Leopard's Prey (Leopard People 5)

A gust of wind hit the tavern hard, blew down the chimney and sent sparks rising in the fireplace. A log fell from the iron grate and rolled toward the opening, coming to an abrupt halt, but flames leapt and danced, while cracks inside the log glowed brightly. Fen swung his head toward the window. The thick mist spun out of the forest, threads of gray wrapping themselves around the tavern, enclosing the entire building in a giant spiderweb of glistening mist.

The woman stopped dancing, drawing his attention back to her. She stared at the fire, as if every bit as mesmerized by it as he was with her. She moved closer and he found himself frowning, watching her closely in the mirror. Her eyes reflected the leaping flames, almost as if they were multifaceted, reminiscent of the cut of a diamond. She stepped closer, too close. The fireplace was open. Mountains of ashes glowed, flames leapt hungrily. Fen slipped off the bar stool.

She slowly extended her hand toward the flame. The path would take her palm right into the center of the fire. He moved, using blurring speed, coming up behind her, reaching around and catching her wrist, pulling her hand away from the flames before they could blister her soft skin.

For a moment she stiffened as if she might fight him. He felt a brush, the lightest of touches along his mind, which shocked him. Who was she? What was she? He held his barriers effortlessly and kept his touch gentle, taking care not to convey a threat of any kind. She relaxed and he inhaled the scent of her, his head near her shoulder, so that the thick fall of silky hair brushed his skin and her feminine scent enveloped him. He drew her deep into his lungs. She smelled like sin. Like sex. Like paradise and everything he didn't--and would never--have.

"It's hot. Fire will burn you," he said softly, making certain no one else in the tavern would hear.

She was intelligent, he could see that, but something had happened to her, and clearly there were things she'd never experienced and had no knowledge of. Amnesia? Trauma? There was no other explanation. Everyone knew about fire, and her lack of knowledge just made her all the more vulnerable.

She turned her head slowly to look up at him over her shoulder, frowning slightly, a puzzled expression on her face. Up so close, she appeared ethereal, mysterious, her skin silky smooth, touchable. He'd never been so drawn to another being in his life.

"Your skin will burn," he explained patiently. "It would be extremely painful to you."

She continued to look at him, confused. He tried repeating the warning in several languages. She just looked at him and they were drawing far too much attention. Every time she moved she had the eye of everyone in the tavern, and he didn't want anyone to think she was easy prey by her lack of knowledge of the most basic necessity such as fire. In the end, there was nothing else to do. He pressed her arm down to her side, stepped around her and extended his hand, palm down, into the flames.

She watched, her eyes widening as his skin blistered and the scent of burning flesh rose. She caught his arm and jerked his hand from the fireplace.

"Do you understand?" he asked, showing her the damage.

She turned his hand over, her palm covering his burned one, not quite touching, yet he still felt her energy vibrating through his skin. Soothing coolness slid over the blisters. She lifted his palm toward her mouth. His breath caught in his lungs, the air trapped there. He couldn't move or even speak as she bent her head toward his palm. Her tongue touched the blisters, lightly, barely there, a slow brush that actually made his hand tremble and his knees just a little weak. Worse, his body reacted with a hot surge of blood, rushing and pooling in wicked demand.

She let go of his hand slowly, almost reluctantly. He lifted his palm to inspect it, still feeling that soothing coolness, as if she'd spread a healing gel over the blistered skin. The blisters were gone. His palm was no longer burned, nor was it even red.

Fen drew in his breath sharply. He knew what she was. No other species could heal with just their saliva so easily. She had to be Carpathian--a race of beings who called the Carpathian Mountains their home. Few knew of their existence. He frowned, trying to wrap his brain around the idea. In truth, it made no sense. He doubted that a Carpathian female would come to a tavern alone, especially a rough place like the Wild Boar. She would not only have knowledge of fire, but she would be well-schooled in all things. No one lived as long as Carpathians without acquiring a great deal of knowledge along the way. What had happened to her? And why was she unescorted?

