The Leopard King Read Free Page A

which wouldn’t be so pitiful if he’d shifted.
    Carefully Pru knelt and set a hand on his brow, which was cold as ice but clammy with fear sweat. He’d hate like hell for anyone to see him like this. Yet her touch seemed to settle him a little; it wasn’t natural for a cat to hide for so long. While many enjoyed solitary hunts, there was also plenty of close contact and camaraderie. Even the fiercest cats needed to purr.
    Half holding her breath, she eased from the crouch to sit beside him. Tentative as a first kiss, she petted his head as her mother once did to lull her back to sleep after a bad dream. Awake and alert, he’d chew off her fingers before allowing her to comfort him. At first, he was restless, thrashing as if he fought unseen enemies, but she maintained a soothing rhythm and his breathing steadied. His vulnerable, sleeping features showed even more clearly how he’d suffered since Dalena died.
    “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “But I have my orders… and she wouldn’t thank me for letting this go on. She’d hate this, all of it.”
    Dom reached out and locked long fingers on her wrist. “You can’t be in my bed unless you can shift.”
    Pru laughed. “What bed? And don’t flatter yourself.”
    Letting out a faint sigh, he let go of her and folded his arms beneath his head. “How come I never knew that you have claws?”
    “It was never my place to use them on you before.”
    “It still isn’t,” he muttered.
    Changing topics, she ignored his anger; it was easier to handle than his anguish. “First thing, we’re cleaning this place up. Do you have a heater? It’s freezing.”
    “You’re soft, that’s all.”
    “Dom.”
    “If I turn it on, it’ll only encourage you. So find it yourself.”
    “Okay. I will.”
    Oddly, she found his behavior less painful in the middle of the night, possibly because he struck her like a wounded child. Smiling, she went back to stroking his head and felt mildly astonished when he didn’t threaten to bite. Instead he remained quiescent, staring into the darkness, until a long, heavy sigh slipped out of him.
    “That feels good. I hate that it does… and that I’m too tired to fight you right now.”
    “I won’t quibble over victory by attrition.”
    Thus encouraged, she let her fingers say the things her mouth couldn’t, like, I miss her too and I’m sorry I left you alone for so long. Once, apart from Dalena, Dom had been her closest friend. As if his mate had been the glue holding everyone together, the center couldn’t hold without her. Disintegration came in slow sobs and hands clutching empty air. His shorn hair scraped her palm like the bristles of a brush.
    “I really hate you,” he said then.
    But there was no heat in it, only sorrow. Pru tipped her head back. “I hate you too.”
    “As long as we’re on the same page.” He sounded exhausted.
    She planned to linger only long enough to make sure he settled, but even after his breathing leveled out, he reached for her when she moved. His big hand splayed over her knee and she just… stayed. Pru’s back was aching by the time the sun came up, but Dom seemed to be sleeping peacefully for the first time in gods only knew how long. When she finally crept out, it was well into the morning.
    First thing, she taped some plastic over the broken kitchen window, as that wasn’t helping the arctic front sweeping the old house. In daylight, her explorations revealed a number of old-fashioned radiators, so there must be a furnace somewhere. Pru found it in the basement, but the pilot light had gone out, and it took a solid hour of tinkering before she got it running. The resultant rumble-roar filled her with satisfaction.
    Maybe I can’t shift, but I can fix things.
    Dom had no idea how long he’d been out, but clearly he’d lost control of the situation. Not only had he failed to drive Pru off, but she’d somehow managed to clean his room while he slept in it. If she’d come to murder