Free Talons by Karolyn Cairns Page B

She
wrapped her wet hair in a towel and opened the bathroom door just a
crack.
    “ Ty is everything alright?”
she called out, cringing to hear the sounds of purring now. She
hung the towel up and opened the door and tiptoed out, peeking
around the wall.
    Vivvie’s eyes widened and a scream
lodged in her throat. She saw the huge, black panther laying in one
of the beds. The animal raised its head and the golden eyes seemed
to glow in amusement as they met hers. He hadn’t lied about their
size. He took up one whole queen bed, even curled up as he was. He
was huge; twice the size of a lion.
    Vivvie was terrified and fascinated
despite herself. She knew he had no plans to eat her and took
tentative steps out into the room, her eyes wary. Ty raised his
head and growled at her, his teeth exposed. She froze, her heart
beating so loudly she heard it in her own ears. The huge cat then
swatted and bit the pillow, tossing it at her feet, as if in
challenge.
    Vivvie knew he changed to show her what
it was they were, not to frighten her. He picked this rustic locale
because he would sleep a few hours and go out to hunt. He made that
clear before they stopped. He said he would wake her up when he
wished to go out. It was nearly midnight when they checked
in.
    She got into the other bed and heard a
low growl from Ty. He swatted the other pillow off the bed and
moved slightly to the side, as if making room for her.
    “ You have to be kidding?”
she asked him, startled he wished for her to sleep with him. How
would one spoon with such a huge creature? Vivvie sat up and got
out of the bed on trembling legs, dragging the bedspread and pillow
with her.
    Those golden eyes never left her face,
his purring growing louder now. Vivvie got onto the bed and lay
down, dragging the comforter over her. Suddenly a huge paw lay upon
her lap. She looked down at it, amazed by its sheer size and
strength. The paw was kneading at her gently. She closed her eyes
tightly, trying to be calm.
    Ty seemed to know she was terrified and
put his head down on her lap, his golden eyes closing then. Vivvie
watched him sleep. She was unable to comprehend she slept with such
a dangerous creature.
    Vivvie reached out with a trembling
hand to touch the beast on the back of its massive head. The black
glossy mane was soft, not coarse. She swallowed hard to see his
eyes didn’t open. It took a while before sleep found her. She was
nudged awake in the early morning hours.
    Ty was nuzzling her neck and purring in
her ear, licking her neck with his big rough tongue until she
opened her startled eyes. He looked down at her with that same
impatient look in his eyes. She knew he wanted to hunt.
    Vivvie got up wide-eyed and opened the
door. She was watching him in amazement as he jumped off the bed
and walked out of the room, his shoulders turning to ease through
the opening of the door. Ty turned to look back at her before he
loped gracefully across the parking lot and dove into the woods
beyond.
    Vivvie knew this was her last
opportunity to ditch Ty and what waited for her in Denver. She also
knew she didn’t dare, knowing Ryken and his followers were right
behind them. Ty estimated they had a ten hour head start, no more.
Vivvie shut the door, knowing he would want to leave when he
returned. She lay down again and soon was lulled back to
sleep.
    Her dreams were a series of chase
sequences, always ending in her getting caught. She woke up in a
sweat and realized she also heard growling too. It was light
outside and she panicked.
    She jumped up and opened the door, eyes
wide as Ty walked in, his long black tail swishing in annoyance.
His look said he didn’t appreciate being made to wait. Vivvie saw
the blood on his coat, and knew it wasn’t his. He stood as high as
her chest on all fours, his shoulders were so wide he to twist
sideways to get in the door.
    Vivvie caught her breath at the raw
power he exuded. She couldn’t imagine becoming such a proud
beautiful creature.