Read chapter two of A Leopard’s Path

Because I’m a big tease, here is chapter two… Only TWO more days!!

 

Chapter Two

 

Her whole life was a lie.

Well, not her life exactly. Her biological father wasn’t the one she’d grown up knowing. Keegan Andrews wasn’t anything like the man who raised her. The monster, Felix, who’d stolen her from her true family and taught her to believe the Ashwood Falls Pack—the one she should have grown up in—was the enemy. The only thing Felix didn’t lie about was the fact that her mother was dead. He’d just left out the part where he was the one who killed her and stole Ana from her womb.

Ana clenched her teeth and gripped her coffee mug a little tighter. Life since coming to Ashwood and meeting her real family had been…nice. And challenging. Some of the younger Pack members still stared at her like they were waiting for her to turn on everyone. She couldn’t blame them really.

Releasing a sigh, Ana fingered the rose-shaped locket she’d worn for as long as she could remember. When she’d met Keegan in the summer, he’d told her it had belonged to her mother, Cate. It was she who’d picked the name Zorana. While Ana loved the name, she had always felt it a bit too exotic for her.

You can’t dwell on the past forever.

Ana forced her muscles to relax and leaned against the doorframe of the MoonRiver house she was temporarily staying in with Blaine—her brother and leopard Alpha of Ashwood Falls—and his two mates. She sipped her coffee as snow flurries drifted from the sky. The crisp early winter air soothed her cat, even while it tantalized the woman. She loved winter, loved the cold and snow. However, the sight in front of her was far from the magickal image she’d expect from the first snowfall.

MoonRiver used to be the wolves’ den before they merged their Pack with Ashwood. Now, Ana saw the full impact of the war that had pushed Luna to merge her wolves with the leopards over thirty years ago. Few homes still stood, and those that did were not unscathed. Others were either completely destroyed or just plain uninhabitable. The sight made the attack on Ashwood a few months ago appear like a training exercise in comparison.

Shame, pain, and outright rage whirled inside Ana like a cyclone. She had once called the monster responsible for all this Father. Not anymore. The dark veil had been lifted, and now she saw the truth.

Felix Darwin would pay for every life he’d destroyed.

And she was going to help make it happen.

Ana caught Cameron’s jasmine scent before she heard the female lean against the other side of the doorframe behind her. Her sister-in-law had quickly become a good friend. Glancing over her shoulder, Ana smiled. Cam was five months pregnant. Carrying triplets, she looked further along, even with the baggy clothes she wore. “Have you told them how many?”

Shaking her head, Cam rubbed her belly. “No, but I will soon. If they haven’t already figured it out by now. Knowing them, they already know and are just waiting for me to say something.”

“True. Especially Graham, since he was there for Max’s birth.” Graham was one of Cam’s mates, and Max was his son; therefore, Cam’s stepson. The kid was also the most adorable white-blond-haired, large-blue-eyed toddler Ana had ever seen.

Cam stared at her, eyes searching. “Are you okay?”

Cupping her coffee a little closer to her nose, Ana nodded. “I just feel a little lost sometimes. Not really sure what to do.”

The truth was she didn’t know how to deal with the distance Kieran had put between them since they’d arrived at Ashwood several months before. Of course, he was an Elder on the Council and had the responsibility of aiding Keegan with rebuilding the ruling body of shifter-kind, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that he was hiding something. She was tired of going to bed alone, and her leopard grew more irritated by the day. They wanted their mate.

“You know,” Cam started, keeping her tone low, “no matter what the issue is, a male cannot deny their mate’s needs.”

Ana’s cheeks heated. If her sister-in-law could sense how sexually frustrated and on edge she was, then so could everyone else around her. “I know.”

Cam leaned forward and hugged her tight. “Then stop torturing yourself and go after him. Force him to start the mating dance.”

Ana took a sip of her coffee, thinking of the last few times she’d been alone with Kieran. A whopping two times since arriving at Ashwood. What had she done about it? Nothing. It was time to change that. Mind made up to do just what Cam had suggested, Ana turned to go inside to put her cup in the dishwasher, but Cam took it from her. “Go.”

Smiling, Ana gave her sister-in-law another hug. “Thanks.”

It took Ana less than five minutes to track down her mate. Although it wasn’t hard. He was at his apartment near the main entrance to the den. She climbed the stairs to the second floor and knocked on his door. After a few moments, he opened it, wearing nothing but a pair of jeans, the top button undone. She inhaled, drawing in his earthy scent and the aroma of sage soap. “Did I catch you at a bad time?”

Wow, that sounded bitchy. Squash the attitude, Ana.

He raised his brow but didn’t comment as he stepped aside and motioned her inside. “I just got out of the shower and was going to call you.”

“Oh…um, good timing then.” She smiled and searched his handsome features. His damp, black hair stood on end as if he had run a towel over it.

He leaned into her, shutting the door at the same time, then wrapped his arms around her and hugged her close. His rich, musky scent enveloped her, flaring to life the desire she only had for this male. Nipping at her ear, he nuzzled her. A sense of relaxation flooded her, washing away the anxiety she had bottled up. If only they could escape together, far away from this war.

“I missed you,” he whispered before gently biting her throat, not breaking the skin. Her leopard purred and begged for him to mark her. To bite down and sink his fangs into her, claim her. However, he never did.

