Mirror Image Seduction (Feline Shifters of Down Under Book 1) by Khloe Wren, Tamsin Baker Read Free Book Online Page B

catch his mate. His knees hit the rough timber of the deck hard, but he ignored the sharp jarring pain that ran up his thighs as Lacey limply landed in his lap. Phew . He’d got to her in time. Not wasting a moment, he brushed the dark strands of hair away from her pale face and neck so he could find her pulse point. Pressing two fingers against her throat, he held his breath until he felt what he was searching for, the steady beating of her heart. His shoulders sagged with relief.
    “She’s alive, Ryan, she’s alive.”
    “Thank fuck for that!”
    Squeezing his eyes closed he cradled her against his chest for a moment. He sensed Ryan kneeling before him. Without a word he knew his brother needed to reassure himself that she was okay, that she’d merely fainted. Dylan pressed a kiss to Lacey’s clammy forehead before he gently handed her over to his twin. The moment she was safe in his brother’s embrace he whirled around on a growl.
    “Max, you had no right! Lacey is our mate, not yours. It was our decision on when we would tell her our truth!”
    He took a menacing step toward his arrogant brother, who, like all of his siblings, was now in human form. He would pay, in flesh, for harming his mate…
    “Dylan! Stop!”
    His father’s booming voice cut through the night air like a whip, and a primal instinct took over Dylan’s body and rendered him motionless. That was the voice of his Alpha. It was a tone that no cheetah in their coalition could disobey and one his father very rarely used.
    “Max was impulsive with his decision to speak and act as he did tonight, and he will receive punishment. But that punishment will not be by your hand, son. I will not stand for my children fighting with such violence as you intended to inflict on your brother, Dylan. You and Ryan shifted along with all of your brothers. None of you are blameless. Go with Ryan and take your mate home and care for her, knowing that I will handle Max. Neither you nor Ryan will seek any further justice in regard to the matter.”
    Dylan whined a little, but he bowed slightly to his father. His blood still boiled and needed an outlet, but he would not go against his father’s orders. Especially since his father was right. He or Ryan could have stood up to Max before they all shifted. Dammit, he was so used to following his older siblings’ lead. But none of them were mated. He and Ryan were the first to find their mate, so they were all in completely uncharted territory. This was going to be up to him and Ryan to work out. He needed to remember that and not allow his brothers to put stupid ideas in his head. He moved to follow Ryan down the steps to their car where he opened the door for Ryan to climb in with their mate, his heart still racing and his throat dry.
    He closed his twin and their mate safely in before moving around the front of the car to the driver’s door. Just before he opened it he took a deep breath, paused and looked up to the house. His fury had dampened a little, and he was grateful his father had stepped in. He didn’t want to hurt any of his family. He loved each one of them. He could see now he hadn’t really been mad at Max, but the situation. He would have never forgiven himself if he’d permanently maimed any of his brothers like he’d intended to do to Max. With a heavy sigh he opened the door but froze as he heard his father’s voice echoing out from the house.
    “Max, you will spend a full ten days in cheetah form in the feeding yard at the zoo. That should give you ample time to think, and next time you want to come between a cheetah and his mate, you will think twice before you do it. You should have at least discussed revealing our truth to Lacey with the twins before you went ahead and did it.”
    A shudder ran through Dylan as he slid into the car and drove toward their home. That was harsh. The feeding yard was what they called the smaller enclosure at the zoo where they kept a pair of cheetahs that were