Over and over Siena tried to stop to allow her cat rest, lying curled in the grass or dirt. The male pushed at her, driving her forward with his shoulder. When she refused to get up he sank his teeth into the thick fur at her neck and dragged her several feet until she began to walk again out of sheer desperation. He stayed close. The female’s fur was dark with sweat and she trembled continually. Siena was just as exhausted, worn out from the long night of fighting Elijah’s will.

The male leopard continued to be patient, never hurting her female, but never allowing her to rest. It was a matter of time before she couldn’t keep trying to circle back toward the road. She walked a few steps forward, dropped to the ground panting and shaking while the male stood over her protectively. After a few minutes he nudged her, warning her with a low growl to get to her feet and move.

The house loomed up. Siena smelled several of the men patrolling but none of them came to her aid. She knew they wouldn’t. They didn’t work for her. They worked for Elijah. She stood under the window, trembling. Terrified. Tears burning. The male crowded her until her female made the leap inside. She landed on the gleaming hardwood floor, paced forward three steps and collapsed.

Siena curled up inside her. Hiding. Ashamed. Humiliated. Trying to form another plan. She couldn’t—wouldn’t—call Paolo, but maybe Alonzo. She didn’t have anyone else. The thought was terrifying. She had no idea how long a shifter could stay in the form of a leopard, but she was going to find out. She would refuse to shift back to human.

The male landed so silently she barely realized he was in the room with her. He nuzzled the female as she lay trembling. Then she felt a hand move through the damp fur. Elijah’s hand. She’d know his touch anywhere, even when she was in her leopard form.

“Siena, shift.”

Screw you, she thought, so exhausted she couldn’t even lift the female leopard’s head to threaten him. She could barely keep her eyes open. Suddenly his fingers were pushing down ruthlessly on several pressure points she hadn’t even been aware the female leopard had. Hard. Brutal. It hurt. The female squirmed, trying to get out from under his hands. When she couldn’t, the animal, exhausted and completely done in, gave up and slipped away, deserting Siena.