“Fine, it’s done,” Joshua tried to soothe him.

Jake was pacing, swinging his head in agitation. His face had gone dark, his eyes clouding, going almost completely gold as his vision shifted from human to animal.

Grabbing the radio hanging at his side, Joshua spoke into it quickly before moving to put the table between him and his boss, barking out the orders for security to check the phone jacks visually and then calling to Drake for backup.

“Jake. Listen to me. Concentrate. You’re in a thrall. A fit of madness. You have to fight hard against it. Come with me now. Let’s get you out of here before it’s too late.” Joshua’s own voice roughened, his vision changing to bands of colored heat. All senses immediately sharpened, heightened.

Jake heard him as if from a distance, the voice fading in and out. His muscles ached. His back bent. He wanted Emma underneath him, screaming his name. The image filled his vision and then his sight went red as he scented other males.

“Damn it, Drake. Hurry,” Joshua called again into the radio. “I’m not going to be able to hold him by myself.” He held his palm out toward Jake. “You brought me to your ranch to help you, Jake. I’m trying to do that. Go run. Let your leopard loose.”

Thunder crashed in Jake’s ears. His blood surged hotly, the need to claim his mate so strong he shook with it. The animal consumed him bit by bit.

“Your other is riding you hard. We don’t want a fight in your kitchen.” Joshua’s own leopard rose to meet the aggression of Jake’s. This was going to be a disaster.

The door burst open and Drake limped in. He hissed a command in the language of their species, one Jake couldn’t understand, but the leopard did. “Jake. Go to the truck. We have to go now.” His tone left no room for argument. The situation was going to turn ugly fast.

Jake glanced toward the room where Emma’s voice could be heard, still murmuring softly to the repairman.

“Evan’s coming to escort him off the property,” Joshua assured.

Jake recognized he had little control and struggled to rein in the leopard, fighting for supremacy at least until he could make certain Emma and the children were safe. It was going to take both Joshua and Drake to control the snarling cat clawing and fighting for a kill. He tried to speak, but mostly what came out was a rumble of madness. “Emma.” He couldn’t—wouldn’t leave until he knew someone was watching over her.

As if that one growling word made sense, Drake snapped an order at Joshua. “Get Darrin in here. Tell him to call up two other hands and guard the house with the kids and Emma until one of the three of us gets back.” Even as he spoke, he ushered Jake out of the house.

Jake could barely walk, his body so heavy and throbbing, so aroused that every step was painful. The leopard fought him every inch of the way, trying to get back, to circle around Drake, snarling menacingly, using mock charges to threaten. Drake snarled back, his own leopard shepherding Jake. Joshua helped the moment he was able, careful to keep a distance as Jake paced back and forth, the growls rumbling louder and more ferocious, but, in effect, herding him toward the truck.

The biggest danger would occur in the close confines of the truck. Drake and Joshua had to rely on Jake to stay focused and hold his leopard at bay until they could get him to the far side of the ranch where they could let him run free.

Drake slammed the door once they had him caged inside the cab and leapt into the driver’s seat. “What the hell is going on, Joshua? I’m not around the house, but this is definitely a thrall. Is there a female close?”

Joshua shrugged. “Only Emma. I’ve been around her dozens of times and she’s never triggered my leopard. Although . . .” He trailed off, glancing at his boss.

Jake breathed harshly, his chest rising and falling in an effort to hold back the change. His skin hurt, shrinking, far too small to cover his frame. He tore his shirt off as the itch spread and something alive ran just under the surface. His brain was filled with a red haze, a dark-edged rage and fierce hunger for one woman. He was consumed with Emma, with the desire for her body, with the need to make her his. He hated every male, desperate to destroy them, understanding the cruelties of his parents as the cat enflamed him beyond sanity.

Fighting it, he hung his head, panting, his mouth full of teeth, his heart savage, his body in lust. He broke out in a sweat, wanting to caution Drake to hurry, but he couldn’t speak, didn’t dare open his mouth for fear his muzzle would be completed. They were miles from safety, barreling over the track to take them to his hidden sanctuary, and Drake and Joshua, the two men he could call friends, were trapped in the small cab of the truck with him, risking their lives to save everyone on the ranch.

Trees and lush foliage resembled a cool, exotic forest where his leopard was free to run in safety without the threat of killing cattle, harming cowboys or being seen. Drake watched over him there, helping him learn to shift on the run, as well as learn the way of the leopard people and how to cache clothes and supplies every few miles just in case.

The atmosphere in the truck remained tense while fur rippled over Jake’s body and claws burst from his fingertips. He shuddered with the effort to hold back the change.

“Fight it,” Drake snapped, his words a command. “You have a strong will, Jake. To be leopard, you have to be strong, to be in control at all times, whether you’re in human form or leopard form. You’re responsible for all actions in both forms.”