His throat felt shredded. Raw. Aching. He didn’t even know why. His eyes burned and his body ached, especially his chest. He glanced at his reflection. A man stood there. A stranger. His thick chest was streaked with blood. He wore no shoes, only a pair of soft blue jeans that set low on his hips. His hair was wild. His face was swollen from multiple cuts and bruises and his chest had rake marks down the heavy muscles. His eyes . . . his eyes had gone a dark gold, all sorrow. All fear.

He’d all but forgotten Cordeau and his lieutenants had tortured him before he’d gotten free. It didn’t matter now. The nurses and the one doctor who approached him fell back when he swept his cold gaze over them. He knew he scared others there in the small waiting room, but he didn’t care. He didn’t care about anything but keeping Catarina alive.

He was in a cold sweat at the thought of losing her, his guts twisted with fear. He knew Jake hovered close, probably out of fear that if anything went wrong, the male leopard would take over in an effort to protect Eli. He couldn’t imagine what damage a grieving male leopard would do in the small hospital waiting room.

He felt his leopard close and it should have been a comfort, but all it did was make him feel more desolate, more alone. When had it happened? How? From the first moment he’d walked into the dojo and saw her working out, something inside of him, something that had always been closed off, shut down, broken, had suddenly come to life. She was that life. Her warmth. Her laughter. Her intelligence. The way she took care of him. The way she delighted in caring for him.

His hand gripped the window ledge until his knuckles turned white. Don’t fucking take her from me. He didn’t even know who he was without her. He’d walked through his life, feeling no joy. No happiness. How could he ever go back?

There was a small commotion at the entrance to the waiting room and he turned his head. Emma entered. Jake’s face immediately became a mask of fury. Surrounding her in a solid shield were Joshua, Trey and Elijah. They had the look of bodyguards and the two people who had remained in the room fled.