Captive Princess: A Dark Paranormal Romance (Feline Royals Book 2) Read online

  Captive Princess

  Feline Royals

  Book Two

  Alexa B. James

  Captive Princess

  Copyright © 2019 Alexa B. James

  First Edition

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the express written permission of the publisher, except in cases of reviewer quoting brief passages in a review.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are used factiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, and events are entirely coincidental. Use of any copyrighted, trademarked, or brand names in this work of fiction does not imply endorsement of that brand.

  Published in the United States by Alexa B. James and Speak Now.

  ISBN: 978-1-945780-66-0

  Table of Contents

  One

  Two

  Three

  Four

  Five

  Six

  Seven

  Eight

  Nine

  Ten

  Eleven

  Twelve

  Thirteen

  Fourteen

  Fifteen

  Sixteen

  Seventeen

  Eighteen

  Nineteen

  Twenty

  Twenty-One

  Twenty-Two

  Twenty-Three

  Twenty-Four

  Twenty-Five

  Twenty-Six

  Twenty-Seven

  Twenty-Eight

  Twenty-Nine

  Thirty

  Thirty-One

  Thirty-Two

  Thirty-Three

  Thirty-Four

  Thirty-Five

  Thirty-Six

  Thirty-Seven

  Thirty-Eight

  Thirty-Nine

  Forty

  Forty-One

  Forty-Two

  Forty-Three

  Forty-Four

  Forty-Five

  Forty-Six

  Epilogue

  From the Author

  One

  Itzel

  Princess, Ocelot Nation

  I clung to Shadow’s back as his motorcycle rocketed along the endless, cracked pavement toward an old hangar on the edge of the city. The road itself looked like a runway. If only we could fly, I could be by my sister’s side already, our squabble forgotten, defending her from Shadow’s fellow panthers.

  Silently, I urged him to go, go, go faster. I searched the nearby trees in the swamp for a glimpse of Balam’s spotted fur as he ran alongside the bike, but I didn’t see him. He probably couldn’t keep up with the speed with which we were shooting along the road.

  Suddenly, the hangar appeared in the distance, and relief flooded through me. I would get my sister on the private flight King Ocelot had booked for her. I would make sure of it. If anyone got in my way, I’d kill them with my bare hands.

  My heart hammered so loud in my ears that I barely heard the motor beneath me, the wind rushing past my ears. I had to get there. I had to protect Camila. I closed my eyes, saying a silent prayer. If she was okay, I’d be agreeable and never argue with her again. I would meekly go back home if she told me to, would say nothing more than “Yes, Ma’am.”

  As if sensing my terror, Shadow gunned the engine even faster. I should probably not have trusted him to get me here, or anywhere else for that matter. But somehow, I knew that he was an honest man. When he’d kidnapped me, he’d made no pretense about it. He hadn’t lured me. He’d dragged me off to his trailer in the swamp and told me exactly what was coming. Now, he’d told me the panther clan was pissed. They didn’t want my sister to take their mating amulet, and they’d gone after her despite the fact that she was the princess of the Ocelot Nation.

  As we drew closer to the hangar, my heart sank. A chain-link fence surrounded the place, and only a keypad allowed entrance. The hangar sat back from the gate, and outside it…

  I swallowed. There were at least half a dozen vehicles, and was that… a body on the ground? Bile rose in my throat, and I clutched Shadow’s leather jacket. “Go through,” I said.

  “Are you sure?” he asked, turning to speak to me over the roar of the engine. “You’re human. It might hurt.”

  Ahead, I heard an ear-splitting shriek, and my heart stopped dead in my chest. “I’m sure,” I screamed, my arms clenching around Shadow’s thin build.

  He gunned the engine, and the bike roared like a beast and leapt forward, speeding toward the twisted metal links of the fence. I closed my eyes and pressed my face to his back so I wouldn’t get my eyes ripped out by stray wires. The bike lunged at the fence, ripping through in a screech of tires gripping the pavement and metal protesting as it was shredded and snapped. We hit the ground and skidded before Shadow righted the bike.

