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Ten years later
John Black, Alpha of the Dark Claw Pride, sank his fangs into his opponent’s leg, tossing him into the nearest tree. The wolf-shifter yelped. His ribs cracked loudly when he connected with the tree trunk. The thud his body made as he crashed back to the ground was satisfying. The wolf panted, but still tried to get up on his shaking, bloody paws. Hissing, the black panther tensed, preparing for another attack.
The wolf intruder had some fight in him. His pink tinted eyes tracked John’s every move. The beast wasn’t trying to get away, to flee and save his bloody hide. No. The wolf-shifter focused on one thing only. Killing.
Killing the Alpha of a clan would gain the wolf instant leadership. Unfortunately, the wolf had chosen the wrong pride leader to mess with.
In his human body, John wasn’t the tallest of the shifters. Not like the tiger shifters, who usually grew taller than six-feet-five. However, his Alpha status was what really mattered.
The black panther, John’s other half, lunged again. He tackled the injured wolf to the ground, quickly pinning him under his body. The angry cat clawed the enemy’s chest, slashing the belly open with his hind paws. His muzzle closed over the wolf’s throat, crushing his trachea.
The wolf went wild, trying to escape. It was in vain. The Alpha male squeezed until the wolf went limp. The blood of his enemy tasted sweet on the panther’s tongue.
Proudly, the black panther stood over the body of the shifter who tried to take his forest. He heard the rustle of fur brushing against leaves and the bark of the trees. His carefully chosen pride mates, his Rangers, guarded the pride territory. They were fierce warriors, willing to die for their freedom.
They had fought to escape the labs and succeeded. Some had fought beside him. Some had fought in other regions of the world. All of them had lost dear ones during the fights. Because of that, the shifters had banded together. Safety in numbers and all that.
Now, the black panther saw his Beta lingering in a small clearing just past the tree line. Another Ranger joined him. The silver-spotted leopard jumped the Beta in a mock attack. Hissing, the bigger male turned to grab the female. The smaller cat jumped away, crouching. Her ears went back, her tail swished in a playful invitation, and her behind wiggled. The smaller cat pounced. The Beta leaped away.
John’s black panther abandoned the cooling corpse of his enemy, wanting to join the pounce on the Beta game. This was their life - joy and sorrow, smiles and tears, life and death.
Silently melting with the forest’s shadows, the Alpha prowled toward the clearing. He watched and waited for the perfect moment. When his Beta turned his back to where the black panther waited, he leaped on the distracted male. He landed on the back of his second in command, taking him down, and rolling through the wet, cold grass.
The Alpha tussled with his Beta, growling, hissing, pouncing, and playing catch. The female jumped into the fray from time to time and it was two-on-one; Beta and the female were against the Alpha.
The night grew colder and darker. It was late. The three cats lay in the damp, cold grass, panting and cooling off from their play. John’s cat was alert. The intrusion into his pride land still bothered him.
“Ian, clean the area and secure this border.”
John used his strong telepathy gift to speak to his Rangers. Some of them had a lower level of telepathy, some had none. But even the lowest telepathy gift came in handy when silent orders needed to be given in the middle of a battle.
“Understood.”
The black cat sighed, watching the leopard male and the silver leopard female drag the dead body of the wolf. They would make sure they left it somewhere where the wild animals could feast. Why waste the meat? Besides, the fewer the shifter bodies, the lower the risk of the human population finding and taking them.
The explosions of the labs during the great escape ten years back had destroyed a lot of their data. Now, humans searched and sold any shifter corps to military scientists for research. They needed the DNA no matter if the shifter was dead or alive, young or old, male or female.
The panther growled. His heart felt like it was hardening with every shifter he had to kill. His muscles trembled from the night’s activities. It wasn’t the battle that drained him, but losing one of his kind.
What puzzled him was the fact that a wolf had challenged him for his pride. A wolf being the Alpha of a pride? Not likely! So, why the challenge?
John mentally shook his head, and his cat did the same. Something about all this didn’t smell right to his feline partner, either. The cat’s skull ached from fatigue. His body hurt from wounds inflicted by the enemy. He yearned to be home cuddling his mate.
