Chapter Sixteen

The Leopard King let his dark golden eyes run over his son and his woman, making sure they were okay lest his mate be upset. Finding them dirty, and a bit beat up but still alive he deemed them okay. He turned to gaze at the four bodies that littered the ground.

One large alpha colossal and three smaller beta ones, all dead.

He narrowed his gaze as he glanced at the still bleeding wounds. They were fresh, precise, and clean. There was no way his son had landed the blows and since there was no one else in the area it would seem his female had.

The thought sent his eyebrows into his hairline, females were never taught to fight or fend for themselves, no they were to be pampered and protected, to never lift a finger unless it pleased them...so for her to have done such damage...

"Who killed them?" He gave voice to the question even though he already knew the answer. He needed to have it confirmed by her own words.

Kagome could hear the suspicion in his voice, the undertone of disbelief and unwillingness to accept the obvious. It was no doubt due to his upbringing, males were the hunters, the killers, and protectors. For a female to step into the role was no doubt mind boggling to him, and as much as she wished to change his mind, to broaden his horizons as she had begun to do with Parker and those at the village they called home, now was not the time.

She was tired, drained, and she just wanted to go home with Parker and pass out. So hoping to keep things short and sweet she shifted so she stood before him, Parker behind her, his hands on her shoulders, offering her support.

"I did." She ignored the squawks of the eagles who were still nearby, lifting her chin and jutting it out. Not as a threat or a show of insubordination but as a show of strength and truth behind her words.

The Leopard kind let his eyes roam over her, she was small barely coming to his son's shoulders, her lightly tanned skin covered in dirt and grime. Her long raven hair was covered in blood, yet she held no claws on her hands, her canines were far too blunt to tear through flesh...yet the way she stood. Her legs parted, her weight resting equally on her feet, ready to defend herself and his son should she have to.

She had spirit and it made a grin crack his stoic features, his son had done well to win the hand and heart of such a strong fiery female. The cubs she would give life to, that would carry on his son's line and in turn his own!

"You are a strange female, but I like you." He gave a light laugh as his son let out a low growl, honestly, he was far too old to be chasing after his son's female, plus his mate would kill him and he was far too devoted to her to even think about another.

Kagome blinked as Parker stepped closer to her, the warmth of his body seeping into hers, she wanted nothing more than to just relax into his hold. She moved to ask if they could leave yet paused as Parker's father turned his gaze back to the fallen giants.

"Did you dig out the gems?" They were high currency and to leave them behind would be a waste.

Kagome blinked as she fished out the largest of the four stones, holding it before her. "Yeah, what are these? They radiate power..." She was once again reminded of shards of the Shikon jewel and it put her on edge.

Parker blinked at the large jewel, it was easily one of the largest he had ever seen! "Wow! Kagome you're amazing!" The awe in his voice made her flush as she turned to look back at him with a smile on her face as she held it out.

"If you want them you can have them, I don't like the vibes they give off." She could only blink as Parker's father gave a loud bark of laughter, she gazed between him and a blushing Parker, she could sense his embarrassment and his father's amusement.

It made her bristle, her nose crinkled as she bared a bit of her teeth, not at all caring that he was the leopard king, he was making fun of the man who had been looking non-stop for her since she had been kidnapped!

Parker could sense the shift in her energy and while he wanted to watch his female tear into his father he also didn't think this was the time nor the place, giving her arms a light squeeze he gathered her into his arms, ignoring the way she yelped and wrapped her arms around his neck, her fingers clenching around the jewel in her hands so as to not drop it.

"We've spent too long here, we need to move before more are drawn by the scent of blood." His words were even, hoping to disrupt any tension building between his female and his father. He was tired, sore, and just wanted to cuddle his female and sleep.

The leopard King could only blink at the serious tone and gaze his son held, it would seem that his female, despite her odd ways, was in fact a good influence on him. Deciding that he would let her actions slide he nodded his head and gave a loud commanding bark.

Three more eagles appeared, the one he had been riding on, another that was riderless and a third which held a sleeping Bai in its claws as gently as a giant bird of prey could.

"Bai!" Relief flooded through her, while she didn't know what had led to Bai's being passed out, the fact of the matter was that she was alive and she was no longer with Curtis. Any other questions she had could wait until later, already she could hear the calls of other collosals, no doubt looking for the hunting party that she had dispatched.

Quickly shoving the jewel back into the collar of her dress for safekeeping and re-wrapped her arms around Parker's neck and held tight as he leapt into the air and landed on the large bird's back, her face burying itself in his neck, breathing deep of his scent and feeling her heart swell with warmth.