“Marisa crawled into the brush and shifted to her other form,” Gerald said. “The big man, Suma is his name, I saw him shift and he finished her off. No one would go into the forest after them once he took his animal form. The boy saw his mother die, the only mother he’d ever known. I heard him scream, Conner, and it was awful to hear.”

Conner pushed down his own rising grief. His mother would expect him to get the boy back—not only get him back, but take full responsibility for him. He turned his head slowly to look at Isabeau. He had no choice now. He would have to do whatever it took, pay whatever price demanded of him.

Isabeau could see the despair in Conner’s eyes, the sorrow and shock. And the distance. Her stomach did a small warning somersault and settled slowly. “Whatever you need, we’ll help,” she offered.

He let go of her hand and inclined his head toward Gerald and Will. “I thank you for making the journey here to give me this news in person. Assure Adan we’ll get the children back. Tell him to keep to the plan. Will, I’ll find your son. You know me. I’ll bring him home.”

Will nodded his head, his eyes steady on Conner’s. “You’re the reason I’m siding with my grandfather on how to handle this. We’ll help should you need us.”

Conner stood up, reaching down to draw Isabeau to her feet beside him. He waited until the other two men stood as well. “We’re counting on your cooperation. It’s essential that your tribe believe Adan is going to do as Cortez wants.”

Gerald nodded and held out his hand. Conner watched them leave with a sinking heart. He almost forgot to give the signal for safe passage, allowing the two tribesmen to get through the gauntlet of leopards on their way back toward their village. Rio trotted up a few moments later, still pulling on his shirt.

“Forest is getting crowded. What’s the news?”

“This just got very personal. It seems I have a little brother and Cortez took him along with the other children. If she finds out he’s leopard . . .” Conner’s voice trailed off. They’d never find the child. She’d hide him away and raise him herself.

Rio frowned. “That should get us some help from your village . . .”

Conner spun around, the growl rumbling in his chest a clear warning. The sound burst from his throat, a fullthroated roar. “We will not go near that village. Let’s get this bitch done.” He spun on his heel and stalked across the clearing back toward the cabin.

Isabeau looked up at Rio. His frown had deepened and now there were worry lines etched into his face. “His father abandoned the child,” she explained. “You can’t let him go near that man.” In a way, she felt as if she were betraying Conner, but instinctively she knew Rio had the best chance of keeping Conner from doing anything rash.

“Thank you,” Rio said, as if reading her innermost thoughts. “I needed to know.”

Scent. Isabeau looked around her and realized the leopards relied on scent to judge emotions in situations. They could read a lot more than their human counterparts. All of them used their leopard senses even while in human form, which afforded them advantages in any situation. She needed to learn how to do that.

She followed at a much slower rate, turning over and over in her mind the expression she’d seen on Conner’s face. All the while she tried to recall his scent. What had gone through his mind in that moment? Resolution for certain. He was determined to get his brother and that meant . . .

She swallowed hard and stumbled a little. He’d told her he wouldn’t seduce Imelda Cortez. They were going to try another way in, perhaps using one of the others, but that look on his face . . . He’d made up his mind to use whatever means possible and he wouldn’t give the assignment to another—not when it was his own brother. Not when he believed his mother would expect it of him. Conner was going to do exactly what she’d asked of him—seduce Imelda Cortez.

Her heart squeezed down so hard it felt like something had gripped it in a vise. The pain was excruciating, so much so that she brought both hands to her chest and pressed hard, going down on one knee there on the edge of the trees. Bile rose in her stomach and churned, threatening to explode along with her protest. Her throat felt raw, her eyes burned.

What else could he do? What would she do? She wanted to scream a denial, to race to his side and rake at him with the claws of a cat for shredding her heart all over again. She’d let herself fall in love with him again. No, that wasn’t true. She’d always loved him. She’d wanted him to come to her for forgiveness. She wanted him on his knees pleading with her and in the end she’d forgive him and they would live happily ever after.

He was supposed to love her so much he would never think of touching another woman. When he’d told her he wouldn’t try to seduce Imelda Cortez, she’d been secretly thrilled. She’d wanted that reaction. She’d needed him to chase her, to court her, to prove to her that she was his love—his only love. The cat had complicated things. Now she didn’t know if it was the cat he wanted, or her.

“Isabeau?” Conner was beside her, his arm sliding around her waist, shadows in his eyes. His gaze moved over her inch by inch, trying to find the reason for the pain. “What is it? Let me see.” His hands went to her shirt as if he might lift it up to examine her chest for signs of injury.

She pushed his hands down and circled his neck with her arms, locking her fingers behind his neck. She loved this man with everything in her. Childish behavior had to be over, now, before it was too late and she lost him forever. She’d been living in a dream world, not reality. Yes, he’d seduced her for all the wrong reasons, but they had been right. They were right. If he felt for her half of what she felt for him, he couldn’t have stopped himself any more than she could now.