He felt the weight of a stare and glanced up to meet Zev's gaze. Zev was looking at the woman. Instinctively, Fen shifted his body slightly, blocking Zev's view of her. Her gaze jumped to his face and then she peeked around his broad body to look at Zev, then moved back behind him.

"You aren't safe here," Fen said, reluctant to admit it. "This crowd is rough."

She smiled at him. Smiled. His heart shifted. His stomach tightened and blood surged hotly in his veins. Her teeth were very white, her lips full, red, the thing of fantasies. He took a breath, knowing it was a mistake, but drawing her into his lungs anyway. He took her deep and left her there, swirling around, twisting up his insides until he knew he could--and would--find her again.

He tipped her chin up so that she would look at his mouth. "Zev in particular is dangerous." He mouthed the words rather than making sound, fearing Zev had the same extraordinary hearing he did. "The others too, but not like him. Do you understand?"

Tatijana nodded. Of course she understood, although she was more concerned with the effect of his touch on her than the warning he gave her. She was definitely drawn to this man--Fen was his name. He appeared human when she brushed his mind with light contact--as did everyone else in the tavern--and yet Fen puzzled her. He had moved with blinding speed. Preternatural speed. How could he be human and yet move with the speed of a Carpathian? More, she hadn't felt any energy preceding him and she should have.

He was far more muscular than most Carpathian men, but he had the height. His eyes were different and she'd spent an inordinate amount of time secretly studying his eyes as he sat at the bar, nursing his drink. He wasn't really drinking it, yet over time, the liquid disappeared. She hadn't figured out yet how he was accomplishing that particular feat, but she knew she wanted to learn it.

Why had he singled out Zev in particular as dangerous? He felt like every other human in the tavern. "Why Zev?" She was adept at reading lips. She'd learned long ago, as a child, encased in ice, watching the cruelty of her father as he sacrificed animals and humans alike. No one was safe. Mage, Carpathian, Jaguar, Lycan--no species was left unharmed. Even the dead were not safe from Xavier.

She mouthed the question to Fen, making certain that no sound accidentally escaped, just in case he was Carpathian. She was so inexplicably drawn to Fen, and he was definitely a question mark in her mind, so she wasn't about to take any chances. She was not ready for any male to claim her. She needed time on her own and she'd been told all about lifemates and how a male could take over her life even without her consent. That couldn't happen--not to her. Not now. She was actually, for the first time in her existence, enjoying her life. The path of discovery was exhilarating. She felt so alive and she didn't want anything or anyone to take that away from her.

Truthfully, she wasn't altogether certain she could have a relationship with anyone--at least a healthy one. That would require trust, and she simply didn't have that. She only trusted Branislava, her sole ally. They'd been together so much, it was difficult to think of being apart, yet Tatijana knew she needed this time alone desperately. How did one discover who they were and what they liked if they didn't ever have the time to find out?

"I just know," Fen mouthed back. He reached out and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

Her breath caught in her throat. His touch did something strange to her entire body and it was alarming. She stepped backward, unable to pull her gaze from his.

The sound of a wolf howling outside, a distance away, had both of them turning their heads toward the window. Out of the corner

of her eye, she saw that Zev had also turned toward the sound, and Fen definitely noticed his movement as well. She couldn't see that anyone else had heard that spine-chilling sound.

This was no wolf howling at the moon; it was the sound of one calling others to the hunt. At least three others answered, even more distantly, but they didn't sound like the local wolf pack. They sounded aggressive and eager, as if they had prey already in sight. More than that--to her ears--the call sounded just a little off, as if the wolves were off.

Her gaze jumped to Fen's face. He was quite still. Completely motionless. His expression hadn't changed at all, but she felt the difference in him. He appeared relaxed, but she felt him coiled and ready.

"I have to go," she mouthed to him, and backed up another step.

His attention immediately returned to her. He frowned and glanced out the window again. "I'll walk you." He said it aloud this time.

