Page 45 of Tiger Born

She startled hard and spun around.

Stellan stood in the kitchen, leaning on the counter like he’d been there all along.

The roaring outside was deafening.

“W-where is Dame?”

Stellan’s eyes were pure gold. “Cage,” he said in a bored tone.

Shit, shit, shit!

Terrified, she lunged for her purse next to the door and pulled out her handgun. She slammed the clip into place and cocked it like she’d practiced a hundred times, and she aimed it at him.

He perked up. “Well, that makes the game more interesting. Are you a killer, Rabbit? I don’t think so.” He stalked closer. “I think you’ll wait too long to pull that trigger.”

“Stop right there,” she said, and damn the shake in her voice. She aimed the gun right between his eyes and blew out a steadying breath.

A strangled sound wrenched from him, and Stellan pitched forward. The gold faded from his eyes, and the color darkened to brown. He looked around and at her. “No. No, no, no, you can’t be here! You have to run!” His eyes darted to the gun and then back to her. “Do it!”

“W-what?”

“Shoot me now. Do it fast before he comes back!”

“I…” she shook her head. “Dame…”

“Will live! You want to save him? Then save yourself!” He crawled toward her, his face strained. “Please,” he choked out. “Misty, please. Save yourself. I can’t hold him!” His eyes flashed gold, then brown. He slammed his fist onto the ground and looked up at her, pleading. “Pull the trigger.” His eyes rippled through a string of color changes, and his face was strained as he ground out a pained sound and writhed against the ground. In an inhuman voice, he choked out, “Save yourself.”

He was trying to buy her time.

The dark side of Stellan was right. She couldn’t kill him. She wasn’t a killer. Not when there was good that still existed in him.

A whimper clawed its way up her throat as she unlocked the door and threw it open, slammed it closed behind her and bolted for the trail that would lead to the barn. She had to get to Dame. She had to unlock the cage!

She pushed her legs at a dead sprint, ignoring the pain as her bare feet hit traction on sharp gravel rocks. Huffing breath, she pumped her arms and reached the tree line. The roaring in her ears was matched by the roaring in the barn.

Behind her there was an enormous crash, and she turned just in time to see Stellan’s massive tiger sailing through the front window.

“Dame!” she screamed frantically. “Dame, help me!”

She could see the barn, but that tiger was so fast and gaining on her with every stride.

She pushed her legs as fast as she could.

Stellan was right behind her. She could feel him!

With a scream, she pulled the gun and fired a round at him.

A short roar bellowed from him, and he slowed enough for her to put a few yards between them.

She had no idea where she’d hit him, only that it hadn’t done enough damage.

This was it. This was the end. The hunt was going to end with the Rabbit in the tiger’s mouth.

A roar sounded from in front of her, and with tears burning her eyes, she saw a monstrous orange tiger round the corner of the barn, followed closely by a white tiger that was just as big.

Dame! Mars!

She ran as hard as she could, but she couldn’t get away from Stellan, he was right on her. She knew he was about to leap, and she couldn’t do anything about it.