Page 28 of Bad Blood Panther

Chapter 11

Xander raced back to the Bad Blood compound like his tail was on fire. It was too much. Too fucking much, and he didn’t know why the hell he’d ever wanted a mate. All she did was rip the doors open to his heart and let all the pain come flooding out.

He’d hated love for the last three years. Now he remembered why.

He bounded into the clearing and slid to a stop, yowling. Everybody except Jasmin had been tossing a football around on the lawn, and they scattered in a very satisfying way. Cursing at him—which was also satisfying.

Xander loved pissing people off. He hissed at them.

“Oh, hell,” Sloan said. “Looks like the heart-to-heart didn’t go well.”

No fucking shit. All Xander’s emotions were chasing him, and he had to run. Bite. Bleed. He raced around the clearing, leaping from truck to truck, into his favorite oak tree and down again. Don’t slow down. Don’t think. Hurt slash kill.

“Ya think?” Flynn said. “Do you want to take this, or should I do it?”

“I think it might take both of us.”

Sloan didn’t even have all his clothes off before Xander pounced, rolling him over. Sloan. Best buddy. Kill him.

Sloan rolled away and came up as a snow leopard, growling a warning. Mmm. His cat was out. Not such a scaredy-cat as he used to be.

Might give Xander a good fight.

They crashed together, Xander slashing and biting, Sloan smacking his muzzle aside.

No claws? How civilized. Fuck that.

He attacked again, and managed to rake Sloan’s side. Sloan yowled.

Fuck you. Attack again. Bleed me, asshole.

Xander attacked again, more seriously, and felt a swat on his flank that almost cracked his spine. Claws raked his skin.

He twisted, growling. Fucking Flynn. Spanking him like a cub.

He leaped on the lion’s back, digging his claws in. Flynn roared and reared up, tumbling Xander off. Sloan barreled into him, smacking him into the ground, knocking his breath out of him.

So that’s how it was going to be.

Jenny raced into the clearing, panting, the tatters of Xander’s clothes clutched to her chest. She’d heard the roars and growls from a quarter-mile away.

He was fighting. They were hurting him.

She jolted to a stop. Flynn and Sloan were both attacking Xander, who bled from a dozen wounds. He was cornered now, hissing, corralled in front of the porch.

Xander bunched his hindquarters and gave a yowl. But instead of lunging at them, he gave a quick twist and leaped up onto the porch railing, using it as a springboard to jump over Sloan.

Tank gave a roar and went bear. He ran Xander down in two bounds, pinning him to the ground with his giant paws while Xander writhed and hissed, trying to rake Tank’s belly with his hind legs.

Jenny couldn’t stand it. She took a deep breath and shouted at the top of her voice. “All of you, stop it! Stop this right now! You’re hurting him. Xander, stop fighting, you goddamn fucking idiot.”

Everything went silent. Xander went limp, still breathing heavily. He Changed to human.

Tank backed off, letting him go, and Changed too.

Xander sat up, elbows on his knees, head in his hands. The only sound was his breath rasping in and out of his lungs.

Flynn and Sloan Changed back. The clearing was full of hot naked men, dicks swinging, but Jenny’s attention was all on Xander.