Her leopard growled and snapped her teeth, no longer wanting to wait for their stubborn mate to make his move. Ana scored her nails down his back. A half-growl, half-hiss escaped him, and he slid one hand to her ass before releasing her.

Chest aching, she refused to meet his gaze as she stepped around him to stand in the middle of his living room. She’d been here with him too many times, in this place of utter frustration. Things heated up, he nipped the skin in the spot where he would bite down to claim her, then pulled away. Every situation ended the same. With a rejection that tore open her heart a little more.

She wasn’t playing the game anymore. Facing him, she pinned him with a glare. “Am I your true mate, or not?”

He froze, his brows drawn together. “You know you are.”

“Do I?” Hurt shifted to anger. Sure, it was the female who made the final decision, but the male had to start things. “You haven’t marked me or started the mating dance. For all I know, you don’t want to.”

A tic formed in his jaw and he stepped forward, his cat in his eyes. “Now is not the time, Ana.”

Her chest tightened. “No, I guess not. In fact, I bet it will never be the right time.”

His cell phone rang, but he stared at her for a long moment before answering it. “Yeah…fuck…okay, I’ll be right there.”

Dread settled over her. With her super-sensitive hearing, she’d heard Keegan’s voice from the other end of the phone. She’d also heard Felix’s name. “What has the bastard done now?”

“Not sure, but it has Keegan ready to hunt him down.”

Not wanting to deal with Kieran and the confusing cyclone of emotions he stirred within her, Ana moved to the door and jerked it open. “I’m going to Ashwood to help Cora test the wards.”

She moved to exit his apartment but stilled when he gripped her arm. “We’ll finish this conversation later.”

When she met his gaze, she saw a hint of worry flash across his gold irises. Shaking her head, she extracted her arm from his grip and hardened her stare. “You come to me when you’re ready, but don’t expect me to wait long.”

 

****

 

Kieran sat on a worn La-Z-Boy in the living room of Keegan and his mate, Addyson’s, temporary home in MoonRiver. Luna and Hayden sat on the sofa in the center of the room while Keegan paced in front of the fireplace. The male’s shoulders held a visible tension as he wore a track in the carpet.

Kieran and Keegan had been friends for far too long; it was obvious the Elder had fucked-up news to share. Luna, on the other hand, was harder to read. The Alpha female was a master at hiding her emotions, or at least her anger.

Much like the female his leopard craved. Ana had actually given him an ultimatum before she took off to Ashwood. No doubt to work off her frustrations. He didn’t blame her, really. They were mates. Yet, with the war in full bloom, he couldn’t think about the future.

Just then, Blaine walked through the front door and Keegan finally let the words tumble out. “The spell on Savannah’s prison was broken this morning.”

“Fuck.” Hayden burst to his feet.

Felix’s mate had been in a deep sleep for the past two hundred years, hidden away from the world. Why the previous Elders hadn’t ordered them to kill the female was beyond Kieran’s understanding. She was evil incarnate, and with her mate by her side…

They’d have hell on earth.

Blaine growled. “We have to form stronger alliances with the other shifter communities and secure the Pack. Then hunt both of them down.”

Kieran agreed one hundred percent. “We need to have a security team meeting to see how the implementation of the new system at Ashwood is coming. I’m not comfortable with moving the kids and females in until it is online.”

Not that their temporary home at MoonRiver was secure, but it was better than nothing. And it was too risky to keep moving around. Besides, there were sentries camped out at the nursery, and they rotated shifts with the enforcers.

As a trained spy, Kieran knew all too well that a small vulnerability was all the enemy needed to gain the upper hand. He also knew careless mistakes like the one Vance made several months ago, got people killed. The Onyx Marshal had charged into Ashwood thinking he’d wipe out the Pack. The stupid bastard died and lost a large part the Onyx soldiers in the process.

Hence why Felix had hunted down his mate and freed her from her prison. So she could help the Alpha grow stronger and take his revenge. “How did Felix find the witch?”

Keegan shook his head. “Michaela thinks she started to wake, which allowed Felix to track her through the mating bond.”

Grinding his molars together, Kieran forced himself to stay in his seat and not hunt down the rogue Alpha to put an end to this. However, no one knew where the bastard had gone to lick his wounds after Kieran, Keegan, and the rest of them destroyed the Onyx den.

Not even Ana…Wait. Could Sable know where to find her father?

Standing, Kieran met Keegan’s stare. “Shouldn’t we bring Ana into this meeting? She could know where he hides, or at least know where to find Sable.”

Blaine nodded. “I’ll call Alec and Cora in, as well. They could give us an update on the security of Ashwood.”

“Let’s take a break, cool down,” Luna glared at Keegan and the other males in the room, “and then regroup in an hour. Bring in the senior soldiers, as well.”

Kieran made his escape, too wound up from his argument with Ana and the news that Savannah was free. He’d meant to surprise Ana later that day with dinner and the promise of mating. Something long overdue. However, with the evil witch on the loose now, most likely gunning for those who’d imprisoned her, he couldn’t risk putting a target on Ana’s back.

No, he couldn’t mate with Ana now that Savannah and Felix were working together. There was no way he’d go through losing another loved one. And he loved Ana. Loved her enough to risk the chance of losing her as his mate.