Read Online Mercy by Eleri Stone - Free Book Online

stopped. A pair of Yaguara, shifted to jaguar form, lay over the entrance and a burly man stood, legs braced, blocking the path. Iada’s step never faltered. She walked right up to the warrior until she had to tip back her head to fix that glare on him. Gabriel didn’t like the insolent smile the man gave her and he took a step forward before stopping himself. She’d lost the tournament yesterday. Her uncles were clearly displeased with her. Iada was in a precarious position just now and she would need to handle this herself if she wanted to regain the respect of her brethren. Growing up in the human world made him forget sometimes that to the Yaguara weakness meant that you were prey.
    The guard bowed his head in casual deference. “Your uncles have requested you attend them in the Grand Hall, champion,” he sneered.
    “You may tell them that they will be waiting on that audience for some time,” Iada said smoothly.
    The warrior crossed his arms and looked over her head. He ignored Iada and spoke directly to Gabriel. “You hide behind your mate?”
    Iada stiffened and turned her head, waiting for Gabriel’s response. There was fury in her eyes and her cheeks were flushed red. It would gall her to be dismissed like that and even more to depend on him for support.
    “Wiser than standing in her way,” Gabriel drawled. There was a flash of uncertainty in Iada’s eyes and then the smallest of smiles touched her lips. He felt like a king for the first time. He stepped forward then and moved Iada to the side and slightly behind him. He could feel the tension in her muscles but she stayed in place.
    “Stand aside,” he ordered the guard.
    The Yaguara’s eyes lifted to meet his boldly. A low snarl sounded from above his head.
    “Your pardon, King.” The guard dipped his head in a brief salute. “But we cannot allow you access to this tunnel. We cannot guarantee your safety if you pass.”
    Iada snorted. Gabriel merely raised one brow, fixed the warrior with a hard gaze and waited for him to move. He was not surprised when the jaguar sprang. There was not enough time for him to shift. The change was always disorienting, leaving a person entirely vulnerable for up to a full minute. He would be dead before he completed the transformation.
    He dropped and rolled out of the way of that initial attack but felt a tug at his shoulder followed by a bright flare of pain there. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the Yaguara in man form on his knees, clutching at his shredded chest. And then the jaguar lunged at him again. Gabriel snagged his foreleg midleap and pivoted sharply, stunning the animal against the rock face and snapping his leg in the process.
    Before Gabriel could turn to check on Iada, the other jaguar rammed its head into the small of his back, knocking him to the ground. They must have been ordered not to kill. Iada, bless her, had no such scruples. His wife had changed fully to jaguar form, the strap and shredded bodice of her dress still clinging to one leg. She placed her teeth at the base of the guard’s skull and gave a deep warning snarl until he went limp between her teeth.
    Gabriel stumbled to his feet and Iada tossed the jaguar to the side. He rolled and promptly slunk away into the bushes. While Iada shifted back, Gabriel went to retrieve his pack, ignoring the snuffling noises coming from the animal still hunched by the rock and the gasps and curses of the guard in human form.
    By the time he’d returned to Iada, she was a woman once more; all the blood and dirt from the fight had fallen away with the change. Her hair was mussed, she was gloriously nude and spitting mad. It was a luxury to have a partner he did not have to worry about. The instinct to protect her was there but it was tempered by knowledge of her strength.
    “My thanks, mate,” he said, wondering why she’d defended him. Had this been a show for his benefit to convince him that he could trust her? It sounded like something the