Ecstasy Untamed (Feral Warriors #6)(32)

The cat swung his head down and around, butting against Faith from the other side. She was prepared this time and barely moved.

"Maxim, enough." The note of pleading in her voice cut at Hawke.

But the cat wasn't through with her. He nestled his nose between her legs, dipping his head and raising it again, forcing her to spread her legs.

Faith's cheeks flamed as she pressed at the great head, unable to dislodge it. "Maxim, stop." Her growing anger only seemed to encourage the cat more.

Hawke's muscles tensed, the anger that sparked inside him for once fully his own. The bastard enjoyed her discomfort. Enjoyed embarrassing her in front of others. Hawke growled, low, a sound his bird would never make. A sound that belonged to the feral male alone.

"Lyon," Kara pleaded softly beside her mate.

"Catt, enough," Lyon barked.

But Maxim ignored him, as he had all along. Instead, he leaped up, his massive paws landing on the wall on either side of Faith's head, his enormous mouth wrenching open. Faith lifted her hands as if to ward off the attack, heart-thundering fear in every line of her body.

"Catt!" Lyon roared. "Enough!"

The anger within Hawke ignited in a wild rage - a rage that demanded he tear that cat's head from his body. His fangs sprouted, his claws erupting. Though he struggled to fight for control, too great a part of him wanted this, wanted to attack the bastard, to protect Faith.

When the red haze engulfed him, for once he dove into the storm.

Chapter Six

Faith pressed back against the wall, heart thundering in her ears, her legs shaking as the hot breath of the terrifying beast bathed her face, his mammoth canines inches from her collarbones. He was scaring her, dammit. Humiliating her in front of the Feral Warriors and their mates. In front of Hawke.

"Maxim, stop."

She forced herself to look into those yellow eyes, knowing the man was in there. And what she saw turned her fear to anger. Laughter. He clearly loved his power over her, loved that she couldn't do a thing to stop him.

The last of her doubts disappeared. Maxim was not, and had probably never been, the man she thought he was. And she wasn't staying with him another day.

She grabbed his teeth like the bars of a jail cell. "Get them out of my face before I rip them off!"

"Hawke!" Lyon's voice rang out.

Faith released those saberlike teeth just as the awful cat was wrenched away from her by a snarling Feral Warrior with fangs dripping from his man's mouth, daggerlike claws sunk deep into Maxim's fur.

Hawke.

Vhyper leaped into the fray, combining his body weight with Hawke's to take down the great beast. Wulfe, shifting into a wolf midleap, landed on the big cat, holding him down and snarling into his face as Hawke lifted a wicked-looking knife and pressed the tip between the cat's eyes.

"Hawke!" Lyon roared.

Without moving the blade, Hawke lifted his head, breathing hard, as if struggling for control. Vhyper, Faith noticed, made no move to take the blade from him.

Hawke looked down into the cat's eyes, snarling, "Shift back or die."

Faith's heart thudded against her ribs, anger burning inside her until unshed tears stung her eyes. Dammit, Maxim! Pushing away from the wall, she strode through the dining room and out the door, heading for the stairs.

"Faith, wait!" Kara's soft voice called to her from behind.

Faith stopped and turned.

"I'm sorry," Kara said, catching up, the genuine sympathy in her expression undoing Faith. "He's not a nice man."

"No, he's not. Kara . . ." The tears were beginning to fall, and she swiped at them impatiently. "I'm leaving. This isn't going to work."

Kara's face fell. "I was afraid you were going to say that. As much as I hate for you to go, I'd do the same in your shoes. Exactly the same."

"The trouble is . . ."

"You need money for a flight home. And a way to the airport."

Faith nodded, Kara's kindness and understanding like a tight band around her chest. "I'll pay you back, I promise."

Kara opened her arms, and Faith fell into them, accepting the hug Kara offered. Needing it as tears began a steady slide down her cheeks. In so many ways, she wished she'd never met Maxim, wished she'd never agreed to come with him to Feral House. She hadn't known what she was missing. And now she did. Here she'd glimpsed sweet friendship and precious sisterhood. And the promise of laughter and tender passion with a powerful, protective male. Just not the one she'd come with. She'd gotten a taste of what it would be like to have a family again after so many years of being alone.

And she had to walk away from it all.

"Don't worry about the money. Trust me, it's not an issue." Kara pulled back. "Go pack your bag. I'll find a volunteer to drive you to the airport and meet you in the foyer."

Faith nodded. "Thank you." As she turned to the stairs, a coldness swept over her, the promise of loneliness in its bleakest form. Yes, she was anxious to get back to Paulina and Maria, to try to help them find better lives, but six months from now, she'd be moving again. Another city. Another rough street half a world away from the warmth and friendship she'd found at Feral House.

Her future lay before her like the tundra in winter - frozen, colorless. Empty.