Heads turned in the tavern toward them. Three of the men scowled, the ones, he noted, who had whispered together that they would follow her. She had expected it to happen sooner or later, but all she had to do was dissolve into mist and she'd be gone. The men would never know what had happened to her. She had every confidence that no matter what, she'd be safe.

Tatijana knew Fen had announced his intention to walk with her because he was attempting to ensure she was safe from the men in the tavern--and maybe whatever was outside of it as well. Her first inclination, one of self-preservation, demanded she decline his offer. But there was that compulsion pushing at her, wanting just to be in his company for no apparent reason.

She took a chance and scanned his mind a second time. He seemed an ordinary man . . . Maybe it was the intriguing contradiction he represented, or maybe it was the way he drew her like a magnet, but she gave a slight nod of her head to let him know she'd walk a bit with him. In any case, she knew she could protect him if there was trouble.

Zev pushed away from the bar, buttoned up his coat and stepped outside without so much as looking their way. As if Fen's word had been a signal, the three men huddled together, whispering their conspiracies, stood up and pulled on their coats and hats to shuffle out of the tavern as well. Two of them glanced a little nervously at Fen while the third man leered at Tatijana.

Her heart sank. Clearly she was putting Fen in danger by agreeing to walk with him. She opened her mouth to tell him she'd go by herself but he took her hand and tugged her toward the door. The moment the warmth of his hand closed around hers, her heart shifted and a million butterflies winged across her stomach. His hands were much larger than hers; he completely engulfed her smaller hand, making her feel feminine and very much a woman--a brand-new concept for her.

She didn't want that incredible feeling to go away. In any case, she was certain she could protect Fen without him knowing what she was. If necessary she would remove any bad memories. She also needed to feed. It wasn't that hard to convince herself that she had very good reasons for allowing Fen to walk her through the forest.

"Where's your coat?" Fen asked.

Coat. Everyone was wearing a coat. Carpathians regulated their temperatures. She didn't feel hot or cold, which was why she didn't feel flames, but Carpathians went out of their way to fit in with humans. That was one of the biggest rules that governed their society. No one could know of their existence. Before she and Bronnie had been placed in the earth to heal, that tenet had been drilled into her. She'd forgotten a coat.

She glanced toward the rough pegs at the door where many of the patrons hung their jackets and hats. At once a long, hooded coat appeared there. She sneaked a quick look in the mirror, grateful no one had seemed to notice. She indicated the coat with a small jerk of her chin. If Fen was startled, he gave no indication. He simply removed the long coat from the peg and held it up.

She hesitated, unsure what she was supposed to do. Fen stepped closer and slid her arm into one sleeve, wrapping the coat around her back and waiting for her to put her other arm into the remaining sleeve. He turned her around and buttoned the coat for her. The entire time, while he slipped each button into the loops, she held her breath and stared up into his face.

He was beautiful. Scarred, rough, totally masculine but beautiful all the same. She memorized his bone structure, the shape of his nose, the cut of his mouth and his strong jaw. She wanted to remember him for her entire life--to remember this moment. She might never have such a moment or feeling again, and this was one that needed savoring.

Fen reached around her and opened the door. A blast of cold air rushed in. She raised her chin, inhaling the night, allowing the wind to bring her information. Fen took a deep breath and stepped outside just ahead of her, retaining possession of her hand. His body partially blocked hers from the elements while he stood, taking a careful look around.

Gray mist churned and spun, blocking the tavern's view of the forest. The trees rose eerily above the worst of it, still obscured and slightly misshapen, the tops looking as if they floated without trunks above them.

"Which way?" Fen asked.

Tatijana indicated to the left, into the forest. The wolves had gone quiet and she hoped that they were still a great distance away. Fen tugged just a bit on her hand to bring her closer to him, and they set off. She smelled Zev's scent, a rugged, ancient forest smell, which clung to Fen as well. She quite liked it. The scent was all about running free, something she wanted more than anything.

