Leopard's Run (Leopard People, #10)

by Christine Feehan

The leopard licked her shoulder and then bit down and held her still, waiting. Just waiting.

Again, this goes back to wanting the claiming to be special. Here we know Timur’s leopard is very violent, but we see the leopard be gentle with Ashe in her human form as he patiently waits for her leopard to accept him. The leopard is still Timur with Timur’s traits and needs as much as the leopard’s.

Then he felt her. Sleek. Sexy. Purring. She rose in Ashe, moving up to meet his big male. The two leopards touched and then she was gone. Just like that, she’d accepted his cat’s claim on her.

It’s important to me that every claiming, just like every couple, be unique. I enjoy giving the reader the point of view of the leopards and the humans as the claiming occurs. It can be sexy, scary and intriguing all at once, but it needs to feel special.

“Fyodor Amurov and Alonzo Massi are the same person. Fyodor only recently went back to his name.”

It was important to remind people that Alonzo was actually Fyodor and that he revealed his true name because they were all ready to deal with the violent past that would certainly come to try and kill them. In Leopard’s Wrath, which is Mitya’s book, we learn even more about the history they left behind in Russian and just how dangerous it all is.

She was describing an Arabian leopard. They were very rare. Their numbers had fallen below a hundred. Below fifty. Now, one had been killed.

I like to make people aware of the various subspecies of leopards and how we’re losing them at such a rapid rate.

“Because I want you with every breath I take, and I always get what I want.”

Just because he says the words doesn’t mean she’ll fall for him. I wanted readers to want them together, but I wanted it to feel realistic, too. She had to look at the big picture, not just the sexy man and his romantic words.

“Timur, I need to tell you something. It’s important. You aren’t going to like it.” “Say it then.”

Ashe didn’t start out with the most innocent of intentions and she knew she was going to have to come clean about it. She was willing to be honest regardless of how angry he got, or whether or not he left her, because she wanted to save Evangeline. It took a lot of courage to risk it all in order to do right by someone else. I loved that about her.

“Did you feel your leopard come close? I didn’t feel her. Neither did my male. She’s resting up for the big day, or it’s possible you missed it by a few days. No, Ashe, I believe that was just the two of us. When the leopards get involved, it’s going to be unbelievable.”

He wants to assure her that he wants her as a woman. That it isn’t his leopard driving them all the time, that he loves her as a man loves a woman. He’s chosen her as his woman because he loves her.

He felt her entire body tense. He rolled to his side and splayed his fingers across her belly. “My seed’s in you. It’s not even dry yet. You screamed for me. It was my name you called. Your leopard rose to allow my leopard’s claim.”

She’s still struggling with acceptance and he knows it. He knows she wants a family. He wants her to know he can give that to her, but it won’t be exactly what she wants. She doesn’t want to raise children in a criminal world. They love each other, but their differences threaten their relationship. It’s like that in real life. Sometimes the love can be there and be great, but there are make-or-break differences or situations that make it impossible to have a successful relationship. Timur wasn’t going to simply give up regardless of how difficult things were.

“No one will ever need you more than I do, Ashe. And no man will ever work harder to make certain you’re happy. I can promise those two things.”

Timur felt that he didn’t have a lot to offer her. His life would always be hard and filled with violence. But, he knew he could give her his word on these two things. He was confident of these and he had to hope they would mean something to her.

“My leopard claimed yours, Ashe. He isn’t going to let her go. We both know that. I don’t want to let you go. Me. Not my leopard. You’re the first thing I’ve ever wanted for myself. You’re the first time I’ve ever thought maybe I could have some kind of life. I don’t want you to go, not for my leopard or yours, but for me.”

I’m glad to see that readers enjoyed this passage. It was so important to me to show that love is a choice. He had to love her because he couldn’t lose her. Because he needed her, wanted her. It wasn’t just their leopards driving them, or the claiming. His feelings for her gave him hope and made him want to be a better man. Leopard’s Wrath is out November 5, 2019. You can find out more at https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43394438-leopard-s-wrath