83 | BIG CAT

The too-tight feel of my skin compresses further, and I feel my muscles and bones shifting without warning as my Wolven half takes over. I vaguely sense it’s only our little group in the immediate vicinity as I make the shift from human to wolf. No humans, aside from Darine, and no backup. Darine jerks back in shock as I change a few inches from her, the loss of control making my clothing and backpack rip off of me as my body grows.

I keep my back to my friend, my tail brushing against her legs to remind myself that she’s still here. Weak and defenseless against the five Wolven and one, much larger, danger.

“Reinier,” The Cat hisses when he sees the brilliant red of my wolf’s fur. He cocks his head in that creepy cat-way as he also notices the silver in my fur. “So you’re the hybrid.” The hints of a Russian accent filter through his words as he hops out of Darine’s car and stalks over to us. His wolves move in a too-well coordinated arc to allow him to pass them and stand toe-to-toe with me. I’m as all as he is in this form, but even if his Wolven weren’t here, I’d still be outmatched.

Cats are fickle, strong, and not as Pack-oriented as Wolven. Males, in particular, have the true instincts of a feline. Solitary by nature, I’ve never seen or even heard of one in this half of the country, not because there aren’t any in the US, but because most Wolven fight tooth and nail to keep them relegated to the West Coast with a wide birth of much stronger non-shifters between us. It’s one reason why the Midwest is almost impossible to cross. Hunters maintain the boundaries. Normally.

I distantly wonder if the fact that this Cat has managed to get all the way to this side of the country has to do with the turmoil of the *draki*, but I push the thought aside as the Cat moves in front of me. Cats may not be physically bigger than Wolven, but they’re definitely stronger.

The man cruelly curls his upper lip and reaches out in a flash to flick me in the forehead. The cracking of my vertebrae popping as my head is whipped back by the force of the flick has my wolf both snarling and cowering in my mind. I snap at the Cat’s hand, but he’s retracted it before I can get anywhere near it. There’s an all-too-familiar glint of insanity in the pale gold of the man’s eyes, but unlike that I’ve seen from my own family, I can immediately see this line of crazy is all him and not someone else.

“You’re the Alpha’s mate.” The Cat sneers at me, making my hackles rise as he mentions Blue. “And you belong to the Beta,” The man looks at Darine. A light of interest sparks in the man’s eyes as he studies me, not at all deterred by the growl of warning vibrating through my chest. When he glances to the distant tree line, I get the feeling he’s seeing something I can’t - or waiting for something. Or some*one*.

My ears twitch as I catch distant sounds echoing in the woods towards the south. The noise is too far for me to decipher the sources, but it doesn’t seem to be naturally occurring sounds. While the Cat’s distracted, I mentally reach for the bond between Blue and I, relaxing the tiniest degree as I feel it thrumming strongly. A sharp stab of pain suddenly zips through the connection, making my whole body cringe as if I were the one who’d just been injured. But I’m not.

*Blue?* I call to my mate softly, the fear leaking into my mental voice. Despite sensing my mate’s still alive through the bond, his life force strong and bright as ever, there’s still that haunting undercurrent of pain.

*We’re coming*. Blue’s words filter through my mind, anger and his own fear threading in with the thought. I turn my attention back to the Cat before me, seeing the curiosity and cruelty sparkling in the gold of the feline shifter’s gaze as he studies me.

*Please hurry*. I think back to Blue before glancing at the others, who’ve very slowly started tightening their half-circle around us.

I snarl as one of the Wolven get a little too close to Darine, my teeth grazing the muzzle of the offending reddish brown wolf. It makes a yelping sound, jerking back before I can draw blood and shaking out its head. I press my whole side against Darine, backing her away from the slowly advancing arc.

“Scarlett-” I nudge my friend roughly with my hip to make her shut up. It’s hard enough to keep my attention of the Cat and the other Wolven, I don’t need her distracting me.

We just have to hold out until Blue can get here with backup. Hopefully, some vamp backup, because I don’t think any less than ten Wolven will do much against the six from the Berner Pack. For the first time ever, I wish I had better control over my wolf right now and a stronger hold over the vamp in me. Instead, I’m stuck in this form out of a primal fear and protective instinct for my human friend.

