocious territorial rage whirling through her veins. Her attention snapped from intruder to intruder, trying to decide which she would aim for first. Planning which of us to disembowel with her claws. Salivating over the vulnerable spot just below the ear that would be the perfect place to sink her mighty teeth…
Josh threw his hand back without turning to look at me, fingers splayed over my belly. “Mila, get back, lass!”
I slapped his hand away and took a step.
She yowled, the warning vibrating between my ribs, but still I persisted, smiling when her attention settled upon my face alone.
Lips pulled back from canines as long as my forefinger, she snarled, muscles in her shoulders standing out against her fur.
Flashing my palms, I ignored Josh’s hissed warning and took another step.
Pupils no more than tiny pinpricks, ears flat against her skull, she hissed again, spittle spraying between gleaming yellow teeth.
Belle’s ice-pale face burst onto the scene, hovering at the edge of my peripheral, her whisper deafening in the stillness of the moment. “Goddess, Mila. What are youdoing?”
I stepped past Ancaster and Josh.
The lion’s tail—thicker than my forearm—lashed back and forth, her voice caught somewhere between a snarl and a growl.
“No, Miss Tannovic, you mustn’t—”
I snapped my fingers, pointing at the downed man without looking, then at Josh. “Take him and go.”
A strangled protest died in his throat, but he moved to do as I said, sweeping his hands beneath the fallen man’s armpits. Dragging him back.
“Keep going. She can jump farther than that,” I said, loud enough to keep the lion’s eyes fixed upon me. Wickedly amused.
“Mila—”
“Go. All of you.Now.” This was my business.
“You canna—”
“Did I not tell you to leave?” I snarled, knees bent, ki snapping through my skin, balanced on the balls of my feet. Backed by the Grandmother’s might and the lion’s temper.
The cat lunged as I took another step, but it was a bluff. I could feel it. From the pads on her feet, I pulled, draining her volatile ki and offering it to the Grandmother in payment. Driving it away.
When she began to pace, whiskers twitching on open-mouthed pant, I eased off. Pupils blown out, jaws hanging wide, I watched the young beauty as she moved. All grace and power. The embodiment of lethal perfection.
“The others are gone now, pretty.” I held out my hand, cooing. “It’s just you and I now. I’m no threat to you, beautiful lady.”
She coughed, but I heard the rumble of a purr vibrate at the back of her throat.
With another step forward, I reached for her, fingers outstretched, ki wrapped around and through her. “Such a beautiful girl. See? Not a thing wrong, is there?”
A tiny mewl echoed from within her cave, followed by one, then three more.
“Ah,” I whispered, heart melting. Letting mother’s rage twist through my brain. “Your babies are safe, Mum. See?” I reached for her flat, black nose, palm outstretched. “I don’t smell of a threat, do I?”
She groaned, ears flicking back and forth between her kittens concealed from sight, and my soothing, low voice.
“That’s it, pretty lady. Just relax.”
