Challenged - Skinwalker Book 2

Chapter 3

Ken nodded his agreement wordlessly, jaw agape. Anthony stood and backed up against the wall, staring at them wide-eyed, while Karina stepped over her prone body carefully and took her next shot on the pool table as though nothing out of the ordinary had just taken place. Kalko just stared at Sierra, his expression unreadable.

Devon glanced back over the couch and smiled to himself. He'd been just as curious as Sierra to see Adam in his animal form, and they'd spent the whole trip over theorising as to what sort of cat he might be.

"Yeah, she does that," he informed them brightly. "The good news is that she only seems to be able to knock you down like that once," he added, throwing the still stunned Adam a sympathetic glance.

"Once she's got your number there's no need for a repeat – at least, that's how it's been so far. She should be out cold for a while," he remarked knowingly before casually turning his attention back to his game.

Eyes flickered between him and Sierra for a moment before most of them resettled on the two cats in the centre of the rec room. A moment of silence ensued - apart from the noises emanating from the TV screen. Then almost as suddenly as it had settled on the room, the hush blew over.

"You shouldn't curse, Adele," Luc grumbled as he stooped to try and help Adam regain his balance.

"Are you seriously going to lecture me after what she just did?" Adele shot back ruefully.

Both of them went quiet as Kalko loomed closer, his thick arms crossed over his broad chest as he eyed Sierra decisively. He did not look pleased.

"Is she always this reckless?" he growled, his eyes flickering over to Devon inquiringly.

"Reckless isn't a word I'd usually use to describe Sierra," Devon replied as he gave up on the game that was already falling to pieces in the absence of the two other players. "Outgoing, curious, bold... sexy – but not reckless, not Sierra."

Kalko harrumphed in doubt and clenched his jaw with annoyance.

"You've touched her before, so you must be immune to her. Take her outside with Luc," he commanded.

"Kalko, don't you think..." Luc started to protest warily.

"Just take her outside," Kalko replied, cutting him short.

His tone of voice was low and filled with finality. If doom had a sound, that would have been it.

Luc glanced over to Devon for assistance, then bent over Sierra's prone feline form when he saw the new arrival respond. The two carefully picked up the sleeping tigress and headed out the door with her, the human clearly a little more burdened with the great weight than the were-cat was. Life slowly started to return to the room as they left, but it was muted in comparison with the earlier cheerfulness. It was easy to see that Adam wasn't the only one that was still suffering from shock.

Sierra woke to find the soft, dappled light of trees dancing over her warm, white coat. That surprised her somewhat, since she'd expected to find herself laid out on the double bed in her new room – or at the very least, somewhere indoors! But then, that was the problem with being regularly rendered unconscious: you never knew for certain just where you'd wake up...

She groggily eased herself into a sitting position then succumbed to the overwhelming urge to groom herself, her ears twitching animatedly at the numerous whispers of forest creatures. The transformation had left her with an appetite, as usual, but she was not quite hungry enough to seek out a quick meal. Instead, once she felt sufficiently clean, she savoured a drawn-out feline stretch that seemed to help her body to fit better into her new shape, before starting to explore her immediate surrounds.