Amber Eyes (Amber Eyes #1)(19)

“Promise me you won’t react,”she whispered. “To what I tell you, I mean.”

Hunter swore. Hell, was she afraid they’d hurt her?

“We promise,”Jericho said in a soothing voice.

She glanced at Hunter for confirmation, and he nodded, wishing she’d just get on with it so they could get her the hell out of here.

“It will be easier if I just show you.”

Hunter stifled his response and silently urged her to just do it.

She closed her eyes and tensed all over. To his shock, her knees buckled, and she fell to the floor in a heap.

“Kaya!”

He and Jericho both started forward at the same time. Hunter dropped to his knees when the unbelievable happened.

Her body arched, and a moan slipped from her lips. Her skin came to life, rippling in the low light. Instinctively he stood and backed away, unsure of what the hell was happening. He bumped into Jericho, and the two men stared in horror as Kaya’s body simply changed form.

Limbs reshaped and shrank upward into her body, becoming more compact. Her mouth opened in a snarl, and she shook her head as fur raced along her neck and down her back. Fur. God almighty.

Her long silken tresses, the color of the cougar fur, became the hide of the cat. Hunter blinked and the mountain lion lay before them panting softly, her eyes glazed with pain.

“Holy f**k,”Jericho breathed.

Hunter was speechless. It was his cougar. And suddenly he understood so much and so little all at the same time. The memory of what he’d done dropped him to his knees.

He crawled forward, his hand outstretched in agony and regret.

“God, I didn’t know,”he whispered as his hand touched her head. “I didn’t know, Kaya.”

The cat raised pain-glazed eyes to meet his gaze, but she lacked the strength to keep her head up. She dropped it to her paws.

He locked onto her shattered front foreleg. “I did this to you. I’m so sorry. I had no idea. I wouldn’t have hurt you for the world.”

He felt sick to his soul. She’d given them her trust first as the cougar and only then had she come to them as a human, and he’d betrayed her when he’d turned against her. He’d shot at her. In his mind he couldn’t separate the fact that he was only trying to protect Kaya. Now that he knew they were one and the same, it killed him that he’d been the one to cause her fear and injury.

“Hunter, what the f**k?”Jericho demanded. “This doesn’t make sense. It’s not possible.”

But Hunter was more willing than Jericho to accept what was so clear. So much made sense now. Everything fell into place with stunning clarity.

He turned to his friend who looked as though he were about to keel over.

“I don’t know how or why or even how it’s possible,”Hunter said calmly. “But would you deny what’s in front of our noses? You saw what I saw, Jericho.”

“But Jesus Christ, this is crazy. This shit only exists in the movies. How can you be so goddamn calm!”

Shock? Regret? Disgust over the fact that he’d caused her serious injury? His and Jericho’s bewilderment didn’t seem important in light of what needed to be done for Kaya. She trusted them still. He didn’t know why. They hadn’t earned it or deserved it, but she trusted them when it was clear she trusted no one else. Never again would he betray that trust.

When he turned back to the cougar, she was valiantly trying to gain her footing. Her ears were slicked back and a sort of crazy wildness shone in her eyes. Even as he started forward, she backed away, her gaze never leaving Jericho.

“You’re scaring her,”Hunter growled. “Goddamn it, Jericho, get it together or we’re going to lose her forever. She won’t come back this time. We’ll never see her again.”

“That never seemed to bother you before,”Jericho muttered as he moved forward, his hand outstretched in a placating gesture.

Still, Jericho obviously had no desire for Kaya to leave. Despite the reluctance of the cougar and her defensive posture, Jericho reached out to touch her. He let his fingers trail over her fur. At the first touch, the cougar hissed and withdrew, but Jericho persisted, delving his hand further into the thickness of her fur.

“I’m sorry,”he murmured. “You knocked me on my ass, Kaya. It is Kaya, isn’t it? You can understand me? I get why you were so reluctant and secretive, and I understand why you couldn’t trust us. I hope that’s changed now. We’ll take care of you, sweetheart. Can you come back to us now? You have to be in so much pain. Let us help you.”

The soothing timbre of Jericho’s voice seemed to calm the savage beast. She relaxed, going limp on the floor as Jericho continued to stroke her with steady hands.

She let out a low growl and then her body shook and spasmed. Both men rocked back on their heels and watched in astonished horror as it happened all over again. This time, though, she went from beast to beautiful human.

Within seconds, she lay curled on the floor, naked and shivering, soft moans of pain escaping parted lips. Her arm hung broken and useless at her side, and Hunter could only imagine the agony her shift caused.

Not wasting a moment, he gathered her gently in his arms and stood, holding her close to his chest. Her pain-filled gaze focused unsteadily on him as he walked back to the couch. There was question along with fear and uncertainty.