Free Panther Magic by Doris O'Connor

he ran
a hand through his hair. The action meant his biceps flexed, and Kate allowed
herself a moment to admire this man’s physique. Cole was huge, and, well, bear like, and hot as Hades, and he did absolutely nothing
for her. No, her heart and her libido belonged firmly to Arran and Zeb, it
seemed.
    “ And what do you intend on doing to save them then?”
Cole asked, and his eyes widened when she stamped her foot.
    “ Whatever it takes. Zeb did nothing wrong.”
    ****
    The absolute conviction behind
her words took Arran’s breath away. What had happened to the terrified human
who wouldn’t even look at his brother at the scene of the crime? Arran wished
Zeb was here to see this. Surely seeing her and hearing her stand up for him
like this would make Zeb see sense?
    Arran exchanged a glance with
Cole, and he could see the approval in the other man’s eyes.
    “ Kate, he tore those humans to shreds,” Cole said.
“Killing them is one thing, but he literally slaughtered them. It wouldn’t have
been so bad had you been mated, but you’re not, and he refuses to give any
excuse for his behavior. My hands are tied, and the trial is tomorrow. Your
conviction does you credit, but—”
    “ If there’s a trial, then you need witnesses, right?”
Kate interrupted Cole, and started to pace along her kitchen. Not that there
was a lot of room to pace. Four steps and she had to turn round, but her bare
feet slapped the floor in her agitation nonetheless, and Arran was relieved to
see some color back in her cheeks. She looked like a woman ready to go into
battle, for him and his brother no less, and if that was possible Arran fell
even more in love with her. And it was love that made his chest feel tight, not
just the need to protect and possess her that came with the mating bond. No,
this went much deeper than that, and when she glanced up at him he could see
that same emotion reflected in her eyes. It soothed his inner beast no end, and
he sent a silent message to his brother to hang on in there. Whether Zeb would get it, who knew. His brother had shut
himself off from their internal communication, seemingly determined to go this
alone. It was beyond frustrating, and made Arran feel
as though half of him was missing.
    “ Yes, but you’re human and—”
    “ And I’m also Arran and Zeb’s mate, and I was there.”
Kate stopped pacing and interrupted Cole again. It was almost amusing the way
she took no notice of his status or his persona, seemingly completely
unaffected by the bear shifter’s presence. Not many shifters would have dared
to interrupt the man this many times, yet their little human mate did so
regardless, and Arran suppressed a grin. Cole, too, seemed hard pushed to not
grin, as he threw Arran a comical look, crossed his arms over his chest, and
let that interruption go, too.
    “ I hate to disagree with you, but you’re only mated
to Arran, not Zeb.” That quiet statement delivered in the man’s deep growly
voice seemed to deflate Kate’s righteous indignation somewhat, and she swayed
slightly. Arran pulled her in to his side, and dropped a kiss on his mark on
her shoulder, and a shiver went through his girl.
    “ Semantics,” she murmured and glared at Cole. “He
just hasn’t bitten me yet, that’s all. He’s still my mate.”
    Again approval flashed over
Cole’s harsh features.
    “ I’m glad to hear you say that, because if we stand
any chance of getting Zeb off the hook for what he did, then that is an
essential part of it. No one on the council can argue the bond between mates,
though they will try. Your mates have not won themselves any favors with the
old council over the years.”
    “ Why not?” Kate
asked. “I mean I dare say they might not be too pleased about Zeb’s and Arran’s
magic act. It does increase the risk of exposure to the humans, somewhat I
guess, but then again most of my kind haven’t got the common sense they were
born with, so they’d just put it all down to