  “Go,” I screamed, lifting my head and pointing to the cars ahead, a haphazard handful of dusty sedans and faded pickups all parked around a sleek, black SUV. A small plane sat on the runway behind them, the ladder lowered to the ground from the door.

  Shadow’s bike leapt forward, eating up the distance in seconds before skidding to a stop in a swirl of dust and smoke. The smell of the burning tires filled my nostrils as I leapt from the bike and sprinted for the cars. My heart froze in an instant when I saw the doors to the SUV hanging at odd, twisted angles. One of them had been ripped off altogether. A dozen cats were fighting, screaming and snarling, tearing at each other with teeth and claws. Half a dozen human bodies littered the pavement. My stomach lurched as I saw a panther swipe its powerful paw at an ocelot that snarled with its long teeth showing. It was no match for the oversized panther, which raked claws through its spotted fur, leaving furrows of torn and bloody muscle exposed.

  “Camila,” I screamed, charging forward, not knowing if that was my sister. Maybe she was safely on the plane already.

  I tripped over one of the many piles of clothes strewn across the pavement from where the shifters had stripped before changing to animal form. I flew forward, my feet tangling in the jeans, cursing my damned human fallibilities. A cat would never trip. I landed hard but scrambled to rise, my adrenaline fueling my fear and masking any pain. My hand landed on something hard beneath a stack of neatly folded clothes, grinding along the pavement.

  I was already on my feet before I realized what I’d touched, and my heart somersaulted as I snatched up the navy-blue guard uniform. Heat and terror shimmered through my chest.

  Gabor.

  Gabor. Fuck, yes. I tore through his clothes and yanked out the pistol he had once tried to give me so I could protect myself. I hadn’t taken it then, but I was damn sure taking it now. Blood rushed in my ears at the thought of what this meant, this abandoned pile of clothes. But the fall and the discovery had knocked sense into me. I was no longer an animal driven by blind panic and fear, rushing into a fight unarmed like a death wish.

  I scanned the dwindling fight. Six panthers and two ocelots remained. The mangled ocelot was leaping out of the way of the panther who had backed it against the SUV. Another panther was swiping a long, sleek front leg under the SUV, trying to get what I assumed was another living ocelot. One panther stalked around the SUV to get to the other side, and another two panthers were snarling and leaping at Shadow, who had shifted and joined the fight behind me. I trusted him to keep them occupied as the last panther stalked toward me, its gleaming fangs bared.

  “Not today
, fucker,” I said, clicking off the safety, taking aim, and popping it right between the eyes. As it fell to the ground, I turned to the one who had clamped its jaws around the skull of the mangled ocelot who had so bravely fought a hopeless battle.

  “I may not have big teeth and claws, but I’ve got years of target practice under my belt,” I muttered, steadying my right hand in my left. I knew the mangled ocelot had precious seconds, if that, but shooting the SUV wasn’t going to help it any. I took careful aim and put a bullet in the panther’s eye. Its body tensed, and it dropped the ocelot to the bloody pavement. Its head swung in my direction, but it only managed one step before crumpling to the ground.

  “Little sister don’t miss when she aims her gun,” I said, swinging in the direction of the next panther. The one I’d just shot was still twitching, and to my horror, it began shifting into a human. What I’d just done hit me then. I hadn’t just shot panthers, but people, too.

  I fought the urge to fling the gun away from myself in horror.

  A roar sounded behind me, and I spun to find Lord Balam charging at the two panthers who had leapt onto Shadow. Balam knocked one away, rolling across the pavement in a blur of claws and fur. I wiped one trembling palm on my pants at a time, switching the pistol from one hand to the other. My brain was still in shock, and for a second, I didn’t know what to do. A breathless whimper sounded from somewhere nearby, and my head shot up, my horror forgotten. Whatever I had to do was worth it if Camila was alive. To save her, I would have killed all the people in Florida.

  “Camila,” I cried, racing around the SUV. Two panthers were swiping their razor claws at something in the undercarriage.

