Free Southern Shifters: Pryde and Precious (Kindle Worlds Novella) by Heather Long Page B

she’d been used as bait to distract them all, and she knew it because he’d told her. They’d thrown her out like one would with useless chum. But she isn’t useless.
    If she were smart, she would have followed the ruts to the main road four miles down the side of the mountain. When he’d gone for isolated, he’d chosen a place he could willfully be snowed in at and where no one could reach him if they weren’t on four legs.
    Checking the sun, John wanted to swear. She would never make it to the main road before dark and, if she veered from the path, she could end up hurt or worse. Disliking every eventuality playing out in his mind, he set his phone on the railing, then stripped his clothes.
    The shift rippled over him, muscles and bone transforming as his cat stretched and then burst free. He lifted his head and roared, the sound would carry across the mountain warning other predators off. Few trespassed so close to his home, and fewer still would linger on the reaches if they heard him. Launching from the porch, he checked the ruts for her familiar scent.
    He wasn’t a wolf. He didn’t plan to follow her, by scent alone but he needed the confirmation that she followed the path he expected. Locating a hint of her cinnamon and sugar temptation, he set off at an easy run. He knew the trail like the back of his hand. He also knew the fastest way down the mountain. Sticking to the route, he kept his eyes and ears open for any sight or sound of her.
    At worst, she had a two-hour head start. Though her clothes hadn’t been dry and, if she’d waited for that, it was more like an hour. Average foot speed was about four miles per hour, and the ground was definitely uneven. He didn’t doubt her capable of hiking—she kept herself physically fit—but exercising in controlled scenarios and hiking on a mountain path were two different things.
    He’d never clocked himself, but in short bursts he could run at significant speeds. Racing along the trail, he took leaps as the path fell away. Every time he landed, he picked up the pace. The sun would set in a couple of hours. However pleasant the weather had been, it turned cold at night. Too cold for the delicate little Psi considering her clothing hadn’t included a jacket.
    It took him fifteen minutes to catch up to her and, when he caught sight of her trudging along, she was about a quarter of a mile from the main road itself. With another short burst of speed, he put himself between her and the road. She let out a startled scream at the sight of him and froze in place.
    Staring at her, he concentrated. She said she couldn’t hear him, but he’d also been trained over the years to keep telepaths out of his thoughts. His isolationism and solitary nature contributed to that talent. What he wanted right then, however, was for her to hear him.
    Arianna…
    A pinched line appeared between her eyes. “John?”
    He made a low sound, and her eyes widened a fraction. Can you hear me? If she couldn’t understand him this way, he would have to shift again and she would be more uncomfortable than he if he had to make her walk back up the mountain with him nude.
    “That is you, right, John?”
    If only he could sigh. He nodded his head once.
    “You’re a tiger.”
    Yes, he was.
    “A white tiger.”
    White wasn’t a breed, but a quirk of his DNA.
    “You’re beautiful.” The uneven quaver in her voice didn’t detract from the compliment. He stood a little taller and prowled closer to her. “You shouldn’t have come after me, though.”
    Oh, really?
    “I get it, I was a distraction for your clan. You were set up to find me, and I’m not really involved, so I’m just going to go and get out of the way.”
    He sneezed. No, she wasn’t.
    “Did you really just sneeze at me?”
    He opened his mouth in a reasonable facsimile of a smile. This close she could taste her sweetness on his tongue. The cinnamon and sugar offered him something both spicy and sweet. Narrowing the