The panther stepped forward and butted its head into his chest.
“What is going on?” Lux demanded. “She’s a cat?”
“Yeah,” Slim slurred. “Got right pissed off after that fucker hit her. Then poof! She shifted.”
“You hit her?” Ridge jumped to his feet.
Kill him!
Rage filled him as he lunged at Pepper and slammed him into the wall. His claws exploded from his fingers and dug into the man’s neck.
“Accident…” the fucker choked out.
“Let him go, Ridge,” Lux ordered.
Kill him! His leopard demanded justice be served.
Ridge fought for control. He stretched his neck from side to side and rolled his shoulders as fury caused him to shake.
“Ridge!” Lux called. “Let him go, man.”
“I can’t,” he said through gritted teeth.
“The hell you mean you can’t?” Lux asked, running a frustrated hand down his face.
“My fucking cat won’t let me,” Ridge tried to explain.
“What?”
Ridge felt the impact against his side. Turning at the last second, he landed on his back. Above him, Andi’s black panther stood over him.
“Andi!” Lux yelled. “Shift!”
But the animal ignored him and continued to stare at Ridge.
“Andi,” he whispered. Lifting a hand, he scratched the cat behind the ear and smiled when she started to purr. “Shift back, babe.”
Mate is beautiful.
Yeah, she is.
But Andi didn’t shift back.
Something is wrong with our mate, his leopard said. Andi is sad.
What? Why?
I don’t know. But we need to help her.
Ridge pushed Andi back and sat up. “Salvation!” he yelled.
If there was anyone who would be able to get into Andi’s head, it would him. Ridge didn’t like the idea of another man knowing his mate more than he did, but if his leopard thought something was wrong, then Ridge needed to do what he could to fix it.
“What’s up?” Salvation asked, looking just as confused as everyone else.
“Something is wrong with Andi,” Ridge answered.
“You think?” Lux asked sarcastically.
Andi growled.
“I don’t think she likes your humor, Boss,” Jude joked.
Ridge ignored their banter and turned back to Salvation. “My leopard says something is wrong.”
“Your leopard?” Salvation asked.
“Yeah.”
“Hmm.” Salvation smiled but didn’t say anything else about it. Instead, he looked around the room and then back to Ridge. “Why don’t we get her out of here? Maybe the crowd is making her nervous.”
“Everyone, get this shit cleaned up!” Lux shouted. Then he turned back to Ridge and held out a hand to help him stand, but as Ridge reached for it, Andi growled, again. “Fucking hell, girl. I’m not trying to steal your man. Just helping him up. Calm down.”
Andi looked at Ridge, then up at Lux. Slowly, she stepped away from him, but not too far. Sitting on her haunches, she waited, watchful.
“Take her to the back,” Lux said, then he turned back towards the group. “I want to know exactly what happened. Now.”
Ridge didn’t wait around for an explanation. He knew Lux would fill him in later. Right now, he needed to figure out what was wrong with Andi and why she no longer had control of her animal. As he and Salvation walked to the back on the warehouse, Andi followed close behind. He knew she was seeing everything for the first time and wondered what it would look like from her point of view.
“Big,” Salvation said, reading his thoughts.
“Probably,” Ridge chuckled. “Any idea why the cat has taken control?” he asked as Salvation held out the door to the back of the house.
They entered the large room as Salvation gave his opinion. “I don’t know for sure. It could be anything. Maybe she hasn’t let the animal out enough and now it refuses to go back? Or, she simply doesn’t know how to shift back? Hell, man. It could be anything.”
“Can you hear her?” Ridge asked.
“Is that something you really want me to do?” Salvation asked. “Because you know, once I’m in there – I’m in. Unless she learns to build mental blocks to keep me out, I will always be inside her head.”
Ridge looked down at the panther next to him. He was torn. His leopard demanded that Salvation stay away from their mate, but Ridge was more concerned about the long-term effects his intrusion would have. The jealousy factor, Ridge would have to put aside. Andi needed something and Ridge couldn’t provide it without understanding what was going on. And to do that, he needed Salvation.
“Do it,” he said quickly.
“I’ll teach her,” Salvation said as he crouched down beside Andi. “I’ll teach her to build the walls.”
Ridge nodded. There wasn’t anything that he could say.
Grabbing a chair, he set it down near Salvation and Andi and he waited… with his elbows resting on his knees, Ridge fought his own cat for control as it watched Salvation reach out and touch its mate. The beast inside him demanded his brother’s death.
12
Andi
She heard a voice that seemed to be calling to her, but Andi ignored it. She just wanted to be left alone. She wasn’t ready to face the rejection. Her heart ached and it was all her panther’s fault.
Andi had been so careful.
She’d hidden her other side from the world. Took precautions to ensure that even shifters wouldn’t be able to detect her animal. She’d done everything she could to keep them safe. And it was all for nothing.
Oh, stop it, her panther voiced. This is our home. Our mate is here. We are still safe.
No, Andi argued. You don’t understand. You never understand.
How could she get her animal to see? Every time someone found out about her being a shifter, they sent her away. They treated her like a freak.
“Andi?” The voice called again.
“She is ignoring you,” her panther answered for her.
“And who are you?”
“I’m her panther,” the cat said. “Obviously.”
“Well, Panther. I’m Salvation. Nice to meet you.”
“Why are you here?”
“I need to talk to Andi.”
“Well, Andi doesn’t want to talk.”
“Can she be the one to tell me that?”
“Well, if she wasn’t pouting in the corner, she might.” Her cat mentally rolled its eyes.
“Andi? Please talk to me.” Salvation tried again
