Hakan Severin by Alexandra Ivy, Laura Wright Page A

slow, calculated progression, head bent, nostrils flared. Her heart kicked and her fingers dug into the wet ground. She hardly felt the rain pounding on her head and shoulders. Had she been prepared for this? Meeting up with a wild cat who could kill her as easily as Edgar had threatened to do? Was that her choice? Claws and teeth…they came in so many different packages.
    She gasped, drew back as it approached. It was massive, its eyes so beautiful, yet so feral. She could feel its hot breath on her face. Her muscles flinched, ready to propel herself backward. Ready to run. But her mind refused those calls. Fear had ruled her for so long now. Every move she made. The state was a constant in her life. She’d made it here, to her destination. Now she had to do everything she could to stay.
    It loomed over her, its nostrils flaring slightly as it took in her scent. She wondered what it smelled. A poor little frightened human, not worth its time or its taste buds? Taylor knew what she scented: wet fur, wet earth and something else… Something she’d never taken into her lungs before—but she swore was almost floral.
    It leaned in a few inches.
    Bracing herself to feel the sharp sting of claws or teeth, Taylor held its gaze. Whatever you think you see or smell, I’m not afraid . She gritted her teeth. I know what true fear feels like and this isn’t it. Anticipation, anxiety…yes. But not fear .
    Its head dropped then, to her legs, and it slowly started to sniff her. First her thighs, then between her legs—Christ!—then her belly, up her chest to her neck. Finally, it lifted its head again and those silver eyes pinned her where she sat.
    She nodded. “Yes, I’m human,” she rasped. “But I’m not here to hurt anyone.”
    It cocked its head to the side, studying her.
    “The opposite, actually,” she continued, rain pelting her face and mouth as she spoke. “I’m trying to get away from someone. He’s a really bad…man. Dangerous. I…” Her throat closed up for a moment and she cleared it. “I need help.”
    Taylor had no idea what the cat understood or didn’t. But when it leaned in, stopping only inches from her face, panting, its warm breath a heartbeat against her skin, she knew if she was going to die she’d rather have it be here, beneath the feral hunger of an animal instead of under the thumb of a calculated, insecure sociopath.
    But the gold puma didn’t kill her.
    Instead, it ran its pink tongue from her chin to her forehead. Then over her right ear. Then across her neck.
    As she sat there, ass-deep in muck, the strangest feelings rushed over and through her. Panic was still there, yes. In the back of her mind, warning her to jump up and run. But there was something else too…below the surface of that panic…something that hummed with knowing or awareness. And when she glanced up once again to meet those silver eyes, she swore the cat felt it too.
    “Please. Can you take me to your town?” she asked, her voice unrecognizable to her. Breathy, strained. “To someone called Raphael?”
    The moment she said the name she knew it was a mistake. The cat jerked backward, pawed the ground, then bared its impressive set of teeth. Oh shit . What was the problem? Was Raphael a bad guy? Was she going from one bad guy to another?
    She pushed to her feet and tried to get her bearings. She was soaking wet, and, as night descended fully, getting colder. The cat remained where it was, watching her, eyes fierce.
    “My name is Taylor, I…” Oh, god. Yeah, tell it your name. Like that’s going to do something .
    A growl unlike anything she’d ever heard before erupted in the rain-scented air, and the cat leapt at her and landed a foot away in a puddle of dirty water. Taylor cried out from the splash and the attack and jumped back. But it didn’t stay where it was. It leapt again. Then pounced. What the hell ? Taylor dropped back. Again it bounded at her. Again, she stumbled back. But when it did it a