Leopard's Wrath (Leopard People 11)

Mitya sighed. “There’s the matter of the leopard she killed in the hallway. Did we get an identity on him?”

Sevastyan shook his head. “No such luck. He was in leopard form. Looked as if he came from Panama. Hard to tell, Mitya. It just makes no sense. He definitely wasn’t from around here. I took pictures and we can make inquiries, but he’s not one of ours.”

Mitya sat in front of the fireplace, not even bothering to clean the blood from his chest where Jewel had raked claws across him and torn his flesh. Ania was down the hall, in the master bedroom. She had steadfastly refused his help when he tried to take care of her arm. He’d done it anyway, because he was bigger and stronger, and in the end, brute force had won out, although he wasn’t calling it a win.

He shoved both hands through his hair. “What about the other one, how did he get away?”

“We were thin. Very thin tonight. Kiriil and Matvei were sent to the other side of the house and the bastard had a clear path out of here. We all have his scent if we come across him.”

“That hasn’t been much of a help so far.” Mitya was distracted and trying to keep his head in the game. Ania was all that seemed to matter to him at the moment. He wasn’t certain how to repair the damage done. Her breakdown was harsh and real. He didn’t know whether to give her the space she said she needed or force her to accept his comfort.

“Relationships are difficult, Sevastyan, when we have no idea how to have one.”

“Are you absolutely certain she’s Dymka’s mate?” Sevastyan demanded. “Or yours? She doesn’t seem in the least compatible. You’re . . .” He trailed off, clearly searching for the right words. “There’s no compromise in you. No give at all. You expect her to just follow your lead without explanation.”

“That’s called trust, Sevastyan.” He answered his cousin absently, his mind already working the problem that he’d created by insisting he carry out his promise to her father. The man deserved to die with honor. He’d made certain there’d been as little pain as possible to the leopard when he’d delivered the killing bite. He wasn’t sorry he’d done what he believed to be right. He was upset that he hadn’t prepared Ania better for the outcome.

“Mitya.” Sevastyan stood in front of him. “For once in your life, listen to what I have to say. Trust is something that is gained over time. Not because you take her to bed. She’s been living with a dark secret for a long time. She’s angry and hurt and scared. This thing has now escalated way out of control.”

Mitya shoved both hands through his hair again, making it wild and as out of control as he felt. He had his own blood on him. He had her blood on him. He had the blood of Antosha’s leopard on him as well as Dymka’s. He was a mess, and yet he couldn’t move.

“What I did was right.”

Sevastyan threw his hands into the air in surrender. “Yes, Mitya, what you did was the right thing. Absolutely. It was honorable. Sometimes, you can’t do the right thing. For her, maybe it would have been better to turn that particular job over to me.”

Mitya shook his head. “My father never chose the right way one single time. Not one, Sevastyan. I’m not ever going to be like him. We’ll choose honor every time.”

“At what cost? She’s not going to accept you.”

“That’s impossible. We’re a bonded pair. Dymka says Jewel is close. Just a little confused right now.”

“What are you going to do when Jewel begins to emerge and your woman refuses you? What then, Mitya?”

“It won’t happen.”

“It’s going to happen. You weren’t looking at her face, I was. She’s going to go the moment she thinks she can.”

Mitya was done talking about it because the fact was, Ania was his mate. He knew she wanted him, she had just stepped off their path for a moment, and rightfully so. It all made perfect sense to him. Sevastyan could say they weren’t compatible all he wanted, but he knew better. She just needed a little more time with him. Jewel had to have patience. A mating leopard would drive them beyond anything Ania could conceive. There was no way he was letting her out of his sight when she was so close to emerging.

“I’ve called for Drake to come. He and Joshua and a couple of others will be flying out immediately. The memorial service has to be planned as well. The number one problem, aside from my beautiful Ania, is what happened tonight at her home. She should have been protected at all times.” He couldn’t imagine what would have happened had he not been there.