Page 18 of An Unexpected Claim

Inhaling once more, I turned my head to the side and remembered another delicious scent that had lingered on my sheets for days. I would never admit it to anyone, but I’d waited to wash them again until Nathan’s woodsy, slightly spicy scent had disappeared.

Damn it. I’m way too exhausted to think about the Nathan situation.My panther hissed at me but settled down quickly because she was tired too.

Pulling the coverlet up to my chin, I sighed and drifted to sleep.

My eyes popped open a second later when I heard a creak in the living room. A glance at the clock told me it hadn’t been only a second, I’d been knocked out for over eight hours. I remained motionless, listening carefully. Creaks and groans were not unusual in these old buildings, but there had been something about this one that put me on alert. My cat jumped to her feet before going still, in hunter mode.

I heard the sound again, closer to my bedroom, and then the soft sucking sound of rubber soles on my hardwood floor.Shit!

The doorway suddenly filled with a large, dark shape and there was no mistaking the glint of a knife in their hand. They must have sensed my increased breathing pattern and deduced that I was awake because they spoke. “Time to finish the job, puss.” The familiar, evil voice sent chills down my spine, and I immediately shifted. “We’re going to fight like cats and dogs, huh?” He laughed at his own joke, until my panther hissed and gnashed her teeth in warning.

He shifted and I found myself once more staring at the wolf who’d nearly killed me. My cat growled and he responded in kind, then they both lunged at the same time. They wrestled and swiped their claws, both making their marks, neither of them gaining the upper hand. Until he landed a blow to our stomach and my panther curled in on herself for a moment. It was just long enough for him to clamp his jaws around her neck.

My cat was good and pissed, but the wolf outweighed us, and we were still exhausted and more cautious than normal because of the baby. We needed to fight our natural fight instinct and go with flight instead.

Because of the position my panther had taken, the wolf’s bite was at an odd angle, so before he could move into a better one and rip her throat out, she used the advantage to roll over and smash his head into the corner of the dresser. The blow stunned him long enough for her to wiggle out of his grasp and take off. She flew out of the bedroom and through the front door that he’d left open before smashing through the glass pane that blocked the exit.

We only had a few seconds’ lead, but she was typically much faster than a wolf and she flew down the street like a bat out of hell. She couldn’t top out her speed with all the cars, pedestrians, and other obstacles, but it was likely that we would outrun the wolf as long as we didn’t stop.

For the first time, I didn’t care one bit if we freaked out some city-dwellers, I encouraged my girl to keep going, to weave her way through the streets and alleys in hopes that our scent would be more difficult to follow.

When we reached the Hudson, she stopped and played through the options in her mind. She and I both loved the water, but we had no plan, and no idea where to go. It wouldn’t be long before the evil son of a bitch caught up to us and our best bet was to get to a less populated area where she could run as fast as possible. Her top speed could hit fifty miles per hour if we were in shape, but in our current state, I worried about being able to outrun the wolf if he managed to pick up our trail.

I mentally shrugged and she chuffed at me in agreement, right before she flew off of the pier and dove into the water.

Swim fast, I thought.Too much time in the Muddy Huddy and we’ll probably start glowing. But it will definitely help with masking our scent.

My girl swam gracefully across the river until we reached the other side. A wolf howled as we were making our way onto the shore and we bolted.

Not long after, we left the busy cities and bustling towns behind. Despite how tired and hungry we were, it felt a little freeing to be able to let everything go and purely run. We usually went for long runs, walks, and climbs a few times a week, but since being back in the city without a car, it made it a lot harder to find open or wooded areas where we could roam free, much less run and play. Over the years, whenever we’d settled in one place for a while, it tended to be near densely wooded areas.

Without a destination in mind, I let my panther take charge and follow her instincts. We stopped from time to time to drink from a stream or catch a squirrel—she’d been very vocal about the pathetic excuse for a meal. However, we both knew we had to feed the cub—but we never stayed in place for more than ten to fifteen minutes. We’d been running for a little over eight hours when she ran out of fuel, the adrenaline having long since worn off. My cat stopped next to a beautiful lake, the calm water glistening in the morning sunshine. Slowly, she padded toward the enticing pool, but before she could take even a single sip, her legs gave out and she collapsed. Neither of us had the energy to shift and my eyes felt heavy, so I closed them for a moment. The soft sounds of the water and distant laughter of children lulled me into a dream-like state. Even though I knew we should get up and try to keep going, something about this place made me feel calm and safe. I mentally curled my arms around my stomach and whispered to my little cub that I would always protect them right before the darkness swallowed me.

Chapter Ten

Nathan

After running for a couple of hours in the forests around Silver Lake, it was just after eight A.M. and I couldn’t wait to get back to my bed. However, I decided to do a quick perimeter run before returning home. My wolf lifted his chin in greeting when we encountered the members of the pack who were currently on patrol but kept moving until we’d come full circle.

My cabin backed up to the water and my wolf trotted over for a drink, but stopped short when an almost familiar scent reached his nose. Sweet and spicy.

He followed his nose to investigate and that was when we spotted the black ball of fur near the tree line to my property. I knew right away that it was a shifter, but we still approached with caution. As we crept closer, we realized the animal was either asleep or unconscious, but it was impossible to miss the smell of fear wafting off of them. And the other scent…I knew it from somewhere.

We stopped a few feet away and were surprised to find that the shifter was a black jaguar—a panther. We didn’t see many of those around here because they tended to be introverted, solitary creatures who typically avoided heavily populated areas. Silver Lake certainly wasn’t like the city—it was out in the country and spread out, but still inhabited by more shifters and humans than they generally interacted with.

An instant later it hit me.

Honey and cloves.

Black panther.

Peyton.

It couldn’t be.

My wolf had come to the same tentative conclusion and he sidled up to the big cat. He inhaled deeply and while it definitely smelled like Peyton, something was different.

Her breath shuddered for a moment, drawing my attention to her physical state. After the pause, her breathing became steady, but very shallow and I didn’t like it. I suspected she was unconscious rather than asleep, which could be damaging the longer it went on.

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