Leopard 04 - Wild Fire

talk before I invite you in.”
    The kid’s eyes showed his nerves, but he nodded gamely. Conner took Isabeau up without further delay.
    She was swaying on her feet and needed her wounds attended to. He wanted her on antibiotics and whatever medicine she was carrying. They had a first-aid kit stashed with the antibiotics, but no painkillers. She’d warned him she didn’t do well on them, but he wasn’t certain what she’d meant. He’d never conceived of her getting shot. If the juvenile leopard hadn’t taken her hostage, it never would have happened, another sin against him.

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    He put Isabeau in the most comfortable chair—his mother’s chair—and poured her fresh water from the small tap at the sink. “It’s good water from a spring we found,” he offered.
    Her hand shook as she took the water. She looked exhausted, her clothes soaked, her body shivering in shock, but she managed a small smile.
    “Don’t worry about me. It’s a scratch, nothing more. I’ve had worse working.”
    He thought she was the most beautiful woman in the world. It didn’t matter that her hair hung in wet trails, or that her face was drawn and pale. She had courage and she didn’t complain when she’d just been through a terrible ordeal.
    “You might remember I have some skills as a medicine man,” Adan said, keeping his distance across the room. “She has plants and herbs I can use in her bag.” He held it up almost as an appeasement, leery of Conner’s leopard.
    Conner glanced in the small mirror his mother had insisted they have over the sink. His eyes were still wholly cat. His teeth ached and the tips of his fingers and toes burned with the need to allow his leopard freedom.
    “Are you comfortable with Adan cleaning your wounds? He’s an adept medicine man.” His mother had often taken Conner to the village whenever he was injured, and it was always Adan who had taken care of the minor damages. There had been a doctor a greater distance away who took care of any injuries from fighting young leopards.
    “Of course,” Isabeau agreed readily—too readily for his cat.
    “Stay inside,” Conner managed to growl, his smooth voice turning to gravel.
    The animal snarled, forcing Conner to turn away from her. She was learning about leopards. Intelligent.
    Cunning. Fast. Foul tempers. And jealous as hell. He walked out onto the porch and breathed in the night, flexing his aching fingers. He needed a good fight. It was common for the males to give one another a good workout when females were close to the heat and they were all stirred up and unable to do much about it. Or when they were just plain angry.
    Conner didn’t use the vines, but leapt to the forest floor, landing almost in front of Jeremiah. The boy drew in his breath sharply and peeled off his shirt, flinging it aside. Conner was already stripping. Fast.
    Efficient. Eager now, his leopard raking and roaring to be free.
    Jeremiah was built with strong lines. Ropes of muscle moved beneath his skin, and when he shifted, he was a big leopard, stocky and ferocious. Conner could see why the kid was eager for a challenge. His leopard, eager for the fight, waited for the younger man to make the first move. To prod him a bit, he snarled, exposing his teeth, and flattened his ears, his eyes focused on his prey.
    Jeremiah reacted as expected, wanting to prove himself—still smarting over the reprimands Rio and Elijah had delivered and the lectures Conner had given. He snarled, exposing his canines, and took two experimental swipes at Conner, hoping to slap his face hard enough to knock him sideways and establish dominance fast.
    Conner slipped both paws and growled, the sound swelling to a roar that shook the surrounding forest.
    Ears flat, lips drawn back, his tail switched viciously at the taunt.
    Without warning, Jeremiah launched himself, claws extended, intending to rake Conner’s side and gain respect. Conner was too experienced to ever allow such an attack to work. Using his extremely flexible spine, he twisted in midair, allowing the lethal claws to miss by an inch, and turned in pursuit of his prey, swiping laterally, taking fur and skin from Jeremiah’s exposed side and belly.
    Conner was heavier, more experienced and far more muscular. He changed direction in midair using hip rotation so that when he landed, he was nearly on top of the younger man. He didn’t want to end the