Figure of Speech

“Halle Veterinary Clinic. Dr. Woods speaking.”

She’d never been happier to hear Jim’s voice in her life. “Jim!”

“Chloe?” She could hear the sounds of his practice, the yips and cries of the animals he loved so dearly. “What’s wrong?”

“Help!” She screamed again as the door almost gave way.

“Fuck! Chloe, what’s wrong?”

The door banged again, drowning out the sound of her mate’s yelling.

“Who’s after you?”

She whimpered, her mind blanking, her voice deserting her. She croaked out a series of “ums” as she pushed back on the shaking door, bracing her feet on the linoleum and praying her weakened body didn’t betray her. The last time she’d been this terrified…

Well. She tried not to think about that night if she could possibly help it, but with a Cheetah pounding on the door and roaring in rage it was hard not to.

“Stay on the line, I’m on my way.”

She croaked again, nearly in tears.

“Just breathe, Chloe. I hear you, okay?” She could hear Jim starting his car, the squeal of tires as he took off from the clinic. But his tone remained calm as he spoke to her. “Is there a way to bar the door?”

“Nn.” Chloe couldn’t even say no, damn it. But she could sure as hell scream when the door moved under her. She dug in her heels, praying desperately that the Cheetah would just give the fuck up and go away.

“Chloe!” Through the earpiece she could hear the blast of horns. Jim must be driving like a bat out of hell to reach her before the Cheetah broke through the door. “Get the fuck out of my way, asshole!”

Chloe jumped as a fist banged against the door in response. The Cheetah must have shifted. “I smell you, little Fox,” the Cheetah crooned. “Let me in.”

Not by the hair of my chiny-chin chin. Chloe did the only thing she could, considering her voice had deserted her.

She blew the loudest, wettest raspberry in the history of spit.

The Cheetah sighed before he began pounding once more. “I don’t want to hurt you any more than I have to, Fox. Just open the damn door.”

Apparently the Cheetah thought her name was Gull E. Bull.

“I’m almost there, Chloe. Hold on.” Jim’s voice was no longer calm. If anything, he sounded pissed as hell. “Keep him out as long as you can.”

“Ta. Ta.” Chloe whimpered, the tears she’d been holding back breaking free. If she died here she’d never know Jim’s kiss, the feel of his teeth sinking into her as he claimed her, the feel of holding him while he slept. She’d never have the children she’d once dreamed of, with her red hair and his beautiful, clear hazel eyes.

If she lived through this she was biting the hell out of his ass. They’d need the jaws of life to get her fangs out of him. Fuck waiting until his mating instincts kicked in. They’d kick in big time when her hormones played patty-cake with his dick.

The snarl of a Wolf echoed oddly in both her ears. It seemed Jim had arrived, and he was pissed that the Cheetah was still trying to get in the door.

“Get away, Wolf. This is between me and the—”

Whatever the Cheetah had planned to say was cut off by a loud thud, the door shuddering under her back. “Mine,” Jim snarled, his voice barely human.

“You think you can fight me? You’re so new you still smell human.”

“This human has a few tricks up his sleeve, asshole.” A grunt of pain, followed by a feline yelp, had Chloe sagging in relief. “Now get away from my mate.”

“Mate?” The surprise in the Cheetah’s voice was soon overwhelmed by another grunt of pain.

“Don’t make me tell you again.” Jim’s tone was gravelly. His Wolf must be close to the surface.

Now that Jim was here, Chloe could feel some of her fear receding. Her mate would drive away the Cheetah, she had no doubt of it. And if, for some reason, the Wolf didn’t, Julian and Cyn were on the way.

She wondered if the Cheetah had ever faced off against six hundred pounds of pissed-off Mexican Kodiak, because Cynthia Reyes wasn’t the type to sit by while one of her friends was being hurt.

The Cheetah must have decided to fight back, because suddenly Jim let out his own pain-filled cry. The sound of flesh against flesh had Chloe’s Fox growling and snarling, the urge to go to their mate’s rescue so strong she actually let go of the door.

That turned out to be a huge mistake, because the moment she did so the door swung wide open, knocking her onto her ass for the second time that day.

“There you are.” The Cheetah, a slim man with honey-brown hair and golden eyes, stared down at her with a chilling smile. Behind him she could see Jim picking himself up off the ground, a bruise growing on his jaw. “Time to go.”

Jim crawled out of sight, and Chloe’s Fox howled in grief. He was leaving her alone with her attacker, leaving them to die.

The Cheetah shifted so quickly Chloe could barely see it. The only hint was the soft white glow that came over the man’s body, his clothing falling to the dirty floor. His fangs looked huge as he began to stalk toward her.

Chloe was dead.

“I don’t think so.” A popping sound accompanied Jim’s voice. Chloe lifted her gaze from the golden Cheetah long enough to see a small, long-barreled rifle in Jim’s hands.

The Cheetah staggered.

Jim smiled, stepping forward, the rifle still pointed at the Cheetah. “I love being a vet.”

The Cheetah swayed, its paws slipping out from under it, its lids closing over increasingly dazed eyes.

“Nighty-night, asshole.” Jim shot the Cheetah a second time, and Chloe could see the darts sticking out of its ass. Jim watched patiently as the Cheetah passed out, the gun still pointed toward it. Once the Cheetah was down, he lowered the barrel and stared at Chloe. “You all right?”

Chloe flopped down on the filthy linoleum and gave him two thumbs-up. Her heart was pounding so loud she could feel it all over her body. She wasn’t certain her knees would hold her up if she tried to stand, and her head was beginning to pound.

“Chloe!”

She closed her eyes at the sound of Julian’s voice. It looked like the rest of the cavalry had finally gotten there. She pointed toward the downed Cheetah with a shaky hand, her eyes flying open when someone took hold of it.