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meant to him.
Erik stepped away from Kim. Looking into her eyes, he
tried to silently reassure her that everything was going
to be okay.
 Run, he whispered, his voice pleading her to listen this
time.
Alistair growled again and he could sense the change as
it began to run through him. There was no way he could
stop it. He could almost feel his eyes as they began to
yellow and the first sweep of tingles through his body. It
was the precursor to the change, the warning sign. Kim
didn t need to see this, not yet, not now.
Her eyes widened as they dropped to his hands. His
claws pushed through, fur erupting in a wave along the
back of his fingers as they shifted into their panther
state.
 Run! he shouted this time, pushing her as the pain
turned his stomach. She stumbled forwards and began
to run, but she was too slow, and so was he. Alistair
lunged at her, and before he could tackle his brother,
he d knocked Kim off balance and she was falling.
Erik flinched when she cracked her head on the side of
the pond and slumped to the ground. His senses
immediately reached out and relief bloomed inside of
him as he heard her heart beating strong.
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In Heat  Felicity Heaton
He roared at his brother and ripped his shirt open as his
bones shifted, cracking out of place and then back into
the new position. Alistair changed at the same time as
him and their clothing was left behind as they leapt at
each other. Erik dug his claws into Alistair s back and
rolled with him, his teeth sinking deep into his shoulder,
hard enough that he tasted blood and faintly heard
Alistair s cry of pain.
His brother deserved to pay for hurting her. He d warned
him. They clashed again in a fury of teeth and claws, of
growls and cries as they struggled for dominance. He d
fought with his brother before, nothing more than play
fights to hone their instincts. He wasn t playing any
more. It was time Alistair realised which of them was
strongest.
Leaping from his back, Erik ran, luring Alistair away from
Kim. He panted hard as he came out into the open and
then jumped over one of the low hedges as his brother
pounced. Alistair growled in frustration as he
disappeared from view. Erik wouldn t keep him waiting
long. Saving his energy, he stalked around the side of
the hedge, keeping his focus on Alistair.
He attacked the moment he saw that Alistair had his
back to him. They rolled together, back legs kicking and
scratching at each other s stomach and ribs. He dug his
claws in deeper and released a feral growl as he bit
down on Alistair s front leg.
Alistair sprung free, blood soaking into his pale golden
fur. He bared his teeth and backed away when Erik
moved towards him.
The acquiescence was there in the way that Alistair
lowered himself submissively, but Erik knew it wasn t
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In Heat  Felicity Heaton
over. He roared at Alistair in a show of strength and
power, letting him see that if he tried anything, he d
have more than a hurt arm and shoulder to show for it.
Alistair slinked off into the bushes, limping as he wound
his way back towards the house.
Erik didn t move until he saw that Alistair was back in
human form and heard a car leave.
Turning around, he went back to Kim, hoping to God
that she was all right.
And knowing that she d seen him start to change.
* * * *
There was something rough stroking her face. Warm and
rough. It dragged her cheek with it as it ran over her
skin. It was gentle.
Comforting.
She frowned and moaned as she tried to open her eyes
and her head ached. The first thing she saw was the
gravel on the ground. She was strangely close to it. The
second thing was the black panther standing over her,
licking her face.
She was very strangely unafraid of it.
Slowly sitting up, she let the panther continue to lick her
face, not wanting to upset it by stopping it, and tried to
get her bearings. She was on the ground. The coolness
at her back made her look around and she saw the wide
pond behind her.
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In Heat  Felicity Heaton
She remembered something happening. It was all a blur
and then there had been a lot of pain followed by
darkness. The panther purred. She rubbed it behind the
ear, still trying to gather herself and waiting for
everything to come back to her.
Alistair had been here.
Erik had fought him.
Her hand travelled lower, stroking the panther. She
frowned when she found it had a wet chest. Bringing her
hand away, she baulked at the sight of the blood on her
fingers. She struggled to stand, her head spinning, and
looked at the panther. It was licking the wound on its
chest, still purring. It wasn t necessarily a good sign.
Cats purred when they were hurt too, didn t they?
 Stay here, she said to it, as though it was going to
listen to her, and began to run towards the house.
When she reached the main garden, she looked back
and saw that the panther was gone. She sprinted on, [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]