There was the night in that smell, a cool dark midnight blue night, with stars overhead and a round full moon as well. That elusive scent conjured up everything that she had come to love in the short time she'd been freed from her prison. More, she wanted to stay close to Fen and just inhale him into her lungs, to take him deep so she would never forget him.

"Tell me your name. I'm Fen. Fenris Dalka." He didn't break stride, walking with absolute confidence into the forest. He seemed a man without much fear.

She looked up at him. Studied him carefully. Did one more scan just to be certain she was safe. She opened her mouth to tell him, but she just couldn't. Something stopped her. There was far too much compulsion to be with him. Maybe it was all new to her, this attraction between a man and a woman, but it had never happened before. She hadn't been the least attracted to anyone else in the tavern, not even a single spark. She shook her head and smiled at him.

He flashed a grin at her. "You do know that mystery is very intriguing in a woman, right? I'll be more enamored than ever. I can read lips," he added.

She wanted him to know her name. She mouthed, "Tatijana," exaggerating every syllable so it would be easier for him. He got it on the first try.

"Tatijana is a beautiful name. Do you live close?"

She shrugged, happy to just be walking with him. His body gave off unexpected heat and she allowed herself to feel it. She needed to feel every moment with him. She knew she should pull her hand away from his. She didn't know him. She didn't know proper etiquette between a man and a woman, but for just this moment, for the first time in her life, she felt normal. Real. She wasn't Carpathian. She wasn't Dragonseeker. She wasn't a mage's daughter. She was a woman enjoying the company of a man.

"I lived here long ago," Fen volunteered. "I've only returned for a short visit and must leave again." He looked around at the dark shapes of the trees rising from the mist. "I'd forgotten how beautiful it is."

Tatijana agreed with him silently. She wanted to dance there in the deep forest just because she was so happy. Just something so simple as walking in the woods at night flooded her with happiness, and Fen was an added bonus. She nodded her head, feeling a little foolish that she wasn't speaking aloud, but maybe he thought she couldn't. She didn't even care if that meant he pitied her, although when she scanned his thoughts, she didn't find pity. She found . . . attraction.

"Have you lived here long?" he asked.

She glanced at his face. He wasn't looking down at her, although his tone made her feel as if she were the most important person in the world and

he wanted an answer. His gaze was restless, moving constantly, up in the branches of the trees, down along the ground, his vision trying to pierce the heavy veil of mist.

Had she missed something? Some warning? She took a careful look around, sending out her senses, scanning carefully to try to detect a threat. Just up ahead and slightly to her left, concealed in the trees were the three men who had left the bar after Zev. She sighed. Of course. She'd known they were going to make their try for her. She'd allowed herself to be swept away into a magical world that had no threats in it. Most of all, because everything and everyone who could possibly threaten her seemed trivial in comparison to Xavier.

She touched Fen's arm. "I have to go," she mouthed. "You can turn back now."

She wasn't going to involve him. She wasn't certain he was human, but if he was, three against one, even when he looked big and lethal, wasn't fair. She could dissolve into mist and they'd never find her, but Fen had to be protected, even if it was from his own gallantry.

Fen stopped abruptly. "You know they're there, don't you?"

Tatijana nodded reluctantly. She was giving herself away, but then so had he. The three men were in the distance, impossible to see with the heavy mist and the cover of the dense trees and brush.

"I'll take care of them. You get out of here."

She shook her head. She'd been afraid that he would be the protective male. She sent him a small push to leave. He scowled at her, shaking her head. Tatijana knew she'd made a terrible mistake. Fen was much more than he seemed, and that push she'd just tried had given him far too much information about her.

What was he? Mage? She didn't think so. She'd been held prisoner for centuries by the most powerful mage the world had ever known, and Fen was in no way similar physically, nor did his brain scan that way. Jaguar? She didn't think so. That left Carpathian or Lycan. If he was Carpathian, she would have known by his energy field. Lycans were the only species who didn't produce that energy field readable to others.

She took a chance. "I am quite capable of defending myself. You need to leave. Those men are after me, not you."