Passion Untamed (Feral Warriors #3)(55)

Lights sparkled around him as Skye jumped back, and he shifted at last. Being in his animal had always hurt, but it was worse this time. Shifting had never been right for him.

In his panther's body, he stretched and shook, then lifted his head with a roar, feeling an odd pleasure tug on him through the aching pain.

He swung his panther's head to the source. Skye stood beside him like a beacon of light and warmth, a light radiating outward from deep inside her chest, and he understood on a primal level why the creatures of the Earth flocked to her. A nature spirit, the Shaman had called her.

And he knew it was true.

His muscles twitched, his body begging for a good run through the woods, but not only was there was too much at stake to steal that kind of time for himself right now, he could never leave his Mage witch with his brothers.

She wasn't safe at Feral House.

"Can you shift back?" Lyon asked.

Paenther growled. That was the question of the hour. Closing his eyes, he willed himself into his human body. Again, nothing happened. Dammit to hell.

I need your help, Beauty.

Without hesitation, Skye knelt in front of him, her hands sliding over his panther's neck, easing the pain and filling him with an odd, intense pleasure. There was nothing sexual about his reaction to her, not in this form, yet her touch flowed through his body, into his soul, washing away the darkness, sending light into those deepest recesses, warming, cleansing. A purifying in its most fundamental form.

He understood now why the creatures sought her touch.

"Try again," she said softly.

And he did. This time, with Skye's hands on him, the power came when he called, and he managed to shift back into a man.

He faced his chief. "I can shift as long as Skye's with me. We'll leave immediately."

Lyon's expression turned to granite. "No way in hell."

"Roar..."

"Look, B.P., I understand all too well your need to reach Vhyper and to stop Birik. And I fully support it. But I'm not sending you out there like this. If you come upon the Mage and get separated from your witch, you'll be right back under their spell. Unless you can shift into your animal, they'll just enchant you again. And that's unacceptable."

The fury escaped his careful control. He leaped at his chief, hard in his face. "And what's the alternative, Roar? I'm the only one who can possibly find that mountain. We leave now."

"No."

"Roar...Lyon...I'm losing my connection with my animal. Right now I'm still of some use. Let me do my job while I still can, dammit."

Lyon's expression turned hard, but in his eyes, Paenther saw a fierce caring. "No, B.P. Sending you out there like this is sending you to your death. I won't do it."

"Then you're giving up any chance of saving Vhyper. I'm not going to heal. My connection with my animal is not going to get any better."

"Maybe it will." The Shaman's tone, behind him, was thoughtful.

Paenther swung around to glare at the smaller man in his white ruffled shirt.

"You think he'll heal?" Lyon asked, surprised.

"Not on his own, no. But after watching the enchantress, I think she may be able to help him. With the right training."

Paenther scowled. "Training?"

"Hear me out, warrior," the Shaman said. "I know someone who might be able to help, if he's willing. A single night may be all it takes. He's an old Mage. Ezekiel. I've known him for a long, long time."

"You have a Mage friend?" Tighe asked incredulously.

"He's no friend, but I trust him. There's never been any darkness in his heart. He never had much power, and what little he had is mostly gone. His mate was an enchantress. If anyone can teach your witch to call the good energies instead of the dark, it's Ezekiel. If he will. After his mate's death, he turned his back on his own race as well as all others. He sees no one anymore."

Paenther scowled. "Then why do you think he'll see us?"

"Because your Skye is an enchantress. They're exceedingly rare, warrior. She'll remind him of his lost mate." He turned those old eyes to Skye. "Call the animals, witch. Not the gulls. Anyone with a slice of old bread can call the gulls, foolish birds. But if you call anything else, he'll respond."

"Where is he?" Paenther asked.

"He has a house in Corolla on the Outer Banks, but only a Mage can see through the warding. You won't find it without your witch."

"I can fly them down there," Tighe said. "It's a good five-hour drive."

Lyon shook his head. "I don't want you near her that long. If you start shifting when you're in the air..."

Tighe grunted but didn't argue. The thought of a fifteen-foot Bengal tiger in the cockpit was enough to put them all off flying.

The Shaman tossed Paenther a key. "I own a safe house a short drive south of there, right on the beach. Stay there tonight while I see if I can make any headway clearing your witch's magic from these Ferals."

Paenther palmed the key, flexing his hand until the metal bit into his flesh. He needed to get out to that mountain, dammit. He needed to find Vhyper.

"Roar..."

"Fuck!" Jag disappeared in a flash of light, shifting into his jaguar.