Book 3: Leopard's Mate

Chapter 5

Cole sat up screaming. His arms up like he was fending off some invisible foe. Before his mind could tell him where he was he'd leapt halfway across the cave. He landed in a crouch and blinked before standing up and putting his hands to his face. He took several deep breaths to calm his mind. He wasn't being cut into or tortured.

He was drenched in a cold sweat. Like always his nightmares were incredibly real remembering that place. Memories of the things they put him through. Or how they'd killed his mother and his sister. He could still feel the knife slicing into his flesh. The needles going in. He was still a broken mess inside, which he doubted was going to ever be fixed. At least he didn't wake up some odd place.

Shaking slightly he moved over to the now shredded sleeping gear. He didn't really need much, he could just sleep as a leopard and be just fine. However sometimes it was nice to sleep on something a bit softer. So he had like a thicker ground mat and sleeping bag. All it was barely recognizable. He'd clearly been thrashing about for a bit.

He just sat down and put his arms on his knees and hung his head giving a deep depressing sound. He had some obvious deep seeded issues. He humorlessly smiled to himself, right before he felt a blood thirsty need to kill those that had done this to him. They'd taken everything from him, his family, his dreams, the ability to even sleep.

Now he couldn't think about anything for himself without fear they would show up and take it. That he'd destroy it in his fear. He wasn't going to be able to mate, he knew that. He wasn't any kind of partner, even one that left their mate to raise their kids. He would just be leaving them with a heritage that would get them and their mother killed. All he could do was think about it but not act on it.

He turned his head when an odd buzzing sound came to him. He reached over and in a pile of clothes he pulled out the phone. It said that he had a message, but there was no signal to call the voicemail up here nor make a call. It must have come through when he'd left last night and gone to a bigger city but he missed it. It was just a reminder notification that buzzed.

Grabbing some clothes he put them on and disappeared. It was late in the day now and he appeared at the closest large city. Which would have the best chance for cell phone use. That or a real phone if he couldn't use this. He listened to the voicemail which was Troy, and in the background he could hear a rather loud racked of noise and then an annoyed roar.

"Just give me a call would you?" Came Troy's irritated voice and that made Cole smile for no reason. He liked this family, or rather pride. Plus the little group of cheetahs that he knew as well. They all had a large number of kids.

He envied them but at the same time no way in hell did he want to deal with more than at most two kids at a time. That he could not return to their parents. Troy had eight, Kyra had five that were now teenagers and seven more that were five just like Troy's group. They should all be given a medal in his opinion. If he could not return them, he didn't want them. He was liable to break them. Cole put the phone to his ear having dialed the number needed and waited. 

"HI COLE!" He had to quickly pull the phone away from his ear as the young voice shouted into it. Clearly his number had come up, and the kids saw it.

"I want to talk to him!" The first voice was female, the second was male, and they were both kids.

"Hello Corin." He said and a squeal of delight came from the young girl. "Can I talk to your father?"

"Yeah." she must have dropped the phone because he heard running feet and then it was picked up.

"Hi Cole!" Came another loud shout into the phone and he felt another smile. He'd spent a good amount of time around these young ones when they had been working on his tattoo. Tatianya said she wanted to hire him as a babysitter. That was when he said he was leaving. Which got a laugh from her, she was a great woman. Easy going and fun loving, even with her own past, but hers wasn't nearly as dark as his.