  “Back off or I shoot,” I said, my voice coming out firm and loud. Its strength seemed to steady my hands, and I cradled the pistol, taking careful aim.

  One of the panthers lifted its head, staring at me with unblinking green eyes that shone out of its sleek black coat. The intelligence behind them made me want to drop the gun, but I didn’t. I might not be able to shoot now that the panic had subsided, and my mind had cleared to what I was doing. But he didn’t need to know that.

  Lord Balam ran straight for the SUV, leaping through the open doors. His powerful front and back legs stretched out straight, and he came soaring through and landed between me and the panther. He whipped around to face the panther, snarling with his huge incisors on full display. The panther snarled back, and Balam dove for him, slamming into him. They both rose onto their hind legs, their front paws batting at each other as they each tried to grab their opponent’s throat.

  I turned to the last panther, the one who had crawled halfway under the SUV. It snarled, and I heard a hiss and then an animal howl of pain. Rage slammed through me, and I lowered the pistol to aim at its hind leg. I pulled the trigger, and the bullet pierced through his leg and buried itself in the pavement. Blood splattered the ground, and my stomach lurched.

  The panther squirmed out from under the car and turned to snarl at me, its fangs sending an instinctual flood of adrenaline through me. For a second, I was reminded of the tiger that had ripped Tadeu’s head off, and my legs nearly gave way. Even with a gun, I was no match for a direct attack.

  “Go or I’ll shoot,” I said, my hands shaking as I aimed the gun.

  It sprang at me.

  I squeezed the trigger instinctively. The bullet missed by inches, and before I could get off another shot, the beast barreled into me. I hit the ground, the breath crushed from my lungs. The panther snarled, sinking his teeth into my shoulder. A scream of pain tore from my throat as he ripped through skin and muscle. My head swam with dizziness, but I gripped the gun, pushing it into the panther’s side. Before I could shoot, another panther sailed through the air, slamming into my attacker. My shoulder popped as it was wrenched, and then he tore free. I screamed again as blood splattered the ground around me. Rolling over, I gripped my shoulder, holding back my screams. Blood oozed between my fingers. A second later, a bloody panther head landed beside me.

  Two

  A minute later, I’d wrapped my shirt around my shoulder as well as I could and sat up to take in the damage. Human and feline bodies littered the ground all around us. My heart leapt into my throat. Were all the ocelots dead? A mewling cry came from under the SUV. I dropped to the ground and squirmed under on my belly. A bleeding ocelot huddled against the inside of the back tire.

  “Camila,” I said. “Thank the gods you’re okay.”

  She hissed, baring her teeth. They looked small and fragile compared to the saber-like canines of the big cats. Having never seen an ocelot in real life, I hadn’t realized how small they were next to the big cats. Fury charged my veins—fury at Father for keeping us in our little utopian country where no one shifted out of necessity, where they only shifted at exclusive parties as a symbol of wealth and status. Fury at him for sending Camila on this crazy mission, and at her for insisting she was a match for the other cats. Fury at the panthers for attacking the ocelots in what was so clearly an unfair fight.

  “Hey, it’s me,” I said, keeping my voice soft and soothing, the way Camila liked. I snaked toward her on my belly. “How badly are you hurt? Can you shift?”

  She hissed again, batting at my hand as I reached for her. I drew back, sucking in a breath, and stared at her. She might have been a medium cat, but she was an animal. An animal who, if rumors to were to be believed, ate humans on occasion. I was certainly no match for her, and as I looked into her round, ocelot eyes, all I saw was a wild, trapped animal. For the first time in my life, I was actually afraid of my sister.

  She knew me down to the very innermost desires of my soul, but all my life, I’d only known half of her. I was surprised by the depth of pain that realization caused.

  “Camila,” I said again, drawing back. Blood soaked through my t-shirt bandage, and my heart suddenly fluttered in panic inside me. Would she smell the blood and attack?

