Warriors of Poseidon 02.5 - Shifter's Lady

Every slice of claw or fang in Ethan‟s flesh screamed pain in her own.
     
    Shifter’s Lady – Warriors of Poseidon 2.5

Page 79 of 84
    The red cat gathered itself for a mighty leap and landed on Ethan‟s back. The golden panther fought madly, twisting and bucking to get his deadly enemy off his back, but Travis sank his fangs into the side of Ethan‟s neck, and Ethan crashed to the ground, hard.
     
    Marie screamed as Ethan fell, but before she could move, the golden cat rolled his body over with a jerking motion and ripped his neck out of Travis‟s mouth. Then Ethan reared back on his hind legs and smashed a mighty paw across Travis‟s neck, ripping his throat out. The gushing spurt of arterial blood seemed to draw attention to itself by its very silence, and the sounds of battle around the circle slowly faded away to nothing.
     
    Travis fell to the ground, obviously dead. As he fell, he slowly shifted back to his human shape. Ethan, still in cat form, stood near the body, head hung low, panting heavily.
     
    Marie shoved past the tiger and ran to Ethan, falling to the ground in front of him. The cat raised its head, and Ethan stared out at her through its eyes.
     
    “Now I may finally offer assistance,” she said, and she put her hands on him and called to the Goddess. As the healing warmth spread through her hands and into his body, she watched as the vicious wounds in his sides healed. The silvery blue light of her Gift combined with the golden shimmer of his shape-shift, and he returned to human form.
     
    For several frozen seconds, kneeling on the ground in the middle of the blood-scented darkness, Marie tumbled over the edge of conscious reality and into Ethan‟s soul.
    Images from his life rushed through her, and she felt his anguish at Fallon‟s death and his self-loathing at having failed to protect so many of his pride from the vampires and from Travis. She gasped as the window to his deepest emotions opened up to her, and the strongest image she encountered was her own face.
     
    She fell back as the healing ended, staring at him in shock. His own expression mirrored hers. “I saw your soul, Marie,” he said in a hushed tone. “I fell into your soul.”
    Shifter’s Lady – Warriors of Poseidon 2.5

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    Then he seemed to snap out of a trance and leapt to his feet, pulling her with him, while he scanned the circle for further danger. Jack, again in human form, and William, sporting a bloody scratch down the side of his face but otherwise apparently unharmed, strolled up to them.
     
    “Report,” Ethan snapped out, staring at his second-in-command.
     
    “We kicked their asses,” William drawled. “I‟ll give you a full report tomorrow, but we‟re going to turn these lawbreakers over to the reps from the other prides.”
     
    Jack nodded in agreement. “They claim they had no idea what Travis was planning, which is probably true. Anyway, if they take Travis‟s goons off our hands, there can never be any suspicion of unfair dealing on your part.”
     
    Ethan considered their words, then nodded. “Fine. Casualties?”
     
    “Nothing but a few scratches on our side,” William said. “Nothing, at least, that the change didn‟t heal.”
     
    “If I can be of service, I have some skill with healing,” Marie offered.
     
    “Nope. You‟re done doing anything but resting, ocean girl,” Ethan said, all the arrogant command back in his tone.
     
    Marie bristled and started to argue, but he bent down and put an arm under her knees and the other one around her shoulders and scooped her up against his chest. “Please,”
    he murmured, for her ears alone. “I need you.”
     
    “Well, since you put it that way,” she said, putting her arms around his neck, “how can I refuse?”
    Shifter’s Lady – Warriors of Poseidon 2.5
    Page 81 of 84

TWELVE
A week later
    Marie awoke slowly to the smell of coffee and stretched luxuriously before she opened her eyes. She sat up and looked around Ethan‟s bedroom, pleased anew at the changes to the formerly stark and barren space. She‟d cajoled and teased her panther into painting and hanging light fixtures, though he‟d left the shopping to her and Kat.
    Now warmth and color filled the space, and it was a retreat that they‟d enjoyed for many hours of the night and even occasionally during the afternoon, after they made their daily trip to Dr. Herman to visit the now nearly healed panther.
     
    Since she‟d heard five days