was a silent presence in her mind. At least until Oliver’s voice brought her head up, her tufted ears forward.
Mei?
What is it?
I think I hear a car coming up the drive. Lights must be out. The engine is fairly quiet, but they’re not all that far away.
I’m ready.
I’m shifting to wolf so I can contact Anton and let him know.
The lack of communication between the leopard and the wolf was the only drawback to this form. Mei stood and walked a few paces down the hall to a room that faced the driveway. She shifted and her human hands opened the window to the night breezes. She shifted again. The leopard’s sensitive ears caught the sound of tires on crushed rock and the low hum of an engine. Oliver was right. A vehicle moved slowly up the long, tree-shrouded driveway.
Her heart hammered in her chest. Not from fear. The adrenaline rush merely prepared her for whatever was to come. Mei’s large, sinewy body was tense. She and Igmutaka were ready for anything.
The babies would be safe in their care.
She felt Igmutaka stirring, his spirit gathering strength, his power spreading from head to heart, to lungs and limbs. She opened her mouth in a silent snarl and waited, watching for their intruders to arrive.
Frustrated anger fueled his journey through the dark forest, propelling him onward every bit as much as fear for his mate. Anton ran alone, taking the trail directly toward their quarry, his dark wolven body a quickly moving target. Ebony claws grabbed the turf. Mud and grass flew behind him. As fast as he moved, Anton knew that Stefan kept pace, racing through the thick undergrowth on hidden pathways, his silence a direct counterpart to Anton’s purposefully noisy run.
Anton reached once again for Keisha. He fought his outrage, furious with her for blocking his mental voice. He knew how she resented his attempts to control her, but he had no choice. Didn’t she realize the danger she was in?
Oliver’s voice slammed into him and Anton’s heart thudded even harder in his chest.
We have visitors. Someone’s coming up the drive. SUV. Lights out. They should be here in a few minutes. I don’t want you to worry, but you need to know this looks like something that’s fairly well planned. An assault in the woods timed with one at the house isn’t accidental.
We’ll take care of these two and get back there ASAP. Protect our young.
As if they were our own.
Oliver’s voice snapped out of his thoughts so quickly, Anton knew he must have shifted directly from wolf to leopard. Thank the Goddess he and Mei were protecting the babies.
Stefan, we have more trouble. Oliver just contacted me.
I know. I heard him. I see Xandi. She’s in position in the rocks above the two men. Keisha’s in the forest to your right. Once you round the corner ahead, the men will see you.
They’re just going to get a glimpse. Anton raced around the corner. He didn’t give himself time to locate his adversaries. Instead he immediately leapt to his right, disappearing into the thick undergrowth just ahead of a dart that whistled past his flank.
It made a loud thunk when it struck the thick trunk of a pine tree behind him.
One of the men quietly cursed.
Anton tucked low and rolled when he hit the ground. A second dart buried itself in the trunk of a fir tree just above his head. Anton raced toward Keisha’s scent. With his body stretched low to the ground he followed a narrow trail through the brambles, careful not to make a sound.
He knew immediately it was the same trail Keisha had used. Her rich scent filled his nostrils. Where are you?
Here. Behind the twisted oak. I’ve got a good view of both of them. Are you okay?
I’m fine. Other than the fact he wanted to throttle her for shutting him out earlier. He had more to worry about right now than his headstrong, independent mate.
Anton rounded the oak and found Keisha hidden in a thick patch of grass beside the twisted tree. The moment she saw him, her head pressed to the turf and her tail tucked between her legs.
Submission was not typical behavior of his alpha bitch.
Anton’s anger melted away into the night. He slipped into the brush beside her and touched his nose to her muzzle. What happened?
Xandi and I were running, sniffing for game when she heard something. I scented the men almost immediately and we split up before they saw us.
They know now that at least one wolf is nearby.
I saw him shoot. Thank the Goddess he missed. What do you think they want? Your dreams…
I wish I understood my visions better. Frustration boiled through him. There’d been ample warning of all this. He hadn’t trusted his nightmares any more than Keisha had. I don’t know what these two are after, but Oliver and Mei have unwanted visitors coming up the drive. They have to be acting together. We need to deal with these two as quickly as possible.
Lily! Keisha’s beautiful wolven head snapped around and her ears flattened to her skull.
She’ll be okay. Mei and Oliver will protect both the babies. He hated the look of fear in Keisha’s eyes, but she had to know the danger facing them.
Stefan’s voice slipped into Anton’s mind, linking both females as well. Okay. I’m in position. Xandi and I are going for the guy on the right. Can you take the one closest to you?
Yes. Give me a few seconds to get in position. Make it clean and fast and final. We don’t have time to toy with them. We’ll get our answers from the ones at the house. Go now.
The intruders hardly knew what hit them. Stefan leapt down from his place in the rocks beside Xandi. His powerful jaws locked on the back of his target’s neck, the weight of his solid wolven body snapped the man’s spine.
Anton’s kill was every bit as fast, though not as clean.
His target must have heard something just before Stefan grabbed the first man. He cried out and raised his gun, but Anton’s teeth clamped onto his throat and ripped through his carotid artery. The gun fired, but the dart flew uselessly into the forest. Blood spurted high, spraying a wide arc as the man went down with Anton’s jaws still locked around his throat.
He struggled for a moment. His mouth opened in a gurgling scream. Anton reset his jaws and choked off the sound. Finally the man’s body went still. Anton held tightly to his throat until the blood stopped pumping and slowed to a trickle, the pressure no longer governed by a beating heart.
Stefan and Xandi had already shifted. Xandi quickly looked through the supplies the two men had brought while Stefan searched the pockets of the one he’d killed. Keisha sat off to one side, ears still flat against her broad skull, and silently watched her mate.
Anton released his victim and shifted.
Only then did Keisha shift. She found the man’s wallet in his hip pocket and handed it to Anton. They’d still not exchanged