  I hated myself for the thought that she would ever hurt me, but I couldn’t help the fear rolling through me. As a human, she loved me. As a cat, I didn’t know what she felt, didn’t know what she’d do. I wasn’t even sure she could understand my human words when she was in cat form. I was trapped under a car with a cornered, terrified predator.

  I began to back toward the edge of the vehicle, shaking with adrenaline. I didn’t know this side of my sister. I didn’t know if I could trust her.

  She hissed, backing against the tire again as I retreated.

  Frustration twisted through me. I couldn’t help her. I’d failed her.

  “Itzel,” Lord Balam’s barked. He hauled me back the last foot and yanked me to my feet, his gaze sweeping over me. “What the fuck are you thinking?”

  “Camila’s under there,” I said. “I don’t know how to get her out.”

  “Are you crazy?” he demanded. He was back in human form, his swarthy, brown body scratched and bleeding from a dozen places. His jaguar cloak hung on his shoulders, shredded on one edge.

  “But she’s—.” I broke off, the words choked in my throat.

  “Ah, fuck, don’t cry,” Lord Balam said, pulling me into his arms. His muscles bulged and bunched under my hands as I clung to his powerful body. He wasn’t a tall man, but he was built like a tank, and it was all muscle. Somehow, somewhere along the way, he’d become my comfort and safety.

  “I’m not crying,” I said. “But I can’t get her out.”

  “Gabor,” Lord Balam ordered. “Get the princess.”

  A panther loped around the back of the SUV, and I almost screamed.

  “It’s Shadow,” Lord Balam said. “Want me to finish him off, too?”

  “No,” I said, pulling away from him. “What the fuck, Shadow. You’re lucky I didn’t put a bullet in you.”

  He shifted into human form, and my eyes skimmed over his tall, lean figure, landing on his stoic, angular face. His long hair was wild and tangled as it hung around his shoulders, blood and dust mussing his usually silky locks. “We s
hould go,” he said, his voice low and raspy. “Now. The panther clan is much bigger than this little group. They got here first, but the rest of the clan will be close behind them.”

  He picked up a canvas jacket from the ground, ripped the sleeve off, and dropped the rest of it as he strode toward me.

  “We can’t leave without Camila,” I said, dropping back to the ground. Lord Balam hauled me up, keeping a firm grip on my upper arm. He held my elbow while Shadow tied the canvas sleeve tightly over my bandage.

  “Let Gabor deal with Camila,” Lord Balam said, turning me to face him. “You can’t approach a frightened shifter in animal form. A human has no natural weapons to defend herself.”

  I wanted to protest, to tell him I didn’t need to defend myself against my sister. But the truth was, I didn’t know anymore.

  The ocelot who had sustained the injury when I’d arrived, the one I’d saved from the panther’s jaws, crawled under the SUV from the other side. When I realized that was Gabor, something settled inside me in the most disturbing way. I really didn’t want to think about it, so I turned and examined Lord Balam instead. His broad, thickly muscled shoulders both bore deep, jagged wounds, but already they seemed to be closing. Blood trickled over his bulging pectorals and down the ridges of muscle in his abdomen. Instead of being horrified, some primal part of me found the sight of him—bloody but victorious—more irresistible than I ever had before.

  He grinned when he finally caught my eye. “I’ll fuck you in the bathroom on the plane.”

  “What?” I asked, pretending to be busy checking the gun.

  “It’s a normal reaction to battle,” he said. “All those endorphins from surviving combined with the adrenaline from the fight and relief at knowing your mate is safe. Don’t be ashamed.”

  “I’m not ashamed,” I said. “And you’re not my mate.”

  “Aren’t I?” he asked with a smug smile.

  Before he could answer, Shadow spun around, scenting the air like an animal. A growl rumbled through him, his shoulders shifting into a forward position, his knees slightly bent as if crouching to spring. Three-inch claws extended from his fingers, and his green eyes rounded as he stared at the trees outside the fence. The animal way he moved still made me uneasy. Even in human form, I couldn’t be sure how much of his animal nature ruled him. Unlike ocelots, or even Balam, Shadow seemed always in some state of transition between animal and human.