A Rebel's Heart by Lia Davis Page B

submissive; she was a maternal female. She protected those she cared about. Even though she was pissed as hell at Damian for making her believe he was dead for the last five years, she’d protect him any way she could.
    He had been her best friend once.
    But she’d deal with Damian later. Right now, she had a human to disarm.
    She hit him full force, and they fell to the ground. He punched out, catching her in side. Pain shot through her ribs, but it only fueled her anger and her inner puma’s rage even more. She growled and allowed her fangs to drop. The human paled, and she breathed in the fear rolling off him.
    With quick and efficient movements, she grabbed his head in both her hands and twisted. The man went limp under her.
    She rushed over to Damian and knelt down beside him. His breathing was labored, but he was awake. He met her gaze with hazel eyes, and something deep inside her stirred. Heat twirled in her abdomen and headed south. She shook off the strange reaction to the male she’d buried with her mate and offered a weak smile. “I don’t have to tell you how pissed I am at you.”
    He coughed then winced as if in pain. She peered down at his chest, and her heart stuttered a couple of beats. His shirt was soaked in blood. He lifted his hand and touched her cheek with the tips of his fingers. She grabbed his hand and squeezed.
    “I’m going to have to move you. I need to get you back to the house so I can call a Healer.” He didn’t answered, and his eyes started to close. “Damian. Stay with me. Do you hear me?”
    She tapped his cheek, and he opened his eyes. “I’m —”
    He coughed again, and she shook her head and lifted him to a sitting position so she could get her shoulder under his arm. Damian was a good seven inches taller than she and weighed over two hundred pounds, most of it muscle. So she needed him conscious if they were to make it to her house. Even with her added strength from being a shifter, she wouldn’t be able to carry the male on her own.
    It took about twenty slow minutes to reach her cabin. Once inside, she directed him to the bedroom and helped him lie down. As soon as his head touched the pillow, he passed out. With a sigh and a heavy heart, she picked up her cell phone from the nightstand where she left it earlier and called Danica Welsh-Mathews, her daughter-in-law and the Ashwood Falls’ leopard Healer.
     
     
    ****
     
    Damian opened his eyes and cautiously looked around the room, not sure where the hell he was. The room held a warmth to it. The single window was covered with red and gold curtains. The walls were a soft cream color. The whole room reminded him of something. No, someone. Then memories of the fight with the rebel human and Sarah…
    Fuck.
    He’d come here to protect her. Instead he gotten his ass shot, and she’d ended up protecting him. Way to go, Damian.
    You’re such an ass .
    He sat up and sucked in a sharp breath as pain shot across his ribs. Peering down at his chest, he frowned and touched the red spot just below his heart. He let out a sigh and pushed to a stand, slower this time. He should consider himself lucky that Sarah had been there and the bullet hadn’t hit his heart. By the look of the healing wound, Sarah must had called a Healer, but from where?
    As he got closer to the door, he heard voices coming from the living room. They were speaking low, but Damian could sense the tension in each syllable. A few of the voices were male and made Damian’s puma growl and claw at him from under his skin. Opening the door, he took slow steps down the hall and stopped at the sight of Sarah sitting on the arm of a recliner with her arms crossed over her chest. Her blond hair fell around her shoulders in soft waves, framing her slightly rounded face. A face that held a mother’s scowl, which did nothing to take away from her beauty.
    Following her line of sight, Damian saw one of her sons, Graham, sitting on the couch, head in his hands.
    Graham