Page 39 of A Cougar's Kiss
“Shit!” Nisa yelled through the earpiece as the group that had cornered the Ruling Cabinet turned in their direction and began screaming and running.
Shya didn’t wait for another instruction, she ran and jumped, her legs lifting her over a group of people running, landing her seven feet away on the steps they’d just vacated. Her knees were on one step, hands on the other as she lifted her head and stared into the eyes of Tavarus Macombe.
“Dirty beast!” he spat and reached behind his back to pull a gun from the waistband of his pants.
Again, there was no hesitation, her teeth elongated without warning and she leapt again, this time coming down on Tavarus and knocking him to the floor. His gun skidded across the stage and she leaned over to roar into his face. He screamed, his skin turning ruby red as his body trembled.
“Shya!”
The cat was taking charge. She could see her claws pressing into Tavarus’ chest and felt the cracking of her bones as her weight rested on him.
“Shya no!”
Again, she heard her name—the human name—and the cat pushed back in rebellion. It wanted out and it was going to get it no matter what. It roared again and this time she knew her eyes were different, her body felt stronger, heavier…and then she was lifted into the air and falling onto the floor.
She rolled over and was ready to completely shift when she looked up to see Keller’s cougar eyes glaring down at her.
“Control it!” he yelled at her as she knelt on the floor. “Take charge of the shift!”
She didn’t want to, she wanted to be the cat and to kill Tavarus Macombe for what he’d done to Janet Lynn Matias and countless others. The cat continued to fight back until her arms were shaking and her legs felt weak.
“Don’t be what they think we are,” Keller continued. “Be better than them.”
It was too hard. Her chest was heaving, the pain from the cat’s persistence pushing at her bones until she thought they would all break from the stress. She closed her eyes and lowered her head, searching for something inside of her to grab hold of, something that the human could use as an anchor to keep the beast at bay.
“Come on, little cat, you can do this,” Keller said, his voice softer now, his face closer to hers. “I know you can do this.”
There it was. The human reached out and held on to that voice, locking it in her brain so that it could be replayed at any moment. She could do this. She knew she could do this, just like he knew. Her breathing slowed even though her body still shook. There was lots of noise around her and just as many scents, but she grabbed hold of one—the cinnamon, but different because now it smelled like it was mixed with something else. No matter what it was, that was also an anchor as she’d thought to look for it and latch on. Her arms still shook, and her stomach felt queasy, but she was all human, her teeth and claws had retracted, and her eyes felt normal when she blinked.
“We’re going!” Decan yelled through the earpieces. “They’ve called in the military. Let’s move now!”
Keller lifted her under her arms until she stood.
“Can you run?” he asked, his gaze bearing down on her. “I’ll carry you if you can’t.”
She shook her head. “I can run,” she told him and in the next second that’s exactly what she did.
* * *
“Do you need your medicine pouch?”
She looked up at him with surprise clear in her eyes.
“I can get it for you if you need it. Just tell me what you need me to do to make it better, Shya, and I will.”
If she needed him to move the stars and the moon Keller was certain he would give it his best shot because seeing her go for Macombe tonight had struck a chord of fear he’d never felt before.
“How did you know?”
She’d run with the speed of all the shifters out of that building and back to the Tracer, but once they got there, Keller had noticed her labored breathing and after picking her up and settling her into the backseat, he climbed in and pulled her onto his lap. She remained cradled in his arms until they arrived at the center at which time, he’d carried her up to his room. Now, she was laying on his bed, her body curled into a fetal position as he stood to the side watching her.
“I overheard you and Nisa talking before we left.” He’d actually been drawn to the very scent that had angered him and forced him out of the meeting with Decan and Gold. It had led him exactly where he’d feared it would—to her. And when he heard her admitting that she’d been sick for so long he’d felt angry, at that damned poison, her parents and the world in general because it always seemed to take the good ones.
He’d had to shake those thoughts from his mind and focus on the mission because that’s what he’d come here to do. Falling for this woman who had been dealt such a cruel hand in life wasn’t on the agenda, or at least it shouldn’t have been.
“I’m okay,” she said and struggled to sit up.
“You’re not, so stop saying that.” The words came out in a snappy and curt way and he immediately regretted them. He dropped down onto the side of the bed with his back facing her and leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees.
