Passion Untamed (Feral Warriors #3)(71)

She felt his panther fighting to get back to him. But the harder she struggled to keep going, the worse her own pain became.

Paenther stopped her. "That's enough, Beauty."

"No! It's not." His panther growled, demanding her help. And she would help him!

"That's enough, Skye. I feel better. Stronger. It's enough."

The panther inside him howled with frustration.

"It's not enough! He's trying to reach you. I can help him reach you."

His face went hard and he hauled her against him, pinning her to his body. "No. This is killing you. I'm okay."

"Paenther..." Slowly, the pain in her chest ebbed to a throbbing ache. "I need to heal you."

"Look at his eye," Tighe said.

"Your Feral marks are back, B.P. See if you can shift on your own again."

Skye pulled back and looked up into Paenther's face. The scars across his eyes were indeed back. She released him and stepped back as he shed his pants then, with a flash of sparkling lights, shifted into the panther. A moment later, he returned to human form and donned his pants.

Lyon's voice rang with quiet satisfaction. "Thank you, Skye."

She nodded, but deep inside Paenther, his animal continued to charge at her frantically, begging her to continue.

She'd helped him.

But not enough. Not nearly enough.

"It's not working!" Paenther growled, hours later. The rage inside him twisted and turned like a living thing.

He and Skye were back in the Blue Ridge, standing behind the Market with Tighe, Delaney, Hawke, and Wulfe. It was nearly dusk, the gray sky growing dark. Vhyper, Jag, and Foxx only had a handful of hours left. But try as they might, they couldn't get through the warding.

He'd found the Market as he'd known he could, but getting up the mountain was proving impossible. Three times Skye had tried to lead them and each time, just past the place where he'd made love to her that day, things had started to fall apart. They started becoming disoriented. Confused. Hawke had shifted and tried flying over the warding, only to wind up spiraling to the ground, breaking his wing.

The last time, he and Skye had gone alone, but it was no use. Unless she could carry him, and she sure as hell couldn't, she wasn't going to get them into that cavern. Unlike some of the other Ferals, he had no ability to change the size of his animal. When he shifted, he was a large, full-sized panther. Period.

Tighe, Delaney, and Hawke sat on the remains of a discarded sofa. Kougar leaned against the brick wall of the Market while Skye sat beneath the trees on the hill, surrounded by the creatures of the forest.

Paenther paced. "Ideas?" he threw out to the group.

"There's one," Skye called softly, then rose and came down to join them. "I remember the counterspell. I can go in alone and try to free Jag and Foxx."

"No."

"If they escape, Birik probably won't bother to sacrifice Vhyper. The death of one Feral won't be enough for what he wants."

"You're not going in there alone."

She looked at him helplessly. "I can't get you in."

A chill slid down his spine. "You can take me in the same way you did before. Enthrall me."

Tighe growled. "Don't even think about it, B.P. You'll just wind up sacrifice number four."

He met his friend's gaze. "It's a chance."

"A hundred things could go wrong."

Skye stared at him, her eyes alight with worry and misery. "Tighe's right."

"It may be our only chance. Can you unenthrall me once we get inside?"

"Not easily or quickly." She clasped her hands together in front of her. "I had to open your mind to unenthrall you when I helped you escape from the cavern. Sex with an enchanted man isn't quick, and Birik will know I'm back as soon as I walk through the warding on the doors. I doubt I'll be able to get you up and off before someone finds us. And I'll have lost any way to pretend I've returned on my own. We'll both wind up in chains and be of no use to anyone."

"So the only way is for me to go in as your prisoner."

Shackled. Again. Fury threatened to rage through his body at the thought of it, but he had to get in there, dammit. He had to save his men.

Yet his only chance at success was if Skye went with him to get him out of the shackles. He stared at her, memorizing every line of her face. If he failed, she'd go back to being a captive and slave to that monster.

Skye slid her hand into his. "I don't like this plan, Paenther. But it may be the only one."

He pulled her around and cupped her shoulders. "I can't give you back to him."

"He won't kill me." She reached for him, pulling his head down where she could kiss him. He let her, feeling the soft, tender brush of her lips before she pulled back. In her eyes he saw his future and his past.

"I know what will happen if you hold back and do nothing," she said softly. "If you let Vhyper die when you might have been able to save him, you'll die inside, little by little, until there's nothing left." She stroked his cheek. "I can't be the cause of that. We can do this, Paenther. Trust me to do my part. I'll give you the chance you need to do yours."

"Tighe's right. A hundred things could go wrong."