Page 2 of Love & Violence

In my life, I have done many horrible things. Deeds that most others would never be able to fathom or forgive, but I have never harmed an innocent. And I sure as shit won’t allow it to happen in our territory.

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Aryanna

I look over my shoulder at my best friend, Isabel, a lynx shifter who is struggling to keep up with my cougar. I finally stop and give her a chance to catch up.

“You’re such a bitch,” Isabel says playfully when she shifts beside me.

I can’t help but laugh because I know my best friend isn’t pissed at me. We’ve been friends since we were toddlers, and she is someone I can tell anything to. She’d keep my secrets as I would keep hers.

We lay down on the soft underbrush and listened to the animals that had scurried away when we arrived, starting to return. I could easily stay out here all day. It’s one of the most peaceful places I have ever been, and I love coming here. I turn my head to stare at my friend. I have always been jealous of her beauty. Dark hair, olive skin, and brilliant green eyes. She is curvy and confident—things I have never been.

“Do you think we’ll be stuck in the mansion forever?” I ask.

Isabel sighs. “I’m not sure. I have it easier than you. I’m just the daughter of the head of security for your father. I’ve always had more freedom than you have.”

I roll my eyes. “Your father is also overprotective.”

“Not as bad as yours. He’s the head of this county’s mafia, so many people would love to get their hands on you. I don’t blame him for being overprotective of you.”

I have heard horror stories of what the rival mafia families did to each other. There is no code of honor in the mafia. It doesn’t matter if it’s a woman or a child. They’d torture us just like they do the men. Innocent blood shed all in the name of building an empire.

Isabel rolls to her stomach. “We better get back before they know we’re gone.”

I sigh. If I can’t have some freedom soon, I’m afraid I’ll go crazy.

“Fine.” We go to stand when both of us catch the scent of another shifter. I know neither of us recognizes the scent, and fear curls low in my stomach.

I sniff the air, and I can feel the threat of danger that makes my cat ripple beneath my skin, begging to be let free. “I want you to go back.”

“I’m not leaving you here,” Isabel whispers.

“I can run faster than you. You have to go, fetch Dom. I need to distract this person before they catch your scent. I’ll be right behind you.” I push her shoulder hard. “Go.”

“God, please be right behind me,” Isabel says before shifting back into her lynx and taking off between the trees.

When I feel she is far enough away, I test the air again, and my heart feels like it’s about to burst out of my chest when I sense the other shifter is much closer than I originally anticipated. Much closer than it was before. I listen to the trees rustle in the wind and notice all the animals have gone back into hiding, sensing the danger.

I can’t wait another moment. I shift into my cougar and race after Isabel.

If my cougar could have screamed, she would have when something big and hard ran into us, sending us flying through the air. I land and fight to regain my breath from the impact and the terror I feel. Before I can get upright, a heavy black cat presses me into the earth.

What the hell is a panther doing in my family’s woods?

The bigger cat shifts, and a man stares down at me. Even in human form, he is massive and strong enough to hold my cougar down.

I shift from my animal back to my human form to talk with the intruder.

“Who are you?” I ask.

“I want to know who the fuck you are,” he replies with a frown.

I don’t know what to tell him. My father has always told me not to give strangers any information about myself, but this feels different. Something about this man draws me and makes my body hum instead of the fear I should be feeling.

“These are my family’s woods—you’re trespassing,” I say instead.

He snorts. “I don’t give a shit.”

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