Vision Revealed (16 page)

“I don’t care if he finds you,” Kane growled. “He isn’t going to take you.”

“If you don’t care if he finds me than why did we leave the shop through the back door?”

“Maybe I don’t care to help him.” He slipped his arm around her and once again

continued guiding her along the sidewalk.

When they paused at the next street, Jin squinted at the glaring white sky, noting the sun

was gone and the smell of a storm was nearby. “I’ve got some things I need to take care

of.”

“What?” he asked, leading them into the street when it was clear.

She hated the stench from exhaust and thought of how good a long, hard run would be to

clear her head. “Matters I need to take care of alone.”

It didn’t surprise her when they crossed the street he started down the direction they’d

come from when they were on the other side. Picking up his pace, they cleared a couple

of blocks and were close to the motel before he spoke.

“What do you have to take care of alone?” he asked.

She sensed his guard going up and knew he didn’t want to leave her. What sucked was

she was content being with him. It should piss her off when her efforts to pick a fight

with him earlier not only failed but resulted in her wearing new clothes and pondering

how soon she could ride his cock again. But once she cleared her head of him, quit

breathing in his scent, she would be able to leave him. It was just a matter of getting

away, and for some reason she wanted that parting to be amiable.

“It’s personal, Kane,” she told him. It was the truth. He would sniff out a lie on her in a

second and then she’d never get away from him.

He growled under his breath but didn’t slow his pace or say anything else until they

reached the entrance to the motel.

“You run alone tonight, little cat, and you’ll get picked up.” He turned and faced her,

running his knuckles down the side of her face. “I can smell Tore out there. He’s waiting

for his chance to pounce, and I’m sure he’d love the chance to do that when I’m not

around.”

“I’ve been taking care of myself just fine for many years now,” she growled, and

immediately saw that was the wrong thing to say.

“You’ve been hiding behind dead flesh for years,” Kane hissed, his expression hardening

when he turned on her. “We’re not having this discussion out here where anyone can

sniff out our emotions. When we’re in the room, you can tell me what it is you feel you

need to do without me.”

There wasn’t any getting around it. Jin sucked in a breath, keeping her focus on his face

and not letting it drop to roped muscle that bulged underneath his shirt. “I need to do all

of this without you, Kane,” she whispered, fighting to keep her tone and her thoughts

calm. She agreed they were probably being watched. Without her wig and contact lenses

she was a curiosity no leopard would be able to leave unexplored. And she knew without

a doubt the hunters would have more than her tail for managing to keep her true breeding

a secret all these years. “I need to meet with the hunters alone and explain what I came

here to howl without you by my side.”

“They will kill you,” he growled, his words so fierce they made her heart stop. Kane

grabbed her arms, squeezing her when he lifted her off the ground and gave her a slight

shake. “Do you really think you can saunter into their dens and announce you’re a white

leopard and have been all these years and that you tricked them into believing you were

something else? They will skin you alive.”

“It’s a risk I have to take,” she said quietly, fisting her hands at her side so she wouldn’t

attack. Every instinct inside her told her to defend herself. They were too close. Kane was

larger, faster and stronger. Jin didn’t make a habit of entering into a fight she couldn’t

win. “I’m doing the honorable thing. That’s what matters. Kane, you’ve got to let me go.”

Kane watched as Jin hurried across the field into the trees. Darkness surrounded them

and it wouldn’t be long before the attack. Standing along a thick tree, he took advantage

of the dark shadows to undress, all the while breathing in the night air and searching for

any smells that would indicate company. He doubted he had much time.

Ever since this afternoon, when he stood outside the motel and watched Jin walk away

from him, his insides had burned with an anticipation and fury he could barely keep

under control. It was wrong to let her go. Every shred of sanity inside him said as much.

She wouldn’t make it a day on her own. Even with his scent buried deep in her pores, Jin

wasn’t safe.

If she thought she moved a single muscle since she left without him knowing it, she

wasn’t as smart as he gave her credit for being. Kane had waited until she rounded the

corner before he started trailing her. A storm had brewed up and it snowed heavily now,

but he ignored the cold sinking deep into his human flesh as he stripped and quickly

twisted his clothes into a ball then stuffed them along with his shoes into a small cloth

bag.

There wasn’t any way of knowing where he would end up this evening. Something told

him Jin would stay outside of town, probably finding a safe place to sleep in her fur, and

then she would crash with one eye open. He would keep both of his open and protect her.

Sparks shot up his spine as the wind drifted in his direction. The fire burning in his veins

as the change took over prevented him from feeling the harshness of the cold winter

night. But he picked up on Jin’s scent, breathing it deep into his lungs. He needed her

smell worse than an addict needed his next fix. Growling at anything or anyone around

him who might try drowning out her scent, he continued inhaling it as his bones

stretched.

The change brought out a violent side of him, a carnal, more primitive nature that didn’t

bother with etiquette or what was deemed right or wrong. There was one law in his fur,

survival of the fittest, strength prevailing over weakness and the mighty conquering the

tame. Kane fell to all fours, leaping into the night with little concern as to who might

notice him. With his clothes tied around his neck, secured to his body, he broke into a

hard, fast run, taking on the night and everything in it.

Jin wasn’t running ahead of him, and after a few minutes of putting a fair amount of

distance between him and Kenora, Kane slowed his pace, taking in his surroundings.

Adrenaline surged through him, adding to the frustration from letting Jin go earlier. He

might have allowed her to run, take care of matters she believed would restore her honor

among these leopards if she did it alone. The way he saw it, she already held a lot more

honor than any of the hunters he’d met so far. Jin endured a lot. He’d seen more in his

visions about her than he would ever let her know. If he told her what he saw it would

have an impact on how she sniffed things out. He couldn’t do that to her.

