RAPHAEL didn't try to prevent Ashe from lying back on the mattress, a frown chasing away her earlier glow of post-coital bliss as she regarded him with a wary suspicion.

"What was that about?"

"This is madness," he muttered.

"I agree." Her chin tilted to a defensive angle, yanking the sheet over her body still flushed from her recent climax. "Sex with a stranger who says he's not even human is most certainly madness. Even worse, I'm now stuck with an unwanted pregnancy."

His stunned reaction to yet another impossibility becoming possible was shattered by her stark words.

While he'd been reeling at the sight of his mating marks, she'd been left feeling raw and exposed by their explosive passion. He should have been cuddling her close and assuring her that she was precisely where she belonged.

In his arms.

Now she was scrambling to resurrect her protective walls.

Christ, could he fuck up the situation any worse?

He leaned on his elbow, meeting her guarded gaze with an expression of open concern.

"You don't want the baby?"

Her defiance faltered, something heartrendingly vulnerable visible in the depths of her dark eyes.

"I...haven't had time to think about it."

His hand moved to cautiously touch her lower stomach, struggling against the sudden, brutal fear that she might actually do something to end the pregnancy.

"Ashe, I'm not exaggerating when I say this is a miracle," he said softly, not minding the edge of pleading in his voice. His child might very well prove to be the savior of the Pantera. "My people-"

His words came to abrupt halt as he tensed, turning his head toward the door.

"What is it?" she demanded.

"I'm not sure."

With a fluid movement he was off the bed and pulling on his jeans and T-shirt before moving silently across the room.

He pressed his ear to the door, his heightened senses picking up the unmistakable scent of two human males walking up the steps and the metallic tang of the guns they carried.

It wasn't the stench of their weapons, however, that made his cat snarl in warning.

There was something...off in their smell.

Not drugs or disease.

But a sour smell that was just wrong.

Without hesitation he spun on his heel and headed back across the room. He didn't know who the hell these men were, but he wasn't hanging around to find out.

Not when his mate and child needed his protection.

Reaching the bed, Raphael leaned down to wrap the sheet around a startled Ashe, scooping her off the mattress and cradling her against his chest as he headed toward the open window.

"What the hell are you doing?" she rasped, futilely battling against the sheet tangled around her limbs.

"We're leaving."

"But I'm-"

He covered her mouth with his hand, bending down to whisper directly in her ear.

"Shh. We need to get out of here. Now."

She tensed in his arms. "You're scaring me."

"I'm not going to let anything happen to you." The words were a vow that came from his very soul. "Hold on."

Her eyes widened as he held her out the window, and she belatedly realized his intent.

"No," she choked as he gave a shove with his feet and they were falling through the air.

He landed softly, keeping her tightly pressed against his chest as he allowed his senses to search the darkness.

Only when he was certain that there were no strangers lurking in the alley did he jog toward a nearby side street, heading south of town at a speed that could never be mistaken for human.

Right now he didn't care if he exposed his superior skills or not. He needed to get Ashe somewhere safe.

Still struggling to get her arms free so she could no doubt punch him in the face, Ashe at last gave a hiss of frustration.

"Dammit, let me down."

"Not until we're safe."

"Safe from what?"

He met her narrowed black eyes, knowing nothing he said was going to make her happy.

"I'm not sure."

"You're dragging me naked through town in the middle of the night and you're not sure why?"

"That about sums it up."

"Sums it up?" She kicked her feet in fury. "Take me back to the hotel."

"Not a chance in hell."

"I'll scream. I-" She bit off her words as he reached the outskirts of town, jogging along the edge of the swamp before heading straight for The Cougar's Den. "Why did you bring me here?"

He ignored her question, heading up the back stairs and slamming his fist against the steel door.

There was a tense wait as security checked him out on the monitors, then the door was finally shoved open to reveal a furious Bayon.

"What the hell are you doing?" the younger Pantera snarled, glaring at the female in Raphael's arms.

Raphael stepped past his friend, entering the storage room of the bar.

"Make sure we weren't followed," he commanded.

For a moment Bayon bristled, as if he might demand an explanation. Then, muttering something about crazy cats in heat, he slipped out the door and melted into the shadows.

Tightening his hold on a still furious Ashe, Raphael crossed the storage room to kick the edge of the wooden shelves, watching the wall swing inward to reveal the secret chambers hidden behind the bar.

He halted in the communal room, where the Pantera visiting the area could gather in private.

It wasn't fancy. Nothing more than two overstuffed sofas and a handful of padded chairs sturdy enough to endure the roughhousing that came with a race of people who were cats at heart.

It was, however, the only place they could talk in privacy.

