Leopard 01 - The Awakening

National Geographic ,” Brandt admitted reluctantly. “I write articles and do consultations for various governments. Along with my job here, I try to raise world awareness about the value of the forest.”
    Maggie stared at him in shocked amazement. How could she not have put it all together? “You’re the Brandt Talbot, the renowned leading expert on the rain forest? Doctor Brandt Talbot. I can’t believe I’m talking to you. I’ve read everything you’ve ever written!” Maggie found herself falling deeper under his spell. He loved what she loved. She heard it in his voice and read it in his articles. He couldn’t fake that kind of passion. “Tell me more about the species you say my parents were,” she encouraged, uncertain whether she could believe him or not. Her body seemed living proof of his revelations.
    Something was going on inside of her, something she seemed not to have control over, yet his explanation seemed beyond the realm of reality. She tried to keep an open mind. “Are there many of them left?”
    “Of us, Maggie—you’re one of us—and no, there are not many of us left. Our race has dwindled.
    We’ve been hunted and killed nearly to the point of extinction. It was partly our own fault. We don’t have the most noble history.” There was regret in his voice.
    “What happened?”
    “In the early days, some tribes worshiped us as deities. Some of our people became obsessed with power. Like any species, there are those among us who choose a life of common good and service, and those who want to reign, to conquer. We have our own diseases and our own problems. We’re passionate, a mixture of human and animal instincts that means good and bad from both sides.” He stopped walking. “The village is just ahead of us. Maggie, even today, some of our males are obsessed with power,” he cautioned her carefully.
    “Leopards don’t mate for life, Brandt. The females raise the cubs alone. Do the men walk away after sex?” She forced herself to ask the question without looking at him.
    He caught her to him, his arms steel bands. “No, Maggie. We are not leopards, not animals, nor are we human. Our species mate for life. It’s how it’s done. For nine lives. All of our lives. Over and over.
    You’re mine, I know you are, you’ve always belonged with me.”
    Relief and joy washed over her, so much so that she couldn’t respond. The thought that he might want her for all their years rather than just a mating made her happy in spite of the fact that she wasn’t altogether certain any of it was real. She let him hold her in silence while she looked around her, trying to see through the rain and trees. Sure enough, there were a couple of small structures woven into the trees and camouflaged by the wealth of plants growing in every conceivable manner. She shook her head. “This is the village? This is where everyone lives? All two buildings?” She was trying not to laugh. She had pictured something much different. A thriving busy hub, at least, like a native village.
    “We never live in the village. We simply meet here to enjoy company or get supplies. Homes are scattered in and around the trees. We make certain there are no trails and that we’re constantly vigilant, looking for signs of anyone near. The poachers destroyed the village the night your parents died, and since that time we’ve kept it quite small for protection.”
    “That makes sense, but it seems a sad way to live.”
    “We have our own community and not all of our people reside in the rain forest. Some have chosen to live on the outskirts. We change at will, with the exception of the Han Vol Dan. The first time shifting that occurs is uncomfortable and can’t be controlled. It’s best to have someone with you to talk you through it.”
    “So children don’t shift shape. Only adults?”
    He nodded. “And we don’t know what triggers it in each individual. Some are earlier shifters than others.” Brandt slipped his arms around her shoulders, needing to touch her, to have her close. He was feeling edgy and combative, knowing the other males were in close proximity. His friends, he reminded himself. Men he trusted. Men who had saved his life a dozen times, as he had saved theirs. They knew Maggie was his mate. They would be just as uncomfortable around her as he would be with them there until he had bound Maggie to him.
    And then there was James. Brandt and the others had scented him in the forest, watching