Leopard 05 - Savage Nature

She appeared to be completely oblivious of anything wrong.
    “The first challenger?”
    He kept his eyes glued to the island and the butt of the rifle snugly fit to his shoulder, finger on the trigger. He had Armande in his site and the bastard was dead if he made one wrong move.
    “They came at me last night. I recognize his scent.” He never took his eyes off his target, letting Armande know he was dead if he moved. “Get us out of here, Saria.”
    “Did Charisse set us up?”
    Yeah, that was his woman, quick on the uptake, but there was hurt in her voice, and that tugged at his heart. “I don’t know, baby, maybe. Or maybe they used her.”
    She took them out into the channel fast, speeding around the bend and away from the beautiful, but treacherous Mercier land. Drake slipped the rifle back into her custom-built case and sank down. He had to bring in his team. Things were going to hell fast and he hadn’t even gotten to Fenton’s Marsh yet.
    “Take me out to the marsh now,” he said. “I need to get a look at it before they do anything else.”
    “I think we need to go to my brothers,” Saria said. “They might not like us bein’ together, Drake, but they won’t allow any harm to come to you.”
    Her brothers’ first loyalty should be to her, but after some of the things he’d heard, he wasn’t certain it would be and did he dare risk being anywhere near Saria when the lair launched a full assault on him? He needed to choose his own battleground. The locals would have the advantage in the swamp. They’d grown up there and knew every inch of it.
    “Is this my fault?” Saria asked. “Because I chose you instead of one of them?” She turned her head to look into his eyes. “Tell me the truth.”
    “I don’t know what it’s about, Saria. And the bottom line always with a shifter, is whether your leopard will accept your choice as a mate. Female leopards can be extremely difficult.”
    “She seems like a freakin’ hussy to me,” Saria muttered. “She would have been all over you if she could have.”
    “Don’t remind me,” he flashed her a small rueful grin, hoping to ease the tension. “I must have been out of my mind trying to be gallant.”
    “I like that in you. Of course, at the time, I wasn’t appreciating that trait so much.”
    Her smile was a wide flash of her small white teeth, but it somehow didn’t reach her eyes. She glanced toward the land on either side of them and then back at him. “In order to follow us, they’ll have to use a boat to get to the marsh or it will take hours. We’ll hear them comin’ if they use a boat.”
    Drake was glad she didn’t bring up her brothers again. He didn’t want to hurt her with his misgivings, but he had enough complications without adding her family to the mix. He simply nodded. He was armed with guns and knives. His leopard was close to he surface and his woman had a rifle and at least one knife. He wasn’t altogether certain she’d shoot one of her friends if she had to, but if they were attacked, she wouldn’t panic.
    “Do you think Armande really was the one who clawed my back and bit me?”
    “Yes.”
    Saria shook her head. “I don’. I know him. I would have recognized his scent.”
    That was true. But his own leopard had reacted with a fierce, abiding hatred, as if he had recognized the scent. As certain as Saria was that Armande had not been her attacker, Drake was certain that he was. But why? The claiming hadn’t been successful. Armande was not a young teen, he’d certainly been around and he held himself with great confidence. He should have known how to claim a female leopard. What in the hell was wrong with this lair?
    Drake rubbed his jaw, wishing he’d told Jake to send his team. He was certain he could protect Saria, even if they came at him in a group, but he’d have to kill some of them, and he wasn’t sure she’d forgive him. Damn it all, they were fucked any way he looked at.
    “Drake.” Saria’s voice was soft but compelling.
    He looked up at her, meeting those enormous dark eyes. She looked so young and innocent, so out of his league he wanted to groan. She stood, one hand resting lightly on the helm, the wind ruffling her thick white-gold hair, her gaze meeting his without flinching. He was struck by the joy that flooded him, an emotion he’d only experienced in leopard form, running free in the rain forest. Now, looking at her, he knew his world was made up of one woman.
    “Aside