“Scarlett Reinier,” The Cat hisses my name, a malicious grin cracking his lips apart and showing me the elongated canines of a big cat. He slowly begins removing his suit jacket, dropping the dark material carelessly and rolling up the sleeves of his arms. Dark stripes flicker along his forearms, the scent of mint bites at my nose, mingling with the feral scent all shifters share.

I feel my ears prick down as the aura from the Cat makes the air shudder, my body reflexively arcing away from him, and shoving my friend further away from the predator. The man rolls his neck and shoulders, the five Wolven behind him whining as the pulsing aura suddenly expands and sends an wave of power pressing into my fur. The Cat isn’t as strong as Nikki or Mari, not by a long shot, but that’s not what I’m recoiling from.

Cat shifters are large. Thicker-bodied than Wolven and taller. I jerk farther back as the man’s form shudders and warps into that of a white, Bengal tiger. The gold of it’s eyes turn an arctic blue is so pale they’re almost white, and piercing. I don’t know how, but I get the impression this Tiger is ancient. I feel like a literal puppy cowering in the shadow of a true Bengal tiger. My initial sense of self-preservation has me wanting to bolt from this Cat’s sight, but one breath reminds me I’m not alone right now.

Darine is gripping tightly to my flank, her finger dug in so deep I can feel them trembling into my skin. She reeks of fear, the scent spicy and enticing. I curl my tail close to her body, leaning back into her to give her some show of comfort, though I’m almost one-hundred-percent sure we’re both about to die. I swallow the whine that wants to rips out of my chest, drawing in a deep breath and calling for the literally colder-side of me.

A shuddering chill skates up my spine as the familiar vamp chill rises from my bones. But I don’t shift back. I let out the breath on an annoyed huff and try again, digging deeper, this time. Nothing. I gnash my teeth in frustration, keeping my eyes on the now completely-shifted Cat looming a few feet away.

If he really wanted, he could rip my head from my body in less than ten seconds and tear Darine to shreds in five. Maybe less. The tiger’s tail swishes coyly as the the big beast stretches lazily, the sounds of its spine crackling softly in the otherwise still air make me flinch. It yawns, flashing both Darine and I the two sets of large canines that are more like tusks than teeth. Whiskers fluttering in the winter breeze, the Cat lets out a huff and rolls it’s paws so the wickedly sharp claws scrape audibly along the parking lot ground and gouge four lines into the pavement.

*We’re almost there, Red. Hold on.* Blue’s voice sounds more distant than before as it rings though my head, though the panic in it speaks volumes. He doesn’t know if he’s going to make it in time. And neither do I.

This realization has the warmth of my Wolven form fading into the background as I try, once more, to reach deep inside and draw out the resting vamp within. I need to protect myself and Darine, and though I could normally do that if this Cat wasn’t here, I know I’m going to need to use all the cards I’ve got up my sleeves. My spine arches up as my form shudders once more, curling deep into itself and becoming more compact.

“I don’t know why you’re here,” I growl at the Tiger as I stand upright, pressing my back against my friend, even though I’m currently naked as the day I was born. Darine lets out a surprised shriek again, her hands going up to cover her eyes as the scent of her blood rises up to mingle with the others in the air. I know without looking that she’s blushing. I’ll apologize for this if manage to live. “But you’re not welcome here.” I add as my vampire fangs drop from my gums, making the words a little odd sounding.

The Tiger tilts its head at me, but continues with its little stretching show as if it couldn’t care less I’m now a little stronger in this form. The familiar thumping of heartbeats is a song I wish I wasn’t able to hear. Each of the wolves hearts thrum as steadily as their Cat Alpha’s, the power of the Pack radiating off of the Cat more strongly than before. It feels weird, unnatural. Like that of polyester versus cotton. It grates on my vampire senses, making my gut twist uncomfortably. It’s not the same way the Revenant’s aura felt. Not so twisted, but still *wrong* in some way.

I’m so distracted by the strangeness of it that I don’t catch the shift in the Cat’s movement on time. The Tiger launches it’s huge body at us, jaws open and claws out and ready to tear right through me and my best friend. I don’t have time to move, but the familiar tug of power bursts from my chest in the split second I have to panic. I automatically reach my hands through the suddenly vibrating air, my fingers grasping tight to the only just-visible chords of time.