Her female gave a little inelegant snort of derision. It’s the other way around and has been since you were about sixteen.

Evangeline was certain that wasn’t the truth, but at least her leopard was back to her usual self. “Are you all right?” She found the sensor over the door. It was just that little bit too visible. Hidden, but not. That meant a backup.

Yes. The female gave the impression of stretching languidly.

Evangeline found herself smiling in spite of the fact that her body hadn’t quite settled, her injured leg was on fire and her arm hurt like hell. She moved her fingers along the sides of the doorjamb where the wood was intricately patterned. The house had hidden passageways built into the walls. There were all kinds of hidden devices within the wood. Alonzo had told her all about the history of the house and how Antonio Arnotto had it built for leopards and with an eye to escape trouble.

Her fingers found the little hidden button in the middle of a swirl of golden wood. It was no more than a depression but she pushed down and instantly the hum stopped. She yanked open the door and went through. At once the night air hit her. There was little moon and a lot of clouds and it was cold, but she inhaled deeply, drawing the night into her lungs.

“Just what we need,” she told her female and began to hurry across the open yard to the heavier brush. As she jogged across grass she scented the male. He was off to her left, a slight breeze warning her.

Evangeline angled away from him, put on a burst of speed and gained the maze of thick bushes and shrubs. Her leopard gave the impression of laughing. She was happy. They were in their element. She dropped low to the ground, winding in and out of the shrubs, turning sideways to slip through narrow openings. She moved fast, but avoided shaking branches.

The male came close to where she’d entered the brush. He stopped moving, inhaling sharply. He was in human form, but Evangeline could scent the wild in him. “Timur.” The guard spoke into his radio. “We’ve got trouble out here. I think the female’s loose. My male’s going crazy. She’s throwing off enough pheromones to call in every male for a hundred miles.”

That didn’t sound good. At. All. Evangeline swore, using every Cajun cuss word and phrase she’d heard over the years. She just was very quiet about it. Stop, Bebe. They’ll track us for sure and I wanted some outside alone time.

It’s not like I can control it, her female pointed out.