What?
Ridge took a paw to the side and rolled across the ground. The pain that radiated through him was unlike anything he had ever experienced. Andi was strong, and he was beginning to wonder if he was cut out for this job. As much as he wanted to help her, Ridge didn’t know if he could. At least, not without help.
Mentally, he called out to the one person he knew who could get through to Andi. If anyone could reason with the wild animal that controlled her body, it would be Salvation.
Salvation!
What’s up, brother?
I need your help.
Kitten getting to be too much for you?
Not funny.
The constant battling back and forth for position was started to wear on him. Ridge was losing momentum. He thought he could tire Andi out, but he was wrong. He was the one who was getting tired.
Get your ass over here now! Ridge ordered. Shannon’s in danger. I need help.
Fuck!
Ridge closed his link with Salvation and tried to concentrate on Andi. They weren’t bonded, and they’d never shared blood, so he didn’t have a mental link to her. Frustrated, all he could do was keep her busy until Salvation got there.
Fuck me... Ridge was tired. And even with his faster than normal healing, his body still hurt. With each swipe she took at him, a new mark formed.
His leopard tried to call out to her panther, a lover’s request, but all that did was infuriate the animal even more. Ridge had no idea what had set Andi off this time, but he feared if he couldn’t figure it out, Lux would make the call to have her put down.
No! His leopard hissed, angrily.
I don’t want that either, Ridge told the wounded animal. We’ve got to think of something – fast.
There had to be a way that he could reach Andi.
Something.
Anything.
The war between them seemed to go on for hours. Ridge didn’t know how much more he could take. Still not at the top of his game after the club’s last run down south, and then add in the shitty night’s sleep – and Ridge was about tapped out. There was no way that Salvation would get there in time.
As he blocked Andi’s swipe with one of his own, she hissed out in pain as his nail sliced down her side. He took that moment to move in. Ridge pounced on her back and forced her to the ground, his mouth at her jugular.
The fight should have been over, but Andi surprised him.
Any other animal would have known that they had been beaten, but not her. Andi continued to try to fight his hold. He felt his teeth sink into her flesh. The taste of her blood coated his tongue. He didn’t have a choice. If his leopard was correct, and Andi’s animal was feral – Lux would order her to be put down. The least he could do was make it painless.
His heart ached. The taste of her blood in his mouth felt like acid to his stomach. Pain seared through him like the explosion of a grenade. The agony he felt would live within him forever.
Ridge’s leopard whined – a loud, sad cry. A plea for mercy. Whether it was for him, or her, he didn’t know. But in moments, two lives would be ending before they ever had a chance to start.
20
Andi
She sat in the corner of her mind, rocking. Praying the fighting would stop. Andi covered her ears, trying to drown out the sounds of the two cats battling it out.
Her animal calling for Ridge’s blood because of his betrayal.
Her animal was crazy. There was no other word for it. The black panther, who had again taken over her body without her consent, was completely insane and no matter what Andi did, it only seemed to make things worse.
So, she remained silent and waited for it to be over. The same old darkness seemed to surround her. The depression over never being normal all but closed in on her. Suffocating.
She could feel Ridge’s jaws around her neck. The sharp pain of his teeth as they penetrated her flesh. Andi closed her eyes. She wasn’t angry with him. Silently, she sent up a prayer hoping that he would know – she understood.
And then, the pain was gone, and Andi felt nothing.
Was this how death was supposed to be? If so, Andi wanted a refund. She felt gipped. Where was the bright light? The angels? The music? Slowly, she opened her eyes but all that was there was darkness.
Was she in hell?...
Andi…
She could hear her name being called, but it sounded as if it were from far away.
“Andi… It’s Salvation. Can you hear me?”
Salvation? What was he doing here?
Hope seemed to blossom in her chest but was soon replaced by fear. If Salvation was here… then where was Ridge?
“Ridge?” she mentally called out.
“He’s right here, Andi,” Salvation replied.
“Where?” Andi asked. “I can’t see anything.”
“Andi, what happened?” Salvation asked, not answering her question.
“There’s a woman,” Andi tried to explain.
“Kill her... Kill her… Kill Him… Betrayal,” her panther chanted.
“No, Andi, listen to me.” Salvation’s voice echoed through her mind. “Shannon is Ridge’s sister.”
“Lies!” her panther roared.
Andi could feel the animal becoming more frantic. She could feel her heartbeat accelerating. Wait… If her heart was beating, then that meant…
Andi tried to push away the darkness, but mentally the beast snarled at her.
“Listen, Andi,” Salvation called. “Shannon is a human that Ridge’s family adopted. Please, let him explain.”
“Lies!” the panther roared, angrily.
“Enough!”
Andi mentally recoiled at the authority in Salvation’s tone.
“Andi, you need to gain control.”
“She won’t let me.”
“Make her.”
“How, Salvation?” Andi quipped. “What do you think I’ve been doing in here? Counting to ten… singing the mother-fucking alphabet?”
Andi’s frustration with the situation was more than obvious. And the fact that Salvation wasn’t helping her, only angered her more. All her life, she’d been able to hide her animal and then suddenly, after less than a week of being with the Dark