What he could do was protect her. What he would do was keep her hot little ass alive. Jin

belonged to him. Maybe he was compulsive. Possibly he ran too fast, pushed too hard

and fought for a bit too much blood. But his visions never led him astray. He knew what

he saw and smelled the truth in them. This would be the one and only time Jin ran from

him.

Coming to a complete stop, Kane ignored the thick grove of trees surrounding him and

instead focused on the shadows. He wasn’t alone, far from it. And it wasn’t the small

rodents and lower forms of life that scurried out of his smelling range to safety he cared

about. Jin’s scent drifted toward him, riding on a breeze, and he turned his head in the

direction it came from, breathing it deep into his lungs. When he inhaled, he picked up

the other smells that dared to mix with hers.

Instinctively, he growled. His lip curled when he moved silently over the snow-covered

ground, singling out the other scents and searching for the leopards they belonged to.

They were trailing Jin and now knew he was here too.

Come on out, motherfuckers. Dare mess with my female and you’ll get a taste of the

wrath that wraps around her, keeping her safe.He growled his warning into the trees,

knowing he was heard and waiting to see if those tracking her held any honor or not. If

so, they’d show their faces instead of hiding in shadows like cowards.

Something moved ahead of him and Kane narrowed his gaze, focusing on the object that

slinked along the ground. It was too small to be a male, and he picked up his pace,

sticking to the dark shadows until he confirmed he’d found Jin.

She disappeared for a moment but then he spotted her again, not moving this time buy

lying on a low branch, stretched out so she was barely visible.

Something cracked behind him, a twig on the ground or a patch of ice breaking under the

weight of whoever walked over it. Kane turned around in time to see the large male leap

through the air. Even in the blackness of night he saw the long, white teeth glow and

lengthen as he moved toward Kane at lightning speed.

Kane roared when the male crashed into him, the male’s sleek, muscular body as solid as

a brick wall and matched with an equally aggressive, harsh aroma. Kane went flying with

the male on top of him and the two of them slid over the frozen ground, fur and teeth and

claws becoming his world.

You’ve chosen the wrong night to pick a fight with me, asshole.Kane’s growl wasn’t

worse than his bite. He found his source easily and went straight for the jugular, wishing

death on the prick who dared stalk his female in the dark.

And he didn’t flatter himself for a moment thinking this male, or the others who were

very nearby, were out here because of him. Jin was the target. He was simply an obstacle.

Well, he was an unyielding wall as this male and his partners in crime would soon learn.

He sunk his teeth into flesh, enduring the lacerations when razor-sharp claws filleted his

flesh. A metallic taste filled his mouth but blood didn’t pump down his throat as he’d

anticipated.

Kane hated missing his target. Pulling his teeth out of warm, thick flesh, he tried again.

The male growled fiercely, injured to the point of being even more pissed off. He was

able to send the leopard flying though, kicking ruthlessly with his hind legs and sending

the male rolling over the ground. A nearby tree stopped the male, and for a moment he

lay on his side, wrapped around its roots while coming to grips with the severity of his

injuries.

There wasn’t time to play properly and wait for his assailant to stand and attack again.

Another leopard appeared in his peripheral vision, his dark rosettes covering his burnt

orange coat. This one reeked of a nauseating, spicy outrage, which would fuel his attack.

Kane kept low, putting muscle into it when he charged into the male slowly pushing

himself to his feet after slamming into the base of the tree trunk.

He found his target, opening his mouth wide and preparing to sink his teeth deep into the

jerk’s neck. It would be a quick death. Kane didn’t care to listen to the bastard howl in

pain before growing still and resuming his human form. If there were only two males out

here, he’d just as soon narrow the odds. But with the smell of blood and foul stench of

panic from the injured leopard mixing with the fury and adrenaline rush of the other,

Kane couldn’t pick up any other smells.

Worse yet, he no longer smelled Jin. If she took off, taking advantage of him being

distracted, he’d have her ass.

The second male attacked at the same time Kane drove his teeth deep into warm flesh.

This time he hit his mark, damn near drowning on the amount of blood that suddenly

soaked his face and ran down his throat. Killing didn’t bother him when it was justified.

These males were determined and angry. Jin wouldn’t stand a chance against both of

them. He didn’t care to hear any explanations as to why they were out here within meters

of her. All that mattered was eliminating any threat to her life and ensuring her safety.

For a moment he thought his teeth were jerked out of his mouth when he was forced

backward, propelled through the air with a force stronger than he anticipated. The second

male made one hell of an incredible attempt to save his buddy’s life. It was too late. Kane

would bet his reputation on it. But as he slid over the hard, frozen snow, feeling roots

protrude from the ground and scrape the crap out of his hide, he experienced the wrath of

the male who yanked him off the dying leopard.

Kane roared at the same time the male did, squaring off when he sprang to his paws in

the next second and glared into demonic looking, glowing eyes. The large leopard moved

in on him, his muscles rippling through his chest as he stalked Kane. His head was low,

large and wide as he opened his mouth and gave him a toothy grin.

You’re going to die just like your buddy, asshole.Kane offered only one warning.

Whether the male didn’t like the different color of his fur, or cared a bit too much for the

sensually sweet aroma of Jin didn’t matter. As he faced the large male, glaring at the

round orbs which dared look triumphant, he picked up on Jin’s scent. That was all he

needed to recharge, ignore the sharp pain cutting through his body from his injuries, and