“Panthers?”
His voice cracked. “Yeah, panthers. Maybe that’s why I’ve never been a cat person. Throw a man into a pit against a panther and it changes his perspective on things. I fought them in human and wolf form. Maybe you see me as a reticent man, but when you’ve stared into the soul of a panther who is dying in your arms and drawing their last breath, something inside you shuts off.” He threw his arm over his eyes and went quiet.
“You have to tell Austin.”
“I can’t,” he whispered.
My eyes sharpened and I pushed his leg. “You have to. Ben will weaken the pack, and if he gets out of control again—”
“I can’t!” he roared, leaning up on his elbows. “He’s my twin. He’s the other half of me. Betraying him would be like killing myself. No matter what’s happened between us, I still love him.”
His Adam’s apple bobbed when he swallowed thickly, and Wheeler fell onto his back and covered his face with his arm again. Rage and shame—that’s what this man had been reduced to.
“I’m sorry. I should have never asked you into my bed. Now I know why you’ve always hated me.”
His laugh was short-lived and quiet. “I don’t hate you. That’s the problem.”
When I touched his leg consolingly, he sucked in a sharp breath. And just like that, without the man even looking at me, I turned him on. My whole life I’d used my body to make a man desire me, but Wheeler hardened from a single touch of compassion. I watched his arousal as it began to tighten his pants—straining against the fabric. His entire body tensed, and he kept his arm shielding his eyes as if it could hide him from the truth.
The truth that he wanted me, despite his loathing for panthers. That explained the inner conflict. I was his enemy; I represented what he had killed to stay alive.
I wanted to reach out and touch him some more, but he was too vulnerable.
“Delgado took my cat,” I said absently, pulling my hand away.
Wheeler snatched my wrist and leaned forward. “Say again?”
“When I went back to my apartment to get my things, he’d left a note on my door.”
“What did it say?” Wheeler sat up.
I shrugged, hesitant at first about how much I wanted to confide in him. But we had made a promise in this room, and I needed to give back some of that trust that I’d taken. “Delgado wants me to work for him.”
“Doing what?” he bit out.
I snatched my wrist away. “Not dancing. He took Misha, and for that, he’s going to pay. I want to find Skye and anyone else he’s holding.”
“And how are you going to do that?” he asked, cocking his head.
“A girl has her resources.” I leaned on my left leg and sighed. “My father was a great warrior. He was much older than my mother, and he died of old age. You two have a lot in common. He spent time in the panther pits, starved and tortured. My mama said he carried a tremendous guilt on his shoulders and spent the rest of his life in servitude, helping those in need. He fought other people’s battles—even saved a pack from rogues once. He did what was right and protected those who were weaker. Maybe that makes him a superhero in my head, but I’ve inherited his tenacity. I don’t run from my problems, Wheeler. Maybe what you see isn’t always what you get.”
He scoffed and shook his head.
I grabbed his chin and turned it my way. “Do you think growing a beard and putting ink on your body makes you tougher? Don’t underestimate me just because I get a pedicure and Brazilian wax. You don’t know a thing about what I’ll do for my friends. Lexi has an idea, but that’s just scratching the surface,” I said, speaking close to his mouth.
“And what do you plan to do?”
“Either hunt him or play his game and turn the tables. I’m a born predator,” I said with a purr, stroking the prickly hair on his jaw. “The only thing that frightens me is being caught off guard like when those men were following me. Maybe now that everyone knows I’m a panther, I feel more in control than ever.” I traced my finger over his bottom lip and felt his hot breath beat against it. “Delgado is going to pay.”
“I want in.”
“In what?” I tilted my head and half smiled.
“Whatever you plan on doing. I want in.”
Wheeler closed his mouth around my finger and suddenly flipped me onto my back. Ancient heat coursed through my veins, and a dark hunger began to emerge. Wheeler sat back on his legs and lifted my foot, holding it below his chin. His eyes briefly skated between my legs since my nightie covered nothing.
“I like this,” he said, flicking the loose chain on my toe ring.
Without warning, he put his mouth around my middle toe, clasping the ring between his teeth and slowly pulling it off. Seeing Wheeler perform that act sent liquid fire through my body, and I moaned in response.