He knew the strength of the Alpha cat would help him heal. In a couple of days, he would be back to normal with a few more scars to show for the battle. However, right then, he wanted to hold his Maria. To feel her warmth, her hands soothing his aches with soft touches, her kisses bringing love to his battered heart.
The black panther looked up to the star-sprinkled dark sky, inhaling the crisp, mountainous air. In that one sniff, he could smell the pain and sorrow of his people. The acrid smell clogged his lungs. It imprinted on the animal’s and the man’s brain, both.
But rising from that pain was strength and joy for the life they received. It was their phoenix. Shifters lived, and they were free to love!
The panther lowered his head, letting the man take control. The shifting process was something no one understood. Not even the scientists that had created them.
Thirty seconds of popping joints and the human named John Black stood on his hands and knees in the grass, naked as the day he was born. His ebony skin held the wounds and blood the black cat had carried seconds before.
The shift never healed the cat or the man. The pains and wounds carried from one to the other, leaving scars on both.
John stood, surveying the area. The chilling breeze made him shiver. But the night wasn’t silent. The part of the forest that not ten minutes ago had been a battlefield now held the song of crickets and the soft rustle of small critters.
John settled in the middle of the clearing. The two Rangers returned and shifted to their human form. Ian, Sola and John held hands, forming a circle. They stood in silence, linking their energy to one another. They lifted their linked hands toward the dark September sky. With their faces up toward the heavens and closed eyes, the Alpha exclaimed.
“To our Mother we pray. Take this lost soul into your heart. Receive it into your Garden, where he can heal and run free. To our Mother we pray. Cleanse this space of damage and violence. Restore the natural calm. To our Mother we pray. Please hear our call!”
John lowered his hands, bowing his head in sorrow. Their bodies attracted the energy created by the death of a shifter, like magnets. It burned through them, then rushed into the Alpha, forming a ball of flames in John’s belly. He grunted and pushed the energy down through his legs, feeling it leave his body and infusing into the Earth.
The shifters felt the Earth differently from humans. They sensed the power of the Mother that had given them life. Every time they felt the wind in their fur or under their wings, the shifters felt her caress. When the rain coated their fur and skin, the shifters felt her pain and sorrow. And when a shifter died, the Alpha felt the Mother receive the soul, the energy, into itself.
Now John’s breath hitched, his body trembled, and a sudden weakness attempted to push him to his knees. He locked his body in place, refusing to show the side effects of the prayer. The black panther inside John cried for the lost soul, but the man stood strong and proud. He did what was necessary in order to protect his pride.
As a leader, it was his duty to ensure that every child, woman and man under his protection felt safe enough to run through their territory. He was only twenty-eight years old, a very young Alpha. But his dominance drew shifters to him.
When he felt steady enough to lift his head, he looked across the small circle they still formed, meeting the sad eyes of his Rangers.
“Thank you.”
“No need, Alpha,” Sola whispered, bowing her head in a sign of respect. The sadness of the moment buried her playful side.
Ian just nodded.
John released their hands, breaking the small circle. Shaking his limbs to dissipate the tingling in his fingers and toes, John let out a long sigh and centered himself.
“Ian, I want reports from every border. Increase each patrol by two soldiers. Rotate the men and women on shifts of eight hours so everyone will have time to sleep. Tiredness is sloppiness. Sloppiness means danger for the Pride.”
John looked at Ian and Sola. Exhaustion and pain lines showed on their faces. Placing a hand on each Ranger’s bare shoulder, he squeezed in reassurance. Nakedness wasn’t something shameful in the shifter world, so the Rangers didn’t flinch at John’s touch.
“Rest and gather your strength.”
“Yes, Alpha,” both Rangers responded at the same time. Ian continued.
“Mitch is on the northern border alone. You know how he is.”
“Yes,” Sola scowled, “an-I can do it all-bull-head.”
John pursed his lips in disapproval. “Send him two soldiers as reinforcement.”
