She knew less than a minute had gone by since the car stopped, all her thoughts going rapid fire through her mind. But she was still starting to panic when the sound of two doors opening finally reached her ears.
A moment later, both doors shut, and then the sound of footsteps on the dirt came to her. Part of why she could hear so well was because she’d cracked the window open for that very reason. But she thought part of it was because what people said about senses was true. Cut one off and the others amplified.
The sound of a scuffle came to her, much louder than the footsteps, and she knew Noah had entered the fray. He must be silent as a cat—she snorted to herself; of course he was, he was a lion—because as good as she’d been hearing things, she hadn’t heard him at all until the fight began.
A shout rang out, and she bit her lip hard enough to draw blood as the sounds of the fight escalated. She debated with herself long and hard—she’d told him she’d hide, but dammit, she couldn’t sit there without knowing what was going on.
Decision made, she began slowly easing herself up enough to see out of the window. There was Noah, big, strong, fighting the other two with precision accuracy. Relief washed over her, so strong she felt dizzy and weak.
The smaller of the two rushed Noah, distracting him from the other. While he fought the small one, the other made a weird hunching motion as the sound of something popping split the air, and a moment later, a panther was in the man’s place.
Her moth popped open as she took in the huge cat. His black fur was shiny, and Noah had been right—he was much larger than a wild panther. She’d think he was pretty, except he currently had narrowed yellow eyes locked onto Noah as he stalked him.
Eyes darting between the two of them, she wondered if she should try to intervene, maybe call out a warning. But Noah didn’t want them to know she was there, and she didn’t want to make the fight harder for him if they went after her.
Still, it was hard to not try to help in some way.
Noah drew his fist back, the muscles in his huge arm bunching, and then he punched the smaller man hard. The man went flying backward, landing on the dirt with a thud, not moving at all.
Casting him one last glance, Noah turned toward the panther, making the same hunching motion as pops echoed through the air. She watched with fascination as his lion burst out of him, pieces of his torn clothing flying through the air.
Swallowing hard, she stared at him in awe. He was massive, and much bigger than the panther. Underneath his shiny tawny fur, he was heavily muscled, and she thought surely his paws were the size of her head. The top o
f his head would probably reach to the middle of her bicep.
He’d said he was big, but she hadn’t expected him to be that big.
His mane was full and thick, a few shades darker than his fur, almost an amber color. He turned his massive head toward the truck, and she saw his glowing green eyes flick toward her, and then he turned for the panther who was charging him.
She was pretty sure she just got busted.
The two cats crashed together with a thump she heard easily, growling, hissing, using claws and teeth as they fought ferociously. The panther was big but Noah was bigger, taller as well as more heavily muscled—like his lion form matched his human form in size.
She’d been holding herself tensely, but she began relaxing as she watched the fight. Noah was clearly the superior fighter, and he was winning, hands down. The panther managed a swipe of his claws down Noah’s side, and Noah roared—but it didn’t sound pained. It sounded pissed off.
He started backing away from the panther, and she frowned as she watched. He was clearly a better fighter, so what was he doing?
His eyes flicked toward her, so quickly she almost missed it, and then she understood. He wasn’t trying to get away—he was trying to lure the panther into the woods. As she looked at the black cat, she thought she understood.
His blazing yellow eyes were crazed and the murderous gleam in them wasn’t hard to miss. He wasn’t going to stop fighting, even though it was clear Noah would win. In the panther’s mind, this was a death match.
Noah knew that, and he was trying to lead him away, so she wouldn’t have to see him kill the panther. Briefly wondering how she could be so sure, she shrugged to herself. She just was. She knew Noah, and that was something he’d do.
They disappeared into the trees, the sounds of a vicious fight coming to her, and she felt herself tense again as the worry came back to her. She knew Noah was the better fighter, but she didn’t like not being able to see him.
Turning her eyes to the man who was still knocked out cold, she watched him closely. The last thing they needed was for him to wake up, shift into whatever animal he was, and take Noah by surprise.
The sound of the fight escalated and then a screech of agony split the air. Stiffening, she forced herself to take deep breaths, her eyes darting back and forth from the man on the ground to where Noah had disappeared behind the trees. The longest minute of her life passed agonizingly slowly and then her massive lion walked into eyesight.
Blowing out a breath, she slumped over, closing her eyes as she became dizzy with relief. Straightening, she watched as he walked over to the man, walking around him as he studied him. Jumping at the sound of Noah’s phone ringing, she glanced over at the screen, seeing Blake’s name flashing.
Deciding Noah would probably want her to answer, she picked up the phone and swiped the accept button. “Hello.”
“Lily? Where’s Noah?”
“He just finished fighting the men who followed us.”
“How’d it go?”