Protector Panther (Protection, Inc 3)

Panthers still don’t have packs, Shane answered silently. Weird cat.

Weird human, his panther retorted. Of course we do. You have one of your pack in your lap. And another one is driving the car.

Shane had to admit that the big cat had a point. Justin had returned, and Shane could hear the unbreakable endurance of the PJ he’d been in his every labored breath. And Catalina was right there with him, pushing the car to its limits with one hand controlling the wheel with smooth confidence and one hand resting easily on his shoulder.

My mate, he thought. It was as much of a shock of wonderment now as when he’d first recognized her. It resonated all the way down to his heart.

“I have you,” he said aloud.

“And I’ve got you,” she replied as easily as if she’d heard the entire conversation. “I never thought I’d find a man whose idea of a perfect night out is transporting a critically ill patient at 3:00 AM. I guess it really is true that there’s someone for everyone.”

Catalina brought the car to a smooth stop in front of Dr. Bedford’s office. Her Range Rover was in the otherwise empty lot, and the lights were on. They glowed warm and welcoming. She was the only doctor Shane had ever encountered who used normal lights, like you’d have in a house, instead of harsh white fluorescent strips.

Shane carried Justin inside. As Catalina closed the door behind them, Dr. Bedford gestured toward a hospital bed.

“Put him on that, please,” she said.

Shane laid him down. Dr. Bedford began attaching electrodes to his chest. As she stuck one on, Justin awoke suddenly with a cry of pain. Eyes wild, teeth bared, he snarled at the woman in the white doctor’s coat.

“Red!” Shane called to him, but Justin was beyond understanding.

An instant later, a snow leopard crouched

on the bed. He let out a hair-raising howl of pain and rage, then sprang at the startled doctor.

Shane threw himself between them, tackling the snow leopard and throwing him to the ground. But Shane rolled at the last second, taking the impact on his own body. His friend was sick and in pain; the last thing he needed was to get slammed into the floor.

“Don’t fight,” Shane gasped. “It’s Comeback, Red. I’m your friend!”

But he knew Justin didn’t understand. Justin wasn’t there; his snow leopard was in control, delirious with fever, overcome by pain, panicked at the sight of doctors and medical equipment, and desperate to escape. No doubt Justin had undergone his share of painful and unpleasant experiments at Dr. Elihu’s hands.

The snow leopard lashed out, fighting to escape Shane’s grip. Shane wrapped his arms and legs tight around the beast, burying his face in the leopard’s neck to avoid its fangs. While they struggled on the floor, Shane heard Catalina and Dr. Bedford urgently conferring, but couldn’t catch the words over the snarls and eerie shrieks of the snow leopard.

Then Catalina darted in with a syringe in her hand. With her incredible speed and agility, she jabbed it into the snow leopard’s haunch, then sprang away before the beast could claw her.

Shane didn’t dare relax physically, but he was immensely relieved. Any second now the big cat would collapse beneath him, deep in a tranquilized sleep...

The snow leopard shook itself violently, nearly throwing Shane across the room.

“It’s not working,” Dr. Bedford said, sounding surprised.

Captain Obvious, Shane thought.

“What was it?” Catalina asked. The leopard growled loudly enough to drown out the doctor’s reply, but Catalina’s clear voice carried through it. “He’s immune to tranquilizers!”

Shane swore to himself. Catalina had mentioned that, but it had been before either of them had known who the mysterious shifter was. Obviously both she and Shane had completely forgotten that in the surprise of learning his identity.

“Try morphine!” Shane shouted, then ducked another swipe of those sharp claws.

He again wrestled the snow leopard into submission. The big cat was weak, fighting with the strength of desperation alone, or Shane would never have been able to handle him in his human form. But he managed to keep a grip on the snow leopard, though the big cat struggled fiercely beneath him.

Dr. Bedford handed Catalina another syringe. She darted in and neatly slipped it into the loose skin between the snow leopard’s shoulders, then jumped back as the big cat nearly broke through Shane’s hold.

“Stay clear,” Shane called, forcing the animal down again. “Give it a minute to work.”

He grimly pinned the snow leopard until its struggles eased off.

Hoping that Justin would understand him once he wasn’t overwhelmed by pain and panic, Shane said, “Shift, Red. You need to be a man now.”