Ian nodded. “Ricky’s on the west border. He has five soldiers in training with him. Ari’s patrolling the east one with three soldiers and Kale has the west border with one soldier. The rest of the Rangers have the patrols inside the territory. I impressed on them they should take time off to relax unless the border runners sound the alarm. Sola and I will join the interior guard and do some socializing.”
“Good. No one patrols alone.”
“Yes, Alpha,” Ian and Sola said in unison.
John clamped a hand on Ian’s shoulder. “Ian, tomorrow I want you at the pride house at eleven. We need to make the plans for the new housings. The newly mated pride mates need larger homes to grow their families. And the juveniles need the one-room cabins to get out from under their parents’ feet.”
John grinned and so did his Beta. Sola snickered.
“I heard Ryan’s mom snarl at him from two kilometers away!” Sola laughed out loud. “She threatened to kick him out if he left one more piece of clothing lying around.”
John and Ian chuckled. “Yes. The entire pride knows Ryan is a slob, and that JJ is about done with raising him. She came to the main house and yelled at me. She wanted that boy gone before she killed him with her bare hands. Her declaration was that if he had learned nothing in seventeen years living with her and his father, then he was dumber than a chicken,” John told the two Rangers, fighting back his laughter.
Ian and Sola weren’t so restrained. They roared, laughing until tears fell down their cheeks.
Five minutes later, after Ian and Sola were gone, John sighed deeply, placing his hand on his naked hips. Weariness filled him. He needed to unwind. He needed his mate.
John let out his cat, taking off through the trees, trying to enjoy the rest of the night. The dark forest held many predators, but none was greater than his panther. Small wild cats lurked around, scaring the small critters into their hiding holes. The black panther passed them in a rush, not giving them any attention.
About ten minutes into his run, the Alpha cat stopped. The panther’s ears twitched. Nearby, the soft whisper of a mountain river promised to quench his thirst. The fresh scent of the water drew him like the smell of his mate’s fresh-baked blueberry muffins did in a winter morning. That sweet scent could wake him up from the dead!
The cat took a few gulps of the fresh water, enjoying the cool sensation. He had to bring Maria there for a picnic. Maybe he could entice her to go skinny dipping in the river with him. The man’s inner chuckle came out as a cough through the panther’s throat.
The panther ran deep into the mountains. He enjoyed the crisp air and the cold ground beneath his paws. The solitude calmed the cat. The human problems were sometimes too difficult for the animal to process.
John’s panther stopped at a small waterfall feeding the river. The fur on his neck and back rose in warning. Something wasn’t right. The scent of blood tainted the air. The cat stood still as a stone. He was an unmoving shadow, blending completely in the forest’s dark. Ears pricked and senses on high alert, the panther heard a faint sound.
Whoever was there was hurt, but still alive. He moved slowly, prowling, following the scent. It was coming from somewhere near the drop of the water. The Alpha took a hunting stance, preparing for a fight. He was almost at the waterfall, but he still didn’t see a body. However, he knew that behind the water curtain, there was a small cave. The sound came again.
A wide boulder with a flat surface rose from the bank of the river. The panther leaped on the stone, then right through the curtain of water. With that one leap, he crouched inside the smallish cave, prepared for a fight. The gruesome sight he encountered in the alcove took his breath away.
In the middle of the space, a woman was lying face down. The smell of blood and death clogged the air in the enclosed space. Hissing, the panther approached the corpse slowly. The woman’s back was shredded. Deep grooves made by animal claws were visible through the rips of her clothes. Animal bites covered her arms and legs.
The black panther sniffed. Beneath the acrid scent of blood, death and decay, there was the scent of a human. The feline growled. John pushed to the surface, shifting and staying crouched over the female’s lifeless body. He turned her face up.
Her matted black hair was dirty, just like her clothes and face. A sign that the woman had been in the forest for a while. John saw the woman’s hand was closed tight around a plastic card. With dread tightening his chest, he pulled the thing from the woman’s hand.