The attached room was dedicated to high-tech security that kept watch on the fringes of the swamp, monitoring everything and everyone who entered the bayous, while the upper story was set aside for private bedrooms.

There was no way in hell he was going to take Ashe to another room that included a bed.

Not until he was convinced there was no threat.

Gingerly setting Ashe on her feet, Raphael stepped back, but not before she managed to take a swing, clipping him on the chin.

"How dare you kidnap me?" she snapped, covering her seething fear behind rage.

Rafael rubbed his chin. More to give her the satisfaction of believing she'd hurt him than in any true pain.

"I'm going to protect you and my child whether you want me to or not."

She tugged the sheet until it was wrapped tightly over her breasts, her hair spilling over her bare ivory shoulders like a river of ebony.

"Protect me from what?"

"That's my question," Bayon interrupted, stepping into the room and folding his arms over his chest.

Instinctively, Raphael moved to stand protectively at Ashe's side.

"Ashe, this is Bayon," he said, his warning gaze never leaving Bayon's grim expression.

"He's a-"

She didn't need to finish the question for Raphael to know what she was asking.

"Pantera. Yes."

Bayon scowled. "Shit, you told her?"

Feeling Ashe shiver, Raphael wrapped an arm around her shoulder and tugged her close.

"She carries my child."

Bayon hissed in shock as Ashe's back was exposed, revealing the rapidly healing scratches.

"And your mark." Bayon gave a disbelieving shake of his head. "Dammit, Raphael. What the hell is going on?"

"The question is open for debate."

"Yeah, and until we can find out the truth, you shouldn't have brought her here. She can't be trusted."

"I can't be trusted? Is that a joke?" Ashe broke into the argument, her eyes flashing fire. "I didn't emit some sort of lust odor to get an unsuspecting woman pregnant and then mess with her mind before kidnapping her."

Bayon's brows snapped together. "Why did you come here that first night?"

Ashe stiffened. "It's none of your business."

Bayon took a step forward. "Who sent you?"

"No one sent me."

"Then why were you here?"

"I was paying my mother's bar tab. She's the town drunk," Ashe snapped, seeming to realize that the stubborn Pantera wasn't going to let it go. "Satisfied?"

"Not even close."

Bayon reached out a hand and a red mist clouded Raphael's mind. He didn't truly believe his friend meant to harm Ashe, but it didn't matter.

Between one beat of his heart and the next, he had Bayon pinned to the wall, his forearm pressed against the man's throat.

"Don't. Touch. Her," he warned, the air prickling with the threat of violence. "She's innocent."

Bayon stilled, accepting that he'd pressed Raphael too far.

"You can't be certain."

"Yes. I can."

"How?"

Raphael held his friend's gaze, allowing him to see the truth in his eyes.

"Because she's mine."

Bayon scowled, but a hint of uncertainty flashed through leaf green eyes.

"That's impossible."

"We can argue about it later." Raphael forced himself to lower his arm and step back. "For now I need your skills."

Bayon cast a swift glance toward the tense Ashe before returning his attention to Raphael and offering a slow nod.

"For what?"

"I caught the scent of two men entering the hotel."

Bayon blinked. "Is that the start of a bad joke?"

"They were armed."

"Everyone in this godforsaken town carries a gun."

Raphael shook his head. "Not enough to start World War III."

"They could have been poachers," Bayon pointed out with a shrug.

"They smelled..."

"What?"

"Wrong."

Bayon held Raphael's gaze as they both recalled the warning from Parish, the leader of the Hunter Faction, that there'd been reports of Pantera running across humans with scents that repelled their inner cats.

Parish had been certain they were attempting to spy on the Wildlands.

Now Bayon gave a sharp nod. "I'll check them out."

Waiting for his friend to shut the door behind his retreating form, Raphael moved to stand directly in front of Ashe.

He didn't for a second believe her momentary silence and stoic expression were a sign of resignation. Unfortunately he had to make a call to the Wildlands to warn them to put extra guards on the borders.

"I need you to stay here," he said, trying to console his raw nerves with the knowledge that there was no way she could escape even if she wanted to.

The locks were specifically designed to only respond to the touch of a Pantera. They wouldn't budge for a human.

She frowned, clutching the sheet with a white-knuckled grip. "Where are you going?"

"To call...a friend."

"And you expect me to wait here?" She glared at him with a seething fury. "Do you think a few bouts of hot sex have given me Stockholm syndrome?"

Lowering his head, he claimed her lips in a kiss of sheer frustration.

All he wanted to do was sweep her into his arms and carry her to his homeland where they could celebrate the new life they'd created.

Instead he was plagued with a growing fear that an unseen danger was lurking just out of sight.

"Just stay here and behave yourself."