Sheila Jones. The name imprinted in the middle of the card wasn’t familiar to him. John turned over the ID and swore. He recognized the double helix picture. It was the logo for the human military labs. Damn it! The scientists will never stop hunting his people. Anger grew in the man and the panther’s heart.
Distressed by this intrusion and saddened by the loss of another life, even a human life, John didn’t hear the small fluttering of a beating heart until the pile of blankets pushed at the back of the cave moved. He stilled. The bundle moved again and a baby’s cry of distress filled the space.
That was the source of the noise he’d heard. John crawled on his hands and knees, ignoring the sharp stones cutting into his skin. He could barely breathe. It felt like a boulder had landed on his chest.
“Oh, please Mother, let the baby be okay.” He prayed in his mind, hoping she would hear him.
John crouched over the bundle, pulling the edge of the blanket lower, revealing the sweet face of an infant; white skin, cat-green eyes, and black hair. The baby let out a cry of distress.
“There, there, darling. I got you,” he crooned. Unsure of what he was doing, he picked up the wrapped-up child. On the corner of the blanket, he saw the engraved symbol of the labs. “Mother, help us!” he muttered. It appears the horrors of the labs continued after all this time.
John cradled the baby, pulling the covering away to search for injuries. Beneath the gray institutional blanket, someone had wrapped the baby in a pink soft cloth. It was all the covering and protection she had. John ran his free hand over her soft, chubby limbs, making sure she was uninjured.
A baby girl. The woman had carried a baby girl deep into pride territory. Why? Was the baby a shifter? John closed his eyes, allowing his panther to the surface. The feline’s senses recognized the scent of another cat immediately.
“Oh, thank you, Mother,” John whispered, covering the baby and gathering her to his chest to share his warmth. He looked at the dead woman; Sheila Jones.
“Thank you for getting her out,” he whispered to the dead female.
John looked down at the little one, meeting her emerald green eyes. They seem to scrutinize him carefully, judging his worth. John didn’t realize he was crying until a tear fell on her sweet face, making her squirm. She was the most beautiful girl he’d ever seen.
“I’m sorry, baby girl. I’ll stop crying over you in a minute.” John chuckled, but sadness filled his voice. The baby gurgled back at him. He caressed her soft cheek, mesmerized by her innocence.
The little one turned her head toward his finger, seeking to suckle. When she didn’t find the breast she wanted, the little princess let out a wail fit to raise the dead. John winced at the piercing sound bouncing off the walls of the small cave.
“Ah! What a powerful pair of lungs you have! Hungry, are you? Well, I don’t have what you need, but my mate Maria can fix you up right away.” Either the little one understood his words or she liked the tone of his voice, because she stopped crying. Her yelling demands turned to soft whimpers.
“So, do you want to come home with me? You don’t need to be afraid. I’ll protect you with my life,” John spoke the words as a vow. The little girl stared at him with big eyes, like she actually understood what he was saying.
John turned toward the exit, hunching over to protect the baby. He crawled out of the cave. Looking around to be sure there wasn’t any danger, he linked with his Beta.
“Ian, I need you for something.”
“What do you need?”
“I’m at the small waterfall. You’ll find a dead woman inside the cave. She’s a human, and she had a baby girl with her. A shifter baby girl,” he emphasized. “I think the woman stole the baby from the labs. They both have the double helix. I think the wolf I killed tonight was after them. The woman must have used the river to mask their scents.”
“Damn! What about the baby?”
“She’s fine. I’m taking her to Beth. The healer will check her out. Take care of the body, then meet me at the house.”
“Yes, Alpha.”
John cradled the girl to his naked chest. Looking down, he saw the little one sleeping peacefully. Her innocence was something to protect and cherish. He hated that she’d had to have such a rough start in life. Most of all, he hated the labs and the torture going on there.
Breathing deeply, John pushed away the dark thoughts infiltrating his mind. He had a job to do. Protect his pride, his territory, and now this baby girl.
“Well, let’s go introduce you to my mate, Maria. You’re going to love her, and I know she’s going to adore you.” John took off running for the pride house, cradling to his heart the tiny, fragile life he’d found.